rp post

[excontractu]

for offscreen interaction 

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[selfdissecting]

Hah. Just sweet for you.

[ they point at him weakly, trying and failing for the exact tone of levity they wanted. and when it's time to order, they do ask for the salted caramel mocha. ]

[inhumanresources]

[:> he smiles nevertheless

when the drinks are in hand, gonna pick a little table]

So.

[selfdissecting]

[ one perfectly innocent smile and one innocent word and their mind is racing, and the stuttering begins ]

S, So.

[inhumanresources]

Anything specific you want to talk about?

[selfdissecting]

Oh, I am not good at t-talking, not unless I already know what I am supposed to say, otherwise I just open my mouth, and I say whatever is in my head, which is always quite a lot, and end up saying somethng stupid, and then it usually gets awkward.

[ all in one breath ]

[inhumanresources]

Okay. Well, you don't have to be good at it. But does that mean I should choose the topic?

[selfdissecting]

[ blurts ] What brought you to Venus?

[inhumanresources]

[he taps two more full sugar packets into the vanilla thing and stirs for a bit]

I wanted to work somewhere where I wouldn't have to answer to the Host at all.

[selfdissecting]

[ jesus christ ceciliano ]

I suppose that has been a little harder, lately. With everything.

[inhumanresources]

I have to interact with some of them. Yes. But they're not giving me any orders.

My family . . . they were close to the Host. Or they wanted to be. They masqueraded as fallen Signoria, even though the connection was just that someone's great aunt had been a secretary for an aristocrat. I wanted to get away from that.

[selfdissecting]

[ they deserve the absolute loss that puts them at, after what they said about Bugsy

...

but still ]

Oh.

...You know. They may be after Signoria now. You do not think they took your family's claims seriously, do you?

[inhumanresources]

Probably not. The records are very extensive.

But even if they were . . .

[he trails off]

[selfdissecting]

[ their voice abruptly tense with feeling, ] They can't take you, too. It just won't happen.

[ and then they realize: oh, they—interrupted ]

Sorry. You were saying.

[inhumanresources]

Even if they were, I'll be careful.

And it's not my problem if they end up going after my family. [it's said with no particular remorse]

[selfdissecting]

[ ohhhhhh no. oh my god. oh my god. oh my god. they sip their drink uncomfortably ]

Right. Um. Right. Maybe this was a bad topic.

[inhumanresources]

I don't mind it. But if you mind it . . .

[selfdissecting]

Well, I mean. If you do not like your family, you shouldn't have to talk about them, especially if their lives have nothing to do with yours anymore.

[inhumanresources]

It doesn't bother me to talk about them. I just don't really . . . care.

I'm sorry. Does that sound cold?

[selfdissecting]

[ for an inexplicable second they struggle to make that statement fit their idea of who he was. and it doesn't quite. and they realize that's fine.

it's better than fine.

softly, even for Maeve, ] No.

Talk to me about something you do care about.

[inhumanresources]

Um . . . I really like . . .

Modern art, actually.

[selfdissecting]

[ '^' pulling out their phone ]

Like which?

[inhumanresources]

[also . . . soft. stirring his coffee]

Well, there's this artist who has an exhibit up at MOECA right now. She lets insects and lizards walk across a canvas with a thin layer of paint, and then takes the patterns and uses them to make abstract expressionist pieces. It's sort of more guided than some people think that kind of art should be? But I think it's fun to look at. Emilia. She only goes by one name.

[selfdissecting]

[ doing a quick eldritch guugle to see what they can find, flicking through the results. then they just tuck the name away into a memo app, possibly to be forgotten about entirely until they no longer remember what the name is meant to relate to, but you get the feeling probably not ]

I think that is really cool. Is there a reason you like it? Or... just a feeling?

[inhumanresources]

Well . . . it's sort of like.

I could never create art from a blank canvas. Because the first stroke would be too hard. I wouldn't be sure I could get it right. But for Emilia, those bugs and lizards don't worry about that at all. So she doesn't have to worry about it either. The beginning of the art is already made by someone who didn't agonize over it, and then she can make it relatable to humans by finishing it.

[he seems like he REALLY does not ever talk this much]

[selfdissecting]

[ and Maeve definitely looks surprised, but pleasantly so. they like it when they get to just listen to someone else talk. especially when they like that person. ]

Ohhh. That seems like a romantic way to look at it... idea of... a ssssssymbiotic creation? [ they shake their head, kind of bashful. the exact phrasing to describe it doesn't matter, right? ] I think I would be afraid of the final product being... informed by someone else's beginning, I guess.