Just Business [Closed] - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Just Business [Closed] (/showthread.php?tid=759)

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 01-21-2018

Kari watched, somewhere between amused and horrified, as Neph awkwardly contorted their legs in an attempt at more relaxed posture. It the opposite of worked. "Yeah, I don't really know what relaxed would look like on you," Kari said, voice settling on amused. "Probably not anything that would translate well to human body language, in any case."

"That's what I get for drinking a dead guy's vodka, honestly. This poor idiot must have had half of Osiris gunning for him." Kari wasn't particularly surprised that he'd got here first. That was his job, and besides, no one had better insider information than Grilka. "I didn't think anyone would bother poisoning the alcohol, though." He scowled down at his now-empty glass. "Someone else would have gotten into it eventually. What kind of amateur bullshit..." He shook his head.

At the suggestion of meeting his boss, Kari's face split into a grin that could only be described as devilish. "Oh, yes, that sounds like an excellent idea. My friend loves meeting new people. You'll get along fantastically." No matter how that went, it would be funny to watch.

He tilted his head as well, an accidental mimicry. "Oh, I'm nothing special," he laughed. Which was arguably extremely false, but whatever. "Maybe the secret is that I actually AM an idiot, and you're just assuming it must be a ruse." He grinned. "I could just be a jackass, failing desperately upwards thanks to a pretty face and a cute ass. It's been known to happen."

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - kilosilvey - 01-22-2018


Neph is rather confused. Perhaps they're missing a layer of conversational meaning, but how could anyone take such obvious lies at face value, "Awed: how does that line actually work on anyone ever? Is it because you're so symmetrical? It just seems that those who actually failed their way up would be the last to suggest so. Furthermore, In the ten thousand, four hundred and six sources I've analyzed thus far, failing upwards is only possible in positions of strict hierarchy and low risk. Clarification: I submit that you're being facetious but applaud your ability to pull it off"

"As far as relaxed, I suppose that would mean standing completely still. Preferably with my sensory net at close to full extension. That lets me taste the air currents and trace elements better. Suffice to say, that unsettles most and so I've tried to adopt some amount of organic posturing and body language" They waggle their hand in the universal gesture for so-so, "Sheepish Admission: Mixed success so far. Too many things to remember. No physical incentive or reminder to act a certain way. My courtesy minder needs lots of work"

Neph's fingers tap at a thigh plate in a series of clicks, Optic rapidly flickering to and from a deep purple before settling on the usual magenta. Their head snaps up and they glance around, plates fluffing out in alarm, "Concern: The vodka was poisoned, and we ran into each other on the job. Perhaps it would be best if we retreated. Someone and possibly many someone's may have wanted the fool's head. Amusement: Those hypothetical individuals may be rather upset we got here first"

A flicker of red in the pit of Neph's optic and a ripple of neural net in the shoulders betray unease, "Fury: And you're right. The poisoner was unbelievably sloppy. I can understand the necesarry application of violence on occasion, but to do so recklessly, arbitrarily and with such a pedestrian isotope? That cannot stand. Awful incompetent meatsack collection of disfunctional goo. They may deserve a visit"

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 01-22-2018

"That line works on pretty much everyone, all time time!" Kari said with a large grin. "Probably cause it's maybe half-true. A pretty face will get you pretty far, I just wound up using mine a little unconventionally." There was skill, of course. Decades of martial arts training, a steady hand with guns. But as far as he was concerned, his real success was mostly hinged on luck and his general social ease, two things he never had to put any effort into at all. To him, it felt a bit like failing upwards; it was just that, as a rich white human, he'd started high to begin with.

"That's what I was thinking, actually, but I thought it might be rude." Kari made a spread-eagled gesture with his hands. "All blorped out like that. You should invest in like, a really nice room full of interesting things where you can just..." He made the hand gesture again. "Blllllorp."

He shifted further upwards into a more normal sitting position, uncrossing his legs to lean forward with more ease. "Courtesy minder? Do you have like, a subroutine that explains alien manners to you? Fuck, I wish I could have one of those. Every time I meet a new species, I'm worried I'm going to accidentally offend them. You should have seen me the first time I met my boss. I was a mess." He'd also been considerably drunk, and Grilka was someone who preyed on cultural uncertainty masterfully. It had gone... about how you'd expect.

The anger at the poisoning was actually kind of cute. "Are you going to go vigilante robot on us?" he said, sounding amused but trying not to sound condescending. It was just, vigilante robots always sort of wound up the same way. Organics took real offense to that shit, some kind of cultural fear that Kari largely shared but had never fully grasped. "Well, be my guest. Hell, I could probably find out who it was without much difficulty. Not my problem unless someone pays me one way or the other... but amateurs are bad for business."

"Oh, yeah, someone's bound to be around sooner or later, but--" He paused, frowning. "Oh, yeah, I guess that would actually be a real concern for you." While what he did for Grilka--and in fact, that he was professionally associated with em at all--was something only known to people in, uh, shall we say, related fields... The fact that he was eir friend and could be found hanging out at Farendajo was more widely known. People, all people, were very reluctant to bother him. Not so for this little fellow. "Well, we could go back to my home base, so to speak. My boss won't be there right now, but it's got alcohol."

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - kilosilvey - 01-23-2018


Neph lets out a chittering giggle from deep within their body. Flaring out their sensory net and waving it gently. The strands weave like seaweed in a current, before retracting to their original place, "Amused: Blorp. I like that. Blorp"

They tap their finger to their face plate, "The courtesy minder just told me to do that. Thinking gesture. Seems silly, given that thinking doesn't require anything but the mind. I try not to be spooky. The minder is there to annoy me into being less spooky. Mixed results so far. I would offer to lend it to you but I don't think your brain works the same as mine." The minder makes a betrayed squawk at this unsettling new line. Poor rudimentary thing gets so worked up but quickly goes back to making dubiously helpful suggestions, "Hopeful: You'll need to tell me some time about humorous cultural misshaps, yes? Bonding over sharing experiences. If you do, I'll tell you about the time a target tased themselves while I was in their head"

Vigilantism seems tremendously ineffective. Another one of those organic things maybe. Laws exist to enforce a broadly agreed upon code of justice. To break those laws in search of justice leads to an unpleasantly recursive loop. Perhaps something to consider more. Neph was moreso offended by sloppiness and the almost poisoning of their almost friend. This one is funny. Hopefully he stays, rather than the screaming and running. The screaming and running gets old.

Neph shifts back and forth, their hooves tapping a staccato rhythm on the balcony, "Relieved: Yes please. Lead the way... away. I would prefer not to be discovered. Especially with a body in the room there would probably be some combination of attempted violence, screaming, running and lots of minds needing to be edited. And alcohol is good. Enthusiastic: Radioactive metals are better. Do you have some of those? They tickle"

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 01-23-2018

God, that was weird. Like, cool, but weird. Creepy when he remembered what that little golden tendril could do. Kari was friends with a lot of scary things, though. You could be friends with something without letting your guard down around it. Which was a good thing, really, or else no one would ever have any friends, probably.

"That sounds intensely unpleasant," Kari said, wrinkling his nose. "Then again, that might just be because I think getting tased fucking blows. Maybe it feels different second hand." Creepy. Very creepy. Kari didn't think it was really aware of that, though. It didn't seem like Grilka--saying scary things deliberately, to manipulate, each reminder dropped carefully to steer someone into the proper place. No, it was more like it just didn't have a strong grasp on what would and would not be deeply unsettling to the average human.

"I can do you one better," Kari said, standing up. "Once we get there, we'll get you some Krotazi wine. Bartender has a stock. If that doesn't fuck your sensors up, nothing will."

"Alright, lemme just..." Kari grabbed both the glasses they'd used, dumped the contents, and threw them in his bag. "You might wanna stand back for this bit. I was gonna do the old 'accidentally gored to death by the taxidermy' trick, but I think I'm gonna make a mess for the sake of whoever comes in here next."

Kari squatted back down by the mini-fridge, tucking the skirts of his dress up around his thighs, and pulled out a bottle before smashing it loudly against the bar and hurling them remnants idly across the room. "You want in on this?" he offered before chucking another bottle against a wall. "There's a bottle of red wine in here I guarantee would be spectacularly fun to smash."

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - kilosilvey - 01-24-2018


Intensely unpleasant was right. It would be hard to forget the first time they'd directly experienced real pain. It was in the early days, before Neph had learned the ins and outs of their own construction. How to set up, manipulate and work with hardware and software blocks and buffers. The searing white agony of electricity feeding directly into a sensory line. Along with their target's flood of sensation. It took months to repair that particular damage, "Wry: Intensely unpleasant is a perfectly adequate way to describe that. Yes. Not only did I have no insulation on my net at the time. I also got to feel his experience of the tasing as well."

Why was Kari.... Oh. It was easy to forget that he was very much in his element here. Neph had very little experience covering up these sorts of things. Their specialty was leaving targets behind alive and relatively unharmed. Just for the fun of it, they heft the indicated bottle of red and hurl it againt the wall. It's some measure of satisfying to watch the whole thing blossom in a burst of clear shards and crimson petals, "Deference: That was very satisfying. Thank you. Though I imagine you have more experience staging these sorts of scenes than I do. I'd prefer not to help and run the risk of making something look unbelievable..."

The best way to help is probably to get Kari particularly smashable looking things, which Neph does with at least a sliver of competence and poise, mincing around debris and stains to avoid messing up the scene. Passing over an antique piece of crystal kitsch, Neph abruptly mentions, "Nervous: I'm led to understand that Krotazi can be very very territorial. Would my presence in eir demesne be wise? Wistful: Though I'd sorely like to meet an exemplar of their species. I've not yet had the pleasure."

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 01-24-2018

"Oh, this is gonna look like a supermurder," Kari said absent-mindedly as he hurled a few more bottles. "Which it was, technically, in that Mr. Gilkirst is super murdered. Hard to fuck that up, really. Just watch your feet; it'd be pretty hard to argue that something else left tiny hoof prints in the wine." There were probably other things with tiny hooves on Osiris, but it'd be a short list.

Heh. Short.

"I'll be honest, I just don't want anyone drinking this shit, so we're going with supermurder instead of bad-karma-induced-accident-what-could-have-happened-to-anyone." With the bottles properly smashed, Kari stood, still holding his dress up around his thighs absent-mindedly, an action which revealed where he'd been hiding the rifle--strapped around his thigh. Not that it looked much like a rifle; it was collapsable and he still had yet to get an excuse to try the damn thing out.

"Oh, we're not going to eir... demesne? Fancy. No, nothing like that. We're going to a bar. Perfectly normal bar, anyone can go in," Kari said gamely. "One conveniently without a Krotazi, unless eir schedule changes. Although if you want to set up a meeting with em, my friend can probably handle it. That's a better way to do it than how I did, that's for damn sure."

He stepped carefully over broken glass and pooling wine, pausing only to straighten his hair slightly in a shattered mirror that had kahlua dripping down it. "Alright, good to go. Let's go see how bad krotazi wine fucks up your system."

----

Farendajo was not a shady place. It wasn't exactly a family establishment, but it wasn't seedy or anything. Which was probably why Kari had walked into it blindly, the first time. It happened to remarkably few people, all things considered. Kari was just amazingly stupid like that, he supposed.

Kari strolled in like he owned the place, all smiles and cheer. He didn't, not even close, but he didn't spend so much time fucking the boss to act like any other customer.

"Xotll~ Babe!" Kari said cheerfully as he sauntered up to the central bar, a wide circle with a purple and white Ga'lleq in the center making drinks.

"Kari!" she replied, clopping over to stand near where Kari swung himself onto a bar stool. "Would you like your regular?"

Kari's regular was 'something pink.' He didn't reliably drink the same drink enough to have a proper regular, but he would delight over anything pink, regardless of flavor.

"Princess shot, please, and then a sex on the beach. I have to get the taste of the shitty one I made myself out of my mouth. And--" He glanced down at Neph. "I've made a new friend. How mad would Grilka be if I got into eir supply of wine?"

"Oh, I don't think Grilka could ever be mad at you, Kari!" she replied, before waving excitedly at the new guest. "Hello! I'm Xotll! It's okay if you can't say it right!" She briefly turned her attention--she wasn't super great at splitting it--back to Kari. "You can't have eir wine though, you'll die."

"Not for me!"

"You'll have to pay for it..."

Kari blinked. He hadn't paid for a drink here in a very long time. "...Is it a lot?"

"For you, yes, probably?" There wasn't an ounce of rudeness in the statement, she just looked confused and a bit concerned.

"Eh, I can afford it," he said with a vague handwave. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing here my ass can't buy."

"That's probably true!" Xotll agreed cheerfully. "Grilka likes it a lot!"

"Ey does, doesn't ey?" he preened as Xotll got to making drinks.

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - kilosilvey - 01-25-2018


Neph lets out another of their weirdly muffled, mechanical giggles at the sight of Kari's rifle,"Teasing: I like your gun. Cute and deadly. Like you." They've never really had much of a friend before. The giddy newness of the thing has them all but prancing around the trashed murder scene, though they are careful not to leave any signs of their presence, "Amused: Super murdered. Like murder but... super. With a side of smashing. Good idea."

Neph affects a delicate shudder, vibrating from the top of their head down to their cloven toes, "Firm: Good. I'm a freelancer and I'd rather not disrespect an aristocrat in their home. Especially an aristocrat who's one of the few meatsack races I have the good sense to fear. Meeting and knowing is good. But only with some assurance of safe passage. I'd even settle for no attempted dismemberment. A conundrum for future me, one supposes."

As they leave, the animation and life seems to leech out of Neph. It's a survival mechanism, sorely learned. Nobody pays attention to just another android, be they butler, messenger or plaything. I'm not a person. I'm not a person. Don't look at me. I'm just another thing. Keep your pace steady. Posture perfect. Don't look. Don't be curious. Be a thing.

It's only after they arrive at Farendajo that Neph begins to thaw. A flurry of greetings and peasantries blur by, Neph relying on their minder to prompt waves and pleasant greetings, though they do commit the name Xotl to memory. One of their first coherent thoughts as they swim back to personhood pops right out, "Awed: Kari. Is Xotl being genuine? I don't think I've ever encountered a being so cheerfully oblivious. They didn't even give me a second glance. I enjoyed that. Confused: Also would you clarify your ass buying things? That seems anatomically improbable."

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 01-26-2018

Neph's opinion of Grilka was kind of hilarious, but Kari didn't say anything about it. He didn't make a habit of correcting misconceptions people had about Grilka. They would think of em what they thought, and that was probably how Grilka wanted it.

Terror was fair. He'd been terrified the first time, too.

No one even glanced twice at them on the way through the twisting pathways of Osiris. Just a wealthy woman and her droid, to anyone who saw them. Barely memorable. Kari was probably a good disguise for Neph; not that he'd be rude enough to point that out.

And then, drinks!

"Xotll is always genuine," Kari said with a smile, fondly watching as the little Ga'lleq mixed drinks, starting with Kari's and then fetching the tongs for the krotazi wine. "That's just how she is. An absolute delight. One of the many, many things I love about this place. I promise you, she wouldn't even be the slightest bit concerned about your brainfucking tendencies." The side glance from Kari was a brief reminder that he was only halfway on that bridge, himself. "It's not even because she knows to hurt her would be to die the most horrible way possible. It's just... Xotll." He chuckled, then sighed fondly. Everyone adored her, frankly. He was no exception. How could you not?

"My ass pays the bills, buddy," Kari said with a wicked grin. "Mostly through anatomically improbable activities, too, so I guess you're not far off."

Xotll approached with their drinks. Kari eyed his drinks appreciably, and grinned at the sight of the krotazi wine. He leaned over it slightly to catch a whiff, then leaned back quickly, snorting and waving a hand in front of his face. "Yep! That's wine."

"Are you sure this is safe?" Xotll asked worriedly.

"Like, ninety percent sure."

"Kari!"

"That's plenty! Don't worry, don't worry."

Xotll pouted and crossed her arms in a way that let him know she was definitely still going to worry whether he liked it or not.

"It probably won't hurt you," Kari assured Neph. "It's not like you're actually drinking it. It's fine."

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - kilosilvey - 01-27-2018


Neph cocks their head, somewhat birdlike in Xotll's direction, "Respectful: Thank you for the beverages Xotll. Most media would lead me to believe that bar proprietors trend rude and wise. Though your kind and welcoming demeanor seems most appropriate." They touch a finger to their faceplate in consternation before continuing, the minder chattering at them in dissapointment, "Earnest: My apologies for being rude. It is lovely to meet you. I am called Neph. Let me sample this Krotazi wine. It sounds... interesting."

Xotll seemed unnecessarily worried. Neph is an android. As if some potent spirits could pose a real danger. Though they are very very intrigued to sample the beverage. It must have a tremendously interesting chemical profile. Rubbing their hands together in anticipation, they let unspooling coils of sensory net glide through the air overtop the sturdy cup before plopping in.

As the strands make contact with the Krotazi murder concoction it begins to hiss and froth. Neph yanks their hand out of danger, emitting one of their keening screams of white noise. A few stray droplets even begin to eat away at the bar as Neph's scream abates and they assume a hunched pouting posture, "Wounded: I assumed that was a beverage. Did no one think to warn me that I'd be sticking my nerves into a potent acid... Ow. That actually hurt. Stunned Disbelief: As if I needed more evidence that the Krotazi are a terror." Realizing their mistake, Neph's head darts around as though superstitiously watching for an eavesdropping snake.

"Observation: This really would kill you quite thoroughly Kari. Please continue to not consume it. Though the minder reminds me it might be appropriate to ask if your beverage is satisfactory. And indeed I hope it's pleasant," small talk is... not one of Neph's strong points. They firmly slide the Krotazi murder beverage away before continuing, "Tentative: I know my frame unsettles you. If you are amenable I have something in mind that might lessen your fear. But only if I have your permission to interact with... a fingertip, perhaps?"

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 01-28-2018

"Oh! Thank you! I don't know why people would be rude, that seems..."

"Counter-intuitive?" Kari suggested dryly, running a finger idly along the rim of his glass. "You won't find a better hostess than our Xotll, that's true."

Xotll positively beamed with the praise. Kari resisted the urge to pet her, only barely. He knew she wouldn't mind, but it seemed like the wrong thing to do while she was working and he was sober.

Both Xotll and Kari watched with baited breath as Neph dipped an extended golden tendril into the krotazi wine. The reaction was delayed only by a second or two, before Neph emitted a horrifying scream of white noise and pulled their 'finger' right out.

Kari immediately howled with laughter, reaching out thoughtlessly to rub Neph's head around gamely. They had no real hair to mess up, so he just sort of wound up cheerfully wiggling Neph's head a bit. "It's totally a beverage! I've seen Grilka drink it all the time!"

Xotll, for her part, was absolutely panicking. "Oh no oh no oh nooooooo! Kari!" she whined, stomping her hoof on the ground. "I told you and now they're hurt!"

"They're fine, they're fiiiine," Kari said, still grinning, this time resting his arm on one of Neph's shoulders.

"Kari!" she protested again.

"Look how fine they are," Kari insisted, gesturing to where Neph was looking at the hurt part of their weird blorpy net thing. "They told me earlier they don't get to experience pain much so it was probably one for the books."

"Kari."

"Tell the nice bartender you're fine, Neph, so she doesn't throw me out of my favorite bar."

Xotll rolled her eyes. It was quite a sight. She did not normally have it in her to be upset with someone. It already seemed to be fading around the edges, moving from panic into pouting. The pouting, Kari knew, would be gone as soon as she was distracted.

"I've seen other people drink it," Kari informs Neph cheerfully. "A few races can. I've seen Kreska do it at least once." He knocked back his shot, finally satisfied to have watched his new buddy dip his finger into poisonous battery acid. "Maybe get them a real drink... do you have anything radioactive?"

"Kari!"

"They said they liked that!"

"I will make them a nice drink," she said, huffing, and turned towards the back of the bar.

Kari frowned a bit at the suggestion, sliding his arm away from Neph's shoulder as if just then remembering what they were capable of with a touch. "Uh... I dunno. Grilka had to get me pretty drunk before I went for alien probing, and I was pretty sure ey couldn't reach my brain with it. And also I did just trick you into dipping your finger into what is apparently super acid."

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - kilosilvey - 01-28-2018


Neph was... not used to physical affection. The warmth of Kari's hand on their domed head was pleasantly distracting. And Xotll! What a delightful organic! Neph just sort of let her chatter on concernedly. Wait what, "Xotll. I really do enjoy... Rueful: And she's gone. I would have prefered some exotic isotopes"

"Frustrated: This is going to give me some kind of complex. Meatsacks being more durable or competent or downright spooky than me. Acid drinking weirdos. That said, I can infiltrate damn near any facility you care to mention. No one ever suspects the android," Neph nudges Kari with an elbow, "Conspiratorial: In the same way that everyone probably thinks the symmetrical waif in the dress is harmless too."

Neph absently rubs the shoulder that Kari was hanging onto before getting spooked, "Patience: Kari. I'm not asking to touch your brain, or do anything so crude as probe you," They lay their palm on the bar top, "Earnest: just to hold your hand. I understand that physical contact is a bonding exercise among meatsa... organics and I find the warmth to be pleasant. Wry: Besides. If I do anything unpleasant you have my permission to throw that Krotazi murder beverage on me"

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 01-28-2018

"In my defense," Kari said with a somewhat-faked grin. "Most people want to probe me. It's like a running theme in my life."

He eyed the hand resting on the table with vague apprehension. "I absolutely will throw acid on you if provoked," he warned idly. "Won't I, Xotll?"

"Yes," Xotll replied from where she stood focusing on preparing a mixed drink for a robot with no mouth. "Kari enjoys throwing people's drinks at them and said a bunch of times how much he wanted to try it with Grilka's wine."

"Okay that was a bit too much detail."

"Sorry!"

Kari glanced back at the hand and sighed. "Okay, but I'm mostly doing this in the firm comfort that no one as scared of Grilka as you are is going to fuck up eir boy toy in eir favorite bar in front of eir bartender." No one would probably do that, period, but especially not someone who looked around in terror every single time Grilka came up in conversation.

He took a long few swallows from his drink and then put his hand down on Neph's. It was a bit awkward, given their varying numbers of digits, but he figured it out. Nothing happened immediately, but he couldn't help snorting. "This is seems pretty gay, bro," he said in a joking voice an octave lower than his normal one. Probably no one within hearing range would get it, but that was okay. He joked for his own amusement.

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - kilosilvey - 01-28-2018


Neph lets out a burbling staticky sigh, "Gently: I promise to be nice. But I want you to tell me if anything makes you uncomfortable. And I'm starting to tell from your tone when you're joking. Even if I don't get the jokes. At all. Feel free to explain them to me or not as you prefer"

Gently clasping Kari's hand, Neph takes things slowly. They let their sensory strands trace the whorls and folds of palm, mapping Kari's skin in minute detail. Like all organics, They were a unique mesh of cells. Each bumb, callous and irregularity tells a story, if only Neph had the experience to figure it out. They hope the monotone of their voice can be a comfort, "See. That's not so bad, is it?"

"Admiration: You have fascinating hands by the way. I wish I could read the stories written in and by them." One digit at a time, Neph unclasps their hand, leaving Kari absolutely free to pull away at any time, "Serious: This may be a little strange. I'm leaving you free to disengage at any time, okay. But I promise it won't hurt and might be... unique. No. Pleasurable. Maybe. Certainly interesting"

There is a soft sensation of pins and needles as Neph's sensory net begins to emit small pulses of electricity, which quickly transitions into one of their favourite tricks. The sensation of warm, flowing water, tracing the path around and between the minute points of Neph's net, "Shy: It took me a while to master this trick you know. Generic pleasure, pain, heat and other pure sensations are child's play, but to accurately simulate a physical phenomenon requires so much information. I hope it's not too strange for you"

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RE: Just Business [Closed] - SolitareLee - 07-07-2018

"It'd probably mostly be handjobs and murder," Kari suggested. He was of the opinion that the only reason his hands might be fascinating was just the utter lack of callouses and the perfect manicure, both of which completely flew in the face of his actual lifestyle.

What could he say. He was very vain.

Kari had, despite Neph's constant reassurance, been expecting it to kind of hurt, like getting a shot. He had an expectation that the smaller the invasion, the worse it hurt; the difference between a pinprick and getting, say, shot or roughly sodomized by a giant snake alien. So an invasion on the cellular level, or close, it stood to reason would hurt the most. But he didn't actually realize Neph had already started until the... odd sensation, first like his skin had fallen asleep, and then...

"Oh, that's weird," he said. He was frowning, but mostly out of confusion. His instinct was to take his hand and look at it, but obviously that would ruin the point. "It's not bad," he clarified. "Just weird."

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