video, after the caverns

[fuck1ngusernam3]

 So, correct me if I'm wrong about this. 

[Hank doesn't bother with an intro, just starts right on in. The angle he's holding his wrist shows both his face and the stick he's dragging along the wall behind him, which has been in a fire at some point in the recent past and leaves a long black trail of ash over the wall as he walks.]

But when all you heroes trooped into the haunted caves under the mysterious freaky lake the communication plan was along the lines of, 'gee, if someone gets their feet ate off by some freaky bullshit I sure do hope they yell real loud so I can get there before they bleed out' right? I mean, I trust you guys know to make a post letting us all know if you need backup, but what if this- [Here the screen shakes as Hank wiggles his wrist, indicating the watch] -gets busted, or stolen, or whatever? 

I don't know, I was just thinking, next time a bunch of us, or just anyone, goes into something that might get bad there should be some kind of post stuck to the top of our feed that we could all check, just something like this-

[He stops walking, still talking as he starts to scratch a little list in ash onto the wall beside him.]

Hey, I wonder how little Suzy's doing. Oh, she checked in an hour ago, she's probably fine.

[He writes Suzy on the wall, and a checkmark next to her name.]

How about JimBob the Murder Bot? Oh, he hasn't checked in for about seven hours, I should take someone to go look for him.

[Next to JimBob the Murder Bot he doodles a little skull. Sorry Jimbo, it's hard out there for a figurative probably-dead robot. Better luck next time.]

Or maybe you guys would rather do some kinda daily role call like in school or, hell, maybe it's just more fun to lone wolf your way through all this world saving shit, what do I know. Decide amongst yourselves. I might be around, I might not. Just thought I'd throw this out there. I'm gonna go eat. 

Comments

[fuck1ngusernam3]

Stuff about...

[He pauses, thinking about how to say it, and throws himself back onto the part of the bed Sumo hasn't claimed, scooting back to lean against the wall.]

You, I guess. Just you. Your crazy weird freaky shit. I mean, I like a good long existential crisis as much as the next guy but if you try to tell me anything else about your uh, personal life I'm going to start sending you my therapy bill.

[While he was talking Sumo's been shifting around to set his head on Hank's legs - well, maybe his knees, technically, but a head that size kind of covers most of the bottom half of both his legs. The camera shifts to show Sumo again as Hank reaches out to run a hand slowly over Sumo's fur, murmuring to himself.]

Thanks bud.

[sunborne]

[ day’s confused expression soon crumples up into a scowl, something about the words rankling him. ]

I’m not freaky. [ that's the only thing he's going to say on this matter. if the man doesn't want to talk about it than fine. daylight won't be talking about it too, seeing that no one is going to be having a fun time with this topic.

... directly, at least. daylight no- ]

I don’t know why you seem to be taking it so badly, mister. Others here have been handling it well. Like Connor and Akira and Miss Jing and the rest in the Circle. They're- They're taking this okay.

[ and miss jing is from a much, much earlier era too so. ]

[fuck1ngusernam3]

Well, great! That's wonderful! Thanks for telling me how much better than me everyone is at settling in here in coma hallucinationville. But if you're saying there's something there to take okay in the first place, then you're pretty much admitting that you're freaky. Sorry kid, but it's true. Have you looked in a mirror lately? You expect me to talk to a walking kid's cartoon and act like this is something that should be happening, like I'm not losing my fucking mind? Nah. Can't do that.

[Hank looks at his bottle, tapping it against his knees. When he said he needed to try to get drunk to deal with this - ie, someone looking inexplicably not human in his general vicinity - he meant it.]

The sooner you accept it, the better off you'll be. Isn't that what they say?

[sunborne]

... [ daylight stares down at the device for a few seconds, his optics flickering from what seems to be distress and shock what had been just said to him. slowly, but surely, his face screws up and up and up with more emotion until-

he bursts into noisy 'tears' and the sobs undeniable as he begins to cry there and then.

and while he may not be able to cry in the conventional sense - there's no tears running down his face, doesn't seem like he's capable of doing that - but it's clear he's distressed and upset now, genuinely so. the screen suddenly and violently swirls about as daylight covers his face and continues to sob, the sound ragged and hurt.

clearly hank's words hit home. ]

[fuck1ngusernam3]

What?

[Hank holds up a hand, palm toward the screen, and whether he means it as a 'stop this shit right now' gesture or a placating one, even he's not sure.]

Look, don't- What- What the fuck...

[That last part he murmurs to himself, staring at the screen where the - yeah, the kid's cartoon, that part wasn't wrong - where the fucking living cartoon is bawling its eyes out right in front of him. The kneejerk guilt he feels doesn't do a damn thing for the dislocation, the sense of wrongness that talking to things that can not exist stirs up in him, it doesn't even slow it down. It just puts a new spin on it; can you feel guilt for hurting the unreal feelings of an unreal, hallucinatory thing?

Yeah, it turns out. Yeah.

Hank looks at the screen for a long couple seconds. Then, you know what, he takes a long pull from his bottle, gasps as it burns down his throat, tries to focus more on the burn than what's coming out of his watch, and feels a teeny, minuscule smidgen more stable.]

Look, uh, if it was - what a part was it that, uh- I mean, you're not that-

[He is, though. He is that. Hank regroups. He tries again.]

Look, just cause you're the freakiest thing I met so far doesn't mean, uh- I mean, I met a guy today who can turn into a fuckin robot lion and fly around like, on little jetpacks or something, I guess, so he's at least as freaky as you are uh, half the time. The lion half.

Shit, what was it that even set you off? It wasn't even that bad, what I said, was it? I didn't even say anything.

[sunborne]

[ rip poor hank. he just wanted to drink and pass out for a little while.

for a few seconds, daylight’s crying only worsens. it seems he's beginning to frantically scrub at his optics, if the sudden, jerky motions that his device is recording can be believed.

but, mercifully, the crying lessens. there's an occasional hiccup and a sniffle but- it seems like daylight isn't in hysterics anymore.

he finally pulls his servos from his face to look back down at the device. there are no tears running down daylight's face - thank goodness, too, since that would look a little eerie - but there's no denying he looks upset. the glow of his optics are dim, so dim they're almost. ]

I’m not— I’m not a freak. [ that seems to be the thing that sticks with him the most, the hiccups getting in the way of his talking. ] I'm Daylight and I'm— I'm Daylight and I'm—

[ he sniffles again, a warning for another possible crying fit. ]

[fuck1ngusernam3]

[Hank cuts in, hurriedly.]

Yeah, yeah, you're Daylight and you're - you're great! You're, uh...

[Compliments, god, Hank sucks at compliments, he's always avoided the hell out of those kid androids and there's more than one fucking reason for that, the relevant one being that the kid gloves he used to be maybe okay at using on people don't really fit so well anymore and he just doesn't want to deal with robot tears, like, at all. And this whatever the fuck kind of robot it is needs those kid gloves, boy does it ever. God, compliments, Hank doesn't have time to figure something out, the first thing that comes into his head will have to do.]

You're more than meets the eye! [Oh, god. Fuck, just go with it.] You're- you're really, uh... polygonal! Just like a transformer ought to be. And, uh. Shiny. I can almost see my reflection in your, uh-

[Oh god. Would a crying robot be worse than hearing this come out of his mouth? Hank's not sure. Hank's having doubts. Hank's just going to take a big drink from this bottle right here, okay? Yeah. Cool. This is fine.]

[sunborne]

[ congratulations, hank!

despite all odds being stacked against you - and with how dangerously close it seems for day to simply burst into noisy tears again - somehow and someway, what you said towards the large metal teenage robot is working.

thought not because the compliments are flattering him. if anything, the more day listens to hank speak, the more and more he looks confused by what is being said.

it gets to the point daylight forgets about the urge to cry, now in favour of staring at hank like's the stranger between the two of them. his helm begins to tilt to the side, as if that will help him understand hank better. (and, spoiler alert, no. it doesn't. it does keep him from focusing on how unhappy he had been a few seconds ago, at least?

small victories?)]

I'm sorry but- [ he grimaces, unhappy with how rough he sounds there. he's quick to reset his vocoder, shooing away the built up of static and white noise with a mimic of how someone would clear their throat. ] I'm sorry but I'm a... I'm a what?

[fuck1ngusernam3]

You're a- You're- [Well, shit.] Aren't you? My- It used to come on TV all the time, you know- [He adopts a little sing song voice long enough to say the line right] 'robots in disguise', I kinda feel like I'd uh, recognize a transformer in my sleep. I mean. How did you even get designed that way if you're not based on - you know - that whole... thing?

[This is terrible. What is this even. What is happening.]

[sunborne]

[ okay.

this is shaping up to be the weirdest conversations he’s ever had.

and he had late night conversations with dialup in the past. ]

Um… [ he frowns, face scrunching up in utter puzzlement, but hey! he's no longer crying. some wins need to be taken.

no matter how weird it's gotten. ] I never heard of them before, mister. I’m half-Galateion. Not a— [ what did he say? ] —a Transformer. I'm 'designed' like this because of my parents. Galateions don't look humanoid at all. I got my shape from mom.

Soooo... Are these Transformers, um, mechanoids too? [ er. right. some terms might not exist. ] Are they robots too?

[ who are in disguise, it seems??? what a back-and-forth. ]

[fuck1ngusernam3]

Great, so an intergalactic roomba fucked a-

[Nope! Nope. Redirect. Maybe an intergalactic roomba did fuck a human and out this guy popped, but we're not saying that! Hank takes a quick drink, cutting himself off, coughs and wipes at his mouth, and holds an index finger up toward the screen. Wait, wait before you react to that okay? God, please. No more weird tearless crying.]

I mean, uh, yeah. Yeah, they’re uh, they’re very special robots that uh, everyone loves. They’ve been on TV for uh... since around the year I was born, I guess. Do you know what TV is? Do spacebots even uh, do TV?