synflux | ( open ) may catch-all!

WHO: Lae'zel and you!
WHAT: Driving school, asking for hugs to get something to download, etc.
WHERE: Around base and the city!
WHEN: Early May
WARNINGS: None!

I. traffic school

[ It might be easy to assume that due to Lae'zel's hardass, soldier like mentality, that she might think sitting down to study might be a waste of her time... but that can't be farther from the truth. For a few days at the beginning of May, the only thing she seems to be doing in communal areas is read — a closer look would tell you that she's studying traffic laws. Very seriously.

Also of note is that she goes out of her way to print out materials, or find materials that are printed... because she hates using the implant. As a result, some of these traffic rules might be out of date, more akin to the 2020s than the 2300's. It's fine. She gathers up her flashcards and taps them in order on the table pointedly at you, bringing the index cards closer like they're about to peeked at. ]

Did you need something, or do you simply lack the common sense not to stare at others?

[ she's very busy learning that green means go right now!! ]

II. your uber is here

[ After getting sufficient lessons in traffic rules, Lae'zel can be found out in the city with her brand new motorbike at her side — glistening red and spotless. Has she given it a nice polish on her own? Why yes, yes she has.

Unluckily for you, you happen to be leaving the base just as she's about to go for another test drive. ]

You. [ Yes, you!! She tilts her chin at you, as if beckoning you along. ] You will aid me in testing controlling this vehicle with two people on it.

[ Yeah... she is no longer asking 🔫 There's a practical reason for this, because she thinks there'll be plenty of instances where she'll need to drive two people during missions. But you'll get something out of it: ]

In return, I'll take you where you need to go. You're leaving to go somewhere, yes?

[ Maybe you need a ride to work? To a restaurant? To a store? Lae'zel will get you there!! Maybe. ]

III. huggin time

[ sometimes you download the style upgrade, and it won't finish unless you hug someone.... but also, sometimes you don't really know what a """hug""" is even supposed to be. The implant explains it to her (it's an embrace of some kind??), but not in great detail.

Maybe you and Lae'zel were about to hit up the training room together, or maybe you're simply at the cafeteria enjoying a meal together — but she seems very distracted, her eyes lit up from numerous attempts to try to block the pop up from her implant. Hissed through her sharp teeth: ]

Tsk'va!

[ She curses in her native tongue, brow twitching. Unprompted, without ever explaining what she's going through: ]

Give me a hug. Quickly, just get it over with.

[ WHATEVER THAT MEANS ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Winter had his own struggles with the fashion implant, so he might understand if she bothered to explain literally at all. But instead, all he gets is a brusque demand for a hug over lunch, and he looks up from his seafood ramen (he has so much seafood ramen) quizzically. ]

I enjoy your company just as much as the next person, Lae’zel– [ perhaps a bit more, because he’s awfully tolerant of her… githy-ness. ] –but I didn’t take you as the type to get touchy-feely.

[ That elicits a frustrated growl out of her, fist clenching around her poor spoon that she's been using to eat her soup. It may or may not bend a bit underneath her grip. ]

Don't be simple. It's this damn implant. [ She hisses, clenching her teeth and flicking her eyes this way and that, clearly trying to clear something obscuring her vision from the virtual screen. ] There's no end to the faults of these pitiful things, it seems. It says I must, for a file to be "downloaded" correctly.

[ Please give him a moment. He eyes that spoon for a second, as if weighing whether or not laughing would be in his best interest right now. He settles on a bit of a smirk instead of outright guffawing. ]

Your implant is demanding you hug someone? Just what are you trying to download?

[ Is it the fashion thing? Please tell him it's the fashion thing. ]

[ winter in this moment ]

I was advised to download the clothing upgrade.

[ She leers at his smirk, answering through clenched teeth — it's not like she cares that much about what she wears, but... if she's honest, the idea of being able to wear something familiar to home, even if only in a hologram, was appealing. Not that she intends to admit that out loud. ]

Or must I clarify what that is as well for you?

[ help that clip ]

No, I’m quite aware of what it is.

[ Motions to his… all of him. This isn’t a LILITH fit, for sure. ]

Mine glitched on me as well when I attempted the download, so you have my sympathy.

[ Unsure if being stuck in rainbow tie-dye is better or worse than needing a hug, but he still moves from where he’s sitting to slide into a seat next to her, arms open. Bring it in, Lae’zel. ]

[ Well, reassuring as it is to know that his glitched as well, it doesn't really help with the whole... Performing the Hug™ bit. For the first time, she seems a bit stiff in his presence, waiting a beat too long before (half-heartedly) mirroring his posture. ]

And we're jut to embrace like this?

[ The implant didn't explain much, but she's trying!! ]

[ He quirks a brow at her attempt at getting into Hug Position. ]

Not much of a hugger, I take it?

[ One of her brows raises, seeming haughty. ]

My kind do not, as one companion of mine put it, "cuddle." We reserve or energy for far more.... productively pleasurable acts.

[ Like fighting. And like the obvious implication, which she doesn't elaborate further on, leaving the joke to hang in the air with no further acknowledgment. ]

But I have seen that that is not the case for all peoples.

I admit I know very little about your people. I'd be interested to learn more, some day, if you care to share it.

[ And so would a certain space octopus he knows. ]

That aside, do as I do. Ready?

[ And once she is, he'll give her an embrace. Winter is a great hugger, thank you very much, so Lae'zel has found herself a decent teacher for this skill she only needs literally right this moment. ]

[ She hesitates to reciprocate the hug, because — well. She's honestly not sure what she's supposed to do, aside from circle her arms back around him. The way her hands come around to rest at the center of his back is awkward in a way she never seems to show, her body tense as he embraces her. One gets the sense she might be sort of embarrassed. ]

That depends on what it is you'd like to know.

[ She grumbles out, voice quieter because of his proximity. Very lightly, her chin rests on his shoulder. ]

...How long are we to stay like this?

Whatever you care to tell.

[ When she rests her chin on him, it’s probably a good thing that the way he smiles a little goes unseen. Awkward as she is, she’s settling into it well enough. Perhaps she’ll even learn to relax, someday. ]

What does your implant tell you? Is it fixed?

[ There's a pause while she looks around at the various implant related pop-ups in her vision, trying to bring the downloading bar back front and center. With a sigh: ]

The progress is moving again.

[ She won't say that means it's "fixed," necessarily.... but it did do something. ]

Don't move until it finishes.

[ Could she have asked... yes.... but it comes far more naturally just to tell him to do that, keeping her arms firmly around him so he can't escape, even if he tries it. ]

Ah... very well, then.

[ He was afraid they'd have to keep on hugging in order for the progress to continue. Winter isn't one to embarrass easily, if at all, but he does have to wonder what kind of look Lae'zel is giving the people who pass by their table. ]

So... how are you settling in?

[ Time for small talk while she can't escape. ]

( open ) may catch-all!

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