2023-03-19: A Haroic Meeting
- Cast: Banagher Links, Christina MacKenzie, Ujico Issa
- Where: HaroCon
- Date: U.C. 0097 03 19
- Summary: Three members of a Haro forum arrange to meet at the ever-auspicious HaroCon. It turns out... they all already know each other?!
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
It was foretold in the ancient texts (a forum post). The signs have revealed themselves (Fresh Hot Crepes, emblazoned on a vinyl banner). The promised hour is nigh...!
Ujico is going to eat a crepe and drink sodas with Banagher and HomeRunHopper from the Haroics forums! She even brought Apple, who does not eat crepes or drink sodas but who would certainly like to participate otherwise, she's sure. Ujico checks her watch to make sure she isn't late, tapping a toe on the food court floor.
Inspired by some of the cosplayers she's seen the last couple of times she's attended the convention, she dug into her closet for something she doesn't get the chance to wear often: a black tanktop underneath an artfully-shredded Haro-green overshirt, light colored blue jeans, and white boots. She did /not/ bring the fat snail bag today because it needs a break. There's a messenger bag slung across her body, covered in patches and pins. 'Save the Space Whales!' 'Gnar Kill' and 'Todd Rides the Xaku' are some of the visible ones.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Bobbing through the crowd, a bright-green Haro 'sings' the theme song of his favorite game. The little companion robot is held carefully in the arms of one Banagher Links. Brown hair is streaked with fading hints of green, covered by a significantly fluffy hoodie hood.
Banagher has given the crepe stand quite a lot of business in this month of HaroCon. He knows right where to go, though cutting through the crowd takes a while. Once he gets close enough to Ujico, Haro stops singing, raising his winglets high in alert.
"Apple! Apple!" He chirps, thrilled.
"We must be getting close." The young man smiles. "Thanks, Haro."
Haro is right! It's only a moment more before Banagher can see Ujico through the crowd. He hurries over to her, waving with a bright smile. It seems being at HaroCon does a lot to cut through the constant miasma of exhaustion and fear surrounding Banagher.
...and his hair looks a lot nicer than it usually does. Huh.
"Ujico! Hey!" He calls, as he makes it to her side. "It's great to see you! How has the con been so far? And any sign of HomeRunHopper?"
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
Christina MacKenzie, screenname HomeRunHopper, checked her the top corner of her phone. Wait. Doubletake. It was already this time?! She digitally dogeared the Gen-4 documentation she was perusing and thanked the SUN personnel for their time, bowing before hurrying off to the center's food court. Rushed out of the Villa yesterday, without even her tattered bag over her shoulder, she had resorted to buying a marked-up Sheryl backpack...normally it should be big enough to fit at least MAIRO (That is, "Fit", not "Sustain the Excessively Reinforced Mass Of"), but instead it is crammed absolutely brimming with a bounty of SUN-branded boxes. The longest of which still sticks out between the zippers, and the sharp, modern visual design advertises its cutting-edge contents.
"Hey, you two, leave that floor model to their business, you're frightening them!"
XAIRO and MAIRO were curiously warbling at a strange green Haro(?) with a glossy red underside(??), wondering why it seemed so offput and standoffish so as to not warble back(???). Reluctantly, they turned and rolled back towards Chris, already well on her way.
She makes it to the food court, her Haros still dodging feet trying to keep up. She scans around for the appointed landmarks, running close and double checking the messages of the meetup thread. It was supposed to be...Huh? Well, that's a familiar face at least!
"Oh, Ujico, you're here too? And--" she almost defaults to the real name of an individual in disguise, but catches herself. Quick thinking is her forte...usually, anyway (Maybe not this time). "--and mister Plantain Tether, too! I didn't realize you would both be here. How are you? I'd love to chat, but I'm supposed to meet some friends, by the crepe stand, under the banner with the purple..."
She trails off, considering the evidence. Friends. Haros. Hoodies. Colorful communication. Crepes and sodas. Purple Haro Banner.
It's the tension spanner on the toolcart, hiding right in front of her face again, isn't it.
"It's you two?!"
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Apple is sitting snug and safe inside of Ujico's bag until Haro spots her IFF frequency, or whatever other mysterious Haro-sense activates. Ujico hears a chime and flips open the flap, retrieving the toy. "Haro," Apple alerts, "Haro." Normally this would not be a very useful alert (they're /surrounded/ by Haros!) but context provides Ujico with all the information she needs. "Oh, they're almost here, huh? Thanks."
Sure enough, Banagher's here! She lifts a hand to wave back. ...It's really good to see him feeling better. While Ujico hasn't spent a /ton/ of time with him since the Institute (and most of it was VERTEX messages) he'd looked... pretty ragged, a lot. But just like Ujico, being around his special interest seems to bring some of the life back to him.
"Hey. It's good to see you too! I've been having a really good time. Your panel was great, by the way!" She only spent what she budgeted for and resisted (mostly) the siren song of 'just one more souvenir'. "I haven't seen them yet. They're a really technical user, like you, so maybe they're older. Like, super old."
Ujico takes a minute to imagine up someone that bears a vague resemblance to Dr. Light. ...Maybe not /that/ old...
Someone rushing towards them, a pair of Large-Scale Haros in tow, resolves into the shape of someone familiar. "Chris! Of course you're here too--
Plantain Tether. Ujico freezes in the middle of raising a hand to point helpfully. No way.
No way. Not fair! "You can't-- Christiiiihiehieheeheeheeeeeee--!"
She's almost double over laughing. Ujico might need a minute.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Someone else approaches! Banagher turns around to greet the familiar voice, and... Wait, he knows this person. From the Villa, and he's heard her voice in battle against the Banshee. What did she say her name was?
Plantain Tether
Dumbfounded, Banagher stares at Chris, mouth open. He doesn't look offended, more... Absolutely shocked that another variation on his name and "banana" was still possible. After years in public school, he'd thought he'd heard them all...
"C--chris, right?" He manages, after a long few seconds of silence. "Wait, are you--"
A gift for a spacenoid who likes pink, has trouble with Manhunters, loves fashion and loves Haros.
A blink of golden eyes. "It's for Leina. All this time it was for Leina!"
Any hard feelings over his new nickname vanish immediately. Banagher gets that soft, sweet look in his eyes, the one reserved solely for his girls.
...but then Ujico starts giggling, and Banagher hides behind Haro, flushing in embarrassment.
"Oh no! Oh no!" Haro chimes, keyed-in to Banagher's distress.
From behind the green robot, Banagher mutters, "It's fine, Haro, don't worry."
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
She points wildly, aggressively. "thelastHaro! The hoodie! I should have known!! --And you!" More violent hand gestures. "Whenever I see you you're always wearing something new! Of course you know how to convey with fashion!!"
Chris is absolutely stunned that her attempt to be familiar and conscientious and covert has gone so incredibly awry. "I-I thought!" She quiets her voice a little. "I thought I shouldn't say your name out loud in public!" is hissed as a whisper. Too late, though. Covert ops are completely blown. Plantain Tether. Really? Kayser Soze would be disappointed.
Ah, but, he doesn't know her name. ("That's right, I... Twice, I couldn't...") Not only in Sri Lanka, unable to comfort him after Wira's passing, but after the Banshee's other pilot disabled the Unicorn, she... Once she'd dispelled His spectre and pulled herself out of her cockpit she'd gone to meet him, properly, without any body armor or fears in the way. She saw him while he was still in sick bay, fussing over Audrey, and still struggling with his own psychic wounds and visions. She'd watched for a while, then run away when he moved towards his quarters. Why did she run? She still isn't sure.
"Yeah, that's right, I'm Chris, Christina MacKenzie, Sayla's...friend, and--yes--HomeRunHopper..." she scratched her cheek a little pensively. "I used to play baseball way back when..." by way of explanation. "Y-yeah... It's for Leina. She means a lot to me, so thank you both for...helping me figure out all the problems. She turns to show her backpack. "Look! They let me get all this half off because I'm a contractee!!
XAIRO and MAIRO bounce, each asking "For XAIRO?" and "For MAIRO?" a few times, as Chris hushes them.
"No! Give it a rest, you two!"
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
"Chriihiiis you caaaan't," Ujico wheezes. Her stomach hurts from laughing! But (eventually) she finally gets it back under control, standing up straight again - though her face is still flushed and eyes bright. "Eheh..."
"Heart rate up," Apple peeps. "Heart rate up." Ujico shushes her with a cuddle - though it's a little hard, mini Haros aren't as huggable as the larger ones. ...Hmmm.
Is, is it really weird to wear different clothes so much? Clothes are just a costume, and costumes are used to communicate - is it really that big a deal?
Wait, this is coming from the woman who wore the same normal suit for nearly two decades. Chris's value judgements are therefore abnormal. Ujico relaxes and marvels at the backpack full of goodies. "But look at all the cool stuff you got!"
"Hey," she pipes up, brain swerving back to her previous train of thought before she can completely forget about it, "You two are both really smart, how would you go about letting a Haro swap bodies? Would it be super complicated, like having to open them up and swap all the, the chips and stuff out, or could it just remote over? Ride the Wi-fi!" Ujico declares, striking what she thinks is a heavy metal pose (it looks kind of like an Ultraman Pose, if one had only ever seen Ultraman on a bootleg poster somewhere).
"...But don't worry about it, I'm glad to try to help." She's... she's still posing-- oh no okay, she stood up normally again.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"It's okay, I understand." Banagher lowers Haro, having gotten his embarrassment /mostly/ under control. "Thanks for keeping it in mind, I -- really don't want to cause any trouble for the convention."
Ujico has a question, and Banagher thinks for just a moment. "Oh, that's not hard at all! If you make an image backup of your Haro's memory, you can easily transfer it to another model. Just like switching your data to a new phone. Of course, unless the internals are identical, the Haro will have to do some learning and adapting, even with all the same data."
Sayla's friend, that's a good sign. And Leina was very comfortable with Chris. Banagher's smile returns. "It's nice to finally meet you. Thank you so much for your help -- well, you know when. Let's go get some crepes!"
Ujico is still posing. Banagher wonders if he's supposed to pose with her for a second. No, she looks way cooler than he could if he tried it.
The little stall has a line, but thankfully not too long of one. Banagher takes a look into Chris' backpack as they wait, his eyes lighting up. "Woah! No way? I'm so jealous, that's amazing! You really got some good stuff -- even the next-gen chips were half-off?!"
Haro flaps his winglets, lifting out of Banagher's arms and hovering over to XAIRO and MAIRO. "Hello! Hello! Who are you? Who are you?"
Soon enough, they reach the front of the life. "I'd like hazlenut-chocolate spread, please." Banagher orders, politely. "And whatever these ladies would like is on me."
"Again, huh? Quite the ladies' man." The crepe-maker quips, and Banagher blushes again.
"No, it's not like /that/--!"
The chef has already turned away, and Banagher shakes his head. It doesn't matter. Thankfully, crepes only take a few seconds to make... What will Ujico and Chris choose to order?
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
Ujico is right. Chris is absolutely not normal. Chris's normal suit was absolutely not normal. Thankfully it's been finally, rightfully retired, due to the generosity (and deep, deep, well-placed insistent concern) of the CSB financir. Today she's just wearing what she had on when Leina voluntold her to get to HaroCon. A pair of jeans that Sayla replaced whenever they got worn down (thus distinguishing them from Chris's own blue jeans), a slightly paint-speckled camisole, under a one-size-too-large printed tee with a classical Gundam face on it. Her tan field jacket she left in the overnight accommodations when she came to the con today! All the machinery and people made even the temperature controlled Ring station a bit toasty for that. Hard to say what it all communicates other than 'wrench monkey was Strongly Encouraged to be social', but maybe Ujico is more fluent in their language than Chris.
She nods firmly at Banagher's explanation of Shell swaps, before launching into her own think-aloud... "A different body... Well, Uji, if it's important for the Haro to coordinate both bodies or switch often, that might be a more complex solution... you could craft a new Shell but without any Flash cores...set it up like some kind of high-complexity accessory, in that case, that the Haro can interface with wirelessly... though in certain Minovsky densities you could lose signal packets... well, options there would be wired connections, but that might require moving both bodies at once, and that would put a severe burden on the RAM, particularly on the main body... and admittedly, I don't know what long term impacts that would have on their sense of Proharoception..." She pauses to look at Banagher, adding, "Though, you mean your Apple, right? We could maybe avoid that by having the smaller body dock inside the larger one with direct circuit interface? Ba, um, Plantain, would that confuse a Haro's sense of its own size?"
"Ahaha... more that buying the whole setup *and* doing the all-day expo, *and* namedropping the Foundation," she winces, not proud of having had to play that card, "with all that, they cut most of the secondary parts well below half... I don't think even I could have gotten away with discounting just the chips." But... "...But I would have found any way possible to pay in full, to make this for her." She shrugs at Banagher, certain that he understands. That young woman, she's one of those people that takes so much on herself, it's easy to want to make her load lighter. And from playing back the Phenex incident's public records, Chris knows Ujico also has people she'd stop at nothing to protect.
"Scorpion and mango, please, courtesy of the esteemed young gentleman," she teases. "Eh? That's not... Fine, ah, peanut butter and white chocolate, if you please..." Well, maybe that first part wasn't a tease. She's kind of pouting.
"XAIRO, XAIRO, lift, lift, careful, careful! Save! Save!" XAIRO replies, tittering proudly. MAIRO, for their part, reports "MAIRO, MAIRO, Maintenance Assisting Independent Repair Operant! Fix Gundam! Catch fire!"
...It must be hard, MAIRO's life...
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
"...How does it know not to be in the old body anymore, though? Wouldn't you end up with two identical Haros? Or, or one Haro in two bodies?" But Chris seems to understand what Ujico is really asking for - even if it's kind of hard to follow along, she manages. "Oh yeah! I guess... like a coat. Or a [kigurumi], those... uh, hoodie pajamas." They get into the line for crepes, Ujico vibrating at a reasonable frequency. They're not here to talk about her own questions! But if she doesn't ask now she'll forget until like midnight or something when she's supposed to be sleeping, and then she'll forget again until NEXT midnight, and it might never get asked.
She still hasn't quite gotten used to having Apple around to help her remember things, yet. Except for the [grocery list]! Ujico and Apple are /nailing/ that one.
She turns her head to watch Haro meet MAIRO and XAIRO. They're really strong - she saw the data that Chris shared with Celestial Being after her onboarding. But she doesn't think she's supposed to say anything about it... Besides, it would be better to let Chris decide what to share. It's important not to talk for other people, her dad had had to remind her more than once.
"Wanna see. Wanna see." Apple pipes up, and hops down to bounce over along with Haro. "I'm Apple. I'm Apple." Ujico makes a noise and freezes in place for a moment before relaxing again - though it's kind of forced. It's okay! She's surrounded by Haros! And Haro is already her friend!
And then it is time to confront destiny. "Uh... mustard! And ham," she adds quickly. An all-mustard crepe would be pretty interesting, though... maybe she'll try one later. She stares a bit owlishly after the crepemaker when he makes a wrong guess. "...Wait, scorpion? You can eat that??" She turns that owlish gaze right onto Chris. "Is it good? Do Earthlings normally eat that?" Has she been missing out? She's never seen a recipe for scorpion--
"Apple. Apple." The little red mini replies, rocking back and forth, dwarfed by her industrial brethren (and Haro too, technically). "Remember. Remind."
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Banagher, at least, thinks Chris looks very nice. Any outfit that incorporates the RX-78-2 is a winner. For his own sake, he's wearing a HaroCon Staff shirt beneath his hoodie, and nicely-fitting jeans.
Chris offers a detailed explanation of the benefits and challenges of shell-hopping, and Banagher nods in support. "There are a lot of accessories you can put a Haro in to let it 'pilot' a bigger form, like lifters or loaders. It takes some adjustment time, but I'm sure you could do something similar with a large-model Haro... With some serious modding."
Hoodie pajamas on a Haro... Banagher is suddenly reminded of Yuliana's challenge to make a fuzzy little robot companion. He grins at the idea.
Proharoception... Banagher thinks it over. Is he really answering to Plantain now? "The ethics of essentially cloning a Haro do seem a little sketchy. Every one of them has a difference sense of self. Apple's pretty young still, so if she's allowed time to adjust, I bet she'd be able to handle it."
"But if she /doesn't/ take to it -- you have to be sure to stop the process right away and squash any bugs it introduces in her code." Ujico isn't the kind to abuse a Haro, but it has to be said!
Chris winces, and Banagher with her, hearing that lineup. "Wow, I was exhausted just preparing for my panel and helping Leina with the stage show... You're amazing, Chris. I'm glad you're able to take a break with us."
"Scorp--" Banagher echoes, eyes wide. Chris is hardcore, eating SCORPION on a CREPE. ...though Ujico isn't far behind. Mustard???
"You two are /way/ more adventurous than I am." He laughs. "Here I was, thinking Takuya was weird with his food tastes, and you're blowing him out of the water with one meal!"
Haro seems enamored with this little meeting of his own kind. "Wow! Wow! Heroes!" He bounces, waving his flaps. As Ujico worries over Apple, Haro seems to as well. Nudging the Mini-Haro, he scoops Apple up to balance on top of his green frame. "Protect Apple! Protect Apple!"
The crepe chef returns with their orders, strange though they may be, and Banagher pays -- with a generous tip, hoping to avoid further teasing. Accepting it with a sly grin, they move on to the next customer.
"I think there's some tables over here..." Banagher leads the way, Haro bouncing after him, careful to keep Apple safe.
"Fix Gundam!" Haro chimes, as they arrive at the table. "Fix Gundam! Hands!"
True to form, Haro opens his flaps and wiggles two spindly arms, flexing tiny hands. "Open soda! Open soda!"
"That's our newest trick!" Banagher says, proudly, setting down the plates of food at the table. "It took one hundred-nine repetitions to master it, but Haro can open any standard-sized soda can now. He's extremely proud."
Banagher seems to be even prouder, really.
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
Chris gently steps closer to Ujico when the girl seems to flinch. She's not even aware of it, really, focused as she is on finding an appealing alternative to the sweet and savory REA specialty. Uji is barely in her peripheral vision while she's looking, but no matter. It's just a habit.
"I'm glad for the break... I was a little worried about taking time away from...well, you know. But. It feels better to do something. And...to be around, friends?" An upwards intonation, trying it out. Discovering new sides of people she's already met... It's nice! Still, though, she's in kind of a different place than her friends here... It's a bit odd even /without/ the extra detail that she's older than their ages combined.
Banagher is such a gentleman, carrying their food! Chris isn't appraising him, she's already accepted him, just... it's ever more clear how much the future has in store.
("Ah, so it /was/ Leina's play... I was worried when I heard her, but with you here too, I'm sure she'll be okay.")
"Eh? Adventurous? It's a pretty common street food in Ninh Ha, though? It's got kind of a...a shrimpy, savory taste, the sweet fruit balances it nicely." Chris tips her head to the side. "It makes it less annoying when they crawl into your boots to rest? At least you get a nutritious snack from the scare!" [This is normal to her. Pause on that for a second. This is a normal experience, in her eyes. Ujico, please be careful learning lessons from this woman...]
"XAIRO HERO, XAIRO HERO," it crows, giving a bold "BWOOP-WHOOP" that makes several passerby start looking around, as Chris frantically cuts her flat hand in front of her throat, glaring at the Haro to at least use its inside voice... XAIRO rocks backwards and settles for just quietly blooping, as it opens its flaps and shows off its crab claws instead, sulking a bit. Meanwhile...
The gunmetal flaps wave, but no limbs! "MAIRO use winch, wrench, crane, acetylene torch, scissor lift, Gundam hand... Fix Gundam. MAIRO...XXVIIth Boot. Fix Gundam. Pilot Gundam? MAIRO pilot Gundam. MAIRO Pilot Gundam!" It begins to hop, excited, but notices Haro's concern over Apple and calms itself down.
Chris smiles, a bit embarrassed still, but she offers her ginger ale to Haro to open for her. "Could you help me with this, little one?"
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Maybe she doesn't quite grok the 'forced outside' part of it (who wouldn't want to attend Harocon??) but given what Ujico already knows about Chris, she can make all the inferences necessary from her outfit. Artisan who didn't bring a change of clothes! It just makes Ujico more positive that not cosplaying was the correct choice. Even if yesterday's pirate was pretty cool-looking.
Scooped up, Apple suddenly experiences the wonder and majesty of being Tall. It's kind of a galaxy-brain moment for her, to be honest. "Wow! Wow!"
"I don't want to clone her. It'd just be kind of cool if she could be normal Haro-sized sometimes, too." She wants to hug her Haro too, okay, don't make her admit it out loud. Ujico is not ready to be that vulnerable yet! Even with Banagher and Chris!! "I don't have the technical background for this," she has to admit after giving it some more thought, but perks up again after being handed her crepe.
She's already got a mouth full of tangy goodness and pork when Banagher calls them adventurous. Okay, scorpion sure, but mustard...? "Mmf. Have you never had a savory one?" she asks. "They're really common!" Maybe in cookbooks or in Neo France, Ujico!
But if scorpion tastes like shrimp... "Then you could use it in a scorpion cocktail. If the flavor profile goes well with mango, how about mango and avocado? Like a shrimp tower, but scorpion...?"
Apple hops down off of Haro's, er, head? when the arms come out. "Arms," she echoes, possibly enchanted. "Arms!" Next thing you know she'll want teeny tiny arms of her own... "Claws! Winch!" Apple what are you learning over there??
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Banagher digs into his crepe with the gusto found solely in teenage boys.
"I think you'd be fine to go for that. And Chris and I've got your back! We could start a blueprint on my tablet, and probably find everything we need while the con is going..."
Banagher rummages in his backpack, pulling out a shiny-new pad, complete with electronic pencil. Wow!
"Koji Kabuto told me," He says, around bites. "It's important to rest, and to take time to do--" chomp "-- stupid, fun stuff. He was really serious about it. Even though there's so many horrible things right now, if we wear ourselves out with only work--" chomp, chomp "--we won't be ready when it's time to take action. We'll be ground down and exhausted."
Banagher looks up at Chris, a bit of hazlenut spread at the corner of his mouth. "So I think this is important. Spending time together. Talking about Haros." The young man's voice goes quiet. "Amuro Ray said... Haro got him through. Nobody would understand more than him."
Banagher idolizes the legendary pilot, it's obvious from the look in his eyes.
Golden eyes go wide at the description of scorpion dishes. "W--woah. I've never even /seen/ a scorpion. People really just... eat them?" Banagher laughs. "I can't imagine it. I guess I'd try it though, sure. I've had savory ones before."
Banagher startles at XAIRO's outburst. Chris' control over her companion is impressive, but -- wow. It makes sense a rescue Haro could have that much volume. Haro, supportively, makes his hands into 'claws' as well, clacking them in time with XAIRO.
"Pilot Gundam! Pilot Gundam!" Haro echoes, cheering. "Pilot Gundam!"
It's a regular chorus of Haro demands -- until Chris asks for help. With a triumphant-sounding beep-boop, Haro bounces over to Chris, extending those arms to take the ginger ale.
Electronic synapses fire. Components whirr. The can is lined up, the other hand extended...
Clk--pshhh...
"Success! Success!"
"Great job, Haro!" Banagher cheers. "All while balancing Apple, too!"
As if on cue, Apple hops down. Haro echoes her cry of "Claws!", making his little hands into crab-pincers again. He rocks back and forth, fully enriched.
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
"Scorpion...cocktail?" Well, she's thinking about it... Actually, Chris is lost to both of them for a moment or two as she rifles through her memory, trying to place the connection it reminded her of. Eventually she has to search it on her handheld console, but she finds it! "I...once had a drink, someone made me a...oh, what did he call it... A 'Barbacoa Mezcal'? It's a--" She pauses, remembers very suddenly that she isn't the same age as her interlocutors. "--ahem. An adult drink. It's citrus and vegetables," (and a rich smoky liquor), "ginger and chili pepper, and you put, what, beef jerky in it?"
For the talk of savory, though, she's enjoying her sinfully sweet white chocolate drizzle, munching on it and thinking, contemplating... She holds up her phone. "Ujico, you have my direct contact, right? You can call me any time and I'll help you with Haroptimizing. I'd be happy to help a friend." A little more confident, this time...
Haro shows off his wonderful new skill! Eager, and deft...
"How wonderful!" Chris takes her soda, sipping it, "...And all this from undefined force parameters developed experientially?? Haro, what an amazing little one you are! You could teach my partners a thing or two..." she glances at her wayward children for a moment, MAIRO still eager to Pilot Gundam. "...about restraint."
Amuro Ray... Even without Chris's own war record inexorably orbiting around the legend, Amuro was a...difficult name to think about. Rather, it was impossible to hear his name without her mind wandering to Sayla. But, as Banagher said, it was important to set that aside for now. Be with friends, relax, eat, nerd out, talk about Haros.
"You're right. Speaking of Haros... wasn't there a project you wanted to discuss with me, Plantain? I mean, I still wanted to share my /unofficial/ opinion on flexible wearables, but I think you mentioned something about childcare?"
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
"It's true," Ujico nods, in between bites. "It's really important to our mental health to have a good work-life balance. If you burn yourself out, it takes a long time to recover. And you can't just 'rest', either. You need [good things]." She thinks about it for a moment while prying apart the outer layers of her crepe to peek inside. The ham to mustard ratio is exquisite...
"Koji Kabuto was right. We have to have fun, too. And participate in social activities. Enjoy our family groups. --Haros included, of course." Satisfied by her new understanding of enhanced condiment ratios, Ujico puts her crepe back together and eats more of it.
Apple's enrichment levels (and social needs) are currently optimal. She is Learning. +_+ Will she, one day, also wish to Pilot Gundam...?!
All Ujico really knows about Amuro Ray is what any PLANTS child learns in school, and what was laid out in 'Harostory' - and that focused more on his contributions to early Haro popularity and what modification styles he pioneered. Of course some paragraphs were devoted to his Haro's contributions during the One Year War, but...
It's hard to think of Amuro the War Hero and not see the Haro Lover instead, after reading that and watching the short film interview. It's really weird. "Our Haros are with us all the time, right? They'll know the most about us, eventually." Like a smartphone, but less creepy! She nods to Chris. "Yeah, from earlier." She means the Ptolomaios, but isn't supposed to talk about it in front of other people. Or 'in public at all', really. Even if Banagher wouldn't blab! "I'll definitely take you up on it - and you too, uh, Plantain." Don'tlaughdon'tlaughdon'tlaugh.
She blinks a bit owlishly at the mention of childcare.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Banagher watches curiously as Chris searches for answers on the scorpion cocktail. He's not particularly interested in adult drinks, but this one sounds particularly weird. "Are you really going to drink something like that? It sounds... intense."
"Koji's right about a lot of things. He's so cool." Banagher says, with a bright smile. Koji's also kinda dumb about some things, but Banagher's not about to say that out loud.
"Here's my contact info, too." Banagher rattles off his VERTEX handle to the two women -- unsurprisingly, it's the same as the one he uses on Haroics. "It'll be good to have a second and third pair of eyes for some projects! If you both don't mind."
Haro practically wiggles with pride from Chris' praise. "Hands! Hands! Teach!"
Banagher grins. "It seems more likely your two would teach Haro how to scale walls or something. They're so talented -- and their personalities are so vibrant. You must've put your whole heart into raising them."
"I think Haro probably knows me as well as anyone, even Leina." Banagher says, thoughtfully. Considering he has a Newtype Bond with his girlfriend... That's putting a lot of trust in a little companion robot. "He's definitely a family member."
"Oh yeah!" Banagher pulls out his datapad, after finishing his crepe in one glorious CHOMP. "One of my friends is having a baby soon. Her name is Eight. She's a captain, so her job takes a lot of effort, and I was thinking: what if we can make a Haro nursemaid? Of some kind."
Swipe, swipe, tap tap tap. Banagher displays a rough set of plans -- making a Haro soft enough not to hurt a clumsy baby. Attachments for feeding, changing, and carrying a child safely. It goes on and on... He's thought of quite a bit on his own!
"I'm after more ideas. I don't know much about babies. And I'd appreciate help with construction and training, too. Nine months isn't a lot of time to get a Haro to have such delicate motor control."
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
"...Ujico..." She thinks about the work-life balance of everyone at the Villa, herself included. There's. A lot to unpack there. For now, let's just put the entire suitcase in the closet. "I'll have to message you two for 'fun social activities' more often."
"The Barbacoa wasn't bad... Pretty good, really, but I don't think I'd ever ask for one if I'm choosing a drink. Koji is a wonderful guy, I've read all about his projects and heard his name so much around the Villa--I'm excited to work with him, finally." She doesn't think about what. Is this that work-life balance thing? Now she's self-conscious about it.
"Oh no...please don't let my Haros become a bad influence. They're.../extremely capable/." The way she says this, it doesn't exactly sound like a compliment. Still, her expression turns affectionate, double trouble or not. "XAIRO is about...six? Maaaybe seven years now? MAIRO is older, technically started as a hangar assistant I made back in late 82' at Anaheim, though I've had to backup and recover and ghostfeed MAIRO a lot since then. I try to keep them at least up to modern transmission interface standards!" Her whole heart... XAIRO wasn't born until after...Sayla saved her from herself. And MAIRO was born shortly after she left Ribo, when... "They've both been around me for...a long time. And most of that was just us, the three of us, alone." She seems to have realized her voice has fallen for this part. "B-because I spend a lot of time in transit, or hunting scrap, or on the ground! I hardly ever stay in one place too long."
("MAIRO has seen more of me than anyone else has, too.")
Chris takes her time to savor her sweet crepe as Banagher makes his presentation. It's pretty endearing how into it he is. She tosses out some commentary between her bites.
"A Haro nursemaid... I saw some reps from Nouvelle Tokyo General Hospital here at the con, they had some patient-support Haro deployments that we could take some inspiration from for gentle motor control and situational quiescent modalities in behavior moderation..." "It's not quite the same, but since MAIRO and XAIRO both handle delicate situations, I have a couple force-limiting motor algorithms we could look at, but I know your preferred paradigm is organic development..." "Actually, the ghostcast peripherals we discussed earlier for Apple might be an interesting angle... a gyroscopic rocker synched as--/Did you say Captain York is pregnant?/"
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Adult drinks are just [recipes] in the end. Even 'beer is just liquid bread', according to lore, so...! (She might be missing the point.)
MAIRO and XAIRO are practically human. Is it because they're so old? But then wouldn't the first Haro be beyond even that? --No, only if Harovolution is linear, across individuals. Just like in humans, potential must vary, and then whether or not a Haro actually gets to /awaken/ that potential (and how, and to what degree) also varies... It's exactly how her dad tried to explain human development to her!
Although she doesn't perform the gesture, the mental feeling is very equivalent to 'pon!'. ~For some reason~ Ujico is smiling at nothing.
Christina's voice fades back in as the engineer recounts the harostory of her own creations. There's something adrift in her tone, even beyond the lonely words. Ujico hunches forward by degrees, not out of discomfort, but out of... a yearning to understand, maybe.
It's easier, as always, to think more about practical applications. Tasks that can be assigned. A list that can be written, and crossed off line by line. "He did say that," Ujico nods. Christina got so caught up in technospeak that she must've missed that, which is the most important part. "I wonder how she'll raise it? She seems really kind." Eight was friendly to her while Ujico stayed on the Ra Mari II. She's warm, but firm when needed. That seems like the best combination for a mother. "But if it's going to hold the baby, it should be soft. Maybe a different material for the housing? Or a jacket?"
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"I'm not the best at social things, besides Haros." Banagher says, with a rueful smile. "Back at school, I almost never joined my friends when they went out to have fun. I regret that now."
Haro seems pleased to wiggle his arms in the air, rocking back and forth on the table. "Apple! XAIRO! MAIRO!" He chants. Surely this is what true bonds of Haro-fellowship are made of.
"Wow, my Haro is only four." Banagher says, clearly impressed. "No wonder MAIRO and XAIRO are so well socialized! They've been with you for so long. They're really lucky to have you, Chris." A gentle smile. "And you're lucky to have them, too."
Banagher's eyes light up. "That's a great idea! I totally forgot about that display. Physical therapy Haros have to be gentle /and/ strong at the same time. I wonder if Nouvelle Tokyo uses open-source code... Or maybe they'd be willing to share."
It doesn't exactly seem /likely/.
Jotting down notes as Chris speaks, Banagher looks up at her, bumping his stylus against his mouth. "Hmm? Yeah! Captain York just announced it! Lavhi is the father. She's going to be a fantastic mother, I think. She's so excited."
"Yeah, I mean, we could coat the skin in something soft, but would that be enough to protect a baby? Maybe it needs some kind of padding?" Banagher mutters. "But then overheating would become a worry, and that'd be just as bad..."
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
Christina is, for sure, easily caught up in the technical things, things that can or can't be done are simpler than things that 'will or won't'. But she usually gets there eventually.
"Well socialized... I guess so, I'm not sure if prying open flotsam, hopping around to 'Sagittarius 9PM' really counts, but if someone as skilled as you says so, Mister Tether, I have to believe it! ...Actually, this is the first time I've really seen them engage so much. They like to meet other Haros in the field, but they don't get nearly so rambunctions as they have around the con today... and I think they're especially happy to infer that they'll see Haro and Apple again. That they're all friends!"
"Really... That's wonderful. Captain York was so kind to me as well. She cares about her crew, but trusts their independence quite a lot. I'm sure kids are never quite so simple, but I think you're both right, she and Lavhi will make excellent parents..."
"Tell you what. Even if NTGH doesn't have open-source code, I...might be able to be a little sneaky." Chris really, *really* hates invoking YF at all, much less twice in one day, but... maybe if she checked in with Leina, they could see if the Foundation had ever previously donated...? It's not wrong to refer to an existing professional relationship, right?
Christina laughs a little at the cute image of a Haro in a jacket, finishing the last few nibbles of her confection.
("Crepes and soda with friends, huh? Quality chocolate... but this moment is even sweeter.")
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Back at school... It's funny to think that Banagher is only a couple of years younger than she is. Ujico finishes the last bite of her crepe and very nearly sticks her mustardy fingers into her mouth before remembering that napkins are a thing that exists. Ha! Not gonna trip her up like that.
"It's so wild to think about how they must have been when they were new," she muses, leaning past Chris to watch them a little better. They're so different than any other Haro she's seen. Even Banagher's Haro isn't as... hmm. Willful? Or full of [will]? Although it's definitely full of personality. "Like Haros fresh out of the box, I mean."
What kind of things do babies usually get put in? "I wonder if dad would be a good help," Ujico thinks out loud, looking up at the ceiling as if she could see all the way home. "He really works with fetuses but he /did/ raise a baby, so he's qualified!" If nothing else, she can grill him about how he raised her at that age. "There must be an ideal softness level. Maybe if you put in a temperature-control unit, I could try covering the outside with padding."
Apple disengages from the other three long enough to hop up in Ujico's lap again. It's exciting to make friends! But she has a job to do. "Call dad? Call dad!" the little robot chirps, ready to phone home.
It turns out that new Haros are a lot like young humans: a little confused, but generally enthusiastic to help.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"Haro only had pre-recorded bits talking about Amuro at first. I replaced most of his software in that first year." Banagher says, as the little robot picks up Apple in one of his hands. "Be careful, Haro! -- He grew so fast once the limitations were gone."
Banagher laughs. He's actually coming around on "Tether" far more than "Plantain". "I'd like to set up video chats for these four Haros, I think it'd go a long way for their well-being. It's important for them to have peer groups!"
"Woah." Chris offers /sneakiness/. Banagher knows exactly what that means, in the context of software. "I'm not going to say no to that. Just don't get in trouble, okay? Leina'd never let me hear the end of it."
"I'd be really grateful for your dad's thoughts, Ujico. I have no idea what I'm doing." Banagher admits, ruefully. "I don't even know what babies like. Those floating toy things?" He makes a note. "I'd be grateful for your help with construction, too."
HaroCon bustles around the table, no matter how long Ujico, Chris, and Banagher linger. Perhaps they'll remain until closing, discussing ideas and chatting over their mutual passion. Koji Kabuto would be proud.