expiationnet | (video) an orb speaks

[ That's quite the picture, seeing a face and then nyoooooooooom, floor. ]

Hey! [ He's yelling. Does that actually help? He assumes it's far away. ] I think you threw your comm!

[ He is going to keep yelling now. ]

I'm Peter! You left your, uh, video on! I think that's how these things work?

Edited 2023-02-16 20:17 (UTC)

(here's the thing, as immortal as fushi is, the world is still in its infancy... what's exactly a video? great question.)

... Is video your face? I see your face...!!! Are you friendly??!?!

[ Peter laughs. He too had to learn what comms were, once. ]

Yeah! That's my face!

[ As her face comes up to the screen, he stops yelling, and waves. ]

Video is the... hm. The means that we're using to talk right now? Well, video and audio. I'm guessing these necklace-thingies have [ a camera, a microphone, a holo-projector, ] stuff built-in that lets us talk in real time. So I'm not a recording, and neither are you. Does that, uh, make sense? I'm not great at explaining tech.

(seems friendly, this man. please forgive fushi, as one does, somebody here spent 40 years running away from their problems. how to speak to people again is a little challenging.

once she brings it into her hands, she blinks, attempting to poke the face only to find her finger going right through... spooky.)

... I don't know what a recording is either, but I think I understand. You're not stuck in this charm, and you see me as I see you. Is this it?

[ Oh, he knows all about running away from his problems, Peter is a pro at that. Which is part of why he's so chill with this -- he's used to being the dumb one who doesn't understand stuff.

He still laughs, but it's like, the laugh of someone who's been there. ]

Right! Exactly, you got it. I've got a charm of my own, and we can talk like we're in the same room, without even being in the same room! It's pretty cool, huh?

... It's very strange. Some places where I'm from don't even write... But I guess this is cool...

(they're going to be great together - fushi was literally created to learn, a blank slate, so she's rather used to being confused. from learning how to chew, swallow, talk, and climb... she's gone a long way.)

... You're Peter, you said? I'm Fushi.

Yeah, new stuff can take a while to get used to. Especially if you come from somewhere with a lower level of tech. Just keep an open mind and you'll get the hang of it!

[ He pumps his fist in encouragement, happy to help! Not having a writing system doesn't even faze him, some planets just develop in different ways, it's cool. ]

Nice to meet you, Fushi! I had to learn a lot of this stuff super quick when I was a kid, so I get it.

I'm okay. I learn a lot, it's kind of what I do... Do you have things with you like that? I would like to see it...

(she can replicate things that give stimuli, so honestly, she will just look at alien belongings and touch them a lot.)

It's nice to meet you too.

Oh, yeah. The tech I'm used to is a lot more advanced than what they've got going on here! I mean, we don't put our holo-comms in necklaces, for one thing. And I have jet boots and some sweet guns that would put these things to shame.

[ Is he going to spin one of his blasters, just to show off? Yes. ]

Not bad, huh?

... I don't understand anything from what you've just said, so I can't say if it's not bad. Would you let me touch them?

(JET?? GUN????)

Oh. [ He frowns for a sec, then shrugs. ] Yeah, fair.

Uh, why do you wanna touch my gear? Ooh, are you from a planet that isn't Earth? Is that like how you taste or something?

[ He's honestly asking, I apologize for his manners..... ]

... I don't know where I'm from! I taste with my tongue, I just-- I understand things better when I can touch... With my hands!

(it is strange how peter put it, but in all honesty, fushi probably has licked many things to understand them. stimuli is so important. :( )

Oh, that's cool! Yeah, if you wanna come see em, you totally can!

[ Like, no questions asked. That's a perfectly reasonable explanation. And Fushi seems nice enough, so that's not a weird request at all! ]

My bad, I just wasn't sure if you were maybe like, part Askavaariian or, you know... [ He pauses. ] Actually you probably don't, just forget I mentioned it! I've just met a lot of species, and some of them do things a little differently than others.

What's Askavaariian--, I don't know anything, but... Seem to know a lot! Can you tell me your stories? I want to hear them...

(species... like humans? animals? things fushi's never seen? perhaps this man has met something like them.

she wants to know.)

Where are you? Can you meet in my place?

Oh, it's a species of people from a planet called Oerlanii. They have a lot of extra limbs for feeling stuff, so they can taste colors and feel sounds and a bunch of things like that.

[ Don't ask him how he knows this, don't. Ask. (It's a sex thing.) ]

I'd be happy to tell you some stories, though! [PG-13 ones. ] I've got a ton. And sure, I don't mind meeting up -- where are you? I'm staying at the inn for now.

... Do you just hop from country to country like this?

(who's 200 years old and canonically doesn't know what sex is? fushi!

who's 200 years old and doesn't know planets are a thing? fushi!)

... Me too. Room 202.

(where, if the other noticed, lives a white-haired boy.)

Planet to planet, more like. Back home, I live with my friends on a ship called the Milano. We take jobs all around the galaxy -- though I used to run with a different crew for a while, too.

[ He says this so casually, you would think he's talking about shopping for groceries. ]

Cool! I'll be right over! Don't shiv me if you're actually a scumbag in disguise, okay?

[ He laughs. He's mostly kidding! oh god if he has to give fushi The Talk that would be hilarious

But next thing you know, there's a knock on the door! He's quick like that. ]

Hey, Fushi! It's Peter.

... What's a shiv!! Why does nothing you say make sense!!!

(this is going to be A Time for fushi, all around!!!

god tried to get fushi to fuck and they didn't understand it

but once there's a knock, she opens the door, blinking a few times and poking the poor man's chest, just to make sure. seems real, not like the one talking on the jewelry.)

Hey, come in...! Are you hungry at all?

[ Peter's laughter can be heard as she opens the door. He even takes her poking in stride, since their conversation has already been weird enough. ]

I spent a few years in prison as a kid, I had to make sure.

[ That's not a normal thing to say? ]

A shiv is a... knife. A really crappy, makeshift one. But I was joking anyway, don't worry about it. [ He waves dismissively. ] But yeah, I could eat!

... Are you a bad person, Peter?

(not that everyone who is imprisoned is bad. fushi's learned that, but some definitely aren't good.

although a bad person would probably not say it. on the table, however, there's plenty of food awaiting. fushi's replication comes in handy - stimuli makes it so she can have a copy simply sprout from her hand, so. it tastes exactly like fushi's once had it.)

... Can you tell me what kind of beings have you met...?

(maybe there are other fushis out there. blackhood, the creator, only made fushi, but what if there are other blackhoods? other universes that fushi has never even heard about?)

Edited (typo...) 2023-02-17 23:52 (UTC)

Whoa, no, no. That's not it at all.

[ Somehow the sheer honesty in that question cuts Peter deep. Maybe he shouldn't joke around with someone who's clearly so... new at everything, like Fushi is.

An honest question deserves an honest response, though. ]

I was a prisoner. My dad was somebody really important, and the bad guys grabbed me so that... they could keep my dad from helping their enemies. So that's why.

[ He smiles, but it doesn't meet his eyes. This still burns him to this day, but not enough that he won't tell someone who's a kid, as far as he's concerned. But Peter steps on in and admires the spread. He had like no expectations and this looks great?? How.

Well, whatever! It's story time. Peter grabs a pear-looking thing and sniffs it before he takes a bite. ]

Yeah, none of my friends are from Earth, so I've met tons of people! One of my friends, Groot, he's a Flora Colossus -- the last of his whole kind. He's kind of like... a walking tree? Really tall. His planet was destroyed by Thanos, one of those bad guys I was talking about, and all that was left of him was a tiny splinter -- but someone found him and planted him in some soil and he grew right back into a person! Just like that!

[ Sure, it took years, but that's probably a nicer story than Rocket's or Gamora's or Drax's, right? ]

(fushi's not hungry, so really, this is all for the guest. there's not much to worry about, it seems, so there's a moment she sits next to the older-looking man, a hand supporting her head so she can listen.)

... I've known people who were paying the price for others. I'm sorry this is real for you as well.

(she knows that smile, at least. no need to be that clueless over it.)

... Is Earth your planet? What are planets? Does your friend speak? How does he walk? Does the soil go with him? Must you water him and must he sunbathe? How does any of this work--

... Can I ask you a question?

(NOT LIKE THE OTHER 300 COUNTED.)

[ Peter smiles. He knows she's being honest here too. Wow, it's nice. This is why kids are cool, even if it seems like she's been through some rough stuff too. ]

Yeah. My dad sucks.

[ J'son of Spartax for worst dad of forever, ok!!! But Peter just keeps up the stories. It's more fun to talk about stuff and help Fushi learn. He was once young and full of questions, too. ]

Yep, I'm from Earth! Though most people call it Terra. And planets are... whoa. Hm. [ He's never had to explain this one before. ] It's like, the place we're on? The ground, and the water, and everything? Lemme slow you down a bit on those answers, buddy. I'm not the best at explaining stuff.

[ He's smiling though. There's something very soft about her curiosity. It makes him wish he'd had someone nice to answer his questions, and not Yondu Udonta. ]

Okay, so Groot can talk. But his language is really subtle, and it's really rare, so most translators don't carry it, so for everyone else, whenever he speaks all we hear is "I am Groot." And he doesn't need the soil to live or anything, he just has to drink water same as most organics. Though I think being in the sun makes him heal a bit? I don't know his biology or anything. He's a really nice dude, everyone likes him.

[ He laughs. ]

But yeah, you can keep asking me questions, kid. I really don't mind.

Edited (last one sorry!) 2023-02-18 00:30 (UTC)

I'm sorry, this is all very new to me... I never heard much of anything that wasn't human, or animals, like crabs, birds, wolves, bears, fish...

(it's a lot of information, and sometimes, fushi's face appears a little blank, as if she's buffering. all these stories and peter's demeanor do make a smile stem from her lips, even if a little nostalgic.

so he has a companion who he cannot fully understand, and yet, thinks he's 'a nice dude'. all they can think is when they first took breaths, the shape of a wolf that was beloved by a lonesome human. then, march - a four-year-old who cared so much about them, even if fushi didn't even know how to eat.

it's... nice. there truly are people out there like this. it makes fushi feel warm, like they could find what was asked of them in the man - "find companions who understand you". fushi's tried, but the fear of grief and guilt hits harder.

... they have to try.)

You can keep secrets, right...?

[ Ooh, that's a big one. Not a question Peter expected, but not totally surprising, either. ]

Hey, it's all good. Different planets have different people in them. Different environments, different species...

[ Fushi doesn't strike Peter as Terran, with the way they asked questions. But really, Peter usually assumes people aren't Terran until proven otherwise. He imagines that kind of thing is rare, where everyone looks the same.

The point is, he's expecting Fushi to tell him that they're an alien. Which would be the most normal thing in the world for him. ]

Yeah, of course. Cross my heart.

[ He draws an X on his chest for good measure. ]

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