2018-08-06: The Next Homework
- Log: The Next Homework
- Cast: Riesenlied (playing Janey), Ambrosius
- Where: Taben's Peak
- Date: 6th August 2018
- Summary: Janey and Ambrosius take a moment to talk after the kidnapping...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Things have come to a rather heated point in Meribia.
Riesenlied, with Noeline, Ambrosius and the Fiends, had come after the Shadow Dragon Cult, discovering painful truths and facing them head on. And now, after several successive battles, she's recuperating in a bedroom in rather poor condition -- having also faced a fellow Metal Demon -and- a Guardian in the form of Boomerang and Luceid... as well as Yarobeleedt, who she continues to be patient with.
No matter how much it hurts her.
But someone else is recuperating too -- Janey's just tucked Mikaia to bed after the younger of the two kids bawled her heart out at how dangerous it was, and is seated out on the balcony flipping a coin idly...
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
The events of the past few days...they had certainly been rather stressful. Ambrosius knew that the effects this would have on Riesenlied and her family would be felt for some time.
It was not, after all, something that one could forget easily.
For Ambrosius himself, however, it did not seem to affect him much...but to those who knew him, there was a hurriedness to his actions that he rarely displayed. He had been...concerned, and afraid, in a manner that he rarely showed to anyone.
For now, however, things seemed to be calming down...at least on the surface. But beneath the surface, the scars will still fresh.
He had stopped to check on Riesenlied first. She had been in quite the state at the end of the battle with the Shadow Dragon Cult, and having went out to face one of her former comrades shortly after that...
It was a testament to her willpower that she was still alive after all this, even if her current condition was power.
Next, there was someone else who deserved his attention. Someone who his absence must have been affecting more than he realized.
"...Miss Janey." Ambrosius greets quietly, stepping onto the balcony. He doesn't say anything further - at least, not yet.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Hey... Uncle," Janey looks towards the Veruni as he approaches and-- grips that coin. "It's okay if I say that, right?" A pause. "I felt like saying it. At this point you're like a caring brother to Riesemama, haha..."
A pause, as she glances inwards to say, "Thanks... I just-- wanted to say thanks... for coming." She lowers her head. "It means a lot to me." She sucks in a breath, opening her mouth to say more, but maybe she's just kind of hitting a stop as she realises she's already nattering and is a lot more exhausted than she realises she is.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"...It is alright." Ambrosius replies, after a brief moment. Was it hesitation, or was he just taken back by the question? ...He had never been particularly close to his own family. There is a hint of a smile as Janey comments that he was like a brother to Riesenlied, but it fades quickly.
When Janey thanks him he bows his head politely before looking back up at her, studying her quietly as she speaks.
"...I am...glad that we were not too late." He replies, after a moment of hesitation. "...You held your composure well, Miss Janey. ...How are you feeling?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey scratches at her head -- careful to not brush over that big scar of hers underneath her gray hair. She tucks her head down. "Did I...? Heh, I'm glad... I think I was a few moments from just relieving myself."
She hesitates for a moment and goes, "... uh-- I'm still kind of beside myself, I guess? I keep replayin' the moment, over and over. Little things that can go wrong. ... it's a weird feeling..."
She looks up and goes, "You... told me once, about your mentor. How you looked up to 'em. Was that like family for you, Uncle? I don't... know that much about you. Guess this whole thing's got me thinkin' about... important people to us."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Even so, you held strong. You kept him distracted." Ambrosius replies. If she hadn't...well, it's entirely possible that she might not be here today. He then listens quietly as she continues.
"Those feelings are...natural, in a tense situation. What might have happened...what could have happened..." He explains. "It will pass, with time..."
Even if she was unlikely to ever forget it completely.
Janey, then, asks about his mentor, and family. Ambrosius goes quiet for a moment and stares up into the sky.
"...Yes, I suppose so." He comments. "...I was never particularly close to my birth family. We were...always busy, with something or other. But, my mentor..."
Ambrosius looks back down toward Janey.
"...She was a singular genius, even among my people." He says, then chuckles slightly. "Though I may simply be biased."
"She believed strongly in the future of my people...and to that end, she taught me everything I know. About machines, about the world..." He murmurs. "...I suppose that, to me, is family. Not necessarily 'blood relations'...but those who believe in you, and wish to see you prosper..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey knows that quite well -- that she was almost literally threading the needle between life and death. If that masked cult leader had decided that she wasn't worth it -- that she wasn't worth alive -- it would've been all over there.
"... I don't remember my parents," Janey admits. "Far back as I can remember, I was in that awful orphanage in Little Twister. ... but I kinda get that. A lot of adults... they-- talked to each other, but they didn't really... talk /to/ each other? It was like they were talking /over/ each other."
She scowls just for a moment, then nods. "Wow... I mean, if you're saying it, then I believe it..." A pause. "About the world? What'd she have to say about that?"
She smiles at the comment of what's family. "Wayside's got that motto to it, right? Blood maked you related... but bonds make you family. ... I believe that a lot."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius nods in understanding.
"Indeed..." He murmurs in reply. It was all too common an occurrence.
Janey inquires about what he was told and he chuckles slightly.
"Stories, mostly. ...It would not be inaccurate to say she is responsible for my interest in ruins and writing." He replies. Or 'to blame for', depending on what one thought about Ambrosius's stories...
He looks back toward Janey as she comments on the Wayside motto, and then nods once more.
"...Indeed. It...rings true for me. Looking at you, your family, and all of Wayside..." He says, glancing away slightly. There's a bit of a forlorn note to his voice, at that...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... heey, you never told me you wrote, did you, Uncle?" Janey perks. "Do you-- hear much about human stories? D'you know where the name 'Calamity Jane' comes from?"
She gestures and says, "There's this smart and resourceful gal, dunno if she's a legend or true, but she was-- kinda like my hero. It's where 'Lord of Calamity, Janey' comes from!"
A pause, as she rubs her nose. "It's why I picked the name up too. Don't wanna be who I was anymore -- a new fresh face to replace it!"
She settles a little as Ambrosius glances away-- and hops up to hug him lightly. "... we-- we think you're part of the family, even if you can't always be around. When it's darkest... when things go real bad -- just remember our door's open to ya. You know Riesemama's... always gonna forgive you."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"I...primarily keep them to myself. I am afraid I do not have many fans." Ambrosius replies with a chuckle. He...actually sounds a little embarrassed about that! He listens attentively, though, as Janey asks him about 'Calamity Jane'.
To be truthful, he had never heard of the tale, but...
"...A good role model." He comments with a nod, and then a smile. "...It is a fine name."
In that brief moment where he's looking away, she moves in for a hug. He's surprised...but responds by resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.
...He doesn't have a response right away. There are many things he /could/ say, but...
"...Thank you." He murmurs. "...I know. That is who she is...that is her strength. But, if that time comes...I do not know if I will possess the strength to accept it..."
He had not hurt them yet...but what if, one day, there comes a time when he must...?
Would he, even, be able to forgive himself?
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I'll be your fan!" Janey blurts out immediately, even without having read any of 'em. "I love reading all kinds of fiction stories, especially with cool heroes that are bigger than life itself!" She pumps her hands as she steps away and looks up.
"... I know... it's not that easy, is it? But-- I'm sure that together, we'll be able to find a way! 'cause if we never give up, then surely there'll be a way, even if no one's found one before!"
It's that same kind of brand of optimism that borders on naivete, but there's a steel behind it as the glint in Janey's eyes return. "That amazing mentor of yours... she wouldn't have taught you about the world if there was nothing worth enjoying and experiencin', after all, would she?"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"I...suppose it would not hurt to share some of them. Sadly, I left them with my things..." He replies with another nervous chuckle. His things that were, presumably, still back on Filgaia.
He hadn't had time to do much writing on Lunar...or, rather, most of his time was spent researching material to write on, to the point that he never got any writing done.
Janey pumps her hands. She sounds...optimistic. Ambrosius wishes he could be that optimistic.
"...I would like to believe that. But these days, it is...difficult..." He admits...though he relents, a little, as Janey gets that look in her eyes.
"...I suppose not. No...I am certain that she believed in it." He admits.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Ah... that's too bad," Janey sulks for a moment, but grins as she turns that frown upside down and points her finger up. "Then it's a promise, I'm gonna read and review your work! I'm sure it'll be great!"
She pauses and listens to Ambrosius again, nodding quietly. "... yeah... but--" She pauses as she thinks, then tries to change the topic to something a bit more positive.
She takes out Super Magdalen XD, and then says, "I think I see what y'mean when you last taught me about -- like, inspiration and such? I was thinking to myself 'gosh, it's such a pain that I have to wind him up every time I want him to move'--"
She pops the back out where there's a little crude battery setup. "--so I got Noeline 'n Lemina to teach me a l'il about batteries, and now he just needs a flip of a switch. Laziness led to invention, huh? D'you have a moment like that yourself, Uncle?"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Truthfully, Ambrosius liked the idea of people reading his work. It was written to be enjoyed, after all, even if not many people did.
Harder to enjoy, however, are his views on the current topic. He can see that Janey is having a difficult time with it...and experiences some relief when she cooses to divert to a brighter topic, and explains the changes she's made to Super Magdalen XD.
Ambrosius takes a moment to look them over, nodding in approval. It was a little crude, certainly...but sometimes, that's how things started out.
"...It happens more than you might think. In fact...you might say that is at the core of most machinery." He comments. "After all...much of it exists to do things we cannot do, or to do so more efficiently than we could."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Yeah... it makes a lot more sense when I think about it. We made sharp pointy bits o' metal called knives 'cause we don't have sharp claws like owlbears, that kinda thing?" Janey nods as she tinkers a little bit more with the device, then straps it back in. She grins.
"I thought machinery might've been way over my head, but-- y'know, it's the way you explained it to me that made it click! One day I'll make a machine that'll help all of us!"
The enthusiasm is very clear in her face, pumped up to make all kinds of additional features on the small Butler. "So, what's my next piece of homework, teach?"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Indeed." Ambrosius replies, watching as she tinkers with the device. "And even I can not do the work of a Golem..."
He then smiles, with a hint of obvious pride.
"I do not doubt it. You show much promise, Miss Janey - I am certain you will make something wonderful." He says. She's enthusiastic - ready and willing to learn...
"Well, I believe there a few things I could help help you improve on..." Things that would help her make the additions she wanted. ...Though he wasn't /quite/ sure she was ready to learn about making artificial intelligences.
...Yet, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE
A labcoat-sporting Janey sprints at full speed as criss-crossing lasers nearly take her head off and demolish a nearby building. "Why do all my AIs turn out to be murderous?!?!?!?"
NOW
Yes... it's probably not time yet.
"Heheh... speaking of Golems -- I don't know if this is, uh, y'know, goin' against orders or somethin'... but if it's possible, I wanna ride on Nimue. That cool Golem you took into that waterway? It looked so awesome!" Janey nods as she tucks down to start on the improvements...
One day, Super Magdalen will turn that look of terror upside down... and become Super Magdalen XD??