caughtinanetwork | (2) [Video]

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[Bulma's settled in a lot better since her arrival to Vatheon. If one looks at the background when the feed clicks on, they might notice that she appears to have everything needed in a house all set up. Slightly odd that she was able to gather and move everything in a matter of a few days without being seen carrying anything when she's walking around the city, but Bulma is nonchalant about her surroundings and seems to have something else on her mind.]

Hah! Now I've got this stupid thing running just the way I want it to. So hey, Vatheon, is there anyone here that's into robotics? I've got a project that I really want to start, but it looks like my lab isn't as prepared as I'd like it to be for something like this. Thank you!

[Locked to: Trunks Briefs]

So, your mom works for Capsule Corp, huh? When were you going to tell me about who she really is?

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[ She was minding her own business, going through and putting away all the clothing she'd picked up, when she heard her moms voice over the communicator. It sounds a little different--Younger? Trunks had said she was younger, but she still didn't really believe that--but it was still her mom's voice, and she would recognize it anywhere. So of course she scrambles to grab her SFC, turning it on without much thought. ]

Mo--[ She cuts herself off when she actually looks at the feed. It was her mother alright, but she was younger. Much younger. Which...was kind of upsetting, but she didn't really want to think about that right now. Instead she goes to do some awkward damage control--What is she even supposed to say? "Mom, hi, it's me! Your totally fabulous daughter from the future!"

Yeah, right. Like that would go over well. ]--Uh. I mean, morning! Wow, is it definitely....morning.

H-haha...[ It is probably nowhere near morning. ]

[userid: bulla briefs

Oh hey, looks like she doesn't have to call out the other mysterious family member either. This one sounds like a girl...thank goodness she had one daughter to balance out the testosterone in her future family.]

Two 'o clock is morning in the future? Now that's a real case of temporal shenanigans.

But seriously, it's Bulla right? I think I have an idea of who you are.

Well--no, but. [ Oh man awkward. She should have figured her mom--and anyone else--would be able to tell who was talking to her over the communicators. She was just. Caught up in the moment! Or something. ]

A-Anyway, you do? Know who I am, I mean.

Well, if I'm guessing right, you're my daughter from the future!

[A beat before she adds:] I've already met Trunks and all. I don't have the entire story yet since I've only just arrived, but I have the basic gist of the timeline problems and all. You don't have to be shy!

[WELP...he's probably busted, but still being a little vague just in case.]

When you would be in a better mindset to hear it.

If I had told you right away, would you have believed me?

[HE KNOWS YOU and he doesn't think so.]

I'm not sure...it *is* a pretty crazy idea, that you're my son from the future. It's like something out of a B-rank scifi movie.

[IE: Yes, he's exactly right.]

But that doesn't matter now, does it? It makes me happy, really! I'm probably nothing like the mom that you know, but I'll do the best I can to make sure you don't feel lonely. <3

It's too bad your father isn't here, though.

Well, you just found out your best friend is an alien, right? Things are bound to get weirder after that.

[But...he is here...oh right you wouldn't know Vegeta yet. And you think he's going to be attacking the planet soon.

...which in fairness he kinda did.

Oh god this is all the awkward. Yeah he's just going to...pretend. Who do you think his father is anyway?]

Yeah.

Heh, yeah. But to be honest it's not really a surprise that Goku is from outer space, when I think about it.

It's okay! We can be a family without him, but he might show up eventually! One thing about Yamcha is he's always reliable.

[Yep. Even more awkward now.]

[...DERP.

Okay yeah just...roll with that? Um. Okay, Yamcha seems like a decent guy but Trunks' lack of knowledge about him is bound to come up eventually. And that would lead to even more discomfort when she asks him why he doesn't know 'his own father'.

oh god. this is just a trainwreck waiting to happen and he knows it.]

...that'd be nice. I missed you.

[Yes, he's a momma's boy. Wanna fight about it? :|]

You should come over for lunch, then! I need to go grocery shopping, anyway, so you can make any special requests right now. Maybe Gohan or Bulla would want to come, too.

--Oops, I haven't told you that I know about Bulla yet, have I?

[d'aw family bonding.]

I'm not very picky. Anything's fine.

...I figured if you found me out, you figured her out too. Honestly, I just met her myself.

Hmm

wow did I really just type out a hmm?

Anyway, I guess that means then she's from an alternate timeline herself. You two look like you're about the same age and I really doubt I'd keep the fact that you have a little sister a secret.

It wasn't that hard to figure out, honestly. Bulla arrived and made a transmission some time after I did and, well, it's sort of hard to deny that you're related to someone when they look identical to you. Then I fixed the SFC up and went through the directory to see if there was anyone I knew here besides Gohan. The fact that there were three people with the last name "Briefs" was sort of a tip-off.

Also you have your grandpa's hair color. He's probably long gone at the point you're from, but I figured you should know.

She is. It's a long story, and I'm not altogether sure myself how it ends.

[Honestly he's not sure he wants Bulla to tell him either.]

Yeah, I remember him though. I used to play with his cat a lot, mostly when the two of you were working in the lab.

...We can get a pet here, too, if you want. If you had any fun playing with Scratch, maybe a new companion would make this place feel a little more homey.

[ Have a tiny fourteen (and then some) year old girl tilting her head curiously at the question. ]

Robotics? What are those?

[Wow, Trunks was right, people from different times really do pop up here.]

Robotics is the field of building robots and robots are machines that run on artificial intelligence to perform a given task. Or, if you're really ambitious, they can be used as prosthesis or artificial humans entirely.

[ Oh the irony, you're talking to one right now. :3 Only she doesn't remember. She shies away from the memory of artificial humans, and focuses on an unfamiliar word. ]

What is a prosthesis?

[This one is a bitty, though, it would be best not to get too gruesome.]

A prosthesis or a prosthetic is--[really, don't be too gruesome]--well, sometimes people lose important parts of their body for various reasons, like their eyes or their hands. A prosthesis is a limb made to replace that! With the advancement in technology, prostheses have been able to be more like the limb that was lost.

[ It's okay, Sophie doesn't get grossed out by things. ]

I have a friend who likes to make things. I can get her. [ This cannot possibly be a bad idea. ]

Iiii don't know...would your friend be all right with making a prosthetic arm for my friend?

I don't know. I haven't asked her yet.

...That was a rhetorical question, kid. I mean...people that aren't usually in the practice of it would probably think that being asked to make a prosthetic is a little freaky.

Rhetorical? [ Nope, she dun get it. ]

Why is it ...freaky?

[...Hmm.]

Losing your arm is a preeeeetty big event for a person and, well, I haven't met many girls that don't scream at the prospect of dealing with something involving injuries like that.

I don't think Pascal would scream about something like that. [ Well - unless she were the one losing her arm. Anyone would scream about THAT. ]

Mm--well, okay, kiddo! If you really think Pascal would be able to help out, please ask her and have her contact me if she's interested, okay?

[ She nods firmly. She's sure Pascal can! Pascal is a genius! ]

Okay. What is your name?

Bulma! Thanks for your help, too. What's your name?

You're welcome. My name is Sophie.

It's been years since I studied it, but I could probably dredge up some theory... Still, I don't think it'd be half what you know on the subject.

What kind of project did you have in mind?

[Hi... oblivious.]

Oh, I was going to ask for your input anyway, Gohan!

I'll need your measurements and to test it on you.

[Grin~]

[...]

You need a guinea pig?

[Sure, it's not like he's never... done things like that for her... but... this Bulma doesn't know him as anything more than 'Son of Goku.'

Maybe that's enough? He did tell her that he was pretty strong...]

Bulma, answer the first question I asked. What do you have in mind?

[She jabs at the screen with her finger and frowns.]

Your arm is my project, Gohan. Did you really think a super genius scientist like me was going to let a friend of mine wander around without two arms?

[Gohan is not so stupid as to say the first thing that comes to mind: "Well, maybe?"

Or the second: "But you've only just met me, from your perspective."

He goes with the third:]

It's really not that big of a deal.

[Not anymore, anyway. It was embarrassing as hell at first, when he was recovering at Capsule Corporation and just struggling to dress himself. She'd insisted on helping him then, too, with the infallible argument that she'd seen it all before, even his father's in the bathtub, and he'd gone along with it quietly after that...]

Well I think it is.

First of all, it's probably not that easy to be going through everything with just one arm. Secondly, what would your dad think if he came here and saw that? He'd freak out!

I'd be a really lousy friend if I didn't help you out. So you're getting a new arm whether you like it or not, and it's going to be a great arm that can keep up with your activity.

[Even if she just met Gohan from her perspective, he was a nice little kid and now he's the only thing that's protecting her in this new place...the least she could do was assist him to the best of her ability, if she couldn't defend herself.]

Don't put yourself out, okay? It's...

[More complicated than you think it is. Warrior's ethics. Stuff he never bothered to teach Trunks, but has been about as deeply instilled in himself as his own name. He's not sure what would disappoint his father more: the fact that he'd lost an arm or the fact that he needed a prosthetic as a crutch. Gohan knows his father's love is unconditional, but his approval, whether or not he's proud of him...]

It's not like I haven't coped with losing limbs before. It took me hours to figure out how to walk without my tail.

[...sped along by the dinosaur trying to eat him at the time, but w/e.]

[...Yeah. She's not budging on the topic. Fighter's pride, warrior's ethics, whatever, her mind worked on a level too practical for such standards.]

Just let me make one for you. It won't even look or feel like a prosthetic, it'll be just like you grew your arm back and no one will even remember or know that you ever lost it. And if you don't like it, you can just remove it and put it back on whenever you want to.

It's like... cheating.

[It's not pride. Honor, perhaps. Piccolo's honor, the honor of the entire Turtle School of Martial Arts rests on his performance.

Granted, Gohan's never studied the Turtle style, but considering that, of the top five practitioners, he's a direct descendant of two, named after a third, and close friends with the remaining two... not to mention Master Roshi being a close family friend, one who sat at his father's bedside in his final hours... and his mother is a practitioner, if not among the top five...]

There's a better way to spend your time. I don't want to waste your resources.

Time? Resources? Have you noticed where we ARE lately? Because it's certainly not Kame House. You need to stop acting like it's going to be some big hassle on me, I'm a scientist, I've been doing things like this since I was old enough to pick up a screwdriver.

[Bulma does this thing, sometimes, where she just throws logic at him and he can't counter it. It's annoying.]

Wouldn't you rather build a submarine, or something? Something that'll benefit more than one person.

[She's good at that sometimes.]

Oh, sure, I can do that!

...After I'm done with your arm.

[And Gohan is at an utter loss.]

I'd rather you didn't, doesn't that count for anything?

If you know me well at all you'd already have the answer for that.

Figured I'd try.

[this will continue going on and on in circles until... something. Gohan doesn't know what.]

Is there anything else I can help you with?

Edited 2012-05-06 02:17 (UTC)

[Brightens up! It's so fun when people give up on trying to argue with her!]

I do have some modifications to make to my house and some robots to reprogram. I mean, how else am I going to accommodate all you kids for meals?

[He kind of... laughs at that.

Oh Bulma. If you only knew. He makes a mental note to make sure Trunks and Bulla eat at home before ever sitting down with her, if they do end up hiding...]

I can definitely help with that, any time you want. I haven't really been doing much, anyway.

[Odd chores around... reading...]

I need a challenge of some kind, and I don't really want to keep beating people up.

[THAT SURE IS A SUBJECT CHANGE WOW.]

Oh, is that what you're after? Well, don't you worry about that, Gohan, I'll give your brain a good workout!

[That was not meant to be as seedy as it might have sounded.]

Your mom would probably be happy about it, too. Her baby boy getting hands-on experience from a real scientist!

I think your association with my dad's delinquent friends cancel it out for her, but I'm game.

[...he does not even register seediness from her. So far above (or below) where his mind tends to go.]

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(2) [Video]

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TEXT ahaha.

TEXT (also locked, ff)

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