Guri's Monthly Log [OPEN]

[marvelous_murderbot]

Who: Guri, one closed prompt for Alice, open overall.
Where: Various
When: Pre-mission, can add more later
What: The daily life of a Human Replica Droid
Warnings: None needed, will add if that changes.




How to Care for an Alice - CLOSED

She'd thought it over carefully since the last, rather relaxing, stop. Alice had been through a rough number of months, and since it didn't seem like the train was providing resources to help with that, beyond any limited extent, she had taken it upon herself to counter that existence to the best of her ability. Alice was her best friend and...well, she cared for her. Truly caring for another human being was new to her. Oh, she had her friends on the train and she cared about them in her way - but Alice was special in ways she was just beginning to figure out.

She certainly hadn't ever experienced a feeling of finding something truly beautiful before - but she had, with Alice and her transformation into butterflies. More than just noticing something was aesthetically pleasing, but truly being struck by it. All very new.

In short, Alice = special - which meant ongoing efforts to ensure her continued functioning. And in this case, she'd been drawn to some of the books in the limited library, and had once again set to work. Finding a beach blanket was easy enough, as was scrounging some candles. The sources had made them out to be essential, but she was dubious on that. And it was amazing the places you found forgotten candles, half-used, all around the place.

But she'd arranged the blanket on the bed in their shared room, the candles lit around it, the lights dimmed for the purpose. And she waited, reviewing the one text, not that she needed to.

Training - OPEN

Given the rather disturbing news they'd received about the nature of...well, their predecessors...she was preparing. Which in her case meant training harder than ever before. It wasn't that she could build artificial muscles much further, but it was about creating muscle memory, shaving milliseconds off of her movements - getting used to weapons she hadn't before.

You never knew when these would be necessary things. And whatever they got into, she knew full well the sort of tasks that Team Purple was usually assigned. It didn't sound like there was going to be any actual opposition - but it paid to think there always would be.

At the moment, she was preparing a test of her heavy repeating blaster, setting up a target at one end of the gymnasium, and herself at the other. There were, in fact, a series of targets - each smaller than the last, with sandbags placed behind them - to better simulate range.

Working, Around and About - OPEN

Some time ago, she'd started on a personal shield projector project with some of the others. They were gone, now, but it had stuck with her, and she stole time in the corners of workspaces when she could; still working on perfecting it, which was easier said than done with ersatz parts and materials from another universe. She couldn't exactly go around asking for durasteel components, could she?

But she kept working on it, hoping it would succeed. In her universe, shielding worked mainly against one thing or another - so a melee weapon was effectively blocked by one, which would do little to block energy weapons, or vice versa. She reasoned, given the number of projectile weapons they'd encountered (and the falling debris she'd seen here and there) that the former would be the wiser choice.

As ever, though, she can be found around and about - she's a busy HRD, after all. And always willing to talk to new people.

Comments

Working, Around and About

[silver_eyes_rose]

"Oooh, what's this?"

Ruby had been wandering around herself, trying to keep her mind off of everything she learned. It was still so worrisome and disturbing to her. Though, honestly, that meant she really didn't have too much to do.

As she did, she happened to pass by where Guri was working at and blinked. She hadn't seen something like that before.

[marvelous_murderbot]

"Oh, hello, Ruby," she replied, with a warm smile. She pointed at a piece of circuitry in front of her.

"I am trying to perfect a long-term project. Personal shielding."

[silver_eyes_rose]

“Oh, that would be wonderful to have!” Ruby said, blinking in surprise. “Does it work?”

[marvelous_murderbot]

"In my universe, quite well," she replied. And she plugged her work into the power source, getting a number of sparks for her trouble, and quickly unplugging it.

"Here, it is not so simple. I have to adapt the design to what exists here, and different materials."

[silver_eyes_rose]

Ruby winced and leaned back as she saw the sparks fly. It was a good thing Guri unplugged it when she did.

"I see now. Eesh." she uttered. "I guess trying to ask the train for the materials would be too tedious..."

[marvelous_murderbot]

She nodded, with a sigh, putting down her tools for the moment.

"It's hard to even translate. Like, a major power source in my universe is 'tibanna gas' - but the train can hardly know what that is. It gets difficult to be more specific than an entire, larger object that can be easily described. Besides, I couldn't mass-produce them if I did..."

She sighed, brushing back some hair that fell in front of her face.

"A slow process of learning."

[silver_eyes_rose]

"I'm sorry." Ruby said. She reached over to rest her hand on Guri's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll figure it out somehow. Just... trial and error, right?"

[marvelous_murderbot]

She gave the hand a friendly pat, sighing.

"Eventually, yes," she replied. "Patience can solve most of my problems."

[silver_eyes_rose]

"Most?" Ruby said, blinking. "There's something else, isn't there?"

[marvelous_murderbot]

She's quiet for a moment after that, huffing slightly as she thinks. But maybe Ruby can provide her answers.

"Ruby, you've been in...close relationships before, yes? Emotionally and physically?"

[silver_eyes_rose]

Ruby blinks and leans back a bit, blushing.

"Y-Yes, I have. Wh-Why?" she stammered.

[marvelous_murderbot]

"How do you tell?"

It's such a simple question, she feels like she has to elaborate.

"The difference, I mean - between liking being around someone, and actual attraction?"

[silver_eyes_rose]

Ruby thought about this. She understood both ends - between the Kairi she met at Prismatica and her time with Kitty. With a small sigh, she answered.

"It's a strange feeling. It's a little hard to explain - like... you want to do more with them. Be around them more. Your heart beats a little more faster around them..."

[irrationally]

Honestly, it's usually never too strange for Alice to find Guri doing something new. She's rather used to it at this point - especially since it makes so much sense. Guri spent such an incredible amount only doing what other people wanted from her that she never got to what she wanted to do, and experiencing all these new things is surely just making up for lost time.

It's why Alice doesn't bat an eyelash at first when she walks into their room at the end of a day seeing candles all over the place. The blanket on the bed makes a little less sense, but maybe Guri just found some sort of new joy in candles? Alice sure won't stop her.

Hence why she just seems a little amused as she enters the room, glancing briefly at the candles before turning to look at Guri.

"Did you find out something interesting?"

[marvelous_murderbot]

"Yes!"

She stands up, putting the book aside. And then announcing, proudly, without any preamble: "I have learned how to give you a massage."

She continues on, moving closer to Alice.

"You need...relaxation, pleasant things. This place denies you so many. And I thought I could help, but I can't make spaces on the train like I can elsewhere, so I thought that this would be a good idea, since it makes sense..."

She was babbling, which was new. And fidgeting, which was rare.

[irrationally]

Something about the mood does seem a little off, huh? It's not like Alice has never seen the other excited or nervous before, but Alice has noticed that these are qualities Guri mostly seems to display around her. Whenever she spots the other just going about her day without Alice being involved, she doesn't see the other getting like this nearly as often as she has in moments between just the two of them.

.. though Alice isn't too sure what that is supposed to mean, really, even if she has noticed as much.

She tries to let the notion rest for now, especially when there's more to focus on. Like what Guri is offering here.

"A massage?" She echoes. "I have heard of them."

She still remembers when the train randomly added information about them at one point, after all.. Even if Alice wasn't quite sure she understood the point of them.

"I have never had one though." Not that she seems to be rejecting the idea. It's more just that she seems.. a little surprised, perhaps. Or even just curious. Alice isn't too sure what to expect here. Especially with-- "Are all these candles part of it somehow?"

[marvelous_murderbot]

She nods.

"Apparently, yes. They're supposed to be scented, if I understand it correctly - but I had to make do with what I could find."

She pauses a moment, then smiles.

"And I had thought as much. Which is why, if you're willing to put yourself in my hands, tonight will be your first."

[irrationally]

If she's willing to put herself into Guri's hands, huh. It's not the Guri part she has a problem with, that's for sure. Alice trusts everything about this situation, exactly because Guri is doing it. She's one of the few rare people who are willing to do this without having the secret intention of putting a knife into Alice's back.

But still, physical contact. It's a lot. It's always been a lot to her, and though she trusts Guri more than anyone, it still makes her a little awkward. Perhaps even more so because she's never had a massage before, leaving her unsure of what to expect.

"I.. We can try it, I suppose." Maybe it doesn't sound super enthusiastic or anything, but Alice is trying. It's already more than she'd do for most people. There's just a lot of discomfort to work past here. "You will go slow at first though, right? I.. am not that great with touch, so I would have to see how I react to it.."

Especially since Alice has so many involuntary trauma responses. She's aware of it.

[marvelous_murderbot]

She nodded.

"I am aware. Which is why I am going to restrict myself to your back, legs, and arms. Though you do need to be wearing...considerably less for the correct effect to be achieved."

She stepped a little closer.

"I am hoping you can trust me that far. I have procured a one-piece swimsuit that you can use, if not. Though I maintain, as you know, that I am certain you have nothing to be ashamed of, or reticent about."

She knows how Alice feels about her scars. And so, options.

[irrationally]

She knows. She does know that it's not like Guri would mind any part of her, but.. it's still hard, and Alice knows it. There's a reason she never bares herself, one that goes even beyond the Victorian sensibilities that have burned their way into her mind. It's scary to be so open. So vulnerable. To show off every single part of her, despite the fact that her body is an absolute mess at this point.

.. but she thinks about how excited Guri seemed about this. It's not like she wants to take that from the other.

Doesn't that mean she has to at least try to be brave here?

So she slowly nods. Even though Alice still looks uncomfortable, she isn't rejecting this.

"If you.. give me a moment, then I can change into the swimsuit, at least."

Which is already a lot by Alice standards. She'll need a moment of privacy for it, but she is determined to at least try to go this far for the other's sake.

[marvelous_murderbot]

She smiles, and nods.

"Of course," she says. "Let me know when you're finished."

There's no questioning of it - if this is to work, it has to be with comfort. As much as possible, if any rate. And so she steps outside the door, gently shutting it behind her.

[irrationally]

Alice waits for a moment, until Guri is out of the door. At least she doesn't wait longer than that - since Guri is the only one who can come into this room in the first place, and she knows the other wouldn't just re-enter without a clear sign from Alice. They have established enough trust between them for that.

So while Guri is gone from the room, Alice does change her clothes. She has to take a few deep breaths once she's got the swimsuit on. Even if it doesn't fully show all of her skin, it still.. does show a lot, and she doesn't really like it for a variety of reasons. It does make some more of her scars come to light too, even though the worst of them is still hidden.

Once she's certain she won't have a full on panic attack, Alice knocks against her side of the door.

".. you can come in again," she says, a little more softly this time, but still audible through the door. She's just a little bit more meek while she feels this vulnerable, this bare. "I am ready."

[marvelous_murderbot]

She enters quietly, opening the door just enough to admit herself, so there's no possibility of prying eyes. She steps closer, gently leading Alice towards the bed. She smiles, gently. She wants to tell Alice that she is beautiful to her, that the scars do not detract from that. They are a map of her survival, of her overcoming the terrible things she had endured. They don't make her eyes less remarkable. They don't make her ferocious kindness any less amazing.

"I'm sure it feels strange," she says, "but thank you for trusting me. Please, lay on the blanket, and I'll begin. I need to be able to see the muscles, feel them, in order to work correctly."

It's more important, though, to let her know why she's asking these things.

"My plan is to work from your shoulders as low as your hips. If you wish me to include your limbs or other spots, you only need to ask. And, by the same token, you only need to ask me to stop for me to stop."

Given both their histories, that might be the most critical statement of all.

[irrationally]

".. Alright," Alice says.

She still sounds tense. It's hard not to, given the situation. Even when it's with a person she trusts entirely, it's so hard to get over this trauma response. Even now, as she's standing there, she can't help but wrap her arms around herself. Basically hugging herself, like she's trying to either protect herself or cover up even slightly.

For a moment she contemplates asking for certain spots to be skipped, but.. truly, then she might as well ask to skip this entirely, right? It's not as if there are spots where she does feel entirely comfortable being touched. She'd just end up ruling out everything.

She sits down on the blanket, at least, but doesn't manage to fully lay down just yet. Instead she seems to just be breathing as she's sitting there, trying to keep it slow and controlled to keep her emotions and fears from flying off the handle.

"Just--" Alice starts, seeming faintly embarrassed.

This isn't the way she wants to look in front of anyone. So weak, and scared. Especially not over something so normal.

But it's hard to hold in the response. It just leaks right out.

"Just another moment, forgive me."

She'll get there. She wants to get there. It just takes baby steps with Alice's general state.

[marvelous_murderbot]

She crouches down in front of Alice, offering her a reassuring hand to squeeze.

"It's alright," she says, with a smile. "It's just us, and we have all the time in the world."