[OPEN] THOUGH EVERYTHING COULD CHANGE

[evilgrows]

▶ WHO: Dr. Robotnik and YOU
▶ WHAT: event shenanigans!
▶ WHEN: 5/25-31
▶ WHERE: Lunatia
▶ WARNINGS: nothing yet, nsfw themes could pop up



[A. DREAMS COLLECTION]

[This is why Dr. Robotnik doesn't like to go outside. This is why he prefers to stay in and get things done and not deal with this shit. But noooo, he had to go get some things. And what do you know, more ridiculous things happened. Biiiig shock.

Not that he's noticing it right now, as spaced-out as he is. He dreams of nicer things, of success, of the next project. Of his machines, efficient and functional and very much not here, but in his daydreams, there they are. He dreams of a certain agent bringing him his favorite coffee, of music and dancing and being alone.

And he can't do anything about it.

Aside from the dream bubble, he looks extremely out of it, an odd dazed-looking smile on his face.

Embarrassing.]

[B. DO UNTO OTHERS IS OUR GOLDEN RULE]

[These B-Cubes remind him of the Pokéball things Sycamore had shown off, and after considering how much that alleged hedgehog creature had kind of resembled the Pokémon... well, maybe these things'll prove useful whenever he gets home.

So sure, he signs up to try and catch some of the creatures around here, why not. He knows what he's doing, or at least the principle of it. But he's got an ulterior motive.

He might get a creature or two, just for the hell of it, but someone might notice him making off with a cube of his own for further study.

They won't miss just one, right?]

[C. ALL MY MACHINES ARE MADE FOR... DECORATION]

[It's been a process, figuring out how magic works and is integrated with technology here, and he's pretty sure it hasn't been helped by his encounter with zaShunina, but he's learning. Difficult, despite his genius mind. Too different from the technology he's so familiar with. But bit by bit, some of the things he's been shown start to make sense, start to fit together, stop being junk data and start being useful. It's like a puzzle, and he likes to work. Sure, he could take the easy way out, ask one of his sciencey acquaintences, use that weird mindshare thing, but he isn't. And now here he is, at a booth among the many, although his wares are a far cry from the eventual business that he can't believe he hasn't abandoned the concept of yet.

It's not even remotely what you'd expect to find at a farmer's market, but he's got a stall nonetheless, metal-and-plastic objects scattered around and over the surface. Tiny hovering egg-shaped things, sad proto-proto-badniks from a man who no longer has most of his resources. Oh, they might be exciting to other people... which is why he's here. Let the masses enjoy what he can't yet perfect.

He's not looking forward to actually selling anything, of course. Now that the Iris cycle's over, he's back to not even wanting to hold hands, and the fact that they won't let them use normal currency is, frankly, bullshit. He's not being much of a salesman either, sitting there with his chin in a hand, glaring at potential patrons, or focusing on working on more of the tiny things and ignoring the crowds.

But, hey, maybe the merchandise'll draw your eye anyway. Some of it is beeping.]

[D. S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G]

[He does take a break from his booth every now and then, when things get slow, because he's curious to see what other people have. Maybe he can find some materials, or at least something interesting to pass the time.

He's holding a limbed potato like it's the skull of Yorick, staring at it with his eyebrows furrowed.]

It's a novelty, I guess.

[E. WILDCARD]

[anything else catch your eye? anything else you're absolutely dreaming to do with robotnik for some reason? bring your own prompt, or hit me up via pm or agentkaz or discord by request for closed starters or brainstorming. i am extremely open to him getting b-cubed if you wanna go that route, or b-cubing your characters. or whatever!!]

Comments

D!

[restands]

[ Is there anything this place doesn't have? It's a miracle Zack hasn't gotten lost just looking at things since he showed up – it's been, what, a couple of days? – and he happens to be passing by when he notices the guy holding up... what? Is that real? It just doesn't seem right to him, so he steps up next to him and crosses his arms.

They're going to have an audience if this keeps up. ]

Are you sure something's not wrong with it?

[evilgrows]

Oh, something's definitely wrong with it.

[He's not sure what, exactly, but those growths are certainly wild. He turns it around in his hand for a bit, nodding slowly like it means anything.

It takes more than a moment for him to actually look at the man who spoke, but when he does, after a single glance, he offers the potato to him.]

a; hello i am late but so jazzed to tag you

[zutsuki]

[So, funny story. Tanjiro hails from the Taisho Era, roughly in the generalization of 1915-1920 Japan. So Robotnik's machines? Are a complete baffling wonder to him.]

[Which is precisely why rather than talk to the man or climb something to try and pop the bubble above his head to wake him up, he's watching in absolute confused fascination. He's also got no idea what steamed Austrian goat milk is, apart from probably milk from a goat from Austria, but not everything is that straightforward, especially given he also has no idea what a latte is.]

[Someone educate the oldschool child, he is missing the world.]

[So whenever Robotnik should happen to wake up from his daydream, there's a perplexed small teenager staring over his head, though by the time the bubble pops he maybe actually looks at his face, standing a little straighter.]

Oh. I'm sorry, I should have woken you up, maybe.

ALL IS WELL

[evilgrows]

[Nice and pleasant daydreams of being anywhere but here are all well and good, but they eventually have to end, especially since he's DAYDREAMING IN A PUBLIC PLACE AND HE'S NOT ALONE AND SOME CHILD IS WATCHING HIM AND WHAT THE HELL.

He's generally more focused than this, how the hell did he let his imagination just... run wild like this??

Fuck.]

Y'think? [he snarls, before peering around suspiciously. This didn't happen organically. There were--

creatures, that's it, there were creatures before he'd lost focus, and-- Oh. Wait. The kid. He turns his head to look at him again, frowning, eyes narrowed, teeth gritted.]

What the hell was that?

[zutsuki]

[Oh he has angered an already irate adult, how troublesome. Tanjiro frowns, pointing to a pixie some short distance away. The wretched thing is probably cackling wildly.]

Pixies. What were those things in your dream?

[Please excuse the curious child. He means well, which-- really, makes this worse, doesn't it.]

[evilgrows]

[He looks over towards where he's pointing... and yeah, that's the culprit. That's the thing that did this.

How vulnerable are they to lasers?]

Of course it's pixies, [he mutters.

WHY NOT. Why not be pixies. With a heavy sigh, he turns his attention to the kid again.]

What things? My machines?

[Just ignore the fact that whole thing was visible-- WHY]

[zutsuki]

[I feel like you could argue most organic things are pretty vulnerable to lasers, but that's maybe subjective when you take into account the only clear way to fight the pixies is singing badly.]

[Lasers are probably a good second bet, though.]

[He tilts his head.]

Oh, are they machines? I'm not very familiar with machines, so that explains why I'd never seen anything like them. They're... yours? Did you make them? [...Tanjiro why must you ask so many questions, let the man rest.]

[evilgrows]

[On one hand, he's nooooot exactly looking for a conversation right now. Not after annoyingly being caught off-guard by someone apparently seeing his goddamn daydreams that he shouldn't have been having in the first place and he's contemplating pixie extermination.

On the other... well, at least someone's giving his robots the interest they deserve. Hmph.]

Yeah, I did, [he allows.] They're... frustratingly absent.

sorry I'm late, here I am! B!

[mischiefandice]

[Sadly, Loki is all-too-familiar with the experience of being ripped away from a Universe whose rules he has mostly figured out, and thrown into a realm that operates following a completely different set of rules. It takes some time working out and even after months in Prisma, he still hasn't managed to gain back as much understanding of magic as he used to have.

Still, he can recognize a worthy attempt at cobbling together Prismal science and that of another universe. That's what draws him to Robotnik's stall, his hands in his back and his eyebrows arched as he investigates the small, hovering, beeping orbs.]

What are those meant to be? [he inquires, sounding amused even as he reaches out, his magic drawing one of the orbs into his palm.]

no worries

[evilgrows]

[Robotnik doesn't actually expect anyone to approach, either from his hostile nature or the fact that he doesn't have any fruits or vegetables or stupid little souvenir keychains or whatever for most people to be interested in. So, when Loki approaches, he doesn't offer a greeting, and doesn't speak until the question is asked.]

Experiments, [he mutters, watching suspiciously as the man ends up with one of the mini-drones in a hand. They're not quite his babies, but flawed as they are, he apparently still can't help but hold a certain fondness for them.

They might be a far cry from what he's usually capable of, but they're still his.]

Scrap metal and junk material, mostly. They're what I've got.

[Dr. Friendly he's not.]

[mischiefandice]

[Loki doesn't mind this man's abrupt manner. He was unkind too, when he arrived here, and he understands the irritation with this realm and its limits too well.

He manipulates the little orb carefully, using his magic to see inside it and understand what it's made of and how it functions. He arches an eyebrow at the sharp reply, opening his hand and letting the little drone escape and return to its friends.]

And what would you need, for the experiment to be successful? [He inquires, curious. If this man can build intelligent robots from scrap metal, then it might be worth providing him with better components to work with.]

[evilgrows]

[The tiny drones are only marginally intelligent, mostly just floating around and barely keeping from bumping into each other. Not bad for a first pass, sure, but not bad isn't good enough for Robotnik.]

Better materials, the right parts, a more nuanced understanding of local technology, take your pick.

[He nudges one of the drones towards another, which moves away from it, which moves away from that.]

This is basically the extent of what these do.

[mischiefandice]

[Robotnik's "not bad" is the best Loki has seen in Prisma since Stark disappeared, so he'll take it. He watches as the drones avoid bumping into one another, hovering at a safe distance instead.]

The first two can be acquired easily enough, but the last one will take work, [Loki answers, sounding amused.] This realm does not play by any rules I have known before.

[He arches an eyebrow, considering the drones with open interest.] What else would you like them to do?

[evilgrows]

Don't I know it, [he says with a quiet laugh.] I've been working on it, trust me. Everything's juuuuust different enough to be a hassle to start with, then you add a whole extra layer to throw people off. Amazing.

[Shrugging, he just pushes the drones around with a finger and watches them avoid collision.]

Anything, really. The ones I made back home had a number of uses. Surveillance, pursuit... weaponry... lot of options.

C

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata isn't so much here for screaming vegetables as for interesting gadgets and handiworks, so those little floating orbs do draw his attention. He approaches and points at them.]

What are these?

[evilgrows]

[Great, a customer. He doesn't even bother looking up from the one in his hand, screwdriver in its innards. More important things are going on.]

Stuff I'm working on.

[Real descriptive. He doesn't sound to be having the best time.]

Mostly just decorative at this point. Don't expect them to do anything.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Well, that's a little disappointing. He was hoping they'd shoot lasers or something.]

"At this point"... so what's the plan for them?

[evilgrows]

[Alas... weapons are further down the line than this. Until then... floaty paperweights. He glances up, finally, although he's still working.]

These? Nothing. Just a prototype to see if I could actually accomplish something. Another piece of the local technology puzzle.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hopefully Robotnik doesn't mind that Hijikata is smoking in his breathing space.]

I take it you haven't been here long, then? What kind of machines do you build at home?

[Because clearly that was his job before he got whisked away to Prismatica, right?]

[evilgrows]

[Oh, he minds, but he's dealing with it. He just nods towards his floating stock.]

These, but better.

[That's not fully it at all, not even remotely, but as much as he'd love to get his brag on, he's used to things being either classified or too evil villain for most people's tastes, so he chooses not to do so at this time.

Besides, talking means people stick around and he'd prefer the opposite of that, actually. He's the worst entrepreneur.]

Among other things.

B

[sleepinglotus]

I have a feeling they would have given you one to take if you'd asked.

[Ren had seen the man going about catching the odd creatures during his own exploration of the same and recognized him from their brief talk on the network. It was difficult to really stand out in a place filled with people from all walks of life, universes and Brothers knew what else but the "good" doctor just had an energy about him that made him noticeable, if Ren was being quite honest.

He didn't want to be his usual mother-henning self given that they were still basically strangers, but the snagging of one of the containers for use other than catching the creatures they were intended for caught his attention whether it was wanted or not.

But he wasn't snitching. They were already out of earshot of the researchers anyway by the time Ren caught up with him, and having not only grown up an orphan but generally keeping company that didn't always do things the most legal way possible back home made him someone who really didn't actually care.

It was a good conversation starter, though!]

[evilgrows]

[Robotnik froze when he heard someone speak. Whoops, caught. Not that he was being that stealthy about it, but he wasn't exactly being all up and up about it either. He turned to look, shrugging when he noticed it was one of the people who'd responded to his incredibly embarrassing network post.

After that, something like this was no biggie. At least now he was his usual self. Maybe he could have a normal conversation.

Ha.]

You know what they say, ask forgiveness, not permission, blah blah blah.

[Nobody else was coming after him, though. Shrugging again, his attention moved back to the cube, turning it around in his hand. The possibilities were endless, provided the possibilities involved putting a thing in a thing.]

Interesting little machine, isn't it?

[sleepinglotus]

[Sounds like something Sun would say.

Hell, he's probably said it before and Ren just didn't remember.

It gets a faint snort-chuckle, quiet and reserved as Ren often is. It takes a lot to get any sort of exaggerated reaction out of him so any noise is a good sign that he's amused.]

It's certainly not like anything I've ever seen before. Remnant's technology is fairly advanced but I doubt there's a need for something like it back home.

[Unless it could catch Grimm, which he highly doubts. That's been an issue puzzling thier best minds for ages.]

[evilgrows]

I've seen someone here with something similar, but nothing much like it where I'm from. Thought I'd check it out.

[He doesn't mention the fact that he intends to bring it home as soon as he figures out how in order to catch a blue alien hedgehog. Nobody needs to know that.]

Might make a zookeeper's job easier, depending on how much the animals want to make a jailbreak. Otherwise... probably not much use for it, I guess.

[Just totally normal concepts. Totally.]

[sleepinglotus]

["Zookeeper" has a faint tense reaction from Ren. As most creatures in the world were Grimm, and they were notoriously difficult to keep captive, the only "zoos" he had any knowledge of were the absolutely disgusting ones that Faunus had been kept in. It was more or less a black market of trafficking that thankfully was cracked down on long long long before Ren was even born but even reading about them had made his stomach churn.

He doesn't think that's the same sort of zoo being spoken of here, though.]

Oh? What's got you so interested in it then?