HOME/LAB [maruki family thread tracker]

[takutomaruki]

I AM A SINNER...

╰┈➤ ❝ When we get to the pearly gates. You'll get the green light, I'll get the old door in the face ❞

date

type

link

desc

status

02/01

Toplevel

link

Welcome, dreamer, to the new dream

closed

15/01

Thread

link

Rank 1: Glass, nightmares and Hopes.

closed

27/01

Thread

link

Quick adjustments.

closed

03/02

Post

link

Rank 2: Before my goodwill crumbles away in these sterile lands.

closed

01/05

Top level

link

Rank 3: A gift

active

...YOU ARE A SAINT

Comments

[dollmaxing]

"Ohh? What knowledge do I get to know in return, hmm? Your cognitive psience studies? I haven't been able to observe it directly, so I am technically behind you and EMMA," Ichinose chuckled in amusement. It's not a no - sharing a little of her knowledge directly sounds risky, but fascinating.

[takutomaruki]

"I will teach you the art of desanding clams," he teases with a grin. "Or ways to accelerate the process while you are already hungover. Without me around. With me I could get you all this with my eyes closed-"

He stops, realizing what he's saying. "I do realize that's not something to be proud about right now."

After a moment's pause, the teasing slips. "I am joking. Like I said I have my papers if you ever need to read through them. They are all yours to refer to."

"Not to mention- again its the idea of autonomy. I could probably structure the idea of a computer or an AI but for it to grow...I need the knowledge from a sharp mind. That mind is you."

[dollmaxing]

"True enough - but I think if I program the AI and you talk to them first, that ought to help solidify the process of actually making them physical, don't you think? But I did promise I would teach you coding - if you want to poke around in my mind and learn that way, you have my permission."

[takutomaruki]

"...?!"

He was a little caught off guard by how easily Ichinose claimed to make that sentence. "Are you being serious?" He says, staring at her in confusion like she didn't just make a claim for him to do full open brain surgery on her to extract data of his own.

[dollmaxing]

"You can be that precise, can't you? You can go in, connect, share that knowledge... and then leave everything right as it was before you started. You have that level of control, don't you?"

[takutomaruki]

A storm of emotions flickered in Maruki's eyes: uncertainty, confidence, and an ignition in his ego. Becoming the perfect doctor to cater to everyone's needs, God, he would give everything to remove the pain in her heart. The pain that made the burrow in her chest, that she denied ever having a heart.

He places his hand on her arm, tentative but respectful. "I won't ever do anything that would hurt you, Ichinose-san," he shakes his head like even the thought of turning someone like her into Sparrow or the Doves was straight up absurd. "I swear- whatever anyone says- I won't do anything you don't want me to do."

[dollmaxing]

And yet here she was, telling Maruki to leave everything the way he found it. A pain she refused to acknowledge didn't need to be removed, right? Hah.

She smiled at the touch to the arm. That point of trying to connect, that moment of humanity - it should stir something in her, right? But she just looks at it, then into his face, curious about the warring emotions fighting to express themselves on his face.

I know you won't, is her immediate thought.

You better not, follows soon after.

"Good boy," is what leaves her mouth.

[takutomaruki]

Maruki freezes. Like, visibly. For just a second.

"Good boy."

A phrase that instantly short-circuits whatever calm professionalism he was pretending to maintain. His hand is still on her arm—but now it’s hovering slightly, as if unsure if it’s allowed to still be there.

"O-oh!" he lets out a little laugh, a little too quickly. "Well, I—I try! Years of positive reinforcement theory at work, right?" He makes a lame finger-gun gesture, then winces immediately as if even he knows that was too much.

"...Sorry did I make you uncomfortable?"

[dollmaxing]

She just laughs at that - she completely threw him for a loop, huh? The finger guns just made her laugh even harder.

"Hahah! Do I look uncomfortable to you?" she asked instead, amused entirely.

[takutomaruki]

"I mean...ending up in my apartment late night, having to sleep in my bed, using my shower..." he tries to explain, but that just seems to make him fluster a bit more. Really, in Japanese custom, most people, most of all Morning, would assume things got dicey after drinking.

He coughed and let his expression. "If I did say anything strange either today or last night- I have a bad habit of going overboard, you would tell me, right?"

[dollmaxing]

"You really don't remember, do you...?" Ichinose chuckled, smirking at him a little. Pausing, just to make him sweat it out for a minute.

"It's fine. We're friends, so I told you that if you wanted to do anything like that, my only rule is that we should be sober."

1/2

[takutomaruki]

"Oh no, what did I say?" He blinks at her, easily falling into the trap of falling into an endless circle of anxiety that would only spiral further.

He grows quiet when she proceeds to explain and gives him no context whatsoever.

The context he can fill in however, makes his sweat drop.

[takutomaruki]

His glasses would almost comedically reflect back white as he leaned forward and rested his chin on two clasped hands.

"...are we still talking about our research by any chance?"

[dollmaxing]

Ichinose leaned a little closer towards him, talking in a low tone, as if Morning might overhear.

"If I let you plumb the depths of my mind for research, I would let you explore more of me just for fun, too."

[takutomaruki]

Please just play along with the joke, please just play along with the joke-

Oh no, she's leaning close instead-

Maruki backs up on the sofa, scrambling for purchase as she leans in, her hair falling past her shoulder as it nearly drapes over his arm, the silkiness simmering in with the scent of his shampoo in the mix.

"Ichinose-san I-" his voice catches as his blush only sputters and sparks as he chuckles wryly. "I understand, alright? Message received; whatever preposition I made last night- I apologise for that."

"...and like I said I am not looking for a romantic relationship anytime soon so-"

[dollmaxing]

"Oh, me neither. We're friends, that's all," Ichinose chuckled, leaning her elbow on the back of the sofa. "I'm not interested in romance either. We even had a conversation last night along those lines - how tragic it'd be if someone got romantically involved with someone from another universe. Honestly, pass!"

[paradisefraught]

Is it safe to come out yet...? Morning knocks on his own room door. Loudly.

[takutomaruki]

"Y-yeah...even if that's the case-" Ugh, he hates stuttering like this, it will give away the wrong message- as if he isn't already giving the wrong message. Really if anyone saw him like this he's red as a tomato.

Knock knock.

"...!"

He turns at the sound of the noise before his eyes widen. "Morning-?" He's pulled away from the spell, picking up the two finished bowls and piling them together, sorting out the spoons as he got up from the couch. "Everything okay?" He calls out, now turning to Ichinose with confusion flickering on his face.

"Is he...knocking on his own door?"

[dollmaxing]

Ichinose laughed at that - what a strange thing to do, let alone in your own home!

"We're decent, Morning! You don't have to lock yourself away."

[paradisefraught]

Morning opens the door, shuffling out. "I'm sorry!! I just didn't want to interrupt anything... erm... important..."

[takutomaruki]

Decent? he mouthed at her, genuinely befuddled by the wording because he doesn't know how could they not be decent- oh. Right.

He coughed into a closed fist and looked away for a bit and really Morning was being a mirror to him right now- externally projecting his current state if he needed anymore proof of his lineage.

"Oh no, Morning- nothing to worry about here. We were just talking about work, weren't we?"

[dollmaxing]

"We have a plan to experiment with creating a physical AI, possibly by scanning a human mind as a partial template. Interesting, right?" Ichinose asked, leaning on the back of the sofa as she smiled at Morning.

At least Maruki is free of Ichinose for now!

[paradisefraught]

"That sounds fun!" Visibly relieved, Morning brightens. "Do you need to take my brain out of my skull to do it?"

[takutomaruki]

Now now, that is impossible, isn't it? Maruki isn't just free of someone. If he isn't carefully dissecting each facet of you and finding ways to ensure he can preserve your smile, he will do his best to do just that.

With that said, he quickly shuffles over with the bowls to the sink, the open doorway allowing any conversations to be heard.

And sure enough, he heard what Morning was saying- causing the bowls to clink all loudly and over each other, as if he had clumsily dropped them. He gulps as he turns to the wall with a look of complete bewilderment. Why would he say something like that?" "Now now- that would be a brain transplant, wouldn't it?"

"She's referring to a brain MRI. Or even an intracranial CT scan- depending on which one will be more accurate. Its a completely painless procedure morning..."

[dollmaxing]

"Besides, a brain transplant would be messy! I only know coding, I can't keep meat alive like that, hahaha!" Ichinose laughed heartily, like it wasn't a terribly morbid thing.

Really, it was such an outlandish idea that it just made her laugh.

"Do you want a robot sibling, Morning~?"