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RESPITE FALLS - OUTSIDE THE REACTOR BUILDING
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Mia: Mia was a bit nervous about this, in the kobold body ('Core' was nearby, in case that was needed) , and she knocked on the door to the reactor "Hey, May! It's Mia, I got something cool to show you, but you got to promise not to freak out,as it's totally safe, and I promise you there's no troubling existential questions at all. Pinky swear!" It's funny because she's pink.
Maybelline answers the door after a momentary pause wherein she worries about whether or not that statement is meant to be sincere or deeply, deeply ironic, and she's not sure which is better. Opening the door, she pauses to blink at the kobold. "...Mia? Wait... but you're..." She flings the door open a little too quickly, "What happened? What changed? Are you alright? Do you feel alright? What's your temperature? Do you need some milk?"
Mia: "Oh! None of those! There was some weird duplication flower thing Nesseth showed me, so I was able to get it, work out some of the mechanics of how it work, and get this! I'm here, but also over there!" She points to an alley, where her 'Core' is, who waves! "See! It's me..not like..clones, or two people" She giggles "And some people say you can't be in two places at once!" She goes for a hug! It's a big squishier than she remembers, what with her additional 'assets'
Maybelline drops her arms, completely flummoxed as Mia hugs her. She hugs back after a moment, staring down for a moment, "Well, you... kobold you... still has bigger boobs than I do..." Priorities, May. Priorities. She looks over at the 'Core', trying to take it in. "So you're... in both places. Okay. Because of... a flower Nesseth found? I mean, it makes as much sense as anything else, I suppose."
Mia: "It was a -magic- flower, and..uh..." She coughs awkwardly "Kobolds normally don't. I..don't know why it worked out like that honestly. Still working out the details! My theory had been I should have looked like the kobold I was before all this mess, but hey!" She smiles "Science is all about exploration, and working out mysteries! Maybe if we work out why, we can get you some back-ache too!"
Maybelline waves her hands between them, "Oh, no no no, I don't... I mean, that is, I'm just not so sure about magic for things so... I don't know... selfish? I don't really want to deal with that kind of thing. It just... it's a little off-putting. But congratulations? This is working out for you? Um... can I ask why? I thought you were pretty happy like that." She points towards the alley. "Are you trying to find a way to change things back? At least, in part?"
Mia: "Huh?" She thinks "Well, there's some practical applications if I could. Some old friends back in Sarn I'd like to talk to again without a lot of explaining but, really? Nah. I'm fine as I am. I don't need to sleep, my body resists a lot of stuff I used to have to wear protection for, and well, I think Nesseth would be dissappointed" She chuckles "and selfishness? I help people out all the time. I think I'm allowed include myself in that list of people I help from time to time, even if its just to..." She pokes the bust "Who, honestly? Kinda Impractical. Don't see why people get so annoyed for them being so small"
Maybelline takes it all in, folding her arms to listen and nod. "Well... just as long as you're okay... I just worry, that's all. I was finally getting used to these whole changes and... well, you. That sounds really rude, sorry. I just mean, um, I'm glad you're happy with it all. And uh, no really, don't worry about my bust. It's just a really, stupid thought of mine, and I'm not really all that annoyed with it, really. Really."
Mia: "There's no changes! This is just like..uh..you know those drones you have sometimes? Like those! But..with..this!" She wiggles "Legit, I'm over in that alley, and that's still the 'main me'. This body isn't even sustainable in the long term. After a few days it just kinda..breaks down. Still can't work out why"
Maybelline raises an eyebrow, "Is that... painful? Or do you just... disconnect? Huh..." She thinks through some of the implications. "How are you making it? This... duplication plant is enough to do all of this?"
Mia: "Oh, the plant is just preventing the seed, so to speak. I'm also using a good bit of power, but..no, it's like..uh..growing an extra limb?" She hmms "It's not just the plant, because I'm not just duplicating, I think it's like..bringing out the ..self concept? Like, what I think of myself as a person"
Maybelline reaches out to poke Mia in the arm, pondering. "Huh. So it's not just a magical manifestation, and it's not like, a plant kobold... I kinda thought maybe you were made of vines or something? But nope, flesh, eh? Or at least, some kind of manifestation of flesh... it is fascinating, if... way outside my expertise. But your line of research has always been above me."
Mia: "Aye, I put in a lot of raw beef as 'bulk' material" She smiles, and gives her another hug! "You've always been way better at practical implementation. I'm more in the research, than the engineering end. Also" She winks "Cuter~"
Mia: "You, to be clear"
Maybelline blinks, blushing slightly at the compliment on top of the hug, "I oh uh, thank you! I don't know about 'cute', let alone 'cute-ER'. But I'll totally take the implementation and engineering compliment. Raw... beef? So this is like a meat..." She tries to think of the word. "Construct? Huh."
Mia: "Yup! Pretty much. It's just a remote control bone, but..with boobs"
Maybelline hums at the boobs comment, looking down at them again with a critical eye. "Huh... and do note I am not volunteering, but have you tried this process with anyone else? Like, you mentioned Nesseth? Could give you different results as for the time it takes for the... you? To fade."
Mia: "Oh, well, for other people who are uh..baseline...organic, they grow extra bits. I think it only works for me, because I've got the techy stuff in me that lets me control techy stuff from a distance, which includes this" The boobs also probably are 'non functional' by May's estimation. Purely cosmetic. "I wouldn't want to try the full duplication on someone else, because I don't think the two would be linked, and that -would- cause weird existential problems, and nobody wants those"
Maybelline cringes, "Ahh, yeah. Agreed, let's avoid that scenario... it was kind of in the back of my head there with this too. I do wonder if this kind of thing is a result of the tech absorbed? An amplifier array was designed to better focus and direct the power generated by the magic containment... maybe you're controlling this second 'you' through a similar process?"
Mia: "Pretty much" She taps her meaty head "There's no 'processing' up here, it's all receiver" She chuckles "I have to be careful with it, since there's limited flower stuff, and I don't know a way to make this work without it, buut, maybe I can make proper organic constructs to use?" She shrugs "I dunno, this doesn't really feel like 'me', that's me" She tilts her head to the 'main body'
Maybelline: "That... sorta makes sense? I guess it is like the drone example. If I were driving one I'd be in control, but it wouldn't be me. Useful but... do you still feel the hugs?" She glances over towards the core body as well, frowning slightly.
Mia: "There's feedback, and..well, I tested it with Nesseth a bit, it's..there, but..not the same. Really hard to describe, maybe the best way is like it's sorta like..reading about it? With a real well written book, with lots of detail, it can feel almost real, but it's..not" There's a tilt of the head "Something up?"
Maybelline walks away from Mia over towards 'core' Mia to give her a hug. "Just thinking that this is intriguing, and I'm glad it's useful, but I do like the 'real' you over any duplicate, that's all."
Mia: "Oh! I do like the real me too" Mia returns the hug, while the 'kobold' just sorta..walks off home, where Mia doesn't have to focus on it "I like the real you too!" She catches herself before going further than a hug! She's gotten to used to being overly affectionate! "Either way, lots of neat research being done" Which she's happy to talk about!¬
Maybelline nods, grinning, "I'm always here to talk shop with you. I can you some of the generator upgrades I've made recently too if you want." She points towards the door, inviting Mia inside the generator building to continue their talks.
Mia: "I'd love to!"