internet, meet [insert title of glam's webseries]

[mxglam]

To Glam's continued delight, more kissing sessions happen on the following days (when they're feeling like a boy). They haven't met her parents as her official boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever yet, and don't mind it too much.

News about Purity's escape surprises exactly no one, but the Protectorate's reputation suffers a blow because of the attack; after all, the heroes were beaten on their home turf. The PHO forums are abuzz, though rumors of Glam's death at the hands of Hookwolf (probably started by same) prove largely unfounded.

And Glam really should get to their webisodes and start building a steadier rep. And that's (one of the reasons) why they're in Lorica's workshop a few days later.

"So what should I do? I haven't posted anything since Purity, should probably make this more of a habit."

Comments

[thinkering]

"You will wish to be comfortable in a way that doesn't rely on power use," advises the bot.

[mxglam]

They nod and float over to the loveseat-

[msglam]

-and the costume's gone, causing her to flop onto it.

[thinkering]

"Your current choice of shape will limit what Lorica might decide to do with you," the bot points out.

[msglam]

She shrugs. "Can't be helped. We'll focus on creating a Siberian for now."

[thinkering]

"All right."

Shoulderbot lifts off and hovers over Sadde's face and starts drifting back and forth and issuing instructions in a low, soothing, level imitation of Lorica's voice.

[msglam]

She relaxes. And listens. And focuses. And breathes. She thoroughly gives in to the voice, in a way similar to how she does to her own power, to her beliefs. There is nothing but that voice, nothing at all, and what it says is the sum total of things in the universe.

[thinkering]

It goes on saying things for quite a long time, even after Sadde's gone all still and silent.

And when Lorica comes out of her fugue she has a surprise.

The bot briefs her. And then she scoots her chair over to the loveseat and says, "Can you hear me?"

[msglam]

"Yes."

[thinkering]

Okay now what. Um. The bot finds her something. "You're in a forest," Lorica asserts, because if she says 'beach' and something goes all capey she doesn't want water damaged hardware to deal with. She goes on about the forest in detail roughly parallel to the website's beach example and then says, "Describe the forest to me."

[msglam]

Well, isn't it good she didn't choose to say 'beach'? Because there are in fact things appearing as Sadde describes it, in much more detail than Lorica started with.

[thinkering]

As long as it's not raining. Okay, Glam's probably hypnotized. Lorica picks up a twig and inspects it, wondering if the stuff is any more robust against squinting than usual.

[msglam]

As far as Lorica can tell, it isn't.

The ground is covered with earth, dry leaves, rocks, fungi. The trees start surrounding them, simultaneously taller than her ceiling should be but somehow still fitting inside the room. There's sunlight mysteriously being filtered by the branches, and a breeze blows softly from the distance.

[thinkering]

This is more stuff than Glam can usually track at once, isn't it...? And the light from no source is new, too. And the distorted space effect.

[msglam]

Yes to all, but squinting at the space-distorted trees works from a greater distance than it does on regular objects. Furthermore, this accidental squinting clearly disturbs the trance, as Sadde frowns and expresses confusion about the absent trees before another one replaces them.

[thinkering]

"The trees are fine," Lorica tells her. "The trees are just how they should be."

[msglam]

Sadde is reassured, as long as Lorica doesn't look at them too much.

[thinkering]

Lorica lets robots look at everything for her and focuses on Sadde. She grabs a decommissioned plate of Transit's armor which she's replaced. "In the forest," she says, "is another you. The other you is white with black stripes, and won't go through the floor, or hurt anyone or damage any equipment, but when I give them something, they can destroy it, going through it like it's not even there."

[msglam]

The other her appears there, amidst the trees, half-hidden. She doesn't really do anything, not even blink.

[thinkering]

Lorica gingerly hands the stripey copy Glam the old armor plate.

[msglam]

The stripey copy takes and looks down at the armor plate, but doesn't actually do anything to it.

[thinkering]

"When they clench their hand the armor plate they're holding will fall to pieces," Lorica predicts.

[msglam]

Sadde agrees. Of course they will. What else could they do?

And that is, indeed, what happens.

[thinkering]

Lorica starts rummaging around for other things to offer the Siberian-copy. She comes up with some scrapped robot bits she couldn't salvage and repeats the experiment.

[msglam]

The Siberian copy drops the stuff it's destroyed and grabs new stuff, destroying it with just as much ease.