tabularasa_rp | [OPEN] Ha? You think I'll apologize?

Turing's expression turned sour. Oh dear. While Add relenting did count for something, there were some things that certainly didn't. The first was calling their design, and therefore Hayden's design, impractical. Turing's loyalty to Hayden was certainly more nuanced than before, but there were still lines that could be crossed! Number two was the topic of a primary designation. That wound was still a bit sore, and it made a particularly unpleasant conversation spring to mind immediately.

"Am I not allowed to exist unless I'm of some use to humans? But very well, I'll tell you."

Oops, some sass slipped out before the explanation did. Anyway.

"It's..."

Turing paused. Many ROMs did have roles to fill, and in a variety of professions to boot, including as companions or assistants. They often took on the role of an assistant, true, but that wasn't the entirely of their being. It was just a part of them. So what was their purpose?

"My main designation is whatever I want it to be!"

They stood up straight with their head up high, and they swapped their sour expression for a proud one. Saying that out loud felt...nice!

He's quiet for once as they speak and collect themselves, staring with an ever-growing intensity. He doesn't want to get his hopes too high, but he knows what sass sounds like—an ordinary machine doesn't sass. And those subtle changes in expression... could that be signs of an emotional response? It could just be a fluke, but if it's true...

And then they go and seal the deal with a declaration like that. Did he seriously find not only a new type of advanced machine, but one capable of free will and emotion?! That's almost comparable to Eve (aside from Eve being the clearly superior machine in every competing aspect, of course, but he's willing to acknowledge the similarities).

He's already starting to grin manically at the possibility, a low and ominous chuckle starting to build in his throat. He has to be sure, though. Luckily, he has a lot of experience with gauging the emotional capacity of machines.

"Is that a way of saying you don't have one? You must be a rather useless machine in that case, heheheh. I was starting to get interested, but I guess you're just a pile of scraps!"

(Somehow, he still wonders why it took so long for Eve to warm up to him, but you have to admit that trying to piss someone off is a quick way of making them get emotional.)

The apartment complex is usually quiet - a little too quiet in Raihan's personal opinion, but that means that verbal scuffles like the one going on a couple of doors down from him are quite noticeable. Add's jeering and general barging in is loud enough for Raihan to pick up on, and a peek out his door to see that Turing's door is wide open open gives the appearance of something being amiss.

He looks in just as Add is finishing his quip, leaning against the door frame with crossed arms. Duraludon peeks in as well, likely unable to fit into the room but still ready to be an imposing body if need be.

"'Pile of scraps'? That's a little mean-spirited, don't you think?"

Relaxed as ever, Raihan looks Add up and down. He seems like quite the free-speaker, to say the least... but when that sort of speech delves into insults, he's not going to just stand around and do nothing about it. His gaze moves to Turing next, hoping that they're all right.

"Sorry to intrude, but we heard a commotion and wanted to check in."

For a brief moment Turing was visibly hurt at being called a useless machine, though what might be brief for a human felt like ages for them. You hurt the robot's feelings, Add! How dare you. Once that passed though, an adjacent, but still noticeably different emotion came in its place: hand-clenching anger.

"Why you--!!"

Their outburst came at the same time as Raihan's entrance, which was a welcome distraction. It was enough to force them to think about what they were feeling, and to remind them to temper their frustration instead of letting it explode any further. For someone who had a tendency to have a whole lot of feelings all at the same time, that was very much welcomed.

"Mr. Raihan!" they exclaimed, though their gaze quickly fell to the floor. Were they a teeny bit ashamed of getting caught losing their temper? Well, maybe.

"I prefer your intrusion as opposed to...others." The pointed look at Add made it very clear who the "others" were.

They're being so obvious, it almost seems too good to be true. They're angry! He made this robot angry! Such an illogical, useless reaction could never be possible in just an ordinary machine! He leans forward, his grin only getting wider as he eagerly awaits for their anger to explode—

And just when their anger seems about to hit its peak, a nuisance appears. Add turns his head, startled for a moment but not quite willing to let Turing out of his sight. This man—Raihan?—isn't worth his attention right now. He scowls for a second before quickly looking back...

But it's too late. The building anger from before has already dissipated. Ah... although it's still quite fascinating to see them staring down like that, almost as if they're embarrassed about it... the intriguing thought is enough to cool his head again, his fascination with this new subject outweighing his annoyance at the interruption. Well, this is a fine result, too. He's still collecting invaluable data this way.

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about," he replies, waving a hand dismissively at Raihan. "We were just talking. Now, let's continue where we left off. Wasn't there something you wanted to say to me? Or do you agree that my assessment was correct? I can repeat myself if necessary— actually, why don't we start this discussion over from the top? I'd like to analyze your speech patterns in more detail this time, so just act naturally and you'll do fine. We'll start from the point where I asked about your main designation. Kukuku, go ahead whenever you're ready!"

Science is all well and good, but when your experiments involve bullying people into getting reactions you want, Raihan can't just stand by and watch it happen! He and Turing may not be well-acquainted, but he knows them enough to think that they deserve better than that. He'll gladly be a nuisance if it gets this guy to relent.

"I dunno about that! It was some pretty loud and forceful talking if you ask me," he observes, glancing around the room for a moment to make sure this confrontation has kept to words only. It doesn't look like anything has been rustled around, but he keeps leaning on the doorway with no intention of moving to play it safe. More or less ignoring Add's dismissive reply, he looks straight at Turing; he'd rather them be honest than try to play down the situation, and points a thumb at Add.

"Is this guy bothering you?"

Add had been...grinning? But why would he be happy about making them angry? The final piece for that puzzle fell into place when the next wave of questions came. Now they understood. They were being treated as a research specimen, not a person. At that realization, they turned their head away with a wilful pout. He wanted Turing to talk? They wouldn't talk, then. Hmph! Despite their cute appearance, they did, in fact, have a slightly bratty side.

It would become very clear that they were very selective with that side though, because when Raihan asked they did break their self-imposed 'no talking' rule without skipping a beat.

"Yes, he is being quite bothersome."

Turing was still being diplomatic, but maybe a better way of putting it was that they were still using diplomatic words. For now.

Edited (I'M VERY GOOD AT GRAMMAR) 2020-09-26 23:40 (UTC)

"Eh? Is that bothersome to you?" Somehow, he still cannot take a hint. Being ignored and called a bother... is so interesting!! "I haven't done anything wrong, have I? And you still haven't refuted my claims... could it be you're at a loss for words? Kukukukuku..."

He's just going to keep inching closer and chuckling ominously until someone drags him out of here by force, probably. He is far beyond the point of reason.

"Even when you're trying to hide it, that dome is so expressive... ahhh, but I bet it looks even more beautiful underneath...!" He exhales a dreamy little sigh as he fantasizes about taking Turing's head off. There's really no telling how deep this hole can go.

It's a little irritating to see a guy act so shamelessly aggravating, but not much more than that. Raihan is more concerned with keeping Turing safe than anything else; he doesn't know if the stranger is actually going to escalate it to something more than words.

"You called them 'useless', if I heard right. Most people would say that's a pretty crappy thing to do!"

He definitely doesn't like the way that he's inching closer to Turing; he takes a couple of strides into the room, putting himself between the robot and this potential loose canon. Call it the instinct of a person that's used to being a protector.

"You know, it's important to be able to read the room. I have a feeling you've overstayed your welcome..." He trails off, glancing down to Turing for confirmation. Do you want him to kick him out? Because he'll absolutely kick him out.

Ohhhhhh no, Turing did not like this on any level. As Add inched closer they inched away just as much, and Raihan's intervention was greatly welcomed. It was only after that intervention that Turing realized how tense their posture had been. It was still there on some level, mind, but it helped, and it reminded them just how tense they were in the first place.

Of course, then they started thinking. Did Add really want to take their head apart like that? What if it didn't end there? It seemed they were remarkably good at finding themselves in dangerous situations ever since escaping Hayden's apartment that fateful day. They were lost enough in their own thoughts that it took them a moment to respond to Raihan.

"Y-yes, I agree."

They glanced at Add, not quite able to look him straight in the eye, and addressed him directly. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

He was getting one last chance from Turing to end this more or less peacefully. Failing that, it was all up to Raihan.

Turing's reactions are so much different from what he's used to! It makes him want to cackle with joy—truly, the unpredictable nature of a free-thinking AI is one of the world's greatest pleasures! Even if he's stuck by himself in a strange world, he can never be bored with so many fascinating machines around...!

Alas, he's rudely interrupted before he can properly celebrate by this annoying guy standing in front of him. His immediate reaction is to... try and push him out of the way, barely even listening to his words, but this guy isn't exactly a lightweight. Only after that attempt fails and Raihan makes it clear that he's blocking the view on purpose does Add decide to acknowledge him again with a glare.

"Who are you supposed to be, a bodyguard? Mind your own business." ... though he can't really ignore that Turing is also asking him to leave now. He leans over to look around Raihan. "I'm not finished here yet! I only have one— no, two more questions left, then we can continue this at a later time!"

While Add feels like cackling, Raihan feels no such thing now that the conversation has taken a more threatening turn. He's not yelling, of course, but he stands tall and strong to try and avoid things getting any worse. If Add tries to get any closer, he'll simply step in his way - a nice perk of being ridiculously tall.

"Just a friend looking out for a friend. You made it my business when you started making low-key threats, you know?" He looks down at Add, cocking an eyebrow as he moves to block his view again. "You heard them, then. Off you go."

If he doesn't go after this, there might be... issues. Raihan would prefer it wouldn't get to that point.

Add continues stubbornly trying to inch his way past Raihan, but eventually he does have to admit this plan isn't working. This asshole is impeding his research efforts... the worst crime of them all! And what's this nonsense about making low-key threats?! He hasn't threatened anyone! He's just been interviewing this fascinating new specimen, that's all!

"You're completely misunderstanding the situation," Add persists. He may have given up on getting around Raihan, but he is not moving one inch until he can clear all this up. "I was just running a simple experiment, there was no harm done at all! What does a machine matter to you, anyway? Like I said, I just have a few more questions I wanted to ask, then I'll be on my way..."

[OPEN] Ha? You think I'll apologize?

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busts in!!!

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