thedifferencebetween | Ryslig Inbox

yeah come on over

look i promise ur title will b even cooler!

On it; be over soon!!!

Oh uh.... should I bring your Christmas present? Or you want to wait till we're closer to The Day?

oh yea thats wut ppl used 2 call mercenary's day

depends

i gonna b seeing u on the holiday?

MERCENARY'S DAY

When the heck did THAT flip happen?! That's the literal polar opposite of the Baby Jee.

I don't know Handsome, are you? Wilson's holding some kind of weird business cocktail hour that night, but uh... my afternoon's free. And my morning. If you want.

(God, DON'T tell him it's called Mercenary's Day in the future, we really WOULD never hear the end of it.)

im gonna guess when we figured out theres no gods only aliens

oh yea? i hadnt heard about that

but yea come hang with me! holidays in a castle

whos making u a better offer than that?

(i cant make any promises thats what i call the holiday)

Oh.

[AWKWARD.]

You don't think I'm coming over just to ogle your battlements, do you baby?

It's not the ONLY reason.

All right- that sounds real nice, Jackie-O. Colour me there.

[Harley's fingers hesitate on the keys for a second. Is this weird? Is this a thing?]

We could even make it a sleepover, if you wanted? Just to, you know, watch for Santa together. But if you're busy or whatever, that's totally cool!

but they sure sweeten the deal!

santa...annoying ferret monsters...whatever shows up

holidays around here can get WEIRD

but i dont have any plans other than watching wutever passes 4 holiday movies on the biggest screen bavan has 2 offer

u should spend the nite itd b fun

ill wear a festive hat while we bang n everything

I'm holding you to that festive hat. Don't think I won't.

Oh, and don't worry about food- I uh, don't think I should be eating stuff anymore. But I wouldn't say no to some good hot cocoa.

And I can bring my gun. In case the ferrets show up.

OKAY. In that case, your present is staying right where it is- be over in half an hour or so, I'll speed it. See you soon, babe.

c u soon babe!

And Jack is already outside by the time Harley shows up, a large wooden crate next to him already loaded up with some art he wants up at the castle rather than here at what he's taken to calling the lake house.

He's got a lot to think about, but...not right now. Harley and Angel talking. The fact that he and Harley have absolutely just agreed to spend a major holiday together. How the fuck to fix things with Angel. Just a whole lot, but he'd much rather focus on getting his castle set to move into properly.

Harley's changed again, and it's obvious when she pulls up next to him. The synthetic skin and patchwork metal have crawled all the way up her throat, stopping just below her chin. And it's obvious because, despite the fact that it's mid-Decenver, she's still rocking shorts, a tank top, and big blocky boots.

The cold don't seem to mean much, anymore; though, after that drive, Harley's strongly considering some ear muffs for her still-human head. Maybe a big slouchy hat. And that's definitely better to focus on than that she and Jack are going to wake up together on Christmas morning. Because that's- well for two people who are firmly not in a capital-R Relationship, that's kind of a big deal. Isn't it? Is it? She doesn't even know what Mercenary's Day means to him- maybe they're going to wake up and have a shoot-out.

But the smile is broad on Harley's face, when she arrives; catching Jack's eye, and craning her neck down to look down at the crate. "Hey Handsome. Need any help with that?"

Harley's voice has changed, too; there's a mechanical hum to it, that wasn't there before.

Oh yeah, he can see why Harley mentioned going off solid foods. Once the mechanics reach a certain point, there's just not enough of an organic digestive system left to handle it. He's never met a Sim that could handle solid food. Some of them can do liquids, but he'll make somebody eat his hat if he ever finds one that can down a cheeseburger.

Still...it's a good look on her. Jack's never been what he'd consider a robophile, but it's not like he never dabbled in botsex. And not just testing out the Handsome Jack sexbots for Opportunity, he'd spent plenty of time in The Handsome Jackpot's red light district. And Harley is one sexy cyborg.

That he's spending the holiday with. When was the last time he even did that? He doesn't remember. And it's not like it's one of those little stupid holidays, it's friggin Mercenary's Day. Which, as far as Jack's been able to tell, is exactly the same as Christmas just without all the religious shit. But whatever! She's his best friend, who else would they spend the holidays with? Nobody? That's just stupid.

And so what if it is kinda romantic? He's never been shy about how he feels, he's still not about to push for any kind of official relationship or something. They're a pair of friggin robots for fuck's sake, they can do what they want and call it whatever they want.

"Nah, I got it." It's not much to him, with his robotic strength. He gets the crate in back on his own and hops in the front seat. "Alright, you're gonna wanna hit Bavan and head north east. Castle's up on the coast. It's...it's exactly what I asked for! A big ass friggin castle!"

She takes a moment, when he's settled next to her, to lean over and catch his mouth in a kiss. Jack's a surprisingly good kisser, considering he can't move his mouth; and she's so used to it by now it doesn't seem weird at all.

"Let's do it." Getting the big boat of a thing turned around, Harley takes the turn that will get them back on the freeway.

"And you got it just in time for Christmas, too! Er- Merc's day- Nat- Nattenmacht?- Whichever. Dunno how they celebrate in the future, but where I'm from, they put up lights- garlands- a big pretty tree-" Harley's eyes go briefly misty with Christmas cheer, and she sighs. "I love this holiday. You going to decorate? I can help!"

"They're the same friggin thing. The tree, the lights, the presents, the jolly fat dude who pals around with elves and breaks into your house in the night...the whole shebang." Jack waves his hand vaguely. The only difference is Mercenary Day doesn't involve Jesus or any of that happy bull crappy.

Everything else remains the same.

"Gonna get the biggest friggin tree, put it in the grand hall or the throne room or something. Lights all over, really do it up. Why the fuck not?"

The noise Harley makes is practically a squeak, and she drums her fingers a little on the steering wheel. "It's so exciting! Oh my god, and we can decorate in your colours, sparkly black and yellow? Big strings of garlands- I got this glass blower to make some ornaments for the tree up at the Nest, too, if you want!"

Okay, deep breath Harley girl.

"Sorry, sorry- it's your castle, you do whatever you want with it- I just- I love Christmas. Ice skating and hot drinks and giving people presents and all the colours-" There's a deep breath in, and out, the grin still big and broad on Harley's face. "It's just- it's the best.

Ooh, and hey! I finally found a name for Roboboy that you gave me. You know anything about Commedia Dell'arte?"

"Babe...I always decorate in my colors. They're classy as hell! Wait till you see some of the friggin fireplaces in this place, you could fit like five people inside of'em!" There's a lot to decorate, is his point.

"Hey, it's cool, we can do all the winter holiday fun crap. Decorate, go shopping, mess around with snow...whatever." Jack's really just glad he's not going to be stuck spending the holidays with his friggin handyman. Who probably has other plans anyway.

"Uh...was that that pretentious weird theater that gave birth to improv? If it is, that's all I know about it."

"It ain't pretentious!" They're on the freeway now, and Harley has to raise her voice over the wind blowing around them. "It's archetypical. Everyone knew the characters, and they could be played by anyone cause they wore the right masks. Actually, it was used to keep people up in recent events; a big story would happen, it'd be adapted to the characters, and everyone could roam around spreading the news and making a little money off it."

Now she's sounding pretentious, and Harley knows it; she frowns a little, giving a head shake. "The point is, that's where harlequins got started; with Arlecchino, the comic foil trickster who was always getting into trouble. And since Roboboy is kind of a Harlequin too, now, that's his name. Arly, for short."

"I mean it's kinda pretentious but what do I know, I'm not a theater dude." He's not gonna argue. Theater isn't his thing, he likes movies and comics.

"But that is a hell of a name for the little guy! Glad you figured something out."

Jack's eyes are on the road, watching and waiting for the first hint of his castle on the horizon. It's visible long before it's reached, towering spires cutting into the sky. It's big. It draws the eye. And he can't wait to show it to Harley and see her reaction.

Harley's response is one of mature dignity; she blows a raspberry. But she's grinning.

The spires appear first, as the road climbs a hill. Then more comes into view; and more, and more, and Harley's mouth drops open as the full magnificence of the place finally comes into view. "Jack." The breathless word is snatched by the wind, and nearly inaudible. "That's incredible."

She turns wide eyes on him; but only for a second, and then she's taking it in again. "Did you design it? Is it something you had back home? It's freaking huge!"

Edited 2020-12-18 03:38 (UTC)

"I told Mana what I wanted, the whole gothic cathedral meets King Arthur thing. Which she nailed, by the way, that is exactly the kinda thing I had in mind. I mean I coulda done darker stone, but...I didn't specify."

That's on him, and it's fine. It's fantastic. It's a castle! His castle! And he hadn't even had to wait for it to be done, he bought it and bam, here it is!

"Wait till you see the throne room. It's huge! Big old long ass hall, raised throne, whole deal. And so many rooms...I haven't even seen the whole inside yet, to tell ya the truth! Cuz it's that big!"

"Nah." Harley's tone is definitive, still taking in the sight. "Any darker and it'd start edging into menacing. And you're not menacing, handsome honey; you're inviting and witty and charming and fun. So you should have a place that looks fun, too."

She stretches out a hand along the back of the seats, and slides her fingers through his hair. "No, I think Mana got it just right. You think it's got secret passages? It's got to have secret passages, right? And we're definitely banging on your throne, right?"

This time, when Harley looks at him, her eyebrows waggle comically.

"Oh I'm all those things! But also menacing, too. You just haven't seen too much of that yet."

Very few here have, Jack's realizing. He's not sure if it's the changes or just the fact that this whole world is entirely different than his own, but he's a lot more loved than feared around here. Back home it had been a nice equal helping of both, but...he hasn't really had to inspire much terror in Ryslig. Humans in general were already nervous of him just because he's a 'monster'. His team at the labs respects and likes him and works hard, so he hasn't had to threaten anybody or anything. Same with the people who work for him around the house.

"It's definitely got secret passages, they're all over the damn thing! And how do ya think I plan to break said throne in? With you."

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