[TOY] Plaything

[skinstealer]

POLKA DOT: Yeah, I-
POLKA DOT: I don't get it.
POLKA DOT: This is totally out of nowhere, and like-
POLKA DOT: No way you did anything wrong.
POLKA DOT: Not sure why he's acting like that, but he's been weird the whole trip.
POLKA DOT: You're just doing what you always do, from what I can tell.
POLKA DOT: Maybe he like, had a bad dream or something, but you're not the asshole here. No way.
TIMOTHY: ...I g-guess...
 

He tries wiping his face again with a couple of sniffles.

TIMOTHY: But-
TIMOTHY: I just-
TIMOTHY: I've done everything I can to be a good partner, and he was fine last night!
TIMOTHY: Weird, but like- fine.
TIMOTHY: He even asked for a hug before bed, it was...sweet.
TIMOTHY: Like... he wasn't really acting as himself, but he was still really kind to me, and- I wasn't doing well after the whole...killing a monster thing.
TIMOTHY: But he sat with me and we talked and it was...it was nice.
TIMOTHY: Every time he changes colors, it's just- it's like seeing a whole different side of him.
TIMOTHY: And I don't know how to deal with it.
POLKA DOT: I mean, if he doesn't apologize to you, I know I'm gonna be pissed.
 

He looks up at you with a startled expression, causing you to wave your wings around defensively.

POLKA DOT: I'm not trying to start shit!
POLKA DOT: But like-
POLKA DOT: This isn't fair to you!
POLKA DOT: I know you'd do anything for this guy!
TIMOTHY: ...I know, but...
TIMOTHY: ...
TIMOTHY: I can't...pretend I'm also not mad, at least not a little bit.
TIMOTHY: I do so much to try and make this work, even if I stumble sometimes...
TIMOTHY: And to have him turn on a dime like that-
TIMOTHY: I don't get it.
TIMOTHY: B-but...
TIMOTHY: If...if you do talk to him...
TIMOTHY: ....
TIMOTHY: Leave any like, anger, to me.
TIMOTHY: He's probably going through a lot right now, if he's acting this volatile.
TIMOTHY: I'm scared of whatever's going on with him, but...that's my place to handle that.
POLKA DOT: ...do you want me to talk to him?
TIMOTHY: M...maybe. I'm still really raw, so...
TIMOTHY: Might be good to have a third party go see what's up...
TIMOTHY: Just...be...nice, I guess?
TIMOTHY: ...at the end of the day, I still love him. I want him to be safe.
POLKA DOT: Well, if I'm going to talk to him...
POLKA DOT: I should probably check in with Roulette first.
POLKA DOT: See if it knows anything.
TIMOTHY: Not a bad idea....
TIMOTHY: It knows him better than me.
TIMOTHY: If anyone has an inkling as to what's up, it would.
POLKA DOT: Is there anything else I should know first?
POLKA DOT: Has this happened before?
 

He thinks to himself for a few moments.

TIMOTHY: ...for the past while, sure. Since the training exercises, I think.
TIMOTHY: It's...it only happens when his face changes color.
TIMOTHY: Red, yellow, and...black.
TIMOTHY: I've only seen the black once, back with Wanderer.
TIMOTHY: Wait, no-
TIMOTHY: Once more.
TIMOTHY: He woke up from a bad nightmare and didn't want to be touched- kind of like this, but...more quiet. Like he didn't want to talk, either.
TIMOTHY: Almost dazed.
TIMOTHY: The yellow tint seems to be, like- nice?
TIMOTHY: Like yesterday...really cheery.
TIMOTHY: ...Red is angry. Really angry.
TIMOTHY: I've never seen this before though, and I have no idea what to even look up to help...
TIMOTHY: And...he's still scared of doctors. He doesn't want to go.
TIMOTHY: ...that's all I know. I've been trying to make sense of it ever since I noticed the mood swings.
POLKA DOT: Hmm...I guess that's something to go off of.
POLKA DOT: I'll see what Roulette thinks, I guess.
POLKA DOT: ...thanks, man.
TIMOTHY: I'm the one who should be thanking you...
POLKA DOT: You gonna be okay on your own?
TIMOTHY: ...yeah.
TIMOTHY: I'm...gonna eat breakfast and try to calm down.
TIMOTHY: ...best of luck.
 

You nod, giving him a pat on the back before getting up...

...and heading outside the tent.

Roulette is just next to the entrance.

It's standing perfectly still; sickle in one claw, touching down to the grass.
The robot is staring off into the distance at nothing.
You've spent enough time around it to notice that its lens looks different, somehow; almost Vacant, in a sense.

You approach slowly, the snow crunching under your boots.

POLKA DOT: ...hey, Roulette.
ROULETTE: Yes.
 

It answers a bit too quickly, without looking at you.

POLKA DOT: You, uh...
POLKA DOT: Up for talking a bit?
POLKA DOT: ...about Devo. I just talked to Tim, and...
POLKA DOT: He's going through some shit with Devo, and wants me to go check on him.
POLKA DOT: But...I figured I would check with you first.
POLKA DOT: You know him best. Could have some info that might help.
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: ...I can ch-
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: We can talk, though seeking a second opinion - one other than mine - might prove more helpful.
POLKA DOT: I mean, Tim's definitely, uh-
POLKA DOT: We talked.
POLKA DOT: So...got his.
POLKA DOT: We both thought you'd be good to ask too.

It doesn't respond.

You blink, unsure what to do.

It...did say we could talk, so...

POLKA DOT: Have you, seen, uh-
POLKA DOT: Any of these..."mood swings", before?
POLKA DOT: With the color changing, and stuff.
ROULETTE: Yes, I have.
POLKA DOT: Uh...
POLKA DOT: Can you, uh-
POLKA DOT: Tell me? About them?
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: I can...attempt, to.
ROULETTE: If you really think it may help in some way.
POLKA DOT: Whatever I can get to help is good.
POLKA DOT: ...even if you don't think it's important.
ROULETTE: It's less about the information possibly being 'unimportant', and more that I am not sure my observations would be accurate at all.
ROULETTE: I do not want to mislead you in any way that would make the situation worse.
ROULETTE: So please take anything I say with a grain of salt, and I will do my best to leave out most details for the sake of Devo's privacy.
 

It adjusts its position very slightly, looking uncomfortable.
The bot's claw squeezes its sickle a little tighter.

ROULETTE: I have noticed four different patterning colors from Devo that seem to, at least in part, correspond to different...modes, is how I thought of them.
ROULETTE: Certain emotions tend to come about more often depending on which color is present, though it doesn't tend to be that simple.

ROULETTE: Devo most often has a blue pattern, as I'm sure you're aware.
ROULETTE: Blue seems to be when he's at his calmest, and usually his most social.
ROULETTE: He can still become anxious, or upset, or happy, or anything else; but typically the largest pattern I've noticed with blue is that he is socializing, or at least feeling more social than otherwise.
ROULETTE: It's often when he seems most receptive to spending time with others, and talking more at length; heavy socialization.

ROULETTE: I have seen black a few times, and he seems entirely the opposite.
ROULETTE: He seemed to be in more of...what I would consider a 'low' state of mood.
ROULETTE: Low energy, out of it; possibly depressed, but it seemed like more than that.
ROULETTE: ...Vulnerable, almost. Raw. Unable to keep up with average social standards, possibly due to social exhaustion?
ROULETTE: I can't really say.
ROULETTE: He has sought out my company once or twice while like that, but didn't speak much.
ROULETTE: I tried to do my best to go along with the 'mode', and stay relatively quiet, and calm.
ROULETTE: Typically I would keep the lights low, and put something on the TV or radio in my room; low volume, as well.
ROULETTE: Sometimes I would share snacks with him when he was like this. He seemed to appreciate this, but I do not want to speak for him.
ROULETTE: I tried not to talk too much, or pry into things.
ROULETTE: I would occasionally try to ask if he was alright, or just talk a little about other things.
ROULETTE: I thought the distraction might help. I am unsure if it ever did, or if he needed the help at all.
ROULETTE: As I said, I can't speak for him.

ROULETTE: Yellow often seems more high energy, to me.
ROULETTE: Not quite 'bouncing off the walls' high energy, but more...having seen or thought about something that made him excited.
ROULETTE: While yellow, he seems much more likely to talk about things that interested him, or be curious about things around him.
ROULETTE: ...I...have an easier time when he's talking a lot about his own interests, while yellow.
ROULETTE: There are times when he seems to want to ask...questions about Me?
ROULETTE: ...Not anything inappropriately personal, but still...personal, in some ways.
ROULETTE: I have a more difficult time with that.
 

The robot looks away from you a few moments, as if self-conscious.

ROULETTE: ...Apologies, irrelevant.
ROULETTE: At any rate, the sort of carefree nature that comes about in that state often isn't conducive to things like...safety, for instance.

ROULETTE: Red is...a little harder to define for me.
ROULETTE: He's angry often, when he's red, but he would often vent at length about things that were bothering him, when like that.
ROULETTE: To me, it always seems like he gets red when he feels he was badly hurt, or was very frightened of being hurt.
ROULETTE: A...'defense mode', is almost how it seems, to me.
ROULETTE: When something has upset him greatly, and he wants to avoid that at all costs.
ROULETTE: ...It always made me think, that something must have frightened him, when he gets like that.
ROULETTE: It makes me think of animal defense mechanisms; bright colors to ward off predators.
ROULETTE: ...I don't think it runs that deep at all- Sorry, not worth bringing that up.

The robot pauses, looking down in thought, before returning its gaze to the distance ahead.

ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: I think I've just given you a lot of unrelated, unhelpful guesswork about Devo's behavior.
ROULETTE: As I said before, please take this with a grain of salt.
ROULETTE: You may be better off not taking any of that into account at all.
ROULETTE: But, I hope somehow this was not a waste of your time.
 

It's a lot of information...

POLKA DOT: ...seems to line up with what Tim said, at least.
POLKA DOT: I...think it's good stuff to know.
POLKA DOT: ...Red Devo never got mad at you, though?
ROULETTE: Devo did seem to be upset with me, earlier.
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: ...That is the first time I can remember, that it was directed at me.
ROULETTE: I am not sure there is much to read into, with that.
ROULETTE: I made mistakes, and it was a high-stress situation.
ROULETTE: I am sure Devo has likely gotten upset with me more often, but likely not shared it.
ROULETTE: He may have vented to Tim about me when upset with me, for example.
POLKA DOT: ...Tim never mentioned it, at least.
POLKA DOT: I...wouldn't worry too much.
POLKA DOT: ....

You rock back and forth on your heels, a bit.

POLKA DOT: ...thanks. For sharing all that.
POLKA DOT: Do you think there's anything I should keep in mind while talking to him?
ROULETTE: ...What are you wanting to address, with him?
POLKA DOT: He, uh...
POLKA DOT: Really freaked out at Tim, this morning.
POLKA DOT: Between that and the jerky thing, I want to figure out what's up.
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: ...oh.
POLKA DOT: Yyyyyeah.
POLKA DOT: Something, about, like-
POLKA DOT: Tim did this like, check-in thing he usually does.
POLKA DOT: Tap on the back.
POLKA DOT: Devo, uh....
POLKA DOT: Accused him, of, uhhhh-
 

You make some useless hand gestures.

POLKA DOT: Not...great shit.
ROULETTE: ...He does
ROULETTE: tend to be sensitive to touch, at times.
 

The bot's fans spin faster.

ROULETTE: I w
ROULETTE: . . .
ROULETTE: ...I'm not sure.
ROULETTE: I do not want to say anything that would make things worse.
ROULETTE: You should probably stick to Tim's advice.
ROULETTE: I apologize for b-
ROULETTE: I apologize for being unable to help.
POLKA DOT: No, you-
POLKA DOT: This is a lot of help.
POLKA DOT: Thank you. Seriously.
ROULETTE: I hope it goes well.

You nod, standing there awkwardly before giving a little wave and turning around.

POLKA DOT: ...here goes nothing.
 

Walking towards Devo feels like a weight settling in your belly, making your nerves go on high alert. He's sitting and staring out into the distance just like Roulette, not even noticing you as you approach from the side.

POLKA DOT: ...hey, Devo?
 

As you get closer, you can see his red accents-

-and the fact that like Tim, he'd also been crying.

He doesn't bother to wipe his face, though.

DEVO: ...what do you want.
 

Even with his harsh words, he sounds, more....

...lonely.