thefoundation | Opinions without 3.1415 are just Onions (Week1 post trial)

Yeah. I... I like knitting.

[ That's it? No posturing about how he's the best, most evil knitter in the world? Apparently not. Giovanni reaches the end of a row in his current project and flips it over, knitting on. ]

All right.

[ It's... unexpected, but seems like a perfectly acceptable hobby to him. It's producing something with a functional use, so it can't really be considered a waste of time like the parties and games he always judges people for being into.

...And he just really likes personalized clothes. ]

What's that going to be?

Bandannas.

[ He gestures at two completed squares of yarn, one red and one blue, which do indeed seem about the right size to be bandannas, should the wearers wish. Both are emblazoned with the initials BB. ]

I told Matrix I was gonna make him one, and then... well. So... here I am. You got a favorite color, science guy?

[ ...God he would never wear that in a million years, but maybe if he could make it into a cravat or something. Or maybe he can just request a scarf if this is actually going to be an offer. ]

Oh... um, blue, I guess? You know, like my name.

[ He has not fully accepted red and pink into his life yet. ...Also he kind of saw enough of those colors splattered around yesterday already. ]

[ Giovanni's cool with Saphir wearing it however he wants, honestly. Self-expression is important, especially in a group where everyone dresses the same. It's why he wears that dumb cape! ]

Blue? You got it, Frosty.

[ It's as good a placeholder minion name as any! ]

Hey, uh, speaking of names, did you ever come up with one before... everything went down the past few days? If you want, I can keep riffing on the cold thing... Frostbite? Cold Front? Freezer Burn?

[ This is how he distracts himself, okay? ]

N-no, in retrospect, that wasn't the most fitting element to grasp onto.

[ Since yeah, he doesn't specialize in ice artes or anything. It was dumb, is what he's saying, but he appreciates the willingness to go along with it. Kind of. He would if it were less embarrassing. ]

I was working on a list of options, actually.

[ He takes a folded up piece of notebook paper out of his coat pocket (of course he was carrying it with him in case a brilliant idea struck), takes a moment to glance at it and make sure that some of the ones that are crossed out are really crossed out, and then slides it down the table for review.

Supergenius
Iron Rose
Hyperdrive
Ultraviolet
Technicalyx (?? CLEVER but better on paper)
Mechanismo
~~Metallica~~ (I think that's taken, actually)
~~Revivalist~~
Replicator X
~~Fonica-~~ NO
Double Vision

He's... less good at naming things than he thinks he is. ]

I trust you'll find at least one of these to be satisfactory.

[ Giovanni examines the list, eyes brightening perceptibly as he scans through it. His eyes are still totally red and cried out, of course, but now they're a little brighter about it. ]

Hey! You're really pretty good at this! You'll make a great Banzai Captain someday, my dude.

[ Is he gonna save a couple of these to repurpose for potential future minions? Absolutely. But for now... ]

You know, I'm really feeling this one. [ He drags a finger underneath one of the list's names. ] That okay with you, Replicator X?

[ It's the X that clinches it. There is literally nothing cooler than some Xtreme Kool Letterz. ]

Oh. Well, I don't have any intention of becoming one, but thank you.

[ He'll still happily take the compliment!! ]

Somehow that wasn't one I really expected you to gravitate toward, but yes, I can live with that.

[ He had some on the list that he liked more than others, but he wouldn't have put anything on there that he hated. And HE IS ALSO A BIG PROPONENT OF TACKING ON RANDOM LETTERS thank you for encouraging this tendency that he will definitely keep for the rest of his life ]

Aw, don't sell yourself short! With a brain like yours, you could rise up through the Banzai ranks in no time! Just don't do it before I get promoted to Vice Principal, or you'll put me out of business.

[ Yes, the ranks go Blaster -> Captain -> Vice Principal. There are more. They make just as little sense. ]

Thanks for, y'know. For being down with the whole name thing. I know some people here don't really take it seriously.

[ It is literally impossible to imagine a single reason why. ]

[ buddy you're speaking to a future GOD-GENERAL here, it doesn't get much cooler than that!!!! ]

Of course I could, I just have my own plans!

[ And he still doesn't know what the fuck the Banzai Blasters even are. ]

Names are important, obviously. How do you distinguish yourself or any of your works without them?

[ And if people are going to talk about him behind his back, he at least wants them referring to him with a respectable title. ]

[ okay he will grant you that "God-General" sounds absolutely cool as hell ]

Right?! And what's the point of having names if they aren't as supremely awe-inducing as possible? That's why I give all my attacks names! Fearsome ones!

I prefer something with style first and foremost, but I suppose there is something to be said for the intimidation factor when it comes to attacks and weapons. As a researcher, I don't tend to get involved in those things... and Jade was never interested in giving any names to our fomicry machines when I designed them.

[ But do they have names written in on his personal copies of the blueprints? THEY SURE DO ]

This Jade guy, he's your best friend, right? And... only friend? What's so great about him if he doesn't even like naming stuff? Sounds like a buzzkill.

J-Jade has a brilliant mind and comes up with theories other people could never even imagine! He doesn't care what people say about him and doesn't waste any time on frivolities [ so yes, he is, actually, kind of a buzzkill ], and he keeps his cool in the most dire of circumstances. Even when we were children, he could calmly take charge of nearly any situation while others would be frozen with fear.

Some call his thinking "abnormal" in a derogatory way, but those fools just can't understand someone whose mind operates on a level so much higher than their own! Not like me, the only other genius who can come close to matching him!

[ His shoulders tense a bit as he looks down into his coffee cup. ]

We were always meant to be together [ as, you know, best friends ], it just took him a while to realize it. But he won't leave me behind anymore now, when he needs me.

Yeesh, okay, okay, I get it. He's perfect, he's a genius, sun shines out the dude's butt. Does he actually, like... like things, though?

...does he like you?

[ He's not trying to be an ass with that last question, and his tone is gentle. Maybe he's reading too much into this. But Saphir had only said he needed him, and that strikes Giovanni as a pretty significant gulf of meaning. ]

[ Look, you asked what was great about him and it's a long list! (And don't you dare talk about Jade's butt!!!)

There's a fairly long silence before he manages an answer that probably says all you really need to know. ]

...O-of course he does! I mean-- as much as he likes anything now.

[ Which, to answer the first question, is not much. ]

[ Hey, why not? His butt's gotta be as perfect as the rest of him, right?

That pause, though. That's concerning. Giovanni's forehead creases, and he glances at Saphir worriedly. ]

Look, Replicator, I don't want to judge your guys's relationship. I mean, obviously I've never met the guy. But it seems to me like one of you is putting a lot more friendship into this... friendship.

[ The way he'd said "now"... ]

Did something happen?

[ how did this thread turn from your dead friend grief to his relationship problems

...Well, he won't deny that much, at least; he has always been the one making all the effort to close the distance between them. ]

He's been different since our teacher... passed away, years ago. I doubt most of the people we knew back then can even tell, but I can. He never shows any honest reactions to anything anymore.

[ because going therapist mode is a good distraction! ]

...Oh. Hey, I'm sorry. I can see how that would change a guy. But just because he's in a bad place, that doesn't mean he's allowed to treat you bad because of it. If he's only hanging around because he "needs" you... look, I just want you to know you're allowed to stand up for yourself, okay?

He doesn't--

[ This Jade actually treats him a lot less badly than he used to when he was happier, but he's not going to say that out loud. ]

There's nothing I need to stand up against. I'm happy being his friend, and it's fine if I'm more invested in it than he is.

...Okay.

[ Giovanni definitely isn't completely sure it's okay, but if Saphir doesn't have a problem, he's not gonna press the issue. Maybe he really is just reading too much into it. ]

If you're happy, then I'm happy. And if you ever do want to talk about anything, hey, you know where I live.

[ Even if he'd just said that, of course he isn't actually happy when Jade isn't even here.

...That absence also means that he doesn't have to assume that any offers of kindness are just veiled attempts to steal Jade away from him like he usually does, though. He's never really had anything bordering on a positive relationship before with someone who hadn't already been Jade's acquaintance first, so... he's not sure how to process this.

He takes a sip of his coffee, and finds there's a lump in his throat that makes it difficult to swallow. ]

I shall keep that in mind, thank you.

Opinions without 3.1415 are just Onions (Week1 post trial)

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