dear_mun | voicetesting

Hello, little one. Are you lost?

I'm afraid we're all here thanks to impulsive muns. Here's to hoping yours is a good one.

Uncle Hal!

[have a smile]

He s-said he'll b-be real nice to me-- he's a-already got s-somebody else to b-beat up!

...t-that doesn't sound very nice, d-does it? M-maybe I should a-ask him not the hurt t-the angry man.

Uncle... Hal? [Blink blink.]

[The realization takes him a moment. Excuse him, he just had never met-- Oh. Softly:] I think that could work, yeah. I'm sure you can be very persuasive.

It's good that he won't hurt you. I'm glad.

[How does he ask for your name now?] What year are you from?

[a long, confused look.]

It's 2014... U-uncle Hal, are y-you okay?

[He shakes his head.] Oh, dear...

[Leaning down a little so the girl can see him more clearly.] Do you see how much younger I look? It's 2009 where I come from.

We're at a place where different timelines converge. I'm sorry...

[her eyes fill with tears, and she wills herself not to cry. he's right, of course-- this place is a 'nexus', and she knows that. but it hurts that he doesn't remember her anyway. how can Uncle Hal see her as a stranger? doesn't he remember anything at all? he probably doesn't care about her. but she won't cry. she's a big girl.]

[so instead, she sniffles, and repeats something she'd seen on some TV show or other.]

Y-you age pretty well. A-actually, you don't look v-very different.

[Softly] Oh, no...

[A little bit insecure, he puts his hand on the little girl's shoulder.] Please, don't cry... I still-- Ah. This may sound strange.

But Snake and I, we have been waiting to meet you for a long time already. We already love you, even if I don't know your name just yet.

[she looks at the hand on her shoulder, and seems to calm down a little. she still looks pretty distraught, though.]

W-what? But...

My n-name's Sunny. You said my m-mother was Olga G-gulurkovich, so that makes me Sunny Gurlukovich.

H-how can you love me if w-we've never met?

[Gurlukovich. Not Emmerich. That is both saddening and... a relief. His alternate self didn't burden this little girl with the weight of a surname like his.] I'm happy to finally meet you, Sunny.

[This is a complicated situation. And Hal, he has a knack for talking to children, at least when it comes to being comforting - even if the task of actually raising one still feels terrifying to his 2009 self.] We already love you, because we promised your mom that you'd come to live with us. That we'd raise you to be free and good and smart and kind - and it really seems like you are all of these things.

N-nice to m-meet you...

[despite the tears and the way something twists in her gut when she says it, she still remembers her manners.]

Y-yeah. And R-raiden brought me back, you s-said, but I don't remember. I d-don't remember the t-trip, I mean. B-but you did r-raise me like that. I m-mean, I d-don't know how good I am. B-but you were always all those things, and I w-wanted to be like you.

I can tell you are. I promise. [And he's being truthful here, Hal is feeling a pang of what can only be named parental instinct right here over this little girl he has just met - but who is a part of his future.]

Come sit with me. I'm... really sorry, about not being from the same timeline. But I want to hear more about you, and I can stay with you as long as you need.

[After all... a grown-up child is less intimidating than a baby. The idea of having to care for a baby fills him with vertigo, he's still scared that he'll hurt her somehow, that he'll just be-- a terrible parent. He doesn't have much on the way of a role model.]

[she dries her eyes and walks over to him, then sits down ~~on a conveniently placed bench bc whatever, musebox~~, swinging her feet back and forth.]

You know... e-even if you don't r-remember me, y-you're still really nice. T-there's not much to say about me, r-really. I'm p-pretty boring.

B-but, if you're from the past-- S-snake is with you, right?

Yeah. Yeah he is. Or at least he was... before I appeared here. [A pause and then--] I'm not that worried this time, we've been here before. If it's anything like the last time, he'll get here any minute now [Or Hal will go back to him.]

Just-- For the record: I don't think you're boring, Sunny. [That's a dangerous line of thought to pursue while being so young.] You shouldn't speak about yourself that way. [Or you'll end up like me.]

[she is exactly like him that way, high five for not knowing how to interact with people and having no self-esteem.]

G-good. Y-you need to keep him safe. I-if anything happens to him, it'll cause a t-time paradox.

And I want him to be safe. Y-you too. You b-both have important work to do. I-I'm just... here.

[Oh god. He's going to be that kind of parent, he doesn't want to be that kind of parent, he doesn't want to mess this girl up, he--] I promise I take care of him, just... [He's worried, and it shows] Have... have any of us made you feel this way? Like you're just--

Less important, than our jobs?

U-um. No!

Y-you're saving the w-world! A-and that's really important! But... I-I'm just in the w-way when you do. I h-helped with the Mk. II and everything, b-but... A-anyway. Not really. B-but I get worried.

[translation: I am six and do not know how to deal with my uncle looking nervous and talking into a radio when I know his friend is out there getting shot at, and there's nothing I can do and I feel sad and useless.]

[How does he fix this, how does he-- He can't panic, or at least, he can't let it show how alarming this is.] Wait a minute, you helped with...?

[This is a good thread to pull from the veritable Gordian knot he's being presented with. Yes.] You know. I've been like... I've had this idea for a while, making smaller, more versatile robots. I was going to name them the MK series and-- Did you help with that?

That's impressive, Sunny.

[fortunately, that appears to work. as she gets excited, her stutter even begins to recede a bit.]

Y-yeah! You p-picked a lot of the h-hardware, a-and I still think you should h-have given it m-more memory, even if it made it h-heavier-- [HUFF] --but I p-put it together, and c-coded in the r-remote motion controls and the UI you use from your d-desktop.

[pause]

And I p-painted it.

Well, look at you! You're already capable of so much. You know, I wouldn't have been able to build a robot so complex at your age, or to code so well. Wish I could see it.

[He... he has the inkling that he can't take credit for this. How could such a small girl--?]

What color did you paint it?

[she's beaming with pride.]

J-just grey. I-it'd be prettier another color, but it needs to h-hide, just like Snake does. A-and I can draw out the specs so you can see! B-but I'm not so good with c-circuit diagrams off the c-computer, I always draw crooked, s-so it'll be ugly.

[guess who never hand-writes or hand-draws anything and still has fine motor skills typical of her age.]

Drawing is a matter of practice [He smiles, Sunny's excitement and pride contagious. For now, he can push aside his fears and anxiety about being any kind of parental figure and just enjoy the knowledge that this, this is something that will happen for him, if things go like in Sunny's universe. He doesn't know about David's accelerated aging yet and right now everything just seems so bright.] Besides, even the pros have trouble with getting straight lines right without a ruler.

Gray is utilitarian but, maybe... if we stay here enough, we can make another one! And we can paint it something brighter, if you want to.

Y-yeah! D-do you have parts?

Maybe p-purple, with flowers. Or g-green, for in case S-snake g-goes on a mission in the forest! It h-has optical c-camoflage, but it's g-good to paint it something c-close in case that fails. A p-pink Mk II would be e-easy to spot.

[in addition to the pure joy of building something, this is the sort of thing that makes her feel a little better about watching Snake and Uncle Hal work. not much, her stomach always twists up in knots anyway, but maybe Snake's a little safer if she put in the screws extra-tight. and if she gave the Mk II a stern talking-to about doing its job right when no one else was around.]

I don't have any parts on me, no. But we could go looking for some.

[It's easy to slip into the role of a big brother, more than in the one of a parent's. It reminds him of bittersweet times back in his teenage years with Emma, who he's still grieving. But... he has no business bringing that into this conversation. So he remains cheerful, kind.] I like green, that's actually my favorite color. What's yours? This MK would be for you.

... Y'know, I'm pretty sure I saw a room full with computer parts when I was passing through the hallway. Wanna go there?

[Was this little girl meant to be out alone by herself? She seemed rather nervous.]

Games aren't all that special, you know.

[!!!]

S-snake! Is that y-you? You're so...

I-it is you, right?

Huh? You know me?

[Since he's from your past, Sunny.]

[oh no. not again. for a moment, her eyes fill with tears, but--]

Um. Yeah.

But y-you're... you're okay? H-healthy? You look y-younger... a l-lot younger, so maybe you're...

Hey, it's ok. There's no need to cry.

[Snake knelt down to her height and placed a hand on her shoulder. How come she knew him? None of it made any sense.]

I'm as healthy as I'll ever be. Don't know about looking younger though. [He smiled at that.] What's your name?

S-Sunny. I... um, I l-live with you and U-Uncle Hal in the future.

[that's getting a little easier, but she wipes at her eyes anyway. this Snake is different. seems colder, somehow, even though he's the same]

A l-lot in the future. When you're like... t-twenty-five.

[guess who is six years old and really bad at ages.]

Uncle.....Hal?

[Emmerich? Was she talking about the same Hal that Snake knew?]

Is this uncle Hal called Emmmerich by chance? Otacon some people call him.

[Twenty five? Aw, Sunny, don't flatter Snake. He's much older than that. Around thirty three.]

Y-yeah... w-wow, you're from r-really far in the past, a-aren't you?

N-nine years? T-that's how long you said you've been t-together.

[and she is entirely oblivious of the implications of that word choice.]

[So, somewhere down the line him and Otacon live together? Really? Oh god. Living with Otacon? Snake just stared for a good long moment.]

We're buddies Otacon and me. Can't believe we'd actually live together though.

[He was such a nerd. Pissing himself in that locker and loving weird types of anime.]

Seems I am from the past. Do you know how Otacon and me find ourselves living together?

Y-you're saving the w-world!

[said with all the naive adoration of a child]

Y-you destroy M-metal Gears-- U-uncle Hal does r-research and h-helps on on Codec while you g-go in there and d-destroy them!

[aaand a tiny fist pump]

Saving the world, huh? Sounds good to me.

[Although Snake didn't view himself as a hero, just a guy completing his mission and ending the terror threat at Shadow Moses. He was just a normal guy doing normal things soldiers do, right? Except huge ass Metal Gears throw into the mix and battling an army of genome soldiers with his own brother as their leader. All totally normal.]

Otacon does do a lot of research. Does he still read those weird Japanese anime books?

[He had to know.]

Hey.

Kids aren't supposed to walk around alone.

[Have a David kneeling down to your height.]

[now this one, this one looks closer to the one she knows, but like he's not sick. if she reaches back far enough in her memory, she can almost, sort of remember that this is how he used to look when she was really little. like four. she opens her mouth to say something--]

[--and then he bends down to her level, and she immediately hugs him tight, mumbling incoherently into his shoulder.]

Y-you're not sick, are you?! You l-look okay. S-say you're okay, please... I... U-uncle Hal is s-so worried about you, he...

[he's not from her time, she knows that, he didn't recognize her. but for a moment she really, really wants to believe it's true, and so she does. maybe if she closes her eyes and wishes hard enough, it'll be real. she tries not to cry for an entirely separate set of reasons than him not recognizing her.]

[There's something oddly familiar with this girl. Something he can't quite tell, yet a hunch he can't ignore as well. As she throws herself into an embrace, mumbling on his shoulder, David wraps his arms around her, still unsure of what's happening, or why does she knows him so well..]

[And still, even when he's used to be brutally honest, he decides it's wiser to hold it this time.] Well… so far I feel good. And healthy.

Hal shouldn't worry so much. Neither you should. [Slowly letting her go, his hands over her arms, he once more takes a glimpse on the girl. Now, how to tell her without making himself look like a total creep…]

You know. I feel like I've seen you before…

[and she promptly starts crying. Snake's okay, and he's hugging her, and the line between 'this is the Snake from my time' and 'this is just Snake' sort of blurs for a second. this nexus thing is hard for her to deal with, at least when it involves people she knows.]

[he pulls back and she's still crying, and hiccups slightly pathetically before answering.]

S-sunny. I-I'm.... I l-live with you and U-uncle Hal aboard the Nomad. Or d-do. In the f-future.

[that's right. he's not her Snake. but it's something. is it bad that she wants him instead of her Snake-- no. no, that's not fair either, the Snake from home had always been so nice to her, he didn't deserve to go away...]

[In the… future?]

[It doesn't take David long to realize his theory was true: this was truly Olga's kid. As far as he could remember, it was Raiden the one set to rescue the baby who he, originally, assumed was a baby boy. And it makes David wonder what could have gone so wrong for Jack to deliver Olga's baby into Otacon and his hands.]

[Nevertheless, whatever where the reasons behind Jack's choice, he's got one thing to do here, right now: to calm down Sunny's tears. Somehow.] Yeah… I can imagine him liking being called 'uncle'.

[As he chuckles at the thought of 'Uncle Hal', David pats on her head, his free hand holding Sunny's, in a attempt of switching subjects.] I suppose my future self told you not to call him uncle, right?

You know I can't leave you on your own here. [And he points at his back, for a piggy ride.]

[a sniff. she squeezes his hand. it's warm, and Snake's chuckle is warm, like always.]

I don't r-remember. You've just always b-been Snake.

[she visibly brightens at the prospect of a piggyback ride, though, and starts to climb on.]

W-why? D-do you not want to be an uncle?

[Sunny feels small and light on his back, and it doesn't take him much strength to lift her up on that piggyback ride. He has never been good with kids, at all, probably his most early memory dealing with kids being in Zanzibar Land. But this is no war fortress, fortunately, and Sunny will never be exposed to any danger as long as he was around her.] Hmh, I see.

[Glancing at her in her back, David realizes the sniffles are already gone. Score. Now, at her question… how wise would it be to bring his relative's subject into conversation? The thought of being an uncle of any of his brother's sons simply irks him inside.] Some are better left without children.

Feeling any better now, Sunny?

[she entirely ignores the question about her well-being to pound a tiny fist on his shoulder, but not before the other arm loops around Snake's neck for balance. she sniffs one more time, but seems to be pretty much done crying in favor of something like indignance.]

T-that's not true! Or m-maybe it is, but you s-say it like it's about y-you. You a-always do! L-like you shouldn't be around k-kids because you're a b-bad person.

And you're not.

[which she manages with enough conviction that the stutter stops.]

voicetesting

Have a post-MGS2 Hal

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icons forthcoming r i p me

I kno that feel brah

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have a MGS1 Snake...

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they are so cute i'm going to die

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horray icons get