video | timaeusTestified (cw: casual violence towards child-shaped entity)

[givehead]

(The video opens to Dirk's studio which is filled with various metal parts and the occasional plush rump. Dirk is sitting at his desk, and hiding behind his desk chair is what appears to be a little boy in rabbit-themed knight's outfit. The little tuft of blonde hair sticking out from the hood and the familiar orange glasses might be an indicator of who the little kid is.

Dirk is focused on the video feed, paying the kid no mind just yet.)

Howdy. (Dirk sounds like he hasn't slept in...a while...That or maybe he's just overexerted himself?) I been fuckin' around with my abilities. Some of you already know I can splint my soul. I was just wonderin' how range this place allowed me with that combined with darkblood.

(He turns his chair and the kid tries to hide again. Dirk doesn't let him. Instead, he grabs him and heaves him up through the air to plop onto his lap. The kid looks exactly like Dirk if Dirk was a seven-year-old. Same freckles, same spiky hair, same nose. He could be his clone. Oh wait-.)

This is me. Or at least 10% of me, anyway. I know it looks like a kid, but this is just some core part of me that wants to keep people safe. That's the theory. He's completely mute and kinda shy.

(Like Dirk was at that age. He stands up then, holding the kid under his armpits like a sack of potatoes rather than an actual child. He sets him down. The kid looks up at him silently.)

But he's actually a little tank. I've programmed him...well...Programmed isn't really the right word. I replicated a specific part of myself and manifested it so his only real function is to guide and protect. Theoretically, if you're lost, he will help you find a way out. And provably, if something attacks you or him, he will defend until the opponent has been defeated or safety has been achieved. Simple goals. Check it out.

(Dirk flashsteps away from the kid and grabs a few throwing knives out of the wall. He doesn't hesitate to whip them right at the kid. It's alarming for about three seconds before the kid deflects every single knife with flashing motions and a sword he can apparently conjure out of thin air. Once the threat is over, the sword vanishes and the kid looks meek once again.

Dirk puts his hands on his hips, looking mildly proud of himself, but damn. This was exhausting.)

It really is like lookin' at myself when I was that age. Anyway, you can call him Lil D and if you ever need him, you can shoot me a text askin' for him and he'll find you. (Most likely... Dirk shrugs, sitting back down at his desk.) I'll probably have him just roam the city and keep people safe all the time. He doesn't sleep or eat. But he can die, so, try not to let that happen. It's a bitch when parts of me die.

Okay. That's it for now. See ya. (He holds up his fingers in a peace sign and the video feed ends.)

Comments

[obeir]

It doesn't seem like I'm doing that much. [ What he means is that it doesn't feel like any great effort; it just seems like a natural expression of his feelings. And Dirk actually cares about him... that counts for a lot, at least to K. ]

Strange but good. [ He repeats thoughtfully. He can understand Dirk's struggle to define his own emotions. It's hard when one has no frame of reference for certain things, no prior experience to draw on — something that K, as a single digits old android, still finds himself struggling with on occasion too. He's glad that his treatment of Lil D can have such an effect on Dirk, and wonders if the nebulous warm feeling might become better defined in time. Wonders distantly, a little wistfully, what it might be like with a child who isn't a splint. ]

You really could stand to be kinder to yourself. [ There's a note of humour in his voice as he recalls how Dirk had physically handled Lil D. But he's also referring to more than that. The hand stroking Dirk's hair drifts lower and K lightly trails his fingertips along the nape of his neck. ]

What happens if he dies? ...What happens to you?

cw: reference to suicide via decapitation

[givehead]

You are.

(He was kind of like a dream boyfriend. Something straight out of a dating game though the comparison might be a bit crass.

He nods to confirm. He's glad that K doesn't seem bothered that he couldn't give a more direct answer. Dirk wouldn't have been able to. Emotions were never his strong suit and likely never would be. Dirk rocks his head back just enough to peer at K with flat orange eyes.)

Kindness does not bode well for survival.

(In Dirk's opinion. He also wasn't entirely convinced that he deserved to treat himself with kindness either. Evidence of the scar looped around his neck. Dirk was always hard on others, but he was the hardest on himself. He resists the urge to shiver over those wandering fingertips. Focuses on the question and rests his head against the pillow so that he could look at K while he talked.

He's not great at it, admittedly. He keeps looking down, never quite able to concentrate for too long on K's eyes, but Dirk is trying to get somewhat used to being open towards K.)

Nothing really. If I'm awake when it happens, I'll pass out. It can be disorienting. I'll definitely feel it on some level, but I won't die from it. (...Probably...He's making a calculation here based on how it worked in his world.)

He's been created with the idea of protecting and escaping rather than attacking and winning. So, theoretically, he won't be dying anytime soon.