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[Nexus Standalone Plot] Triangulation
The ceremony had been wonderfully ornate; the three factions were all represented, and many other groups sent people to attend---after all, better to have an eye on the situation and a good impression on the new partnership.
The hoverlimo pulls smoothly to a stop in the driveway of the manor, its white enamel finish glinting in the noonday sun.
The 3 brides' luggage had been unpacked this morning by the house's service drones; those same drones come forward to open the door of the limo for them.
The first out is a girl with shortish, lustrous brown hair and eyes of the same color; her coppery dress glints next to her skin, itself white as the hoverlimo. Fashionably barefoot, she steps out onto the smooth driveway and reaches in to help her new wives out of the car.
Girls, we're home! She grins, excited both by the opulent house (she was told there was hedge maze and a climbing wall, among other things) and the fact that she'll be able to change out of her dress now.
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The second girl out has white hair, in a long, loose ponytail, and wears a dress edged in gold, matching the odd implants above her ears She looks around guardedly.
"I guess we are..." she murmurs.
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The last member of the group is pale, though not anywhere near as white as Nike, her base skin tone appearing to actually be somewhat darker than average, the pallor being caused by her having lived on a space station all her life; this is also the reason for her unusually elongated, though not quite disturbingly so, frame, a side-effect of the complete lack of gravity she was born in, and chose to keep in her quarters once she was old enough to choose.
Her hair is around shoulder length, and a brown-black that goes fairly well with the simply designed (though elaborately patterned in green and yellow) black dress she wore.
She pushes away the synthgirl's hand when Nike goes to help her out, making no reply to her assertion, though she does look fleetingly guilty for taking this out on her new wife, since this really isn't her fault, and the assistance was meant well.
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Nike looks a little confused when the space-born girl rejects her help, but shrugs it off as nerves.
She attempts to take the white-haired girl's hand if she's allowed, and looks about to do the same for her other wife---before pulling her hand back almost apologetically.
Whether those succeed or fail, she'll lead the other girls to the open front door of the house and into the airy, wide front hall.
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Arianna lets her help, although she doesn't seem amazingly happy about it.
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Dessa's hand twitches like she's going to reach out to take Nike's hand after the other girl pulls it away, having noticed that the synth seems to feel bad, though whatever impulse to do so she may have had is quickly suppressed.
In any case, she follows the other two in, and looks around, seeming a little uncomfortable with all of the room.
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"I'm gonna... um... go change. Back in a sec, 'kay?"
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She gives a nod as the other girl leaves, carefully taking in as much as she can about the surroundings.
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Dessa takes in her surrounding as well, though less intently than her wife, leaning against the wall as she does.
A moment or so later, she reaches into a well-concealed pocket for something, though her hand comes out a moment later with nothing in it, a brief look of venomous anger passing over her face. She'd forgotten for a moment that the little instrument she kept on her - along with the rest of them - had been taken away from her shortly before the wedding...
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There is a staircase to a balcony with a door to the east and west; heading to their room, Nike goes to the west doorway.
Back on the first floor, there's an enclosed courtyard with a pool straight ahead if one has entered through the front door, a lavish room for entertaining guests off to the left, and a sunroom off to the right.
Nike soon returns, dressed more casually:
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9...7e44947490.png
She trots up to her wives, grinning excitedly!
This place is great!
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Arianna is a little unhappy not to have her own room, but doesn't speak. She was told her belongings would be brought here, and is wondering where they might be.
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"So says the girl made for this," Dessa points out, probably being unnecessarily cruel, all things considered, especially with the glare she shot Nike's way.
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Arianna blinks. That... that was cruel.
...she doesn't understand it.
"...why would you say that?" she asks. It's not entirely offended, she's genuinely confused.
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((... I was about to mention that being made for this, her specific purposes being protecting the others and being an enjoyable marital partner, was a major insecurity of hers, so good job, psychic dude.))
Nike stares in shock, eyes moistening and lower lip quivering.
... B-but...
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((:smallamused:))
Dessa turns to Arianna, ignoring Nike for the moment; the impression she gives being less 'I'm trying to deal with things one at a time and I'll get to you later', or 'I'm sorry I made you feel horrible; this is why', or even 'I'm simply oblivious to how you feel', and more 'I know you're there, and I know I just made you feel horrible, but I refuse to acknowledge you anyway'.
"Maybe because I was only picked because I was an unwanted member of a family important enough to seal this deal, and thus expendable? I don't know about you, but I wasn't exactly asked if I consented to the marriage, I was told I did, and also that pretty much the only thing I really loved doing was embarrassing to my family, and would mess up the deal, making it forbidden, whether privately or publicly."
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B-but...
Nike stares at Dessa, hurt and shocked and feeling a little sick. All she wants is to be happy and make them happy and be a good spouse, and Dessa goes taking it all out on her.
If she's not heartbroken yet, she's approaching it, legs buckling as she slowly crumples to her knees.
((Blehhh we need Lixieeeee.))
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"And... why would you blame her for that? You're hurting someone you don't even know." she's mystified, and now a little disturbed.
She doesn't comment on the girl's complaints themselves. No, Arianna knows how horrible the other societies are. She'd really rather they kept on trying to bring them into the fold, but she can't disobey the Unity's wishes.
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((Whoops did I accidentally the posting order.))
Nike looks up at Arianna, sniffling; it feels a little bit better to know that somebody's standing up for her.
She looks over at Dessa and tries not to let her throat close up before she can say what she wants.
I... I-I'm sorry... b-but...
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Dessa sighs, shoulders slumping.
"I don't blame her. It's just... Easier. It gives me some kind of control over my life again, sort of. But you're right. Making her hurt too doesn't do any good."
With that, unless something stops her, she turns back to Nike, crouching down next to her wife, and going to gently hug her.
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Nike is surprised, but pleasantly so; she hugs back somewhat more tightly, smiling through her tears.
Thanks, Dessa...
Ari, wanna join us?
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Arianna is pleased by the girl's admittance, and then surprised by the invitiation. "Oh... I... okay..." she smiles slightly, and nervously joins the hug. On touching them, they get a flushed spectrum of thoughts and feelings something along the lines of
Proudhugblushcutenotsadgood
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Dessa is rather startled by that, not being familiar with the effects of Arianna's implants (or at least, what's presumably their effects), though not really in a bad way, once she gets over the initial shock.
"Well. That was unexpected... Nice, though, really. You've got a good mind."
Should nothing prevent her, she takes one arm from around Nike and uses it to return her other wife's hug.
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Nike smiles a little more.
Aw, that's cool!
She puts an arm around Arianna as well, holding them close.
So, uh... maybe wanna get to know each other and stuff?
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She blushes a little, the thoughts managing to tint pink from amused embarrassment.
"That sounds sensible..." she says to Nike's suggestion.
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((So does that mean they're now seeing the world through rose-colored thoughts? :smalltongue:))
"Assuming you mean that literally, it sounds like a good idea, yes," Dessa agrees, nodding.
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((More like synesthasia xD It is a pink blush, despite that not normally being a feeling one could have.))
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She blinks.
... How would I not mean it literally?
She frowns, blinking, and attempts to lead them over to the living room so they can sit on the couch together.
Let's start wiiiiith...
Dessa, what kind of stuff are you interested in?
She remembers the girl saying something about the one thing she liked to do being denied her, and she hopes she can hep somehow.
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((So sort of similar to some of the stuff I did here, and especially here?))
Her first question actually gets a smile, if a faint one, out of Dessa, as they head over to the couch. The next, though... Not so much. Not the anger, this time; instead, a flash of sadness, quickly hidden, though still, if Arianna can pick up what they're feeling as well, present in the mental link.
"Music. Some composing, a lot of experimental stuff, a fair bit of playing... Not really an option anymore, though, like I said."
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((Oh wow basically identical to that, yeah))
Arianna is shocked, and if they're still touching an electric blue surprise runs through her head.
"They didn't let you do music?" shock and horror!
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Nike tries to hug Dessa more closely.
That's awful... what instruments did you play? I'll see if I can get some for you...
She frowns, unhappy with Dessa's plight; she'd be absolutely miserable if she was told not to, for example, go out and climb things incessantly.
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((I'm rather glad I read the book I based that on, then. (Though I was anyway, since it was good in itself, but still...)
Also, I love the colors of the emotions thing. :smallbiggrin:))
"Not exactly music, just the kind I like to write and play... Trashed a bunch of my files, too," Dessa replies to Arianna, nodding. And as they probably are indeed still in contact, the aug'd girl can probably feel the dark violet pain flowing through the spacer, and Dessa most certainly feels her surprise.
In any case, the elongated composer is indeed pulled closer to Nike.
"Koto and violin, a little bit with some improvised stuff, a couple things of my own design... Mainly computer-based, though, unless I was working on things for this steampunk-themed band I was thinking of getting together.
And wouldn't that be kind of a bad idea, considering the forbidenness?
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Nike frowns, gently rubbing Dessa's back.
But... I... should get you something at least... maybe something from the Lab, they might not suspect it's for you... or...
She seems very unhappy with not being able to help her bride.
I promise I'll do something, honey, I just gotta. She tries to gently rest her cheek against Dessa's, frowning in thought.
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Sadly, Arianna can't feel anyone else's emotions unless they or she are actively aiming for it, but she will reply, still shocked, with
"The Unity would never DREAM of denying someone their passion. I'm sure I can get whatever you need in to keep working!" she nods passionately!
The Unity (Faction Infodump yay)
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The Unity, the faction Arianna comes from, are a human psionic faction driven away from the main force of humanity long ago for their pseudo-religious beleifs and techniques. They are heavily psionic, and use enhancing implants to increase their abilities. It's nearly impossible for them to completely silence their mind to someone they touch, but that's because their minds are loud. Another psionic would do the same in return, but to know what a non-psychic was thinking they'd need to try to read it. Which would be wrong.
Psionics can be trained even among normal humans, if the RP wanted to go that way.
The Unity is effectively a hive mind. All its members can talk and coexist at once, simultaneously feeling. They retain their own thoughts and identities, but they're very open. Lying is pointless, and actively seeking to cause pain is unheard of, simply because you will feel how much you hurt them. Only if you truly want them to suffer would a Unity be cruel.
They can be zealous and patronising at the worst, believing they have the best path through life. At their best, they are empathetic and creative. Generations of life as a unified whole have made the life of a Unity a well-oiled machine, where a single act of rebellion could cause massive damage-but the path everyone needs to take is one they want to.
In war, the Unity make extensive use of robotic drones, controlled remotely with psionics. Their armaments, besides the drones, are fairly standard.
Arianna is the daughter of a Unity held in high esteem for his service, and was chosen for this duty initially to gather intelligence on the other two factions. She refused to spy, saying that even the Unity would not ruin the sanctity of a marriage agreement, but could not deny the Unity's wishes that she participate as well as she could.
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Dessa kisses Nike's cheek, smiling faintly, and then lets the synth rest her cheek on hers, apparently having warmed a fair bit to her wives.
Turning her head slightly towards Arianna, she goes to slip an arm around the psion, and gently squeeze her shoulder, saying
"They sound like nice people, then. And if you both want to get me things, I certainly won't stop you... I just didn't want to cause trouble with the alliance, if I could help it. It benefits a lot of my friends, and I'm sure a lot of yours, too, so I was willing to try to figure out a way to deal if I had to."
((If you want to train Dessa as a psion, I'd be fine with that; she probably has some latent abilities for empathy, which is one of the reasons the few pieces she sold were as popular as they were.))
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I'll probably have to talk up and down channels to keep it quiet, but I'll see to it that you get to make music.
Nike smiles and leans across Dessa to plant a smacker on Ari's cheek too, happy they're nice and close like this. What about you, sweets?
Her own interests are mostly climbing stuff, spicy food, and mystery novels.
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"They can't worry about embarrassment if it's not something we'd be embarrassed by." insists Arianna.
"...do? I. Well."
Arianna is suddenly struck by the fact that essentially everything she does is done with large amounts of fancy and complicated Unity equipment.
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Nike scoots over to cuddle with Ari, smiling sweetly.
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"Internal embarrassment, dear. Politics between the major Houses can be pretty complicated sometimes," Dessa explains, pulling her legs up onto the couch to occupy the space just left by Nike, and resting her head on Arianna's shoulder. "But I'd like to hear about your interests and such too, so we can talk about my family's issues later."
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Her thoughts go very pink at the contact, and a flash of a strange golden chair appears as she says. "Oh. Well. I like to play the sphiano, I suppose? Do... do you have them?"
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Nike blinks, frowning in thought.
Isn't that the floaty piano ball thing?
I don't think we have one, sweets.
She reaches across her shoulders to put a hand on Dessa's head.
So that's two pretty girls I'll be finding musical instruments for. The synth giggles, not really taking into account how difficult that might be.
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Dessa's head, which she shakes, gets a hand on it, then.
"I'm not really familiar with them either, no. Though from what I've heard, they're rather interesting... Maybe you could teach me to play, if Nike can get one for you, or you can get another through the Unity?"
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"Ehe..." she sweatdrops. "I... I don't know." she blinks. "I can certainly try to teach you, but... they're played with the mind, so I'd need to teach you that... is that allowed?"
Pause.
"...is that even possible?"
Psionics and Sphianos
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Sphiano (noun): Musical instrument developed by the unity, consisting of three three-quarter rings of keys, on golden layers, suspended in a field to form a loose sphere, with one entrance. A psionic standing or sitting in the centre-or, with practice, from a distance-can play the sphiano with their mind.
Psionics are universal in the Unity, and one of the main things that caused them to leave the rest of humanity long ago. They would be ecstatic at a chance to teach psionics to outsiders, but the outsiders would be unlikely to agree to it.
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Nike goes to lay across their laps, and they may notice something.
In short, her bust looks rather less now than it did while she was in her wedding dress.
She giggles, looking up at her girls.
I think you'd make as cool a psychic as Ari, hon. She strokes Dessa's hair with a grin.
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Arianna does in fact notice, and probably wonders wh-
"Nike, why have you gotten smaller since the wedding?" she says, curious.
Lixie Has Put Too Much Thought Into The Unity
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They have a pseudo hive-mind, so theres no point hiding and lying. If you're curious, you may as well ask, cause they know you want to, and they'll understand why you're curious, rather than being offended by implications.
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((Correction: Lixie Has Put Enough Thought Into The Unity To Make It Awesome.))
"If I agree to it, I don't see why not," Dessa replies, smiling, and then looking down at the girl in her lap when Ari comments on her. "...Huh. Good question. Something to do with the dress, maybe?"
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Nike giggles, then starts full-out laughing for a bit before calming down.
Well, little miss curious, Dessa's technically right.
See, I like running, and climbing stuff, and spicy food, aaaand mystery novels and stuff.
My chest gets in the way of those first two, so I wear a reducer. 'Cept they wanted me to look nice in the dress so they made me not wear it then.
She sits up and smiles, toying with Ari's hair.
Speaking of dresses, you two wanna change out of those, maybe into swimsuits? We do have a pool, after all.
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"Oh, that makes sense." she nods happily. "And yes, that would be wonderful. I do like this dress, but it's a little heavy."
Super Secret Confession
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The Unity are based on the Advent, one of the three races from Sins of a Solar Empire. Most of the details are mine, but the general concept of pseudo-religious psionic race that were driven off by the rest of humanity comes from that. Fun RTS, available on steam. Act now!
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Dessa smiles down at the synthgirl, nodding.
"You look nice either way, Nike. And dresses aren't really my thing, so yeah, that would be nice. As would swimming..."
She looks down at her over-long limbs as she say this, frowning a little, and rubbing her elbow.
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I would, but my gaming budget right now is going to getting the nWoD rules and the stuff for Changelings. (Also I have pretty much no space whatsoever on my C drive, so I couldn't install it even if I weren't.)
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((Geez, what do you even have that takes so much of your C drive?))
Nike walks her fingers up Dessa's arm with a reassuring smile.
I think your proportions are lovely, hon... and if swimming's a little hard at first, you can always use me as your personal floaty!
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((It's a teensy little laptop; it only has a 51 gig C drive, and I already have quite a few games on it.))
Dessa smiles back, reaching out and gently stroking the synth's hair.
"Thanks, Nike. I was more thinking it would be nice to get some of the weight off myself, but you do have a point there... Free water and null-g don't really mix, so this is going to be my first time in a pool."
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"You don't have artificial gravity? That must be horrible." says Arianna, genuinely feeling terrible for her!
She's also tactless. REALLY tactless.
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Nike puts a finger to Ari's lips. Sweets, I know you mean well, but you might want to think a little more before you say things like that. People might take it the wrong way.
She smiles and slips off their laps.
First time for everything, hon. Let's get changed, mm?
She'll try to help them off the couch.
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Blink.
"But why?"
She stands up, very confused.
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Dessa frowns again, looking a bit saddened, though she gratefully accepts Nike's help up.
"I liked not having gravity. I could have had it set up, or moved to a section with it, but it was fun, and I preferred the people there anyway."
Edit: Aaand Lixie is a ninja. :smalltongue:
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"Oh! I never liked it that much. Maybe it's more fun if you're used to it? I bet we can get an antrigravity room for you." she says warmly.
Scrap
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I don't think the Unity have a concept of money, thus why she's so happy to request any and everything. Unless you particularly WANT us to not get stuff, they'll probably give it to her too. xD
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Nike looks alarmed and tries to hug the lanky girl, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead.
Because, sweets, things like this happen... it's just, you're used to everyone in mental contact, right? No misunderstandings there.
But we don't always know what you mean and you don't always know what we mean and sometimes one of us will say something and another of us will take it the wrong way.
She sighs a little bit and kisses Dessa's cheek... and Ari speaks up again and she jumps a little, more alarmed.
Ari, th-that's not helping, dear...
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Dessa smiles, hugging back, and reaches out to squeeze Arianna's hand, before looking at Nike somewhat confusedly.
"An antigravity room would be great, actually, if it's not too much trouble...
And what do you mean about that not helping, Nike?"
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"Oh... um... I guess I shouldn't then..."
...but then she is redeemed!
"Oh good!" cheerful face.
She will now be impossible to stop. Well done Dessa. :smalltongue:
She eeps at the touch, which flushes them through with purple pride and a general glow of happiness.
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I, um, just was afraid there might be a misunderstanding or something or... y'know.
She tries to lead her girlies upstairs to change.
Glad it worked out, though.
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((*insert classic meme Picard*
What have I done...
:smalltongue:))
"Or me getting all 'I don't want to be here and I'm going to stab you in the face with that as many times as I can' again?", Dessa teases, following Nike upstairs if Arianna also goes with them. And, speaking of the psion, she'll likely be addressed by the spacer on the way up!
"Do you not like being touched? I noticed you seem a little embarrassed by it sometimes, and that you don't really seem used to it... If you like, I can try to avoid it in the future?"