2241/Checking in: Entrapta

Checking in: Entrapta
Date of Scene:	16 January 2025
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	On a hunch, Rashmi checks up on Entrapta, dinner in hand. She learns that Entrapta ran afoul of the emotional minefield that is most of the Etherian transplants, and spends a good deal helping Entrapta unpick those knotted feelings. *Then* talk goes to something much more joy-generating; ENGINEERING!
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, 281

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Rashmi Terios has posed:
As it's just about dinnertime, Rashmi has dipped down to the cafeteria, and come back up with a pair of take-away boxes in hand. In one, sauced ginger-pork meatballs, fried vegetables, pickled vegetables, and rice. In the other, teriyaki chicken, salad... and rice.

One thing Entrapta might register is, rice must be a pretty big deal if it's with every single meal, but more importantly both meals are cut to Entrapta's preference; it's just a matter of which she's going to choose.

Humming a cheerful tune to herself, she shifts both boxes to one hand, and knocks on Entrapta's door. "Entrapta-chan~! Have you eaten yet? Cos if not I brought dinner! And if you have... well, I brought dinner also!"

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Entrapta has a hat. It is a nice hat, not a wide-brimmed one but something that looks like a beret, which with her pigtails doesn't really fit quite right. She doesn't know how to wear it, and is probably doing it all wrong, but she has a hat.

She's also hiding. She pulls the hat down on her head, covering her eyes, and is sitting in her room with the lights out. Admittedly that has less real effect than it might have in other rooms, what with half of her room having LED's causing little background dots of illumination, but it's still a statement that she's making.

Emily bumps up against her, and her hand comes out to pet the little roomba, but she's clearly having some kind of crisis. She has some food stocked up so she won't have to go out of her room, and she's missed a class.

"Let her in," she says, and the door lights up, then slides open. Inside is like, a techno room? But dark. And she's pulling her hat over her eyes. "Agh, too much liiiight. My eyes, they burn!" Pause. "Not really I have fire systems for real burning. Fire is a real hazard that people should prepare for."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...It is," Rashmi agrees gravely, if a bit puzzled by the lack of light as she enters. "That's a lovely hat, by the way, it looks good on you! ...You might want to change your pigtails a little if you want it to fit perfectly though..."

One thing Rashmi does not do, however, is turn on the light. Partly because of Entrapta's outburst, but mostly because if this is what Entrapta feels the need for, Rashmi isn't going to disrupt that if all it means is she needs to move a touch more carefully, and lean on Nicomachea's sensors. Which she does, picking her way across the floor. "...D'you mind if I sit on the bed, Entrapta-chan?"

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Entrapta says, "I have a bed?" She lifts a corner of the hat so she can see, then peers. "Oh, that. Sure, nothing important there right now." She pulls her feet in to her so she can make space to get by. Emily trundles to the bed, to start pushing things aside so there's room for Rashmi to sit. She's a good girl.

"I should probably eat, I turned Penelope off so she'd stop reminding me. Too many alerts." She sounds lucid, but given how she normally is bright and full of excitement, this is downright depressed. Comparatively.

"I like the hat. Did someone tell you to check on me?" To her credit, she doesn't say 'I'm fine'. But she does poke at a project with a finger, not seeming interested.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"No, but your homeroom teacher asked me to bring your homework," Rashmi says, digging a thin folder out of her bookbag. "I was going to check on you anyways, and now I'm glad I did. Do you want to eat before, or after telling me why you're upset?"

Because, let's face it; Rashmi is concerned enough that even without pressing, she's going to find out one way or another. And she's probably going to convince Entrapta to eat as well. But it's important that she not exert any influence on the *order* of these operations, because that just won't help.

"You sound *really* upset, Entrapta-chan, and I hope I can help, if you want me to try."

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Hm. turning a moment, Entrapta presses her thumb to something that she's built, then reads what comes up. "My blood sugar is too low," she says softly, as if she were alone. Then she turns, looking at Rashmi. And gets to her feet, leaving a bit of a mess behind her. She's not normally messy, it's just organized with her own mental needs in mind.

Then she sits down next to Rashmi, scooting Emily out of the way with a smile. "Thanks," she says, but she's clearly talking to the robot. Then she turns to Rashmi, and looks at the meals that the other had brought.

Then she pauses, clearly not sure how to ask for it. It's a moment that says a lot about her lack of socializing. Staring at the food, she looks up to Rashmi, then says, "How do you do it? Talk to people, I mean?" There's a lead-in, but she'll get there at her own pace.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Very clearly a lead-in, but also a big question all on its own. While she thinks about it, she opens both boxes. "Here... you pick which one you'd rather have while I think about that."

Once Entrapta has made her choice, Rashmi tilts her head. "So... I'm assuming you don't mean like mechanics, but like... how do I know what to say to somebody? Because if so..."

She takes up a pair of chopsticks for herself, and leaves another pair and a fork out for her kohai. "I kinda trained for it, honestly. I take Debate Club, and the biggest thing that teaches you is, how to think like someone you don't agree with. How to follow their logic, at least enough you could argue it successfully. It taught me a lot about people... How with most people, if you can guess the story they tell themselves *about* themselves, you're a long way toward understanding them. So if I don't know someone well enough? I listen. I watch. How they talk, how they act... all of it's like a puzzle, y'know?"

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Entrapta has food in her mouth. She definitely eats like a bird, one bite and then thoroughly consume that one bite before moving to another. She'll never be obese, not at that pace. But probably always be a bit hungry.

She pulls her hat over her eyes again, hunching forward as she thinks about what Rashmi is trying to say. Covering her eyes, a defense mechanism? Seems like. If she had a welding mask, she'd be pulling it down right now.

"I don't think I can do it that way," she admits. "I listen, but it doesn't always form a pattern I can analyze." Another bite, which is probably a good call. Low blood sugar will do a number on you.

"I talked to the other Etherians. They got really mad. I don't know why, and I can't figure it out. I wrote it up but the patterns aren't there."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I can understand that," Rashmi says, brows pulling down as Entrapta continues to retreat... but she doesn't remark on it. Simply, as she said, adds a piece to the puzzle marked 'Entrapta' in her own mind. "I was actually pretty alone for most of my life, but I could still observe the people around me, and build, like... a context library? So that approach wouldn't work as well for you, because you're missing a lot of the people language."

Which... is probably the biggest problem driving what seems to be upsetting Entrapta. "Do you want to tell me what happened? Maybe I have context you didn't?"

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Taking what amounts to a deep breath, Entrapta takes her hat off. She places it down on the bed, then sighs. "I wrote it up verbatim, but I can send you the transcript if it's useful." That's not what Rashmi was asking for? She seems to get that idea.

"I told them that I had an idea to get them Etherian magic, and even though it seemed like they desperately wanted it, nobody even mentioned it. It's possible that they're going to get back to me when they've had time to process the fact, but I don't think that is what's happening."

"There were so many emotions, and I didn't know how to handle them. I think I walked into a closet, but I was trying to leave because of it all. And why are the air ducts so small in this building? I can barely fit in them."

She's focusing on what SHE found important. Which is not the same as what the others did, clearly, given the mentioned high emotional content of the conversations. "Also I think they've been avoiding me. I don't know why, they didn't say why. But my being here wasn't what they wanted, they wanted to go home."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Can you tell me who you talked to?" Rashmi has at least a partial idea, but, always better to confirm rather than guess. "I don't believe they're avoiding you, though... There is... a *lot* going on in most of their personal lives. If you want to send me the transcript, sure. I could probably read between the lines and figure out what was really bothering them."

Rashmi falls silent for a moment, working on her food. Then; "Is that what's bothering you the most, though? The idea that they're avoiding you because you don't know how to give them what they want?"

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Swallowing, because you have to in order to speak accurately, Entrapta takes a second. She nods, then shakes her head. "I'll send it over. It was that ...archer, I want to say? And the shiny girl, and the one who kept wanting to hug. Tall lady, lots of emotives."

Names?

"It's all in the writeup. No, that's their problem. I'm already doing my best to fix that, it's an excellent puzzle and I'll solve it sooner or later. Not remotely worth panicking over, and I don't see why they worry so much. This world is amazing."

So, what? "My main problem is that they're witholding data from me! I can't work without the necessary information, and if nobody will TALK to me, how am I supposed to work like that?"

But her hands are shaking. And she adds, looking at her knees, "Also I don't know how to handle it all. People being upset. I don't know what to do, I just...I just got up and left."

Well, at least she's not focusing on air vents.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Oh good. She is, at least, not beating herself up over not being able to deliver demanded results. A good third of the students at this very school need more urgently to learn that particular lesson. So it's with a bit of a relieved sigh, that Rashmi listens on, nodding. "Bow is the archer, and... tall one? I don't think I've met her yet... but... Hm."

Subsiding for a moment, she mulls this information over. "Bow's not... doing great, honestly. There's a lot to unpack, but, he's from a point in the timeline where things were really... *really* bad. And part of him is tearing himself to pieces about everyone back at his home. But none of it is *your* issue to handle, Entrapta-chan. If you want, I can talk to him and the others that I know how to get ahold of, and help you get your data?"

Raising her glasses, she rubs a finger over the bridge of her nose. "When people are upset, Entrapta-chan... they're hurting, usually. And if people are hurting but you can't really understand why, they just sort of... lash out. They're not bad people for doing so, but it's still not an okay thing to do. Trying to walk away was probably the best choice for you, even if it ended in a closet. It's also okay to tell people if the mood in a conversation is starting to upset you, but communication is a skill that needs practice, so don't feel bad if it takes you awhile to find the right words."

There's a moment of silence, then she clears her throat. "Also the school's air vents are designed for air, not people. That's probably not gonna change anytime soon."

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Entrapta looks at Rashmi as she talks. She listens, best as she can, but the first thing out of her mouth is only tangentially related to what was actually said.

"I have no idea how you did that so easily. All the words, and they were responsive." Well, she thinks, she did mention that club. Debate. A formal discussion on a particular topic in a public meeting or legislative assembly, in which opposing arguments are put forward no stop that brain, that is not important right now!

Also some of those words aren't entirely clear yet anyway. But, we are having a conversation right now. And this time is silence, which is not interactive.

Starting slightly to break out of her reverie, Entrapta reviews what she meant to say, then edits it harshly for content. Then, she says, "I could use the data, I admit. There is too much I do not know. Thank you."

She has plans for the air vents. Should she share them with Rashmi? Not right now. It's an edge she'll have on anyone who invades her castle. Or ...dorm room. "I have spent more time with you alone than I have with all of them put together. In any math, that gives higher value to you than to anyone from my own world."

I think that was a compliment.

"And I do mean anyone."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Practice, observation, and instruction," Rashmi says, lifting a shoulder and smiling. "Same as any other skill, honestly. Part of the practice was... I used to watch people at the restaurant my family owns, and make up stories in my head about them, to explain to myself why they were acting the way they did. And all of it came from just... I like people, and I want to understand them," she finishes. "So I have a personal interest in figuring out how to communicate with them."

Then Entrapta drops the value bomb on her, and Rashmi's heart melts. "I really like you too, Entrapta," she says with a grin. "And I'm glad you think that highly of me; I hope I don't do anything to change that, but if I do *please* tell me. Because your opinion *matters* to me."

Entrapta (281) has posed:
"Truth is easy," Entrapta says as a response. It's that simple, to her, though it so very isn't to so many, many others. In fact, accessing that little bit of data would probably change her. "I am watching people. Maybe you could help me learn to make stories about them? It's not something I've ever done."

Maybe she could cull data from their appearances, that'd help! "Ooh, I read a story recently, about a person who was very good at this! I don't know how popular the book was, but it gave me some ideas! It was all about a man who gathered relevant data from the situation and made HUGE logical leaps to assume data about people's situations, and eventually managed to solve mysteries even without any real solid data!"

She seems happier, grinning. She motions to the book, she takes books. From the library. Mostly. The ...sigh. That's how she defines The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes? Ouch.

But she's happier.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Curious, Rashmi peers at the book, then actually laughs a bit as the penny drops. "Sherlock Holmes? Oh wow, yeah that... is a pretty accurate summary. And I mean the stories have been pretty popular for... ..."

Trailing off, she mentally asks Nicomachea to-- gets the answer before she even has to ask, because her Device knows how her mind works. "...almost a hundred and forty years, that's when the first story was published. By now I think most of the entire world knows *about* Sherlock Holmes, even if they haven't read one of the stories. But sure, one day when you've hit a wall in your work, we can go out people-watching and I can show you the logic in action."

The smile returning to the Etherian's face does a good amount to raise Rashmi's own spirits. "In the meantime, would you mind if I asked you to do some brainstorming with me? I have some ideas for my Device rebuild, but I wanted to see how you'd solve the same problem if you were building it. Maybe the math is different, but the *approach* would probably translate just fine?"

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Entrapta sits up. "I have been waiting for this opportunity!" she blurts, her hands gripping the edge of the bed. "Tell me everything! I've been considering your problem but I haven't got enough data to actually problem-solve, show me what you need help with!"

INSTANT change in attitude, she's so ready to work now! The people-watching offer she'll process later, her higher brain functions are fully dedicated to solving scientific endeavors and This Is On The List! "I have prepared entire systems on the assumption that you'd need full modelling and realtime system access, Penelope high level overrride, activate and setup!"

The phone lights up. The ROOM lights up. It's a complete visual representation of the change in mood.

"I'm so ready, tell me everything."

Wait, I already said that. Well, it bore repeating.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Very, very few people can light up a room the way Entrapta in a good mood can. Mostly because they haven't secretly rewired an entire dormitory to process voice commands given to a smartphone. But the change in atmosphere not only tells Rashmi that her kohai is feeling better, but that she *will be okay,* which are two different things.

Drawing a leather-bound journal out of her bookbag, she starts flipping through pages of dense notation and technical drawings. "So, the biggest problem I'm running into is... Device spell parameters can only be tweaked so far before you need to set an entire new configuration preset, and *that* means you need to start the optimization cycle all over from the very beginning. Which is *really bad* when you suddenly have an issue you haven't dealt with before, and *almost* have the tool you need to help. So what would you do if..."

One thing is certain; Rashmi is very, very sincere about seeking Entrapta's methodology. What she *doesn't* say is, the *least* important reason is that it'll help her with Nicomachea. The *most* important reason is, it'll help her come that much closer to truly understanding *Entrapta.* And the better she understands the Etherian, the better she can look out for her.

A bonus, however, is the novelty of talking engineering for hours on end, punctuated only by those breaks necessary to maintain health. It's exhausting, but in an altogether different way than anything else, and it is *absolutely* the sort of activity loads better with a friend than by oneself.

Entrapta might make an engineer out of Rashmi yet.