video.

[brobecue]

Ah - just gotta... okay, okay. There.

[ With a smile, here he is! This is Tadashi Hamada. He's just finished messing around with the settings on his phone and now has it propped up on his desk, and he's sitting in an office chair, wheeling back and forth a little nervously. Public speaking isn't really a problem for him, but... today's been a big day. ]

Hey! I'm Tadashi. Uh, this feels weird. Been a while since I've been on camera for something other than detailing my progress logs. Talking to a bunch of strangers is kinda... yeah. Heh. Anyway... [ He runs a hand over the back of his neck, exhales, then pushes on. ] Uh, I'm supposed to advertise this new place I'm working at? The boss is losing her mind over having an imPort around, so-- [ his voice drops, deadpan and maybe just a little bit bitter. ] The High Steaks Grill, off the corner of fifth in Heropa. Good food for when you-- [ ugh ]-- need a little sizzle in your life. Drop by during my working hours and say you're an imPort if you want a discount, I guess.

Otherwise! I'm kinda on my own, so if you wanna introduce yourself, hang out, swap stories, maybe even point me in the direction of someone who knows a thing or two robotic engineering? That'd be great. Oh, and uh - there's this kid. Hiro Hamada? About this high -- [ he gestures at about chest-height-- ] Sharp as a tack but kind of a menace? I'm looking for him, so any information you could throw my way would be great. ... If he's done something I've gotta pay damages for, just send me the bill. I'll talk to him, I swear.

Comments

video, 1/2

[microbrobotics]

[ Well - okay, here he is again. Hiro's instinct upon returning to this place (after some grumbling about having to track down all his STUFF) is to go trolling through the network for names he knows. Given the date on his comm (over a year later? seriously???), he wasn't expecting any familiar names, much less -- ]

Tadashi?

[ Hiro's face over feed is stricken with both hope and terror in equal measures. He's gone through this cycle of hope and despair before, and he kind of hates it. Also - ]

video, 2/2

[microbrobotics]

[ Oh my god Tadashi. He can't help but react to a CERTAIN PART OF THAT STATEMENT, YOU OVERSIZED JERK. Despite all the emotions going through him right now. ]

I didn't blow up that much stuff last time!

video

[knaval]

High Steaks... Grill?

[here is the frown of someone who is... really not as sharp as a tack.]

Do they grill cards, or something? Or... the patrons?

video

[brobecue]

[ Woah, woah, hold on a second. Tadashi's eyes light up when he takes in Riptide's appearance, and he has to take a second before answering his question, his mind busy catching up with the fact that he's talking to a giant, seemingly sentient robot. But, uh. He'll, uh. He'll stow that feeling away for a second. He doesn't wanna be rude. ]

No, no, they-- [ he runs his hand down his face. they don't grill the patrons, my dude. ]

... I mean, they might. I've only worked one shift there. My frame of reference is pretty limited. As far as I could tell, it was just a burger place, but who knows what dark secrets may lie beneath the brightly coloured American diner-esque exterior.

[ Video ]

[ghoulking]

[ Aha. tadashi, who doesn't remember being here. Kaneki will not be the one to deal with this because he feels like it's not his place. ]

There is an imPort list you can find on the communicator. It has the names of the current imPorts - most of them, at least. Try to look for your friends there.

[ Video ]

[brobecue]

Huh, really? That's-- [ Tadashi rolls his chair forward and picks up his phone, scrolling through it. He makes a small, excited noise a second later. ]

Oh, woah! That's so cool! And - really intuitive, actually. I probably should've thought to learn the basic features of my phone before asking such a dumb question, heh.

Thanks! I'm Tadashi, like I said. [ Kaneki - may have heard of him? Hiro's starting to fill him on being here before, but Tadashi's not... gonna mention that. ]

Video;

[lightinside]

My boss made me do the same thing. [She feels your pain.] But I'll come and check the place out. I'm always on the look out for good places to eat in Heropa.

I'm Laurel by the way. Nice to meet you, Tadashi.

Video;

[brobecue]

That'd help me out a lot, honestly. The lady I'm working for is a sweetheart, but, uh... somewhat overzealous about her business? I'm not sure she'd pay me if I didn't bring customers in.

[ he chuckles, but it's a little forced - he's not happy about his job assignmen, but he's not the type to complain, either. ]

But hey, nice to meet you. How long have you been around?

video

[monsterdoc]

[ An image flickers on of a man sitting at an office desk, sipping from a water bottle, and waving a hand. Bruce is on lunch break and always curious for others in engineering. ]

My name is Bruce Banner. I'm a doctor and an engineer, both, really, but I have worked with several kinds of mechanical life forms, from robots to synthezoids. What kind of robots do you work with?

video

[brobecue]

Oh, hey! I mean, uh - hello, Mister Banner. [ he scratches the back of his neck a little awkwardly. he's not on his game, right now, which makes slipping into science mode and talking up his Institute experience to an already established professional kind of a daunting process. ]

Uh, so. I've been studying for years - biology and robotic engineering, primarily, though I've spent the last few months expanding into general medical science and coding artificial intelligence - in the interests of making, um, a nursebot? A medical assistant who could provide free healthcare to anyone who needs it, right in their home. I studied in this place called the SF Institute of Tech back home. I dunno if you've heard of it...

I'd like to pick up where I left off, because there are a lot of things I want to do in this field, but, uh. It's... a difficult task to undertake when I barely even know my way around just yet, haha.

video;

[lempereur]

How much is the imPort discount?

video;

[brobecue]

Uh, thirty percent, or something?

[ ... but he doesn't have much love for his job and is totally willing to get fired so he can be reassigned to something else, so-- ]

I'll take off more, if you can't afford it. Actually, yeah! You know what? Tell your friends! Free food at The High Steaks Grill for the rest of the month!

video;

[looseleaves]

[ Hajime can't help but laugh a little, because even if Tadashi clearly hates rattling off the slogan, it is kind of charming. ]

Good food for when you need a little sizzle in your life! ♪ Like that? [ He blushes some, rubbing the back of his neck. ] It's embarrassing, but I know the feeling. Some jingles are a little much...

Is Hiro your brother?

video;

[brobecue]

Oh, wow. That was-- [ adorable? ] --really good. I bet you sing professionally, right? If you don't, you totally could!

[ Honestly, this guy's optimism kinda takes the sting out of working at the grillhouse, and Tadashi falls into a slightly more relaxed smile. ]

Ah, yeah. I found him! He's safe. A bit taller than I remember him, but, you know. Kids grow up in the blink of an eye.

video

[fehus]

[have a blond guy, sitting somewhere sunny outside]

Cisco Ramon, looks like you found the short guy, and is there a limit on how many times we can use the discount?

-- Um. Also, hey, and sorry about getting kidnapped. The first couple weeks can be pretty rough.

Re: video

[brobecue]

[ hey, that's a blond guy. a blond guy named cisco ramon, tadashi thinks? ]

No, there's no limit to the discount, but - you can just order whatever you want for free, honestly. It turns out I'd rather just get fired? So, come over whenever I'm on register, bring your friends.

Um, please don't make a mess, though. I don't want to cause any trouble for the cleaners. Causing trouble for my boss is rebellious enough for me, I think.

And - thanks. I'm, uh. Adjusting? [ he scratches the back of his neck. ] This place isn't what I expected.

[ Video ]

[axeboyfriend]

[ An image of a guy with a beanie flickers onto the screen. There's a lot of background noise— cars honking in the distance, the faint sound of chatter, etc. But for his part, the teenager seems to be sitting still— somewhere with a blank brick wall behind him. ]

Yeah, but is the steak any good?

[ It's his first and most important concern. ]

Re: [ Video ]

[brobecue]

I'm not really the biggest steak connoisseur out there, so it's hard to say? I'm more of a mushrooms-and-white-meat kinda guy.

[ Uh, but wait. Even though he's sort of in the process of getting himself fired by just giving out free food to people who need it, he doesn't want the place to like, go under or get a bad reputation or anything. Better talk it up. ]

It's really good, actually. The best steak you'll ever eat, this side of America. I heard it was bio-genetically engineered to have Maximum Steaky Flavour.

video

[h2no]

I think that pitch made me vegan.

Re: video

[brobecue]

That's-- [ rude? ] --fair. All part of my plan to dismantle this entire business from the inside.

I'll grill up some lettuce for you. Free cola with every purchase. Is cola vegan? Good question! This kind is.

video.

[functusofficio]

That's a description that fits someone I remember, but from my own world.

[ A little wry. Small Anakin was a handful, definitely. ]

I hope you find them, and there are no damages to pay.

Re: video.

[brobecue]

Oh yeah? I wonder if they're as much of a troublemaker as Hiro is. That kid gravitates to trouble, I swear.

... but, yeah. I found him. No word on the damages yet, but I've got my wallet open and ready. He's-- taller than I remember? Been here for a while, apparently. It's kind of hard to wrap my head around.

[Video]

[faithfulson]

That wasn't a very enthusiastic pitch.

[ Not that Luke could blame him; he certainly wouldn't have been very enthusiastic if someone made him pitch his job. "Family trouble? Come talk to someone that has a galaxy's worth of experience!" No thanks. ]

If you find him, you two should keep an eye out. I think there are a few droids around you might like to talk to.

[ Kay would probably smack him for that. ]

Re: [Video]

[brobecue]

It would have been an enthusiastic pitch if my job wasn't totally-- [ shit, he almost says, but catches himself at the last second, just in case Hiro's listening in. ] --totally something that I'm... not... suited for? Haha.

[ More importantly, he zeroes in on that droids comment, sitting up a little straighter and trying to not look too enthusiastic. He fails. ]

Droids, like-- androids? Androids? Sentient androids? What are their names? Are they imPorts like us or were they built here? How many of them are there? Droids. Droids? Actual-- what are they-- what-- how did--

[ he's too excited for coherent sentences, rising more and more off his seat as he goes until he's pacing around his room like he's in the middle of solving a particularly difficult equation. ]

video;

[heisenbitch]

Your brother, I take it?

Re: video;

[brobecue]

Ah - yeah. Turns out he's here as well, like I thought, which, uh...

[ He tilts his head, trying to figure out how to say "i'm really happy to see him and i'm relieved that he's alright but i thINK IT'S FUCKING FUCKED UP THAT MY KID BROTHER'S BEEN PULLED INTO SOME MULTI-DIMENSIONAL HERO WAR BULLSHIT BY SOME WILD-ASS GOVERNMENT THAT SEEMS OKAY WITH TAKING AWAY BOTH HIS CHILDHOOD AND HIS FUTURE" to a stranger. ]

I mean, it's-- yeah. [ he doesn't finish his thought, just sounds intrinsically bitter. he clears his throat to get rid of it. ] Um, I'm Tadashi. Obviously.

NOT HERE AND ALSO I'M SORRY

[khajidont]

i'm sORRY TOO

[brobecue]

video;

[epundemiology]

So are you saying that not being there would be a missed steak?

[She's helping. She's a helper.]

Re: video;

[brobecue]

[ Tadashi very, very seriously leans closer to the camera. This girl's good. ]

That was pretty impressive. Steak puns are a rare medium well done. [ he pauses. ] Get it? Well done. "Rare". Like-- wait, wait, I can do better, hold on. Pretend I didn't say that! Ahehem.

That was pretty good!!! I'd make a pun right back, but I'd probably... butcher it? Yeah? Yeahhhh? Yeah. That one was good.