exsilium | 9th Mistake, an anniversary mistake [video]

[Mahdi is wearing his hair down, a rarity for him. He's dressed in a loose-fitting shirt, nothing too impressive, sitting in his room and smiling.]

I've learned a lot since I arrived here a year ago. Most of all, I learned that people are more than just a sum of their good and bad deeds, People are much more complicated than I ever understood at first. So I want to thank everyone for being patient with me - or uh, not, as the case may be - because it's been a chance for me to learn. Thanks.

Have you learned anything really surprising while you've been here? I'd like to know.

...On the note of anniversaries, um, I'd like to go out dancing? Somewhere with really upbeat electronic music, that's my favorite. Sort of as a personal celebration for making it this far. Maybe I'll have a dinner or something too, if I can think of something nice to make. Would anyone like to come with me? Dancing, not to dinner. Dinner's still in planning stages. I'll need a buddy, or um, a bodyguard, because I'm so small. It's not good for me to go crowded places on my own. I'd feel more comfortable if I had someone big and tough by my side! Or just tough. Pretty much anyone's tougher than me.

[As if to prove him right, a small black kitten crawls up his arm and begins chewing on his hair.]

Truffle! How many times have I told you, I'm not your mama! You don't need to groom me!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...Whoa! A robot!

[WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP SAYING TV ISN'T REAL THERE ARE ROBOTS.

Mahdi grins.]

Hi!

Yeah I guess you could call me that!

[ He grins back. ]

Hi there. If you need protection, I'm your guy.

How big are you?

[He is just so impressed.]

About as tall as three of you standing end to end.

--You might not want to use me as a system of measurement. I'm really short.

Oh ah...

In that case, about eighteen feet.

Yeah, you'd be over three feet short if you measured with me!

You might be a little bit tall to get into a dance club.

I see...

Well that's what I have a human avatar for.

What's an avatar?

[ The screen flickers and refocuses on what appears to be ~~an anime~~ a man. ]

This. It's a holomatter avatar. It allows me to walk around like a human. Kind of.

[~~Oh no he's hot.~~]

I'm... wow. I'm really confused by that.

[Mahdi is a very honest person.]

C-confused how?

I uh. Just think of it like a puppet. A really realistic puppet.

But... why do you have it? What do you do with it?

I spent some time on Earth. Humans weren't a fan of us just walking around the way we are so we used these to blend with the population. They have other species settings too, in case we visit a planet that isn't friendly to our kind.

I don't know why they wouldn't be happy with you walking around the way you are. You seem pretty amazing to me!

So if your avatar goes somewhere, you're like... behind it, driving it?