“I’ll just bring sparkling grape juice. Carbonation doesn’t do anything to you, does it? Carbonic acid? I’d hope not.” He’s rambling a bit, apparently caught up in himself as his mind runs a mile a minute, thanks in part to the creature who shared his body, and who was also thinking rapidly, but about different things. Part of those things coincided with Tobi, but most of them were about how the air would taste, and thinking about eating things. Symbiotes were such simple, yet complex creatures, Tobi had come to find.
“Luckily for you, when it comes to science, I’ve dabbled in quite a few of the living fields. I excel at chemistry and genetics, but I also have knowledge in the biological sciences. If you’re truly so curious, I can take a cheek swab and run some tests.” Seems he’s picked up that Hershel is understandably nervous around his type, and is being as uninvasive as possible with his requisite curiosities. In fact, his tone is hesitant, as though he’s as disdainful of the notion as the man himself might be.
“Huh. That’s interesting. I’m not gonna ask you to run yourself through a gauntlet of garbage to figure out what does what through trial and error, though, all I’d need is labgrown tissue crafted from your DNA and epithelial cells to make a matrix that simulates your gastrointestinal environment, and then I’d be free to do anything I wanted without hurting you.”
The strange plantman seems receptive to his idea, so that’s a win, in his book. A lab, naturally, is too sterile an environment for this man to be at ease, so his home seems to be the perfect option. While Tobi’s interested in his garden, such a place is likely akin to a dryad and their tree. He’s a near-stranger; the “too far away” excuse is likely a white lie to keep him from insisting, and so he doesn’t, despite seeing right through what he presumes to be a mistrustful fib.
“Okay, what time works best for you? I’m free all day today, but if today isn’t good, I can work something out with my boss.”
“I’ve had carbonated drinks before, they’re fine.” He wasn’t that similar to a plant that water was all he could stomach - part of him was still human, and humans could eat a great number of things. “Though the sugar does… something. I’ve never figured out what exactly, but it’s very… Hm. Not addictive… Tempting? Alluring? Something to that effect.” Which was also very irritating, and part of the reason he generally avoided consuming too much of it.
But it had been a while, so he supposed it would be fine.
“Ooh, I’m almost jealous~!” He said amusedly. “In all honesty though, that is very impressive. So many science fields - it couldn’t have been easy. Or at least fast.” Unless he was just good at it, and if he enjoyed it, well - all the better! It half made him want to dip back into archeology if not for the mocking it’d probably get him from all his alternates.
Not to mention, he’d really rather not get the attention of the ‘good’ Laytons - and suddenly raising up the ranks, so to speak, would definitely put some unwanted eyes on him.
He’d rather just be the strange green man that ran an organic food store.
“I can guarantee you my ‘gastrointestinal environment’ is something to behold to most biologists. Among other things; very. Slow. Digestion.” Hershel said, intentionally dragging it out. “Obviously since I’m no biologist I may well be entirely wrong, but I’m fairly confident that the parts of me that are ‘plant’ are somewhere within the sarracenia or nepenthes family… ” Among other neat things that he found himself hoping tried to replicate themselves in this artificially made flesh Tobi seemed interested in making.
Even if only to watch the reaction when the man discovered it.
“Believe it or not, I’m actually not engaged at all, most days. My garden has it’s workers, and it’s not close enough to the winter season to begin preparations, so I’m not inherently necessary there. Not beyond just wanting something to do, anyway.”
“Makes sense that sugar would be something the plant part of you would crave. It’s the simplest form of energy, the easiest to digest, and nowadays, it’s easy to get lots of it. Grape juice doesn’t have a disgusting amount of sugar in it, though.” But, a slightly darker part of him realizes, candy could then be used to incentivize this man to go a little outside his comfort zone. Not that he’d do such a thing, but he pockets the thought, anyway.
And that thought, Jasper grabs onto and mutates, still enjoying playing with such ideas, twisting it into some horrendous mad-scientist fever dream.
“Hush,” he whispers, hoping it’s under Hershel’s radar, though he doubts it is, but he goes right back to smiling, his somewhat chunky, sharp-ish teeth locked and beaming in a big, friendly grin.
“Chemistry and genetics come the easiest to me. I spent many hours in college taking more of them than I should have, and I was five years in before I realized I could have graduated two semesters ago!” He laughs, as though accruing more student debt than he needed to was an amusing thought. “Again, I’ve only dabbled in biology. I know dendrological, botanical, zoological, and ecological basics, but only that. However, I get the feeling that if I were to crack down on it now, I’d be able to absorb it all in about a year.”
A year? Give me some credit, Tobi.
“...Maybe half a year. I’m not sure. But, your personal internal environment is definitely something I want to toy with, simply because it fascinates me. You say you have a slow metabolism? Interesting, I wonder why that is? Weaker enzymes, simply a lower acid production, a disruption of your gut flora? These are all aspects I want to explore and discover, and you seem just as interested in learning about yourself. You’ll be a remote lab partner, how does that tickle your fancy?”
An offer, he hopes, Hershel can’t refuse. “--Ah, sorry, Sarracenia and Nepenthes are genera, not families. Though, if you’re just referring to pitcher plants in general, then that’s definitely a point of intrigue. Either way, if you’re open, lead the way! I’m excited about this.”
