three ☀ video / optional action

[deshabille]

Who: Mal
Broadcast: Fleetwide!
Action: On the Caprine if anyone desires it! I'm flexible.
When: 6/20.

[As in her first broadcast, Mal can be found tinkering around in the engine room, elbows-deep in something interesting and greasy. This time, though, she seems pensive, deep in thought, perhaps about Deep Subjects and Philosophies.]

[She is, in fact, thinking about something entirely different.]

[When she speaks, it's in tones of airy contemplation, meant to disguise the fact that part of her thinks this is a terrible idea.]

Here is an interesting thing: vampires, for all their reputation for seduction, really aren't that good at it, at least where I come from. When you're always hungry, you mostly rely on people leaving windows open at the right time and then being a bit woozy from blood loss. For the really old ones, the ones who can barely stand without crumbling to dust and really hate sunshine, that's the only way they can eat, and if they tried to seduce anyone their arm would probably fall off.

[She twists at a mysterious innard of the ship with a wrench, tongue in her cheek.]

We've had enough excitement for a while, I think, so why not something boring instead: tell me about romance in your world. Describe the sorts of flowers you like to kill for love. Rate yourself on a scale of one to ten, complete dunce to Casanunda, if you like.

Actually, everyone should have to do that. That's compulsory. I will genteelly admit that I am a nine. [Liar.]

Comments

[forgetyourusedtobe]

No, I haven't. Have you known each other a long time?

[deshabille]

Oh - not so long in the grand scheme of things. A year, a little more. She's my sergeant.

[This extremely proud. She will always be proud of her sergeant.]

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[The pride would be an incredibly hard thing for Elena to miss.]

I guess a lot of things happened for the two of you then?

[How else could you explain having that close an attachment to one another?]

[deshabille]

Oh, you know. Hijinks, close calls, high-speed chases. That sort of thing.

[Her tone is flippant, but her eyes are soft, as they so rarely are. There's real love there, the kind that doesn't die.]

We fought together. Fight together. I don't think we're quite done fighting.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

Not done fighting back home or here?

[Hopefully Mal means back home. She'd prefer it if Mal means back home anyway. It's bad enough that they're stuck here without adding to it.]

[deshabille]

Back home. It's - we've been at war for ages, it doesn't seem likely to stop anytime soon.

[Not that they're not trying. It's just a terrifically frustrating uphill battle.]

[forgetyourusedtobe]

Within or outside?

[deshabille]

Outside. More or less. The official wars are with our neighbors, but, well, whatever infrastructure there was has been essentially destroyed by this point.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

And it's out of the question to stop fighting with neighbors?

[deshabille]

Not out of the question, no, but upper management is somewhat excitable and tends to forget how to put the sharps down and talk like adults.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Elena can't help but snort at that and looks a little apologetic. She shouldn't laugh.]

I'm pretty sure that's not a problem limited to your world.

[deshabille]

No, I'm quite certain it's not. Still, it's exasperating when it happens. I feel like I ought to be able to bang some heads together and change things, but apparently that doesn't count as diplomacy.

[IF ONLY, THOUGH.]

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Elena giggles.]

I don't know. Diplomacy is about bringing people together, right?

[deshabille]

Forcefully, at high speeds, if I have anything to say about it.

[Mal is so good at tact, obviously.]

[forgetyourusedtobe]

I'd think that's more effective than anything they're doing right now.

[deshabille]

Oh, it definitely is.

My sergeant kicked the enemy prince in the fork, you know. [A little bit dreamy.] I think all acts of diplomacy should follow her example.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[The little bit dreamy does not go unnoticed.]

Maybe you two should start a political campaign then.