five ☀ video

[deshabille]

Who: Mal and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide!
Action: The Marsiva
When: Right meow (November 8)

Is everyone having fun?

[You know . . . if her expression were any different, that would sound absolutely sarcastic and pretty condescending. But she's positively beaming. Gleeful. Mal is having a great few weeks.]

It's more fun on the ships, I have to admit, but everyone's minds are so interesting. People can look almost exactly the same on the outside and be absolutely distinctive on the inside. [And she thinks that's beautiful.]

Also, a question - most of these videos and things are from Earth, yes? Well, I'm not, so someone ought to tell me where to start. My requirements thus far are: no folk music, no Taylor Swift.

[A beat. She frowns.]

No romance unless there's also a lot of punching. [Or you're Cassandra. The only exception.]

Comments

[openhands]

I understand it is in your nature to be curious about these things, Mal, but you need to think beyond your own curiosity.

[deshabille]

[There's a lot in her reaction to this. Considering how difficult it is to read Mal normally, it probably says a great deal more than she means it to.]

[Oddly, what strikes first and hardest is I understand it is in your nature to be curious. Cassandra understands. She's . . . maybe not angry - irritated, yes, but not angry - and all the same, that emotion is tempered by understanding. Mal is not particularly used to being understood.]

[And the groove that that understanding wears in her allows her to hear the second part without being offended. Needing to think past it - that's what a leader does. Isn't it?]

[Hm.]

[She blinks a few times, slowly and carefully. Then she nods.]

You don't just mean saying it's bad. You mean thinking it, too.

[openhands]

At the very least understanding why it has the capacity to do harm to others.

[Even if Mal can't necessarily agree with the standpoint, it's better she consider it than completely ignore it altogether. Ignoring it altogether is where things get dangerous. Dangerous and out of control.]

[deshabille]

Because it's invasive, and permission is not given.

[This she understands - yes. But some other things . . . She has to press her lips together and think for a moment, parsing out the pieces that confuse her.]

But there are some things that I do that are invasive, that I can't turn off. If you were on this ship, anywhere on it, I could hear your heart beating. Is the difference in intent? Or is there a difference?

[openhands]

Hearing my heartbeat allows you to know that I am alive and even to pinpoint my exact location. It does not tell you of my history, my fears, my secrets, or my hopes.

[There's a difference. A big one.]

[deshabille]

[She bows her head slightly, not submissive but considering this. Yes, that's . . . a fair point.]

A matter of quantity, then. Not secrets told.

Secrets that should be told individually, and with permission? [Glancing up for approval.]

[openhands]

[Cassandra nods. She doesn't look relieved, but she feels a small fraction of it that Mal seems to get it. It's a choose on Mal's part to listen and to think. But Cassandra would not give her the time of day if that were not part of Mal's tendencies. She's overly curious, but she is thoughtful when asked to be.]

You understand.

[deshabille]

I think I do.

[There's a long pause, then. More considering. Not about the truth, but about the right thing to say. The right thing to say is important.]

Thank you.

[openhands]

Of course.

[Someone needs to keep Mal in-check. (Though not with excessive shows of force, Zhas and Coil...) Cassandra happens to not mind the job all that much.]