driftfleet | whistle while you work

Who: Mantis and You

Broadcast: Yes

Action: Duotera

When: Today

A - Crafter's Hall

You could hardly ask for a better venue to get a little lost in. Mantis was distracted in several directions at once taking in all the many different crafts that were being put on display. In one direction, he watched wood carving. In another, he saw kinds of painters. With the crowd as big as it was, he could get good and lost for a while and take in all the different ways one might spend their free time. You'll see him sitting for a few demonstrations or simply browsing a stall or two. After a while, he'll have a couple of bags hanging from one arm.

B - Broadcast (Bishop)

Away from the crowds and back in his solitude, Mantis is humming to himself as he hangs up a couple of small paintings in his office. They're only vaguely floral in design and stand out against the otherwise drab colors of the walls. He keeps nudging them minutely in one direction and another for a good minute before being satisfied that his sense of angles has not failed him. After that, it's back at his desk where he sets out a few odd items: two circles made out of flat pieces of wood, several sheets of white fabric, spools of colored thread, and a pack of needles. He sets them out in a neat pattern and sits back, staring at the items in question.

"I might have made a mistake already, but this is what I get for wandering the Crafter's Hall for too long. Incidentally, I'm curious about something. We have an decent amount of humans here, but I've yet to see people from the same Earth as I seem to have come from. Just how many different paths has human history taken?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[Yuri happens to be visiting the planet too. He and Makka are in the crafter's hall. It's nice to see things being made by hand and to see real art in the making. Not just mass produced things. He has an appreciation for creation given his career and his background.

He comes up to Mantis, no hint of fear from him even though the guy should creep him out. Makka approaches and sniffs him and then sits.]}

Looking for a new hobby, Mantis?

Edited 2018-02-21 00:56 (UTC)

[It takes time and patience to do things by hand and Mantis needs something mindless and time consuming like that to keep himself busy while the fleet drifts between solar systems. As such, he shops.

A smile briefly crosses his whole face to see Yuri and he waves before offering Makka some ear scritches.]

I'm considering something involving sewing. I used to mend my own clothes a lot before I could afford regular tailoring, so I've already got some of the requisite skills.

_{[Handmade stuff is better in his mind. Food, clothes, jewelry, art... anything really. There is something unique about it. Even a master cannot make the same thing exactly twice. So each thing... it's irreplaceable.

And he can't see that smile but he can feel it he thinks. He knows Mantis doesn't open up this much to people and he is so glad he can do so with him.]}

Yeah, that might be fun. Or needlepoint or even making your own clothes. You could design things, since sometimes you have a hard time finding things to your taste in stores.

[Mantis can already do the cooking thing, but he doesn't really eat all that often. Hence, the need for a proper hobby.

It takes a certain personality to get Mantis to relax. The violent types are more in tune with who he is on a basic and natural level, but kinder people like Yuri allow his blood pressure to drop.]

Cross-stitching and embroidery as well. There's a surprising level of nuance to the art of passing thread through fabric, but that goes for almost any kind of busywork.

[Yuri needs to be better at not eating... he likes unhealthy things and he gains weight so easily... it's terrible.

Yuri is non-threatening because the whole violence thing... it's not his language. He doesn't understand it and doesn't want to understand it. Thus he will be a puppy dog all his life.]

My mom does that sometimes. She tried to teach me as a kid but I was more interested in learning how to skate. I guess it would keep me busy too when I have to take a break from the ice.

[As long as he doesn't take Mantis' approach to the concept of meal planning. He needs to gain weight to be properly healthy.

He and Makka are well matched in that regard. Pets and owners really are reflections of each other.]

I picked up sewing as a necessity rather than any well-intentioned attempt at passing on a kind of domestic skill. It really isn't all that hard once you learn a few basic stitches.

[He might do better with that. He's not picky he is just... sometimes he can be a bit gluttonous when it comes to his favorite foods ok?

Well Makka isn't his dog but... she sort of is. He loves her all the same. She's a darling girl.]

Yeah you had some really different clothes when I first met you. They had to be customized I bet. Hey, we can get you fabric instead of just clothing and you can make whatever you want.

[Everyone has that problem after a while. It's the foods that bring you back to a fond memory that are the worst offenders.

Makka is growing on Mantis, too. She's so soft and people friendly compared to the working kind of dogs.]

The work uniform... [Sigh.] Perfectly useless now, but I'm not getting rid of it. I would have to get a sewing machine if I really want to get serious about making my own clothes.

[Yeah and fortunately he has a lot of foods that make him happy and he had a happy childhood... so plenty more food to fall back on but still. He gains weight so easily that he isn't able to indulge very often.

And Makka is the best dog. She is full of love and understanding and steadfast loyalty. She's so easy going too, she will lazily sleep in the bed with you and just wag her tail when you get up, she's not a needy sort of princess dog.]

Oh? Did everybody wear that?

Hey, what if we got a sewing machine. I can learn to sew and make Victor and I new costumes.

[Mantis can only imagine how much of an apatite that Yuri works up after a good round of ice skating.

Mantis wish he could have gotten that more out of the people in his life. The loyalty of an animal is always more consistent.]

Only me! [His laugh is short and a bit loud.] We all had different ideas of what work clothes looked like. Ocelot dressed like a cowboy and Liquid never wore shirts. What was comfortable was what you wore as long as it didn't hinder your work.

[Oh he could eat a smorgasbord but he needs to relax that. He's not really gluttonous but he does stress eat.

Animals aren't on the same level of needs as humans and thus they are easier to get along with. Which says more about people than it does about the animals. For all their abilities to navigate their invention of social nuance, humans would rather interact with a dumbed down version of what they are capable of.]

Oh I see... not much of a uniform then. How did you find that outfit? Did you find it?

Ocelot and Liquid... did you all have special names? Was it just you three?

Edited 2018-02-27 03:08 (UTC)

[Stress eating is a killer of diets and trim waistlines. Poor Yuri!

It's easier that way for a lot of people. You don't have to hold intelligent conversations or even conversations at all with those emotional eyes staring back at you. You can project almost anything you want into a dogs expression.]

I had it made over time. Working independently has it's benefits after a while. You can be whomever you want.

All of us, actually. I never told you them? [He points to himself first before counting off the names.] Psycho Mantis, Decoy Octopus, Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven, Revolver Ocelot, Liquid Snake. Foxhound traditionally gives codenames made of an adjective and animal pair.

whistle while you work

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