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driftfleet2018-08-14 11:34 am
ginger_firebird) wrote in driftfleet2018-08-14 11:34 am
Entry tags:
Catch-All for August! - An Extraordinary Machine
Who: Mantis and All
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Yes
When: Today
A: Action / Broadcast - Bishop Office
Have you ever seen a man nearly set fire to something just by looking at it? It doesn’t change the fact that Mantis can, in fact, do just that, but the symbolism remains regardless. He’s sitting in the office again with a stretch of fabric firmly lodged in a frame to stretch it out mercilessly. He has a standing magnifying glass between him the fabric itself and is holding a pair of tweezers as a small cut of metallic string eases itself into the shape of an ‘x’.
Passerby might hear him swearing and muttering under his breath as he tries to adjust the piece of string in one direction, then another. It’s a long minute before he’s able to put the frame down, fabric and all. Then the feed comes on as he shows off the offending little stitch in the fabric to the camera feed, magnifying glass in place to emphasize the problem child.
“I feel like the thread looks smooth and appropriately shiny, but there’s always a nagging part of the mind that does not believe itself.” His hands come away as the stitch appropriately focuses in the feed.
“Can someone confirm independently that this looks good so I can silence the lizard part of my brain?”
B: Action/ Broadcast - Bishop Bridge
Later in the day, Mantis is out on the bridge of the ship with a small collection of items in tow. The box containing him bobs around at waist height as items launch themselves into the air. There is a scarf, a few books, small statuettes, several smaller knickknacks shaped like animals, a very comfy looking cushion, and lastly Mantis himself. He sits on the cushion and sends the items into orbit along with his communicator.
The feed comes on as the center of the small universe deigns to sit cross legged as a start. He waves at the camera and calmly nudges the small bits of crockery into a better orbit. There’s a slight method to his madness: the feed shows four smaller objects going around in increasing distances from him, the scarf forming a fifth layer, and four larger objects making the outer orbit, capped with a solitary glass marble.
“That last one is hotly contested among people who like to talk authoritatively about planets, but this is a rough estimate of my solar system. Star, four inner planets, the asteroid belt, four outer gas giants, and a lone rogue so small it might not even count. All the planets but mine are named after gods that used to be worshiped. Mine is called Earth, but we could have gone with something a little better, like Terra.”
C - Action - Iskaulit
When in doubt, skate it out! Or at least that’s his excuse to be out on the ice rink most days. He’s not terribly good or very dedicated to learning how to do anything more than the tiniest jumps that threaten to break his everything south of the waistline, but it’s something that allows him to let momentum do all the work for a bit rather than relying on muscles or his powers. Mantis glides fairly quickly from one side of the rink to the other, never straying far from the wall that lines it all the way around. On occasion, he’ll swing into a spin or a small jump, then continue on as though he hadn’t let physics protect him rather than himself. It’s the mindless repetition that allows him to stop thinking for just a moment and breathe more calmly. Cut in on the daydreaming if you dare.
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Yes
When: Today
A: Action / Broadcast - Bishop Office
Have you ever seen a man nearly set fire to something just by looking at it? It doesn’t change the fact that Mantis can, in fact, do just that, but the symbolism remains regardless. He’s sitting in the office again with a stretch of fabric firmly lodged in a frame to stretch it out mercilessly. He has a standing magnifying glass between him the fabric itself and is holding a pair of tweezers as a small cut of metallic string eases itself into the shape of an ‘x’.
Passerby might hear him swearing and muttering under his breath as he tries to adjust the piece of string in one direction, then another. It’s a long minute before he’s able to put the frame down, fabric and all. Then the feed comes on as he shows off the offending little stitch in the fabric to the camera feed, magnifying glass in place to emphasize the problem child.
“I feel like the thread looks smooth and appropriately shiny, but there’s always a nagging part of the mind that does not believe itself.” His hands come away as the stitch appropriately focuses in the feed.
“Can someone confirm independently that this looks good so I can silence the lizard part of my brain?”
B: Action/ Broadcast - Bishop Bridge
Later in the day, Mantis is out on the bridge of the ship with a small collection of items in tow. The box containing him bobs around at waist height as items launch themselves into the air. There is a scarf, a few books, small statuettes, several smaller knickknacks shaped like animals, a very comfy looking cushion, and lastly Mantis himself. He sits on the cushion and sends the items into orbit along with his communicator.
The feed comes on as the center of the small universe deigns to sit cross legged as a start. He waves at the camera and calmly nudges the small bits of crockery into a better orbit. There’s a slight method to his madness: the feed shows four smaller objects going around in increasing distances from him, the scarf forming a fifth layer, and four larger objects making the outer orbit, capped with a solitary glass marble.
“That last one is hotly contested among people who like to talk authoritatively about planets, but this is a rough estimate of my solar system. Star, four inner planets, the asteroid belt, four outer gas giants, and a lone rogue so small it might not even count. All the planets but mine are named after gods that used to be worshiped. Mine is called Earth, but we could have gone with something a little better, like Terra.”
C - Action - Iskaulit
When in doubt, skate it out! Or at least that’s his excuse to be out on the ice rink most days. He’s not terribly good or very dedicated to learning how to do anything more than the tiniest jumps that threaten to break his everything south of the waistline, but it’s something that allows him to let momentum do all the work for a bit rather than relying on muscles or his powers. Mantis glides fairly quickly from one side of the rink to the other, never straying far from the wall that lines it all the way around. On occasion, he’ll swing into a spin or a small jump, then continue on as though he hadn’t let physics protect him rather than himself. It’s the mindless repetition that allows him to stop thinking for just a moment and breathe more calmly. Cut in on the daydreaming if you dare.
Video
[Freya considers herself an expert on shiny things and is absolutely willing to weigh in.]
Video
Video
[She's actually curious about that one.]
What imagine are you recreating?
Video
[He pulls the magnifying glass back towards him and takes up a new piece of the thread.]
Using it is like planning a battle. You need to know precisely what you need and how to use it or it all goes to ruin.
Video
[A beat.]
I want some.
[Not that Freya is great at sewing or art or anything but she's an engineer, she'll figure it out.] So what exactly are you battling? I mean, the shape you're trying to make.
Video
[The one he's currently using is a kind of dark gold color. He sighs and puts down the frame for a second.]
A fox holding a army knife. It's the emblem of the Foxhound unit I was a part of before I ended up here. Nostalgia eats at me like acid some days.
Video
[She has no idea what she'll do with it yet but she'll thing of something.]
That's a cool emblem. Were you a solider or something?
Video
[He lets the loom float for a bit to contemplate the emerging pattern.]
Or something. I consider myself more of a spy who happened to be treated like a soldier. Foxhound was a military unit started by a charismatic madman. My specific unit was six strong and led by one of his sons as a splinter.
Video
But I'm sure I an find my way to your ship.
Looma? Should I be worried. Does she like wolves? [Because Freya will always smell like wolf.]
That sounds cool. I mean, not cool cool. That sounds like a lot of suck but it sounds like you liked it so cool.
Video
More cautious than anything. Anything is welcomed on the ship as long as it doesn't break anything or make a mess.
[His shoulders shake with barely contained laughter.] I am well beyond regrets for what my life turned into. If I hadn't been dragged into it, I would never have met a friend of mine.
Video
[So many people take like too seriously.]
But yeah, I'll be cautious. I ask about animals because I smell like an animal to animals and their all like 'Oh no! Predator' and I'm all like 'Oh no! Chill out' and it can sometimes get weird. [She waves a hand, brushing that topic off to the side to focus on birds.]
Did you know that birds have hallowed bones? That's how they're able to fly given their weight and structure. They also need help of extra forces like up drafts and pressure differentials in order to fly. What they do is glide with style, when you deconstruct it.
In that sense, space ships are completely unlike birds. Both are hallow on the inside and require an extra boost to get to where they need to go.
[This has been Freya's fun fact of the day.]
Video
[He's as sweet as a fresh slice of lemon, but he's not completely serious.]
Smelling like an animal. [Okay.] Well, I'm ill-equipped to notice the difference, but if that's all, you'll be fine. That beast of hers is fairly calm.
[His shoulders shake with a silent laugh and he shakes his head.]
Birds need all this specialized bone structure and feathers to even start to fly. I need neither. Begs the question of how I never got a bird code name to use for myself, though. It's one of my favorite tricks.
Call it a bad habit, but now I have to ask. You say you smell like an predatory animal. Even someone who spends their whole life around the most pungent of animals can wash it off with one good shower. What do you do that you carry around a smell like that?
Video
[Freya confirms with a nod.]
Okay, More questions. Then we can shift to the smell thing.
You can fly?
[She is not sure if she heard him correctly and she'll address his smell related question after that. Freya isn't sure how to phrase it anyway.]
Video
[He actually laughs that time and sets both the frame and the magnifying glass away from him with a brush of his hands.]
Psychokinesis. It's one of the powers I can use on objects and people, including myself. [In fact, he stands up from the chair and slowly spreads his arms, the rest of him rising off the floor until he's cross-legged in mid-air.] Not true flight, but close enough that I lay claim to the power.
Video
[She wants to see a castle!!!!]
That's. So. Cool.
Can you make me fly? Because I'd be down for that.
Video
Of course I could. I've moved around things much larger than a human.
[He gets slightly lower to the desk and plants his hands on it.]
Tell me how you're like an predator and we can call it a fair trade. Depending on what your answer is, I could have a favor to ask.
Video
[She laughs.]
I'm not like a predator. I am one. I smell like a wolf because I am a wolf.
[Her brow furrows.]
What favor?
Video
[You have captured his attention completely.]
My other talent is that I can read minds. We call it telepathy where I come from. I would like, with your permission, to try and read your thoughts. Your unique status as an individual might change the way your mind is organized in such a way that it would make an interesting thing to read.
Video
[She'd been born a wolf not a human.]
Oh cool! My mind is random and usually comes out of my mouth but I'd like you not to read it because ... I do not control my thoughts. [They are sometimes wildly inappropriate.]