testing new muse, bear with me.

[pearlygates]

[ She's got an eyebrow raised and her lips pressed together a little, half appraising and entirely amused. Then: ]

Look, Sweetie, I'm- flattered that you want to spend more time with me. [ Angela's choosing her words carefully, but she's also exceptionally good at carefully choosing words on the fly, so there's not much hesitation in her tone. ]

But I don't think now-- [ She lifts her hands palms-down, a 'right here' sort of gesture. ] --is a great time for either of us. Honey, you've got fifteen days until you're moving to the other end of the country. You've got boxes in the hall, and I-... Well, let's not get started on me, here.

[ A pause, and then she lets out a sigh, her shoulders falling a little with resignation. ]

Alright! You win. But please, if you have any mercy left after all of your- terrible, gruesome, fictional maiming sessions--which, by the way, I'm clinging to a little peace of mind and pretending those don't actually happen--just... do me a favor, okay? Take me from after that celibacy kick. There are certain circles of hell I'd rather not be in while you're dragging me through... y'know, other circles of hell.

Comments

[doctor_insano]

Terrible, gruesome, fictional maiming sessions? That doesn't sound very pleasant.

Although that might depend upon which end of it you're on.

[pearlygates]

Is 'neither' an option?

[doctor_insano]

Maybe any kind of maiming is best avoided.

[pearlygates]

You think?

[ After a second, she exhales and shakes her head, offering an apologetic little smile. ]

Sorry. I'm just-... This is all a little new to me.

[doctor_insano]

I've only been in this environment for a few weeks myself!

But you have to think of the possibilities!

[pearlygates]

No offense, I'm sure you're a great guy, but unless by 'possibilities' you mean 'going home and taking a nice, long bath', I think I'm going to have to sit this one out.

[doctor_insano]

Nobody's ever even assumed that I'm a great guy before but no! I don't mean any baths!

I mean the possibilities of SCIENCE!

[pearlygates]

Honey, I work at the Jeffersonian. You call it the possibilities of science, I call it Monday. [ Or every other weekday, but her point's made. ]

[doctor_insano]

So you work with science every day? Excellent!

[pearlygates]

[ She's willing to bet it's not the same sort of science he works with. Hers, she makes a point not to inhale.

Not that she'll say that. After all, he does seem relatively harmless. ]

You're definitely enthusiastic, I'll give you that.

[doctor_insano]

Better to be called enthusiastic than insane!

[He laughs - somewhat crazily.]

Although both would be the truth.

[pearlygates]

I'm shocked. [ But there's a hint of a smile to her tone so it isn't taken as harshly as it could be. ] I get the feeling I'm going to regret asking this, but: What's your field? [ 'Scientist' is so general. It may or may not come as a surprise that her bet's on 'chemist'. ]

[doctor_insano]

Field? I'm a mad scientist!

[He experiments and invents things, mostly.]

And sometimes I repair broken videogame consoles!

[13thfloorking]

"terrible, gruesome, fictional maiming sessions"...Oh, seems to be quite enjoyable.

[ smirks out of amusement ]

[pearlygates]

...

Right, so I'll be over here.

[13thfloorking]

[ lightly laughs ]

Well, what's not to enjoy?

[pearlygates]

Well, all of it, actually.

[13thfloorking]

Well, you'll never know not until you fully indulge yourself into it.

[ eyes fixed on her intently as he curved his lips with a smile ]

[streetmedic]

Not saying that I wouldn't appreciate it if your mun toned down the maiming (or at least only maimed people who, you know, actually pay for medical treatment), but it's not as bad as it sounds. There's some good stuff out here.

[pearlygates]

Good as in 'ice cream that doesn't go straight to your hips' or good as in 'maybe today my loved ones won't die'? [ This is so relative. And she is so, so not okay. ]

[streetmedic]

[Okay, valid point. Nis hasn't lost anyone herself, but...yeah. She only has a sympathetic smile.]

I can promise the ice cream doesn't go straight to your hips?

[pearlygates]

[ That earns a chuckle, albeit a grudging one. ] Well that's something, then. [ A slight appreciative smile. ]

[streetmedic]

It's any consolation, my loved ones are kind of asking for it, and all of them are still around.

On a likelihood-of-death scale from one to "It doesn't count if they were only shooting at me," with five being "I turned your food processor into a microwave but you need to wear these lead-lined goggles whenever you use it," I think your friends and family need to pull at least an eleven or twelve before they're in too much danger.

[yurick]

To be honest? [ More a mutter than anything. ] I don't think any is a great time. Even worse when there's only fifteen days before something big happens.

[pearlygates]

[ ... Oh. He's... well, he's not just a kid, but he's still so young. Somehow, Angela never really thought--... Well then again, what should she have expected? It's not like a 21-and-over sort of gig. ]

You're having a rough time too, huh?

[ It's a casual tone, maybe a tiny hint of sympathy but nothing he could take as any sort of condescending. ]

[yurick]

[ In comparison, his tone is pretty flat. Comes with being a natural introvert and not much of a talker. ]

Not really. But the others are, and I wouldn't doubt it if now was the calm before the storm. It'll eventually happen to everyone.

[pearlygates]

[ With a poorly-concealed grin. ] Well thank you, your optimism is very encouraging. [ She's teasing you, Yurick. Tell me you know what teasing is, she'll be so sad for you if you don't. And probably force you to come do fun stuff with her until you act your age. ]

[yurick]

[ Being immature is for a certain alcoholic and not himself, thank you very much. But he's been around said alcoholic long enough to understand the ins of teasing better than if he hadn't. ] I'm sure. You'd be lucky to go a month without some grueling mind trap or a knife to your head.

[pearlygates]

Lovely.

Please, tell me you're not speaking from experience.

[yurick]

No. But I heard there was an accident with a butcher knife for someone else in your mundane's keep.

[ Even better, right? ]

[pearlygates]

[ Not even a little. ]

This place is just full of surprises. [ Her tone is the driest of apprehensive tones. That's pretty much her way of saying 'wow, so everyone here is either a crack addict or a serial killer. except this kid. go figure.' ]

[yurick]

All sorts of dark stuff happen down in here. Some light, of course; but mostly dark. Really depends on where you're headed. When you remember that, it's not as surprising after a while.

[pearlygates]

But why? [ Why are they doing this? The 'muns'. ] Do you know?

[yurick]

How should I? I've barely been around. Because they enjoy it?

[pearlygates]

[ He's right. She just assumed that at the very least, he's been around longer than she has. ]

They should try painting, or... I don't know, sports. [ Because this is an awfully sadistic hobby, in her opinion. She'll have to hunt down Sweets for the final verdict. ]

[yurick]

Try telling yours that, then. It's worth a try. [ Though to be frank, he doubts that it'll work at all. Stubborn creatures, this lot. ]

[wraithblade]

You'll find few of these mundanes willing to heed rational arguments. To them, we are simply playthings in their imaginary toy box.

[Goodness, he's a bitter zombie.]

[pearlygates]

That's kind of the impression I'm getting, yeah.

[ ...Zombie. Don't tell Angela that, she's got enough to take in as it is. ]