genessia | [Action/Video]

Entry tags:

[Action/Video]

[Yesterday, Mantis had found a replacement for her broken lamp at long last. It took a while given her meager paycheck, and while a lamp would have been a nice personal touch to her dingy poorly lit motel room, it wasn't a necessity.]

[It was sheer luck that she happened to pass a garage sale, and once she learned that it was not the garage but the items on the tables next to the garage, she found the most beautiful lamp she had ever seen. The shade was fashioned out of tiffany glass in greens, blues, and purples, with little dragonflies patterned upon it. She fell in love with the lamp and bought it, carried it home, and set it up next to her bed so she could look at it when she fell asleep.]

[Then the Paperboy CAME IN THE NIGHT.]

[She awoke with a start at the sound of shattering glass, twice: once as the newspaper crashed through the dirty motel window, and again as it collided with her lamp, knocked it over, and shattered the cunning glass work. Mantis sat up in bed with a jolt, and when she saw her lamp, her antennae drooped sadly. :c]

[Outside, she can hear the hotel manager bellowing in rage. 'BUG LADY! Did you break that window?! You'll have to pay for that!']

[And just like that, Mantis is in debt. She's swept up what she could of the lamp and placed it into a paper grocery bag. Perhaps she can get it fixed. She carries it with her up and down the streets in search of a repair shop, but no one seems able to fix it. She's told to just throw it out, but she can't bring herself to do it. Where else is she going to find a lamp with dragonflies on it?]

----------------------

[VIDEO]

[Mantis looks dejected, but she's smiling as hard as she can. It...doesn't look great. The dissonance is probably a little creepy.]

I would like a temporary job to earn more money. My skills are limited, but I will do my best for you.

[She will try. She will try so hard. ~~Success is not guaranteed.~~]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I understand. I enjoy things that are cute!

[She beams happily. It seems as if she should be more specific, but she hasn't experienced enough to really expand. Cute things are her favorite.]

I also serve as an empath. I can feel the emotions of others, as well as give people feelings in return. This ability can be used to put a troubled mind at rest and cause a person to immediately sleep.

[Rubs the back of her neck.]

[That's...] What do you find cute?

Dang. I do need waitresses, but... it's not... generally cute. Unless we're both lucky and have different ideas on cute.

Ahhh and the empathy thing is a -- are you familiar with the phrase, "Double-edged sword?" it means it would hurt you as much as help. And I really don't want you to get hurt.

Puppies.

[She answers very matter-of-factly, twisting her fingers as she tries to make sense of what's being said. She shakes her head, having never heard the phrase before.]

What would I be waiting for? I can be very patient if that is your wish.

Puppies are great! I have a couple myself! Well, one's a pokemon, and one's not really a dog, he's my boyfriend, the Doctor just acts like a bad puppy a lot.

[One day Rose will stop telling people of this and embarrassing him on public network.]

[One day the Doctor (youngest) might even actually be embarrassed about it.]

[Hopefully not soon.]

[Rose takes note of Mantis' confusion and will have to ask about the world Mantis comes from sometime...]

Customers. You take their orders to the kitchen, wait for it to be ready or prepared, bring back drinks or anything quick, and have to wait for the rest of the food to get ready. I can show you how it's done, I had to do it for a lot of months, years ago, but I'm not rusty.

Thing is though... it's in the Everglade. And some of the customers might see you as food. And also... some of them eat emotions.

[Rubs her face.] So.... how good are you at controlling your empathy? Mine's not magic, just... accidental, so I'm pretty bad, no control over it at all, just myself. But... like I said, double-edged sword, yeah? It might help you get tips, but you'll have to be tough. Don't let them just take advantage of you and eat your emotional insides while getting nothing in return, yeah?

Oh...?

[A bad puppy? Mantis furrows her brow slightly, abject confusion reflected in those big buggy Bambi eyes.]

Do you mean that he bites you? Or that pees on things he should not?

[Look, she is very concerned about this, Rose is a nice persoon and deserves a boyfriend who won't do these things!]

[She relaxes significantly once Rose says that she'll show Mantis how to do it. She's never been to a restaurant before. She's never been served food either. Ego always just made it appear, and on Starlord's ship they just eat those silver packs more often than not.]

I am not food.

[Mantis laughs a little as she says this and looks thoroughly entertained by the very thought that something might consider her this. How silly! But oh, another empath? Mantis has never met one before, and she's intrigued.]

I have always been able to control my abilities. I think it is a natural phenomenon for my kind.

[They were all dead, though, so she doesn't have anyone to ask for sure.]

How do they eat emotions? Do they lack emotions of their own?

Something like that. [ :) One of the many reasons all of their friends keep trying to get Rose and 10 to see a couples' counselor together... though Rose is not likely to mention that. She would have to be carried to sessions anyway. Talking about feelings = ew!]

All right, so long as you can be assertive like that.

And yeah. You know how vampires eat blood? Okay well, even if you didn't, now you do. So they can't give blood. It might be... good for you too? Um. Having some of the emotions taken off of you. I don't know how your empathy works. I have some taste testers, but they don't drain the emotions, just taste it. Some of our clients actually survive on the emotions though, so be careful, okay? Also... well if you can control it, it shouldn't be a problem. Handling the bottles of emotions I mean. Even I can usually do that. Just not if someone else is experiencing it, yeah? I get too swept into their pace.

[Mantis is a counselor, but probably not the person you want to give you couple's advice.]

[She seems pleased to be called assertive, perking up with a smile.]

They eat blood? Disgustiiiing.

[She probably shouldn't think that's so funny, but she does find it kind of hilarious to the point that she has a big grin as she wrinkles her nose. Vampires should eat things that don't taste like copper or rust.]

Maybe I can help them. I can cause someone to feel things, and it does not drain me. Your abilities differ from mine. Do you feel the emotions of others without touching them?

Yeah. [Laughs.] But since you'll be bringing them different types of flavored blood, maybe don't call it that to their faces, yeah? Any chance you think werewolves are cute too? We get a lot of them in there too.

[Nods!] Yeah. Mostly if I see their faces or circumstances. It's not magic or anything special, but I'm a little more psychic receptive than normal people, and have a tougher time blocking it out. My boyfriend's been working on it, but since he uses it to reach me even far away, maybe not that hard, yeah? I can't make anyone else feel anything though! I was able to bottle -- like literally bottle some emotions for selling, and we do a lot of market with fear, but how much is sustenance and how much is flavoring... [Face wrinkle.] Still working on that.

Oh. I did make a dalek feel. Once. But it was an accident, it was extrapolating my DNA for time radiation, and I think the Doctor said it took a little too much from me. None of the others have done that though, so it was more a fluke.

Rose [ Martha pops in to the conversation in progress. ] Her skills could be really useful in that position I was talking to you about.

[ She pauses to smile at the alien woman. ] Hello. I'm Martha. I'm Torchwood's doctor.

[Wolves?]

Are those...savage puppies?

[She knows very little about the zoology of other planets, but the term is one she's certain Starlord has used before. She's very interested in learning more about Rose's empathic or psychic abilities, for it seems she's gifted but inexperienced.]

Is a Dalek a type of medical professional?

[She stops as another woman joins the conversation and immediately silences herself. She waits patiently, hands clasped in front of her, until the introduction is made.]

Hello, Doctor Martha. I am Mantis. You are the bad puppy?

[But Rose said it was a boy, so perhaps Mantis isn't as adept as recognizing the sexes of Earth humans.]

[ Martha's hand flies to cover her mouth to try to keep from laughing, but she can't and her eyes are bright with it. The insectoid woman is adorable and Martha already wants her to come be with them. ]

I probably should've said I was one of Torchwood's doctors, yeah? [ Her smile warms to a welcome. ]

No, I'm not alien or puppy, not a bit of it. Strictly human, me. The bad puppy is a skinny man with spiky hair and trainers. And he's wonderful, even if he is a bad dog.

Oh, so there are many.

[This place, Torchwood, must suffer from frequent inflictions of illness. How unfortunate. :c]

You are a human from Earth? Then you know of the Avengers?

There are several. It's a bit mad, yeah? Rose can explain that, if you want her to.

[ She has such an expressive face. It's brilliant and totally charming. But she doesn't seem to understand humans very well yet. Martha wants to understand her better, too. But she has to stop herself from asking about the Avengers whether they're from the comic books. It would be rude, even if she's curious. ]

I'm from Earth. London, properly. I don't think I've heard of the Avengers, though. Are they friends of yours?

Nooo.

[She says it with such a big smile, and absolute certainty. The spider boy, perhaps, was the only one who'd seemed pleasant enough to want to make friends. The doctor and the man in iron? Not the friendly type!]

They are Earth's mightiest heroes. And will surely protect it from harm.

[At least...she hopes they succeeded. She really didn't get to find out.]

I would like to see Earth very much, but my horrifying appearance would cause much panic! And screaming!

[Still...smiling... She's so weird.]

[ Martha wrinkles her nose but she's still smiling when she shakes her head. ]

You're not horrifying at all. Trust me. I've seen some pretty terrifying aliens. You're actually quite cute, yeah? And you have a very nice smile.

[ooc: Gah. Sorry. I've been really sick this cycle. ]

If you are accustomed to worse, that is comforting to hear. But many others may lack your fortitude. I will preserve their peace.

[She bows her head with a serene smile. As long as there are still people who like her for who she is, she doesn't mind being ugly at all.]

You're very kind. Rose should definitely hire you. Torchwood would be lucky to have you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Action/Video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

Re: [video]