InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "gimme cheese... and ham..."

⚜ ｐｉｔｅｒｄｅｖｒｉｅｓ. (blue_eyed) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2012-08-07 16:33:00

Entry tags:

atton rand, bruce banner, dirk strider, lacus clyne, piter de vries, spencer reid, terezi pyrope, wheatley

{ day 179 } video; action; open
[ he's looking a bit worse for the wear.

it's been four days, and he's been stockpiling spice -- ingesting only the smallest amount he can get away with in order to build up a cache in his apartment, but that is starting to take its toll on him. at the moment, he is stretched out on his back in bed with the lights off and the blinds closed, though some daylight still filters in. in this lighting, his eyes look even more like holes than usual, shadowed and nearly-black. ]

How dull this place is!

[ it's not that he misses giedi prime, particularly -- not having to deal with the baron or his nephews has actually done quite a lot for his temperament -- but the fact that he no longer has limitless doses of spice at his disposal is getting to him. not having anything to kill, as well -- but that fight the other day... he can't help but smirk at the memory. a trained eye might notice fading bruises on his neck and face from that particular spectacle. languidly, sleepily, he turns onto his side. ]

Between the thinking machines and you all, my fellow inmates, I'm afraid I find myself rather unimpressed. [ he sits up, stretches. ] I'd expected more violence from a prison. This is really more of a third-rate pleasure resort, though with tragically limited amenities -- and equally tragic company. [ he shrugs as he stands and leaves the bedroom, crossing through the rest of his darkened apartment and opening the door. ]

Are any of you familiar with administering poison? There are so very many ways to go about it. I, myself, prefer subtlety: fast-acting and long-lasting, yet symptomless -- but that isn't to say that I don't appreciate a dash of poison on a blade now and then to boil the blood... Ah, but I digress.

[ he steps out into the hall, chuckling as he closes the door securely. he's on his way to the hospital, and perhaps to roam about the sectors looking for materials that he might be able to fashion a weapon with, or perhaps a few chemicals to keep around the apartment for delicious deadly cocktail mixing. be my guest and run into him anywhere -- in sector 2, 5, or even right here outside his door, if any neighbors happen to stroll by. ]

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thisiscalm
2012-08-09 08:46 pm UTC (link)

[ Libraries are indeed great places. Quiet and calm, like sanctuaries for those that want to be undisturbed — and it just so happens that that's exactly what Reid wants to be right now. He's still not sure exactly what Piter's thing is, but intuition is a powerful tool and face-to-face observations even more so.

If he can't fill in a few blanks after this chess game, he's not as good at his job as he'd like to think he is.

He arrives a few minutes later, having stopped by his apartment to fetch the chess board. He's tall and skinny, holding himself with a restrained sort of awkwardness and his expression points towards shyness that's matured with age. Smiling, he approaches. ]

de Vries, I presume?

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blue_eyed
2012-08-13 11:07 pm UTC (link)

You are correct. [ a small, somewhat subdued smile twists his lips as he gestures to the nearest table. ] Shall we?

[ he crosses his arms, chuckling faintly as his attention shifts to the chessboard. only a single layer? how quaint! ] I am accustomed to a rather different incarnation of this game. Cheops: that is, nine-leveled pyramid chess. The objectives are to put one's queen at the apex, while also putting the opponent's king in check. Other than those obvious discrepancies, am I correct in assuming this version plays similarly?

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thisiscalm
2012-08-14 09:02 pm UTC (link)

[ Oh, do you have any idea how hard you pinged the Star Trek fan in him? It's almost too obvious, the way he lights up at that potential challenge and unsurprisingly it prompts him into a request.]

You'll have to teach me that sometime, it sounds like quite the challenge. [ Piter ain't no Spock, but this is pretty damn close.] I'd assume it's similar. We can do a test match first if you want a chance to familiarize yourself with the rules.

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blue_eyed
2012-09-19 01:00 am UTC (link)

[ he quirks an eyebrow at the obvious brightening of reid's features-- it's rather strange, he realizes, to be so very foreign. he is used to being viewed as an object of sorts-- a mentat mistaken for a fremen; a machine mistaken for a man ( backwards as that may truly be )-- and yet it throws him ever-so-slightly when it occurs to him that such simple terms, once so commonplace, could be so unfamiliar to people, so new and fresh. and to be surrounded in return with so much new data, so many new concepts and ideas... as much as he despises most of the people here, marina can be interesting. ]

A test match isn't necessary. [ he shakes his head slightly, head bowed, and thinks with a smirk of how he taught feyd-rautha the game of cheops. the boy played too aggressively at first, nearly haphazard in his insistence on winning. no finesse. but slowly he learned, for chess was a game of strategy, of plans within plans, feints within feints--

-- his smile fades as he chastises himself silently, mentally, for thinking of such things as the life he lost. ]

I could teach you, yes. [ and just as quickly as it flickered away, the thin, tenuous smile is back. ] You strike me as one who cherishes knowledge.

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thisiscalm
2012-09-19 04:03 pm UTC (link)

[ Chess is a game of strategy. That much is true, but it's also a game of psychology and if his own chess mentor — everything mentor — taught him anything it's that chess can tell you more about a man's psyche than most people would believe. The chosen opening, the patterns, aggressive versus passive play, thinking ahead... Reid started playing young, but it wasn't until a few years ago that he really began to play.

He smiles easily at the agreement. Yes, this is good. ]

You could say that. I do prefer knowing things over not knowing them. [ He moves over to take a seat, quite ready to get this show on the road.] White or black?

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blue_eyed
2012-09-20 12:11 am UTC (link)

[ he settles into a chair, movements graceful and silent and tempered to perfection by many years of training, before looking up with a smirk. ] Black. [ it's a subtle warning, a gentle reminder. he knows what he is-- and perhaps this boy has some idea, as well, but that is all he would like it to remain: an idea.

he sighs easily, lightly. ]

Ah-h-h-h, but of course you do, my dear Reid-- "criminal profiler" that you are.

[ that, perhaps, is a less subtle warning-- and yet on his face remains a casual smile, mirroring reid's.

at the moment, there is only the faintest hint of danger in it. ]

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thisiscalm
2012-09-20 08:27 pm UTC (link)

[ Oh, he knows. After a transmission like the one that brought them together today, it's hard not to have a few ideas stewing in the back of his mind and that is very much why they're here now. To test those ideas. To lay out an initial profile, just in case Piter takes the step from casual theory into cold reality.

That said, it's just as much a casual game of chess. So difficult to find worthy opponents these days and after a near decade trying to outsmart criminals, it's not strange that he's picking less-than-safe options. That hint of danger makes it familiar, somehow.]

White starts. [ He makes his opening move. ] And you're right, profiling is a lot about knowing the unknown... but I'm talking in a much more general sense. Uncovering the truth in some way extends to everything around us, from human nature to history and science. For example — did you know that on the average cob of corn, there's 800 kernels divided into 16 rows?

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blue_eyed
2012-11-03 12:24 am UTC (link)

I was aware. [ his eyes flicker almost imperceptibly from reid's hands to his face, the only giveaway being the pinpricks of light that move in them, reflected in the featureless darkness. ]

Yet there exist other truths-- ones that need not be revealed. [ possibilities and stratagems bloom in his mind instantaneously as reid finishes his move-- in seconds he has formulated them fully and chosen from their ranks with nary a flicker of expression across his face to betray such intensive thought.

he makes his move with practiced, casual dexterity; his fingers are long and slender, calloused from work and weapon-wielding, and he holds the piece with the tips of his fingers, with an air of delicate force. ]

It is best, one would think, to not drag such things screaming into the light.

[ he lets the piece fall precisely into place. ]

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thisiscalm
2012-11-05 12:58 pm UTC (link)

Of course.

[ The response comes easily and while Piter's mind is flickering through chess strategies, Reid's is busy storing every piece of information he can possibly get from this game. Micro-expressions, choice of word, tone of voice. He cares less about winning — is pretty sure he'd have a hard time even if he tried — but this was never about that.

He makes his move, without hesitation.]

I agree, some things are best left in the dark. [ He sure has his fair share of skeletons.] Would you be referring to something specific? Generally speaking, of course.

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	blue_eyed 2012-11-16 09:54 pm UTC (link)
	[ a small, thin smile resurfaces. ] I am glad that you do. [ another move made with that careless, easy sort of thoughtfulness so characteristic of a mentat performing simple tasks; he barely even looks down at the board. ] Have you studied your governments, modern or ancient? Politics require a certain measure of secrecy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thisiscalm
2012-11-17 02:17 pm UTC (link)

Well, I am a government agent... [ So yes, he knows a thing or two about restricted information.] I think what it comes down to is who the information should be available to. Certain things need to be kept in the dark for the safety of the general public.

[ And then he inevitably thinks of Emily. Seven months of believing someone you care about is dead, only to discover she was alive all along. A fact that was kept a secret... for his own safety.

There's tension in his next move. Just a smidge.]

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blue_eyed
2012-12-13 02:32 am UTC (link)

[ the safety of the general public? that rarely crosses his mind. the safety of the baron, yes, and the safety of the heir— most of all, the safety of himself, assured by the safety of his masters— that is what matters to him. the public? the public is a small factor; the entire ragged population of giedi prime and every sweltering fremen on arrakis factors only briefly into his plans. ]

What government is this? If you'll forgive my ignorance. [ he chuckles, softly, noting reid's tension. ] Thousands of years have put me at a certain disadvantage with those of your time.

[ another move put into place. at least he's good at chess. ]

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	thisiscalm 2012-12-13 04:55 pm UTC (link)
	The US Government? United States of America. I'm, uh... I'm with the Behavioral Analysis Unit as you know. It's a part of the FBI — the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [ He's really not sure if any of this will make any sense, but at least the terminology is out there. ] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

blue_eyed
2012-12-29 03:03 am UTC (link)

[ the smile he shoots reid is less of a pleased expression and more of a polite "what?" though america is probably important, might even sound vaguely familiar. that's the trouble with being from thousands of years in the future and not comprehending english. ]

You investigate criminal matters, I presume? [ somewhat tentative, more inviting reid to talk than anything. ]

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	thisiscalm 2012-12-29 08:03 pm UTC (link)
	That's right — we study behavioral patterns, criminal psychology, victimology, geographic profiling, sexual sadism... you name it. We also get called in when there's suspected terrorism or for child abductions. I've been with the Bureau for eight years now as an Agent. [ So, you know. Not a greenhorn. ] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	blue_eyed 2012-12-31 07:48 pm UTC (link)
	[ sexual sadism— did you mean: piter's bread and butter? ] Impressive. [ a smirk and a nod as his fingers flicker across the board in another move. ] I, myself, am a political adviser of sorts. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	thisiscalm 2012-12-31 08:21 pm UTC (link)
	[ Oh, he could talk about sexual sadism for days. Everything you didn't need to know about dendrophilia! ] Really? Politics always seemed like, uhm... a tricky terrain to navigate. [ Makes a move.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	blue_eyed 2013-01-01 08:34 pm UTC (link)
	That is true. [ and another clever move from his front, as well. ] But nearly twenty years in a field exposes a certain amount of secrets and advantages. Rough terrain can almost always be tamed. [ also, working for a really, really rich house helps, too. ] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	thisiscalm 2013-01-01 09:36 pm UTC (link)
	I suppose that's true. I live in DC— [ Pause as he realizes that probably won't mean much to Piter.] —the, uhm... center for political activity in our nation, so while I'm not personally involved we do get in contact with that world on a daily basis. [ Move. ] So what exactly do you do? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

blue_eyed
2013-01-04 12:03 am UTC (link)

[ nope, no clue what deesee is, but he listens anyway, learning as he goes. another move. ]

I advise a planetary governor— [ he nearly calls said planetary governor "my master" but stops himself, suddenly feeling freed by the fact that no one need know of such things ] —in many different areas. A Mentat has a wealth of possible functions; generally, I am called upon for many things in a day. [ and a few murders or tortures a week. ] Strategics, forming hypotheses, making calculations, and the like.

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	thisiscalm 2013-01-04 08:56 pm UTC (link)
	[ He listens carefully, nodding some to show that he's understood — of course he's understood — before making some attempt at connecting their two worlds. ] So in a way we fill the same function. You advise a governor, we advise local law enforcement... it's not that different, fundamentally speaking. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	blue_eyed 2013-01-06 01:16 am UTC (link)
	Fundamentally— but I do the jobs of many men. [ his smile turns rather flippant. ] And to think that our planets are so like your countries; similarly ruled, yet on a much more dramatic scale. It is fascinating, the way humanity persists. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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