July MANTA and Catch-All

[madeofmirrors]

Who: Fantomex and you!
Status: Open
Where: Where the threads take place
What: Some MANTA and misc prompts, July Catch-All
Warnings: Will update as necessary



MANTA - Graven Trinkets | Open

[Fantomex, or Jean-Phillipe as he's introduced himself to some people here, has been here for nearly two months, and in that time he's decided, much to his chagrin, that understanding magic is key to his survival here, so when the quest comes across the Corsair bounty board that magic trinkets of persuasions can be found amid ship wreckage, he decides to have a go at finding them. He even, much to his further annoyance, buys a bubble charm and a dowsing blade in order to make the search go more smoothly. His black and white suit is going to be best suited for this dive mission and so he foregoes his overcoat and only has his utility belt.

And then there's only the means of getting there, which involves a shimmering cloud of nanites that issue from his mouth and coalesce into floating disc with a sphere in the center, onto which he steps. He doesn't give any orders or manipulate any controls in the thing to proceed across the waves so he must have some sort of sentient control over the contraption.

Once he's there, he pulls the blue amulet from one of his belt pouches and slips it over his neck. It has a silvered setting that rotates.]

I was told I'd only need to- [And as he rotates it, a bubble forms around his head and his eyebrows raise.] Well, cheers. Evidently it works.

MANTA - Touched by Moonlight - Open

[As it happens, Jean-Phillipe has been close to death, in that he's...actually died, but that's neither here nor there. He's willing to do a lot of questionable things for science, and by all accounts, these moths aren't particularly harmful, only strange and 'otherworldly'. Admittedly, he's come out into this particular forest to see what a place like Escordvi considers "otherworldly", and possibly to get to the bottom of at least some bit of the magic of this place, help it become something more akin to science than something he doesn't understand.

He sees a few of the moths off in the distance as he settles down in a clearly, and he does have to admit, their coloring in the moonlight does lend them an ethereal quality.]

But surely it's a myth that's grown around these little insects, right?

[It's a question posed to himself, really, but he won't begrudge an answer from whoever's joined him for this little research expedition.]

At one of Several Bookstores - OPEN

[One thing particularly archaic about this damnedable collection of islands is it's lack of an archival system. Yes, they had a network, but it's inability to serve as an actual database of information is infuriating. His three brains allow him to simultaneously process a monumental amount of information at once, which means combing through reference material for anything relevant to his goal seems to crawl at slower than a snail's pace.

Couple that with his utter lack of a starting point and Jean-Phillipe is beyond frustrated, whether this is the first bookstore he's decided to peruse in pursuit of some tome from which he can glean the basics of magi-technology or the fifth doesn't matter. He's just as frustrated.

He'll be in the reference section, and someone who happens upon him may be afforded a view of a shimmering cloud coming from his mouth as he speaks.] E.V.A., be a dear and see if you can't find some sort of primer.

[The cloud swirls around his head for a second before flitting off into the stacks.]

WILDCARD

[Fantomex still frequents Kaveh's cafe, but he can be encountered just about anywhere. Got something you want, do it! If you'd like a specific or customized top level, just let me know! You can find me on plurk and discord, both at vikael]

Comments

[serendipitously]

[ There's a look on her face that sort of says 'but you did in fact take my bait'. ]I have no idea what you're talking about. [ In regards to bait. But she waves a hand. ] It's my father's homeworld, not mine. [ So there. It's said absolutely with a little 'hmph' for emphasis. ] I'm well aware of what Brian tried to do.

[ Considering what she gave up to stop it. Not that she really cares about having given it up. Worse things to lose than sorrow.

Now though she's just thrown for something of a loop. ]

I didn't think your brains allowed you to not be selfish.

[madeofmirrors]

[His eyes narrow in a way that firmly says 'oh yes, Elizabeth, you know exactly what I'm talking about', but he doesn't press the subject further.

Instead, he rolls his shoulders flippantly.]

Fine. Your summer home in faery-land, then.

[He doesn't say anything for a moment, instead finalizing his understanding of the trinket's mechanism, noting with a bit of relief that it is activated with a mechanism, which means it is a sort of science and he can understand it.]

Evidently we are able to rise above our programming with the appropriate leverage.

[serendipitously]

It wasn't even that. I barely spent time there.

[ Is she arguing just to argue at this point? Perhaps. It keeps her from discussing her brothers with him too deeply, something she's not entirely keen to do with anyone at all.

The way he turns to focus on his trinket indicates there's something he's avoiding too. Something that's pressing on his mind, whispering into hers with things she also distinctly does not wish to think about. Or hear about. Like slamming a door she closes her mind off as best she can. Thinking about his death, how he went above his programming for that, is not where she wants to go. ]

Find something interesting there?

[madeofmirrors]

Yes. [And he activates the mechanism, with it conjuring a bubble of air around his head, glad for the subject change, for once.]

This magitech is a science. Now, will you be joining this underwater expedition, Elizabeth?

[serendipitously]

Ah, so that's why you're able to accept it. [ There's a tiny frown there, as though she's grappling with the invitation for some reason. ]

Do you want me to?

[madeofmirrors]

It does make it easier to accept, yes. It tells me I might be able to understand it, maybe even use it.

[As to why he's so focused on being able to acclimate to the technology of this place, he doesn't elaborate.

Instead, he frowns at her question.]

I'm not in the habit of offering false invitations, Elizabeth.

[serendipitously]

Of course. I'm certain you can't wait to find a way to fix your plates.

[ Which she doesn't care about at all. Nope. Not at all. ]

I suppose I have nothing else planned. I could accompany you.