ArchivedLogs:Woogie Feelings

Woogie Feelings
Dramatis Personae Ellin, K.C., Liv, Lyric
In Absentia	2016-01-06 "What are the rules."
Location <XS> Workshop
A large barn-like building situated at the far end of the gardens from the mansion proper, this makerspace functions as a classroom for many of the more hands-on classes. An expanse of workshop space, it is subdivided into smaller segments for the different types of activities: Woodshop, Welding shop, Machine shop, Electronics, Bike shop, Screen Printing and Photography, Fabric Arts, and the Rapid Prototyping Lab with a trio of 3D printers. The space comes complete with a large host of tools available for use, although many of the more dangerous require prior clearance from administration to use -- students with appropriate clearance to use them can gain access to locked equipment with their student IDs. From sanders to MIG/TIG welders to soldering stations to industrial sewing machines to its own darkroom, though, this space is well equipped for teaching students how to /make/. Taptaptaptap. Taptaptaptap. Over in the woodshop there is -- not quite a /hammering/, no nails, just a bapping of a mallet right now as K.C., kneeling on the ground by one workstation, pounds one very precisely-fitted piece of wood into a sturdy X-shaped base. Then another. Then another. There are four long legs waiting to be attached. Atop the table, already, is the piece that sits /on/ the legs; a large smoothly-sanded square base with a tangled pyramid of wooden ladders, poles with rods sticking out of them at angles, a chain dangling down, a trapeze-swing on top. At the moment, though, K.C. is just focused on Legs. Bap. Bap. Bap. Her frown is very intent. Lyric has no frown. Bright smile, bright green headscarf, bright yellow sweater-dress, bright green fleece tights, tall boots, laptop perched atop the box of clothes in her arms as she traipses into the workshop, letting in a blast of cold along with her. She /was/ heading for the sewing machines but stops when she sees K.C.'s -- /thing/. Being atop the table rather than on the ground, she sees /it/ before she sees K.C., tilting her head curiously at the contraption. Only then looking down at the girl crouched on the ground. Back up at the Thing. Down. Up. She has to set her box aside on an empty table to POINT at the Thing. 'What's that?' "I'm here!" She even stomps a foot down on the floor to alert Lyric that yes, there is someone else walking in behind her. Signing follows,'I'm here to help!' She has a box of her own with bolts of cloth and the like (since she almost never gets out to the workshop) and approaches the creation the Lyric currently eyeballs. She too signs, a moment later,'What's that?' She sets the box down and kneels so she can eyeball the legs itself. K.C. doesn't look up when other people arrive. Just finishes her pounding, looking up only once she moves to attach the legs to base. "Here. I'm here. Yes I see that. This. This is a present. Not for you, you can't take it." Bap, bap, bap, she's more carefully tapping at the first leg now. "What's /that/." The mallet waves to gesture towards -- all the cloth. "What's that all for." Lyric's smile brightens further when she glances behind her, nods to Ellin. Her eyes fix steadily on K.C., slightly narrowed through the girl's talking, brow furrowing in concentration. She plucks her laptop off the top of her box of clothes, opening it up to let its screen turn on. Opening a text editor she types quickly -- 'Present for who? What IS it tho?', casting another brief glance towards the odd wooden contraption of ladders-and-poles-and-swing-and-chain-and-who-knows-what. 'This for sewing we're making clothes Anole suggested some people might like to look more rad I'm going to become the fashion QUEEN of nonstandard physiology just u wait.' "You are very nice to make a present for someone. These? It's like she said. In a way, they are are presents for those other students. K.C., do you know how to sign?" She's never actually seen the girl doing it. Lyric gets a shrug from Ellin, though, as one through five begin piling up around sewing machines, with Three ending up the designated signer,'Anole can definitely benefit from that lovely green shade and those b-a-d-a-s-s spikes. Where did you want to start, Lyric?' "Present for someone. Present for someone, present --" K.C. pauses, pressing at the leg she has just pounded in to test it, moving on to the next when she is satisfied it is firmly attached. "Taylor. It's a /gym/." She holds the second wooden leg in hand, staring at Lyric's computer with a widening grin. "Clothes. Oh! Oh, you could also make Taylor presents. Lots of arms. Very nonstandard. What kind of clothes --" She shakes her head, moving on to attach Leg #2. Humming quietly to herself at Ellin's question. "... I took the classes. Signing classes. /You/ are very nice to make a present for someone." Liv enters from the outside, bundled up in a thick coat and scarf. It's not until she closes the door behind her and looks up that she realizes there actually are people present. 'Hello. Am I interrupting?' she signs, glancing to those present as she begins reaching for the door again, indicating her willingness to leave if they so will it. Her overall demeanor, while far from her usual chipper self, is not quite as mopey as it's been lately. Her hair is still a mousey brown color though instead of its vibrant green. 'Gym?' Lyric echoes this in sign, questioning, to Ellin, as if confirming that she got this word correctly. She is staring at the wooden contraption in puzzlement -- until suddenly her eyes widen, expression lighting up in sudden comprehension. A bright smile spreads across her face, her hands clapping together as she bounces up onto her toes, nodding. '/Bird/.' This is signed, before she goes back to the computer to type: 'OH GYM for CORALINE that is ADORABLE present I bet he will be thrill thats really sweet you made that all yourself?' She looks back up, waving cheerfully to Liv. Shakes her head, at the question of interrupting. 'Nope! Not interrupting. It's present time evidently.' Her attention turns back to Ellin: 'I got measurements for that freshman June. I have an idea for this really flowy gown that will make her The Prettiest Princess.' Ellin nods, signing 'yes' to Lyric. 'Lip-reading. Is that something you can teach?' Why she would be interested in knowing is anyone's guess. 'Coraline? Taylor has a pet bird? I do not know him well.' K.C. gets a nod though,"Thank you, K.C. Next time you go to work with the animal shelter, may I go with you to help? I enjoyed it." Five gestures to Liv to come in, smiling brightly,"Come on in. We were about to sew." Two begins pulling all sorts of cloth out for Lyric's attention, so she might select it,'June will love it. And of course it is present time. The next big holiday is Valentine's day.' K.C.'s eyes dart back and forth as the others sign, tracking along before she continues her work, head bobbing to herself as she continues assembling the stand. "No, myself, no, made it with a silly ghost. Ridiculous. Nonsense. Moved too fast. Really pretty arm though. Good at -- making the wood. Good at that. Good at that, yeah. He helped. Made most of it though. Yeah, Coraline. Smart bird. Hello. Hi. Everyone should come. Pet the dogs. They like getting pet. Cats too. Everyone should come -- it helps," She's looking up very briefly at Liv, with this, though then back down, "sometimes when you're sad, petting them helps." Then back to tap-tap-tapping at the wood. Liv looks curiously at the various projects being worked on. 'Wasn't present time about two weeks ago?' she signs, before looking towards Ellin with a faint smile. 'I love sewing...' she says, finally making her way in, eyes momentarily mesmerized by the fabric and sewing supplies set out. K.C.'s words get her attention and she stares at the girl for a moment, utterly emotionless before allowing herself a thin smile and small nod. "Yeah...that might work. I've thought about getting a pet for my room actually." 'Was it?' Lyric's eyes widen just slightly, a blankly confused look on her face. 'I thought gift-giving was in six months.' She shakes her head though, shifting her laptop over to the sewing table but keeping it turned towards K.C. 'Anyway can give gifts any time. A ghost with a pretty arm?' Now she's really looking confused. She switches from typing to signing: 'I have fish. Not good for petting. And you should know Taylor better he is the MOST sweet. You also sew?' Her face lights with excitement as she looks at Liv. Ellin number Three makes room at a machine and beckons Liv over,"Then by all means, take over. Three can play fetch." Three waves and goes bouncing out of the room, almost skipping in fact. Five also makes room, moving back to sign and speak at the same time,"I wanted Delilah, but I don't even know who to talk to about getting a pet. And then that cute little girl was having SO much fun with her. Maybe in the future." She frowns a little bit, though,'I know Taylor. I just do not have any close friends here. I am... people find me off-putting, and they have so much going on. I do not fit in the best.' She shrugs helplessly to Lyric. 'I have learned to care about it less, though, so that's something.' She gives Liv a wave,"I have a crap memory. Have we met properly? I'm Ellin. If you need a specific me, just call out the number on my shirt." 'Gift-giving now.' K.C. /does/ actually sign this, slow and kind of halting once she has put all four legs on the stand of her bird-jungle-gym. 'Gift-giving always.' She steps aside from her project for a moment, wandering over to the sewing supplies to scrutinize the fabric curiously. "Yeah. No friends here. There's a form. For pets. You write the form and fill it in and then they tell you." There's a small twitch at her mouth as she says this, but mostly she's just looking at the fabric, then at Lyric. "What color. Dress. Will you make." "I suppose that's true," Liv responds to the comment about gift-giving being whenever, giving up on sign language and switching over completely to English. She's been quiet for too long. She looks over to Ellin(s), her focus mostly on Three as that one is nearest. "I...I don't think so. At least nothing more than passing between classes. I'm Liv." She glances towards the sewing machine and, thinking a moment, shakes her head. "I'll uh, I'll pass for now. Out of practice. Next time." She looks over to K.C. and her creation, admiring it as she looks it over. "So that's a gym for a bird then? It is kinda cute." 'Delilah who?' Lyric has been rummaging through the cloth that Ellin brought, but when Liv switches to English as well she stops, focusing up on her instead. Her brows are creased, teeth digging in against her lip. 'Off-putting,' she echoes this wryly (in sign, now), 'I know the feeling.' Shrug. 'Forget them though. People can be jerks. But the ones who aren't, totally worth finding.' Her cheeks puff out, attention returning to the cloth with a small uncertain frown. 'Right right right. I think... a really pale green would look so good on her.' Three about-faces to return to her machine while different selves take turnins signing and speaking for her. 'No rules saying you can't give gifts when you want. Valentine's Day is just the most nearby holiday for it. Much more strict rules for it though, bizarrely, than every day gift giving." A couple of the others let their gaze drift over to Lyric,'Likewise. So, if it's not prying, you and Anole a thing? He seemed pretty nervous around you. It was adorable.' She goes on,'Delilah was a pig that was up for adoption by an animal shelter. Anyway, nice to meet you properly Liv. "Kinda cute. Kinda cute," K.C. echoes, nodding. "Yeah, for a bird. Kinda cute. Taylor's bird. Good bird. Smart bird. What's a thing. Anole's a thing. Lyric's a thing. I want to give gift now." She's picking her mallet back up, banging in a second set of pegs into the top of the legs, now. Though she pauses to echo the sign -- 'jerks'? Quizzically. "What are the rules." Liv watches K.C. work on her gym for a moment longer before turning back to the sewing project at hand. "Oh...Valentine's day. Right," she says, her voice falling a bit as it sinks in just how close that day is. This really doesn't bring her the excitement, or at least anticipation, it seems to bring everyone else. So she quickly attempts to distract herself, looking over the fabric again and catching the last bit of the signing. 'Who would pale green look good on?' she asks, this time switching over to signing again. 'Anole?' Lyric's nose crinkles up at this, a small giggle stifled behind her hand. 'What, no. He's pretty nervous around EVERYONE.' She shakes her head firmly. 'Jerks,' she repeats the sign first, fingerspells it second. Then shrugs. 'Lots of jerks, I don't know. Makes it hard to find people to fit in with, sometimes.' She pulls a stool up to the table, first pulling out not anythin pale green but just plain white linen to start unrolling it so that she can begin measuring for a mock-up. 'June. Tiny freshman. First on my list.' "Do you wish help making your gift, or is it important that you do all of it?" Two of the Ellins, as if on cue, begin marking off their own bits of cloth, humming to themselves. 'I'm probably not as good as Lyric, so I apologize if anything needs fixing. The rules are that you usually only give a gift to someone you're romantically involved with or interested in. If you fulfill neither of those requirements, you give them to friends, too. Some people vary it, but that's generally accepted.' As for Ellin? 'I'm right there with you Liv. I dunno. That stuff is weird. It's adorable. But weird.' The five begin humming, as one, lost in thought,'Ooooh. I thought I was picking up a vibe. Well, he's nice, anyway. I think you just wait until you fall into place instead of fitting in somewhere.' 'Lots of jerks,' K.C. repeats this with /very firm/ agreement. Then returns to pounding, tap-tap-/tap/, before she sets her mallet aside to set the actual gym atop the stand. She gets up onto her toes, leaning her weight down onto it -- though this almost proves disastrous at first as the stand starts to wheel away. Her /second/ try she remembers to brace it against the work table before nestling it down into place and pushing it firmly in. "Maybe. Maybe maybe. Maybe just keep falling." With a shrug, she goes to hang the mallet back up in its place with the other tools, and, carefully, start wheeling her bird-gym towards the door. As the rules of Valentine's Day as discussed, Liv grows incredibly quiet, instead focusing all her attention on the fabric like it's the most interesting fabric in the world. "I suppose I could get something...for friends," she says quietly, before suddenly glancing up at K.C. struggling with her gym and stand. She leans up slightly, ready to help if needed but it's clearly that K.C. has more or less everything under control. "Take care," she says as the girl leaves before returning her attention to the sewing project. Lyric's brow furrows again, lips pursing as she watches K.C. go. She exhales heavily, hand scrubbing against her cheek. 'Never really done any of that. Valentine's Day. Anything. I go to the dance here though.' Shrug. 'Dancing is fun. And help is good. I don't think this is like a present-present. Anole just had a good idea and I'm helping. Why is that stuff weird?' She gives Liv a quick smile. 'Doing things for friends always a good plan. No matter what day.' 'I don't know exactly. Maybe I'm just immature, but romance seems to be something that happens to OTHER people. I've never been interested in someone that way. Maybe I will be one day, but I've never felt that. I still get the... w-o-o-g-i-e feelings from watching romance.' Who knows what 'woogie' means. Either way, Ellin continues, undaunted,'Anyway, I figure it's not that big of a deal. I've got a lot of time to figure it out, and school teaches me all kinds of crazy awesome things, even if I have to study here even more.' Ellin suddenly laughs,'I like K.C. She's so... genuine. If I want to know what she's thinking, I just ask, and she just tells me. She doesn't read into anything. Doesn't seem to hold a grudge either.' Scissors come out as she begins to cut some cloth. Experiments, mostly. 'Doing things for friends. Yeah. But it's just as valid to not, if you don't want to. My parents don't really let me participate in religious holidays, but I usually sneak some candy for friends around Valentine's Day.' 'I think if we live in a world where a person can control plants, be five people at the same time, or see people that may or may not be there, romance is definitely possible,' Liv says, cracking a bit of a grin as she signs. 'Is there a a dance here though? I like the dances but I don't know if...' she begins but fades off, slowly lowering her hands instead of finishing her sentence. She watches Ellin cut the fabric before suddenly standing up and clearing her throat. "I'm going to go for a walk and get some fresh air. Take care," she says, offering the others a brief smile and quick wave before making her way to the door again. 'There's a dance. Usually tasty snacks and pretty decorations.' Lyric waves to Liv as she heads off. 'Stay warm!' She taps at her laptop, switching out of its notepad application to bring up instead sketches and a list of measurements, returning afterwards to her measuring. 'Don't /let/ you participate in religious holidays? Like even if you wanted?' Her brows furrow in puzzlement, but then she shrugs. 'I don't think romance has anything to do with -- maturity? I know plenty reeeeeal immature people, married, kids, and all. And lots of mature ones never done.' The girl nods,'My parents are really, um... dedicated to the whole atheism thing. The whole 'religion is evil' line and all that. And don't get me wrong, I'm not a secret believer or anything. I just don't really care one way or another, I guess? I feel like maybe that generalizes people too much. And some of the holidays are a lot of fun. Imagine every cartoon or joke you've heard about ultra-liberal, ultra-educated types and my family mostly lives that stereotypes.' She wiggles her fingers, a smile over to Liv, commenting as she departs,'She's got killer hair. That green? It just works.' Number Four taps her fingers on her sewing table lazily,'I couldn't say then. Maybe I just haven't put enough effort into it? Or maybe I'm just not built for it? I like the whole idea. Going to a dance with someone, getting all fancied up, sharing feelings and stuff. Stuff like, he's handsome, or she's cute. I just never get that spark when I meet people that's like 'I want that person'.' Lyric's lips twist slightly to one side at the first half of this, a sharp quick breath flaring her nostrils briefly. Her mouth opens into a small o, and she nods again. 'Evil. Right.' She is maaaybe a little extra focused on her drawing and measuring, for a short while, marking out pale blue lines on the white fabric. 'I don't know. Professor Holland says some people just don't have those feelings.' She looks a liiittle bit skeptical of this, but shrugs again. 'In his class. Or maybe you haven't met the right person yet. I'm not really the most /experienced/ with dating so I'm probably not the right person to ask.' 'I dunno. I mean, I know some religious groups, like, super-hate at mutants and trans people, but on the whole they're nice to me usually. Maybe it's because I'm not very many standard deviations from the norm in appearance, though? I just think people are maybe more complicated than that, I guess. What do you think?' Ellin scratches her nose for a moment as she considers, her selves having finished their cutting. They now examine for accuracy! 'So there. Maybe that's me? I'm surprised you don't have much experience with it! You've got that athletic look to you. Girls like you grow up to be models. They like them slim. Expressive, too. The closest I've gotten is the 'inappropriate questions' phase.' 'I said I didn't have a lot of experience with dating,' Lyric says with a wrinkle of her nose, tongue poking out of her mouth in an expression of disgust, '/not/ that I don't have a lot of experience with P-E-R-V-Y dudes creeping on me. Just because people are /interested/ doesn't mean I want to suffer through their gross. Anyway sometimes I like people or think they're cute but it hasn't felt like the right time for dating. I have other stuff to do.' Another shrug, here. 'And nobody at /my/ mosque has ever been fussed at my family for going there so I don't think religion just /grows/ hate up in you or we'd have been long-gone. I know other places have had trouble with mutants but,' Her smile is crooked here, 'It is not exactly like the world has needed /religion/ as an excuse to hate on mutants. Or,' her hand lifts, briefly, here, to touch on the edge of her headscarf, 'any other reason at all.' 'I think I may have m-i-s-c-o-m-m-u-n-i-c-a-t-e-d. I didn't mean to say you didn't. I seem to live with my foot in my mouth around here. Apologies. I can respect that. I always felt like my friends back west were always so eager to just be with a guy they didn't stop to be 'picky'. Like, the decided by agreement who everyone should be dating. I always hated that kind of pushy.' Ellin shrugs right back. 'There was a Liberal Islam community center around the corner from our house. The total of what I know about it is they always seemed to be having some kind of party there that only stopped when they were busy handing out food to the homeless people.' Ellin shrugs helplessly. 'I guess... I mostly feel sorry for people who hate me for stuff like that. I think, maybe pity makes people more angry, though, not less?' 'Miscommunicate,' Lyric gives the sign kind of by reflex. 'And this time kind of be your foot -- on your hands.' She pauses after this to cut out the pieces she has measured, sitting at her machine after. 'That sounds pretty familiar honestly,' she adds with a giggle, 'people in my community always have an opinion about who should be with who. Maybe that's a universal.' Shrug. She pokes her tongue into the side of her cheek, considering Ellin's last statement uncertainly. 'Probably /those/ people going to keep being angry at you no matter what. I think I've given up wasting energy on haters. Toooo many of them anyway.' Her nose crinkles up, smile a little crooked. 'Could burn yourself right up trying to figure out what makes them tick.' She drops her hands to her cloth, sliding it under her needle, expression more intent as her machine start to chug to life.