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 Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 6:30 pm
This is Bre's Mendel SL, and only she should be posting please. If you would like to learn more about the Mendels, visit the thread here. > 8/15/04 - Nickel lost AGAIN? That's just freaky. -1% int. But he seems to be doing well with these ladies.. +2% charm. > 7/23/04 - Nickel was delivered to you!  Personality: Intelligent and quiet, but with a short fuse for his temper. A simple stupid remark is enough to earn a lecture, a tirade, a sarcastic remark, or an argument. He’s somewhat phobic towards change, and can’t stand when it happens to him. Also something of a miser, and hoardes all his possessions. Height: 7" Stats:Strength: 66% Constitution: 40% Speed: 46% Intelligence: 100.5% Dexterity: 60% Charm: 76% Creativity: 69% A special note about your Mendel: Despite the fact that Nickel has wings, they are ineffective. He cannot fly with them at all.Link to the old diary here.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:25 pm
Chemical properties of nickel
Periodic Symbol: Ni
Atomic number: 28
Atomic mass: 58.71 g.mol -1
Electronegativity according to Pauling: 1.8
Density: 8.9 g.cm-3 at 20°C
Melting point: 1453 °C
Boiling point: 2732 °C
Vanderwaals radius: 0.124 nm
Ionic radius: 0.069 nm (+2) ; 0.06 nm (+3)
Isotopes: 10
Electronic shell: [ Ar ] 3d8 4s2
Energy of first ionisation: 735 kJ.mol -1
Energy of second ionisation: 1753 kJ.mol -1
Energy of third ionisation: 3387 kJ.mol -1
Standard potential: - 0.25 V
Discovered by: Alex Constedt 1751
Nickel is silvery white metal that takes on a high polish. It is of the iron group, and is hard, malleable, and ductile. It occurs combined with sulphur in millerite, with arsenic in the mineral niccolite, and with arsenic and sulphur in nickel glance.
Health effects of nickel
Nickel is a compound that occurs in the environment only at very low levels. Humans use nickel for many different applications. The most common application of nickel is the use as an ingredient of steal and other metal products. It can be found in common metal products such as jewellery.
Foodstuffs naturally contain small amounts of nickel. Chocolate and fats are known to contain severely high quantities. Nickel uptake will boost when people eat large quantities of vegetables from polluted soils. Plants are known to accumulate nickel and as a result the nickel uptake from vegetables will be eminent. Smokers have a higher nickel uptake through their lungs. Finally, nickel can be found in detergents.
Humans may be exposed to nickel by breathing air, drinking water, eating food or smoking cigarettes. Skin contact with nickel-contaminated soil or water may also result in nickel exposure. In small quantities nickel is essential, but when the uptake is too high it can be a danger to human health.
An uptake of too large quantities of nickel has the following consequences:
- Higher chances of development of lung cancer, nose cancer, larynx cancer and prostate cancer
- Sickness and dizziness after exposure to nickel gas
- Lung embolism
- Respiratory failure
- Birth defects
- Asthma and chronic bronchitis
- Allergic reactions such as skin rashes, mainly from jewellery
- Heart disorders
Nickel fumes are respiratory irritants and may cause pneumonitis. Exposure to nickel and its compounds may result in the development of a dermatitis known as “nickel itch” in sensitized individuals. The first symptom is usually itching, which occurs up to 7 days before skin eruption occurs. The primary skin eruption is erythematous, or follicular, which may be followed by skin ulceration. Nickel sensitivity, once acquired, appears to persist indefinitely.
Carcinogenicity- Nickel and certain nickel compounds have been listed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) as being reasonably anticipated to be carcinogens. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has listed nickel compounds within group 1 (there is sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity in humans) and nickel within group 2B (agents which are possibly carcinogenic to humans). OSHA does not regulate nickel as a carcinogen. Nickel is on the ACGIH Notice of Intended Changes as a Category A1, confirmed human carcinogen.
Environmental effects of nickel
Nickel is released into the air by power plants and trash incinerators. It will than settle to the ground or fall down after reactions with raindrops. It usually takes a long time for nickel to be removed from air. Nickel can also end up in surface water when it is a part of wastewater streams.
The larger part of all nickel compounds that are released to the environment will adsorb to sediment or soil particles and become immobile as a result. In acidic ground however, nickel is bound to become more mobile and it will often rinse out to the groundwater.
There is not much information available on the effects of nickel upon organisms other than humans. We do know that high nickel concentrations on sandy soils can clearly damage plants and high nickel concentrations in surface waters can diminish the growth rates of algae. Microrganisms can also suffer from growth decline due to the presence of nickel, but they usually develop resistance to nickel after a while.
For animals nickel is an essential foodstuff in small amounts. But nickel is not only favourable as an essential element; it can also be dangerous when the maximum tolerable amounts are exceeded. This can cause various kinds of cancer on different sites within the bodies of animals, mainly of those that live near refineries.
Nickel is not known to accumulate in plants or animals. As a result nickel will not bio magnify up the food chain.
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Information from WebElements and Lenntech Periodic Table.
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Experiments by Nekota-Kun The Lighting Experiment:Positive Response: Mellow Blue Neutral Response: White Negative Response: Red & Blacklight The Sound Experiment:Positive Response: Orca & Guitar Music Neutral Response: Thunderstorms Negative Response: Modern Music The Temperature Experiment:Positive Response: Room temperature Neutral Response: None Negative Response: Changes to Hot or Cold The Scent Experiment:Positive Response: Pine Forest Neutral Response: 'Home' incense, Sunflower, Sea Breeze Freshener Negative Response: Butter Cream, Gingerbread, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Mint The Movie Experiment:Positive Response: Romeo & Juliet, Noises Off Neutral Response: The Lion King, Dragonheart Negative Response: Indiana Jones, The Ring
More experiments, by Bre, to come soon.
Overall Prognosis
Nickel seems to prefer calmer music and colors, romantics in movies and books, and woodsy/natural scents. He dislikes change in temperature.
Nickel doesn't mind (although would rather not) ambient music, neutral colors, and fantasy books/movies. Sweeter natural smells rest okay with him, though he likes Pine Forest best.
He absolutely dislikes changes in room temperature, bold colors, warm food scents (ie: cookie dough, mint chocolate chip), and action/adventure movies with lots of fighting.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:26 pm
This is Nick's family, or at least those he lives with.
 Bre- Nick's human caretaker. Maybe not the most scientifically advanced of the Mendel owners, but definitely curious enough. She was selected to take over the care of Nickel after his old researched, Nekota-Kun, had to leave the Mendel project. Bre is VERY fond of purple, and wears it all the time. Bre's a student about to graduate high school, and a self-proclaimed "creative artist". She does a little bit of science (because of a strange experiment, she ended up with the bunny ears on her head, though she sometimes hides them under a hat), a fair amount of art, a decent amount of writing, and a lot of theatrics. Very interesting to live with, I imagine.
 Roxy- Nick's "sister", currently a purple blob. She is a Chromatic, one of a somewhat-rare species that start out as paint blobs and grow into humanoids. Not much is known of Roxy's personality yet, but interactions between her and Nick should be QUITE interesting. Who knows, maybe they'll get along FAMOUSLY.
 Leille-A new sister to Nick, Leille is a SkullMonkey, and one that is very hyper (most likely due to her addiction to popsicles) She had been abandoned, but Bre recently adopted her, and since she's become her hyperactive self again. Nickel understands the fact that she was abandoned, and the helpless feelings that go with that, but he ABHORS her bouncy antics. She's too loud for him.
 Pinklotta (Pink)- Pink is a Langui, one of a species of lazy, cuddly, cute cats with possibly the easiest life in the world. Pink is a bundle right now (the first stage of Langui life) and will grow into a full-grown Langui who stays almost permanently in one position. Nick thinks Langui are a waste of time, but I don't care, I think Pink will be cute.
 ???-A rare looking chest that Bre won in a raffle. It's supposed to grow up into a Pupfin, but no telling yet what personality she'll have. Nick wants Bre to sell the chest and get some books stare
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:27 pm
Nick: "These are my opinions of the Mendels I know to exist. Read, don't read...I don't care."
 -I would like to get to know her again, like I knew her before. I don't like this awkward distance that has sprung up between us in my absence.
 -Haven't met yet.
 -Met only once, but he likes to steal things apparently. I'll keep him away from my things, thankyouverymuch.
 -Apparently he's locked in a cage....
 -I didn't need another meeting to confirm my theory that her personal life is run on the mantra "Act First, Think Never".
 -She's so hard to figure out....I haven't even really spoken to her, but I have no words to describe her.
 -He must like young, gaseous male Mendels, and trying to corrupt them.
 -Once my best friend...I hope to rekindle that now that Radon is out of the picture. We'll see how Gold acts.
 -Flo seems to like me only for my supposed gender--I don't appreciate that. Although I DO respect her for her scientific mind (whenever she decides to bring it out of hiding...).
 -I don't know what to think of him, as his actions have shown that he's as varied as Fluorine, almost, in his affections...a little bit weird though, for a Mendel to want to be a Ninja and yet not hurt anyone though, isn't it?
 -Most definitely the absolute friendliest Mendel. I respect her for trying to bring all the Mendels together in a happy way, but I have no doubts that it will not happen. I can stand her in small doses.
 -Only met briefly...I don't know what to think.
 -Only met briefly, although she's had the same sort of experience as I'm going through, with getting a new caretaker. Maybe I can talk to her about that.
 -Only met briefly....seems like a Drama Queen. And YES, I do mean QUEEN.
 -Haven't met yet.
 -Is doing well spearheading the Stairs Project. I do respect his authority, and am glad that he suggested I get involved.
 -Surly and rude, though a great artist. If only she would de-classify herself, she could be a phenomenon.
 -Haven't met yet.
 -Haven't met yet. She's new.
 -Out of the tube, but I don't really know him yet. His appearance brings up many thought-provoking questions.
 -Haven't met yet, but have heard he's very different.
 -I was told she JUST emerged, and that I might like her. Haven't met yet.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:28 pm
The Toybox
Events
7/23/04-- I won the honor of taking care of Nickel, because Nekota-kun had to give him up. I am Nickel's new caretaker!
7/25/04-- Nickel's Scientific Log is FINALLY completed and ready to write in! I'm kinda proud of how much pretty work went into it.
Gifts and Pictures
Gifts given to Nickel go here, as well as any pictures of anything Nick-related.
Full picture of Adult Nickel
Linked to because it's a HUGE picture, but very beautiful.
Nickel when he was an adolescent Mendel. He's so beautiful!
Nickel as a tube--aww, so shiny!
Gifts
Nickel by Arach--Picture by Arach. First fanart, ever! Thank you!!
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:29 pm
Scientific Log: 7/25/04
Entree: Bre
I feel like this scientific log should be written in a special way, like there's some secret form to writing in an SL that no one told me about. But that's the truth--no one told me about anything like that. So I assume that it's fine for me to write like this.
I'm going to try and let Nickel write a lot in this SL too...after all, I set it up in a way I thought would be aesthetically pleasing to him. I modeled the colors after his very own colors, and I put inspirational quotes on the pages because I thought he would like it (he's such an intellectual, you know). I'm actually VERY proud of my efforts on this SL. It took me a while, but I think he'll like it.
So...why am I writing the first entry in the SL? Well, Nickel's out like a broken lightbulb right now. I don't blame the poor thing, either. He's gone through so much....he went from Nekota's household to being held until he could find a new home--which ended up being me. I admit, I was rather excited when I got news from Puchiko that I was chosen as Nickel's new caretaker, but I think that I scared the little living element on the way here. I live a good way out from the Mendel labs (not far enough that they'll be keeping me away, mind you), so it was a pretty long ride. And my ancient Victorian mansion that I live in right now (it was an artistic inspiration deal...got it cheap) is absolutely huge. I worked for DAYS trying to figure out the best way to situate Nickel so that it would be easy for him to traverse the house. In fact, I'm not completely happy with him having a little space on the shelves behind the staircase...it IS quiet, and I think that Nick'll like that, but it's a bit hidden. If anything happens, there's a chance I wouldn't know for a while.
The only thing that I'll miss about raising Nickel versus another Mendel is that Nickel is already an adult Mendel. I missed the joys of seeing him grow up (although, thank everybody that Nekota was the one that had to deal with Nick's maturity into an adult....I don't know if I could have handled that..). He won't be changing as much, and I'll miss that aspect of "raising" him (it's caretaking, really), but I still love having him.
Ok...I think I might hear a little clanking around in the makeshift slipper bed. I wouldn't want Nickel to hurt his wings or anything...
I'll go check on him.
-Bre-
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:32 pm
Scientific Log: 7/26/04
Entree: Bre
Well, SL, Nickel FINALLY woke up. Lazy thing (he's still so cute!).
I get the feeling that he slept so long because of his known phobia of change. I suppose that I can't really do anything to help that, because I have an all-new environment for him (seeing as how Nekota didn't leave any of Nickel's possessions behind for me) and I'm an all-new caretaker. I imagine that's REALLY hard for him to take in all at once. For this reason, I'm also going to delay any experiments with Nickel. After all, Nekota did do SOME experiments, and I know enough about Nickel for the time being.
I want to go out shopping for the little Mendel, seeing as how I'm very unequipped to handle taking care of him right now. I don't have any dime-sized plates or thimbles to use as cups, and I don't have Mendel sized books, either (one of the other Mendel caretakers knows where to find some of these). I don't want to leave him alone in the house with only Jeal and Roxy, though (I don't know WHAT Jeal would do...), and I don't want to freak him out even more by taking him out of the house yet. Although, I might try to take him to the Labs tonight, depending on how he feels.
He looks a little woozy, and I tried to give him a little drop or two of WD40 (I picked some up) in case he felt like his wing joints or his robotic hand joints or anything were a little bit creaky. Maybe I'll try and give him some food.
-Bre-
Nickel's SL Entry
Date: 7/26/04
Scientific Log:
I just woke up. I almost panicked when I saw where I was, because I didn't have any clue how I got here. But then I remembered the HORRIFIC car ride with my new researcher, Bre.
She's interesting, I guess. So far she seems like a bit of an idiot, and I can't IMAGINE why Puchiko chose her as a replacement for Nekota. She doesn't seem to know any science...
Still, I guess she's nice. The bed that she gave me to rest in after that roller coaster of a ride home was pretty comfortable, because it had more of a cushion than my last bed, but was still firm enough on the bottom to support my wings. It was almost like foam that sank in to conform to my 7" body. I slept well.
I like the area I'm in. It's shadowy in the day, but dark at night, and with a few ledges. I'm on the top ledge right now, but after talking with Bre about my requirements for living, she promised that she would make me some ladders, somehow, so that I could live in what she called "Pueblo-type housing". Some sort of reference to an ancient human culture. She's also in the process of ordering me a nice desk lamp, tinted blue. She specifically asked me if I wanted a colored bulb, which was considerate. I suppose she won't be so bad to live with.
She wants to take me shopping. Just like Nekota did--*sigh*. I don't understand why they feel the need to bring me special, Mendel-sized things. I'd be just as happy with a human-sized chess set as my old Mendel-sized one. Although, I do miss that thing...
Ok, maybe it won't be excruciatingly painful to go shopping with Bre. For the meantime, I'm going to try and get used to my world being turned upside down. And try and get something to eat, while I'm at it. Then maybe I can visit with someone at the Mendel Labs--at least there, I know my surroundings. I know the nooks and crannies.
Why doesn't Bre have any good books?
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:33 pm
Nickel's SL Entry
Date: 7/26/04
I went to the Mendel Labs. Not such a good idea.
First, there were an excess of Mendels there. I mean, there had to be at least 9 of them. I went to the Lab hoping to find maybe Rho, or maybe Gold. No such luck.
Instead, there was Gallium (who I've never met until today but had heard of before), Calcium (the new guy, who I don't really know much about), Iron, Radon and Argon who I didn't talk to (Argon is new and I haven't met him yet), Actinium, Oxygen, Neon, and Rho.
Well, let's start off with Rho, shall we? I missed her extensively. And then I saw her, and I got to talk to her a little bit, and--it was strange. It was awkward. It was lonely, and cold, and not a bit like I was hoping it would be. She tensed up when I got to her, and the meeting was stiff. There were only a few words exchanged, and they were mostly "Hello, I miss you, we've missed you too, how are you". I didn't like it at all--what happened to the Rhodium that was like a little sister to me? And I guess she's learned how to read, too.
Next, I ran into (literally) Actinium and Gallium. Gall I met for the first time, and she's...unique. She's quite an artist, it seems, which is interesting, but she's also what would be classified as a "goth". And she looks and acts the part in every aspect. While it's great that she's found herself a little niche to fit into, it makes me respect her less. With talent like hers, she could really be something. Instead, she's surly, rude, crass, and moody.
I got to talk to Actinium a little bit about the stair project. He said that he, Fluo, and Oxy have got the construction pretty much handled, and suggested that I help plan the celebration for after the project is completed. Who was heading this? Oxy. And so that was the end of my meeting with Acti today.
I didn't know where Oxy was, until I looked around a little bit. And then I saw her--with Neon. I was trying to figure out a way to get up to where they were, so that I could "suck it up" (Bre's phrase) and meet with Oxy, despite Neon's presence; I just hate to climb. And eventually, not too much later, they came down to me.
I never realized how much I really dislike Neon's policy of "Act First, Think NEVER" until today. I had gone for more than 2 weeks without seeing her, and that was fine with me. Less stress. And then, today, I saw her. And she came off to me as "renewed", in a sense that she was feeling empowered again, and therefore just about to cause some sort of violent activity. The meeting was not good, to say the least.
After Neon left, I actually spoke with Oxy about what I had seen them in the first place to talk about: the celebration planning. And so, in the end, it was decided. I am the "scholar" of the celebration, and my job is to research "Rainbow-tacular" things and how we can use them for the party. Oh joy.
At least it gives me something to do in between reading Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, which Bre suggested I read, since she has to read it for her school, and she can that way compare notes with me. I also had her pick up a few books of "Decorating Ideas" tonight when we went to the bookstore. Maybe I'll find something that will help make the upcoming party "Rainbow-riffic to the Max!" stare
The most meaningful event today was my meeting with Rho, I think. It made me realize that just because my life was brought to a screeching halt for a while, that doesn't mean that everyone else halted with me. Rho learned to read without me, and she barely knows who I am anymore. She can't talk to me as easily anymore. My life is different now, something I have to accept. It's a brand new start. And that scares me.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:34 pm
Scientific Log: 7/28/04
Entree: Bre
YAY! I finally got to take Nick shopping! I wanted desperately to get him some new furniture, because my house is just NOT Mendelized. Nick complained and complained that he didn't want to go, and that he HATED doll stores, but I told him this was one of the things that he was just going to have to "suck it up" about. 3nodding He's getting more and more used to that phrase, I think.
So, we went to a store yesterday that I found in Gaia, some kind of dollhouse store, where I guess a few of the Mendel owners have gone to get Mendel furniture. I had a hard time limiting myself (Hey, I'm a student, I'm a little bit poor) to my budget, but I managed to pick out some pretty nice things for him, including another miniature chess set and table. I even took a nice picture of what the top shelves of his room look like!
Those are the top 2 shelves of Nick's room...I've decided to let him stay in the cabinet behind the staircase, after all. He seems to actually like it there (I imagine it's a bit like his drawer he had at Nekota's), and so I figured "Why not? Less hassle for me, and he won't complain." Besides, he's perfectly safe there.
So today we bought Nick the things you see on the top 2 shelves, the sleigh bed (I used a swatch of cloth to make the blue bedspread, seeing as how blue is one of Nick's favorite colors), the side table with the blue lamp (again with the blue), the bookcase (he has yet to file his few books that will fit there), the chess table; we also bought him two chairs in mahogany to go with the table and sleigh bed, another 2 or 3 bookcases, enough ladders to reach all the levels of his "home", plus various chairs that I deemed comfy, should any other Mendels want to stay.
After the trip to the store, I took Nick to my family's house, despite his protests. I wanted some ice cream, and when Bre wants ice cream, Bre GETS her ice cream. I had an uncomfortable argument with my dad, and Nickel got to see firsthand what my family is like. I don't know WHAT he would have thought of that.
I suppose I should try and think of a few more experiments to perform on Nickel--after all, he IS a research project, not just a "pet".
-Bre-
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:36 pm
Nickel's SL Entry
Date: 7/28/04
Bre took me shopping today. "Ugh" is the most eloquent way I can describe it. She ignored my repeated pleas and protests, and told me to "suck it up". I have come to detest that phrase.
She also has to come up with a new way to take me places, as the trip to the lab in her breast pocket ended up severely tearing the silk lining of her favorite Lilac Vintage Town Coat. All because of my wings, I suppose...I'm not surprised. They cause more trouble than any good they might do.
We ended up getting a befuddling amount of furniture from the store. All I seemed to catch in Bre's mad shopping frenzy were the muttered words "visitors welcome". I hope she's not trying to plan some kind of party where she will invite all those Mendels that I don't like, in some sort of ruse to get me to "suck up" our differences. Whatever the plan is, it won't be successful, as I absolutely REFUSE to accept the differences between Mendels such as Neon and myself.
After the shopping spree, I was looking forward to going home, which I was beginning to get accustomed to. Instead, Bre comes up with a brilliant plan, which is to get herself some ice cream for FREE. From her family's house. I swear, that lady has a penchant for the weirdest things...
While at her family's house, even while hidden in her breast pocket, I heard the argument between her and her father. (Over ice cream, of course) He asked her, while she was serving herself some mint chocolate chip ice cream, if she had eaten any yet today, because apparently food is eaten rather fast in their house (although, from all the food I saw in their refrigerator, they must eat like those animals--elephants--that I've read about). She of course, couldn't have eaten any ice cream that day, because she had been out the whole day, working at her new job and taking me shopping. So it was a rather stupid question that her father asked.
She, miffed that he would bring up such an irrelevant and transparent question, answered rather scathingly and sarcastically. Which, in turn, set off a subtle branch of arguments, with Bre's father implying that she was rude for answering him so, and with Bre implying that he should have already known the obvious answer to the question, and as such, deserved the nasty reply.
This experience made me realize that Bre is rather like me, in a way. We both are unappreciative of unobservant people. We both seem to believe that if the answer is obvious and clear, no question is needed. And we are both sarcastically vicious.
I think I might like Bre.
Now, to try and sleep with these contraptions on my back in this new bed of mine, and to turn out the only illumination in the shelves that have become my home.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:37 pm
Scientific Log: 8/01/04
Entree: Bre
Nick has been calmly enjoying the past few days, with a few of his books that I found him and trying to settle into his shelf-home. Recently, though, he seemed to be moping a bit. I asked him why, and got this as a reply:
"Nothing. Not like I had anything to DO, other than sit around your stale, musty house anyways. Not like I had a PARTY to plan or anything..."
So apparently, Nick was a little upset that I hadn't had time to take him to the Mendel Labs. I know he's anxious to see Gold again, and even to maybe see some more of Calcium (who he doesn't really know yet but senses some potential in....potential for what, I don't know...). I also told him that Titanium came out of his tube, and he's a little anxious to see that too, at the very least to see if he should stay away or not.
As far as I knew, though, Nickel hadn't done ANY work on the "rainbow-riffic planning", so I didn't know what he was complaining about. However, after hearing of Oxy's stress with the party, I didn't want Nick to add to it. So I gave him an ultimatum (because in my heart, secretly, Oxygen had always been one of my favorite Mendels, despite what Nick thought of her.)
I told him this: He had a choice to either get to work on the planning, and have at least 3 contributions to the party ready by the end of the day, or I would be experimenting with him a little bit. A little bit spoiled, obviously, Nick chose experimenting, just to spite me. He knew, after all, that I wouldn't hurt him, and that nothing I did would really provide conclusive as it was only an empty threat and I had nothing prepared.
So I did a few experiments...and granted, they weren't great.
Texture Test The aim of this experiment was to figure out what kind of textures Nickel prefers, so that I could get him a new bedspread or whatever if he didn't like his. Also to buy some time to think of another experiment. Texture: ResultSilk: Nickel didn't like this at all. The smooth edges were caught by his mechanical fingers, and even his plain metal fingers snagged on the smooth surface. Cotton: The cotton I had was an old dishcloth that I had Nick lay down on. The edges of his wings caught on the nubs in the cloth, so he didn't like that too much. He said: "If it were perhaps cloth that was NOT nubbly and worn-down, I might have liked it better." Hmpph. Linen: I had a folded linen sheet, and Nick seemed to like this best. He didn't like how cold he imagined it would be in the winter if that was all he had, but it didn't interfere with his body at all, a definite plus. And the classic and muted design on the sheet appealed to him greatly. Wool: One of the "hateds" in this experiment. Again, nubbly, and Nick was afraid it would leave scratches on his body. Flannel: Nick thought that the jersey/flannel mix that I had on a pillowcase would be ideal for winter bedding. A big plus, although he was disgusted at the green color. Cashmere: Although he marveled at its softness, he got tangled easily, and was disappointed. It seemed like this would have been his favorite if it wasn't so easy to catch himself on.
So apparently, I should get some linen sheets and some flannel for Nick's new bed. Seems he would like that best. And if I can find a small scrap of cashmere that he can just hold or use as a pillow or something...I think he would like that, too.Staring Contest Ok, this one was just to stall for time. Wanted to see who would win in a staring contest between me and Nick. I guess it could also have tested for his finickity, too, though. (Finickity is my new made-up word.) Contestants: Bre, Nickel Winner: Nickel. Length of Contest: I quit after about 1 min and 45 seconds, although Nick kept going (to prove his superiority, I guess). I made him stop after 5 minutes, when I couldn't stand it anymore. Culinary Reactions It was dinner time for everyone, so I decided to test how Nick would react to foods. Convenient, eh? 3nodding Food: ReactionPepper: Even though this isn't a food, Nickel almost leapt across the table to keep me from giving him any. I think he dislikes it. xd Salt: In REALLY small doses, Nick endures it. Otherwise, he's not a big salt fan. Hickory-cured Steak Rolls: We had steak for dinner, and Nick overall liked the flavor, though he thought the curing was too strong. Mashed Potatoes: Nick liked the texture, and the taste was okay to him too. He didn't have any gravy on them because he's WEIRD . Green Beans: Nick wouldn't even TOUCH these. I guess he REALLY doesn't like green food, and especially not vegetables. Apple Pie A'la Mode: Nick tried an eensey-weensey piece, and said it was too sweet. I called him lame and gave him some vanilla bean ice cream instead, which he seemed to like perfectly well.
So, it seems as though Nick's very much a centrist. As I suspected...I'll have to think of more experiments to be performed to test the extremities of everything. These were somewhat inconclusive.
-End SL entry-
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 4:57 pm
Nickel's SL Entry
Date: 8/07/04
Well, I'm exhausted. Bre has had to take me to work with her the past 2 or 3 days since she was almost late and had to rush to work. As a result, I'm sore, haven't been able to write in this Scientific Log, I'm tired, and I smell like roast beef--WHICH, by the way, makes me nauseous. Please save me.
A couple of days ago, I finally met Cobalt in the labs. Bre, being in a rush and being an idiot, had set me on the top of the table, ON THE EDGE, but all the other Mendels were at the bottom of the table. So, if I wanted to be social at all (and I supposed that I had better), I had to get down to the bottom of the table. What did I decided to do to get down? Climb down the table leg. And I will NEVER do it again.
Cobalt and Nick RP ((Half of this was on the Mendel thread, the second half was on AIM because Gaia hates Bre. Gray is Nick, Navy is Cobalt)) Cobalt hopped off the base of the staircase and looked up. "Hey, if you have any trouble getting down, just holler all right? I'll see if I can get something for you to land on."
Hmm. There were some chairs around, but those were impossible for a mendel to move. In fact, aside from lego bricks, there wasn't anything else that she could easily move. And lego bricks didn't exactly cushion one's fall.
Wait, that was it! Cushions! Cobalt ran over to the sofa. It might be a bit difficult for her to drag it over, but-
Thump.
She ran back to where Nickel was. "Oh. You're down. I guess it's a good thing, since you saved me the trouble of having to figure out how the heck to get a cushion off the sofa. You okay?" Nick idly fiddled with the tip of his wing, by his shoulderblade. Now that he had actually come face-to-face with Cobalt, he had no idea how to talk to her. He was sure they had something in common in that they had both changed households, but....
"Well," he started awkwardly. "Glad I saved you that trouble then. Not like they would have done any good...These stupid things would have torn the cushion up." He pointed to his wings. "Thanks for the concern, I'm alright. I didn't interrupt your work on the staircase or anything, did I?" Cobalt shrugged. "It's Puchi's stuff. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Personally, I'd hold the well being of a mendel over the well-being of a cushion any day. Glad I didn't need them though. you could've damaged your wings something fierce."
But enough about those things. "Where have you been, anyway? I swear I haven't seen you in ages. In fact, I've almost forgotten how you looked like." Nickel shrugged his shoulders, a very un-Nickel-like move. "I guess. Not like damaging them make them any more useless than they are now, right?"
He rolled his eyes, tired of his wings. Sometimes he wished they would just go away, or work or SOMETHING.
"I've been changing households." He replied. "Nekota had to leave for some reason or another, so now I'm with this lady...her name's Bre. She's alright, I guess. Not HORRIBLE or anything." "I don't think they're all that useless. Hey, for all you know they might have some sort of use that you don't know about. Like perhaps venting of waste heat, or some sort of static discharge unit? After all, electricity seems to run across you sometimes."
"Wait... Nekota left you?" Figures. Chalk another one up to the ineptitudes of people. "Glad you like the new girl I guess. I don't particularly bother with mine. He's useful to have around, but I'd much rather worry about completing stuff on my own."
She shrugged. One had to learn to depend on oneself, depending on others was almost as bad as trusting the wicked whims of fate.
"Anyway, I might be heading back to the staircase... you wanna come along? I figure that once this is built, you don't need to worry about having to climb up and down that rickety table leg over there." A smirk and clasp on the Nickel's shoulder to show everything was in jest. Nick flinched a bit as Cobalt clapped his shoulder, but tried to take it in stride. She didn't know how he felt about that, wasn't her fault.
"As far as I've discerned, they're absolutely, DEFINITELY, useless. But I suppose there could be a hidden purpose in them. Not that I've found, but..."
Nick stopped. He realized he was talking about his useless wings again. He was bored of them. Change the topic- Now.
"Yeah, Nekota left me. Not that this new girl is much of a change, but she's a little more useful, and more malleable, than Nekota was. And as soon as that one bundle of hers unwraps, I'm teaching the creature to take me around. I'm tired of being DROPPED ON THE TABLE." He said the last with spite, and pushed back a tendril of hair that had fallen out of his sort-of bun.
"I'll come along, I guess." He said with a bit of hesitation--he hadn't been doing that much work on his "rainbowriffic" plans for Oxy, but he figured she could do with what little he had. She noticed him flinch from the body contact, but decided to make nothing of it. If he wanted, he'd tell her. Still, she filed that away amongst all her other information that she'd stored.
"That's what I mean about learning to do things for yourself. If you depend on her, or anyone else, you'll always need to worry about things like being left on the table, and leaving when you don't want to. It's a bit harder for us flightless mendels, but I've found out that you can do it, as long as you put your mind to it. Buses go everywhere. You just have to make sure no one steps on you."
And then she picked up a few blocks, and headed up the unfinished staircase. It seemed as if that staircase was the meeting point of all the mendels nowadays. Nick gleaned in the information. Cobalt seemed less ignorant than the other Mendels--that was good. VERY good.
He grabbed a few blocks and tried not to chip them with his robotic hand. He knew that would make the staircase weaker, and he didn't think that the other Mendels would PARTICULARLY like that. He placed them as he tried to talk to Cobalt some more. he wanted to know what she thought about her change of owners. More of that psychology stuff, maybe.
"You said you changed owners, too? What was that like? I mean, besides the not-relying on them deal." He tried to sound casual. It was almost as if her voice grew slightly more brittle. "I don't talk about it much."
And then silence, aside from the rapping of Cobalt's hands on the lego bricks, driving them into each other.Nick wasn't SO dense that he couldn't tell he had done something wrong. While Cobalt's reply was nondescript and common, the tone of her voice let him know that he had pushed it. Ah well, he would have to talk to her later about it, he supposed. That was a shame--he had really hoped to find something common in that thread they shared. He put a block down beside hers, then one after that. Searching his mind for something to say, he came up with a lame "Well, I'm glad this staircase is almost finished..."The silence was akward, and the line that followed seemed even more so. Cobalt frowned and looked up at Nickel. "You said Nekota just upped and left. And you're okay with that?""I guess I'm okay with it," he said. "I mean, it's not like I had any choice in the matter, so I have no reason to NOT be okay with it, really. I guess I dealt with it like any other Mendel would..." He tried to steer the conversation back towards some sort of psychological aim. "How would YOU have felt about it?" She didn't like being observed like this. baring her soul to someone wasn't her thing, especially since she saw what resulted from it. Look at lith and neon, look at oxy and anti, look at herself.
"I'm... I'd have coped as well."
She kept her eyes on the bricks.Nickel felt bad. He felt Cobalt become closed off to him, to his questioning. He shouldn't pry any further... Now, all because of Nickel's BURNING NEED to have his questions answered, he had opened a fresh wound for someone who hadn't done a THING to hurt him. In fact, she had tried to HELP him keep from practically killing himself. What a way to repay her.... He decided to apologize. She had to know that he didn't mean to do this to her, so he let her know.
"Cobalt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you or anything like that....I was just very curious, and as such, I pried. Too deep, apparently. You don't deserve that....I'm sorry. " Nickel felt abashed at having let his feelings show like that. That wasn't like him.She looked over her shoulder, Nickel caught up in a seeming mental dilemma and then apologizing like that. She almost smiled, inspite of herself. "Hey. Don't worry about it. I guess I just learnt that we should stand on our own two feet, rather than worry about relying on anyone else. I'd have felt... oh I dunno. It's just further proof that you have to be as independant as possible."Nickel caught a hint of a smile on Cobalt's face. It almost irked him, but he was busy concentrating on pushing blocks down for the staircase, and swallowing Cobalt's words. They made sense to him, and he supposed, had he not been caught up in his own self-pity, that he would have come to the same conclusion. He liked Cobalt--she had thoughts of her own, and they weren't ignorant, poorly spoken, or otherwise just stupid. He decided to change the subject to something a bit lighter, if he could. "So, what have you been doing now, then?" He asked sincerely. "Now that you're so independent and all, how have you been doing with yourself and the other Mendels?"She laughed. "I've been finding out that things you thought were useless aren't so useless if you think about it hard enough."
As if to demonstrate, her demon tail curled up out and whipped a block out of Nickel's hands, carrying it over to where Cobalt was and dropped it. She smiled. "Who knows, I'm pretty sure someone like you could figure out something to do with your wings."Cobalt's little display inspired Nick a little. He thought about it and decided he would have to have Bre help him test this theory. She was supposed to be doing experiments on him, right? She could, and WOULD help him with this. "I suppose that as big as they are, they must be able to be used for SOMETHING,..." Nick drawled. "If you get any grand ideas, do let me know." The corners of his mouth lifted just a little. "And speaking of ideas, if you can come up with any 'rainbow-riffic' ones for the upcoming party, do help me out, please." HIs eyes had a little bit of a pleading look. "I'm trying to help out Oxygen, but 'rainbow-riffic' is just NOT my forte."Her mouth quirked slightly. "Rainbow-riffic? I doubt I'd be any help on that one. You got yourself in that mess with Oxygen, you get yourself out. But I'll tell you if I get any ideas. No guarantees though. As to your wings, I've already stated the possibilities. I know that certain machinery need wing/vents in order to flush waste heat. I'm not sure how hot you run or how hot your wings are, but that could be a possibility. Or it could be related to the static discharges that run across your gauntleted arm. It also glows... that one I'm not sure of. You might need to ask Neon about the glowing. She's had the most experience with that."Hm. Gauntleted...he had never thought of his arm like that. It had always been a nuisance to him, just a robotic arm unrelated to the rest of him, disturbing the fluidity of his body. But "gauntleted"...that had potential. It made him feel braver, somehow, like he was a knight. Being around Cobalt was good for him--gave him a different perspective. Nick sighed at the rainbow-riffic rejection. Apparently, he was stuck, and he would just have to go with what he had. Ah well. He turned to say something to Cobalt, grabbing a block, when in rushed the unmistakable sound of Bre's sneakers. "Thanks for helping me Cobalt." He said quickly and as sincerely as possible before his caretaker whooshed down upon him. "I'll have to talk more with you, see what can be found out about my mechanical pieces, huh?""No prob. You might want to try the library. And remember, they might be your caretakers, but you don't actually need them!" She shouted as Nickel was whisked away.
It was nice to see more mendels getting around and actually doing things with their lives.
So I finally met her, but didn't get to try and work any psychology into our conversation, really. I suppose that if you think about the whole thing, there was a LITTLE bit of psychologic talk, but it wasn't based on the topic of abandonment like I had hoped. Still, talking with Cobalt made me a little more optimistic, I like to think. And I'm also working on trying to get my own transportation arranged.
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 5:24 pm
Nickel's SL Entry
Date: 8/08/04
Oh wow, do I have an interesting update for you, Scientific Log. It's astounding, and full of action and danger, a bit of mystery and teasing romance. All you other idiots reading this are sure to like it.
You see, not too long after I had my inspiring conversation with Cobalt, Bre took me to the Mendel Labs again (the next day). There wasn't really anyone there that I could see, except for Fluo. So we began talking a little bit.
Fluorine and Nick RP ((Taken from AIM with Anya!, Purple is Fluorine and Gray is Nick.)) "Bye Nick!!" Bre said loudly as she dashed out the door of the Mendel labs, leaving the poor silver Mendel at the edge of the table. In his hands he held a nice mahogany case, somewhat like a briefcase--his traveling chess set. He hadn't played with someone else in so long...Fluorine blinked. WOW, Nick! Wow, where'd the fox boy go? WOW! She stood up from her work at the stairwell and snapped her fingers to have the persocom put her on the table. "Well, if it isn't Nickel!" - she grinned and put her hand on the hip. Nickel was stopped in his tracks and almost fell off the table when he turned around and saw Fluo and the scantily-clad persocom. Who was that human? That wasn't what Fluo's caretaker looked like, as far as he remembered...had Fluo gone through a caretaker change too, like he and Cobalt had? He almost was left speechless when he remembered that Fluo had spoken to him. "Hi, Fluo..." he said, somewhat frozen.Ever a sucker for pretty boys, even post-Antimony (she was not gonna touch, she was just gonna gawk. Looking didn't hurt, right?), Fluorine floated up closer to Nickel and cocked her head, while running a hand thru her hair to smooth it, curling the strands around her fingers: "How's life? Haven't seen you in ages ..."Always the same old Fluo, after the guys... Nick thought to himself, blushing slightly as he remembered the wager from months ago. "I'm feeling a little shaken, actually..." he proclaimed. "First I have to find a new owner in a rush, and she turns out to be a pretty horrible scientist, and then when she takes me to the Labs, she almost kills me by setting me so close to the edge of the table!" He snorted in disgust. "And you? Who's this human that's here with you?"Always the same old Nickel, grumpy at everything ... Fluo thought to herself and shrugged. No reason to not be polite. She had enough enemies. How about some friends, now?
"I am doing peachy. And this is not a human. This is my persocom. She calls me mistress. Right, babe?"
"Yes, Mistress" - nodded the scanly clad lady.
Flo smirked and then waved her hand around: "Nickel, don't you remember? I told you about it! You were supposed to help ..."Persocom? Help? Nick was a little confused...he couldn't imagine volunteering to help put together something this.....subservient. "Mistress...right, ok..." Nick nodded slowly as he took the information in. "I was supposed to help? I don't remember that, sorry Fluo." He idly rubbed his robotic hand with one finger from the other."Yeah, well.. whatever. Anyway, she's not a human." - Flo shrugged and then the thing under Nick's arm caught her eye
"Whatcha got here?" - she asked curiouslyNick glanced down at the object in question, his mahogany case. "Oh, that's just my-" He paused, remembering older times. "That's just my travel chess set." He finished lamely. Good thing I had those few weeks of practice while I waited in the lab... he thought to himself."Really?" - Flo grinned and stepped back, folding her arms on her chest "Still playing, huh?" She hadn't played since Nick dissapeared. She was too busy doing ... well, lots of other stuff, incliding the persocom. And Antimony. Oh Antimony ... Flo momentarily spaced out with a stupid smiled on her face. How she missed him ... that's why she was hanging out in the labs like an idiot ... to se if he'd drop by ...Nick noticed a sort of dopey grin on Fluo's face, one he'd seen only in the "chick flicks" that Bre attempted to show him. The characters that smiled like that were always in love....Nick was tempted to ask who the Mendel was, but knowing Fluo's behavior, it could have been a human or a fish, as well. "I'm still playing, yes." He answered matter-of-factly. "Being left in the labs with nothing to do left me very few options, so I continued the hobby available to me."He smiled at her with a devious grin on his face--He had an idea. "Any chance you want to try another game, with another wager?" He smirked at her."A wager? What, craving to be kissed, are you? Cuz I'll beat your pants off in chess." - Flo smirked haughtily. becasue of COURSE she would win ... was there even a question? Well ... ok, there was ... but ... trashtalking was fun! Nick rolled his eyes, a look of mild disgust on his face. "Yes, I want to be kissed by YOU--who has kissed just about all the other Mendels there are. NOT." His biting sarcasm was delivered with a slight grin, to let Flo know he was joking. "Rather," he began again, "I want to take a look at your Persocom--Babe, you called her?" He nodded. "I want to maybe get a little test-drive of her, and you can pick whatever for if you win. Not that that will happen." He smirked again.Flo's eyes flared up: "Since when did kissing equate to cooties. Grow up!" She put hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Besides, I got my kiss from you. Why would I want another one?"Nick inwardly groaned at the mere MENTION of the word cooties. That's not what he had meant. But hey, she took it as almost an insult, and that was the point. So to hell with trying to fix it. "Well, maybe you just can't stay away from so-called 'pretty boys' like myself, huh Flo?" Nick retorted. "Maybe you are DESPERATE for another kiss..." he grinned at her. "I don't know what you would want in return. Maybe I can help you figure out some of your 'Babe', if I lose. Stuff that won't appeal to me, but will help you. That kind of a thing."Fluorine breathed out and remebered the book on anger managment. That kiss she had with Nick was a good memory for her. Her real first kiss. It was special to her and she hated to have that memory spitted on. And now Nick was being a p***k. Big deal. She didn't have to blow up - blowing up made her appear weak. Made it seem like it did matter and showed her weaknesses. There was a smart snide remark there ... she just had to think of a good one.
With a smooth gesture she brushed the stray strand on hair form her face and smiled dismissively: "Honey, pretty boys like you are a dime a dozen in the mendel world. And I kissed you all. But I know what you could do for me."
With that her smile became a smirk.Nick grimaced as he saw Flo smirk. She was pretty smart, as far as the Mendels went, and he knew she could probably come up with something he would HATE. But he regained his composure. "And just WHAT would that be, Flo?" He asked faux-sweetly.Fluorine shrugged and her eyes twinkled: "You let me rewire your back so that your wings can work. And if it works - I want you to fly once." My, she was SUCH a good and unselfish person. Why didn't anybody appreciated her noble pursuits? Then again digging in Nickle's gears would be fun challange all of it's own. And he might become less of a pretty boy then.Nick's conscience (if that's what it was) warned him. This was dangerous; if Flo won, he could be scarred for the rest of his life with his wings. Then Nick's 'other side' crept into his head. There was no way he could lose, right? He had been playing for SO much longer than her...and Flo was a good scientist, anyway. With both of them there, she wouldn't try to hurt him...would she? "Alright, you have yourself a deal." Nick held out his robotic hand to shake on the compromise.Flo smirk and shook hand. She still wasn't quite sure why she offered that. But hell, all crazy plans didn't have to be planned too meticilously. Otherwise they wouln't be crazy. "Coolness. And you can take my persobaby for a spin. i really shoudl give her a proper name. So ... let's play chess, pretty boy."
She cracked knuckles and sat down into a lotus position, floating a half an inch above the table top. Nick nodded satisfactorily as he picked up his mahogany chess case, and opened it up tenderly. It had always been nice to him--never doing anything except what it was supposed to. He set up the board, offering Flo the white side of the pieces so that she could go first. He sat down gingerly, arranging his wings behind him so as to avoid scratching Puchiko's table as much as possible.Flo arrangen her pieces easily and waited for Nickel to finish his meticulous setting down of each and every chess piece with care. Was she really gonna make it. She wanted to - digging in Nickel's back would be SOOOOOO much fun! She closed her eyes and tried to remember the combinations she learned way back when. She could do this. She just had to concentrate and watch for traps. Nick was smart but she was tricky.
So we played. And I we ended up in a stalemate the first time, but then....
I lost. I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOST, AGAIN, TO FLUO. How stupid can I get? How did I lose, in the first place? I mean, I'm EONS ahead of her in practice and skill...how did she beat me?
So now, because of my idiotic mistake, I have to let Fluo try and rewire my back. I'm not letting myself get hopeful. No one can fix these atrocities that rest on my back, and I'll be stuck flightless forever, which I've (more or less) come to accept. If not even Puchiko can do something about them, a simple Mendel like Fluorine, even if she is one of the smarter ones, isn't goign to be able to "fix them".
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 3:52 pm
Scientific Log: 10/25/04
Entree: Bre
I came home a few days ago to find Nickel whimpering in pain and under the kitchen table, with what looked like severe cuts on his back, and telltale scratches on the hardwood floor beneath. Once I got over my initial shock, I picked Nick up and took him to the bathroom to get any dust or dirt out of the cuts. I can only hope that he will heal fine. Here's what happened:
((RP also in the guild, indigo is Fluorine, gray is Nick))The Operating Room The Flobot stopped by the building that the address indicated was the residence of Bre and Nickel. Fluorine pushed the bell and ran her hand thru her hair.
Time to make the looser pay ... ahem! that is ... time to try and fix Nickel's wings.
Yeah.
If she was here, then she wasn't hanging like an idiot in front of Antimony's house, right? And her mind was occupied and so were her hands.
With fixing stuff, that is. On Nickel's back.
And she was not gonna be a jellied sob-sob this time. GOD. That scene with Gold was positively embarrassing. Pathetic.
Fluorine hoped that the Mendel world would never find out about that. She pushed the door bell again. What was taking them so long?
Nick sighed as the doorbell was rung again and again, someone obviously at the door.
Where is Bre? He thought haughtily. Not only did he not want to climb down and get the door, but he wasn't expecting anyone...except- Fluorine.
Oh man, she's here already.... He groaned inwardly.He started the long trip down his cupboard shelves across the seemingly endless living room floor, and finally reached the door. He creaked it open, leaving space for a Mendel to squeeze through (and leave him room for minimal effort to close the door), then peeked out from the side.
"Welcome to my residence, Flo," he said faux-courteously.
Fluorine looked down from the Flobot's shoulders.
"Why, thank you, Nickel. Now, move aside ... giant robot coming thru."
With that she motioned Flobot to open the door and the buxom persocom walked inside. This was so much less cool then the castle Nickel used to live in. Not that she's ever been, but she heard rumors ...
"Now. We will need a flat surface, like a table. Which one can I use?" - she said matter of fact-ly. The Flobot had picked her up and set her by Nickel for the sake of politeness. �
Nick quickly slid to the side opposite the door opening, as to avoid getting squished. He glanced up at the huge persocom, shielding his eyes. He didn't remember the robot being that big.
He walked across the floor grudgingly to close the door behind the robot, then motioned toward the doorway into the kitchen.
"There are a plethora of tables in there..." he mentioned. He was beginning to feel nervous about his agreement to this 'operation'.
"Good."
"Bot, pick him up."
With that command, whether Nickel was wanting to or not, he was scooped up carefully by the hands of the persocom and lifted into the air.
"Put him here" ordered Fluorine and jumped down onto the kitchen table, a makeshift bundle of tools over her shoulder. Tools like screwdrivers, long pins and a multimitermeter from Radio Shack.
"So." she turned to Nick.: "Sit down and show me your back."
And with that she pulled out the two pins of the multimeter from her tool pile.
Suddenly, without any warning, Nick was FLYING in the hands of the persocom. Fluo's commanding voice still rang in his ear.
"Now wait just one minute." He said, objecting to her bossy tone. "There's no chairs up here, it's a little bit dusty and dirty, and who KNOWS how many germs are up here? I'm not going to just lay down!" He pulled a small dustcloth from it's little hiding place in one of his arms and began to wipe down a small area of the table. "That's a little better, but until this place is SANITIZED, there will be no medical operations here," He demanded firmly.
Fluorine smirked.
"Nickel, are you afraid of me?" - she purred
"Do you really think I would ever hurt you? Or cut you up in an unsanitized environment? RELAX! All I want is to measure the currents that you generate."
With that she walked up to Nick and moved the stray hair strands off his back.
"Now, can you think of something that makes you spark?" �
Nick sighed inwardly in relief, not really sure WHAT he had expected of Fluo. After all, she wasn't really a doctor, nor anything close to one, as far as he was concerned.
"Of course I'm not afraid of you." He muttered with a glare. "And as far as things that make me spark, how about you?" The sarcastic smirk on his face let Fluo know that he was joking-only slightly. "Actually, I spark when I'm really tense and my wings rub along anything...does that help?"
"Really?" - she grinned. "Good to know that I can make you get all ... charged up." She patted his back and picked up the black and red probes.
"Well, rub your wings for me, babe. And as you do it, I will poke you with these things. It will not hurt. I am just trying to find where exactly the current flows." �
Nick threw a disdainful and apprehensive look toward Fluo over his back.
"If my wings so much as have a SCRATCH on them, you'll pay for this, Fluo." He threatened. He couldn't bear the thought of the sound that would come when he rubbed his wings together--like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. He shivered as he thought about it.
Having no other choice, he started to slowly rub his wings against each other, trying not to move his back as much as possible. A grimace appeared on his face at the whine coming from his back and the thought of his shiny nickel wings being scratched and broken. What would his APPEARANCE be like?!
"Yeah yeah yeah ... I am soooo scared of you, Nick. Right."
Her voice sounded relaxed and playful, but a throbing vein appeared on Fluorine's pretty forehead. Since Nick had his back to her, he couldn't see it. As he started rubbing his wings, Fluorine took a deep breath, and didn't jam the probes up Nick's a**, as she wanted to. Instead she touched the roots of Nick's wings to see if there was any current whatsoever flowing.
NOPE.
She then touched the hair stick thingies and his armored hand with the probes.
Oh, there was CHARGE allright.
Hmmmmm ... but if he had to rub his wings to produce that charge ... he wouldn't be able to fly with it, too. Unless he could store it ...
"You can stop now." - she said, staring thoughtfully at Nick's back.
Nick sighed softly and a bit reluctantly--the friction between his wings was starting to bring him up to a comfortable temperature in the freezing cold room. He felt the probes on his arm and hair-chopsticks, and rolled his eyes. Was Fluo so dumb she couldn't tell the difference between wings/back and an arm? Hello.
Well...she IS more of a vixen-type than an actual scientist-type... Nick mused to himself. He chuckled slightly, then stifled it with a slight frown as he pondered what his thoughts had just been. aShe WASN'T a scientist-type. He could seriously get hurt here...
He glanced over his shoulder at Fluo and nervously rubbed the fingers of one hand against his robotic arm, producing a bit of a charge involuntarily. "You know, Fluorine, if you seriously damage me, not only will Puchiko be after you for destroying her experiment, but I imagine Bre would be quite upset too. It would be wise for you to be EXTREMELY cautious back there..." he warned her, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.
Nickel's comment brought Fluorine out of her meditative contemplation. The throbbing vein on her forehead was back but this time Nick got a good view as she put her face >this< close to Nick's, her middle finger the only speration between her and him.
"Extremely cautious? EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS!? ******** you, Nick, get over your ******** overblown self and have some ******** gratitude. I am here trying to give you a ******** chance to break out of your ******** shell and DO soemthing with yourself except sulk in the corner and all I get are ******** complaints! ******** THIS."
With that she threw the probes down onto the floor and stomped away to her bundle of tools. Wow, not even Fluorine had said so many F-words in one sentance before. On a certain level she was impressed with herself just now. �
Nick, taken aback by Fluo's sudden outburst, quickly stood up in a defensive stance.
"You know Fluo, this was your idea." Nick said smugly, starting forward but stopping when he noticed the probes on the floor. "If you don't want to hold up your end of the bargain from our chess game, I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm sure that I would like to RETAIN motion in my lumbardic area more than lose it, anyways." His scathing sarcasm came out a little rough-sounding, even to him.
But what can I do? Nick thought. She just....exploded.
Fluorine turned back to Nickel, eyes narrowed and ablaze and hissed:
"I know it was my idea. Silly me - wanting to help you. And whether you HAVE motion in your _LUMBAR_ area or not matters little, cuz you don't do s**t with yourself ANYWAY."
With the raw bitterness in her voice she added, picking up the bag and throwing it to the persocom: "I could have given you flight. I could have at least tried. You HAVE wings - I don't. You at least had a CHANCE to fly."
Antimny had ben gone for so long, she was lonely, Arsenic was on her case - she had a shitty shitty week ... hell, MONTH ... she didn't have to take this from Nickel.�
Nick glared back at Fluo as she threw things across his table--HIS table!--to her persocom.
"You need a little help there, Fluo?" He replied scathingly, tossing some of the tools directly at her persocom. "Or maybe NOT-" said with a weapon-"since you seem to know all about EVERY Mendel! Maybe if you actually WERE a surgeon like you're pretending to be, you would research your patient!" -Another tool- "THEN maybe you would know that this certain Mendel, born with wings, has never even had the CHANCE to fly! I've been a physical failure from day one! My very constitution is fragile and exact, and to be like some other Mendels is IMPOSSIBLE for me!" -a last tool thrown-" Maybe you should have stopped to think about the fact that I literally CANNOT be like Neon, or Cobalt, with their fighting. I can't be like Oxy and flit around! I can't even be a sinking swimmer like ACTINIUM, because I will rust! My very SELF will CORRODE."
He huffed himself over the table and dropped down the table leg, landing with a loud *thump* and a clinking sound. He grimaced at the hurt, but fought through it towards the nearby door. He glared at Fluo coldly and muttered in a steady voice:
"Get out."
Seeing Nickel be actually, genuinly angry AND violent stopped Fluorine in her tracks. She picked up the stuff Nickel threw at her and tossed it to the persocom. The she floated up onto the Flobot's hand and turned back at Nickel:
"I am not asking you to be like Neon or Oxygen or Cobalt. But yes ... I think that you have NOT reached your full potential as a being. I think you can do BETTER then this."
With that she sneered at Nickel and left home.
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 3:58 pm
Scientific Log: 10/10/04
Entree: Bre
Dear Scientific Log,
Warning: The entry ahead is bitter and a bit angry, caused by concern.
Nickel, my genius little boy of an experiment, LOST his chess match with Fluorine. Which I didn't even know was going on. And which I ALSO didn't know that he had bet on. What did he bet, you might ask? HIS BACK. HIS WINGS.
His agreement was that if he lost, she could fiddle with his back to see if his wings would work. Honestly, I don't know how that boy is still alive sometimes. Maybe it's because he's made out of a semi-malleable metal.
So now, my poor boy has limited movement for the time being. He's very sore and very whiny. And as punishment for him making such a stupid bet, I'm taking him to the one place where he WOULDN'T want to go-The HQ. And he might not like it, but that's too bad for him because he doesn't get a choice. And he may be sore, but he's not active enough to seriously hurt himself anymore, so I'm not worried about it. Off we go!
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