WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO UNDERSTAND?
ONE —
He pokes at the lines the sun left on his skin, follows the path from the top of his wrist to his forearm. Sunburn, they said. It hurts a bit so that's why you shouldn't stay too long under the sun, they said.
It ain't painful at all though, Floyd huffs as a finger of his goes up and down his arm. Skin just gets tanned - no big deal.
.
There are glasses that help humans see better, they said. They slip a pair onto his eyes for a test run and it has him squinting, seeing things in all weird angles and spaces. Funny, Floyd hums, taking off the glasses. He takes the thing apart in seconds, discards the frame and leaves the lenses on his palm.
Kinda sad that humans needed such things to see better.
.
They feed him fish cooked over an open fire - they add this and that and minutes later he finds himself eating with a frown. Later that night he slips into the kitchen and fries his own fish, dumping in a palmful of salt along with some herbs that caught his fancy.
Still tastes weird, Floyd mumbles to himself after taking a bite of his own cooking.
With a shrug, he reaches again for the salt.
TWO —
Lighting too dim casts unflattering shadows and kills the orange of his hair, having it too bright gives his forehead an unnatural sheen and makes his eyes glint oddly.
A twist of his wrist into an angle higher just makes him look smaller and his background more visible, doing higher and closer just makes his head look too big for his body.
Doing side profiles was a test of looking candid without trying too hard, clicking the capture button at the right moment when you think you've got the angles all down. But what were the best angles for the eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, chin? Without overthinking, what are the chances of getting a shot where all five complement each other and look their best?
Tilt too much downwards and now your shoulders are an unflattering broad, hide your shoulders and now your face comes to proper focus. Wrong angle, face looking wider. But even on a proper one, what mood are you setting? What's the special reason for choosing a downward shot rather than a normal one?
Cater hums, decides to store his phone in his pocket.
No need to rush it - group photos look better on Magicam, anyway!
THREE —
There are six of them on a board, standing on the front lines with only the ability to move forward, with only the ability to fight sideways.
Fodder, an inital assessment would say. That would prove true, given that they are under the direction of a thoughtless hand. People tend to be immediately dismissive of what presents itself to be lesser, what they see to be weaker.
But they certainly aren't worth any less than the other pieces if they - they, of all things - start the flow of the game.
Place them well and you have maneuvers destroyed, strategies corrected. Scatter them carelessly and you'll present yourself to be more vulnerable, more spots on your side easier to pass through. Such defensive capability was their job rather than being fed to the wolves so early. Why waste it when they're the only pieces capable of doing such a role properly?
Furthermore, adding to their unsuspecting advantage is their ability to be promoted - how amusing that the lowest of the low, granted the chance to rise up from the ranks to any position they wished! This game was nothing but generous to these six pieces!
"Hurry up and make your move, Octo-punk."
Leona Kingscholar glares, Azul Ashengrotto simply smiles.
"Certainly."
FOUR —
Clothes make a man, he recalled some TV ad say.
He's not so sure what to make of that - he stares at the shirt and pants on his bed, a tie by their side. The shined black shoes by the foot of the bed, the pristine white socks folded inside. They all look wrong, he'd shout. They'd all look wrong on his bleached hair, the sneer on his face, the slouch of his shoulders.
But he had to try.
He picks up the gloves too, they're right on his pillow. They won't hide the marks on his hands forever, they can't make excuses for the bruises on his knuckles. Not a single piece of the Night Raven College uniform could hide who he was, what he had done.
But still, he had to try.
Even if it meant changing every part of himself as much as he could.
1: floyd reappears for this batch! here's everyone's context:
floyd -> sensory perception, human edition (mermen bootcamp)
cater -> (facial) angles
azul -> pawns (in chess)
deuce -> reflections on a mirror (pre-game)
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