paper cities burning

[collector]

Characters: Braxiatel and anyone ever. It's an open log! Tag in! Join in origami art!!
Location: The Astral Plane. Somewhere near food, probably.
Time: After Narvin has been made into a wee-bitty thing. Before the hypothetical future where Braxiatel jumps into a ravine because he hates babysitting.
Summary: Braxiatel needs to do something in his spare time. This is it.
Warnings: Origami awesomeness.

Among the stars and spaces between them, free of the heavy weight of unease that had haunted the Plane, a man was putting his supreme talents in dexterity and mathematical genius to use by making art out of folded paper. Or to put it more simply, Irving Braxiatel was going slightly mad playing the babysitter and so had resorted to origami to try to keep himself sane.

He had begun with a few simple flowers and had quickly gotten sick with the mundanity. That was how the paper model of the Palace of Versailles had ended up at his feet. Then, when he had gotten bored with that, he crafted for himself origami warriors, the grand life-sized sazu game pieces that once were placed in the floating tombs of the Deathless Emperors of Draconia, that they may battle one another in their sleeping death.

Presently, Braxiatel was putting the finishing touch on Nelson's battleship. He had done a fairly good job of representing the Battle of Trafalgar, as far as he was concerned, and was rather pleased by the final product.

Comments

[hypospraying]

This Collection sounds intriguing. [She starts refolding her paper in random ways. If she had scissors, she'd cut out a snowflake.] Could you tell me more about it?

[collector]

[His amusement increases as he watches her.] I could tell you quite a lot about it, but I'll do my best not to bore you. The Collection - the Braxiatel Collection, if you can forgive the vanity - is a sort of museum, gallery, and archive put all into one. It's where I keep everything I've gathered for myself over the years. We've art, artefacts, records, specimens, manuscripts... Everything I could get my hands on, really. I discriminate in quality more than in kind. Academics use the resources in their research, and as they do, their work adds more to the Collection. For myself, it's something of a delight to live on a planetoid developed particularly to suit my aesthetic sensibilities.

[hypospraying]

[She gives him her full attention as he speaks, and she's quite impressed with it all.] I can't fully express how amazing that sounds. I love researching things, mostly medical and, don't get me wrong, we have wonderful sources of information where I'm from, but a place like yours sounds like a dream for any researcher.

[collector]

[His tone softens. It is without arrogance but with a certain suppressed affection, muted by years of learning to quiet genuine sentiment. The Collection is his other heart.] I like to think so. The Collection is something I have been working towards for a long, long time.

[ooc: sorry for the lateness!]

[hypospraying]

Mmm, I can only imagine. [She smiles and looks around them.] Can you take things here back with you to your Collection? Like books in the library, for instance.


[ooc: That's quite all right. :)]

[collector]

Yes, I believe I could. [with a half-smile] I've certainly brought home a few of the finer bottles of wine. I imagine it extends to the texts.

[The truth, of course, is that Braxiatel has already pulled a few books off the shelves, most particularly the Gallifreyan ones. Brax has an entire section of the Collection devoted purely to those items in his possession that belong to other universes.]

[hypospraying]

[She laughs.] Did anyone back home ever ask you just where you procured these bottles of wine?

[collector]

[sagely] Most people don't ask questions when offered a bottle of Château d'Yquem.

[hypospraying]

You've got a point there. Most only question where you got the alcohol if it's terrible.

[collector]

And I'd count it a personal failure should I cause that.

[hypospraying]

Most people would. We like knowing that, among our peers, we have good taste is alcohol, as well as in other things.

[collector]

Indeed so. And being very fond of wine myself, I can't imagine I'd be too pleased with my own selection if I managed to pick out something terrible.

[hypospraying]

Yeah, it wouldn't be Collection quality. Dump it down the drain.

[collector]

Oh, I wouldn't do that. Perhaps I could give it to Mr Kane next holiday.

[hypospraying]

Is Mr. Kane someone you don't like?

[collector]

Oh, no, Mr Kane and I are like that. [He crosses his fingers together and holds them up to indicate how close they are.] But his tastes in wine are not discriminating.

[hypospraying]

Ah, I see. So he would probably enjoy it then, and you'd be rid of it. All in all, a solid plan.

[collector]

Yes, as long as he doesn't try to share it with Bernice.

[hypospraying]

This 'Bernice' have good taste in wines?

[collector]

She has a brandy hobby.

[hypospraying]

Tasty hobby. Is she from your home or someone you met here?

[collector]

From home. She is my Head of Archaeology.

[hypospraying]

Ooo, that sounds like an exciting job. Searching for artifacts and excavating them. What sorts of things has she found for you?

[collector]

Oh, just the usual. Ming Third Dynasty pottery, Aretian Ice Tombs, the Holy Grail . . .

[hypospraying]

[She laughs.] Oh right, the Holy Grail.