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Who: Harriet and y o u
What: Getting settled in
Where: The dorms, the temple, and the time-honored wildcard
When: First week or so of December
Warnings: Blanket warning for The Magicians in general. Will edit if anything comes up.

1) she had only three ingredients. somehow, she made it work. one woman's quest for a hearty meal

[ College style dining is her life now, huh. What Harriet wouldn't give for a bottle of Worcestershire sauce right now, or some ground spices. Bland food is cruel and unusual punishment.

But here she is, heating up beef stock, canned mushrooms, and red kidney beans in a bid to cook something vaguely tasty. She could go out and buy food, but the monthly stipend isn't enough to sustain a diet that consists of eating out every day. Pragmatism it is.

The pot of soup is big. Maybe she'll share if you ask. Or maybe you have food of your own and are willing to make this an impromptu potluck. ]

2) this easy trick will change your life!

[ At least her magic works here. That one year without was an experience she does not care to repeat, especially not in a strange new place.

Harriet makes a few quick tuts and ends up with a rectangle formed by her thumbs and forefingers. It's through that frame that she looks at the temple, the sphinxes, the ground — everything in the temple's immediate surroundings.

Does it look weird to a non-magician? Yes. Does she care? Nah. But she'll chat about it with anyone who asks, provided they're not The Man or The Man's People. ]

3) wildcard

[ Talk to Harriet in town or wherever seems fun! Hmu at punnyinpink @ plurk if you wanna plot anything out. ]

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...Can they see that on the other side?

[ He knows magic, but bumping into this just casually? Still strange and bizarre, and not a sight Tidus was suspecting to see, his brow raised even when or if the woman might look at him. Not out of wariness, but absolutely surprise.

Uh. ]

[ She's looking through the rectangle, but that shock of blond hair is hard to miss in her peripheral vision. Turning to face him, Harriet frowns and goes from magic to signing. ]

What other side? Should I be seeing illusions, or maybe spirits?

[ She'd really prefer not to see any spirits, thank you. Illusions are okay. Actual spirits add layers and complications to things, and there's enough to deal with right now. ]

[ Also incredibly surprising: when understanding every language even extends to sign language. Tidus is the sort to consider for a moment if he should be doing it himself--except he doesn't actually know any, so that's a redundant thought.

Plus, there's actually what she said to wave a hand at. ]

Huh? No, I mean--you were looking somewhere, right? [ He makes a very loose depiction of how she had her hands, holding it up before an eye. ] Can nobody see you on the other side if there's someone there? You know, like... a window.

[ You look in, but someone can look right back at you, too. ]

[ Honestly, Harriet isn't over that either. ]

Oh. No, I wasn't looking into another place.

[ She can see how he would make that assumption. It does kind of look like she's peering through a window. ]

I was looking through illusions. Or I would've been, if there were any. [ She looks a little disappointed ] But it looks like this is just how things are here. It's so weird.

[ Says the magician who grew up in an interdimensional Library and went to graduate school for magic and just. So much. ]

Unless you know something I don't. Should I be looking for other worlds? A realm overlying this one, unseen to our eyes?

[ 'Looking through illusions'. Okay, he's not sure how to parse that, but it doesn't seem he needs to in a hurry, so.

She gives him an even bigger point to blank at anyway. ]

Uhhh. [ Give him a second. ] I don't know...but I know a guy who might?

[ He looks around, not because he believes the man will actually be around for him to pull into the conversation, but.

Okay it would have been helpful if that did happen, but it didn't. Luckily, Tidus realises something. ]

Wait, are you new?

[ "I know a guy" is the best thing she could hope to be told right now. ]

Yes, I just got here a few days ago. I'd love to meet this guy you know. Maybe we can be of help to each other.

Oh, by the way, my name is Harriet.

[ Still really weird to know he's understanding her, but he nods to the offer--maybe we can be of help to each other--and it's not a bad possibility. ]

I'm Tidus. Let me send him a message first and see what he says? I've only talked to him once or twice. [ So, not the situation where you want to just be going up to them and offering them potential new friendships (then again, they might like it--they seem closer in age than Tidus to either of them). ]

Have you been around the city? I can show you a few places. The layout shifts, but that means I can tell you more about the city. [ It's good he doesn't sign, because he's a hand waver as he speaks. But there's a way he says tell you more--putting on some emphasis, or shifting his tone, but not too much. ] The fresh air's better than sticking around in here anyway.

[ Is he doing subtle right. ]

[ So subtle.

Whatever it is that translate sound into information her brain can process makes it so Harriet picks up on tone. Yeah he's. He's not the best in the world at subtle, but listen, she's just glad he's willing to work with her here. ]

Nice to meet you, Tidus. I'd really appreciate that, thank you. It's hard being somewhere completely new when there's so much going on.

[ Most of which seems shady as hell. But hey, no problems here, right? She smiles. No reason for the shady all-seeing eye or whatever to watch them any closer. ]

We can grab a bite to eat as we go. My treat.

[ Did she get his drift? Did she? It seems she did, and either way, he can let her know some things--do what others did for him, pass the knowledge. Knowing anything is hope, and the opportunity is enough to make his face brighten some. A small smile is a lot for him these days. ]

Sure, I won't say no! I can show you some places for eating out too. [ Since hey, he might as well actually show her around at the same time. ] Do you have a coat or anything you wanna get? I can meet you in the lobby. I should get one too.

[ Oh, uh. ] If you don't have one, I have a spare jacket you can borrow.

[ Or is she good?? ]

Sure. I'll be quick.

[ He's a good kid, she thinks. Not a bad person to run into in a new world.

Nodding in the direction of the city, she starts walking. And just as she promised, her trip to get her coat is quick. She's ready to go in no time.

In the lobby, she greets Tidus with a smile. ]

[ He nods back and then walks to the doors leading out, waiting briefly so that when he leads her, she's following at his level than tagging behind. He's a bit of a speedy walker, but he can fix that if she lags. ]

Let's walk a bit first, [ he says, wanting to get some distance from the dorms. There's nothing but roads around them, but he has sense of which ones are usually less busy, when the layout behaves; which still isn't saying much with vehicles creating noise and going along in the streets near and past them. Those are fine though. Some noise is good.

He leads them down a street specked with civilians, but with enough breathing room so they're not crowding into one another. Eventually-- ]

I haven't done this before. [ He's nervous, the only reason why he says it, to build himself up; but when he's about to actually follow it up with something useful, Tidus looks at the woman with a blink that raises his brow, realising-- ] Can you hear me okay here?

[ Just going to ask that a notch louder than he was just speaking. Wait, maybe a busy street isn't good for her? ]

[ For not having done this before, he doesn't look like a nervous wreck. That'd be a giveaway. With enough practice, he could be good at this.

At his question, first she frowns, and then she realizes that she never did share one pretty important fact with him. ]

I can't hear you at all. I'm Deaf. [ She smiles. ] So, where do we go first?

[ He kinda needs to remember to look at her hands, doesn’t he?--that’s another thing Tidus realises for himself in watching her and walking, as if that hadn’t really settled into his brain when they were in the dorm. Like it would be different out here. Or he’s just so used to verbal conversation that he expects the volume to turn up and away they go.

It’s not a problem though. Just a small note to himself, a private oh, before he’s answering her question. ]

You know many places yet? Everything shuffles around, but you get the idea where they’ll be most of the time. [ 50/50, anyway. ] The way we’re going is clothing stores most of them time, fashions from everywhere. There’s a park after that; that's always there. I was gonna ask you what kind of places you usually go to, maybe I know a few spots like them. Is where you're from anything like this? Technology, vehicles... electricity?

[ It's diverting from Things, but it might help to know too. Best to see what she knows and if there's way he can bring up things like that. ...and see how out there her own life has been to even humour what he has to say. ]

[For many reasons, Loki could often be found at the library, typically perusing the astronomy shelves, but this afternoon he would be stumbled upon near the books on magic, particularly of the Earth variety. Magic didn't have such schools to his knowledge and he was finding the segregation fascinating. In fact, he pulls a particularly intriguing tome, Advanced Thermodynamic Incantations, from a shelf with unmasked interest.]

(OOC: I'm sorry for how long this has taken! Let me know if you'd like me to change or add anything!)

( ooc: no worries! looks good! )

[ Well, at least her experience as a Librarian translates to being a library assistant here. It turns out that library rules and regulations are pretty universal. The classification system is different, but once you've learned one, you've learned them all. There's logic to them, and once you figure it out, you're golden.

Harriet is shelving books when she sees someone picking a book that she too would pick. Once she shelves the book in her hand, she turns to him with a friendly if somewhat wry smile, and signs. ]

You think you could teach me some spells in that area? I'm barely at the intermediate level.

[ In fact, her discipline is in illusion magic, but this is a first meeting and she just wants to break the ice. She can feel her mother quietly freaking out about learning magic from "untrained magicians" - lol sorry. ]

[Interesting. Until this very moment, Loki had thought the All-Tongue he'd been taught from birth only translated verbal languages, and yet here he is, completely capable of understanding everything this woman has just signed to him. He does well to keep the surprise from his face, but instead of attempting to replicate her speech, he simply turns to her, smiling amicably enough.]

I was hoping to learn something of earth magic, myself. My areas of expertise at the moment center around illusion, astral projection, transformation. I'd like to round out my offensive capabilities beyond telekinesis. [He looks her over curiously.] A sorceress?

We call ourselves magicians in my world

[ So, yes. ]

That's quite an array of disciplines. I don't know much offensive magic, unfortunately, but I learn fast.

[ If you hear a distant screaming, it's her mother going Harriet NO that's DANGEROUS. She loves her mother but calm down, mom. ]

From what I've read, battle magic takes inner calm and focus. There are battle mages who meditate often. It's very dangerous— for us, anyway. No two worlds are the same.

[He chuckled at the name.]

"Magician" sounds more akin to parlour tricks than any real magic, doesn't it?

[He does smile at her observation, puffing up slightly at the compliment.]

Yes, well, I have had a few centuries to perfect my skills.

[And he was always learning. It didn't pay to stagnate.]

Anytime one steps into a battlefield it's dangerous, yes, and hurling about volatile spells with no control is foolhardy at best.

[ Harriet snickers. ]

Helps us keep magic a secret, at least.

[ Ah, so he's not human. That would explain a lot. She is unperturbed by the revelation, instead nodding at the book. ]

If you're the type to share, we can work through it faster.

Can we?

[That gets a chuckle from him as he closes the book and motions toward a table nearby.]

Let's first see what you're capable of, then we'll talk. [He pauses, though, before smirking.] But I've forgotten my manners. [And he inclines his head.] I am Loki of Asgard.

[South doesn't set out today to follow the smell of food, but, once she catches an almost familiar scent, she can't help it. Hello, she doesn't speak up just yet, just walks uncomfortably close and sniffs hard for a second or three, giving a soft hum as she finally does speak]

What're we eating?

[Wait for a proper invite? Oh please. She's pretty sure it's implied by the scent wafting out for all to smell]

[ The magic here is incredible. Harriet is used to spells that alert her visually when someone is nearby and talking out of her sight. Here, the magic translates sound into signals her brain can process and interpret as language. It's fascinating, if really, really weird because she's just not used to it. She jumps a little, mumbling sorry out loud before she turns to whoever has joined her in the kitchen. ]

Beef stock, mushrooms, and kidney beans, [ she signs. ] Not much else I could do on a tight budget and limited ingredients.

[ There's nothing in her posture or face that indicates she's not sharing. ]

It's almost ready to eat.

[She stares at the signing a second before she blinks to attention. Oh shit-!]

Oh shit- sorry, fuck, that was fucked up, yeah, sorry.

[Whether this place helps with sign language as much as it does with other languages, it wouldn't matter much, it's part of her world to know at least the basics of signing. South is rusty as hell, but she's following along and pops her hands up for proper replies. She might be a fucking asshole, but she's not that much of a bitch, whoops.]

Smells like what they food us in basic

[Rusty, but hey, it gets the point across]

In a positive way

[Her hands are clonky with it, fingers awkward and bulky, but it's something, right?]

Edited 2019-12-14 08:18 (UTC)

[ Oh god this reminds her of Kady's signing. Harriet wants to tell her to stop, but she powers through and communicates well enough, so hey. Let her keep at it. This is Harriet's language, and it's honestly a relief to find a fellow speaker, even if they're not fluent. ]

I'll take the compliment. [ She smiles. ] My name is Harriet. I'm a new arrival. It's okay if you don't sign much — even without the translation magic here, I can read lips.

Where did you learn sign? It's... rusty.

[ She says it with a wry look on her face, making it clear this is good-natured teasing. ]

[jason is, for the most part, a capable adult man, but he isn't free of the occasional dumb mistake. like taking an entire stack of children's books in both arms to carry for reshelving, except the stack is so high he can't see over it and thus relies on memory and the occasional sideways glance around the stack to navigate his way around the floor.

too bad someone's placed a chair right smack in the middle of his current path, and jason has no idea. when he collides with the errant piece of furniture, the stack of books predictably goes flying in all directions, and jason himself is left crumpled across the chair, mentally cursing his idiocy.]

... Ow.

[ Her own magic alerts her to the collision, a flash of red appearing in her vision. Then, this place's magic translates the sound of language into signals she can comprehend. All in all, it's enough to make her sigh.

Harriet keeps rolling her cart until she arrives at the site of the accident, lips pursed and eyebrow raised. He looks okay, nothing broken, maybe some bruising. She can be herself right now as opposed to a responsible adult. ]

I needed that. [ out loud. Then, signing, ] How else is someone as small as me supposed to reach the top shelf when all the stairs are in use?

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html fail is mobile life normal, rip me lol

it's no problem! :) if no html is easier lmk, i will assume she's signing unless you note it

thank! it's me messing up my keyboard shortcuts rofl... wake me up inside

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3 » A Wild Top-Level appears!

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a library wildcard at last

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