hadriel | 003 | Audio+Video

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003 | Audio+Video

[This time Rydia isn't making a complete mess while turning on the video, the camera just points for a while to an empty chair until the summoner finally takes her place in front of it. It's still... weird, the whole 'talking to no one' business, but she's almost sure she's recording for other people to see this time.]

Hello everyone! It's me again, Rydia, and I'm here to update you all on the library situation since this whole mirror craze seems fortunately over and we're... hopefully going to have some time for ourselves now. So... last time I received a lot of suggestions and I'd love to adress them all but first- I'm glad to announce me and Lady Ikaruga are officially founding the Hadriel Society for the Fine Arts. Our goal is to promote the artistic qualities of this place's citizens and get everyone to have fun and share their knowledges and skills to make this a better place. But let's get to what we have here...

[Rydia nervously scratches her head shifting back on her chair, sadly she still has to receive any proper book but she's... trying to get started?]

So, first of all... I tried to write four books for this place's kids, if any of them is interested, and if anyone wants to contribuite I have an official list of the library's books...here. [She shows a book where so far only four titles have been written down] It's still almost empty but please, feel free to contact me if you have anything to add, I will be more than glad to include your works in it.

Oh, I'd like to include that if you have any specific skill -sewing, cooking, hunting- and you think you can help us writing down manuals I'd love to help. But enough about the books, I'm more interested in sharing with you all important news about music. Tranquility confirmed he can try to provide us instruments if we give him a drawing of them or at least a good description, the price will vary according to what we ask him but I think... it would be nice to try to have a local band or musical events since few people already shown interest?

Please, if you're a musician contact me, I will do my best to help you getting what you need! We may have to work together to get there but we can do it!

[She's feeling more and more like a total idiot, at least her monologue is about to end.]

Least but not last: someone suggested a writing group and I think it's a lovely idea. Let me know if anyone is interested in joining other people while working and relaxing together, I think it would be wonderful. And if we can make a group we could give it a try maybe wrgin together good endings for our lives and forget all the horrible things the mirrors shown up. I.. I'm not sure how to end this but thanks for the attention everyone..

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Yeah, not so much. It takes years to master that kind of thing. [He's been at it for A While.

But, cool! He moves to sit down on a nearby cooouch or at a table or something? Whatever's in her house. Magic can be headache-inducing, so it's best to get comfy.]

Alright, so it works like you're sending someone a text, sort of. Casting the spell lets you send one message and it'll open up a brief channel for the other person to respond, but you have to cast it repeatedly every time you want to say something new. And the other person can't fire back unless you give them that window. It's super easy magic, though. Doesn't take hardly any energy, so once you get the hang of it, you can cast it on repeat forever without batting an eye. Make sense?

Well, so far I have nothing but time. But that's cool.

[there is a couch. George goes to sit by him on it, looking attentive]

Yeah, so far. How long does the window usually last?

Huh. Fair.

[The idea that he could be here for years is mildly disconcerting, to say the least, but it'd be cool to teach someone magic in the meantime. Maybe George can make more progress with this than he expects.]

Not long. 10, 15 seconds, maybe? For them to start their response, anyway. I don't think it would cut them off in the middle unless they tried to monologue at you for hours or something. [He would probably just cancel the spell on his own if that ever happened. Who has time for that shit??]

I'm gonna do it to you so you can see how it feels on the receiving end, and then we'll work up to you initiating the messages, okay?

[And then, assuming George doesn't have any hardcore mental blocks that would prevent this from happening, she'll hear Harlan's voice in her mind:]

Ready?

[lol]

Yeah. I mean, I do work at the clinic, that takes up some of my time, but not a lot.

[George has already resigned herself to the idea of being here for years. it wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for those crazy god shenanigans]

Yeah, if they need more than ten or fifteen seconds, either I wasn't clear enough with what I said, or they just like the sound of their own voice. Even if it is just in their head. [not George, that's for sure]

Works for me?

[nope, no hardcore mental blocks. with George, what you see is largely what you get, so there's no real filter]

Yeah. Hey, that's cool.

[and it is!

Sure is. Comes in handy on jobs and shit, too.

[He's gotten more mileage out of his Message cantrip than any other spell in his arsenal. Other than Alarm, that is, but that's more of a precautionary thing. Telepathy is infinitely more cool.]

What kind of work do you do at the clinic?

[He'll just keep this conversation going for a bit until she's gotten used to the feeling.]

Yeah? Like the jobs you did back home?

[telepathy is definitely cool, in her opinion. she can see times when it would come in handy, like places where the gods or the Null could be listening in]

Basic first aid stuff and reception. I was pretty busy during the fire, though.

[works for her!]

Yeah. I'm a freelance adventurer. Like a vigilante, I guess, but more official. [Sort of more official, anyway. Technically, since it's not illegal.]

Huh, cool. That's good shit to know. Why'd you pick the clinic?

Seriously? So like Batman, only with magic instead of the cool gadgets? [you don't need a license for the really cool jobs]

To be honest? It's kind of my way of flipping off the fact that I'm a Reaper. You know, fuck you Death. I do what I want.

[He laughs.]

Yeah, Batman's a good enough analogy. Except there's a shitload of Batmans. Batmanning is just, like, a job. Anyone can do it, technically, but most people don't for one reason or another.

[Mostly involving a basic desire for personal safety.]

Hah, that's a solid reason. [It really is respectable in Harlan's eyes.] I bet it keeps you busy. We've got too much down time around here.

[He continues to be the boredest he's ever been. Urgh. But magic lessons are helping with that.]

You getting the hang of it? See if you can fire back on your own now.

[He cancels the spell before she can piggyback off of his magic to respond. Go George go!]

Does it pay well?

[personal safety is overrated]

Thanks. [it would please her to know that] It does, especially during the fire. That shit was crazy. I also help out at the library sometimes, trying to find something worth reading.

[yeah, there is a serious lack of funtimes around here. shouldn't they at least get an amusement park. the ceilings are high enough for a Ferris Wheel and a rollercoaster]

I think I am? Okay, let's try this.

[she concentrates and mutters under her breath, but along comes]

Is this working?

[He shrugs.] Yes and no. I can make NYC rent in a day, so technically it's lucrative. For the amount of risk and effort involved, though, we should be making a lot more.

[Not that it bothers him that much. Kyna and Tucker care way more about the monetary aspect of the job. Harlan's just in it for funsies, more or less.]

I like the library. I'm not much of a reader, but I've been lowkey helping Rydia clean the place up a bit. [He cleans for fun because he's an old man, apparently.

He could totally get behind the amusement park idea, though.

And he's genuinely impressed when she's able to cast the spell back at him. Wow, nice.]

Hey, not bad. Didn't expect you to pick it up that quickly. Do it again. [Practice makes perfect, and all. Also, just because you can cast a spell once doesn't always mean you can do it again. In his experience, anyway. Being a sorcerer is hard.]

Maybe you should try unionizing? Get health care and higher pay out of the deal?

[George would be in for the money. she's still pissed that she didn't get paid for Reaping]

It's a nice place to go for some peace and quiet and I keep hoping that I'll unearth something like a complete volume of T.S. Eliot's poetry or the all of the works of the Bronte sisters. [George is just a book nerd and has already read the one which was in her bag five times

right? it's a good idea. amusement parks are awesome.

she sort of wiggles in place with pride and tries it again] Either you're a natural teacher, I'm a natural, or both

Hah. I doubt that'll happen. We'd have better luck just starting our own guild.

[Which is something he's been considering more and more lately, to be honest, but he couldn't ditch Panna like that. Dating your boss is... tricky.]

I'm not familiar, but I'll keep an eye out for you. Sounds like rough odds, though.

[He laughs again.] This is all you. Magic's tough to teach. You up for trying something else?

What's the difference between a union and a guild?

[sounds like it would be. not that George would know, her social life is nonexistent]

I know. You'd think Eliot would show up, though, since his poetry is all weird and experimental and fucked up. Things this place seem to like.

Am I? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Guilds are the companies that organizing freelance adventuring shit. There are independent pro groups running around too, but most of us just work through guilds.

[It takes him a moment to figure out who Eliot is. He's not terribly well-versed in literature. He makes a note to watch for that name, too.]

Alright, cool. [He switches back to just talking since she'll be focusing on another type of magic for this. He can cast multiple cantrips at once, but that's a lot for a beginner to keep track of.]

Another basic spell is Prestidigitation. It's like a catch-all spell for simple magic tricks. It's the first thing most kids learn in school. [Which is pretty hilarious since the name is like impossible for kids to say.] You can do all kinds of shit with it. Conjure stuff, make sounds, draw on shit, clean things... There's official lists of what all you can do with it back home, but I just go by feel.

[He holds out his hand and conjures a small flame in his palm.] They start kids out with illusory drawings or changing temperatures, but this is more useful. Master this and you'll never need a lighter again.

[But, uhhh, shoot, now he has to figure out how to teach her to do it...?]

I guess, um... It's tough to explain how to do it. Use the same focus you used to cast Message, but concentrate that energy on creating a flame.

[Or something?]

Okay, I that makes sense. But do you have to pay your guild some of your fee, like a finder's fee or something? 'Cause that would suck.

[George is the daughter of an English professor. granted, one who specialized in Shakespeare, but she skipped The Baby-Sitter's Club and went straight to Dickens as a kid]

[yeah, she's already having trouble with the name, but in the end it what she can do with it that counts]

That sounds useful. And a very classy way to pick people up, should I ever actually have the chance to do it.

[waits attentively]

...okay. Okay. Same focus, but for a flame. Got it. [she hopes.

she concentrates and obviously fails a few times (you can tell because she mutters "shit!" every time she screws up), but. after about fifteen minutes or so, she's got a little flame dancing in the palm of her hand]

Hey! Lookit that!

The guild gets the bulk of the cut. [He... thinks? The more he talks to people unfamiliar with guilds, the more he thinks this job might actually be some bullshit. He should be able to answer basic questions like this.] The clients just pay the guild directly, then the guild gives us commission, basically. [Or something. They don't tell him how much the jobs are actually worth. Or who the clients are. Or why they're given the jobs they're given.

Okay yeah guildwork is bullshit.]

Hah, yeah, I guess people around here would be impressed. It's kind of lame to try it back home since it's the equivalent of like, reciting times tables from third grade or something.

[No offense. Honestly, he's glad magic is so impressive here. It definitely works out in his favor.

But, shit, maybe it's not as impressive as he thought. George masters the spell way more quickly than he anticipated. It's cool, but also, stop making him look less cool!!

...Then again, they do teach this to children.]

Shit, nice work. You're a quick study. You can try doing other shit with that spell later, like making phantom noises and shit like that. It's a basic spell, but it's a good way to practice before taking on anything more serious.

[Which, if she wants to learn more serious spells, that'll be a pretty significant difficulty increase. He'll debrief her later once she's mastered the little stuff.

In the meantime, he stands.]

I gotta run, but work on the stuff I showed you until you can do it without really thinking about it, okay?

So it's like temp work, basically. You get paid and the guild gets paid a fee for finding you.

[maybe being a Reaper gets her special skills beyond taking souls? like a direct line to the supernatural? so he shouldn't feel bad about her picking it up so quickly]

Thanks. Mom always said I'd be good at stuff if I ever bothered to apply myself. I'll be sure to practice. I'll practice a lot.

[yes, she definitely wants to learn more serious spells. she needs a means of self-defense while in this place and this is seeming like a good one]

Okay, I will. See you later?

[Man, the longer he's in Hadriel, the more he realizes that his career choice is actually pretty lame. He likes doing it and he's good at it, but he could be doing better for himself, too. Ugh.

Oh well, it's not like it's something he has to deal with right now, anyway. It's just food for thought if he ever gets out of here.]

Cool. I'll be around. Let me know when you're a Prestidigitation expert.

[He's looking forward to future magic lessons, at least.]

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