Audio; Backdated to the 13th, Pre-Explosion

[coyoteking]

Hey. This is Yvry, not that that means shit to most of you. Anyway, a while back me and Deputy Pratt had this idea for an audio guide. More topics than just the newbie guide, but in short bursts.

Basically, something that'll keep you from having to read the entire network history, and isn't long and boring.

Anyway, here's that guide. It's mostly for new people, but I don't care who downloads it. If you've got any ideas for new topics, corrections, whatever else, I'm all ears.

Oh, and can we get one of you flying-types to go up and take a picture of the city from above? We need an accurate map, and go fuckin' figure, there's no satellites around here. Thanks.

[Attached is a set of files, neatly compiled and ready for listening.]

Comments

[originallutece]

I'm rather looking for a project, truth be told. But no, I'm simply more interested in finding out what kind of person you are.

There's only a few kinds of people who would make something like this, after all.

[coyoteking]

[He could probably turn this into an annoying guessing game, but he won't.]

I just saw a problem and wanted to solve it. Didn't have anything else going on. Plus I figured it was a good excuse to find out all this shit myself. Gotta be informed, you know? Hate making decisions without knowing all the specifics. Is that one of your types of people?

[originallutece]

It is now. I appreciate the practicality in your statement, though, that's much nicer than because it was the right thing to do.

Do you still need a picture?

[coyoteking]

[He snorts.]

If I ever say "because it was the right thing to do", you've probably got some kind of mind-control situation on your hands.

[Even when he does what he thinks is right, he'd never just say that.]

And yeah, some guy agreed to take some, but I could always use more. Compile a single image, I guess.

[originallutece]

That doesn't sound too difficult. You may have to wait a few weeks, until I can figure out what materials I have, but "something that can take pictures from high up" isn't a tall order.

Though you may have to come up with something trade me for it.

[coyoteking]

That might be better, actually. We'll need new pictures when the city moves again.

[He's not upset by the idea of a price. In fact he's more surprised that the other guy didn't ask for anything.]

Something like an object, or something like a favor? Just want to know what order of trade we're talking about, here.

[originallutece]

Mm. A favor, I think, to be decided later on. I can make most things on my own.

What can you do?

audio -> private

[coyoteking]

[What can you do? It's such an on the spot question that it flusters him for a second. How does he even put what he does into words? How would any of it be relevant here?]

Well shit, probably nothing you'd need.

[He puts a private filter on this just in case. He is talking with the head of the guard in another conversation.]

Not unless you want someone dead, or you want the shit beat out of 'em. Or you need to speak a foreign language? I got somebody else taking lessons, so why the hell not?

private

[originallutece]

I can handle my own battles, though that's good to know. But . . . I suppose learning a new language wouldn't be entirely bad. If nothing else, it ought to take up a bit of time, though I warn you, I'm rather hard on my teachers.

Which do you know?

[coyoteking]

That I'd be comfortable enough to teach? Just three. Spanish, Mandarin, Russian. They're all common back where I'm from, but it seems like most people here only speak one or two languages.

[originallutece]

Mm.

[Mandarin would be the most challenging, she thinks. Russian would be hard too. But Spanish is probably the most useful, so--]

Spanish. We can start there, anyway, and move on from there once I master it. It won't take long; I already know French and English, and Romance languages aren't so different from one another. When can we start?

[coyoteking]

Hold up, hold up. One language per favor, unless you want to owe me next.

[He's not that philanthropic.]

We can start whenever, though. And wherever, I'm not picky, it's not like we need some kinda special space.

[originallutece]

[She scoffs softly, but that's absolutely fair.]

Come by the lab, then. I suspect I'll be lingering around there more or less constantly.

[coyoteking]

Come by when? Anytime? Now?

[He wasn't prepared for this. He should not have said "whenever".]

[originallutece]

Are you otherwise occupied?

audio -> action

[coyoteking]

I guess not. Sure. Be there in ten.

[He hangs up and gets going, trying to decide where you even start with teaching someone Spanish. He's not really trained for this, maybe he shouldn't have offered. But hey, maybe she's as fast a learner as she says, and this'll be easy.

He shows up looking less like a language tutor and more like some guy who just wandered in, wearing jeans and a t-shirt under a coat that he had to cut a third sleeve off of and repair so he could wear it. The repair job is less than stellar.]

Alright, I'm here. Who's learning Spanish?

[He has no idea what she looks like, he's only heard her voice.]

[originallutece]

I am.

[He's taller than her by nearly a foot, but Rosalind stands with arrogant ease, like she knows she's the most invulnerable thing in the room. With red eyes and fangs, she might just be right, so. Watch yourself, I guess.]

Take a seat, I shan't be a minute.

[coyoteking]

[He pulls out the nearest chair and just plops right in, like he's already made himself at home. Because he has. He notes the red eyes, the peek of sharp teeth when she talks. That's new, he guesses, but this place is just full of surprises, so it's par for the course.]

So, working on something important?

[He has no idea what people do in here, but he just assumes it's trying to solve Hadriel's problems with Important Science.]

[originallutece]

Dinner.

[Wryly said, but it's not wrong. She's making her blood capsules, because when you're a vampire a lot of your life is concerned with where your next meal comes from. But it's dull work, and she'd much rather learn-- so soon enough she's cleaning her hands and coming over to sit across from him.]

Right. Where shall we start? I pick things up incredibly quickly, so we can move right along from the basics to more advanced things.

[coyoteking]

[He'd ask what's for dinner, but he's got a feeling he doesn't want to know. The smell in the air might be a lot of that feeling.]

So I guess we can skip the five-year-old sentences, the colors and numbers and shit, and go straight to the good stuff.

["The good stuff" apparently being his next few sentences, for which he switches to Spanish.]

I mostly learned through immersion, but that's not an option here. I actually have no idea what I'm doing, so this could get interesting. Also, here are some cuss words: fuck, shit, bitch.

[He switches back.]

You get any of that? How advanced are we starting here?

[originallutece]

[On the one hand: she still doesn't know Spanish. On the other hand: she knows French, and languages is the same when they're Latin based.]

I got . . . some. You know-- you don't know. And you give me . . . something?

[this is unrealistic but you know what so is her intelligence]

[coyoteking]

That's like, less than a fourth of it.

[And he doesn't like that she got part of the bit he didn't want her to.]

So okay, let's step down a little. [He looks around for some inspiration.]

We're in the lab. This is where science happens. I have no idea what they actually do here. Was that any easier?

[originallutece]

[Her eyes narrow just slightly, because honestly, she's just picking up a new language, she got a fourth of it, don't insult her. But at least she got more of that.]

Science. You realize this is the second sentence you've professed your ignorance on something?

[coyoteking]

[Listen, she's the one who made herself sound like a super-genius. And compared to Charles, she probably is.]

Well excuse me, I don't think I've ever even been in here. How am I supposed to know what you guys get up to? Maybe we should start with you learning some nouns and shit. Maybe the stuff in here? Thinking of the object as the new word is helpful.

[originallutece]

You don't know what people get up to in a science laboratory? Really?

[Oh my god rosalind this is not the point and stop being rude to your teacher]