towerofanimus | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Characters: Anyone and everyone
Setting: Cafeteria, Noon, Nov 7th
Format: Anything
Summary: A party/discussion mingle after calling a meeting of the residents.
Warnings: tba

The anonymous post on the network was an invitation to gather, discuss and share information. Maybe they would get incredibly lucky and get to the bottom of things, such as who was behind the bombings or the strange things that went on during Quarantine.

Someone has been at work down here in the dining hall, moving the tables around to create a space in the middle in case people felt like dancing. Most of the chairs are around the outside and facing the middle, for everyone to see each other better. There was another space and some chairs for musicians, and a couple of the larger tables were set up with a large buffet of normal cafeteria food (because Zo wasn't likely to poison them) and resident prepared dishes, both clearly marked.

Of course, there was always the oatmeal.

[ooc: Feel free to make your own threads and subthreads!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah. [He shrugs, offers a casual smile.] I d-don't mind, r-really. A-A-Always h-happy to help.

[A beat.]

...That's...q-q-quite a lot. C-Can I a-ask...?

Notes on the Tower itself, though I have to confess they've been poorly maintained on my part.

...B-Better than a-anything I c-could do.

[And yes, he can read those from where he's standing, assuming Waver isn't actively covering them up or something--he's been copying enough of his notes from the lab that the chicken-scratch is just about legible.]

Is it j-just...g-g-general s-stuff?

[dang rick you're getting good at this]

More or less. Certainly nothing that I'd call secret, at any rate.

[It was part of his job, once! Some crazy people still write down their company expenditures, you'd be surprised.]

G-Gotcha. [He flashes a shy grin.] ...I-I'll l-leave you to it.

...You know you don't have to act like everything you say is an annoyance. You're more than welcome to hold an actual conversation with me, I won't bite your head off.

--W-What? But I...

[Lots of floundering!]

I-I-I m-mean--o-of c-c-course I d-don't mind t-t-talking w-with you, I--I d-didn't think I w-was--y-you j-just l-l-looked so f-f-focused and--

[Patrick Dawn OS has encountered a problem...]

[Waver quickly concealed a laugh behind a fake cough into his hand, though the small trace of a smile was a little harder to miss. Rick, bro, deep breaths.]

It's fine. I was just revising things, it's not as though that's urgent enough to be done right this second.

[It takes a few seconds more of garbled stammering for Rick to realize that he's blowing this completely out of proportion--and that Waver is grinning behind his notes. His blush swiftly conquers the rest of his face, and though he tries to hide it by staring at the opposite wall, he already knows that he's too far gone.]

...S-S-Sorry.

[Okay, he's breathing now. Try again, with more thinking this time.]

...I g-guess I...w-well just from r-r-reading your n-notes from the l-lab... [He scoffs at himself and shakes his head.] ...Y-Your mind is a-a-absolutely b-beyond mine. I've got t-to s-sound like a...s-such an i-idiot, just...t-talking about m-mundane things. R-Right?

[That was how things were with Dustin, after all--he liked to consider the genius a good friend of his, but trying to talk with him was more stifling than usual, as if everything he said was either too trivial to comment on, or an interruption of matters far more important than he could ever hope to understand. Surely all people of his level of intellect--Waver included--thought this way about guys like him?]

While I'm flattered by the evaluation, you're really not an idiot. I assure you, I have a student that's terminally stupid. You're not quite at that level just yet.

[Shrugging, he put the notebook into a pocket of his dark green jacket and folded his arms.]

Besides, I think in a place this chaotic we could all benefit from the occasional mundane conversation.

[Miraculous save--Rick attempts humor!]

...'J-Just yet,' huh? Well, there's s-s-still time...

I'd estimate you're several instances of head trauma away from being at his level of intellect, so I wouldn't be concerned.

[Rick pulls a face.] ...That b-bad?

[Hard to believe given Rick's track record, he thinks.]

One year's bonfire night saw my office full of fireworks because he didn't think I was celebrating enough.

[did we mention he's british, folks.]

--F-F-Fireworks? In--?! [Rick waves his arms in shocked exasperation.] --Y-You c-could've been k-killed!

Me? Oh, no. They were much too small for that. Set one hell of a fire, though.

...Fire?!

[Literally too shocked for words.]

...Rick, you would be amazed how common minor catastrophes are in the Clock Tower. A minor fire is by far the worst that could happen.

...Y-You're r-right, though. I m-mean--he does s-sound p-pretty dumb.

[Deadpan:] He is the bane of my existence and the personal hell that is my teaching career. If he didn't have an immeasurable amount of talent, I wouldn't waste my time.

[He is sufficiently confused.]

...But you s-said he was...[Rick gestures awkwardly.] ...H-How can s-s-someone like...is he j-just r-r-really l-lucky?

One doesn't need to be smart to have an absurd amount of innate talent. He's something of my opposite in that he has near limitless magic potential and energy, but a brain the size of a fucking walnut.

[...Did Waver just imply he was shit at magic?]

[Yes. Yes he did.]

[Now Waver, only Rick is allowed to cripple his own self-esteem like that. He's very quick to correct him.]

--B-But you're g-great at m-magic! I mean--w-with the m-monsters and e-e-everything--that was a-a-amazing! I c-can't imagine...

...About that. A more skilled and practiced magus wouldn't have exerted themselves at all with something that simple. You saw the state I was in; if I had continued using magecraft, I could have suffered from mana deprivation or seriously risked my life.

I don't want you to have any illusions about my ability, Rick--I'm substandard and vastly inferior to others with more practice and Magic Circuits. The fact that I can cope regardless is not an indicator of strength or skill with magecraft.

[Rick pulls a face, frantically trying to pull together as comprehensive a counterargument as Waver has made but failing miserably.]

...B-B-But...y-you d-d-don't have to be the b-b-best to be g-good at w-w-what you do, r-right? [Then, more frantically: ] --a-and the f-fact that you p-put so m-much e-e-effort into it--that's m-more than a l-lot of p-people can say a-about their, uh, c-crafts. Th--That's what i-i-impresses me.

(no subject)

fionnuisce - 2013-11-10 22:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

bashfulshifter - 2013-11-11 16:32 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only