Harriet Webster (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jupiter_bands) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
zenderael_rl2013-03-30 10:43 pm
jupiter_bands) wrote in zenderael_rl2013-03-30 10:43 pm
Entry tags:
Mal + Harriet: I want an airship!
Who: Harriet and Mal
When: Monday after swording class
Where: FCU
Before/After: N/A
Warnings: Cussing
Mal went to class on Monday intend on asking Harriet about alchemy. Class itself went fairly well, he felt. He was getting a handle on his own sword, one he'd purchased for the class after a lot of searching for something just right. Who knew it was so difficult to find a personal weapon you intended to actually use?
After class, he finally got his chance, and approached Harriet. "Hey, you got a minute?" A beat later, "Well maybe more than a minute."
Harriet was taking to her swordsmanship lessons well enough, although getting her body to go along with what she'd learned was still a challenge. Also, a big part of successful swordsmanship seemed to involve thinking one or two steps ahead, and that was a place where her godbrain seemed to falter -- it only wanted to solve problems that were already in front of her....
Mal's greeting startled her a bit -- he hadn't gotten any less scary-pretty since she'd first met him in real life, so talking to him was ever-so-slightly intimidating.
She tried to say "Hi" and "Yep" at the same time, and a garbled abomination came out of her mouth instead. She thought the awkward wave that accompanied it got the job done, though.
Her reaction to his approach got a snicker out of him, but Mal just assumed it was because it was unexpected, or that she had stuff on her mind. Distractions were pretty common these days, and the Khshathra, of all people, probably had quite a few.
"Hey, so. I got to thinking over the weekend, you know?" He sort of dragged it out to let most of the others get out of the classroom before he said anything direct, unsure how she'd take it. And to try and play it off all casual like. "About bein' an alchemist. Like, what all I'd have to do or something."
"You want to be an alchemist?" She perked up, feeling in more familiar territory talking to a Potential Recruit than an Eerily Pretty Internet Boy. "You have good taste! Alchemists' admissions requirements are a bit strict, of course... It's a difficult class to learn, and even though you don't have any combat powers, you can share what you create to be used by almost anyone -- that's a lot of responsibility. Do you think you're cut out for it?" She crossed her arms and tried to look imposing, despite her lack of height.
She had an alchemy interview with Lera's mom later that day, and had practiced trying to sound like an important authority on the subject (since she... was).
Mal grinned wide. "I make things to share with others for a living. Not all of it webcomics or paintings." He plucked the goggles off of the top of his head, offering them out for her to look at. "Even made these myself." They didn't just look cool and steampunky, with all brass and stained leather, but were actually meant to be functional, keeping your eyes safe for everything from diving to welding. "I love makin' shit that's functional and not just for show, so most'a my cosplay stuff is actually useful."
"Oh, neat." She examined the goggles curiously, distracting herself from the Khshathra speech in progress.
Eventually, she looked up. "Actually, I sorta meant stuff that can be dangerous if you share it. You're going to have the power to make weapons and stuff, if you decide to use it that way."
"Oh." He hadn't even considered weapons, or anything remotely weapon-y. Unless you counted an airship if it crash-landed into a crowd of people. (He really wanted to build an airship.) "I'd probably only make that shit for my friends, if I did at all... So they could defend themselves."
"That works for me," Harriet said. "I was just trying to sound official." He didn't seem much like a rogue weapon-maker, although it was strange to think that most alchemists probably did freely make tons of dangerous stuff to sell to any takers without a second thought. It wasn't something reserved for fringe crazies or anything. Shit, the world was complicated.
"Okay, I guess I can forego letters of recommendation since I know you," she offered back the goggles. "I do have a small test, though." She put on her 'imposing' face again.
"You must compose a rhyming poem about what alchemy means to you. You can do it right here if you want." She looked around to doublecheck that the classroom had cleared out.
Mal stared at her for a moment, hand faltering as he reached out to retake his goggles, then one brow quirked. "Are you fuckin' serious?" he asked, though he was cracking a grin. The idea that one had to make a poem about alchemy in order to become an alchemist was pretty fucking hilarious. But, while he didn't think it made any sense as an actual requirement, he was willing to play along.
"Hang on, I got this," he said, taking a few moments to settle the goggles back on his head. He needed to think up something! He was a storywriter, not a poet!
"Tinkering and messing about, wearing goggles and a labcoat. Making things work like they do in my head, creating new things, no time for bed." He paused to think some more. It wasn't easy making shit up on the fly like this! "Tools and gadgets, cogs and gears. Pray it all fits; it could take years. But once it's all done and my job is complete, nothing will ever, ever compete. For plans I have, and they're truly hip, and my greatest goal is a working airship."
His grin never faded during the recital, and once done, he turned it on Harriet expectantly.
omg, he really did it!
Harriet listened with mounting appreciation as he meandered his way toward each successive rhyme, and clapped at the end. The snide critic in her had been all but extinguished by the delightful and challenging experience of freestyling stupid songs in public, and there was now nothing quite so noble, in her opinion, as a rhyme composed on the fly.
"That was a very nice poem," she told him. "And now..."
She reached out a hand toward his face, her index finger pressing into the space between his eyes. There would be a faint spark rushing through him as the alchemical gift was bestowed, and with it, a quickness and obedience of mind that made ideas flow more freely and newfound learning fall more easily into place. No recipes or blueprints came with the gift of alchemy, though it certainly made them more attainable to learn on one's own.
"...you're an alchemist!"
Everything suddenly became easier to understand, concepts of all his imagined creations coming to life in his mind, getting fleshed out if he focused on them. It was an odd sensation, to say the least. He couldn't even imagine what it had been like for Harriet, as Khshathra, to have this great understanding of the world and how everything worked, but even just a portion of it made his life all that much brighter. Literally, if he used it to make fancy lanterns.
But it was surprising, too. "That's it?" he asked, blinking at her. "I thought there'd be some sorta ceremony or somethin'. Like a ritual." Not that he was disappointed. It meant not having to wait.
"Yeah, if anybody asks I made you do a ritual," Harriet said. She figured she could bother with all that once she had an official audience for these things. "It involves a lot of speeching from my end and memorized responses from yours. You'll be glad you got to skip it."
Mal laughed. "Already am."
Then he grinned again. "So I guess this makes you my leader now, huh? Don't suppose you got any special lessons to give out along with the skill. Or would those've been part of the ritual."
"You can actually get a bunch of the books from the World Library online now -- depending on what you want to study, that might be a good way to get started.
OH GOD SHE WAS HIS BOSS, WASN'T SHE? She was a lot of people's boss. That seemed like such a terrible idea on the part of the universe, or the gods, or... whoever could be said to be responsible for this turn of events.
"Or did you mean like... life lesson wisdom stuff."
One brow arched. "Yeah? Well shit, I know what I'm doing over lunch." Downloading and reading Zenderean books! Real ones, not ones people made up for roleplay!
He took pause at her question, though. "I hadn't, but now I'm curious what sorta life lessons you'd give out."
"Oh, shit." Her? Give life lessons?
Attempting to generate one on the spot was turning up plenty of things, but mostly they were cliches and advertising slogans. Work, godbrain, work! The annoying thing here was that she used to have lots of ironclad beliefs about how best to get along in the universe, but most of them were just excuses for why you shouldn't try to take risks, or the surprising number of ways you could cheat or opt out of various life trials in order to squeak by without having to try. She settled on stealing what she decided to be Duncan's finest piece of wisdom for her (even if it had probably been unintentional on his part).
"Pay attention," she said.
He waited expectantly, until it became apparent that there was no more coming. Then he snickered. "How many teachers didja get that from before you started putting it into action?" A moment later, he added, "Or have you actually put it into action yet?" with a grin.
"I pay lots of attention, now!" she said. "Well, I try." Sometimes she seemed to be trying to do too many things at once, but that wasn't so much a lack of attention as indecision about where to put it.
"Anyway, paying attention makes things better because when you do it, things get more interesting and new possibilities occur to you and that is where SCIENCE MAGIC begins."
"Well good, I'm good at payin' attention. Unless I'm drinking. Things start to get a little hazy then..." He gave another snicker. Fortunately, Mal didn't drink all that much anymore, so he'd have plenty of un-drunk time to pay attention to shit.
"Anyway, I should go search for those books and start writing shit down. Maybe get some plans started. Oooh, I can make constructs, can't I?" He suddenly brightened, growing very alert. "Shit, man, where do I even start?"
"Maybe with a problem you'd like to to solve? Something a construct could make easier? Fetch-and-carry constructs are usually the simplest." Of course, the simplest constructs might have no purpose at all. "Or start with the elemental affinity and just build something you think would be cool to have around. I'm sure there are manuals on constructs for beginners."
He blinked at her, taking a moment to take that all in before snickering. "I meant more do I start with constructs, wacky new inventions, somethin' that'd actually be worthwhile t'make for profit, or get working on plans for an airship." He grew thoughtful. "Though I guess if I started with constructs they could help keep shit organized an' maybe fetch me tools I needed... That'd make the rest of it more efficient."
"Oh right, got it." Harriet didn't know about whether an airship would be a very good starter project, but she'd never been a regular newbie alchemist before, either.
"Seems like a personal thing, though. Whichever one of the above grabs you the most. Sounds like you like the plan of starting with constructs. I think that would work pretty well too."
The airship would likely just be planning and never actually get built, considering how much work and how many materials it'd require. Sob.
Mal didn't consider that, though, but starting with constructs was a rather interesting prospect. Just imagining all the critters he could make had him near-giddy. He grinned wide to Harriet, clapping his hands. "Excellent. Thanks, Boss."
Harriet had a new nickname.
"I should go get started, see what I can get from those books before my class this aft. Guess if you need anything just text me, yeah?"
"Ha ha... boss." Oh god it was true, truuuue. What in the world was she going to do with all this... authority, anyway? Just building crazy shit and turning her friends into alchemists was so much simpler than being in CHARGE of stuff.
She adjusted her bag to secure it, and gave him a little wave.
"Sure -- happy alchemizing!"
When: Monday after swording class
Where: FCU
Before/After: N/A
Warnings: Cussing
Mal went to class on Monday intend on asking Harriet about alchemy. Class itself went fairly well, he felt. He was getting a handle on his own sword, one he'd purchased for the class after a lot of searching for something just right. Who knew it was so difficult to find a personal weapon you intended to actually use?
After class, he finally got his chance, and approached Harriet. "Hey, you got a minute?" A beat later, "Well maybe more than a minute."
Harriet was taking to her swordsmanship lessons well enough, although getting her body to go along with what she'd learned was still a challenge. Also, a big part of successful swordsmanship seemed to involve thinking one or two steps ahead, and that was a place where her godbrain seemed to falter -- it only wanted to solve problems that were already in front of her....
Mal's greeting startled her a bit -- he hadn't gotten any less scary-pretty since she'd first met him in real life, so talking to him was ever-so-slightly intimidating.
She tried to say "Hi" and "Yep" at the same time, and a garbled abomination came out of her mouth instead. She thought the awkward wave that accompanied it got the job done, though.
Her reaction to his approach got a snicker out of him, but Mal just assumed it was because it was unexpected, or that she had stuff on her mind. Distractions were pretty common these days, and the Khshathra, of all people, probably had quite a few.
"Hey, so. I got to thinking over the weekend, you know?" He sort of dragged it out to let most of the others get out of the classroom before he said anything direct, unsure how she'd take it. And to try and play it off all casual like. "About bein' an alchemist. Like, what all I'd have to do or something."
"You want to be an alchemist?" She perked up, feeling in more familiar territory talking to a Potential Recruit than an Eerily Pretty Internet Boy. "You have good taste! Alchemists' admissions requirements are a bit strict, of course... It's a difficult class to learn, and even though you don't have any combat powers, you can share what you create to be used by almost anyone -- that's a lot of responsibility. Do you think you're cut out for it?" She crossed her arms and tried to look imposing, despite her lack of height.
She had an alchemy interview with Lera's mom later that day, and had practiced trying to sound like an important authority on the subject (since she... was).
Mal grinned wide. "I make things to share with others for a living. Not all of it webcomics or paintings." He plucked the goggles off of the top of his head, offering them out for her to look at. "Even made these myself." They didn't just look cool and steampunky, with all brass and stained leather, but were actually meant to be functional, keeping your eyes safe for everything from diving to welding. "I love makin' shit that's functional and not just for show, so most'a my cosplay stuff is actually useful."
"Oh, neat." She examined the goggles curiously, distracting herself from the Khshathra speech in progress.
Eventually, she looked up. "Actually, I sorta meant stuff that can be dangerous if you share it. You're going to have the power to make weapons and stuff, if you decide to use it that way."
"Oh." He hadn't even considered weapons, or anything remotely weapon-y. Unless you counted an airship if it crash-landed into a crowd of people. (He really wanted to build an airship.) "I'd probably only make that shit for my friends, if I did at all... So they could defend themselves."
"That works for me," Harriet said. "I was just trying to sound official." He didn't seem much like a rogue weapon-maker, although it was strange to think that most alchemists probably did freely make tons of dangerous stuff to sell to any takers without a second thought. It wasn't something reserved for fringe crazies or anything. Shit, the world was complicated.
"Okay, I guess I can forego letters of recommendation since I know you," she offered back the goggles. "I do have a small test, though." She put on her 'imposing' face again.
"You must compose a rhyming poem about what alchemy means to you. You can do it right here if you want." She looked around to doublecheck that the classroom had cleared out.
Mal stared at her for a moment, hand faltering as he reached out to retake his goggles, then one brow quirked. "Are you fuckin' serious?" he asked, though he was cracking a grin. The idea that one had to make a poem about alchemy in order to become an alchemist was pretty fucking hilarious. But, while he didn't think it made any sense as an actual requirement, he was willing to play along.
"Hang on, I got this," he said, taking a few moments to settle the goggles back on his head. He needed to think up something! He was a storywriter, not a poet!
"Tinkering and messing about, wearing goggles and a labcoat. Making things work like they do in my head, creating new things, no time for bed." He paused to think some more. It wasn't easy making shit up on the fly like this! "Tools and gadgets, cogs and gears. Pray it all fits; it could take years. But once it's all done and my job is complete, nothing will ever, ever compete. For plans I have, and they're truly hip, and my greatest goal is a working airship."
His grin never faded during the recital, and once done, he turned it on Harriet expectantly.
omg, he really did it!
Harriet listened with mounting appreciation as he meandered his way toward each successive rhyme, and clapped at the end. The snide critic in her had been all but extinguished by the delightful and challenging experience of freestyling stupid songs in public, and there was now nothing quite so noble, in her opinion, as a rhyme composed on the fly.
"That was a very nice poem," she told him. "And now..."
She reached out a hand toward his face, her index finger pressing into the space between his eyes. There would be a faint spark rushing through him as the alchemical gift was bestowed, and with it, a quickness and obedience of mind that made ideas flow more freely and newfound learning fall more easily into place. No recipes or blueprints came with the gift of alchemy, though it certainly made them more attainable to learn on one's own.
"...you're an alchemist!"
Everything suddenly became easier to understand, concepts of all his imagined creations coming to life in his mind, getting fleshed out if he focused on them. It was an odd sensation, to say the least. He couldn't even imagine what it had been like for Harriet, as Khshathra, to have this great understanding of the world and how everything worked, but even just a portion of it made his life all that much brighter. Literally, if he used it to make fancy lanterns.
But it was surprising, too. "That's it?" he asked, blinking at her. "I thought there'd be some sorta ceremony or somethin'. Like a ritual." Not that he was disappointed. It meant not having to wait.
"Yeah, if anybody asks I made you do a ritual," Harriet said. She figured she could bother with all that once she had an official audience for these things. "It involves a lot of speeching from my end and memorized responses from yours. You'll be glad you got to skip it."
Mal laughed. "Already am."
Then he grinned again. "So I guess this makes you my leader now, huh? Don't suppose you got any special lessons to give out along with the skill. Or would those've been part of the ritual."
"You can actually get a bunch of the books from the World Library online now -- depending on what you want to study, that might be a good way to get started.
OH GOD SHE WAS HIS BOSS, WASN'T SHE? She was a lot of people's boss. That seemed like such a terrible idea on the part of the universe, or the gods, or... whoever could be said to be responsible for this turn of events.
"Or did you mean like... life lesson wisdom stuff."
One brow arched. "Yeah? Well shit, I know what I'm doing over lunch." Downloading and reading Zenderean books! Real ones, not ones people made up for roleplay!
He took pause at her question, though. "I hadn't, but now I'm curious what sorta life lessons you'd give out."
"Oh, shit." Her? Give life lessons?
Attempting to generate one on the spot was turning up plenty of things, but mostly they were cliches and advertising slogans. Work, godbrain, work! The annoying thing here was that she used to have lots of ironclad beliefs about how best to get along in the universe, but most of them were just excuses for why you shouldn't try to take risks, or the surprising number of ways you could cheat or opt out of various life trials in order to squeak by without having to try. She settled on stealing what she decided to be Duncan's finest piece of wisdom for her (even if it had probably been unintentional on his part).
"Pay attention," she said.
He waited expectantly, until it became apparent that there was no more coming. Then he snickered. "How many teachers didja get that from before you started putting it into action?" A moment later, he added, "Or have you actually put it into action yet?" with a grin.
"I pay lots of attention, now!" she said. "Well, I try." Sometimes she seemed to be trying to do too many things at once, but that wasn't so much a lack of attention as indecision about where to put it.
"Anyway, paying attention makes things better because when you do it, things get more interesting and new possibilities occur to you and that is where SCIENCE MAGIC begins."
"Well good, I'm good at payin' attention. Unless I'm drinking. Things start to get a little hazy then..." He gave another snicker. Fortunately, Mal didn't drink all that much anymore, so he'd have plenty of un-drunk time to pay attention to shit.
"Anyway, I should go search for those books and start writing shit down. Maybe get some plans started. Oooh, I can make constructs, can't I?" He suddenly brightened, growing very alert. "Shit, man, where do I even start?"
"Maybe with a problem you'd like to to solve? Something a construct could make easier? Fetch-and-carry constructs are usually the simplest." Of course, the simplest constructs might have no purpose at all. "Or start with the elemental affinity and just build something you think would be cool to have around. I'm sure there are manuals on constructs for beginners."
He blinked at her, taking a moment to take that all in before snickering. "I meant more do I start with constructs, wacky new inventions, somethin' that'd actually be worthwhile t'make for profit, or get working on plans for an airship." He grew thoughtful. "Though I guess if I started with constructs they could help keep shit organized an' maybe fetch me tools I needed... That'd make the rest of it more efficient."
"Oh right, got it." Harriet didn't know about whether an airship would be a very good starter project, but she'd never been a regular newbie alchemist before, either.
"Seems like a personal thing, though. Whichever one of the above grabs you the most. Sounds like you like the plan of starting with constructs. I think that would work pretty well too."
The airship would likely just be planning and never actually get built, considering how much work and how many materials it'd require. Sob.
Mal didn't consider that, though, but starting with constructs was a rather interesting prospect. Just imagining all the critters he could make had him near-giddy. He grinned wide to Harriet, clapping his hands. "Excellent. Thanks, Boss."
Harriet had a new nickname.
"I should go get started, see what I can get from those books before my class this aft. Guess if you need anything just text me, yeah?"
"Ha ha... boss." Oh god it was true, truuuue. What in the world was she going to do with all this... authority, anyway? Just building crazy shit and turning her friends into alchemists was so much simpler than being in CHARGE of stuff.
She adjusted her bag to secure it, and gave him a little wave.
"Sure -- happy alchemizing!"