asgardeventide | (no subject)

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[when the feed comes on, it’s focused on the very freckled face and curly ginger mop of a teenaged boy. he’s way too skinny, hollow-cheeked and bird-boned with shoulders that hold his shirt like a bent coathanger. he’s also leaning against someone else, but all that’s visible of this other person is a shoulder and a fall of long black hair. the redhead has an affable face, gawky and harmless, and a riot of curly red hair that reaches his shoulders]

There, I think I got this working.

My name’s Ash Trine, and I’m hoping that someone out there can help me out a bit. I’ve got two big questions.

So, where we come from, people have Talents, sort of like the god powers I’ve heard we all get here. But that’s not the only kind of magic there is. There’s magic everywhere, in everything, if you know how to see it and use it. And we do, but that doesn’t do a damn bit of good here.

[he sighs a little, settling more against his silent companion’s shoulder]

But I reckon if the gods are handing out Talents, there’s like as not some kind of ambient magic here, something else we can use. Spells, symbols, rituals, anything like that. And I need to know about that. There’s some stuff I need to do. So anybody who knows anything about it, I’d be much obliged if you’d share. Anything at all would help, I don’t mind having to figure out most of it myself if it comes to that. Just somewhere to start.

Second thing, I’m looking for a job. I’m pretty good with numbers, if anyone needs a bookkeeper, but it’d be even nicer if someone’s in need of a cook. Most of what I know how to make is savory, hearty kind of food--stews, roast and potatoes, shepherd’s pie, that sort of thing, but I’ve been told once or twice that I catch on pretty quick.

[there’s a snort from off camera, and ash turns to the person he’s leaning on]

Are you offering up an opinion, Kieran?

[the voice that answers is considerably lower than ash’s, with a distinct drawl and a definite tone of amusement]

No. I already said you ain’t poisoned us yet, what more d’you want?

[ash rolls his eyes]

Such a glowing recommendation. You’re sleeping on the floor.

[a puppy-huge tattooed hand reaches over from offscreen, knuckling ash’s chin]

The hell I am.

[the feed catches a second of a sweet smile turned at the man offscreen before ash remembers the video and shuts off the feed.]

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Yep, big damn hero, that's me.

[he rolls his eyes a little, which somehow doesn't ruin the friendly mousy nerd schtick]

Or what I want with 'em has nothing to do with anybody but us.

What makes you so certain being selfish is going to get you anywhere?

Who said anything about selfish? Maybe I'm planning to share when I'm done.

Not when you're throwing words like "maybe" around.

Maybe I'm undecided. You share all your plans with the whole wide world?

Maybe. [Sorry, Ash, he wants to see how you tick first before anything happens.]

[he laughs]

Well played.

The thing is this: there's things I need to do. I'll figure out how to do them with or without help. Afterwards I'll go back to worrying about the greater good. Right now all I care about is our good.

Edited 2013-04-22 00:28 (UTC)

Any sort of hint to these things so it isn't quite so vague?

The first thing I plan to make is a personal compass, and then I'll build from there.

[ash figures that he's given plenty of hint if draco is as clever as he's selling himself]

I suppose you could always test the runes and see what you can create from there.

That's the plan. Other people's research helps but I like to put hands on things. Plus, it saves time to not have to reinvent the wheel, and I'm a fan of efficiency.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most likely you're going to have to reinvent the wheel anyway. This is Asgard. The gods aren't exactly huge fans of letting us have free reign.

Then I reckon I'll reinvent the wheel. Hook it up to a steam engine and ride it into the sunset too if there's enough to work with.

[that was bitter, not bragging]

I'm damn tired of gods.

Join the rest of us.

...Draco Malfoy, by the way. How familiar are you with magic in your own world?

At least I'm in good company, I guess.

Good to meet you, Draco Malfoy. And more familiar than most. I'm more the fiddly bits kind than the brute force kind.

Good's the objective word I'd use, really.

You as well. So are you a warlock, wizard, sorcerer or something else?

Hey, I'm being nice.

I'm a Talent. It's a little more complicated than that, but I don't think there's a word for it, since it's not really something that happens.

[it's a lot more complicated than that, ashes.]

Being nice is overrated.

A Talent...

[Give him a second to fiddle with his settings and change this to a locked conversation.]

What exactly does that mean though?

It's got its purposes.

Oh, that's clever, that lock. I'll have to figure that out.

[he actually looks momentarily delighted about it. dorks and their toys]

A Talent is what the Watch calls the magic some people get. It's kinda like these god powers here, except you're just born that way. Mostly they kick in around puberty, and only some people get 'em. There's a bunch of different kinds, pyrokenetics and regular kenetics and empaths, things like that. Mine was so small they missed it the first time. You get one thing and that's pretty much it.

The complicated part is that I can do Pattern magic. The Watch--the government--they've got all the information and teaching locked down pretty tight on it. But I can see Pattern, and after that it's easy.

I suppose it does.

[A simple little trick, but it's one he abuses quite often. He's just as pleased.] You'll catch on quick enough. It comes in handy quite often.

So it's almost literally just a talent, a skillset. You can't upgrade or change?

...so you're like a hacker. [He suddenly looks a little bit more impressed with Ash here.]

Figuring out these bracelets is the next thing on the list. Always lists. Haven't yet met a machine I didn't like, though, and this is just another machine with all the parts hidden.

[he shakes his head a little]

No, you've got what you've got. You can train it up, get better at it. But I didn't even realize I had a Talent until the Watch told me so, even though I'd been using it the whole time.

A what? I'm a nerd, mostly.

[he hax0rs the magic with logic and calculus, actually]

It's a fairly simplistic machine if you think about it. Find a new hidden feature on it and then I'll be impressed.

...how do you not realize something like that though? I've been using magic since I was a year and a half.

They're essentially the same thing. [Someone's been hanging out with his geeky girlfriend a little too much.] You sound so proud.

If you think this is a simplistic machine, I'd love to take apart one of your complex machines.

[he totally means that. legit]

Because I'm an empath. No flashy powers like the pyros or the kinetics, and I had no cause to realize that I saw the world any different than anyone else.

It hasn't done bad by me so far, other than getting punched a lot in school.

If I had one here, I'd absolutely give you that challenge. As it stands though I don't have much from my world, and Asgard's idiot-friendly.

So you feel people. Or it's a different kind of empathy?

...you might be the first person I've met to say such a thing. [He'd get on well with Hermione then.]

Idiot-friendly, huh? Out of necessity?

That kind of empathy. Vague stuff, mostly. I get the gist of how somebody feels about something, whether they're lying, that sort of thing.

[or at least that's what his empathy was, for most of his life]

You'd be surprised what you can do with calculus when properly motivated.

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