| Testing 1, 2, 3... | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 19 2014, 12:46 PM (837 Views) | |
| Smitejr | Apr 19 2014, 12:46 PM Post #1 |
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Kursten walks around the vacant lot that they had chosen for their little arena, making sure there was no interference that would reduce the value of their experiment. When he's satisfied that there are no errant phenomena, he turns back towards the two people who had accompanied him. "Alright, test area looks good. Are you people ready to start?" He palms his book...he's never really tried using it in anything even approaching a combat situation...but he's fairly confident that he could reign in the errant thoughts that tended to get in his head as he drew power from it. And it was worth testing...he didn't know nearly enough about the actual effects it produced, most of his work till now was in translation. "Okay, dictee, note that the test site is as control as anywhere in Reliquus can be. We might want to try the experiment outside of the city later to see if there's any noticeable difference." He takes a breath to steel himself, then nods. "Let's begin." |
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| Smitejr | May 18 2014, 11:36 PM Post #51 |
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Kursten just nods at the explanation, a little wide-eyed. He was still curious, but he didn't think he'd be able to get much more out of them. He winces as Tru cuts into him for being bad around people, but nods. "Yeah...I guess you're right. I just...like I said before, I have a lot of work to do, and only twenty-four hours in a day to do it. Before I left home, just spending free time here like this would be unheard of...I shouldn't get used to it though, it'd be easy to get lazy!" Destiny's faith in him gets a wide smile, which was a bit inconvenient since he just took a bite of food. Quickly swallowing, he nods. "Thanks! I don't know how much you can help besides let me do my studying and keep being my friend, but if you think of something, I'll definitely tell you!" Turning to Tru, he tilts his head. "Into something...what do you mean?" When Destiny brings up the archaeology, he smacks a fist into his palm triumphantly. "Oh, you meant like the caves! Yeah, sure, that does sound really useful! We'd need to be careful though, sometimes caves fill up with methane or other flammable gases, so having open fire out might not to be the best idea." He just sits back and listens as they get into another argument, and he can't help but smile. It must be something to have siblings...it would have been nice to have something fun like this to balance against the austerity his parents lived in. As they explain about the break-in, Kursten nods. "That does sound horrible...do you know why they'd want to do such a thing?" When Destiny begins explaining her age, he laughs. "That's great! I wish magic didn't have such rigid development, I wasn't able to start doing practical things until I was fifteen, and even after studying as hard as I could, it still took a ton of work to get as far as I am in just a few years. But you started at it since you were young. That's really impressive!" Still, their explanations had a hole in them. "If you're able to do that to work, why can't you lie or sign papers for the strongboxes? I dunno...are you sure there isn't a way? Or is it easier to go with the flow, I can understand that." |
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| SarahSyna | May 20 2014, 04:11 PM Post #52 |
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Destiny laughed. “To be honest, I wouldn’t even be doing this normally,” she said, stretching out a little. “Usually I’m working, studying or sleeping. But it’s nice to hang around with you, and it’s not like you can talk to me when I’m working. Not unless one of us wants a spleen to get misplaced. Not that I’ve done that,” she added hurriedly, “but I did know one guy who did, and I’m pretty sure he almost lost his medical licence.” “And it’s good for her to take time off.” Tru said. “If you weren’t distracting her, I’d have to do it.” “Oh no! We’d have to spend time together!” “I know, right? Terrible.” The two young women laughed, and Destiny changed position again, this time sitting more normally, with her arms holding her knees. “If you want to spend a little less time with us, you can.” she said, resting her chin on her knees. “I mean, I don’t want to be a bad influence on you or anything.” Tru tried to imagine Destiny being a bad influence in the traditional sense, and failed at it. This was like a kitten being scared of leading its fellow fluffy animals into darkness because of too much mewing at string. She shook her head and let Destiny continue her rambling. “Oh, I already have an idea for dealing with flammable gasses. Even if it turns out to be a bad one, I’m sure it’ll lead to the right one.” Glass bubbles, maybe. A fireon ‘wick’? Would something made of the fire-metal cause ignition of flammable just by being present? She should totally try and find out later! How much was a canister of gas anyway? She linked her fingers together as he asked why people would do such a thing. “If it’s all the same, I rather not talk about it anymore.” she said, looking down. “It’s not a good memory.” “Same.” There was a palpable drop in the social atmosphere, then Destiny straightened herself up a little. “A lot of it’s really just luck, and I sure had advantages too!” She said, her tone as bright as if it’d never dimmed at all. “No matter how smart I am, if my dads hadn’t been willing to teach me, I’d still be working on becoming a doctor now.” At his question, the two sisters looked at each other. “It was in their will.” “Lying to the city guard is one thing-“ “-but disrespecting our parents is another entirely.” |
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| Smitejr | May 20 2014, 08:43 PM Post #53 |
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Kursten smiles, content to watch them squabble some more. "Well...that's good. I'm glad I'm not the only one slacking off...that makes me feel a bit better about it." His smile tightens into a grin, and he can't help but laugh. "No, you're not a bad influence on me. I might not have done this without you...but doing it is definitely my own decision." He also wants to visit her in her workplace...not quite enough if it might cause her to misplace an organ, but it could be fun. He'll wait on it, though. As the conversation shifts, he grins. "You do? That's great! I encountered it once, and I basically had to regrow my lungs because of how bad the damage was! That wasn't fun...if you have a way to avoid that, that'd be a big help...especially since you can't do that. Right." Sometimes it was easy to forget other people didn't have access to regeneration. He winces as Destiny calls him out on his curiosity, and he nods...he was being too personal. "I'm sorry..." he begins, but Destiny's perkiness catches him by surprise as usual, and he grins. "Well...maybe some things were meant to happen? Wait...that's kind of awful to say..." He sighs and tries composing himself a little. "Well...I'm glad you got where you wanted to go, Destiny. And I'm here to help the both of you, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me like this. So I just want to let you know I'd be happy to return the favor if you want it." The reaction they had to his suggestion knocked him back into a funk, though, and he sighs. "I'm...not at my most tactful today, I guess...I certainly wouldn't want you to do something like that. Would it be practical at all to wait for it? I'm a bit worried that information inside would invalidate some of the research we're doing, but if it's more than a few months until one of you turns eighteen, it probably wouldn't be worth counting on." Edited by Smitejr, May 20 2014, 08:45 PM.
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| SarahSyna | May 20 2014, 10:48 PM Post #54 |
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“Everyone slacks off, and most of them more than us.” Destiny said, “So maybe it’s okay to do this once in a while. It’s certainly worth it, I think!” Tru may have rolled her eyes at it, but as far as Destiny was concerned, what he’d said was downright cuddlesome! She wished she’d brought more than just her company and cake for this. “...but I think if we do go exploring, that I should be in charge of safety. I don’t think I want to risk displacing any of my internal organs. Though it’d sure be interesting if I survived it!” What wasn’t particularly cuddlesome was the admittedly badly (awfully) chosen ‘meant to be’ remark, and Destiny had to put her hand over Tru’s fist and put on a big smile. “Don’t worry about it. People have said a lot worse and not even realised it.” She said, squeezing her sister’s hand until it relaxed. “You have more social grace than a fifty year busybody bitch. Good job.” Tru said sourly. Destiny kept her smile up, and just said “Don’t worry, she doesn’t mean it that way. We both appreciate it, honest. It’s just... a little sore. Oh! And we’re actually twins. So we’re turning eighteen at the same time. In a month, actually, or close enough to it to just round it up! If we have a birthday party, you’re invited!” She looked up at Tru. “Right?” “...fine.” Tru said, then paused. “Hey. I have a change of subject that’ll really brighten the mood, actually.” She fixed her gaze on Kursten. “ If you really didn't bang anyone because your parents were going to sort it out, didn't you ever even think about what you'd go for? Come on, what kind of chicks or dicks are you into?" "Yeah! What's the hottest piece of arranged marriage ass you could have gotten?" |
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| Smitejr | May 21 2014, 12:54 AM Post #55 |
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"Yeah!" Kursten agrees, happiness clear on his face. "I mean...I did get some work done, so it's not a complete waste of time....i-in regard to research! I don't really think any time spent with you both is a waste, I really like it!" He really needed to work on thinking before he spoke, the many missteps in his speech was bound to actually include something that actually hurt at some point. With a nod, Kursten buckles down a little. "Well yeah. I can survive..well, just about anything nature can throw at me. So if we go, precautions would probably have to be tailored to you. That's just common sense!" He winces. "I wouldn't suggest it. Even with a high survival rate, it's not very much fun." And when he notices Tru's fist raised at him, he realizes that his big mouth took him too far, and he cowers visibly. Even Destiny's attempt to cover it didn't dissuade him, he knew he screwed up. And even if making a mistake here wouldn't get a beholder sic'ed on him for ten whole seconds, he still knew better than to let mistakes go unresolved. "I..really don't." Kursten says to Tru, dejectedly. "And it doesn't matter if people have said worse...I'll have to do a bit better job than 'people' if I want to be your friend." He had to fight back tears, and he only succeeded because he knew they wouldn't help. Destiny's subject change gives him whiplash, and he smiles tentatively. "W-wow, really? I'd love to go! And a month isn't far off at all, I could build around some potential information in that short a time...simply record information instead of try and fit it into puzzle pieces. That's great news!" His happiness sours as Tru goes on the attack, his face burns crimson, looking damn close to being a healthy human being as he sits there in embarrassment. "U-Umm..." he stammers, wracking his brain to try and come up with an answer. Normally he'd shy away, but to him, answering it was a punishment, if only self-inflicted. "W-Well, I mean, I'm not that interested in other men, at least...my parents didn't think to pursue that avenue, mostly because magi tend to focus on having heirs. Mostly I'd want someone I could get along with, someone I liked and enjoyed talking to!" He thinks a bit more, and sighs a little. "Although, since I'm rather obligated to have children...I'd prefer it was with someone pretty..." |
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| SarahSyna | May 22 2014, 07:11 PM Post #56 |
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Destiny beamed. Needless to say, she liked Kursten’s time with them too. Tru was a little more on the fence with that though. “Don’t worry, I’m very careful with my safety, and I’ll be careful with yours even though you can recover from things." Destiny assured him. She looked between Tru and Kursten, her smile faltering slightly. She knew what mood Tru was getting into, and if she defended Kursten, Tru would just get snappier. And if she backed up Tru, it’d upset him instead, and he already looked ready to cry, so.... “It’s going to a great birthday!” she said quickly. “We’ll have only a few people over, which it’ll make it even better, and means that there’ll be more cake for everyone.” Tru was going to be going soon enough though, so maybe if she just kept the mood up until then, she could patch up everything later? She did wince as Tru said, a little acid in her voice, “Obviously, you want someone pretty. Not many people want to fuck buttertrolls.” After a moment of trying to visualise a ‘buttertroll’, Destiny, in an attempt to be helpful, said “I think she’s asking what you consider attractive, Kursten. Oh, I know! If it helps, we can all share!” “Oh fuck.” “I’d like someone sensible and hard-working. And really smart. I’d love to go out with someone really smart, and we could stay up all night and read or watch really interesting movies a-and speculative fiction.” She clasped her hands together and pressed them to her cheek, looking off with starry eyes. On cue, her fissures released a benign puff of glitter-like, bright blue sparks on either side. Some people were just born romantics, and Destiny was one of them. She could just see it in her head now. Her and her ideal partner curled up in bed together, with his (or her) arm around her waist, and both of them sharing a book of deep, elaborate and well-written science fiction stories. Or sitting on their lap, hands twined together as they shared ice-cream and watched an old documentary about the world before the Deicide, or stumbling into each other at a library and turning out to be looking for the same thing, which would lead to a conversation and then coffee and then, uh, cuddles. Tru raised her eyebrows as her sister sighed dreamily. “What, like your eyes meeting over an open page?” Destiny responded with a delighted gasp and a squee sound. “Exactly!” “I figured you’d go for that whole Nightingale thing, like falling for a wounded soldier with gorgeous eyes. I think you’ve been talking to Aldo’s friend too much.” “I don’t care, I’d be so happy with that. Oh! And tallness too. I like tall.” Tru couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice. “Really? Tall?” “I like the idea of standing on tiptoes to kiss!” Destiny said defensively. “Dee, you only break five feet in heels. Forget going on tiptoes, you’d need to carry a stepladder on your back for dates.” “Actually, I was thinking a soapbox would be more my style.” Tru rolled her eyes. “I like asses.” she said firmly. “Tight and firm, or big and curvy. I like them.” Some people just have no romance in their souls, and Tru was one of them. |
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| Smitejr | May 22 2014, 10:25 PM Post #57 |
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Kursten smiles, a bit more fragile than he's used to with all that's happened. "Y-Yeah, I trust you. I doubt you'd do anything stupid, you're really smart. I'm a bit worried about you not paying proper attention to your surroundings though...if we were actually fighting in that little sparring match, you weren't being nearly observant enough." He shakes his head. "But we weren't...so I'll have faith in you! I'm sorry for bringing this up." He lets out a bit of a sigh as Destiny tries to change the subject, he's not confident it worked, but he appreciates it all the same. "I'm sure it'll be great. Is there a reason there aren't many people coming? If you want it just to be a family thing, I really don't have to go..." He figures Tru wouldn't really want him there anyway, and he can't really blame her for feeling that way. Tru's remark hits him hard, and he has gulp back tears. "Well...yeah, I guess that's true...but...what exactly is a buttertroll? I wouldn't mind it if the person I was asked to marry wasn't the prettiest, though...I'd much more care if they're smart and easy to get along with." As Destiny interjects, his eyes widen. "Oh. Well that makes sense." She then proceeds to list off a lot of things that had little to do with personal attractiveness, he listens until she finishes, and the only thing that ended up being about personal attractiveness was being tall. Still, he liked the ideas she listed. "That sounds really nice, Destiny! You've put a lot more thought into this than I have...I've pretty much just resigned myself to accepting whoever my parents decided for me." Tru and Destiny get into their own discussion, and he waits patiently for them to finish. The only time he speaks during that time is when a name is called out. "Aldo? Who's Aldo? And who's his friend?" When Tru lists her very small and direct preferences, he can't help but laugh a bit, but quickly catches himself with a cough. "Well...I hope you find someone with a very nice looking butt, then!" His words are completely earnest, despite the obvious awkwardness that lies behind them. |
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| SarahSyna | May 22 2014, 11:03 PM Post #58 |
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"I'll do my best, Kursten. Don't you worry, I don't make a habit of letting people down. I could do with paying more attention though, so maybe we could have round two in a little while!" She shook her head, smiling. "It's fine, honest. We like having new people! The only reason it's going to be small is because a lot of family is either busy or not wanted there. You're not going to step on any toes, and I'll be really happy to have you." For a moment it seemed like the atmosphere was a little better, until he ended up having to hold back tears. The reply helped though, and possibly also the complete tangent of romance. "I don't think I could handle an arranged marriage," she confessed. "I mean, um... if that's what you have, I guess it's okay, but I'd never let dad choose someone for me." "He'll just scare off anyone he doesn't. Totally different." Destiny made a face at Tru, then perked up. "Oh, Aldo is really cool! So is his friend. I have pictures in my wallet, actually! I can show you!" She pulled out her wallet and presented Kursten with a picture of an extremely pretty but also tired and depressingly neutral young man with tan skin, auburn hair, and deep green eyes, wearing a leather coat and leaning against an also extremely pretty and pale young Japanese woman with black hair, mismatched blue and green eyes, wearing a very short white dress with a black waistcoat and black thigh-high stockings that left a few inches between them and the hem of the dress. "She's called Syl! She's a librarian too, actually! I don't know if she's your kind, but she is one! And she teaches! And Aldo is really good with technology, it's really amazing to see him work!" she said happily. "They're really fun to hang around with, they'll probably be at our birthday and you can meet them then!" Tru eyed Kursten. "Why are you asking? You jealous of Aldo hanging around or something?" she said, looking pointedly at her fluffball twin before right back to him. Being unromantic, Tru suspected many others of being romantic. Edited by SarahSyna, May 22 2014, 11:08 PM.
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| Smitejr | May 22 2014, 11:19 PM Post #59 |
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"Sure, Destiny! Sounds like fun...we'll probably need more practice, and there's always more information to collect. As for paying attention...just work on it. I had trouble with it myself...until I started getting my mind flayed for screwing it up. Then I learned quick!" As Destiny explains the circumstances of the party, he nods, allowing himself to get excited. "Well, that sounds like a lot of fun then! I'd be happy to go!" Tru's comments brought him down a bit, but he keeps on with his explanation, before Destiny responds to him. "Well, I'm sure he'd make a good choice. I don't know who he'd pick though, but I'm sure he'd have the best intentions for you." He thinks about it, but shakes his head. "But you should find someone you can share those moments you talked about with. Someone tall, smart, sensible, hardworking, all that stuff! I'm sure the right guy is out there for you to find!" He listens as she talks about her friends, looking at the pictures and confirming he has never seen these people...or not very often at least. "Which library does Syl work in? Is it on this tier, or a different one? I can't remember seeing her, but it'd be a nice coincidence if I do!" As she continues to explain, he grins wide. "Well, they sound like very nice people, I can't wait to meet them!" As Tru interrogates him, Kursten can't do anything more than look back at her, eyes wide. "Uhh...jealous? Of Aldo? I don't even know the guy...what should I be jealous about? I'm confused..." |
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| SarahSyna | May 23 2014, 09:28 AM Post #60 |
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"Well, I'd sure like to not get mindflayed, so I guess I'll pay attention." Destiny said, secure in the knowledge that anyone who attempted to mindflay her would end up being set on three different types of fire by a very reasonable but protective family. “Well, dad’s not really going to try pair me up with anyone unless he gets really worried about me dying alone, and that’s sure unlikely since I have him and Tru and a lot of extended family. Besides, someone like what I want probably wouldn’t be interested, which is really great because it just leaves me with lots of time to study and maybe explore and to work at the hospital a lot more!” she said, looking pretty overjoyed at the thought of overworking in a sterile hospital. “I hope whatever girl you get matched with is super pretty and nice and everything though.” She perched her chin on her hand, thinking. “I think it’s on one of the rings closer to the centre, and on the far side of the city, but I’ve never been there myself. She’s a little high class and stuff; I really don’t know how Aldo managed to make friends with her, because he’s usually messing with things at home, not socialising or anything. It’s great though, because she’s so nice. She’s kind of like my role model when it comes to getting along with people!” Tru continued eyeing Kursten suspiciously. Far as she was concerned, Kursten was being deliberately obtuse now, so she pointed emphatically at Destiny and declared, "Duh! What you you think he'd get you jealous of?” "Stop pointing at me, Tru!” “I’m making myself clear.” “You’re being weird!" Edited by SarahSyna, May 23 2014, 12:53 PM.
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8:46 AM Jul 11