There were tables and chairs set up all around the lawn. Some were in the sun, where folks could work on their tan while they ate, and some were in the shade where folks could stay cool and non-crispy
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Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]spin_kick_snapAugust 29 2015, 21:53:39 UTC
Kathy was trying not to stare and be horribly, horribly rude. But for all of the mages and aliens and talking non-human-shaped people she'd met so far, she'd never met a cinnamon roll given person-form an elf before. A real, live, straight-out-of-fantasy elf!
Be cool, Kathy, be cool. Especially since--aww. The poor girl looked as shy and overwhelmed as Kathy had, her first picnic.
"Hi," she said softly, giving Merrill a smile and offering her a bottle of juice. "I'm Kathy. Welcome to Fandom."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]cracksmostlyAugust 30 2015, 01:18:32 UTC
"Thank you?" Merrill said hesitantly, though she did reach for the juice and manage a small smile. "Almost everyone's been so nice so far, I don't know what to do with that, but . . . thank you."
She fumbled with the juice bottle for a second or two before she succeeded in getting it open, and blurted out, "Oh! I'm Merrill."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]cracksmostlyAugust 30 2015, 16:35:27 UTC
That would definitely not be a good idea, Kathy, unless you really wanted an hours-long verbal account of elven history with a distinct Dalish bias for context's sake.
"I'm not very used to it," Merrill admitted. "But I've never been among this many strangers at once before, either."
At least Fandom was a better way to ease into that than Kirkwall, right?
She took a small sip of the juice; it was sweeter than she expected, and she let out a wordless squeak of surprise. "And there's so much food here, and no one telling us we can't have more. And a castle!"
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]spin_kick_snapAugust 30 2015, 16:46:23 UTC
There was a Kathy in the multiverse who spent a great deal of time in Kirkwall's alienage and then came home and called Anders a bigot for judging. Or so said their alternate-universe daughter.
So, actually yes. Kathy would probably love an hours long account of elven history. Would Merrill mind if Kathy took notes and asked questions?
"There always is, even when it's not a picnic day," Kathy assured her. "There's usually food in all the common rooms and in the cafeteria up at the school. Which is the castle."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]cracksmostlyAugust 30 2015, 19:32:14 UTC
Did you really want to open that can of worms, Kathy? Did you?
. . . because that was a questionable life choice that probably meant you'd fit right in in Kirkwall, as that alternate universe future suggested. And no, Merrill wouldn't mind note-taking or question-asking.
"There isn't a queen living up in that castle, then, or a king? Or an arl, or . . ." Merrill shook her head. They were going to let her run more or less freely around a castle. "I'm half convinced I'm dreaming all this."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]spin_kick_snapAugust 30 2015, 20:24:44 UTC
Kathy absolutely did, in fact, want to open that can of worms. And then she'd probably double-down on that terrible life-choice by marching through a portal into Thedas and telling every single person who ever threw around the phrase 'knife-ear' exactly what was wrong with their lives, their choices, their hygiene, and their personalities.
So...yeah. She'd fit right in with Hawke's merry band of assholes, wouldn't she?
"Nope!" Kathy said, giving Merrill a smile. "I don't know who it was built for, but it was converted into a school awhile ago and now it's all for us. Just wait till you see the library. If you're the kind of person who likes books, you might have to sit down and take a few minutes to recover."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]spin_kick_snapAugust 30 2015, 20:48:37 UTC
Look, it was hardly Kathy's fault that everyone in Kirkwall was objectively wrong about things and needed to be told that!
"All kinds of books," Kathy said, breaking into a grin. "So many books that there's no easy way to answer that question. History, geography, mythology, mysteries, romances..." She shook her head. "It's like asking how many flavors of ice cream there are. You can list them off, but it's just easier for everyone if you say 'all kinds.'" And then the kicker. "And they're available to borrow, too. Of course. For free."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]cracksmostlyAugust 31 2015, 00:14:18 UTC
All right, no, that wasn't her fault.
"For anyone? What do you have to do to borrow them?" Merrill fully expected there to be some sort of system like the Vir Sulevanin, since apparently you didn't have to pay to borrow these books.
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]spin_kick_snapAugust 31 2015, 04:38:59 UTC
"You're a student at Fandom High," Kathy explained. "That's enough. You go into the library, find the ones you want, and then check them out at the desk--basically, you'll tell a librarian that these are the books you'll be taking with you and they note which ones you have. It's super-easy."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]spin_kick_snapAugust 31 2015, 05:02:20 UTC
"They want us to be well-read and educated," Kathy said. "So, yes, you can do that as much as you'd like. There's no reason for you not to be able to."
Thank god for the printing press and the advent of cheap paper. Books everywhere.
Now that Kathy had gotten beyond the 'omg elf!' reaction, she finally noticed the staff Merrill was carrying. "Uhh, hey, weird question," she said, nodding to it. "Is that a walking stick? Or, umm, something else. I just ask because one of my best friends has something similar." Kathy had no idea that Merrill and Anders shared a homeworld, but even so, she was able to put together elf + staff = probably magic. "The stuff he can do with it is pretty awesome."
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]spin_kick_snapAugust 31 2015, 06:54:57 UTC
"Oh, you've met Anders?" Kathy asked, pleased. "No, no, he was who I was talking about. I'm glad to hear you two have been introduced! I don't know anything about magic, but he does, so he can definitely help you out with your questions there. Excellent!"
Re: General Mingling [Fall 2015]cracksmostlySeptember 1 2015, 02:38:43 UTC
"Just a little while ago," Merrill confirmed, and went on brightly, "It's good to have another mage from home here, even if we've never met before. There's so much to get used to as it is."
Be cool, Kathy, be cool. Especially since--aww. The poor girl looked as shy and overwhelmed as Kathy had, her first picnic.
"Hi," she said softly, giving Merrill a smile and offering her a bottle of juice. "I'm Kathy. Welcome to Fandom."
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She fumbled with the juice bottle for a second or two before she succeeded in getting it open, and blurted out, "Oh! I'm Merrill."
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Why not? she wanted to ask. What do you mean by 'almost everyone'?
But she was Kathy here, not Banzai, and interrogating Merrill about everyone who'd ever been mean to her was probably not the best idea she'd had.
"And you're welcome. I'm trying to make sure that all the newbies have something to eat and drink. Fandom can be pretty overwhelming by itself."
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"I'm not very used to it," Merrill admitted. "But I've never been among this many strangers at once before, either."
At least Fandom was a better way to ease into that than Kirkwall, right?
She took a small sip of the juice; it was sweeter than she expected, and she let out a wordless squeak of surprise. "And there's so much food here, and no one telling us we can't have more. And a castle!"
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So, actually yes. Kathy would probably love an hours long account of elven history. Would Merrill mind if Kathy took notes and asked questions?
"There always is, even when it's not a picnic day," Kathy assured her. "There's usually food in all the common rooms and in the cafeteria up at the school. Which is the castle."
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. . . because that was a questionable life choice that probably meant you'd fit right in in Kirkwall, as that alternate universe future suggested. And no, Merrill wouldn't mind note-taking or question-asking.
"There isn't a queen living up in that castle, then, or a king? Or an arl, or . . ." Merrill shook her head. They were going to let her run more or less freely around a castle. "I'm half convinced I'm dreaming all this."
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So...yeah. She'd fit right in with Hawke's merry band of assholes, wouldn't she?
"Nope!" Kathy said, giving Merrill a smile. "I don't know who it was built for, but it was converted into a school awhile ago and now it's all for us. Just wait till you see the library. If you're the kind of person who likes books, you might have to sit down and take a few minutes to recover."
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Creators help everyone if Kathy ever managed to get to the Exalted Plains.
"Books? What kind of books? We don't have very many of those," said Merrill, whose interest was definitely piqued now.
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"All kinds of books," Kathy said, breaking into a grin. "So many books that there's no easy way to answer that question. History, geography, mythology, mysteries, romances..." She shook her head. "It's like asking how many flavors of ice cream there are. You can list them off, but it's just easier for everyone if you say 'all kinds.'" And then the kicker. "And they're available to borrow, too. Of course. For free."
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"For anyone? What do you have to do to borrow them?" Merrill fully expected there to be some sort of system like the Vir Sulevanin, since apparently you didn't have to pay to borrow these books.
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She might end up spending all of her time trying to find anything on elven history.
Given Fandom's multidimensional nature, that could get . . . interesting.
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Thank god for the printing press and the advent of cheap paper. Books everywhere.
Now that Kathy had gotten beyond the 'omg elf!' reaction, she finally noticed the staff Merrill was carrying. "Uhh, hey, weird question," she said, nodding to it. "Is that a walking stick? Or, umm, something else. I just ask because one of my best friends has something similar." Kathy had no idea that Merrill and Anders shared a homeworld, but even so, she was able to put together elf + staff = probably magic. "The stuff he can do with it is pretty awesome."
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She patted the haft of her staff affectionately. "His staff is a bit fancier than mine, I think."
No, that wasn't innuendo. Please, like Merrill would know innuendo.
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