10. Voice

[stakesthings]

Somehow I thought being dropped into a victoritech Hell dimension meant an escape from the horrors of dating, but I guess that poster sure did prove me wrong. I'd consider tossing my name in the proverbial hat but... well, no, I so would not consider it

Comments

[stakesthings]

That's the one.

...soulmates are overrated, anyway. I'm not saying I believe in them, but let's say you find one, and then they die, or turn evil, or... otherwise become unavailable? Talk about a permabummer.

[...]

You remind me of some old british guys I know.

[wait.]

The accent and the prim. Not the oldness or the guyness.

[calamitousnaiad]

I do believe in soulmates. Or something like it at least. That sometimes there is a person you're meant to spend your life with. It sounds a bit silly and romantic, I know, but... well, I guess you could say I've seen it with my own eyes.

[A thoughtful pause.]

I believe you are right about the... permabummer, though.

[She laughs a little, shakes off the sadder thoughts.]

Well I should hope I'm rather too young and female for that! Do you know many Englishmen, then?

...I don't suppose you've met a young one with blond hair and a slightly crooked mustache, have you?

[stakesthings]

Can't say I have. Sorry.

Anatole's not big with the people-you-know giving.

Unless you're a blond girl with a sword or a japanese reaper, or something.

[calamitousnaiad]

[sigh.]

I thought as much. But it doesn't hurt to ask, I suppose.

...

By reaper do you mean a farmer of some kind?

[stakesthings]

By reaper, I mean "the grim."

[calamitousnaiad]

As in Death? Carrying a scythe and taking the souls of the departed?

[stakesthings]

Something along those lines. Although, fortunately, the lines are not totally matchy.

They carry swords and look pretty normal.

[calamitousnaiad]

So they're shinigami?

...

Shinigami are real? I don't know too much about Japanese culture - their history is mostly a Ten for Caucasians - but I thought shinigami were a modern cultural invention with origins most likely in the influence of Chinese or European folkloric devices.

[stakesthings]

Oh yeah. That's the term, pretty sure.

[yeah, she's probably forgotten by now.]

Plenty of weird things are real, but if you're about to go all Giles on me about Japanese culture and legends, I'm probably going to start getting all... mind wandery.

[calamitousnaiad]

I don't know what 'go all Giles' means exactly, but I didn't mean to bore you. I do get a little babbley sometimes if I've had to much caffeine so you can tell me to be quiet if you like.

It's just... shinigami are things from books. They shouldn't exist in real life. What other 'weird things' are there?

[stakesthings]

Oh... Giles is one of the old british guys. He was a librarian, and then he was-- well, whatever, the point is, the was the book guy. It's not boring, exactly - it's more of a "huh what" thing than a snooze thing.

But I get the shock. I had the shock. A while ago, anyway.

This place... it's all about the weird. There are monsters in the mist. And underground. And sometimes in the streets, apparently. Haven't had a lot of that since I got here, but... enough,

[calamitousnaiad]

Ah, yes. It is quite a lot to take in. I've been doing a lot of reading in the library, but I don't think I fully grasp the principle even of the existence of this place, much less the reality of it.

And I'm to take it that when you say 'monsters' you really mean... monsters. Like werewolves and ogres? And what happens when they come into the city?

[stakesthings]

I still say it's a Hell dimension.

And yeah, that's what I mean. There were trolls at one point. People-killing, money-taking trolls.

[calamitousnaiad]

Trolls. Oh, good lord.

[She is so not equipped to deal with trolls. HE and incendiaries are one thing, but trolls?]

Do you have experience with other dimensions?

[stakesthings]

When it comes to other dimensions, you could say I have some experience with the going and more experience with the knowing.

...trolls aren't too bad. As long as they're not... godly trolls.

[calamitousnaiad]

Is there a hierarchy of trolls I should be worried about?

And when you say you know about other dimensions, does that mean you have some knowledge of inter dimensional mechanics and passages? Do you know how to pass from one to another? Because I must admit I'm rather upset I didn't take more theoretical physics classes before I came here.