tushanshu | oo1 / console video;

Entry tags:

oo1 / console video;

Let me take a guess at how many people you get freaking out on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong, this whole thing is, uh... bullshit, but given we apparently can't do anything about it — do you still get a lot of whiners? Maybe I'm not being fair. Maybe everyone is reasonable about all this.

[ He grimaces, then shrugs. ] Then again, maybe not. Still, forgive me if I mess up some kind of cultural thing because I'm from somewhere that doesn't have magic or people other than humans. I'm still learning.

[ That's when he takes a deep breath and looks almost pained that he has to keep talking. ]

All of that said, my name is Junior. Well, no it isn't, but I go by that. My name is Will Vega. I guess I'm looking for a job now. Anyone know of anywhere looking for a baker?

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I would try one of the local bakeries.

[...hey, he did ask.]

[ You'd think having someone with this sort of humor for a best friend would prepare him for the answer, but no. Not really. He shakes his head to hide the slight grin and eye roll. ]

Gee, they have those here?

[Ironically enough, there was no sign that Midii had been joking when she made the comment. Either she was really good at maintaining her poker face, or else the suggestion had been deadpan serious.]

They do.

I don't know what bakeries are like in your world, but they're actually very similar to the ones I remember from home. As long as you're willing to learn their recipes, it shouldn't be a problem.

[ Who the hell knows in a place like this? Junior isn't even trying to really make sense of it. Just let it happen. ]

That shouldn't be a problem. As long as they actually bake bread here.

Is that the only thing you know how to bake?

No. As opposed to, I don't know, clothes or something.

[ His hands raise briefly into the air to show how out of his depth he is. ]

... okay, clothes is lame. My point is made irregardless of how stupid that is.

["irregardless"?]

...is that even a real word?

[It sounded like a double negative to her. But she digressed.]

I can assure you that nobody bakes clothes here. That would be kind of dumb, since most fabrics can catch on fire if exposed to high enough temperatures.

What I meant was that they bake other things here, not just bread. Muffins. Cakes. Pastries. ...the fruit ones, especially, are really good.

I don't know. It sounded right.

[ There's a shrug, then a grin. ]

Yes, I do know how to bake all those. Back home, I'm self-employed as a baker and you wouldn't get very far if you didn't know how to do everything.

Then you should do fine here. In the past, people used to get hired at certain places, even without experience.

Just as long as you find a shop that doesn't mind you not being kedan.

[Which...probably shouldn't be an issue any more. As far as she knew.]

What? I know they can't exactly present resumes, but not even any show of skill?

[ Great. That tells him about what to expect. ]

I never said they hired people without skills. Just experience.

Some things could still be taught on the job. Even I could learn how to make certain foods if they give me the recipe for it.

Hm. I guess you're right. But if they're not too happy with foreigners in their businesses, you'd think they would be more discerning.

[ He considers her, then tilts his head. ]

Speaking from experience?

More than you would believe.

[Less one attempt to judge her for her age alone. Which...coincidentally...was also something she had a lot of experience with around here.]

When I first got here, the locals were...a lot friendlier. But things happened. It was pretty bad for a while, but they've gotten better since. They even let me run errands around the city for them now. This time last year, they wouldn't have trusted me with more than a note to deliver.

[ Junior's in a phase of not really judging young people for what they can or can't do. He's still got some adjustment left after realizing his own childhood was much less than typical... ]

Last year? How long have you been here?

Since I was eleven.

That was...almost four years ago now, I think.

[Including the year spent in Dreaming; she couldn't remember exactly what month she'd arrived in any longer, though she did remember it had been the middle of winter back home and...very much not winter here.]

Jesus.

[ He just kind of stares in shock at that. ]

I mean, shit—I mean... [ Cussing in front of a young teenager is not something he was raised to do, so he flounders for a moment. ] ... that's crazy.

[She didn't even flinch at the language.]

[Even if she hadn't spent a good portion of her younger years surrounded by uncensored soldiers...at one point, she'd made friends with a fourteen-year-old girl named Ellie who had a mouth somewhere between a trucker and a sailor.]

It is kind of hard to believe sometimes. When I stop long enough to think about it.

[ It's more his upbringing than his expectation that a teenager is going to be offended. If his grandparents were here, they'd be smacking him upside the head. ]

Oh? Lots to do to keep busy, at least?

If you know where to look.

A lot of places are willing to hire if you're willing to do the work. There's also a school...but I don't go very often. I do a lot of studying on my own.

[Oh, yeah, and social interaction. She supposed.]

What kind of studying is there to do here? Just the regular reading, writing, 'rithmetic?

For those of us without powers? Mostly.

Some people can learn special trades too, but they don't teach those as the public school. If you know where to look, you can find some books on the history of the city. If you also know where to look, you can even find some language or science books. I found one about the stars once, but they didn't fully match what was up in the sky. That happens when you don't stay in one place for too long, I suppose.

Are they all readable? Most of the stuff I've seen on signs and things are a language I don't know.

[ Which is weird, come to think of it, considering he hasn't had any spoken language barrier... but the discrepancy is just par for the course. He's not even worried about that. ]

One of the local kedanese languages. Probably the most common dialect.

What I'm saying to you now...I'm going to guess you don't speak French, but that's the language I'm speaking right now. Only it's being translated to you. But it doesn't work on written languages, which is why most of the signs aren't going to be in anything you can read.

The good news is that there are some books in languages a lot of us can understand. Mostly English, though.

French. Really? Huh. Most I speak is English and some broken Spanish.

[ He's shaking his head, kind of in wonder and kind of in this place is crazy. ]

I'll take what I can get at this point.

[The corners of her lips twitched upward ever so slightly. Clearly, this wasn't the first time she'd had this conversation.]

Most people do. At least, as far as I know.

I've only met a handful of native French speakers. So I guess the translator is more beneficial to me than many. Although... [Here, the smile faded. Replaced by a look of slight annoyance, though it wasn't directed at him.] ...it does make it a lot harder to learn how to speak a new language.