Setting the Stage
Sep. 6th, 2016 01:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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forest_fireHis time with the Audentes had changed the course of Evan's life. He imagined he was amongst a remarkable majority of ex-recruits in that regard, and in retrospect it was unsurprising, but at first returning home had been a shocking readjustment. He had withdrawn from the semester that he had been halfway through, not because he could not recall the information his classes had been imparting -- that was a state that could be fixed, after all -- but because the very structure of school had thrown him. He had left campus, he had gone home and told his parents what had happened: they had been furious and fascinated and shocked and relieved in turn, and Evan could sympathize. In the end he'd spend six months at home.
It had been a boon. Dropping out had meant reapplying, and reapplying had made Evan shrug and send applications to other universities, pie-in-the-sky places he hadn't considered before. It'd been his time with ALASTAIR that he ultimately credited, therefore, his acceptance to one of the schools tied for the top of the pile in comp sci undergraduate programs.
From there on out, it'd been much harder to miss his time away from home, as the program was ferociously exacting, even for his standards. Ultimately the Audentes never faded from his mind entirely, but they settled squarely into past, not present, and his pangs for his friends there faded as he slowly accepted the unlikelihood of ever seeing any of them again.
By the beginning of his second year at the new university, he had settled back into the realities of life on Earth entirely. Student housing, cafeterias, lectures, labs and all extra hours spent studying were routines that became easy once more (although perhaps he got a little more involved in extracurriculars than he otherwise would have). The big brick student residence halls, with the towers on the corners, had been built a hundred years ago and renovated in the eighties. It had been cutting-edge then, with whiteboards and two fireplaces in each common area, and brown carpet all in the hallways. The radiators worked but they made noise in the winter, the beds were narrow, the desks in the bedrooms tall and solid and terribly dated. It became home to Evan with ease, even having to put up with a roommate again. Campus was expansive and riddled with enough to keep him occupied all hours of the day, even the rare few he didn't spend on schoolwork.
Life carried on.
It had been a boon. Dropping out had meant reapplying, and reapplying had made Evan shrug and send applications to other universities, pie-in-the-sky places he hadn't considered before. It'd been his time with ALASTAIR that he ultimately credited, therefore, his acceptance to one of the schools tied for the top of the pile in comp sci undergraduate programs.
From there on out, it'd been much harder to miss his time away from home, as the program was ferociously exacting, even for his standards. Ultimately the Audentes never faded from his mind entirely, but they settled squarely into past, not present, and his pangs for his friends there faded as he slowly accepted the unlikelihood of ever seeing any of them again.
By the beginning of his second year at the new university, he had settled back into the realities of life on Earth entirely. Student housing, cafeterias, lectures, labs and all extra hours spent studying were routines that became easy once more (although perhaps he got a little more involved in extracurriculars than he otherwise would have). The big brick student residence halls, with the towers on the corners, had been built a hundred years ago and renovated in the eighties. It had been cutting-edge then, with whiteboards and two fireplaces in each common area, and brown carpet all in the hallways. The radiators worked but they made noise in the winter, the beds were narrow, the desks in the bedrooms tall and solid and terribly dated. It became home to Evan with ease, even having to put up with a roommate again. Campus was expansive and riddled with enough to keep him occupied all hours of the day, even the rare few he didn't spend on schoolwork.
Life carried on.
no subject
Date: 2016-10-24 10:52 am (UTC)He finds he's both curious to find out more and uncertain if he'll get the chance or if he'll have to leave before he can.
But Evan is right, it's not something to dwell on now, and he sighs and nods acceptance. "All right, so what exactly should I tell people then? Especially if your parents aren't going to be able to come up with something to help hide me immediately. People are going to wonder about the ears sooner or later."
no subject
Date: 2016-10-25 07:45 am (UTC)For a moment the young man is antsy, shifting to a sit where his feet are curled under him and frowning. Exactly how much does he lampshade the suggestions he's going to make, here? But it doesn't take him long to decide, and he gives Mel a forthright but apologetic look. "Forgive me, but any backstory we choose is going to have to paint you as a bit odd. It's not subtle that you don't know the norms here, and I figure that it's safer to, to come up with a reason for that than to try and give you the world's densest crash course here." He grimaces sympathy. "I think it's going to have to be a lie with a couple of layers, too, but we'll try and keep it the least complicated..."
He looks down with the face of someone who's fitting the pieces together in his mind, but quickly enough looks back up. "That's the part we'll address first. I think we should say you were raised in one of the anti-technology religious sects, like some sort of fringe neo-Luddite group. That'll kill us two birds with one stone, I think; if you explain that and then sort of hint that you don't really want to talk about it most people will assume you got kicked out, or that you left because you split from the belief system." He has to grin at the idea of Mel as a luddite. "I mean, it'll become apparent quickly enough you aren't a subscriber to that particular religion, so people can put two and two together. And if they pry," he adds, pointing at Mel like he's presenting a cherry on top of the argument, "then they're rude and you can tell them to mind their own business. How's that sound for the first part of things?"
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Date: 2016-10-30 12:20 am (UTC)"I suppose at least if I talk about life with my clan, it probably would fit that..." And he can see why Evan would pick that and what he's trying to help with, but at the same time... it's going to be a lot like the questions he got about being Dalish in the past. People wanting to ask questions like it was some novelty or display for entertainment, not his life. It's not Evan's fault, and he's glad as well that if he chooses not to speak about it to avoid that reaction, there might be an explanation for it.
"It works well," he agrees. "And it's not entirely unfamiliar territory as well. Although it doesn't explain that I don't look human by any means. Do people from these backgrounds usually dress that differently?"
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Date: 2016-10-31 08:04 am (UTC)"But I think we can still work with it," he hurries on before Mel can worry. "It'll just be a bit more complicated. You can usually get people to stop asking questions about religion and family pretty easily, but--" He huffs a sigh, knowing he's getting ahead of himself. He stops, regathers, tells Mel, "Hear me out. This probably will sound a little strange.
"So there are people here who... who dress up in thematically similar clothing and... and sort of meet up for, kind of, something like mass improvisational acting. Like, some of it's historically themed -- although that wouldn't really apply to you, I think, it'd be just our luck to claim it's a Ren Faire costume and we'd get some history major coming by and trying to quiz you," he huffs. But that's a flood of words, so he tries again. "Another kind dress up as -- as made-up characters, either to show off their costume-making skills or to, to play out challenges and scenarios they find entertaining -- it's... kind of a niche thing but it's mostly what I can think of that might fit the bill. It's called LARPing and... it's not all that common." God, and it's terribly embarrassing to try and explain. The look he gives Mel is lightly flustered and thoroughly apologetic.
But he doesn't stop there. He'll field questions later, but if he can get this all over with in one rush he'll feel the better for it. "But actual LARPing takes knowing a ton of game rules and there's a learning curve there. We could maybe say you were heading out here for your very first LARP meetup, your costume all ready, but -- but your flight lost your baggage, including all your usual clothes and your money and everything, but you knew I went to school here so..."
He shrugs as he trails off, sighs. "I mean, it's more complicated than I'd like, but we're sort of strapped for options here."
no subject
Date: 2016-11-05 12:11 pm (UTC)"I was going to try LARPing for the first time and my flight lost my baggage," he repeats, fixing the story in his mind. "That's why I need your help and a place to stay."
Speaking of... Meallan gives the other bed a look and then turns to fix another questioning look (it feels like that's all he's done since arriving, so much of everything seeming strange and confusing) on the younger man again. "Where am I going to stay? Between you and your roommate, there doesn't seem to be much room here."
Before Evan can answer, Meallan frowns in thought again and rises from the bed in a strangely graceful movement to move to the window, looking out into the grounds below. "I suppose I could camp outside. I wouldn't need much and there's plenty of space. Although I'm not certain how your school feels about that."