FEBRUARY SEMINAR OVERFLOW

[maskormods]

WHO: All imPorts who haven't taken the evacuation option!
WHERE: The Royal Mansions Resort in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
WHEN: February 16-20, from 10 AM to 8 PM.
WHAT: ImPorts attend The Perestroika Seminar to receive mandatory training and brainwashing. Need a quick recap? Be sure to check out a brief description of what they'll be doing HERE, though we will be separating this into sections for your reading pleasure! ImPorts will be able to distract themselves with their mental link on the network during brainwashing videos, and imPorts who possess a strong will will be able to resist being successfully brainwashed. We leave the extent of the ramifications of brainwashing up to the individual players, and what they are comfortable with. Please direct all questions HERE.
WARNINGS: Brainwashing, mental manipulation, and possible violence. The original log can be found HERE. Please remember that anything written in this log will not count for AC -- it's just up so that any players who have continued their logging don't need to deal with captcha. Have fun!

Comments

[wizzardly]

[Jaime is pretty close to the mark there.]

Well - [Rincewind shrugs.] Seems a bit one-sided is all. I'd be interested to hear about magic from other worlds, besides. See if it's a different sort of -

[a pause as he scrambles for a word.]

- beast.

[that feels appropriate.]

[khajidont]

It probably is. I can introduce you to my girlfriend one day, if you want -- her name's Traci, in case you see her around sometime. I can't exactly say that I've got the best idea about how magic works, but I do know we've got some real powerhouses around back home, like -- possessing people and turning them into their worst nightmares kind of thing.

[He pauses.]

There was also a D&D group gone super wrong. That was fun.

[wizzardly]

Er, that's all right. [he's a little intimidated by anyone better at magic than him (which, to be fair, is anyone who can do magic), but he's also intimidated by most women, so the combination is sure not to improve things.

He flinches in particular at the mention of what those "powerhouses" can do. Right, no, he's no longer interested in learning about magic from Jaime's world. Never mind. Seeing the opportunity to switch the topic, Rincewind latches on.]

Tell me about that one. The D&D thing.

[khajidont]

[But he has so many fun stories, Rincewind! Why wouldn't you be interested?

But then again, the D&D story is a lot funnier, even if it made him feel pretty crappy while it was happening. At least now he can pretend like he's talking about it from an outsider's perspective.]

I guess my first question is, d'you know what D&D is in the first place?

[wizzardly]

Not a clue. You may want to start there first.

[khajidont]

Okay, so -- I've never played it before, so I can't give you a great explanation. Way I see it, you get a bunch of guys around a table, and they pretend to be part of some fantasy world? Like, one will pretend like he's a hobbit who's really good at hitting people, and someone else would be, like, a troll? And they pretend to go on adventures by rolling a die?

[He looks at Rincewind, a little desperate to see some form of recognition. He wasn't aware how silly it sounded until he said it out loud, but he's also aware that he's one step away from being the kind of guy who does play D&D; his numerous space posters and his shared comic book collection with Paco back home attest to that.]

...where I'm from, trolls and elves and orcs and stuff aren't really on Earth, y'see. Not that we know of, anyway

[wizzardly]

...

...People here just pretend? To be trolls and elves and such? [squinting hard at Jaime.] For fun?

[HE IS. VAGUELY OFFENDED. FOR SOME REASON.]

[khajidont]

Maybe not here. I haven't looked. But back home? Sure. [Jaime shrugs.] They also pretend to be human characters, I think?

[He just thinks that they pretend to be human beings because he's basing everything off of Lord of the Rings, and because Aragorn was cool. If you were going to pretend to live in a fantasy world, you might as well be Aragorn.]

Nothing like that in your world, huh?

[wizzardly]

Not if you're past school age, certainly. Or at least I haven't heard of it. ...I imagine it loses a bit of its flavor when trolls and the like are a reality, of course.

[khajidont]

Ehhh, maybe. Doesn't matter! What D&D is totally not the point. What is the point is that these guys found a magic book in all of their D&D books and figured that since they pretended to be wizards, they could do crap like that in real life.

[Which never, ever ends well.]

So they decided to, you know, cast some nasty voodoo on everyone they didn't like.

[wizzardly]

[oh man does it never. This is why magical laws are so important, Jaime! Rincewind looks dumbfounded.]

How were they able to - ? And who just speaks the words out of a strange magical book? They're lucky they weren't immediately devoured by something out of the Dungeon Dimensions, or - or set on fire.

[gods save them all from young idiots.]

I'm going to hazard a guess that this didn't end well for them anyway?

[khajidont]

I don't know what Dungeon Dimensions are, but I'm pretty sure that they wound up summoning something like it, because they were both monsters and on fire. I'm pretty sure they never set out to hurt people, but they basically just set giant devil monsters after guys like -- like the english teacher who gave one of 'em a failing grade. We're talking pretty much the pettiest thing you could ever use magic for.

[What a bunch of losers. Who gets their hands on a magical book and decides, hey, I'm going to hurt the waitress who turned me down, and the teacher that gave me the mark that I deserve? He shakes his head.]

Buuuut yeah, you're right. Someone who actually knew magic put 'em in their place and they got arrested. And their monsters went back to -- wherever they came from.

[wizzardly]

[Jesus Christ, why would you need to make monsters even worse by setting them on fire?]

Yes, that does sound like the sort of terrible, petty nonsense boys who just got magic abilities would use them for. [he can't help but be reminded, with some bitterness, of Eric. A moment later, something occurs to him.]

- Wait a minute, you were there for all this?

[khajidont]

[Jaime shakes his head.]

It was my English teacher that they set that monster on; one second he was talking about Shakespeare or something - [he wasn't, but Jaime wasn't actually paying attention] - and the next, something punched the wall down and grabbed my teacher. We got moved to portable classrooms for weeks afterwards.

[Because that, of course, is the important thing here.]

The first monster that went after that waitress was all over the news. Magic's not common enough that it doesn't make headlines, y'know?

[wizzardly]

I think even that would make the headlines in Ankh. [at least for a day.]

You're rather lucky you weren't hurt more seriously. Damn fools, messing about with magics they've got no understanding of. I don't understand why more people don't get that part of it, that magic uses you as much as you use it. There's no such thing as a safe spell.

[khajidont]

[Jaime opens his mouth to argue, but finds that he can't, not knowing what he does about the way magic seems to backfire on nearly everyone who uses it. It's controllable to a certain extent, sure, but that much power is a little terrifying no matter who's using it.]

If that's the way it is where you're from, then why use it? [Jaime gestures towards Rincewind's hat.] Why decide to be a wizard? Why not a... oh, I don't know. An accountant.

[wizzardly]

It's not - [he flusters visibly, stops walking altogether.] It's not something you choose, it's not just some job, you know. A wizard is what you are.

[and knowing that, truly knowing it, is the only thing Rincewind can actually cling to in this life.]

[khajidont]

Oh.

[Jaime's brain works furiously to accommodate that. Is it like other worlds, where everyone who uses magic has to wear some sort of indicator of who they are, what they're capable of?]

So what is your job, then? Back home, I mean; everyone gets a job here, no matter what.

[wizzardly]

[he appreciates that it's not questioned further; the subject is a sensitive one for Rincewind.]

Well, it was Assistant Librarian for the University library. Hopefully it still will be, if I ever get back. Did you have a job as well, beyond being a student?

[khajidont]

It will be. Time doesn't pass back home while we're here. Makes being here a lot less stressful... I mean, typically speaking. [Jaime glances pointedly around them, far too aware that their current surroundings are far from stress-free.]

I did the same thing back home that I do here, actually. Went to school and worked at my Dad's garage. Here, the only difference is that I go to college instead of high school, and work for money instead of for free.

[wizzardly]

Oh, that's not what I meant. I was in two different dimensions prior to this one, I'm not sure how long it's been since I've been home.

[although that bit about time is worth noting and remembering.]

A... garage. [testing the word.] What's in you do in there?

[khajidont]

[Two different dimensions? No wonder this guy's taking all this in stride. Maybe worldhopping is just normal for him. He is curious to be sure, but decides to give him a quick update on the state of modern technology first.]

Uh, I fix cars. You must have seen some of them out on the road, right? They get broken, and I fix 'em up and get them back on the road again.

[It's not a job with as much prestige as a University position, but heck, it pays. Jaime will take it.]

[wizzardly]

[he perks up]

Do you know, for as dangerous as I find those things, I'll admit I'm a little curious as to how they work. [but now about how to drive them. He is absolutely fine never having to do that.] If you've got the time sometime I'd like to hear about what you know on them.

[khajidont]

Sure thing! You can even visit the garage, if you want; my boss is usually cool with imPorts wanting to take a look at what we're working on. You should learn how to drive one. Or a bike, if you want; I think those are easier.

[They also provide more room for getting severely hurt, but hey, he's young and considers himself to be broadly invincible.]

You might get bored after hearing all the technical stuff, though. It's not gripping material.