BUT TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT WE CAN REALLY LET GO ( OPEN )

[medusalith]

Date & Time: SATURDAY AT FIVE ( IT'S BACKDATED )
Location: DITR's offices in the hold, possibly spilling out into the hall if it gets super crowded.
Characters: Medusa, Saul, the staff of DITR, and YOU
Summary: In an effort to promote COMMUNITY OUTREACH the DITR hosts an open house! Free food and drink - you can't say no to that.
Warnings: Nothing? If anything comes up, please mark it in thread headers.

( IT'S A PARTY. THERE IS MUSIC OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE - PROBABLY ONE OR TWO ONE HIT WONDERS FROM THE 1980S ON REPEAT BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THEY COULD FIND UNTIL ANNE SINGS. THERE IS ALSO FOOD, BUT IT'S MUCH BETTER THAN THE MUSIC. THINK OPEN HOUSE FOOD - CHEESE AND CRACKERS AND MEATS AND LOTS OF DAINTY DESSERTS.

AND WINE. THERE IS LOTS OF WINE.

TAG YOURSELF IN OR HIT ANYONE ELSE UP - IT'S A FREE FOR ALL. )

Comments

[hyanaimne]

[she can't really comment on it because she's a little taken aback by it. What was it about that place that had people commenting on that?!

She blinks, though, glancing down at the atlas, then back to Saul]

Ah - m-maps, yes.

[5055034455]

[Something occurs to him as he sets his glass down and goes thumbing through the book to find North America.]

You know what maps are?

[hyanaimne]

[she leans over to watch him flip through the book, though at the question she glances back up at him. She waits a moment, because she really shouldn't be offended, but]

Of course. The are used where I am from.

[5055034455]

Hey, I'm just checking. You never know, right?

[Maybe magical people don't need maps. He has no idea.

Anyway, once he finds the dual-page spread of his favorite continent, he points to it.]

Behold: North America. This part here is the United States, and riiiight about here is New Mexico.

[hyanaimne]

I suppose. Though I do not need one, really.

[assumption proven, Saul. You psychic.

She frowns curiously, eyeing the map. This is no land she's ever seen; it's far too big to be her own country, though when he points out New Mexico she leans closer]

. . . it is very square, isn't it.

[5055034455]

[The man's a genius.

He chuckles a little at her comment, rubbing his thumb along the black border.]

On paper, yeah. State lines. This is Arizona, this is Colorado, this is Texas. Over here, where Utah is? See the spot where these four states meet? It's called the Four Corners. Get down on your hands and knees and you can be in four states at once.

[hyanaimne]

Ohh . . .

[she eyes the states pointed out, but . . . hm] So this entire thing - [she gestures to the entirety of the US] - is a country?

[5055034455]

Yup. So that's the United States, this is Canada, this is Mexico, and the whole thing makes up the continent of North America. Oh! And —

[Pointing to Alaska and Hawaii, then down near Puerto Rico:] These are part of the United States, too.

[earth geography 101 with professor goodman]

[hyanaimne]

[well prof, you've got an attentive student. If anything because it's learning something new, moreso because this is the biggest country she's ever seen]

My . . . this is much, much larger than the country I am from.

[5055034455]

You think this is big? Hold on.

[Flip, flip, flip. Hello, Europe! Hello, Russia!]

This is Russia, the biggest country in the world. To give you a better idea of the scale, here... [He turns a few pages back, to a full map of the world, then goes a-pointing again.]

United States. Russia. See the size difference?

[hyanaimne]

congratulations, you've just blown her mind]

[she breathes out something in another language, before she realizes it and . . . repeats it, again, this time in the right language] Bloody hell.

[5055034455]

[It's difficult for him to not look amused.]

Maybe I should leave the solar system talk for another day.

[hyanaimne]

[saul plz]

I - . . . yes, please do.

[though . . . she turns back a page or two, frowning, and points out an island in western Europe. Also known as England]

This looks familiar . . .

[5055034455]

England, part of the United Kingdom.

[This is almost like a quiz! Keep going, Tempest. He can do this all night.]

[hyanaimne]

[it's really tempting, if only because Saul really seems to know his stuff.

So far]

Huh. This is about the size of my own country.

[5055034455]

Maybe you're from your Earth's version of England.

[Is that even how it works? He has no idea.]

[hyanaimne]

[she doesn't know either, but it's sounds like a legit possibility to her. She shrugs]

Perhaps.

[she considers that for a moment, then flips back to the map of North America. She taps it, thoughtful, before asking;]

So your accent - do all people from this country - or state - have the same kind?

[5055034455]

Nope. Every region has a different accent. Mine's more from around here —

[He points to the Midwest, near Chicago.]

[hyanaimne]

I see . . .

[so countries had states, regions had accents . . . this was . . . well, it was educational]

Dialects as well, I am assuming?

[5055034455]

You bet. And that's just American English. I have no idea how many languages there are in the world.

[hyanaimne]

I am going to assume " a lot" and leave it at that. My world is a bit of the same - different languages, different dialects, and the like.

[a pause, and. Well. She asks this as nicely as she can without it sounding . . . well, the way it sounds] Is your world full of humans, or different races like mine?

[5055034455]

"A lot" is pretty accurate, yeah.

[He sips some wine while she pauses, then leans back against his desk with a thoughtful expression.]

We've got humans, and we've got animals. The difference between us is that humans can talk and think and create in ways animals can't. Of course, humans are technically animals, when you get down to the science of it, but our brains are far more advanced. [Now it's his turn to pause.] Or so I've been told.

[hyanaimne]

[she hums a bit once he finishes. That was an interesting way to put it]

You would be surprised . . . though if you've only animals and humans, then perhaps it is not the same.

[she shrugs a shoulder] Humans are the majority where I am from, closely followed by Elves, and after that a number of other . . . mm, humanoid races? I think that is the word. Animals can be communicated with, if one knows the right language, but. [she waves a hand] Not many bother.

[5055034455]

[yo that's some Tolkien shit right there

WHAT IS IT WITH THIS PLACE AND ELVES?]

And magic, yeah?

[hyanaimne]

And magic, yes.

You are familiar with worlds like mine?