mingle log | the quad and elsewhere | we were young and drinking (coffee) in the park

[lamiaceae]

Characters: Gansey and whoever shows up
What: Interpersonal interaction! Meet each other face-to-face while nothing is on fire
Where: the quad, unless elsewhere seems cool to you
When: loop 1, day 10 (6/10 irl)
Content Warnings: nothing yet. please use and check thread subjects

It's a pleasant day outside. There's a nice breeze and the sun is doing its best. At very least, it's not raining and warmer than it was yesterday. This is, statistically, likely to bring college denizens out of their dorms and offices since rain seems to often be on Newcomb's horizon. Fall in not-at-all-New England is lovely that way.

Gansey, for his part, can be found throughout the day in several places! He likes hanging out near the clocktower to study, since he's found time works best there (at least for him). It's nice to have a watch that's doing something vaguely akin to timekeeping for once.

But he's an explorer at heart, so he can probably also be found in the library, the computer lab, and wandering the grounds. Gansey isn't sure he's interacted with anyone outside a classroom or on Fermii since the train crash, so he's more likely than usual to strike up conversation instead of waiting for it to come to him.

The real question is this: where's everyone else hanging out today?

[ i'll be throwing gansey at anyone who doesn't note that their tag is closed. please mingle! ]

Comments

[lamiaceae]

The bannisters in Carroll Hall are clean enough to appease even the most particular of butlers, though Gansey certainly hasn't spotted any janitorial staff doing the cleaning. In fact, he's not sure that anyone lives there other than him. He was drawn in by the architecture, the redolent scent of climbing roses and the strange floors that look like polished volcanic glass holding magma at bay beneath glowing cracks.

He was tucked in a bay window with a novel, but Alfred's arrival makes him raise his head and offer a small, practiced sort of smile. Every mannerism puts him firmly in the 'well-bred American socialite' category, but his eyes are old in a way that doesn't fit. "Hello, sir." Alfred just looks like the sort of man who should get a 'sir'. "Do you live here too, or just passing through?"

[flippin_peachy]

Alfred turns to glance at the young man who has addressed him, noting the polite practiced smile and careful mannerisms.

"Here? No, just passing through." He says with a wary glance at the strange volcanic floors. "I live over in one of the townhouses. I'm Alfred Pennyworth."

[lamiaceae]

"The townhouses look very nice, but they seemed reserved for staff. The dorms in here aren't bad though, shared bathrooms aside."

Alfred's wary look at the flooring makes Gansey's smile quirk at the corners. It's definitely strange, but he likes it. "Good to meet you. I'm Richard Gansey, but Richard is my grandfather and Dick is my father, so I go by Gansey." He's Richard Gansey the third. "Is it Mr. Pennyworth or Professor Pennyworth?"

[flippin_peachy]

"Neither, just Alfred is fine." He says and offers the young man his hand to shake. "Pleasure to meet you, Gansey. You look like you're settling in rather well here."

[lamiaceae]

"Alfred, then." Gansey has a warm, firm handshake, and his hand is calloused from rowing crew and rock climbing. He's not a weedy boy by any means, but the handshake reveals him as sturdier than he looks. "I think the appearance of settling in is mostly a high threshold for some kinds of strangeness." Newcomb is weird and subtly wrong and Gansey's naturally blessed with anxiety and insomnia, but fretting himself to the bone won't help anything. "It's been calm since we got here. I didn't enjoy the literal trainwreck of arriving."

"What will you be teaching? The course options seem pretty eclectic." Eclectic is a positive in his books.

[flippin_peachy]

Gansey's hands are calloused but not nearly as much as Alfred's are, years of work, fighting and age have left his hands rough and scarred.

"I don't think anyone did, but I guess in a way it has given us all something to talk about hasn't it?" He says with a small smile.

"And yes, I'm teaching combat and etiquette. Are either of those things you're interested in?"

[lamiaceae]

Hands are a good first measure of a person in Gansey's book, a little glimpse into the reality of their life. Alfred's combination of rough hands and refined manners is an interesting one.

"Combat, actually. I'm a bit tired of etiquette, and if things are going to get...interesting at the beginning of every loop I should work on being a bit less useless in the face of violence."

[flippin_peachy]

"I highly doubt that you're useless, but I can understand wanting to be a bit more prepared." He says as he releases his grip of Gansey's hand.

"Have you ever been in a fist fight before?"

[lamiaceae]

"Not exactly. I've taken some punches, but mostly in service of dragging my friend out of whatever fight he'd started." He had started so very many. "And I can throw a punch as an academic exercise, but hurting someone on purpose in self-defense or otherwise? I don't think I have." His face gives a wry twist as he shrugs. "Considering some of the things I do remember, that's weird."

[flippin_peachy]

"Based on all that, then you already know something very important about combat." He points out and motions for Gansey to walk with him down the hall.

"And that is that it's always best to try and not use it as a first response. People who do are usually bullies."

[lamiaceae]

Gansey falls into step, hanging on Alfred's words.

"True." Ronan gets half a pass from Gansey for being one of those people who parses all difficult emotions as anger. Most everyone else he's encountered who goes in swinging is a garden variety ass. "I think I prefer ending fights, not starting them."

[flippin_peachy]

"As do I. That being said there are times when I've had to end fights by making sure I was the last man standing."

[lamiaceae]

That idea gives Gansey pause for a few strides, needing to assess his own character. Amnesia makes that tricky; he thinks he understands himself until he delves past impulse into the reasons for those impulses and comes up stunningly blank. When he responds, the words are measured. "I would rather aim to be the last one standing than falter when it counts."

[flippin_peachy]

Alfred gives him a gentle clap on the back of his shoulder, "I'm sure you won't falter. You seem to have a certain amount of determination about you, but like I said before if you're interested I'd be happy to show you a thing or two."

[lamiaceae]

"I'd like that." This time when Gansey smiles at Alfred, it's not the politician's smile, but something smaller and warmer. "Determination is one thing I'm told I have in spades. So I'll see you in class, then?"

[flippin_peachy]

It's nice to see a genuine smile, or at least the start of one, and Alfred nods.

"See you then."