Vincent Amorason (quitethecharmer) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2013-10-15 21:22:00

Entry tags:

In The Absence of Tone
From: charmschoolwizard@ff.net
To: jwoolverton@champions.com

Subject: Friday night?

Jenny, I've been thinking a lot about the night with the blackout. The stuff before the wraith, I mean. You really made me feel comfortable with myself; and frankly, that's not something that's been familiar to me in a while. I've got a dinner reservation at Slices of Heaven for 8 this Friday. I'd like to see you there, if you're interested.

- Vincent

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tabula_rasa
2013-10-15 11:04 pm UTC (link)

Jenny's eyes crossed when the email arrived. Vincent was a nice person, as far as she'd seen since his arrival, but this sounded a little more serious. Still, she had no reason to say no, but perhaps she could temper it a little and hope it didn't become embarrassing to either of them.

From: jwoolverton@champions.com
To: charmschoolwizard@ff.net

Subject: Re: Friday night?

Dinner would be nice, thank you. I am always happy to get to know my teammates better.

Jenny

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-15 11:35 pm UTC (link)
	True to his word, Vincent is waiting for Jenny at a table at 7:50, Friday night. He's dressed informally, but with his usual preference of quality clothing. He's poking idly at a piece of bread as he alternates between looking at the front door and something on a tablet. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-15 11:40 pm UTC (link)
	Jenny was exactly one time and casual, casual minus the usual orange and white cat hairs on her slacks. She smiled at Vincent as she was shown to the table. "Hello. I hope you haven't been waiting long." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-15 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	"No longer than planned on." He smiles, holding out her chair for her before sitting again. "I'm glad you came." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-16 12:08 am UTC (link)
	Jenny accepted the old fashioned gesture with good grace. "Thank you for the invitation." "As to why the invitation, I'm a little confused. We usually just gather in the kitchen and drink Irina's vodka after one of Corey's dinners." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-16 01:38 am UTC (link)
	"I'm not opposed to vodka later." He smiles. "But for what I had in mind, I thought some seclusion was in order." Vincent sips his water and looks over the menu. "I was looking at the littleneck clam and wine sauce white pizza to start. Should I get a personal, or would you like to share a full size?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-16 06:34 pm UTC (link)
	She couldn't help a hint of suspicion creeping into her voice. "What exactly do you have in mind?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-17 01:16 am UTC (link)
	"Well..." He considers. "I suppose I wouldn't mind Corey joining in, but I just really wanted to keep this away from Argo." Vincent turns his tablet around and offers it to her. It was filled with text, mostly typed, but with hand-written notations and edit marks. "I was wondering if you'd help beta-read a couple chapters with me?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-18 02:24 pm UTC (link)
	Ohhhh. Relief! "I would be happy to read it for you. And the pizza does sound good." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-18 04:25 pm UTC (link)
	Vincent doesn't need his history with enchantments and empathic spells to read that sudden spike of emotion. He tilts his head slightly, even as he hands over the tablet. "Thank you. Something you were concerned about?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-19 11:54 pm UTC (link)
	"Your email made it sound like a date. While I enjoy socializing with my teammates, I'm not in the market for a date. I'm relieved this isn't a date." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-20 12:00 am UTC (link)
	"Oh." Vincent blinks, processing all that. "I see." He looks at her over the rim of his water glass as he takes a long sip, feeling somewhat awkward now. "Relieved that I'm not asking you out, or that you're not being asked out?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

tabula_rasa
2013-10-20 12:04 am UTC (link)

"If you pick it apart, it might just stop us from becoming friends, so let's let that die a natural death and move on." Jenny moved her water glass an inch to the left. The poor guy seemed lonely and very young. Maybe what he needed was an older sister-type to nudge him along.

"You want a beta reader, and I certainly don't mind reading your work. I think people should do what makes them happy whenever possible."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-10-21 03:53 pm UTC (link)

"Hm. Sounds reasonable." He gives her a quizzical look, wondering briefly if this is going to be one of those times where you don't particularly want something until you're told you can't have it.

Hey, not that young.

"I appreciate it." He responds to the return to the writing. "I think I've got a decent story, ideally across three books or volumes, not sure about how it would be released. You know about the theory of fictive reality?"

The title of the draft is "Pagetripper". The foreword is simply written, centered in the page, and meant to emulate handwriting.

This is a true story, because the universe is vast, and all stories are true, somewhere.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-22 03:15 pm UTC (link)
	"I know the theory of what I like to read, as well as what a good cross-section of people look for when they're in a bookstore." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-10-22 03:19 pm UTC (link)

Vincent smiles and nods. "The theory states that for every conceived narrative, there exists, relatively close to our own universe, a universe where that narrative is true. A universe of the Star Wars films, a universe of the works of Shakespeare, a universe with the Super Buddies, and so on.

This is a story about someone who starts falling through different established fictions."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-23 05:32 pm UTC (link)
	"I see. In essence, every story is true, and every story has been told before." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-24 10:34 am UTC (link)
	"Exactly. The protagonist in this is a professor of literature who has become jaded specifically because of the 'been told before' perspective." Vincent explains, pausing as their server arrives, and ordering the pizza for them both. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-26 07:14 pm UTC (link)
	Jenny waited until the server left before resuming the conversation. "So he begins an unexpected journey through different universes?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-10-26 07:18 pm UTC (link)

"Faustian deal. He meets the devil at a bar-- well, a devil--" Not just important for the context, but also a linguistic choice that could come back to haunt him if he gets it wrong. Those are the circles he deals with after all, on occasion. "--and says he'd sell his soul for something to really inspire him again.

By the second act, he realizes that moving through the different worlds is also paving a path that can be followed, which comes back to the deal."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-27 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	"That could be considered unexpected. How many people would consider that the phrase 'I'd sell my soul for' would bring a taker for the deal. I'll be interested in the different worlds." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-10-29 01:06 am UTC (link)
	"They've been fun. I need to do some more research on parody as protected works, or there might be copyright issues... protagonist might end up finding himself mixed up in Space Wars or Trek." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-30 05:27 pm UTC (link)
	She smiled. "It's nice to see you enjoying it. I suppose the pace of things here in New Orleans is a lot different from what you're used to in New York." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-10-30 07:00 pm UTC (link)

"It's different... but so am I." He shrugs, sitting back in his chair and looking out the window.

"I was a demigod, and in love... then I wasn't, and I wasn't. I was angry. I made peace with both of those... and then when I was ready for a relationship, the other person I cared about had already made a life with someone else. I wanted to do with my father, with where I was raised, but... people needed me-- my brother needed me, and when all that dust settled I was officially an Heir, and a junior ambassador.

New Orleans was... a matter of coincidence, but if it hadn't been here, it would have been somewhere else. I needed a new start. Getting my doctorate was part of that, too.

Starting writing was just... that's the first thing in a long time that I think really just happened. Because I let it. Because I decided on it."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-10-31 04:03 pm UTC (link)
	Jenny nodded slowly. That had all come rushing out seemingly without Vincent noticing. Poor kid seemed to need to unload a lot of baggage. "Well, the slow pace here is nice. Plenty of time to decide and let things happen, like writing." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)