LFG (Tag Kir) on Cascade Hall

Gary Harper

February 14, 2019 7:54 PM

LFG (Tag Kir) by Gary Harper

Gary walked into the hall with a mission. He was going to do this. He was. He was determined. Nothing was going to stop him. Nothing at all. The room was crowded, which was normal for this time of the day. As such it took him a few minutes to locate his quarry. Jasmine was sitting at a table, just as lovely as ever. Her hair, her smile, her....

His legs became jelly, and his stomach nearly turned inside out. All of his resolve melted away like a level one fighter in the cone of an ancient red dragon's breath weapon. He served off course and flopped down at an empty seat to recover. That hadn't gone well. Now what? This was pathetic. What was wrong with him? He looked around from his seat and saw Kir sitting with Zev. He had been right! They did like each other! How had he done that? As he watched, Zev got up and left, from their parting he got the impression she wasn't going to return immediately.

Before he knew it, he had somehow moved into Zev's recently vacated seat. "How did you do that?" He asked the older boy, "How do you..." he gestured in the general direction that Zev had gone. "I think I need some help."

2 Gary Harper LFG (Tag Kir) 1404 Gary Harper 1 5

Kir

February 15, 2019 6:56 AM

Clarifying the mission objective by Kir

Kir was slightly surprised when someone immediately slid into Zevalyn’s recently vacated seat, but was pleased to see Gary. They didn’t socialise a lot outside of game time - it had been slightly easier last year, when they’d been in intermediates together, and was once again slightly more challenging now that Kir wasn’t - but Kir liked all his fellow DnDers (even, if he was forced at wandpoint to be honest, the most recent one) and was happy to spend time with them.

Gary’s first question didn’t make much sense. Kir was not really doing anything. The most recent observable act in which he had engaged was taking a bite of his sandwich. He was pretty sure that Gary, as a human who was not dead yet, did not need advice on how to do this. Gary clarified to some degree. It was to do with Zev. And help with… that genre of thing. Which element of that, he wasn’t exactly sure… The ‘that’ that he and Zevalyn had been engaged in just before she left was a kiss goodbye, but not even a particularly passionate one because… well, they were in a hall full of people, and also everyone tasted of lunch right now, neither of which were really super conducive to make out sessions (unless someone tasted like chocolate or bacon). But Gary might have been asking about that sort of thing, or about something more general. As far as Kir knew, Gary wasn’t dating anyone. But then, Kir didn’t think he knew that much about who was dating who.

“I’ll help if I can,” he offered, deciding that friendly (but cautious) support was a good start, along with clarifying what they were talking about. “What exactly are you having trouble with?”

13 Kir Clarifying the mission objective 366 Kir 0 5

Gary

February 16, 2019 6:45 AM

Looking For... Girl? by Gary

Gary looked across the room in Jasmine's general direction as he answered Kir's question. "Social interaction as pertaining to the courting of the fairer sex." He replied forlornly. "I believe the technical term for my affliction is 'smitten'. I can't make the saves to resolve it either way. Shaking the condition has proven impossible, and admittedly unwanted." He paused and sighed a bit as he watched the girl across the room.

"However, acting on the feelings has been equally difficult." His recent failure today was fresh in his mind, along with the numerous times he'd tried one type of plan or another in classes. "How did you manage to talk to Zev, and get her to reciprocate? Help me Obi Kir Kenobi, you're my only hope." He slumped in the seat, not knowing what else to do.

2 Gary Looking For... Girl? 1404 Gary 0 5

Kir

February 16, 2019 10:12 PM

There are so very many to choose from by Kir

Gary had a unique way of presenting the issue. It was sciency, and there were D&D references and something that was definitely a pop culture reference which he could probably write Aunt Lola about later and get some clarification on. Kir liked it. Kir liked Gary. Hopefully there was some nice, slightly weird girl out there to like him too. But then Gary’s eyes wandered in the direction of Crotalus, rather than say, Aladren. Why? Aladren was full of girls. Nerdy nerdy girls. There were literally three people who were neither Gary nor female, at least one of them was a gay nerdy boy. Crotalus… admittedly, he didn’t know most of them, but for one, it was ninety percent Pureblood, and of the ten percent that wasn’t, at least five percent of that was a half-veela who was super close with one of Gary’s friends. It had ‘disaster’ written all over it.

He decided to put a pin in the idea that Crotalus was a snake pit for now and answer Gary’s actual question. How had he talked to Zevalyn? And got her to reciprocate?

“Well… I guess you introduced us. Which, by the way, thank you a million times over. We were at D&D together before we ever really talked properly in class.” And then… Well, their first conversation had been around kneazle science. And it had been during the plague so he’d accidentally ended up wearing make up. Then Zevalyn had got sick, and he’d gone to visit her, and made really black humour jokes about Purebloods which had gone down like a lead balloon, and then they had talked about actual balloons and fighting the patriarchy - oh but before that, his accidental magic had caused the homework notes he’d brought her to fold into flowers, which was probably the point at which she realised he wasn’t gay, which up until then she’d thought… And then, next thing he knew, she was asking him out. It didn’t make actual sense when you put it that way.

“I think it helps that, under her very beautiful exterior, Zev is clearly a massive nerd,” he suggested, trying to look for something that explained why all that had worked, “And not easily scared off. As for how I talked to her… well, in case you haven’t noticed, I have more of a problem with shutting up than with talking.

“What do you have in common with the girl you like? And you wanna tell me who it is? You don’t have to, but might help if I had the specifics to work with here.”

13 Kir There are so very many to choose from 366 Kir 0 5

Gary

February 17, 2019 9:55 AM

If only that were true by Gary

Gary inwardly cringed a bit at Kir's reply. Zev was a nerd, Kir might be headed that direction, but was he when they had started? He looked at the Teppenpaw prefect a little questioningly, "How did her being a nerd help? Were you one as well, back when you started... seeing her?" He wasn't at all sure what the right term was, was it 'dating' if you're locked in the same building together all the time? From what he knew, and what his limited investigative abilities had been able to turn up, Jasmine was not much of a nerd. Did that doom any chance he'd have? If Kir hadn't been strong to the nerd side, had Zev pulled him in, and could the same be done to another? He readily admitted that it would be much preferable to fall for someone that shared all of the same interests and such, but what if that wasn't the case? What then?

He weighed in his mind the possible outcomes of handing over her name to Kir. Especially after his admittance of inability to stop talking. This however could be one possible, indirect, solution to his problem. If word made it to her ears of his interest, he may well find out her thoughts on the subject are and the matter would be put to rest one way or another. True, the whole school may also know at the same time, but he decided he didn't really care on that front. He didn't interact with many of the other students much anyway, and if he got rejected he could always just crawl back into the traditional isolationist hole of his studies again in a vain attempt to purge her from his system. If she was agreeable to the idea, then he could approach her with some confidence of a successful social interaction.

"Jasmine Delachene," He stated simply to Kir looking back to her across the room. "As for things in common? We're both human, magically gifted, attending Sonora Academy, in our fourth year here... umm..." He faltered then sighed. "That is a chunk of the problem. Outside of classes, we haven't interacted much. Our first year was the bonfire and we hung out there quite a bit and had a fun time. At least I did. Her family owns a pegasai ranch in the desert somewhere and they camp out a lot while taking care of them. I wasn't interested in 'girls' at the time, so it was just hanging out for fun. I was going to hunt her down at the fair last year and see if she wanted to hang out, but it looked like she was spending time with her other friends." He smirked, "So I got to hang out with Ness instead. You've heard all about that."

2 Gary If only that were true 1404 Gary 0 5

Kir

February 18, 2019 7:25 AM

I mean, it's kind of an objective fact. Count 'em by Kir

"Yeah, underneath the soft and fluffy Teppenpaw exterior lurks a solid nerd, and always has done. I get excited for theory classes. I like doing my homework. I alphabetise things that I notice are out of order," Kir listed.

Jasmine. Huh. Well, of all the girls in Crotalus, this was probably the least terrible option. Jasmine liked Disney movies, so she definitely wasn't Pureblood, and she didn't have any of the complications of Cleo. Kir still slightly wanted to bang his head against the table because… Well, she liked Disney movies. Kir supposed it was not particularly fair to judge Jasmine as silly and airheaded based on the time he had spent in her company, given that it had largely been under the influence of confusing and confunding solutions but… well, even prior to taking them she hadn’t seemed like the brightest button in the box.

“She seems like a fun person,” he acknowledged. And this was perfectly true. That lesson had been a laugh. They’d talked, they’d sung songs, they’d probably annoyed Winston Pierce, and Kir loved doing all those things. He could get on with Jasmine. He got on with Gary. And yet, why did he see them not clicking well with each other? The same reasons, he supposed he got on with James but could not imagine bringing him to D&D - those were all parts of the Kir personality diagram (nerdy, loud, likes books, likes singing) but Gary was in one circle and Jasmine in the other.

“I’m mentally making Venn Diagrams. Sorry, that’s back to reasons I’m a nerd. And yes, I heard that you ran an experiment about mirrors and the patriarchy. Ness enjoyed it a lot,” he replied. Ness had also wrangled an invite to D&D. Kir had decided to judge how much of a problem that was when it arose. On the one hand, he kind of wanted his friends to be… well, his and Ness could be a pain in the butt. But, on the other, more objective side, his sibling would potentially be quite good at the game. And maybe would be a pain in Gary’s butt instead of his. It remained to be seen. “Um, about what you should do…”

He considered ‘don’t use the verb ‘hunt down’ when referring to her’ but figured that people did say that without meaning it in a predatory stalker kind of way. So, hopefully that wasn’t an issue. Hopefully. He would keep an eye…

“I think you need to talk to her more. Look at it this way, it can go one of three ways… One, she isn’t nice to you. Admittedly humiliating and unpleasant in the short term, but if she’s not a nice person, then you deserve better. Possibility two, you guys get on as friends. Possibility three, you get on and end up dating. Both of those are good options. Friends aren’t a consolation prize,” he added. He could definitely expand on that point if needed but for now he left it there.

“Maybe class is a good time to try it. That way you’ve got a ready made subject to talk about,” he added, feeling like the advice of ‘just talk to her’ was maybe not ideal when Gary’s whole issue was ‘I don’t know how to talk to her.’

13 Kir I mean, it's kind of an objective fact. Count 'em 366 Kir 0 5

Gary

February 20, 2019 6:09 PM

Objectivity is not a valid argument here by Gary

Kir had always been a nerd? That was disheartening. No evidence for converting a non-nerd into a nerd. Gary sighed. Maybe it was still possible, but it would have been nice to have some precedence set. Oh well. He listened to Kir's advise, most of which followed his own line of thinking. He needed to be able to interact with her in a situation that already had a reason for them to interact.

"Yeah," he said a little dejectedly, "That's what I was thinking as well. I just... well, haven't been having much luck with that approach. I've been trying to partner up with her in classes, and somehow it just goes wrong. Every time." He gave a weak shrug, "So I figured I'd try a different approach today, and boy did that ever not work." He sighed again, "Is it fate or something working against me? Am I cursed?" He paused for a moment, then looked at Kir, "Could it be a curse? Is there a way to check for that? What kind of petty, stupid curse would that be?" He stopped again.

"Now I'm just being ridiculous, aren't I?" He said with a sheepish grin, "It's just stupid, bad luck. I'll get to talk to her again at some point. Then we'll see what happens." He moved to stand up, then paused again. "I don't suppose you know anything more about her that would help me, do you?"

2 Gary Objectivity is not a valid argument here 1404 Gary 0 5

Kir

February 21, 2019 8:31 AM

Who are you and what have you done with the real Gary? by Kir

“Goes wrong how?” Kir asked, when Gary mentioned bad luck both with partnering Jasmine in class and speaking to her just now.

“I mean… I suspect something like that exists,” he commented, when Gary asked about being cursed, “You can brew liquid luck. There are probably ways to magically give people bad luck or like… Well, Muggles get repelled every time they come near certain wizarding areas. They suddenly think about being somewhere else. I’ve been reading a lot about cause and effect charms lately, and that’s only one way in which someone could, theoretically, magically affect your ability to talk to a girl you liked. So, I’d say it’s possible but whether or not it’s probable…

“Does anyone strongly hate your guts? Is anyone here capable of casting a spell that complex? Does anyone have a reason, political or personal, to want to stop you going out with Jasmine? I’m guessing the answer is it’s not likely to all three of those.”

Kir considered Gary’s next question for a moment, weighing up whether it was sleazy to tell Gary what he knew about Jasmine. It seemed sort of… underhanded to give any information he knew that would let Gary get closer to her, rather than letting him do it on his own merit. However, the one thing he knew about Jasmine was probably not that helpful or that secret, and was probably pretty easy to spot by simply… being aware of her existence.

“She likes Disney movies,” he offered. “I… am aware those exist, and so I guess they must be popular enough that you know what they are.”

13 Kir Who are you and what have you done with the real Gary? 366 Kir 0 5

Gary

February 21, 2019 10:40 PM

He's fine, locked in a closet somewhere. He has a book. by Gary

"Eh," Gary started off his response to Kir."It's just a string of really bad luck I guess. Mostly she's just already with people. But a few of the times she hasn't, I've tripped or dropped everything I was carrying, or..." he shrugged, "Other little delays that rob me of the precise opportunity that I need. To make a proper move." He sighed again, "The next thing I know, she's sitting with someone else and working with them."

The boy shook his head as Kir listed off criteria. "No, it was a silly thought. I... I just...' he slumped back down into the seat and put his head on the table. "I just can't get her out of my head. I can't function properly... I have some unfinished homework right now. It's just sitting up in my room, waiting for me to complete this fool's errand so I can focus again."

"Disney?" He inquired at Kir's response. "Disney is good. They are masterful storytellers and an excellent source for ideas." He stood once more. "That should at least give me somewhere to go when the standard conversational lull occurs. Assuming of course that I actually get the chance to talk with her again." A little grin showed on Gary's face, "Thanks Kir. I guess I'd better get that homework finished, and come up with my next plan."

2 Gary He's fine, locked in a closet somewhere. He has a book. 1404 Gary 0 5

Kir

February 23, 2019 9:38 PM

Phew. So long as he has a book. by Kir

Kir wondered whether, subconsciously, Gary was sabotaging himself. He wanted to talk to Jasmine, of course he did, but it was tempting to leave it up to fate - to sit with her the next time there’s a chance, and then always find yourself arriving too late, or having some kind of mishap… But he didn’t mention it. Because adding more reasons for Gary to second guess himself was not going to help.

“Girls will do that to you,” Kir nodded, “Or… well, hormones will. They - the girls - aren’t actually doing anything,” he clarified. If boys could not concentrate because of a girl in the room, that was the boy’s problem.. He supposed it was one advantage of everyone being clothed in shapeless green sacks that that sort of argument had less opportunity to arise…

“Really?” Kir blinked in surprise when Gary seemed pleased about the Disney thing. He knew just enough about the subject to know it seemed surprising that Gary liked it. He was pretty sure they were full of very stereotypical princesses who waited around to get rescued by men (and/or occasionally were about cute animals, but then someone always died). But… well, ok. He was glad it was a good discussion point, even if he had no way of understanding why. “Cool. Well, you’re welcome. Good luck.”

13 Kir Phew. So long as he has a book. 366 Kir 0 5