001: video

[doneproperly]

Hello, fellow imPorts.

[The feed displays a young man, around 17 or 18-- but the air he gives off is somehow older, more self assured than you'd expect from a teenager. He's dressed sharply in an expensively well-tailored suit; his concession to the heat was to forgo the tie and leave the top button undone. In his breast pocket, a neatly folded handkerchief square peeps out. The overall image is painfully British.]

Having seen a few young people discuss their worries about being ready for schooling in September, I would like to offer my services as a tutor to those in need. Though the history and geography of my own world is rather different, I'm quite proficient in most areas of mathematics and science, including algebra, statistics, geometry, trigonometry, physics and chemistry.

Additionally, I'm fluent in French, Czech, Hebrew and Latin should anyone desire to learn another language-- not that it is strictly necessary, here.

I admit though, that is only one part of my inquiry.

In fact, I'm eager to continue here some of the work that I performed back home. I have consulted with the police department on numerous occasions to help with their investigations, have a working knowledge of the law such as it exists in my own world, and have also some experience liaising with the press. If anyone knows of any available job openings that could make use of my abilities, I would be in your debt.

Thank you.

Comments

[doneproperly]

[Mandrake blinks in some surprise, and that gives him pause for a moment.]

... I'm not quite sure I understand. You don't have demons or actual magic in your world, but you have Johann Faust?

[immuno]

[ squint. ]

Doctor Faustus is a fictional character in Christopher Marlowe's play of the same name. It's a metaphor about corruption and the conflicting ideologies of the Medieval and Renaissance thinkers as the western world's value systems evolved. Not an actual guy.

[ And she's not arguing about actual magic but she never said anything about not having demons!! She'd rather they didn't tbh. ]

[doneproperly]

That's preposterous. Johann Faust isn't fictional-- he lived in 16th cenutry Germany, and he wrote one of the foremost influential texts on modern magic.

[immuno]

Well, spoilers, but his use of magic didn't end so well for him. The demon he summoned, Mephistopheles? It dragged him to Hell.

[doneproperly]

[He waves a hand dismissively.]

Hell does not exist. The tale however is familiar, which is curious. In my world, the research of Johann Faust was pivotal in reaching more advanced levels of summoning. Faust's Compendium is still considered required reading for students once they achieve competency. Though he wrote much, his research was never completed. The demon Mephistopheles did indeed eventually catch him in a mistake, and Faust was consumed whole.

If Faust had not slipped up, he would not have met such a gruesome end. That's all there is to it.

[immuno]

I'm just curious: does it occur to you how arrogant you sound right now, or is the complete and utter lack of self-awareness a standard magician trait?

[doneproperly]

[The tiniest of smiles forms at the corner of his mouth.]

You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you I'm one of the more self-aware among my colleagues. Arrogance simply comes with the territory-- though I prefer to think of myself as confident, of course.

[immuno]

Positive connotation doesn't temper the presumption.

[doneproperly]

I was hardly being presumptive, I was stating a fact.

[immuno]

There's no way to check the veracity of the supposition that you're somehow more attentive to detail or smarter than Doctor Faustus. So, no. Not fact.

[doneproperly]

It is not as if I came to the conclusion on my own. It's considered basic general knowledge in the magical community. And it doesn't matter how smart or attentive you are-- even the best can have an off day, though of course, it's less likely. But it only needs to happen once.

[immuno]

Exactly why you're arrogant to be doing it anyway. All it takes is one off day, one mistake—and you don't think that'll happen to you.

[doneproperly]

[Bingo.]

It could-- but it won't.

[immuno]

Like I said: arrogant.

[doneproperly]

If knowing the extent of my ability and having confidence in it is arrogance, then I suppose, guilty as charged.

[immuno]

Confidence doesn't always have to involve recklessness, you realize.

[doneproperly]

I'm not reckless.

[THAT'S A WHOPPING GREAT LIE IF EVER THERE WAS ONE.

Mandrake, however, believes he's telling the truth. Because he's a loser with no self-awareness.]

[immuno]

Right. I'm sure there's another word that much better describes trying to summon demons who could kill you and drag you to hell.

[doneproperly]

[He resists the temptation to repeat "Hell doesn't exist." Honestly. Commoners.]

If anybody could do it, anybody would do it. Magicians, however, are not "anybody." Our rigorous training from an early age is testament to that. And to even be accepted as an apprentice to be trained, one must first pass a series of aptitude tests.

That said, if you've properly learned the craft and haven't gotten lazy, or aren't prone to panicking, if you work slowly and carefully, there's no reason to find yourself bested by a demon.

[immuno]

Well, when it goes terribly wrong, don't come crying to me for help.

[doneproperly]

If it all goes terribly wrong, I highly doubt I'll be crying to anyone. Being dead makes that rather difficult.

[immuno]

[ The tightest, most uncomfortable smile ever. Maybe if he were talking to anyone who wasn't a banshee. ]

I guess it does.

[ That didn't stop her from hearing the final moments of everyone in the Glen Capri. ]