JGOB, Saturday Afternoon

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana had an unabashed sweet tooth and exactly no compunctions about indulging it (and anything else she wanted) whenever the whim struck her. So as the day headed towards evening, she wandered from her still-creepy-though-less-abandoned home into town to see what delicious baked goods the shop had to tempt her with.

And then there were several potential options, and that was how she'd ended up settled at a table with a rainbow of bite-sized treats around her, delicately nibbling while poking at her phone.

[Open, if potentially slow!]

Comments

[sharp_man]

Hannibal wasn't in the habit of dropping by the bakery often, but he was wandering by when he spotted Liliana, and he stepped inside to say hello.

"Ms Vess, lovely to see you. Is the contractor working out?"

[deathsmajesty]

"He'll be meeting me at my home tomorrow," she said, giving him a regal smile. "But we had a pleasant conversation over the phone yesterday and I like some of the ideas."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal smiled back. "Wonderful; I'm pleased to hear it. And how have you been?"

[deathsmajesty]

Her lips twitch into a small, pleased smile. "Quite well, thank you. I have a phone now, which I hadn't realized was the main way that folks on this plane socialized, which is helpful, but also I discovered delivery. And had a delightful time being angry at a book."

She pulled a croquembouche free from a miniature tower and gestured for him to help himself if he wished. "And yourself, doctor?"

[sharp_man]

Hannibal bowed in thanks and sat. "I have been well. Contemplating teaching again next semester, as I'm afraid my life has become somewhat boring of late." And a bored Hannibal was a more dangerous Hannibal.

He smiled at her mention of a phone. "Phones can be quite convenient for that sort of thing. Virtually anything you want can be brought to your home - for the right price, of course." He doubted Liliana had issues with that part.

[deathsmajesty]

Just as soon as she learned about portals, there was going to be such an exciting time.

"Oh, what do you teach?" she asked, with perhaps unexpected interest for those who don't know her.

So... pretty much everyone.

[sharp_man]

"It varies," Hannibal answered. "Cooking and food appreciation, often, though I've also taught art, cultures, and first aid. I haven't taught since the school became a college, however." Because that had been so long ago.

[deathsmajesty]

"Interesting," Liliana said, head tilting. "What kind of doctor are you?" she asked, since none of those topics were doctoral, at least on any other plane she had been on.

[sharp_man]

First aid was medical!

"I have been a trauma surgeon and a professor," Hannibal answered. "More recently, a psychiatrist. This island's goings-on give me plenty of business." Albeit all from NPCs.

[deathsmajesty]

Okay fair. One of them was.

"A psychiatrist?"

[sharp_man]

"Mm." Hannibal thought how best to describe it to someone who had little or no knowledge of Earth medicine. "A doctor of the mind. Using therapy, drugs, and whatever other means are available to help people face their fears, or overcome their traumas."

He shrugged. "And occasionally to allow wealthy idiots to pay me to listen to them talk."

Hey, he was honest.

Mostly.

[deathsmajesty]

The full truth was no one's friend.

"Ah!" she said with a nod. "A mind mage. Blue, white, maybe a splash of black? My studies into necromancy have strayed into lethemancy."

[sharp_man]

"I'm not a mage, at least not as I understand the term," Hannibal corrected. "I have no magic or superhuman abilities. Except, I've been told, for my ability to match plaids and paisleys. What do the different colors mean?"

[deathsmajesty]

"They refer to the different colors of mana," Liliana explained. "And those come from the different land types - my magic is black and comes from swamps." Which made Maryland fucking great.

"But each color of magic is more aligned with certain things. Like blue magic is good with thoughts, intelligence, telepathy, water, things like that. So a mental doctor would be blue because of its link to minds and mental, as opposed to healing a body, which is white-aligned."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal nodded. "And mana is magic? Or what magic manipulates?"

[deathsmajesty]

"Mana powers the magic," Liliana said, summoning a crackling ball of black and purple light. "Without mana, you're screwed."

(That's M:TG joke, kids. *Finger guns*)

"So if your magic runs on white mana and you're in the middle of a mountain range..." she shrugged. "That's likely going to be a problem, unless you're either very clever or very prepared."

Or very ruthless.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal nodded. "One advantage to not using magic - I don't need to worry about where I am." He watched her magic curiously. "Can anyone learn magic, or is it an innate ability?"

Because the multiverse needed a magical Hannibal Lecter.

[deathsmajesty]

"No, the ability to use mana is innate, without extreme circumstances," Liliana said, sipping the tea she'd ordered with her menu sampling.

But just when you thought it was safe... "That's one of the reasons we have artifacts. To allow non-mages to be able to access magical effects."

[sharp_man]

Fortunately for the multiverse...

Hannibal hummed in thought. "I make it a policy never to use anything I don't entirely understand the mechanism behind. Not for anything important, anyway. Unpredictability in daily life can be a wonder. In something you rely upon, it's less delightful."

[deathsmajesty]

"Ahh, and I'm no Izzet engineer to explain the whole process - which is a benefit, as it means I'm also not going to cause something to randomly blow up in the course of our conversation - so, sadly, I'm unable to offer much in the way of insight," Liliana said, extinguishing her ball of magic to eat a tiny cheesecake parfait. "Though there are plenty of magical artifacts created for whimsy and wonder, rather than with the expectation of being relied upon in life or death situations."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal smiled. "Such as? And are these the sorts of things you can acquire?"

[deathsmajesty]

"These are most of the inventory in my shop," she agreed with a small laugh. "So far, I've found magic carpets, a music box that can play any song you think of, a jar of paper frogs that make for excellent distractions, a filigree bird that flies about while singing a lovely melody...and those were just the ones I could identify."