[ ness's experience with generic american accents is pretty limited; wanda is immediately noted as "not from anywhere familiar". that's alright; the people she's met who have generic american accents have been fairly lovely, on balance. ]
What do you prefer, Messere? That matters more than what I do.
[ as a consummate people pleaser, she's very familiar with the importance of phrasing and reading into requests. "if you prefer" is a far cry from "i would like it if".
the question stumps her, obvious in the way it takes her a few moments to say something. ]
I don't generally refrain from asking questions, no matter what I worry others may think of them—I simply wait to find someone I think will receive the question well. I've found that our Seneschal, Enchanter Julius, does not mind my questions, nor do Head Healer Strange or Captain Baudin. The Seneschal and the Captain are both natives, but the Healer is a Rifter, and all together they can provide a fairly comprehensive view of whatever you may wish to inquire to, in my experience.
Edited (typing on an ipad is balls!!!) 2024-09-20 16:57 (UTC)
[ Head Healer Strange. Although he's already confirmed his status in Thedas, it's still so strange to hear Strange has taken a role that is… so perfectly dully him. Who else would be better to be the lead doctor than the surgeon with an ego as big as McSteamy's? At least he isn't acting out of character. She'd be more concerned about this Earth if he weren't taking on too much.
She thinks to ask her what she makes of Head Healer Strange. Is he trustworthy? Does he speak of those from home? Does he speak of home? But asking those questions means she's worried—and she intends not to worry. A Wanda who worries is a Wanda who makes a mess, and Strange is not her obstacle here. She is. ]
No one has called me 'Messere' before. Maybe you can call me 'Messere Wanda', Ennaris Tavane.
How long have you been here, if you don't mind me asking?
Ah, [ perhaps she's still unaware of the forms of address here–that makes sense, ness had to get used to them too. ] Messere is the polite form of address, here, like—well, in my previous life, it would have been goodsir or goodlady. Sir or ma'am also would have been acceptable, but here Ser is reserved for those who hold a knighthood.
[ isn't she so helpful and informative and not at all a weird walking wikipedia? ]
I can certainly call you Messere Wanda, if that's what you prefer! You can call me Ennaris, or Ness, if the full name is a mouthful. I've been here...
[ it hasn't been so long that she should stumble like this, but in ness's defense she hit the ground running and hasn't paused to let herself breathe, even for a moment. ]
Two months, I believe, or thereabouts. [ a pause, and then, gently, just in case, ] You get used to it. The people are mostly kind, and the work is meaningful. I miss my previous life, but I am not, so far, unhappy here.
[ She wasn't. (Was she? She tells herself she wasn't concerned. This is her second multiversal rodeo. Isn't she a cowboy by now?) She smiles. Does it come through, making her words sound like a tease? She thinks so. It's better to appear like that than for her to be taken too seriously. Wanda doesn't want to answer specific questions. ]
Do you anticipate you'll be unhappy, Ness?
[ Ness. It feels like she hasn't earned calling her by a shortened name, but Wanda tries it for flavour. It doesn't sound bad, speaking to another. ]
Won't we all, someday? That is the nature of life, after all.
[ it is not, ness knows, strictly an answer to the question as it was asked. she hedges as a matter of habit, and less out of reluctance than difficulty knowing where to begin with anything more direct. they are at war, corypheus threatens the world, circles remain dangling over all their heads like a knife—this is not so simple a question.
some answers are easier, though. she can start with them. ]
More specifically, should Corypheus prove victorious, I don't believe anyone would truly end up happy in his world, not even his Venatori. So I may end up unhappy then.
[ she smiles, though, the picture of optimism. ]
I don't wallow in that possibility, though. We will defeat him, and that future won't come to pass. Whatever unhappiness lies in my future, it will be mundane, and fleeting. Hardly apocalyptic.
[ Hardly apocalyptic. Wanda wishes she could look at a glass and see it as half-full again. She used to, once. Now, she sees the glass and its cracks, and how the water is slowly slipping through the fissures while others may not notice.
But Ness deserves a Wanda who isn't beaten down by… everything. ]
I like how you view things. [ It's said kindly, and she means it. ] How do you remind yourself to be happy when things feel… not so happy?
[ How does someone like Ness pick herself up? She's someone Wanda would consider naive, but… perhaps she needs that naivety to help her get through this universe. ]
[ she doesn't mind, based on the considering hum she gives to indicate that she's thinking on the question—but she doesn't know how to answer easily, either. it takes a moment for ness to have an answer formulated that she's happy with. ]
I'm alive, [ she says, soft with a bit of wonder, like that wasn't a given, ] against all odds. I'm here, surrounded by heroes, contributing tangibly to the most noble cause I can imagine.
[ it probably sounds like a bunch of bullshit—too lofty and altruistic to possibly be true. ness presses ahead even so. ]
Whatever makes me unhappy, whatever personal annoyances I experience—I can change them. I have time and ability, and anything is possible with the correct application of both. Happiness is inevitable, then, on the long scale of the universe. So why not choose it now, if I can?
[ there are things that hurt too badly for happiness to be a choice, of course. ness is no stranger to those. but when she can choose, when it comes to the things she feels softly enough to make that choice...
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ ness's experience with generic american accents is pretty limited; wanda is immediately noted as "not from anywhere familiar". that's alright; the people she's met who have generic american accents have been fairly lovely, on balance. ]
What do you prefer, Messere? That matters more than what I do.
[ as a consummate people pleaser, she's very familiar with the importance of phrasing and reading into requests. "if you prefer" is a far cry from "i would like it if".
the question stumps her, obvious in the way it takes her a few moments to say something. ]
I don't generally refrain from asking questions, no matter what I worry others may think of them—I simply wait to find someone I think will receive the question well. I've found that our Seneschal, Enchanter Julius, does not mind my questions, nor do Head Healer Strange or Captain Baudin. The Seneschal and the Captain are both natives, but the Healer is a Rifter, and all together they can provide a fairly comprehensive view of whatever you may wish to inquire to, in my experience.
no subject
She thinks to ask her what she makes of Head Healer Strange. Is he trustworthy? Does he speak of those from home? Does he speak of home? But asking those questions means she's worried—and she intends not to worry. A Wanda who worries is a Wanda who makes a mess, and Strange is not her obstacle here. She is. ]
No one has called me 'Messere' before. Maybe you can call me 'Messere Wanda', Ennaris Tavane.
How long have you been here, if you don't mind me asking?
no subject
Ah, [ perhaps she's still unaware of the forms of address here–that makes sense, ness had to get used to them too. ] Messere is the polite form of address, here, like—well, in my previous life, it would have been goodsir or goodlady. Sir or ma'am also would have been acceptable, but here Ser is reserved for those who hold a knighthood.
[ isn't she so helpful and informative and not at all a weird walking wikipedia? ]
I can certainly call you Messere Wanda, if that's what you prefer! You can call me Ennaris, or Ness, if the full name is a mouthful. I've been here...
[ it hasn't been so long that she should stumble like this, but in ness's defense she hit the ground running and hasn't paused to let herself breathe, even for a moment. ]
Two months, I believe, or thereabouts. [ a pause, and then, gently, just in case, ] You get used to it. The people are mostly kind, and the work is meaningful. I miss my previous life, but I am not, so far, unhappy here.
In case you had concerns.
no subject
[ She wasn't. (Was she? She tells herself she wasn't concerned. This is her second multiversal rodeo. Isn't she a cowboy by now?) She smiles. Does it come through, making her words sound like a tease? She thinks so. It's better to appear like that than for her to be taken too seriously. Wanda doesn't want to answer specific questions. ]
Do you anticipate you'll be unhappy, Ness?
[ Ness. It feels like she hasn't earned calling her by a shortened name, but Wanda tries it for flavour. It doesn't sound bad, speaking to another. ]
a million gomens, feel free to drop!
[ it is not, ness knows, strictly an answer to the question as it was asked. she hedges as a matter of habit, and less out of reluctance than difficulty knowing where to begin with anything more direct. they are at war, corypheus threatens the world, circles remain dangling over all their heads like a knife—this is not so simple a question.
some answers are easier, though. she can start with them. ]
More specifically, should Corypheus prove victorious, I don't believe anyone would truly end up happy in his world, not even his Venatori. So I may end up unhappy then.
[ she smiles, though, the picture of optimism. ]
I don't wallow in that possibility, though. We will defeat him, and that future won't come to pass. Whatever unhappiness lies in my future, it will be mundane, and fleeting. Hardly apocalyptic.
sorry, my dude; i got blipped!
But Ness deserves a Wanda who isn't beaten down by… everything. ]
I like how you view things. [ It's said kindly, and she means it. ] How do you remind yourself to be happy when things feel… not so happy?
[ How does someone like Ness pick herself up? She's someone Wanda would consider naive, but… perhaps she needs that naivety to help her get through this universe. ]
If you don't mind a stranger asking.
no subject
I'm alive, [ she says, soft with a bit of wonder, like that wasn't a given, ] against all odds. I'm here, surrounded by heroes, contributing tangibly to the most noble cause I can imagine.
[ it probably sounds like a bunch of bullshit—too lofty and altruistic to possibly be true. ness presses ahead even so. ]
Whatever makes me unhappy, whatever personal annoyances I experience—I can change them. I have time and ability, and anything is possible with the correct application of both. Happiness is inevitable, then, on the long scale of the universe. So why not choose it now, if I can?
[ there are things that hurt too badly for happiness to be a choice, of course. ness is no stranger to those. but when she can choose, when it comes to the things she feels softly enough to make that choice...
why not make it? ]