16720/Folding Paper

Folding Paper
Date of Scene:	30 December 2023
Location:	Chelsea - Miagani Island
Synopsis:	Clara meets Talia in the guise of a university student, and learns the tribulations of the American educational system.
Cast of Characters:	Talia al Ghul, Clara Jennings

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Talia al Ghul has posed:
It's a musk, dreary day in Gotham (actually that qualifies the vast majority of days in Gotham). Talia Al Ghul is walking along, moving in the persona of someone that's a university student, wearing the attire of someone that's attending one of the universities of Gotham. "How does this city have an abandoned amusement park district, abandoned practical joke factory districts.."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara is in the guise of... well, herself, really. It's not creative, admittedly, but she's quite good at it. She has plenty of reasons to be in the area. The reason at the moment is the library. Or it was. She has completed her time there. It has gone well!

    Behind her is a rolling suitcase that is bulging, loaded with every book that could possibly fit inside. On the handle is a backpack, which is also full, seemingly to its breaking point.

    In Clara's hand is a book, which she is reading. While she walks. If her governess saw her she'd be getting it for sure. A lady does not walk and read. A lady does not fill her bags so much she has to slouch forward to pull them along. A lady does not... There are many things a lady does not do. Clara knows them all! But she loves Little Women and she's lost in it. It's not the highest of artistic works, yes, but it was the first novel she read as a little girl.

    This is how she is, heading right for Talia. By divine luck, however, she does not even set the stage to run into Talia. Instead, she abruptly stops, right in front of her.

    She has to, you see, to turn the page. It's when she finally sees the other woman.

    "Oh, um, hello!" she stammers out. She lowers the book from her face and manages an uncertain smile. She tries to think of nice thing to say, but she can only come up with, "Lovely day, is it not?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
As she goes to pass along, upon being addressed, Talia looks in the direction of Clara. "I've gotten the impression that today is better weather than it is normally. This place usually looks like the sort of atmosphere from a Lovecraft story." She would speak rather earnestly, the type of person that was new to the city. But.. Someone wearing a university outfit, young and female, that somehow -didn't- have a crowd at least paying passive attention to her and looking at her over like easy prey was odd..
    "This city is weird. Why does it have abandoned practical joke factories? I mean, I can weirdly see one.. But several? There's like a district of them! Even with the reputation of here.." She would realize what she was talking about and lower her voice. "How does that sort of thing work? That sounds like something out of a vaudeville routine." Vaudeville? That wasn't a word used much.
    "New in town, figuring out my way around. Gonig to be starting classes soon and dorms aren't open yet, so figured I'd just explore rather than go nuts staying in a motel until I could move in." She would look about distractedly, hand going up to push up her glasses.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara listens closey, nodding in thought. "Yes, especially at night, one could picture it, and well, there is Arkham Island nearby, so certainly that fits." She makes a mental note to study the relationship between the works of Lovecraft and that island. Coincidences are almost never really coincidental.

    That distraction does not last long. "Clara!" she blurts out, than laughs nervously. "Sorry, that is, I am Clara." She starts to.. she's going to curtsey? Well, she thinks better of it and stands up to offer her hand, instead. She is the very picture of suave. "It is a pleasure to meet a student. I am a guest lecturer at times! I study all the time. I love it."

    But her head travels back to the earlier point. "I believe much was abandoned when the waves hit. There are many areas still badly damaged. Even though it has been years, the scope of the accident appears to exceed the capacity of the government to address it. I have heard a lot of critical views on Gotham like this. Oh, and if you are new, friendly advice. Do not wander at night, or go to places that do not look nice even during the day."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would glance over her shoulder then and huh. "I've heard a lot about Arkham! I mean, it does kind of seem like a name that's asking for it. All they need is Miskatonic University there and they'll fit it." She would be babbling now over purely with word association. That might get Clara staring at her a bit strangely.
    "Nice! What sorts of things are you doing there?" Then as Clara gives her name, she would keep up wtih her babble.
    "Oh, I'm Tammy! Lovely to meet you. What do you lecture on? I mean I hae no idea if I'd ever be somewhere hearing you but it's really cool to hear that you do it!" As Clara would give her a warning about the 'night' she would err.
    "I'm from Westchester. So.." She would shrug with the posture of someone with very, very rich parents and that had no real clue about what the nighttime streets were like in the city.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara loves all of that, of course. She has decided she likes Tammy already. But does Tammy like her? That is always the problem. Clara suspects she's a bit too boring for most people.

    "I would dearly love to see if they have odd architecture with non-Euclidean geometry everywhere in sight, too!" See, she can go down this rabbit hole and be delighted for the adventure of it.

    "It is so good to meet you, Tammy. I speak primarily on topics related to literature. Currently the scope of my work is on works of antiquity, but I also was allowed to share my enthusiasm about Jane Austen's works." A pause for breath. And to think. She usually tries to stick to social scripts, but she is too please now, "In a few days I will be lecturing on Mongolian epics. I am rather excited about the topic! I think it will be better than the last, which had a most friendly reception. The students and faculty here are very polite to me. Applause for my work is a new thing, and I must admit quite exciting."

    

Talia al Ghul has posed:
There's a smiel from Tammy, "I bet they do over in the Asylum! I mean.." She would whisper, "I've heard things. But, uh.. It doesn't seem like the type of place they give tours to. Even if you're taking a class.." Even the clueless rich girl is aware of that, at least. "But, uh, maybe there's pictures?" She would inquire.
    Then she would 'ooh' over at literature. "That's way cool! I mean Shakespeare is really boring and.. Err, sorry, I shouldn't say that. But my English teachers would drone on and fall asleep whenever they ddi stuff with him and then they'd yell at me and I would get detention and it was always so boring. I mean Mister Locke had this voice that sounded robotic.." She would err, "Sorry, I'm babbling. I do that when I get nervous. And what's Mongolian?"

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Oh, I imagine there are some pictures of the notorious asylum that are quite unsettling. Hm. But perhaps I am not ready for that kind of study. It sounds terrifying. If any place would be haunted by dangerous spirits, that would be it," Clara says.

    She would say she does not believe in ghosts, but in this world, it is not really a matter of belief anymore. "Oh, and I apologize to you for that! It is a crime how so few can put the lust, wrath, laughter, and power into Shakespeare that his work deserves. Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing are both most enjoyable. The language is truly lovely, but I believe that learning from someone who does not absolutely adore the subject is rarely engaging."

    She laughs gently at the mention of babbling. "Never worry about babbling. I think you are engaging and fun to talk to. Oh, and Mongolian epics are just stories that were passed down over generations. One I will speak about is the Epic of Jangar. Like many epics, the topic is a man with great powers. It follows his journey and some of his battles. It can be rather boastful, but I think it is remarkable how a story can resonate so strongly as to last centuries without the aid of paper."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod very cheerfully, "Oooh! I totally love it when History Channel does all those looking for ghost things! They're really, really creepy." That might get another wince from Clara - even if it's more related to the History channel's interest in ancient aliens, ghosts, and conspiracy theory events.
    "And just Shakespeare is taught so boringly. Same wtih Chaucer. English is nearly as good a period to sleep as math. The teachers drone all the time and ugh, no offense, all these old writers are.." Thenr ealizing that's a rude thing to say, she would mouth over 'sorry' once more.
    "But, like, don't they forget them that way? That sounds really easy just if like no one remembers them or anything."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    History channel? Clara has never actually watched American television. They have a radio in her apartment, though. And a computer. Which she uses for research. And occasioally to test security systems without permission.

    "Well, if they are looking for stories of hauntings, there are many fascinating ones. America has quite a history that has been punctuated by tales of supernatural forces, whether it is among the Native Americans or those related to more modern occurences, like the witch trials in Salem."

    The mention of Chaucer being boring and a good time for sleep does somewhat hurt! "It is a shame your teachers have so woefully failed to give the masters of the art their proper due. If you ever want to truly know what those works are about, let me know." She wants to ask where those instructors are, as well. She has a mind to give them a dressing-down they will never forget!

    She answers the question with a shake of her head, "No, not at all. Admittedly there are changes and things may alter quite a bit over time, but the structure of epics lends itself to their preservation. You know, like rhyming schemes or the idea that there are only seven stories. Why even religious stories have been able to last centuries without the benefit of writing."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
This could possibly be hurting Clara's impression of the American education system even more than it is, if this seemingly very well off yet so clueless girl that's finding so many things taught to her so boring. Not quite so dismissive of them but so, so uninterested in any of them. "What do you mean, like tales of them?" She would cock her head over.
    "I mean, we all know there's ghosts, sorcerors who wanna take over the world, zombies.. Heck, there's just so many gods around.." She wouls say that over like it meant nothing over in the grand scheme of things. Just the way things always had been.
    "It's not like he was interesting. Mister Jennings just went on and on about rhyme scheme or.. I don't know what it was. I wasn't really paying attention. He was really nasally. He spoke like.. You know Ben Stiller? The Bueller, Bueller guy? That was totally what he was like."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Oh, well you mentioned history, so I imagined must be stories they were after, rather than the actual thing. Hm, that is an interesting thought. If a ghost were, say, a repeating phantasm or something of the like, would it be considered then a historical artifact? For instance, if it were some anomoly that just repeated itself. Hm." She has to take this up with her governess. Perhaps ghosts also need protection.

    "Bueller? Oh, I am not familiar with that. Is he an American author?" Clara has so much to learn! "You know, I thought of something that might be fun. What is something you find interesting?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would uhhh, "This place has plenty of them about!" Then her watch goes to beep. Loudly. "Hey, gotta go! That's my friend wanting to do lunch!" After squinting at it a moment to read out. Why did people have phones on their wrists anyways? Oh the travails of the modern world.. "Nice meeting you and good luck uh talking Mongolian!" Nevermind that Clara had just said stories..

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara was about to close the deal on making a friend and there it is, that blasted modern technology ruining it all. She watches the girl race away.

    She blinks a few times, just standing there.

    "Drat."

    She turns back to her luggage and takes hold of it, again moving on. She goes home, feeling rather defeated in the end, by her failure to get Talia's number or set up a time to meet again. She is not very good at this.