fandomhigh | Library [03, 20]

Oh, Raven. You were such a wicked temptress.

//They do tend to get out late,// Jono agreed, as something not unlike a smile made its way into his eyes. //We certainly wouldn't want to wake George or Ariel by stumbling in at all hours of th'night, would we?//

He tilted his head thoughtfully, and then nodded toward the desk. The computer had internet. He was not exactly a technological genius, but he had, at least, managed to figure out how in the world Google worked, over the time he'd spent here.

//Shall we?//

Music would be far less traumatizing than another horror movie. Unless it was Justin Bieber, of course.

"Yes," she said happily, moving toward the desk. "What type of music do you intend to look for?"

//Anything that's playing,// Jonothon decided, so very helpfully. //Rock, if I can find any. Grunge isn't terribly likely in this decade. Not on a Tuesday night. Really, our best bet for any sort of musical entertainment is to look into no-name gigs playing at pubs somewhere.//

He stepped up to the desk and crouched over the keyboard, hunt-and-peck typing to see if he could crack the magical Google code. Or whatever.

//Really, I can do without Lady Gaga, Sarah McLachlan, and Taylor Swift.// All of whom had concerts on Tuesday night. Thank you, Google. //Really, most groups I enjoy stopped touring a while back...//

He glanced her way.

//Unless you didn't mind seeing a show that happened in, say, 1996?//

It would involve going to his reality, sure, but looking up past concert dates for bands that he'd liked back in the 90s seemed to be far more effective than doing a blanket search on Google for anything that wasn't Gaga or Bieber.

Hey, Raven liked Sarah McLachlan. Except when the commercials came on about the animal shelters and then she'd wibble and cry.

"I can easily travel between dimensions," Raven said, standing behind him and resting her chin on his shoulder. "Especially with you to use as an anchor to go to the correct place. I would not mind going to your world, if that is what you mean."

It might make reserving a hotel room a little more tricky, but she'd deal with that later.

Well, really, it was just a matter of calling any hotel she looked at, and asking if they'd replaced their beds in the last fifteen years. Easy, right?

Riiight.

//That's what I mean,// Jono agreed. //We'll avoid New York, I think. I'm in no mood to have my evening ruined by whatever archvillain Spider-Man or th'Fantastic Four are squaring off against that night. But...//

More hunt-and-peck typing. Something that the both of them could enjoy. That should be easy enough. Maybe a little quieter than his usual, for Raven's sake, but otherwise...

//Matchbox 20 is just getting their start, around then,// he mused. //And Bush should be doing well for themselves. Maybe Silverchair...//

Or they could just sidestep that by teleporting back to this dimension after the concert. Probably easier that way. Teleportation was so useful.

"Whichever one has the most emotion in their songs," Raven said to help the decision. "And will inspire the same in those listening. I do not think I am familiar with any of those you have mentioned, but I trust your judgment."

Jono took that into consideration, and then decided to look up 1996 tour dates for a good British band.

Sorry, Rob Thomas. You already got your year in the Fandom High limelight.

//Bush, then,// he settled on. //It's a little more gritty than the other two, but if yer looking for emotional impact, they're difficult to top.//

And hey, maybe the slightly rougher quality of the music (and likely, the psionic/empathic feedback from the other people at the concert) would help them get into the mood for whatever Raven's big surprise was?

Sneaky, Jonothon.

It was almost like he knew there was a bag from 'Dite's with two pairs of handcuffs hidden under her bed. Where hopefully Ariel wouldn't stumble across it and ask any questions that might make her die of embarrassment on the spot.

"I look forward to it, then," Raven said, tilting her head to lightly rub her cheek against his. "Should I come to your room when I am done with work for the evening?"

Well, he wasn't psychic. When he could help it. But the blushing she'd done earlier had said volumes about the nature of her surprise, and, well... He did have the imagination of a 19 year-old boy, after all.

//That would work wonderfully,// Jono replied, closing his eyes and revelling in that moment of touch. //I'll get in touch with somebody back home from Groovy Tunes tomorrow, get them to put something on reserve for me, wherever there happens t'be a show.//

It was starting to sound like a date, wasn't it?

Not just a date, a daaaaaaaaaate.

"And I will find us a place to stay the night," Raven said, trying to sound innocent about it. "We do not wish to disturb George and Ariel by returning so late, as you said. And I will show you...what I have to show you."

He couldn't see her blushing from this angle, could he?

Not with his eyes closed! Lucky break, Raven!

//Well... then I look forward to it,// he decided, picturing a soft kiss on her lips before pulling back to smile at her.

He was at work, sure, but there were no rules against thinking about kissing his girlfriend, right?

If just thinking about things was entirely permissible, there could be a lot of naughty things they could do in the library which would probably get them in a wee bit of trouble.

But it was just a kiss she gave back to him. Anything naughty could wait a few days. "But for now," she murmured, "I should allow you to return to work so you do not get in any trouble due to my distraction. Unless you wish to help me find some books?" Since, well, technically that was his job.

[Must run out to the grocery store, but I shall be back in 30-45 minutes or so! Up to you if you want to wrap the thread or go on. :) ]

//Really, with th'way they're wandering about today, you'll need all th'help you can get, luv.//

Books were such tricky, tricky creatures.

//C'mon, Sunshine. We'll try Theology first, and then work from there.//

"In the movie" -- because that was the perfect reference for research, Raven -- "the protagonists read the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Geoffrey Chaucer, and the Marquis de Sade," she supplied helpfully.

Of course, she pronounced "Sade" the same way Brad Pitt had in the movie -- shah-day. And she probably really didn't want to read his writings.

That's it. Raven was never allowed to watch that movie again.

//Sade,// Jono corrected, absently, as he started meandering his way down the aisle. //It's French. And we can poke through what they did in th'film, if you feel it's necessary in order to avoid leaving any stone unturned. But perhaps I ought t'be th'one to poke through th'words of th'Marquis. And probably Dante.//

Raven never wanted to watch that movie again. Well, Brad Pitt was very pretty, and she liked Morgan Freeman, but the storyline was so horrific!

"What are those works?" Raven had to ask as she followed after him. She could probably find de Sade in 'Dite's shop if she looked hard enough.

//Which? Dante? Or de Sade?// Jono glanced her way, and then shrugged. //Dante's Divine Comedy is probably what we're aiming for. Likely with emphasis on Inferno, maybe touching on Purgatorio. I can't imagine there's anything in Paradiso that'll do us any good.//

A beat.

//De Sade is...// He waved a hand around for emphasis as he poked through the titles on the shelf. //You wouldn't like de Sade.//

"I will take your word for it," Raven said, though she couldn't help but be curious. How bad could it be? Of course, she'd thought that about horror movies.

"Professor Skywalker went over the Seven Deadly Sins in his Ethics class," she said. "I know the definition of them, of course, but I had never though I would ever be called an incarnation of one. Professor Skywalker also said that the other sins radiate from Pride. That would explain why I am more powerful than they -- my brothers are limited to the manipulation of one sin, while I am not."

//Mm, but yer capable of virtue, as well, luv. I've felt it from you more than once. Comfort, forgiveness, mercy, love...//

To his surprise, it was the Divine Comedy that crept up beside him and then flopped down on his foot. Apparently the books here could be useful, even after a day spent getting themselves in trouble.

//I believe it's th'book on Purgatory that touches on all Seven sins,// he noted, bending over to pick it up. //But Hell touches on a few as well. I don't know how much use it'll be to you. But we can go over it, if you'd like. Worst that can happen is that we'll lose a few hours reading classic Italian poetry, really.//

"I prefer to be virtuous," Raven said, nodding absently. Well, not all the time. There was room for some lust, yes?

"Thank you," she said to the book, giving it a smile for being so helpful. "Yes, it cannot hurt to look it over. Is it supposed to be humorous?" A comedy about sins seemed strange, but it would be better than a horror movie about them, right?

//Nnnnoooot rea... Um.// For a moment, Jono was torn between explaining to Raven the intricacies of literary terminology, but he decided that he'd rather just simplify the hell out of things. It seemed like the saner option, really. //It's a very, very old poem. And 'comedy' used to be used to refer to anything with a happy ending. It ends in Heaven, and so... fitting enough of that definition, really.//

"A happy ending would be welcome," Raven said. Much better that than someone's head in a box.

She took the book from Jono and flipped it open to the section about Purgatory, brow furrowing at the language on the pages. Fortunately there were convenient study notes following along with the poem. "Pride is the first sin they encounter," she said. "Love perverted? I am not perverted."

Try telling that to Jono on Tuesday when you pull out the handcuffs, Raven.

//Perverted.... doesn't just mean what you think it means,// Jono replied. He was going to end up being a far more helpful study guide than the notes, he just knew it. //It can be dumbed down a bit, to mean... twisted about. Contorted a bit. Selfishly, I'd assume, in th'case of love.//

A pause, and then he was wincing and correcting himself quickly.

//Yer not selfish, either, though.//

Tuesday was going to be kinky, not perverted! There was a difference! OK, it was a small one, but still.

"Love of self instead of love of others," Raven said, glancing at the book and feeling a little foolish. "I am sorry. I have learned much since coming to Fandom, but some of the nuances of language are still unknown to me."

//No need to apologize,// admonished Jono with a wave of his hand. //We'll think of it as a cultural difference. You've still learned a good deal since coming here, right?//

He looked back at the pages of the book.

//Either way, it's... something, I suppose?//

It was a poem. Yep.

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono

Re: Talk to Jono