Log:Latin Linguistics in Spellcasting

Arbiter of Balance 2021/08/23 Radical Grimm 1

A series of floating flat-topped asteroids, orbiting in what appears to be a somewhat regular pattern. The rocks are spinning on individual axes in addition to moving around a central point. The surrounding area is black, with no discernable stars or features.

Each asteroid appears to be a room, like rooms in a house. There's a bedroom, a library, a study, a kitchen, and several others...

Grimm had scheduled a get together with Connor to help improve her Latin pronunciation to assist in her trying to use some warding ritual spells. She let him pick the place and just said she'd be there. She's built a bond with him that allows her to manifest near him from just about anywhere. Which she does so in a swirl of shadows of darkness, finding herself on one of the floating asteroids within Equity as opposed to his home, which she expected. "Ohh...nice."

Radical is currently tinkering with one of his devices, with a small screwdriver. His mask is also off. He smiles nad looks over, "I'm impressed you were able to jump to here without realizing you were crossing dimensions."

Grimm smiles and walks over, only a few meters from him. "I was just focused on...well...going to you. I didn't realize I was crossing dimensions or that you were planning on meeting up here," she says warmly. "It's so much more instinctual than trying to learn spells. Like...muscle memory? No, that doesn't quite seem right. I think I told you when I first got my powers, things were just...reactionary. I was scared? Shadows would defend me or I'd vanish and end up...somewhere else. I'd want something, or wish something, or have a stray thought, and things would just...happen. Not always good things, though."

Radical nods, and closes up the panel on the bracer he's working on. He has a set on right now, so it must be a backup, or a test device. He then smiles and turns to face her more directly. "So, you wanted to work on...Latin?"

"Hope you didn't break anything," Gabrielle nods to the bracer, then looks confused as she looks at the regular bracers on him. Then she smiles, a little nervous. "Yeah. Specifically my pronunciation. I don't want to risk messing up any rituals with my terrible accent. You're one of the few people I know who can speak it well, and I already know you're a great teacher."

Radical shakes his head, "I was testing out some possible modifications to the bracers. Hence the test device." He indicates the thing was working on. He nods as she mentions why she wants learn Latin a little better. "There are good apps for that kind of thing, but I can certainly try to help."

Grimm looks interested in the modifications. "Ooohhh. Interesting. I look forward to seeing what you come up with," she smiles. "The apps are decent for learning, but most of them are live languages. Or too robotic with the automated voice features. And I can't afford the fancy ones with the Automa virtual voices that sound like real people. Though if I did have the money, I would spend it on a full top of the line Automa model," she says in playful mischief. She reaches into her messenger bag and pulls out a large tupperwear container and holds it out to him. "Here. 'Payment'. Some of the batch of Swedish meatballs I made for Jack." She also quickly holds up a finger in preemptive hushing. "I know I don't have to pay you for anything. I wanted to do it."

Radical chuckles and takes the container. "Mmm...thank you. I appreciate it." He has to stop himself from saying that it wasn't necessary, since she pre-empts him. He motions to another table, where there's a Latin textbook. "Did you have particular words you wanted to work on? Presumably ones from an incantation?"

"You're welcome." Grimm knows him well enough and sees how he wants to. "I know I have a habit of calling it payment, but...I do it because I care. You're always helping me, and there's not much I've been able to do to help you. If anything, I just cause more problems." She thinks of the attempt to do spell practice going horribly awry. Which is another reason she made the Swedish meatball dish from scratch. "And friendships can't be one sided, so...I try to make sure I'm contributing." Then again, family doesn't have to worry as much about that sort of thing. "Yeah, mostly ones from some warding incantations. I don't think the words are all that common in daily conversation," she smirks as she walks over to the table. "I've been focusing on warding spells and rituals for protection, privacy, and banishment. And...well, there is someone else whom I'm trying to teach a bit of this stuff, but they can't quite recite latin from a bible very well, and I wasn't much help with that, either."

Radical nods. "Who else are you teaching?" He steps over to the table where the Latin book is, and he sets the tupperware down. "And do you have some of the written spells handy? We'll have to make sure to just work on individual words, since saying the full sentences would be the incantation, and all."

Grimm sits down and opens up her messenger bag. "Yeah, wouldn't want to cast any full spells or rituals here and mess up your place. It looks like you put a lot of work into setting up this little pocket dimension or yours," she smiles and takes out a leatherbound book that looks more like a journal. She thinks on what to say on her teaching Jack a little about magic. "I occasionally work with a vigilante who's been interested in understanding a bit more about what I usually deal with, ever since we ended up dealing with a haunting."

Radical nods. "Is this other person familiar with magic at all?"

"Not one bit," Gabrielle admits as she starts to open the book. The pages are yellowed, and it's handwritten. Not her handwriting, either. She swipes her finger and the pages begin turning one by one as she scans for the spell. "I had them tag along for a haunting investigation to get their toes wet. But they're not a metahuman." She thinks on that and the pages halt their turning as she looks up. "Actually...I guess you'd best understand that..."

Radical smiles. "I'd best understand what, exactly?"

Grimm looks up from her book and shifts her jaw a bit on thinking about it. "Umm. I guess, knowing and dealing with magic without any powers? At least for a time between losing them from the Lords of Order and reteaching yourself how to use magic. I mean...granted, you still knew all the things you did."

Radical nods. "Ah, that's true. But you're right, it's not the same. Having the knowledge meant that I knew what to expect when I tried to relearn spells.

Grimm nods. "Well, this person isn't exactly trying to learn spells. It might be useful for them to at least understand some of the concepts. But really, they're just an eccentric vigilante with a gun and some gadgets, trying to make the city safer." She's trying to sound dismissive of the person she's talking about to try and not let people onto the fact that there's something between them, but there's something in her voice she still can't quell. Admiration? A bit of a crush?

Radical smiles, "Well, you seem to like whoever it is, based on your tone." He nods. "Okay, so...show me some of the words you're looking to pronounce."

Grimm's eyes widen ever so slightly and she looks down at the book to hide it. "He's...odd. But interesting." She really tries not to clear her throat, and succeeds. "Okay, so...there's this," she finally finds one of a number of spells about warding against scrying. "Subobscurum," she says, pronouncing the latin word for obscured. She has a very American accent in trying to say it, and she's not pronouncing the r correctly.

Radical also sounds like an American speaking it, but he goes through the pronunciation slowly...and more precisely. He's completely fluent, but still sounds like he's from the USA when he says it.

It's still pronounced better than her, and Grimm doesn't quite know enough to tell if the accent is right or not. It may also be because she's distracted by the language in general and is staring at him, a bit frozen and secretly biting on the inside of her lowerlip.

Radical smiles. "Go ahead and give it a try. Slowly."

Grimm snaps out of it and gives her head a little shake. "Umm. Sub...obscur...um." Again, the R isn't being tapped correctly by her tongue, but she may be a bit more tongue-tied now as she wonders if this was a mistake.

Radical shakes his head, and he repeats the word, "You're having difficulty with the R. Try it again, but keep it slow. You'll get it with enough practice.

"What's wrong with my r?" Gabrielle asks, and tries again. Still not right.

Radical repeats just the second of the word in question, focusing on the consonant. "You're kind of skipping it. Americans tends to leave out letters when pronouncing things. Like 'You all', turns into 'Y'all'."

"Ohhh, right. Yeah, I do shorten you all a bunch," Gabrielle chuckles. She says it more slowly and gets it mostly right, and is pronouncing the beginning the way he suggested. She was pronouncing the "sub" the way you would say subway before.

Radical nods. "Better. Try it again." He repeats the word once more, keeping it slow for the time being.

Grimm hesitates after he pronounces the word and crosses her ankles to avoid fidgeting. After she recovers, she succeeds this time. "Subobscurum." A win!

Radical grins, "Good. Now...a little faster." He says it again, but at the speed he might actually read it aloud.

Grimm tucks her crossed ankles under her chair and tries to maintain her composure. At least it's just a single word. And the accent isn't super heavy. "Sub..ermm...subobscurum." She's got it now.

Radical nods. "One more time. Repetition means you won't make mistakes when you summon demons." He smiles slightly at that.

Grimm laughs. "Subobscurum. Definitely wouldn't want to mess up my demon or minion summoning spells," she grins back.

Radical nods, "Screwing up a spell means unintended consequences. Remember that. Precision is your friend."

Grimm nods studiously. "Yeah, which...isn't something I've had to deal with too often. My stuff doesn't require incantations." Neither does his. She looks back to the book and turns the page, running a finger along the lines before stopping. "Okay, next words. Operimentum perditioni." Pronounced awfully. She looks up to him expectantly for the corrections. But then there's a sudden building glow of blue energy with a white fringe around her. It's magic! But what she said shouldn't have cast anything. All she said was the phrase for 'covering'. She looks down at her hands in concern and pushes the book away, but it doesn't stop the building glow.

Radical looks at her curiously, analyzing the magic. "I think we'll need to do one word at a time."

It's happening rather suddenly. The magic's origin is not coming from Grimm, or the book, or the words spoken. It's arcane, and there's a summoning component to it. "I...I feel weird..." Gabrielle warns with a look of concern as she stands up from the table. Her she takes a step back, but before that foot lands, it begins to disappear a wave of that energy starts crawling up her legs, causing her to vanish in its wake. It's very rapidly climbing up, reaching her torso already. In a second, she'll be completely gone.

Radical pulls on his mask quickly to be able to track where she's going, if it's interdimensional. He also starts to try to dispel the effect, but likely isn't fast enough.

This spell is indeed pulling Grimm and anything with her away and to another dimension. It's powerful magic. Powerful even beyond Radical's spell of unweaving.

Radical mutters, "It's too powerful, Gabrielle. And it's pulling you into another dimension. I'll follow, and we can deal with it once we arrive."

Grimm nods and looks nervous as her upper chest disappears. She looks down and her hands are already gone. "Ohhh, come o--" the last word is cut off as the wave of energy goes over her mouth, then the top of her head, and she's vanished completely.