Any ideas? (Tarquin) on Library

Professor Mary Brooding

September 02, 2018 2:18 AM

Any ideas? (Tarquin) by Professor Mary Brooding

Mary felt a lightness in her step that she hadn't for a long time. It was still not the lightest she'd ever felt, heavy and gloomy as the Tabitha cloud as she was calling it now was making her feel. Still, it wasn't the worst thing ever and she felt pretty good about her weekend so far. Indeed, she'd assigned herself a quest.

On top of the expected grading, preparing, and reevaluating her upcoming lessons based on what she'd learned during week one, Mary had decided to pursue some minor linguistic competency. She didn't expect that a book could teach her to be fluent in the languages that mattered most to her students, but the least she could do would be to learn some basics in subjects of interest. Maybe she could learn some common home dishes and request they be served at meals occasionally.

Since she didn't have any direct access to these type of books herself, Mary decided the library would be the best place to start, particularly on as lovely and promising a Saturday as this one. Making her way through Sonora (and hoping desperately not to run into a particular Defense professor), Mary had made up her mind about where to start: Chinese.

Of course, since she didn't know where to actually physically start once she got to the library, she decided the best course of action would be to go to the librarian, Mr. Tarquin Fox-Reynolds.

Mary approached his desk with the sense that she was much younger and much smaller than she was, despite being both young and small anyway.

"Excuse me," she asked, smiling softly and speaking in a low voice. "I was wondering if you might help me. I'd like to find some reliable resources to help me connect with one of my students. Do we have any books to help learn Chinese? Or about traditions and everyday practices common to Chinese households?"

22 Professor Mary Brooding Any ideas? (Tarquin) 1424 Professor Mary Brooding 1 5

Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

September 02, 2018 7:44 PM

Getting a few by Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

Tarquin sat at his desk, a freshly made mug of green tea in front of him. It was not his usual tipple, as evidenced by the brown rings inside the mug, which were visible through the translucent liquid, but one did not lightly take a dim view of tea brought all the way from China, in person. It was rather pleasant, although he suspected some of that came from knowing he had made enough of an impression on a student for them to bring him such a gift.

He was going over some order forms, when an unfamiliar older stude- no, wait. Potions teacher. They had been introduced at the start of term and she had been sitting at the staff table for… well, most of the feast. Her rather noticeable hair along with her exit, and the fact that as he only had two new colleagues, he had no excuses for forgetting their faces, all helped him to place her. He knew that her name was Mary Brooding although he had to admit that he had not quite got out of the habit of referring to her in his head as New Sophie, the words still carrying a hint of regret about them. He missed Original Sophie, and whilst Mary Brooding was uncanny as a replacement in her lack of height (did Selina specifically seek out tiny women for her staff? And if so, was it to make the students feel less intimidated by the staff, or to make the staff feel more intimidated by her?) she was not his friend. They were also definitely getting younger every year, he could swear. He never thought of himself as that old until he was confronted with the rest of the staff, many of whom were young enough to be his children. He was fairly sure that they definitely saw him as that old though. His black hair, pulled back in a short ponytail, and his beard were both flecked with grey, and his face had more than a few lines to it.

“Hello,” he smiled, at New Sophie. She had unintentionally saved him a job by coming here. He had kept up a correspondence with Original Sophie, and had a tea date with her on his next day off. She had instructed him to spy thoroughly on her replacement and bring her a full report. He suspected this was only partially genuine curiosity, and was also a ruse to get him to be sociable with real actual people.

New Sophie’s question was interesting. His first remark was going to have been that there was a much better resource than any the library had, wandering around the corridors, but she already seemed aware of this. In fact, said person seemed to be why she was here. Tarquin regarded her curiously, wondering what - if anything - he should read into her remark. She was a new teacher. Young, enthusiastic. Apparently enough so that she wanted to learn a foreign language for one of her students. Except there were, to his knowledge, three or four for her to choose from.

He took a sip from his mug, placing it back on his desk, the quotation ‘With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy’ facing New Sophie.

“We have a few,” he nodded, “They’re rather spread out… language, history, cultural studies... Though Dorian himself is probably far better as a resource than anything we have. I take it it’s him we’re talking about, unless there’s a new first year I don’t know about?” he added. That made more sense. Dorian wasn’t even obviously Chinese - he sounded French. Culturally, he was more French than Chinese - or at least, his home was in Quebec. If New Sophie was looking for language and cultural references, it made much more sense that there was a new student who was feeling out of place, and homesick.

OOC - god-modding/ongoing friendship details approved by Original Sophie’s author

13 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds Getting a few 1464 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds 0 5

Mary Brooding

September 02, 2018 9:09 PM

Seems like we are mutually inspired then! by Mary Brooding

Mary smiled at the man's mug, enjoying that someone who seemed initially so gruff might enjoy such things as books, green tea from the smell of it, and things like flowers and the moon. It was a lovely image and Mary found herself instantly liking this man.

"Yes! That's indeed the student I have in mind." She hesitated in calling him 'Mr. Montoir' as she noticed that Tarquin did not. Was this not the convention for adults here? She felt bad, worrying that her way of showing respect to students (you have to call me by my title, so how about I call you by yours) might actually be an issue instead. She made a mental note to ask... the student... about it the next time she saw him.

"I have a selection of potions books in my classroom that are in Chinese and we've talked some about his family. I was hoping to be a bit more acquainted with the language and culture before our next conversation." Mary wondered at what an odd request this was considering Tarquin had no way of knowing she was the type to devote such effort to any student who might benefit from it. "It sounds like you know him well yourself? He's been helping me sort the books in my classroom, I'm guessing you helped him pick up those skills?" She smiled warmly, happy to have found someone who knew a bit more about Mr. Montoir than she did herself.

22 Mary Brooding Seems like we are mutually inspired then! 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

September 03, 2018 6:10 AM

But not mutually skilled at peopling by Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

Mary's explanation did a reasonable amount to quell the doubt that had been nagging at Tarquin's mind. A teacher wanting to make a particular effort to connect with a student had, to him, implied disconnect existed, which needed to be overcome. He had never thought of Dorian in those terms - he seemed popular and happy. There had just always been the nagging doubt at the back of Tarquin's mind, the one that said shy, sensitive boys - boys who reminded him rather a lot of himself at the same age - were not in for an easy time of it from their peers, or perhaps even from themselves, especially during adolescence. But he seemed to be worrying over nothing. The books Mary mentioned also explained how she had so quickly honed in Dorian, who normally seemed somewhat reserved outside of his close circle.

"I see. Enticing students in with intriguing books and disordered shelves, are we?" he smiled at Mary to show he was joking. He was, apparently, scary sometimes. He thought this was to do with his height (though currently he was seated, so didn't loom too much) and the fact he was not particularly outgoing. People often took quietness for disinterest or, somehow, overt hostility. "Do I need to be concerned about going out of business?

"Oh. Um. Maybe, I suppose?" he managed, when Mary mentioned having him to thank for Dorian's sorting skills. He recognised that she was trying to be friendly, break all that proverbial ice, and so he should be nice and graciously accept the compliment. Except that wasn't a skill he had ever been particularly good at. "I mean... The skill is mostly knowing the alphabet, and I suspect he knew that before he came here. Several of them, in fact. No, wait... Chinese doesn't have one," he added, half to himself, "Good luck learning," he continued, managing not to fall down that mental rabbit hole and bringing his attention back to Mary, "Logographic writing and tones," he grimmaced.

13 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds But not mutually skilled at peopling 1464 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds 0 5

Mary Brooding

September 03, 2018 11:21 PM

Unskilled at Peopling reporting for duty. by Mary Brooding

"It's not my proudest tactic," Mary laughed, appreciating Tarquin's tension-breaking jokes. She really was a wreck amongst adults, particularly when she was supposed to be one of them. "But it's only made a difference for one so far, so I think the library can stay open for now," she added.

Tarquin went on to look a bit nervous himself and Mary felt a little better, although it was immediately felt bad for feeling better. "That helps a lot," she said. "I wasn't sure how he was sorting them really, so anything I can learn is sure to help. Do you know about these things because of your work here or from other experiences?"

She let her eyes wander the area near the desk for a moment, wondering what she could learn about the man she was speaking with. The items that sit in a person's sightline everyday surely have an impact on the person themselves, or reveal something about the person who must've put them there. She noticed a display from the McLeod Foundation and smiled, appreciating a workplace that felt so open to her if she was interested in coming out to more people.

"Sonora's really lovely," she said, pointing out the display with a nod. "I love seeing students take such an initiative in the community.

22 Mary Brooding Unskilled at Peopling reporting for duty. 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

September 04, 2018 7:56 AM

Oh no. I thought you had the people skills. by Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

“Oh, pretty sure there’s slogans and stuff about that being the point. ‘If you just get through to one of them then blah de blah,’” he twirled a hand vaguely, “Though I suspect the school board probably expects that you make most of them pass exams too, so maybe don’t take that too literally.

“I know those things from Dorian. So, count that for whichever box you like,” he explained, when she asked how he’d come to know the very limited amount he had just disclosed about the Chinese language, “I mean… when he said it, it sounded familiar, but,” he let let that thought tail off with a shrug, “He knows a lot of interesting things. However much he protests to the contrary.”
He sipped some more of his tea whilst Mary browsed the desk. He watched her eyes take in the pamphlets with their little rainbow hearts. This was something of his acid test for new staff members, and whether or not they were going to find themselves getting along, or…. Well, Tarquin would have liked to say ‘locked in an argument with him as he strongly stood up for his rights and campaigned to change their views,’ but ‘avoiding them (in a way that was completely unnoticeable given his lack of interaction most of the time) and passively aggressively deprioritising any jobs they asked him to do, and writing the post-it notes he attached to their books in as terse a fashion as possible’ was probably the more accurate summary. Luckily, he had not found himself having to resort to these soul-crushing intimidation tactics with anyone.

“I’ve always found it friendly,” he agreed, wondering whether Mary’s choice of determiner signified anything in particular. A definite article made it sound… more familiar. But one would hardly say ‘a’ community in that context. ‘Their’ community, perhaps, if one wished to show approval but not membership. But… he thought it was rather inconclusive. “Yeah. Kir’s a good kid,” he agreed. This was aside, of course, from using the Potions section as a place to snog his girlfriend and thinking no one noticed, but Tarquin was willing to let both the general crime of heterosexual affection and the specific crime of abusing library shelves go given Kir’s various other merits as a human being, “There’s a new one too, isn’t there? McLeod, I mean. They signed up to be a library helper,” he added, using the gender neutral less based on Ness’ appearance (as he had no idea what the student looked like) but having only seen the name written down and being unsure, though he would have guessed it to be a girl’s.

13 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds Oh no. I thought you had the people skills. 1464 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds 0 5

Mary Brooding

September 04, 2018 6:47 PM

All the people skills. by Mary Brooding

Mary laughed, appreciating Tarquin's dry humor. He seemed like the kind of person who was only secretly invested in students and in Sonora and she doubted he expressed the thought openly very often.

"He really is a smart kid," she said, nodding. "Honestly, I have the worst time trying to figure out how to talk to students, though. Kids like Mr. Montoir are so easy to talk to but I worry that I'm breaching some unwritten code of professional distance by getting into conversations about anything that really matters. And then there's the whole issue of wanting to make sure that he's as interested in having those conversations as I am, and I don't want to impose. Puberty was bad enough without my own professors trying to get involved, I'd hate to be one of them now." She grimaced at the thought and appreciated the change of topic.

"They both seem lovely," Mary replied about the McLeods. "Ness is very analytical, and I admire that. Kir seems a bit more fanciful, which is more along my own tendencies, so I really admire both their intellectual streaks for different reasons. "I'm excited that Ness will be helping in the library. This seems like the sort of place Ness would really like and with the Aladren Common Room so close, that certainly makes it convenient for Ness." Mary noticed that Tarquin used genderless pronouns even without needing to mirror herself and she wondered at him in a new light. This was the sort of person that she needed to spend more time with, just by default of being someone who was open-minded and a lovely sort of grumbly type. She suspected he didn't spend much time around other professors and made it her own personal goal to be befriend the man.

"I wish I'd gotten to be a library helper when I was younger," she mused. "I spent a lot of time here."

22 Mary Brooding All the people skills. 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

September 15, 2018 10:26 PM

Phew, glad somebody brought some by Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

“I don’t know… I think when I was an angsty teenager - a long, long time ago - I’d have given a lot to know that someone was on my side. That someone else had felt what I felt and that it would get better. Of course, I think one of the symptoms of being an angsty teenager is a complete inability to believe that any adult has ever experienced pain, misery and confusion to the degree of your own troubled soul, so maybe it’s only hindsight talking. As for how much to say… Well, speaking from my wealth of experience of hiding in my office, not speaking much to the students, I would say… let it come from them. You can’t force someone to be ready to talk to you about something, but you can make it clear you’ll listen if they want to. And that there’s nothing so shocking or terrible that you’ve never heard it before or are going to recoil in terror or judge them. How you achieve that exactly… That would probably be the tricky part.”

The conversation diverted into talking about the McLeod children, and Tarquin was struck by how often Mary used Ness’ name when speaking about them. It seemed too frequent, and Tarquin wondered whether ‘them’ had been a more accurate pronoun than he had intended, given their background. Mary also mentioned her own days at Sonora, a fact that was interesting in a sort of depressing ‘oh hey, was I doing my first stint as librarian when you were running around in school robes, or are you the same age as my children?’ kind of way. Both interesting subjects, but there was still something nagging at him. The doubts about Dorian’s well-being, which had surfaced when Mary talked about ‘connecting’ with him but then been quelled by the fact that she’d had books as a particular reason to speak with him, were back in force after her little speech.

“How much are we talking about the student body in general, versus Dorian specifically?” he asked. She had said ‘him’ rather than ‘them.’ “Should I… be worried about him?” he asked.

13 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds Phew, glad somebody brought some 1464 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds 0 5

Mary Brooding

September 15, 2018 11:00 PM

One people or one skills? by Mary Brooding

Tarquin's advice was kind and encouraging. It was clear that he cared about students and staff and she wondered just how much he saw behind that desk of his. He'd certainly have access to more one-on-one time with each than many of them had with anybody else. He was perceptive, too, which would help tremendously.

He was perceptive enough that Mary found herself wondering how much he already knew. To make matters worse, the first thing that came to her mind was something along the lines of 'not more than usual' which was more than a little depressing, however true it was.

"He's not going through anything that he's not used to," Mary assured him. "Or at least, not that he's not used to and that isn't normal for that age."

She let the moment linger just a moment. If Tarquin knew much about Mr. Montoir's life, he would undoubtedly take the time to check in with him. If he didn't, he still seemed the type to go out of his way for Mr. Montoir. Regardless, Mary was determined to make sure it was of his own accord, and not because she had intervened or done anything to interfere with Mr. Montoir's privacy.

22 Mary Brooding One people or one skills? 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

September 16, 2018 4:13 AM

One skills. They're enough to share between two, right? by Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

Tarquin took another long swig of tea, trying not to eye Mary too suspiciously over the rim of his mug. Her remark was rather cryptic and did little to settle his creeping sense of concern. He isn’t going through anything he’s not used to. That definitely implied he was going through something, and Tarquin had his own suspicions about exactly what that might be.

“The Dorian I know is a fairly happy boy,” he told her. His tone was gentle, informative, concerned. There wasn’t any criticism in it, and he refrained from pointing out that Mary could scarcely be expected to know what Dorian was used to going through, having only known him a week, because he couldn’t think of a way to say that - however neutral he kept his tone - that wouldn’t sound overly harsh and critical, but he did wonder how she felt able to judge whether Dorian’s current behaviour was normal or not for him. “On the quiet side, lacking in self-confidence but… broadly speaking, fine. Any sense that he is ‘going through something’ would be a change from his usual self,” he explained. “Although I can’t say it entirely comes as a surprise to hear it… Do you think this would be better discussed in my office?” he offered. The library was currently quiet but he didn’t like to feel that they were having a private conversation in a public place.

13 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds One skills. They're enough to share between two, right? 1464 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds 0 5

Mary Brooding

September 16, 2018 5:00 AM

Yes I've needed more than 1/4 skills, 1/2 should be plenty. by Mary Brooding

Mary was...surprised. She cocked her head and frowned at Tarquin. He did seem genuinely concerned but she wasn't sure whether he was defensive or distrustful or just concerned and nothing else. It wouldn't be the first time she read too much into a situation and she thought again of Tabitha.

"That's alright," Mary replied carefully. "Although another time would be nice." She wondered how she could best support Mr. Montoir without causing issue for him and without breaching his privacy and settled on the truth.

"I think Dorian would like to know you are thinking of his wellbeing," she began, keeping her voice light. "I can say that I haven't met a generally happy boy. Or at least, I haven't seen him in class this week."

Her thoughts went back to the first time that Mr. Montoir had stayed after class to meet her and he'd seemed so happy. She wondered what others around campus thought of the boy who had otherwise seemed the very embodiment of despondence.

Whatever discomfort Mary felt about speaking with anyone unnecessary about a student's personal life, she recognized a depth of heart she appreciated in the librarian.

"I would like to know where you've got those books, though," she smiled.

22 Mary Brooding Yes I've needed more than 1/4 skills, 1/2 should be plenty. 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5