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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Thu Jul 18, 2024 3:49 am
"I am fine." Diana assured the other Quincy that despite how she sounded she was perfectly fine... physically, anyway. Her mental state was a different story. Meninas had noticed her tone of doubt and that would complicate things a little, but there was no taking back what she had said now. The best Diana could do was keep going and tell the truth... from a certain point of view. Diana peered down into her cup and kept a straight face despite the mild displeasure she felt at the sight of it being empty.
She had truly liked the coffee she had ordered and to find that the cup had run dry at such a critical time was an inconvenience, but she would live. Since there was no more coffee in her cup Diana could no longer use that trick to stall for time to think, so she was going to have to be able to think on the fly. The best way to start off was by telling a complete truth.
"I was just thinking back to how much I struggled when it came to trying to learn Gebet." Diana stated part of the nature of the doubt the pink-haired Quincy had been able to pick up on. That particular issue had come up several times in the course of the conversation and by now Meninas might have started to tire of hearing about it, but the problem went far beyond just the expected challenges facing a novice Quincy who did not have the benefits of uninterrupted training time or professional tutors. Diana's inability to learn even the fundamentals of Gebet was a problem that the blonde wanted to solve once and for all, but she was not sure how to go about it.
Diana did not want to waste Meninas' goodwill and tutelage on trying to train an art she had virtually no aptitude for, but she did not want to give up on the idea entirely. Maybe the other young woman could teach her Gebet in a way that would finally enable Diana to learn the fundamentals.
She had truly liked the coffee she had ordered and to find that the cup had run dry at such a critical time was an inconvenience, but she would live. Since there was no more coffee in her cup Diana could no longer use that trick to stall for time to think, so she was going to have to be able to think on the fly. The best way to start off was by telling a complete truth.
"I was just thinking back to how much I struggled when it came to trying to learn Gebet." Diana stated part of the nature of the doubt the pink-haired Quincy had been able to pick up on. That particular issue had come up several times in the course of the conversation and by now Meninas might have started to tire of hearing about it, but the problem went far beyond just the expected challenges facing a novice Quincy who did not have the benefits of uninterrupted training time or professional tutors. Diana's inability to learn even the fundamentals of Gebet was a problem that the blonde wanted to solve once and for all, but she was not sure how to go about it.
Diana did not want to waste Meninas' goodwill and tutelage on trying to train an art she had virtually no aptitude for, but she did not want to give up on the idea entirely. Maybe the other young woman could teach her Gebet in a way that would finally enable Diana to learn the fundamentals.
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Thu Jul 18, 2024 7:57 am
![Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas] - Page 6 6nuQdpC](https://i.imgur.com/6nuQdpC.jpg)
MENINAS MCALLON
The Sternritter accepted Diana’s response to her concerned query but Meninas wasn’t entirely convinced. She just had the feeling that there was something going on and the pink haired woman didn’t have to ponder for too long to once more link it to the blonde’s family. It was unfortunate and the Sternritter again considered trying to breach the subject, knowing herself just how painful a topic it could be. Yet, she managed again to restrain herself, even if she deeply wished to help the blonde if she could. There was no one more sympathetic to an unhappy past than Meninas.
“We are the same when it comes to that.” Meninas willingly admitted. “Gebet was the art that I struggled the most to get to grips with too and it took quite a while before I could cast spells properly. I can’t tell you how many times I messed my chants up at first and once I accidentally destroyed a shed filled with farming equipment. I thought my father was going to lose his mind but he just laughed and told me to keep practising.”
With a smile, she’d add. “I find that it’s not all that different from Blut and you channel your spirit energy in the same way as you do when summoning that. The only difference is that you're releasing the energy outwards rather than just around you. We can practise spellcraft one day, if you like, as I could most definitely use more time on it too.”
END POST | SCOTTISH SKULL SMASHER
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Thu Jul 18, 2024 12:28 pm
As it turned out Diana had not exhausted Meninas' goodwill and patience yet, so the blonde was going to keep going with the conversation for as long as the other Quincy was willing to speak about it. Hearing Meninas' struggles with the art assured Diana that the latter was far from the only one who had difficulties learning the intricacies of using spells. Hearing that the pink-haired young woman had made mistakes in the course of learning to use Gebet was another comforting thing to hear.
Meninas telling the story of one of her most spectacular mistakes was a third admission that eased Diana's mind, but hearing her father's reaction quickly put a stop to the blonde's good mood. It was not what had happened... it was the stark contrast between the reaction Meninas' father had and the reaction Diana's father would have had if his daughter had made the same mistake. Alvin Remington would have not taken the destruction of a piece of property in stride... he probably would have shouted at Diana until her ears rang for days afterward. Diana was not sure if that forceful verbal rebuke would have been delivered because he was a perfectionist when it came to the Quincy arts or because he did not have much money lying around with which to replace destroyed property, but either way he would have made his displeasure pretty clear.
Moving on from that uncomfortable thought, Diana latched onto the bit of advice concerning how to properly use Gebet and ran with it.
"I have never heard it put to me that way before." Diana candidly admitted. Her parents had never explained it that clearly or concisely... instead they focused too much on the technical aspects of the art and took it for granted that their daughter would easily pick up what they were saying. It was safe to say that Diana had not managed to decipher their explanations and had struggled as a result of that inability to understand. It did not help that for some reason Alvin and Anna Remington chose not to put it in simpler terms.
"If I may be so bold as to say this, I would suggest that we train Gebet after we train Blut." Diana accepted the proposal and gave her opinion on what should be trained first. Hopefully Meninas would not object to the blonde offering an unsolicited opinion, but that remained to be seen.
Meninas telling the story of one of her most spectacular mistakes was a third admission that eased Diana's mind, but hearing her father's reaction quickly put a stop to the blonde's good mood. It was not what had happened... it was the stark contrast between the reaction Meninas' father had and the reaction Diana's father would have had if his daughter had made the same mistake. Alvin Remington would have not taken the destruction of a piece of property in stride... he probably would have shouted at Diana until her ears rang for days afterward. Diana was not sure if that forceful verbal rebuke would have been delivered because he was a perfectionist when it came to the Quincy arts or because he did not have much money lying around with which to replace destroyed property, but either way he would have made his displeasure pretty clear.
Moving on from that uncomfortable thought, Diana latched onto the bit of advice concerning how to properly use Gebet and ran with it.
"I have never heard it put to me that way before." Diana candidly admitted. Her parents had never explained it that clearly or concisely... instead they focused too much on the technical aspects of the art and took it for granted that their daughter would easily pick up what they were saying. It was safe to say that Diana had not managed to decipher their explanations and had struggled as a result of that inability to understand. It did not help that for some reason Alvin and Anna Remington chose not to put it in simpler terms.
"If I may be so bold as to say this, I would suggest that we train Gebet after we train Blut." Diana accepted the proposal and gave her opinion on what should be trained first. Hopefully Meninas would not object to the blonde offering an unsolicited opinion, but that remained to be seen.
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Thu Jul 18, 2024 1:31 pm
![Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas] - Page 6 6nuQdpC](https://i.imgur.com/6nuQdpC.jpg)
MENINAS MCALLON
Noticing that Diana had finished her drink, Meninas thoughtfully caught the arm gently of a waitress as she walked by and politely ordered another for both the blonde and herself. With a nod, the cheerful woman would take their cups and head off to fulfil the order, probably recognising the blend from the smell alone. The Sternritter did have to wonder how on Earth Diana was able to drink such a potent concoction but to each their own. The giant had a strong constitution but that blend was even too much for her.
“We can work on whatever you’d like.” Meninas answered after some thought, tapping into her own story a little. “There’s no surefire way of doing it and as long as you put your all into your training then that’s all that matters to me. My father was always firm on that, something that my siblings didn’t honestly do and it caused a lot of problems. They only wanted his money and took their powers for granted.”
END POST | SCOTTISH SKULL SMASHER
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Fri Jul 19, 2024 2:54 am
Hearing that Meninas had not taken her suggestion as a demand set Diana a bit at ease. Normally the blonde would not have been nearly so bold as to say something like that, but she did not want Meninas to get the impression that Gebet was to be the blonde's new focus. While it was certainly an art she wanted to improve, if only to exorcise the ghosts of her past, it would still take second place to Blut because that one was rewarding even at its most basic levels while Gebet would take awhile to pay any noticeable dividends.
Diana listened to Meninas tell how relaxed and sensible her father's training philosophy was and felt a twinge of something that might be considered jealousy, but her face did not show it. Diana's own father started off relaxed and sensible but gradually grew more and more frustrated as Diana got older and still had not advanced as far in Steigen or Gebet as he would have liked her to. The last subject was the one he seemed to want her to learn the most because his frustration seemed to be at its peak whenever she did not make much headway in it.
The blonde did not dare ask what the other Quincy had meant when she had claimed her brothers spent their time coveting material wealth and purposely neglecting the development of their abilities. It sounded like they were so confident in their abilities that they did not see any point in training, but Diana was not going to ask because that was likely a sensitive subject to the pink-haired young woman. To stay on Meninas' good side Diana chose to momentarily change the subject to training.
"I will take what you teach me seriously." Diana assured Meninas that she was going to give any training she got the focus and effort it deserved. Meeting the pink-haired Quincy was nothing short of a gift from above and Diana was not going to squander it.
Diana listened to Meninas tell how relaxed and sensible her father's training philosophy was and felt a twinge of something that might be considered jealousy, but her face did not show it. Diana's own father started off relaxed and sensible but gradually grew more and more frustrated as Diana got older and still had not advanced as far in Steigen or Gebet as he would have liked her to. The last subject was the one he seemed to want her to learn the most because his frustration seemed to be at its peak whenever she did not make much headway in it.
The blonde did not dare ask what the other Quincy had meant when she had claimed her brothers spent their time coveting material wealth and purposely neglecting the development of their abilities. It sounded like they were so confident in their abilities that they did not see any point in training, but Diana was not going to ask because that was likely a sensitive subject to the pink-haired young woman. To stay on Meninas' good side Diana chose to momentarily change the subject to training.
"I will take what you teach me seriously." Diana assured Meninas that she was going to give any training she got the focus and effort it deserved. Meeting the pink-haired Quincy was nothing short of a gift from above and Diana was not going to squander it.
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Fri Jul 19, 2024 9:01 am
![Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas] - Page 6 6nuQdpC](https://i.imgur.com/6nuQdpC.jpg)
MENINAS MCALLON
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” The gentle giant would reply with a small smile. “While I don’t think I’m an incredibly harsh teacher, that doesn’t mean I won’t try and push you from time to time. I find that it’s during stressful situations where we find out just how far along we are in our training, after all. It’s all well and good spending hours on our craft but if we lose our heads during a tough situation then it’s all for naught.” It all came from her own experiences in truth but Meninas got the feeling that Diana had a sensible head on her shoulders and the pink haired warrior didn’t think of her as one to panic. It would serve her well and probably already had.
Since Gebet seemed to be the main problem for the blonde, Meninas would enquire. “What do you find so difficult about spellcasting if I may ask? Is it remembering the chants or perhaps channelling your spiritual energy?” She was genuinely curious.
END POST | SCOTTISH SKULL SMASHER
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Fri Jul 19, 2024 12:33 pm
Diana did not need to be reminded about the importance of staying calm during a crisis. She had had to do just that the day of the Hollow attack on the Remington property when she heard commotion outside and spotted her parents preparing to sell their lives at as high a price as possible so that their daughter could escape. The moment she spotted the wave of Hollows coming over the horizon Diana had a feeling that she would never see her home or her parents again, but she did as she was told and ran for her life, not daring to look back because if she did she might return and try to fight in an effort to pull off a miracle and save everything she knew despite her skills being well below what a Quincy of her age should have been capable of. The blonde did not return and fight in pursuit of a miraculous victory... she kept running until she could not see or hear the battle and she kept running until she was far away from Columbus.
After fleeing to her mother's hometown in Central Georgia Diana had to work with the local militia to defend it from Hollows whenever an attack occurred. In those situations she had to think clearly and act quickly to prevent her fellow militia members from being hurt or killed by those mindless creatures. Knowing that people were counting on her and having a chance to keep their homes and families from being destroyed like hers had been gave Diana the resolve to fight... as a result she was able to focus when it mattered and keep the people she was fighting alongside from suffering serious harm.
Moving on from those thoughts, Diana shifted gears to trying to describe the nature of her difficulties with improving her weakest subject.
"I would say that the main problem I have with spellcasting is the usage of spiritual energy. No matter how hard I try I just cannot channel it in the right way." Diana did her best to sum up the problem that prevented her from using Gebet.
After fleeing to her mother's hometown in Central Georgia Diana had to work with the local militia to defend it from Hollows whenever an attack occurred. In those situations she had to think clearly and act quickly to prevent her fellow militia members from being hurt or killed by those mindless creatures. Knowing that people were counting on her and having a chance to keep their homes and families from being destroyed like hers had been gave Diana the resolve to fight... as a result she was able to focus when it mattered and keep the people she was fighting alongside from suffering serious harm.
Moving on from those thoughts, Diana shifted gears to trying to describe the nature of her difficulties with improving her weakest subject.
"I would say that the main problem I have with spellcasting is the usage of spiritual energy. No matter how hard I try I just cannot channel it in the right way." Diana did her best to sum up the problem that prevented her from using Gebet.
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Fri Jul 19, 2024 1:55 pm
![Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas] - Page 6 6nuQdpC](https://i.imgur.com/6nuQdpC.jpg)
MENINAS MCALLON
Meninas listened with interest, getting the feeling that it was definitely something that she could help Diana with. Gebet was an awkward art in the Sternritters mind and took quite a lot of work just to get started with but the Quincy was certain that with a little support, the blonde woman would be able to cast spells as freely as the pink haired woman. A part of her wondered if maybe a lack of support had been the problem but knowing as much as she did about Diana’s family life, maybe that was being a little harsh. Obviously, it hadn’t been an easy childhood for either Diana or her folks.
“It’s the building blocks of all the Quincy arts in my opinion. If you can use your Blut or summon your spiritual weapon then you’re already on your way to casting spells. It just takes a little more nuance to do. I’m certain that with a little dedication, you’ll be able to overcome your struggles and perhaps start working towards another level of power. Through Gebet, it's possible to unlock a Quincy form which will allow you to reach levels you’d never dreamed of.” Meninas replied, confident that Diana could reach the same stage as she had.
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Sun Jul 21, 2024 2:49 am
The prospect of gaining personal power was appealing to Diana, who had made it clear that she wanted to grow stronger as a Quincy. She wanted to finally learn the skill that had been her greatest weakness ever since she had started her training over ten years ago. She also wanted to become strong enough to be able to travel on her own in relative safety and to fight Hollows by herself so that no one else had to run the risk of getting hurt in a fight with those beasts.
Diana listened closely as Meninas offer the belief that if the blonde knew how to use Blut and Kreuzen she already had the basics of what she needed to perform Gebet. The second part of that belief was that learning and using that particular skill was within Diana's reach but required a mindset different from the one needed to use Blut or Kreuzen. After that was said Meninas stated that to attain a Quincy form that granted the wielder extraordinary power an aspirant needed to have a good deal of competence in Gebet.
The irony of a way to obtain great power being tied to learning a skill she was not very good at was not lost on Diana, who kept a straight face as she tried to wrap her mind around that particular conundrum.
That situation was every bit as ironic as her being named for a Roman goddess whose weapon of choice was a bow but being unable to create one as her spirit weapon.
"I will keep Blut as my main priority, but this Quincy form only attainable through knowledge of Gebet is interesting." Diana calmly commented on what she had just been told. She was not going to dramatically shift her priorities just to chase power, but now she had a new reason to put serious effort into learning Gebet. Or at least try to learn it, anyway.
Diana listened closely as Meninas offer the belief that if the blonde knew how to use Blut and Kreuzen she already had the basics of what she needed to perform Gebet. The second part of that belief was that learning and using that particular skill was within Diana's reach but required a mindset different from the one needed to use Blut or Kreuzen. After that was said Meninas stated that to attain a Quincy form that granted the wielder extraordinary power an aspirant needed to have a good deal of competence in Gebet.
The irony of a way to obtain great power being tied to learning a skill she was not very good at was not lost on Diana, who kept a straight face as she tried to wrap her mind around that particular conundrum.
That situation was every bit as ironic as her being named for a Roman goddess whose weapon of choice was a bow but being unable to create one as her spirit weapon.
"I will keep Blut as my main priority, but this Quincy form only attainable through knowledge of Gebet is interesting." Diana calmly commented on what she had just been told. She was not going to dramatically shift her priorities just to chase power, but now she had a new reason to put serious effort into learning Gebet. Or at least try to learn it, anyway.
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Re: Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]
Sun Jul 21, 2024 1:28 pm
![Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas] - Page 6 6nuQdpC](https://i.imgur.com/6nuQdpC.jpg)
MENINAS MCALLON
Nodding, Meninas would lean back against her seat, thinking a little more. Soon enough, the waitress would return with her and Diana’s next cup of coffee, which the Sternriiter uttered a polite thank you for. The Sternritter was certainly glad that she’d visited the coffee shop today and hoped that Diana would find her way as a Quincy. Meninas would do everything she could to help and even if Diana decided against joining the Vandenreich, it wouldn’t change the gentle giant's desire to help her succeed. Just seeing another Quincy succeed would be more than enough to bring pleasure to the pink haired woman’s heart.
“Mmm. It takes a fair amount of skill to learn but it’s there for those who wish to work towards it. There’s a second form as well which is gained through Kurezen but from what I know, you can’t have both. It’s either one or the other and each Quincy has to figure out which works for them.” Meninas answered eventually, taking a sip of her coffee.
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