(I refuse your merry making and offer annoyance instead) Voice: TheStrandInstitute

[nobasisinfact]

It seems someone felt it appropriate to put some sort of concoction in my tea. While not completely debilitating I find the results, irritating.

I'd appreciate it if someone happened to know exactly what idiotic concoction of the month is supposed to cause color blindness. Complete color blindness.

[There's a grumble after a few seconds.]

Because of course, this place would do something this stupid.

Comments

[nobasisinfact]

He also isn't as creative as I am.

[At least when he's being a vengeful bastard.]

[11calls]

Well, I suppose that's true. He doesn't have a PhD in making people's lives hellish.

[She laughs at that, because well, it's true.]

It's a good thing there's not a ratemyprofessor.com here, Richard.

[nobasisinfact]

When you have the evidence-based backing to prove competency, those sort of websites are pointless.

[Meaning that usually, his courses were only taken by those that wanted to take it and knew what they were getting into.

In Riverview however, these students were unsuspecting poor bastards.]

[11calls]

Did you ever look at your profile on the site, Richard?

[She did. Of course she did.]

You did have a truly impressive amount of chili peppers. But they were massively outnumbered by the comments about you being the biggest asshole of a teacher but one that you'd learn from.

[nobasisinfact]

The second part of that is the only part that matters.

[Richard Strand prefers to be judged by his actions and not his looks.]

[11calls]

Still.

[Alex, who of course described him as attractive even after her ass had left eleven messages finds it amusing as hell.

But then there's a quick exhale of breath and a muttered:]

What the hell?

[nobasisinfact]

What?

[He sounds confused.]

[11calls]

[And Alex is going to just turn her camera on and hold up her wrist, which has a shiny new tattoo on the inside of it. ]

What the hell?

[nobasisinfact]

[There's a very long pause.]

What?

[He sounds, concerned.]

[11calls]

I seem... [There's a pause, but Alex sounds more confused than concerned so far.]

To have spontaneously developed a sacred geometry tattoo on my wrist?

[nobasisinfact]

Have you drunk anything?

[He is, concerned.]

[11calls]

Nope, I mean I got this weird stuff spilled on me a little while ago, but it was fine. Just sort of wiped off like water.

[She's going to keep brushing it with her thumb like a mother trying to get a smudge off her kids face.]

[nobasisinfact]

What weird stuff?

[11calls]

This black stuff. It just felt like water it didn't even stain or anything.

God what the hell?

[nobasisinfact]

Did you ask the seller what it was?

[11calls]

No.

[It's not a lie, because she didn't. She also... may not have told him that she spilled any on herself either.]

[nobasisinfact]

Go ask.

[He assumes it got on her skin.]

[11calls]

[She gives him a sigh before she moves into one of the stalls]

Excuse me! Hi. I was wondering if...

[And then there was the voice of an older woman who sounded excited. "Oh! You have a soulmate mark. Those are a true rarity in this day and age, dear!"

And of course Alex just sounded confused when she asked:] A soulmate mark?

["Yes, did you get any of the black on your skin somewhere? Well, after it washes off, it leaves a matching mark on your soulmate's arm. It's such a wonderful thing. The moon needs more love don't you think?"]

Um yeah, always. Do you sell anything that causes color blindness?

[ "Oh are you colorblind as well?" Then another voice interrupts them, and the woman instead just offers, "rainbow potions, dear. On the house, on the house."

Alex doesn't know what to say for a minute, so she's just going to go:]

Huh.

[nobasisinfact]

These idiots are a menace.

[He's rolling his eyes over here.]

[11calls]

Well, it's a romantic love holiday, Richard. What did you expect?

But I've got a few vials of the stuff.

I should be there shortly. Do you need anything else?

[...That's probably not good that neither of them are mentioning it.]

[nobasisinfact]

I didn't expect them to be so careless. Although I should have.

[There's a pause as he pointedly thinks about that.]

I should be fine.

[Still avoiding this topic like the plague.]

[11calls]

[A beat.]

Okay.

[There's things that she wants to say about how good and comforting the magic of Riverview can be, the way it makes you feel warm and happy and light or helps you sleep. There might have been something even silly in this if it hadn't been forced upon.

If they both weren't not mentioning the tattoo on her wrist.

So Alex is just going to make her way through the festival traffic towards the university.]

[nobasisinfact]

[He'll be there, waiting for her.]

[11calls]

[Alex may have taken a little bit longer than she otherwise would as she wandered towards the university. After all, the whole soulmate question was one that was very much a question. At least for her. For Richard, she already knew what his answer would be, the same thing that it always was whenever there was anything that seemed unnatural. That it wasn't true and it didn't matter.

And of course there was Coralee. Thirty five years of Coralee at this point. That is a lot of life to not have one's soulmate.

Telling herself that it was just silly Riverview stuff and that it didn't matter wasn't working all that well, and Alex sighed as she knocked on the door. It didn't matter, it was just Riverview, whatever if anything was on his arm.

Without waiting for a response to his knock (he was expecting her) Alex just entered wearing a red sundress and a smile.]

Got it.

[nobasisinfact]

[Richard wasn't pacing. He hadn't been pacing the whole time with a glass of scotch in his hand.

When she opened the door all he could see was red, red and Alex in complete color. The longer he looked at her the more the edges around her began to bleed into color.]

Odd.

[His eyes narrowed, squinting as the color seemed to return to the world.]