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Tweak says, "HULA GIRLS!"

Dean Thomas (artistdean) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-09-20 11:15:00

Entry tags:

character: dean thomas, character: lavender brown, status: complete

RP: Take a Walk
Who: Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown
What: A chance meeting in the park
Where: Monument Alley Park
When: Saturday 20th, around lunchtime
Rating: SFW

It was a Saturday lunchtime, well, near enough, and Dean was already feeling overworked for the day. He'd slept last night thanks to his potion, got up this morning and headed for muggle London, for his medication review. He had therapy once a month, but unless that threw something up his medication was only reviewed every six months now and it was always that little bit more intense and he now felt like whatever the wizarding equivalent of a wrung sponge was. It had been a successful session, but he all he felt like was being out in the fresh air, that office just wasn't the open welcoming space of his studio and even that wasn't appealing right now.

He'd called in at St. Mungo's to drop off the updated prescription he'd been given to the healer who converted it into wizarding equivalents. Nothing had changed, mostly because he knew he was going to be even more stressed than he'd already become about the show. Otherwise there had been the suggestion of perhaps lowering his dose slightly, but it hadn't seemed like a wise move.

Apparating back to Monument Alley he walked down to the park dodging through the increased number of shoppers a Saturday always brought and into the calming haven. There was greenery and plants, and even though it wasn't the brightest of weather it was at least dry for now and Dean wandered over to a bench and sat himself down.

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angustifolia
2014-09-20 01:23 pm UTC (link)

"I had one when I was wee. It was pink." Lavender grinned wolfishly. "Of course." Recalling that broom, she laughed softly. "I can't remember what it was called, but it had some ridiculously girly name. Star Sparkle or something." She pouted a little. "My work broom is not nearly so pretty," she joked. "But it goes a hell of a lot faster."

She glanced at Dean. "What sort of toys did you have growing up? Toy... cars?" she guessed.

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artistdean
2014-09-20 01:50 pm UTC (link)

Dean couldn't help but snort in amusement at the mental image of a tiny Lavender on a tiny pink broom. "I'm guessing it goes higher too," he said, glancing at the children who were now floating around gently, never getting above where their mother could reach without stretching her arm high above her head.

"Me? Oh, sure, toy cars, Lego, I got a Game Boy not long before I went to Hogwarts, the whole lack of anything electrical things did not go down well to start with let me tell you. Oh and telly, there were some great children's programmes." Dean had been fairly active, even as a child but he did enjoy certain programmes, especially Blue Peter.

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angustifolia
2014-09-20 02:07 pm UTC (link)

"Just a bit," Lavender agreed, smiling as she pinched her fingers together in a mock approximation.

Her brow furrowed slightly. "Game Boy sounds like the name of a doll," she decided. "But I have a feeling it probably wasn't." Thanks to work, she was at least passingly familiar with Muggle weapons, but Muggle children's toys were another matter entirely. Even the toys that she'd got from her Muggle grandparents had been things like dolls, books and skipping ropes.

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artistdean
2014-09-20 02:21 pm UTC (link)

He snorted at the idea of a doll being called a Game Boy. "No, not a doll, although I did get dragged into a lot of games of Barbie, princesses and tea parties with my sisters once they were old enough, er, Barbie is actually a doll, generally played with by girls." He frowned, trying to work out how to explain a computer-based game to someone who knew very little about the Muggle world.

"A Game Boy is... well, it's an electronic game thing, about so big," he said, holding his hands to show the approximate size. "There's a screen with moving pictures made up of little dots and buttons you use to control it. One of the easiest games to explain is probably Tetris. It's a puzzle game, these little shapes made of blocks come down the screen and you have to fit them into lines at the bottom. You get points for every full line you make and keep going until the screen fills up. The, er, lines disappear when you finish them," he was trying to illustrate with his hands as he spoke but had a feeling he was doing a very bad job of it.

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angustifolia
2014-09-20 02:56 pm UTC (link)

Lavender blushed a little at her error, though she was mostly amused. Game Boy really did sound like a doll. Or action figure. Whatever boys preferred to call them.

"So like a sort of..." Lavender tried holding her hands out in the same sort of size as Dean had, "...mini television. But for games." She cast him a look. "And, yes, I do know what a television is. My grandparents had one. I can understand missing something like that at Hogwarts."

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artistdean
2014-09-20 03:06 pm UTC (link)

"Oh! Okay, I hadn't realised you knew about television, bit easier to explain then. And yes, sort of. The first ones were only black and white, well black on green, and all you use the controls to move things around the screen. Hang on," he said, giving in and pulling out his sketch book and pencil. He did a quick line drawing of a basic Game Boy and blocked in a quick game of tetris on the 'screen'. "Here," he said, showing Lavender. "You use these buttons to control the shapes from side to side. Some of the other games you could use them to make characters jump. Sort of really basic interactive games."

He scratched at his eyebrow, hoping like crazy he was making sense.

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angustifolia
2014-09-20 07:40 pm UTC (link)

"My dad's parents are Muggles," Lavender said by way of explanation. Television had always seemed like a special sort of magic when she had visited them as a young child. Not only did the pictures move, but there was sound too!

She examined his drawing, a bit awed by his line drawing. Her artistic skill seemed to lie in icing cakes - put a pencil in her hand and it wasn't the least bit impressive. "I think I get it. Sounds interesting."

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artistdean
2014-09-21 12:37 am UTC (link)

"Ah, that explains that then," he said. He tended to forget a lot of his friends probably had at least some muggle relations because they'd all stayed in the wizarding world so completely. Then again he'd done a muggle job for a while and that wasn't something he broadcast either.

"It was a lot of fun. When they explained the magic and electric not working well together I ended up giving it to my sister for the school year. She was delighted and then by the time I got back I knew all this other stuff that blew my mind. Seemed a little bit less impressive," he shrugged and tucked his sketchbook away again.

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angustifolia
2014-09-21 07:42 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah. Sort of makes you wonder what the world would be like if magic and electricity did mix." Probably very different, Lavender thought. Then again, there were plenty of wizards who liked to cling to the past and call it 'tradition'.

"Well, you learn something new every day," Lavender mused, only half-joking. "You know, I'm going to have to start getting to the pub early before Duelling Club just to see if you're there and say hello. No one should have to go this long without seeing your lovely face," she tease, giving him a gentle nudge with her elbow.

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artistdean
2014-09-22 12:01 am UTC (link)

"I think there'd be a lot of muggleborn and half-blood children at Hogwarts paying a lot less attention for a start," he said, grinning. He couldn't imagine. Jess practically had a permanent sticking charm attaching her to her mobile phone these days. "But it would be nice to have some things, just for the sake of speed or entertainment."

He gave her a self-deprecating smile. "Sure, Lavender. Can't be doing without this," he pointed at his own face rolling his eyes a bit. "Although I'm not there every week, my shifts move around a bit, and I don't have a lot at the moment, got art coming out of my ears practically and Seamus has been good about not giving me any extras."

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	angustifolia 2014-09-22 12:17 pm UTC (link)
	"No, I can't be doing without that," Lavender said in all mock-seriousness. "I start getting cravings for my friends if I don't see you enough." She grinned. "I'll pop in anyway, just in case you're there." Lavender raised her eyebrows curiously. "Yeah? Is this a sudden burst of creativity or are you working on something big?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

artistdean
2014-09-22 01:47 pm UTC (link)

"I don't think I'm working that shift this week, but that probably means I will be next week," he said, shrugging. His organisation skills weren't the best, but Seamus was thankfully good at making sure he turned up at shifts when he was meant to. Even if that occasionally meant coming and dragging him from the studio. Mostly he managed it himself these days.

"Oh, erm, bit of both really," he said, aware he wasn't really meant to be telling anyone about show just yet. Seamus, Susan and Luna were more than enough people to be going on with. "I've been trying to finish some things up, been doing a bit of sorting that sort of thing. And Susan came in because she redecorated, raided the finished stuff." He was babbling slightly to cover up what he wasn't meant to be saying, but hopefully not enough to make her ask too closely.

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angustifolia
2014-09-22 02:50 pm UTC (link)

"I'll just keep an eye out for you," Lavender said. It wouldn't hurt to make sure that she stayed friendly with the bar staff who weren't Seamus or Dean. She was there every week for Duelling Club and often popped in on other evenings, so it made sense to know who they all were.

"That sounds like Susan," Lavender agreed with a nod. A frown turned down the edges of her mouth. "And I'm probably interrupting a much-needed break right now, aren't I?"

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artistdean
2014-09-22 03:40 pm UTC (link)

Dean was surprised into a wider smile. "No, you're really not. I'm outside getting fresh air," he took a breath. "Plus I've been to the psychologist this morning for the wonders of a medication review, I never really feel like working straight after those, although I imagine the delayed reaction will have me painting in a frenzy by Monday at the latest." His medication reviews in particular seemed to have that effect, the fact this one was on a Saturday was just a nice coincidence of the one Saturday a month his psychologist worked fitting in with when his review was due.

"What about you, what brings you to the park on Saturday lunchtime?"

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angustifolia
2014-09-22 03:53 pm UTC (link)

Dean was smiling, so Lavender surmised that Dean's review had gone well, or at least things hadn't got worse; she was pleased for him.

"Um..." Lavender had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "I kind of wimped out on going on a run this morning, so I thought I'd go for a bit of walk." She drummed her fingers on the bench. "As you can see, that's going swimmingly," she joked.

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artistdean
2014-09-22 05:53 pm UTC (link)

With a snort Dean gave Lavender an amused look. "I'm sure you can skip one day! I sometimes end up forgetting to go swimming because I'm busy painting," he offered in consolation. Although it was perhaps a little less important that she kept fit for her job than he did for his.

"Besides, I'm an amazing conversation-haver this is clearly the much better option," he said, making a slightly strained face because he knew those were not the right words. Seamus would probably know, probably even Ophelia and she was French.

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