Alicorn24 entered the room. (4:08:16 PM)
Winged One (Alphabeta) entered the room. (4:08:20 PM)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta) entered the room. (4:08:20 PM)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): huzzah!
Winged One (Alphabeta): *watches a giant toaster monster crash through the roof*
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *snerks*
Alicorn: oh, relevant: Ace's letter was published in Still Minds. If Kowedyo gets that it's probably in a "best to know what these weirdos are up to" kind of way.
Winged One (Alphabeta): So I was right in that it's the only one of the magazines he submitted it to that would actually print it?
Alicorn: Well, that probably depends on how wide he cast his net, but a) they'd definitely take it and b) I have mentioned them before.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo might get it on those grounds, but it doesn't entirely fit with the personality I had in mind. On the other hand I strongly suspect that Kowedyo would object to Laren being subscribed to that.
Alicorn: Laren doesn't have to subscribe to have sent them a letter.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Perhaps they find a report in another periodical about the Still Mind article?
Alicorn: Maybe Ivwi gets it on those grounds, and forwarded the relevant copy to Kowedyo.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): That'd make sense.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *edits thing*
Winged One (Alphabeta): Did you get both halves?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): nope
Winged One (Alphabeta): Fellow citizens of Mevwan, I have recently learned of a disturbing development in the Miara Astripator's case. As you probably know, the village of Miara was razed and its people burnt alive by an astripator less than a month ago, in what has since been conclusively proven to be a tragic accident. What you don't know is the killer's sentence. In flagrant violation of precedent both within the Sesdesh province and in Mevwan as a whole, the perpetrator was not placed within a detention facility, but instead ordered to be fostered.
Winged One (Alphabeta): I understand the reasoning behind the judgement. It is a proven fact that upsetting the guilty party further could lead to additional tragedy. Implementing the extreme isolation measures that would mitigate more uncontrolled psionic activity would itself be such an upset, and hazardous to attempt. Sometimes, the preservation of sapient life must come before justice. However, this was not necessarily the case. The killer could have served their sentence while unconscious, or even killed to eliminate the threat they pose altogether. They already killed anyone who would have missed them.
You may call me a coward for refusing to reveal my identity. You may be correct. Would you let someone like that know who
you are if you had said what I have?
Submitted by an anonymous journalist
Alicorn: *or even been killed
Winged One (Alphabeta): Yes. Thank you for the edit
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Ah heh. Yeah, Kowedyo would definitely not let Laren know that he knew that Laren'd sent that in at this point in the relationship, unless there's some surprise in Laren's thoughts about it that I don't know about yet.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Well, there's "nobody else printed it?" or something along those lines.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): That does open up an avenue for discussion if Laren actually says that, which Kowedyo would make a point of giving him an opportunity to do if he caught that in his thoughts.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Hm... well, actually talking about things isn't really one of Laren's strong suits.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Well, let's see what happens.
---
Kowedyo passes Laren his share of the periodicals, then settles back onto his tail and begins peeling the zenlo (which works rather like a banana, except that the peel is deep red and the flesh is tan with pinkish streaks and strongly lychee-scented). With the zenlo prepared, he rifles through the remaining stack of periodicals to retrieve the lone personal letter from the pile.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Would there be any editor commentary attached to the letter?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Seems likely to me.
Alicorn: In Still Minds? If you want to write it as part of your entry, Winged, sure
Winged One (Alphabeta): Let's say they got it just at the deadline and didn't have time to add any.
Alicorn: okay.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Laren looks through the stack, glancing at the front pages of each one in turn as he mechanically shovels bites of egg into his face. Once he's read those, he immediately goes for the anomalous copy of Still Minds and opens it to the guest letters page. As always, his face and body language don't give anything away.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): A couple of assumptions I'm going on, by the way: Laren is aware of Ivwi and that he set up the adoption; Kowedyo lives in a small house on the school/hospital campus, as is relatively common for youngish teachers and doctors.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Hm... Well, if he lives on campus, which makes sense, it'd follow that Laren is aware of Ivwi.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Is the letter from Ivwi or someone else?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Not necessarily - an average non-psion wingchild of a teacher would probably not be more than very vaguely aware of Ivwi - but it seems pretty likely in this particular case. The letter is from Ivwi about the Still Mind entry.
Winged One (Alphabeta): After a short skimming, he closes the paper and hands it to his wingparent. "I think Ivwi sent this to you," he says mildly.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Um, I think we have a confusion.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC I know it's not technically a normal adoption, but I thought it would be treated like one.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC I
Alicorn: (Laren would not have the letter in his hands at any point, I think is the confusion.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC I'm assuming that Ivwi's personality is well-known enough for this to seem like something he'd do.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Actually I think we had an issue starting with Laren having a copy of Still Minds - Kowedyo would have noticed that when separating out the stacks of stuff (Laren gets his own subscriptions) and asked about it, and I rather suspect that Laren would know that and not bother trying. Also yes, Laren never had the letter from Ivwi.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ah.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (It may be the case that Laren gets his own subscriptions because Kowedyo signed him up for some standard local stuff.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): Laren looks through the stack, glancing at the front pages of each one in turn as he mechanically shovels bites of egg into his face. Once he's read those, he goes back to the first newspaper he'd looked at and opens it, starting to read it more thoroughly this time. As usual, his face and body language don't give anything away.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo chews his zenlo absently as he reads the letter. When he reaches the end, he harumpfs quietly, swallows, and ponders for a moment before addressing Laren. "It might be better for you to stay inside, today. Maybe for a few days, actually."
Winged One (Alphabeta): "Yes, sir," Laren says quietly, absently adjusting his scarf without looking up.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Should I put in Laren's thoughts without you saying that Kowedyo is reading his mind?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Nope.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo's ears flick back momentarily before returning to their usual calm, professional position. "It shouldn't be long. Ivwe's already arranging for more security, he just wants to give it a couple days to see how serious this is. Shall I bring you some books from the library, in the meantime?"
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (And actually on further thought, Kowedyo'd definitely be mindreading his reaction to the vagueness there.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): "Yes, please," Laren says. Though his expression is as unhelpful as ever, a slight disappointment that his article hasn't made him too much of a liability to keep around is easy to find in his surface thoughts.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo nods and takes another bite of his zenlo. His ears quiver slightly as he considers and chews. He then mutters, as if to himself, but mostly loudly enough for Laren to easily hear (or is it that he's making *sure* Laren hears it?), "[unclear] stillminders. Any civilised sentient would know better." (Also, still mindreading.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (I've decided that Kowedyo can send words and tone-of-voice, and can kind of send emotions by sending tone-of-voice without sending words, but can't send much if anything else - maybe some vague sight- or sound-qualia, if that.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (But, he can do those skillfully enough that it's sometimes hard to tell whether he's actually talking in the traditional sense or not.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): Laren feels a bit guilty for encouraging the stillminders just because they're right in the one case, but doesn't visibly or audibly react. He just starts eating his toast.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo's ears freeze as he parses this unexpected response from his charge, then flick forward as he realizes the implications, then back as he realizes the implications of the implications. He peels the second zenlo root, and considers.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Digging these ears. They are awesome.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Yes. An awesome example of alien body language.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Am I safe to assume that Laren's not *actively* suicidal, or they'd've noticed by now?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: As in, Kowedyo knows that, rather than just guessing or assuming?
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Yeah, he's kind of half-assed about it because he doesn't /actually/ want to die.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: 'k.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC He just kind of thinks he should, if that makes sense.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: *nods* Also, why is he not actually a student at the school?
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC It wasn't considered safe for him to be one until he gets enough private tutoring?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Huh, I was actually thinking that it'd work the other way, that they'd want him in formal control classes as soon as possible.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Ah. Hm... well, all I've stated so far is that he has a scarf.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: That could very easily just be a condition of him being on-campus without having passed the control test - the students and staff need to be assured that if they approach someone without a scarf they're safe.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Yes
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: I note that Kowedyo has no reason to think that the letter was submitted anywhere but to the stillminders.
Alicorn: back
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Depends how deep mindreading can go.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: It can go pretty deep, but I'm going to rule that Kowedyo can't do that without being noticed.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Though actually if he does have permission it seems like he might give that a shot in this case, assuming it's not the first time he's done so and Laren hasn't previously objected in any sense.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Nah, I think this is the first time he'd object, and his blanket permission specifically includes the right to say "tough shit" if he changes his mind.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Kowedyo wouldn't know ahead of time that he'd object, tho, so yeah.
---
Kowedyo's chewing becomes mechanical and his eyes unfocus slightly as he gently observes the deeper bits of Laren's mind, checking to see if his hypothesis is correct and what implications this might have.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Regarding Laren's non-student status, perhaps he missed enrollment and the classes are all full?
Alicorn: (apropos of nothing, Ade, remember that if Kowedyo ever has cause to refer to Laren by name he'd use the full name Laren Drax.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): ('k)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *pokes Winged and reminds him that it's his turn.*
Winged One (Alphabeta): *explodes*
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *goes eeew and picks gore out of her hair.*
Alicorn: he always explodes when poked. but then he re-forms after a bit.
Winged One (Alphabeta): It still hurts!
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *giggles.*
Winged One (Alphabeta): Laren's head is as unpleasant a place to be as ever, full of overpowering guilt and self-loathing. For a second, it gets even worse as he fills his head with all the rage and pain he remembers. The lights flicker and his eyes go wide as his focus is directed to something he considers more important than his own secrets.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo's voice in Laren's head begins muttering a calming mantra, not forcefully but compellingly, drawing the nearest of Laren's thoughts into the same pattern.
Alicorn: (remember, guys, this is a framing device, and should be short.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): (We can put in only part of the scene.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (There's enough useful stuff going on here I think it's okay if we run long, yeah, and just only use part of it for this particular thing.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): Laren lets Kowedyo help him calm down without question or hesitation, his expression settling back into the impassive one from before.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Once he's satisfied that the house is not in danger of going up in flames, Kowedyo returns his focus to Laren's thoughts and memories. After a few more moments (since he'd obviously found the important bit, to have gotten that reaction [ed note: unreliable narrator!]), he withdraws, and considers Laren, with a kindly droop to his ears. "Laren Drax."
Winged One (Alphabeta): "Kowedyo," Laren says mildly.
Winged One (Alphabeta): "I'm sorry for losing control like that. If you want me to leave, we can think of some solution."
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): typing!
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Thought so.
Just thought my response was too damn short
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): "The ethics classes that they give to telepaths are not the same as those that they give to astrapitors, but perhaps they should be. There is a lesson that my teacher Iluedo gave me, that you would do well to remember: It is right to allow people to make their own decisions, rather than coerce or deceive [ed note: This is translated poorly from a telepathy-specific term that's a bit less, or at least differently, loaded, about constructing artificial beliefs] them into believing what you would like them to. One of the reasons that this is so, is that it is often impossible to do so without damaging them - not that you need to worry about that part, I suppose. But even without that concern, it is good to remember that most people will believe as they believe, whether you try to influence them or not."
Winged One (Alphabeta): "The only deception in my article was the implied concern for my own safety," Laren points out. "I only provided them with the relevant information. It was inconsiderate of me to force such inconvenience onto the rest of the school, however, I admit that."
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: I definitely need a word for that concept I was translating as deception - it means something like 'implying that there is a connection between true facts when that connection does not actually exist' - e.g. 'Laren is dangerous' is true, 'dangerous psions can be put to death' is true, but the connection between those two facts is new data supplied by Laren and thus is this thing.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Bullshit?
Alicorn: you want me to make up something in Iozwe?
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Or possib- yeah, that
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Not necessarily bullshit - it can be used for good as well as bad. New word, yes please, Alicorn.
Alicorn: koyoge.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Thanks.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: And now I'm uncertain how to actually use that grammatically.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Use it as a verb?
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC It's going to be a loanword if they're speaking Ekoin.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Koyo can be the verb version (one can koyo, or decieve, someone) and koyoge can be the noun (a telepath can see and manipulate the koyoge in someone's mind, as well as the beliefs and emotions and things).
Alicorn: I think the nearest English translation for koyoge would be "adjacency".
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC "Connect the facts"?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: *nods*
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Also koyo-ing someone is not exactly the same as deceiving them - there's some overlap, but that's all.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: It's more like 'convince' in that way.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Anyway. *rereads*
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Yes. Hm... sticking to words that Laren already knows wouldn't be the best way for him to pick up a new language, would it?
Alicorn: Winged, did you decide if you want Laren to also be a perturber?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): "Deception, no, but koyo, which is not much better, as you can see. It *was* only the stillminders who printed your letter; Ivwi would have said, otherwise." Kowedyo holds the letter out, not quite offering it, but making it available if Laren wants to confirm his assertion.
Winged One (Alphabeta): "Koyo?" Laren asks. He doesn't take the letter - he trusts Kowedyo enough to believe him if he says that, at least.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo ducks his head in apology. "An Iozwe word, mostly used by telepaths. There are facts, and there are connections between facts, see?" he sketches the concept in the air with his hands. "We call the connections koyoge. Causing a connection in someone else is koyo. It's like convincing, but convincing is for facts and koyo is for koyoge. Pwariyo is causing emotions, in the same way."
Winged One (Alphabeta): "Ah. I don't see the relevance, sir," Laren says quietly. "I implied a link between my refusal to divulge my identity and the risk of me killing someone who upset me again, yes, but how would that change anyone else's decision except regarding any investigation into the author's identity?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: It amuses me to note that Kowedyo is not thrilled at being called 'sir'.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Yes, because Laren's emotional distance from people is so high on the list of his mental problems.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Which is *why* Kowedyo's putting up with it. But it's still pretty insulting at first glance from his perspective.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC He doesn't pretend it's Kowedyo's name or anything. Do Zaee not refer to their family members by their relation?
Alicorn: They don't with family members, they do with teachers and stuff sometimes
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ah
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): "The implied link between young, untrained psions and criminals was more my concern, Laren Drax."
Winged One (Alphabeta): "...I only meant that to apply in my own case. Accidental killing is illegal, even if it isn't considered murder," Laren says, not looking at Kowedyo.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Darn. How does someone who *doesn't* know game theory usually answer that one?
Alicorn: With platitudes.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Bleh.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC or he could just not know game theory by that name.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: I don't want him too overpowered. Ivwi might know the right answer to that one, but Kowedyo isn't specialized in the right directions to.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: It's a law/politics question, not a social-interaction question, basically.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Okay.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC I don't know game theory completely, but I can still see that Laren may have koyoed the stillminders into thinking of uncontrolled psions as criminals whatever his intentions.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC if that helps.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Only 'cause they were mostly there already.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC I'd think that ways to get suicidal people to stop hating themselves so much would be of interest to a psychologist, though.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Plausible, yeah. *considers*
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): "The exception is *meant* to apply to cases like yours. You're more powerful than most astrapitors, but not any less controlled. Actually, the fact that you made it to your age, with your powers and no training, without any other major incidents, speaks *well* for your control."
Alicorn: (Laren does have below-average control, but he's not an outlier, is that what you meant?)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (Yup.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): (Wait, I was going under the impression that it's possible for a psion's powers to emerge later in life than birth.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (Oh, uh.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (Alicorn is afk and will probably be back in a few minutes.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): (Hm. I saw a comment on one of those webcomics that shows a roleplaying game's action as if it was happening in reality that said "not so much rules lawyering as reality lawyering." Isn't that basically what technology is?)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (heee.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): (In fact, a rules lawyer is basically a physicist in universes like the one from Order of the Stick.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (*snerk*)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (Alicorn is putting chocolate on fruit and further says that this is a noble pursuit that requires her attention.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (Or was.)
Alicorn: back
Winged One (Alphabeta): (Why can't machines do it? Or unskilled labor?)
Alicorn: (Psions are born with their powers but don't instantly know how to use them. It's like learning to walk or talk, but usually takes a little longer than either - but not by much.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): (What about uncontrolled psions?)
Alicorn: (usually take longer to figure it out, but Ace would have been able to set things on fire for at least a couple years before he accidentally Miara.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (I've been modeling them as just psions who're less good at controlling their powers than average, not as a separate group with separate rules.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): (Ah. Yeah, that makes sense. So someone who doesn't know a damn thing about how to use their powers couldn't do so by accident?)
Alicorn: (Could, but it'd require more stress than if they knew how to use their powers.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): (Ah.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): "Most low-control astripators only destroy property. That's rather more excusable than killing."
Alicorn: (Ace might have set things on fire when he was seven, but this would have been a *pure* accident, it wouldn't yet have become a response to stress, so he would only set things on fire a *little* even though he's strong enough to set them on fire a *lot*.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: What if anything would Kowedyo know about the circumstances surrounding the accidental-ing of Miara?
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Laren wouldn't keep anything from him, but wouldn't volunteer anything either.
Alicorn: Whatever Ace I MEAN LAREN GODDAMMIT told him, or whatever he dug out of Laren's brain.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Metagaming Ace: Nah nah nah nah nah nah
Alicorn: Metagaming Gevene: Don't tease the Authors, please.
Alicorn: (zwerisi!Gevene: fun!)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Dangit language, why do you never have the words I want?
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Because it sucks. We're making the switch to telepathy as quickly as we can.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Actually that's another concept that a psion-having culture would encode into its language: A provoked loss of control.
Alicorn: Call that "dyamie"
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Thanks.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Is it bad that I read 'dynamite'?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): "It's excusable enough, for a dyamie. Why do you think all our buildings are fireproof?" He gestures to the tops of the walls, which have vents set in them to allow smoke to escape.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Are you taking down a word list, Alicorn?
Alicorn: I should be. *starts*
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta):
Winged One (Alphabeta): "In case of a fire, obviously," Laren says mildly. "I suppose I have nothing to say to that but that I disagree."
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Now, here I want a platitude-ish thing, but I'm not sure I can generate one without it sounding weird.
Alicorn: a platitude to what effect?
Alicorn: brb, I must fetch the fruits of my noble pursuit
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC I still prefer chocolate and fruit separately.
Alicorn: back
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Meaning is roughly "I see and disagree with your koyoge, but respect your right to have it.", with tones of not being able to do anything about it right now anyway.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC Well, not ethically or safely.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Technically that, yes.
Alicorn: you want an Iozwe phrase to "clumsily translate", or a Mevwani saying?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: The saying would not be telepath-specific. I don't really care what language it's from, but I think Iozwe is more likely to have something like that. On the other hand there could be a standard non-clumsy translation by now.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC I've been assuming they're speaking Iozwe to help Laren learn the language?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): OOC: Nommiemonster demands noms. brb.
Winged One (Alphabeta): OOC is that like a less specific cookie monster?
Alicorn: Cat's name is Nom.
Winged One (Alphabeta):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMWi7CLoZ2Q
Winged One (Alphabeta): But seriously, cute name.
Alicorn:
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): The Nom has been be-nommed.
Winged One (Alphabeta): That sounds like you nommed on em.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *giggles*
Alicorn: Nom is a boy cat.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Okay
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): He is thus named because he has a tendency to nom on my hands, playfully. "Halp! I'm being Nommed!"
Winged One (Alphabeta): Aw
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): All in good fun. ^^
Winged One (Alphabeta): You sure he's not threatening you? He is a cat...
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): He gets serious about it sometimes, but then I remind him that I'm bigger than he is.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Anyway, I don't care if we've been speaking Iozwe.
Winged One (Alphabeta): So. Plattitudes?
Alicorn: uuuum
Alicorn: everything I'm coming up with sounds too casual to make sense in Kowedyo's voice
Winged One (Alphabeta): Something for Kowedyo to use as a base, perhaps?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Also, Kowedyo's being unusually formal right now 'cause he doesn't know Laren well yet.
Alicorn: right, well, I'm coming up with train metaphors
Alicorn: "I can't re-lay the tracks in your head" or something like that
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): I like that.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Do you want a toy train for your birthday or something?
Alicorn: No, not especially, I just like them as a feature of Mevwan
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ah. Any particular reason?
Alicorn: they are aesthetically suitable.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): I'm suddenly thinking of Mevwan as steampunk-y.
Alicorn: Because it has trains?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Well, because trains are aesthetically relevant.
Alicorn: ah.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Also I'm thinking that it might be a standard metaphor that tracks/roads/flightplans are koyoge, vehicles are beliefs/facts, and cargo is emotions.
Alicorn: Yessss.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Which implies that the standard advice is less 'don't get too emotional' and more 'don't let your emotions get unbalanced enough to throw your beliefs off-course', which I like.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Yes. I can never resist mocking people who say "don't be afraid" when they mean "don't let your perfectly reasonable fear stop you from doing what you need to."
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta):
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Anyway, I think we can basically call this wrapped? Kowedyo says something pithy and vaguely confusing about train tracks, finishes his breakfast, and heads to work?
Winged One (Alphabeta): Sure
Alicorn: Winged, thou shalt condense and prosify!
Winged One (Alphabeta): Gah, I missed some of the RPing and meebo doesn't save chat logs of rooms.
Alicorn: I'll send you an e-mail with a paste of all of it
Winged One (Alphabeta): thanks
Winged One (Alphabeta): I just realized that at no point in this story does anybody read the article that we're pretending is my submission
Alicorn: Ivwi forwarded it to Kowedyo.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Kowedyo reads it; I just didn't paste it in at that point.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ah. So, what, a clipping in the letter instead of the actual paper as I assumed?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Yup.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Should I have the letter in there too?
Alicorn: It's a framing device, so put two or three lines before the letter, the letter in the quoteybox, and then a couple lines after the quoteybox
Alicorn: oh, you mean Ivwi's remarks?
Winged One (Alphabeta): Yes
Alicorn: nah, Ade would have to write those.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Bleh, I don't know what to cut
Alicorn: Start by cutting everything, and then decide what to put in.
Winged One (Alphabeta): ... that's very good advice. Thanks
Alicorn:
Winged One (Alphabeta): I'm thinking Laren might be a perturber, but his powers only work on his own body. Would that be possible?
Alicorn: No, all perturbers can move inanimate objects; only some can move living things, but none only affect themselves.
Winged One (Alphabeta): What about only things he's in contact with?
Alicorn: It's always at least slightly ranged.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ah.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Would Laren be allowed to have a scarf's ends sewn together around his neck?
Alicorn: Up to Kowedyo.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Describe that better?
Winged One (Alphabeta): Take a scarf, put it on Laren, then sew it onto itself so he can't take it off.
Alicorn: Kowedyo is now Laren's legal parent. Sewing on a scarf would be something he could tell Laren not to do if he wanted. (Unless you decide it's against school policy or something.)
Alicorn: You realize he could still set the scarf on fire, though.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Yes, but he's doing this voluntarily in the first place.
Alicorn: Sewing on a scarf *so Laren can't remove it* is silly.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Honestly, I'm having trouble imagining Laren making the request in the first place.
Winged One (Alphabeta): The idea is so it can't be removed easily or without actually making an effort.
Winged One (Alphabeta): ...those are the same damn concepts. Why did I put it twice?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): They probably actually have scarves that button, for fidgetty little kids who tend to forget stuff.
Winged One (Alphabeta): (Well, he'd actually want it sewn directly onto his neck, but that'd probably tip Kowedyo off that something's wrong a bit early.
Winged One (Alphabeta): )
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Indeed.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): My point was that I have trouble imagining him *approaching* Kowedyo with the request, tho.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ah, right.
Winged One (Alphabeta): It'd probably be after a while, actually, and he might have decided that buttoned-on is good enough by then.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): He'd probably encounter a kid with a buttoning one at some point, and could ask about it and then take the opportunity to request it.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Probably, if the classes aren't separated by age.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): They are, but not strongly, and there's stuff like the cafeteria and recreational areas that aren't segregated.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Yes, but Laren is rather averse to socializing with anyone at that point in his life.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): True.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Hm... I guess I should keep the framing device short.
Alicorn: yes.
Winged One (Alphabeta):
Kowedyo absently chewed what looked to his wingless wing-child like a banana with a deep red peel and pink-streaked tan flesh as he read the letter. When he reached the end, he harumpfed quietly, swallowed, and pondered for a moment before addressing Laren. "It might be better for you to stay inside, today. Maybe for a few days, actually."
Winged One (Alphabeta):
"Yes, sir," Laren said quietly, adjusting his scarf without looking up from his own paper.
Kowedyo's ears flick back momentarily before returning to their usual calm, professional position. "It shouldn't be long. Ivwe's already arranging for more security, he just wants to give it a couple days to see how serious this is. Shall I bring you some books from the library, in the meantime?"
"Yes, please," the youth muttered. Though his expression was as unhelpfully blank as ever, a slight disappointment that his article hasn't made him too much of a liability to keep around was plainly written plain as day in his mind, for those with the talent to read it.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Oops
Winged One (Alphabeta): Before that is :Kowedyo and Laren sat accross the table from each other, reading their newspapers and eating breakfast. Kowedyo was on a clipping that had arrived in a letter.
Winged One (Alphabeta): And then the article
Alicorn: We're preferring "Ivwi" to "Ivwe", because there's someone on the Cezkwe called Iviwe
Alicorn: I'd prune the following phrase: "and pink-streaked tan flesh"
Alicorn: also, "harumphed"
Winged One (Alphabeta): How am I supposed to cut more out of that without failing at description?
Alicorn: and the last sentence is a bit long, maybe split it into two
Alicorn: Just cut the bit I quoted.
Alicorn: It's a banana-lookin' thing with a red peel; I doubt Laren's getting close enough to see what the interior looksl ike.
Alicorn: *looks like
Winged One (Alphabeta): Were you telling me to cut harumphed or correct the spelling?
Alicorn: The spelling.
Winged One (Alphabeta): peel as he read the letter. When he reached the end, he harumphed quietly, swallowed, and pondered for a moment before addressing Laren. "It might be better for you to stay inside, today. Maybe for a few days, actually."
"Yes, sir," Laren said quietly, adjusting his scarf without looking up from his own paper.
Kowedyo's ears flicked back momentarily before returning to their usual calm, professional position. "It shouldn't be long. Ivwe's already arranging for more security; he just wants to give it a couple days to see how serious this is. Shall I bring you some books from the library, in the meantime?"
"Yes, please," the youth muttered. Though his expression was as unhelpfully blank as ever, a slight disappointment that his article hasn't made him too much of a liability to keep around was written plain as day in his thoughts. One of the reasons Kowedyo had been chosen to adopt him was the talent to read such things.
Alicorn: Did you see the part about Ivwi's name?
Winged One (Alphabeta): Yes, I just forgot to change it.
Alicorn: Ade, is yours all done?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): brb
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Mine's not exactly done; I'm not satisfied that the scarves and the restrictions on leaving campus or taking certain classes are the only differences between controlled and uncontrolled students' privileges.
Alicorn: Maybe certain stressful situations/events are prohibited for them?
Winged One (Alphabeta): And the controlled ones might get better facilities?
Winged One (Alphabeta): It's only astripators who are uncontrolled when stressed, but only astripators are actually dangerous.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Well, the condition of being an uncontrolled astripator is the only such condition that's dangerous, anyway. Obviously anyone can be dangerous. You know what I mean.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Students who've been controlled for a significant period might get to move into the building with the other controlled students, which is much less likely to unexpectedly explode.
Alicorn: heee
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): (All the buildings have very good fire-handling mechanisms, but it's still nice to be able to keep books/notes/whatever and not worry about them going up in flames.)
Winged One (Alphabeta): Well... yeah, I guess a stillminder wouldn't be any more likely to target the controlled-student building than the uncontrolled on.
Winged One (Alphabeta): *one
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): I suspect that the campus is arranged in such a way as to make either of those scenarios pretty darn unlikely.
Winged One (Alphabeta): If it was at all likely in the first place, that makes sense.
Winged One (Alphabeta): And hell, the middle of campus is a good place for the student lodgings even without security concerns
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Alicorn and I already established that the stillminders are an ongoing annoyance, if usually a minor one.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Yes, but minor annoyance implies a lack of danger.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Also I think uncontrolled students (or at least astrapitors and perturbers) might not be able to borrow things from the main campus library. (There's a smaller library at the hospital for the anticipaths that doesn't have anything valuable (since they have a tendency to lose stuff, unless Alicorn objects to that) that Kowedyo's borrowing from for Laren.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Minor annoyance does imply lack of danger but it doesn't imply that it's a good thing to let them harass the students unnecessarily.
Winged One (Alphabeta): True. Especially since someone lighting them on fire by accident might make someone listen to them.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Yup.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Also nontrivially traumatic for the students.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Depends on the skill of the harasser, I'd think.
Winged One (Alphabeta): But yeah
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): ...it's 12:30. No wonder I'm sleepy.
Alicorn: I really really want this up tonight
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): I know.
Alicorn: do you have the spoons to accomplish that?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Maybe.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Well, yeah, diurnal people don't generally do things at this time of night
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): I'm not diurnal. It's just that I've been up since 7am.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Well, you're diurnal today.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Which is a ridiculous hour of the day and my sleep schedule needs to get its act together.
Winged One (Alphabeta):
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Hum. I'm writing the bit about being allowed off-campus; it occurs to me that sufficiently young kids would not be allowed off-campus even if they are controlled, but this age would vary between Zaee and humans. How would this likely be handled?
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ade, are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): very much an introvert.
Alicorn: Your discretion on human age; for Zaee let's call it 25.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Okay
Alicorn: Adjustable with guardian preference.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): 'k
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): I do need to name this school.
Alicorn: yes. yes you do.
Winged One (Alphabeta): How abo- *gets shot*
Alicorn: How did Ivwi ascend to his position, anyway?
Alicorn: is he related to the founder?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Good question. He may've been wingchild of one.
Alicorn: do you want just a random Iozwe name for the school?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Thinkin'.
Winged One (Alphabeta): I thought formal psychic schooling was a new thing?
Alicorn: Would have been an obvious need when psion human babies started being born in Mevwan. Which was a couple hundred years ago.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Ah, right. Why did I think that, then?
Alicorn: Because you are a silly goose?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): I'm thinking The [thingie] School for Ascending Psions, where that's a semi-mangled translation and 'ascending' is a term relating to first flights or learning to fly.
Winged One (Alphabeta): *honk*
Alicorn: <missingthepoint>But only some perturbers learn how to fly.</missingthepoint>
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *snerk*
Alicorn: I don't think flight is a good metaphor for it. Flight has all the connotations of growing up, leaving one's birthplace/eye-family, and also happens in very early childhood.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Some dumbass human could have named it
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): mm.
Alicorn: A Zaee would have had to found it, though, since all the trained psions in the world were Zaee at the time the school would have been founded
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *is swiftly turning into a sleep zombie.*
Alicorn: ngehhhh
Winged One (Alphabeta): They have drugs for that
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): *giggles*
Alicorn: just call it the Zwiakwo School for Psions, is that good?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Sure.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): What's the format for dating newsletters and things again?
Alicorn: You mention the year (in this case, 14) outside the quoteybox. Otherwise, no dates.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): ok
Alicorn: Yours isn't a regularly issued periodical (or is it an excerpt from a regular school newsletter?) or you'd do the Periodical Name: Volume X, Issue N
Alicorn: like, my quoteybox starts:
Current Events Mevwan: Volume 56, Issue 220 wrote:
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): The bit I'm workign on now is from the regular school newsletter.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Volume and issue numbers are determined how?)
Alicorn: So replace Current Events Mevwan: with the title of your newsletter, and pick the volume (the number of years it's been in publication as of Year 14, can have started in a negative year and probably should in this case) and the issue (CEM is on issue 220, so this is about two thirds into the year, figure out how many issues you put out per year and choose according to that.)
Alicorn: After my quoteybox, I will post this: The writing in this entry is original to me; please vote for it if you wish to register approval of that. However, the other two Mevwan entries are related, and if you wish to register approval of the story as a whole, please concentrate voting on Winged One's entry (as this plotline centers around one of his characters).
Alicorn: Ade, you should have a comparable if not idential addendum; Winged, translate it for yours.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Aw, you're going to spoil them?
Alicorn: how is the fact that the astrapitor is your character a spoiler?
Winged One (Alphabeta): It's not, I'm just a derp
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): heh
Winged One (Alphabeta): I had it confused with the fact that he wrote my article
Alicorn: and we should post it in order: me, Ade, Winged
Alicorn: So say when you're both ready and then I'll say when mine's up
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Do we have any names set yet for major local newspapers?
Alicorn: Current Events Mevwan is a major national newspaper. You want one that's more regional to Delo-Kyan?
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): mmhmm
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): To where news about the school's policies would be relevant.
Alicorn: call it the Delo-Kyan Observer
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): 'k.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Should my thing be published before or after yours? After, I think? (Memory brainbits have wandered off to sleep already.)
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): In an IC sense, I mean.
Alicorn: The issue of the Observer should be a day or two after Current Events Mevwan's coverage.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Well, yours is like a week after the accident and mine is a couple of weeks, so before
Winged One (Alphabeta): I think
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): [quote="Excerpt from the Zwiakwo School for Psions Student Handbook, p. 14, printed as an inset in the Delo-Kyan Observer: Volume 67, Issue 222]
* All new students are considered uncontrolled by default.
* Students may request a control test from their Head Teacher at any time. Tests are usually held every Friday in the north gym. Students who pass this test are considered controlled.
* Students may resume uncontrolled status at any time. Students who find themselves having difficulty with their powers are advised to do so, as any significant mishap that happens while a student is in controlled status will result in the student being returned to uncontrolled status and barred from taking the control test for a minimum of one month, along with any punishments deemed appropriate.
Alicorn: Current Events Mevwan then Observer then Still Minds
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta):
* Uncontrolled students are to wear a safety scarf at all times when not in their dorm building. These scarves are available at all times in room 50H. Students who are prone to losing things may be issued a buttoning scarf.
* Uncontrolled students and students under the age of 14 (human) or 25 (Zaee) may not leave the camups without a school-provided escort or legal guardian or the written permission of their Head Teacher.
* Students who have maintained controlled status for a full month may check items out from the library.
* Students who have maintained controlled status for a full six months may request a private room in the upperclass dorms; these are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta):
Zwiakwo School for Psions Student Newsletter: Volume 187, Issue 36 wrote:
Notice: All Students
Due to the recent events at Miara and subsequent Stillmind Society activity, the following policy changes are in effect until further notice (anticipath consensus: 3 months): All uncontrolled students are confined to school grounds unless accompanied by a legal guardian. Controlled students may leave school grounds only with a school-supplied escort or legal guardian. Exceptions to this policy may be granted on a per-outing basis by Head Teachers.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Students who have been going off-campus for after-class entertainment are reminded that the symphonic telepathy club performs in the green auditorium every Wednesday at 4pm and the perturber gymnastics team performs in the west gym on the first and third Thursday of each month from 6-7pm. Other clubs are encouraged to see the event coordinator (in room 35D from 12-1 and 3-4pm on weekdays) if they would like to reserve the use of school facilities to provide entertainment to their fellow students. Also, students who have been shopping off-campus are reminded that the campus store, between D and G buildings, is able to fulfill requests for items that it does not regularly stock.
[/quote]
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta):
The writing in this entry is original to me; please vote for it if you wish to register approval of that. However, the other two Mevwan entries are related, and if you wish to register approval of the story as a whole, please concentrate voting on Winged One's entry (as this plotline centers around one of his characters).
Alicorn: Awesome. Winged, are you ready to go when Ade says the word when I say the word?
Winged One (Alphabeta): Should my disclaimer be
The writing in this entry is original to me; please vote for it if you wish to register approval of that. However, the other two Mevwan entries are related, and if you wish to register approval of the story as a whole, please vote for my entry anyway (as this plotline centers around one of my characters). ?
Alicorn: yes.
Winged One (Alphabeta): I guess I should say "most of the writing is original to me"
Alicorn: "Apart from a couple of guestwritten lines, the writing..."
Winged One (Alphabeta): That works.
Alicorn: Okay. I'mma post mine now.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Can I put "in fact, vote for me anyway" in there?
Alicorn: Sure.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Can I put a winking face there?
Alicorn: Ade, go. Yes.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): Go.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Shit, formatting problem
Alicorn: we should also crosspost to the Press Archives. *goes to do that*
Alicorn: without the addenda.
Alicorn: You forgot to end your quoteybox
Winged One (Alphabeta): Fixed
Winged One (Alphabeta): That was not the problem, actually
Alicorn: also, it's "astrapitor", not "astripator"
Alicorn: Also, tense issues
Alicorn: "hasn't made him too much of a liability"
Winged One (Alphabeta): Fixed. Anything else?
Alicorn: MiaraA strapitor's
Winged One (Alphabeta): Fixed. Next problem?
Winged One (Alphabeta): Or can I move on to the typo goblin executions?
Alicorn: Nothing else is jumping out at me. Slay those goblins!
Alicorn: wait no
Alicorn: It's Sedsesh
Alicorn: not Sesdesh
Winged One (Alphabeta): Fixed. Next?
Alicorn: "A talent to read such things" should grammatically be "a talent for reading such things"
Winged One (Alphabeta): I meant to type "The talent to read such things," actually.
Winged One (Alphabeta): In fact, that's what I did put.
Alicorn: My article was incorrect, but "talent to read such things" is not grammatical I don't think
Winged One (Alphabeta): Okay, fine.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Talent is just a euphamism for being a telepath.
Alicorn: I know.
Alicorn: It's the use of the infinitive verb I object to.
Winged One (Alphabeta): Edited. Next problem?
Alicorn: Have either of you posted to the press archive yet?
Winged One (Alphabeta): I thought you would.
Alicorn: You should post your own things to the press archive.
Alicorn: I did mine.
Alicorn: (when you each attain a post count of 30, we get ECs.)
Alicorn: Ade, post your thing too.
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): done
Alicorn: :
Alicorn:
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): sleeeeeep. sleeeeeeeeeeeeep!
Alicorn: Yes, you can sleep now.
Winged One (Alphabeta): 'night!
Adelene Dawner (Deltabeta): ^^
Winged One (Alphabeta) left the room. (10:40:32 PM)