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Adarin's magic has some advantages over witchcraft, but it is imperfect. Still, over time, mana recovers, and in this time Metis's hospitality does not run out.
They watch Harry Potter, Adarin is introduced to Wikipedia, he makes the second thingamajig. Isabella interrogates her alethiometer.
It's kind of cryptic about whether she has to fear being a "crazy witch". But she's tentatively optimistic and still brainstorming new ways to format the question. (She complains about the alethiometer being bad at numbers and at "yes" and "no".)
It can, however, identify landmarks by referring to whatever they're named after. It's not so hard to interpret on the subject of where she may find a place to claim. She moves into it, Adarin in tow, Metis retained as a friendly advisor but apprenticeship terminated. The place has plumbing and a generator already; she gets satellite Internet for an entire half-day of spellcasting and collects a hand-me-down laptop from a mortal friend of her mother's. She sets up arrangements for building a nice big wall along the edge of a clearing on her appropriated property. It's a very busy couple of weeks.
Eventually she tries asking the alethiometer a fifteenth way whether she's prone to crazy witchitude. Whether she'd ever hurt someone she loved if they rejected her, or even threaten it.
The alethiometer says: love violence counter-to querent nature.
She's starting to get the hang of interpreting it, even if most of the practice has involved getting the addresses (via intersection and cardinal direction because it can't give her anything so useful as house number or latitude) and this is - this is pretty damn good.
This is good enough.
Of course, that's not all the answer she needs, is it?
Path goes looking for Vernaia.
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dark_light
dark_light
"I wouldn't have minded walking into a schedule, for what it's worth - and you could've cleared it with me by mirror - but this works too, I'm not in a hurry."
prodigal_miser
Adarin smiles at her, and nods. "Alright. I'll go get things in motion, then. Be back in a bit."
Hand-kiss, before he goes.
Smitten? Him? Pfff. Nonsense.
Hand-kiss, before he goes.
Smitten? Him? Pfff. Nonsense.
dark_light
Isabella takes a moment to be happy about the second hand-kiss.
Then she studies her notes.
Then she studies her notes.
prodigal_miser
Vern no longer needs to follow Adarin around! She finds a nice, out of the way spot and curls up. If Path would like to join her, that's fine by her for obvious reasons.
Adarin goes and pays people to tell other people to show up for introductions, then he returns and helps Isabella with studying, if she'd like.
Adarin goes and pays people to tell other people to show up for introductions, then he returns and helps Isabella with studying, if she'd like.
dark_light
Path does join her, and puts a wing over her.
Isabella wants more visual descriptions of these people so she doesn't have to wait to be introduced.
Isabella wants more visual descriptions of these people so she doesn't have to wait to be introduced.
prodigal_miser
Nuzzle, nuzzle. "We missed you."
Adarin offers visual descriptions! He adds in what kinds of groups they tend to appear in so she can identify people that look similar but act differently. She can also get some background information on some politics behind the scenes - several people hate each other, it seems, without Adarin even being involved.
Adarin offers visual descriptions! He adds in what kinds of groups they tend to appear in so she can identify people that look similar but act differently. She can also get some background information on some politics behind the scenes - several people hate each other, it seems, without Adarin even being involved.
dark_light
"We missed you too. She likes it when he kisses her hand," Path murmurs.
Isabella draws little diagrams and annotates everything. "This place is a mess," she mutters.
Isabella draws little diagrams and annotates everything. "This place is a mess," she mutters.
prodigal_miser
Vern giggles. "He'll do it more, he likes doing it, too. He likes being a gentleman to her."
"Welcome to New Kystle. It's pretty, at least?" he offers.
"Welcome to New Kystle. It's pretty, at least?" he offers.
dark_light
"It is not for gentlemanliness-related reasons she likes it," Path whispers.
"It is that!" she acknowledges. "You have a nice view."
"It is that!" she acknowledges. "You have a nice view."
prodigal_miser
More giggling, and some more snuggles. "He wants to kiss her, too."
"Thanks. Maybe if it ever gets fixed it can just be pretty without the underlying... 'But people here are also kind of terrible.'"
He sounds a little wistful.
"Thanks. Maybe if it ever gets fixed it can just be pretty without the underlying... 'But people here are also kind of terrible.'"
He sounds a little wistful.
dark_light
"Why won't he?" sighs Path.
"Maybe. What do you have in the way of - schools? For setting up a next generation?"
"Maybe. What do you have in the way of - schools? For setting up a next generation?"
prodigal_miser
"Because he's... Him?" manages Vern. "Because it's - flinch bad whenever he deals with relationships because of this place, because there are about a dozen people trying to seduce him for all of the wrong reasons. So he's nervous to take that step because it's been something he didn't touch at all before now and he's working on it. He trusts her, he's not - perfect. He can't undo that all immediately. I'm sorry." Nuzzle, nuzzle. "He's pushing himself to do more."
"Some, but it's been hard to organize because a lot of the people that know enough to teach don't want to. Literacy's not terrible, but it could be better, for common people. For the nobles - there's basically nothing I can do about how they raise their kids short of kidnapping them. Which I won't do, for... Various reasons."
"Some, but it's been hard to organize because a lot of the people that know enough to teach don't want to. Literacy's not terrible, but it could be better, for common people. For the nobles - there's basically nothing I can do about how they raise their kids short of kidnapping them. Which I won't do, for... Various reasons."
dark_light
Path nuzzles her. "He shouldn't push only because we're impatient."
"Okay, for literacy - if you're willing to cast the language spell a few times, I don't know exactly how many, I'm certain you could get decently educated Earthlings willing to work for room and board. Possibly Earthlings willing to pay for the opportunity to be here teaching kids to read and that two and two make four, just for the line on their résumés and the perhaps-entirely-metaphorical stamp on their passports. Sometime after people are over being shellshocked by Portal Capitalism, anyway."
"Okay, for literacy - if you're willing to cast the language spell a few times, I don't know exactly how many, I'm certain you could get decently educated Earthlings willing to work for room and board. Possibly Earthlings willing to pay for the opportunity to be here teaching kids to read and that two and two make four, just for the line on their résumés and the perhaps-entirely-metaphorical stamp on their passports. Sometime after people are over being shellshocked by Portal Capitalism, anyway."
prodigal_miser
"He also wants to, as well." Vern nuzzles him, back. "So it's not just impatience."
"I'm willing to cast the language spell a few times, and that's a good idea. But that one will have to wait a bit, for when things are... Calmed down after Portal Capitalism."
"I'm willing to cast the language spell a few times, and that's a good idea. But that one will have to wait a bit, for when things are... Calmed down after Portal Capitalism."
dark_light
"Yeah, not an instantaneous selection. I wonder how much to worry about the fact that importing intellectual resources from Earth will deluge your population in English. I mean, short term gains, yes, but also language extinction is kind of sad. I'm divided on whether I care about what passes for culture, from what cynical musings I've heard on the subject."
prodigal_miser
Adarin thinks for a little bit. "I'm... Not sure. Between the options of literacy versus keeping a language - I mean, honestly between the two I sort people above a language, even an entire culture. So I suppose I'm more sure, now."
dark_light
"And the language will always be retrievable by spell, anyway, won't it. So yeah, probably not a huge priority, bring on Teach For New Kystle programs in a couple years."
prodigal_miser
He nods. "Yeah. And clever uses for portals, if applicable. I'm pretty sure that once Earth knows about other planes, then there will be several who would be willing to set up internet access, or something."
dark_light
"Oh yeah. Earth is very good at profit motive, and the profit motive can be set up. Earth is not very good at restraining profit motive, which is what keeping a stranglehold on the bottleneck between worlds is for, if someone errs too far on the side of exploitation they can kiss their whole enterprise goodbye. Maybe make a rule that any business operation conducted in New Kystle consents to panopticon scrying."
prodigal_miser
Grin. "Yeah, that can work. Especially considering I'm one of two people that can build a multi-planar portal on my own. So, I am in a good position for a stranglehold on a bottleneck. I think I should probably bring in - multiple nations, not just the one. With a translation spell it doesn't really matter which country I recruit from, they'll all be able to just talk to each other. So I can make sure that New Kystle is its own thing and not just United States of America, tide-locked and magic edition."
dark_light
"It's probably worth being selective about which countries. Some of them have more open interest in colonialism than the United States - well, the modern-day United States - has, and while you want to have the threat to shut down a portal, actually using it would be a waste. Off the top of my head, but I'd want to do more research to be sure, Japan and maybe Singapore float to the top of the non-English-speaking countries for economic-not-for-example-military interests."
prodigal_miser
"Right. I wasn't going to just... Let any businesses ever through, I was going to be very careful. There will be studying of Wikipedia, I think. A lot."
dark_light
"Yes. All hail Wikipedia. Our Wiki who art in Heaven. You may kiss the bride."
prodigal_miser
Adarin laughs. "All hail Wikipedia, though for the website-based kisses - no thanks. Facetious marriage only, I'd rather not be married to a website, amazing though it is."