Sparkles mates on Milan
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"Thank you."

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"You're welcome. ...where's the library?"

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"I'll show you." He starts walking.

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He follows and fails not to look like he's completely and totally in love.

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Yep that sure is what's happening here.

Library! It's medium-sized. It contains books. There are also some crystal balls, whose position in the library layout is reminiscent of public computers.

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"—what are those for?" he points.

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"Mm? Oh. Crystal balls. For gazing the aethernet."

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"Which if this translation's working would be some magical form of knowledge repository and worldwide communication platform?"

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"Approximately! Is there some analogous-but-not-identical science fantasy equivalent?"

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"Yeah, it works with something like canned lightning, no magic involved, and would be called 'internet'."

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"I don't seek out science fantasy, but the stuff that's supposed to be Just Like The Modern Imperium I think has a convention of going with a different spelling of 'aether', so it becomes 'ethernet' and a-mail is e-mail and so forth. Not very creative. 'Internet' sounds intriguingly exotic."

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"We have e-mail, but the e's for 'electronic' which relates back to 'electricity' which is the kind of thing lightning is an instance of."

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"Maybe you should write a science fantasy book while you're here. - no, on second thought I feel like that would just encourage the wrong patterns of thought."

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"I'll probably just read a history of everyone who got squished by the universe here to get a shape for what to—expect, avoid."

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"Yeah, good plan."

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"Am I allowed to just stay here and read even while not being a student?"

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"Stay here and read, yes, but not check out any books, and if you cause a disturbance they can kick you out."

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"Okay. I guess I'll... see you later?" he says hopefully.

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"I'll come by first thing tomorrow," he says. "Promise."

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"Thank you," he breathes, obviously relieved.

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"See you tomorrow. Enjoy the library."

Off he goes.

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And he enjoys the library.

...well. Given the circumstances, perhaps enjoys is too strong a word. He misses Milan thrice per second but manages to read anyway.

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Here is a book about famous incidents of attempted science. Someone tried to figure out a consistent underlying pattern to the way objects fall when dropped, and now there is a patch of desert where gravity has ceased to apply. A number of people over the years have tried to invent something like a steam engine; the smarter ones stopped trying after the first couple of explosions and were therefore still alive to be interviewed about their failure. And on and on and on and on and on.

Also it doesn't take a ton of reading between the lines to conclude that the Imperium is a totalitarian dictatorship. And the legal status of nonhumans is sketchy in some contexts and outright oppressive in others. And at this very school, students who are out after dark outside designated safe zones (lighted paths, etc) run a significant risk of being eaten by ghouls. This is out of the ordinary but not sufficient to seriously dent the school's prestige. Being eaten by ghouls: just one of those things that happens.

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Okay he's getting increasingly irritated, then angry, then terrified, then angrier about the world he's in as he takes more in. What the duck.

He reads on. He has all night.

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Certain forms of slavery are perfectly legal! If you run into one of the fae and they don't approve of your conduct you may end up cursed, with no recourse except to fulfill the curse's ending condition if you happen to know it! Here is an extensive list of examples of why trying to break fairy curses without fulfilling the ending condition is a terrible idea that is going to end badly! They can get real creative with these things! Dragons: do not fuck with them, they'll eat you! Nymphs: since sex is their sacred duty, obscenity laws don't apply to any activity involving a nymph; but since sex is their sacred duty, it is legally impossible to rape one!

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