Miscellaneous Cast question-and-answer thread

[Arioch]

Different people have different levels of skill and aptitude at different subjects... there doesn't need to be a specific reason behind it.

[Bamax]

Understood... I guess I thought about how in real life there always IS a reason for skill or lack thereof.

Some is aptitude sure, some is just lack of interest or more interest elsewhere.

No one can truly be a master of all trades, so we became a master of one interest or trade, and a jack of several others.

Natural born aptitude is something else though... which is more like you were saying.

Even so, given the will to spend the time patiently througj difficulties a human mind that is healthy can learn how to do virtually anything at all. Even if they are poor at it at first.

Somewhere I read Jordan was once actually rather poor at basketball.... but also had his own monomamia about winning. Which drove him to pracyice, and along wuth natural aptitude become the GOAT basketball player for long time before the advent of Lebron.

[Bamax]

If the Loroi cast did an ask me anything post on reddit today, who would last the longest/shortest before signing off.

The cast includes:

Beryl
Fireblade
Stillstorm
Talon
Spiral
Tempo

How do they do?

My guess:

Beryl and Tempo should tie for longest, with either having a shot at winning.

Stillstorm I doubt will last long as the questions may begin to annoy her sooner than later.

Cannot say who would last longer out of Talon vs Spiral, but I reckon maybe Talon... unless she gets insulted and starts typing insults back.


People are really going to ask some unnerving questions though.

The internet effect is a factor I think is often ignored by scifi aliens.... but it would be a big factor on how well their influence spread for better or worse.

There is no such thing as only good publicity without the bad, unless one lives a country with very tight reins on the media.

[Keklas Rekobah]

Beryl: Eager to interact with anyone, as long as they were nice; even then, she would remember everything that had been posted in the thread.

Fireblade: The gronard who posts only to correct someone else on military matters ("I was there. You would have died.")

Stillstorm: The thread's moderator "Members are reminded to adhere to the rules regarding matters of a personal nature".

Talon: Likely to engage in conversations involving how things are done ... or were done when she was in charge.

Spiral: Similar to Talon.  Although the two might seem to be at odds, they will team up for some healthy troll-baiting until Stillstorm intervenes.

Tempo: The person who tries to guide the conversation so as to learn as much as possible about the other people without asking direct questions.

[Hālian]

Stillstorm I doubt will last long as the questions may begin to annoy her sooner than later.

Stillstorm's would rival Woody Harrelson's.

[Bamax]

This is about Fireblade and Teidar in general.

If Fireblade approached Mothwing and asked her if she could teach her how to fly would Mothwing be like. "I cannot teach you, flyers like me are rare. Sorry if I crushed your hopes. But for what it's worth... are'nt you good at heating? Embrace what you are and forget about what is beyond your reach Fireblade!"

So... is the ability to fly merely a rare ability few Teidar have, or could Fireblade learn how to do it or any Teidar (even the most incompetent Teidar to ever be worthy of the name)?

Like if if flight is linked to precise control, then yeah. I guess Fireblade prefers to just pound away at things.

Different personalities have different approaches. I myself am the type to use overwhelming force from the start if I want to win at anything. Precision matters I am poor at naturally, but can do them if I focus and forget all else.

So perhaps personality effects how TK is manifested among Teidar.

Mothwing may be able to fly, but im battle you probably need a Fireblade if you want to do the most damage perhaps.

Because either from nature or nurture, some people are just more ruthless than others.

[Arioch]

Any psychokinetic with sufficient power to lift her own weight can "fly;" there's not really any trick to it. Fireblade has more than sufficient PK power to lift her own weight, but she doesn't have fine control. Fine control isn't necessary if you want to crush someone's head or slam someone into a wall, but it is necessary if you want to levitate yourself without slamming yourself into the ceiling. This lack of control is something that's an inherent limitation of Fireblade's amplified power; it's not anything that Mothwing or another Teidar can teach her.

Moreso than physical skills, I figure mental powers will be subject to the quirks of psychology. An ability might function better or worse in certain situations purely because of that individual's psychological makeup.

[Bamax]

Any psychokinetic with sufficient power to lift her own weight can "fly;" there's not really any trick to it. Fireblade has more than sufficient PK ower to lift her own weight, but she doesn't have fine control. Fine control isn't necessary if you want to crush someone's head or slam someone into a wall, but it is necessary if you want to levitate yourself without slamming yourself into the ceiling. This lack of control is something that's an inherent limitation of Fireblade's amplified power; it's not anything that Mothwing or another Teidar can teach her.

Moreso than physical skills, I figure mental powers will be subject to the quirks of psychology. An ability might function better or worse in certain situations purely because of that individual's psychological makeup.

I see.. so Fireblade's state of mind is what makes her so rough with TK.

Makes sense I suppose. Muscle memory and skill correlate.

Fireblade is apparently experienced in killing via TK. When that is what you know best, I suppose that scaling that down is not something Fireblade finds easy.

After all Fireblade has been a sole survivor of multiple disasters by being 'rough'. I suppose for Fireblade that being 'rough' is instinctual and what she relies upon for survival when odds are stacked against her.

So don't startle Fireblade in her sleep if you do not want to get thrown into the wall.

[Demarquis]

Mental discipline, then, should lend itself to making TK and TP skills much more flexible. Weaponized mindfulness.

[Mk_C]

If the Loroi cast did an ask me anything post on reddit today, who would last the longest/shortest before signing off.

Loroi? "Socializing" through TEXT? On a platform that promotes or conceals a message based on pure mezebesed? While potentially revealing sensitive information to a tremendous community of anonymous binzer aliens, who now hide not just their minds but even their names under facsimiles?

Beryl would be amazed by the extends of Internet idiocy in the first 15 bima and sign off in confusion. Much sooner if redditors in question are aware of Loroi appearance, initiating requests for pictures of cute blue feet.

Talon, Spiral and Fireblade would disover racial slurs and any% b& speedrun Reddit in under 200 solon. FB would try and make at least 4 extra sockpuppet accounts in order to drop a few more Power Words and threats of violence towards moderation as a sign off in a feat of primal rage.

Tempo and Stillstorm know OPSEC so they would not stoop down to revealing their private information to Advance Publishing.

So I guess Beryl wins.

[avatar576]

Which Loroi character would you get along with best as a roommate for 6 months and which would you not and why?
For me? I dunno... but I fancy Stillstorm. The one I would likely get along best with?. I am too old to realky want to deal with all the antics of the Taben pilots.
Likely I would get along with Tempo but knowing her she would likely find a way to play tricks on me because she is a scary Mizol. So that's a reason right there to avoid her.
So Stillstorm it is. She could stab me, but I will probably have earned it if she does, as she seems to wear her feelings on her sleeve so you would see that coming ahead of time anyway.
No way for Fireblad3 for super obvious overpowered throw-you-against-the-wall reasons .

I just discovered Outsider and have been binging on it the last few days. If I had to choose a Loroi roommate, I would choose Fireblade.
1.) We're both introverts. Introverts just "get" each other.
2.) We won't annoy each other with irrelevant small talk.
3.) She seems to value order. She won't leave messes in the bathroom or the kitchen. Likewise, she won't grumble when it's her turn to take the garbage out.
4.) She won't be blasting punk rock at 3 AM or hosting keggers on a weeknight.
5.) She doesn't seem like the type to abuse her powers. As long as I don't give her any reason to do so, I don't think I'd have any reason to fear psychokinetic body-slams, defenestration, or the like.

As for which one I'd least like to room with, I think I'd be a tough choice between the Talon/Spiral duo and Beryl. They're all likeable enough, and we'd probably get along great as friends, but friends often make bad roommates. Talon and Spiral definitely would be the type to be throwing parties on Tuesday nights. There would be laundry everywhere, and a perpetual mountain of dishes in the sink. Beryl probably wouldn't be as untidy or unruly, but there's only so much chattiness I can tolerate in a day.

[Demarquis]

Am I the only one who thinks Tempo would make the perfect roommate? Quite, pretty self contained, comfortable with silence yet still happy to talk, polite and thoughtful. Sure, she can be calculating, but if she likes you then she's using that ability on your behalf--the way she did with Alex.

[Bamax]

Am I the only one who thinks Tempo would make the perfect roommate? Quite, pretty self contained, comfortable with silence yet still happy to talk, polite and thoughtful. Sure, she can be calculating, but if she likes you then she's using that ability on your behalf--the way she did with Alex.

She is a Mizol... which Loroi in general view with susipicion and are not known for playing fair.

You see, Loroi naturally find it easy to be bluntly honest.

The Mizol caste was designed in part to develop skills average Loroi lack... one of them being the ability to lie through telepathy, which is no small feat between Loroi.

[avatar576]

Am I the only one who thinks Tempo would make the perfect roommate? Quite, pretty self contained, comfortable with silence yet still happy to talk, polite and thoughtful. Sure, she can be calculating, but if she likes you then she's using that ability on your behalf--the way she did with Alex.

Tempo would be a close second for me. She may be a Mizol, but we're only talking about temporary cohabitation, not political brinkmanship. There isn't much room for manipulation or "cheating", so I don't stand to lose much (unless it's poker night). She would certainly be great for intellectual sparring, and there she has Fireblade beat. But if Talon's and Spiral's assessment of Perrein cuisine is accurate, I don't know if I'd want to find any of her leftover cooking in the fridge.

[Keklas Rekobah]

I think I could get along with almost any Doranzer, Gallen, or Listel.  My profession involves electrical/electronics engineering (with a lot of tech writing), one of my hobbies is astronomy, and most of the people at my church are in the engineering or medical professions.

Aside from all that, my wife and Mizol Parat Sedel seem to have similar appearances and personalities (except for Tempo's blue skin, red irises, pointy ears, and senzai).

[Demarquis]

I think I could get along with almost any Doranzer, Gallen, or Listel.  My profession involves electrical/electronics engineering (with a lot of tech writing), one of my hobbies is astronomy, and most of the people at my church are in the engineering or medical professions.

Aside from all that, my wife and Mizol Parat Sedel seem to have similar appearances and personalities (except for Tempo's blue skin, red irises, pointy ears, and senzai).

A lot of people's wives impress them that way. I swear mine has some sort of low level telepathy!

[Keklas Rekobah]

I think I could get along with almost any Doranzer, Gallen, or Listel.  My profession involves electrical/electronics engineering (with a lot of tech writing), one of my hobbies is astronomy, and most of the people at my church are in the engineering or medical professions.  Aside from all that, my wife and Mizol Parat Sedel seem to have similar appearances and personalities (except for Tempo's blue skin, red irises, pointy ears, and senzai).

A lot of people's wives impress them that way. I swear mine has some sort of low level telepathy!

My wife is a Filipina -- slim yet shapely, dark hair and eyes, et cetera, so Terran versions of the Loroi would (in my opinion) closely resemble Filipinos.  Come to think of it . . . being immersed in her culture and surrounded by her relatives often gives me a "fish out of water" feeling, similar to Alex.  I even had a similar experience as Alex at the beginning of Chapter 2 -- testing different foods at a Philippine "point-point" restaurant to see which ones I liked, which I could merely tolerate, and which made me feel ill (Dinuguan is NOT made of chocolate . . . trust me on this).  Even the "shuttle cuddle puddle" reminds me of a similar experience when we visited her relatives in the P.I.

@ARIOCH: Can you give a rough idea of how much of Alex's social situations you have drawn from real life? 

[Demarquis]

Not a wife story, but I adopted my kids from Russia. When the Russians serve fish soup, lets just say it's exactly what the name says it is (as in, "Cream o' fish").

[Arioch]

@ARIOCH: Can you give a rough idea of how much of Alex's social situations you have drawn from real life? 

Alex's background is not very much like mine, if that's what you're asking. He's physically modeled on my younger brother (the eye on the screen at the top of page 20 is from a photo of him), but his upbringing doesn't resemble my own; Alex is the only child of a family in rural northern California, and he's been a child prodigy who blasted through schooling and the academy to be posted to an active duty unit at age 19.