WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

[Hālian]

Arioch: How long is the delay between a page being released to patreons and to the general public?

[Krulle]

usually rather short. But new pages appear on website only on Mondays.
So, if you as Patreon have something new, I usually get to see it the next Monday.

[sunphoenix]

I think Beryl is a little high on something

Nah, I just think Beryl is enjoying HER close proximity to the 'almost' childlike innocence... of a male unfamiliar with the social peeking order of the Loroi-female matriarhy. She's dominating his attention... while other females must simply watch and accept!

[harlequin2262]

I don't think I'll ever get bored of salty or smug Loroi faces.

[NuclearIceCream]

I really gotta appreciate how what the characters are wearing really shows the dichotomy of both parties tech level here. I always have but now I've figured out what it reminds me of. It looks exactly like the pictures I see of US troops standing next to indigenous middle eastern soldiers. On the one side you see the guys who have the latest tech and are clearly more prepared for what is to come, and on the other, you have the guys who look positively primitive by comparison. This latest pic is how I finally figured out how these art choices have made me feel about their modes of dress.

[Michael]

I think Beryl is a little high on something

Pheremons. That or she's wearing telepanties...

[Diodri]

As much as I enjoy shipping Alex with Beryl, the vibe I'm getting is more of an, "Oh you silly human what don't you get now?"

[harlequin2262]

Silly *male.

'Don't worry your pretty little head about it'.

And Talon's all like 'man, that's smooth, why didn't I think of that approach'

[raistlin34]

As much as I enjoy shipping Alex with Beryl, the vibe I'm getting is more of an, "Oh you silly human what don't you get now?"

As I have mentioned before, I'm not sure Loroi females can find Alex attractive, or if he is a sort of smart Neardenthal for them. The fact they cannot enter his mind doesn't help.

[Jayngfet]

Given how much various human subspecies wound up reproducing with each other, I don't think that's really a problem even with your analogy.

Though I think there's also the fact that he got thrown in with the three or four members of the species that have the weird fetishes, mental complexes, and general hangups that would make them actually consider it.

[harlequin2262]

Outsider's indeed. Beryl has her Xenophilia, Fireblade has someone that isn't repelled by her psychic PTSD, and Tempo has a fascinating new puzzle to tear apart without the aid of her usually formidable sanzai.

And Talon's a pilot.

[CF2]

As I have mentioned before, I'm not sure Loroi females can find Alex attractive, or if he is a sort of smart Neardenthal for them. The fact they cannot enter his mind doesn't help.

Let's put the shoe on the other foot here: would humans find Loroi attractive enough to attempt something more intimate than friendship? Almost certainly.
The fact that he's an unreadable enigma just makes him "that mysterious alien male" and while it is certainly going to weird out many, there are always outliers and opportunists. I fully imagine there will be chatter along the lines of "put some depilatory in his body wash and turn out the lights; close enough and no oversight" even if it's merely in jest.

On that note, do the Loroi have the concept of a prank? What are the odds someone is going to go through the trouble of sneaking some blue dye into Alex's bathing routine?

[raistlin34]

Outsider's indeed. Beryl has her Xenophilia, Fireblade has someone that isn't repelled by her psychic PTSD, and Tempo has a fascinating new puzzle to tear apart without the aid of her usually formidable sanzai.

And Talon's a pilot.

"How I met your mother"... in space

[Jayngfet]

Of course for all we know Beryl may find Alex a little too vanilla. Her definition of Alien is based on giant spiky dudes and carnivorous raptor people.

[Mr Bojangles]

Of course for all we know Beryl may find Alex a little too vanilla. Her definition of Alien is based on giant spiky dudes and carnivorous raptor people.

That giant spiky dude and the carnivorous raptor person are detectable and readable by her telepathy. As is pretty much every other non-Loroi lifeform. All except for Alex. It's been said before, but Alex probably falls squarely in the Loroi's uncanny valley.

He's likely the most alien thing she's ever encountered.

[sunphoenix]

Bah you think folks think too much. Would YOU be put off by an attractive woman who just happens to be deaf? I know telepathy is more than that but mostly that kind of the effect here. Yes, loroi are use to sensing the minds of other living creatures around them... no matter how alien... but human's look an awful lot like loroi we have similar features in many ways.

A human might be suprised by the strange coloration of loroi skin... but would very likely STILL find them all appealing to the senses and see them almost universally as appropriate sex partners. There is no reason to expect the loroi would not see humans in a similar light.

In FACT the reactions, facial expressions and choice of words that ALL the loroi have used in regard to Alex Speaks Volumes.. they DO find him attractive.. he is, and he is exotic and mysterious they cannot read his mind... but uncanny valley ~ I think not.. his touch proves he is a living being full or warmth and life.

Even Stillstorm's over-reaction to him I read as being a defensive mechanism to keep in the for front of her mind that he IS an alien and not yield to the natural urges ANY Loroi woman would have to the presence of an attractive male's presence, lest she fall into some hide subterfuge of the enemy. THAT is why she waned him isolated from all other loroi!

[ShadowDragon8685]

I think there's a bit too much in-reading going on here. Also, recall that Loroi are conditioned socially to very non-monogamous sexual relationships.

Is this jealousy/possessiveness rearing its head? Yes.
Is it romantic/sexual? I don't think so. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is Beryl either fighting for her vocational turf as a Listel, or because she met him first and wants to be his friend the worst. Between the two, I think it's primarily vocational, but her xenophilia also makes it a case of "My alien! Mine!"
I think that's why she was visibly shocked/upset when Tempo boarded the shuttle. As a listel she has justification to speak to the alien envoy, but as a political officer Tempo clearly takes precedence, and Tempo's a higher-ranking officer to boot. But Talon is lower-ranking (although the Loroi rank scale doesn't really quite match to things things like that, technically both of them are outside of Talon's direct CoC,) and ostensibly has no "reason" to speak to the alien except the specifically practical - IE, star charts and stuff.

So she's probably pissed that Talon made as much - more - headway befriending and gaining rapport with Alex in the span of about three minutes thirty seconds than she has in two chapters.

[icekatze]

hi hi

The analogy about the deaf woman is a little bit off the mark. It would be more like meeting a woman who was not only deaf, but made you selectively deaf when you were in her presence.

Also, standards of beauty change between cultures and over time. It is a remarkable coincidence that the Loroi women seem to exemplify contemporary standards of beauty so well, but it's been said before that it is not the same case between Loroi men and human men. I'm sure that there are some Loroi that might be able to find Alex attractive, but I read the negative expressions of Stillstorm and other members of the crew as legitimate disgust.

(Loroi are socially very non-monogamous, but they are not laissez-faire either, their societal controls are different than ours but are arguably more restrictive, depending on your social status.)

[cacambo43]

Seriously people, if you want a Beryl/Talon (or Fireblade)/Alex ménage à trois, write some fan fiction with drawings.

I'm with ShadowDragon on this one. Plus, I thought Arioch said he wasn't heading things in that direction anyway (though a lot can change in 15 years!!!). If Arioch can catch a break and get some consistent time in, we'll know soon enough.

CJSF

[icekatze]

hi hi

I'm digging the design on the Blaze class frigate. I went and double checked to be sure, but my original impression that it was smaller even than the Rapier class was accurate. It is impressive, I think, that you can tell the relative size of the ship even without having another one right next to it for reference.

Probably doesn't have quite the same amenities as the Tempest, I'm guessing. Still, that is one blazingly fast ship.