WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

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novius
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by novius »

Logannion wrote:Why hasn't anyone commented about her other hand that is touching Jardin right below his ear?

I think its important somehow. :|
Because everyone dismissed it as something like her thinking a single touch on his hand would not be enough, and it was the only other 'safe' spot for skin-to-skin contact, especially since it is where she already had her left hand?

boldilocks
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by boldilocks »

Werra wrote:Alex is looking awfully surprised. Mayhabs Beryl did actually manage to get around the Lotai?
Alex is receiving that one pic, right?
"To my surprise, telepathy turned out to be quite easy when you're not chained up to a table with a 15-pound probe shoved up the old back-alley"
-Alex Jardin, the auto-biography

novius
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by novius »

Werra wrote:Alex is looking awfully surprised. Mayhabs Beryl did actually manage to get around the Lotai?
Alex is receiving that one pic, right?
Perhaps :) Or it could simply be that he now realizes that past the "touch barrier" Loroi seem to virtually have no inhibitions. That she had to inch closer to him for her left hand to reach around his neck? Suuure, all just incidential, no hidden intentions behind it :)

Arent
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Arent »

Werra wrote:Alex is looking awfully surprised. Mayhabs Beryl did actually manage to get around the Lotai?
Alex is receiving that one pic, right?
Is it just me, or does Arioch have more fun (And therefore works quicker) drawing the recent story arc?
novius wrote:
Werra wrote:Alex is looking awfully surprised. Mayhabs Beryl did actually manage to get around the Lotai?
Alex is receiving that one pic, right?
Perhaps :) Or it could simply be that he now realizes that past the "touch barrier" Loroi seem to virtually have no inhibitions. That she had to inch closer to him for her left hand to reach around his neck? Suuure, all just incidential, no hidden intentions behind it :)
I think she is touching her forehead against his.

Krulle
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Krulle »

Why has no-one quoted the original post?
And now Arioch is just trolling us.
Thank You, Arioch!

Also, Beryl looks so relaxed. Deeply relaxed.
As if all stress levels are falling away.
As if she found *home*, and feeling safe.
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

entity2636
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by entity2636 »

"Sure, go on, I don't mind touching hands with you" and the next moment she's all over him :D

Alex looks like Beryl either caught him completely off guard or did he experience telepathy?

Btw, note how Alex himself is no longer holding Beryl by her waist but already almost by her butt.

Sweforce
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Sweforce »

entity2636 wrote:Btw, note how Alex himself is no longer holding Beryl by her waist but already almost by her butt.
Not as she seem to mind. :)

boldilocks
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by boldilocks »

entity2636 wrote:"Sure, go on, I don't mind touching hands with you" and the next moment she's all over him :D
Alex looks like Beryl either caught him completely off guard or did he experience telepathy?
Btw, note how Alex himself is no longer holding Beryl by her waist but already almost by her butt.
"Touch hands? Oh sure, make yourself at hooooh-jeez, ok, that's my crotch"

Voitan
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Voitan »

Krulle wrote:Why has no-one quoted the original post?
And now Arioch is just trolling us.
Thank You, Arioch!

Also, Beryl looks so relaxed. Deeply relaxed.
As if all stress levels are falling away.
As if she found *home*, and feeling safe.
Looks like Beryl's mind is going to sleep/Zen, and Jardin is seeing into infinity.

Krulle
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Krulle »

That made me think of the possibility, that Beryl's relaxed mind gets lotai'ed by Alexander's mind. And her total relaxation then results from the extended lotai, and her total quietness of mind...
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

novius
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by novius »

Sweforce wrote:
entity2636 wrote:Btw, note how Alex himself is no longer holding Beryl by her waist but already almost by her butt.
Not as she seem to mind. :)
She didn't seem to mind even on pg. 133. I was on the verge of commenting that his hand wandering southwards would already have earned him a slap to the face from a human woman.

Krulle
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Krulle »

Image
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

Overkill Engine
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Overkill Engine »

Heh. Looks like Humanity's contribution to the war might be acting as Therapy Aliens for Loroi with PTSD.



"We're medicinal."

raistlin34
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by raistlin34 »

"Embrace eternity, Alexander Jardin". :geek:

novius
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by novius »

Krulle wrote:Also, Beryl looks so relaxed. Deeply relaxed.
As if all stress levels are falling away.
As if she found *home*, and feeling safe.
I can imagine the following:

Tempo: And she touched you ... where? Right there, below your ear?
Alex: She did. I... uh... just assumed it would be reaching out with her hand, nothing more, nothing less, nothing like that....
Tempo: ....intimate?
Alex: If you wish to put it that, way, yes.
Tempo: Perhaps it should have been Tozet Beryl's place to explain, but it was very much that. Intimate. Since time immemorial, a touch at that particular spot is seen as an invitation and consent to further intimacy, because it was said to link two Loroi as one, even deeper than her simply placing her hand on a male's.
Alex: *now very flustered* Wait, you mean... uh...
Tempo: That if you were a Loroi rather than a Human, she would have grossly overstepped her bounds and initiated an unsanctioned male encounter. But since you are not a Loroi, there could be ... mitigating circumstances.
raistlin34 wrote:"Embrace eternity, Alexander Jardin". :geek:
In a nutshell, yes.

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Werra
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Werra »

Tempo: That if you were a Loroi rather than a Human, she would have grossly overstepped customs of seniority and initiated an unsanctioned male encounter. Since you are not a Loroi, let me assure you I am the oldest on this shuttle.

In all seriousness though, do you guys expect Beryl to have broken through to Alex or not? He looks a bit too shocked for just a weird touch.

novius
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by novius »

Werra wrote:In all seriousness though, do you guys expect Beryl to have broken through to Alex or not? He looks a bit too shocked for just a weird touch.
I started my first posting to this with a " :shock: " - and that describes it very well. Beryl spoke about simple "hand holding" when she referred to Alex and Talon. Nothing could have prepared him (and us) for Beryl going far beyond that. So yes, Alex being quite flustered is totally understandable, even if there's no telepathic component involved.

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dragoongfa
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by dragoongfa »

I think that he is actually confused in more ways than one, if any attractive woman was touching a man like that it would be for one reason only and he would have to give up his man-card if he didn't go through with it (with the usual caveats of course). In fact Beryl's body language towards Alex so far has been very 'seductive', all men have instincts which instantly translate such behavior from a woman into her being interested in having sex with him.

In this case however Alex is CERTAIN that Beryl isn't pursuing him that way (as certain as a man can be with an alien and all that) and even if he wasn't he knows nearly nothing of Loroi cultural norms and as an ambassador he knows that he will have to abide by certain rules of behavior. For all he knew when he agreed Beryl would just be happy of just shaking his hand but instead he may have consented into a basic mental probe that involves physical contact that is borderline sexual from a human perceptive. His instincts are screaming to just get the dirty deed done while his mind is screaming that this is NOT what his instincts believe it is and even if it is what it looks like he must NOT act on it and must put a stop to it without making too much of a scene.

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sunphoenix
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by sunphoenix »

dragoongfa wrote:I think that he is actually confused in more ways than one, if any attractive woman was touching a man like that it would be for one reason only and he would have to give up his man-card if he didn't go through with it (with the usual caveats of course). In fact Beryl's body language towards Alex so far has been very 'seductive', all men have instincts which instantly translate such behavior from a woman into her being interested in having sex with him.

In this case however Alex is CERTAIN that Beryl isn't pursuing him that way (as certain as a man can be with an alien and all that) and even if he wasn't he knows nearly nothing of Loroi cultural norms and as an ambassador he knows that he will have to abide by certain rules of behavior. For all he knew when he agreed Beryl would just be happy of just shaking his hand but instead he may have consented into a basic mental probe that involves physical contact that is borderline sexual from a human perceptive. His instincts are screaming to just get the dirty deed done while his mind is screaming that this is NOT what his instincts believe it is and even if it is what it looks like he must NOT act on it and must put a stop to it without making too much of a scene.
^ Yeah, fun as it would 'seem'... this is the most sane and professional approach...
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novius
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by novius »

sunphoenix wrote:His instincts are screaming to just get the dirty deed done while his mind is screaming that this is NOT what his instincts believe it is and even if it is what it looks like he must NOT act on it and must put a stop to it without making too much of a scene.
^ Yeah, fun as it would 'seem'... this is the most sane and professional approach...
Who knows. For all Alex knows, Loroi could have a wierd tradition to 'offer' their women to rivaling/neighboring clans to foster good relations. And Beryl volunteered for this position. For science, of course.

In essence, he cannot know if him rebuffing her would be even more disastrous or not. All he can do is quietly say that this is quite an intimate situation by human standards as well.

As for "professional"... Alex does have the reputation of being quite a maverick, with some demerits to his name. So if it helps the long term goal - fostering understanding and perhaps an alliance between Loroi and Humans - he might go for a bit of less-than-professional behavior. After all, while the Scout Corps may have its rules and regulations, every human on board is trained for and required to make snap decisions when there is need 'out there'.

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