update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/toledot/index.md

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ Nearing the 200th anniversary of System secession from humanity, the System and
     * [X] [Secession: sys-side: Michelle](secession/sys/Michelle/002) - Michelle meets with Council of Eight, discusses spending a bunch of reputation to fork; meets up with Jonas and pledges True Name - 2293
     * [X] [Secession: phys-side: Yared](secession/phys/Yared/002) - Yared gives a 'speech' on individual rights, then drawn aside by Yosef, out for coffee, tells of secession proposal - 2608
     * [X] [Launch: phys-side: Douglas](launch/phys/Douglas/003) - Douglas answers May's questions - 3489
-    * [O] [Launch: sys-side: Ioan](launch/sys/Ioan/003) - Ioan(s) and May start to parcel out work, but get off topic onto feelings. - 2644
+    * [X] [Launch: sys-side: Ioan](launch/sys/Ioan/003) - Ioan(s) and May start to parcel out work, but get off topic onto feelings. - 2644
     * [O] [Secession: phys-side: Yared](secession/phys/Yared/003) - first change from Yosef, talking with True Name and Jonas - 2791
     * [O] [Secession: sys-side: True Name](secession/sys/True-Name/001) - brings news of the bill to Council of Eight, discuss speciation - 1833
     * [O] [Launch: launch-side: Codrin#Pollux](launch/launch/Codrin-pollux/001) - Codrin#Pollux interviews Dear about why it actually uploaded - 1767

writing/post-self/toledot/launch/sys/Ioan/003.md

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 # Ioan Bălan - 2325
 
-There was a rhythm to research, Ioan had found. The ideas and information did not always flow smoothly, of course. Sometimes, ey would go days without breaking through the current blockage, or perhaps ey would rush forward in leaps and bounds, the periods of sleep and waking growing longer and longer until ey was out of sync from the world around em.
+There was a rhythm to research, Ioan had found. The ideas and information did not always flow smoothly; sometimes, ey would go days without breaking through the current blockage, or perhaps ey would rush forward in leaps and bounds, the periods of sleep and waking growing longer and longer until ey was out of sync with the world around em.
 
-But despite these crests and troughs, there was a rhythm. Ey would find a pace at which the project would bloom, fits and starts or a smooth progression, and would slowly be able to predict the ways in which it would move.
+But despite these peaks and troughs, there was a rhythm. Ey would find a pace at which the project would bloom, fits and starts or a smooth progression, and would slowly be able to predict the ways in which it would move.
 
-There had been work before the launch, but the way in which it shifted Dear's Death Day, had knocked Ioan into enough of a different mindset, that this felt much like a new project. Ey supposed that it had to do in part with May Then My Name moving in with em, and in part with the sudden cessation of sensorium messages from Dear. That the fox was now restricted to text only must've been a shock to its system, and when eir thoughts would drift away from the task at hand of collating histories, ey would picture it sitting at a desk scribbling away, frustration on its features and agitation in its tail. 
+There had been work before the launch, but the way in which it shifted after Dear's Death Day had knocked Ioan into enough of a different mindset that this felt like a new project. Ey supposed that it had to do with the sudden cessation of sensorium messages from Dear. That the fox was now restricted to text only must've been a shock to its system, and when eir thoughts would drift away from the task at hand of collating histories, ey would picture it sitting at a desk scribbling away, frustration on its features and agitation in its tail. 
 
 *Then again,* ey thought. *It still has plenty of company to pester up there.*
 
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ She nodded. "Well, come here, then. Let us plan instead of read or write or what
 
 "Woolgathering, apparently," ey mumbled, but gathered up a notebook and a pen to go plop down next to the skunk all the same.
 
-When May had moved in with Ioan, she had quickly requested several changes to the house. A desk for her to work at as well as a private room --- a cube with all grey walls --- in which to do whatever it that she did when composing her mythos. She had also requested a few items that would work with her physiology. A stool for the desk that would let her tail drape down and curl around her feet, that sort of thing
+When May had moved in with Ioan the year before the launch, she had quickly requested several changes to the house. A desk for her to work at as well as a private room --- a cube with all grey walls --- in which to do whatever it was that she did when composing her mythos. She had also requested a few items that would work with her physiology. A stool for the desk that would let her tail drape down and curl around her feet, that sort of thing
 
 She had declined, however, another room or bed, which had initially staggered em.
 
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ She had declined, however, another room or bed, which had initially staggered em
 
 She had laughed and poked em in the stomach with a finger. "You have a bed, Ioan, yes? It fits two, yes? If not, just make it fit two."
 
-Ey had formed few attachments over the years, and certainly none which required sleeping in the same bed as someone. Eir confusion must have shown on eir face, as May had rolled her eyes and laughed.
+Ey had formed few attachments over the years, and certainly none which included sleeping in the same bed as someone. Eir confusion must have shown on eir face, as May had rolled her eyes and laughed.
 
 "I do not mean anything untoward by it," she had said.
 
@@ -34,19 +34,19 @@ Her eyes had widened and she tilted her head. "Really? Never?"
 
 Ey had shook eir head.
 
-"Well, I would still prefer to share your bed with you, it is just the way I work. I do not sleep well alone. But if you feel uncomfortable, I will be fine with a bed like yours."
+"Well, I would still prefer to share your bed with you, it is just the way I work. I do not sleep well alone. But if you feel uncomfortable, I will be fine with another bed like yours."
 
 So now ey slept beside a skunk.
 
-She had also requested a few beanbags that she could curl on, more comfortable than a couch for one with a (frankly enormous) tail. Each of these was larger than Ioan had felt was strictly necessary, and it had required that ey expand the bounds of the rooms to fit them, but ey had quickly gotten used to them, as ey could stretch out on them just as well as May. They were a little too amorphous to sleep on, but still plenty comfortable.
+She had also requested a few beanbags that she could curl on, more comfortable than a couch for one with an outsized tail. Each of these was larger than Ioan had felt was strictly necessary, and it had required that ey expand the bounds of the rooms to fit them, but ey had quickly gotten used to them, as ey could stretch out on them just as well as May. They were a little too amorphous to sleep on, but still plenty comfortable.
 
-Ey sunk into a slouch on one, feeling the way it molded around em. Ey knew well enough by now to lift up the arm on the side where the skunk was curled, and she predictably scootched up by eir side to rest her head against eir chest at the shoulder, arm around eir middle. Ey let eir arm drop again, curling it around her shoulders.
+Ey sunk into a slouch on one next to the skunk, feeling the way it molded around em. Ey knew well enough by now to lift up the arm on the side where the skunk was curled, and she predictably scootched up by eir side to rest her head against eir chest at the shoulder, arm around eir middle. Ey let eir arm drop again, curling it around her shoulders.
 
 "Alright, planning," ey said, reaching eir free right arm down beside the beanbag for the lap desk which had proved so useful for times such as these. "What should we plan?"
 
 "How about your forks?"
 
-"Right, yes. Do you think I should have one for both Castor and Pollux? And probably one for history, judging by what you've told me already."
+"Right, yes. Do you think I should have one for both Castor and Pollux? And I'll probably need one for history, judging by what you've told me already."
 
 She nodded, the fur of an ear-tip tickling at eir neck. "Start with one each. You can always cut down from there if it is unnecessary, or use them only as needed. If that first message from Codrin on Castor is anything to go by, better safe than sorry. Monsters and cults! It is all very like Dear. I bet it put Codrin up to it, what with me doing the myth bits."
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ She nodded, the fur of an ear-tip tickling at eir neck. "Start with one each. Yo
 
 "It is an Odist thing. You will catch it, too, from me." She laughed.
 
-"I'll bet. I'm thinking the triad on Pollux fell asleep instead. They're already diverging." Ey started a diagram on the page. "So that's three. Would it be four Ioans Bălan total, then, with me to collate the information?"
+"I don't doubt I will. I'm thinking the triad on Pollux fell asleep instead. They're already diverging." Ey started a diagram on the page. "So that's three. Would it be four Ioans Bălan total, then, with me to collate the information?"
 
 "Probably for the best, yes."
 
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Ey laughed and shook eir head, jotting down notes on the paper as ey talked. "Yo
 
 She tightened her arm around eir middle and shrugged. "Or the bed, but there will be only one of you. I may keep a fork or two around working on other tasks, but they can shift schedules if you would prefer not to have multiple mes crowding in on you at night."
 
-Ioan brushed the fingers on eir left hand through the soft fur on the skunk's arm. "Not to start with, if that's okay. I'm only just getting used to sleeping next to one you."
+Ioan brushed the fingers on eir left hand through the soft fur on the skunk's arm. "I'd prefer that, if that's okay. I'm only just getting used to sleeping next to one you."
 
 Tilting her muzzle up, she dotted her nose against the underside of eir chin. "For which I am grateful! I struggle to be around people without being close to them. Thank you for indulging me."
 
@@ -84,11 +84,11 @@ Tilting her muzzle up, she dotted her nose against the underside of eir chin. "F
 
 Ioan frowned and set the lap desk and notes aside, opting instead to brush eir fingers along her arm. This conversation had slid off course, and ey knew that it was hopeless to get it back. Once May began to talk about feelings, all was lost. It was evening, anyhow, and a good time to set work aside.
 
-"I suppose it just never occurred to me," ey said. "Forming attachments that would lead to something like...whatever this is has never really been a need of mine, or even a want, so it just never happened."
+"I suppose it just never occurred to me," ey said. "Forming attachments that would lead to something like...whatever this is has never really been a need of mine, so it just never happened."
 
 The skunk nodded against eir chest, and ey could sense a frown on her muzzle. "That is so counter to the way I function that I cannot even picture it. I am a being of attachments. I think we all are, just to greater or lesser extent."
 
-"I suppose so. I'm not a total recluse. I like interacting with others."
+"I guess. I'm not a total recluse. I like interacting with others."
 
 "Just not beyond a certain point."
 
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ Ey forced a laugh. "What is it with you Odists? Are you all this good at turning
 
 "I was going to say, "And now you're pushing me in weird directions." I wasn't expecting Codrin to find emself in a triad, if I'm honest."
 
-"You, my dear, lack a certain self-awareness, for someone who spends all eir time up in eir head."
+"You, my dear, lack a certain self-awareness for someone who spends all eir time up in eir head."
 
 "Thanks, I think." Ioan shifted to the side enough to look down at the skunk. "How do you mean, though?"
 
@@ -130,13 +130,13 @@ She laughed and licked em on eir chin. It was an odd sensation. "It is not surpr
 
 "Are you saying it's manipulative?"
 
-"Oh, no. Not really, at least. I do not think it knows that it is doing that. It also lacks that self-awareness. It is more like..." She trailed off, visibly searching for the words. "It is like it knows what feels good, but not why, and so it has developed mechanisms to ensure that those good things happen more frequently."
+"Oh, no. Not really, at least. I do not think it knows that it is doing that. It also lacks that self-awareness. It is more like..." She trailed off, visibly searching for the words. "It is like it knows what feels good but not why, so it has developed mechanisms to ensure that those good things happen more frequently."
 
 "More like a self-reinforcing behavior, I guess?"
 
 She nodded.
 
-"I suppose that makes sense, then." A silence fell during which Ioan thought about what self-reinforcing social behaviors ey had. "I like to work. It's a really fulfilling feeling. So I work, I try hard to do a good job, and when I do, it leads to more work. I developed a way to keep myself interested."
+"I suppose that makes sense, then." A silence fell during which Ioan thought about what self-reinforcing social behaviors ey had. "I like to work. It's a really fulfilling feeling. So I work. I try hard to do a good job, and when I do, it leads to more work. I developed a way to keep myself interested."
 
 "A coping mechanism for the terminally immortal."
 
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ More woolgathering. That's what the evening called for, more than work. More woo
 
 Lovers? Ey let a tape run forward in eir mind. Ey watched the friendship ey had formed with May progress into some form of romantic relationship. How would it start? Would it start with em making a formal decision to let that happen? Or would it happen by accident? Would ey some day wake up and realize, *Holy shit, I think we're dating. Are we dating? I think we are.*
 
-And ey set a different tape to playing. A tape wherein ey set firmer boundaries, prohibited the friendship from progressing further than it already had. Or, worse --- strange to already be placing value judgements! --- a world in which ey pushed the skunk away, backed off from the physical affection, from the talk that bordered on flirty, from even the affectionate name 'May'. If ey let that tape play beyond that point, ey knew ey would find all of the ways in which that would hurt May and how, knowing her, seeing her express that would hurt em in turn.
+And ey set a different tape to playing. A tape wherein ey set firmer boundaries, prohibited the friendship from progressing further than it already had. Or, worse --- strange to already be placing value judgements! --- a world in which ey pushed the skunk away, backed off from the physical affection, from the talk that bordered on flirty, from even the affectionate name 'May'. If ey let that tape play beyond that point, ey knew ey would find all of the ways in which that would hurt May and how, knowing her, seeing her express that pain would hurt em in turn.
 
 *How do they do this?* ey thought. *How do the Odists just worm their way into your life and make themselves comfortable, letting you think it was your idea? That's what she'd said, and now I'm in exactly the same position as Codrin twenty years ago.*
 
@@ -172,9 +172,9 @@ Ey jolted, blinking rapidly as her words registered. "Wait, what? What isn't?"
 
 She shook her head and ey could hear the smile in her voice. "You mumble when you think really hard."
 
-"Shit, right. Sorry. I trust you on that. I'm not mad or anything, I like, uh...this, and don't have any plans from rolling that back. You mentioned a pattern, though, and got me thinking about it."
+"Shit, right. Sorry. I trust you on that. I'm not upset or anything, I like, uh...this, and don't have any plans from rolling that back. You mentioned a pattern, though, and got me thinking about it."
 
-"This is what I like about you, Ioan. What the whole clade likes about you, if history is anything to go by. You spend enough time up in your head that you start thinking about what you are thinking about and what you are feeling. You get surprised, and then you think about your surprise and break it down to make meaning of it. What you lack in self-awareness you make up in easy self-analysis."
+"This is what I like about you, Ioan. What the whole clade likes about you, if history is anything to go by. You spend enough time up in your head that you start thinking about what you are thinking about and putting words what you are feeling. You get surprised, and then you think about your surprise and break it down to make meaning of it. What you lack in self-awareness you make up in easy self-analysis."
 
 "Feels like overanalysis, sometimes." 
 
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ She shook her head and ey could hear the smile in her voice. "You mumble when yo
 
 "What are you feeling about..." Ey forced himself to push away encroaching work-thoughts. Ey had been about to say *about this whole venture*, but instead went with, "About this?"
 
-"Now?" She squeezed eir fingers in her own before disentangling them to tap at eir nose. "I am feeling close to you, and I am feeling happy about that. I am feeling like asking you to cook something because I am starving or asking you if you'd like to go to bed because I am tired or asking you to get back to work so that I can do the same."
+"Now?" She squeezed eir fingers in her own before disentangling them to tap at eir nose. "I am feeling comfortable with you, and I am feeling happy about that. I am feeling like asking you to cook something because I am starving or asking you if you'd like to go to bed because I am tired or asking you to get back to work so that I can do the same."
 
 "That's a lot of feelings at once," ey said, grinning.