From ef6ee8a0d501539edd2d19b8380e5c382f3fe77c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Madison Scott-Clary Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2022 21:40:11 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] update from sparkleup --- writing/post-self/neviim/ioan/011.html | 11 +++++++---- writing/post-self/neviim/local/tycho/011.html | 13 ++++++++----- 2 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-) diff --git a/writing/post-self/neviim/ioan/011.html b/writing/post-self/neviim/ioan/011.html index d489f3cc0..72d5bce90 100644 --- a/writing/post-self/neviim/ioan/011.html +++ b/writing/post-self/neviim/ioan/011.html @@ -13,10 +13,13 @@

Ioan Bălan — 2346

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Convergence T-0 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes
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Ioan,

I must admit, I’m really not sure what to say about all of this. Thank you for waiting until you have a substantial amount to send to me, at least. Dear threw a little tantrum about about this “We have received messages over the last few days” bit, but I appreciate having an initial digest to work with so that I’m not left a fretting mess (as you say you were) by the simple news that, oh look, aliens! I threatened to bundle it up in blankets until it was immobile for a few hours, though, and it calmed down. I may do so anyway.

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Four races! Five thousand years! One language! Have you learned any of that, yourself? How is May then My name taking it? You mention True Name, but have you heard from any other Odists? Any other friends? If the System is anything like Pollux, people are talking about little else.

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The news broke over here much as it sounds as though it has done on the L5 System: with tightly controlled excitement. There is no doubt that the powers that be continue their work across all three Systems, but it’s always fascinating to see. The amount of bafflement was outweighed by the amount of excitement. The excitement also outweighed the amount of fear. Everyone’s eager for every scrap of news that they can get.

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Four races! Five thousand years! One language! Have you learned any of that, yourself? How is May then My name taking it? You mention True Name, but have you heard from any other Odists? Any other friends? If Legrange System is anything like Pollux, people are talking about little else.

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The news broke over here much as it sounds as though it has done on Legrange: with tightly controlled excitement. There is no doubt that the powers that be continue their work across all three Systems, but it’s always fascinating to see. The amount of bafflement was outweighed by the amount of excitement. The excitement also outweighed the amount of fear. Everyone’s eager for every scrap of news that they can get.

How much of the delay in sending word to us was due to True Name and her friends? I imagine she had words about the first message, at least, but a whole week’s worth of messages feels like a good deal.

No matter, though. We’re all eagerly awaiting every little snippet that we can get from you. I know that you won’t get this for another, what, seven days? Eight? And that seven or eight days from when you sent it! I know you won’t get it for a few weeks, but please know that you’re free to pass on information directly from here on out! We’ll be learning plenty from the news we’re allowed to see over here, anyway, so any juicy tidbits in addition to that will be greatly appreciated.

I am continually confronted with the ways in which we have diverged. May Then My Name and Dear#Castor mentioned how upset they were by the idea of time manipulation, but my Dear…well, it did not seem pleased with the idea, but its reaction was not nearly so visceral. It simply got a sour look on its face and said “I do not like the idea of a place where I cannot fork. Can you imagine a place so boring?”

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The last few years have seen a drastic reduction in the amount of times that Dear has ‘overflowed’. I don’t know if ey’s been passing on every instance from Castor, or if you have been passing on every letter in turn, but it sounds like the same is true of Dear#Castor as well, for which I’m thankful.

I’m sorry to hear about May Then My Name, though. Discussion of ‘cracks showing’ always seems to crop up whenever one of our loved ones goes through a rough period such as this, and your news spurred a conversation between the three of us plus Serene, and despite the relative quiescence of Dear’s symptoms, such as they are, we have noticed an uptick of oddities in Odists over here, as well. Not just Odists, of course, but a few of the older clades. Hell, a Jonas even went haywire a few weeks back.

Still, I’m happy to hear that everyone’s tallies are lining up well: far fewer old clades over here are experiencing such symptoms than feared after the publication of Perils, for which just about everyone is happy. No one wants to deal with an impending burden of insanity on one’s two hundredth birthday, so to hear that it’s only a fraction and that maybe there’s something that can be done (or so we hear; has there been news of psychotherapy as a treatment over there? I’ve been hearing whispers) has kept the population at large from freaking out. I imagine you have it worse, though, given the relative skew towards dispersionistas on the LVs; I bet early taskers are freaking out.

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Either way, Ioan, I am concerned for you and your partner. Our lives are informed by trauma, and the trauma that we hold in particular leads to a sort of conservatism that is particularly focused on our loved ones. I know that you want nothing more than to see May Then My Name continue to thrive, and I know that seeing her struggle is incredibly painful as it touches on the roots of those very same traumas. I know that the two of you will make it through alright, but, as this is in the clade-eyes-only section, do remember to keep yourself safe. You have Douglas. You have A Finger Pointing. You have Carolyn (who you’ll have to tell me more about, sometime; she sounds fascinating). When you need, nudge May Then My Name to her support network and lean on yours on your own.

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Either way, Ioan, I am concerned for you and your partner. Our lives are informed by trauma, and the trauma that we hold in particular leads to a sort of conservatism that is particularly focused on our loved ones. I know that you want nothing more than to see May Then My Name continue to thrive, and I know that seeing her struggle is incredibly painful as it touches on the roots of those very same traumas. I know that the two of you will make it through alright, but, as this is in the clade-eyes-only section, do remember to keep yourself safe. You have Douglas. You have A Finger Pointing. You have so many delightful friends I’ve yet to even meet. When you need, nudge May Then My Name to her support network and lean on yours on your own.

IOAN BĂLAN INDIVIDUAL-EYES-ONLY MATERIAL

The following is in strict confidence with you and you alone, Ioan. I’ve received permission to share from all parties involved.

I don’t know how much of Codrin#Castor and my messages between each other that you’ve read, or if that would even have helped, but watching the slow individuation of a loved one is an experience unique even from watching oneself individuate. The Dear I am in love with feels much like the Dear I fell in love with decades ago, and yet slowly the Dear on Castor begins to feel like a stranger to me.

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Ioan Bălan