synopsychic | near the end of the week

Hokay. So. Me and Claudia have been talking and we've noticed we aren't being affected by the weird Song thing or even many of the side effects and one thing we both have in common is we're both pretty good at psychic protection--that is, shielding our thoughts and stuff--so we're pretty sure there's at least somewhat a psychic component to it.

I was thinking that maybe, even with the other precautions happening, it might be a good idea to teach anyone who doesn't know it yet how to do that psychic protection. At least the beginners version of it, if not the extra-strength version we both know.

Also...

[And here she hesitates, guilt warring with guilt. An entire year of not telling people something they really should have known, versus the desire to protect someone dear to her. But if she didn't name names, maybe that would be protection enough. And people should know. She was tired of covering for him, especially since as far as she could tell he'd never stopped doing it.

She wonders if he'll be mad at her after this. Fine. Let him be mad. She'll remind him that she could have used his name.]

Also, I kind of really think that everyone who can learn psychic protection should, for the simple fact that there are people among the Travelers who will listen in to your private conversations. Some of them will listen into every unprotected private conversation that passes through the network. Because they think they have a right or a need to listen to them.

I know. It's happened to me.

So. Yeah. I can't force any of you to learn this, but I think it's a really good idea. And I'm here to walk you through it over the network or I can go find you if you'd rather have an in-person lesson.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He does not miss the pronoun slip. Thorne has got to work on her concealment. He half wonders if she's really up to roleplaying a mermaid school leader, but then again, immersing oneself in a lie on a Jaunt is easier than talking about old wounds. ]

He disrespected your trust twice, even after you told him not to do such a thing. It is obvious it bothers you. There is no point in continuing to care for him or remain friends. Cut him away. If you had read about this happening to characters in a book, would you feel the same about them? [ One book nerd to another. ]

[Way easier. Also, she always does better when she's not lying mind-to-mind.]

I'd be pretty angry at him-the-book-character, not gonna lie.

... thing is, he's close to people I'm close to. I wouldn't be able to avoid him. And... I can't turn my caring off.

There are plenty of people I dislike but am unable to avoid...

[ He's about to ask why she can't just turn it off, but he stops himself. Acre's Bureau leader had counseled Altaïr that his feelings were what kept him human. Amidst the soberness rampant in his violent profession, those words had resonated with him. ]

You really are human, Thorne. [ he says wonderingly. If he actually trusted the Network, he'd even venture to say that she may be more human than him. ]

... that's one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me, Altair.

It is true. [ he protested. He's not used to being called kind, though the most perceptive people he knows do call him such. ] I am not trying to flatter you. I... There are no vampires in my world, but humanity is as varied as the waves on the sea. [ He really needs to shake off this Jaunt. He's not even Infiltrating! ] I know how much it means to you. It is why I said it. To another person, these words would fail.

Still. I could just about kiss you.

...Thorne, don't you already have a lover?

[ Altaïr takes colloquialisms literally, news at 11. ]

... okay. First, it's an expression of appreciation, not a declaration of desire to kiss you for real, although actually I probably would kiss you, because you're cute and you have that stubborn protective thing going on.

Secondly... d'Angeline culture surrounding sex is, like, a lot different than the stuff most people are used to. Like, monogamy is not a given? It's not at all odd--especially in the noble circles that the guy he was a ward of ran in--to have multiple lovers of both genders. It's perfectly acceptable. And we've been conducting things the way they do in Terre d'Ange. So although we love each other a lot and we come home to each other at the end of the night, we're both allowed to sleep with other people. Even though I haven't really since we got together, outside of some threesomes with him. Infiltrations not counting. Honestly, I think Alcuin worries sometimes that I'm holding back for his sake? But I'm not. It's just there's only so many people in liminal space and a lot of the other ones I'd sleep with are already taken or not here anymore.

[ Back home, affection was not widely shown in public. It was all or nothing. When a woman declared that she might like to kiss him, she wanted to go somewhere private and do more than kiss. In certain environments (like not on the Network), he would have not batted an eye, but this is unexpected and gives him pause. He's never been propositioned by letter.

[ Meanwhile, D'Angeline sex culture seems simple enough to grasp. It sounds, to him, a little like the privilege of having a harem, which could contain a variety of people, was extended to the wife, and that both wife and husband have trysts without the commitment of marriage. ]

I understand. Perhaps we will meet and speak of this when Alcuin is himself.

[ If only to stop Thorne from divulging more of both their sex lives. This was more information than he needed. ]

Sure. And, uh, if you're interested in guys too or just don't mind having another one around... well. We'll talk about that after the Jaunt too.

near the end of the week

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