synopsychic | (no subject)

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So, hey, y'all, I got a question: I know there's some werewolf types around, anyone know who they are, or any of you willin' ta step forward and introduce yourselves? In private, if you wanna. I got a few questions, an' I'm thinkin' it'd be a good idea to make some connections, since I'm pretty new ta this whole thing.

Also, anyone know if there's a way ta play movies around here? ... and anyone got any? I'm looking for some ancient classics, guess they might be contemporary for some a th' folks here.

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No need to be private about it on my end. I'm quite open about what I am. I'm one of the two original werewolves-- as in, those of us who were before Traveling. The name is Randolph Lyall.

Well, howdy! Thanks for speakin' up. So you been doin' this awhile?

And a few hundred years or so, yes. My particular type of werewolf doesn't age.

[He's not going to get into the reincarnation bit just yet. He knows that part's confusing.]

Damn ...

How do you figure out what kinda werewolf you are?

Well, did you start off as one, or did you pick it up on a Jaunt? There's only one Jaunt so far that had werewolves, so it ought to be easy enough to determine which type from there you are.

If you came here as one, that's a bit more complicated.

I picked it up, but I can't tell if it works exactly th' same as back there, 'cause there ain't no moon here? Also, I don't feel the same impetus ta change, if you know what I'm talkin' about. Like, it used ta be, back there, if I got real angry it was a problem, but I ain't noticin' that so much here.

Wolf still looks about th' same, though, far as I can see.

Just because you picked up the form, doesn't mean you are always a werewolf. It's rather like other forms we learn here: you have to actively use it. If you were actively using it, then you might still have the issues with anger management and the full moon rages, but if you weren't, you probably won't feel any of the additional effects.

So once we do wind up on a Jaunt with a moon, if you remain yourself, you'll only have to worry about running mad if you're trying to use the form or its abilities.

[And if he sounds wistful at that last sentence, well, he did kind of just run mad last Jaunt... it'd be nice to not have that threat hovering over him.]

Damn, that's good ta know! I didn't realize it wasn't a permanent kinda thing - all the benefits an' none of th' drawbacks, is what you're sayin'?

Don't hardly seem fair.

You're telling me.

[He sounds dry rather than annoyed, though.]

But honestly, I don't mind. I'd rather have fewer dangerous creatures running around than have other true werewolves just for companionship. The wolf in me seems to think part-time werewolves are quite good enough.

... we do have a small pack of us. If you feel the need for that sort of thing.

[There's a few beats of silence as he considers.]

I reckon I may not be quite ready ta be part of a pack, but it might be nice ta meet y'all. If you don't mind.

Of course I don't mind. I doubt the others will, either. I'm usually easy to find. Blonde hair, glasses, not particularly tall, brown suit. I can show you around to the others.

I'll surely keep an eye out for you. I'm guessing I'm pretty easy ta spot, too - I'm th' fella in th' hat and red serape with the metal arm.

There's no reason to be secretive about being a werewolf here.

[It's one of the few upsides of this place, really.]

Hey, I don't like to assume none too much. Makes an ass outta you an' me. Anyway, some folks might feel ashamed of it or somethin', I'm guessing not all worlds have the same attitudes about that kinda thing. Like that gal that was offering to beat up non-humans.

We can't kill each other here because we'd come back, so that threat is moot after learning about this place, and the humans don't have enough power here to pressure everyone else into hiding.

And there's nothing to be ashamed of in being a werewolf. [What a ridiculous concept.]

You're talkin' like people are logical or make sense! [hint of laughter in McCree's voice] I gotta tell you, in my experience, most people ain't using just th' facts to base decisions on.

And I don't particularly see the shame in being able, or even forced, ta turn into a wolf, but not everybody thinks th' same.

You sound like you think worse of humans than I do. [He doesn't believe that this guy could actually think worse of them than he does, but it almost sounds like it.]

They should not think that way.

Nah, in general I think people are are okay. Just know they ain't always totally logical. Why, are you different?

Different from what?

I mean, do you make all your decisions based on logical and practical stuff, not influenced by emotions, that kinda thing?

I try to go with instincts as often as possible.

[Which isn't very often since he came to be a traveller, just because he isn't in surroundings that allow him to not think with his human-mind all the time.]

Well, now, that's kinda the same thing, ain't it? As emotions, I mean. Instincts can be wrong, just like feelin's.

It's not. Emotions are individual and can change easily. Instincts are something that you carry in your blood, something belonging to your race.

Yeah, I see what you're sayin'. But instincts can still lead you wrong. ... guess logic can, too, comes down to it.

Anything can lead you wrong. Emotions just do it more often than other guiding principles, and instincts do it the least often.

[ Like hell is he going to out himself as a werewolf when it's a fantastic disguise. He doesn't trust the Travelers farther than he can throw them. Even with less big secrets, he handled them on a strict need-to-know basis. ]

If you ask politely, Thorne has a theater she likes to invite people to watch moving paintings in sometimes. But you should wait a while. She is having a difficult week.

[ Wait... ]

They are ancient to you? Like Greece in the last Jaunt?

[ "Classics" to him were more like works by Homer and Euripides, and "ancient" went back even farther than them. ]

Oh, yeah, uh ... I kinda wanted to invite a particular friend, and not have it be a group kinda thing. [Aka, he wants to take a certain someone on a date, but not have them really cotton on to that fact.] But it's good ta know it's possible here!

[pauses] And not so old and Greece ... More like the particular movies I'm thinkin' of are over a hundred years old. Guess that doesn't really qualify as ancient, I'm just used ta gettin' teased about my taste in cinema.

Saying something is one hundred years old does not describe much to a man born seven or eight hundred years before their invention.

[ Give or take. ]

Yeah, I was realizin' that when you pointed out my mistake. [ruefully] Thanks for the perspective.

Something you kept after the last visit to Sarmatia, is it?

Sure did! I'm hoping we don't get a shift here where it's a full moon all th' time, though - seems like when I change on purpose, it ain't a big deal, but I'm kinda worried if it's forced on me it'll be like it was back there, which is downright dangerous.

So long as we don't irretrievably fuck up a Jaunt sponsored by the Moon, you should be safe from that, at least. Our gracious hosts only seem to actively attempt to murder everyone when they're pitching a fit.

I jest heard from the other fella it don't even matter, 'cause I guess I ain't a werewolf all th' time, jest when I want ta be.

But can't say I ever seen any murderous fits - what happens with those?

Unless you lose track of the moons on a Jaunt.

As for the murderous fits, they twist the environs into barely-navigable hellscapes, with the wildlife all desperate to kill us. I'd give an example, but you've missed all the best comparisons.

Yeah, I guess if I decided ta try on the wolf on a Jaunt at the wrong time, it could be trouble fer everyone. I'll keep that in mind - y'all have permission ta put me down, if need be.

I reckon we must be doing halfway decent, then - some of these landscapes have been kinda borin', but certainly nothin' tryin' ta kill anyone.

[There's a flicker of wry humour from her end of the connection, the psychic equivalent of an amused snort.]

If anyone goes for my throat, I'm dropping them, permission or no.

And we're fortunate the landscapes appear to be chosen by the victors - I'd imagine they'd be much less boring if they were selected by the losing side.

Could be. [He sounds intrigued by this thought.] So y'all can tell who won by th' way this place looks? Kinda like how you can tell where we might be goin'?

To a point. Hermit was obvious. Emperor was slightly less so - though the ostentatious environment certainly narrowed things down.

[Or she comes from a universe without golf, and so missed the fact that the environment reflected the ultimate dad game.]

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