we do not bear children until we have so chosen

[dark_light]

Amariah appears in the Belltower, throws herself into a chair, and tries to read postcards, but her eyes won't focus on them. She tries the Bellbook, and scarcely has better luck, although her eyes do catch on a certain word.

"Jane."

"Yep?"

"I want to talk to Aether."

"I'll let her know!"

Comments

[pythbox]

The first one that comes to hand just says, Helen baked a cake today!

[dark_light]

"Helen. He named her Helen. I wouldn't have named her that. I guess it's better than Button."

[pythbox]

Celo decides not to express any name-related opinions.

[subtly_artistic]

"So," says Aether slowly, "if things had gone as they should've - if, um, Materia hadn't broken Jane - then there's a meaningful sense in which you'd still have the chance to have this particular child one day, but a lot of things about her situation would be different. And all of those things are reminding you about how things didn't go as they should've."

[dark_light]

"Yeah. Are you reading my mind a little bit or are you just a Bell?"

[subtly_artistic]

"Just a Bell. I won't read you past being aware you're a mind unless you ask me to."

[pythbox]

"I dunno if anybody mentioned it but I've got a reading thing too and it's vagued all the way out," says Celo. "I read sexualities. Yours at this detail level is 'probably straightish'. For, you know, complete information and stuff."

[dark_light]

"...Thanks for telling me," blinks Amariah.

[subtly_artistic]

"I should make a note about that in the Bellbook or something, maybe."

[dark_light]

"Thilanushinyel unicorns do something a little similar - they don't have control over the detail level, though, it's all vague enough we don't mind - and nobody's bothered noting about them," shrugs Amariah.

[pythbox]

"I can get even vaguer than I used to, since I got my aura," says Celo, "and that was pretty vague already. But anyways, enough about me."

[dark_light]

Amariah hugs her knees tighter. Path hoots softly.

[subtly_artistic]

Aether shifts her weight uncertainly, then also takes a chair.

[mind_game]

[Sue's free to attempt porting lessons,] Jane reports to Celo and Harley (and also Elspeth and Aether and Amariah, since they are in the relevant rooms).

[pythbox]

"Okay," says Celo. "I'll go do that, then, I guess. Good luck," he says to Aether and Amariah.

He wanders into another room of the tower.

[dark_light]

"So - you don't actually have any advantage over generic Bells unless I want you to poke my brain, huh?" Amariah asks Aether after a silence.

[subtly_artistic]

"Nnnot really, except that I am considering staying in school and I can log this as extracurricular practice. All the details zipped up in patient confidentiality," she adds. "So I might be more willing to listen than somebell else, but I really haven't taken any therapy classes at all, Juliet might have more specific expertise or you could take her Tony-related advice."

[dark_light]

"I think Juliet's case only sounds superficially similar. Probably very different on an emotional level."

[subtly_artistic]

"Probably. She might still know things about how good listeners Tonies are, and the cases do share the characteristic of an innocent person having suddenly dropped into your life without your permission."

[dark_light]

"True." Amariah swallows, closes her eyes. "Jane, you wanna poll some Tonies?"

[mind_game]

"Sure."

And she pings Tonies. [Juliet told Amariah that Tonies were good listeners in case of spontaneous teenage relative. Anybody want to listen to her rant?]

[pythbox]

Fusion, Iron, Sapphire, and Red all answer in the affirmative, Red fastest. Screwdriver says [Maybe?]

Iron Man says [Huh? Never mind, not me, no.]

[mind_game]

[Should I just assume you are exempt from statements in this category about the template?] Jane inquires of Iron Man as she relays the results to Amariah and Aether.

[dark_light]

"I guess in the absence of other distinguishing criteria I'll take Red," says Amariah.

[mind_game]

[You answered first and have spontaneous-teenage-rant-listening-experience, you win, ding ding,] Jane tells Red.