#skyspoutingviolets

[staringtowardthestars]

OOC: private message log

Private message log between @skyspoutingviolets and @staringtowardthestars following this post.

staringtowardthestars

Pardon me, but I was wondering if your most recent post was directed at me?

skyspoutingviolets

...it wasn't *directed* at you, but yes, it's about you.

"i've seen too many green radicals plot to commit serious pollution violations" right, because personal experience. it's no wonder you had to get a blue to bribe your judge.

i don't even know what to say, honestly. you clearly have some serious mental health problems -- i doubt there's anything i can say to make you understand how despicable your actions were.

staringtowardthestars

Just because I've seen something occur doesn't necessarily imply that I've participated in it.

(Also, she didn't bribe my judge.)

Also, in case it wasn't clear from the post, I am against people doing what you are suggesting that I did. (I completely understand if your suspicions mean that you no longer wish to interact with me.)

skyspoutingviolets

of course seeing something happen doesn't imply you were the one who did it. but in this case, it's obvious that you were.

and yes, that post does say you're against people doing this. but only because they'll get caught! you said *nothing at all* about why it's inherently wrong to spread pollution

you said, in as many words, "pollution is unimportant." which. just. go to hell.

staringtowardthestars

That was intended as a statement about their goals, not a statement about objective reality. The sort of person who would do that presumably thinks, at least to some extent, that pollution is unimportant.

Also, if someone already thinks pollution is unimportant, telling them that an action is bad because it will spread pollution is highly unlikely to be persuasive. In contrast, pointing out the potential harm if they are caught might be.

skyspoutingviolets

well i suppose, but it's still -- i mean, it's like saying "hey, if you believe it's good to assault people, don't do that, because you'll get arrested." it's hard to imagine how sane and decent person could write a long post on the subject while failing to mention that, in addition to being illegal, it's *wrong*.

staringtowardthestars

Perhaps we disagree on means of effective persuasion. If someone thinks it's good to assault people, telling them that it's actually wrong to assault people will probably not be convincing, and it might make them less likely to take other parts of the argument seriously.

skyspoutingviolets

nobody who seriously believed it's immoral to commit assault (or pollution violations, or the like) would write a series of posts about it in which the only reason they give against it is that it's illegal and you'll get caught.

i don't know why i'm continuing this conversation, it's pointless for me to try to reason with you

staringtowardthestars

I entirely understand if thinking about this topic is distressing you! If you don't want to talk to me anymore, I'll respect that, and I won't interact with your posts.

skyspoutingviolets

well, okay, that would be appreciated

staringtowardthestars

Understood.

skyspoutingviolets

but i'm going to say this one last thing even if, as you say, it's not going to persuade you: purposefully spreading pollution is a horrible thing to do. it hurts people, especially hypersensitives like me. and anyone who thinks that it's a good idea needs mental health treatment.

[sense-and-hyposensitivity]

hey! i don't think i'll take up your offer of talking to you about what happened, but i appreciate your concern :)

[answered privately]

Thank you, and I hope you do well

[ashesoverembers]

hey, so i didn't read the "under the cut" on that post because sensitivity, but regardless i just want to say that i'm so sorry that you had such a difficult experience and i hope you're feeling better <3

Aw, thanks my dear, that’s so sweet.  I absolutely respect your decision not to click through, it is in fact pretty horrific.  If you want the version with all the gross parts removed I can message it to you, I seem to be in kind of a “whining to anyone who will listen” stage of grief right now.

[in-a-narrow-land]

what did the thing in oahkar mean?

It’s a line from Jagne Garthe (maybe the most important Oahkar poet); he’s wonderful but almost impossible to translate. My shitty nonliteral translation is something like so:

Why? Can’t you see? It’s morning. The crocuses have just begun to sprout. / Dear child, open your eyes. What are eyes for? Might as well put them out.

In context, he’s saying that the inability to perceive beauty is worse than blindness. (He’s also definitely implying that the addressee should appreciate how hot he is. Crocuses are a really common motif in Oahkar poetry, and because they bloom at the beginning of spring, they usually stand for youthful beauty, with sexual connotations. This is not what I was going for but it’s hard to find Oahkar lyric that’s totally free of innuendo). 

[luminousalicorn]

do amentans ever have crushes/romantic feelings for others pre-springing? if so, how common is this?

You can certainly get, “this person is wonderful and if the orientations work out right we should get married and if they don’t we should likely get married anyway and have kids together and just have sex with other people”.  But there is a definite sea change when one springs.  People who spring late have a moderately awkward period where they look mature but haven’t had this happen to them, and might be motivated to conflate aesthetic or friendly feelings with romantic ones to fit in with their agemates?  You can have non-romantic intense personal interest in somebody?  But it’s Different before springing.

[staringtowardthestars]

OOC: private message log

Private message between @skyspoutingviolets​ and @staringtowardthestars​.

skyspoutingviolets: hello! so, i realize this is none of my business, sorry -- but after your post about your professor's wife saving your life, i was curious and i found this article from six years ago which sounds like it might be about you [link]

is that you?

(if so, i am so sorry that happened to you. and i totally respect your not wanting to discuss this publicly on tumblr. it sounds like a really scary and traumatic experience, and people on tumblr can be real jerks)

staringtowardthestars: ...Please don't tell anyone on here.

skyspoutingviolets: i won't!

staringtowardthestars: Thank you.

Also, yes, it was extremely scary.

skyspoutingviolets: i imagine! you were basically kidnapped by a red, that's like, straight out of a horror film! :(

staringtowadthestars: Did you have a particular reason for bringing this up, or were you just curious?

skyspoutingviolets: ...well, i feel a bit bad for asking about this, since i know it was an awful experience and you probably don't want to think about it

but i'm a bit curious about how the blue was involved? there's no mention of how she helped you 

staringtowardthestars: There were (and still are) many people who found it so improbable that she would have actually kidnapped me that they were convinced I had played some role. She helped to ensure that the judge who heard my case was likely to be sympathetic. 

skyspoutingviolets: ah okay. jeez, why did they think it was improbable?

staringtowardthestars: Most random red four-year-olds don't kidnap graduate students for no reason, and if they were going to do something like that one would expect them to have taken me back to the red district, which was not where we were found. Also, I was relatively liberal on red issues, which made people think it more likely that I would associate with her in public.

The police investigators should have been able to use my computer history to determine whether I had coordinated with her, but the investigator who was supposed to be in charge of it broke it so badly that no information could be recovered. 

skyspoutingviolets: how on amenta does someone delete your entire internet history?? 

that's--sorry, hold on

um sorry if this sounds rude but i just saw your last post and uh

i don't know how to phrase this? i don't want to accuse you of anything

but that tag "i thought i'd been careful" -- were you talking about this? like, me figuring out who you are and what happened? 

staringtowardthestars: Yes -- sorry, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. I know you weren't trying to frighten me, but it's nice to have somewhere where that's not a constant piece of context pertaining to all my actions, and if you can figure it out then someone with less concern for my privacy can as well.

skyspoutingviolets: okay, yeah...i guess 

staringtowardthestars: What did you think the post meant?

skyspoutingviolets: well -- it occurred to me that maybe there was another reason you didn't want this to come up

(other than, not wanting crazy tumblr people to find out and be nasty about it) 

staringtowardthestars: What are you suggesting? 

skyspoutingviolets: ...uh, sorry, i'm not suggesting anything

staringtowardthestars: ...That may have come out more combative than I intended. You should of course feel free to ask any questions you wish.

skyspoutingviolets: yeah, i don't want to sound offensive -- i just wondered that maybe what happened isn't exactly what you're saying happened, and so you really don't want anyone to know about it -- but well

i don't want to sound like i'm accusing you of anything 

staringtowardthestars: I am worried that people on this website will believe, among other possibilities, that I had an intentional role in the incident. Given that there are already people in real life who believe that, I don't think this is an unreasonable concern. 

skyspoutingviolets: makes sense, i guess

why do you think the red did it? 

staringtowardthestars: Because four-year-olds make bad decisions and are highly susceptible to pressure from others. If one of her friends had suggested it, even as a joke, she probably would have complied. All the evidence suggested that she wasn't especially intelligent, even given the typical red IQ.

Of course, I could be wrong about her reasons. 

skyspoutingviolets: i see

my roommate's calling me to dinner now, so i'm gonna go. sorry for alarming you by bringing this up! 

staringtowardthestars: Enjoy your dinner. It's no trouble, really. 

[openamenta]

(let me know if the Charlottesville-parallel submission is too out of line with canon -- I've only just started reading in color)

(maybe finish it before making up more stuff but the one incident is fine.)