coffee chats

[coeur_de_lion]

Alli is the one who arranges the weekly coffee date in Avalon. She's got plenty of friends at school, she's not lonely, but she's never really had critter friends before. She hadn't even realized how much she enjoys having people to hang out in midform with until she has them. She decides she likes it, and that she would like this to continue, thanks very much. She tries the spontaneous approach for a while, more out of laziness than anything, but Jenny has school and work and siblings, May has her girlfriend and has turned into a bottomless pit of magic practice, and Emma can't leave Avalon. So Alli finally just throws up her hands and proclaims that everyone's meeting in the Avalon coffee shop at the same time every week, okay, okay? Cool.

It works better than she expects, honestly. She's not sure they would have become friends naturally- it's probably telling that they weren't, before- but they've got enough shared history under their belt by this point that it hardly matters. Everyone has the occasional conflict, but they're rare and they're mostly good about telling the group beforehand. (Okay, so everyone except Alli is great about it, and Alli has a memory like a sieve.) But Alli had last minute detention last week, so she's feeling guilty enough to arrive early. Almost early. A few minutes early, anyway.

She's amused but not particularly surprised to see Emma and Jenny already there when she arrives. Emma's usually early, since she lives in Avalon and all, but she and Jenny look like they've been there for a while; they've got half empty cups in front of them and Jenny's most of the way through a cookie. Alli grins and joins them. "Even when I'm early, I'm late. Frimeuses, vous deux. May here yet?"

Comments

[hatchedplan]

"I have the gist of what set you off but don't know how not to repeat the offense if I explain."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Well, do you actually think the only good thing about critters is magic? Or was it just an explanation problem? Cause if it's the second thing... whatever? So it takes longer to explain clearly, shit happens."

[hatchedplan]

"I don't think the only good thing about critters is magic and I don't know how you got that from what I said."

[coeur_de_lion]

"You said critter culture has 'nothing useful to offer except magic'. Less of a leap than a really small step?"

[hatchedplan]

"So imagine you're some big human country with a seat on the U.N. security council and everything and you discover that all along there have been critters living in secret enclaves many of them not paying taxes somewhat out of step with your nationalist whatever."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Not all that different from the next cult, 'cept not as big on the seventy child brides thing," Alli says. "And we have plenty of uses for the government. The cute fluffy lot can go be fantastic PR for some hotshot in a suit. Government, business, charity, whatever. I spend a lot of time hoping I don't get drafted; can you imagine more of me in the army? 'Sides, we have art, and culture, and history, and all that kind of crap. Even if governments don't care about that stuff hopefully some of their residents would."

[hatchedplan]

"Sure. But I wasn't thinking on the individual level and I don't trust the PR thing to be consistent globally. I was thinking on the population, mostly economic level. Art and culture and history have never mattered when there was a population to exploit. Magic is intensely useful and must be learned from critters and the critter-aware, it can't just be stolen or conscripted or ignored. I think that if critters present themselves as 'here we are, we want to do the world stage thing, now, trade you magic powers, by the way we don't recommend trying to kill us because we have powers you don't fully understand', the outlook is a lot better than if magic's already spread around and critters are going 'we're a fluffy minority, you will not be outcompeted by your neighbors if you decide to drive us out or kill us or ignore us, want some art'."

[coeur_de_lion]

"I'm indestructible. Hell, you breathe fire. 'These critters are fluffy and weak' is not the reaction I worry about, honestly."

[hatchedplan]

"Do you want to need to be indestructible?"

[coeur_de_lion]

"Do I...? No, but it sure as hell beats the alternative."

[hatchedplan]

"...The alternative is not needing to. The alternative is no one having a motive to try to crush your society because they've got something to gain from trading."

[coeur_de_lion]

Alli visibly attempts to put words together; it's not her strength. "I don't know how to explain either. You seem to have this one way this could go, in your head? I think it could go better, or it could go worse, or at least go badly differently. And you're usually all about research, and reading all the books, and looking at all the options, and I don't really get it."

[hatchedplan]

"I don't know that it's going to go the way I expect, but deploying information about magic to the general population first and separately loses a card I might want later."

[coeur_de_lion]

"...huh. That works, actually. My brain accepts this as valid May. Carry on." She pauses, considering her friend. "But hey, also? Maybe you should talk to more critters about this. I mean, Emma was almost totally unhelpful, but she's probably right about people having opinions." She grins. "Plus you've been to what, three Avalons? And been a critter for all of six minutes?"

[hatchedplan]

"Well, Isabella's helping. And we're not planning to rush."

[coeur_de_lion]

"I think you're allowed to wait until you're old enough to drink."

[hatchedplan]

"You'll delay us longer if you make it until Isabella's allowed to drink."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Americans are weird, what can you do."

[hatchedplan]

"Yeah." Pause. "I don't like how quickly you assumed the worst possible interpretation of what I said and stuck with it until I happened to find a justification you liked. I know we haven't been hanging out that long but still."

[coeur_de_lion]

If Alli were more self-aware, she would be able to explain her relevant hangups and insecurities around critterdom, her powers, and her relationship to critter culture. Unfortunately, Alli is an oblivious teenager. Alas.

Alli squirms a little and shrugs uncomfortably. "I know. You're just. One of the most magic people on Earth? Planning to change the world? Probably going to succeed, at least for critters? More so if you succeed in coming out? It's a lot!"

[hatchedplan]

"I'm not sure what that has to do with what I just said."

[coeur_de_lion]

"I'm panicking a little. It makes me freak out sometimes! ...Even if I misunderstood and have no reason to."

[hatchedplan]

"I mean that - explains why you were upset after you came to the conclusion you drew..."

[coeur_de_lion]

"I mean, I did say that if it was an explanation issue it wasn't a big deal...? I'm bad at thinking about things when I panic, dude. Maybe we just panic differently."

[hatchedplan]

"Maybe."