mandrakeroot | TLV Inbox

mandrakeroot

Mandrake here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

mandrakeroot

Nathaniel doesn't know whether he'll agree with his temporary warden on what that should mean, but he respects someone who has a different approach more than someone who isn't willing to bother at all.

Physical disabilities are quite common among magicians. It can be slightly embarrassing proof of lack of control, but it's also proof of having been able to survive the slip. Demon summoning is a dangerous business, after all. Arthur's strange 'connection' with John Doe 'being' is a much stranger danger, and one Nathaniel's willing to stand back and observe, for the moment. "I'll keep that in mind."

He absolutely will not go to him, but he will keep it in mind.

From:

lestercraft

That's the diplomatic answer of someone who absolutely will not go to him. He might need some monitoring.

"Now-" he shifts in his chair to face Nathaniel a little better. "Is there anything exactly that you'd like to achieve during our time together?"

From:

mandrakeroot

He folds his hands in front of him.

"I've been doing my best to work towards graduation, as I can't say I have any interest 'hanging around' here." He hasn't become that much more comfortable with slang. "Honestly, I don't know what you'd do." It's not meant to be insulting, Arthur has already proved more competent than many, which is why he's willing to say this much, he just hasn't seen much use from past temporary wardens.

From:

lestercraft

"Well- as your warden, I believe that I'm to be your first port of call if you do require anything that isn't readily available on the Barge," he says simply. "Also if you require anything that only a warden can access, such as the Enclosure or any particular sections of the Barge that require supervisory access."

He leans back in his chair. "As well, though - I'm also in a position to be able to offer you some level of insight. I was a private investigator previously, and I have some now-extensive experience with manners of the occult, if that is of any relevance to you. However, I have been lead to believe that my time period is somewhat outdated for most people here, so. I'm not sure how much I could assist with more modern issues."

Edited Date: 2022-11-16 12:43 am (UTC)

From:

mandrakeroot

"I have been working to expand my understanding of science, so a few materials for projects would be appreciated." He's making pretty good headway through the curriculum he drew up for himself, but the readings are easier than the hands on portions.

"What would you consider a modern issue?"

From:

lestercraft

"I'd say anything conceived between the years 1935 and 2010," he comments dryly. "I'm from 1934 myself."

He tilts his head slightly. "What manner of science projects are we talking about, though?"

From:

mandrakeroot

"If you came from the year 1800 you wouldn't know about electric lights, that wouldn't make someone - using electric lights to kill someone into modern issue."

He shrugs.

"Looking at cell mitosis with a microscope. Seeing what antibiotics have more of an inhibiting effect. Boiling water in a paper cup. Those sorts of experiments."

From:

lestercraft

"Interesting how murder is your go-to for a theoretical explanation," he can't help but comment, perhaps a little dryly. "But-- perhaps if I didn't know about electric lights, I wouldn't understand the magnitude of the act. I wouldn't be able to conceive the power of electricity, the damage it could do to a person in that specific form. The required context is lacking."

He'll come back to those experiments in a moment. because. He doesn't know what to make of them just yet.

From:

mandrakeroot

"Murder seemed like a rather timeless crime." As far as he's concerned, he hasn't murdered anyone, which also made it an appealing choice. "I've heard a number of different ideas about what this place is for and what it does. What comes first, the action or the person."

From:

lestercraft

That gets a slight smirk. "Ah. So how deeply philosophical do you plan on getting? The action cannot exist without a person to act it out, but a person is the culmination of the results of their actions, and will likely follow the same path they've already carved for themselves."

From:

mandrakeroot

"I can't say I want to be any level of philosophical." It's not a subject he's interested in or thinks is actually useful. "But I believe the situation at least forces the question of whether the Admiral wants a change in action or a change in beliefs." Honestly, he thinks both his actions and beliefs are just as they should be, but he's used to having to play along with people who have power over him.

From:

lestercraft

"And you don't think you should have to change either, in order to conform to the whims of a higher power that you hold in contempt?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. The boy's phrasing was telling.

From:

mandrakeroot

"I don't hold the Admiral in contempt." Not with the amount of power the Admiral has. He might hate (fear) the Admiral, but it's not an emotion he looks at directly because he has to live under his power and that means holding himself together. "I won't say I haven't been given a compelling reason to change, as a matter of wanting to live, but I can't say I've been given a compelling reason that they're unreasonable."

From:

lestercraft

"So you don't find the intrinsic motivation of wanting to stay alive a particularly motivating one," he posits neutrally. No judgements here. "But you currently lack extrinsic motivation as well, a reason to want to continue where you left off."

From:

mandrakeroot

"I'd very much like to be alive, but motivation without direction is just spinning wheels. I don't know if you've been told about it, but a few months ago we were separated onto three different ships that were apparently part of the same - fleet as this ship was. The one I was put on had its own problems, but the being in charge there laid out the list of charges from the beginning. That would provide something to work on."

From:

lestercraft

"Is that something you'd prefer?" he asks, and it's fully sincere. "To have a list of what the Admiral perceives to be your crimes laid out for you?"

He can certainly see how it'd be helpful, knowing exactly what it was that needed changing. But he's not fully certain that it's what his small John requires.

From:

mandrakeroot

"I would." He's used to having to live doing his best to guess what someone more powerful wants from him, but that doesn't mean he thinks it's fair to say to do different without any information on what that could mean. It would be nice to have things be different, for once. "But it doesn't appear that the Admiral does that."

From:

lestercraft

He lifts his hand and waggles it in the prototypical 'ehh' motion. "He does, actually. In a sense. My understanding is that is what your file would contain with a permanent pairing. A list of your life experiences pertinent to the reasons you've been brought here."

From:

mandrakeroot

"The files are at least something. Once they finally arrive. But even then, it sounds more like a history than an explanation of what he wants."

From:

lestercraft

"But again, it contextualises the situation." Ha ha, back on philosophy it is. "To learn the history of your actions is to understand who you are as a person."

From:

mandrakeroot

"So, in that case, it seems unreasonable for you to say that there are modern problems you might not be able to deal with, if you're being given all the context."

From:

lestercraft

"Ah, but there's no guarantee that the way your file is written would arrange context for me," he says cheerfully. "There may be concepts that exist in your world that your file assumes are universal, which is patently untrue."

From:

mandrakeroot

"That sounds like it'd either be a failure on the Admiral's part, or on yours. Or a sign that the Admiral doesn't think full context is necessary, depending on your opinion of the Admiral."

From:

lestercraft

"On the contrary. It prompts honest discussion," he counters readily. "No one person can know everything, after all. And there's a lot to be said for how a person avoids answering a question, as much as the way they choose to be honest about it."