The Population Series - Under New Management

[Douhneill]

Awww, so cute! And now I understand that Formspring question.

[Katrika]

...I think Oberon ships Gabe/Tarani.

xD

[ToreaderTornado]

I guess I "play" the twins. I don't really have any messenger to chat with though.

What do you guys use?

[Katrika]

AIM, mostly.

[Douhneill]

AIM and pesterchum. And skype. and steam.

[ToreaderTornado]

I have a skype, but I keep that to people I know personally. I have a Steam, so I could use that if need be.

It suppose I could use AIM, I'm a little reluctant too though.

Can someone redirect me to the pesterchum thread? There was something I needed to download before I can use pesterchum, but I never bothered to.

[Katrika]

I don't have pesterchum.

[Douhneill]

Here's the pesterchum thing you might need to download the JRE if you haven't done so already.

But for Katrika, you'll need AIM.

[WhichDockter]

I don't have Pesterchum either but I can probably get it if that'll make things easier.

[Douhneill]

It all depends. My chats with Rimbaum become just copy/paste with only colours to worry about when I chat with him, but it doesn't matter if we don't all use it. I still like it, so if you wanna chat with me on PC, please do.

[ToreaderTornado]

Alright. AIM it is then.

[Katrika]

You can contact me at either gossamarWeb or sproutingDreams

[ToreaderTornado]

Alright. Just a quick question, the name I enter for the sign-up process, that's not the name that'll be displayed in a chat, is it? Kind of a silly question, but it'd be a shame to screw up the sign in now.

[Katrika]

I'm not sure. I don't THINK so, but I remember something like that happening when I first started.

[ToreaderTornado]

Well, do you know how to change a screen name in case one screws up?

[Katrika]

Augh, I really should know this...

I think what you need to do is NOT put in a secondary email, but I'm not sure.

Oh.

[ToreaderTornado]

I'm going to wing it, and scrap the whole thing and try again if it doesn't work.

Wish me luck!

I'll be using one of the twins handles.

[WhichDockter]

I went ahead and downloaded Pesterchum. I'm loquaciousInquirer on there and loquaciousInquir on AIM.

[Katrika]

I'm thinking Tarani should talk to one twin and Oberon another, but we'll see how it goes.

I'd have pesterchum but somehow I'm having trouble unzipping it.

Also apparently maybe clicking on your AIM name will switch it to your screenname?

[MrTeebert]

Hooray for shittily written interaction between mother and daughter.

Problem Child

show spoiler

hide spoiler

“…smoking, breaking curfew, setting off fireworks from the roof of the English building, including one in the shape of an extended middle finger…the list goes on. Do you have anything to say for yourself this time, Miss Leijon?”

Nina shrugged from her chair, not even bothering to look at the dean.

The dean turned his head to look at the occupant of the chair next to hers. “Do you have anything to say for your daughter, Miss Leijon?”

Nepeta straightened up in her seat. “Well, we trolls are a nocturnal race, so you can’t really expect her to keep curfew, can you?”

“Students who attend St. Thomas’s are expected to follow all the rules, including curfew. If they are unable to follow these rules, then they do not belong here. And even if we were to make an exception for your daughter regarding curfew, she has still racked up a considerable amount of other infractions. What about them? Do you propose we ignore those as well?”

“Of course not, Mr. King. She needs to furace the consequences of her actions. Excuse me, face the consequences of her actions.”

“So you have no problems with her expulsion, do you?”

“Expulsion, Mr. King?”

“She has been suspended twice already this semester. St. Thomas’s policy is to hold a discussion with the parent and student when the student has qualified for a third suspension, over whether or not the student should be suspended or expelled. If suspended a third time, the next incident qualifying for suspension results in expulsion of the student with no possibility for discussion of what course of action would be best.”

“Well, Mr. King, while she has broken the rules on more than one occasion, do you really think she deserves expulsion over this?”

“The question isn’t whether I think she deserves expulsion, its what you think, and why.”

Nepeta looked over at her daughter. “Nina, do you want to keep going to school here?”

Nina shrugged again. “Sure.”

“Will you make an effort to control yourself and better your behavior if you are allowed to continue going here?”

“Sure.”

Nepeta looked back at the dean. “She says she wants to keep attending this school and that she’ll act in a better manner if allowed another chance. So I believe that no, she does not deserve expulsion, and that is why she doesn’t.”

The dean did his best to look thoughtful for a moment. “Then she will be given one last chance to improve her behavior. If she fails to do so, she will be expelled. As it is, she is currently on suspension for one week.”

“That sounds fair.”

“It’s more than fair, Miss Leijon.”

“Of course it is, Mr. King.”

“Then I believe this meeting is over. I do suggest that you have a talk with your daughter about her behavior, though.”

“Don’t worry. I plan to.”


“Nina, why have you been acting up like this?” Nepeta asked as she and her daughter were walking away from the dean’s office.

“Dunno.”

“None of your siblings make this much trouble. Why do you? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Nina sighed. “Of course I’m sure, Mom.”

“Is it the coursework? I know your grades aren’t the best, but they’re not that bad. Do you just need some help? We could get a tutor…”

“I don’t need a tutor and I’m not having trouble with the homework or anything. Geez, Mom, I’m not dumb.”

“I didn’t say you were, sweetie.”

“You pretty much did.”

“Nina, needing a tutor doesn’t make someone dumb.”

“Whatever.”

“Don’t ‘whatefur’ me, young lady!”

“Right, sorry.”

“Good. Now…” Nepeta paused for a moment to recollect her thoughts. “If there isn’t a purroblem, then why are you acting like this? None of your siblings have efur been this much trouble…”

“Have you stopped and considered that I’m not them?”

“Of course you’re not them. You’re you. And I would nefur think otherwise.”

Nina rolled her eyes at her mother’s pun. Even grown up and trying to be serious, she just used them without thinking about it. It was retarded. Why did her mom have to be so damn childish?

“So why are you being such a troublemaker?”

“Dunno.”

“Nina, honey, you can talk to me. I’m your mother. If there’s a purroblem, you can tell me about it. It’s what I’m here fur.”

“I keep telling you, there isn’t a problem!”

“There has to be, you wouldn’t act like this if there wasn’t something bothering you.”

“Nothing’s bothering me! I’m fine!”

“Nina, whatefur it is, you can talk to me about it. I’ve been a teenager too, you know. I’ve had my own share of purroblems, and I know how to deal with them.”

“You would never understand.”

“You’d be surpurrised, Nina, what I do and don’t understand.”

“No, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t. You’ve never been in a situation like this.”

“Are you having a hard time fitting in here, then?”

“No, I fit in fine.”

“We’ve talked about homeschooling you before, that’s still an optio-”

“No,” Nina interjected hurriedly. “No, I don’t need homeschooled. I’m fine here.”

“So if you’re not having problems with your classes, and you’re fitting in fine, then what’s the matter? Boys?...Girls?”

Nina made a face. “No, that’s definitely not it at all. I’m not having boy troubles. Or girl troubles. I don’t care about that stuff right now anyways.”

“Then why do you keep acting out like this? Is it something I’ve done?”

A short pause, barely noticeable. Then, “No.”

“Then I don’t get it! Why? Why?! What is it that possesses you to go sneaking around at night, and smoking, and setting off fireworks, and skipping assignments, and writing porn stories?”

“Not porn. Erotic fiction.”

“Whatever you call it, it doesn’t matter! I just need to know why you’re acting like this, Nina! You can’t just keep doing this, year after year!”

Nina was silent, just stared straight ahead as she and her mother continued walking forward.

“Look, we can talk about this again later. Right now, you need to go to your dorm room and pack your bags. You’re going home for the week. It’s almost a good thing you’re suspended right now, since you’d be coming home regardless.”

Nina shot her mother a slightly worried look. “Home? What? Why?”

“Your cousin Ferris was killed the other day in a fire. You need to go home for the funeral.”

“What? A funeral? For that creep? Why should I go to that?”

“Because he’s your cousin, and you need to.”

“He’s not my cousin! He’s just Serket’s kid! I don’t even have any real cousins! You don’t have any siblings!”

“That doesn’t matter! We’re still a family!”

“We’re not a family! The only ones related are the humans, and that’s only because of fucking ectobiology!”

Nepeta stopped walking pointed a finger at her daughter. “You watch your mouth, young woman!”

“Why?! It’s only a word, what’s so bad about it? Everyone else says it, even back home.”

“That doesn’t matter right now.”

“Fine, then. I’m still not going.”

“Of course you are.”

“No, I’m not. I didn’t like Ferris, I don’t care that he’s dead. I’m not going to a funeral for him.”

“Yes, you are, and that’s final.” Nepeta turned and started walking towards the dorms again. Nina just stood still and watched her go. Nepeta got about fifteen feet before she realized her daughter wasn’t following her. She stopped and turned around. “Come on!”

Nina reluctantly walked up to her. “Mourning him is just stupid. No one liked him. No one likes his crazy mom, either.”

“Young lady, that is enough of that,” Nepeta said angrily, a hint of a growl in the back of her throat.

“But its true! They never do anything except make life hell for everyone else!”

“I said, that was enough!”

“Oh, so you tell me to be quiet when I’m just being honest? Right after you say I can tell you anything? Wow, okay then! I guess I can tell you anything as long as its what you want to hear! Guess what, Mom! I’m just rip-roaring and ready to head back and have me some funeral fun! Can’t wait to go and see everyone gathered around the grave of someone they don’t like but are there anyways just because its something that they’re supposed to do! Sounds awesome!”

“Is this so much about not wanting to go to the funeral or not wanting to go home, Nina?” Nepeta demanded, glaring at her.

Nina, mouth open in the middle of her tirade, paused. She closed her mouth, lowered her hand. Her eyes darted around the hallway for a moment as she thought.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? Or yes?”

“Fine. Yes. Yes, I don’t want to go back home.”

“Why?”

Nina didn’t answer, just stared past her mother in stony silence.

“Don’t you like being with your family? Your siblings? Your cousins?”

Nina continued to be silent.

“You used to! When you first left for St. Thomas’s, you said you didn’t want to go, and now you don’t want to come back? What happened?”

Nina simply kept her mouth shut, doing her best to ignore her mother.

Nepeta glanced at her watch.

“Nina, the plane leaves in an hour. We’re leaving on it, whether or not you’re ready to go or not. So you can go pack now or just borrow some of your sister’s clothes for the next week.”

“Fine,” Nina hissed. She started marching towards the dorms. Nepeta followed after her.

“Don’t think we’re not going to finish our discussion. We will back home.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

“No. Stop. Save it for later. Pack now.”

“Whatever.”

The packing, taxi ride to the airport, and the airplane trip were all conducted in complete silence. Neither side a word to the other. The drive back to the hive was also quiet. Not until they were inside did they talk. And even then, it was simply Nepeta saying “Dinner’s at six,” and Nina grunting confirmation that she heard her.

[ToreaderTornado]

As it turns out, it's rather easy to change screennames. All you have to do is use the site to change your information, and then type it into the space for your name. If you want it to work like a chum or troll handle though, you have to type it all in the first name space. Either way, I'm good to chat.

Account name is chokeholdParoxysm

[Katrika]

Ah, Nina Nina Nina. Always hating on your alien family.

^Whoohoo! I don't see you online, though...maybe you should make first contact?

EDIT: TARANI IS NOT GOOD AT SEDUCTION.

[sebastian]

I'd prefer more information from Word of God before that rolls around. Either that or have the Snapback remove him or something.

That's another thing I have been pondering: the Exiles.

Since the world in Population has snapped back to the very beginning of Act 1, there was no meteor apocalypse. One theory I had was that the Exiles were retconned into the present. For example, the judge in "The Trial of Gamzee Makara" could be AR, reincarnated (deincarnated? pre? just "incarnated"?) as a (possibly African-American) judge whose initials are AR.

*continues writing*

FWIW I never saw it as the old universe snapped back, but as a new universe that look exactly like the old, maybe with some minor differences, like no sburb ruins, maybe a real Egbert/Lalonde/Strider family with cousins and other relatives rather than they being clones of themselves? Little details like those.

[Katrika]

Mind Honey

show spoiler

hide spoiler

gossamerWeb: Carter.
gossamerWeb: I/need/a/favor.
chokeholdParoxysm: Oh hey Tarani!
chokeholdParoxysm: Sure
chokeholdParoxysm: What Can I do for you?
gossamerWeb: I/need/mind/honey.
chokeholdParoxysm: That
chokeholdParoxysm: wasn't the direCtion I expeCted this to take.
chokeholdParoxysm: why?
gossamerWeb: I/need/to
gossamerWeb: I/just/do,/okay?
chokeholdParoxysm: That really isn't a very good reason at all!!
gossamerWeb: I'll/owe/you/a/big/favor.
chokeholdParoxysm: Tarani
chokeholdParoxysm: do you Know what this stuff Can do to a person?
chokeholdParoxysm: espeCially one with powers like yours?
gossamerWeb: I/am/aware.
chokeholdParoxysm: then why would you take that risK
chokeholdParoxysm: i don't mean to offend when I say this but
chokeholdParoxysm: we've had enough death and tragedy for a while
chokeholdParoxysm: Coming from me
chokeholdParoxysm: that says something
gossamerWeb: This/is/going/to/make/things/better.
chokeholdParoxysm: things never seemed to get better when my dad used it
chokeholdParoxysm: he said it usually made things worse
gossamerWeb: My/power/is/different.
gossamerWeb: Trust/me.
gossamerWeb: Please?
gossamerWeb: And/don't/tell/your/dad/what/I'm/asking.
chokeholdParoxysm: Saying that just makes it harder to do this!
chokeholdParoxysm: Tarani, I'm not arguing with you because I want to.
chokeholdParoxysm: That stuff is really bad!
chokeholdParoxysm: Truth be told,
chokeholdParoxysm: I don't even know why my dad still makes the stuff!
gossamerWeb: Just/a/sip/and/then/you/can/do/anything/you/want/with/me.
chokeholdParoxysm: Wait
chokeholdParoxysm: what
gossamerWeb: I'll/owe/you/after/all.
chokeholdParoxysm: That's an interesting way to return the favor!
chokeholdParoxysm: Now I'm more worried than ever!
chokeholdParoxysm: What would Tom say about that?
gossamerWeb: He's/part/of/the/reason/I/need/this!
gossamerWeb: To/make/things/right!
gossamerWeb: I/keep
gossamerWeb: I/keep
chokeholdParoxysm: tarani?
chokeholdParoxysm: tarani if something is wrong we Can get help
chokeholdParoxysm: whatever you're planning Can't be worth it
gossamerWeb: No/it's/fine/fine/fine/I/just/keep/seeing
gossamerWeb: It's/fine
gossamerWeb: I'm/okay/okay
chokeholdParoxysm: Call me Crazy
chokeholdParoxysm: but that didn't exaCtly sCream 'oKay' to me
gossamerWeb: I'm/just/worked/okay/over/Ferris/dying/okay?
gossamerWeb: Worked/up.
gossamerWeb: Augh
gossamerWeb: Okay
chokeholdParoxysm: i Know, Tarani
chokeholdParoxysm: i Can't imagine how you must feel
chokeholdParoxysm: but
chokeholdParoxysm: whatever do Ferris and mind honey have to do with each other?
chokeholdParoxysm: I mean
chokeholdParoxysm: If you want to stop worrying, your going for the worst thing to do that!
chokeholdParoxysm: Mind Honey is praCtiCally the opposite of sopor slime
gossamerWeb: I/need/it/to/wash/it/away
gossamerWeb: I/just
gossamerWeb: Just/realized/something/okay
gossamerWeb: Guilt/guilt/guilt/guilt
chokeholdParoxysm: Tarani, where are you?
chokeholdParoxysm: Me and ParKer Can be right over, and we Can get you help for whatever this is.
gossamerWeb: Mind/honey
gossamerWeb: That's/all/the/help/I/need
chokeholdParoxysm: Where are you, Tarani.
gossamerWeb: I/need/the/mind/honey
gossamerWeb: He/won't/go/away
chokeholdParoxysm: Who?
gossamerWeb: He's/dead/he's/dead/but/he/won't/go/away
gossamerWeb: He's/my/guilt
gossamerWeb: Hahaha
chokeholdParoxysm: tarani
chokeholdParoxysm: tarani this is so sCrewed up
chokeholdParoxysm: Ferris is dead
chokeholdParoxysm: How is he bothering you?
chokeholdParoxysm: Dammit Tarani, WHERE ARE YOU?
gossamerWeb: He's/not/there/it's/just/a/projection/of/my/guilt/over/not/reconciling/and/I/need/the/mind/honey/okay
chokeholdParoxysm: where
chokeholdParoxysm: are
chokeholdParoxysm: you
chokeholdParoxysm: i don't really think i'm getting aCross to you, am I?
chokeholdParoxysm: we Can help
chokeholdParoxysm: no mind honey neCCessary
chokeholdParoxysm: just let us
gossamerWeb: I'll/tell/you/where/I/am/once/I've/used/the/mind/honey
gossamerWeb: Maybe/I'll/just/ask/the/bees
chokeholdParoxysm: tarani
chokeholdParoxysm: no
gossamerWeb: Yes
chokeholdParoxysm: thinK about it tarani
chokeholdParoxysm: we Can help
chokeholdParoxysm: and if we Can't
chokeholdParoxysm: we Can stop you
gossamerWeb: I
gossamerWeb: I/guess/maybe/you/can/he
gossamerWeb: No/no/no/no/no/no
gossamerWeb: Augh
chokeholdParoxysm: that's it
chokeholdParoxysm: i'm getting parKer
chokeholdParoxysm: i'm getting my dad
chokeholdParoxysm: and we are finding you
chokeholdParoxysm: now
gossamerWeb: No/no/please
gossamerWeb: I/just/need/the/mind/honey
gossamerWeb: Why/won't/you/help/me?
chokeholdParoxysm: We will.
chokeholdParoxysm: just give us a few minutes
chokeholdParoxysm: and i promise you
chokeholdParoxysm: we will be well on our way to helping you
gossamerWeb: He/he/just/wants/the/mind/honey
gossamerWeb: And/then/all/my/lies/will/go/away
gossamerWeb: Please
chokeholdParoxysm: i've made up my mind
chokeholdParoxysm: but
chokeholdParoxysm: thinK of it this way, if it maKes you feel better
chokeholdParoxysm: the clloser you are to us, the closer you are to the honey
chokeholdParoxysm: even if you won't get past us
gossamerWeb: ...you'll/bring/it?
chokeholdParoxysm: Sure
chokeholdParoxysm: Why not
gossamerWeb: I'll/meet/you/then
chokeholdParoxysm: where, tarani
gossamerWeb: I
gossamerWeb: My/room?
chokeholdParoxysm: Alright.
chokeholdParoxysm: Be there as soon as I Can
gossamerWeb: I/owe/you/one

[Douhneill]

and suddenly things get very involved. Tom's gonna be PISSED at his brother-in-law.