delta v over delta t when there is no t

[ertia]

In a bar, there is a girl.

She looks like she has saved up all of her decadent and slothful impulses for a solid decade and is indulging them all at once. She is sprawled on a couch with a book she's only half-reading, and an ice cream sundae, and smiiiiiiling.

Comments

[ertia]

She stops. "All right, so I don't have to do the thing when it's my turn, good to know."

[first_and_final]

"Yes, congratulations, I will be over here enjoying my perfectly comprehensible agony."

[ertia]

Kithabel ruffles his hair and goes to get books while Addy resumes asking magic questions.

[first_and_final]

Milan has lots and lots of things to say about his world's magic. He never studied thaumatology directly, but he read a few books on it, and he lived in that world for seventeen years and heard of a lot of things. So many things.

[taste_tester]

Addy's all ears!

Maybe she should visit!

[first_and_final]

"...I mean, be my guest, but you might die and also you'll have to get somebody else to open the door for you because if I do it I might die."

[taste_tester]

"Ah, I see. I'll just loiter around here and find somewhere else to go check out, I'm sure more interesting people will come through."

[first_and_final]

"Have fun."

[taste_tester]

"I will, thanks!"

[first_and_final]

"So where was I..."

He was describing yet another of the large number of sorts of people who exist in his world! Living in a world with all and only humans is still a little weird.

[taste_tester]

Addy reciprocates with tidbits about her world, which has more kinds of people than Kithabel's but still many fewer than Milan's.

[first_and_final]

Milan enjoys describing his world to the magic nerd. It is fun.

Oh, hey, he's not sleeping, that's cool. And his lowest setting is definitely getting higher. "This feels really weird," he comments.

[taste_tester]

"That's by far the most positive review I've heard of the experience."

[first_and_final]

"I mean, it also feels really unpleasant, don't get me wrong, it's just, fairy blessing," he says. "And I've been running high consistently enough for long enough that I am used to this sort of thing. I might start complaining more vigorously once I'm farther past my previous ceiling."

[taste_tester]

"Well, complaints are more interesting than screaming about how Hell is real."

[first_and_final]

Snort. "Is it not, in your world?"

[taste_tester]

"I wouldn't know, I'm still alive."

[first_and_final]

"The existence of the infernal plane is pretty uncontroversial in my world but that's because it's been known to emit demons..."

And they're off again.

[taste_tester]

Addy's having a wonderful time.

[first_and_final]

So is Milan!

[taste_tester]

That's weird, but no skin off her nose!

[first_and_final]

It certainly makes it a lot easier to engage him in detailed discussion of the various properties of his world!

[ertia]

Meanwhile, Kithabel catches up on her reading and peeks in on the conversation now and then.

[first_and_final]

"Okay, 'incomprehensible agony' was a fair description," Milan concedes, two days in. "It's not your fault I'm cheating."

[taste_tester]

"I wouldn't want you to think I was handing out false advertisements for my species."