Voices from Port Outreach

We’re sorry about the sporadic nature of m2i communications recently. We’ve had to bring the connection down on several occasions for security reasons.

We’re back (for now), and pleased to bring you Part 4 of Reesa Brown’s Rescue Ride, entitled “There are no miscalculations, only dead Gurge Riders.” This certainly is an exciting installment. I’m going to be eagerly awaiting the final installment.

Tajna

Part 2 of Rescue Ride by Reesa Brown is now available. I can hardly wait to see the next part, which should be available later this week!

Tajna

Hello, nagara and nagarei! This is Liand of Gurge Rider Daily, reporting from Under the Spindle where we’re about to begin our first in a series of discussions with the finest Gurge Riders of tonight and nights past. I’m going to be speaking to Fali Rider, one of the newest stars in Gurge Riding. Along to provide his colorful and unique input is none other than Mikasa Rider.

Under the Spindle is located in Harborview, and operated by the fine fiber artist, Freya Paxtwist, Stillwheel of Camp Peaceful Dreams. She’s provided us with a lot of delicious refreshments, so come on by if you’re in town.

(during the voiceover, an establishing shot shows Liand and Fali Rider sharing a joint in front of the crowd at Under the Spindle)

Welcome Fali, Mikasa. How are you tonight?

Fali Rider: Great, Liand, I haven’t felt this fabulous since Fyri was on the teat.

Liand, Gurge Rider Daily: Fali, we’ve been hearing a lot about your work with the dolphinpod. Do you think your work with Lili and the other dolphins, as well as of course the researchers will help your riding?

Fali: Working with the dolphins has certainly given me an understanding of movement in water that I wasn’t learning elsewhere.

Mad Gastronomer, Tellurian: Fali, are the dolphins you’re working with a species native to Mother, or are they Tellurian transplants?

Enkin Binderstape, Stillwheel of Bookwahj Alliance: They’ve been here for cycles now, since at least the ninth. Most of the records and research do suggest they originally came from Tellus.

Liand: What do the dolphins think of Gurge Riding?

Fali: They think we’re playing in the Gurge, though not as well as they do.

TexAnne, Tellurian: They have a big advantage, growing up in a 3D environment!

Fali: TexAnne, I expect you are correct in their advantage.

Liand: Speaking of growing up in different environments, have you been able to relate their native understanding of the water to your native understanding of rock?

Fali: It is very difficult. Rock does not move as water does, nor sing the same songs.

Liand: Have the recent storms interfered with your training much?

Fali: the storms haven’t, but I’ve only done about a third of the practice runs I’d intended for this Ride. dolphin time is riding time but not the same.

Liand: If you’ve missed so much practice, are you still planning as … flamboyant a ride as your last one? You were quite the talk of Port Outreach last time, but perhaps you’ll be taking it easy.

(Fali laughs at Liand, then is seen to walk off.)

Liand: Mikasa, how has Fali’s presence in the ‘riders affected your riding?

Mikasa Rider: Why, I’m filled with admiration for our newest full Rider. I’m very interested to see her stunt this run as she integrates her climbing skills with riding. if she succeeds, well, it might just inspire me.

Liand: Welcome back, Fali. Tell us about the route you have planned for your ride and this climbing stunt you have planned.

Fali: Oh, well, assuming I survive it given my lack of sufficient practice…

Liand: Of course.

Fali: I had a good clean run on the Cliff Current last Ride, and I have a rope in place on a carefully calculated section of cliff that hangs down within jumping distance of where I’ll be passing while on the Cliff Current. I have my board set up to lock in trajectory, and I’ll be vaulting up to catch the rope, swinging wide, then landing back on my board. Unless I miss.

Liand: Will you be riding spinward or clearward at this point?

Fali: Spinward, that’s going to start me off as I’m going toward the Gurge

Liand: That’s a very impressive stunt to perform while in motion. What strength is the Cliff Current in that area?

Mikasa: It’s a marked current, varies for most of its length between hard and crashing. Where Fali is doing her cliff and rope trick is a soft section of the current, but don’t mistake that for easier; leaving the board makes it just as hard as any other part.

Liand: Thank you, Mikasa.

Fali: Really, thanks for all this.

Liand: Thank you, Fali. Any final words for your fans?

Fali: My words for my fans are not final but ongoing. Keep climbing!

Liand: Clever. Thank you!

(the video cuts to Liand back in the Gurge Rider Daily Studio)

There you have it - fresh from our conversation at Under the Spindle. Will dolphin time make up for practice time, or will Fali fumble in her daring maneuvers? Time will tell.

In our next part, we’ll be visiting with Pitri Pretty-face, Rider. Stay tuned!

Modpod’s Note: You can read a complete transcript of the evening’s discussion, submitted by Enkin Binderstape, here.

It’s that time again. Your perfect house might be floating in the harbor right now. Or not. In any case, we have 9 ships that are cleaned and ready to go. View them on the Port Outreach Harbor site, or just come down and look. The one that caught my eye this time is the Hoochrider VII, which like its namesakes is a sweet-lined tri-masted little Gurgespinner from the Nudenaire Shipwrights, and like the others is loaded with handcrafted woodwork, and has a lot more room than it appears to have from the outside. Probably couldn’t comfortably hold more than three, but so very elegant! In any case, there are nine, and I need them out of my harbor, so come and take them.

Jik Harbormaster

Our friends over at Continuous Labs gave us an exciting present in honor of the Tellurian New Year: stories from three of their fictioneers. Visit Continuous Coast for new works by Reesa Brown, Steven Brust, and Kit O’Connell.

So everyone has noticed the stencil art that’s been appearing on buildings in Port Outreach. It’s interesting and some of it is quite beautiful, to my eyes. But it’s also upsetting to many people, and the more of it that appears, the more upsetting it becomes. People shouldn’t have to feel afraid of art, but this method of creation is making people feel as if the things that matter to them are going to be disrespected or harmed. Painting on someone’s home without asking first is simply not neighborly.

I don’t know who the artist is, but this is addressed to na: Whoever you are, please only place artworks on buildings whose occupants have invited you to do so. Many nagara admire your works and would be delighted to have one gracing the hull of their homes.

For those of you reading who don’t live in Port Outreach, or who haven’t looked around town lately, here are some of the pictures I’ve collected of these works.

I simply love this first one, maybe because of the Tellurian influence…I remember boots like these fondly. The householder loves it too, so it’s staying up. When Atrine gets back to town she’s going to be envious. In fact if the artist was known, I’m sure Atrine would be one of the first to commission a work.

The nautical beauty below fits the house that’s hosting her, but the householder spent a lot of time creating her tiled deck, and isn’t pleased to have anyone making changes to it. It’s been cleaned off.

This next one is offensive. There’s no reason to say something so rude. Yes, most nagara speak only Zayzan and won’t be familiar with this alphabet, but some of us are fluent in the languages of the Archipelagos, including me. So I have to admit this one made me pretty angry. And this may be the only white brick building in all of Port Outreach–it should be left alone.

Last of all, I just had to get a quick image of the picture on Jik’s house, once we were halfway into the job of scrubbing it off and Jik had calmed down somewhat. The image and letters are mostly scrubbed away, but this gives you some of the feel of it. Stasia will have words for me, I know, because I promised her I would be sensitive to Jik’s feelings. But it’s such an interesting image! Sorry, Jik. I’ll treat you to a very fine meal and my best coffee to make it up to you.

What does everyone else think? Is this art, or defacement? Or both? And do you think the artist is doing it simply for attention, or is there perhaps a cultural lesson to be learned from na?

Much as I hate this job (that’s no secret), there are some compensations, and at the top of the list isThe Nonesuch, by far the best place I’ve ever lived. Not only is it spacious, elegant, solid, and a joy to walk through, but if you’ve taken the time to look at her from the outside, she has the most beautiful lines you’ve ever seen. Her wood is darker than most, and highly polished, with that lovely sweep up to the after deck, with a row of portholes on the crewdeck that make her seem alive, and, on the port side before her mainmast, there is a depiction of a face growing out of a carrot and the stenciled words, “Art is where I put it.”

What, you say? That last bit, the face in the carrot and the words don’t seem to fit with the rest? That’s right, they don’t. It happened sometime last night while I was attending a name-day party for a charming young lady aged eight. It is not funny, and it is not attractive, and if that’s art give me something that isn’t. Make all the statements you want, but keep your fish-stained hands off The Nonesuch!

This was done by someone who would push an old man down for a good seat at a show. Someone who would light a bonfire so the smoke blew into a neighbor’s window. Someone who would defecate in public. Someone who would put tomatoes in the refrigerator.

I don’t know who did it, or why. It will be cleaned up, and I will find out who did it, and that person will receive a detailed explanation of just exactly how I feel about this. If whoever did it is reading this, leave town. Now. Better yet, leave the world. That might keep you safe. For anyone thinking about doing it again, consider what happens to the first livec-lover as a gentle warning, and reconsider.

Jik Harbormaster

Some months ago, we were having a problem with nagara who chose to do their civic elsewhere and failing to credit the Point with those hours. In my opinion at the time (and I still hold with it), this is less of a problem then some believe; nevertheless, it did take up a lot of discussion time in assembly meetings. A Tellurian suggested a public announcement asking nagara to please take some time to fill out the transfer forms. This notice was made in the Point forums, and in the forums for the Elms, and in a few other places where it would be likely to catch the eye of the “offenders.”

I won’t say the response was overwhelming, but it was enough of a response that my colleagues in the assembly have stopped grumbling, which (personally) is all I can ask.

There has also been an interesting side-effect: a lot of nagara have been sending me email asking me to explain the details of civic labor-time transfer (which I couldn’t do, because I don’t know them), and expressing an interest in doing some gift-work in the Point–so now a lot of our time in the assembly meetings is devoted to trying to figure out the best way to use these offers.

As someone with a deep love of the Point, both its past and its present, I have to say I’m delighted to be having these conversations. I have no idea what we’ll come up with, but I just wanted to inform those of you with an interest what the results of the last discussion were.

Just wanted to make a place for anyone who wants to send Cole good wishes. Or bad wishes, if you’d rather.

Cole, you silly dr0wner, don’t DO that any more!

-Splash

I love word discussions!  I looked up the word for our world in thirty of the languages spoken here, hoping some form of one would give us something good; I don’t like any of them.  The Setui term isn’t bad, but, alas, I have an uncooperative hatred of Setui culture, so I’d rather not use it.

It was suggested by one of our nagarei that we use “nagara.”  Here’s the thing, nagara is usually used to mean, more or less, citizen of the community in which na resides–which itself is subject to many interpretations.

This makes me think inventing a new form of the word (nagaref?  nagarin?) might work.  On reflection, though, I can see a good argument for just using nagara.  It could, under certain circumstances, lead to confusion.  If two of us from Port Outreach were in conversation, we might say,  “That one is a Spelae, the one in the middle is from Sandytown, and the third is a nagara.”  To have our Tellurian friends call us all nagara could create ambiguous situations.

But then, all right, so there is some confusion.  Words often have many meanings; that’s one of the delightful things about them.

Frankly, I can’t decide what to recommend; what do you, nagara and nagarei, think?

– Jarre