poll_the_stars | Do not mock the humble survey

Avet... has found herself annoyed. She has only one form. This isn't the problem, but this is what led to her noticing the problem. There is no way to preview what a dragon will look like. There are species books of birds and bugs and animals - but some of them are sub-par on noting where the dragon's colors go, and miscellaneous gods that she doesn't worship help you if you want to see what your color will look like on the form.

She is going to solve this problem. By taking some surveys. As in, grab photo paper, gather up a list of lines to go visit, and then knock on some doors and ask some questions and create a book series that organizes all possible forms, all known forms, what known lines look like in the forms - that sort of thing.

She starts with blue groups, because blue groups have the most available forms - she's gotten all of the big lines (well, all of the big lines that gave her the time of day) and is on the smaller ones. The ones with only one or two people. Or, in some cases, none.

This particular one's easier than some others; she doesn't need to fly to another country. It's Esmaar. She flies to the address of one 'Avar,' no line name. Apparently he had one and had some kind of explosive spat about it and gave it up. Not that it's her business. He's just another person for her survey.

She knocks on his door.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

thisvorlunatic

Scooooooots.

Draconic is kind of an asshole sometimes.

From:

poll_the_stars

So many scoots! At this rate she is going to have to have to make a trip to his house so they can nerd together about the subject without the time delay.

It was sort of a jarring realization to figure that out, yes. I think you got to witness it. Pity you didn't have popcorn.

From:

thisvorlunatic

You looked so offended. It was very endearing.

From:

poll_the_stars

(They have not, and will not at any foreseeable point in the future, forget scoots. Not to worry, fair reader. They're still talking about them.)

Well, thank you. I was very offended, Draconic should not be missing words.

From:

thisvorlunatic

It shouldn't be, but it is. Because it hates shrens.

From:

poll_the_stars

I noticed that, too. Do let me know if I lapse into... damn it.

Draconic. Draconic why would you do this, I need another word and it doesn't have it. Lapse into screwing up in relation to shrens and acting like a terrible person. There. Close enough. Ugh.

From:

thisvorlunatic

The term my family uses is "lizard", as in "God, my grandfather is such a lizard".

For more fun with Draconic's inadequacies, try coming up with a non-insulting way to refer to shrens.

From:

poll_the_stars

Thank you. That is reasonably close to what I needed.

... Yep, I tried that thing. Failed horribly. I am kind of sad now.

From:

thisvorlunatic

I mostly just do my best to ignore it. Draconic can have its opinions on shrens; I will be over here disagreeing with those opinions, because they are shitty awful lizard opinions.

From:

poll_the_stars

See, it's that sort of situation that makes me want to conspire to invent a new magic language to replace Draconic.

From:

thisvorlunatic

Next project? I like it. Count me in.

From:

poll_the_stars

Pff. Sure. As long as we don't change all of Draconic - I can think of quite a few dragons who would not like the change at all. Another option, instead of ripping the language away from them.

From:

thisvorlunatic

The lizards can keep their lizardspeak if they feel like it.

From:

poll_the_stars

You know of all of the words for Draconic, I don't think I've heard lizardspeak used before. I kind of like it.

From:

thisvorlunatic

It seemed appropriate.

From:

poll_the_stars

Ha. It is, I think.

Do you want to meet up for language conspiracies?

From:

thisvorlunatic

Sure! Where? My house has the advantage of allowing us to easily consult my mother, who is a nominally retired research wizard, emphasis on nominally.

From:

poll_the_stars

Your house sounds good, yeah. Helps that I can already teleport to it. Are you open this Chenen?

From:

thisvorlunatic

Yep! Around lunchtime, say?

From:

poll_the_stars

Sure! See you then.

Around lunchtime on Chenen, there is another knock on Mial's door. Surprise, it's the survey dragon.

Edited Date: 2015-05-30 05:35 pm (UTC)

From:

thisvorlunatic

Surprise!

(Not surprise. No surprise at all. Entirely unsurprise.)

"Hi, Avet!"

From:

poll_the_stars

(Yep.)

"Hi, Mial," she says, smiling at him.

From:

thisvorlunatic

"C'mon in."

From:

poll_the_stars

She does!

"So, magic language? I think the best place to start is likely figuring out how Draconic works. I mean, we kind of explain it away as 'dragon magic' but no one actually knows a ton about dragon magic either. We should probably fix that."