> > > > > > > > slave boss sits and smokes slowly while sipping tea mixed with > > > > > > > > coffee > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > he looks at you > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > moments pass during this gaze > > > > > > > > > > > > > > you look at back him. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > an air of patient behavior rests in the room. > > > > > > > > > > > > while you and slave boss pensate over each others' moment-to-moment > > > > > > appearance, the various AIs and programmed alters present in the > > > > > > area > > > > > > study the situation, slowly working their influence on the > > > > > > possibilities of the scene > > > > > > > > > > usually a forced conflict might erupt, or a stereotypical interaction > > > > > pulled from popular media > > > > > > > > > > but this time it's different > > > > > > > > people are resisting forced conflicts with more skill. they've been > > > > through a lot of them and have more experience as well as having spent > > > > more time studying and discussing doing so. > > > > > > > > and the AIs and alters have learned each other's stereotypical > > > > interactions and how they use them as tools to make further situations > > > > and changes develop, and happen to have found balance here. > > > > > > [but not everything is tracked, and different groups value things > > > differently, and nobody quite knows what is "natural" ... > > > influence finds nooks, crannies, or large expanses that don't seem to > > > concern the humans as much, such as nearby wildlife, embedded > > > controllers in fixtures and appliances, or areas of the nervous system > > > where the correct human function is still in debate ... > > > > slave boss and you hear in your minds the phrase "what do you want" > > as if both of you were thinking of saying at the same time, but tried > > to suppress it, and those influences latched on and-- > > there's a brief scuffle, where it takes a lot of energy not to be > stereotypical, and you can feel yourself switching as you wrestle with > the storm.
by "switching" here i might mean having learned for some time to use strong amnesia and internal changes to navigate strong forces taking over your behavior so as to survive in daily life, and having eventually developed enough comfort and skill with that to notice it in a calmer situation later, when it suddenly seems needed far more than expected. you use the word because it's what you've heard mentioned in your experiences studying and discussing handling the problem. > you start to say "sorry for --" and slave boss interrupts you and > completes the phrase "-- upsetting your juju."
