mind how you go

Tea - Jeffrey Ripple , 1922.

American , b. 1962 -

Like his language consists of noises that are simultaneously very simple compared to the overlapping eridian notes, and weird clicking/hard sounds that no one could even begin to try to imitate. To begin with, that's a weird combination.

And there's a popular headcanon going around that Grace can pronounce certain simple words in eridian without his piano thingy, and he would sound like a pebble learning to speak. Let's make it creepy and assume eridians also have a fear of the uncanny valley.

Grace getting better with time at imitating simple words, therefore accidentally making himself sound more and more like a pebble, sounding right enough, but not quite. That shit would be creepy as fuck.

Imagine an alien that can imitate the way the children of your species sound like. At first you'd freak out! Yeah he saved your planet but. It's like a fucking mimic. Then you'd see him trip over nothing and fall face first and you'd calm down.

Celegorm, detail

First thing the sales guy did after I laid down the rules was turn to Sean and go, "What's your number?" And Sean said. "Oh, no, you negotiate with Gayle."

So, strike one for the sales guy. Could not divide and conquer us by implying THE MAN would not surprised at what I laid down.

Sales guy then had to confer with his manager and left us at his desk for several minutes. I have a vague recollection (this was 16 years ago) of Sean and I amusing ourselves doing bits about the other people there to look at cars. I am sure we did not give off the stressed or nervous energy they were hoping for.

Guy comes back. His first offer is fifty dollars a month more than I told him we could pay. I looked at him and said "I gave you our upper limit."

"Well, but what's another 50 bucks a month?"

"Something I can't afford."

He didn't know what to do with my open and unashamed admittal that I had a budget because my money was finite.

He went back to talk to the manager again.

It took two more rounds of "I told you what I can afford" before he finally came back 20 bucks under what I'd stated as my max.