Mann Ramblings Priest & Pariahs

[Headstall]

Yay

[Mann Ramblings]

Wouldn't it suck if you guys stayed up and I didn't post?

 

Nah... I'm too excited to do that LOL

 

https://www.gayauthors.org/story/mann-ramblings/priestandpariahs/5

[Irritable1]

My first thought was Thank god I'm on PST.

 

My second was MR WIGGLES NOOOOOO!!!

 

My third was, Well, that was worth waiting for.

 

I'm not so much in love with Costa. The addiction, the manipulation---I know he's handsome and all, but he's kind of creepy.

[Headstall]

Damn..out of likes again...but I agree with you Irri....right now Costa is giving off a cold and as you said, manipulating vibe. The only thing that balances that for me is what he has been going through to survive a virtual holocaust. That reins in my concerns about him a little bit. I think he is a desperately lonely character as well...and I am curious about his most precious cargo...my gut says Pol but that is not possible..is it? Arbor seeing Costa in action and realizing he is a para human is an interesting turn. Could he turn bitter enough over Priest to use that? I would hope not because I really like his character. Mann has turned up the heat now and it is getting deliciously warm in here...cheers...Gary

[Irritable1]

 

 

my gut says Pol but that is not possible..is it?

 

 

Could his consciousness have gotten sucked into the, um, information stream somehow and been deposited into Costa's... something?  I agree that it makes sense that Priest be very desperate to survive and that one should make allowances... but you know, Gary, when he's on the Calm, he seems almost to be toying with Priest for fun.

 

I loved that Arbor spends the whole chapter chewing over the fact that he's a "freak" and at the end he's passing that judgement on someone else... lots of tasty irony there.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Irritable1

[Headstall]

Could his consciousness have gotten sucked into the, um, information stream somehow and been deposited into Costa's... something?  I agree that it makes sense that Priest be very desperate to survive and that one should make allowances... but you know, Gary, when he's on the Calm, he seems almost to be toying with Priest for fun.

 

I loved that Arbor spends the whole chapter chewing over the fact that he's a "freak" and at the end he's passing that judgement on someone else... lots of tasty irony there.

You are thinking kind of what I was thinking about...Maybe Costa is carrying him around in his head some how or has him stored somewhere and keeping his consciousness locked in his own which would explain the horrible, frequent headaches and the need for more calm. He carries a supply to just last the trip which indicates that he made not need it after he arrives(unless it is a common drug he can replenish anywhere). And yeah, the toying with Priest I don't like...but it appears he need him for his plans so again maybe it is a desperation thing. And again you are right ...the irony of Arbor calling Costa a freak was very tasty lol. Cheers...Gary

[Carlos Hazday]

Why am I always the oddball? I LIKE Costa. As far as I'm concerned he can get away with almost anything. Anyone who has been enslaved and forced to live the way the Paras were can do anything they want short of hurting an innocent person.

 

Irri, I was trying not to venture guesses but here's something that we can toss around. Your comment and the one made by Headstall inspired this thought.

 

Costa was shot and his body was incinerated. His consciousness could have survived in the Web.

Poll should have survived the holocaust physically because of his location but his consciousness came apart and dissipated into the web.

A mind without body and a body without a mind, and twins to boot.  

Sort of a transplant and Calm is what prevents rejection?

A little too convenient for how our sneaky author thinks but maybe......

 

p

Priest is one lucky fucker, he gets Arbor and now Costa!

Edited September 28, 2014 by Carlos H

[Irritable1]

 

 

 Anyone who has been enslaved and forced to live the way the Paras were can do anything they want short of hurting an innocent person.

 

I won't say you're wrong, and I'm not claiming I could call Priest "innocent" with a straight face, but... I think Costa's starting to push the limits there. And then you've got the fact that the Calm makes him a different person so he's not really in his right mind when he's taken a dose. That could get ugly even if he doesn't mean any harm.

 

 

A mind without body and a body without a mind, and twins to boot.  

Sort of a transplant and Calm is what prevents rejection?

 

Oooo.    My issue with it is that I don't see how the ability works at all. How DO you connect your brain with a computer network? Did they need to be touching it physically? Didn't seem to be the case with Costa anymore. If they NEVER needed to then it would make a lot more sense.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Irritable1

[Timothy M.]

I'm not sure I'm going to forgive Priest for the prank with Mr. Wriggles, and I don't think Arbor should feel bad about his reaction, no matter how Mac tried to explain it. Arbor's point about Mac not being subjected to a similar prank was spot on - and the stupid excuse about Mac being the Captain's boy supported that. I noted that once Arbor had stormed off, Mac let Priest know just what a miserable jerk he is.

 

In any case, if Priest had any kind of brain, heart and feelings for his fellow human beings, he would have understood that kidnapping Mr. Wriggles was so far out of line, that it's going to be a long hard road back into getting any kind of understanding and respect - at least from me. He could have picked anything else and it would have been more or less OK, but he just had to hit Arbor where it hurt most, the heartless arrogant bastard.         

[Daddydavek]

I hear what Tim says above but I also note that Priest has his own set of insecurities and a history of fumbling and failing despite not being an entirely bad person.  I guess, I identify with Priest more than Arbour.  

 

Costa is the one I'm a little bit scared about.  It seems he is barely able to keep it under control and the whole ship may be at risk if he loses it completely.....  And his med's may run out sooner rather than later. 

[Irritable1]

I'm not sure I'm going to forgive Priest for the prank with Mr. Wriggles, and I don't think Arbor should feel bad about his reaction, no matter how Mac tried to explain it. Arbor's point about Mac not being subjected to a similar prank was spot on - and the stupid excuse about Mac being the Captain's boy supported that. I noted that once Arbor had stormed off, Mac let Priest know just what a miserable jerk he is.

 

In any case, if Priest had any kind of brain, heart and feelings for his fellow human beings, he would have understood that kidnapping Mr. Wriggles was so far out of line, that it's going to be a long hard road back into getting any kind of understanding and respect - at least from me. He could have picked anything else and it would have been more or less OK, but he just had to hit Arbor where it hurt most, the heartless arrogant bastard.

Well, I say they're in loooove so you'll need to come to terms.... Edited September 28, 2014 by Irritable1

[Carlos Hazday]

Oooo.    My issue with it is that I don't see how the ability works at all. How DO you connect your brain with a computer network? Did they need to be touching it physically? Didn't seem to be the case with Costa anymore. If they NEVER needed to then it would make a lot more sense.

 

 

Irri, wasn't the mutation Costa and Poll shared the ability to connect with an manipulate tech directly. Remember how Costa booked passage on the Good Ship Santa Claus while in jail and nowhere near a terminal? 

[Irritable1]

 

 

wasn't the mutation Costa and Poll shared the ability to connect with an manipulate tech directly.

 

This makes sense, Carlos!  Poll could disable his master's gun without touching it, but I had a vague idea that he was... I don't know, using Bluetooth or something    

 

Edit:

 

 

 if Priest had any kind of brain, heart and feelings for his fellow human beings, he would have understood that kidnapping Mr. Wriggles was so far out of line, that it's going to be a long hard road back into getting any kind of understanding and respect - at least from me. He could have picked anything else and it would have been more or less OK

 

 

Oh, I meant to post earlier that I asked my husband how he felt about the ethics of stealing sock monkeys from one's lover, and once we'd disentangled the details, he sided with you, Tim. He called it "being actively mean." I'm not sure I agree... I feel like, suppose Arbor learns a better way of dealing with people via Priest.... isn't that better than a sock monkey?

Edited September 29, 2014 by Irritable1

[Carlos Hazday]

Oh, I meant to post earlier that I asked my husband how he felt about the ethics of stealing sock monkeys from one's lover, and once we'd disentangled the details, he sided with you, Tim. He called it "being actively mean." I'm not sure I agree... I feel like, suppose Arbor learns a better way of dealing with people via Priest.... isn't that better than a sock monkey?

 

Could be that I grew up with two brothers and no sisters, or maybe leftover from my frat days while in college. But stealing Mr. Wiggles would appear to be a harmless prank that has been played on new crew members for a while according to Mac.

 

Arbor is just such a social invalid that he can't recognize a simple joke; I agree with you Irri, hopefully this will help him grow up and adjust. And I would have found it illogical for Priest to realize the depth of the attachment the little man had to his stuffed animal. It's already been established that he's the ultimate 'Good time Charlie". I've yet to see him do anything with an evil intention. His first attempt at the cards was just to get someone in the sack, the second one was to make money but from strangers, not crew-mates. In each instance his plan backfired yet he came out just as playful and carefree as before. I don't see him mopping around because he lost his chance at Mac or because he missed his first shot at bedding Costa.

 

I think the author has created a much more multi dimensional character than some people give him credit for. I frickin' love Priest!

[Irritable1]

 

 

I frickin' love Priest!

 

It bothers me that he's got so little notion of right and wrong. And he's a bit dumb. But yeah.

[Timothy M.]

Well, Mac got it without even knowing about Mr Wriggles beforehand:

 

Balling up his fist, Mac laid one solid punch to Priest's shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For being a stupid asshole. Arbor's had people making fun of him his whole life. How did you expect him to react?” Mac couldn't help but sigh in defeat.

 

I rest my case.

[Irritable1]

I rest my case.

 

 

 

 

He saw how Priest reacted before he left the Mess Hall. The pilot was genuinely sorry and for some strange reason, Arbor felt horrible for making him feel that way. The other night with Priest had been so much fun, but becoming attached to the first man you fuck after a period of nothing was something he'd like to avoid.

Arbor sat in his quarters, staring at the space where Mr. Wiggles should have rested. He knew Mac was right and it was just an adolescent stunt, performed by adults who should know better, and he should just roll with it. Why couldn't he?

 

 

And I rest my case

 

It's going to be a long week.

[Timothy M.]

Did you notice that I said "I don't think Arbor should feel bad about his reaction" in my first post about this ?

 

And the answer to the question at the end of: "Mac was right and it was just an adolescent stunt, performed by adults who should know better, and he should just roll with it. Why couldn't he?"

 

is that Arbor has been humiliated all his life and he's very fragile after his experience with the 'boyfriend' and with prison (which I grant you Priest doesn't know about). But the reason why Arbor couldn't shrug it off, is that Mr Wriggles remains his only comfort in the face of an existence full of pain - or with Mann's words:

 

His mother had made Mr. Wiggles after the first time he'd ever been called a freak and actually believed it.

...

Mr. Wiggles was a sign of her unending love and acceptance and made life easier when being different was hard. And life for Arbor had never been easy. Normally, when the days were difficult, he would hold onto Mr. Wiggles, breathe in the spicy scent, and remember his mother's support.

With him gone, he only had one other option.

 

Priest is still an asshole. And it wasn't a harmless prank. I bet no one else got such a prank played on them so soon after joining the Santa Claus. And Priest admitted he did it for revenge.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Timothy M.

[Carlos Hazday]

It's all Mann's fault!

 

Never said Priest was the quickest thinking person around, he's just a loveable rascal in my view.

 

Short Stuff on the other hand needs to get a grip, that chip on his shoulder is bigger than he is. He keeps it up he'll have nobody to blame but himself if he ends up miserable and alone on board the Lollipop! He definitely should feel bad for being a drama queen and over-reacting.

 

Hmmmm, maybe a dwarf tossing night at the bar is what we all need!

 

Psssssst, Mr Ramblings, sir. You paying attention?

Edited September 29, 2014 by Carlos H

[Irritable1]

 

 

 dwarf tossing

 

   HEY NO. Those are really bad. Peter Dinklage used one of his award acceptance times to talk about Martin Henderson, a little person who was injured after a  "tossing" attempt on him.

 

 

Did you notice that I said "I don't think Arbor should feel bad about his reaction" in my first post about this ?

 

I didn't pay enough attention to that, I'm sorry.

 

But look, Tim, they've kissed, had sex, cuddled, spent the night together. During that time, Priest was nothing but warm and accommodating of Arbor's feelings.. He tried to make up for the "midget" comment.  If you're reading a character who's not perfect, doesn't it make sense that they would make mistakes, maybe even hurtful mistakes? edit: It just seems a bit harsh to call Priest an asshole. 

Edited September 29, 2014 by Irritable1

[Kitt]

IMHO?

 

     Priest is a well meaning guy who never quite made it out of adolescence, frequently says/does exactly the wrong thing at the worst moment, and usually engages his mouth long before his brain is in gear.

 

     Arbor resents a difficult life that could have been prevented had mom not had a prejudice against modern medicine and technology. He is angry and bitter and needs to learn to give people a chance rather than react so badly to every perceived slight.

 

     Costa needs to find a way to lessen/eliminate his need for the drug before it begins to rule his life.

 

     Pol?  I am not convinced he is even dead yet. We know there was video of him being shot, and a copy of an incineration order. Even in this day and age both could easily be forged. In their times? It would be super easy! 

[impunity]

Actually, Costa is the one who was shot and allegedly incinerated.

[Carlos Hazday]

 

     Pol?  I am not convinced he is even dead yet. We know there was video of him being shot, and a copy of an incineration order. Even in this day and age both could easily be forged. In their times? It would be super easy! 

 

Can I have an AMEN?

 

Nailed it just right except for the quoted comment. It was Costa who was shot and incinerated not Pol 

 

And that is why the possibility of a mind-meld between the brother who lost his mind and the one who lost his body occurred to me

[Kitt]

Ok - So why have none of us noticed/mentioned the fact that Priest is playing with a dead man at the moment? And in that case just where is Poll ( that's the way it was spelled in Ones and Zeros)? Last we saw of him he was losing himself in the data stream.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Kitt

[Irritable1]

Costas mind, Poll's body. And he's not dead. He's just pining for the fjords.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Irritable1