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[portolan]

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[portolan]

any of us lose our way the closer we get to the thing that tempts us
you have fortitude, I think, and a moral compass that will not be stifled
those are rare treasures

my mother taught me to draw. not to make things, but to meditate, to observe, to keep a record of things not well held by words. I am thankful for it.

[grindset]

i know someone with a similar habit
do you keep a journal?

as to the rest - i am simply doing the best i can.
most people are.

[portolan]

I do -- sketches and words. It's soothing.
You? Or some other centering hobby?

I think you overestimate others.

[grindset]

too busy for pastimes
if i am doing something else i am probably thinking about work -
so i work.
that is where i am most myself.

[portolan]

yes, well, be careful it doesn't consume you entirely
no good comes of that

[grindset]

"careful" is a tiresome word

[portolan]

[ He's been doing a good job keeping his past out of this, but something about that one gets under his skin. ]

My father put his work before everything
Brought down a city in the name of advancement
He thought careful was tiresome too

[grindset]

[Ah.]

prioritizing one's own ambitions over the lives of others is an unspeakably ugly thing - especially when those same people could just as easily be helped instead of harmed.
i'm sincerely sorry he did that.

[portolan]

[ A better reaction than he expected ]

Unspeakably ugly to say the least.

Thank you for saying that.

[grindset]

certainly.
i hope i didn't upset you - that was not my intent.

[portolan]

I'd be a fool if I took offense to conversational friction
You seem a man who operates on principals; I respect that

[grindset]

[It's more the memory than the conversation itself, he thinks, but... better to let that pass.]

yes, well
as a scientist i have no choice but to operate on principles
:)

[portolan]

We have very different definitions of scientists, but I will admit I prefer yours.
Has it always been science for you? Or did something tip you in?

[grindset]

i wasn't always a scientist, per se, but have always been interested in making things
as a child, i met someone who taught me to think as a scientist
he too thought less of life than of progress, so our relationship did not last, but those early teachings planted the seed -
morally as well as vocationally, i suppose.

now i build things to raise a city up.

[portolan]

built your own path from what you were given
I can respect that
some heroic daftness in there too, trying to do it yourself
I can relate to that too

[grindset]

i think both our partners might have something to say about that.

what is your definition of a scientist?

[portolan]

you know a little of my partner; how long have you been with yours?

a person who seeks to understand the world by empirical questioning, observation, and testing -- through physical tests, not artistic models

[grindset]

then our definitions are not so dissimilar.
curiosity, a hunger for knowledge, for discovery - these are the fundamentals.
those empirical methods are simply the means to exercise our passions - to direct them, to refine the results, to enable legitimate proof.
i would argue that a scientist may contribute to the greater pool of knowledge with models alone - someone, somewhere, somewhen, will find that knowledge interesting, inspiring, perhaps even useful -
unless you mean the other kind of artistic model.
anatomical study is valid science.

[Is he joking? Maybe.

After a delay,]

it has been roughly seven years since we met.

[portolan]

at their best the arts and sciences are nearly the same
just differing in their products
models are quite a contribution
anatomical study is an excellent example of the overlap

[ Balthier's done his share of figure study. It's soothing. ]

Little past a decade for us

[grindset]

yes, very true
therein lies great synergistic potential -
a partnership.

did you celebrate your ten year mark?

[portolan]

yes well leave it to humes to fight where they could work together
I'm impressed you've retained your optimism and strength of belief

[ He chuckles at the question. He'd attempted to mark it, but Fran hadn't cared much, and they'd done what they usually did: slayed monsters, robbed a tomb. ]

We're more the celebrate every day sort of partnership.

[grindset]

[how many compliments are you going to make him matrix-dodge, bro, jeez]

through your work?
i am very much in favour of that.

[And always forgetting anniversaries, which he is not about to volunteer.]

[portolan]

we do most things through our work
it's been a good system

[ Is he starting to feel that he's aging and she isn't? Yes. He's aware they're going to have to start dealing with that this decade. ]

[grindset]

oh really
i seem to recall someone coming perilously close to scolding me for being enmeshed in work just minutes ago
was that you or some other pirate

[portolan]

[ He grins. Well. It's been awhile since he was properly called out. ]

I'm afraid you've got me there.
Though maybe I should clarify she's my work partner.
I like to take long vacations and long baths.