Luceti Appointments

[i_speak_softly]

Need a thread with Don, but don't have a post for it and don't feel like starting one? Stick it here. Please note date, time of day, location, and any relevant circumstances.

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[i_speak_softly]

[Nod. He listens attentively, expecting the first draft to not be quite what he had in mind.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert nods, clears his throat a little, and then begins to speak, reading a little monotonously but still distinctly.]

Donatello has his speech patterns... significantly impaired.

[The specific nature of that impairment, of course, is something that Robert is still learning.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don considers this, taps his beak thoughtfully, and says:]

Use bigger words.

[semper_cogitans]

Bigger words...?

[People might not actually properly understand if he does that.]

Do you mean... d-describe it better? I am still... searching for appropriate terminology...

[i_speak_softly]

No, um... [Pinches his fingers together. Smaller words. So non-geniuses will understand.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Yeah, Robert doesn't know what this means.]

... Erm... [Internally flailing. Don, your intentions are sometimes difficult to decipher at the best of times...]

[i_speak_softly]

[After another moment's thought, Don reaches for an index card and a pen. He writes "1", then "100", then underlines "1" several times.]

[Get it?]

[semper_cogitans]

[... 1 versus 100. Lesser than?]

...

... Less...?

[i_speak_softly]

[Don gives up. He pushes the index card away and thumps his head against the table.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Whelp.]

... Don, I... I am sorry. [Please put up with his inability to make sense of your speech, Don.]

... L-Let me... let me try something else... [He turns his attention back to the index cards, frowning at his words. Where's the problem?]

[i_speak_softly]

[You do that. Don will just... inspect the grain of the table here.]

[semper_cogitans]

[It takes nearly a minute of staring at what he wrote between glances at the numbers, trying to puzzle out where Don noticed a mistake, before it clicks.]

... You... think I should... make my words... less? [Obviously this is an abstract concept, but let him search for synonyms.] Smaller?

[i_speak_softly]

[Without looking up, Don slaps his palm on the table, then points at Robert. Yes. Exactly that.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Score. He may or may not actually be getting better at this. Probably he's just getting better at the process of guessing.]

... A-Alright.

How do I simplify this properly... [Half to himself, Robert murmurs a few words aloud as he studies the sentence. Act as though you were explaining this to Vivi...]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don pries himself off the table and wanders around the room in search of something to do. When the search proves fruitless, he returns and starts making complicated origami with the extra index cards.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Meanwhile, Robert has written a sentence that maybe works better for those who are science impaired.]

"Donatello has difficulty... speaking understandably"...

[It seems a little unspecific, though.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Shakes his head - still too hard. Remember there are people in the village who can barely read, Robert.]

[semper_cogitans]

"Difficulty talking"? [Seriously, he doesn't know how much simpler he can make this.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Robert, asking Don for synonyms is not going to be an effective strategy right now.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Damn.]

... Simple language is... n-not my best skill. [He stares at the paper again, trying to think of how to condense the meaning into something even smaller than that.]

"Donatello cannot... talk well..."?

[i_speak_softly]

[Don thinks this over before making another suggestion.]

No 'Donatello'. I.

[semper_cogitans]

Write it as... th-though from your perspective?

[i_speak_softly]

[Yes. The way he would say it to someone, if he could.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Hmm.]

"I'm having difficulty talking right now"? [The contraction is obviously foreign to Robert, but it would be something Don would use.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don turns this over in his mind, then nods. A good start.]