Where is the Logic? [Kristina]

[Kristina Novak]

Supply and demand was a thing Kristina remembered briefly reading about, but it was a fairly straight forward concept. The two relied on each other, heavily. She nodded in agreement with his next musing. It worked vice versa as well, but not as much. "And there's the secret to business and marketing." Maybe she should have gone into that instead of her arts. The idea wasn't too far fetched, but Kristina much preferred her arts and creative thinking versus logic.

"Ides." She repeated, to finish off the sentence she had trailed off from earlier. Kristina gave him a small smile and accepted his hand in her own, giving him a firm handshake. "I agree." The conversation had been thought provoking so far and an entertaining addition to the afternoon.

"Like, the local newspaper or the university newspaper?" Kristina asked, for clarification. She didn't read much of the town newspaper, save for the occasional time she was dining out and one happened to be at a cafe or restaurant. The university newspaper, on the other hand, Kristina had been trying to get into since Jade wanted to recruit her to take photos and have a spread of her own. It was an idea the brunette was still toying with and wasn't 100% sure about yet. She tried to think back to articles she had read in the paper, and if any of them stood out to her with the name Ides. "Either way, no, I don't really." Kristina admitted. Better to plead ignorance than to admit that she didn't remember reading anything of his.

Tilting her head to the side in confusion, Kristina listened as Ides began to ramble about subtle differences she didn't catch and how in different settings, people would stand out more. She stayed quiet, letting him finish before shrugging. "I mean, if you're going to be technical about it then yeah." She didn't have anything to add to the conversation or know what to say to counter his opinion.

[Ides Alevi]

Ides nodded in agreement. There, indeed, lay the secret. "Perhaps artists in general are more logically minded than I gave them credit for," he mused. "They make plenty of art, then die, which creates a limited supply. Of course, not all artists kill themselves..." he trailed off briefly before continuing, more to himself than anyone.

"One study shows that artists have a 125% higher suicide risk than the average person... also, Chesterton is of the opinion that logic, not creative thinking, is the reason behind insanity, which can be loosely translated into suicide.... perhaps he's half right-- perhaps the combination of a creative mind, and a logical one in a single mind produces insanity, which leads to suicide, and so the logical artists are the ones who kill themselves... likely unconsciously following the supply and demand strategy." Fascinating. He hadn't thought of this before.

"Ah, the local newspaper," he said, quickly pulling his attention back into line. "Pilot Ridge. I highly recommend it, and not only because I write for it." He gave a half grin. "News is quite important to keep up on, after all. Local news just as much as national." He nearly suggested it was possibly more important, since it had a more direct effect on people, but national news could have a direct effect on people as well. Yes... the two were close enough in importance it didn't seem advantageous to choose one.

He blinked at her comment about technicality, nearly retorting that there was little "technical" about what he'd said, but decided to let it go. Too often it seemed he made more sense in his own mind than he did aloud to other people. Whether it was because his opinions and ideas were too developed for many to grasp, or because he was actually just not making sense, he had not yet decided. So, he simply shrugged, willing to drop the idea and work more on clarifying it later, if not to Kristina, then to himself, or someone else.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina couldn't help but to smirk a little when he admitted that artists were more logical than he gave them credit for. Then, Ides was rambling again and she couldn't keep up with the conversation. It wasn't often that she found herself stumped. Her intellect just simply wasn't comparable to his, especially paired with the disadvantage of English being her second language. No matter how hard she studied or tried to remember new vocabulary, the Czech language always came to mind.

She nodded. "I'll have to read the next copy that comes around then, look for your name." A faint smile appeared on her face. "I thought you would be on the university one as well, my friend seems... keen on inviting a whole lot of people." Herself included.

He simply shrugged as a response, which caught her by surprise. Kristina expected Ides to have some sort of response, since he always seemed to have one, but she realized that she wasn't contributing much to the conversation. It wasn't her fault though. Kristina chuckled, gesturing to her sketchbook before looking at Ides. "Funny how we started talking over art and why I was drawing to debating suicide and supply and demand."

[Ides Alevi]

It wasn't uncommon for Ides to leave people completely behind in his ramblings, and it wasn't always because he was necessarily smarter than them. He'd often been told, and was fully aware, that he simply went off on too many tangents, and strung together too many thoughts too quickly. He sometimes tried to reign this in, since it tended to either intimidate people, or make them think he was trying to show off, either way causing them to pull back. Most of the time, though, he didn't even remember to try and reign it in.

Ides gave a lopsided smile when Kristina said she would read the next copy to come out. Good, good. The more people who were recruited to newspaper reading the better. "Ah, yeah..." he mused. "I thought about joining the university one, but... well," he shrugged, "I keep fairly busy, and I prefer to hone my energies on the things I deem most important in my education and career. The university paper is good enough, I suppose, but it would better suit me to focus my attention on the Pilot Ridge paper, which would look much more desirable on a resume than a university paper. Not that university papers are not a good start for those who don't have a better immediate outlet."

Though he had noted Kristina didn't talk a whole lot, Ides didn't put this down as her intentionally not contributing to the conversation. Had that been the case, he likely would have abandoned the conversation, or at least carried it on much less seriously, a long time ago. With the observation of her accent, he easily assumed the obvious-- that her lessened conversation simply had to do with the fact she was either a) not a talkative person period, b) that her speech was inhibited by the fact she couldn't speak in her native language, or c) a mixture of the two. Given that a high percentage of artists were introverts, he concluded that it was the lattermost. He made mental note to ask what her accent was, and what languages she knew.

He gave a half grin at her comment. "It is fascinating how conversation can evolve, isn't it? And it is extremely invigorating to have such a conversation. It seems that much of the time peoples' conversations are largely stagnate and revolve around comments about the weather and other niceties..." He sighed.

"Speaking of niceties," he went on, "Your accent... German?" Though he wasn't completely sure of her accent, he felt it more interesting to throw a guess out there rather than ask straight out.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina was sure that Jade would have the local newspaper, since as a hopeful journalist major, probably read that one top of the university newspaper. If not, she would go down to one of the coffeeshops downtown once a week and find a copy to flip through. Instinctively, she mirrored Ides' smile. "Yeah, a person can only handle so much." She said with a small shrug. Life wasn't much fun to live when one was constantly on the go, with things to do at every moment of the day. Kristina preferred to have free time to which she could invest with her hobbies, like sketching and photography. She nodded along to what he was saying. A local one would be better that way, but she didn't care much for the resume aspect. If her photos benefited her friend, then Kristina was more than happy to do so.

Ides' observations were all correct. The Czech girl enjoyed conversation and appreciated it, but never seemed to contribute as much as the other person. By default, she was quiet and would probably classify as an introvert, opposite to Ides. The language barrier was also there, and even though she had been living in North America for a long time now, English still caused her difficulty when used for a long time. She thought she was doing alright, though. She had been accepted to the university as oppose to the community college, which was unexpected.

His next comment got a laugh out of Kristina. How true was that? "I agree, it's a nice change." She said with a nod. "If I counted the times I had that sort of conversation..." Well, the thought was rather depressing, come to think of it. Especially at work.

Her accent, though not as prominent, was still there. Kristina blushed a little, her cheeks turning pink. "Ah, no, but it's close. Czech." She answered with a small smile.

[Ides Alevi]

Ides gave an genuine smile when Kristina laughed at his comment. It was sort of a nice change of pace to have someone laughing at something he said, in an appropriate way. It was most irritating when someone laughed at something he said, when he was attempting to be serious. But this hadn't been one of those laughs. Perhaps he was getting better at this socializing thing?

"That sort of conversation is rather common, unfortunately," he mused, continuing in the same line of thought. "I've yet to determine why exactly. At first I thought it had a correlation with intelligence, but then I found that there are perfectly intelligent people who prefer to carry on droll conversation. Perhaps it has something to do with selfishness..." Now that was an interesting thought. "Or intelligence and selfishness both... Un-intelligent people are incapable of carrying on interesting conversation, but on top of that, some intelligent people hold back because they don't wish to share their knowledge. Hm." He glanced at Kristina, wondering if she'd have an opinion on the matter, or if it would be wiser to simply drop the matter and not risk going on and on about it while leaving her largely disinterested or forgotten in the moment.

Yes, he was getting somewhat better at the social thing, he decided.

"Czech." Ides frowned thoughtfully. "Do you speak the language? That is one I hadn't thought to learn..." Languages were fascinating, and obviously a simple matter for him to learn most of the time. He'd found that if he tried to learn too much at one time, he had trouble maintaining what language he spoke when, though.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina didn't have an exact idea for why people chose to partake in that sort of conversation. Maybe it was easy? She found it easier to drone on about the weather and other 'small talk' topics, but it wasn't as interesting. It wasn't personally engaging; that could be another reason. People in general, herself included, found it hard to open up to strangers. Even as her and Ides talked, Kristina had found it difficult at first, but slowly, began opening up. He talked about how it could relate to intelligence or to selfishness, which both seemed... alright to her. Nodding, she looked over at Ides with a small smile, catching his eyes. "I think... maybe people are afraid of opening up. In fear of judgement... I don't know. Possibly bevcause we're trained to have these sorts of conversations as filler." She shrugged.

"And yes, I do. It's my native language." Kristina said, chuckling. "It's not a super common one, that's for sure." Folding her hands in her lap, she asked "Do you speak any other languages?"

[Ides Alevi]

Ides gave a half smile in reciprocation of the smile Kristina gave. She seemed to be growing somewhat more comfortable, which in turn meant that she was growing more willing to put her ideas out in view. That was definitely something he appreciated in a conversation, especially with someone he'd just met.

He considered her offered explanation, nodding slightly as he did. "Both of those would make sense. I would guess it is a mixture of both, varying in ratio from person to person. Some people are predisposed to worry about judgement from other people, some are not. And it is extremely evident that how one is nurtured has a direct influence on how they behave around others. So social training would likely have something to do with it as well." He nodded, satisfied with these ideas.

"You speak English fairly well for it not being your native language," he mused. "Many people find it a difficult language to learn. I assume you grew up in the Czech Republic, then? What brought you to the US?"

"And yes, I speak a few other languages." He gave a mild shrug, feeling the onset of that strange awkwardness he got when people asked about his accomplishments. Just because he knew without a doubt that he had an extremely competent mind, didn't mean he wanted to blather it to everyone. He wasn't sure whether this feeling was him being humble, or if it was some odd quirk of his power. Or perhaps that he didn't want to be treated as inhuman. Or some other reason currently beyond him. He'd made an entire list at one point...

 However, feeling as if he should divulge at least one since Kristina had done the same, he offered, "German. I've never attempted Czech, though."

[Kristina Novak]

It always took Kristina a bit to open up to strangers. She preferred staying on the fringe and observing rather than interacting with others. The proof was in her sketchbook and camera. Although, recently she had been doing a better job at socializing without alcohol in her system. It seemed like an insignificant thing to be proud over, but Kristina had spent the majority of her years at Hammel alone without a lot of friends or acquaintances. Now she was finding it easier to hold a conversation, even one that required a lot of thought like her current one with Ides.

She nodded in agreement, sort of envious at how Ides could say something so... eloquently. "I mean, that I know because personally, I don't want to be judged by others." She admitted. And then the whole casual conversation aspect. It was what everyone grew up knowing, so it stayed as a social norm.

"Oh, thank you." Kristina said with a smile. "It is a hard language to learn." She agreed. "I have an easier time talking verbally... my writing is terrible." Again, she nodded. "Yeah, I lived there for... eight years, I believe. We moved here because my mom's dad was already well established in Boston and my sister manifested." Kristina summarized, use to being pretty open about powers. The town was swarming with metas and generally, most people knew about them.

"Do they come easy to you?" She asked. Some people could learn multiple languages, while others struggled even with their native tongue. "Ahh, yeah, it's a neighboring country." She knew a small handful of German words, but not enough to speak it fluently. "Was it a hard language to learn?" She asking, assuming that it wasn't his first language.

[Ides Alevi]

Hm... "Why do you worry about receiving judgement from others?" Ides asked. He was perfectly aware of many possible answers to this. It could be anything ranging from a perceived need to be accepted, to internal insecurities and need for external validation to conquer such. However, everyone had their own reasons, which made it an interesting question to ask people. And so of course he would ask it, however awkward some people might have seen it.

He chuckled at the comment about writing. "English is extremely unpredictable when it comes to spelling and grammar. It would make sense that you're terrible at it." And now another interesting aspect-- she had a sister who was also a meta. "I assume she attended Hammel, your sister?" he inquired. "Do you have many siblings? What was it like to have your sister manifest?" He found studies into meta families fascinating. Sometimes the siblings ended up competing, sometimes it drew them closer together, sometimes it pushed them apart, sometimes... Well, there were many different variables. "What is your power?" he added, assuming she was a meta. If her parents were established in Boston, if she wasn't meta then she would surely be there with them, right? The fact she was here instead had to mean she was meta as well. And the odds were well in his guess's favor, since she had a sibling who was a meta.

"Well... Fairly easily." He gave a mild shrug. "German is a fairly simple language to learn for English speakers," he added. There were many that were much harder. Chinese, for instance. That had been a pain, even for him. "I'm not sure if it would be difficult for a Czech speaker..." It would be interesting to find out though. Yes, Czech was now a priority for him to learn, so he could compare the structures and such to German and gauge the difficulty in that aspect.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina let out a small, slightly nervous chuckle. She stroked the side of her chin, leaving a bit of charcoal on her face from the sketching pencil. "Don't we all?" She asked, a vaguely rhetorical question since not everyone felt that pressure. She had a feeling Ides didn't feel that way, but that was just an assumption based on their conversation. "Uhm, I don't really know to tell the truth." She admitted. It was hard to pinpoint one exact reason.

"You'd think I get it by now, though." Kristina offhandedly mentioned, making fun of herself a little. Nodding, she confirmed his response. "Yeah, she did." And then he was asking more questions. While at the beginning Kristina would've been uncomfortable, she now felt... okay (which was a lot from her) answering these questions. "Nope, just the one older sister." Kristina said with another nod. "And it was.. weird." She said, her eyebrows narrowing together. The people from the school in the Czech Republic showing up. Telling them the best option was to go to Kocher, since it was the closest. Her mom somehow persuading her dad to pack up and move to America. Maybe they thought it'd be better for their daughters? "I was young at the time, I barely understood what was going on."

"Tactile anesthesia." Kristina held out her hands, palm side up. Unlike most people, the Czech girl ignored her ability, for the most part. "I don't use it. How.. how about you?" Since he had knowledge about metas, the school and powers, it was only fair to assume that Ides too, was one.

"They must be similar then." She commented, but didn't see how. The two sounded completely different to her. "I know a couple words, nothing fancy."

[Ides Alevi]

Don't we all? she asked. Ides turned the question over in his mind, only half conscious of doing so as he was briefly distracted by the charcoal Kristina's fingers left on her face. "I see..." he mused absently. Don't we all... Well, of course not, that was a generalization. Not everyone had a need for being affirmed by other people. But then again, perhaps all normal people needed that validation. It did seem a very common trait of people, whether they admitted it to be or not. Realizing he'd given a generic "I see" as an answer, he quickly brought his attention beyond his thoughts. "Why do you not know?" he inquired. "Because you have not given thought to it, or is it simply because it is that complicated a human behavior?"

Yes, the whole manifestation thing was a confusing matter. Even if it was just her sibling rather than herself, it must have still been strange. Especially because of the whole having to move countries thing. "Manifestations are generally 'weird'," it seems," he said. "I assume it made your own manifestation less so, since you knew it was a possibility. Did you attend Hammel while your sister was here, then?"

Tactile anesthesia. The meta powers fascinating him, they really did, but some were more interesting than others. Likely due to social influence, he noted, as telekinesis and such were mainstream and widely known as superpowers-- even if considered imaginary for so long. However, certain ones got much less notice, and those were even more interesting. "How does that work?" he asked. "Do you secrete something from your skin that is anesthetic? Or is it a telepathic matter?" Ah. His own power. He gave a mild shrug before throwing out the easiest way he'd found to explain it without too many words, "I don't forget things."

"German and English come from the same roots." Ides nodded. "And they have similar sounds and intonation patterns. Is Czech similar at all to the German you've learned?"