The Bookwyrm

"It appears as though my way of thinking does not align with yours, after all. I had thought you were on my side, but you have shown otherwise.... You are dismissed." Is it spreading? Why doesn't Eddie want to be a nerd? Why does everyone in this courtroom want to argue over the definition?

"I never said the new era was realized. It is the unfortunate truth that the world still does not understand what the word truly means. This includes Eddie. As I said from the beginning, it would be nice to get her legal status as a nerd ratified, so then we can move on to the psychological aspect of it." He looked to the wider room. "Most of us here generally consider ourselves nerds, of one thing or another. We know it's a good thing. So why does the wider world look down on it? What mental stigmas still exist around that status? And have those stigmas taken root inside Eddie? "I was called here as an attorney, but really, what the world needs are therapists. And pioneers. To change the way the world looks at the term 'nerd'." He turned back to JM. "We're arguing semantics, but let's place that aside for a moment. By my definition, or even by any definition, would you say Eddie is a nerd?"

(Sad. Of the three and two halves generations I've played, that was my favorite.)

"Oh, but here's the thing: I would argue that people who are into sports, or makeup, or anything that mainstream are in fact nerds. They don't admit it because the general connotation of that word from a bygone era was negative. But we're in a new era now. An era where being a nerd is cool. And those people who are super into sports, or makeup, or fishing, or whatever it may be; they have just as much a vested interest in those hobbies that another person might have into Brandon Sanderson's works. "We're in a new era, ladies and gentlemen, where everyone is a nerd, whether they realize it or not. Unless they have no hobbies, in which case they're boring. And our good friend Edema Rue is anything but boring."

"Give her a minute, she hasn't even provided any supporting evidence yet. Also, where'd you learn astral projection?"

"Who says an interest has to be niche for someone to be a nerd of it? For example, Harry Potter as a franchise is very mainstream, but it is an interest that a great many nerds focus on."

* Runs in * TLT is better. * Runs out *

"I don't have a specific examination prepared, because, again, this is a FFRP, and none of us know what we're doing. But I would like you to provide specific evidence to Edema Rue's status as a nerd by talking about your recent SU discussions about Arcane, along with any other pertinent information you feel needs to be shared."

Ma'tani nodded and leaned back again slightly. "We need to find out why."

"Stew. I'm hungry." Then she leaned forward. "What did you find?" She asked in a low voice. "Is she getting paid?"

"He goes to school there," Bookwyrm said. "I used to as well." He sighed. "Those were the days..." Bookwyrm coughed. "Um. Excuse me. @J. Magi, would you like to be our first witness?"

Ma'tani waved him over.

"Well, as this is a Free Form RP and no one gave me any time to prepare for this case, I have none yet. I would be happy to gather some, if the post count stopped increasing so much that no one could keep track of anything."

Bookwyrm stood there through all the yelling. This is going to take a long while, isn't it? he thought. Maybe it's a lost cause. He looked over at Eddie. I just have to know...what is she so scared of?

"As I said earlier, for the intents and purposes of this case, utilizing the common definitions thrown around by pop culture, and the connotations associated with them, is not feasible. Because it is impossible to concretely define the term "nerd" without falling into an argument over semantics, we're going with the definition I provided; the definition that most of the people in the community of the Shard would associate with the word. Trying to differentiate between a 'nerd' and a 'geek' in this courtroom is going to get us nowhere, because I believe they effectively point to the same definition for our purposes."

Ma'tani sat near Niamh, listening to her conversation, when she noticed the drunk "witch-hunter" eye Jolane. Aw, come on... She felt in her robes for the dagger she hid there, in case he did anything stupid. Not that she intended to kill him. But still... @Spark of Hope @WildRye @Through The Living Glass

"I would like to remind you of the definition I gave earlier," Bookwyrm said. He pulled out a recording device and hit play. "Hm...it's impossible to define precisely. I'm not going to go to the general "google it" definition, as that will not serve our purposes here. Additionally, there are certain parties in the world that the status we are reffering to is not "nerd", it is "geek", but I feel as though in this specific setting the difference is arbitrary. Essentially, for our purposes, a nerd is one who has a great interest and investment in a specific interest, such as a hobby or form of media, to the point that it becomes an aspect of their personality (not always in a bad way.) These interest are usually not exclusive, and in fact, many nerds grow to develop multiple areas of interest over their lives. It's what allows them to grow into such amazing people. Eddie has proven that she has many interests that she holds great investment in, and they serve to define her character and help her grow. They help her form freindships and bond with those who share those interests, as so neatly evidenced by the Arcane discussion SUs. With this evidence taken into account, the only conclusion is that she is indeed a nerd." Bookwyrm tucked the recording device back into his suit. "If more evidence is required, then I would be happy to gather it."

Well, it looks like my question already got answered.

...See, I don't think I have time for this. And I don't know if my interest in it would be high enough for me to justify particpating. ...But part of me wants to just RP a mysterious scientist guy who goes around with a Silvally saying cryptic things and studying weird phenomena.