022215-Lily-Sami

 -- galliardTartarologist [GT] began pestering arcaneArtisan [AA] at 23:04 --

 [11:06] GT: Echoing down the halls, Sami hears her name being called.

 [11:07] AA: Sami comes to see the source of the voice, looking confused.

 [11:09] GT: The source appears to be Lily, who's roaming the halls looking distinctly flustered. "SAMIIIIIIIIIII - oh, there you are." She blinks. "Uh." Her face slowly turns a faint shade of fuschia.

 [11:09] AA: "Oh don't you start now too. Erisio's been blushing and running away every time I've seen him lately!"

 [11:09] AA: "What have you kids been up to? Thiago said you killed a denizen!"

 [11:10] AA: "What are you guys so embarrassed about? Are you scared I'm going to ground you or something? You know I'm not *really* your mom."

 [11:11] GT: "No, it's, uh..." She trails off. "Hormones are weird, let's drop the subject."

 [11:12] AA: Sami sniffs, then her pupils dilate a little. "Oh, wow." Sami sniffs again, getting closer to Lily. "Are you using a new shampoo, Lily? It smells really nice..."

 [11:12] AA: A tear rolls down Sami's cheek as she takes a deeper whiff.

 [11:13] GT: "Um."

 [11:13] AA: She pulls back, wiping her eyes. "Huh. I....don't know what came over me just now. I must be allergic."

 [11:14] GT: "Yes. Allergic. Must be." Wow, Lily's weirdly tense for some reason. Wonder why. "You...smell nice too, I guess?"

 [11:15] AA: "So what were you calling me about?" Her eyes are still a little watery. She's not exactly crying. It's more like her body is responding to something her mind hasn't quite figured out yet.

 [11:18] GT: "Uh." She shakes her head, as if snapping out of a daze. "Right." Her shoulders slump. "Honestly, I just wanted to talk with someone who doesn't think I'm a traitorous sack of shit about my horrible, horrible life choices and the perils of hormones."

 [11:18] AA: Sami looks concerned. "Why, what happened Beau?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:18] AA: Sami blinks, confused, then shakes her head.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:18] AA: "I mean Lily."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:18] AA: "Sorry. My mind must be elsewhere."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:19] GT: Lily pales slightly. "Oh. Shit."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:19] GT: "I figured out why I smell nice."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:19] AA: "Huh? Why?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:20] GT: "Prooooobably because I smell like Beau." She grimaces. "Oh God, is THIS why you're weirdly hot all of a sudden? That would explain a lot, come to think of it..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:21] AA: "Oh....hey, you do! Wow. You must use the same shampoo as her. Did you get the captchacode from Doir? I remember he had a bunch of her stuff."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:22] GT: "No, it's...no." Lily looks very, very awkward all of a sudden. "You know I'm half-twink, right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:24] AA: "Oh, right! I'm such a dummy. You don't have hair, do you? My bad. I shouldn't have brought up a sore subject."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AA: "Wait....you think I'm hot?" Sami looks at Lily confusedly.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AA: Sami looks down at herself, then looks back up. "I....don't see it. I mean, I'm cute AT BEST. And even that's being generous."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AA: "But thanks for saying it. Are you trying to butter me up or something?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:26] GT: "UM." Lily is bright fuschia. "LET'S GO WITH THAT AND THEN *DROP THE SUBJECT RIGHT NOW*."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] AA: "Whatever, weirdo." Sami rolls her eyes and chuckles.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] AA: "So why do you think you're a traitorous sack of crud?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] AA: "Did something happen with the denizen?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] GT: "Oh great." Lily deadpans. "Dad hasn't told you yet, has he."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AA: "No. Actually, I've been looking for him. I want to see if he can get me into Colonel Heston's room and office."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:31] AA: "I figure she's probably got it set up just the way I like my room to be, and I'll bet she's got all sorts of cool art supplies hidden in her office."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:31] AA: "And I figure it's not really plundering since she's me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:32] GT: "Huh. That's actually a good idea. Plus it'd solve the problem of where you guys're going to stay."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AA: "We could always just go back to the ark if need be. I want to spend some time with Beau anyway."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AA: "But I'd like to meet all the people from this session since we all seem to be gathering up here."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:35] GT: "All of us except for one." Lily says, chuckling bitterly.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:35] AA: Sami cocks her head. "What do you mean? Did someone get hurt? I didn't see a death message go out, so I wouldn't think anyone died..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:36] GT: "Jack killed Fate."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:37] AA: Sami closes her eyes and winces in pain, then cradles her face in her hands.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:37] AA: "Oh no. It's started."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] AA: "Oh god!" Sami looks up in pain. "Fate is Kate's kid, isn't she?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] AA: "Both of Katie's kids are dead?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] GT: Lily rushes over and wraps her arms around Sami. "Hey, hey, it's OK. Her dreamself is fine, and Thiago kissed her."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: "Oh. Oh, okay." Sami sighs in relief.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: "Nate had said something about his daughter dying, and having her dreamself left. I thought you meant that Jack had killed her dreamself."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:40] AA: "Oh thank god." Sami clutches her hand to her heart and takes a few deep breaths.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:41] AA: "But still. It looks like whatever 'detente' we had going with Jack is over. He's starting to pick us off again."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] GT: "Actually, he was surprisingly helpful. He only killed Fate because it was 'necessary' or something? Also it looked like she was already about to kill herself anyway, so, y'know." She shrugs. "Not like there would have been much of a difference either way.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:43] AA: "Jack thought *all* our deaths were 'necessary,'" Sami spits out the word. "He sees himself as some motherflipping hero out to save the flipping universe by flipping murdering everyone who flipping lives in it!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:45] GT: "Whoa, hey, calm down. It's gonna be OK. We can take him this time! We know his tricks, right? We won't make the same mistakes we did last time."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:46] AA: Sami looks up at Lily with a look of hopelessness, but doesn't say anything.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:48] GT: Lily hugs her gently. "It's gonna be OK, Sami. Promise."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:50] AA: "Yeah. Of course it will." Her voice is unenthusiastic.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] GT: "Hey." She plants a chaste kiss on Sami's forehead. "Nothing to worry about when we've got badasses like you on our side, right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:55] AA: Sami grunts. "Hrmph. I'm no match for Jack. I don't even know if I'm a match for him when I'm grimdark, much less when I'm like this." She tosses her hands out as if to indicate herself disparigingly.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:56] GT: "Pfff, whaaat? You're, like, the coolest chick I know. And I'm not expecting you to take him on alone, gosh. That'd be suicide."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:00] AA: "No, but I mean....look, I'm stronger than you guys, yeah, I'll give you that. I'm probably the third or fourth strongest of the vets, even when I'm not grimdark."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:00] AA: "It's tough to say. I haven't seen Katie in action since her time in time exile, and I have no idea what Rilset's like now that he's a Lord. I know Nate came back from LOSAC strong as heck, but I don't really know what his limits are either."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:01] AA: "But even with all of that....I don't think we stand a chance against Jack if it came down to a fight. He underestimated us last time. He won't do that again."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:04] GT: "Well, I mean, hey, you got all of us now too, don'tcha?" She grins cockily. "Seems to me even Jack'll have a hard time fending off ALL of us working together."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:06] AA: Sami grunts noncomittally. "Thiago sounds like he has a plan. But I'm not sure I'm happy about it. Cheating always costs more than you think it will in this game."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:07] AA: "You know what *my* god tiering through shenanicite cost me?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:07] GT: "He's not God Tiering. Not yet, anyways."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:09] AA: "Not like I could tell you what mine cost me anyway." She sighs. "Look, I'm just saying, if something seems way too easy, you need to be on full flipping alert."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:11] GT: "Hey, I was raised on 18 years of tropes. I know a trap when I see one."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:11] GT: "Most of the time."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:12] AA: "Lily. I've known Doir for five almost six years now. I have yet to have his knowledge of 'tropes' save us from anything."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:13] GT: "Yeah, but he's...Doir. Tropes are useful when you use them right!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:19] AA: "I'm just saying, don't assume you're going to see every trap coming. It's not as easy as it sounds. I think I've fallen for every single trap the game has laid in front of me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:20] AA: "Even when I specifically set out to do something no one could predict."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:24] GT: "Hey, don't worry. I'll be more careful. Besides, I've got you to tell me whenever I'm gonna do something stupid, right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:26] AA: "I may not always be here, Lily. You can't rely on anyone being here tomorrow when Jack is on the loose."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:27] AA: "MAYBE the Horrorterrors will protect me, if they think I'm more useful to them alive than dead. But maybe they won't. You need to be able to stand on your own two feet, and you don't have time to grow into it naturally."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:28] GT: "Don't talk like that," Lily says fiercely. "Like HELL I'm gonna let you die."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:33] AA: "That's sweet Lily. But I'm the one who gets herself hurt or killed by Jack trying to protect people. Don't go stepping on my toes."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:33] GT: She pouts. "I'll step on whoever's toes I damn well please."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:37] GT: "You're my mom. Even if I need to stand on my own two feet, I'd like you to see me do it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:37] AA: Sami looks off into the distance, and starts talking as though focusing on a memory. "It hurts a lot, you know. Sometimes you just want to break down and cry, but you don't want the people you took the bullet for to see how much it's hurting you because if you did they might feel bad about letting you save them."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:37] GT: ((whup))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:39] AA: "Like when I pushed Beau out of the way of that Crowantula and it bit me instead. I couldn't let her know how bad the venom hurt. Or when I let Jack take my dreamself instead of Katie, I couldn't be open about how scared I was to go to sleep every night because I didn't even want her to know that it had happened."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:40] AA: "And I couldn't even tell Beau quite how bad it was because she was being so sweet sitting there and stroking my hair when I would wake up screaming, and I couldn't just let her think it wasn't enough..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:40] AA: "...so I hate to imagine you going through something like that for me, Lily."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:42] GT: "But it's worth it, right? Seeing your loved ones alive and well, when you know they could've been hurt, or WORSE, if you hadn't stepped in? Are you saying you should have just let Beau take the hit because then she'd have felt less guilt? She wouldn't be feeling much of ANYTHING if you had!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:43] AA: "No, of course not."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:43] AA: "But I'm saying I'll do that if it needs to be done. You don't have to worry about it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:44] GT: "But I WANT to worry about it. I need to..." She sighs. "I need to prove that I'm worth something. To myself as much as anyone else. And if sacrificing myself for you is how that's gonna happen, then that's how it's gonna happen."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:45] AA: Sami pats Lily on the shoulder. "Lily, who told you you weren't already worth something? Do I need to beat them up?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:45] GT: "No one had to tell me," she says sullenly. "I can see it for myself just fine."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:46] AA: Sami pulls back a little surprised. "What has gotten into you Lily? You're usually so full of can-do energy and enthusiasm! Why are you so down on yourself all of a sudden?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:47] GT: "Gee, I dunno, maybe because I'm finally realizing that I'm kind of a terrible person?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:50] GT: "Here, you want examples?" She begins listing them off on her fingers. "I picked Jack's side over my own half-brother's. I took pictures of Acenia's ASS because I thought it was funny and was promised SEX in return! I KISSED my best friend's matesprit even though I knew it would break her heart!" Her eyes are watering. "SHOULD I GO ON?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:51] AA: Sami looks sad and full of pity for Lily. "Oh, Lily. You poor thing." Sami pulls Lily close into a hug and pats her on the back.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:52] AA: "You're a bit of a mess, aren't you?" Sami chuckles in a way that makes it sound more affectionate than accusatory.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:52] GT: "Gee, you think," Lily says flatly, but smiles a little nonetheless.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:54] AA: "You know, Null got taken in by Jack's charms too. She was....we were almost moirails. Which I didn't even think I could do, really."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:55] AA: "And yeah, she made a bunch of bad decisions that ended up getting her really hurt, and sometimes ended up hurting other people."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:55] AA: "But I think she only did those things because she felt empty inside. Because she didn't really believe she was worth loving, or worth being considered one of the good guys. And I'm worried you might be thinking the same thing, Lily." Sami's face is sad.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:56] AA: "But if you WANT to be one of the good guys then you ARE good enough, Lily. You just have to not give up when thing seem tough or hopeless."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:59] GT: "Maybe." She smiles. "I'll try to keep my chin up. For you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:00] AA: "Do that." Sami gives her a serious look. "Because when you're at your weakest, and don't believe in yourself....that's how people like Jack get find their way in."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">[01:06] <span style="color:rgb(137,104,255);">MT: "Yeah." She smiles again. "Thanks for the talk, Sami. I think I needed it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:07] MT: "Also, if you see Nate around..." Her face takes on a panicked tone. "Don't let him near Thiago. Please."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:09] AA: "Huh? Why?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:10] MT: "I can't tell you. I can't risk him finding out I let anything slip, or..." She shudders. "Just please protect Thiago."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:10] AA: "Protect him? Protect him from what? Hey, Nate's not after Thiago is he?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:11] MT: Her eyes go wide. "Don't confront him. Then he'll know I told. He said if I told anyone he'd kill both his selves."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:13] AA: "What?! Oh, god, don't tell me Nate's gone crazy now!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:14] MT: "It's a revenge kill." She's shaking. "He was going to turn my blood into hydrochloric acid if I didn't choose someone."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:14] AA: "What?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:16] MT: "Please don't confront him! He'll only kill Thiago's waking self as long as he thinks I didn't tell."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:18] AA: Sami just stares speechless for a moment.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:20] MT: Lily misinterprets the look. "I didn't know what to do! I should have picked Rilset, I know. At least he'd stand a chance.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:20] MT: "

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:22] AA: "I don't know how to fix this. Nate can't just go threatening teammates....but I don't know if I could fight him if he disagreed with me about that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:23] AA: "And these dreamselves MATTER! If Jack decides to kill Thiago, he won't have that backup life to go back to! And dying HURTS, darn it!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:25] MT: "But what other option is there? He's too powerful. If we stop him killing Thiago, then he might go after someone else who was on Jack's team."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:25] AA: "Lily, I don't think I can protect Thiago from Nate without confronting Nate. Nate's not going to give up."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:26] MT: "Then...just let him kill Thiago."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:28] MT: "You said so yourself, he's still got a dreamself. As long as someone's around to kiss him, he'll be fine."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:28] MT: "And he just wants one kill. After this he won't go after anyone else."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:29] AA: "Until the next time he gets a murderboner." Sami sighs wearily.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:29] MT: ((Why do all of my characters end up discovering Nate's murder plots))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:30] MT: ((Or causing them this time, I guess))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:30] AA: "But if I don't try to stop him, I'm going to be an accomplice to this whole business."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:31] AA: "I can't just let him kill Thiago for the sake of convenience."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:35] AA: "But I also don't think there's any way I can stop him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:35] AA: "Maybe if Thiago were god tier....but no, I don't know how the 'just' rules work there. It might consider it 'just' because Nate's out for revenge."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:35] AA: "That'd be even worse than losing his dream self."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:36] AA: "Or awakeself I guess."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:36] AA: "Oh! But what if he got his Hope up all the way and found a way to be on his quest bed when Nate kills him?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:37] MT: "Too obvious. He'd never fall for it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:37] AA: "Yeah. And Nate's got eyes like a hawk. Disguising the quest bed wouldn't work either."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:37] MT: "Maybe if we can keep him alive until he goes through with his plan, he'll have a chance?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:38] AA: "I kind of doubt it. Even if he becomes a Lord he'll still be a newbie. And Nate is a fully realized Knight of Hope."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:38] AA: "Even if Thiago suddenly has All Of The Powers, All Of Them, he won't have any idea how to use them."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:39] MT: "Also pff, does literally everyone realize that's what he's trying to do?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:39] AA: "He told me earlier. I'm the one he asked about Lords."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:39] AA: "I probably know more than anyone else but Libby and maybe Rilset, depending what he's managed to figure out. And probably Meouet."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:39] MT: "He called me over all 'this is top secret Lily NO ONE CAN KNOW' and then everyone already does."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:41] AA: Sami shrugs. "I don't know what to tell you. I was there when he came up with the plan. I don't know if he intentionally let me in on the plan, but either way I know he wants to try to make everyone Lords and Muses."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:41] AA: "That whole idea makes me really nervous though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:41] MT: "Huh. Know anything about Muses?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:42] AA: "Not really. I know they're also a Master Class, and that whenever there's a Lord there's always a Muse."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:42] AA: "I think maybe they're the passive counterpart to Lords? But I still haven't really figured out how the whole passive/active thing works, despite my studies. It seems to be pretty vague and almost more of a suggestion than a rule."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:43] MT: "Darn. I was hoping it'd be an active class."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:43] AA: "No. In fact I suspect it might be the MOST passive class."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:43] AA: "Whatever that means."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:44] MT: "Fuuuuck meeeeeee, really? Guess it's backup plan for me, then. Hope dad's good with memories."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:44] AA: "Huh?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:45] MT: "Oh." She blushes slightly. "Nothing."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:46] MT: "Just... You know how Erisio's been blushing and running away a lot?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:46] AA: "Yeah."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:47] MT: "Yeah, turns out when he was rummaging through our Balish's mind he uncovered some, uh, private information."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:47] AA: "What, like his PIN number?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:49] MT: "No, more along the lines of..." She shapes the fingers of one hand into a hole and repeatedly moves the other hand's pointer finger in and out of it.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:49] MT: "With alt you and him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:53] AA: (( Sami's face right now: http://33.media.tumblr.com/f4dfe93d8b7c38a838ddfa21cc5cc9ed/tumblr_myf4zwcW3G1sxbi7ao1_400.gif ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:53] MT: ((HOO HOO HOO))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:53] AA: "Oh my god, gross!" She makes an ugly scowl at the whole idea.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:54] AA: "I still can't believe she and Balish were like....together." She shudders.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:54] MT: "Yeah. Apparently he was watching a tape of him doing it with Acey while that was going on too."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:55] AA: "Oh my god! That's disgusting! How could she be okay with something like that?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:56] MT: "Who, Acey?" Her face hardens. "Because she wasn't."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:56] AA: "No. Other me! How could she just let him watch videos of him being with another girl while they're making love?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:57] MT: "Hell if I know, man. Your relationship was hells of fucked-up."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:57] AA: "I mean how can she make love with BALISH to begin with, but he's not even like....all about her?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:57] AA: "I know trolls have their flipped up quadrants thing but....that's just disrespectful!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:58] AA: Sami gets a horrified look on her face. "Oh, god....she's just like me, isn't she?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:58] AA: "She probably thought no one would ever love her, and then Balish comes along and is interested and she just fell for him..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:58] MT: "Howzat?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:58] MT: ((Whoops))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:59] AA: "...and even though he was a total asshole she won't leave because she doesn't think anyone else would ever love her." Sami frowns.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:59] AA: "I got lucky, that the person who loved me was someone as sweet and supportive as Beau. But I guess she didn't get that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:59] MT: "From what I heard, your relationship was actually pretty nice until about 15 years ago."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:59] AA: Sami's jaw hardens. "Yeah." Her tone is angry.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:00] AA: "How can she go back to him after that?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:00] AA: "How has she not torn him to little pieces?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:00] MT: "The hope that maybe she can change him, probably. That's usually what keeps them coming back."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:01] AA: "Didn't you guys say that he went crazy and tried to kill all the humans?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:01] AA: "And she's STILL with him?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:01] AA: "What kind of idiot is this Sami?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:02] AA: Sami looks like she has a sudden epiphany, then looks down in shame.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:02] AA: "I guess....I guess I'm not in any position to judge."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:02] AA: "Because I guess I literally know for a fact that I would do the same thing in her shoes."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:03] AA: "That's kind of a rough thing to learn about yourself though." Sami looks sullen.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:03] MT: "Hey. She wasn't just an abused sad sack, you know."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:04] MT: "She was the Commander of the Earth fleet, and a damn good one, too."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:04] MT: "They didn't call her the Horntaker for nothing."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:05] AA: Sami grunts noncommittally. This doesn't seem to make her feel much better.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:05] MT: "She was just about the closest thing I had to a mom, growing up. One that was tangibly there, anyways."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:06] AA: "Yeah. She was the closest thing Darmok had to a mom, too." Sami sounds pouty.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:06] MT: "She sacrificed everything to keep us safe and make sure we made it in alive."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:07] MT: "I heard from Thiago she beat the ever loving shit out of Kate when she tried to kill him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:09] MT: "And that's gotta count for something, right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:10] AA: "Yeah. I'm not saying she doesn't have her good points. But she still pleasures the man who tortured her son so badly he can't even carry on normal conversations while he watches home-made porn of himself with another woman."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:12] MT: "She's still not you, though. Not really. You both had different worlds, different experiences, different lives. You might be similar, sure, but you're not the same."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:12] AA: "I know. I'm dating a boy who's like that in regards to my first girlfriend, remember?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:13] AA: "But that's also why I know that we're the same at our core."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:13] AA: "I knew my inability to let go of love was reckless and had gotten me into trouble. I just didn't know it would make me enable someone so horrible."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:15] AA: If I ever meet the other me, I think I'm going to have to help her get over him somehow." She sighs. "You said Queen Beau didn't make it to this side, right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:16] MT: "No. She got spritified, though. Dunno if Sami'd be into that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:17] AA: Sami smiles. "I didn't know either, at first." She sighs. "But they've lived different lives. I can't assume it would work just because it would warm my heart."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:18] MT: "I meant the whole sex with a sprite thing. Do they even have sex organs?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:18] MT: "You'd have to have one hell of a kink, that's for sure."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:18] AA: Sami blushes a little. "Well ghosts do."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:19] MT: "Ohoho. Speaking from personal experience, eh."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:19] AA: Sami blushes harder. "I can neither confirm nor deny."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:19] AA: Her voice squeaks a little as she says this.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:19] MT: "How do you make it work if he's intangible? Does he use a strap-on?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:20] AA: "This is....getting a little personal."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:20] MT: "Merely asking in the interests of science."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:20] AA: "...it's Dream Logic, I guess. Since we're in a Dream Bubble."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:21] AA: "So he can be intangible or not if he needs to be."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:21] MT: "If you're ever interested, by the way, you should talk to Mari. She has these great prosthetic horns..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:21] AA: Sami's completely red as she says this.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:21] AA: "Uh, no, no thank you. I'm....we're doing just fine."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:22] MT: "You sure? You don't know what you're missing!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:22] AA: "Why would....horns...?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:23] MT: Lily only waggles her eyebrows in response.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:24] AA: "Ughh. How is it that people keep telling me new things about trolls' sex lives?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:24] MT: "It's a sign."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:24] AA: "A sign that I need to stop talking to people?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:25] MT: "Probably, yes."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:26] MT: "Also that we've gotten massively off-topic."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:26] AA: "I'm trying to keep my mind off the fact that we're actually going to let Nate kill Thiago." Sami looks glum again.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:26] MT: "Oh. Sorry."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:27] MT: "I could complain about my messed-up love life?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:28] AA: "Things aren't going well with Sorser? I wondered why you would be going to Jack for sex."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:28] MT: "No, things are great with Sorser. Haven't heard from him in a while, which is worrying, but we're doing fine."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:29] MT: "Which... is part of the problem."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:30] MT: "Because if I love Sorser..." She puts her head in her hands. "WHY do I have the dokis for both Miloko AND Thiago?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:31] MT: "AT THE SAME TIME?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:31] AA: Sami shrugs. "I don't know. I've only ever felt 'dokis' for two people, and they're both kind of the same person."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:32] AA: "But you're kinda-sorta half troll now, right? It could be instinct."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:32] AA: "Although I think even trolls only get the screaming thigh sweat sorts of dokis for two people at a time."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:33] MT: "But, like, I want them all in the same quadrant is the problem. If it was instinct, I'd be jonesing for all of them in different ones."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:34] AA: Sami shrugs. "I don't know what to tell you then. I heard of polyamory once or twice, but I never really understood it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:34] AA: "I think your dad was in a relationship with Seriad and Kate at the same time for a while though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:34] MT: "Haha, really? Maybe it runs in the family."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:35] AA: "I'm not sure how serious any of them were about that to be honest with you. It only lastes like a week."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:35] MT: ((BTW screaming thigh sweat might be my new favorite phrase))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:35] MT: "Sounds like Dad."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:36] MT: "But I don't think it's like that for me. I mean, Milly's pretty recent, but I've been crushing on Thiago FOREVER."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:37] MT: "And Sorser's been going a while too, now that I think about it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:38] AA: "I don't know if I've ever really had a crush....not an unrequited one anyway. I had never really even thought about romance-y stuff before Beau told me how she felt about me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:39] AA: "The thing is, after we started dating, I couldn't really remember ever not feeling that way about her."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:39] MT: "I dunno. Guess I'm just venting out of frustration and fear."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:40] AA: "And I don't know if that's because I had a crush on her and didn't know it, or if falling in love with her overwrote my memories of being just friends."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:40] AA: "So I can't really give you much insight into how to deal with crushes, I'm afraid."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:41] AA: "Maybe Beau could? He must have gone through the same thing she did with me..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:41] MT: "Ooh, yeah, maybe. I could use all the advice I can get. What's his handle?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:41] AA: "...but then again he never had to get over me. Except when the Sami he dated first died."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:42] AA: "chessAficionado."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:42] AA: "And that's a different kind of 'getting over' someone than the kind you sound like you want to do."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:42] MT: "Sweet." She pulls out her phone and adds it to the directory. " And

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:42] AA: "Unless you want to try to make a go for the poly thing. I don't know who could help you with that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:44] MT: "Think I might have to try and help myself." She gulps. "And lemme tell ya, I'm nervous as heck about it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:44] MT: "Cause what if they don't wanna do this? What if when I try and gain one, I lose both?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:45] AA: "'He who chases two rabbits catches neither.'" Sami quotes.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:46] MT: "Thanks. That really boosted my mood," she says flatly.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:46] AA: "But I don't know if that applies in this case. I think all you can do is tell them how you feel."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:46] AA: "And be honest about it, even if you're scared it will turn them off. You don't want to lie to people about that sort of thing."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:47] MT: "Yeah, guess that's what I have to do. Even though I'd rather do anything else."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:47] AA: "I know this sounds like a 'mom' thing to say and you're probably just going to roll your eyes, but if showing them the real you makes them leave, they didn't deserve to be with you in the first place."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:48] MT: She chuckles. "That was kind of a mom thing, not gonna lie."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:48] MT: "It was a good mom thing, though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:50] AA: Sami attempts to ruffle Lily's hair. Although since she's about a foot shorter than Lily, this doesn't work well.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:50] MT: Lily obligingly leans down for ease of hair ruffling.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:52] AA: "Okay. Well you go get them then. And stop thinking you're such a horrible person. You've got flaws and weaknesses and you make mistakes. But so does everyone else."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:52] AA: "Start believing in yourself and work on the things about yourself that you don't like."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:53] MT: "Same goes for you, you know," she says, sticking her tongue out playfully.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:55] AA: "I'm better than I used to be about it. I know my weaknesses, but I know my strengths too.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:55] AA: (( Shit, I just realized Sami tried to "ruffle the hair" of a bald girl ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:55] AA: (( I keep forgetting ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:55] MT: ((Ehehe))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:56] MT: ((I keep trying to have her run a hand through her hair and then realizing she can't))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:56] AA: "All right. I'm going to go try to find Doir and see if he can get me into Colonel Heston's rooms. Or else get Ryspor to take me to the Ark and come back tomorrow.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:57] MT: "All right. Thanks for the talk, Mom!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:58] MT: ((Upost for obvious reasons))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:59] AA: (( Yeah, yeah))