092114 Rubi-Sami

 -- arcaneArtisan [AA] began trolling automatedContraption [AC] at 21:05 --

 [09:08] AC: Rubi brushes by Sami... then sits next to her

[09:08] AA: "Oh, hey there....Rubi, right?"

 [09:09] AA: She giggles a little. "You know you've got Beau's chin? It's so cute. Reminds me of her so much."

 [09:10] AC: "Cookie always said that too..." she smiles at Sami "Whatcha working on?"

 [09:12] AA: "Drawing some of you guys. I like to draw people when I first meet them so I'll remember their names and faces."

 [09:14] AA: "Not that I'm likely to forget what Beau's daughter looks like."

 [09:15] AC: "Thats kind of clever... i always just gave people nicknames and worked with that..." She blushes a bit "What was my mother like in the other universe?"

 [09:16] AA: Sami smiles. "She was really smart. And really pretty, too. The first time I saw her, she was in this ridiculous ball gown. She looked beautiful in it, but she was so embarrassed."

 [09:16] AA: "She didn't have very good taste in women though, I'm afraid."

 [09:17] AA: "Still not sure what she saw in me."

 [09:17] AC: "Seems she didn't lose that in the other universe..." Rubi rolls her eyes "you seem like a fine lady what are you talking about?"

 [09:17] AA: "I'm like....60% teasing. Maybe 51% teasing."

 [09:19] AA: "I don't know though. I think she could've done a lot better. But for some reason she fell for me. I had never even thought about romance when she confessed to me....I just figured it was something that happened to other people."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:19] AA: "Heh. It took her like three tries for me to even realize what it was she was saying."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:21] AC: Rubi turns to her side and lays on her arm "hehe... Least it sounds like it blossomed into something good...ish..." Rubi ponders for a bit

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:22] AA: "You know....I know it might be a bit weird talking to the ghost of an alternate universe version an alternate universe version of the woman who raised you....but if you'd like to talk to Beau on the ark, I'll bet he's pretty lonely and would like to talk to you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:22] AA: "His handle is chessAficionado."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:23] AC: "Its a little weird... but im just... going to put it up to like... comic book alt universes... and just roll with yes that is my moth...er father."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:23] AC: "but thank you ill be sure to soon..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:25] AC: "did tlaloc have a relationship of some kind with beau in the other universe?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:25] AA: Sami tenses up. "...yeah....kinda."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:26] AA: "I um....look, I don't want to talk about Tlaloc. I'm....I've tried to get past it but I get a little jealous sometimes. And I don't want to badmouth your dad to you, especially when I'm probably biased."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:27] AA: "Beau could probably tell you and be more objective about it though. He had the same relationship with Tlaloc in his timeline that she did in mine."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:27] AC: "Pthh... badmouth him all you want. in the end it doesnt matter... i just like getting all the angles myself..." Rubi pats Sami's back "its fine ill ask later..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:28] AA: "I guess I can say that....Tlaloc REALLY cared about your mom."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:29] AA: "Maybe more than was healthy considering how things went down. But....I think he was coming from an earnest place with it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:29] AA: "So if she felt the same way about him in this universe....I can imagine them being really happy together, here."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:30] AC: "I think... it was moreso to unite humans and trolls together... pthh... politics..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:31] AA: "Oh."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:31] AA: "Was your mom close with the Sami in this universe?" Sami sounds like she's TRYING to seem nonchalant, and failing.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:32] AC: "Ill be honest in saying that I don't ever recall the two talking... but it couldve been before i was hatched"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:32] AA: "Oh. Okay."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:32] AA: "...hatched?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:33] AA: "Do half-trolls come from eggs?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:33] AC: "...im not sure i never asked... im sure troggle has something on it"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:34] AC: "i just say hatched since birthed sounds a lot more messy..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:37] AA: "Oh. Yeah. I'm kind of glad I didn't have to go through that....especially with Darmok! He's enormous! And have you seen his horns?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:38] AC: "that wouldve been really painful... reminds me... umm... if darmok ever flips out and tries to hurt me... would you mind stepping in? he tried to throw me out the 2nd story window yesterday..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:38] AC: "im not nearly as resilient as him"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:38] AA: "I think Darmok was trying to help get you out of here. But yeah. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt anyone." She sighs, and looks away, as if sad about something.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:38] AA: "For as long as I have to."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:39] AC: "hmm? whats that supposed to mean?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:39] AA: "Nothing." Sami's voice is glum, and she stops drawing for a bit while staring at the page.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:40] AC: "Sami... if you want to tell me later thats fine... but dont look so sad. were supposed to have some fun in this game right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:41] AA: "No. We're not supposed to have fun in this game, Rubi. If anything I think it might be the opposite."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:42] AA: She wipes her eyes and sniffs.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:42] AA: "But we can make the most of the good times while they're here."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:42] AA: "It's the best we can manage."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:43] AC: "...a game that isnt supposed to be fun... what is this dark souls or something" rubi looks grumped. "i'm gonna make this game fun in some small way"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:45] AA: "You know, believe it or not, I'm not sure it's the game that's the problem. I think the game tries to make things hard on us, and I think it'd kill us if we screwed up enough either way..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:46] AA: "...but I think whatever the 'natural' state of the game is, we're so fuckin' far from it at this point that even if we had a strategy guide it wouldn't be applicable."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:46] AA: "Like the Twinks. And the Horrorterrors. And whatever programming changes Jack made."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:46] AC: "...that jack guy. who is he exactly?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:47] AA: "He is--was--a former player. A twink. Like Lily's mom. From the same session as her, too."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:48] AA: "I think he might have basically been like their king or something. They had a whole society based around serving this giant computer dealie, and he was their top programmer."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:48] AA: I saw their computer once. It did some stuff I wouldn't have thought computers could do....I don't know if it was because it was messing with the game code, or if it was even beyond that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:48] AA: "But I know Jack could hack the game code. Doir can, now, too, because of some Backdoor hack he found and put in his character sheet."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:50] AC: "a programming king..." Rubi looks off into the distance... "we got our own programming wizard... maybe he can... turn back a few of the changes?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:50] AA: "What, Doir?" Sami sounds a little doubtful.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:51] AA: "Jack had a long time to learn how the game code worked. And Doir....well I guess he's been getting better at computers lately. But I think it's some really complex code or something. Sorry, I don't really know computers that well."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:52] AC: "No hes called vyllen.. hes really special... he can talk to anything with a cpu i think..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:52] AC: "psionics... wish i had one..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:54] AA: "Oh wow. Some sort of troll magi--er--psionics thing?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:55] AC: "Yep! hes got wild hair... its fun to play with!" rubi does a light laugh

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:56] AA: "Whose kid is he?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [09:57] AC: "Umm... I don't think I ever asked..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:01] AC: "i think we got a sheet from libby or scarlet... i forget... it showed who we were related to though... let me look at my laptop one sec"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:01] AA: "Oh, really? Yeah, we got one too, but it didn't have names or details. Just who the parents were."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:02] AC: Rappa tap tap Rubi types into her laptop... "Vejant and Null... i have no idea who they were"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:03] AA: "Oh....I never met Vejant. But Null and I were almost moirails."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:03] AC: "were they nice?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:06] AA: "Don't know about Vejant. Null didn't like him, but she didn't like most people."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:06] AA: "Null....I liked Null, but she had a lot of baggage that made it tough for her to get close to people or vice versa. I think I was as close to her as anyone except maybe Balish. And she was like half in love with him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:07] AC: "Hrmmm... o...balish?!?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:07] AA: "Yeah. He was sort of the de-facto leader of the trolls."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:07] AC: Rubi nearly hops up from either confusion or anger

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:08] AA: "Oh....he wasn't like the Balish on this side, from what I've heard."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:08] AA: "Balish on our side....he had dark stuff inside him. Maybe even the same stuff this Balish had. But he fought it. And he kept it at bay."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:08] AC: "...our balish has more or less killed off all humans..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:09] AA: "...the meteors didn't do that?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:10] AC: "correction... balish nearly killed all humans before the meteors... and then he killed my mother and several other human adults that made it into the game

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:11] AA: "Holy shit. I already planned to kick the shit out of him. Now I might have to do more."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:11] AA: "He....he killed Beau?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:12] AA: Sami grits her teeth, and her eyes go hard.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:13] AC: "and dean and a few others i think... I'm killing him its the queens right for him to have a fair trial...before strapping to an exploding chair."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:14] AA: "I can't believe I'm seriously thinking of killing Balish....he was one of my best friends among the trolls..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:15] AC: "I can't believe he was a good guy in another universe..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:17] AA: Sami sighs. "He had some sort of....other him. That would try to take over from time to time."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:17] AA: "He kept it in check because of his dedication to his team, and because of his love for Libby."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:17] AC: "was it like one of those chucklevoodoo things? I read about them in a few books"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:17] AA: "From what I've been able to piece together from what you guys have told me....I think he had that here, too. But for whatever reason, he either couldn't or didn't fight it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:18] AA: "Hmm....maybe. I think the other highbloods put it in him. But I thought it was more like a split personality from the trauma. Rather than a monster that lived in him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:18] AA: "I know when I compared it to my grimdarking, he said it wasn't anything like that and that I 'couldn't understand' what he was going through."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:19] AA: "But I don't know how chucklevoodoos work really. I've got one that I can't get rid of myself, but I couldn't find any of the information I wanted to know about them in Library on the ark."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:20] AA: "Which isn't that big a surprise. The library was composed of stuff from previous sessions, and all the sessions seem to have different species....unless they scratch. So there wouldn't have been any trolls before."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:20] AC: Rubi sighs... "still... if you see him... he cant be actually killed apparently... someone headshotted him and he survived..." Rubi looks Sami-ward "How many sessions has there been?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:20] AA: "I don't know the number, but it's immense. Libby's been around for zillions of years."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:21] AC: "...she looks good for an older lady"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:21] AA: "And yeah....I can believe it. I saw Balish lose control as the Grand Highblood once. He was pretty fuckin' tough. And he could make people obey him just from fear. And shrug off mental damage."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:22] AA: "Yeah....physically I think she's only a teenager or something. God Tiering will do that. You stop aging once you hit maturity."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:23] AA: Sami looks down at her own body with a frown. "Or sooner, for some of us apparently." She sounds disgusted.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:23] AC: "Ooo... i can stay young and pretty forever if i god tier?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:23] AA: "...well....sorta."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:23] AA: She doesn't meet Rubi's eyes.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:24] AA: "'Forever' might be overstating it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:24] AC: "Sorta?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:24] AA: "Yeah, well, uh....the thing about God Tiering is..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:24] AA: Sami sighs. "Well if you fail to complete the game, the universe ends anyway, right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:24] AA: "But you can only die if your death is Heroic or Just. And dying in the apocalypse doesn't count as either, so..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:26] AA: "...so you're kind of stuck as this thing existing in the void of nothingness that's left over when the universe ends, having just gone through unspeakable agony and watched everyone you ever knew or loved die....and obviously that kind of sucks, so it tends to sort of change people..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:26] AA: "...and by change, I mean like....you know. Tentacles. Teeth where there shouldn't be any. Strange geometries."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:26] AC: "Tentacles... erm... So... how do you god tier anyway?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:27] AA: "Once you max out your echeladder, you have to die on a quest bed tied to your aspect."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:27] AA: "A few of us had to kill ourselves on the beds. Which was tough. Others had to be killed by one of the others....which might've been even tougher. I know I couldn't have done it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:28] AA: "I....um....well, I don't actually remember."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:28] AC: "If i knew 100% i would survive getting killed I'd probably do it... if only to see some pearly gates before getting ripped back or something

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:28] AA: "It's easy to say that....but every instinct in your body wants to STOP you from doing it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:29] AA: "I don't remember any pearly gates, personally. But I wasn't conscious when I died. Or....I guess I was, but it wasn't me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:29] AA: "So yeah."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:29] AC: "...grimdark?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:29] AA: "...yeah." Sami looks down at her feet.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:30] AC: "its sounds powerful... though..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:30] AA: "I was fighting off my denizen. He tried to drown me, and I saw that I had no hope of fighting him. He told me to make this bargain with him or he'd kill me....I decided to go down swinging."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:30] AA: "And when I woke up I was in these snazzy pajamas."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:30] AC: "hehe... i bet Acenia likes that hat..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:30] AA: "Oh, this? This isn't actually part of it. I alchemized it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:31] AA: "I kind of got excited when I found out I was a witch. Started making myself proper outfits for it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:31] AA: "I....I was kind of a fantasy nerd. Before the game."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:31] AC: "Hehe... you make it work well!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:31] AA: "Thank you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:32] AA: "Maenam's got a set just like these, in the Blood colors. But she's into fashion, and doesn't like to stick to something someone else designed."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:34] AC: "Hmm... do you happen to know what sylph looks like?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:35] AA: "Yeah....Kate god tiered. Hers are in the time colors though. Here, let me just..." Sami turns to a new page in her sketchbook and whips up a quick doodle of Rubi in the sylph garb.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:35] AA: "It's really elegant looking. Like some sort of fancy evening dress or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:36] AA: "And trolls get wings, too. Like fairy wings or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:36] AA: "I don't know about troll/human hybrids though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:36] AC: "ooo... it looks way comfy... its kind of beige though..." Rubi eyes widen "I might get wings!?!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:36] AA: "Maybe!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:36] AA: "You can fly whether you get wings or not."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:37] AC: "Still... I could be like a pixie! be even more of a magic girl!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:37] AA: "Although I've been able to fly since the first world I came to. Alchemized a bunch of Witch Brooms. Not sure if they flew under their own power or because I was a Breath witch though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:37] AA: "Heh. Especially if you got a henshin pen. But as far as I can tell, those pens are more trouble than they're worth."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:38] AA: "Doir's the only one who uses his regularly. Everyone else got overwhelmed by the personality changes. Doir's personality was....already erratic."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:39] AC: "Wait... henshin like a cool slash crappy anime transformation? How could that be bad?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:40] AA: "I don't know. I never had to bother. I'm already basically a magical girl without a pen, so I never bothered to try one."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:40] AA: "But the others seem to feel like they change who you are."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:40] AA: "Like you're not really you when under the effects of the pen."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:41] AC: "hmm... and almost everyone found it bad?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:41] AA: "Or at least more trouble than it was worth."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:41] AA: "And I've heard Libby say 'Meguca is suffering' a couple of times when people tried to find out more about them."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:42] AA: "I guess 'Meguca' is some sort of twink slang for magical girls or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:42] AC: "huh... i still cant make heads or tails with libby... but... ok"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:43] AA: "What do you mean?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:45] AC: "if shes actually a good person deep down inside... or she toys with us because she can for you guys using her teleporting or something"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:45] AA: "I don't think 'good' is the right word. I'm not even sure if I believe there ARE good people or evil people anymore. But..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:46] AA: "...I think Libby is on the level about wanting to see us safely to victory."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:46] AA: "And I think she intends to save as many people as she can."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:46] AA: "...but I also think that if she thinks sacrifices are necessary, she won't hesitate. And I don't think she cares how comfortable the journey is for us either."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:46] AA: "And I don't think she likes pretty much any of us."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:47] AA: "Pity is probably the best most of us will get from her, and I don't think most of us even get that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:48] AC: "...hrm." Rubi looks grump again "its not like we actually asked for help... but I do like the extra capable hands though..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:48] AA: Sami thinks for a moment, then adds in a resentful voice. "...and..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:48] AA: She sighs. "...she has external forces working on her that might force her hand on some matters as well. But then, who doesn't?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:49] AA: "Anyway....Libby is a really powerful Seer. She sees so many different paths the future can take. And she's besties with Meouet, who's also a seer of a different type, and is getting better every day."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:50] AC: "meouet? I havnet heard of her yet..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:50] AA: "Meouet's a troll. Oliveblood I think? She wears a lot of olive, but I don't know if I've ever seen her bleed."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:51] AA: "Really hates men. Which is weird because best I can tell troll dudes are basically the same as troll ladies minus the boobs."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:51] AA: "She's a Seer of Rage. Which I guess has more to do with strong emotions in general than rage in specific."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:52] AA: Sami rolls her eyes and grunts. "You would not believe how many trolls decided they needed to explain to me how troll junk works when I first started this game."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:52] AC: "I heard you tell my sister about Rage before" Rubi quirks a brow "you mean the tentabulges?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:53] AA: "Ughh, yeah, those. Man, I hadn't even really given any thought to HUMAN junk at the time. Much less alien junk."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:54] AC: "Hehe I understand... I asked father once about them and he explained to me IN VIVID DETAIL on how it works..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:54] AA: "Oh god. From Tlaloc? I'll bet that was....special."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:55] AA: Sami starts laughing. "Oh god....poor Acenia. She must've had the talk with either Rilset or Null. Or both!" She thinks about it for a moment more. "OH GOD! Lily must've had the talk with DOIR!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:55] AA: Sami starts giggling.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:56] AC: Rubi giggles as well "Well who told you anyway?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:56] AA: "Oh. My dad sort of threw a pamphlet at me and ran away. Which was fine by me. We couldn't look each other in the eyes for a week after that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:57] AC: Rubi giggles "wait... if you all are alt versions of our parents... does that mean we all are alt versions of your parents?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:57] AA: "Huh. Yeah, I guess there must be, somewhere."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:58] AA: "I guess they must be you guys's grandparents."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:58] AA: She sighs. "I guess they wouldn't have made it into the Medium though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [10:59] AC: Rubi frowns "so much death over a dumb game that apparently isnt fun"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:00] AA: "Maybe not the trolls though. They didn't even know what parents were."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:00] AA: "I mean I'm sure they HAD parents, but they weren't raised by them and I guess didn't even have babies the way humans do anyway."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:01] AA: "Some sort of breeding caverns I think. They might've said something about a 'Mother Grub.'"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:01] AA: "Maybe they were like ants and just had a Queen?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:01] AC: "Yeah... then they were the same as our trolls... more or less"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:01] AA: "So how is it that humans and trolls know each other in this universe, anyway?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:02] AA: "Like you said Beau and Tlaloc were married for political convenience, right? So trolls and humans were already in contact when the game started?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:06] AC: "Yeah it was some weird freak portal tether event or something... humans tried being nice trolls being trolls decided to create war. zip a few years and we made peace kind of..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:07] AA: "Huh. Weird. We had never even heard of trolls when we started. I thought Null was some kind of cosplayer when I met her on Derse."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:07] AA: "With cute little candy corn horns."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:08] AC: Rubi giggles "Yeah I could see that..." Rubi flicks her own horns "The horns are annoying though... makes hats more expensive."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:08] AA: "Heh. I'll bet."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:10] AC: Rubi lays flat on her back... "So sylph of life..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:13] AC: "I was kind of wondering... do you happen to have any guesses what i can do with it?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:14] AC: "i mean... sylph apparently heals... but... wouldnt it be redundant to be something with life as well?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:15] AA: Yeah, well, that's the thing. The classpects are a little vague and symbolic in a lot of ways.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:16] AA: "Like Sylphs are all about healing and maintaining things. But they're not just like Clerics from an RPG or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:16] AA: "Like Kate was able to heal objects that were destroyed too sometimes using her Time-y powers."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:17] AA: "And some of the things I've read suggest that sometimes a class means doing something TO their Aspect rather than WITH it when it needs to, too. Not on a class-by-class basis but like as a thing anyone can do."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:18] AA: "Like, say, I don't just change or manipulate WITH Breath, I can also change or manipulate Breath itself."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:18] AA: "And Breath doesn't just mean respiration, but wind and direction and energy and freedom and even life....but life in a different way than your Aspect covers. Like I mean....vivacity, I guess."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:19] AA: "Aura was a Thief of Life. Which sounds like she would be a vampire--and she could sort of do vampire-y things, but it was more than that. She would steal life from things and take on the properties of the stuff she was stealing life from."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:20] AA: "Which is actually why Scarlet's alive now. Technically she's Aura. But Aura after having stolen so much Scarlet that she BECAME Scarlet."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:20] AA: "I guess I never really put two and two together on that one. Huh."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:20] AC: "wow... that seems... hmm..." rubi thinks for a moment "seeing how im life... does that mean i can give, take, manipulate? I mean... if i can like... mass produce pumpkins for Acenia that would make her life a lot easier"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:23] AA: "Hmm. Maybe! There seems to be a lot of wiggle room with the classes. Like Beau and Seriad could both give people good luck using Light, even though Beau was an Heir and Seriad is a thief."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:23] AA: "Manipulation would usually be a Witch-y thing, I think, but I think Sylphs are a lot like Witches."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:24] AA: "I think the main difference between a Witch and a Sylph is that Witches magic is at its strongest when it's direct, and helping themselves--or attacking their enemies--and Sylphs' magic is best when it's indirect, or helping their allies."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AC: "...drat... that means no self healing giant robots..." rubi snaps her fingers

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AA: "No, you CAN heal yourself. I've seen Seriad and Kate do it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AA: "I think it's just that your magic works best on allies."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AA: "Or when helping allies."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:26] AA: "But sometimes helping yourself DOES help allies. I mean a sylph that can't stand on her feet can't help them anymore, right?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:27] AA: "As for robots....I don't know. I guess maybe robots count as alive?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:27] AA: "Wait, you like robots?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:27] AA: Sami's eyes are lighting up.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AC: "Like robots? I love robots! In fact" Rubi snaps her fingers and her Mechas Tiny and Scratch are summoned "Say hello to tiny and scratch!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AC: "I made these two fellows!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AA: "Oh wow!" Sami looks delighted.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:31] AA: "I used to love robots! I mean I never knew how to make them or anything--I'm more of an artist than an engineer--but I loved watching cartoons about them or reading about them or stuff."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:31] AA: "Hi Tiny! Hi Scratch!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:32] AC: Rubi smiles "Yeah I love them too. I only started making them for more friends... since... the only friend i really had was milly... and she was my sister..." both the bots wave.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AA: "Aww. I kind of know what you mean. I was always super gung-ho about friendship, but it's mostly because I never had that many friends. I was a military brat, so we never stayed in one place long enough to make lasting friends."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AA: "Not until I met Kate, and then Beau and Doir and the others online."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:35] AC: "Yeah... i had a lot of quote unquote friends... but... none of them really were in it for friendship... more like... contacts... and the throne... it was so annoying..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:35] AA: "Oh....wow, that sounds tough."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:35] AC: "and ALL OF THEM were as dumb as rocks... they couldnt even think for themselves."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:36] AA: Sami looks sad for a moment. "Yeah. I was always worried that's how my friends thought of me, actually."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:37] AA: "But I'm not surprised Beau's daughter is such a smarty-pants! I'll bet they probably weren't even dumb, you were just so smart they seemed that way!" Sami gives her a warm smile.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] AC: "pthh... i'm not that smart... im a good engineer... not smart. anyone can learn what i know..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: "Hey, that stuff takes serious work for a lot of us! I had to study for five whole years just to stop being the dumbest person on the team!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: "And I still make terrible decisions every time I turn around. So you know. Don't belittle your accomplishments!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] AC: Rubi snaps her fingers again and both bots shimmer away "I guess... Honestly... im just making this game like a leadership trial for me... if we win then itll only prove that i am a capable leader like my grandfather"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] AA: "Your grandfather? Oh....that's probably Beau's dad!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:43] AA: "He didn't even make it in with us, you know. Both her parents were away when we played. None of us even realized until she told me about it."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:43] AA: "Her Butler made it in with her. We tried so hard to find him....and I finally did! I guess he was following me to keep me safe because he approved of me being with Beau or something..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:43] AA: Sami's eyes look a little sad.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AC: "Wait she had a butler too? Was he a nice guy with a white mustache?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AA: "He saved me from Jack in the final battle. The last thing I ever said to Beau was to text her and tell her that I had found him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AA: Sami thinks back. "I don't know....he moved too fast for me to make out his facial features really. He loved coffee, and it mad ehim like SUPER BUTLER or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:45] AA: "I told Beau we could go find him together once we beat Jack. But when we all met back up on the Ark afterward, they told me she had died fighting him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:46] AC: Rubi sighs...

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:46] AA: She scrunches her face in resignation.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AA: "Sorry. I....I think I've gotten past it for the most part. But it still makes me sad to remember."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AC: "I dont get sad... i'm just really angry about this game and death... i hate wasting lives..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AA: "Yeah. Me too. We lost so many people."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:48] AA: "There were twenty of us when we started. There are only nine of us left. Ten if you count Beau's ghost, but he can't leave the ark."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:49] AC: "...how do you beat this game anyway?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:49] AA: "I barely even knew most of the trolls who died. I saw Glissa once. I think I saw Vejant and Pellok, too, but I was so traumatized by what had happened to Jossik that I wasn't even processing that."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:49] AA: "I think that was pretty much the only time I had seen Jossik, too."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:50] AA: "Hmm? Well we're supposed to beat all the worlds, meanwhile Derse and Prospit fight their little war. Eventually, Propsit loses the war, and we have to fight the Black King."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:50] AA: "That is to say, the King of Derse."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:51] AA: "He's pumped up by the power of all the things we prototyped before entering, so it's a tough fight."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AC: "and the goal is regicide..." rubi sighs even more "when i get through this game im banning it for future generations"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AA: "Oh! That reminds me! We should probably find out what all everyone prototyped! The prototype seem to follow you from world to world, so we want to be careful not to take the nastier ones on until later."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AC: "We'll have to ask around I never made a list"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AA: "Yeah. In the end we have to create a new world. I think that's the point of the game. It's like the reproductive system for the universe or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AA: "But also the manner of its demise."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AA: "So I guess it's like salmon spawning or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:53] AC: "mmm...salmon..." Rubi's stomach growls

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:53] AA: "I hope they didn't tell you that you would be able to save the old world by the way. That's what I first thought when we got here."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:53] AA: "Because that's gone forever. We're making a new universe, not saving the old one."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:54] AC: "They didnt tell us much of anything when we got in... however... I guess thats for the best i'd rather not have a this universe balish respawn"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:57] AC: "...anyway sami thanks for talking with me... if you need anything built with two hands ask me ok?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:58] AA: "Heh. I'm not bad with my hands myself. But I'll keep you in mind in case I think of anything that might be better with an extra pair of hands!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:59] AC: Rubi winks at her and hops up brushing her dress off then heading to the other room