071414samilibby

 -- arcaneArtisan [AA] began pestering sanguineOracle [SO] at 18:10 --

 [06:10] AA: Sami walks into the room, looking clean and rested for the first time in about a week.

 [06:10] AA: "Hi Libby."

 [06:12] SO: Libby turns her head from her work. "Sami."

 [06:13] AA: "I'm sorry I haven't talked to you since the Scratch. I've been kind of....distracted."

 [06:13] SO: "Hmmm."

 [06:13] AA: "What are you working on?"

 [06:14] SO: "Genetic Engineering."

 [06:14] AA: "Wow. That's....what, as a hobby?"

 [06:15] SO: "Mmm."

 [06:15] SO: "I suppose you would see it that way."

 [06:16] AA: Sensing that Libby doesn't seem to want to go into any more detail, Sami changes the subject.

 [06:17] AA: "So back at the Temple, what happened to that Echo of you....is that what I look like? When....THEY take me over?"

 [06:17] AA: "Is that what happened to her?"

 [06:18] SO: "Hmm, oh, the Grimdark? Yes, that's what happens." She licks her lips gently.

 [06:19] AA: "So I guess the thing that happened to you to get them under their power really is like what happened to me, huh?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:21] AA: (( Get *YOU* under their power, rather. ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:21] SO: "Sami, do me a favor. Why don't you take your dramatic little attempts to deign to be my friend, and shove them up your ass."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:21] AA: Sami looks away.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:22] SO: "Quit rubbing your luck in my face, quit trying to make everyone feel oh so bad for you, and accept that MAYBE you got out of this WAY BETTER OFF than most people."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:22] AA: "Luck?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:22] SO: "Yes. Luck.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:22] SO: "

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:22] AA: Sami looks genuinely flabbergasted.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:23] SO: "Don't look so shocked. Maybe if you took five minutes to think of anyone but yourself, you'd realize what POOR FUCKING TASTE it was for you to go to SCARLET of all people for pity."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:23] AA: Sami looks at the ground "...I wasn't going to her for pity."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:24] AA: "I wanted to know how she survived dying."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:24] AA: Sami looks ashamed.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:24] AA: "She GAVE me pity, and I admit it felt better than I expected. I half expected her to yell at me and chase me out of the room, actually."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:25] AA: "And I know I've been a little shit. Meouet helped me see that. I'm really trying not to be."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:25] SO: "Oh, yes, of course. Do you want one of these razor blades to cut yourself with while you're at it?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:26] SO: Libby scoffs. "You lost your partner. That's sad. I lost the last male of my race. We are virtually extinct. Our way of life, everything we've worked for, is gone. Scarlet and I are destined to be outsiders for the REST OF ETERNITY unless we engineer our own deaths."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:26] AA: Sami sighs. "That's kind of why I didn't go to you first, Libby."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:26] SO: "But please. Tell me again how sorry you are for feeling bad that Beau died."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:27] SO: "As far as I'm concerned, you got what you deserved. None of you bothered to protect Balish, none of you bothered to do a damn thing except get caught up in your own petty dramas."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:27] AA: "The last time I saw you, you were crying over the corpse of the motherfucker who killed Beau. I'm sorry that it hurt you Libby, but I can't feel sorry for doing it. I just couldn't have taken that!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:28] SO: ((Do you relent to Libby's physical roleplay?))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:28] AA: "I wanted to protect Balish! But Balish never let me in!"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:28] AA: (( Sure, I guess. ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:28] SO: Libby slaps Sami hard across the face. "Don't you ever say his name again."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:29] AA: Sami rubs at her face and looks away. But she doesn't yield.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:29] SO: "Now, I know your kind. You don't come here unless you want something. So spit it out."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:29] AA: Sami sighs.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:30] AA: "I just wanted to ask you about dream bubbles."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:30] SO: "What about them?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:30] AA: "Doir said something about them. How you....manipulated them, or something, to bring his dreamself to your tower."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:30] AA: "I just wanted to know..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:30] AA: "...no, you know what. I don't think you'd be interested even if you could."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:30] AA: "Sorry for bothering you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:31] AA: Sami turns to leave.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:31] AA: (( If Libby doesn't stop her, Sami's really going to leave, so let me know if there's anything else Libby wants to say. ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:31] SO: "Right. Because I'm the heartless bitch in this situation." She scoffs.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:32] SO: ((i ammmmmm)))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:32] AA: "No, Libby. But you clearly owe me nothing, and at this point I'm pretty sure I offend you on a personal level. Why would you want to help me at this point?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:34] SO: "Because in the event that I die, the horrorterrors have marked you as their second choice. So as much as I want to pull a dead Beau from a dream bubble and torture her for hours in front of you so you have the merest inkling of what my day to day life is like, I've got to work with you because you're working with my matesprit and my moirail, much to my dismay."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:34] AA: "Wow. I feel positively honored." Sami's voice is flat and deadpan.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:35] SO: "I could always kill you and make them pick someone else." She sneers. "Come on then."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:36] AA: Sami sighs. "No. I'm not that suicidal."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:36] SO: She grabs a bag from under the table. "No, I mean, come on, we're going to the observatory."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:37] AA: Sami blinks. "Oh."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:37] AA: She follows Libby.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:38] AA: "So I guess Melaina wasn't ENTIRELY lying when she said the Horrorterrors wanted me as backup, then."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:38] SO: Libby heads for a small service elevator. "No, that Echo wasn't."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:39] AA: "I'd say 'why me,' but I'm guessing it's just because I was the only one stupid enough to give them a way in."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:40] AA: "What did you do? To give them power over you?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:40] SO: "It happens to the best of us." The elevator begins to rise.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:41] SO: She sighs. "When our session collapsed, I fled to the furthest ring. They were waiting for me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:41] AA: "Oh."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:43] SO: The elevator stops and the door opens to a flight of stairs. "Come on."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:43] AA: Sami follows.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:48] AA: "You know, I seriously considered trying to make some sort of deal with THEM. To save her. Or to bring her back. Or something. If I could've thought of anything they would want from me, I probably would have."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:48] AA: "I know it would've been a bad idea. I think I knew it even then."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:50] AA: "But I guess you've been there. More times than I can imagine, probably."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:50] SO: "Take it from me, you don't want to live like that." She opens a trap door at the top of the stairs and heads out into a room under a large glass dome. "Come on up."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:50] AA: Sami does so.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:53] SO: Libby shuts the door. Outside the glass you can't see much more than darkness. "This is where I come when they feel chatty."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:54] AA: Sami tries to take it all in.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:55] SO: "If you want to ask them for anything, Now's the time. THey're feeling generous."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:57] AA: "...there's only one thing I want right now. And I'm guessing if I ask them for that there'll be consequences?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:57] SO: "Everything has consequences. They don't strike a bargain without stipulating terms, however, so you're safe there."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:58] AA: "Do they stick to the terms they set?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:58] SO: "Unfortunately so. They will find any loophole they place. They do not negotiate."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:58] AA: "I figured."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:59] SO: "But they do tend to be more lenient with those of us they 'like'."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [06:59] AA: "...but I'm guessing that there's a reason you haven't made the deal I'm thinking of with them. Lord knows you've had need more than I have."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:02] SO: "My reasons are not yours. Your need is not as great."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:03] AA: Sami nods. "Okay."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:03] AA: Sami addresses the horrorterrors. "Uh....hi? I....don't really know any of your names, but I'm guessing some of you must know me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:04] SO: The darkness outside the bubble shifts, and you realize multiple tentacles are clutching the glass.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:05] AA: "So uh....is it within your power to bring the girl I love back to life? And....is there something I could do to make it worth your time?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:06] AA: "And I mean like....actually back to life. Not zombifyed or as an Echo or something. Is that within your power, and would you be willing to do it?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:10] SO: The tentacles shift again, and you hear a chorus of voices speaking in your mind. "We cannot bring your exact Beau back to you, she is gone to a place we cannot follow. But..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:11] SO: "We can bring a Beau from other worlds to you, if that is your wish. One that will remember you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:11] AA: Sami sighs. "But it wouldn't be my Beau?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:14] SO: "Not the Same Beau, no. Not exactly. She would be from a Dream Bubble. She would have all the memories of your Beau, with one or two minor inconsistencies."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:14] AA: Sami shakes her head. "Thanks for trying. But that's not going to work for me. I'm sorry for bothering you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:15] AA: "But as long as I'm here..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:15] SO: They shift again. "Why wont it work?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:15] AA: "Because she wouldn't really be my Beau. It would be like pulling in a Doomed Timeline Beau or something."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:15] AA: "She wouldn't be the one I promised to protect."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:17] SO: "She remembers your promise."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:17] AA: "She remembers another Sami's promise."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:17] AA: "Not mine."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:18] SO: "Are you sure?" ((one second, gotta talk to Grey!CA

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:18] AA: (( OOC question that might count as meta information, but which I think is justifiable given the circumstances ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:18] SO: kk?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:18] AA: (( If I were to accept this deal, would GCA be able to play the "other" Beau? ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:19] SO: ((that's the plan. I was gonna go over with them the 'differences'))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:19] SO: ((and the rules.))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:19] AA: (( Okay. In that case, I might allow the horrorterrors to convince her. ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:19] AA: (( But if you need GCA's approval, we might have to put this on hold until he gets back from camp. =P ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:20] SO: "How does one define who is and is not 'you'? That then begs the question who is the 'real' Sami."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:20] SO: ((Nah, it's up to them how much they RP it.))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:20] SO: ((but they mentioned wanting her back))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:21] AA: "I don't know. I don't know. I'm certainly not saying it's not tempting..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:21] SO: "We could have her to you in a few weeks. It'd be like a short trip away, not forever."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:21] AA: "...and what would I owe you, if I accepted your offer?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:24] SO: "Outside of the restrictions placed on Beau due to the nature of the Majyyks used to bring her... we will ask that you allow us to take control of your body once, without resistance, in a time of great need. We must defend the Session, and our Chosen Oracle."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:26] AA: "Man. That's....asking a lot. If I knew you guys' motives better, it wouldn't be so bad, but for all I know your idea of 'defending the session and your chosen oracle' consists of killing my friends.'"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:26] SO: Libby coughs. "Your definition included killing mine."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:26] AA: Sami grunts in acknowledgement.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:28] SO: "Do we have a deal."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:29] AA: "I don't THINK you guys are evil. But I also don't think you're scared to get your hands dirty. Or mine, in this case. If I were only bargaining with my own life or well being, I wouldn't even hesitate. But if I might be making it easier to hurt or kill the others..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:29] AA: Sami closes her eyes and thinks for a minute.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:30] AA: "But you saved Seriad from Jack's programming. In an admittedly horrific way, but you did. You didn't have to do that. Maybe I can trust you..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:30] AA: She seems to be trying to convince herself.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:30] AA: Sami closes her eyes and bows her head.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:31] AA: "Okay."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:31] SO: "Excellent. We'll begin work."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:31] AA: "And you know..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:32] AA: "...as long as we have to share a head anyway, if you guys ever wanted to like....talk to me, about the things you're planning, so I have some better idea as to how bad it would be..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:32] AA: "...well I mean I wouldn't mind going grimdark so much, if I had some idea of what would happen if I did. It'd give you more opportunities to do whatever it is you're trying to accomplish."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:32] SO: "At the moment, we are still feeling you out. How far you can be trusted."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:32] AA: Sami nods.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:33] AA: "I think something happened to me when Jack stabbed me while I was going grimdark last time. It feels like you're even more in there than you used to be."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:34] AA: "I'm not going to pretend like that's not a little scary. But....even just hearing you talk in words I can understand makes me feel a little better about it, I guess."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:36] SO: "It is only because you are so close. When you go away again, we will be unable to speak."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:36] AA: Sami nods. "Okay. Thank you for dealing with me. I would like it if things could be more like this in the future. I don't think we have to be enemies. Though don't mistake that for me swearing fealty to whatever you're up to yet, either."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:38] AA: Sami turns to Libby. "Thank you for putting aside our differences and letting me do this. I don't know if I made the right decision, and I'm sure you probably think I'm an idiot for doing it, but....thank you, anyway."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:38] SO: "Of course not. We only ask that in much more... dire situations." Libby shivers.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:39] AA: Sami looks at Libby questingly, but doesn't really expect Libby to fill her in.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:42] SO: Libby shrugs. "Ready to go?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:43] AA: Sami nods. (( Also, I'd like to have some final words with Libby before we end the log after we leave the dome, if that's what you're getting ready to do. ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:43] AA: Sami turns to the Horrorterrors again and says "Goodbye," with an awkward curtsy.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:43] SO: ((yup))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:44] SO: Libby heads over to the trap door, heading down.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:44] AA: Sami follows. As they head down, she begins to talk to Libby again. "You know, I know I've probably burned all my bridges in terms of you ever being my friend or liking or even respecting me..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:45] AA: "...but if we're going to have to work together like you said, I'd really like it if we could get to the point that you don't actively detest me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:45] AA: "Especially since you've helped me so much."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:45] AA: "Do you think there's any chance of that?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:46] SO: "Eventually. Not now, of course. But eventually."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:46] AA: Sami accepts this with a sad little nod.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:47] AA: "Do you think I made a mistake here today?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:48] SO: "Yes and No. I think your real mistake was becoming The Painter in the firstplace."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:48] AA: "Yeah. You're probably right."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:49] AA: "Thanks again for doing this for me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:50] SO: "No problem." She heads into the elevator.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [07:50] AA: Sami follows, and rides down with her.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><span style="color:rgb(100,100,100);">-- sanguineOracle <span style="color:rgb(232,0,3);">[SO] <span style="color:rgb(100,100,100);"> ceased pestering arcaneArtisan <span style="color:rgb(100,149,237);">[AA] <span style="color:rgb(100,100,100);"> at 19:54 --