021815natesami

 -- acquiredCarne [AC] began pestering arcaneArtisan2 [AA] at 23:04 --

 [11:05] AC: ((test))

 [11:05] AA: (( yo. ))

 [11:05] AC: hey, are you there?

 [11:05] AC: pick up your phone

 [11:05] AA: Wow. Nate! I wasn't expecting to hear from you.

 [11:06] AA: If this is about whatever just happened on LOCAR....or LOCAS, I guess....I have no idea what happened.

 [11:06] AC: oh that

 [11:06] AC: it's not about that

 [11:06] AA: Oh, okay.

 [11:06] AA: Well what's up then?

 [11:07] AC: first off, you know how dumb your kid is?

 [11:08] AA: Nah, he's actually really smart, it's just the way Balish raised him makes it hard for him to communicate.

 [11:08] AA: He's traumatized or something.

 [11:08] AC: not that one

 [11:08] AC: the one with Beau that is actually a guy

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:08] AA: Jack? You've seen Jack?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:09] AA: He's not MIA?!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:09] AC: yep

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:09] AC: saw him jump off a cliff that led to the core of LOBAB

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:09] AA: Oh, crickets. Is he okay?!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:10] AC: unfortunately

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:12] AA: I'm sure he's not dumb. He's probably just....enthusiastic.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:12] AA: Heck, I fell down to the core of a planet once too. Remember that time on LOTAC at the smokestack?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:12] AC: no, he's dumb

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:13] AC: he threatened to shoot me after I caught him

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:13] AA: What? Why would he do that?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:13] AC: I may have been holding him by his foot

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:14] AA: Oh, so he was probably just joking with you. Like you when you threaten to kill me all the time. =P

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:15] AC: sure, let's go with that

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:16] AA: Wow, I'm so glad he's safe though. I've got to talk to him once we get a chance!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:16] AA: But you said "first off." So I'm assuming you had something else to talk to me about?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:17] AC: yeah, two more things

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:18] AC: what do you know about lords?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:18] AA: Lords? You mean like the SBURB class?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:19] AC: yep, I know you're close with Libby, so I assume you'd know more than anyone else that'd actually talk to me

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:19] AA: Meouet probably knows a lot too. Do you not get along with her? But yeah, I'll tell you what I can. It's not much though.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:20] AA: They're some sort of "Master Class," whatever that means. The other one is the Muse. Apparently there's always a Muse for every Lord.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:20] AC: yep, cat scratch cleaver told us that too

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:20] AA: Cat Scratch Cleaver?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:21] AC: the denizen of LOBAB

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:21] AC: or at least what seemed to be the denizen

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:21] AA: Why was he telling you about Lords?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:21] AA: Wait....was he a Lord?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:21] AC: bingo

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:22] AA: Did he used to be a player, too?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:22] AC: seemed that way

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:23] AA: Huh. That's at least two then.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:23] AC: two?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:23] AA: Um....you know how I told you guys I can't really tell you guys everything that happened on LOGAT?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:24] AC: no, you never told me anything that happened

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:24] AA: Oh. Well I was pretty upset when it happened, and there's....stuff keeping me from being able to reveal everything that happened.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AA: But I think I can get away with telling you that I met my denizen. And he was a former player. A Lord of Breath.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:25] AC: hmm, interesting

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:26] AA: I'm starting to think maybe all of our denizens used to be players.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:26] AA: But two isn't enough to say that for sure yet.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:26] AA: It's definitely interesting though.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:26] AC: have you heard anything about either of our missing muses?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:26] AA: Either?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:27] AA: I figured there must be one for Jack, but my guess is that it's Libby. She avoided the question when I asked her though. She said she didn't trust me enough to tell me when I asked if there was a Muse for Jack.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:27] AC: yep, apparently Rilset became a lord without anyone's knowledge

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:27] AA: Rilset's a Lord?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:28] AC: that's what the denizen said

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:28] AA: Did Rilset seem surprised?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:28] AC: not really

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] AA: Hmm. So he probably already knew. Maybe Scarlet knows something.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] AA: And got him to do it.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] AA: He's always kept to himself. Well, kept to himself and Scarlet.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:29] AC: it's interesting though, that he became a lord and all the shenanicite just so happened disappeared

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AA: All the shenanicite disappeared?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AA: Hmm. And just after Scarlet got ahold of some on the ark, too.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AC: according to the denizen

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:30] AC: and somehow I don't think those two things are unrelated

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:31] AA: Denizens can lie. Or at least say things that are true but aren't saying the thing you think they're saying.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:31] AA: I learned that the hard way.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:31] AA: I'm not saying he's wrong, I'm just saying we can't just assume that because he said it, it means what we think it does.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:32] AC: he never said anything about those things being connected

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:32] AA: But yeah. Rilset gains mastery over Void and then suddenly something important disappears? We've got means and opportunity. And who knows what Scarlet's motives ever are.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:32] AC: control

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:32] AC: over a very powerful substance

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AA: True. It's one big fat variable in any session it's used in.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AA: Twinks are all about cheating, and if she could find a way to limit who had the option to cheat...

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AA: ...especially with it being Scarlet. Scarlet spooks me even more than Jack sometimes.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:33] AC: I don't think it's just about that

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:34] AA: Libby might know more than anyone else, but sometimes I think Scarlet is the smartest person in the game. And really good at pretending to be harmless until things come to a head.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:34] AC: I think it's about being able to buy people's loyalty for what's coming

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:34] AA: What do you think is coming?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:35] AC: you can't see it? the lines being drawn? the captains picking their teams?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:36] AA: I'm guessing when you say "captains" you mean "twinks?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:37] AC: yep, I think they realized the threat we pose long as we stick together

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:37] AA: Yeah....now that you say it....I know for a fact that Libby's got at least a small team because I'm more or less on it. Scarlet's got Rilset and, in all honesty, probably Acenia.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] AA: And if Jack's trying to get his own team together, it would explain why he's been so nice to the newbies.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] AA: Or at least why he's been pretending to be so nice to them.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] AC: my thoughts exactly

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:38] AA: Before you say too much though, I'm going to remind you that all three of them seem to have methods of viewing people's pesterlogs without being in them.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: So if you're going to say anything dangerous, it's probably better not to say it over pesterchum.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: That said, I don't think just observing the lines being drawn is dangerous in and of itself.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AC: not like I'm seen as a credible source anyways

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: I just want to stop you if you're about to suggest plans you have for moving against anyone.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:39] AA: You don't want to make yourself a target.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:40] AC: sometimes you need to bait the trap Sami

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:40] AA: Fine. Just don't do it on accident then.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:41] AC: in case you forgot, I was the only one who didn't die before we scratched

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] AC: I'm not the one who you'd need to worry about dying

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] AA: Yeah, I know. I'm not saying that because I think you're reckless, I just didn't want to not say anything. It's been five years since the last time we had to worry about them spying on us.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] AA: I'll make sure to remind everyone else. Especially the kids. They probably don't know yet.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] AC: you don't think they were the whole time?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:42] AA: Oh, I'm sure they were.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:43] AA: It's just that when it was just Libby and Scarlet, there wasn't much going on we needed to keep secret. None of us were moving against either of them.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:43] AA: But if lines are getting drawn, I don't know what's going to happen.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:43] AA: Shoot. I just want everyone to make it through this game alive. If we start forming schisms within our ranks....we're definitely not all going to make it.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AC: people die

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AC: it's a fact of life

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AA: Yeah. I know.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AA: That doesn't mean I can't try to keep them alive as long as possible.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:44] AC: no sense in fretting about it

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:45] AC: oh sure, I could've easily not jumped after your idiot of a son, I could've not followed the fool who ran head long into danger, but I did

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:45] AA: I don't think I'm going to be able to pull off any more necromancy. I don't think I have any more bargaining chips. And while I don't regret having Beau....I know that it was a selfish decision that didn't work out well for us in the grand scheme of things.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:46] AA: So even if I did still have bargaining chips, I don't know that I would make the same decision again.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:46] AC: you know, you asked why I was in a relationship with Doir before

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:46] AA: Yeah.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AC: well, there's your reason

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AA: Wow.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AA: Yeah, that's fair I guess. Still kind of a punch to the kidneys to hear it.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AA: But I guess Meouet said pretty much the same thing.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:47] AA: Not about you, I mean.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:48] AC: hey, I avoided the question before because I knew you wouldn't have liked the answer

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:48] AA: But about me being a dumb butt who put everyone else in danger because she couldn't move on.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:48] AC: Idon't often pull my punches you know

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:49] AA: It's okay. I know you're right. I knew it before either of you said it, really.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:50] AA: So do you think they'll succeed? In splitting us up, I mean?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:50] AC: I dunno, I'm the equivalent of the homless guy sitting on the street corner talking about the end of the world

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:51] AA: Yeah. But those guys turned out to be right, didn't they?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:51] AC: yeah, but no one listened until it was too late

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:51] AA: You're a regular Cassandra.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AA: You know you and Meouet really ought to talk more. It's too bad she's so down on guys. I actually think you two would really get along great.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AC: yeah, no

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:52] AC: there's other reasons we don't talk

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:53] AA: If you say so.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:53] AA: I know she's tough to get close to. And you're not exactly a social butterfly yourself.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:53] AC: yeah, but did anyone ever tell you how we scratched?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:54] AA: No. To be honest I was so distracted after we got on the ark that I never thought to ask.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:57] AA: (( Sorry, more internet problems at the office ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:57] AA: No. To be honest I was so distracted after we got on the ark that I never thought to ask.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:57] AC: well, I ain't telling

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:57] AA: Now I'm super curious.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:57] AA: I'll have to ask Meouet.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:57] AA: Or maybe Ryspor. He was with you guys, right?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:58] AC: you sure you wanna do that? I thought you wanted to keep people alive

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:58] AA: =P

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [11:59] AA: Well, if it does come down to sides, who's side are you on? I don't really see you as a Scarlet guy, and I imagine you're too smart to think Jack wouldn't sacrifice you at the earliest convenience if you sided with him. But I've never gotten the impression you're a huge fan of Libby either.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:00] AC: why pick a side, when I can see what I'm worth to the potential buyers?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:01] AA: Ah. Now that I think about it, I could see you having rooms filled with "Soldier of Fortune" in your house.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:02] AA: Just every back issue.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:02] AA: All of them.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:05] AC: maybe I did

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:05] AC: or even still do

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:05] AA: I guess I'd better start getting ready in case this big schism happens though. You're probably right. I'm still going to try to keep us all together though.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:06] AA: We shouldn't let the twinks split us up. This is our session, not theirs.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:06] AA: ...she says, even as she has clearly thrown her lot in with one of them. -_-

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:06] AC: yep, if/when shit hit the fan, I'm planning on making it end as quickly as possible

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:07] AA: Our first loyalties are to one another, regardless of whatever else happens. Even if we end up on different teams, we're still in this together!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:07] AC: doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:07] AA: This might become a competitive game between opposing teams, but I will be flipped if I'm going to let it turn into a war.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:08] AA: But okay, you said there were three things you wanted to talk to me about, right? What's the third one?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:08] AC: well, one of my kids

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:09] AA: Aha, you're thinking of them as "your kids" now! I knew that stoicism wouldn't last!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:09] AC: they had a light bullet snack between meals

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:09] AA: ...what?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:10] AC: you know

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:10] AC: kissed the barrel?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:10] AA: Oh no, Nate, did one of them die?!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:10] AA: I'm so sorry Nate!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:10] AA: Here I've been talking about all this unimportant stuff and you just lost one of your kids!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:11] AA: Wait! They should still have a dreamself, right?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:11] AC: pretty sure that's the case

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:11] AC: it's why I ain't worried

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:11] AA: Thank goodness!

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:11] AA: That still had to be awful to see though. I remember how horrible it was to see Doir kill Beau when Beau god tiered. :(

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:12] AA: I almost fell apart right then and there.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:12] AA: Even though I knew she was fine.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:12] AA: Or....that she was fine for the moment, at least.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:12] AA: It took me a while to forgive him for that. :(

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:13] AC: yeah, but here's the problem

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:13] AC: apparently they're a Bard of Heart

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:14] AA: Hmm. Bards, huh?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:14] AA: Dean was a Bard, wasn't he?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:14] AA: And I think....Kikate, maybe?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:17] AC: probably, but according to cat man do, Bards are destroyers

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:17] AA: Yeah, I seem to remember that from my studies. Them and Princes.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:17] AA: I think Bards were like....passive Princes? Or something?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:18] AA: Honestly the Active/Passive thing is a little confusing to me though. It doesn't seem to mean what it sounds like it means.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:18] AC: something like that

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:19] AA: So you're saying your kid is a heartbreaker?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:19] AC: not really, a Bard of Heart destroys everything they care about

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:20] AA: Ouch.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:20] AA: What, always?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:21] AA: Because I mean a lot of us have classes that assign us roles, and we're not just automatically good at filling them.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:21] AA: Like, no offense, but neither you nor Null have ever been very optimistic.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:21] AC: I dunno, the denizen made it sound like that's the case, but I'm not sure he wasn't lying since it kinda is his job to kill her

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:22] AA: I don't know if it is. At least not for all of them.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:22] AA: I mean technically my denizen killed me....but here I am. And this seemed to be exactly the outcome he wanted.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:22] AC: he had a large axe and said he was an executioner

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:22] AC: 2 + 2 = dead here

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:23] AA: Mine was a river. And then a mermaid-man.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:23] AA: Or a mermaid-man inside a river.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:23] AA: I think the mermaid-man was what he was like when he was a player though.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:24] AC: he also said it was his job to kill Bards of Heart if they couldn't deal with what their classpect entailed

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:24] AA: "If they couldn't deal."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:24] AA: Huh.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:24] AA: Interesting wording there.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:25] AC: I might have been paraphrasing there

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:25] AA: Okay, fine.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:25] AA: But my point remains.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:25] AC: I don't remember the exact wording he used

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:25] AA: This game is cruel sometimes, and tries to trick us into thinking the obvious answer is the only answer.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:26] AA: Or that the answer that seems the most horrible is the wrong one.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:26] AA: I hate to say it, but what if embracing her role was the right choice?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:26] AA: Assuming there *is* a "right" choice.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:27] AC: could be, at least we have options as long as she's alive

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:27] AA: Like when the game assigns us roles, and it gives us Bards--does it give us Bards as yet another challenge to be overcome? Or does it give us Bards because we actually need what they bring to the game?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:28] AA: Like maybe her destroying everything she loves is the only way we can succeed as a group.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:28] AA: I'm not trying to make her decision for her or anything. I'm just thinking out loud here.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:28] AA: I know it's going to be a rough ride for her if she does embrace her role. :(

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:29] AA: I don't envy her. I've destroyed a lot of stuff I love on accident. I can't imagine how much worse it would be if I knew I was going to do it when I made my decisions.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:29] AC: yep, that's why I needed to talk to you

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:29] AA: Oh. Yeah. I guess I can see that.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:30] AA: So what, you're looking for advice on what to tell her about how to deal with it when you flip things up so bad that the you're personally responsible for the suffering of the people you love?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:30] AC: no, I mean, you're good at people stuff

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:30] AC: like making connections and shit

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:31] AA: Oh. You're looking to bond with her?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:31] AC: yeah, that's the thing

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:31] AA: You know Nate....I don't want to scare you off from bonding with her, because I understand why you want to, and I would do the same thing in your shoes.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:31] AA: But you know what it's going to mean if you and she become close, considering her destiny, right?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:32] AC: and?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:32] AA: And nothing. I just wanted to make sure you knew it.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:33] AA: I won't stand in your way if that's your decision.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:33] AC: Sami, I'm a knight, my job is to be the one risking my life for other people

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:33] AA: Okay.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:34] AA: Then in that case I guess the main thing is that she's going to be really hurting right now. The best thing you can do for her is to listen to what's going through her mind. And maybe avoid giving her advice unless she asks for it. Sometimes you really want to give advice when a loved one is struggling, but unless they ask sometimes people think you don't think they can handle things themselves.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:36] AC: alright

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:36] AA: Mostly you just need to let her get her emotions out, and let her know you believe in her ability to do the right thing. Or if you don't believe in her ability to do the right thing, at least tell her you'll still have her back even if she does the wrong thing.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:37] AA: But you should probably only say that if it's true.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:38] AC: okay, believe, should be easy enough for a hope player

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:39] AA: And honestly, who's to say that the power of hope can't make everything work out in the end anyway?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:39] AA: Maybe if you become strong enough at Hope, you can counteract whatever destruction she brings to her loved ones. Or at least make the "destruction" the sort of destruction you can rebuild after.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:39] AC: probably all the dead hope player, for starters

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:40] AA: :(

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:40] AA: I hate to say it, because you know I loved Null like a sister. But I think maybe they only died because they never did fully realize their power.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:41] AA: You know....have you considered asking Rilset how he became a Lord?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:41] AA: Becuase I'm wondering what a Lord of Hope would be capable of.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:42] AA: Or a Muse of Hope for that matter. Though it's been really tough for me to figure out what either of them can really DO, y'know?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:42] AC: scary things, most likely

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:42] AA: Probably.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:42] AA: But maybe really amazing things, too.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:42] AC: but hey, we could maybe just ask a hope denizen

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:42] AA: That's true.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:43] AA: Thiago's world would have one. Assuming all the denizens are Lords.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:43] AA: I wonder if there are any Muses among the Denizens? Or if they're even all former players in the first place?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:44] AC: I dunno, Ourobrorous didn't really strike me as the former player type

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:44] AA: Well, Cocytus didn't exactly look very playerish when he was a river, either.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:45] AA: Maybe there's more to being a denizen than just being granted a title.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:46] AC: could be, or else being a lord would be a pretty damning sentence

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:47] AC: stuck in this place forever

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:47] AA: -_- Don't remind me.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:48] AA: Still, if you're a god tier at least, it's better than the alternative. Assuming there's not an escape clause once you go to the new universe.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:51] AC: I dunno, but I'd rather take a chance on a better way out than getting trapped with only one way forward

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:51] AA: Well I hope you find it. As for me I think my way forward is probably being decided for me.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:53] AC: that's because you choose to follow the path you see laid out for you

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:54] AC: make your own choices, make those who think they control you dread their grip slacking for even a second

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:55] AA: I'm trying to get better at that. But to be honest, at this point I'm not so sure I mind. I'll miss you guys when you make it to the new universe, but....I think the Oracle is doing a lot of good for a lot of people.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:56] AC: you don't think I'm gonna let this piece of shit game continue to exist do you?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:57] AA: I don't know how you intend to stop it. But I guess it must be possible. I think that's what Jack and Null were up to.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:58] AC: I don't know how either, but I do believe that if Jack believes it can be stopped, it can be stopped

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:59] AA: -_- I've said this to Doir and I'll say it to you Nate. I don't want this game to become a war, but if, in your efforts to unmake the game, you put the rest of the team in danger, I'll do whatever I can to stop you.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:59] AA: I hope it doesn't come to that.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [12:59] AA: I won't let any of us become a second Jack.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:00] AC: I'm not

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:00] AC: I'm gonna wait to pull the switch until we got a way out at the ready

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:01] AA: Then good luck finding it.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:01] AA: You know, I hate to suggest talking to Jack at all, but....if anyone knows how to end the game, it's him.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:02] AC: I don't really need luck, I just need to believe

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:04] AA: Okay.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:06] AC: I know, it's not gonna be easy, cause if it was, someone else would've done it long before us

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:06] AA: Yeah. Libby has been in so many sessions now I don't even know the words for the numbers we're dealing with here.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:07] AC: near infinite?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:07] AA: Or at least so high it may as well be infinite.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:07] AA: But unless the twinks have all collaborated on an elaborate lie, I know there was a beginning to their story.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:08] AA: And I would be surprised if they were the "first" session of this game. Assuming "first" even has a meaning in a game like this.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:10] AC: yeah, I mean, if all the denizens are former players, what were the 'first' denizens then?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:10] AA: That is a darn good question.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:10] AA: But I don't know if there would be any way to get that information. I doubt Libby's archives go back to before she started playing.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:11] AA: I guess I could ask the Horrorterrors. Any individual I talk to might not know but maybe they have some Furthest Rung equivalent of the Internet they could ask around on.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:12] AA: Furthest Ring, rather.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:12] AC: yep, and if no one does know, then we can make some assumptions

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:13] AA: I'm not sure if they'll tell me just because I ask though. They still don't "trust" me enough to answer some of the things I've asked them.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:13] AC: it means, either those things can die somehow, or escape is likely permanent

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:14] AC: well, never gonna know unless you try

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:16] AA: True.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:17] AA: All right then. I'll give it a shot. I'm surprised you're so okay with this though. I always got the impression that me dealing with them at all was really upsetting for you.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:18] AA: You pointed a gun at me the first time I grimdarked. And I happen to know a trained gunman doesn't point a gun at anything he's not prepared to kill. =P

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:18] AC: well, I may have reacted a bit quick there

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:19] AC: not like I had any clue what was going on there

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:19] AA: Fair enough.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:20] AA: Okay. I guess I should probably try to figure out what's going on in LOCAS then. Unless there was anything else you wanted to talk about?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:21] AC: nope, I'm good, go figure out what the strange message means

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:21] AA: Will do. Take care, Nate.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:21] AC: later Sami