#would be pretty different lotta changes because life is like that y'know

[xylophonetic]

maybe someday

im reminiscing on xylophonetic now… shiloh my love i know its been two years but if you’re still out there you can always come back <3

[charspnp]

Hey can I request a really fluffy Karl imagine? Where they’ve been friends for ages and realise they like each other or something

- anonymous

not a kissing booth

「 karl jacobs x g/n!reader 」

a/n: i feel like i didn't really fulfill the request fully djddjf but i hope you like it! :)

masterlist

saying goodbye always was and always will be the hardest part of moving. it doesn't matter if you're moving a mile away or a thousand miles away, having to say goodbye to someone you love is borderline unbearable.

but... saying bye to karl was... different… why? well, who knows, really. maybe it was because you've known each other your whole life? or maybe it's because you spend pretty much every day together talking and talking but never running out of things to talk about?

or, perhaps, the reason saying bye to karl was so different is because you were in love with him. 

the hug you shared wasn't like any other hug you'd shared with the man. it was tight, comforting, a silent plea to stay in touch, to call or text him every day (as if you weren't going to already). then the very insistent, repeated, spoken plea to call or text him every day came and, for some reason, that's when you couldn't hold back your tears any longer.

as soon as he saw the first tear fall, karl grabbed your face softly and wiped it away.

"no, no, no, don't cry," he spoke softly, "don't-don't cry cause we're not saying goodbye, okay? we're-we're gonna talk every day, alright? every single day, i don't care what time it is for me cause i'll pick up, i'll answer. always. okay?" though he was asking for you not to cry, he started tearing up himself. he nodded to you, asking for an affirmation that you knew he would always be there. you nodded back and put your hands softly on his, leaning into is touch. you nodded once again, confirmation to yourself that he would be there. 

from behind the two of you, your mother honked the car horn to signal that you had to go. glancing back at the car then back to your best friend, you let go of his hands and wrapped them around his middle tightly. he returned the sentiment just as affectionately. 

"call me when you get there, okay?"

"okay."

"hey," he pulled away but still kept you close, "i love you, okay? and-and i'll miss you."

yes, goodbyes are hard, but the two of you kept your promise. although, it wasn't too hard when the both of you became streamers and played together 24/7. you and karl just had small names in the community before karl got picked up by mr beast and dream with his server. after the dream smp blew up, so did karl. any other person would've felt left in the dust or forgotten, but with you it was quite the opposite. you were happy for karl, ecstatic that he grew to fame and had so many loyal fans.

every time karl asked if you wanted to be on the smp, you declined, though, no matter how badly you wanted to accept. it was because of those loyal fans that you always declined. you were scared that they would psychoanalyze you and your behavior and find out about your crush on karl. yup. it's a stupid thought, but valid at the same time. you don't know when you started having this crush, whether it started when you two were in grade school or if it was recent, but it's the and you hate it. you hate having to hide your feelings from your best friend and lying to him when he asked for the reason as to why you didn't want to join the smp.

"but whyyyy," karl whined, hoping you would give a different reason as to not stream with him (or maybe even finally agree).

"because! that's a lot of eyes on me, karl. it's scary." liar.

"dude, you're a streamer, you have eyes on you anyways! you can't say you never thought you'd get over 1k viewers at a time."

"yes i can! because i never thought my best friend would get so famous so fast and suddenly have, like, over 60, or even 100k viewers at a time!"

"c'mon, just- please? please play on the smp with me? stream with me- for me?" he begged with his stupid, cute puppy dog eyes you can never say no to. bastard.

you huffed, "fine- fine! i'll play on the dream smp with you."

karl's face lit and as he bounced around his room, yelling, "yes! yes! finally!" 

you chuckled and shook your head at him, "yeah, yeah."

karl stopped hopping around and leaned down to his mic to speak, "when can you play?"

"just, whenever."

"tomorrow?" he grinned widely, excitement noticeable in his eyes even from across the country.

"t-tomorrow?" you weren't expecting it to be that early, but still, you couldn't let down karl. "s-sure. yeah, tomorrow's fine. what time?"

"3pm, my time." though he had calmed himself for the most part, you could still see him jittering and fidgeting with excitement.

"o-okay. sounds good," you spoke warily. changing the subject, the two of you continued talking all night.

when the next day came, you were immediately reminded of what was to come later that day when karl sent you your daily good morning text. reading through the small message, you ran a hand through your hair and sighed, turning to your pillow to just lay there. though it wasn't until the afternoon, you were already stressing how it would go.

after about 10 minutes of just lying there in bed, you responded to karl with your own good morning text then turned off your phone. running your hands down your face, you got up out of bed to start the day.

"how ya feelin?" karl asked, seeing how much you were fidgeting.

"nervous," you responded truthfully. karl already had his 'starting soon' screen up and you were yet to even begin yours. "i don't want them to hate me, y'know."

"dude, they're not gonna hate you, i promise. even if they don't like you, they'll see how much i love you and they'll learn to accept it."

you blushed at his words, knowing he didn't have a clue as to what they did to you. "y-yeah. yeah, i hope."

finally starting your stream with your own 'starting soon' screen, you tweeted out that you're gonna be playing on the dream smp, and almost immediately your viewership was more than it ever has been. taking a deep breath, you waited until karl turned on the facecam to his stream.

"hi! hello, everyone!" karl began, "welcome! welcome to the stream!"

while he made small talk with his stream, you changed your screen from 'starting soon' to your facecam. you deafened yourself on discord and began welcoming your stream as well. you explained what was happening and what you were gonna be doing when karl started spamming "UNDEAFEN" in your chat. you chuckled before undeafening, only to hear karl making a monotone "aaaahhhhhh" sound. you called his name a couple times and when he didn't stop, you turned on your funny mic to get his attention.

"KARL!" you yelled, the audio coming out distorted as all hell. he finally acknowledged you by breaking character and laughing. "let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

about an hour and a half and a whole lotta laughter later, karl took you over to a large red building in the shape of a heart. glancing at your chat, all you saw was "DON'T GO IN" but you just laughed it off.

"okay, y/n, this is not a kissing booth," karl explained.

"not a kissing booth?" 

"yes, definitely-definitely not a kissing booth. now wait-wait here," he instructed you before his character moved around the side of the building. you gave your camera a questioning look as you waited for whatever karl told you to wait for. as you were looking up at the building, you saw karl's character go inside the pink, glass heart. your jaw dropped at the adorable sight.

"karl! that's so cute!" you said as you crouched at his character.

"thank you," he giggled wildly (what you didn't know was that he was blushing profusely). "now," he exited the heart and came back around to you, "come in here."

he walked into the building and you followed, taking a quick moment to read the signs on the outside. you stood on the inside of the kissing booth, the crafting tables on the ground making you laugh quietly.

karl flipped a lever on one side of the room, "okay, so these are called the levers of consent. it takes two parties to consent, so mine is already down. if you consent, flip your lever."

you shook your head, but agreed anyways, "okay, i consent." you flipped the lever and suddenly the whole room went dark. you looked over to karl's character, only to see him crouching, slowly making his way over to you. you crouched back at him so you were eye level to him. your characters were close to touching before you got close to your mic and said, "are we about to kiss right now?"

his character stopped crouching as he started laughing wildly again, his giggles high pitched and absolutely adorable. our face split into a grin at the sound and your chat spammed your guys' ship name they came up with as well as "SIMP" which, in their defense, was very accurate.

deciding to mess with him a little, you looked karl's character in the eyes before saying, "karl, i'd say the s-word and get banned for you."

his giggles started up again, becoming high pitched and muffled as he covered his face. "no, no, stop, y/n please."

you giggled at him before pressing your character against his and making an over exaggerated "mwah!" sound.

to be expected, yours and karl's ship name was trending #1 on twitter with thousands of supporters.

[bitchapalooza]

I got a little carried away with names today. Started with Sweden then went all over the place lmao. I'd like your guys' opinions on the names I've chosen before I ever use them in published works.

Sorry for the long read in advance ^^

Sweden: Berthold— I just like it. Not 100% sold on it though. He still has his canon surname as, as far as I know, there are no issues with it.

Denmark: Mikkel Hanssen— I just like it lol.

Ladonia: Oscar(or Oskar)— Its pretty sweet which is why I'm pretty sure Sweden would have chosen it for him. Not sure which spelling I like better. Shares a surname with Sweden.

Liechenstien: Lotta Vogal— I like em both. Not super sure how correct in origin or popular Lotta is as I keep getting mixed results, often talking about Scandinavian origin and bringing up the name Lottie and how popular that is in America. But it does mention how its used in German speaking countries.

South Italy: Lorenzo— Its from both Italy and Spain so I think it fits Romano well. The meaning not so much but Romano probably picked it because that's how he'd like to see himself one day??

Rome: Gaius Vergilius Crispus— The praenomen Gaius comes from the same root as gaudere, which means to rejoyce, happy which fits Rome to a T. His nomen is Virgilius as a reference to poet Publius Vergilius Maro(Virgil). Crispus as his cognomen because of his curly hair. I wanted Romulus to be his praenomen, however Romulus is not a praenomen whatsoever. It seems to be a nomen. I'm quite fond of Virgilius though to be honest. I actually had to deep dive this one to make sure everything was correct(meaning and order). The praenomen are the given names and those weren't normally used outside of the family(meaning only Romano and Italy would call Rome Gaius). Rather it was either their nomen or cognomen used freely. So I had to keep the importance of each name in mind; I couldn't really find the meaning behind Virgilius except that it is the latinized version of the english Virgil.

Seborga: Alonzo— Finally found a name for Seborga that I think fits better than Romeo! Well I'm still not sure of it for the long run but it does fit better than Romeo at least(in my opinion).

Italies' surname: Russo— Not super sure of this one. Its Sicilan/Southern Italian in origin but quick google searches repeatedly tell me that it has spread to other regions due to internal migration. It's also the second most popular surname in Italy(or that's at least what several sites have told me). I'm not sure if Russo is a good name for all three of the Italy brothers, but I do think its at least a plausible one for Romano. And as Romano is the older brother, perhaps Veneziano just took it some time after unification? Maybe to try and feel closer to the brother he barely grew up with?

Greece's surname: Katsaros— I dunno about this one still. But curly-haired is at least better than being a watermelon. Might change later, might not.

Cyprus: Demetris Georgiou— Not super sure about his name as a whole. Nicos is an alternative given name. Not sure about an alternative surname.

America's middle name: Fitzgerald— Its speculated that the F in his name is a reference to John F. Kennedy(or its Freedom). John F. Kennedy's middle name is Fitzgerald. There you have it. Actually, I honestly didn't know JFK's middle name was Fitzgerald beforehand, I kinda just really liked Fitzgerald as America's middle name already. Then I went into looking up the name's origin and meaning and google just handed this fact to me kinda randomly. Either way, I really do like the ring Alfred Fitzgerald Jones has.

Australia: Kyle King— I just like the name Kyle for him. It sounds nice. No deep reason for choosing Kyle. King, however, I feel like he might have chosen to like say fuck you to England after abandoning him? Like I'm the King now?? I'm in control?? From what I've seen on a few sites, King is a fairly common surname. Also considering Martin or Walker as alternative options.

New Zealand: James Brown— He looks like a James so he is a James. According forebears.io, Brown is the 4th most common surname in New Zealand. I'm not super sold on this surname yet but I do quite like the combination of it with James.

Wy: Charlotte "Charlie"— She gives off a lot of tomboyish vibes to me so I wanted to give her a kinda "boyish" nickname that Australia most likely started. Well it just so happens that Charlotte is a pretty popular name in Australia! She shares Australia's surname.

Hutt River: David— He just looks like a David. Plain and simple. Shares a surname with Australia. Despite being dissolved, I still like his character(and design) so I refuse to acknowledge him being dead lmao.

Molossia: Maximilian "Max" Theodore Jones— I picked a kinda flashy name for him because I tried to think like him while choosing it. He looks up to America. America is often flashy and exaggerated. What better way than to get your mentor's attention than by a name like Maximilian?? And I simply thought Theodore would be a good correlation to the middle name I gave America; they're both references to US presidents(Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy).

Kugelmugel: Tobias— No super deep reason. Its common in Austria in the year(or close to) when was he founded. I think Austria isn't super creative when naming things or people so he picked something common. Kugel probably does not care.

Osaka: Honda Tetsuya— I think he'd share Japan's surname rather than having his own. As for his given name, I chose something pretty common in Japan as a whole. I'm not sure about this choice, however.

Niko Niko Republic: Takahashi Shigeru— Again, picked common names. I didn't think he'd share Japan's surname, especially after dissolving. I thought maybe he'd like his very own name as he chooses his very own life to live out into old age y'know? Not totally confident in these name choices, however.

Monaco: Jules— I'm debating whether I personally like her having the same surname as France or not. I haven't found any alternative surnames yet as I'm not really dwelling on it. Jules, however, I think fits her pretty well.

Holy Roman Empire: Otto— Reference to Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor, as well as Otto von Bismarck to kinda correlate the Germany-HRE theory(whether I 100% believe it not).

I'm honestly considering giving Germany a different surname than Beilschmidt since he was never given one by Hima in the first place(even stated there was a reason for that). I'm not sure if I will or not because I'm still looking into surnames for HRE, which I'm having a hard time doing so if I'm honest. Its harder than picking Rome's tria nomina lol.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #268

“i got a switchblade wit that cuts like a bitch, and i think you two should meet.”

What was the shortest amount of time you’ve known someone before you’ve dated them? If you’ve never been in a relationship before, do you watch Scrubs? Jason and I knew each other like... I think two or three weeks? We clicked so fast. Are you a fan of inside jokes or do you tend to stay away from them? I... don't feel a particular way? Do you have any theatrical experience? If so, what have you done? No, I'm not into theater. Which movies currently out in theaters do you want to see? I don't know what's in theaters right now, but I don't think anyone does rn lol. Don’t you hate it when people talk about their relationships constantly? If it's seriously incessantly, yes. There's not a lot you can say to have a conversation when they just ramble about the person, especially when you don't even know the partner. How close would you say you are to your relatives? Not very. What’s your favorite Pokemon? Ninetales. If you could have anyone to do your eulogy, who would it be and why? Well, I'd assume my parents will be dead by that point, so. Probably my best friend. If you play the Sims games, which one is your favorite? I've only ever played Sims Animals, which I looooved back in the past. I haven't played it in years, though. If your parents searched your room, would they be mad at what they’d find? No. Ever taken a picture kissing somebody? Yes. Sex in the morning, afternoon or night? Morning is a great start to the day, but only after your teeth are brushed. I cannooooot do morning breath. Do you want someone aggressive or passive in bed? Aggressive. I am such a sub lmao. How serious are your feelings for the person you like? I DON'T KNOWWWWWWWWWW Ever had your driver's license suspended? Don't have mine to begin with. Does the person you like know that you like them? Yes. How frequently are you inclined to read, and how much? Somewhat rarely lately, less than I did some months back. I would read some pretty big chunks. When was the last time you questioned the direction your life was taking? LMAOOOOOOOOO I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that's like, a daily occurrence. What small things have the ability to get under your skin? I'm trying to think of something I haven't said before, but I'm not sure. OH, it may seem like a small thing, but letting balloons go outside. It's littering. Many end up in the ocean. What is something small that has the ability to cure a bad mood? A car ride riding shotgun with music blaring. I fucking love it. What was the last big change through which you went? Some moral beliefs altered. ^ Do you deal well with change, typically? Have you always? Fuck no. It blows up my anxiety. How do you feel after spending a great quantity of time online? I used to feel kinda guilty, and I actually still do, but it's more subdued. It's just too normal by now, to the point when I'm bored, I sometimes briefly forget there are other things to do that aren't on the computer. God it's sad. What do you consider to be the biggest drawback to being you? I'M BIG SCARED OF EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!! What do you consider the best part of being who you are? I'm really understanding and can relate to people's pain well. What kinds of things do you have on display in your room? Christ, a lot. My room is STUFFED with decorations that make me happy.  There's posters, some artwork, all my Silent Hill game cases or manuals + more SH stuff, meerkats galore, Venus is in here, I have this "shrine" for Teddy... I've got a load of stuff. What do you think your room and its contents say about you, if anything? I love a lotta stuff, ig. Animals, music, dark stuff, games. When was the last time you felt insecure about something/some situation? UMMMMM I should have a question for this fucking immediately. I'm sure it was something when I was at Ashley's inlaws for Mother's Day. What is something about which you are very confident or self-assured? My knowledge of meerkats lmaooo. Which emotional sensation inconveniences or bothers you the most? FUCKIN ANXIETY. Do you ever find it awkward to compliment another being? No, I love love love giving compliments!! When was the last time you had a new experience? What was it? Hm. I guess nightmares where I literally flail and attack shit while shrieking. Do you dress more for yourself, or to the expectations of others? I dress entirely for myself. What is one way you cope when you feel like crap? Binge music I can relate to. Which can make it worse, but sometimes helps. I'll usually get to the point of being teary and cry a bit, but then I start feeling better. Name an insult you regularly receive, if there is one? I guess it's not really an... insult, per se, but I hear "you're too quiet!" all the time. What is something you used to believe about life that you no longer do? Everything happens for a reason. Nope. What is something you hope you never have to do again? Deal with another Jason-level heartbreak. Of the many different American accents, which one is your favorite? I'm actually not sure. Not a fan of any that I can think of. Do you know anyone who had a kid before they were financially stable? Oh yeah, plenty normal nowadays. Is there anything hanging from the doorknob in your room? Yes, the pink bead necklace from my sister's baby shower for Emerson. Sometimes I hang my purse there too. Why did you move to where you're living now? We got evicted for not being able to keep up with rent and needed a cheap but semi-decent place to live. What was the most severe punishment your parents gave you when you were growing up? I remember I was grounded from the computer for at least a week, maybe more. My punishment was always taking technology away and/or spanked or popped on the arm. I remember she once hit my arm so damn hard that I had her handprint there for a while. My mom was horrible at *keeping* me and my sisters grounded, though; she'd normally calm down within a few days and things would return to normal. What was the topic of conversation the last time you spoke to a sibling? Ummm I don't remember. I should, I saw one just a couple days ago. Are you currently looking for a new job? I don't have a job currently, but while Mom has cancer and surgery coming up, I'm not really looking, but pondering opportunities. She'd have to drive me, which just can't be done right now, and I'm also not comfortable leaving her home alone right now. Who is the person you are the closest to? (emotionally, not physically) Mom. What was the last caffeinated drink you had? Do you drink this often? Strawberry Sunkist, and ugh, too much lately. Whose photo did you last look at? I was on Facebook a bit ago, so someone's on there. Who was the last person to pick you up? You mean like, physically? I don't know, probably Girt because he got a kick out of our height difference and he would do that when we hugged. What are you wearing around your neck? Nothing right now. Have you accidentally mistaken a stranger for someone you know? Oh my god, yes. I did that at the tattoo parlor once at a guy that looked like my sister's ex, who I got along with well. He looked at me like "uhhhhh" and it will haunt me forever. Who did you last blow a kiss at? Venus. I do that and wave a lot when she comes out of her hide and looks my way. Have you ever seen lava in real life? No. Who did you last bite? Um I don't just casually go around biting people lmao. Probably Jason. Do you remember the date of your prom? Ha, it's honestly surprising to me that I don't recall the date of either, considering how I remember, y'know, a weird amount of obscure details through our entire time knowing each other. Was your last kiss long and sensual or short and sweet? Why’s that? Short and sweet, because it was just a goodbye kiss. When kissing, do you like to be on top or bottom? Good Lord, am I a bottom. I hated being on top because I felt he had a better view of me and my body, and I was self-conscious as shit even when I was fit. Does your boyfriend/husband know what size your boobs are? UHHHHHHHHHHHHH I don't have a boyfriend but I've sure never actually talked about it with any. Do you have hair extensions or do you think those are strictly for the scene kids? ..... No? I don't wear extensions, never have, but wearing them doesn't tie you to a label??? List all the things you have from your boyfriend at your house right now? Not everyone has a boyfriend, friend. Last time you exercised and for how long? I DON'T WANT TO THINK OF THIS lkja;dslkfjwe Last girl who called you hot/sexy/something else of the sort? I shared a picture of myself on Facebook for once just the other day, so let's so. *checks* HAHA MY MOM. #1 cheerleader, friends. OH I should probably clarify she said "gorgeous," but I guess that counts? Was she hitting on you? Jfc no. Last guy who called you hot/sexy/something else of the sort? Does getting a comment from Ian of a Spongebob screenshot of Squidward with heart eyes count? lol Was HE hitting on you? *shrugs* He's very open with sharing love for his friends though, so it very well could've been just friendly support. Have you ever taken the 5,000 question survey? Parts of it, and God did it get stupid. What would you do if your boyfriend/husband got drafted into war tomorrow? I. Am single. And not everyone. Is interested in guys. But hypothetically, I would fucking panic. I physically wouldn't be able to handle an s/o in the army; I would constantly, absolutely constantly, be actively fearful. We'd have to find a way to get him out of it. Has a guy ever touched your butt without permission? If so, how did this make you feel? I don't believe so, thank God. How many formal dresses do you own? Sun-dresses? I have two prom dresses (which I'm finally comfortable enough to get rid of at some point) and I think like... one or two other black knee-length dresses that I could now never fit into? What do you hope you grow out of? Social anxiety. It ruins many parts of my life. What is the healthiest and unhealthiest thing you do on a regular basis? Healthy? Oh fuck. I, uh, usually have one bottle of water, I guess? Unhealthy, definitely drink soda. I need to stop. When looking for a SO, what three things are most important (besides looks)? Kindness, patience, and compassion or understanding. How much do you judge a person by their appearance? Define "judge" here. Like, I can conclude someone is impoverished or well off in many cases, but I don't judge them as people. What is the most embarrassing thing you own? Hm. I'm unsure. What is the strangest habit you have? I don't think I have odd habits. What movie made you cry the most? The Notebook or Old Yeller, I think. What was one of the happiest moments of your childhood? Realizing I was getting a dog for Christmas. Fuck, I miss Teddy. What belief do you have that most people disagree with? I'd rather not get political right now. Who or what inspires you to be a better person? I fucking hate admitting it, but Jason. The last thing he told me was to stop saying "I'll try" but rather "I will," and I actually recently almost had a breakdown about it because I shouldn't put SO much value into what he says, make it holy "rules." I treat him like a god in so many ways. Still, in my stupid head, his word is law. I still want to make him so proud. What’s the TLDR description of your last relationship? Long-distance was getting extremely hard, but I think the bigger factor was that we both have problems we need to work on before we can properly support one another. If you found out your current life has been just a dream, would you choose to wake up? (You don’t know if your real life would be better or worse.) I guess... no. I'd be too afraid of it being any worse than it already feels. What dumb thing did you believe for a really long time? Political and religious beliefs I don't at all like admitting I had. Where would you like to retire? Hell if I know, that's a long whiles away. What brings you the most joy in life? Oh yikes. Family and close friends, probs. What was the last song that got stuck in your head? "Blush" by Jeffree Star is on repeat ahhhh What is something you enjoy doing, but aren’t good at? Drawing people. I don't really do it BECAUSE I'm not very good. In art in general, I have a hard time with proportions. Name some healthy foods that you enjoy eating. Strawberries, apples, a lotta other fruits, broccoli, there are these granola and cashew bars I LOVE, salad can be good, scrambled eggs... now I'm blanking. Like there are a lot of foods that can be on either end of the spectrum, depending on how they're prepared. Do you ever eat dry cereal as a snack to munch on? Any particular kind? No, generally too crunchy and dry. When you run out of something to drink & are thirsty, are you quick to retrieve a new beverage or are you lazy about it? It depends on how thirsty I am and what I'm doing at that moment. What is your favorite part of a slice of pizza? BITCH all of that motherfucker. What was the longest power outage you ever experienced? Two or so days. I was so, so scared for Venus because it was in the winter. Poor girl was scared. I had to let her inside my hoodie and shirt to use my warmth for a lengthy period at a time, there were blankets draped over her terrarium... I was genuinely afraid she was going to die. But nope, my baby is good and thriving. :'D Do you believe that children should do all of the chores around the house, or do you think the parents should do them? Or do you have an entirely different opinion? As someone who was raised with chores poorly enforced and now I suck at doing them, they should ABSOLUTELY be a required thing. Children shouldn't do *all* the chores though, of course, especially those involving serious chemicals. Have you ever painted a pet’s nails, or known someone that has done such? Do you think that is cruel? I haven't, but I suppose it depends on whether it's toxic or not and if the animal doesn't mind? I do know people who have. What is something you did as a child that you didn’t realize back then was “wrong”, if anything? I didn't know interracial relationships were perfectly fine. It's funny, I don't recall me seeing black as any less than whites, I just thought it wasn't supposed to happen. Being raised in the South does that, ig. Do you get an excessive amount of bug bites during spring/summertime? Are you one to itch constantly or can you control yourself? No, I've heard because I have A-type blood. Whenever my sister (O-type) and I used to play outside, she would always come in COVERED in mosquito bites, and she's still a magnet for them today. Supposedly bugs don't prefer A, but O the most. I do itch, though. Holy shit, do I itch. Do you own any sports equipment [balls, basketball goals, mitts, etc] that you rarely use? No. Could you ever willingly hunt down & shoot an innocent animal for sport? Over my dead fucking body. Would you be uncomfortable changing someone else’s baby’s diaper? Ugh, I have twice I believe, and I hated it. Have/would you ever want to own a pet frog, or do you think they would be too boring? I don't think I've ever caught and kept one? I don't mind "boring" pets, I just don't desire one. What internet/television provider do you use? Fucking CenturyLink. Stay away from it. Are you uncomfortable going out in public with leg stubble? Even if it’s so light that no one would notice it unless they were looking for it? That much, no. Now I literally haven't shaved my legs in over a whole year because it's not like anyone sees them, but holy fuck would I be mortified if someone did lol. Have you ever lived in a mobile home? No. I'm terrified to because of tornados. Have you ever had your bedroom in a basement? No. What’s your favorite piece of furniture in your house? ...? If someone gave you a kitten, would you keep it? I'd want to, but it'd be Mom's decision. Favorite type of cracker: Cheez-Its. Animal you like to watch but sort of creeps you out: Spiders, especially when they're making their webs.

[please-dont-starve]

Day 17: The howls

Daybreak is usually rather beautiful here. To me, to Wilson and to Willow, all for different reasons. I like it because it makes it easier to see everything, and watching it chase away the night is very pretty. Wilson likes it because he fell in love with the radiation equations that became commonplace a few years ago to describe the Sun's glow. He had spent many a sleepless night waiting to watch those equations in their purest form. Willow likes it because it's on fire, of course, and what better way to start ones day than with someone that's on fire? The morning began beautifully enough until the howling began. Rippling across the landscape, through the very core of one’s being. It came on the hour, every hour, and roused both Wilson and Willow from sleep. "What on earth is that?" Willow asked, pushing herself off of the grass. A thin line of drool extended from her mouth to the place she had been sleeping. One of her pigtails had scrunched up against the ground in the night, and she began running her hand through it. When she turned to look at Wilson through bleary eyes, she saw the same fear she'd seen when they'd met for the first time. "The hounds..." He said, looking into the trees as if expecting them to rush out and gore him then and there, "I was out in the desert and this thing...I cannot call it a wolf, but that is all I have to describe it. It was the size of a bear and all mouth. It attacked me, tried to eat me." "Wait, didn't you kill that thing?" Wilson looked at her bug-eyed, and fished for the words, "No. I didn't see it coming until it was on me. It bit my arms, and I threw my pen into its mouth. It must have gotten caught in its throat because it spat it back out. It turned tail and ran after that." “It just... Ran away?”

“Are you questioning me?”

“Yeah, mate, I am. That don’t make a whole lotta sense,“ Willow said, as another howl echoed through the forest, “Why would it just run from a pen?“

“How would I know! All I know is that it did!”

“Uh-huh. You, the scientist, just accepted that a bear creature that attacked you just ran off from you throwing a pen down its throat?“

“I am a physicist first and a biologist fourth! I have no idea why it ran off, and I was hoping I would never have to think about it again!“

Yet another howl echoed across the camp, and Wilson saw a flock of beards fly into the air.

"Looks like ya ain’t gettin’ yer wish. Got any more pens on ya?”

“No, I left it in the cave.“

“Well, there's two of us now, we have a spear, and we took down this thing," Willow intoned, kicking the beefalo, "I'd say we’ve got nothin’ to worry about." "I suppose so." 

Willow looked down at the beefalo carcass that lay beside her feet, "Well, we need to get this thing outta here before those wolves come." 

"Yes, I have been thinking about that. But how do we cart something so large such a distance in such a short time? My old sled could handle a baby, there's no way it will hold this thing" "We could chop it up and make a few trips." "But it would take far too long. Even with the two of us, this could take days. On top of that, other animals might eat this while we leave it unguarded," Wilson said, gesturing at the beefalo. "I could stay back and scare em away if you made me a spear." "It is better for us to stay together until those wicked hounds come. On top of that, if I were to change during my trip, Wendy and Wolfgang are not going to know what is happening." "Well Willy, I'm fresh out of ideas." "As am I. We must guard this carcass until the attack." "So we're sitting here till the wolves come? What even makes you think they'll show up?" "We are sitting on enough food to feed any carnivore for a month." "Ah, y'know what, good point," Willow said, sitting down, "still, doesn’t seem smart to just wait fer an ambush.” "So far as I see it, we have no other choice." Wilson joined her, and they sat around the embers of the fire for an hour. A giga-fly swished past, dipping and diving in the air current. It was a mottled blue color, with black splotches along its wings. It's long mouth curled beneath it, and it's antenna tuned to some unknown station. It rested in a small flower, intent to suck out all its nutrients, when a spear jabbed into its thorax. Willow lifted up the spear and peeled the dead bug from the end.  "What did you do that for?" Wilson asked, more curious than indignant. "I've always wanted to know what these things taste like," she replied, pulling off an engorged wing and stuffing it in her mouth. She chewed on it, looking for all the world like a goat chewing colored paper. "Well? Any poison?" "S'not bad!" Willow replied through the giga-fly, a bit of spit shooting out of her mouth and landing on Wilson's face. "Thank you," he replied, wiping saliva from his cheek, "what does it taste of?" "S'kinda... You know pumpkin pie?" "Yes, I have had that before." "Yeah, s'nothin like that," Willow said, swallowing and letting out a stammering belch. "That is disgusting," Wilson said, snatching the other wing for himself. Had Wilson ever had a musk stick, he might've equated the taste of giga-fly to that. However, he had not, and could not wrap his head around the sweet, slightly chalky textures of the wing. It was tasty, no doubt, but a strange kind of tasty. A faint hint of blueberries hid behind the sweetness, but Wilson didn't taste that. 

On his third or fourth try of these wings he would find the blueberries, but right now its initial taste was too unique to get past. Even more unique was how filling it was. For something thin enough to provide flight, it had a caloric density unmatched by a lot of other foods. Wilson didn't notice it, but the wings also provided an increase in disease control. The infection that had been steadily creeping into the cut in his foot halted and withered over the next few days, leaving Wilson unaware of its existence. Needless to say, they had stumbled upon a strange and powerful source of food. 

They continued to gorge themselves for a while, spearing the giga-flys that fluttered by. Willow's aim wasn't great, and she missed more of them than she caught, but that was still enough to keep them both fed. On his fifth taste of giga-fly, Wilson switched personality. "WHAT IS MY LOCATION?" His body asked, his voice becoming loud and without nuance. He spat out the giga-fly wing he had been chewing as he spoke. "Uh...I don't reckon you ever gave this place a name Willy." "ANSWER DOES NOT FIT QUESTION PARAMETERS. WHAT IS MY LOCATION?" "Imma say..." Willow started, fishing for a name. She looked over the area, and saw only feces, giga-flys, and a campfire, "this is Camp Shitbug." "CATALOGING. CAMP SHITBUG ADDED TO DATABASE." "Alright, I answered one'a your questions, now lemme ask, who the hell are yA?" "I AM WX-78, THE FIRST HUMANOID AUTOMATON, CREATED BY DOCTOR WILSON JEROE," WX-78 intoned, sounding like someone reading off a string of numbers. "Wait, Wilson? Wilson created you?" "THAT IS CORRECT, WERE YOU NOT LISTENING?" "No, I just... Wanted to confirm. Alright W-ex...whatever your numbers were, what's your deal? You said you were an automata-somethin, what's that all about?" "MY NAME IS WX-78 AND MY PURPOSE IS TO SIMULATE LIFE, DESPITE ITS CLEAR POINTLESSNESS" he replied, maintaining unblinking eye contact. "Okay, that's... creepy. Well, you and I are gonna keep an eye out for some wolves. Gotta make sure they don't eat us," Willow explained as another howl rose out of the tree canopy. "SEARCHING FILES... WOLVES: CARNIVOROUS BUT FRIENDLY BEASTS KNOWN FOR THEIR AFFECTION TOWARDS HUMANS AND EASE OF TRAINING," WX-78 replied, "THIS WOLF IS HOSTILE, AND MUST BE INFECTED WITH DISEASE NAME: RABIES." "Yeah that sounds about right. If Willy sent you, you probably know your stuff, though I see his influence in the emotional department," Willow replied. "EMOTION: ANTITHESIS OF LOGIC. WHO IS 'WILLY'?" "Oh, you don't know that one? Willy is Wilson's other name," willow replied. She flashed WX-78 a grin, "see also: Dickbutt." "CATALOGING. CATALOG COMPLETE. ARE YOU A FRIEND OF DOCTOR DICKBUTT?" It was all Willow could do to not burst out laughing. The effort of holding it in brought tears to her eyes. When Willow had caught her breath, she replied, "yeah, I suppose we're friends." "UNDERSTOOD. YOU APPEAR TO BE LEAKING, DO YOU NEED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE?" "No, no, this is normal for me." And so they sat and waited. The day seemed to crawl on now, and the two of them did not exchange a word for the rest of the day. Due to his wounds, Wilson, or WX-78, ended up passing out. Willow didn't really have the heart to wake him. 

It was during this time that she wondered. This clan would be known for their wonderment. The family of beings born from Wilson's mind needed always to occupy themselves somehow, else they would lapse into daydreams. 

Daydreams fueled with curiosity at their static surroundings and turbulent lives. Today, willow wondered of Wilson and of dreams. Were his dreams his own when he slept? or would others sleep in his skin, dreaming in his stead while he lay In the background? Had she ever swapped with him in the middle of the night or vice versa, making for a completely different dream? Or did they all dream as one, creating a magical mess on the beaten canvas of Wilson's mind? 

I could tell her the answer, but that may ruin the fun that comes from such wonderings. In one's mind, the entertaining of an idea can be more fulfilling than the solving of it. In reality, Willow could only tell that Wilson, or WX-78, or the Wilson conglomerate at large, dreamt of nothing and had a tiring sleep.

It was late dusk when Wilson awoke, the sound of baying wolves ever closer by the hour. Wilson jolted to his senses, scaring the tar out of willow, who'd been absorbed in the firelight. "Jesus Willy, don't do that, you'll give me a heart attack!" "Ah, yes, sorry about that. I take it the wolves have not attacked?" "You are indubitably correct my good man," Willow mocked, putting on a pompous British accent. She turned and dumped out a small bundle of items, "before we're mauled to death, I figured we should probably see if you can do that spear thing again. It's not much use one of us havin’ a spear if the other has to cower behind them." "Very well," Wilson replied. He seized a sharper rock, a long branch, and the only stretch of twine willow had gathered. He tried to jam them all together in the same way he had done before and was met with the same flash of green. The spear on his lap was identical to the first, minus a bit of blood and insect. This confused Wilson a little bit, "if I am not mistaken, that branch was longer than this spear is now. Where did all the extra mass go?" "Well, where does stuff go when ya burn it?" "It becomes ash and smoke. There are byproducts, things cannot simply disappear." "Well, why not?" "Because that violates the first law of thermodynamics, which is a fundamental building block of physics." "Yeah, so?" "If that law is untrue in this world, then that means... That means... I do not even know what the implications of that would be. Suffice to say the world we are in should not act so similar to our own if that were the case." "Well, shit ain't fallin down around us, so I'd say we're good. Just means you got a cool power, nothin more to it. I wouldn't look that gift horse too hard in the mouth if I were you," Willow said, pointing a finger at him. She grabbed the unbloodied spear from his hands and began to fiddle with it as she had the other. Wilson looked down at his hands, and at the bloody spear lying in his fingers. It was then he decided that no, he would look this gift horse in the mouth. He would look so deeply that he would crawl into its stomach and out its asshole to wherever the gift horse came from. There had to be a reason that a man, intelligent as he was, should be able to completely break one of the most fundamental laws of the universe without even meaning to.

But first, the matter at hand. The howls were getting closer and the sun was going down. Willow threw more logs on the fire until the axe on Wilson's back was dull and useless. Finally, for two blissful hours, the howling stopped. But then came the growls. Deep grunts, far throatier than any normal wolf could muster, far more gravelly than the most cobbled of roads. These were not the sounds of animals, but monsters, and they reverberated through the duo's entire bodies. 

Willow wanted to talk, to say something, but she feared she might never be heard. Wilson said nothing, and wanted to say less. He wanted to curl up and hope they would kill willow and leave him be. When he was just about to get on his knees, the wolves attacked. They leaped out of the darkness, and into the firelight, throwing their features into garish view. 

They were very similar, with eyes the putrid yellow of moldy honey, upturned snouts like that of a pig, and tiny stumps of feet supporting a body almost entirely comprised of a snarling, drool filled mouth. They would've both been able to look Wilson in the eye, even if he stood as tall as he was able. And the smell, dear god the smell. They smelt of boiled flesh and wet leather. It was as if an abattoir imploded and became a dog monster. 

Willow leveled her spear at the closest one to her, and Wilson nearly pissed himself. Dignified, isn't he? Willow and her wolf clashed, leaping at each other in the same instant. They locked, spear to teeth. Neither of them gave any ground as they snarled at one another. 

Willow stared down the wolf, "have a go if you think yer hard enough c***!" 

Meanwhile, Wilson was not having as much luck. The wolf lunged for him, and he screamed, trying to push himself out of the way. He had no luck, and the wolf gored him with a gnarled tooth. It only grazed his shoulders, but the wound was bloody. Out of reflex, Wilson jabbed the spear he was still holding at the wolf and missed, shaving some fur off of its stumpy leg. 

He scrambled backward, dropping his spear as he shimmied away. The beast wasted no time and leaped on him again, trying to bite him. But it's mouth opened too wide, and it couldn't angle its head down to gnaw him. 

He felt the humid breath of the monster against his chest as he stared right into its throat, smelling the thousands of victims of this things jaws. It was at this point that Wilson was so full of adrenaline that he was on the verge of a panic attack. 

His hands began to shake, and his heart was beating so fast he thought it would tunnel through his rib cage. But before the adrenaline could seize his limbs completely, he gave the wolf as hard a shove as he could. All his adrenaline, all his panicked efforts, every fiber of his being poured into his thin white arms. 

His hands caught the monster beneath its ugly hanging jaw, slamming it shut for the first time since the creatures had arrived. Unfortunately for the hound, these beasts were not built to close their mouths completely. Wilson heard a snapping noise as the tendons that held the jaw together bent too far in the wrong direction. Blood mixed into the wolf's saliva, causing a great ball of foam to emerge from its broken jaw. 

It tried to swallow, but the foam was too thick. It could only make a noise that sound like a branch getting stuck in a lawnmower. But even with blood spilling from the hinges of its mouth, this thing would not stop. It's eyes, now bloodshot and pained, stared at Wilson. 

Unable to use its mouth, it resorted to clawing Wilson, raking his chest with its small, but still deadly claws. It cut his chest, again and again. Wilson tried to roll away, but he was so exhausted now he could barely move himself. 

His scrambling only rolled onto his back, giving the wolf a new area to dig through. Wilson screamed as the cold little knives ran across the back of his rib cage, his pelvis, his spine. Tears streamed from his eyes as he reached a hand out, wanting to get away. 

Wilson felt a sudden weight. This is it, was all his terrified mind could think, this is it. He used the last of his energy to curl up into a ball and slip into blackness. 

"What happened?" Willow looked over from the outskirts of the clearing, "oh hey, good to see you too." Wilson tried to stand up, but only received a sharp stabbing pain for his troubles. He lay back down and exhaled. He was laying on the ground, with his poncho spread over his chest like a blanket. The fire still burned, but it was getting low. The trees were too thick overhead to tell how much time had passed, but it was obviously still night. Or perhaps early morning. "You got knocked out. From what I can tell, you've lost a fuc- a lot of blood," Willow explained, catching herself. Wilson nodded a feeble thank you and she continued, "I killed the first wolf. I put the spear through the back of its throat. Then I killed the wolf on you. I wanted to eat'em too, really fu- screw with nature. But I think they gave me a bug or somethin’." Wilson looked around the camp. The two wolf carcasses lay a few feet away, with a puddle of Willow's vomit sitting next to them. Their teeth glinted in the firelight, as if they were tiny lighthouses atop a black furry sea. Wilson looked back to Willow, and her eyes met his. Her face was flecked with purple blood and red, and she looked scared. Her hands were shaking and she didn't seem to blink. She tried a smile. "You've got some lungs on you, y'know? My ears're still ringing from that scream of yours." Wilson stared at her, and her smile faded. She turned back to her work. "What are you doing?" "I wanted to get s'more firewood. Spears don't do well with trees, so I'm makin an axe," she said, pulling a bit of twine. "Pass it here." "Yer in no state to build an axe mate, get some rest." "I am fine, give me the pieces." "..." "Willow. Let me help." "S'that what you call it?" "Willow..." "Don't you Willow me buddy. You did nothing. You've done nothing. No matter what state you're in, yer a fuckin’ hassle. I have to make fire fer ya, cook fer ya, put up with ya, fight for ya, kill for ya, and save ya from yer fuckin’ self. And you think now you can help. As if now, lying on the ground from wounds you might die from, you think ya can help," Willow was standing now, a rock and a stick in either hand and clutching them until her fingers turned white. "Ya think you're in control, dontcha? Well yer not, and it's time you got that through that smart fucking brain a’yours! Ya ain't in control, y’ve never been! Ya ain't a leader, or a survivor. Yer a coward with a high IQ!" Willow looked at Wilson. The tears in her eyes didn't hide him well enough. A sickly little man, looking smaller than a child. His hair had drooped down, his skin was alive with the red and blue of veins, and the shape of his skull was clear underneath his waxen flesh. His eyes stared out from hollow sockets, and Willow couldn't meet them. Couldn't look at those little orbs that she knew couldn't be any more different from her own. 

Willow turned away from him, walked back and sat down again. She heard the rustling of his blanket, the muted groans, the shuffling of feet, but she didn't turn around. A skeletal hand reached over her shoulder and touched the rock. 

Willow didn't move, just watched as the green light enveloped the tools. This wasn't instant, not like the spear. It was slow, and she could see what was happening. His hand curled into a claw as the fingers strained to push out the energy. His veins bathed in the green glow, making it look necrotic, like the hand of a corpse. The stone and stick sparked, letting out tiny bursts of yellow that were swallowed by the green as it curled around her hands. 

In a moment of panic thinking that she might fuse to it, willow yanked her hands out of the energy, but the items did not fall. They hung in the lights, suspended in mid-air. Then, it was over. The green dissipated into the ether, leaving only the darkness and firelight. An axe dropped into Willow's hands, fully formed. It wasn't as sharp as the spear had been, nor as long. Willow moved it around in her hands, getting a feel for its top-heaviness. The hand retreated. Willow said nothing, and began to move towards a nearby tree.

[everyonesomething]

Session 24c

Edith Runekill sits down in the driver's seat and turns the keys in the ignition. She's making a Good Decision.

Edith Runekill: "Nice thing about being out this late is that there's not really any other cars out on the open road."

"So you can drive really fast."

"Y'know. If you like that kinda thing."

Grim smirks

Grim: "I could get used to it."

Edith Runekill revvs the engine, and pushes down the accelerator (KIDS DONT DRINK AND DRIVE).

Grim doesn't fasten her seatbelt (KIDS ALWAYS FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT)

In this session, Grim and Edith raise hell. Buckle in, this and the next few are RP-heavy sessions.

The set-up: Grim and Edith get up to some good old-fashioned country girl fun.

The Game: It’s evening, the group’s checked in to a motel for the night, but neither Grim nor Edith feel like turning in. They find each other in the forecourt--Grim writing something in a journal and Edith emerging from a traveler’s shrine. They both agree that the motel, the car, and the whole situation feels too claustrophobic and they decide to take a walk.

Grim: "Lotta memories even all the way out here for you, huh?"

Edith Runekill accepts the cigarette gladly

Grim offers her a light and then lights her own

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. Getting out this far from New Luskan wasn't hard once I got my driver's license. And some of the kids at school lived out here, too, the district extends past city limits a ways."

Grim nods, eyeing the darkened Corn Wastes peppered with small distant buildings

Grim: "Gotta say, kinda nice bein' back out somewhere that ain't all paved 'n high rises."

Edith Runekill nods.

Edith Runekill: "I'm happier in the city, but you really learn how much you take just... having space for granted, when you're living in some shoebox-sized aparment out west."

"Air's probably healthier to breathe, too." She takes a drag on her cigarette, but because it is 1933 she does not see the irony of this.

"And, you know, you can see the stars.”

Grim grunts and nods, glancing upward as they walk

Grim: "Half familiar out here. Time we get out east, I'll know 'em again."

Edith Runekill nods again. "Seein' the stars around here's like seeing old friends again, really. When I was a kid I read every book I could about 'em, and learned all their names and what different cultures saw when they looked up in the sky; the names they gave their constellations, the figures they immortalized in the heavens."

Edith Runekill: "First real time I started thinking about history and mythology and old stories, really."

Grim smiles a little

Grim: "What're these, out here?"

Edith Runekill: "We call that one the longboat. That one's been watching over us since long before we came here; Iluskan reavers navigated by it back in the old days. But west of here, back along the Dragon Coast, it's the Longbow. And if you go further south, it's the Minotaur's Horns."

"The people who lived on the Golden Plains before the spellplague, before we came along, called it Chauntea's Plough. Even though I don't really see it."

Grim watches where she's pointing and nods, taking a drag on her cigarette before she responds

Grim: "Heard've it as the Plough, or the Moon's Rest."

"Don't barely see it out east, except dependin' on the season."

Edith Runekill: "Neverwinter's not really a place for stargazing no matter what season it is, truth be told. City lights drown out most all the stars."

Grim nods

Grim: "Always miss 'em in Thay. Different kinda lights there, though."

Edith Runekill: "Lotsa neon lights out that way, right? There's some places like that in Neverwinter, for the tourists, but mostly the light's just the natural consequence of squeezing eight million people into one city. Lotta light, lotta heat."

Grim: "Mm. Hard to describe 'til you see it. Ain't never known a place like it, for good or ill."

Edith Runekill: "I seen Thay in pictures, but that's not really the same. And I read all the old history of Thay, the rise and fall of the Zulkins, Szass Tam, and such. But that doesn't really tell you what kinda place it is now."

"Anymore than cracking open a book about Old Sespech'll tell you about Plaguewrought Land."

Grim glances across the open fields and grunts

Grim: "Folks out here seem real...rooted in history." A little pointed there, perhaps.

Edith Runekill: "Well, not much was left of Sespech but its history, after the Spellplague. And the first Homesteaders to come here when it was safe again didn't come with much more than the shirts on their backs and the history in their stories."

"Kinda has a way on pressing in on you from both ends."

Grim didn't mean that but it's okay. She takes another drag on her cigarette and huffs out smoke.

Grim: "Guess everyone's got their reason."

They muse more on the nature of city versus country life. The city’s full of constant change while the country tries to stay rooted in its old traditions.

Grim: "That's the country for you. Ain't no reason to go changin' things that ain't broke, for the most part."

"In the cities, everythin's breakin' over and over every day."

Grim takes a contemplative drag on her cigarette and shrugs

Edith Runekill: "Mn. Yeah. But..."

Edith Runekill frowns, and looks faintly agonized. "Considering how things went back home I can't help but think things here are broke afterall."

Grim: "Out where I come from, land's different but folks are farmers just the same. Old grudges on Thay still alive 'n well. Folks keep the house spirits, look to the witches, same as they have on hundreds of years."

Grim glances at Edith and nods

Grim: "Some things gotta break."

Grim then changes tracks and asks Edith what it was like growing up in this place, romance-wise.

Grim: "How was it, growin' up here, bein'...one for the ladies?"

Edith Runekill: "Well I managed to not realize it until... like... a couple weeks ago. So." She smiles ruefully. "Could be better."

Grim: "Y'never had a, uh, a real good friend out here? Or grown folks to look to or nothin'?"

Edith Runekill shakes her head. "The only place I ever saw things like that was in history. Ancient poetesses strumming lyres. Warrior queens. Things like that. It was all stuff that appealed to me, but it seemed like it was something that was gone. Something for someone else in some other time."

Edith Runekill: "Turns out actually it just meant that my only exposure to anything other than the way things were here was in history books so of course it seemed like a thing only in history."

Grim watches her quietly, taking this in

Grim: "Mm."

"Ain't no wonder you never thought on it, I guess."

Edith Runekill looks thoughtful; she's thinking this stuff over for basically the first time ever.

Edith Runekill: "Guess some of my friendships with other girls were... um. Kind of..."

"Intense?"

"But that's just how it is when you're a girl."

Grim smirks

Grim: "That so?"

"Guess I wouldn't know."

Edith Runekill smiles, embarrassed. "I'm still... thinking things through."

Edith Runekill: "Looking at a lot of things with fresh eyes. You know."

Grim nods, more serious

Grim: "I do."

"Weren't so much of that where I came from, neither. I know how it is, comin' around at first."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. It's like... it's not just a thing that happened all of a sudden? It was always right there in plain sight but I just never seen it. And since I like boys too I thought... I thought I was just how everyone was..."

Grim nods

Grim thinks of something and laughs a little, ashing her cigarette

Grim: "Y'know, I had a boy of my own once."

"Long time back, before I figured my own head out."

"Was a real quick way to seein' what was what."

Edith Runekill: "Ha."

"Kinda a miracle my high school boyfriend didn't turn me off boys entirely. Lucky subsequent boys were an improvement, I guess."

Grim: "To each their own, I guess."

Grim then asks if Edith ever even had any fun, growing up in a place like this. Edith confesses that the town they’re in was where she and her peers would buy moonshine.

Grim thinks about this, then breaks into a slow grin

Grim: "I recall somesuch about jumpin' out've cars?"

Edith Runekill: "...oh, did I happen to mention that?"

"Turns out the grass here's real good at breaking your fall."

"With the help of a little liquid courage, anyway." She smiles in a most un-Edith-like manner.

Grim is kind of all about that smile

Grim: "They still sell this shit?"

Edith Runekill nods. "And getting ahold of it's gonna be a lot easier than it woulda been back then since I'm actually an adult now."

Edith Runekill: "I mean nobody really cares out here but it's simpler."

Grim: "Well hell, old times' sake?"

Edith Runekill: "Now that I've had jhuild I'm pretty sure I can drink literally anything."

Grim snorts

Grim: "I gotta show you up after that. Ain't never gonna hear the last, if not."

Edith Runekill: "You're on."

Slipping back into her old high school routine, Edith leads Grim to a shack/stand by the motel: 'Aldorn's Magical Supplies, Potions, & Tinctures'.

Edith Runekill: Edith knocks shave-and-a-haircut on the side of the stand and a metal shutter opens, revealing an extremely old-looking human man. He's wearing an apron over wizard's robes, and his pointed hat, while tattered, is perched at a jaunty angle. He doesn't look Iluskan, but when he speaks, his accent is pure Plaguewrought.

Nora R.: "Well, well, well, if it isn't little Edie Runekill all growed up! Heard you skipped town, Runekill."

Edith Runekill: "Kinda did. But I'm passin' through again. And now that I'm a qualified wizard let's just say I'm burning through the 'potions' and 'tinctures' real quick these days."

Grim looks at Edith

Nora R.: The old wizard peers at Grim. "Who's your friend?"

Grim: "A friend."

Edith Runekill: "Um. Anyway." She fishes her wallet out of her purse and slides some gold notes across the counter. "I'd like to buy two... healing potions."

Nora R.: "Now, before I accept your money, since you been away for a while I feel obliged to remind you that since you're not actually a high school student anymore. You... you know you're allowed to just buy normal alcohol from a real liquor store, right?"

Grim has never seen an illicit deal this nerdy in her life

Edith Runekill: "I... well. I gotta lotta memories of this place, is all."

Nora R.: He takes the money, shrugging dramatically. "One like you in every class, I reckon. Gimme just a sec." The shutter closes with a bang.

Grim: "Never knew you had it in you, Runekill."

Nora R.: There's some clattering from inside the stand, and the shutter opens up again. The man hands Edith two large flasks that don't even slightly look like healing potions.

"Mixed you up something a little special this time, Runekill. Call it... a belated graduation present."

Edith tells Grim people have been buying moonshine from this fellow since her parents were teens. Grim wonders how the town can be considered “dry” if he’s been here as long as anyone remembers to sell his liquor but Edith shrugs her off. They each take a drink--it’s not as strong as the jhuild, but it’s not far off, either--and keep on with the evening.

Grim: "I'll attest. You got some grit, Runekill."

Grim raises her flask to Edith and takes another swig. It's surprisingly drinkable for something that takes all the skin off the inside of her mouth

Grim: "Where'd you kids go to huck rocks, anyhow?"

Edith Runekill: "Well if we go exactly there there'd probably be some kids huckin' rocks still."

Grim smirks

Grim: "Fair 'nough."

Edith Runekill: "Still! Let's think of something to do. Drinking's only step one. Step two is findin' some hell to raise."

Grim raises her flask to Edith

Grim: "You're speakin' my language."

Grim glances towards the motel

Grim: "Reckon Syd'd notice us borrowin' the car?

Edith Runekill: "Even if she does, and she won't, it's just legitimate sightseeing. I'm just showin' you 'round my old stomping grounds. Nothin' wrong with that."

Grim nods to her

Grim: "She can recall the damn thing anyway."

Edith Runekill: "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Grim heads for the car with no further debate, pausing to unhitch it from the camper

It’s the ‘30s, people would think you strange if you didn’t drink and drive.

Edith Runekill: The car zooms down the darkened, winding highway. Windmills, barns, and silos are silhouetted against the starry sky. Brightly lit billboards for roadside attractions punctuate the trip, as do seedy rest areas and motels blazing with neon light. The neon's new, even just in the last four years; Edith eyes it curiously as she drives past.

Finally, she pulls off the road and onto a clearing adjacent to a barbed wire fence. The car skids to a halt, sending up a cloud of dust. It looks really cool, but it gets in Edith's face so she just starts coughing.

"Well! Here we are."

Grim vaults out and heads after her, sizing up the fence curiously

Edith Runekill attaches the sword in its scabbard to her belt, and then pulls a gun (!!!) out of the glove compartment and puts it in a holster.

Edith Runekill hops out of the car and starts walking towards the fence.

Edith Runekill stares at one particular stretch of the fence. "Oh, they finally fixed the hole. Guess we're stuck."

Edith Runekill: "Haha just kidding."

Edith Runekill Knocks the gate open.

Grim simultaneously knocks Edith in the back of her head with the heel of her palm

Edith Runekill: "Ow!"

Grim: "Sorry, y'just reminded me."

"Now we're even."

Edith Runekill: "Wh... oh."

"Ohhhhh."

Edith Runekill laughs.

Edith Runekill: "Had that one coming."

Grim: "Hell you go listenin' to Pepper for, I just don't know."

The pair of them trespass into the area’s local junkyard/makeout point/teen loitering arena. Edith has plans to practice her non-magical target shooting at the range.

Edith Runekill: "And by 'shooting range' I mean 'a board we put bottles on'."

Grim slowly grins. A grin that takes over her entire face as she looks at Edith.

Grim: "Fuck yeah I do."

Edith Runekill: "Neat." She starts walking down one of the paths, until they finally arrive at a slightly more open area. Off to the side, there's a sign with a long list of names and numbers scratched into it. At the very bottom it says "Edith R.: 0".

"High scores," she says, ruefully.

Grim looks over the list, her eye settling last on "Edith R." She snorts.

Edith Runekill: There's a few other familiar names-- it doesn't go far enough for, say, Pa Runekill or Pastor John, but you see a "Tom" in the middle of the pack. And a "Grace" near the top.

Grim: "I bet you could flick a fly out the air with one've them magical hands you get. How come you ain't able at this?"

Edith Runekill: "Since this was back before I could mage hand a feather off a duck. I'd like to think I'd do better now. But I guess there's only one way to find out!"

Grim: "Show me what you got, Runekill."

Turns out she doesn’t have much and misses the bottle on the first shot, but does pretty well on the second. Grim takes a shot to show her how it’s done and they alternate killing bottles while she gives Edith some tips.

Grim: "Ain't shot target like this in years."

Edith Runekill: "Neither have I. Well. I guess I ain't actually shot the targets ever before now. Shot at 'em, maybe."

Grim: "Used to shoot like this with the kids, back on the circuit. Me 'n Byrd and Kray 'n the others out've Thay."

Grim finds a low wall to settle on and smoke as Edith sets back up

Edith Runekill: "Universal pastime of the bored yet well-armed." She shoots Grim a grin as she lines up another shot.

"Looks like my luck's turnin' around!"

Grim: "Ain't no luck about it, you got your eye in." Grim steps up to take her shot.

Grim almost wangs it, but catches the bottle on one side, spinning it to the ground to shatter

Edith Runekill: "I think that one's just wounded."

Grim makes a Psshh sound

Grim: "Like hell. You go count the shards, that's a dead-ass soldier."

Edith Runekill walks up to inspect the fallen warrior. She puts up a hand and casts Mending on it. She cradles it in her arms and carries it up to Grim with mock solemnity.

Edith Runekill: "It was touch and go, but... he's gonna make it. He's going home..."

Grim cracks up

Grim: "Well shit, now I ain't got the heart."

Edith Runekill laughs too, and gently sets the bottle down. "A hero..."

Grim nods and tips her hat to the bottle

Grim: "Doin' about as well as us, this far."

Edith Runekill: "Ha."

"Guess if it ever comes down to me needin' to make a shot with this little gun we're probably in trouble..."

"But every arrow in the quiver counts, y'know?"

"Every arrow in every mixed metaphor."

"Wait that wasn't even mixed was it"

Edith Runekill takes another swig of 'healing potion' rather than think about this

Grim: "Comes down to it, you can make a shot." Grim raises her flask to Edith and takes a swig. It doesn't make her flinch any more. That might be a bad sign.

"I'd bet my life on you, anyhow."

Edith Runekill: "And I'd bet my life on you. And, truth be told, probably already have a bunch of times, kinda scrapes we get into." She takes another swig. She hadn't flinched at all from the start. Which is probably a Very Bad sign.

Grim nods at this, eyeing the target bottles

Grim: "Hell, if I die by your side, I reckon it'll be about as good as I could hope for."

Edith Runekill smiles. "I'm optimistic enough to think we maybe got a shot at this. But... if not. Well. Hell of a way to go."

Grim: "Right?" Grim smirks and smacks Edith on the shoulder.

"Ain't ever trusted many, and it's been a long time since, but-" She looks at Edith and shrugs, huffing around her cigarette. "-I sure as hell trust you."

Edith Runekill smiles, and actually wipes away a tear or two (!).

Edith Runekill: "Aw, Grim..."

"That's... you got no idea what an honor that is to hear from you."

Grim snorts and raises her rifle

Grim: "Don't get used to it."

Grim asks Edith what set her on the wizard path, she seems like she’d be a good enough fighter if she’d put her mind to it. Edith says it’s not so much the fighting that she enjoys, but the knowledge and learning that goes into being an accomplished wizard that she loves. Even though she never had much of an education, Grim can admire that in Edith and appreciate the passion she has for her profession.

Grim asks if she thinks young Edith would be proud of how she turned out. Overall, she thinks her younger self would be impressed, even with as sheltered as she used to be.

They take a break from shooting to talk about Edith’s old high school in New Luskan--they drove by it on the way to the junkyard. Specifically they talk about its mascot, the Rashemi Barbarian complete with plaster and wood statue. The Rashemi, if it isn’t clear, are an ethnic minority and it’s the 30s and we’re in fantasy Nebraska so the statue looks about how you might imagine.

Grim: "What d'you reckon she'd make of that mascot?"

Edith Runekill: "Too sheltered to get why it's bad, probably."

"That stuff just fades into the background until you been away a while..."

"And then you just see it and you're like, how was I just okay seeing that every day as a kid?"

Grim glances at Edith and smiles

Grim: "Wanna go fuck it up?"

Edith Runekill: "Hm. I'm not... I'm not sure."

Edith Runekill takes another drink

Edith Runekill: "Okay, I'm sure."

Grim grins

Grim: "That's my fuckin' girl."

Edith Runekill: "We'll be doing the town a public service anyway, that thing's an embarrassment."

Grim: "No fuckin' shit." Grim hops up and heads back towards the car.

The night is going super well.

They start driving back towards the school and along the way, Grim reminds Edith about the car jumping.

Grim: "Hey Runekill."

Edith Runekill takes advantage of the fact that it's the 1930s and everyone still drives like manics to drive like a maniac.

Grim: "How fast this car goin' when you jumped out b'fore?"

Edith Runekill: "Um... slower than this. This car's got more punch to it than anything we were driving around."

"But this is about the right stretch of highway for a soft landing..."

Grim: "Y'wanna break another record?"

Edith Runekill grins the grin of somebody driving like a maniac and willing to do something extremely dangerous to get hyped up to destroy some public property.

Grim has never been seriously into Edith until this moment

Edith Runekill: "You first."

Grim stands up and crouches on the passenger side door, then hurls herself out and rolls

Grim rolls over and flops on her back, then sits up and looks to Edith in the speeding car

Edith Runekill trusts the Magic Paladin Steed Car to know when to stop and follows Grim out the car. What a good idea. What a good thing, that Edith is doing. This is good.

Edith Runekill gracefully flips out of the car and onto the pavement which was rushing by. [infernal] "SHIIIIIIIT!"

Edith Runekill: "Oof. Well."

Grim watches Edith wipe out and swears, launching up to her feet to race over

Edith Runekill sits up. She's got a nasty scrape where her calf scraped the pavement, and a rapidly darkening bruise on the side of her face. She gives Grim a thumb's up.

Edith Runekill: "Guess that's the first time I did it from the driver's side..."

"Didn't compensate for that..."

Grim slows as Edith gets up, then shakes her head and snorts

Grim: "Dumbass."

They both compose themselves and break into the high school for a little after hours education on proper respect for all cultures.

Edith Runekill stares up at the imposing figure of the New Luskan High Barbarian.

Grim comes to a halt by her shoulder and follows her gaze

Grim: "...what a piece've hateful fuckin' ignorant ass bullshit."

".......let's light it on fire."

Edith Runekill: "I was gonna offer a, uh, non-fire-based way to dismantle it. But... but if you want a fire, I can set a fire."

Edith Runekill looks delighted at this turn of events.

Grim: "Wipe it the fuck out, Runekill."

"If my folks died this way, this thing don't oughta get no better."

Edith Runekill does some mental math, determines that nothing else flammable is within a 20 foot radius of the Barbarian, and then Does What Comes Naturally To Her

Grim flinches a little, closing her eyes and turning away as it goes up in flames

Edith Runekill puts a steadying hand on Grim's shoulder.

Grim flinches but doesn't shake her off. She takes a deep breath and then a swig from her flask without opening her eyes

Edith Runekill: The NLHS Barbarian burns and burns and burns. It's already nothing more than a metal superstructure embedded in a nimbus of flame; everything that made it identifiable has been burned away.

Edith Runekill would never admit it in current company. But, privately, she thinks that this looks totally sick, and that fire is really cool and good.

Edith Runekill: Runekill's runes-- usually a soft blue-- are all glowing fiery red; it's the first time she's cast a spell with it. She's... pretty into it, honestly.

Grim seems rooted to the spot for a minute, not opening her eyes. She takes a deep breath and then another, and then she raises a hand to find Edith's arm silently.

Edith Runekill sheathes the sword and lays her other hand on Grim's.

Edith Runekill: "Want me to put it out now?"

Grim grunts

Edith Runekill: "Put it out in the fantastically destructive way this piece of garbage deserves, of course."

Edith Runekill takes out Runekill again and summons an Ice Storm.

The burning statue is pummeled by a column of ice, snow, and wind. The fire is put out, an the metal frame-- badly oxidized by the fire-- is crushed by the force. There's nothing left of the Barbarian but ash and rebar.

Edith Runekill: "Well. We sure showed him."

"I... I can't believe I did that, haha."

Grim inhales but doesn't open her eyes, still gripping Edith's hand for a minute

Grim: ".....he done for?"

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. It's gone."

Grim nods

Edith Runekill: "We... should probably get gone, too."

Grim: "Yeah, no shit." She finally opens her eyes and glances at the smoking ruins of the mascot, then turns about to head for the door.

Vandalism is a cool and victimless crime and this will have no lasting consequences.

The pair gets back in the car to head back to the motel, Grim cursing the town as they drive and telling Edith she’s better than the place. Edith takes the compliment, but acknowledges it took a lot of work on her part and that most people in the area are content not to change.

Grim: "Don't rightly give a shit about other folks. You came outta here, an' you made somethin' good've yourself. An' I ain't seen much good since we got here." Grim falls into a thoughtful silence for a moment, then adds. "They din't never deserve you."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah," she says, quietly, barely audible over the car's engine, "But that's a hard thing to reckon with about the place that made you."

Grim remains silent for some time, then shifts in her seat and slugs back some moonshine

Grim: "Place that made me ain't on earth no more."

"Burned down, 'long with everyone that might've been my kin."

"I don't know what a place oughta be, that makes you, but I know you're better'n this."

Edith Runekill drives silently for a while, taking this in.

Edith Runekill: "That's... an awful thing to gotta go through."

Grim doesn't answer for a while, watching the dark fields race by

Grim: "Don't remember it, mostly."

"Only know what I'm told."

Edith Runekill drives silently a while. She hears a siren off in the distance, in the direction of New Luskan, and speeds up.

Grim glances towards the mirror at the sound of the sirens, then back out at the fields and takes another swig from her flask

Edith Runekill: "It's just... this place is always gonna be the context I came from. A lot's changed about me since I left-- or even before I left, in the run-up to making that choice-- but I still got a lot of it in me, too. I talk Plaguelands. I still get a thrill outta driving like I am right now, all alone on the road. I still believe in Auril, even if... even if Pastor Jack tried to hurt me...? I still look at this landscape and think home. But it's not, it's not, it's not."

Grim: "S'where you come from. Like I come from the far out desert, no matter how far I go." She's staring off at the endless fields in the dark. "I come out've ash 'n ghosts, 'n that sticks. Don't matter where you live after. But it matters how y'choose to live, after."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah... and. And I case how I chose to live, in the end, was in the city. Even though it's somewhere where the stars don't shine, where everyone's all cramped together, where there's smog in the air."

"Or... or no. Maybe what I really chose... was this."

"Chasing Szass Tam halfway across Faerun."

"Since it seems... like the right thing to do?"

"I dunno."

Grim smiles a little

Grim: "Don't know myself, Runekill. But I know I don't regret a second, bein' out here with y'all."

Edith Runekill: "I... regret a few seconds, maybe. Like when I jumped outta that car."

"And frankly I regret thinking going out here again would be a good idea at all?"

"But... but I don't regret... I don't regret this."

"This... whole... thing..."

Grim snorts and glances at Edith

Grim: "Y'gave it your best. Don't ever go havin' regrets on that account."

"Truth be told, I wish I could go on with the. uh..." she trails off searching for a word. "The...faith you got."

"In people. In places. In history turnin' out right."

"I got no faith in folks. S'how it took me so long comin' around to all y'all."

They finish their heart-to-heart by noticing the police are behind and closing in. Being the only speeding car on the road near a scene of wanton arson has a way of making you a target.

Grim glances at the police lights in the mirror and purses her lips

Grim: "Shit, we gotta lose this heat."

"Else Syd'll be real disappointed."

Edith Runekill: [Infernal] "Shit, I thought they'd still be back in town..."

[Infernal] "Fucking shit-ass fucking pigs fuck them."

[Common] "Don't worry, I'm sure we can shake 'em."

Grim glances at Edith. She has no idea what any of those words mean, but it's weirdly hot.

Grim will never admit it

Grim: "You done this before?"

Edith Runekill: "...no. Not... not as such."

"I know some side-roads, though."

Grim: "Alright, so let's get it right first time."

Grim nods to Edith and sits forward, squinting at the stars to get a bearing on where they are

Edith Runekill makes a truly alarming hairpin turn past a billboard for fantasy Burmashave onto a rocky dirt road.

Grim hollers despite herself. Blood will out.

Edith Runekill: "This oughta loop back around to the motel... trouble is I don't know if the cops know to look this way..."

Grim shifts up to sit on the passenger side door, leaning over to sight along her rifle at the pursuing cars

Grim: "Don't go leadin' them to the others, we got this."

Grim wangs a shot off the road just ahead of the cops

Grim curses and reloads

Nora R.: The car vanishes.

Grim drops suddenly and rolls as she hits the road

Edith Runekill Blinks

Grim lunges to reach for Edith, only to freeze when Edith vanishes right in front of her

Grim watches the cop cars pass and then kind of fREAKS OUT??

Grim scrambles into the middle of the road, feeling around like she might find an invisible Edith

Edith Runekill reappears.

Edith Runekill: "Sorry. Blink cloak."

"Had to vanish in a hurry after I messed up the landing."

Grim stumbles and lands on her hands and knees, staring at Edith

Grim: "SHIT."

"You scared the HELL outta me, girl."

Edith Runekill: "I'm... kinda disappointed in the car."

Edith Runekill: "Destroying the Barbarian was the right thing to do."

"Sorry..."

"You okay?"

Grim flops down to sit in the middle of the road

Grim: " Well, shit, I guess so, since you ain't DEAD or nothin'."

Somehow the paladin car wasn’t down for the festivities, leaving them to walk back to the motel. It’s a nice night for it, anyway, and it’s easier to talk when you’re not driving and being chased by Johnny law. Despite the turn the evening took, Grim and Edith both agree they’re feeling better than they were after leaving the farm.

Grim looks across at Edith as she lights up, studying her

Grim: "Y'know, first day we met, never would've reckoned on spendin' a night this way with you."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. Remember the next day? The museum? Me digging out the records for everything Mal and I recovered from Tethyamar?"

"Guess that's two times now I met somebody important in my life in a way where I wound up frantically trying to provenance a bunch of artifacts."

Grim laughs a little

Grim: "Y'wanna know the truth?"

"Din't know shit about what I was lookin' at. I just wanted t'see how you pair acted under pressure."

Edith Runekill laughs.

Edith Runekill: "I was real mad that you thought Mal had stolen stuff... but also I was a little mad you thought Mal had stolen stuff when, if we had stolen anything, then darn it, I woulda stolen it too."

"Felt like I wasn't getting credit."

Grim laughs at this

Grim: "Shit, Runekill. Weren't nothin' personal."

"I only get paid for the one on the sheet."

Like all drunks having a good time, they also have deep philosophical discussions.

Edith Runekill: "Ahh, women in academia never get written up for the work they do."

Grim: "Or jailed, I guess." Grim nudges Edith with a smirk.

Edith Runekill: "Well. If we keep up acts of cultural criticism like what we did tonight I might manage it."

Grim: "If I ain't behind bars yet, I reckon you got a long future on the outside." Grim toasts Edith with her flask and takes a long swig.

Edith Runekill: "Or maybe a short one, depending on how things shake out with Tam."

Edith Runekill grins and takes a swig, too.

Grim: "Fuck that rotten ol' Thayer asshole." Grim turns her head and spits into the ditch. "He died more oftener'n us so far, ain't he?"

Edith Runekill: "Plus he apparently got locked in a basement for... oh, 1400 or so and only just managed to find his way out."

*since... oh, 1400 or so

Grim nods and snorts

Grim: "Fuckin' dumbshit. We got his ass dead to rights, don't even worry 'bout it."

Edith Runekill is still drunk enough to believe this

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. He's a goner."

Grim toasts and swigs again, looping an arm around Edith's shoulders as they walk

Grim: "Like I told your pa, Runekill. You're gonna be one've them folk books get written on. That's for real."

Edith Runekill: "You said that to Pa?"

"Well, first, thanks, that's really flattering."

"But, second... y'know. Yeah. I think we are. This thing we're doing... it's the kinda thing stories are made of."

Edith Runekill looks up at the stars again as they trudge down the dirt access road. "Not sure what they'll say about this part of the story, granted."

Grim snorts

Grim: "They don't never tell this part."

"Probly just as well."

Edith Runekill: "On the bright side, if they do tell that part everyone will remember what a bullshit mascot in a bullshit town that was."

Grim: "If nobody remember that shit, I ain't ever about to complain."

Edith Runekill: "Anyway. Every story could use a lighter interlude."

"Something to give everyone a break even when things are getting rough."

Grim nods at this

Edith Runekill: "So. We've done wonders for pacing, is what I'm getting at here."

"The car vanishing even left room for this lovely walk together and a long talk under the stars."

Stares at the camera like I’m in The Office.

Edith makes a mental note to ask Syd what the deal was with the car: as far as she’s concerned, they didn’t do anything immoral by destroying the statue and losing the cops. Grim admits she never really saw eye to eye with paladins--Syd included--but trusts her heart’s in the right place.

Edith Runekill: "Yeah... she... she seems different from most other paladins I known. Or... or heard about." She casts her eyes downwards, remembering the story Mal told.

Grim: "...more I find folks workin' off their religions, less it seems regular people can stand up to the gods."

"Ain't one of us one thing or another. Not like the gods. Even Ilmater."

Edith Runekill: "Faith's... important to me. It's... a community, a cultural tradition. History that ties us to our ancestors even when they were far away, even when they were leading totally different lives. It's still a thread connecting us to the North, y'know? It's... it's important. Even after everything that's happened these past few days it's important. But... I mean..."

"That can't be the only tool you use to figure out what the right thing to do is, right?"

Grim nods slowly

Edith Runekill: "When your only tool's a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When your only tool's Auril, every problem looks like it should be set on fire."

"Wait. Well. You know what I mean."

Grim glances at Edith and nods.

Grim: "Findin' Ilmater's the first time in my life I ever had anythin' to work for. But I ain't ever measured up. Don't know that anyone does. Maybe it's part've the deal, that we gotta keep on tryin', or maybe this world just ain't made for mortals the way it's made for gods."

"Either way, I found somethin' to live for. An' for me, that matters. Even if it don't to Ilmater, in the grand ol' scheme."

The triumphant pair returns to the motel to find Syd and Pepper still awake and outside.

Grim spots the silhouettes of Pepper and Syd in the badminton court and raises her empty flask to them in greeting as they approach.

Edith Runekill looks super thrilled to be back, even though she's limping slightly, bruised all over half her face, and she has a bleeding gash on one leg still.

Grim is a little less thrilled, she actually quite liked being out in the middle of absolutely nowhere

Pepper has her racquet down at her side and has been having a somewhat animated conversation with Sydney. She catches sight of Grim's flask glinting under the street lamp and seems to wince.

Sydney Gaydos follows Pepper's eyes to see a certain pair returning and oh, the usually cheerful dragonborn glowers at seeing them. "It seems they finally decided to show up, " she comments to Pepper.

Pepper raises the racket a precise 45 degrees before lowering it like a drawbridge.

Grim expects approximately zero pushback from these two, and looks at Edith as they arrive back in the forecourt

Hm.

Grim: "What's the story, Runekill, you headin' right on up to bed?"

Edith Runekill: "Well. Should probably eat something first to soak up all this.... healing potion. And... and drink some water. But yeah, I'm pretty... pretty exhausted, by this point."

"Good exercise, though."

"We oughta go for more walks."

Grim smirks and claps her shoulder, then nods to the all night eatery

Grim: "Get you a burger?"

Edith Runekill: "Auril, yes."

Pepper , in a sing-song voice in Elvish at NO ONE IN PARTICULAR sings "[Elvish] You fu-ucked u-up." It's just what she sang at the Pastor back at Edith's house. Weird.

Pepper scratches at her head with the racket and admires the gutters on the motel.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: wait what}

Sydney Gaydos waits til they get nice and close before stepping to the side and stopping them. "You both have some serious explaining to do, " she grunts, staring down at both of them.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: im so drunk}

Grim steers Edith towards the eatery, still kind of relying on leaning on her to stay upright and walk in a straight line

Grim stops as they almost collide with Syd

Grim sizes up Syd, mildly perplexed

Grim: "Some problem, Scales?"

Pepper gives Grim the most pitiful of looks. So this is how her parents felt oh-so-many times.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: oh shit}

{t Pepper: peppper}

Sydney Gaydos: "You can say that, " she starts off slow. "Taking Gaydos' holy paladin mount on a joyride to the country without her permission then FIRING on police vehicles?!"

Pepper: {T Edith: whyyyyyyy}

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: im so druink rigt now. did you know that.}

Grim looks right back. She's never experienced parental disapproval, this means nothing to her

Edith Runekill has learned not one day ago that parents are bullshit and is feeling punchy

Oh.

Edith Runekill: "We destroyed a... a hated symbol of the racist, backwards attitudes of Plaguewrought Land, and then took certain actions to evade the enforcers of that violent cultural hegemony who objected to our political message."

Grim nods in affirmation of Edith

Pepper squints at Edith, then looks to Grim for help deciphering that mess.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: we lit that awful high school amscot statue on fire and good riddance it was so tacky and made the whole town look bad and just driving by it made me feel grossed out but everyone heres just used to it so Drastic Measures Were Takaen}

Pepper rubs her temple with her free hand.

Pepper: "Okay," she says in response to nothing in particular.

Edith Runekill: "It's not our fault the cops chose to leverage their monopoly on state violence to repress our important act of cultural criticism!"

Grim has no idea what Edith just said, but she nods anyway

Sydney Gaydos regards both of them carefully. "And you thought by shooting at them, which could possibly of caused harm to them, was right? For your own actions? Did you even consider thinking far ahead? Or acting on impulse as you usually do?" Sydney turns to look straight at Grim.

Grim: "Din't nobody shoot at 'em, I went for takin' out a tire." Grim eyeballs Syd right back, getting a little annoyed just by merit of being stared at.

Sydney Gaydos: "Knowing your skill and powers, Grim, " she finally says it, "you could have easily blew out a front end of a car. Did you not think that could cause harm? A tire going out, cars crashing, and so on?"

Edith Runekill: "Sounds like the car's aligned itself with the hegemonic power structure of Plaguewrought Land's cultural mores."

Grim: "Did that shit happen?"

Oh boy.

Sydney Gaydos FUMES. "The car is directly tied to Gaydos' own moral code! She would have also been against firing at law enforcement." Back to Grim. "Knowing you, you would have not stopped firing until you achieved your desired results."

Grim lets go of Edith and straightens up, staring back at Syd

Grim: "An' just what're those, you reckon, Gaydos?"

Edith Runekill is becoming increasingly drunk as the effects of finishing the flask all at once begin to hit her; she sways visibly as Grim lets go of her.

Grim catches hold of Edith again, better safe than sorry

Sydney Gaydos: "Achieving whatever you selfishly want. Like previously with your firing at the Lich's car or even more recently that drug bender of yours with Malkas. Do you think these actions through? Think of the consequences?"

Grim 's jaw sets

Edith Runekill: "You'd've needed a time machine to know how shooting the car woulda turned out!"

Grim: "You got a problem with me suddenly?"

Edith Runekill: "That's unfair to pin on Grim and you know it."

Pepper slides up between Sydney and Grim, facing Sydney. "Hey, c'mon."

Grim attempts to shoulder Pepper aside, still looking at Sydney

Edith Runekill: "Anyay, just 'cause somebody has a badge doesn't mean they're doing the right thing! Cops here are as bad as everyone else who's made it their business keeping things they way they are, from Pastor Jack on down!!!!"

Grim: "You sayin' I'm responsible for that shit? For Secomber?"

Edith Runekill begins singing drunkenly, remembering political meetings from Undergrad: "Arise, ye workers from your slumber! Arise, ye prisoners of want!"

Pepper stays put in front of Sydney. "Edith, please."

Sydney Gaydos doesn't try to move past Pepper, but does elect to ignore and talk over her. Also Edith too. "Did you think shooting anything, especially the car of the Lich, would result in a good outcome?!"

Edith Runekill: "Immobilizing the Lich woulda been a real good outcome and at the time it seemed like it played out that way!"

"He had to push his car out instead of flying away!"

"You're being real unfair, Syd."

Pepper: "He had that one coming. If he dug around in her head half as bad as he did mine, she should've shot it twice."

Pull up, gang, pull up.

Grim glowers at Sydney, fist clenched and physically trembling with restraint

Pepper flicks her eyes back at Grim then up at Sydney again.

Grim: "You be real clear, now, Gaydos."

Edith Runekill: "Y-yeah..."

Grim: "You sayin' I'm responsible for Secomber?"

Sydney Gaydos: "I'm not saying you are, " ohhh she dropped her speaking quirk, "but do you truly consider yourself not responsible at all? I don't."

Edith Runekill punches Sydney

Pepper looks at Edith. She doesn't need to dodge because there's an awful lot of Sydney and not much of Edith.

Grim is too surprised by what just happened to do anything except look at Edith like 0_0

Sydney Gaydos that makes her head snap a little, but it doesn't hurt. She turns to eye Edith. "Not an action I expected of you."

Pepper: "You had that one coming, too," she mumbles.

Grim is still 0_0

Edith Runekill: "Well I didn't expect you to have such a shocking lack of empathy for how it went down when we faced off against Tam and what finding out about Secomber was like!!! So THERE!!!"

Edith Runekill is DrunkMad now

Pepper just pats Edith's head with mage hand. settle down

Pepper pokes Sydney in the chest. "You said you were gonna talk to them about the car, you didn't have to really. Bring up all that other stuff."

Edith Runekill attempts to swat Pepper's mage hand away with a mage hand of her own, but she's a.) too drunk and angry to navigate this complex 3D spatial relationship and b.) mage hand doesn't work like that

Grim is kind of stunned by this entire interaction, tbh. She looks from Edith to Sydney and back, at a loss.

Sydney Gaydos: "Actions have consequences. Big ones, and small ones. " she looks between the group. "It is long past high time that gets learned." However she takes a step back, more somber now. "Capridi is in her room, it is obvious you need healing." Sydney would offer but you know, lol.

Pepper runs her fingers through her hair.

Grim stares through Sydney, then shakes her head and speaks blandly.

Edith Runekill: "Like, okay, whatever, yell at us about using the car without permission, or about the cops or whatever, and I'll argue. But-- but that-- but what you said..."

Grim: "Go fuck yourself, Gaydos."

Well.

Grim steps around Sydney to head on into the diner. She's over this confrontation.

Edith Runekill thinks that maybe getting healed actually is a good idea but she's too mad to admit it. She puts a hand on Grim's shoulder and follows her towards the diner.

Sydney Gaydos: "Edith, " she says as she passes by, "your car privileges are restricted until I decide otherwise. It is the same for Grim but I don't think it effects her as much."

Pepper starts muttering in Elvish. It could be a prayer. It could be cussing. The only two Elvish speakers are too far away and drunk to tell.

Grim finds a booth and doesn't even order food. That's how fucked up this is.

Edith Runekill looks over her shoulder, looking more annoyed at Syndey than she has in her entire life. "Good luck navigating our awful Plaguewrought highway system without me."

Pepper just gives Edith a weird look she figures she won't remember in the morning.

Edith Runekill Will Remember This

Edith Runekill: "Without me driving, I mean."

"I'll be there."

"Well, anyway."

"I'm going into the diner now."

Edith Runekill does so.

Grim glances up at Edith as she enters, hands flat on the table in front of her. She honestly doesn't know where she us right now, but Edith's here so it's probably okay.

Edith Runekill puts her hands on Grim's. "You're okay. It's okay. Nothing she said was right."

Edith Runekill: "Right as in factual or right as in moral."

Grim takes a breath and focuses on Edith, then exhales. She holds onto Edith's hands for dear life.

Grim: "...the fuck did I do, Runekill?"

Edith Runekill: "You didn't do anything, Grim. You made a tough call in probably the scariest fight of all our lives with Tam getting in our heads. And if you hadn't he would've just flown away right then and there."

Edith Runekill: "If Szass Tam thought, well, my car got busted, time to ravage a city known for its auto industry and hurt lots of people to fix it... that's an awful thing Tam did. It's him."

Grim shudders and grips Edith's fingers, then lowers her head to rest on the table

Grim: "...I'm too fuckin' drunk for this."

"What the fuck."

Edith Runekill: "Let's... let's order those burgers. And drink lots of water." She's ALSO too drunk for this but she's trying Very Hard to keep it together for Grim.

Grim grunts assent. After a moment she releases Edith's hands and folds her arms over her head without moving from the table

Edith Runekill orders food from a waitress who, thank Auril, does NOT recognize Edith. The waitress regards Edith and Grim with the mix of pity and impatience she reserves for the soon-to-be-hungover.

Grim takes a long breath and lets it out, cradling her head on the table for a few minutes before she pulls herself together enough to sit up and find her cigarette.

Grim fumbles a cigarette into her mouth and lights it, then slides the packet over to Edith. Her hands are trembling.

Edith Runekill lights a cigarette, too. For some mysterious reason she isn't keen to go to the car and get her own cigarettes back. Wonder why.

Grim rests her chin in her hand, fingers covering her mouth as she smokes.

Edith Runekill smokes too, watching Grim in silence.

Grim is a billion miles away, and it doesn't look like a good place to be

This is fine. Getting back to outside.

Sydney Gaydos doesn't say anything after that, and turns her head to face forward, starting into the darkness ahead.

Pepper: "Uuuuuugh Plaguewrought Land sucks!" she says to the open sky.

Sydney Gaydos: "That it does, Pepper, " Sydney comments quietly, still staring ahead. "Are you going to go join them inside?"

Pepper: "Huh? Oh." She looks back and forth. "I dunno. Not. Right now?"

Pepper: "Syd," she's quiet and sounds almost pleading. "What the hell?"

Sydney Gaydos takes a long breath in, and lets it out slowly before speaking. "Not my most tactical way of confronting things." She tilts her head towards Pepper. "Was it?"

Pepper: "Not the--oh my god, Syd," she buries her face in her hands. "That shit was like a month ago, it couldn't have waited one more night?" She sighs. "You know that was. Gods I don't even have a word for what happened just now." She ponders to the night sky.

Sydney Gaydos: "A miscalculation, " Sydney offered helpfully, ignoring the rest of that. She sighs again. "Go inside Pepper. Make sure Edith and Grim get healed. I'll be sleeping outside in the camper, the car, or wherever is convenient."

Pepper gives a supportive pat to Sydney's arm.

Pepper: "I'm not a fan of kicking someone while they're down, but that goes for you, too, okay? If you need to talk or. Not talk. Or whatever."

Sydney Gaydos 's body sags at the pat and Pepper's words. "I... thank you. Your offer means more to me than you will ever know..." she hesitates, but places a hand on her shoulder. "For now, I think the best place is inside for you is with the others. They... need the support, it seems."

Pepper: "Yeah. Okay." She pats Syd's hand, then heads off to the diner.

Plaguewrought Land sucks.

[chimericarchitect]

F: Velius had a fairly standard operating procedure for visiting new locations, and it was almost nuttily paranoid.  It did a pretty good job of keeping him safe though. The first thing he did with the coordinates he was given was plug them into his sendificator, and then scroll the viewport around a little bit.  Time to see where he'd be landing.

S: Depending on where he looked, it was either very dim or uncomfortably bright. The upper floors appeared to contain a fairly normal hive. Only one room really looked like it was lived in very much. The deeper he looked, the more like a lab it appeared to be, unusual apparatus lining the walls with cold light. Beyond the hive was a thick swath of trees.

F: Basement labs were his most and least favorite thing.  He tried to scroll far enough down to have some idea whether it was the kind of lab that dealt with juices in tubes, with living creatures as subjects, with dead creatures as subjects, or exclusively with machines.

S: It appeared to exclusively contain machinery, though there were luminous pillars of dubious content whose glow could not be seen through. Blank monitors lined the walls and the center of the room contained a spherical depression that occasionally arced.

F: Yeah, that looked like legit science shit that probably wouldn't piss off his moral centers.  Project 'Help Strangers' was good to go!  ... he zoomed back to the place the coordinates actually led to, found the pad the coordinates would match up to, and kitted himself up in a big ugly christmas sweater before transporting over.He was an inch or two shy of six feet tall, and the photos were accurate.  https://78.media.tumblr.com/9536398f8e9cd0f10a832a7f75ce4280/tumblr_osvhqrMNiO1uea4lso1_500.png (( + a set of bit ugly violet sunglasses ))

S: Saness was there by the transportalizer, waiting with impatient patience. She stood a little stiffly at a whopping 5'10" including horns. "Hey. Terrible?" (She's wearing something looser to accommodate her injuries and her neck is completely covered)

F: They were almost exactly the same height.  He might have an inch of advantage, but it was close.  He beamed straight back at her and stuck out a hand to shake.  "--Hey dude, how's it hangin!  I mean, aside from the obvious kinda shitty bits but like, you know!"

S: Hesitation dissolved at his chipper demeanor, eyebrows unfurrowing slightly. She shook his hand firmly, easing into a reciprocal smile. "It's hangin'. I mean, y'know. Nice sweater." His hair was quite a sight as well. "Formalities aside though, thanks again for coming over."

F: "Ayy, thanks, it was a present!  I collect these stupid things, holiday sweaters are fuckin great at like the opposite time a sweep, you know? -- an no problem, I like bein helpful an you seem cool.  So you should have some backup when shit gets naut so cool, right?" He had a severe tendency to talk with his hands, and it was already becoming clear.

S: His flapping hands to match his flapping jaw made him seem very approachable, but her smile slipped a little at the mention of backup. "Yeah." Unsure of what to say, she gestured at the staircase leading up, all business. "She's upstairs, if you're ready."

F: "Ready if you are --" He ran his hands through his hair, brushing it back behind his fins quickly.  "Might be able to do this with just a teeny peek, so she won' even know we're there probably," ..and, time to approach the staircase. He glanced back, pointing upwards then downwards, and then heading in the direction Saness indicated. Creepy sneaky sneak!

S: Okay, that was kind of funny. Saness smirked and allowed for stealth to take charge of their approach, leading him to the room with quiet footfalls. The room in question was close. From the doorway, a tall, narrow troll could be seen sitting listlessly on a stiff chair. She was facing away from the doorway, staring blankly at the wall. Saness looked at Terrible with a considering tilt, knowing that the woman in the other room wouldn't notice them even if they tap danced on her face, but completely willing to play along with Terrible's paranoia.

F: Terrible's fins lowered visibly at the sight of the woman in the chair, and the way she was listless instead of being singleminded on a task.  It was hard for him to imagine someone that just... ran out of go juice.  ... Aside from the times he did that to people on purpose to immobilize them so he could tweak their personalities, but he'd only ever done that to imps so it didn't count.  His eyebrows narrowed, and he squinted at her thoughtfully. ..alright, test number one.  He tried to loosen up his mind senses a little bit, and peek at just the surface layer of Mind Shit.  The emotions of people and things, whether there were minds present and loosely where they were if so.  If there were any ghosts or AI's in the room, that would probably register around now.  Likewise, if anything in the room was a lynchpin that could control whether the timeline branched one way or another, it might seem what he would refer to as 'shiny'.

S: There was no emotional response from the mind of the woman in the chair, if one could even call it a mind. It was more akin to a carefully covered hole, static and whispers; only the puppeted mockery of sentience remained like the last dregs of a dying battery. The only other presence came from Saness at his side, staunch hope warring with fidgety worry and reluctant resignation. Nothing stood out as being particularly "shiny" in this room, though if he was capable of sensing beyond it a great deal he would know that there was a catalyst of temporal possibility far below. Saness shuffled a little, unaware if Vel was doing anything at all but certain that he would make some sort of gesture if there was something he required.

F: He bit his lip and started whistling tunelessly through his teeth, fins twitching slightly.  His classpect was the active destruction of minds, but... mostly when he was doing it.  He wanted to reach out and try to save her, but that sounded like the kind of thing that got his brain bitchslapped by horrorterrors. He snuck closer as if she might actually notice anything around herself, cautiously peeking a little closer, careful not to touch her mind directly.  ..Still, he wanted to know if there was any sign of what had been puppeting her, or how it had started -- or, at least enough to recognize the traces this had left on her, so he could identify it in its earlier stages on other people.

S: Saness stepped into the room when Terrible began his whistling inquisition but didn't approach; not because she did not want to, but because she did not want to be in the way. She was curious and hideously concerned by his lip-biting reaction, unsure of what to make of it. The woman in the chair remained unmoving and unresponsive to his approach, but as he got closer he could see that she was... sagging. There was a weathered look about her, reminiscent of an aged tarp or worn pottery. Dull jade eyes remained still and steady, pupils blown wide in a devout study of nothing. The frizzling static remained as a blanketing force obscuring the depths of her mind from observation, but the undecipherable whisper of alien thought flicked up from below the fog tauntingly.

F: "...I think she met somethin bad, for one. ...an it feels... ...glitchy, like. Maybe trickster shit, probably not, but that's the only glitchy shit that comes to mind. I can't tell if they locked away the her deep in there, or if they took it out, but there's this shieldy kinda deal around the outside that's like.  Cloud cover."  He sketched a vague round shape with his hands, the top half of a sphere. "...I think there's somethin in there, under the cover. Not her, somethin else. Whatever happened to her, whether it's a creature or like. A physics thing. She won't get better without outside help, an maybe naut with it."

S: Saness listened closely as he spoke, banishing the crestfallen expression before it could fully form on her face. If he was still observing mind stuff, he would sense the acute crash of her hope as a different, colder emotion rose to take its place. Saness nodded curtly and looked to the woman in the chair, jaw stiff. "And maybe not with it," she parroted. "I see." The room was quickly becoming tense.

F: "...I'm sorry I don't have better news, but lies are shitty. The paths from here that are good for her are the crazy weird ones where interestin shit happens, not the borin ones where things go expected low-risk kind a directions."

S: She nodded again, fighting to relax. This had been a fact even before she knew it was, and now it was just another facet of life. "I get it. Kinda." It was tricky to find words that weren't worthless. "I'm not sure what she needs yet, but thank you. Nothing would change without... that first point." Focus. Be practical. She tore her glasses-masked stare away from the woman in the chair to continue addressing Vel. "Do you have any suggestions on where I should go with this information?"

F: "...I'd probably be a dumbass and charge into the fray to see if there's any a her left in there an if I could heroically swipe shit back into the way it should be, but I'm an optimist. More like, carefully, I'd probably start thinkin about what she was doin when her pan started gettin screwy, an see if I could figure out what caused it, an if there was an off button. 's the lab downstairs hers?"

S: Saness visibly wavered at the mention of the lab, frowning. "Yeah, it's... It's hers."

F: "..I'd guess the explanation's there. Or, you know, somethin that can do this.  ..unless she usually does a lotta outside-the-lab stuff."

S: "She gets out a lot. We've only been here a short while, but she's always been tech-y. Lab savvy. That's not... new."

F: "..so there's an amount of whatever did this, in her thinkbits, right now.  There might be more somewhere else that she was a while ago.  ...in the period where sh was gettin all distracted, what'd she focus on?"

S: "She stuck to routine the whole time, there was no real turning point. The whole change was... progressive. So she was just focused on..." She trailed off for a moment. "Her job. In the caverns."

F: "..so, if someone was doin spooky shit there, an didn't want anyone talkin about it, .. ?"

S: Nod nod. "Seems like an okay place to start." She rubbed the back of her neck with a grimace, still moving stiffly. It was vague, but it was something. "Really, I suppose I have a few options in regards to potential leads."

F: "I'm sorry about your friend. If I can help, I'm game. Even if it's little weird shit."

S: She considered the godtier limeblooded fish wizard that stood before her, offering him a half smile with drawn brows. "Thanks again for that. I can, uh, keep you updated. If you want."

F: ".. I'd like that."  He looked back at her for a moment, then stuffed his hands in his pockets.The worst kind of friend was the one that stopped responding spontaneously and you never found out why.  He loved helping friends not be that friend.  He figured that wouldn't be reassuring to say, so he managed not to.

S: "Well..." How many times could someone say thank you before it got redundant and annoying? She figured she'd already reached that limit. One last glance at the woman in the chair, then Saness was turning to leave the room, perhaps a little brusquely. "Is there anything I can get you before you go?"

F: "...Nah. ... If you need the like, life support shit she'd need to keep her body healthy, so you got longer to plan and try to decide what to do about her, I could probably hook you up."

S: She was walking and talking, stepping back into the room with the transportalizer. "Mm. See, the thing about that is she still gets up and like, follows her routine, eats and stuff. I should be able to follow her to the caverns without much trouble. I'll keep that in mind if her health goes south though."

F: He followed her back, fins at around half mast.  "Fair.  ..I'm glad she at least like, has part a her pattern left."

S: Nowhere left to go, Saness faced Vel in the dimly lit room. It was odd to see him looking so down. Droopy fins. A little wave of spiteful determination brought a terse smile to her face and she put out her fist for a bump. "She'll pull through. I'll make sure of it."

F: ".. Good luck, dude.  Catch you later."  He returned the fist-bump.

S: "Later, Terrible."

F: He tipped her a sympathetic wink, then disappeared via appearifier.

[chimericarchitect]

((Terrible and Saness discuss the recent trouble she’s been having with her guardian and possible solutions to those problems. There are a few trigger warnings for this chat, including head stuff, manipulation, mind control, amnesia, suicide (sorta), and death in general.))

flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 11:23 AM FO: chirp? Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 11:24 AM SP: Sorry, I was distracted by a musical interlude. SP: I was gonna ask "what do you want to know" but you'd probably have a hard time forming specific questions without something to base it on. SP: So, uh, you wanted to know why that strategy was the strategy I've got going. I'm not actually set on it because I don't like it as a plan, but I will probe my options before taking action y'know? Even the ones that suck. SP: Anyway, Anista is a golem or something. SP: And it sucks. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 11:30 AM FO: totally, checking out your options is the smart thing even if some of the options are horrible bullshit.  you wont know exactly how bad an idea they are if you dont check FO: i usually bring up the worst idea first when im tryin to solve my own problems, just so i can cross it off the list... FO: that does suck.  i could tell there was something going on in her, but ive got no idea whats in there. FO: was she always a golem? Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 11:34 AM SP: I think so. I'm guessing a little bit on that part. Context says probably, because I did a thing and almost got wiped so she got replaced with a Brand New Anista Golem that functioned like she used to, meaning that she's acting like a full person again instead of a zombie. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 11:53 AM FO: uh, yikes FO: you okay there? FO: and who or what replaced her? Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 11:55 AM SP: I'm... uh, yeah. SP: It's just a thing. SP: As for the who/what in charge of replacing her, I'm not quite sure. They're a lot bigger than me, but I'm not willing to say "horrorterror" without evidence. I'm not experienced enough to tell. So, for now, it remains a mystery. SP: If you meant "what is she now" then the answer is "a seemingly normal troll who is constantly keeping tabs on me and probably ready to dropkick my pan at the slightest provocation." flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 12:01 PM FO: misc eldritch thing #1 it is FO: yikes, thats p shitty FO: if i ever catch you acting different, do you want to give preemptive permission for me to sneak over and try to return you to this state? FO: or like, to come check and make sure any changes are Legit Things You Wanted And Are Fine With Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 12:03 PM SP: That would be pretty great, if you don't mind. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 12:04 PM FO: fuckin anytime, dude, ill set myself a timer to peek at your blog once a week.  make sure to delete the logs of this convo in case she peeks at your computer FO: okay so, something happened, and she wound down enough that she stopped working.  but then something else happened, and now shes back. FO: is she winding down again, or is she going to stay at full capacity? FO: did the thing that put her together like this get distracted and wander off forever, or did it wander off and then come back? Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 12:10 PM SP: There is no evidence suggesting that she is in a state of decline, presently. She was fine and seemingly normal for the entirety of three sweeps before she turned into the zombie fake-o person. My current hypothesis is that she... wears out? Like a timer, or an old battery or something. SP: The thing that did this obviously isn't hanging out 24/7 or I probably wouldn't be me already. I think Anista-Golem is like a watchdog or something for whatever-the-fuck eldritch doodad the first. SP: A lot of that is gonna be speculation; I don't know much about the big guy. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 12:14 PM FO: yeeahh...(edited) FO: yeah you need out of there dude FO: and you need out of there in a way that they wont notice FO: so i can see why the death thing is a thing FO: i wish id known about this while you were still seery, then i coulda asked some questions an gotten pokey about a lotta fuckin FO: theres a lotta unknowns here and a lotta things that Could branch how this goes If they are true FO: ... shit is p whack, friend.  anythin i can do to help i will Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 12:18 PM SP: Thanks, Terrible. I really do appreciate it. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 12:22 PM FO: this one time my life sucked total ass, and someone was nice to me at exactly the right time.  and i decided that maybe being nice to people wasnt stupid, and that it was nice that there were people like that around.  so i decided to be someone like that. FO: this shit is exactly why. Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 12:23 PM SP: It's a good attitude, in my opinion. I prefer to help people when I can. SP: Before I go on about my plan to get out of here, there's a bit more to this yet, of the things I know. SP: One of the reasons I trust my death-note-suggestion from the future-past is because, like I said, I almost got wiped. SP: If I hadn't been all godly when it happened, it might've worked. Probably would have. SP: Anyway SP: I was getting erased, or blocked, or something (gross and weird) because I was messing with a mind wall (maybe?) and I got caught. SP: So maybe I need to disconnect from whatever I'm tethered to. SP: It's what I'm guessing, anyway. I'd prefer not to do the dying thing, obviously. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 12:24 PM FO: B( FO: yeah, obvs. FO: im guessin you respawned once, but also dont remember parts of the anon? FO: is there other stuff that feels not solid? FO: the healer chick would need a small piece a you but hair or blood would probably do it, and she could rez you from a distance on command after that.  shed just need to know when Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 12:41 PM SP: Most of the not-solid is from my memories. I don't remember a lot of stuff, it seems. Other stuff has to do with Anista and the generator. SP: Oh wait. SP: The generator. That's an okay idea. In tandem, not separately. SP: I'd need to put Anista out of commission for a bit though. Hm. SP: Can you tell me a little about the healer lady? I trust you, but I've never spoken to her I don't think. Is she a God Tier as well? flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 12:43 PM FO: yeah.  shes a meenah, Meenah Peixes FO: long story short she lives in sparks's universe, and she's kinda low key and staying out of the spotlight.  does a lotta bakin, some healin for pay. FO: shes kinda mercenary but i think she cares about dudes once they catch her interest, which most dont FO: the universe shes in has legal limes, crimsons, and wings, and no caste system, so theres no problems on the mutant front FO: i could vouch to be there and supervise 100% of the rez process if you trust me enough for that an itd help any Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 1:00 PM SP: I don't know if that will help any, but I appreciate the offer and I'll keep it in mind. SP: I considered whether or not, as a Prince of Mind, you'd be able to bust shit up so I could skip the not-being-alive part, but that seems less likely to work and more likely to get you smooshed by the eldritch fucko. SP: Besides this stuff, I'm trying to convince a pal of mine to go off-world with me before they fuck up and start a sgrub session. SP: None of my timeframes are defined, so it all feels kinda like it has to be done immediately. Am I gonna get wiped? Is my friend gonna blow up this Alternia? I don't know what's happening first. SP: I think I'm rambling now, sorry. SP: More useful thing, practical type. Do you know the charging rates on resurrection? SP: Which is a funny sentence, by the way. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 1:04 PM FO: fightin an eldritch fucko would be a heck of a fight, but its one id give a go.  ive done it before, ive pulled that kinda shit outta dudes heads.  theres a big variance on how big an individual eldritch fucko happens to be though, so its a thing to take super fuckin seriously before blunderin straight into FO: if anybody could cut a mind connection, id probably be able to though FO: ramblin makes sense, and bein in a hurry makes sense too.  why is your friend on the verge of startin a sgrub session?  do they like, know not to? -- flippinOptimist began sending file : meenahsfliersarefuckinweird.pdf --  (( a 2-page document, where the first is a classy menu for baked goods with a catering section at the bottom, and the second is a matching menu for healing by injury type with a 'special requests on case by case basis' section at the bottom.  It lists reviving as a special request. )) FO: i think she bases it partly on what a dude can scrape together, but idk FO: theres a chance sparks might be willin to help (or meddle) for free, but hes got an M!A rn thats fuckin up his ability to do things Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 1:17 PM [ sanessPsuede downloaded meenahsfliersarefuckinweird.pdf ] SP: Oh hey, great, thanks. SP: I don't know how close she is to starting one, because she's not answering any of my messages. SP: I'll probably have to hunt her down in person. I figure she can't start a game if I get her out of the zone for a bit. SP: Maybe delay the inevitable. SP: Fex is a cool dude. You and he have some stuff in common there. SP: I haven't been able to tell my friend not to yet, obviously. I don't think she took it seriously when I told her about it before. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 1:23 PM FO: good luck delayin it, an talkin your friend outta it FO: sgrub is somethin you can make the best outta, f you get stuck in it, but uh FO: a lot of it sucks real bad Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 1:27 PM SP: It's probably more efficient SP: to see if dying works SP: rather than engaging in a risky conflict unprepared SP: Side note! SP: Thoughts on how to break a mental connection to a thing that is not a person? SP: Like the Anista puppet or a wall. SP: If there's not a mind, can there even be a link? flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 1:41 PM FO: efficient isnt really a good word when somebodys life is on the line, and id still risk it.  its more about whats most likely to work i think. FO: i think worrying about whether or not something is a person is more of a soul / heart thing FO: if it has a mind, thats close enough FO: theres plenty of bugs that are too simple for me to be able to get a read on FO: and a couple a computer programs that are almost something enough, that i cant quite reach FO: but i peeked at her and saw that she existed and that there was stuff, if i was careful enough i might be able to unplug somethin FO: i think info processing and the ability to choose between outcomes is the big thing.  ideally in some kind of.. complex..ish way, naut just a simple if statement Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 2:07 PM SP: What about a literal wall? Something completely mindless. Could something eldritch-y make a connection to it? flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 2:11 PM FO: never seen one!  one way to find out though B) Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 2:22 PM SP: :D SP: Okay, I'm gonna see about getting in touch with Meenah. No point waiting around. SP: It's efficient, and probably more effective. SP: I'm not inclined to gamble with more than my own neck if I can avoid it. SP: Risk to result ratio says dying is the way to live SP: while causing the least amount of harm, probably flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 2:25 PM FO: if youre sure dude FO: for what its worth, if you go into a death knowin its comin and bein okay w knowin youre (probably) comin out the other side, its naut as aaaaaaaaAAAAa as it is when its a surprise and also a big upsetting disruption FO: its still kinda A Fuckin Thing, but FO: its possible to get over it, more n most ways of death comin by Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 2:29 PM SP: Okay, I'm not really sure, but the alternative worries me a lot and putting other people at risk jangles my moral compass pretty hard flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 2:30 PM FO: man, if you ever godtier, you're definitely gonna run into problems w the heroic thing Saness (sanesspsuede) - Today at 2:35 PM SP: Just means I'd be a normal dude with super powers. One life, one death. Seems fair. SP: And sucky. SP: No thank you, Sgrub. flippinOptimist[WIR] - Today at 2:43 PM FO: yeah, p much.