Welcome to Sburb! (Dead and Over)
- Thread starter Pappytech
- Start date
>Waffles: Gush
Sam, I don't know if I said it this year yet, but you are amazing.
Also, I apologize for my absence. Finals are coming up and I've been studying my ass off. Wish me luck tomorrow.
>Xavier: Feel really badass
You MOTHERFUCKING do so.
3 boss battles in the Game equivalent of an hour! You must be drowning in Grist by now! Pretty damn kickass if you do say so yourself!
>Xavier: Use all your sense
Let's see (well, maybe not), the HORRID stench gets stronger in one direction, yet the HISSING gets louder in another.
>Xavier: Stab wildly in the hissing direction
Sam, I don't know if I said it this year yet, but you are amazing.
Also, I apologize for my absence. Finals are coming up and I've been studying my ass off. Wish me luck tomorrow.
>Xavier: Feel really badass
You MOTHERFUCKING do so.
3 boss battles in the Game equivalent of an hour! You must be drowning in Grist by now! Pretty damn kickass if you do say so yourself!
>Xavier: Use all your sense
Let's see (well, maybe not), the HORRID stench gets stronger in one direction, yet the HISSING gets louder in another.
>Xavier: Stab wildly in the hissing direction
>GM: Reveal yourself!!!!! Oh, well hello there! Please, step into my office. Sorry about the excessive clutter; we're a bit underfunded when it comes to storage space. Still, we've got a wonderful view of the Golden Towers, so that's something. Oh, you with the odd hat, please don't touch those papers, thank you. It gets quite easy to lose things in here, forms, pens, people. Can't count the number of secretaries I've lost in here? tragic, simply tragic.
Right, now, you?re probably wondering why I've asked you all to come here, and... are those aviators really necessary? We're inside, and the lighting isn't exactly great; sunglasses probably aren't the best idea. Alright, alright, fine; if you want to wear them, go ahead.
Anyway, the reason I?ve invited the lot of you here. Well, there are two reasons, I suppose. The first is quite simple, actually; to offer a brief apology for my recent lack of participation. Alas, work, life, and other daily toils tend to eat away at our time, swallowing it all up bit by bit by bit. As you all know, these menial distractions cannot be ignored, and sometimes they tear us away from the things we want to do, to force us to do those that we must do.
Also, my internet's been out for, like, a week. It's crazy.
Well, that was the first thing I wanted to do. Glad we got that out of the way. Moving on, there was one other goal for this little meeting, one that I'd like to carry out now. So, sit down, relax, and prepare your minds to be bombarded by excessive amounts of exposition.
>GM: Muse on the nature of time. Time is a rather beautiful concept, wouldn't you agree? Ever changing, ever flowing, always moving forward, carrying with it the lives and fates of so many beings. Prospitians, Dersites, even you lot fall under its sway. There is nothing that can halt or slow its advance, nothing that can turn it back, nothing that can ever alter its path. Time is an indomitable force, one of the strongest, most powerful entities in this entire world. And lucky you! You?re all members of a Player race, aren't you?
Now, though doing so is insanely difficult, it is possible to manipulate time. However, such an ability is truly a rarity. Of all the races in all of the galaxies in all of the universes in all of the dimensions in all of existence, only a handful have ever exhibited this innate talent, to warp time's unstoppable march in their favor. These races, in addition to possessing this prodigious talent, also have at least one other thing in common: They all have the ability to play the Game. As it stands, if I begin talking about the Game, then we'll be here all day, so I'll do the lot of you a favor and keep my musings strictly on the nature of time.
As you all should know, when a Hero of Time becomes fully realized, their abilities are truly extraordinary. They are able to leap backwards and forwards through the timelines, traveling from Beta offshoots to the Alpha. They can freely manipulate other's perception of the present, forcing enemies to move, think, and act slower, or allowing their allies to speed their actions. They can take remnants of the ancient past and restore them to their former glory. They can take harbingers of the distant future, and mature them to their greatest moments. These, and so many others, are the strengths of a Hero of Time.
However, though no one else can possibly master the waves of time to such an adroit degree, the Hero of Time is never the only member of their race to display such abilities. Every member of every Player race is blessed with a few interesting, albeit minor, abilities. A few common examples are the sensation commonly known as déjà vu, the converse feeling of jamais vu, and the ever confusing aptitude to regret sleeping with someone before actually sleeping with them. However, these are not the abilities that we will concern ourselves with.
Rather, we will take a look at time's movement in an area of extreme interest, a place you all should be quite familiar with: Our story's setting, the Medium. Encompassing the six surviving Lands, the twin worlds of Prospit and Derse, the thus far mysterious Veil, and Skaia itself, the Medium is a place of infinite possibility and utmost danger. Every Medium in every Session is meant to provide its Players with a series of challenges, in order to help them grow and realize their potential, or, in the case of a failed Session, in order to weed them out. No two players will ever have the same experience; some will find themselves facing legions of Underlings, others will encounter a more abstract challenge.
Now, just as every trial is different, so naturally is the time to complete said test. What is truly fascinating about the Game, is that the Medium will compensate for these temporal discrepancies. Suppose, for example, that the Reckoning for a particular Session is 168 hours in length. Suppose, in addition, that two of said Session's Players have been given two very different quests: One must forge the Genesis Frog, and the other must become a powerful warrior. Now, the intricate and time-consuming process that is ecto-breeding is almost certainly going to be the longer of the two tasks, you will find that by the time the meteors begin to soar, both Players will have finished their respective quests, at roughly the same time.
It turns out the Medium is able to ensure such time shenanigans by slightly altering the speed at which each Player moves along their personal timelines. If the frog-breeder is traveling a great distance to find a particular specimen, then they might find that their trip simply blows by, the miles seemingly flowing past them. Meanwhile, the warrior will find that each and every one of his fights, no matter their length or difficulty, will ooze along at a snail?s pace, as though seeped in molasses. No one is entirely sure how this happens, how the Medium changes the flow of time to this odd degree. However, at the same time, no one can deny this strange ability.
Wibbly wobbly.
>GM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1YmS_VDvMY
Fine, fine, sorry for trying to explain things. I'll skip to the point where it applies to our quintet of Players.
Some events, such as the Reckoning, fight against the Black King, or the summoning of the Glorious Speaker, occur at the same moment for every Player, no matter their current location.
This is one such event. It occurs just after Chas Alder?s farewell to Ace Tailspin, after Rich Salvador discovers the FENESTRATED WALL, after X-Gang emerges triumphant from the ANCIENT TEMPLE, after Greg Markos finishes charging the mysterious SKY NEEDLE, and after Dirk Pace awakens from his rather informative dreams. It is an event that will, simply put, define the next act of our little tale. Let's get right to it, shall we?
>WELCOME TO SBURB CHAPTER 4: SO LONG YOU GRIMDARK PSYCHOPATH, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FORKS.
Three sets of FENESTERED WALLS suddenly light up, their separated screens glowing with light. A CLUELESS DERSITE stares at a few of our Heroes, his eyes suddenly lighting up with recognition. Gesturing excitedly to a figure off-screen, he proudly proclaims that he got the device working, and that she can start whenever she?s ready. An obsidian figure steps into the screen, white eyes narrowed with malevolence. A black wrench is grasped in her fist, a dark crown set upon her frizzy hair.
A noise not unlike the squeal of feedback through a loudspeaker echoes across the Land of Legends and Ruins, startling Consorts and Underlings alike. Soon, however, the annoying clamor ceases, as a cruel voice begins speaking.
"Knaves and fools. Listen well. Your struggles are fruitless, your quests and goals futile and useless. Yet, you still attempt to fight against us, to ruin our plans and ambitions. Your annoyances are draining and irksome; I grow tired of your pointless resistance.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
The screens power off, the projected voice fades away. All that remains in the Black Queens lingering malice, and the echoes of her threat.
Well. That?s probably not good. You all should probably do something about that, right?
Right, now, you?re probably wondering why I've asked you all to come here, and... are those aviators really necessary? We're inside, and the lighting isn't exactly great; sunglasses probably aren't the best idea. Alright, alright, fine; if you want to wear them, go ahead.
Anyway, the reason I?ve invited the lot of you here. Well, there are two reasons, I suppose. The first is quite simple, actually; to offer a brief apology for my recent lack of participation. Alas, work, life, and other daily toils tend to eat away at our time, swallowing it all up bit by bit by bit. As you all know, these menial distractions cannot be ignored, and sometimes they tear us away from the things we want to do, to force us to do those that we must do.
Also, my internet's been out for, like, a week. It's crazy.
Well, that was the first thing I wanted to do. Glad we got that out of the way. Moving on, there was one other goal for this little meeting, one that I'd like to carry out now. So, sit down, relax, and prepare your minds to be bombarded by excessive amounts of exposition.
>GM: Muse on the nature of time. Time is a rather beautiful concept, wouldn't you agree? Ever changing, ever flowing, always moving forward, carrying with it the lives and fates of so many beings. Prospitians, Dersites, even you lot fall under its sway. There is nothing that can halt or slow its advance, nothing that can turn it back, nothing that can ever alter its path. Time is an indomitable force, one of the strongest, most powerful entities in this entire world. And lucky you! You?re all members of a Player race, aren't you?
Now, though doing so is insanely difficult, it is possible to manipulate time. However, such an ability is truly a rarity. Of all the races in all of the galaxies in all of the universes in all of the dimensions in all of existence, only a handful have ever exhibited this innate talent, to warp time's unstoppable march in their favor. These races, in addition to possessing this prodigious talent, also have at least one other thing in common: They all have the ability to play the Game. As it stands, if I begin talking about the Game, then we'll be here all day, so I'll do the lot of you a favor and keep my musings strictly on the nature of time.
As you all should know, when a Hero of Time becomes fully realized, their abilities are truly extraordinary. They are able to leap backwards and forwards through the timelines, traveling from Beta offshoots to the Alpha. They can freely manipulate other's perception of the present, forcing enemies to move, think, and act slower, or allowing their allies to speed their actions. They can take remnants of the ancient past and restore them to their former glory. They can take harbingers of the distant future, and mature them to their greatest moments. These, and so many others, are the strengths of a Hero of Time.
However, though no one else can possibly master the waves of time to such an adroit degree, the Hero of Time is never the only member of their race to display such abilities. Every member of every Player race is blessed with a few interesting, albeit minor, abilities. A few common examples are the sensation commonly known as déjà vu, the converse feeling of jamais vu, and the ever confusing aptitude to regret sleeping with someone before actually sleeping with them. However, these are not the abilities that we will concern ourselves with.
Rather, we will take a look at time's movement in an area of extreme interest, a place you all should be quite familiar with: Our story's setting, the Medium. Encompassing the six surviving Lands, the twin worlds of Prospit and Derse, the thus far mysterious Veil, and Skaia itself, the Medium is a place of infinite possibility and utmost danger. Every Medium in every Session is meant to provide its Players with a series of challenges, in order to help them grow and realize their potential, or, in the case of a failed Session, in order to weed them out. No two players will ever have the same experience; some will find themselves facing legions of Underlings, others will encounter a more abstract challenge.
Now, just as every trial is different, so naturally is the time to complete said test. What is truly fascinating about the Game, is that the Medium will compensate for these temporal discrepancies. Suppose, for example, that the Reckoning for a particular Session is 168 hours in length. Suppose, in addition, that two of said Session's Players have been given two very different quests: One must forge the Genesis Frog, and the other must become a powerful warrior. Now, the intricate and time-consuming process that is ecto-breeding is almost certainly going to be the longer of the two tasks, you will find that by the time the meteors begin to soar, both Players will have finished their respective quests, at roughly the same time.
It turns out the Medium is able to ensure such time shenanigans by slightly altering the speed at which each Player moves along their personal timelines. If the frog-breeder is traveling a great distance to find a particular specimen, then they might find that their trip simply blows by, the miles seemingly flowing past them. Meanwhile, the warrior will find that each and every one of his fights, no matter their length or difficulty, will ooze along at a snail?s pace, as though seeped in molasses. No one is entirely sure how this happens, how the Medium changes the flow of time to this odd degree. However, at the same time, no one can deny this strange ability.
Wibbly wobbly.
>GM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1YmS_VDvMY
Fine, fine, sorry for trying to explain things. I'll skip to the point where it applies to our quintet of Players.
Some events, such as the Reckoning, fight against the Black King, or the summoning of the Glorious Speaker, occur at the same moment for every Player, no matter their current location.
This is one such event. It occurs just after Chas Alder?s farewell to Ace Tailspin, after Rich Salvador discovers the FENESTRATED WALL, after X-Gang emerges triumphant from the ANCIENT TEMPLE, after Greg Markos finishes charging the mysterious SKY NEEDLE, and after Dirk Pace awakens from his rather informative dreams. It is an event that will, simply put, define the next act of our little tale. Let's get right to it, shall we?
>WELCOME TO SBURB CHAPTER 4: SO LONG YOU GRIMDARK PSYCHOPATH, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FORKS.
Please note that the selection for this chapter title is not meant to imply the significance of any one character over the others, but is rather meant to coincide with the literary silliness that I currently find myself engaged in. For some reason, it is strangely enjoyable to follow the improbable misadventures of Arthur Dent and his ridiculous compatriots. I would like to reassure you all that I am a loving God Monster; I love all my player characters equally. With the two obvious exceptions.
Three sets of FENESTERED WALLS suddenly light up, their separated screens glowing with light. A CLUELESS DERSITE stares at a few of our Heroes, his eyes suddenly lighting up with recognition. Gesturing excitedly to a figure off-screen, he proudly proclaims that he got the device working, and that she can start whenever she?s ready. An obsidian figure steps into the screen, white eyes narrowed with malevolence. A black wrench is grasped in her fist, a dark crown set upon her frizzy hair.
A noise not unlike the squeal of feedback through a loudspeaker echoes across the Land of Legends and Ruins, startling Consorts and Underlings alike. Soon, however, the annoying clamor ceases, as a cruel voice begins speaking.
"Knaves and fools. Listen well. Your struggles are fruitless, your quests and goals futile and useless. Yet, you still attempt to fight against us, to ruin our plans and ambitions. Your annoyances are draining and irksome; I grow tired of your pointless resistance.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
The screens power off, the projected voice fades away. All that remains in the Black Queens lingering malice, and the echoes of her threat.
Well. That?s probably not good. You all should probably do something about that, right?
>GM: Suddenly remember that two of the players are still engaged in the throes of combat, and that another is in the midst of retrieving information. ...Right, I should probably do something about that.
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>Greg: Well, as far as plans go, this is quite the crazy one. Using yourself as a projectile, especially when you're this high in the air, is almost certainly going to result in some serious injuries, the kind that you can't just walk off. I'm talking shattered knees, broken legs, the whole nine yards man. Add in the fact that your opponent is an OCCULUSI, and things are suddenly looking even worse for you.
However, you do have one thing going for you: Your armor. Your spikey, sharp, very, very heavy armor.
Using the forces of gravity and momentum to speed up, you descend into the OCCULUSI's head at quite the impressive clip. The impact rattles you to your core; it feels like every one of your teeth is about to shake out of your mouth, and you can't feel your legs in the slightest. Surprisingly, however, you come out on the better end of the exchange. Your foe is shattered by your attack, falling into that realm of unconsciousness that only coma victims know of. His grip on the SKY NEEDLE loosens; soon he is rushing toward the ground, with nothing to slow his fall. Upon landing, he bursts into a mountain of Grist and Gel, as well as a MYSTERIOUS UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT.
You level up!
Level 29 Crow Wrangler. +50 Boonbucks.
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>Xavier: As the hissing sound is currently echoing all around you, and stabbing at it would therefore require you to stab all around you (Possibly at your ally or Consort companion), it's going to be assumed that you are, in fact, stabbing downward, towards the slimy thing wrapping around your foot. Trust me, it'll be a lot more effective.
Doing so, your blade sinks into what feels suspiciously like rotting flesh, a spray of some noxious liquid coating your wrist. As you do so, two things happen: First, the hissing stops. Instead, it is replaced by a pained roar. Second, the floor under you begins to shift and writhe; you get the feeling you should vacate this dank hole. Like, now.
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>Dirk: Presumably, you read through the rest of the files. However, for some strange reason, you do not register the information you acquire until a later time.
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>Greg: Well, as far as plans go, this is quite the crazy one. Using yourself as a projectile, especially when you're this high in the air, is almost certainly going to result in some serious injuries, the kind that you can't just walk off. I'm talking shattered knees, broken legs, the whole nine yards man. Add in the fact that your opponent is an OCCULUSI, and things are suddenly looking even worse for you.
However, you do have one thing going for you: Your armor. Your spikey, sharp, very, very heavy armor.
Using the forces of gravity and momentum to speed up, you descend into the OCCULUSI's head at quite the impressive clip. The impact rattles you to your core; it feels like every one of your teeth is about to shake out of your mouth, and you can't feel your legs in the slightest. Surprisingly, however, you come out on the better end of the exchange. Your foe is shattered by your attack, falling into that realm of unconsciousness that only coma victims know of. His grip on the SKY NEEDLE loosens; soon he is rushing toward the ground, with nothing to slow his fall. Upon landing, he bursts into a mountain of Grist and Gel, as well as a MYSTERIOUS UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT.
You level up!
Level 29 Crow Wrangler. +50 Boonbucks.
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>Xavier: As the hissing sound is currently echoing all around you, and stabbing at it would therefore require you to stab all around you (Possibly at your ally or Consort companion), it's going to be assumed that you are, in fact, stabbing downward, towards the slimy thing wrapping around your foot. Trust me, it'll be a lot more effective.
Doing so, your blade sinks into what feels suspiciously like rotting flesh, a spray of some noxious liquid coating your wrist. As you do so, two things happen: First, the hissing stops. Instead, it is replaced by a pained roar. Second, the floor under you begins to shift and writhe; you get the feeling you should vacate this dank hole. Like, now.
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>Dirk: Presumably, you read through the rest of the files. However, for some strange reason, you do not register the information you acquire until a later time.
Yeah, I know I need to finish a couple of these up. But, real life is calling. I'll try to get this stuff wrapped up as soon as possible, but it might not be for about six hours. Just a heads up.
"Knaves and fools. Listen well. Your struggles are fruitless, your quests and goals futile and useless. Yet, you still attempt to fight against us, to ruin our plans and ambitions. Your annoyances are draining and irksome; I grow tired of your pointless resistance.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR: BEGIN
>Dirk: Wake up
You do so. You're barely awake for a second before the speech from what you can only assume to be that of the BLACK QUEEN. Your fist trembles as you hear her speak. She sounds... evil. There's no other word for it. Pure, irredeemable evil.
"Now you know why I hate her so much."
You look at your future self, who is staring into a fire.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but right now I need you to go ahead and do what you were planning on doing: Find Chas. I know you're worried about our Sis, but you're going to have to trust my plan here. It's only going to work if you do what I say. Now get moving."
You don't see any good reason not to trust him, and so you grab SNAKE EYES.
The two of you set off for your LAND. You have a feeling that Chas will be going through there soon in your gut.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR: BEGIN
>Dirk: Wake up
You do so. You're barely awake for a second before the speech from what you can only assume to be that of the BLACK QUEEN. Your fist trembles as you hear her speak. She sounds... evil. There's no other word for it. Pure, irredeemable evil.
"Now you know why I hate her so much."
You look at your future self, who is staring into a fire.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but right now I need you to go ahead and do what you were planning on doing: Find Chas. I know you're worried about our Sis, but you're going to have to trust my plan here. It's only going to work if you do what I say. Now get moving."
You don't see any good reason not to trust him, and so you grab SNAKE EYES.
The two of you set off for your LAND. You have a feeling that Chas will be going through there soon in your gut.
"Knaves and fools. Listen well. Your struggles are fruitless, your quests and goals futile and useless. Yet, you still attempt to fight against us, to ruin our plans and ambitions. Your annoyances are draining and irksome; I grow tired of your pointless resistance.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR: GO!
>X-Gang: Bail
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!
The last thing you need is monarchs threatening the life of you and your father whilst fighting for life the life of you and your comrades!
Great, just fucking grand!
>X-Gang: Land
You all stumble a bit, but you manage.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR: GO!
>X-Gang: Bail
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!
The last thing you need is monarchs threatening the life of you and your father whilst fighting for life the life of you and your comrades!
Great, just fucking grand!
>X-Gang: Land
You all stumble a bit, but you manage.
"Knaves and fools. Listen well. Your struggles are fruitless, your quests and goals futile and useless. Yet, you still attempt to fight against us, to ruin our plans and ambitions. Your annoyances are draining and irksome; I grow tired of your pointless resistance.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR:ACTIVATE
>Greg:Assess the situation
Well...you're alive..and on the ground..and on your back.But,atleast the creature is defeated.But now you have more worries.Pain.And with the Black Queen,the promise of future pain.She has your MOTHER!You need to do something!
You try to stand up,but just fall over.Your legs kinda hurt..alot..And your teeth haven't stopped vibrating yet..And you feel sore all over.
Ok,that whole KNIGHT MISSLE thing may have been a bad idea.You will try to refrain from doing that too many times in the future.
As you look around,more to see if anyone is around to either help or kill you,you spot the MYSTERIOUS UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT.You decide to try to make it over there.
>Greg:Crawl slowly toward the MYSTERIOUS UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR:ACTIVATE
>Greg:Assess the situation
Well...you're alive..and on the ground..and on your back.But,atleast the creature is defeated.But now you have more worries.Pain.And with the Black Queen,the promise of future pain.She has your MOTHER!You need to do something!
You try to stand up,but just fall over.Your legs kinda hurt..alot..And your teeth haven't stopped vibrating yet..And you feel sore all over.
Ok,that whole KNIGHT MISSLE thing may have been a bad idea.You will try to refrain from doing that too many times in the future.
As you look around,more to see if anyone is around to either help or kill you,you spot the MYSTERIOUS UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT.You decide to try to make it over there.
>Greg:Crawl slowly toward the MYSTERIOUS UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT
Ok,all I have to say is that was an awesome post Pappy.As both a player and sometimes GM I am proud to have played under you and I salute you.
"Knaves and fools. Listen well. Your struggles are fruitless, your quests and goals futile and useless. Yet, you still attempt to fight against us, to ruin our plans and ambitions. Your annoyances are draining and irksome; I grow tired of your pointless resistance.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR: ENGAGE
>Rich: Be perturbed.
Great! Just fucking great! If there was one thing dissatisfying about your situation, it was that the odds weren't tipped heavily enough against you! You go ahead and take a moment to thank the royal ***** for sorting that out!
>Rich: Renew adventuring.
You're already getting a little fed up with Elwoodsprite's advice of meandering along and adventuring. You are now on two, possibly three time limits - one to the death of your UNCLE, one to losing the game, and possibly one to the doom of the universe.
Unfortunately, you don't really have any better ideas. You aren't entirely sure what else to do next. Although...upon reflection, you're fairly certain Elwoodsprite mentioned something about an "eighth gate". He seemed to imply it was necessary for an aspiring hero to pass through this eighth gate. Which implies said hero must first pass through seven others. You've only gone through one.
Holy shit you've got a lot of work to do.
>Rich: Stop long-term planning, continue examining FENESTRATED WALL.
It is VERY INTERESTING.
>Past MetroidNut: Read Start of Act 4 post in aviators.
I wear my sunglasses at night.
"I hold those who are most precious to you; their lives are mine for the taking. And take them I shall, if you continue your inane struggling. I will have order.
"You have twelve hours to surrender yourselves to my servants. Do so, and I might feel inclined to spare the lives of your guardians. Refuse, and their heads will decorate my palace. Make your choice."
>ACT FOUR: ENGAGE
>Rich: Be perturbed.
Great! Just fucking great! If there was one thing dissatisfying about your situation, it was that the odds weren't tipped heavily enough against you! You go ahead and take a moment to thank the royal ***** for sorting that out!
>Rich: Renew adventuring.
You're already getting a little fed up with Elwoodsprite's advice of meandering along and adventuring. You are now on two, possibly three time limits - one to the death of your UNCLE, one to losing the game, and possibly one to the doom of the universe.
Unfortunately, you don't really have any better ideas. You aren't entirely sure what else to do next. Although...upon reflection, you're fairly certain Elwoodsprite mentioned something about an "eighth gate". He seemed to imply it was necessary for an aspiring hero to pass through this eighth gate. Which implies said hero must first pass through seven others. You've only gone through one.
Holy shit you've got a lot of work to do.
>Rich: Stop long-term planning, continue examining FENESTRATED WALL.
It is VERY INTERESTING.
>Past MetroidNut: Read Start of Act 4 post in aviators.
I wear my sunglasses at night.
>Xavier: Be Past-Xavier. No, you can't really do that. See, you're not the Time guy; you're the Life guy. You can't just arbitrarily be your past self. That'd just be silly.
You can, however, remember what exactly went on inside the TEMPLE, before the three of you stumbled outside to find that someone had planted a FENESTRATED WALL in front of it, over which you had just heard and seen the Black Queen's speech.
Right, so, levels. While you certainly gained a lot of them, you unfortunately have yet to gain all the levels. Doing the LIFEY THING, while certainly awesome and stuff, is not a surefire to ascend to the top of the echeladder, not yet anyways.
You did, however, just become the highest ranked player among your peers. Nice job there.
Level 66 District Manager of Stabs! +A hell of a lot of Boonbucks.
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>Dirk&Chas: Using the same principles of time recently discussed by the GM a few posts ago, let's assume that the two of you are able to meet up, say, in Dirk's house without too many shenanigans delaying the two of you. Feel free to commence with the stuff and the things.
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>Past-Greg and Past-Rich: Being you past selves, you watch the Black Queens speech on the two FENESTRATED WALLS. (The UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT was totally a FENESTRATED WALL. The whole time.)
Reexamining the FENESTRATED WALLS proves to be pretty futile; looks like they've both been shut down permanently. Unless one of you suddenly has SICK HACKING SKILLS, it doesn't look like you'll be able to do anything with them.
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>GM: Promise to attempt to upload the NPC files that Dirk was looking at back on Prospit. Yeah, I'll do my best to get those up over the next few days. Not right now though. My brain's kind of dead for the moment.
Also, Benndak, Met... alright, do what you want.
You can, however, remember what exactly went on inside the TEMPLE, before the three of you stumbled outside to find that someone had planted a FENESTRATED WALL in front of it, over which you had just heard and seen the Black Queen's speech.
You know, being able to fly is really quite the impressive ability. It gives you the capability to travel at incredible speeds, to reach unknown heights (Literally and figuratively), and, most importantly, get the heck out of Dodge when you need to.
For clarification, in this instance Dodge is a musty pit housing a giant undead serpent. Which you just stabbed. In the face.
You, C-Diddy, and Dirk soar upwards, quickly vacating the shaft. As the three of you ascend to the temple?s main chamber, a black blur hurls after you, emanating a shriek of rage and malice as it rises. You and your allies are barely able to clear the pit's edge, throwing yourselves past the ring of statues and to the ground, before the shadow bolts past you. With a sickening crunch, the shape slams into the temple's ceiling, its ear-piercing cry finally silencing.
For a moment, all is silent. A thick coat of dust falls from the ancient walls, covering your small group with its contents. You find yourselves unable to move, staring in shock and amazement at the massive, unmoving silhouette before you. A breathtakingly long body, easily five feet thick, stretches out of the hole. A patchwork covering of obsidian tinted scales enshrouds the creature's form, interrupted here and there by patches of rotting flesh and yellowed bone. Though clearly serpentine, you are unable to see either end of the monster's frame; its tail is still somewhere far below you, its head seemingly stuck in the ceiling. At least, it was stuck in the ceiling.
The groaning of aged rock and decayed flesh alerts the three of you to movement far above you. The beast?s body suddenly begins twitching, writhing in place, struggling against its bindings with a ferocious strength. With an ear-splitting crack of rock, and a sickening tearing of flesh, a massive head is yanked out of the temple's roof, pulling with it untold years of dust and debris. Slowly, the enormous visage lowers itself, the snake?s body shifting and folding beneath it. Soon, it is no more than a few short feet above you, its joints popping painfully with every inch of movement. Bending its neck ever so slightly, it angles its gaze downwards, a half-missing tongue slipping from its mouth.
You, Dirk, and C-Diddy stare into the face of decay, awestruck and horrified at the same time. The patchwork quality that covered the creature's body is present on its face as well; though most of it is covered by a thick coat of pitch-black scales, putrid meat and bones can be seen peeking through. A single milky orb stares at you, unseeing, while its absent twin has been replaced by an unearthly red sphere, emitting naught but hatred and disgust. A pair of curving ivory fangs sticks out from its mouth, each as long as your forearm. Drops of venom pool at their tips, threatening to drop onto you if they receive the slightest jostle.
A short eternity passes as the three of you stare at the ancient beast. Then, your foe begins to roar.
Suddenly galvanized into action, you and C-Diddy take to the air, circling the monster too fast for it to strike you. The two of you begin to attack the beast, you with your knives, C-Diddy with his beak and talons. Meanwhile, Dirk stays on the ground, dashing around the creature's body, occasionally slashing at it with his blade. Working together, the three of you slowly begin to mill away its health, tearing away scales and flesh with each blow.
Frustrated by its inability to hit any of you, your foe slows, and ceases its futile attacks. A dark power seems to pour off of it, a chilly breeze blowing through you, sapping your strength and slowing your movements. Cautiously, the three of you back off, apprehensively watching the creature. As it continues its arcane ritual, clouds of dust slowly begin to rise from the ground, separating into several blurry forms. Amazingly, the dust begins to collect and gather; splintered bones begin to reform and emerge from the dusty vapors. Soon, six vaguely humanoid skeletons awkwardly stand before you. I say vaguely, because while they possess the correct number of limbs and are approximately the same size, their massive fangs and lengthy, razor-sharp claws utterly refute any possibility of them being human.
As though following some unheard command, the skeletons suddenly charge forward. Considering they lack muscles, and therefore any manner of moving their bodies, they can move quite fast. Four of them dash towards Dirk, surrounding him and lashing out with their claws and fangs. The remaining two perform some impressive acrobatic feats, leaping off of walls and statues to reach your height. Though you?re able to deflect their attacks and, with some help from C-Diddy, knock them back to the ground, they are undeterred, and quickly leap towards you again.
As you continue to fight off your opponents, you?re able to spot Dirk having some trouble. Though he has not yet been injured, the number of enemies striking at him and the sheer amount of their attacks leave him unable to do anything other than block.
However, it?s not like you?re really in any position to give him a hand. In the moment it takes you to refocus your attention on the two foes attacking you, they leap past you, each of them latching onto one of your arms. Careening wildly through the air, the three of you slam into a wall; upon impact, the skeletons stab one of their hands into the rock, using their others to keep you pinned there. Despite all your struggling, you are unable to shake their grip, or strike at them.
Slowly, the serpent approaches you. The scent of its rotting flesh clogs your nose and mouth, causing you to painfully gag. Its slowly opening mouth is only ten feet away from you? seven, as Dirk?s frenzied swinging is still unable to break through the skeletons surrounding him? five, as your futile struggling accomplishes nothing? four?
With a courageous squawk, C-Diddy rams into the snake's head, tearing at its one remaining eye with talon and beak. The beast roars in pain and thrashes about, knocking aside one of your captors. Using your now free hand, you stab your STARLIGHT SHIV deep into the eye socket of the other skeleton; as you do so, the assembly of bones begins to shake and tremble. Slowly, it begins to crumble away, its body returning to dust, fully freeing you. However, as you push off from the wall, and begin to fly away, the serpent shakes off C-Diddy?s assault, and turns toward you, opening its mouth fully. A thin shower of mist sprays from the opening, coating you as you fly away.
For a moment, all is good. You wheel about, readying yourself to strike the undead beast. However, as you raise your arms, you become aware of a slight sizzling noise, like frying meat. Dimly, you turn your eyes, glancing at your arm. You register the fact that your skin is bubbling, cracking, bleeding. Then, the pain hits you.
Unable to move, unable to think, unable to do anything but scream and shriek, you crash to the ground, your limbs involuntarily lashing about. As the acidic venom eats through your clothes and flesh, you barely notice the fact that your eyes have scabbed over, that all you can smell is the burning of your skin and muscle, that all you can taste is the lethal poison that seeps into your veins and mouth. Surprisingly, you are able to feel something, a heavy weight perched on your chest, about what you?d imagine a human skeleton with wickedly sharp claws would weigh.
You then feel ten ivory blades piercing your chest, ripping through your guts, tearing away your life. Blood sprays from your torso, coating the skeleton with a crimson varnish.
Slowly, mercifully, the pain begins to fade away. The blackness that is all your ruined eyes can see slowly grows brighter, as a pinprick of white light begins to glow in the distance. The sounds of Dirk's blade smashing through bone drifts away, as does C-Diddy?s panicked squawking. You feel? at peace.
As the light draws closer and closer, growing larger as it approaches, your vision is briefly interrupted by flashes of purple walls, in a bedroom quite like your own. A small voice trickles through your thoughts, tiny, far away, but so, so strong.
[small]Not yet, Mage. This is not your domain. Breathe, stand, see.[/small]
Suddenly, your vision, still filled by the ever approaching light, is shattered, replaced by a wild sheet of bright blue. Feeling suddenly returns to your body, as your organs and muscles twist and writhe, returning to their regular positions and forms. Your eyes, now fully repaired, shoot open, staring at the skeleton still perched on your chest. A blue aura envelops your sight; unbeknownst to you, your eyes actually begin glowing blue as well.
You feel something building up within you, a strange sensation of power collecting inside your heart. The organ begins to beat faster, and faster; soon it is beating like some tribal drum, its reverberations shaking your entire body.
With a cry of strength ripping from your mouth, a blue wave of power flies from your healed body, striking everything within the temple before dissipating. The remaining skeletons crumble to dust, while Dirk and C-Diddy feel their bodies strengthened and rejuvenated. Meanwhile, the massive serpent begins to glow blue as well, writhing back in forth in what must be incredible pain. Its patches of missing flesh and scales begin to heal, bones and muscles disappearing under a sudden growth of black armoring. Cracking open its mouth, now sporting a full tongue, the monster lets out a strangled cry, as the blue aura fades away.
With a final, resounding thud, your foe falls to the ground, each painful breath filling its body with agony. You rise to your feet, a spring in your step and feeling better than you ever have before. A few seconds later, and you've managed to recollect both of your knives, which had fallen from your hands earlier. You, C-Diddy, and Dirk gather together, facing the exhausted, unable to move beast.
You proceed to kick ass in a manner that, sadly, cannot be recounted here, due to a variety of legal shenanigans. Suffice to say, you win.
For clarification, in this instance Dodge is a musty pit housing a giant undead serpent. Which you just stabbed. In the face.
You, C-Diddy, and Dirk soar upwards, quickly vacating the shaft. As the three of you ascend to the temple?s main chamber, a black blur hurls after you, emanating a shriek of rage and malice as it rises. You and your allies are barely able to clear the pit's edge, throwing yourselves past the ring of statues and to the ground, before the shadow bolts past you. With a sickening crunch, the shape slams into the temple's ceiling, its ear-piercing cry finally silencing.
For a moment, all is silent. A thick coat of dust falls from the ancient walls, covering your small group with its contents. You find yourselves unable to move, staring in shock and amazement at the massive, unmoving silhouette before you. A breathtakingly long body, easily five feet thick, stretches out of the hole. A patchwork covering of obsidian tinted scales enshrouds the creature's form, interrupted here and there by patches of rotting flesh and yellowed bone. Though clearly serpentine, you are unable to see either end of the monster's frame; its tail is still somewhere far below you, its head seemingly stuck in the ceiling. At least, it was stuck in the ceiling.
The groaning of aged rock and decayed flesh alerts the three of you to movement far above you. The beast?s body suddenly begins twitching, writhing in place, struggling against its bindings with a ferocious strength. With an ear-splitting crack of rock, and a sickening tearing of flesh, a massive head is yanked out of the temple's roof, pulling with it untold years of dust and debris. Slowly, the enormous visage lowers itself, the snake?s body shifting and folding beneath it. Soon, it is no more than a few short feet above you, its joints popping painfully with every inch of movement. Bending its neck ever so slightly, it angles its gaze downwards, a half-missing tongue slipping from its mouth.
You, Dirk, and C-Diddy stare into the face of decay, awestruck and horrified at the same time. The patchwork quality that covered the creature's body is present on its face as well; though most of it is covered by a thick coat of pitch-black scales, putrid meat and bones can be seen peeking through. A single milky orb stares at you, unseeing, while its absent twin has been replaced by an unearthly red sphere, emitting naught but hatred and disgust. A pair of curving ivory fangs sticks out from its mouth, each as long as your forearm. Drops of venom pool at their tips, threatening to drop onto you if they receive the slightest jostle.
A short eternity passes as the three of you stare at the ancient beast. Then, your foe begins to roar.
Suddenly galvanized into action, you and C-Diddy take to the air, circling the monster too fast for it to strike you. The two of you begin to attack the beast, you with your knives, C-Diddy with his beak and talons. Meanwhile, Dirk stays on the ground, dashing around the creature's body, occasionally slashing at it with his blade. Working together, the three of you slowly begin to mill away its health, tearing away scales and flesh with each blow.
Frustrated by its inability to hit any of you, your foe slows, and ceases its futile attacks. A dark power seems to pour off of it, a chilly breeze blowing through you, sapping your strength and slowing your movements. Cautiously, the three of you back off, apprehensively watching the creature. As it continues its arcane ritual, clouds of dust slowly begin to rise from the ground, separating into several blurry forms. Amazingly, the dust begins to collect and gather; splintered bones begin to reform and emerge from the dusty vapors. Soon, six vaguely humanoid skeletons awkwardly stand before you. I say vaguely, because while they possess the correct number of limbs and are approximately the same size, their massive fangs and lengthy, razor-sharp claws utterly refute any possibility of them being human.
As though following some unheard command, the skeletons suddenly charge forward. Considering they lack muscles, and therefore any manner of moving their bodies, they can move quite fast. Four of them dash towards Dirk, surrounding him and lashing out with their claws and fangs. The remaining two perform some impressive acrobatic feats, leaping off of walls and statues to reach your height. Though you?re able to deflect their attacks and, with some help from C-Diddy, knock them back to the ground, they are undeterred, and quickly leap towards you again.
As you continue to fight off your opponents, you?re able to spot Dirk having some trouble. Though he has not yet been injured, the number of enemies striking at him and the sheer amount of their attacks leave him unable to do anything other than block.
However, it?s not like you?re really in any position to give him a hand. In the moment it takes you to refocus your attention on the two foes attacking you, they leap past you, each of them latching onto one of your arms. Careening wildly through the air, the three of you slam into a wall; upon impact, the skeletons stab one of their hands into the rock, using their others to keep you pinned there. Despite all your struggling, you are unable to shake their grip, or strike at them.
Slowly, the serpent approaches you. The scent of its rotting flesh clogs your nose and mouth, causing you to painfully gag. Its slowly opening mouth is only ten feet away from you? seven, as Dirk?s frenzied swinging is still unable to break through the skeletons surrounding him? five, as your futile struggling accomplishes nothing? four?
With a courageous squawk, C-Diddy rams into the snake's head, tearing at its one remaining eye with talon and beak. The beast roars in pain and thrashes about, knocking aside one of your captors. Using your now free hand, you stab your STARLIGHT SHIV deep into the eye socket of the other skeleton; as you do so, the assembly of bones begins to shake and tremble. Slowly, it begins to crumble away, its body returning to dust, fully freeing you. However, as you push off from the wall, and begin to fly away, the serpent shakes off C-Diddy?s assault, and turns toward you, opening its mouth fully. A thin shower of mist sprays from the opening, coating you as you fly away.
For a moment, all is good. You wheel about, readying yourself to strike the undead beast. However, as you raise your arms, you become aware of a slight sizzling noise, like frying meat. Dimly, you turn your eyes, glancing at your arm. You register the fact that your skin is bubbling, cracking, bleeding. Then, the pain hits you.
Unable to move, unable to think, unable to do anything but scream and shriek, you crash to the ground, your limbs involuntarily lashing about. As the acidic venom eats through your clothes and flesh, you barely notice the fact that your eyes have scabbed over, that all you can smell is the burning of your skin and muscle, that all you can taste is the lethal poison that seeps into your veins and mouth. Surprisingly, you are able to feel something, a heavy weight perched on your chest, about what you?d imagine a human skeleton with wickedly sharp claws would weigh.
You then feel ten ivory blades piercing your chest, ripping through your guts, tearing away your life. Blood sprays from your torso, coating the skeleton with a crimson varnish.
Slowly, mercifully, the pain begins to fade away. The blackness that is all your ruined eyes can see slowly grows brighter, as a pinprick of white light begins to glow in the distance. The sounds of Dirk's blade smashing through bone drifts away, as does C-Diddy?s panicked squawking. You feel? at peace.
As the light draws closer and closer, growing larger as it approaches, your vision is briefly interrupted by flashes of purple walls, in a bedroom quite like your own. A small voice trickles through your thoughts, tiny, far away, but so, so strong.
[small]Not yet, Mage. This is not your domain. Breathe, stand, see.[/small]
Suddenly, your vision, still filled by the ever approaching light, is shattered, replaced by a wild sheet of bright blue. Feeling suddenly returns to your body, as your organs and muscles twist and writhe, returning to their regular positions and forms. Your eyes, now fully repaired, shoot open, staring at the skeleton still perched on your chest. A blue aura envelops your sight; unbeknownst to you, your eyes actually begin glowing blue as well.
You feel something building up within you, a strange sensation of power collecting inside your heart. The organ begins to beat faster, and faster; soon it is beating like some tribal drum, its reverberations shaking your entire body.
With a cry of strength ripping from your mouth, a blue wave of power flies from your healed body, striking everything within the temple before dissipating. The remaining skeletons crumble to dust, while Dirk and C-Diddy feel their bodies strengthened and rejuvenated. Meanwhile, the massive serpent begins to glow blue as well, writhing back in forth in what must be incredible pain. Its patches of missing flesh and scales begin to heal, bones and muscles disappearing under a sudden growth of black armoring. Cracking open its mouth, now sporting a full tongue, the monster lets out a strangled cry, as the blue aura fades away.
With a final, resounding thud, your foe falls to the ground, each painful breath filling its body with agony. You rise to your feet, a spring in your step and feeling better than you ever have before. A few seconds later, and you've managed to recollect both of your knives, which had fallen from your hands earlier. You, C-Diddy, and Dirk gather together, facing the exhausted, unable to move beast.
You proceed to kick ass in a manner that, sadly, cannot be recounted here, due to a variety of legal shenanigans. Suffice to say, you win.
Right, so, levels. While you certainly gained a lot of them, you unfortunately have yet to gain all the levels. Doing the LIFEY THING, while certainly awesome and stuff, is not a surefire to ascend to the top of the echeladder, not yet anyways.
You did, however, just become the highest ranked player among your peers. Nice job there.
Level 66 District Manager of Stabs! +A hell of a lot of Boonbucks.
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>Dirk&Chas: Using the same principles of time recently discussed by the GM a few posts ago, let's assume that the two of you are able to meet up, say, in Dirk's house without too many shenanigans delaying the two of you. Feel free to commence with the stuff and the things.
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>Past-Greg and Past-Rich: Being you past selves, you watch the Black Queens speech on the two FENESTRATED WALLS. (The UNIDENTIFIED STATIONARY OBJECT was totally a FENESTRATED WALL. The whole time.)
Reexamining the FENESTRATED WALLS proves to be pretty futile; looks like they've both been shut down permanently. Unless one of you suddenly has SICK HACKING SKILLS, it doesn't look like you'll be able to do anything with them.
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>GM: Promise to attempt to upload the NPC files that Dirk was looking at back on Prospit. Yeah, I'll do my best to get those up over the next few days. Not right now though. My brain's kind of dead for the moment.
Also, Benndak, Met... alright, do what you want.
>Xavier: Feel cocky as hell
You're sorry! You can't hear anything due to the amount of SWAG you obtain at the moment; seriously, that shit is copious as hell. You're still wondering how still how your on this mortal plane and not on Olympus with the other Gods! Speaking of which, you might of hit God Tier already, you'll have to ask Future!Dirk later.
>Xavier: Be serious
Yes, the time for tomfoolery and a bragadocious nature, that ***** made some serious threats against you, your friends, and both of guardians.
She can make threats on you all she wants, but fuck with your CARETAKER and its on *****!
>Xavier: Make plan
You take out your PIMP MONTHLY magazine, and, in lieu of a pen, you prick your finger (so badass) and draw out several possible plans of attack.
...Just to throw them all out.
>Xavier: Doing something thoughtless and ultimately stupid
What no, you're going do anything of the sorts. What you're about to do isn't stupid. Kinda smart actually.
Just spy around Derse to what that ***** Queen has in store, then formulate a plan of attack.
And if the off chance occurs that you are found out, you pull the "I Surrender" act, free the guardians and fly off on an escape ship.
Ingenious, if you do say so yourself.
>Xavier: Second guess yourself
But then again, if its not in the will of the GodMonster completely understandable too.
You're sorry! You can't hear anything due to the amount of SWAG you obtain at the moment; seriously, that shit is copious as hell. You're still wondering how still how your on this mortal plane and not on Olympus with the other Gods! Speaking of which, you might of hit God Tier already, you'll have to ask Future!Dirk later.
>Xavier: Be serious
Yes, the time for tomfoolery and a bragadocious nature, that ***** made some serious threats against you, your friends, and both of guardians.
She can make threats on you all she wants, but fuck with your CARETAKER and its on *****!
>Xavier: Make plan
You take out your PIMP MONTHLY magazine, and, in lieu of a pen, you prick your finger (so badass) and draw out several possible plans of attack.
...Just to throw them all out.
>Xavier: Doing something thoughtless and ultimately stupid
What no, you're going do anything of the sorts. What you're about to do isn't stupid. Kinda smart actually.
Just spy around Derse to what that ***** Queen has in store, then formulate a plan of attack.
And if the off chance occurs that you are found out, you pull the "I Surrender" act, free the guardians and fly off on an escape ship.
Ingenious, if you do say so yourself.
>Xavier: Second guess yourself
But then again, if its not in the will of the GodMonster completely understandable too.
>Rich: Answer chum on your RIOT IN CELL PHONE 9's.
What.
Oh dear.
>Rich: Muse.
This revelation is kind of creeping you out.
fucking directions
how do they work???
Not like this, Chas. Not like this.
[b >>Rich: Hunt down lime green GATE.[/b]
As much as you hate to say it, you think your best bet is to consult with the PARROTS again.
Because that's gone just swimmingly every time so far.
>Rich: Land in TOWN, politely but briskly inquire as to the whereabouts of any lime green GATES.
[23:00] -- snickeringSurrogate [SS] began pestering truculentConservationist [TC] at 23:00 --
[23:00] SS: Rich.
[23:00] TC: Oh.
[23:00] TC: Chas.
[23:00] TC: Guessing you got the huge *****'s announcement, too?
[23:01] SS: I received the announcement from Derse some time before it was broadcasted.
[23:01] SS: That was the...second time I'd nearly died today.
[23:02] TC: That seems to be a pretty regular occurence.
[23:02] SS: I think it's time I fill you in on some things.
[23:02] SS: You're right, it is.
[23:02] TC: Wait, wait. You're capitalizing your sentences.
[23:02] TC: You never capitalize your sentences.
[23:02] SS: Maybe I ought to start from the top.
[23:02] SS: You don't get filled in on much, do you.
[23:03] TC: It's a consequence of spending countless hours doing nothing of, uh, consequence.
[23:03] SS: Pardon me if I hurry along.
[23:03] SS: I am bleeding out and sand is not all too friendly to my clothes.
[23:03] SS: They are damaged as-is.
[23:04] TC: That is unfortunate.
[23:04] TC: Mostly the bleeding out part.
[23:04] SS: Connor tried to kill me.
[23:04] TC: Connor did what.
[23:05] SS: Also, I'm blind. I gouged out my own eyes to hold onto the leadership.
[23:05] SS: That's a longer story.
[23:05] TC: You did what.
[23:05] SS: I stumbled up to my roof and he smashed me in the face with a bat.
[23:05] SS: I was attempting to install augmentations at the time.
[23:05] SS: He drilled them into my skull.
[23:05] SS: Worst pain I'd ever felt in my life up to that point.
[23:06] TC: I'm not sure which part of that sentence is the worst.
[23:06] TC: I'm leaning towards "all of them".
[23:06] SS: I didn't know who he was.
[23:06] SS: I knew he attacked me.
[23:06] SS: So I looked up
[23:07] SS: And I did the first thing that came to me.
[23:07] SS: Which is to say, I shot him with a full laser eye blast.
[23:07] TC: Wait, didn't you blind yourself?
[23:08] SS: I managed to make out some vague outlines of things thanks to Sburb shit. I merged the augments with my laser fork so they could let me see things better and serve as weaponry.
[23:08] SS: After I shot him, he just...stuck there. I thought I might've accidentally created a freeze ray.
[23:08] SS: He was probably dead from that moment on.
[23:00] SS: Rich.
[23:00] TC: Oh.
[23:00] TC: Chas.
[23:00] TC: Guessing you got the huge *****'s announcement, too?
[23:01] SS: I received the announcement from Derse some time before it was broadcasted.
[23:01] SS: That was the...second time I'd nearly died today.
[23:02] TC: That seems to be a pretty regular occurence.
[23:02] SS: I think it's time I fill you in on some things.
[23:02] SS: You're right, it is.
[23:02] TC: Wait, wait. You're capitalizing your sentences.
[23:02] TC: You never capitalize your sentences.
[23:02] SS: Maybe I ought to start from the top.
[23:02] SS: You don't get filled in on much, do you.
[23:03] TC: It's a consequence of spending countless hours doing nothing of, uh, consequence.
[23:03] SS: Pardon me if I hurry along.
[23:03] SS: I am bleeding out and sand is not all too friendly to my clothes.
[23:03] SS: They are damaged as-is.
[23:04] TC: That is unfortunate.
[23:04] TC: Mostly the bleeding out part.
[23:04] SS: Connor tried to kill me.
[23:04] TC: Connor did what.
[23:05] SS: Also, I'm blind. I gouged out my own eyes to hold onto the leadership.
[23:05] SS: That's a longer story.
[23:05] TC: You did what.
[23:05] SS: I stumbled up to my roof and he smashed me in the face with a bat.
[23:05] SS: I was attempting to install augmentations at the time.
[23:05] SS: He drilled them into my skull.
[23:05] SS: Worst pain I'd ever felt in my life up to that point.
[23:06] TC: I'm not sure which part of that sentence is the worst.
[23:06] TC: I'm leaning towards "all of them".
[23:06] SS: I didn't know who he was.
[23:06] SS: I knew he attacked me.
[23:06] SS: So I looked up
[23:07] SS: And I did the first thing that came to me.
[23:07] SS: Which is to say, I shot him with a full laser eye blast.
[23:07] TC: Wait, didn't you blind yourself?
[23:08] SS: I managed to make out some vague outlines of things thanks to Sburb shit. I merged the augments with my laser fork so they could let me see things better and serve as weaponry.
[23:08] SS: After I shot him, he just...stuck there. I thought I might've accidentally created a freeze ray.
[23:08] SS: He was probably dead from that moment on.
What.
[23:08] TC: So, you broke spacetime and killed Connor.
[23:09] TC: That is...that is very very concerning.
[23:09] SS: I'm not done.
[23:09] SS: I went on.
[23:09] TC: That's also concerning.
[23:09] SS: Outside my house was a Dersite ship.
[23:09] SS: He tortured one of my travelling companions and killed the other.
[23:09] SS: Dash's hat is all I have left.
[23:10] SS: I made the brilliant decision to try to kill him.
[23:10] SS: He was an agent of Derse, you see.
[23:10] TC: Many Dersite ships are piloted by Dersites, yes.
[23:11] SS: No.
[23:11] SS: He was an Agent.
[23:11] SS: The man broke most of my limbs and I ended up getting my skull pounded into the rocks.
[23:11] SS: Something snapped in me.
[23:11] SS: I don't know what happened.
[23:11] SS: I can barely remember it.
[23:11] SS: Probably due to the head truama.
[23:12] SS: I extinguished him.
[23:12] SS: I was erasing him from existence.
[23:12] TC: How literal is that sentence?
[23:12] SS: How literal do you think.
[23:12] TC: Seven.
[23:13] SS: It's a ten.
[23:13] TC: That's a bit worrying, then.
[23:13] SS: My sprite called it grimdark.
[23:13] SS: I called it surviving.
[23:13] TC: Have you done anything -not- terrifying in the last hour?
[23:13] SS: He resigned as my sprite.
[23:13] SS: I'm not done.
[23:14] SS: I think my wounds are starting to numb, and this augment makes communication quite telepathic.
[23:14] SS: Marvelous.
[23:14] SS: He healed me before he left, though.
[23:14] SS: I let Ace, my other travelling companion, go.
[23:14] SS: That's when the announcement hit.
[23:15] SS: Decided I'd grind some levels up before I left for Derse.
[23:15] SS: I'm planning on breaking them out, you see.
[23:15] SS: My father.
[23:15] SS: The guardians.
[23:15] SS: Resign ourselves, then show them what we're capable of when we all fight as one.
[23:15] TC: Sans Connor.
[23:15] SS: That was my plan, anyway.
[23:15] SS: Connor's death was what the universe deemed neccessary for the Alpha timeline to advance.
[23:16] SS: He was never meant to reach the critical moment with us.
[23:16] SS: Nor was Beth.
[23:16] TC: That excuse is exactly that.
[23:16] TC: An excuse.
[23:16] TC: Also, bullshit.
[23:16] SS: I don't believe their deaths were fate.
[23:17] SS: I believe they were neccessary.
[23:17] SS: Call me disrespectful; they were fuck-ups.
[23:17] TC: I'm...honestly not going to dispute that.
[23:17] TC: But the penalty for that isn't death.
[23:17] SS: Not in my book.
[23:18] TC: Are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me?
[23:18] SS: Agreeing with you.
[23:18] TC: It was important to check.
[23:18] SS: Skaia's book is not our book.
[23:19] SS: I don't have time for philosophical debates, Rich. I'm not done.
[23:20] SS: I ended up on Dirk's roof after a pretty short journey to his Land.
[23:20] SS: So did he.
[23:20] SS: I'd love to tell you that we hugged it out and continued on as a team.
[23:25] SS: Well...if that was true I wouldn't be bleeding here, now would I.
[23:09] TC: That is...that is very very concerning.
[23:09] SS: I'm not done.
[23:09] SS: I went on.
[23:09] TC: That's also concerning.
[23:09] SS: Outside my house was a Dersite ship.
[23:09] SS: He tortured one of my travelling companions and killed the other.
[23:09] SS: Dash's hat is all I have left.
[23:10] SS: I made the brilliant decision to try to kill him.
[23:10] SS: He was an agent of Derse, you see.
[23:10] TC: Many Dersite ships are piloted by Dersites, yes.
[23:11] SS: No.
[23:11] SS: He was an Agent.
[23:11] SS: The man broke most of my limbs and I ended up getting my skull pounded into the rocks.
[23:11] SS: Something snapped in me.
[23:11] SS: I don't know what happened.
[23:11] SS: I can barely remember it.
[23:11] SS: Probably due to the head truama.
[23:12] SS: I extinguished him.
[23:12] SS: I was erasing him from existence.
[23:12] TC: How literal is that sentence?
[23:12] SS: How literal do you think.
[23:12] TC: Seven.
[23:13] SS: It's a ten.
[23:13] TC: That's a bit worrying, then.
[23:13] SS: My sprite called it grimdark.
[23:13] SS: I called it surviving.
[23:13] TC: Have you done anything -not- terrifying in the last hour?
[23:13] SS: He resigned as my sprite.
[23:13] SS: I'm not done.
[23:14] SS: I think my wounds are starting to numb, and this augment makes communication quite telepathic.
[23:14] SS: Marvelous.
[23:14] SS: He healed me before he left, though.
[23:14] SS: I let Ace, my other travelling companion, go.
[23:14] SS: That's when the announcement hit.
[23:15] SS: Decided I'd grind some levels up before I left for Derse.
[23:15] SS: I'm planning on breaking them out, you see.
[23:15] SS: My father.
[23:15] SS: The guardians.
[23:15] SS: Resign ourselves, then show them what we're capable of when we all fight as one.
[23:15] TC: Sans Connor.
[23:15] SS: That was my plan, anyway.
[23:15] SS: Connor's death was what the universe deemed neccessary for the Alpha timeline to advance.
[23:16] SS: He was never meant to reach the critical moment with us.
[23:16] SS: Nor was Beth.
[23:16] TC: That excuse is exactly that.
[23:16] TC: An excuse.
[23:16] TC: Also, bullshit.
[23:16] SS: I don't believe their deaths were fate.
[23:17] SS: I believe they were neccessary.
[23:17] SS: Call me disrespectful; they were fuck-ups.
[23:17] TC: I'm...honestly not going to dispute that.
[23:17] TC: But the penalty for that isn't death.
[23:17] SS: Not in my book.
[23:18] TC: Are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me?
[23:18] SS: Agreeing with you.
[23:18] TC: It was important to check.
[23:18] SS: Skaia's book is not our book.
[23:19] SS: I don't have time for philosophical debates, Rich. I'm not done.
[23:20] SS: I ended up on Dirk's roof after a pretty short journey to his Land.
[23:20] SS: So did he.
[23:20] SS: I'd love to tell you that we hugged it out and continued on as a team.
[23:25] SS: Well...if that was true I wouldn't be bleeding here, now would I.
Oh dear.
[23:26] TC: You dueled each other?
[23:26] SS: Dirk...spat at me his...ideological bullshit. Blind hope. It made me sick. It reminded me of what I used to think, and say, and feel.
[23:26] SS: He made a Biblical reference.
[23:27] TC: And...that fills you with rage, apparently?
[23:28] SS: Partially, but that was moreso the final segue. He...insisted, after picking up on the grimdark aura I was apparently giving off - probably just some gut feeling of his, I dunno.
[23:28] SS: He insisted he had to "apprehend" me.
[23:28] TC: You -were- fresh from a murder.
[23:29] SS: He insisted he had to "apprehend" me because of the Salesman's Code.
[23:29] TC: And now it's stupid.
[23:29] SS: Because a salesman should never "stray from the path of light".
[23:30] TC: You probably hadn't thought to wipe the blood off your hands, and his only concern was that you "strayed from the path of light"?
[23:30] SS: He took the news of my killing Connor surprisingly in stride.
[23:30] TC: That is still less disturbing than the fact that you killed Connor, which is less disturbing than the fact that -you- seem to have taken it completely in stride.
[23:30] TC: But it is still pretty disturbing.
[23:31] SS: I was angry, and I was fed up with his black-and-white morality and archaic "hero" views. So...we went at eachother.
[23:31] SS: He shot first, but it really doesn't matter this time, does it.
[23:31] TC: No, it doesn't.
[23:31] SS: It was...It was an easier fight than the Agent. I don't know what that means for me.
[23:32] SS: But then again...we were never set on killing eachother.
[23:32] SS: No matter how much I wanted to convince myself to.
[23:32] SS: I couldn't do it.
[23:32] SS: Ended up bringing in his pet basilisk.
[23:32] SS: Bit me on the leg. Real nasty gash.
[23:33] SS: I leaped up to kill it.
[23:33] SS: He put himself between my fork and the beast's head.
[23:34] TC: Well, that's...surprisingly heartening, actually.
[23:34] SS: You don't understand.
[23:34] SS: The cut was deep.
[23:34] TC: ...Ah.
[23:34] TC: That's rather less heartening, yes.
[23:34] SS: He gave me a slash across the chest.
[23:35] SS: I...I don't think it was as deep...
[23:35] SS: I could barely get up, and he passed out right there on the roof.
[23:35] SS: Blood seeping out from under him and everything.
[23:36] SS: I had the chance to kill them both, but I couldn't take it.
[23:36] SS: Used what strength I had left to leap through the gate.
[23:36] SS: Now I'm here.
[23:37] SS: Lying down, bleeding.
[23:37] SS: I guess...I guess all my other confidants are gone.
[23:37] TC: I'm honored.
[23:37] SS: If only you were less of a dick.
[23:37] TC: You've done a lot to deserve it.
[23:38] SS: I don't dispute that.
[23:38] TC: But...well...
[23:38] TC: I guess I'm not being entirely fair.
[23:38] TC: You didn't realize what you were doing with Connor.
[23:39] TC: And the fact that you couldn't bring yourself to kill in cold blood says, at least to me, that there's a glimmer of hope left in you.
[23:39] SS: And wouldn't you be the expert on hope.
[23:40] TC: So I've been told.
[23:40] TC: Furthermore, I can't honestly say I give one single fuck about "light" or "grimdark".
[23:40] SS: That's...something I needed to hear.
[23:40] SS: They're not alignments.
[23:40] SS: I'm not a slave to the darkness or a paragon of light.
[23:41] SS: Who I am now...that's because of my own actions.
[23:41] SS: Not because a little spooky aura says I'm evil.
[23:26] SS: Dirk...spat at me his...ideological bullshit. Blind hope. It made me sick. It reminded me of what I used to think, and say, and feel.
[23:26] SS: He made a Biblical reference.
[23:27] TC: And...that fills you with rage, apparently?
[23:28] SS: Partially, but that was moreso the final segue. He...insisted, after picking up on the grimdark aura I was apparently giving off - probably just some gut feeling of his, I dunno.
[23:28] SS: He insisted he had to "apprehend" me.
[23:28] TC: You -were- fresh from a murder.
[23:29] SS: He insisted he had to "apprehend" me because of the Salesman's Code.
[23:29] TC: And now it's stupid.
[23:29] SS: Because a salesman should never "stray from the path of light".
[23:30] TC: You probably hadn't thought to wipe the blood off your hands, and his only concern was that you "strayed from the path of light"?
[23:30] SS: He took the news of my killing Connor surprisingly in stride.
[23:30] TC: That is still less disturbing than the fact that you killed Connor, which is less disturbing than the fact that -you- seem to have taken it completely in stride.
[23:30] TC: But it is still pretty disturbing.
[23:31] SS: I was angry, and I was fed up with his black-and-white morality and archaic "hero" views. So...we went at eachother.
[23:31] SS: He shot first, but it really doesn't matter this time, does it.
[23:31] TC: No, it doesn't.
[23:31] SS: It was...It was an easier fight than the Agent. I don't know what that means for me.
[23:32] SS: But then again...we were never set on killing eachother.
[23:32] SS: No matter how much I wanted to convince myself to.
[23:32] SS: I couldn't do it.
[23:32] SS: Ended up bringing in his pet basilisk.
[23:32] SS: Bit me on the leg. Real nasty gash.
[23:33] SS: I leaped up to kill it.
[23:33] SS: He put himself between my fork and the beast's head.
[23:34] TC: Well, that's...surprisingly heartening, actually.
[23:34] SS: You don't understand.
[23:34] SS: The cut was deep.
[23:34] TC: ...Ah.
[23:34] TC: That's rather less heartening, yes.
[23:34] SS: He gave me a slash across the chest.
[23:35] SS: I...I don't think it was as deep...
[23:35] SS: I could barely get up, and he passed out right there on the roof.
[23:35] SS: Blood seeping out from under him and everything.
[23:36] SS: I had the chance to kill them both, but I couldn't take it.
[23:36] SS: Used what strength I had left to leap through the gate.
[23:36] SS: Now I'm here.
[23:37] SS: Lying down, bleeding.
[23:37] SS: I guess...I guess all my other confidants are gone.
[23:37] TC: I'm honored.
[23:37] SS: If only you were less of a dick.
[23:37] TC: You've done a lot to deserve it.
[23:38] SS: I don't dispute that.
[23:38] TC: But...well...
[23:38] TC: I guess I'm not being entirely fair.
[23:38] TC: You didn't realize what you were doing with Connor.
[23:39] TC: And the fact that you couldn't bring yourself to kill in cold blood says, at least to me, that there's a glimmer of hope left in you.
[23:39] SS: And wouldn't you be the expert on hope.
[23:40] TC: So I've been told.
[23:40] TC: Furthermore, I can't honestly say I give one single fuck about "light" or "grimdark".
[23:40] SS: That's...something I needed to hear.
[23:40] SS: They're not alignments.
[23:40] SS: I'm not a slave to the darkness or a paragon of light.
[23:41] SS: Who I am now...that's because of my own actions.
[23:41] SS: Not because a little spooky aura says I'm evil.
>Rich: Muse.
[23:41] TC: This game is symbolic in the extreme.
[23:41] TC: I suspect light represents adherence to its chosen path; darkness, variance from the aforementioned.
[23:42] SS: That's a very abstract way of looking at it, but it's less far-fetched than I'd like to think.
[23:42] TC: So far, Sburb has taken from us our families, one of our friends, by your interpretation another of them...
[23:43] TC: Our entire planet.
[23:43] TC: And everything that entails.
[23:43] TC: Our species' culture, history, and achievements are moot.
[23:43] TC: Dust and echoes.
[23:43] TC: What I'm getting at here is...
[23:44] TC: If I'm right, and light is just Skaia's way of representing your path?
[23:44] TC: -Fuck the light-.
[23:44] SS: I...normally wouldn't believe you, or even consider agreeing with you.
[23:44] SS: But then Skaia made me gouge out my own eyes.
[23:45] SS: Why? To prove my loyalty to the path that was set before me.
[23:45] SS: I woke up on Prospit, you see.
[23:45] SS: First experience being blind.
[23:45] SS: I woke up not sure what to make of what I had been told.
[23:45] SS: Went to see the queen...
[23:46] SS: All I heard was the importance of following what Skaia had in store for me.
[23:46] SS: That was how I was supposed to get my vision back.
[23:47] SS: When I...was made aware of the fact that I killed Connor.
[23:47] SS: Something changed. "Grimdarkness" is not simply an abstract concept, I don't think.
[23:47] SS: As an alignment, yes...but it's as real as my Light powers.
[23:48] TC: I never implied it wasn't - only that it also served a symbolic role.
[23:48] SS: Oh, I know.
[23:48] SS: But what really got me thinking about fate? What really made me give up on following the path of moral goodness and doing what Skaia considers right?
[23:49] SS: As soon as I felt that little switch flip...I could make out more and more of what was around me.
[23:49] SS: I could see details in objects, not silhouettes.
[23:49] SS: Ostracized or not, I don't need Skaia.
[23:50] TC: That's the spirit.
[23:51] SS: So I'm walking my own path now.
[23:51] TC: Well, as important as bonding over mutual rejection of fate is, we should really get to formulating a plan.
[23:51] SS: We don't have much time. Normally I'd be up on my feet by now.
[23:51] SS: Not quite...plausible actually at the moment.
[23:52] TC: Which brings us to step 1 of the plan.
[23:52] TC: Do you, uh, need assistance?
[23:52] TC: Of the medical nature?
[23:53] SS: It's only the third time I've been brushing elbows with death in the last hour or two.
[23:53] SS: I'm sure I'll be just fine.
[23:53] TC: Optimistic to the end.
[23:54] SS: I think letting the sand crawl into my wounds while I drag myself to the nearest imp is a monumentally stupid idea.
[23:54] TC: Yes, it is.
[23:54] TC: You could catch the Sand Flu.
[23:54] SS: I...don't trust Greg as much as I should, I think, and to my knowledge you have a jetpack.
[23:54] SS: You know how to get from land-to-land yet?
[23:55] TC: I went through a gate and landed in this...cloudy place. That's about all I've accomplished.
[23:55] SS: Gates.
[23:55] SS: Gates are where you should be going, Rich.
[23:55] TC: Which gates?
[23:55] TC: Supposedly, there are eight per player.
[23:56] TC: How do I find mine?
[23:56] SS: The big floating spirographs in the sky, should be limey-green.
[23:56] TC: Oh.
[23:56] TC: Color coordination.
[23:56] SS: From what I can tell, they're all usually pretty in-order.
[23:56] SS: Don't have to be a billion meters up.
[23:56] TC: I honestly should've guessed that...
[23:56] SS: Ever look at everybody in the eyes?
[23:56] TC: I've never had the chance.
[23:56] SS: Mine used to be dark green before, y'know.
[23:57] SS: Yours would be light.
[23:57] SS: Dirk's? Grey.
[23:57] TC: ...Hm.
[23:57] TC: And here I thought I was clever, setting my text color to my eye color.
[23:57] SS: Everything's color-coded.
[23:58] SS: Even the cruxite.
[23:58] SS: That was my first tip.
[23:41] TC: I suspect light represents adherence to its chosen path; darkness, variance from the aforementioned.
[23:42] SS: That's a very abstract way of looking at it, but it's less far-fetched than I'd like to think.
[23:42] TC: So far, Sburb has taken from us our families, one of our friends, by your interpretation another of them...
[23:43] TC: Our entire planet.
[23:43] TC: And everything that entails.
[23:43] TC: Our species' culture, history, and achievements are moot.
[23:43] TC: Dust and echoes.
[23:43] TC: What I'm getting at here is...
[23:44] TC: If I'm right, and light is just Skaia's way of representing your path?
[23:44] TC: -Fuck the light-.
[23:44] SS: I...normally wouldn't believe you, or even consider agreeing with you.
[23:44] SS: But then Skaia made me gouge out my own eyes.
[23:45] SS: Why? To prove my loyalty to the path that was set before me.
[23:45] SS: I woke up on Prospit, you see.
[23:45] SS: First experience being blind.
[23:45] SS: I woke up not sure what to make of what I had been told.
[23:45] SS: Went to see the queen...
[23:46] SS: All I heard was the importance of following what Skaia had in store for me.
[23:46] SS: That was how I was supposed to get my vision back.
[23:47] SS: When I...was made aware of the fact that I killed Connor.
[23:47] SS: Something changed. "Grimdarkness" is not simply an abstract concept, I don't think.
[23:47] SS: As an alignment, yes...but it's as real as my Light powers.
[23:48] TC: I never implied it wasn't - only that it also served a symbolic role.
[23:48] SS: Oh, I know.
[23:48] SS: But what really got me thinking about fate? What really made me give up on following the path of moral goodness and doing what Skaia considers right?
[23:49] SS: As soon as I felt that little switch flip...I could make out more and more of what was around me.
[23:49] SS: I could see details in objects, not silhouettes.
[23:49] SS: Ostracized or not, I don't need Skaia.
[23:50] TC: That's the spirit.
[23:51] SS: So I'm walking my own path now.
[23:51] TC: Well, as important as bonding over mutual rejection of fate is, we should really get to formulating a plan.
[23:51] SS: We don't have much time. Normally I'd be up on my feet by now.
[23:51] SS: Not quite...plausible actually at the moment.
[23:52] TC: Which brings us to step 1 of the plan.
[23:52] TC: Do you, uh, need assistance?
[23:52] TC: Of the medical nature?
[23:53] SS: It's only the third time I've been brushing elbows with death in the last hour or two.
[23:53] SS: I'm sure I'll be just fine.
[23:53] TC: Optimistic to the end.
[23:54] SS: I think letting the sand crawl into my wounds while I drag myself to the nearest imp is a monumentally stupid idea.
[23:54] TC: Yes, it is.
[23:54] TC: You could catch the Sand Flu.
[23:54] SS: I...don't trust Greg as much as I should, I think, and to my knowledge you have a jetpack.
[23:54] SS: You know how to get from land-to-land yet?
[23:55] TC: I went through a gate and landed in this...cloudy place. That's about all I've accomplished.
[23:55] SS: Gates.
[23:55] SS: Gates are where you should be going, Rich.
[23:55] TC: Which gates?
[23:55] TC: Supposedly, there are eight per player.
[23:56] TC: How do I find mine?
[23:56] SS: The big floating spirographs in the sky, should be limey-green.
[23:56] TC: Oh.
[23:56] TC: Color coordination.
[23:56] SS: From what I can tell, they're all usually pretty in-order.
[23:56] SS: Don't have to be a billion meters up.
[23:56] TC: I honestly should've guessed that...
[23:56] SS: Ever look at everybody in the eyes?
[23:56] TC: I've never had the chance.
[23:56] SS: Mine used to be dark green before, y'know.
[23:57] SS: Yours would be light.
[23:57] SS: Dirk's? Grey.
[23:57] TC: ...Hm.
[23:57] TC: And here I thought I was clever, setting my text color to my eye color.
[23:57] SS: Everything's color-coded.
[23:58] SS: Even the cruxite.
[23:58] SS: That was my first tip.
This revelation is kind of creeping you out.
[23:58] TC: I noticed it, but assumed it was a coincidence...Skaia's tendrils reach ever further into our lives, I suppose.
[23:58] SS: Yeah.
[23:58] SS: Anyway.
[23:58] SS: My advice, look for your next gate.
[23:59] SS: Who was your client player, again?
[23:59] TC: Originally Beth. Currently Letage and Illire.
[23:59] TC: No, wait. Client.
[23:59] SS: Yeah.
[23:59] TC: That would be the word that you said, yes.
[23:59] TC: Greg.
[23:59] TC: I think - I honestly haven't done much at all with that.
[00:00] SS: Then your gate is going to take you to Greg's land.
[00:00] SS: Third gate, I think.
[00:00] TC: I guess I'm there, then.
[00:01] SS: Wait...no.
[00:01] SS: Fuck, I'm getting dizzy.
[00:01] SS: Dirk was my server, so...yeah.
[00:01] TC: Okay, let's forget the numbers.
[00:01] SS: You'd...go...to...
[00:01] SS: oh my god.
[00:01] SS: Rich.
[00:01] TC: The tension is palpable.
[00:01] SS: I have no idea where you'll end up.
[00:01] SS: None whatsoever.
[00:01] TC: Excellent.
[00:01] SS: Beth's land blew up.
[00:02] SS: You might land in -space-.
[00:02] TC: Beth was my server player.
[00:02] TC: If I'm cycling through clients, that shouldn't be an issue.
[00:02] SS: You're not.
[00:02] SS: You're cycling through servers.
[00:02] SS: Every three gates, to my knowledge.
[00:03] SS: You should still be in your land.
[00:03] TC: I...wow.
[00:03] TC: This system is...bullshit.
[00:03] TC: I'm not.
[00:03] TC: I'm in some cloudy place, like I said.
[00:03] TC: Parrots everywhere.
[00:03] SS: Some cloudy place?
[00:03] TC: Yeah.
[00:03] SS: ...
[00:03] SS: This system is bullshit, and I'm confused.
[00:04] SS: So...we're travelling in opposite directions of the circle.
[00:04] TC: What circle and what direction?
[00:04] SS: Funny. After a discussion about murder and destiny we're hung up on directions.
[00:05] SS: You want my advice, keep going through the gates.
[00:05] SS: Eventually...
[00:05] TC: That describes today pretty well, actually.
[00:05] SS: Xavier, connor, uh...beth?
[00:05] SS: I don't...remember how this works.
[00:05] TC: Wouldn't it just...circle around?
[00:06] TC: In a single, one-directional...circle?
[00:07] SS: Dirk -> Me -> Connor -> Xavier ->...
[00:07] SS: Fuck.
[23:58] SS: Yeah.
[23:58] SS: Anyway.
[23:58] SS: My advice, look for your next gate.
[23:59] SS: Who was your client player, again?
[23:59] TC: Originally Beth. Currently Letage and Illire.
[23:59] TC: No, wait. Client.
[23:59] SS: Yeah.
[23:59] TC: That would be the word that you said, yes.
[23:59] TC: Greg.
[23:59] TC: I think - I honestly haven't done much at all with that.
[00:00] SS: Then your gate is going to take you to Greg's land.
[00:00] SS: Third gate, I think.
[00:00] TC: I guess I'm there, then.
[00:01] SS: Wait...no.
[00:01] SS: Fuck, I'm getting dizzy.
[00:01] SS: Dirk was my server, so...yeah.
[00:01] TC: Okay, let's forget the numbers.
[00:01] SS: You'd...go...to...
[00:01] SS: oh my god.
[00:01] SS: Rich.
[00:01] TC: The tension is palpable.
[00:01] SS: I have no idea where you'll end up.
[00:01] SS: None whatsoever.
[00:01] TC: Excellent.
[00:01] SS: Beth's land blew up.
[00:02] SS: You might land in -space-.
[00:02] TC: Beth was my server player.
[00:02] TC: If I'm cycling through clients, that shouldn't be an issue.
[00:02] SS: You're not.
[00:02] SS: You're cycling through servers.
[00:02] SS: Every three gates, to my knowledge.
[00:03] SS: You should still be in your land.
[00:03] TC: I...wow.
[00:03] TC: This system is...bullshit.
[00:03] TC: I'm not.
[00:03] TC: I'm in some cloudy place, like I said.
[00:03] TC: Parrots everywhere.
[00:03] SS: Some cloudy place?
[00:03] TC: Yeah.
[00:03] SS: ...
[00:03] SS: This system is bullshit, and I'm confused.
[00:04] SS: So...we're travelling in opposite directions of the circle.
[00:04] TC: What circle and what direction?
[00:04] SS: Funny. After a discussion about murder and destiny we're hung up on directions.
[00:05] SS: You want my advice, keep going through the gates.
[00:05] SS: Eventually...
[00:05] TC: That describes today pretty well, actually.
[00:05] SS: Xavier, connor, uh...beth?
[00:05] SS: I don't...remember how this works.
[00:05] TC: Wouldn't it just...circle around?
[00:06] TC: In a single, one-directional...circle?
[00:07] SS: Dirk -> Me -> Connor -> Xavier ->...
[00:07] SS: Fuck.
fucking directions
how do they work???
[00:09] SS: Ok, ok.
[00:10] SS: Me<Dirk<Greg<Rich<Beth<Xavier<Connor<Me.
[00:11] TC: Ok.
[00:11] TC: So...
[00:11] TC: Greg and Xavier are our choices for where I am.
[00:11] SS: I know what Greg's land looks like.
[00:11] TC: Do either of those have lands full of clouds and parrots?
[00:11] SS: No, wait, I see.
[00:11] SS: I go to Dirk's, then Greg's...
[00:12] SS: Greg's looks like a castle land, by the way.
[00:12] TC: A "castle land"?
[00:12] SS: I mean it's full of fucking castles.
[00:12] SS: It's Sburb. You take it literally.
[00:12] TC: As in, "a relatively normal terrain that contains many castles"?
[00:12] TC: Or, "a single continuous planet-spanning megacastle"?
[00:12] SS: As in, "a relatively normal cluster of castles that contains some land."
[00:13] TC: "Relatively" is an increasingly important word to me.
[00:13] SS: Right, right, bullshit aside.
[00:13] SS: You're in Xavier's land.
[00:13] SS: When we look at that graph...
[00:13] TC: Ok.
[00:13] SS: Circle...
[00:13] SS: Line...thing...
[00:13] TC: Let's call it a Mobius Line.
[00:13] SS: Mobius line, yes.
[00:14] SS: You skipped Beth.
[00:14] SS: She's been erased from the game.
[00:14] SS: You're in Xavier's, which is made of clouds and parrots, meaning your jetpack adventures should be nice and smooth.
[00:14] SS: You'll be going to Connor's...
[00:14] TC: My parrot-interactions, not so much.
[00:14] SS: Then mine...
[00:14] SS: Then Dirk's.
[00:14] SS: I'm sprawled outside the first gate in Dirk's world.
[00:14] TC: Won't this take rather a while?
[00:15] SS: I might be dead by the time you get here, yes.
[00:15] TC: Oh good.
[00:15] SS: There has to be a better way to do this.
[00:15] SS: unless...
[00:15] SS: I have an idea.
[00:15] SS: I can go to sleep.
[00:16] TC: That would be a very bad idea.
[00:16] SS: No, no, you don't understand.
[00:16] SS: I'd be leaving the world of the waking.
[00:16] SS: I could go to Prospit.
[00:10] SS: Me<Dirk<Greg<Rich<Beth<Xavier<Connor<Me.
[00:11] TC: Ok.
[00:11] TC: So...
[00:11] TC: Greg and Xavier are our choices for where I am.
[00:11] SS: I know what Greg's land looks like.
[00:11] TC: Do either of those have lands full of clouds and parrots?
[00:11] SS: No, wait, I see.
[00:11] SS: I go to Dirk's, then Greg's...
[00:12] SS: Greg's looks like a castle land, by the way.
[00:12] TC: A "castle land"?
[00:12] SS: I mean it's full of fucking castles.
[00:12] SS: It's Sburb. You take it literally.
[00:12] TC: As in, "a relatively normal terrain that contains many castles"?
[00:12] TC: Or, "a single continuous planet-spanning megacastle"?
[00:12] SS: As in, "a relatively normal cluster of castles that contains some land."
[00:13] TC: "Relatively" is an increasingly important word to me.
[00:13] SS: Right, right, bullshit aside.
[00:13] SS: You're in Xavier's land.
[00:13] SS: When we look at that graph...
[00:13] TC: Ok.
[00:13] SS: Circle...
[00:13] SS: Line...thing...
[00:13] TC: Let's call it a Mobius Line.
[00:13] SS: Mobius line, yes.
[00:14] SS: You skipped Beth.
[00:14] SS: She's been erased from the game.
[00:14] SS: You're in Xavier's, which is made of clouds and parrots, meaning your jetpack adventures should be nice and smooth.
[00:14] SS: You'll be going to Connor's...
[00:14] TC: My parrot-interactions, not so much.
[00:14] SS: Then mine...
[00:14] SS: Then Dirk's.
[00:14] SS: I'm sprawled outside the first gate in Dirk's world.
[00:14] TC: Won't this take rather a while?
[00:15] SS: I might be dead by the time you get here, yes.
[00:15] TC: Oh good.
[00:15] SS: There has to be a better way to do this.
[00:15] SS: unless...
[00:15] SS: I have an idea.
[00:15] SS: I can go to sleep.
[00:16] TC: That would be a very bad idea.
[00:16] SS: No, no, you don't understand.
[00:16] SS: I'd be leaving the world of the waking.
[00:16] SS: I could go to Prospit.
Not like this, Chas. Not like this.
[00:16] TC: Chas, don't you die on me.
[00:17] SS: Normally, I'd tell you to shut up, but that stupid joke made that idea sound kind of dumb.
[00:17] SS: I'm saying I'd leave this spirit behind for my dream spirit.
[00:17] TC: Don't make me take over a plane, Chas.
[00:17] SS: Makes perfect sense once you experience it.
[00:18] TC: Don't make me show you God -does- exist.
[00:18] SS: I know it sounds like bullshit.
[00:18] SS: Shut up.
[00:18] SS: Fuckin' hated that movie.
[00:18] TC: It was great.
[00:18] TC: The best.
[00:18] SS: I won't argue that Nic Cage is the greatest actor to ever grace mankind.
[00:19] SS: I'm saying I hated Con Air.
[00:19] TC: I'm not gonna listen to you, man.
[00:19] TC: The insulin, it made you crazy.
[00:20] SS: I'll tell you what.
[00:20] SS: If I know Sburb by now, going to sleep will probably slow down the whole bleeding-out thing.
[00:20] SS: My wounds aren't excessive enough for that to kill me right off as long as I stay here.
[00:20] TC: While I trampse around incompetently for a few hours.
[00:21] SS: If I fall asleep, should everything go well and I don't go into another inner spirit vision, I should be frolicking around Prospit.
[00:21] SS: I'll be in contact, of course.
[00:21] SS: Hell, maybe...
[00:21] SS: Maybe I could wake you up.
[00:22] SS: That'd require me to put you to sleep, however.
[00:22] SS: And I'm still bleeding.
[00:22] TC: I think you're getting increasingly delirious.
[00:22] SS: You fly, I check out the political situation between Prospit and Derse and maybe explore a little.
[00:22] SS: Always wanted to look inside a moon.
[00:23] TC: That's an oddly specific goal.
[00:23] SS: I know.
[00:23] SS: So let's get to it, then.
[00:23] TC: Got it.
[00:23] SS: Fly, Pupa, Fly.
[00:23] TC: I've been flying for some time.
[00:23] SS: Fly harder.
[00:24] TC: Which brings me to my final point - I've gotten reasonably non-suicidal at communicating while flying.
[00:24] TC: The Blues Brothers sunglasses help.
[00:24] SS: Handsfree communication always does.
[00:24] TC: Anyway, we'll have plenty of time to make our plans before I get there.
[00:24] SS: Yeah.
[00:25] SS: You find the next gate, I'll go to sleep.
[00:25] TC: You...do that.
[00:25] SS: If I don't get back in touch with you for a while, assume I'm...
[00:25] SS: Uh, in a spirit journey.
[00:25] TC: I'll try.
[00:25] SS: Alright.
[00:25] SS: Go on, then, Rich.
[00:25] SS: Live your dreams.
[00:25] TC: Dream and stay alive.
[00:25] -- truculentConservationist [TC] ceased pestering snickeringSurrogate [SS] at 00:25 --
[00:17] SS: Normally, I'd tell you to shut up, but that stupid joke made that idea sound kind of dumb.
[00:17] SS: I'm saying I'd leave this spirit behind for my dream spirit.
[00:17] TC: Don't make me take over a plane, Chas.
[00:17] SS: Makes perfect sense once you experience it.
[00:18] TC: Don't make me show you God -does- exist.
[00:18] SS: I know it sounds like bullshit.
[00:18] SS: Shut up.
[00:18] SS: Fuckin' hated that movie.
[00:18] TC: It was great.
[00:18] TC: The best.
[00:18] SS: I won't argue that Nic Cage is the greatest actor to ever grace mankind.
[00:19] SS: I'm saying I hated Con Air.
[00:19] TC: I'm not gonna listen to you, man.
[00:19] TC: The insulin, it made you crazy.
[00:20] SS: I'll tell you what.
[00:20] SS: If I know Sburb by now, going to sleep will probably slow down the whole bleeding-out thing.
[00:20] SS: My wounds aren't excessive enough for that to kill me right off as long as I stay here.
[00:20] TC: While I trampse around incompetently for a few hours.
[00:21] SS: If I fall asleep, should everything go well and I don't go into another inner spirit vision, I should be frolicking around Prospit.
[00:21] SS: I'll be in contact, of course.
[00:21] SS: Hell, maybe...
[00:21] SS: Maybe I could wake you up.
[00:22] SS: That'd require me to put you to sleep, however.
[00:22] SS: And I'm still bleeding.
[00:22] TC: I think you're getting increasingly delirious.
[00:22] SS: You fly, I check out the political situation between Prospit and Derse and maybe explore a little.
[00:22] SS: Always wanted to look inside a moon.
[00:23] TC: That's an oddly specific goal.
[00:23] SS: I know.
[00:23] SS: So let's get to it, then.
[00:23] TC: Got it.
[00:23] SS: Fly, Pupa, Fly.
[00:23] TC: I've been flying for some time.
[00:23] SS: Fly harder.
[00:24] TC: Which brings me to my final point - I've gotten reasonably non-suicidal at communicating while flying.
[00:24] TC: The Blues Brothers sunglasses help.
[00:24] SS: Handsfree communication always does.
[00:24] TC: Anyway, we'll have plenty of time to make our plans before I get there.
[00:24] SS: Yeah.
[00:25] SS: You find the next gate, I'll go to sleep.
[00:25] TC: You...do that.
[00:25] SS: If I don't get back in touch with you for a while, assume I'm...
[00:25] SS: Uh, in a spirit journey.
[00:25] TC: I'll try.
[00:25] SS: Alright.
[00:25] SS: Go on, then, Rich.
[00:25] SS: Live your dreams.
[00:25] TC: Dream and stay alive.
[00:25] -- truculentConservationist [TC] ceased pestering snickeringSurrogate [SS] at 00:25 --
[b >>Rich: Hunt down lime green GATE.[/b]
As much as you hate to say it, you think your best bet is to consult with the PARROTS again.
Because that's gone just swimmingly every time so far.
>Rich: Land in TOWN, politely but briskly inquire as to the whereabouts of any lime green GATES.
>Greg:Try to get up
You lay next to the FENESTRATED WALL for what seems like hours,though in reality it was probably less then five minutes.Everything seems to be going from bad to worse.The Black Queen has your family,and is demanding you surrender yourself or they all die.Of course,you doubt even if you do surrender they will probably all die still.You need to contact the others,make sure they got the message as well.But first,you need to get up.
You try to stand up,but a surge of pain and alot of wobbliness forces you back to the ground.Looks like either your kegs are broken,or just very very sore.You really hope its the latter.But either way,you aren't getting anywhere without help.And unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyone around for miles.
But thankfully you do have someone you can call to help.
You take your shaky hand and remove the pendant Lily gave you from around your neck and from underneath the black piece of cloth still around your neck.You give it a look and hold it in both hands before whispering into it Lily,if you can hear me...I could really use your help right about now.
You lay next to the FENESTRATED WALL for what seems like hours,though in reality it was probably less then five minutes.Everything seems to be going from bad to worse.The Black Queen has your family,and is demanding you surrender yourself or they all die.Of course,you doubt even if you do surrender they will probably all die still.You need to contact the others,make sure they got the message as well.But first,you need to get up.
You try to stand up,but a surge of pain and alot of wobbliness forces you back to the ground.Looks like either your kegs are broken,or just very very sore.You really hope its the latter.But either way,you aren't getting anywhere without help.And unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyone around for miles.
But thankfully you do have someone you can call to help.
You take your shaky hand and remove the pendant Lily gave you from around your neck and from underneath the black piece of cloth still around your neck.You give it a look and hold it in both hands before whispering into it Lily,if you can hear me...I could really use your help right about now.
>Xavier: Upon noting that your EGO has recently exceeded the size of a small moon, and is in fact slightly throwing off the orbit of the Land of Sea and Crystal, Future Dirk and C-Diddy leap into action!
Specifically, they deliver light, stinging flicks to your forehead until you calm down a bit. You're reminded of a somewhat relevant quote: "There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing." Jonathan Swift.
Moving on, going to sleep and waking up on Derse is probably a pretty good idea. Gives you some idea as to what's going on, let's you snoop around a bit, and get up to all kinds of shenanigans. Yeah, sounds fun.
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>Dirk and Chas: Wake Up. Simultaneously, the two of you reawaken on Prospit, Chas in his golden tower, Dirk in the file room.
>Chas: Still be blind. Yeah, looks like your AUGMENTATIONS didn't carry over. You're pretty much blind as a bat; hell, you can't even make out vague outlines anymore. Seems that your descent into GRIMDARKNESS has made your sight even worse. Crap.
The good news is, you can still hear just fine! Specifically, you can hear a couple of voices inside your room, coming from what sounds like the window.
"Hey ID?"
"What's that MH my dear?"
"I think that boy is waking up!"
"Hmm... You may be right MH. *Ahem* Excuse me, young lad! Are you by any chance waking up!? We could really use some help over here!"
>Dirk: Don't be blind. Well, you're wearing sunglasses inside a poorly lit room, but no, you're not blind. Looking around, you see that you're still surrounded by piles of paperwork and folders. VS is standing stock still in a corner; upon closer examination you find that he apparently fell asleep standing upright.
In addition to VS' light snores, you can also hear a low whining noise, coming from outside the room. Sounds kind of like an air-raid siren or something.
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>Rich: Though your attempts to locate Gates of a lime green color are entirely unsuccessful, one of the PARROTS you interrogate asks you why you simply don't fly to your destination.
You realize that there is nothing to simply stop you from flying straight to the Land of Legends and Ruins and saving Chas' life.
If, however, you're insistent on using the Gates, then odds are you can find one by flying around randomly for about ten minutes.
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>Greg: You summon LILYSPRITE! Who upon seeing your condition, immediately heals you. Yeah, looks like you're all fixed up. Gotta love those crazy healing beams.
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>Kaminasprite: Be freaking out a little bit. You find yourself making this face:
Specifically, they deliver light, stinging flicks to your forehead until you calm down a bit. You're reminded of a somewhat relevant quote: "There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing." Jonathan Swift.
Moving on, going to sleep and waking up on Derse is probably a pretty good idea. Gives you some idea as to what's going on, let's you snoop around a bit, and get up to all kinds of shenanigans. Yeah, sounds fun.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Dirk and Chas: Wake Up. Simultaneously, the two of you reawaken on Prospit, Chas in his golden tower, Dirk in the file room.
>Chas: Still be blind. Yeah, looks like your AUGMENTATIONS didn't carry over. You're pretty much blind as a bat; hell, you can't even make out vague outlines anymore. Seems that your descent into GRIMDARKNESS has made your sight even worse. Crap.
The good news is, you can still hear just fine! Specifically, you can hear a couple of voices inside your room, coming from what sounds like the window.
"Hey ID?"
"What's that MH my dear?"
"I think that boy is waking up!"
"Hmm... You may be right MH. *Ahem* Excuse me, young lad! Are you by any chance waking up!? We could really use some help over here!"
>Dirk: Don't be blind. Well, you're wearing sunglasses inside a poorly lit room, but no, you're not blind. Looking around, you see that you're still surrounded by piles of paperwork and folders. VS is standing stock still in a corner; upon closer examination you find that he apparently fell asleep standing upright.
In addition to VS' light snores, you can also hear a low whining noise, coming from outside the room. Sounds kind of like an air-raid siren or something.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Rich: Though your attempts to locate Gates of a lime green color are entirely unsuccessful, one of the PARROTS you interrogate asks you why you simply don't fly to your destination.
You realize that there is nothing to simply stop you from flying straight to the Land of Legends and Ruins and saving Chas' life.
If, however, you're insistent on using the Gates, then odds are you can find one by flying around randomly for about ten minutes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Greg: You summon LILYSPRITE! Who upon seeing your condition, immediately heals you. Yeah, looks like you're all fixed up. Gotta love those crazy healing beams.
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>Kaminasprite: Be freaking out a little bit. You find yourself making this face: