> Seer: Enter

[seeswithhereyes]

The door closes behind Rose, leaving the oddly warm friendliness of Milliways behind. Before her is the Land of Heat and Clockwork; an entirely different kind of warmth. The heat of it rises around her, convection shifting her hair.

It takes her a moment to readjust; to recall her previous task: to seek knowledge. She has, she thinks reached the limits of what she can learn on her own; she has delved into every book of lore she can find here, and many more still in Milliways, and is still lacking in answers. There is only one thing left to do.

> Rose: Pester informant.

TT: It's quite warm here on Lohac.
TT: I think I've been patient enough.
TT: When will I receive further instruction?

Now.

TT: So,
TT: I could have contacted you at any time?

No. Only now.

TT: I came away with the impression from our last conversation that our next would take place on your invitation.
TT: I was being polite by waiting.

Your inevitable impatience caused you to contact me again. Inevitability is my invitation.

TT: That's pretty smug.

I am right to be smug. I am omniscient, extremely powerful, and very charming.

TT: Well,
TT: Two out of three isn't bad.
TT: Can you use your limitless intelligence to figure out which ones I mean?

That was clever. If I plead ignorance to the fact that you are denying my charisma, it invalidates my claim of omniscience. But if I must adhere to my all knowing status, it forces me to validate the unfortunate reality that you are feigning the opinion that my demeanor is unpalatable. Not that it matters, because I have all three qualities and you know it.

TT: This is stupid.
TT: Could we get to the point?

Yes, I was about to say. We should hurry this along. My visitor is beginning to set things on fire.

TT: You have a visitor?
TT: Who?

Some guy. I was joking anyway. I am not in a hurry at all.

TT: You tell jokes?

Yes. Haa haa.

TT: So, your visitor isn't setting anything on fire then?

Oh, he most definitely is. Hee hee.

TT: I'm really not getting this joke.

I was joking about being in a hurry. From my perspective, this conversation is taking place in less than one second. I type very quickly. Hoo hoo.

TT: I thought you didn't lie.
TT: Aren't jokes essentially humorous lies?
TT: At least, those like the one you just attempted.

Jokes are only temporary lies. If the falsehood is never exposed, there is no punchline. If the punchline is never delivered, the lie is sealed forever, regardless of initial humorous intent. Lies are not funny.

TT: I think if you're going to risk tarnishing your record of honesty, you should probably get better material.

My joke was objectively funny. Who would know better than I?

TT: Ok.
TT: So you're saying an inaccurate statement doesn't count as a lie, as long as you say "just kidding" later?

Basically.

TT: What if it's much later? Is it still "just a joke?"

No, that would be something closer to a prank. I don't play pranks very often.

TT: Are you allowed to lie about playing pranks? If I asked you if you were playing a prank on me, would you tell the truth?

I am allowed to do whatever I want. I choose never to lie. I also choose to tell jokes now and then, and to play pranks quite sparingly. But I can say that I have never played a prank on you, and no statement I have made to you thus far, or will make in this conversation, will contain any trace of falsehood for the sake of setting up a joke or a prank, with the exception of the joke I just made, and another one I will make very soon.

TT: I'm starting to change my mind.

Oh?

TT: Yes. I think your joke was funny in retrospect. Actually, your whole shtick is pretty good. I'm warming up to it.

Yes. I knew it.

TT: Just to be clear,
TT: Was the assurance you just made a prank or a joke?

It was neither. It was the truth.

TT: Was that?

Yes.

TT: The truth?

Yes.

TT: Ok.
TT: Were you serious about wanting to die?

Yes.

TT: Why?

I'll tell you later.

TT: Why?

Because you asked.

TT: But why not now?

Because that piece of information would not fit elegantly into the sequence of our exchange at this moment.

TT: Then you know how this entire conversation will go?

Yes.

TT: Is that true of all conversations you have?

Yes. Until, briefly, I don't. But the dark spots never last long. The truth disguises itself to me sometimes which can be mildly frustrating, but it usually reveals itself quickly, much as if a punchline was delivered. It's a humorous dialogue I have with reality, and it is very amusing.

TT: Then why do you bother with the conversations? Obligation to predestination, as usual?

There is no obligation. It's a pleasure.

TT: It is?

I've always had a soft spot for young ladies.

TT: Hmm.
TT: That's a little creepy.

No it's not.

TT: Yes it is.

No it's not.

TT: It kind of is.

I have looked into the future and determined that we would continue in this manner pointlessly for some time, so I am putting an end to it here.

TT: That doesn't make sense.
TT: Was that the other joke?

Yes.

TT: Heh. Good one.

Thank you.

TT: How young are the ladies you typically take a shining to?
TT: And does this mean you are attracted to me?
TT: Suddenly this conversation is kind of terrible.

Of course I am not. Not in the way you mean. And anyway, you are applying standards of conduct frowned upon for your kind which make no sense to apply to me. I am an immortal entity with a large cue ball for a head, and no biological means of reproduction.

TT: ...
TT: Really.

Also, if you were millions of years old, you would find that nearly every lady you encounter is quite young, relatively speaking. There should be no reason for you to feel uncomfortable with this interaction. Try to think of me as one of your kindly human uncle figures. In fact, if I were in your presence now, I would offer you candy to prove it.

TT: Oh my god.

What?

TT: Can we talk about the scratch instead of this?

Yes.

==>

You are situated near the game construct supplied by your session for causing the Scratch, yes?

TT: Are you actually asking?

No. That was a fact, and then a question mark.

TT: Ah.
TT: Well, yes, I am.
TT: It's a large plateau shaped like a record. It's called the Beat Mesa.

I know.

TT: Is the game construct different in other sessions?

Yes. It will always be an edifice of similarly cryptic design, located on the planet that is home to the Hero of Time. Its environment dictates the nature of its construction. Its power is dangerous, and is meant to be utilized only in emergencies such as yours.

TT: You mean, in sessions where victory is no longer possible?

Yes.

TT: Due to creating an unstoppable adversary? Who triggers the reckoning prematurely?
TT: Is that sort of emergency common?

No. Failure is common. But the composition of yours is quite atypical.

TT: Ok.
TT: Then, it's like a panic button for the players to push once they realize the cause is lost.

Yes, but causing the Scratch is not an easy task either. The construct must be destroyed in a very specific way to release its energy. The keeper of my ectobiological father began the process. It must be finished.

TT: Who?

The guardian of the Knight of Time.

TT: Dave's bro?

Yes.

TT: How do I finish it?

You don't. Not you personally. Another will. You have something more important to attend to, remember?

TT: Oh, right.
TT: The Green...
TT: Wait.
TT: The .

Yes.

TT: I'd planned to take care of that later, once John had retrieved the Tumor.
Tumor.
TT: Whatever.

Your plan will have to change. You aren't ready to cause the Scratch yet. Like I said, it's difficult.

TT: What will the one who does it have to do? I should let them know.

He will have to scratch the surface of the plateau across its full diameter.

TT: I see.
TT: This terminology can be very literal sometimes.

You will require a certain needle to create a breach in the surface that will be adequate.

TT: I have needles.

Your needles won't suffice.

TT: Then where do I get ones that will?

Again, you won't. This task is out of your hands. The needles must be acquired from the denizen of the Witch of Space. Her quills are very large and potent. They will be able to cause the Scratch.

TT: This really seems more elaborate than you lead me to believe.

I didn't lead you to believe anything. I told you to find the construct and await advisement on the Scratch. The plans you were making were based on assumptions and fabrications of your imagination. You were writing more stories, much like those about your false magical men.

TT: I wish what I'd written in my private journals could be confined to your dark spots.

I don't. I find your stories entertaining.

TT: You're being creepy again.

No I'm not. Besides, the White King agrees with me.

TT: What?

For a Seer, your vision of events surrounding you is rather limited. It's charming.

TT: Just,
TT: Please stop complimenting me.

==>

TT: Fine.
TT: Then please at least try to sound more sarcastic when you do it.

Oh sure, I am really going to do that. Yes, very likely.

TT: ...
TT: Then the Scratch will be implemented later, by either John or Dave I presume?
TT: You used a male pronoun.

Yes.

TT: I guess it makes sense that it would happen later. My understanding is that Jack will not be banished from this session until near the end of the reckoning.

Yes, Jack will exit your session later, but this has nothing to do with the Scratch. Not directly, as you imply.

TT: I don't understand.
TT: I thought that was the point of the Scratch, to open a rift in spacetime as it were, and banish him into the trolls' session.

No. That is not the purpose of the Scratch at all. The Scratch does not open a rift in spacetime.

TT: Hmm.
TT: Then why have you directed me to cause it?
TT: Does it have something to do with enabling you to die?

No. Not directly. The Scratch has nothing more to do with my death than any other single event ultimately contributing to my demise.

TT: I think it's disingenuous for you to behave as if I have not been misled.
TT: You say you don't lie, but what about lies of omission?

Lies of omission do not exist. The concept is a very human one. It is the product of your story writing again. You have written a story about the truth, making emotional demands of it, and in particular, of those in possession of it. Your demands are based on a feeling of entitlement to the facts, which is very childish. You can never know all of the facts. Only I can. And since it's impossible for me to reveal all facts to you, it is my discretion alone that decides which facts will be revealed in the finite time we have. If I do not volunteer information you deem critical to your fate, it possibly means that I am a scoundrel, but it does not mean that I am a liar. And it certainly means you did not ask the right questions. One can make either true statements or false statements about reality. All of the statements I make are true.

TT: Unless you're joking.

Yes.

TT: Haa haa, hee hee, hoo hoo?

Exactly.

TT: Then I guess I'll start asking better questions.

Good. I will make a Seer of you yet.

TT: Will you?

Yes. You can start by shoring up the reliability of your sources. You proceeded to question me believing you understood the purpose of the Scratch. You received your information about it from trolls. I assure you that in most ways, the trolls are as confused about everything as you are.

TT: Ok. Noted.
TT: What exactly does the Scratch do, then?

It resets the game.

TT: Oh.
TT: That's it?

Yes.

TT: Then,
TT: We all start from the beginning again? When John entered?

No. The release of temporal energy will be quite massive. This is a hard reset. It will reboot the conditions in your universe well before you began playing the game. You will have lived different lives after the reset. The different initial conditions will ideally lead to a more favorable scenario in the new session. Unfortunately, you will have no memory of anything that has happened in the session you are in now.

TT: What will happen to us? Everyone in this session now?

You will all cease to exist completely if you remain here during the Scratch.

TT: This seems familiar.
TT: It reminds me of when Dave and I were trapped in the doomed timeline, and he left to change the past.
TT: The timeline ceased to exist, along with my dream self, who in a way became merged with my dream self of this timeline. I kept some of her memories.
TT: Is the situation similar?

Similar, but more severe. Since this timeline will undergo such a violent upheaval, such a merger of memory cannot happen. You will be resigned to absolute oblivion. Unless you can discover a way to preserve yourselves. But it's not really my place to advise you on that. After you have dealt with the Scratch and the sun, what happens to you is not any of my business.

==>

TT: Then can you at least tell me if we will be successful in preserving ourselves after the reset?

I don't particularly enjoy spoiling things for people when unnecessary. I find speaking in a discreet color helps avoid this.

TT: So if the Scratch isn't specifically meant to banish Jack from the session,
TT: And our quest to destroy the sun is meant to kill him,
TT: Why is the reset necessary at all, especially if it means oblivion for us?

Because you cannot achieve the ultimate reward in this session. Your battlefield is cancerous, and the reckoning will destroy it prematurely regardless. By resetting, you will create a session which can bear the fruit of a new universe, even if you will not be the ones to claim the reward. Don't you want to fulfill your purpose?

TT: I guess.
TT: But it's a little disheartening to learn I'm now faced with not one, but two suicide missions at once.
TT: One to destroy Jack's power source and defend all of existence, and another to ensure our cosmic progeny at the price of oblivion.

That frames the dual objectives accurately. But if you are inventive, you may find a way to survive the reset and participate in the renewed session. It's up to you. Just as it's up to you to face the decision to claim immortality before you enter your creation.

TT: Immortality?

Yes.

TT: Do you mean ascending to the god tier?

Yes.

TT: I have reason to believe that I won't.
TT: The trolls have not indicated I will die on my Quest Bed, or that any of us will aside from John. Instead I've been given a more troubling and ambiguous forecast.

What have I said about confirming the reliability of your sources?

TT: Are you saying I will?

No.

TT: Oh.
TT: Well, will I?

It seems you'd like me to do some more fortune telling.

TT: Fine.
TT: Maybe this question will suit you better.
TT: Is it probable?

That's a strange question to ask someone who is omniscient and therefore knows outcomes with one hundred percent certainty. I like it.

TT: Then what's your answer?

You have exactly a fifty percent chance of ascending to the god tier.

TT: That's a strange answer.

I know.

TT: Why such a precise probability?

Because, much like the decisions you must face to complete your dual suicide missions, you have two ways of achieving godhood to choose from.

TT: Two ways?
TT: By dying on the Quest Bed on my planet, and some other way?

Yes.

TT: Is there another Quest Bed somewhere?

Yes. Good guess, Seer.

TT: Where?

What difference does it make? You already know where the first one is. You have the choice to go there right now and take your own life.

TT: That's true.

Of course it is.

TT: You mentioned immortality.
TT: Godhood makes one immortal?

Yes.

TT: A god tier will live forever, with no caveats?

No. One will live forever, unless killed. The death must be either heroic or just.

TT: How are those terms defined?

Broadly, mysteriously, and according to the case of the individual. One may be killed by opposing a corrupt adversary and die for a just cause, as through martyrdom, for instance. This would be heroic. Or one may be subject to corruption, and slain by a hero. This would be just.

TT: Which sort of death will you have when I destroy the sun?

Neither. I'm not a god. I'm a guardian, a servant, and a weapon. I have power and knowledge far surpassing a god. But I am not one.

TT: Is this when you are going to tell me why you want to die?

Yes.

TT: I sense it's not just because you're getting bored with immortality.

That's good. Your vision is becoming clearer.

TT: Then why?

My master can't enter this universe until I am killed. Such is the nature of the break.

TT: That almost sounds like martyrdom. Are you sure it won't be a hero's death?

Quite sure. My master is a very evil man.

TT: Who is he?

I won't tell you his name. But he goes by the title, Lrd English.

==>

TT: This doesn't sound like an especially admirable objective. Releasing an evil man, who is presumably more powerful than you, an already omnipotent being.
TT: Am I right?

You are right about both. It is not admirable, and he is considerably more powerful. But you must decide which objective is more important. You may decide to attempt to destroy the sun and end my life. This will neutralize Jack, who is also much more powerful and dangerous than myself by virtue of the ring he wears in addition to drawing energy from the same sun as I. He poses a significant threat to reality.

TT: But in the process of killing him and you, I release your master, who is just as deadly?

He's more deadly. But the danger he poses is sanctioned by paradox space. It is a known quantity. His very existence in a universe will mean it will inevitably be torn apart. But there are rules to his entry, and his grim procession through paradox space is rather orderly. The present equilibrium has accounted for him, and will continue to. Jack however is a loose cannon. He will not stop until he destroys everything he encounters. Additionally, his existence is your responsibility.

TT: Then I guess I don't have a choice.

You do. But also know this. Refusing to venture out to destroy the sun in no way spares anyone from my master regardless. It is certainly true that destroying it will end my life. And it is certainly true that

The Tumor

you will deliver to its location has enough power to destroy it completely. But it is not the only way to kill me. It is simply a way I have suggested to you, which doubles as a way to disarm Jack, should you choose to go through with it. Instances of myself have spawned in countless universes, and my objective is always the same. I have never once failed to complete this objective, and I never will. There is nothing noble about taking a course of action you believe would prevent his arrival, because that is impossible. He will come. In fact, he is already here.

TT: Are you saying that I will succeed in the mission to destroy the sun?

Are you asking for another palm reading?

TT: ...

You seem rather keen on acquiring a fortune from me considering you are the one with the crystal ball.

TT: I'm just trying to ask as many questions as I can. It's the only way to find the dark spots in your obstinacy.

I've been very helpful. And I will continue to be. I myself do not care to be an oracle. But I can graciously supply you with one.

TT: Can you?

An eager consort has brought you one of my seeds. It appears you have amassed followers who wish to please you. How fortuitous.

TT: Your seeds?

The white orb.

TT: Oh. The cue ball. How did I not notice this?

It will accurately answer any question a curious girl can pose. Provided she can see through the surface to read its reply.

TT: Hmm.
TT: Is that possible?

Is it, Seer? Given your title and all the tools of prognostication at your disposal, it seems to me I should be the one asking you the questions.

==>

TT: How can I see through it?

It seems you weren't listening, so I will state this again in the form of a question. Don't you think I should be asking the questions from now on?

TT: Yes, if you wanted to be disingenuous and irritating.

Don't you think a clever person should be able to acquire information from someone who only asks questions?

TT: Then it's a challenge!
TT: I pass.

Do you have a choice? What if I'm feeling a bit stubborn?

TT: Ok, so what you mean is I should continue humoring your leading questions until you happen to ask certain rhetorical questions that contain information I need.

Was that a question?

TT: That was a fact, and then a period.

How does a Seer see?

TT: ...
TT: With a crystal ball?
TT: I already considered that. I don't think I can get the focus of the ball to "zoom in" tight enough on the cue ball's enclosure to read the answers.

How else does she see?

TT: By other magical means, I guess.
TT: Should I use magic?

Do you believe in magic?

TT: Magic is real.
TT: I've been using it.

Are you sure?

TT: Use whatever word you want to describe it. I have magic wands, they are very powerful, and they allow me to be magic. Your questions are silly.

What makes you convinced the wands are responsible for your abilities?

TT: Because I did not have the abilities before I made them.

Could this be circumstantial?

TT: Could it?

Is there an echo?

TT: Is there an echo?

Hee hee?

TT: I don't know what you're getting at.
TT: How about another leading question?

What did you combine to make those wands?

TT: Some stuff.

Knitting needles? An inexpensive figurine of some fictional fellow with long whiskers? A simple textbook on the zoologically dubious? Why would this mundane combination of objects grant a child such an alarming mastery over dark forces all at once?

TT: I'm guessing this is one of the rhetorical questions meant to be informative.
TT: So then, my answer should affirm how ridiculous that sounds, shouldn't it?

Maybe?

TT: That wasn't even a question.

Yes it was?

TT: Ok. Magic is fake, the wands are useless toys, and there is something else going on. Next question???

Would it be so difficult to believe the power you've found to devastate your planet and create shortcuts through your session is not entirely by your own device? Would it be so difficult to believe a young lady could be unwittingly apprenticed by more powerful entities who meant her potential to be realized later through some arbitrary trigger? What would you say if I said a dutiful girl raised in the daylight was protected by a bulb-headed guardian, and learned to glow in the dark after death? What would you say if I said a vengeful boy on a path of nihilism was taken under the wings of fearsome angels, and learned to destroy hope with their light? What would you say if I said a reserved girl enamored by what dwelt in shadow was selected by the horrorterrors for service, and did their bidding at every step while convinced of her own autonomy?

TT: What would I say to those short fables?
TT: Not much, except I gather the third is a story about me, and that there's a lesson you'd like me to take from it.
TT: That I should renounce my "allegiance" before my grimdark corruption is absolute.
TT: And while I'm at it, I should discard these useless wands, because apparently the power was in my little black heart all along. Is that right?

Won't you have to give up your specibus to the one who causes the Scratch regardless? How else will the young man wield that great big needle?

TT: I don't know! If you say so.

Haven't your friends already shown concern for your recklessness and your increasing sense of detachment from the party, the team objectives, and not to mention those of your personal quest? Does this worry you? Is there a part of you left that's able to worry?

TT: Yes. It has been mysteriously localized to my middle finger. Could the dark magics be at work AGAIN?!

Do you deny that you have been neglecting incoming messages from your teammates? Would that be in keeping with the spirit of the human emotion of friendship for one whose soul was not so befouled by the designs of unknowable monstrosities?

TT: Friendship isn't an emotion, numbnuts.

Isn't it, Rose? Isn't it?

TT: I've been busy. I'll get back to them.
TT: And can we please stop doing the patronizing question thing?
TT: In exchange I promise I will discontinue my patronizing responses.

Can the omniscient be patronized?

TT: The omniscipotent can do whatever they please. I guess I'm just asking you nicely to do me this favor.

Very well. I will stop smothering you with surprise noodles.

TT: Huh?

But only because I find you to be adorable.

TT: So creepy.

So cute.

TT: Yuck.

I am going to ask the same question I asked earlier. Please do not regard it as a violation of my pledge. It is just an ordinary question, like those that crop up in an ordinary conversation.

TT: Ok.

How does a Seer see?

TT: I don't know.

Be literal.

TT: With her eyes?

Take the orb. Ask it a question.

TT: I don't know what to ask anymore.
TT: I'm confused.

What would you ask me?

TT: I would ask what should I do next.

Then ask.

TT: What should I do next?

Not me. The ball, dunkass.

==>

==>

> Rose: Answer.

TT: Sorry for the delayed response.
TT: Answering seems to be what to do right now.
GG: rose jeez!!!
GG: finally
GG: you sure seem to be absorbed in whatever youre doing on that computer...
GG: were you talking to someone?
TT: Oh, right. I forgot I gave you the code for the crystal ball.
TT: And here I was thinking I could safely delay responding to messages without seeming like an ass, the way it usually works.
TT: Oops.
GG: oh no no i dont blame you for not responding!
GG: you must be very upset
GG: are you ok?
TT: Why would I be upset?
GG: um
GG: because
GG: uhhh i figured you would have found out by now but i guess you still dont know?
TT: Know what?
GG: about...
GG: johns dad
GG: and.......
GG: your mom :(
GG: rose?
GG: hello???
GG: oh noo :'(

Jade's words prompt Rose to look once more into her crystal ball. What about John's Dad? What about her own Mom?




At first her mind refuses to process what she sees. For all that she has wielded violent and eldritch death upon her foes, it has been... Well, different. The game constructs are different. They are not her mother, laying dead in a pool of too-red blood, with Jack Noir sitting calmly by.

They are not her Mom her Mom with her drinking and her passive-aggressive affection and her over-the-top gestures and her drunken hugs and her attempts to bond and--

She can't breathe. She can't look.

Jade is typing again.



GG: rose please say something
GG: you are making me nervous...
TT: I should have gone looking for her.
TT: Why didn't I?
GG: umm
GG: because you were busy trying to make the best of this situation?
TT: John was too. But he went to look for his father.
TT: It would have been normal of me. I can't remember what I was trying to prove anymore.
GG: i dont think you should be so hard on yourself about it
GG: john was being john, and you were being you, which i guess meant taking our problems very seriously and putting all your attention on solving them!
GG: and anyway, you and your mom had a much trickier relationship than john and his dad didnt you?
GG: i mean, not that i am saying that means you were any less attached to her than him...
GG: argh, i dont know if im very good at consoling people. sorry rose i dont want to make you feel worse :(
TT: You're doing fine.
TT: For someone raised by a dog.
TT: Or really,
TT: Anyone.
TT: Thanks.
GG: whew, ok
GG: you know...
GG: now we have all lost guardians
GG: dave lost his, and i lost mine in a weird way... uuum even though that was pretty much definitely my fault :\
GG: and even the trolls all lost their monster guardians
GG: i think that maybe it is an inevitable part of a game that can be cruel sometimes
TT: For some reason, despite all the danger, I never thought she was in any trouble.
TT: I never believed she would actually die.
TT: I grew up with the feeling that something more significant had always been meant for her.
TT: That she was a heroine displaced in some way, resigned to the inglorious duty of raising me, and preparing me in her way.
TT: I didn't actually need the ectobiological verification that she was like a mother and a sister at the same time. I always understood that somehow.
TT: And I felt she had knowledge and ability beyond what she let on. It was always intimidating, but nonetheless a source of respect which was childishly begrudging on my part.
TT: I think she was just waiting for me to catch up with her.
TT: But now I can't.
GG: ......
GG: i am so sad
GG: rose i think you are being stronger about it than i am
TT: Probably because my emotions have now ceded to anger.
TT: This shouldn't have happened.
GG: oh
GG: well
GG: i just hope you arent thinking of doing something rash
TT: I already was.
TT: I was going to go to sleep, fly to a sun bigger than our universe, drop a bomb in it, and kill myself.
GG: yeaaah...
TT: So if my course of action is to change on account of my mood, it can only become less impetuous, don't you think?
GG: errrr, i dont know?
TT: You never liked my plan very much anyway.
GG: wellllll
GG: no!
GG: but i was trusting that you had thought it through and it was our best hope
TT: I'm not sure if I did.
TT: Maybe it was a terrible plan.
TT: I made it without a full understanding of the nature of the Scratch.
GG: hm
GG: then what will you do?
TT: I could stop being so cowardly, for once.
TT: I could short circuit this endlessly expanding game of chess we're playing, just like Jack decided to do.
GG: what does that mean!
TT: Maybe I will go kill Jack myself.
TT: Right now.
GG: oh no no no no no!
GG: rose that is a much much worse plan!!!!!
GG: he would probably kill you!
TT: Probably.
TT: But the Scratch will wipe us out anyway, and reboot the conditions of our session.
TT: I suddenly don't feel much like sneaking through the back door of the Furthest Ring for retribution by distant super nova.
GG: i know what you mean, i was angry at jack and wanted to stop him too, but we have to think of a more sensible way to do it
TT: Whether my existing plan was sensible or not,
TT: I may have been allowing myself to be manipulated by an omniscient being regardless.
GG: what? who?

Hello ladies.

GG: aaaaaaa whaaaaat?????
TT: This is a private conversation.
TT: Private even to those who know it word for word already.

Proceed. I will be here. Watching.

GG: rose who is this!
TT: Ignore him.
GG: i dont even know whats going on anymore

You were discussing Ms. Lalonde's intrepid new variation on suicide. As one with a passion for the subject, I'm intrigued.

TT: Shh.
TT: Anyway, if it's true the gods have "selected" me for service, maybe the power they've given me will be sufficient.
TT: Maybe they wanted me to kill him all along.

Hee hee.

GG: SHHHHHHHHHH!
GG: please dont rose, i know you are angry but you arent thinking straight
TT: But I am.
TT: I'm fully aware I'll probably die and fail. Scratch happens, we start fresh. No recollection, no problem.
GG: nooo :(

Jade, as an ambassador of Skaia, maybe you'd be willing to talk some sense into your friend? You should understand she's been corrupted by various entities with some rather questionable motives.

GG: rose, maybe white text guy is right?
GG: the dark gods gave you all these powers, and seem to be helping us with dream bubbles and stuff...
GG: but what if they are not actually good?
TT: They are enormous, ugly, and live in darkness.
TT: That doesn't necessarily make them bad.
GG: no...
GG: but i still dont trust them!

If only there were a way to make this determination with certainty. Through a reliable source within reach, for instance, at this exact moment. Perhaps one that is spherical, and devastatingly handsome.

GG: whats this weirdo talking about!
TT: The cue ball.
GG: oh yeah
GG: i noticed you found it!
GG: i was worried it had been destroyed when my room blew up
GG: is he saying you can use it?
TT: Yes. And he is right.
GG: omg
GG: does it work???
TT: It advised me to talk to you just now.
TT: So I guess so.
GG: then maybe you should try it!

Yes, Rose. Listen to Jade. She is far less manipulative than I.

TT: What are you suggesting I ask it?
GG: well
GG: since we dont know much about the gods...
GG: why dont you ask it about them?
TT: So, you're saying I should ask it if the gods are evil?
GG: i guess that is a way to put it

Even though at this point neither of you is highlighting my text to read it, this idea gets my vote. Go ahead. Ask, Seer.

She has good advice.

And so once more, Rose l̛͗ͧ̔̈́̍̈́̋͂ͬ͋ͨ̌̿̎͋̄͘҉̡̯̜̹̳̻̲ơ̢͙̙̞̣͙̲̖͕̻̬͖̘̗̘̼̥̯͍̈́ͨ͂ͧͤ͋ͭ̍ͩ̏̕͡o̵̞̖̲̭̻̝͙ͬ̓̿ͬ̔̀̚k̸̵̛̺̫͉͈͐ͭ͌́̇̓͐ͯ̃̅ͯ̓ͥ͡s̖̺̪̤͎ͤ̂ͣ̀̓͊̈ͯ́͘͟͠.͔̬̦̳̳̮̯̜͎̯͓̯͉̫̹̺͕̹̂̿ͮ̏̈́̅͗̀͜.