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Haha; Lauren and her cigs is mostly what made me wonder! I can see it going either way; being shackled to a, as you say, a 12 year old for the rest of your life would make me both take up some vice... and in a way that might make Lauren look like the virgin Mary. But that said Baby Rosa was a turning point for her. I couldn't even guess how it would go with Rosa. I bet Motti would become a third party member tho.
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Jan 8, 2020 00:18
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| # ? May 12, 2024 16:40 |
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I think Kaykay would have persuaded Rosa to take over her online game for her and nothing would ever have been done. Nishanti and Moti should have joined the party anyway, they were underused IMO.
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Jan 8, 2020 09:30
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Logan's been with KayKay for a year and he hasn't gone back to drinking, so I'm going to guess she's a good influence.  Actually the whole Logan-KayKay relationship is really sweet, since it really is a partnership of equals instead of surrogate dad/surrogate daughter, which would have been the more obvious (and IMHO less interesting) way to write this. They're a good influence on each other, really. EDIT: because this deserves to be seen 
Mechanical Ape fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Jan 8, 2020 |
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Jan 8, 2020 17:41
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Mechanical Ape posted:KayKay is the best. Like I said, favorite character in the game and probably one of my favorites of all time  .
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Jan 10, 2020 01:29
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I am instantly enamored by KayKay and cannot wait to see more of her. 
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Jan 10, 2020 04:53
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Leaving Logan for now we head back into the master bedroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEtWgdYNpac   I... I've never done this before. Nothing like this before. I mean... I love my wife. I DO, but..."If you want me to leave, say so." No. Don't leave. I've been unsure of many things. But not this. Why is that?"Sometimes you need to capture a moment before it's gone." Yes. That's exactly it. And after tonight, you'll be gone. But I'll keep a memento, just like you asked."Yes. It's important to remember this." I have a hiding space in the garage. Nobody will ever find it. Under my... heart rate. It will be for me and me alone. And you, if you ever come back. Just look in the mailbox. The garage opener is hidden there. Taped to the inside where it's hard to see. Now, where were we...?Fortunately the vision fades away before we get any further.  ... ... That's... Wow. Yeah. loving hell."Can we not talk about this?"  This isn't something we can sweep under the rug. I get that this is hard, and I'm sorry. But we need to focus. YOU didn't do anything. Remember that! What your demon did here was no accident. It had a reason. A plan. We need to learn what it was."Let's go. And not talk about this. Ever." Lips sealed. Let's go.Well, we may as well go check if that "memento" is still in the garage. But as soon as we get downstairs we walk straight into another vision. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNAQQGXdBfI   I know everything, Dana. That's crazy. You're crazy. I wouldn't do that. This lady told me everything. What lady?Paige enters from the next room. You!"Hi again, Dana." But why? You're the one who TOLD me to do it!"I didn't tell you anything, Dana." Why are you LYING? You gave me instructions. A list of things to buy. So you admit it. You poisoned my dog. ... You know what? Fine. YES. I killed your loving dog. It was destroying my GPA. My sleep. Not to mention Arabelle. Is that what this is about? Your little ragdoll? You promised to fix her months ago. She's been in your closet ever since. Just collecting dust. So kick me out. Call the cops. I don't care any more. I'm done."Kill her, Jess. She deserves nothing less." ... Yes. Dana. You deserve to die for this. WHAT? You killed my friend. It was just a dog. Get a grip. You. Killed. My. Friend.Jess stabs Dana and the vision fades.  Murder by mental suggestion. A classic demon ploy if ever there was one. I don't know about you guys, but I'm so sick of this death and brainwashing crap. Even still. Brainwashing notwithstanding, it seemed like a mundane murder. That shouldn't force a spirit to go guest. It just shouldn't. Let's get back to it, then.Yes, back on task. The garage.  Hey Eli. Could you pretend for a sec that I'm your kid? Er. What? I know it sounds weird. Just listen. Okay? Like, I'm your kid. I just shamed the whole family. What can I do to make it right? Um... honestly? I don't know. If it were one of my daughters, I'd like to think I'd love them unconditionally. No matter what. You've never been part of a cop family. Doesn't matter. I'm sure they all just hope you're okay. That's how I'd feel, anyway. Hm. Maybe.  Taped to the side of the mailbox. Not the most SUBTLE hiding place, but sometimes simpler is better. My dad used to hide out garage remote under a fake rock. Neighbor's dog kept digging it up.Unfortunately it's an electric opener rather than an old-fashioned key and the battery's dead. Not much of a problem given that there's a supermarket right nearby, but we don't even have to go that far. Remember that motion-activated hula dancer we picked up earlier for no apparent reason?  The battery compartment is held closed with screws but fortunately we also found a screwdriver in the kitchen, so that's easily solved. And that provides us with a single, charged AA battery, which is exactly what we need. You can get the battery out of the hula dancer at any time but you can't find the garage door opener until you've heard Art mention it. You can search the mailbox but you won't notice it there. The puzzles in this game are a little inconsistent in letting you pick up some stuff before you need it but not other stuff. It really doesn't make sense to take the hula dancer until you know you need its battery, but the game interface lets you know you can, so you do. Whereas, in the last update, we found an item we're going to need later but couldn't pick it up. I can see arguments for both options but mixing them together like this seems to increase puzzle difficulty in an "unfair" way. If you get used to the fact that items you'll need can be picked up then you're less likely to go back and check things later in case they're now useful.   The garage door is now open. A sturdy garden shovel, with earth still on the blade, is leaning against the wall. We'll have that. A plastic tank for carrying gas is beside it. Above it is a poster reading "'Herb is the healing of the nation' - Bob Marley." Beside it is a useless, frayed garden hose wound around a peg. A reflective workman's vest hangs on the opposite wall. The car's licence plate reads "ART-R8." Very clever. A smelly old carpet is rolled up in the corner. The licence plate is the hiding place of the "memento"; ART-R8 = "heart rate". That's the joke. Once again our screwdriver comes in handy.  We're stealing licence plates now? Good thing I'm not a cop anymore.Vicki's a little slow on the uptake.   Is... something wrong?"There's a picture. Of Art and me. Together."  OH. At least... you can hardly tell it's you? I mean, the lighting's terrible. And it's kinda blurry. I think you should stop talking. I'm just saying. It won't hold up in court."Set it on fire, Eli. Then set the ASHES on fire." I don't think that's a good idea. This picture was stuck here for a reason. No need to destroy evidence quite yet. Moving swiftly on we'll head around to the back yard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNZ0Zzum0Y  Did you really think I wouldn't find out? Don't turn this around on me. You killed Dana! Turn it around? You SLEPT with that woman!"You two obviously have some issues you need to work out." Issues! We were fine until you came along! This is all your fault. HER fault? Yes. I had an affair. I'm... sorry. But you murdered Dana! She deserved it. She killed my Mary Jane. Jesus, are you even listening to yourself? Oh. So you can love your precious car, but loving my DOG is crazy? No. MURDER is what's crazy!"Art, she's crazy. She will kill you next. Kill her first." God. Yes. I never saw it before, but... now it's crystal clear. I need to kill you, Jess. Before you kill me. Like hell you will.Both raise knives as the vision fades.  This just gets better and better.Well, we've got that shovel now so I suppose we'd better check that it's just a dog buried underneath the roses.  That's... one dead dog. Oh good. There's a collar. Just... grab that, will you? Euugh. You got a shower back at HQ? Because... well, you're gonna need one. I killed my wife. I cheated on her and then I killed her."We can cheat on her again if you wish." I... why am I so tempted? Why do I want to say yes? I am... confused. So confused. I'm... going to go sit in my car for a bit. Try and think. Maybe I'll run the motor a little. Check if it's running okay. Could you... make sure the garage door is closed?"Sure. I know you love that car." Well, that's all three deaths explained. Just one more piece of evidence needed to complete the set, and as alluded to earlier it's something we've already seen - and ignored. Back inside the house, back upstairs, back to the master bedroom and that closet we investigated last time. Tiggum posted:
Guess it can't hurt to grab it.  What's the story?"Art, um, cheated on his wife."  He did? Art. Did you... have an affair? Aauuuuughh! Okay! Shhh. Relax. I'm not accusing you of anything. He's denying it. He says he loves his wife. Of course he does. They always say that. He's not lying, exactly. He's just... confused. Death can cloud your memories. Put you in denial. We need something physical. Something more than words. Find something like that, and maybe we can get through to him.I guess the intended sequence here is that you find out about Art and the demon, go back and tell Logan, then have him prompt you to go check the garage. But I don't know of any adventure game player who would ever do that. Rather, you hear about the "memento" and how to unlock the garage and just... go do that. And once you've got the photo you've already seen the second vision - about the dead dog - and picked up the shovel, so obviously you're going to go dig up the roses. That triggers the third vision. The only bit you might miss is grabbing the doll because you might not think to recheck the wardrobe. We show him the photo. Woah. Uh. Why are you showing this to me? Wait. Is that Art?"He had an affair. He took this photo as a memento." Yeah. Yeah this is proof, all right. But who's the woman in the picture? She's kinda hard to make out..."It was me. I was possessed. Let's leave it there." ... Right. Leaving it there. Art? Did you take this picture? Auuugh! I'm sorry, Art, but this IS you. You can't deny it. Auuugh! Don't ask ME why you did it. That's a question only you can answer. Good. Acceptance. That's the only way forward. I get you weren't in your right mind. But... it still happened. It still MATTERS. Auuugh! I don't judge you one way or the other. That's not my department. Just... think about that. Can you do that for me? Please?The middle ghost lowers its arms and seems to shrink a little. There we go. Just hang tight, Art. And... I'm sorry. I... think that did it. He's ready. Ready for what? Ready to move on. Once we calm all three ghosts, KayKay and I can do our thing. But for now... keep doing what you're doing."Dana killed the Eddings' Dog." Seriously? Dana? Is this true? Did you kill the family dog? Rauuughhh! Okay. Okay! She's... denying it. She says she had no reason to do that. She's not lying. She was... mentally forced into doing it. I... see. In that case, the best way to reach her is with something physical. Something she's got a strong attachment to. There's got to be something like that around here somewhere.We give him Arabelle. Um. A doll? Why are you showing me that?"It belonged to Dana. One of the ghosts." An old toy? Lemme see. Dana? Is this yours? Auuugh! Arabelle, huh? That's a nice name. Auuugh! Oh. I see. Dogs will do that sometimes. I'm sorry. But... why did you do that? There was no need for THAT. Auuugh! I... no. I can't judge you. That's not my department. If you really want to move on from this, you need to make it right. Auuugh! Asking for forgiveness, yeah. Doesn't matter if you get it. It's just important you ask. Just think about it. Okay? Just think about it.The right ghost lowers its arms and shrinks like the first one did. Yeahh. Just have a little think. That did it. She's aware. She's ready. Just one more to go."Jess killed Dana with a knife to avenge her dog." Jesus. Jess? Is that true? You killed Dana because she killed your dog? Aauuuuughh! I'm sorry, but it's true. Aauuuuughh! Okay. Okay. Never mind. She's fine. She's denying all of it. She's saying her dog isn't dead. Do you have any evidence that the dog is dead? Something physical? Find me something like that, and maybe we can get through to her.Our totally unrelated hobby of looting the graves of dogs finally pays off. That's... kind of disgusting. What're you showing me that for?"It belonged to Jess's dog. They were very close." Hm. That might work. Give it here. Jess? Do you recognize this? Auuugh! Mary Jane? That was her name? Can you tell me about her? Auuugh! I... yeah. That sucks. That really really sucks. Dana shouldn't have done that, but you can't do anything about it now. It's out of your control. You see that, right?The last ghost lowers its arms. That's it. Thaat's it. I just need you to think about that for a bit. Okay? Right. I think that did it. She's... calm. She's ready. Okay. That's the last of 'em. Here goes everything.  Guys? *whistle* Oh thank GOD. KayKay! Get in here! It's safe. God, it's good to see you. You've met everyone? This is Eli. That's Vicki. And that's Paige. Wait. Duh. You guys can't see KayKay, can you?"Nope. Sorry." Well, she's right behind you. Um. Now she's on your other side. Now she's... KayKay. Stop messing around. Anyway. There's just one more thing I need to do. Then I'm going out to eat about a dozen steaks. Hey, guys? Dana? Art? Jess? I want you to meet my friend. Her name's KayKay. I know you all have had a rough few months, but it's almost over. Just take her hand. Okay? One at a time. Later...   *burp* I feel almost human again. Almost makes me... never mind."You know you can talk to me, Logan. You always could."  Never did it sober, tough. It's different now. I would have died in there if you hadn't shown up. It was nothing, Logan. It's our job. That's not what I'm getting at. You guys. You.... do this all the time? *sigh* More than we used to, for sure. I'd... like to join you. KayKay too, obviously. Is that possible? We don't want to be caught like that ever again."I've known Logan for years. I can vouch for him." To be fair, I wasn't exactly... the same back in those days. Of COURSE you can join us. Who would miss the chance to work with a real life Bestower? Our boss won't like it, but he can go stuff himself. Um. Why's that? He says that death is part of the mundane world. So it's not our jurisdiction. I used to agree. But after tonight? We need all the help we can get."That settles it. Welcome to the Unavowed, Logan."  KayKay's here, too. Don't forget that. Do you have a place to stay, Logan? I've got a place in the neighborhood. Great. You go home and get some sleep. We'll meet up first thing in the morning. I'm... looking forward to it.
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Jan 16, 2020 09:03
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Huh. Some 70s reject clothes. A tacky umbrella. An old doll...
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I'm not saying they deserved to be murdered by a demon or anything, and I know we didn't see them at their best, but I didn't like those people. I don't think we would be friends. I meant to post this sooner but I had a headache for almost a week, so I wasn't feeling up to it. Sorry about that.
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Jan 16, 2020 09:06
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I for one would not need demonic possession and mental shenanigans in order to murder someone who killed my dog. Jess did nothing wrong. Logan and KayKay need to be in the party at all times now, by the way, because the girl is the best character and I'm guessing can't communicate with us without her medium.
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Jan 16, 2020 11:00
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I think this case hits the hardest; it really makes you want a shower afterwards. It's also definitely the one I remember best. Part of it is that it's not very supernatural, what unfolded there was a perfectly possible family drama that spun way out of control. Where the rest of the cases tend to feature strong magical elements in the form of a magical creature wreaking havoc for whatever reason (usually due to abuse by humans, but that's a theme of the whole game) that let you distance yourself from it, this one is just people being massively lovely to each other. And that's more difficult to handle.
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Jan 16, 2020 11:07
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""He says that death is part of the mundane world. So it's not our jurisdiction. I used to agree. But after tonight? We need all the help we can get."" I agree, Death is part of the mundane world, but that is NOT what a bestower deals with, a bestower deals with spirits.
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Jan 16, 2020 11:12
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Black Robe posted:Logan and KayKay need to be in the party at all times now, by the way, because the girl is the best character and I'm guessing can't communicate with us without her medium.
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Jan 16, 2020 11:14
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Now that we have Logan, there's probably extra scenes (or actually maybe even main story) with all those ghosts we keep seeing around the place.
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Jan 16, 2020 11:31
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Tiggum posted:"'Herb is the healing of the nation' - Bob Marley."   That was really upsetting mostly otherwise though. But I'm glad to see that Logan's none the worse from it and KayKay is great.
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Jan 16, 2020 12:22
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It's a little dumb that we apparently didn't discuss any of this at the restaurant, instead waiting to have a three-sentence conversation in the sidewalk afterwards. I feel like that scene really should have been in the steakhouse.
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Jan 16, 2020 16:04
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Dude was too hungry for business, letting him eat first was the right idea or else he'd decline out of hangryness
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Jan 16, 2020 18:56
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Mzbundifund posted:It's a little dumb that we apparently didn't discuss any of this at the restaurant, instead waiting to have a three-sentence conversation in the sidewalk afterwards. I feel like that scene really should have been in the steakhouse. That would require modeling a restaurant and possibly waiting staff and other guests as characters to not make it weirdly abandoned, all for the sake of one exposition scene, that would never be revisited. In the spirit of smarter use of dev time and asset reuse, I think a little clunkiness is acceptable.
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Jan 16, 2020 20:13
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Yeah, this case was pretty sad, to put it mildly. The dog thing kind of hit harder for me since if memory serves there’s a picture of Jess with her and it’s a beagle like mine (which sadly confirms the loudness and chewing issues). Still they all felt like victims, and very cruelly hurt ones; I seriously doubt any of them would have crossed the lines they did without pushing. I half think the whole geist thing might be driven by the self loathing part of the experience really. One interesting thing; if you’re a guy character everything plays out the same, including seducing Art. There’s probably some worthwhile discussion on the LGBT aspects of that, but at minimum I’m kind of glad they didn’t do any sort of effort to alter the scene based on the protagonist.
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Jan 17, 2020 20:14
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 The orb bobs up and down before darting out the door as soon as we stand up. "???"   You are awake. Good. I have a question. Of a... personal nature. I hope you will answer it."Ask away." I appreciate you humoring me. Our missions have taken a very... personal nature. At least, as far as you are concerned. These visions you have seen of your demon-self. Could you tell me how they make you feel?"I am honestly not sure what to think yet." If that is honestly what you feel, then I can respect that. Thank you for sharing."Sure. Did you see a little blue... thing... fly by?" Yes. That would be KayKay, Logan's spirit guide. I admit, I was surprised to see her as well. Eli has a theory. He can explain it better than I."How's Logan fitting in?" It was... difficult for my father to accept a Bestower, but he understands the necessity. I am certain Logan will prove himself. As you have."Why were you so curious to know how I feel?" My concern is for your welfare. We must all watch out for each other, since nobody else will. One day, you will do the same for me."Any thoughts on that last mission?" I confess, hearing tales of putting lost souls to rest always gives me a certain... satisfaction. I can see the appeal in being a Bestower. Yet, I am glad I am not one."I'll leave you to it." I will see you at the meeting.  Hey. Shouldn't you get some sleep? We all need to be fresh tomorrow."Um. It IS tomorrow."  It is? Jesus. I really should put a clock down here."Burning the midnight oil?" Oh. A fire pun. Never heard that one before. I was reading about ghosts. Trying to learn more about the geists we saw. There must be millions of old texts and tomes on the subject. None of them have anything approaching solid facts. Still. There's GOT to be something. Somewhere."You seem to be taking this rather personally." Lost ghosts are turning geist on us. Of COURSE I'm taking it personally. What human being wouldn't? *sigh* I... really shouldn't let this stuff get to me. I've outlived a lot of people. I buried my wife over sixty years ago. Heck, my kids are in their 60s. I'm probably going to outlive them, too. And that's... okay. I've made my peace with it. But GEISTS? That their souls could be... twisted like that? I don't like it. Not at all."We have Logan now. If the worst happens, he'll help." I don't know him like you do, but I hope you're right."How is Logan fitting in?" He's an impressive guy. He's been out there for almost a year, all by himself. I think he's finally happy to have some backup."And KayKay?" Turns out we can see her now. Well, sort of."How?" Because Logan's officially joined the Unavowed! All members of the Unavowed share a spiritual bond, albeit a slight one. Logan and KayKay have a strong spiritual bond. It's what enables him to see and speak to her. Now that we're all linked, we're getting some... spillover, I guess. We can't speak to her, but we can kind of see her."Any thoughts on our last mission?" Seeing those geists with my eyes was bad enough, but I can only imagine what Logan saw. Once upon a time I wished I had a Bestower's power. Not anymore."Could you tell me about your family?" You don't know many parents, do you? Never ask a dad about his kids. He won't shut up. But yeah. You probably saw the pictures on the wall. I have two girls. Julie and Gloria. They look... quite a bit different now. "Are they Fire Mages too?" ... No. No they aren't. Thank God for that. They... don't exactly know about that. And they never will. They, um, think I'm dead. I faked my death, remember? When my power manifested, it attracted... the Hunters. The ones I told you about. The Hunters of Aldin. Creatures dedicated to hunting down all Fire Mages. That's why there are so few of us. They would have hurt my kids unless I died. So I did."I'm sorry. That must have been hard." Yeah. still is."I'm curious about that wedding picture."  Well, I can't deny that's me. Almost seventy years ago, that was taken. The cancer came about five years later. She was gone a few years after that. Donna was... young. Thirty-one? Seems so... mundane, doesn't it? When I think about all the things I've seen since. Just goes to show you don't need magic or monsters for something to be terrible."So you raised your kids by yourself?" Why is everyone always so surprised when they hear that? Yeah, I raised them both. Got them into a school near my office. We... figured it out."Tell me about them." Heh. I DID warn you about asking a dad about his kids, right? Well, here's the cliffnotes version. Gloria married a realtor and moved to Florida. They're both retired now. Julie got bit by the wanderlust bug and it hasn't let go. She hasn't settled down and probably never will. They... turned out fine. Dad or no dad."You keep tabs on them?" Once in a while. I might not be in their lives, but I'm still their father. What kind of dad would I be if I didn't watch out for them?"I'll leave you to it." Sorry for the brooding. See you at the meeting. Logan is relaxing on the sofa and fiddling with his phone. Whenever Logan has his phone out like this we can hear the Trollgate theme playing behind the regular background music. KayKay is slowly bobbing up and down.  Hey. You're finally up. You guys keep some late hours around here. Although... you used to work some pretty late shifts at Sammy's, didn't you?"You settling in okay?" This place is... well, I'm not sure I have the words. Either way, I'm here and I'm ready to help out. Anyway. I was told there'd be a meeting or something? Just let me know when it starts."What are you doing with your phone?" You ever hear of Trollgate? Some online game thing. KayKay is a... little obsessed with it. Oh don't deny it, KayKay. You totally are. You make me play this thing every chance we get. Anyway, that's what I'm doing. Role-playing a pink troll in a fairytale land, zapping goblins with magic. Okay. Okay. KayKay says they aren't goblins. They're called WHITTIKANS. Yeesh. Such a nerd. What? You are."That ball of light next to you..." That's no ball of light. That's KayKay. Seems you guys can see her? Eli was saying it was because we're all linked now or something. You'd have to ask him. I couldn't understand two words of it."Any thoughts on that last mission?" I think I'm just happy to walk more than two feet in any direction. I'm eager to MOVE. You need me to run out for coffee or pizza or anything? Just say the word."Could we talk about yourself?" I suppose we did lose touch after I stopped coming to the bar, huh? I did miss you and Sammy. But I was... kind of a mess back then. As you might remember."You weren't THAT bad." Oh yes I was. No need to sugar coat it. Jonah and I tore that place apart every weekend. I'm still on the wagon, though. I'm thankful for that. Thankful every day. Six years now. And with luck, one day more."I'm so sorry about Jonah." I am too. Sorry that he's dead. Not about anything... you did. KayKay was there. She told me what happened. It wasn't your fault. For what it's worth, he didn't become a lost ghost. He's... at peace."KayKay was there? In the bathroom with me and Jonah?" Yeah. She was Jonah's spirit guide at the time. She tried to stop it, but... Sorry. Talking about this upsets her. Let's talk about something else."How long have you been a Bestower?" About a year, give or take. One day I got the worst headache of my life. Then KayKay appeared and everything made a lot more sense."Things made sense after KayKay appeared?" Yeah. With Jonah. You know? He'd been acting strange for weeks. Jumping at shadows. Staring at stuff that wasn't there. I begged him to talk to me, but how could he? I wouldn't have believed him. You saw how he ended up. He just... couldn't handle it. When he died, I inherited his gift. And KayKay. She explained everything. Jonah wasn't crazy. He never was. And accepting this... gift? It's the only way I can honor him. So here we are."So aside from being a Bestower, you're mundane. Like me." I was never anyone particularly special. And honestly? I'm still not. So am I mundane? Sure. Mundane as mud."Can I ask you about KayKay?" Is... is that okay? She says it's okay."Why does she bob up and down like that?" She says she doesn't know, but honestly? I think she's messing with me. Why? Because you're ALWAYS messing with me."What does she look like?" Oh yeah. You only see a ball of light, right? I see a little girl. About ten years old. I... really? You sure it's okay? Well, okay. I have a picture on my phone of what she looked like. You know, when she was alive. She says it's cool if you want to see."I'd love to see the picture."  "She was so... young." I know. She was ten. Just... try not to make a big thing of it, okay?"How did she die?" ... Look, you never spoke to a ghost before, so you can't know this. You don't ask a ghost how they died. You just don't. It really upsets them. So... let's not do that, okay?"Okay. See you around, Logan. You too, KayKay." Talk later. Now where were we...He goes back to playing Trollgate and we walk over to Vicki.  You know, I nearly puked the first time I saw that ghost in Vinny's alley. But... now I know that it was just...lost. I'm glad Logan's on the team. Nobody deserves that. Nobody."Any thoughts on that last mission?" It's infuriating. Somewhere in Gun Hill precinct is some poor cop assigned to the Eddings house case. He'll never solve it. Ever. An unsolved case like that can haunt a cop their entire career. Make them hate themselves. Drive them to drink. I want to drop an anonymous tip in the mail, but what the hell do I say? "A demon did it?"I guess they'll never figure out the real reason for all of it, but I feel like they probably had enough evidence to close the file as murder, murder, suicide. I guess I just have to live with it.Kalash turns around.  A Bestower and spirit guide. In the Unavowed hall. More evidence that times are changing."Should we not have invited him to join?" I did not say that. I merely have... reservations. Bestowers deal with death. Mundane, mortal death. It is messy, fraught with emotion, and rarely pleasant. But... times are changing rapidly. We must adjust in kind. So. Shall we start the meeting?"Call the meeting."   So you met the new guy? The Bestower? Yes I have. Did I read the report correctly? You battled three poltergeists for two days and survived? Um. I wouldn't call it battling. I just kind of... sat there. Regardless. Anyone else entering that house would have been killed. You being there saved lives. ... Well, I was where I needed to be. That's all. No doubt. HOWEVER. A poltergeist should never have formed in the first place. Let alone three! How did this happen?"It was my demon. Again." *sigh* Of course it was. The demon turned the residents against each other. Then encouraged them to kill each other. Somehow, in the midst of all that... nasty, their souls got corrupted. Made them go geist. But again. We return to our old question. WHY? Why is the demon doing this? To what end? I admit, I am... confused. Have we exhausted every lead? Spoken to every witness? Is there anybody left? Well, not for nothing, but I got a ping on those prints from the Village Eye basement. A... ping. That is good, I assume. His name was Harry Taylor. 62 years old. Petty thief. Homeless since '09. Dropped off the radar about a year ago. I guess we know what happened to him. And this is relevant? I dunno. A name is more than we had before."No problem is unsolvable. At least until closing time." Time is closing in around us. I can only hope we are not too late. You all know your duty. Report back when you have new information. Meeting adjourned. ... Did he just- Yes.Time to take Logan to talk to Harry Taylor. And we can't have an all-newbie team, so we'll need either Mandana or Eli to babysit. So who will it be? Tiggum fucked around with this message at 11:46 on Jan 18, 2020 |
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Jan 18, 2020 05:48
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Bring Mandana. It's only fair since Eli took the last one.
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Jan 18, 2020 06:04
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Bring Mandana. It's only fair since Eli took the last one. That seems right.
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Jan 18, 2020 06:16
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Agreed, bring Mandana for a night on the town
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Jan 18, 2020 06:19
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Yep, I was right, Logan and KayKay joint best character that is just precious. I still like Eli better even if it is Mandana's turn.
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Jan 18, 2020 10:36
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Mandana's turn, and we should let Eli keep up his research into stuff.
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Jan 18, 2020 11:38
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Time to bring Mandana with us this time. I never want to leave Logan and KayKay out of the group now. KayKay's just too fun.
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Jan 20, 2020 01:42
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Black Robe posted:I still like Eli better even if it is Mandana's turn.
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Jan 23, 2020 07:03
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 They don't have wifi in the tunnels yet. So no. Sorry. Huh? Nothing. KayKay wants me to turn on Trollgate, but there's no signal down here. Kids and screens, right? Gotta set limits. I dunno about that. I figure if you die, you should be allowed to play as many videogames as you want.... So Logan. Is KayKay standing still? Or is she moving with the subway? What do you mean? She's not actually STANDING on the floor, right? So what's keeping her here? I mean, magic or not. That's just basic physics. I... don't know. I guess physics don't really apply to dead people? What do you think, KayKay? Heh. What? What did she say? Oh. She burped. Loudly. Huh.... Uh. Vicki? KayKay can see you staring, you know. Crap. Sorry, kid. ... Vicki. You're still doing it. Well, tell her to quit bouncing around like that. It's distracting. You can tell her yourself, you know. She's right there. *sigh* Hey KayKay, can you stop bobbing up and down? Please? She said no. Yeah, I guessed that.... No. Not now. Maybe later. Eh? Not you. KayKay keeps asking to see that movie. "Squirrel Team 13: Squirrels in London." They're still making those? I saw the first with my brother Mitch when I was, like, ten. We made our dad play the theme song in our car for months. Great. You HAD to mention the theme song. Now she's gonna be singing it all day. Heh. Sorry.... drat it. What? Is everything okay? Just checked the score. The Yanks are down 1 in the 6th inning against the Sox, so no. You're a baseball fan? Have you met a cop family? The order of religions is Catholic, Football, Baseball. Heh. I used to take my kids to games in the summer time. Back when the Mets were worth rooting for. Sorry, that was when again? Ouch.  Logan! Jeeze where have you been? Uh... We missed you at the last few meetings. We've been worried. Dude. It's call Alcoholics ANONYMOUS for a reason. Oh. Crap. Sorry. It's fine. Whatever. I'll be at the next one. Promise. Gonna hold you to that.  So Eli. You know about Bestowers? About folks like me? A bit. The records are spotty, but there are some. What do they say? Nothing that's relevant anymore. The supernatural world has changed. You mean things got better? Or worse? Things got... busier. I'll say that much. Well, keeping busy is important. So I'll take it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srN7fsZrUio  This is, um, not what I expected to see down here. Hey. You look a bit lost. Maybe we can help. Hello? Who's there?"Eli? Did you hear the ghost talk?"  I did! We must be getting some psychic spillover from Logan. We should have hired a Bestower years ago.Probably could have saved Rosangela some trouble too.  Shhh! Let me work, here. I... I... what's going on? Who are you? I'm Logan Brown. This is KayKay. I don't know you. You don't know me. You shouldn't be here. Are you Harry Taylor? ...you know me? I know of you. Oh. I see. So it worked! What do you mean, "it worked"? The pain. It's all gone. The ritual must have worked. Thank God. Whatever happened here... I don't think it worked. I'm sorry. But... but it HAD to. The master promised. Jordon. Wendy. They all promised... All I had to do was bleed a little. Just a little. Wendy lifted the knife and then... Oh. Yeah. I'm sorry. And you're here to... Help you the rest of the way. I see. Will it... will it hurt? No. The hard part's over. Just take KayKay's hand, okay? Okay.... All right. He's gone.Suddenly the room shakes. Um. Does that usually happen? No. No that never happens. Maybe we should get out of here? I was about to suggest the same thing. A voice from the back of the room demands to know "Who disturbs my grove?"   Ah. Melkhiresa. It is you. I was wondering if you would ever come back. Have you brought more worshippers at last?"Melkhiresa?" That is you, is it not? I would recognise those pouty lips anywhere. That spirit was the only worshipper I had left, and you destroyed him! Worshipper? That was no worshipper. He was just someone who needed help. So we helped him. Hm. A Bestower. Rare as hen's teeth, you are. You can not resist your nature. I can not fault you. Nevertheless. Melkhiresa and I had an ARRANGEMENT."My name isn't Melkhiresa." That was the name you gave me. The one you made our bargain with. Have you forgotten EVERYTHING? The power to heal in exchange for worshippers. THAT was our arrangement. Do you intend to honor it? Look. Whatever deal you made, it wasn't with her. A Fire Mage? I thought Aldin's hunters put you all to death. You keep interesting company, Melkhiresa. I believe I understand now. You joined THEM. The Unavowed. The ones who banished me to the North Woods."The North Woods is 80 blocks north of here." I KNOW this. This grove was created with magic that I gave you. Making it an extension of my domain in the North Woods. Completely in line with the terms of my banishment, if not the spirit of them. But that's Jinns for you. Always so literal. Wait. Jinn? You saying Mandana banished you? I speak of Kalash. Does he still live? Sure he does. I'll tell him hi. We're done here. Now let us go, before I burn this place to the ground. No. I don't believe so.Vines grow up from the floor, grab Eli and drag him down into the ground. Jesus! Bestower. Melkhiresa. You are free to go. Tell Kalash to come to my grove in the North Woods. I want to renegotiate the terms of our agreement. Galene of the North Woods. It has been... awhile. It should have been me. Why was I left behind? Eli is NOT a fighter. Leading him into danger was irresponsible. And would you have fared better? I do have SOME experience in combat, father. You weren't there. It happened too quick. There's nothing you could've done. Perhaps. Perhaps not. Guys. We need facts. We need data. Who is this tree-lady anyway? You said you imprisoned her? It was centuries ago. This city was just forming. It was taking over her forest. She... resented it. She was a danger. She was... hurting people. Killing them. She had to be contained."How was she able to overpower Eli so easily?" Good question. Can't Eli throw fire? How'd he get taken by a thing made of WOOD? Galene is cunning. Her experience extends back thousands of years. If she could not defend against fire magic by now, I would be disappointed. But rest assured. Galene WILL pay for taking Mage Beckett."She said she wants to 'renegotiate terms.'" If she wants to negotiate, that means she has something to negotiate WITH. In other words, Eli is alive. I have no doubt. I'm coming with you father. I will hear no argument. I would not dream of saying otherwise."I'm going too." Yes. Galene knows you. Or at least, she knows the demon that was within you. That can definitely be used to our advantage. And get some answers in the bargain. Hey, KayKay and I were THERE when everything went down. We're going too. You ain't leaving me behind either. This is a NEGOTIATION. Not a battle. Only the three of us are needed. But... your zeal is appreciated."This is a trap, right? It's obviously a trap." No poo poo. You don't invite the enemy to your door without a reason. You forget that I defeated her once, when her forest covered the entire island. Now she has only a tiny grove. Her power is a mere fraction of what it was."Okay. So let's go." Yes. The sooner the better. Good luck out there. Be safe. Father. Have you... renewed your veil recently? I do not believe so. Ah. Well. Perhaps... you should renew your veil? Later. We have more important things to worry about. Mage Beckett and Galene are the task ahead. Anything else is trivial. You are... not wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCTXqDfbCaU  Galene! You have requested an audience. I am here.... GALENE! Welcome, O High and Mighty Jinn. As a welcome, it is a poor one. Show yourself! I cannot leave my grove, remember? You saw to that. But I have your pet Mage. He is in good condition. Mostly! LEAVE HIM BE!Mandana draws her sword. Is that little Mandana? My how you've GROWN. You were just a sapling when I saw you last. I grew up. That you have. You keep interesting company, Kalash. Come to my grove. We have MUCH to discuss. Sheathe that sword. She is baiting you. We are here to NEGOTIATE. With all due respect, father. Words will NOT work with her. And you know it. Eli! Stay strong!Mandana runs ahead. Mandana! STOP! *sigh* I blame her mother for this. Let us follow her.  Eli! Wake up. We're here. He is... not responding. The vines. They are drugging him. Keeping him asleep. No matter. I'll soon make short work of them. It will take mere seconds for my pets to crush them to death. Can you free them in time? Galene! Show yourself! Kalash. You've gotten old. I have evolved. You are just as petulant as ever. You expect me to be overjoyed to see you? Grateful? You took my FOREST. And I want it BACK."You want the North Woods?" This tiny scrap? What do you take me for? What do you want, Galene? What does anyone want from a jinn? I want a wish. ..."You grant wishes, Kalash?" ... Silence. The last refuge of a Jinn who cannot bear the truth. My forest once covered this entire island. It shall be so again. THAT is my wish. Out of the question. Would you let your precious minions die instead? ..."You can turn New York into a forest, but you can't just KILL HER?" I... cannot. A jinn's power does not work like that. You want a wish, Galene? Then you must FIGHT for it. Here is your wish, Galene. In physical form. As long as I live, it will remain encased in crystal. Face me in combat. Kill me, and the crystal will break. Granting you what you desire. I have your daughter and pet Mage at my mercy. Why should I bargain with you? Kill them and your wish will never be granted. You will remain trapped here. Forever. What say you?"What are you DOING?" Serving the Unavowed. I cannot let them perish. Not while it is in my power to save them. The traditional Rules of Engagement apply? They do. Then I accept. Let this woman be the witness. It is done. Then let us begin. I am ready Kalash. Whenever you are. As Kalash's axe strikes Galene she shatters and blows away. Hmph. Like a toothless hound. All bark. No bite."That was surprisingly easy." Easy for YOU, perhaps. I haven't swung an axe in centuries. Now to the business at hand. Freeing our friends. Augh! You really thought I could be so easily defeated? HERE. In my own grove? I draw my LIFE from this place. As long as IT lives, so do I.She drops him. So tired so soon? Get up. Give me your best shot.Kalash strikes again, and again Galene is seemingly destroyed. I... feel strange. Something is wrong. What... is... it?"Are you all right?" I feel... odd. That is certain."Can't you call this off?" Absolutely not. The Rules of Engagement... they cannot be broken. They must be obeyed to the letter."The Rules of Engagement?" You... don't know the rules? No. Of course you don't. Here. Take it. QUICK. Galene reappears and strikes Kalash again. Feeling dizzy, Kalash? Tired? What... are you doing to me? Conium maculatum. Have you heard of it? Hemlock... Yes. My own personal strain. Concentrated so densely it can even weaken the mighty jinn. Now get up, old man. I've been waiting centuries for this.When Kalash strikes Galene again we take the opportunity to grab Mandana's sword. This is... this is... not going as planned.Galene strikes Kalash again. Don't worry. With bed rest and plenty of fluids, the toxins will just drain out of your body. But you have to kill me first. Now get up and fight.He hits her once more. Maybe... I killed her... this time? ... Ah. The terms of engagement. You've found the loophole.Whomever deals the death blow shall be declared the winner. It doesn't say that it has to be one of the combatants. Obviously that would be the reasonable interpretation, but we're dealing with a Jinn here. Taking the literal interpretation rather than the common sense one is kind of their thing. "Is there no other way?" There is ALWAYS another way. Perhaps we could think of some, given enough time. But time is luxury we do not have. I can not defeat her. That is the truth. So do it. Be declared the winner. You will be granted one wish. Use it wisely. Through the neck. It is... quickest. Hurry! Before she reforms."So I just wish you alive again when I'm done. Right?" NO! The wish will be powered by my death. Negate that, and the paradox could tear a hole in the universe! You will be given a great power. PLEASE don't waste it."Mandana will never forgive me." She is my daughter. She will see the truth of it. What? Impossible! You CHEAT! That wish was MINE! "You made me kill Kalash." He was about to die ANYWAY. What? She... speaks true. Father is gone. And good riddance! Trapping me here. Did he think I'd stay QUIET? I would highly recommend it. Fine. LEAVE. You have your precious wish. Do with it what you will.But what will we do with our wish?  Do we wish for Galene to be made harmless, turned to stone, or dead?
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Jan 24, 2020 09:58
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Both Stone option and Peaceful option let her keep on living in some way, she will definitely try ruleslawyering her way to get petty revenge eventually. So DEAD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPQnhhUqtU
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Jan 24, 2020 11:26
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Harmless I'm guessing the same thing happens when trying to rescue if it's Mandana instead of Eli? Cant help but feel we missed out on some kind of "Green New Deal" compromise. Stupid demon, forest NYC could have been pretty sweet. Like Taipei or something. Good grief, that song. Man, I have not thought about Total Distortion in forever.
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Jan 24, 2020 11:43
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She could have suggested any number of mutually beneficial deals, (stacked in her favour of course) which we could have accepted. Instead she bet the farm on what was doomed to get into a mortal combat, therefore I reaffirm my suggestion that she not be left anything but dead.
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Jan 24, 2020 12:58
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Peace
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Jan 24, 2020 13:12
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Meh, she wasn't that bad until she killed our blue buddy. If she didn't make us do that I'd say take the peaceful route. Now? Get stoned
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Jan 24, 2020 13:23
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PEACE for making us murder grandpa, death is an end to suffering. We can't just save the wish though? I figured it'd be a gun on the shelf for later.
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Jan 24, 2020 13:23
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By popular demand posted:She could have suggested any number of mutually beneficial deals, (stacked in her favour of course) which we could have accepted. Admittedly, we don't know the full context of her original imprisonment, but it is uncomfortably similar to some insanely lovely colonialism. And on further thought, all three options suck for her - even the "nice" one is basically "stay penned up on your rez until some rear end in a top hat property developer decides to pave over your last scrap of forest to put up a parking lot.". Man, literally everything your demon touches is like, layered in poo poo.
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Jan 24, 2020 13:29
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I can think of many more useful things to wish for. Why do we have to waste it on crazy plant lady. Stone and dog piss. If we're gonna waste it let's really waste it.
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Jan 24, 2020 13:49
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Peace, because we have to take the high road here. The Unavowed are not about punishing, but about fixing. And you can't fix death (mostly).
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Jan 24, 2020 14:39
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Black Robe posted:I can think of many more useful things to wish for. Why do we have to waste it on crazy plant lady. Crazy plant lady ain't going to give up. Why would she? Also I'm pretty sure the wording of the harmless wish means she cant hit the eject button like the police captain did. 
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Jan 24, 2020 15:47
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She's just going to keep trying to destroy New York no matter what you do. Just kill her.
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Jan 24, 2020 16:27
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Wadjet's got a fairly deep discount on a lot of their games for the sale going on so I grabbed a few including the Blackwell stuff. I'm partway through Unbound and every single time one of the Blackwells crumples like a loving rag upon entering their mind path to the afterlife or whatever i can't help but chuckle. I'm not usually much for adventure games but they've been a blast so far, so thanks for this LP and for opening my eyes to them 
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Jan 24, 2020 16:53
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Choosing Peace is the moral high road and also the option she'll hate the most, so I say we take it.
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Jan 24, 2020 18:04
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I say peace. It's in character with how Paige has resolved major opponents thus far. Also, you never know if our demonic squatter has a contingency plan to take advantage of a dead dryad's magical forest.
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Jan 24, 2020 18:28
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