[text - where the memes at.]

[goldpoints]

[look out cave, someone's excited and painfully new.]

OH MAN A CHARGED PHONE

YIU HAVE INTERNET

CAVE INBTERNET

IM SO HAPPY EVEN IF IT MAKES NO SENSE

[It's been...so long... She's gonna cry. Anyway, there's more than just screaming to do on the internet, even if it's been way more time than any modern eighteen-year-old deserves. Well, for...her, at least. Some of her friends might have been content with screams and memes.]

Wheres the cave news site and a chargrt pls

Comments

[goldpoints]

[oh, bigby. you like her. admit it!]

you said you couldn't get picture on yoiur tv mister

[She could correct him on the year, but...honestly, it was like that in the 90s, too, as much as she could remember. Not much.]

couple ppl have mentioned it so far. it doesn't exist for real where I'm from it's just story stuff. one person said they were actually made of magic.

[sweariff]

it's a legitimate problem
i don't know what kind of fancy ones you have in the future, but good luck trying to get ours to work without performing a ritual sacrifice and jiggling the knob ten dozen times

[So overdramatic.]

did any of them say where they were from? did you get a certain impression from any of them?
something that fit the story stuff you're familiar with?

[If there are other Fables here, he has to know.]

[goldpoints]

ok sure [grandpa.]

uh well one said he was from an underground city that wasn't this one? I'm p sure the other one was an alien. he got too annoyed to not be. nothing all that familiar to me. everyone's just kinda weird.

[That's kind of...an odd question? Maybe that's normal for him and she just doesn't know yet. Well:] why?

[sweariff]

nothing, probably

[But he might as well be painting a big read sign on himself saying, 'I'M KING LIAR, PLEASE QUESTION ME AND MY SUSPICIOUS BULLSHIT,' so he might as well keep it simple and (relatively) truthful.]

to answer your question, yeah, i know what magic is
i can't vouch for everyone else, but it's very real where i'm from

[goldpoints]

[She's prodded enough for now. Time for a retreat so she can push for a lot more information < I>later when there's more connection.]

huh. is it cool?

[sweariff]

no
it's the furthest thing from cool
and you might not want my advice, but you're getting it anyhow:
stay away from it

[goldpoints]

[ y i k e s ]

got it

I was feeling iffy about the clinic's "healing" anyway. sounds too unbelievavble.

[sweariff]

[...Well, that was easy.]

i was talking more about the people trying to sell it to you like it's something big and exciting that can take away all your problems and then some
that's rarely the case, especially with dark magic, which this i'm sure this place is swimming with
white magic's different, though. it doesn't come from a bad place.
was someone offering to heal your arm?

[goldpoints]

[Bigby was a good dude, as far as she could tell. Might not know his way around a television, but he was clearly experienced in other matters. That his advice fell in line with her own misgivings was really only a small part of her quick agreement.]

not really? they said the clinic coiuld do it but didn't exactly give me a buncha details

[sweariff]

i'm assuming it's healing magic they're talking about or something similar
that's good; you want that
all i'm saying is to be careful about getting involved with stuff like this
it's okay to trust your gut. if it seems too good to be true, it probably is

[He's never had much love for mundies getting involved magic. He supposes he's never given it much thought, though; as long as it stayed far, far away from Fabletown, it was never really his business anyway. And of course, he's never had any reason, necessary or otherwise, to really talk about it with one face-to-face like this.]

i'd look into that place a little more. see what you can find
no sense in lugging around a broken arm if someone can fix it

[goldpoints]

[nnnnh but magic sounds weird and scaaaary... and what if this place has similarly-manipulative doctor types? Well, she can look, anyway. No need to commit to a decision either way.]

a broken arm can last that long can it?? I'm actually asking

[sweariff]

[Oh no, he just pulled a DARE on her, didn't he? What DARE did to drugs, he just did with magic.]

i dunno, i'm not a doctor
i know they need to be set so they can heal properly and if they aren't that's bad

[goldpoints]

[It's not exactly horrible advice!]

ok so I'm p much alreadfy most of the way there!!

[sweariff]

hotaru, did i scare you?

[goldpoints]

lol?? I'm fine! don't worry old man.

[sweariff]

that's teen speak for yes, isn't it

[goldpoints]

ok here's the thing

ecverything is kinda scary right now? it's not you saying or doing something to scare me it's more like

you're back to being a voice in my heasd telling me what I'm already thinking lol

[sweariff]

[...Oh.]

that wasn't my intention
i mean. sort of.

i guess i thought you'd be more... i'm not sure if overzealous was the right word, but it's the closest that comes to mind
most people seem to have the wrong idea about magic. it gets them in trouble.
but i want to be the one who helps just as much the one who sets the record straight
if that makes sense

[goldpoints]

there's still stuff like

hey it would be pretty cool to fly

you know stuff like that?

but I've been p disillusioned when it comes to sdtuff like this. real life isn't as cool as tv wants you to think.

anyway you rly don't have to feel bad, it's not like I'm crying abouyt it or anything. like I said I was already on thge fence abt the clinic.

[sweariff]

nah, it really isn't
not as much as you're told
but i think, under the right circumstances and if the conditions are met, and if you're lucky enough, it can be
that stuff can be doable

[Bigby's never had the chance to fly, but if he's gonna be totally honest... He's not sure he'd want to if he could. Heights are just ehhhhh. No, EHHHHH, all caps.]

i'll check it out, see what they have to offer. it'd be good to see what type of people they have working for them anyway.

[goldpoints]

that's rly lame and sweet, thx

[...listen, she can't pull every punch. poetic monologues are for losers, as much as she likes them.]

you didn't get hurt did you????

[sweariff]

i was actually being completely literal, but thanks?

...no? but i'd like to know what these people are peddling and if there's a price on it, like your doctor friend did
i met a woman in the arena who said she was a guard here, and if there's a clinic too, that tells me the people here have had a good long time to get mobilized

[Fat lot of good it's done them in the meantime, but shhh. Be quiet, cynicism.]

[goldpoints]

yeah but it still sounds lame and sweet

ok well good because if you ghot hurt I'd have to punch you

there's a guide that says it's been a year since tghis started :(

[sweariff]

you couldn't punch me

[You're too noodly and he's too big. 5'8 is pretty intimidating to a teen girl, right??]

well if it lasts any longer, it's not going to keep going the way it has with all of us in the dark groping around like assholes trying to figure out what to do next
something's gotta give
might as well be now, might as well be with us

[goldpoints]

[She's only a few inches shorter!!! She's a basketball girl, man. Come on...]

I could punch you it's just a mattwer of whether or not it would hurt

sounds like you're setting up for a cave rebellion