013 [Video]

[lifetothefullest]

This is long overdue, but Tranquility's post and some of the responses to it made it apparent that we needed a new summary of what's going on, especially for anyone who's arrived in only the last few months. I've put together a brief history here, specifically for the conflict between the Null and the gods, the issue of the rogue Null in the city, and the Door.

[Also hi, everyone. Lance is serious business at the moment, but it's just 'focused' serious rather than 'everything is awful' serious. Which is a nice change for him, honestly.]

Hopefully that'll kind of help a little, and feel free to ask questions or make corrections, especially if you've been here longer or know more than I do about this; it's also a pretty brief summary, so if I left out anything you think is important just say so. Remember, though, that this is supposed to be facts, not editorializing about who's telling the truth or what side to be on.

[And okay, all of that said--]

It's also been awhile since I mentioned it, so for everyone new, I'm Dr. Lance Sweets; I'm a clinical psychologist. Adjusting to being here--as well as dealing with everything that can happen in this place--can be kind of difficult, especially when you don't know anyone, so I just wanted to mention that it's always okay to call or send me a message, even if we've never met. It also doesn't have to be an emergency; you're not wasting my time, so don't worry about anything like that.

[He won't mention it but he's usually not doing anything important; it would be hard to waste his time even if he were the type to call it such a thing.]


[[ooc: Just a brief mention here that although Lance is totally willing to meet with people for therapy sessions, I'd prefer to start handwaving these meetings unless we do prior planning for them, mostly because I'm absolutely not a psychologist and so threading them out is not easy. However, I'm definitely still interested in oocly discussing what they might've talked about and what Lance might've suggested, so just send me a PM!]]

Comments

text;

[dedikated]

Null attacked a location we moved to after Love revived. Were you there for that? City was split over two planets.

( She's fuzzy on all the details, because they're muddled in amongst three years of being home, but she can't exactly forget being stuck in the cave without proper food or light, with the monsters unable to be held at bay. )

text;

[lifetothefullest]

I think I arrived immediately after that; I remember hearing something from Rosen about the city being split.

[But honestly Lance doesn't remember much of anything from that first month aside from conversations here and there, so he's really hazy on it.]

That was the Null? Did we know that at the time?

[Because he's a little surprised he didn't know about this, actually.]

audio.

[circumitus]

Might be good to note that the Door is something much older than the gods here, alive and dangerous. Apparently the gods can't be near it for very long, and anything else with an iota of sentience risks being driven mad or worse. Something to keep in mind before people make any plans to start excavating the Colosseum.

[She pauses. Right. Most of this isn't very public knowledge so far, is it.]

This info was given to me by Sorrow himself, and he's been pretty honest so far.

hardcore threadjack

[hot_mes]

...seriously? Damn.

That's going to make things difficult.

audio.

[lifetothefullest]

So the Door's an eldritch abomination.

[That's... Oddly appropriate, he supposes. But okay, this is useful info.]

Did he say anything about whether the pieces might cause similar effects?

audio; jumps in here

[dedikated]

...Makes sense.

( Though Kate says that bitterly. She's determined to get to the Door somehow, but it makes an unfortunate amount of sense. )

Thing's showing power levels I haven't seen before where it is. ( Underground, when only the most powerful flares of ability should even be a whisper through a wall, let alone 24 feet below. She still looks, a lot, but the headaches it causes are a pain and a half. ) Not always. But enough.

( Sometimes it disappears entirely, and she can't be sure if that's reassuring, if it's a chance they could use, or something far worse. )

text

[abbatis]

Is it sentient?

Text

[theweakhavepurpose]

this is fucking insane.

just like back home.

but thanks for summing up this bullshit for people who dont know whats going on like me.

Text

[lifetothefullest]

You're welcome. Did you arrive a few days ago?

audio; (and might respond slow for a bit, sorry!)

[tenuousmorality]

Thank you very much for the information.

This place certainly seems even more messy than I had initially thought. How...disheartening.

[Also intriguing. Very much so.]

audio; (no worries!)

[lifetothefullest]

You're welcome.

It is complicated, but the more we know the more we can make sense of it, at least. It was worse knowing pretty much nothing about the situation.

[That's... About as encouraging as he can be about this whole mess.]

video

[survivethis]

[Jill takes a quick look at the files. Guess she has some homework to do.]

Thanks for the reading material. This'll give me something to do before bed. Not that I expect to sleep much after just getting here.

[Although she was told she's been here before, Jill doesn't entirely feel comfortable here yet.]

video

[lifetothefullest]

You're welcome. Did you just arrive this month?

[Since 'just got here' could easily mean this month or the previous one. And she does look vaguely familiar to him, but not enough to place where and so who knows, maybe he's seen her on the network before.]

[audio]

[synthedick]

Thanks for putting this together, Doc. You mind if I attach it to the guide?

[audio]

[lifetothefullest]

Sure, of course; I hope it helps out with some of the confusion for the newer arrivals. It really isn't fair to throw them into making decisions without information.

text

[abbatis]

Thank you. This is the most useful thing I've seen posted here.

text

[lifetothefullest]

You're welcome; I'm glad it helps.

private

[evocation]

hey, no burning yourself out again, okay?

private

[lifetothefullest]

I'm okay, Kyna, don't worry. Writing a document is almost nostalgic, for me.

[He has two doctorates and a few books, after all.]

And I won't overdo it on the counseling, I promise.

private text;

[nonscriptum]

try not to wear too many hats, doc

i know you like to keep busy, but last time i checked you're only human

private text;

[lifetothefullest]

That was last time you checked. I've ascended.

[Okay not really, but still.]

I'm fine, really. Writing up a document so I don't see the same questions over and over again is a net positive.

How have you been?

video; WHAT IF I JUST-

[madambutterfly]

Kind of you, to offer that service completely gratis.

[Stupid. She means stupid, even if her tone is polite and even.

There isn't a material currency here to speak of, and neither are there any official businesses that don't run on a barter system, but even Maeve knows the value in exchange.]

I recently arrived, so the welcome is appreciated.

video; awyeah

[lifetothefullest]

It's in everyone's best interests to have as much information as possible, especially when we're making decisions that affect everyone.

[He offers it half as an explanation and half as a rebuttal; he did do it out of the goodness of his head, but also because people here have enough trouble making good decisions even without missing half the picture.]

Did you come in this month?

[Since 'recent' can vary.]

[possidetur]

What happened to the weapons?

[lifetothefullest]

I'm not sure about all of them. I think some were destroyed, but they may not all be accounted for; the people who got them weren't exactly the trustworthy types.

[So tracing their activities is easier said than done, considering they were or are often quite secretive and shady.]