engage_the_enemy | [IC] Inbox!

[Well, that already doesn't bode well. Then again, any amount of time with a god is too long!]

i was worried about that. you said you didnt know much about the fourth, right? i dont know who talked you into this, but what /did/ they tell you? i doubt it was the whole story, but i wont jump to conclusions yet

I do know that he wants to help us and that he opposes the Fog God. I know he keeps the fog from messing with us as much, which theoretically may slow transformations even if nothing's proven.

I know that he tried to bring some people here the same way that she does and it went hinky somehow, but I don't think it's fair to blame him for that. He can't have meant for it to happen.

so you werent told anything about where he came from? how do you know he wants to help us? the incident you described, what ultimately happened wasnt his fault, no, but why did he try to bring more people here at all? why did he try to do exactly what she's done to us? has he contacted you in any way?

I know where he came from. I think he was angry and frightened and trying to find a way to turn the tables if he could. He hasn't done it again since, has he? He very well could have, and if the idea was to hurt people he probably would have.

I haven't spoken to him except through the pinball machine.

[He thinks that's the Fourth God, anyway.]

He possesses it. Sometimes he'll play a game or two.

yeah. to be honest, i dont hold any ill will towards him with regards to that. but that doesnt make it right for him to use us, or anyone else. if he wants help, he should come forward and tell us that but...youre the first person who's mentioned something like that. but again, i know someone who follows him. he's never spoken to her, and she's been loyal for months. when is he going to repay that? loyalty should be mutual he'll force you to fight too, did you know that? you see a fog follower, and you won't be able to help yourself ive also discussed with others the possibility that he's been corrupted by the fog god's power. again, not his fault, but it makes him a dangerous entity to follow. he might be scared and hurt, or he might be as twisted and heartless as she is now. there's no telling are you going to risk yourself out of sympathy, then? what does he offer you that prompts you to stay?

[There's a long pause, about two minutes or so, before he responds to that.]

You remember what I said to you the first day we met, about how you can't ever really trust anyone?

I don't trust him, not completely. That would be insane. But I do think some of the things he wants to do in the long term have merit to them and I

I don't want to be a monster. I've seen what she corrupts people into and if joining up with the lesser of two evils is going to keep me from being that far gone then you can bet your ass I'm going to do it. We can't fight her on our own. It's like bringing a whole mess of butter knives to a gun fight. We -need- someone who's also got a gun.

[He's being a little more frank here than he was on the network; there he has to present things as well as possible if there's any hope of anyone actually wanting to join up. Privately, he's a little more cautious, if no less optimistic. There's some downsides to every choice in this scenario but at least this choice gives him the option of doing something more than sitting around twiddling his thumbs and waiting for a rescue that's never coming.]

i remember but allying with him has already put you in danger, it doesnt matter if you dont trust him! you'll still follow his orders, under a pretense that he can do these things you want to believe he's capable of and maybe he is, or will be, but how do you know he'll follow through? how do you know he'll be any better than her? in the end, youre still a monster. when has he ever changed that for anyone? thats a broken promise already and even if siding with him gives you the chance to fight, it's for his battle, and not yours. if you want to do something to save everyone from the fate you fear so much, then join those who would see them both destroyed, or contained ...ask him, actually, if he's willing to be sealed away. and if he'll accept being sealed away with her. or perhaps, ask if he's willing to share portions of his power. if he can't fight her directly, then give it to someone who can but killing her, it's a risk too, because he could absorb her power, and lose himself in it. it's better if we trust those around us, rather than beings that are too far gone. please, you have to see reason

[Yes, he's basically asking you to fight a god with your bare hands, Fiddleford. It's not an appealing alternative, but Shulk would like to believe it's doable.

Almost impossibly hard, but doable.

To a scared man, it's probably crazy talk.]

[There's a lot there to address and he knows if he does they'll be arguing in circles for hours. Best to not even bother.]

You won't change my mind. I know it's a risk, but it's no more of a risk than any other option open to me. If I spend all my time thinking on all the ways this could go wrong it'll be twenty years before I'm done and ready to start making actual progress, and that's twenty years we don't have.

And it is my battle. She dragged me here and did this to me. Because of her I'm never going to see my son again. My fight with her is plenty personal.

[He probably knows better than to argue with a stubborn teenager to begin with - only kids have the energy for that sort of runaround.

Shulk can already see this is a losing fight, regardless. He couldn't turn Yuzu away from this path, and he's not going to convince this fellow. Maybe he really is a coward, for not having this kind of resolve and pursuing a clearer path than waiting, waiting for a chance that might never exist.]

i see i have a friend, who's just like you. she wants to see everyone home, and she'd do anything to pursue that goal. she's done a lot already. she makes me believe it's possible to find that way home if theres a few things i can offer you still, it's these: it's hard, but if there ever comes a time, you can renounce him. you can renounce your loyalty. you just have to want your freedom, and to toss away the key. i suppose im just used to seeing this as a point of no return, but it's not quite that way, not here and...im unhappy with your decision, but ill support you like i support her. i offer my friendship, no matter what happens, and if you ever need help, or someone to listen, i can give that to you only if you wish, yeah, but i think it's...probably a good idea to have connections on the outside, you know?

[Fiddleford would call that a lot of things, but not cowardly.]

I never planned on not being your friend. I meant what I said in my original post about it taking all sorts of people. This is my choice. I don't think less of anyone else for not making the same one.

[He'll worry about them, yes. Wish maybe they saw things more his way, or would at least give the Fourth a shot. But at least for now he's not far gone enough to hate someone simply for not having a fancy keycard in their pocket.]

it's not that, it's just some people pull away. thats what i was afraid of. i didnt want you to think that i didnt want to be your friend anymore, either. nothing could change that, if im honest. its times like these when we need our friends most of all if you can argue with me like this, actually, im less worried than i was. you sound like someone who's retained your sense of self. keep that up, and i may well feel a bit silly. worried still, but yeah with that in mind...are you alright? i wont ask further if you dont want to talk about it, but that person you were fighting with...it seemed really bad

[Very, very bad.]

[He could say he doesn't want to talk about it. He probably should, be the bigger man and all, but that petty part of him that can't stand being slighted is clamoring for a chance to be salty.]

I wouldn't even know where to begin to explain it. Probably doesn't matter. The main point of it is I should have trusted my own judgement and stayed well clear of him from the moment I first showed up here.

[And what are friends for if not absorbing the salt?

He's not going to ask about the memory wiping, yet. One thing at a time.]

ill admit i didnt understand a lot of it, but i do know what its like to be betrayed i know what its like to think maybe things could be different, too its not wrong to want that. im sorry he hurt you though, you deserve to be treated as well as you treat others. youre a good person, Fiddleford

Thank you. I don't feel like it much lately.

I just wish he had told me when I saw what happened in that mirror. He could have put his pride aside for me just once. I was -only- his best friend. I should have just erased him entirely. I could have.

youre not alone. not that thought helps, uh sorry

[And...oh. Alright, Fiddleford brings up that uncomfortable topic himself. That confusing, upsetting one.]

Fiddleford, did you really...did you actually erase your memories? why would you do that? he was awful to you, but wouldnt it be better to remember and avoid him than going through it again? what magic let you do that?

It wasn't magic, it was science. And I don't

Well. Obviously I don't remember why, not firsthand, though now I reckon I can take a pretty good guess from what I've pieced together. We were working on a device together. A portal to other worlds. That much I still have. At some point we tested it and I was pulled in and saw -something-, something that convinced me it was too dangerous and would destroy our reality. I think what I saw must have been that demon, Bill, or whatever his home was like.

And the thing is I was right. Someone from both our futures is here and according to her, Bill's in the middle of stomping the Earth flat. I was -right- and he chose the dang portal over me, refused to shut it down, and left me to deal with what I'd seen all on my own. Of course I destroyed my memories of it. That's not the kind of thing a man wants to know exists. It's not the kind of thing a man wants to know about his best friend. I knew he was trouble. It was better not to know exactly why I knew.

a portal to other worlds? worlds like this one? if it only connected to that world, your friend shouldnt have pursued it. im sorry he didnt listen to you. maybe he didn't believe you friends are supposed to trust one another but i dont know if forgetting was the answer. that didnt do you any good either. its hard to think badly of someone you trusted and care about, especially when you gave them another chance it's hard, but its doable. you wouldnt have had to suffer like this again. Fiddleford, what are you going to do now that you cant wipe your memories this time?

It wasn't just him I wanted to forget.

[Well that sure as hell isn't ominous.]

But if I've survived near on four months without being able to unsee the things I've seen here, then I can keep going. I'll be fine.

[It's not fine. It's just eating away at his brain in a different way. Slower, sure, and harder to pick up on, but he's coming apart bit by bit all the same.]

[That's...yeah, that's extremely ominous, but too cryptic to really gauge what's behind it. It could be one thing, two, or myriad troubles bubbling under the surface.

But he's inclined to believe Fiddleford can be okay.]

yeah. thats a good point, actually. youve not only seen these things, youve lived them. and youre still here i know you can keep getting stronger too. it just felt shaky there, seeing you talk like that but alright. i understand now. take care of yourself, as you have been

[IC] Inbox!

<shulk> liquidates everything TOO BAD

<hadron> noooOOOOO his various loveseats and ottomans :c

<shulk> theyre ugly anyway shhh. also 'went hinky' im

<hadron> went hinky is my favorite fiddlefordism i think

<shulk> he has so many isms. went hinky is a defining one in several ways

<hadron> instead of writing out a history section from now on i should just put 'shit went hinky'

<shulk> with an urban dictionary link to the definition of 'went hinky'

<hadron>

<shulk> casually stans for Yuzu, apparently

<hadron> everyone should stan for yuzu

<shulk> (deep british bird voice)

<hadron> COR BLIMEY IS THAT SOME MILLET SEED EY WOT

<shulk> SPITS INK NO. well what in tarnation, is that a hidey hole

<hadron> I SAY GUV FANCY A LITTLE JAUNT OUT TO THE BIRDBATH

<shulk> FFJFKJGF, YOURE DARN TOOTIN'

<hadron> hope you like text walls

<shulk> i live for them. i am them

<hadron>

<shulk> I LOST THIS BYE ties it up neatly

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, shulk. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 215.77.554.88 * shulk has joined 215.77.554.88 <shulk>** not actually sure what this is for but it seemed worth setting up