metalogs | LOVE POTION #9

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LOVE POTION #9

LOVE IS... not in the air! The reintroduction of Confluences into this world has left it rocked, so the season of love is not quite as lovey-dovey as it usually is. People are stressed and anxious. Valentine's events are being cancelled left, right, and center in fear that a Confluence may catch young lovers unawares.

Unbeknownst to mortals, the God of Love really can't afford his month to be ruined by a few little dimensional catastrophes. This is his month! ... And for whatever reason, he seems to be stranded on the Earthly plane.

Surely he can fix things. Push it along a little. Though Gods don't usually meddle in mortal affairs, this is a personal catastrophe. All it takes is a few drops of love potion on a token of affection, and voila! Instant-connection.

(This event has a blanket warning for dubious consent of the love spell variety. To opt out completely, characters can simply not be in Sunset Falls at the time of the event, which runs through Valentine's Day.)

WHITE HEARTS FESTIVAL

Welcome to Sunset Falls, the most magical place in all of America! Literally. The streets are charged with magical energies, and while it won't be spinning your words into spells, it will give anyone who is magically inclined a comfortable little buzz. Maybe it's the boost you need to get a spell working, or maybe it's just a pep in your step. Confluence-displaced metas who take the Guilds up on their offer to tour the new housing will arrive just in time to witness the an annual tradition: The White Hearts Festival, a festival dedicated to all forms of love - familial, friendship, and romantic.

The whole town is decked out in pinks, golds and reds. Town square has been overtaken by food booths peddling elaborate meals and desserts with various magical effects. (It's probably better not to ask why some of the cookies being handed out are in the shape of anatomical hearts.)

Eat an emoji cookie and find yourself sprouting heart-eyes, or gaining a flurry of hearts above your head.

The Bolder Biscuit - by far and above the densest thing you've ever tried to eat - makes you bold. It compels you to march right up to someone and tell them what you think, good or bad.

And there's also the Firework Delight cake, which makes you shoot off literal fireworks the moment you touch that special someone that makes your life complete... but honestly, they go off when you touch anyone. Sorry if you end up giving off the wrong impression!

In addition, pop-up craft stands sell trinkets that guarantee you'll be together with your people forever and ever. The most popular item on sale this year appears to be the Eternal Bond - which is just an enchanted finger-trap that refuses to let go unless you tell someone a deep dark secret.

There is an altar at the town park where you can make your offering and give prayers to the God of Love in hopes he will smile favorable upon you. Lay your chocolate heart at its base and offer up a prayer to the God so that your life will be full of love and connection.

Truthfully, when it started it wasn't as cutesy as it is now. It became a lot more wholesome when people began to offer only chocolate hearts to the God of Love. Now it's fun for the whole family! ... So long as you don't veer into the woods. Some people still practice the old ways, and there are (what you hope to be) animal hearts nailed to trees. This is Sunset Falls, after all. Weird often goes hand in hand with terror.

LONELY HEARTS

For those of you who don't yet have those special people, lonely hearts still single can collect white rose enamel pins from the festival committee. They're expected to pick someone to give it out to as a declaration of their attraction by the end of the festival. However... there seems to be an issue this year. There's more pins here than there are people in town. Committee members start handing them out to anyone, single or not, and from there that's where things start to get a little weird...

You clip the pin onto your shirt and at once, your life has suddenly become a romcom. Everything is just a little brighter, the sounds a little more musical (sometimes literally), and you're suddenly compelled to reach out and find connection.

And the universe is conspiring to bring it your way! Cliches won't stop happening around you. Suddenly people are determined to give you a makeover so you can catch the eye of an admirer. Your friends are betting on your romantic future. A complex love triangle is springing out of previously platonic friendships.

You're not not limited to one partner, and that partner doesn't need to be romantic. It could be a best friend, or a nemesis that you're compelled to fight over and over again for the joy of it. What matters is the connection and the way the world seems to stop at nothing to give you that perfect three act structure: You Meet, You Lose, You Get.

Reach the end of your romcom's little arc and you'll find yourself freed from the spell... and probably will have some choice words for its caster.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Regardless of how you participate in the festival, everyone is at risk when the town itself falls under a love spell.

This may be unlike anything you've known before. Perhaps it's the first stumbling steps of puppy love. You want to be with this person all the time. Hold their hands and work up the courage for a kiss. Or perhaps this is something fierce and passionate. You want to be kissing them always, pursuing these passions heedless of consequences.

This doesn't need to be a romantic love. It can be strong and familial. Perhaps the sort you've always desired but never had. You could fall into a family unit with others affected by the spell. Compelled to hug each other and say words of encouragement or praise. Perhaps you, while living your own love story, are the best friend in someone else's - offering up the speech that tells them they deserve more than they think they do.

Whatever your flavor of love may be, you're prone to dramatic declarations. Confessions at the drop of a hat. It's go big or go home, and since nobody's going home right now, you might as well go as big as you can. Perhaps you're arranging for Flash Mobs to declare your feelings! Or making plans to move in together despite only having met a few hours ago.

This is all fine and well at first, but it may become clear pretty quickly that characters who try to hold their burning passions are likely to burn themselves! If you're the repressed type and you try to resist the compulsions that the love spell puts on you, you might just burst into flames, and someone will need to put you out. Don't worry — move quick enough, and there won't be any lasting damage, and if there is, the Guilds' healers can help you out.

MEET CUTE-PID

For those paying attention to that sort of thing, one constant of all these wild declarations can be spotted in the background. A tall man with curly blonde hair and an all too charming smile never seems to be far from the romance.

Those who are curious enough to follow will find he retreats to a lavish mansion on the outskirts of town. The mansion has the gaudy and abundant decor of a honeymoon suite on the Las Vegas Strip, with lights attuned to music and a massive twirling heart above the roof of the building. Peer inside and you will see hundreds of tiny viewing windows, each depicting a different romantic story unfolding outside of town. The door to the mansion appears to be locked tight and the windows are magically sealed, but some quick thinking may get you inside.

If anyone wants to engage him, HERE is a top level where we will summarize encounters. The more PCs involved in an encounter, the bigger its outcome will be. We will determine the impact on the god of love on Valentine's Day, so get your comments in by end of day on the 13th! You may also use this top level to ask event-specific questions about the effects on this page! (Please refer general questions about the setting to the FAQ, and refer any player plots to the PLOTTING page.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shoot first, beg forgiveness later. Sure you aren't a pirate yourself? [ Being a pirate was good fun in Ivalice, but here it seems to charm everyone. He's passingly aware that, right now, he'd really like this person to find him charming. ]

You'll have to show me this Cher person's music. The youth have informed me that the infernal box I'm meant to carry around at all hours of the day will also play music. In my day, we had music from instruments and had to go to the theater for entertainment.

[ He hears the pirate question. Normally, he enjoys playing this up and watching others try to piece together his charm and his piracy. But he's oddly self-conscious. What if David is morally opposed? Not that obstacles are permanent, but it seems pertinent to set out on the right foot. ]

I was looking for a tea house. Care to join me? You can show me Cher.

[David was known for a sharp tongue, and perhaps even talking too much. In fact, his mouth had gotten him OUT of flirting with people before. Still, with what Balthier has said, David can easily understand that the man was not from this world. Someone brought in, like him.]

You mean your cellphone? I'm good at giving lessons in working with those, not to mention other things. But there's something to be said for theaters, especially if the play or orchestra is of quality.

[Still, the invitation has David smiling. Tea, he could probably work with that.]

Normally more of a coffee person, but for you, I think tea might work. And I can show you a queen whose fashion sense you might enjoy, given what you've chosen here today. Hold on.

[He produces his own phone and with a quick few things typed into it he's found a nice little tea place that actually does some high caffeinated blends to suit him. Go figure a town like this would have one.]

Come on, I'll treat you.

[ Balthier has only had a cellphone for a week. Peter had given him a basic introduction, but so far the phone has mostly been a reminder that the people Balthier would like to talk to are a world away.

He feels a little foolish at the lesson offer. He ran this old man bit with Peter, too, but now he wonders if he's just come off as out of touch. Blast, he has not second guessed himself this much since he met Fran. And that night he thought about confessing to Ashe. Well. No sense making the same mistake again. ]

After you, my good man. I am always keen for excellent fashion and excellent theater. And excellent tea. My mother always made it. [ He doesn't mean to share that. The words just come. ] Before she left. Developed a habit, I suppose.

And teaware is endlessly more beautiful than coffeeware. [ Was that rude? ] At least on my world. You're from this one? [ Eddie had a cellphone. He's not sure how to tell who might be from here and who might not. It's disorienting. ]

I wish I could say the same thing about my mother and tea, but alas, the excellent things in my household tended to be cuisine. Advantages of a father who is a gourmet chef.

[Still, there's clearly things he could poke at. And were he not so... caught up in the guy in the moment, David might. As it was, he could tell something that shouldn't be touched, and thought to give it the space.]

And you're not wrong, at least when you're talking about western tea traditions. Perhaps, if you might let me some time, I can take you to a place that does coffee in the old ways, the beautiful ways. Maybe a nice Turkish coffee house that brews buy pushing the coffee and grounds in a special cup that is dragged through boiling hot sand.

[He puts his phone away, already having transferred his nav program to his yellow shades, and gestures for Balthier to join him in a leisurely walk.]

Yes, and no. I'm not from this version of this one. I am from Earth, from another version of this Earth. So, like you, I'm not truly a native of this place. Maybe a touch more comfortable with the technology, but also a stranger in a strange land.

Your father sounds a good deal more pleasant than mine. [ His smile is strained. The image of his father dying from the wound he inflicted flashes across his vision. Maybe it would have been better not to remember. ]

I'll admit you've piqued my curiosity. Coffee next time. Always happy to expand my tastes.

[ Balthier falls in step. It's strangely familiar, strolling through a crowded space with a pleasant companion. This has always been something he's loved. ]

I'm still not entirely sure how all these Earths invented handheld communication devices but don't rely on hovercrafts. I suppose to lack of track-eating monsters makes them less practical here, but there's nothing like open skies.

[And father's were clearly a button to avoid as well. Right, no family talk. He can move past that. Though he does reach out to touch Balthier's arm, a quiet offer of sympathy and support. He instead focused on the coffee things.]

I'm knowledgeable enough to learn how to pique a lot of people's interests. But getting people to give coffee a second chance, especially if the issue is 'lack of truly exquisite serviceware', would be a delight of mine.

[Hovercrafts? David raised an eyebrow at that. He wondered just what would make them hover. That wasn't even normal with Krakoan tech, or Wakandan to his knowledge.]

We have other things, like planes, but I can understand the longing. I admit I've... 'borrowed' jets a few times and there is something nice about the rush of it.

[ David’s touch startles him, though he’s a good enough pirate not to react. It’s kind and comforting. And human. He hasn’t had much of that since getting here. ]

I’ve borrowed a few crafts in my time. Borrowed the Strahl long enough it’s unrecognizable. [ He grins at the memory. How many hours did he and Fran spend upgrading that beautiful ship? ] My ship is sadly with the rest of my home, but my hovbike made it through with me. If you’re up for the wind in your hair and very sharp turns, there’s nothing quite like it. Desert skies would be better but I’ll take what I can get. [ Scions, he’s trying so hard. He’s cringing at himself. But there’s something freeing in it too. Aloofness begets distance. He’s had a lifetime of that. ]

[Too many people don't know that it matters to reach out and touch. That people NEED that touch, to not be alone. David, at least, knew to give it. He was just glad it was well timed now.]

Hovbike? I'm going to extrapolate on that term and presume you mean a hoverbike. Talk about a bread crumb that has me wanting to pick your head. I want to know how it works.

[Honestly, he'd never been on any sort of powered bike before, so he's not sure how he'd take it. But knowing and previously having dated speedstesr before, he knows that wind in his hair and sharp turns are things he does like.]

Desert skies would be best served, at least on this continent, in the American South-West. I don't know that we can get there as easily. Actually, there's places down there that people compete to set landspeed records. If you can get the chance to take it there, you might be able to take your bike out to its finest levels. If you don't mind kicking up dust.

[He turns them down another road and is smiling to himself as he talks.]

You sound like a bit of a mechanic. Am I reading that right? Someone that likes to toy with things that have engines?

[ So he has made himself intriguing. Excellent.]

I can explain the magick theory on Ivalice but to be quite honest I’ve no idea how it works here. Glad it does though.

I hear there’s portal travel here. I’ll have to add the American Southwest to my destination list. You a traveler? [ He almost suggests they could go together but the words catch. This is absurd. He’s just met this person. Can the fireworks actually know? But even if they can, he still has to build a relationship with this person.]

You may not believe this but I actually haven’t raced. Up to try it.

Mechanic yes. By sheer stubbornness. Learned to mod my own ships. When you’re on the outs with the Empire it’s easier to do your own repairs. Made me some friends too, when I needed them. Yourself?

[Magic theory. David almost groans. He knows so much of magic, but in his world it was something one had to be, well, suitable to or not. So for him magic tends to be frustration.]

There is, but I don't know if it leads down there. If it does, look out for the Mojave desert. And yes, I travel quite a bit, even back home. All over the US, which is where we are now, and a bit of stuff to this tropical island that I'd put money on not existing here.

[The idea of racing not being tried is a shock to him, and he has to smirk.]

Well, be careful. There's street racing in a lot of major american cities, and it's absolutely illegal. If you get into it, don't get caught.

[People who are going to race are going to race. It's just who they are. David just cares that they stay careful. He does pause before answering the other question though, because there's the tea shop. He moves to open the door for Balthier, because he's capable of being a gentleman.]

It's going to sound immodest, but I'm a touch of a genius, and mechanics is an area I have dabbled in. Helped a true tech genius back home, he goes by Forge, build a vehicle for an international racing competition. It was supposed to be pretty intense with lots of off-roading, obstacles, things like that. A lot more of my specialization with technology is with computerized things, though. Electronics systems, holographics, processing tools. Like this.

[He takes his glasses off and passes them over for Balthier to look at. His vision is flawless without them, thanks to a friend. These, though, were microcomputers, with an AR screen format, so the glasses themselves would display a lot of information just like their phones did.]

Built those by hand.

I'm no stranger to not getting caught. I will need a tour guide though, what with being shipless and all. My hovbike isn't for longer journeys. Ah, thank you.

[ Balthier quite enjoys someone else being the gentleman.

The tea shop is not the style he's used to, though that's unsurprising. More electric lights, sleeker, but plenty of tea pots and cascading plants. The decor seems to be old book themed. Mismatched arm chairs. Reminds him a bit of the pubs he stayed in early in his piracy days.

A mechanical genius? You have me swooning. [ Here he is again, falling for people who are dangerously close to his father. Is he a glutton for punishment, or is he really the leading man, able to pull the desirable pieces from an undesirable past? He hasn't known for a long time. ] I like the sound of your friends -- my, these are quite impressive. [ He slides the glasses on. What Peter called overlays lay unobtrusively over what he's seeing. He's not sure if this much tech is his style, but he's not opposed to sussing out the benefits.

He steps into line, glancing at the teas. Little he knows, but that's alright. He's enjoying new tea flavors. It's been awhile since he's had that experience. ]

Now I wonder what you get up to, to be no stranger to not being caught.

[For now David doesn't offer to be a tour guide. Balthier had been right earlier. Something was making David strangely forward, and he was trying to play it cooler than that urge to just jump at the chances here. It seems... wrong. And he doesn't know if he should trust fireworks as a matchmaker.]

I'm known for knowing things. I'm also a doctor, a chef, a chemist, you know, too many things. Comes from what I am. Which is to say I was something before coming here would have made me something. And Forge was less a friend and more a mentor. My friends tend to be a lot more colorful than them.

[He lets Balthier consider the glasses for now. It's a better thing to talk about until they get a nice quiet corner to sit down in and talk about slightly less... legal things. When he moved in the line with Balthier he considered the selection of teas and then looked to the guy.]

What moves you with tea? Perhaps I can help you decide on something to try? And remember, it's on me. Little pastries too.

[ Something about the offer hits differently this time. Not that it isn't genuine, or welcome, or ever out of line -- just...off. ]

Florals in black tea. I've been told it matches my general disposition. [ He feels a little more able to control the distance he's keeping. ]

You sound like you kept yourself quite busy. I'd like to hear more, if you're so inclined. [ He's usually better at listening, at gathering information, at making calculated decisions.

It would be nice to just be open and plunge in, but he's been around the chocobo stables a few times. This isn't him. And it's not the wisest move.

He orders -- rose black. ]

There's a table toward the back. [ He nods. He is curious about David's past and more illicit activities. He hasn't found anyone remotely like himself. And David is genuinely pleasant to talk to. Hell, maybe there is something there. ]

[Off indeed, but comfortable anyway. Comfortable enough that David was happy to take his chocolate rocket mate and some sugar and then follow the man's lead to the table in the back. That was what he'd wanted anyway. Once he was settled he smiled at Balthier.]

I'm inclined to talk about myself if you're really interested. But I admit I don't know much about where to start. Perhaps you have questions? I don't want to bore you by talking about me too much.

[ What's your relationship to national or global power? How do you feel about breaking laws when the law is corrupt? Do you see yourself as a leading man or support? Does it matter?

None of that feels appropriate to ask. ] Tell me how you got started with tech. [ He wraps his hands around the steaming cup of tea -- plain, but still comforting. He's gotten through a lot of rough patches with tea in hand. A lot of good ones too. ]

[Now those would all be questions David would happily answer, and with vigor. Too bad they weren't asked. The answers might be more pleasing to Balthier than he really might expect.]

When I was in school. I'm... Geez this requires context. So in my world, there's more than just one species of human. There's basic humans, normal people, the average every day folks that look like everyone else in this world, save for the heroes and villains I suppose. And there there are the people like me. We're called mutants. We're born with powers that come in when we're in our teens. And, of course, people don't like us. I'm what people call 'passing'. I look human. But people don't like us for what we are, and so there are some that come after us. They found out what I am, and threatened me in my home, threatening my family by extension. So I did what any reasonable young mutant genius would do.

[He takes a sip of his tea and then smiled at Balthier.]

Went to a special school for people like me, which just so happened to have a space called the danger room. It was a place to train our powers for combat, with computers and holographic simulations, and yeah. I started to appreciate it even more. Over time I pursued it more. Sort of fell in love with how it compensated for the power I didn't have compared to others of my kind.

Fascinating. [ Maybe his questions were pertinent after all. ] My teenage years may have been more pleasant if we hadn't had to practice fire spells on each other. Certainly learned to dodge though.

[ He takes another drink, weighing his question. There's no relationship without honesty, not really. ]

Were you a vengeance sort of person, or a heroic protect the weak from what happened to you sort?

[Practice combat magic on each other? David winced.]

We had two guys in my classes who could do fire. It was never fun getting burned, I'll give you that. I'm just glad I never had to deal with scars from it all.

[Oh dear, what a question... It makes David freeze.]

I wish I could say that I was always a protect the weak person. But... Some of my people try the first path, some the second. I've seen enough in my short years to think there's arguments for both. I've watched vengeance tear people apart, and I've seen it heal. Hell, I-

[His hands shake a little on his cup and he puts it down. Recent traumas were recent.]

Some people don't get better. They don't want to get better. They will lash out, every time. They will attack you and hurt you and the people you love. So while I want to protect others, and while that's what I mostly live by, sometimes the only choice you have is to put down the rabid animal that has lashed out time and time again.

[That of course got a sigh from him.]

IF you ever meet a woman named Jean Grey, don't tell her I said that. We have our own nation now, people like me. It's illegal for us to kill humans. But I think, sometimes... Someone people need stopped.

They were kind enough to teach us curative magic before we were allowed to use the fire on each other. Some of my classmates were poor studies, though. [ He hasn't tried using that here yet, but given the fire and the lightning are just illusions and that his stealth spells have become doubles, he isn't holding his breath on that one.

Balthier listens to rest of David's answer, his own mind turning over recent traumas. ] Cheers to that. Some people don't get better. [ Had his father gotten worse, or was that always who he was? What did that make Balthier? ] Discretion is one of my better qualities; your information is private with me.

It's rough though, being the one to make that call. Justice and protections are all so romantic until your the one, ah, putting down the rabid animal.

Sometimes I wonder how many people thought I was the rabid animal, truth be told.

At least they did that. I'm lucky because my teammate is actually a biokinetic. It means he was a healer, basically. But at least I'm glad to hear you were a good enough study.

[Perhaps information was private with him in this manner, but Jean didn't know that David had almost taken his revenge very much into his own hands. And David didn't want to know what the punishment from the Council back home would be for that.]

Thanks for that. I'm sure she wouldn't do anything about it here, but it would be a mess back home.

I think... a lot of the romance has died out in my world when it comes right down to it, sadly. But I can't see how anyone would see that of you. Unless you're not what I'm seeing now. And I do believe that you are more than you seem. Everyone is. But nine times out of ten I'm a good judge of character.

People don't like anyone who threatens their script, and I've a habit of going off book.

Born to aristocracy and an excellent education, but that much is obvious I'm sure. Some day I'll wax poetic about classical theater. Wanted to go into acting, actually. Father put me up for a political position too early; I understood the laws, didn't understand politicking with power-hungry gits. Stole a ship, took off. Changed my name. Became a pirate. Thought I was free. Turns out you can't ever really run from who you are; a theft turned into somehow being the lost queen's right hand man and trying to save the realm from meddling immortal spirits and a crazed emperor.

[ A beat. It feels strange, to leave out the rawest parts. It feels strange to say them, too, like it solidifies that they happened. ]

Had to put a few people down along the way. Lost a few I really would have preferred not to.

[ He pivots to a grin, theatrics easier than honesty. ] How'd I do? Is that what I seemed?

And everyone's a critic to boot?

[An aristocrat? That explained the looks. They often had such beautiful faces. The education he knew though.]

Okay, I'll admit, that's a story that trumps a lot I've heard, and I've heard a lot. I think you'd be a good actor, just from a few minutes with you. Politics tends to taint those who are worth keeping though, so good on you for running. Laws tend to be for the people in power anyway, those power-hungry gits. But the way you talk... I'm starting to think by piracy you don't mean on the sea.

[Which was the interesting part. Not that he's got an issue with fucking over immortal spirits and not liking crazed emperors. But a queen... How interesting.]

I'm starting to think you're even more complicated than I thought moments before. You didn't go out there and become a pirate alone. You liked the state, which means you like people and watch eyes on you. You need an audience in some way or another. So I doubt you were alone. And it takes a strong man to fight immortals, whether they're gods or spirits or something else. Toppling empires makes you noble, especially since I suspect you might have been involved. Comes as an easy read with the whole idea of 'power-hungry gits' and toppling someone.

So here's the question I've got for you.

[He sips his tea to figure out how to phrase it. Then, once he's decided, he takes another sip for the weighty moment.]

Did you stop the spirits and emperor for revenge, or to protect the weak, or for this queen?

[ Balthier agreed with a lot of this until very recently. Now he wonders if the only way to make real change is to be one of the people making the laws, but he's also loathe to be that person, especially without a stake in it. ]

I'm impressed. Your deduction skills are quite remarkable. I have [ It's still too painful to make it past tense ] a partner, the best. Fran. She makes my magick look like children's playacting, and she's deadly with a bow. Brilliant. I wouldn't be alive without her. We had some others on our little adventure, but I've been with Fran a long time. As to piracy, I'm a sky pirate. No borders, no walls. Just endless blue skies.

[ The question pulls a surprised chuckle from him. ] I well should have expected that. [ He leans back, sighing as he thinks. It's a question he's been running over in his own mind whether he means to or not. It's easier, somehow, to be talking to a stranger than to his own memory. ] All three I suppose. And obviously for the infamy. Aiming to be the most famous pirate in Ivalice's history.

[ The compulsion to be honest is still there, or maybe it's just the catharsis of sharing. ] I didn't set out to topple empires. My father had a lot of power -- he was a weapons researcher. That's part of why I left. That research led to destroying an entire city, and toppling nearby countries. I didn't think I could do anything. I didn't think I should have to. I wanted ... nothing to do with him.

Fate's a fickle lady, though. One tomb robbery leads to finding the missing queen and a couple of teen idiots. My bleeding heart got one of them kidnapped, so I had to go rescue them, and next thing I know the queen is asking me to kidnap her too so she can go find the fated weapon of kings and prove her bloodline. I only did it for the treasure, which there turned out to be none. But the empire attacked us. It was my father's weapons. It was men I'd known as boys. Something...changed. I said it was for the treasure but...there were a lot of people I could help, especially the ones I'd come to know from pirating. Aristocrats are usually fine. The common people aren't.

It's really not becoming on me, all this nobility. I'd be laughed out of the guild. [ Fran had liked it. That was what had pushed him to keep going. And Ashe...Ashe had listened. ]

[How interesting. David listened to it all with a smile. Alright, he got all of it, and he'd come to his own conclusion.]

I think the guild would be losing something amazing if they did. You're, well, you're exactly the sort of pirate that would be told of back home in stories of the golden age of piracy. Not that those stories really properly explained what it was really like in those days. That said, you sound a lot like what Katherine is doing back home. A pirate more or less, condoned by our people. She rescues our people from places that they can't get away from, she steals us back one person at a time, and protects our rights.

There can be nobility in all professions.

You're making me blush. [ He's not entirely joking. ] Katherine sounds like my kind of company, though I will say, I'm quite motivated by treasure and finery. Maybe I'll become a noble antiques dealer here. [ here. He's hoping to get back home, but he's not certain that's likely. ]

Any piracy in your life? You don't sound like the completely to the law type yourself.

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