Faerzen and Reggie talk about trust

[13:50]  * Faerzen_Norstov finishes talking with Byron
[13:50]  * Faerzen_Norstov turns to his desk and puts on the crown
[13:51] <Faerzen_Norstov> ((assume everything here is thought back and forth unless noted otherwise))
[13:51] <Faerzen_Norstov> Hello!
[13:51] <Regent[Crown]> Hello again
[13:51] <Faerzen_Norstov> I have returned. How was your alone time?
[13:52] <Faerzen_Norstov> I rather lost track of time and was downstairs for much longer than I was intending.....
[13:52] <Regent[Crown]> Uneventful
[13:54] <Faerzen_Norstov> I suppose that is probably preferable to being stressfully over-eventful. I dare say that all three of my recent conversations went much better than expected.
[13:55] <Faerzen_Norstov> That is quite a nice weight to have off of my chest, with those completed.
[13:58] <Faerzen_Norstov> I suppose now that all of that seems to be over, what are your thoughts on the trial and how it turned out?
[13:58] <Regent[Crown]> I think it went better than expected
[13:59] <Faerzen_Norstov> If you do not mind me asking, what were you expecting?
[13:59] <Regent[Crown]> Probably us failing partially and having to take in Abyss until we found him a new host
[14:00] <Faerzen_Norstov> Failing partially? How is that possible?
[14:01] <Regent[Crown]> Not managing to prove Lyra was insane upon creating said contract
[14:02] <Faerzen_Norstov> Ah, yes. That was a specific point I was worried about as well, but thankfully her responses to my inquiries were conducive to proving otherwise.
[14:02] <Faerzen_Norstov> I really have to say I am very glad that is over.
[14:02] <Faerzen_Norstov> Mental exercises always have their own ways of being thrilling and invigorating, but the pressure from that one really made it unpleasant to plan for.
[14:03] <Regent[Crown]> I agree, it was very taxing on us as a group
[14:03] <Faerzen_Norstov> Regardless of Abyss's alignment with our goals, I am very glad to see him and Lyra split.
[14:03] <Faerzen_Norstov> I found it hard to see anything positive ever coming from the two of them being together.
[14:04] <Regent[Crown]> I agree
[14:04] <Faerzen_Norstov> Perhaps later after the two of them have had some time apart and we have more definitively ascertained Abyss's motives it would be beneficial for the two of them to work things out, but given Lyra's current feelings on the matter I do not think that is possible.
[14:05] <Regent[Crown]> Lyra is kinda being a stubborn ass about the whole thing
[14:05] <Faerzen_Norstov> As much as I hate to say it, that isn't really anything terribly new or surprising.
[14:06] <Regent[Crown]> Fair enough
[14:09] <Faerzen_Norstov> Even then though, I still am uncertain what the best course of action with Abyss would be. I want to get to know Abyss and his motives better and more clearly, but there is very little I can think of that would ever definitively tell me if I can trust Abyss. I do not know if such a thing even exists.
[14:09] <Faerzen_Norstov> I very much *want* to trust Abyss and for his account of events to be true....... but I need to be careful at the same time.
[14:10] <Regent[Crown]> ... yeah I suppose so
[14:10] <Faerzen_Norstov> The possibility of him simply being an entity of great power who unwisely lent his power to the wrong people and was taken advantage is certainly more pleasant for me to accept, and it makes dealing with this situation quite a lot easier.
[14:11] <Faerzen_Norstov> But it is also entirely possible that Abyss had some hand in the actions that his previous hosts performed.
[14:11] <Faerzen_Norstov> That contract that Abyss made with alternate Lyra....... Abyss committed to doing quite a few destructive things there. There is no way he couldn't have known what he was doing when he agreed to that contract.
[14:12] <Regent[Crown]> Maybe he didn't know it was "wrong" to do?
[14:13] <Faerzen_Norstov> Possibly.
[14:13] <Faerzen_Norstov> When we were talking, I don't recall him ever using a moral spectrum to judge his actions though.
[14:14] <Faerzen_Norstov> Mostly with respect to the pain and destruction and regret that came from them.
[14:14] <Regent[Crown]> Maybe he doesn't have a moral spectrum, and is just picking up on what is bad from your opinions
[14:16] <Faerzen_Norstov> If he picked up that all of his actions were so terrible simply from the things I said at the court case, then I am sure he would have picked up on it from me or someone else in the timeline where all of the destruction and death actually occurred.
[14:16] <Regent[Crown]> Think about it though
[14:16] <Regent[Crown]> From his story
[14:17] <Regent[Crown]> Nick was wearing him until most of the session was killed, or so he implied
[14:17] <Regent[Crown]> Only then did Lyra take him
[14:18] <Regent[Crown]> And none of those two would have a moral spectrum worth mentioning
[14:19] <Faerzen_Norstov> Yes, however, that was quite a long period of time. Alternate me was able to have a child by the the time the session ended! If simply me talking for several hours during a trial was enough to bring Abyss to effective tears about what he had done, how could that not have happened before? Surely over the at least an extra year of time in that timeli
[14:19] <Faerzen_Norstov> ne, someone else would have said something similar.
[14:20] <Regent[Crown]> Alright, here's what I imagine it was like for Abyss according to his story
[14:20] <Faerzen_Norstov> Abyss said during the trial he never wanted to hurt Lyra, and yet he was complicit in many people's murders and he made a contract agreeing to consume her soul.
[14:20] <Regent[Crown]> He wakes up in a bird cave or whatever where Nick finds him
[14:20] <Regent[Crown]> Nick goes insane shortly after
[14:21] <Regent[Crown]> So his first experiences with people and sentience other than his own are a masochistic self injuring thrill seeker Nick who is descending into insanity and murder
[14:22] <Regent[Crown]> All of what he sees and experiences is colored by Nick through the filter of his mind
[14:22] <Regent[Crown]> Fast forwards a few murders later
[14:22] <Regent[Crown]> Lyra takes off with Abyss
[14:23] <Regent[Crown]> This is the second ever meeting with intelligent life that didn't end in murder presumably
[14:23] <Regent[Crown]> That's a generous assumption, but hear me out
[14:23] <Regent[Crown]> Lyra is at this point sociopathic, depressed, and probably somewhat suicidal of self injuring given the nature of the contract signed
[14:24] <Regent[Crown]> Lyra gets murdered by Nick while wearing Abyss
[14:24] <Regent[Crown]> So Abyss has to feel his host die while connected to him mentally
[14:25] <Regent[Crown]> Maybe at this point Abyss begins to suspect something is wrong with Nick or that Nick isn't a normal or good person based on Lyra's perception of him
[14:25] <Regent[Crown]> He refuses to deal with Nick
[14:26] <Regent[Crown]> Nick probably tries and fails to destroy him in a fit of rage
[14:27] <Regent[Crown]> So then he captchalogues him, uses that Time Machine thing and comes here
[14:27] <Regent[Crown]> Dumps Abyss in Nick's inventory and waits
[14:28] <Regent[Crown]> The first thing that Abyss feels, is his old dead host saying that they've not had a contract, one that she clearly signed and he has memory of
[14:28] <Regent[Crown]> How would you react Faerzen_Norstov in his situation?
[14:28] <Regent[Crown]> How would you know what the right thing to do was?
[14:28] <Faerzen_Norstov> No, I don't disagree with his account necessarily.
[14:29] <Faerzen_Norstov> I think that, given certain assumptions about that other timeline, his account is entirely plausible and reasonable.
[14:29] <Faerzen_Norstov> Everything he did in this timeline about attempting to re-enforce the contract he had with alternate Lyra is reasonable.
[14:30] <Regent[Crown]> You asked about his morals
[14:30] <Regent[Crown]> He was for the first time in his life confronted with living in a box forever and not having a host
[14:30] <Faerzen_Norstov> It is mostly that given at least a whole year since Nick acquired the mask to when alternate Nick gave up the mask, it seems like quite the assumption that Abyss would never have realized Nick wasn't like the other players in the session and that Nick was hurting people.
[14:31] <Faerzen_Norstov> Not impossible, just definitely a non-trivial assumption that must be made.
[14:31] <Regent[Crown]> He knew that Nick was hurting and killing people, but he only had the background of Nick's and Lyra's experiences to go off of
[14:32] <Regent[Crown]> And Lyra seemed bent on murdering somebody or something based on that contract
[14:32] <Faerzen_Norstov> I know that what I am about to say is as equally presumptuous on the other end of the spectrum, but....
[14:33] <Faerzen_Norstov> Being worn, you can experience what the other person is. You can see their surroundings, you can hear the conversations they are having, you can see their computer screen as they converse with other people. At the very least, wouldn't alternate me have tried to do something? I know am quite the controlling type of person, but I find it hard to beli
[14:33] <Faerzen_Norstov> eve that I would sit idly by or that I would not try to talk to Nick about things.
[14:34] <Faerzen_Norstov> I know the two of us were nowhere near as close in that timeline, but would I really let him reign so freely without attempting to intervene?
[14:34] <Regent[Crown]> I think that what went wrong in their timeline is that you never grew close
[14:34] <Regent[Crown]> He may have ceased communicating with you entirely
[14:34] <Faerzen_Norstov> Surely Nick had conversations or interactions at *some* point over the course of that entire year that didn't immediately result in someone being murdered.
[14:35] <Faerzen_Norstov> I know our Nick was unstable when he found the mask.....
[14:35] <Regent[Crown]> Wasn't there a time where Nick stopped talking to you?
[14:35] <Faerzen_Norstov> But I find it hard to believe he would immediately go on a murdering rampage without anyone noticing he was starting to become unhinged.
[14:35] <Regent[Crown]> Right around when he found the mask?
[14:35] <Faerzen_Norstov> Going that far off the deep end takes time.
[14:35] <Regent[Crown]> He has a rather creepy sprite
[14:35] <Regent[Crown]> What if something had happened to his baby?
[14:36] <Regent[Crown]> What if he had failed to keep it safe and it died?
[14:36] <Faerzen_Norstov> How do we know he had a baby in that timeline if that was the timeline that ended up creating the baby?
[14:36] <Faerzen_Norstov> That could have been different.
[14:36] <Regent[Crown]> Maybe
[14:36] <Faerzen_Norstov> The point is.
[14:36] <Regent[Crown]> Maybe not having a baby failed to remind him of his commitment
[14:36] <Faerzen_Norstov> I agree that this account of events could very well be reasonable.
[14:37] <Faerzen_Norstov> However, it requires a fair amount of speculation and assumptions about what happened in that timeline.
[14:37] <Faerzen_Norstov> Let me present an alternative to you.
[14:37] <Faerzen_Norstov> I fall back on the dandelion analogy I used earlier with Lyra and Zach.
[14:38] <Faerzen_Norstov> This game is a world that sends out a vast number of seeds in an attempt to reproduce itself.
[14:38] <Faerzen_Norstov> Eventually the original organism dies, and all of these game sessions attempt to leave the parent and go off on their own to create their own new worlds from scratch.
[14:39] <Faerzen_Norstov> Each seed experiences hardships and natural selection ensures that the hardiest seeds and those with traits most well-suited to thriving survive to bloom into new worlds.
[14:41] <Faerzen_Norstov> Suppose that the original dandelion had a disease. A fungus. A virus. Something of that sort. It could tell that the host plant is preparing to perish and send out hosts of seeds in all direction. Should that fungus simply do nothing, its host dies and it along with it. What it must do is tag along with one or more seeds, lying in wait until the se
[14:41] <Faerzen_Norstov> ed blooms into a new plant before seriously taking root and growing on the new plant.
[14:41] <Faerzen_Norstov> The fungus has no choice but to find a new world to infect.
[14:41] <Faerzen_Norstov> Suppose furthermore that this fungus is very old and has evolved and developed many traits beneficial to this particular cycle of reproduction.
[14:42] <Faerzen_Norstov> It can do whatever it wants in a fully developed world, so long as that world is not killed before it is able to reproduce.
[14:42] <Regent[Crown]> So you're saying Abyss is a disease manufactured by the game to help natural selection through Symbiosis? Or parasitism?
[14:42] <Faerzen_Norstov> However, it must be careful with the new seeds before they have a chance to germinate. Should the seeds immune system of the environment remove the fungus, it is finished.
[14:43] <Faerzen_Norstov> Not necessarily, though possibly.
[14:43] <Faerzen_Norstov> I am saying that it seems equally possible to me that the following is the case:
[14:44] <Faerzen_Norstov> Abyss is an old and powerful entity that seeks to make it through our game session to the end to be able to have the freedom to gain power in the new world that we create. Much hangs in the balance right now, and should we fail in creating a new world, we all die here in this session. Clearly Abyss doesn't want that.
[14:45] <Faerzen_Norstov> However, if Abyss can make it into the new world that we create, a whole new realm of possibility becomes available.
[14:45] <Faerzen_Norstov> A whole new host of souls to consume.
[14:45] <Faerzen_Norstov> A whole new world to take root in.
[14:45] <Faerzen_Norstov> A whole new set of seeds that will eventually be sent out to latch onto.
[14:46] <Faerzen_Norstov> Yes, this scenario requires speculation and assumptions, just as the alternative.
[14:46] <Faerzen_Norstov> But both seem quite plausible scenarios.
[14:46] <Regent[Crown]> Well then
[14:46] <Regent[Crown]> What am I?
[14:47] <Faerzen_Norstov> This is where things are complicated.
[14:47] <Faerzen_Norstov> Everything I just said.
[14:47] <Faerzen_Norstov> That line of reasoning applies to every single sentient power and player in this game.
[14:47] <Faerzen_Norstov> We are literally creating a world.
[14:47] <Regent[Crown]> Unless if we aren't
[14:48] <Faerzen_Norstov> I know not how this creation process works, but presumably if any of us players have the desire to do so, we will have a significant role in shaping that new world.
[14:48] <Regent[Crown]> You make the assumption that we are which is exactly that, an assumption
[14:48] <Faerzen_Norstov> Okay, it may be an assumption, but here are the reasons why I put more stock in it than the alternative:
[14:49] <Regent[Crown]> How do we know that you aren't subconcsiously a agent working to influence this own world that erased your own memory to blend in better and not be caught by the game?
[14:49] <Regent[Crown]> That line of thinking only breeds paranoia and distrust
[14:49] <Faerzen_Norstov> Yes.
[14:49] <Faerzen_Norstov> That is why it is complicated.
[14:49] <Regent[Crown]> It would be the equivalent of a witch hunt
[14:50] <Faerzen_Norstov> However.
[14:50] <Faerzen_Norstov> There is a difference between being worried about someone or something simply because it has the potential to be involved in horrible things and being worried about someone or something because you know for a fact it has been involved in horrible things.
[14:50] <Faerzen_Norstov> Yes, I could believe that everything ever in this game is out to get me.
[14:50] <Faerzen_Norstov> But that would be Lyra.
[14:51] <Faerzen_Norstov> I am not Lyra.
[14:51] <Regent[Crown]> How about this
[14:51] <Regent[Crown]> Ask Abyss what he thinks
[14:51] <Faerzen_Norstov> Yes, both you and my book have the potential to completely screw me over, but you have never done anything to imply that you have malicious intent.
[14:51] <Regent[Crown]> And just trust him
[14:52] <Faerzen_Norstov> Tarane could secretly be an assassin from Faucet sent to hijack this game session and kill us all. But she has never done anything to imply that she has malicious intent, so I trust her at the present.
[14:52] <Faerzen_Norstov> Byron has done a great deal of foolish things, and while I have never seen him do anything particularly malicious, I am careful.
[14:53] <Regent[Crown]> Faerzen, forgive and forget, ok?
[14:53] <Faerzen_Norstov> It is perfectly reasonable to adjust your attitude towards someone based on what they have done.
[14:53] <Faerzen_Norstov> It does not mean that their past defines them.
[14:53] <Faerzen_Norstov> It does not mean that you should be prejudiced.
[14:53] <Regent[Crown]> conceding the trial and nulling the contract allowing himself to be placed in a box for all of eternity
[14:54] <Regent[Crown]> Literally putting himself at your mercy
[14:54] <Faerzen_Norstov> It is possible that he knew I wouldn't do that from what he saw of me at the trial.
[14:54] <Faerzen_Norstov> Nothing is certain!
[14:54] <Regent[Crown]> How could he have known that?
[14:54] <Faerzen_Norstov> Believe me, I *want* Abyss to be my friend and for the past to be water under the bridge.
[14:54] <Regent[Crown]> Then let him be
[14:55] <Regent[Crown]> What can he do to betray you while he is on your face and I'm here to stop him
[14:55] <Regent[Crown]> You'd know instantly and he would gain nothing from it
[14:56] <Faerzen_Norstov> Just as with you, just as with Regent in the book, just as with Nick, I have never jumped blindly into trust. I have always gotten to know the person cautiously, and then over time extended my trust.
[14:56] <Faerzen_Norstov> That is what I plan to do here.
[14:56] <Faerzen_Norstov> When I met you?
[14:56] <Faerzen_Norstov> All I knew about you is that you were a crown that Lyra had that could control your body and emotions.
[14:56] <Faerzen_Norstov> The idea of that was terrifying!
[14:56] <Faerzen_Norstov> I was incredibly hesitant at first.
[14:57] <Faerzen_Norstov> Only after talking with you, Lyra, and Lyregent at great lengths did I feel like I got some semblance of your intentions and motives, and that is something that I trust.
[14:57] <Faerzen_Norstov> Wearing a crown that can control your body and emotions is a risky maneuver.
[14:58] <Faerzen_Norstov> But I trust you enough now that we have been together long enough that further paranoia is not beneficial.
[14:58] <Faerzen_Norstov> I want to trust Abyss, and I hope I can trust Abyss.
[14:58] <Faerzen_Norstov> However, in exactly the same vein as with you, I see no harm in exercising caution.
[14:59] <Faerzen_Norstov> That is why I wanted you here with me.
[14:59] <Faerzen_Norstov> Having you with me and Abyss allows me to open up more to Abyss than I would otherwise.
[14:59] <Faerzen_Norstov> I never said I would refuse to wear Abyss around and get to know him because it was too dangerous.
[15:00] <Faerzen_Norstov> I fully intend to carry Abyss around with me, talk with him, get to know him.
[15:00] <Faerzen_Norstov> However, with the same purpose I had when getting to know you.
[15:00] <Faerzen_Norstov> I talked with you at first while never putting you on.
[15:00] <Faerzen_Norstov> You were always with Lyra or sitting on a counter or something.
[15:00] <Faerzen_Norstov> I am talking with Abyss with you here, and that is sufficient for me.
[15:01] <Regent[Crown]> You already put Abyss on your face
[15:01] <Regent[Crown]> And now you're saying you don't trust him?
[15:01] <Faerzen_Norstov> I put Abyss on my face while I was wearing you.
[15:01] <Faerzen_Norstov> That is why I want you with me to protect me just in case.
[15:01] <Faerzen_Norstov> I sincerely hope it will never actually be necessary.
[15:02] <Regent[Crown]> What if I just refuse to protect you for the sake of trust?
[15:02] <Faerzen_Norstov> Then I would be very disappointed.
[15:02] <Regent[Crown]> Refuse to be worn so that you have to build sincere trust on your own
[15:03] <Faerzen_Norstov> How is that any different than what I did with you?
[15:03] <Faerzen_Norstov> If you refuse to help me, then I will simply do exactly what I did with you.
[15:03] <Regent[Crown]> Well then, let Abyss see the trust in that you don't trust him not to turn you into a murderous killing machine
[15:04] <Regent[Crown]> What you are doing is awful and manipulative letting him establish this quasi-trust
[15:04] <Faerzen_Norstov> I do not see what is the problem here! I literally did all of this with you, and you seem to not have had any qualms about it.
[15:05] <Regent[Crown]> I wasn't scared and alone and apparently traumatized by those facts
[15:05] <Faerzen_Norstov> I will get to know him and start building trust with him, and then when I am comfortable, I can remove you and all will be fine.
[15:05] <Faerzen_Norstov> That was the whole point of this settlement when we were talking!
[15:05] <Faerzen_Norstov> I only did this because you offered to protect me.
[15:06] <Regent[Crown]> That was before I saw how bad of a shape he was in
[15:07] <Regent[Crown]> I'm not going to help you here Faerzen. For somebody who manipulates their friends so easily you sure do seem to be afraid of being manipulated yourself
[15:07] <Faerzen_Norstov> I have no desire into tricking Abyss into thinking I trust him. I have no desire to manipulate him into spilling his darkest secrets. All I want to do is get to know him while still having a precaution in place. Then later, that measure will not be necessary.
[15:08] <Regent[Crown]> I'm not budging on this. Find some other sucker to be your precaution
[15:09] <Faerzen_Norstov> Okay, now I simply think you are being stubborn. I legitimately do not see what is wrong with what we were doing earlier. I was talking with Abyss, comforting him, discussing timelines and morality and feelings, all while you were standing on the sidelines and it was fine.
[15:09] <Faerzen_Norstov> I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.
[15:12] <Regent[Crown]> I'm not the one comforting him, I'm not the one who he trusts, I'm not the one he cried with
[15:12] <Regent[Crown]> That was all you, and I was very uncomfortable and had no reason for being there
[15:13] <Faerzen_Norstov> If you are going to be obstinate in abandoning our plan, then I will simply do what I did with you.
[15:13] <Faerzen_Norstov> I will talk with Abyss and get to know Abyss and build trust with Abyss without putting him on.
[15:13] <Faerzen_Norstov> Then later, I shall.
[15:13] <Faerzen_Norstov> It is simple as that.
[15:13] <Regent[Crown]> Good
[15:13] <Regent[Crown]> See what he says when you suddenly abstain from wearing him
[15:14] <Faerzen_Norstov> I will.
[15:14] <Faerzen_Norstov> I know he is emotionally traumatized at the present, but I am not going to lie to him.
[15:14] <Faerzen_Norstov> I am not going to tell him I trust him fully when I do not.
[15:15] <Regent[Crown]> You're acting horrible here Faerzen, if what he says is true
[15:15] <Faerzen_Norstov> I would not say that I am acting horribly.
[15:15] <Faerzen_Norstov> Lyra was acting horribly.
[15:16] <Faerzen_Norstov> If I were back at my house in Norway.
[15:16] <Faerzen_Norstov> And I was eating dinner with my family.
[15:16] <Faerzen_Norstov> Back before my father died.
[15:16] <Faerzen_Norstov> And there was a knock at the door.
[15:17] <Faerzen_Norstov> At the door, there was a complete stranger who I had never met before but recognized as a suspect from the news in a recent string of murders and burglaries. And this person was hurt and injured. By all means I would help! But I think it is entirely reasonable not to give this stranger complete and full access to everything in my house and all of m
[15:18] <Faerzen_Norstov> y family members after only having just met them.
[15:18] <Faerzen_Norstov> Yes, me being cautious may be unwarranted since they may be innocent in their supposed crimes. However, I am still helping, and that caution is entirely warranted.
[15:18] <Faerzen_Norstov> Nobody would tell me I was a terrible person for not immediately adopting them into my family.
[15:19] <Regent[Crown]> This stranger who also removed all their weapons, apologized for what they've done, and allowed themselves to be subjected to a strip search at your will
[15:19] <Faerzen_Norstov> Abyss has not done either the first nor last of those things.
[15:20] <Faerzen_Norstov> All Abyss has done is apologized.
[15:20] <Faerzen_Norstov> Which is very much appreciated and *not* an easy thing to do.
[15:20] <Regent[Crown]> Given you promises and he's unarmed
[15:20] <Regent[Crown]> He literally allowed himself to be subject to your mercy and your mercy alone
[15:20] <Regent[Crown]> As a group, our mercy
[15:22] <Faerzen_Norstov> I suppose that here is where the trouble lies for me.
[15:22] <Regent[Crown]> You're just an untrusting person
[15:23] <Faerzen_Norstov> And I know it will sound irrational.
[15:23] <Regent[Crown]> Fair enough given how others can't really be expected to trust you
[15:23] <Faerzen_Norstov> And I know it will sound awful.
[15:23] <Faerzen_Norstov> Because I have been so manipulative, I abhor the idea of being manipulated myself.
[15:23] <Regent[Crown]> Yep. Get over it.
[15:24] <Faerzen_Norstov> Great.
[15:24] <Faerzen_Norstov> Excellent advice.
[15:24] <Faerzen_Norstov> Glad we got that problem all worked out.
[15:24] <Regent[Crown]> You're an adult now, it's up to you to see the truth for yourself
[15:25] <Faerzen_Norstov> .......
[15:25]  * Faerzen_Norstov sighs
[15:25] <Faerzen_Norstov> Do you know what?
[15:25] <Faerzen_Norstov> Supposedly Byron has a copy of the mask now.
[15:26] <Faerzen_Norstov> Or the original mask from the future.
[15:27] <Faerzen_Norstov> He trusts it even less than I do, and for completely irrational reasons.
[15:27] <Faerzen_Norstov> "I don't like masks" is all he says.
[15:27] <Faerzen_Norstov> If he received that mask from me in the future, then Abyss needs to be prepared for whatever shitstorm Byron is going to thrown at him.
[15:28] <Faerzen_Norstov> If he did not receive that mask from me in the future, then it is likely it was something else and we are all quite fucked.
[15:28] <Faerzen_Norstov> As uncertain as this scenario is......
[15:28] <Faerzen_Norstov> I need to place my bets where the probabilities lie.
[15:29] <Regent[Crown]> And?
[15:29] <Faerzen_Norstov> If you refuse to be of any material assistance in this matter then I really only have once choice.
[15:29] <Faerzen_Norstov> It isn't like there ever was anything else I could do this whole time.
[15:30] <Faerzen_Norstov> I simply wanted your help.
[15:30] <Regent[Crown]> Faerzen
[15:31] <Faerzen_Norstov> Yes?
[15:31] <Regent[Crown]> If I was there to help protect you from Abyss and you worked your way to trusting him without protection
[15:31] <Regent[Crown]> There would always be doubt in your mind
[15:31] <Regent[Crown]> You would never trust Abyss because it all could be an act couldn't it?
[15:32] <Faerzen_Norstov> It could always all be an act.
[15:32] <Faerzen_Norstov> You can say that about everything ever.
[15:32] <Regent[Crown]> Go take me off and put him on right now, don't think rationally think sympathetically for a moment
[15:32] <Regent[Crown]> Leap of Faith
[15:33] <Faerzen_Norstov> Faith isn't my thing, Regent. Faith is inherently un-understandable.
[15:33] <Faerzen_Norstov> Regardless, I will talk with Abyss.
[15:34] <Regent[Crown]> Hmmph
[15:45] <Faerzen_Norstov> I can give you my word, Reggie, that I will try. I've already said it is hard to just blindly trust, but I will try.
[15:45] <Faerzen_Norstov> I did a lot of introspection with Nick earlier, and there are definitely parts of myself that need to change.
[15:54] <Regent[Crown]> Agreed
[15:57] <Faerzen_Norstov> ......
[15:58] <Faerzen_Norstov> I do not really know what else to say other than that.
[15:58] <Faerzen_Norstov> So......
[15:58] <Faerzen_Norstov> I guess I will try and we shall see what happens.
[15:59] <Regent[Crown]> I suppose we shall
[16:01] <Faerzen_Norstov> I suppose.... thank you then?
[16:02] <Regent[Crown]> Don't thank me
[16:02] <Faerzen_Norstov> You've had to deal with a lot of mental and emotional shit from Lyra and myself, and yet you're still here trying to help.
[16:02] <Regent[Crown]> I'm just a crotchety old crown and it could all be an act anyways so you shouldn't trust me enough to thank you
[16:03] <Faerzen_Norstov> Wow.
[16:04] <Faerzen_Norstov> Okay, if you are really going to continue being that bitter about what I said, then I think that is all there is to say on the matter.
[16:04] <Faerzen_Norstov> Talk with you later, Reggie.
[16:04]  * Faerzen_Norstov takes off crown and returns it to its spot on his desk