Scene #3242: wittyscenetitlehere

Owner	Pose
Staren	Knowing which world August is on makes tracking him a much simpler matter. In a soft flash of light, Staren appears at the edge of the city nearby. He looks mostly human, though two things stand out... One, who actually wears a labcoat casually? Two, he clearly has cat ears and a cat tail. He starts looking around for what he expects to be a confused and injured german teenager.
August Kohler	August isn't hard to spot. Redheaded German teenager, sitting on the ground, using a cellphone, likely to talk on the broadband. He's covered in bloody scrapes and dirt and plantmatter, and looks very, very tired, like he's run a marathon. As he spots Staren, his eyes analyze him, but he doesn't move. August seems a bit wary to up and approach him, so he waits for Staren to approach first. Fingers begin tapping at the phone again, as he waits.
Staren	Staren's ears rotate first, and then his head turns to look at August. He looks serious, then smiles and waves as he approaches. "Hey. You look like you've had a rough day." He squats down a bit, holding out a hand to help him up. "Come with me, and I'll show you where you can always get help. ...I'm Staren, by the way. I guess you could call me a researcher of problems, working for the Union. Although I do the fighting thing as much. Just not on the front lines against the Confederacy. ...I'm rambling, sorry."
August Kohler	As Staren approaches, August attempts to smile. It's a bit forced, and seems more anxious than genuine, if anything. "Gutentag. August Kohler. Thank you very much." Taking Staren's hand, he lifts himself up, rubbing his temples as he reaches his feet. "Problem researcher, huh? Sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you. I'm just a high school student, assuming those also exist in this 'Multiverse'. Where are we going?"
Staren	Staren smirks at the 'lot of work ahead of you comment. "Hmh. You don't know the half of it. Yes, there are plenty of high school students in the Multiverse. And many of them do amazing things. Hang on, I'm gonna teleport us to the gate to save time." He keeps a firm hold of August's hand as they begin to glow, and then teleport to Atlas Park's warpgate, which he leads August through. The inside is, to this player's understanding, something like a network of branching tunnels. Myriad worlds can be glimpsed outside some of the gate exits... Until finally one might get the impression they are traveling through space, as the glimpses through the gates start to look like little waystations and research outposts in the void, some exposed to space (it seems the vacuum of space doesn't suck /through/ the gates). All the way, Staren keeps glancing back to make sure August is following. "This is the warpgate network. Once you learn your way around, you can walk to anywhere in the sector through this. That's... ahh, I don't know if you want the Multiversal geography lesson right now."
August Kohler	August is about to respond, but the teleportation seems to shock him. "Holy...that...was most definitely new. You do that /often/?" Quickly shaking off the disorientation, he glances around the warpgate, and just shakes his head. "I still can't believe this is real. How long does it usually take for people to just walk through...this...and not be surprised?" He squints around, making sure to keep trail of Staren. "I don't know, it might break my brain. What's this Afterus we're heading to like?"
Staren	Staren stops at the question. "...I don't know. My home is like a microcosm of the Multiverse, so for me, it was like the world just got /bigger/. Although it still surprises me from time to time." He resumes walking. "Let me know when you get used to it, and I'll tell the number of days it took to the next person to ask." "Afterus... I'm not sure how to describe it. It's... kind of strange, but... friendly?" The small tunnel they're following approaches an end point, one of the Afterus arrivals gates. Suddenly, many other tunnels merge with the one Staren took. And when they step out... the Afterus - Arrivals terminal seems strangely anticlimactic. Staren leads August to the teleporter, and... Now you're in another world. A temple in a city of schizophrenic architecture, inhabited by humans, elves, trolls and more, and of course when you see someone with a pet it might be a pokemon or something. "...I dunno, how would /you/ describe this?"
Ainsley	There's also a snappily-dressed lizard... uhh... woman? She appears to have been waiting to meet up with them, maybe she spoke with Staren over the radio along the way. Ainsley greets Staren and August by approaching at a low hover and waving at them. "Hello~" she greets, her voice having a serene quality to it, matching with her weightless nature. She doesn't seem to have wings, she isn't glowing... she just floats as if in zero gravity, propelled by an unknown force. Probably not THAT weird after Paragon City. "I haven't really visited Afterus before, either, so this should be a fun trip." She lands with a feather's touch and holds her hand out at August, smiling expectantly at him. "You look rough. We can help get you cleaned up."
August Kohler	"Will do. I'd say 'more than one', so far, but this is only my second time...first was a real trip." August shrugs, continuing on. He doesn't speak again until they arrive at Afterus, which causes him to pause just to take everything in. As Staren asks August takes a minute to just stare, quicky getting over the feel of teleporting. "I feel like I ended up in a fantasy novel. Friendlier than what I've seen, though." And then Ainsley arrives. August takes a minute to figure out exactly what he is looking at, as he shakes her hand cautiously. It is a bit strange, even if he's seen stranger. "Gutentag. August Kohler. Did we speak on the radio? Thank you for your assistance. Please, lead the way."
Staren	"Fantasy novel?" Staren looks around, consideringly. "Yeah, I can see it. Man, you should ask someone how this place got made someday." He looks at August. "Buuuuut maybe not right away. It's one of those 'still surprises me' type things." And then... Ainsley! Staren looks at her, initially surprised as she approaches, as she's flying apparently without the lightning harness -- or maybe he's just never seen it used at low power, since much of their time together has been dealing with, well, Multiverse-type shenanigans. "Ainsley!" He smiles wide, and steps towards her, then seems to hesitate as he's unsure what to do about the flying. "So, you just fly all the time now...?" Then he decides, and strides up to her, reaching up and pulling her down into a tight hug. "It's good to see you again! Sorry I haven't visited, things were just so nuts lately..." He lets her go and looks at her. "You can see again. I'm glad. After I realized why I saw /Toph/ leading you around, I meant to ask, but... yeah." He looks down at the ground, then back up at her. "Sorry for ignoring you at the time, it was just... you know... a disaster zone, and trying to save all the hurt and dying before... um..." he glances back at August, then back at Ainsley. "Uh, yeah. Oh. I guess it's not like you would have seen me anyway..." He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.
Ainsley	Ainsley's hand is... well, it's not clammy, but it's not warm either. Like touching a snake or lizard's hand, fittingly, just a room temperature appendage. It's also got a very gentle grasp. The reciprocated greeting means a warmer smile on her face. "We did. I was the one that spoke German at you," she explains to August... though she's momentarily surprised by Staren's hug. And his words get her to direct a surprised look at him. Once he's no longer squeezing the soft lizard woman (she returned the hug reflexively) she explains to him, now, "I've been able to fly indefinitely ever since... ah, I believe it's been since that time in Faruja's world, from the second Shift." "You were not ignoring me," she adds, beeping his nose, "You were doing your job. There's nothing to apologize for. Now, let's get Mister Kohler to somewhere he can get cleaned up. I don't know where anything is in Afterus."
August Kohler	August has no idea what Staren and Ainsley are talking about. He just stands there quietly, trying to piece together exactly the type of stuff that happens in the Multiverse from it. Not a lot of context to go off, but he's trying. "Is flight rare around here? That's actually something I haven't seen. Levitation, sure, the Tin Soldier can do that, but I wouldn't consider it true flight, since his height limit's pretty low." As Ainsley changes the topic back to August, he bows slightly in gratitude. "Thank you. There's a hospital around here, right? How much do the hospital bills tend to run around here...?"
Staren	Staren blinks at the 'just doing your job' comment, then looks relieved. When Ainsley comments she doesn't know her way around Afterus, he looks briefly surprised, then realizes, "Ah... I guess you wouldn't have had any particular reason to come take the tour." Staren shrugs to August. "Flight... I dunno if I'd call it /rare/, but it's not super common, either. Alright then, this way." He smiles and strides confidently out of the Temple of Public Transportation, then turns and walks slightly more relaxed out of the temple district. "Hospital bills... uhhhhh... I'm sure something can be worked out. You don't look too banged up, so I'm sure if you take a job you'll make more than enough money to pay them back. If they won't take an IOU, I'll cover it this time." If August looks at the statues and temples as they pass, he may find that certain people in the Multiverse look oddly familiar later, but there's nothing in particular to make them stand out now. It's a bunch of temples (albeit with completely inconsistant architectural styles), there are statues of presumably gods or important religious figures or something, that's to be expected right? When they reach the center of the city, Staren joins the line to use the transportalizers. He could just teleport them straight to the hospital, but he figures it's good to give August time to adjust. On the other side of the city center, he resumes leading the way, as the Hospital looms in the distance.
Ainsley	As Ainsley's bowed to, her scaled brows lift in surprise. It's not a gesture she receives a lot, and the etiquette seems to maintain the lizard woman's near-constant calm smiling. When Staren starts leading them on their way, she decides to walk. Her steps are still as light as a ghost, and her posture is impeccable. Someone that seems to have an eerie abundance of confidence. "In my world? I am a rarity. Unassisted flight is very difficult, but circumstances conspired and I have achieved a state that is... different from the norm," she explains to them both, before they reach that transportalizer... which is just a fancy word for 'teleport pad,' at any rate. Once they teleport, she makes a bit of a face, disoriented by the strange sensation of teleportation. "Do you have any hobbies, Mister Kohler?" she smoothly transitions, glossing over all of the oddities the Persona user has experienced in short succession.
August Kohler	"So people who aren't supposed to fly can learn, then? Fascinating! That'd be interesting to learn how to do, would probably raise my Persona's height limit, who knows." August continues following, watching the streets with a curious eye. Once they reached the teleport pad, he just sighs and gets ready for another jump. "My family's fairly rich, so we should be able to pay for it once I've headed back home." For those good at telling when someone is lying, this is a lie, the entire sentence. Despite that, August doesn't quite show it on his face, probably attempting to hold it all in. Getting over the teleportation, rubbing at his temples again, August smiles as he responds. "I'm the captain of my school's football team, actually. Have a lot of good friends I hangout with, too. Though I'm actually an engineering student! Mechanical, learning how things work and putting things together is spectacular." He's lying again, with only the comment about being an engineering student and enjoying it being true. "Though, I'll probably have to juggle them with what I'm going through. I can't just...ignore the Mirror Forest, what I've been put into. Will need to balance afterschool with it, definitely."
Staren	"Uhh... I don't think you can repeat Ainsley's method. But it is true that there are abilities like magic and ki manipulation that can be learned, and which can provide ways to fly." Staren quirks an eyebrow at the personal info dump. It /almost/ seems like bragging, but... well, he /is/ a teenager, right? He smiles a bit at the engineering comment. "Yes. Learning how things work and using that knowledge is an excellent persuit, and one that can lead to great power for whatever your goals are. You're gonna /love/ checking out giant robots, huh?" He smiles and turns to August. "Ah... speaking of your goals... That is another thing you wanted to talk about. The superfactions. While Ainsley and I are both allies of the Union... If anyone asks me about it, I strive to give them the information that will guide them to the place they will be happiest. If you would truly fit in better with the Confederacy, I wouldn't want to encourage you into the Union. Though if you were truly a borderline case, I think the Union would be better for such people long term..." Staren shakes his head. "Well, that's irrelevant right now." "While I see the conflict as one of freedom vs tyranny, I am sure there are as many views on it as there are soldiers on either side. Peridot, one of the women who spoke up on the radio, made an excellent point. If, in your quest to learn how things work, you don't want your allies to make a big deal about 'sapient rights'" he makes finger-quotes, "or 'ethics' or 'did you really have to break into that laboratory to steal their work', or 'but people might get hurt!', you might be happier in the Confederacy. As she said, the Confederacy allows its members a certain... freedom, and yet they can count on eachother for help and support despite that. In my case, my own concerns could not allow me that 'freedom'" no finger-quotes this time, just the tone of voice, "anyway." "However, there are a few in the Confederacy who are not 'bad people' at all, or for whom 'bad person' might be technically accurate but an unfair simplification. Likewise, not everyone in the Union agrees one-hundred-percent on what's right either." Staren looks ahead. "For me, the Union is a network of people who I know will support helping others just because they need help. Elites of all stripes do things for personal reasons or because it'll earn them favor with someone else. The Syndicate can help match people to jobs that serve /something/ for them, whether it's personal reasons or just money, but with the Union I know that helping people in need is enough. Maybe we're a bunch of goodie-two-shoes's, but... I want to help people and improve lives, so that suits me just fine." Staren is silent for a moment as he walks, then looks back at August. "Was that helpful?"
Sarah Parsle	"The Union and Confederacy are a bunch of bull." With that declaration, Sarah arrives, shuffling in. A palpable aura of gloomy depression seems to surround the young girl who looks out over the collection with an expression that hangs betweeen apathy and mild frustration. "They both talk a good game but in the end it's just the popular kids making their cool kids clubs all over. No one ever actually grows out of high school, there just becomes more money and toys involved. Don't let anyone fool you. It's just 'Us vs. Them.'. I don't even give a damn about it, I have bigger problems. And you might too, I don't know." She shuffles over to August and holds out a hand. "Sarah Parsle. Nice to meet you new guy. I'd say it's a pleasure but it'd be a lie, usually this kind of thing just complicates matters. More people always complicate things." She walks away whether Augus shakes or not. "So you probably already explained your deal. Cool beans, I'll pick it up from context, because it's a dick move to make someone explain something repeatedly and I don't actually dislike you enough to be an actual jerk yet."
Ainsley	Ainsley's face does not shift from that mild smile while August speaks. She just watches attentively, though her silence is telling. She did spot the little lies, mostly the one about a rich family. Her smile does start to fade as Staren starts going to explain about the Union and the Confederacy. Her eyes stare at him, at first, and then through him, like her stare is glazing over. She almost starts to frown, when... She's snapped out of it, blinking twice in owlish surprise at Sarah's remark about the two sides. She draws her mouth tightly at the rather harsh opinion she has about the superfactions... Seems that she doesn't agree with something there, but she politely keeps it to herself as best she can. "Well." She looks at August, and smiles wearily, as if visibly apologizing for Staren and Sarah. She doesn't seem nearly as wordy as they do. "You do not have to choose either faction. Let's just..." she glances at Staren pointedly, then returns her smile back to August, "Focus on getting you somewhere comfortable to process all of this, after we get you checked at the hospital."
August Kohler	August listens intently to Staren's spiel. It seems pretty helpful, though it's definitely wordy. Before he can speak, however, a nuisa- I MEAN Sarah arrives on scene. Her demeanor irritates August, though he definitely listens and takes in her words, them being much more agreeable to him. He has no idea what to say, though, and nods with Ainsley, when she speaks, shaking Sarah's hand as she presents it. "Actually, I haven't. I'm not entirely sure how much I'm supposed to share this stuff...but I /do/ need to share it with somebody, I guess. It's just...really strange, really terrifying, and I have no idea if anyone will even believe me." August stops, glancing around. "Even with all this." August continues forward, stopping as he considers a very important question. "If there's giant robots and monsters and everything...how do people survive? Isn't the death toll humongous?"
Staren	Staren looks surprised, but... not annoyed at Sarah's comment. He turns and smiles. "Ah, a contrasting viewpoint. Excellent." He listens, finally commenting with a slight frown, "I think that's a little unfair, but not 100% untrue. That's peoples' nature, after all. Although I don't care either about the front lines fight stuff. I'm there for the 'Hey, this world needs help' stuff, not the 'The Confederacy is taking resources, we've got to stop them!' stuff. I stopped caring about that long ago..." He stares into the distance for a moment. Then he looks forward. "I think my life is better now." After another moment, he looks back at August again. "'Supposed' to share? There's not really a requirement... Explain as much or as little as you want. I have already explained the various reasons elites take interest in things... if you want someone to take interest in the troubles of your world, you'll have to talk about them at least a /little/. Though... if /I/ take an interest, I will want to know as much about how things work as possible." At August's question about the death toll, Staren's ears splay and his tail droops. "...We can't keep everyone in the Multiverse safe. But... perhaps you are misunderstanding how things work. In places where that's common... people have ways to deal with it. My home city, for example, requires that you check your robots and big guns at the gate, and the police include people specially trained to handle powerful threats -- many are supernatural beings themselves. It helps that we have an unusually large population of adventurers and magic-users, as well. Even if you were a cyborg full of hidden weapons and protected by sub-dermal armor... Would you want to hold up a store or mug someone, knowing that any passers-by /might/ be carrying a laser pistol, be able to throw fireballs, or be ab alien who is just so supernaturally tough and strong they could throw you through a wall?" Staren looks ahead again. "Most places aren't like that, though. Just because, when conflict arises, it might be started by people with powers or giant robots or monsters, and it's answered by the same brought from heroes... Doesn't mean every day life in every town in the Multiverse is like that. Most places carry on largely as they did before Unification. When a /really/ big problem happens, well... a crazy magic disaster or kaiju attack isn't really that different from a city dealing with an earth quake or hurricane, I guess. People need the same kind of help after."
Sarah Parsle	"Eh. If you want to talk, you'll talk. I guarantee that no matter what problem you've got, there are people out there who will help you hit it with a hammer. There's a lot of people out here good at that." Sarah crosses har arms and looks sideways over towards August. "... People die. There isn't anything you can do about that. You're talking about infinite universes where infinite people are living their lives. There isn't any force that can exist that can protect everyone from everything at all times." She turns and shuffles over to Staren and pokes him in the side. "Fair? You want to talk about fair? Life isn't fair, catboy. I'm surprised you've gone on this long and haven't accepted that. Or are you one of those guys who thinks they can make things fair? That's always a laugh." She humphs, turning away to look back to August. "Take my advice... or don't, it doesn't matter. Just do what you think needs to be done. It doesn't matter in the end. If someone dies, they were meant to die there and there's nothing you could do to change that."
Staren	Staren nods sadly at Sarah's pointing out that some death is just good odds if you include enough people. He gets a thoughtful frowny expression as she correctly identifies that life is unfair and he has a problem with it. "The latter." He puts his hands in his pockets and looks forward again, slightly sulkily, and quietly adds, "Glad it'll at least be good for a laugh if I ever /do/ break down." Staren glances at August. "She's got a point. Ideals're important, but becoming too devoted is a dangerous path." Then he looks forward again, muttering. "Can't really dissuade those of us who are the types to follow it anyway, though..."
Ainsley	Ainsley starts to look more and more tired, like she's getting frustrated by them arguing about this. Since August doesn't complain about that much and instead provides more questions, the lizard woman tolerates it, and grows comfortable again by distracting herself with the ambling gaits of the crowds around them. There is just a point in all of this where she gives a skeptical look at Sarah... no, more than skeptical, she starts to seem outright offended, though the shouting never comes. It just throws her off so much that she has a hard time figuring out what to say. "What have you experienced to feel such despair?" she asks Sarah, after a palpable silence as she tried to process this dark affect that's being presented to all of them. She has intensely scrutinizing eyes.
August Kohler	"Of course people die, what I was worried about what how people fend themselves against forces of immense power. Staren has it, though, thank you." August pauses, looking between them, before turning to Sarah. He's a bit more frustrated now. "To say it doesn't matter is really reassuring, thanks. People die, people need to die, but it does matter. Everything matters. If someone dies, their death had a reason, and definitely mattered. And, to say it can't be changed insinuates that we're all tied to a path of fate, and we can't control our own destinies. And I just can't accept that. I can't accept that I'm only alive because I'm supposed to be, that it can be overturned at any time because 'fate' decrees it. It's just bullshit!" August stops himself after this, however, stepping back. He takes a deep breath, and waits a minute before speaking again. "I'm sorry. My life's just been turned upside down. If there's any time to talk about it, this is definitely it." Pause. He's trying to find the way to start the topic. "I live not far from the Black Forest, in Alberichstadt, Germany. I attend this very fine boarding school, Drachenblatt Academy, one of the greatest schools in the world. One day, I heard a rumor. If you chant a specific phrase into a mirror...you will learn a secret that nobody else knows. I didn't know whether or not to believe it...but it was worth a shot, right? So I did it. Five minutes later, nothing happened. I turn around, go to leave..." August pauses. This seems to be where it gets more uncomfortable, judging by his reaction. "And then I'm grabbed, being tossed into the mirror. Some sort of man...with a beard, an axe, I don't know, just tosses me into the mirror, and I end up in another world. A forest. A dark, shadowy forest, where everything is made of glass, where everything is reflecting on you. I wish it was just that...but then, it appears. Some sort of...wolf. It chases me, takes the shape of my...fears, hunts me, and tries to kill me. I...I only barely survived. I held it off for as long as I could, running and trying to outsmart it...if the woodsman hadn't reappeared, the wolf would have killed me, I know it." August sighs, frowning at this point. "I awakened some sort of ability. 'Persona'. The power of my inner self. I summon it with...this." And then, August lifts his hand, as in a flash of blue energy, a heavily burned spoon appears in it. Half of it is unburned, still highly reflective, as he seems to stare in the reflection. "This is how I summon my Persona." He wants to say more, but he's still figuring out how to continue after that, and definitely wants to give the others a chance to process what he's said so far. He's a bit anxious at this point, too; what he's gone through has definitely affected him.
Sarah Parsle	Sarah doesn't seem to get agitated or angry as August replies with a denial of Sarah's thought process. She just nods. "That's your choice man. For what it's worth, anyway." She looks over to Ainsley, who is giving her they Gaze. The youth seems normal enough, she just seems to have this Pig Pen-esque aura of gloom around her, and yet she doesn't seem to have gone Goth or Emo about it. Maybe inflicting it on people is a coping mechanism. Holding that gaze for a few seconds, Sarah simply smiles mirthlessly in response to Ainsley's inquiry. "You'll find out." Sarah replies, before looking back to August. "So you got kidnapped by a guy, taken into some kind of hellish mirror-world and won a death game to get some kind of power? Well then, maybe we're more similar than I thought." She shuffles over and claps August on the back. "That's completely messed up. Congratulations for surviving it." She steps away then and shrugs. "So that's pretty messed up. What are you going to do with it? I mean, if that's happening to you, maybe it's happening to other people, I guess. That makes sense."
Staren	Staren smiles wider and wider as August talks about defying fate, finally turning to look at him again. "Oh dear. It seems we're more alike than I expected. If you ever need help fighting fate, wherever you end up... You can talk to me." The smile fades somewhat. "But there is one important lesson I must share: Fate is dumb, but sometimes there is an easier and more direct problem to a solution than fighting fate itself. Insist on doing things the hard way when it is not truly called for..." he sighs. "Boy, the way people get pissed off." He shakes his head and turns forward. "But if it /is/ truly called for... stick to your guns, and stand up for what you believe in. After all, if your own ideals aren't worth standing up for, what is?" Staren listens to the story. "Wow. That sounds messed up. Getting thrown into crazy mirror land, I mean. ...She's got the right of it though, what do you want to do about it?"
Ainsley	Ainsley blinks slowly at Sarah, the smile and the cryptic reply not seeming to satisfy her. She accepts it anyways, even giving a helpless shrug at Sarah with her hands out at her sides, her mouth quirking at one corner. 'Okay, lady,' the look conveys. As for August, though, she regards him more wearily when he starts explaining his backstory. She tilts her head at the mystical aspects, as if she's trying to pick apart the special meanings inherent in these words. "I'm glad you survived," is the first she has for August, her somber tone suggesting an experience with messed up situations. "The Tin Soldier will protect you, I'm sure... But, the woodsman and the wolf... That's an old story. Are you familiar with Red Riding Hood...?" She frowns gently, discarding this line of thought. "Come on now, let's get those scrapes looked at."
August Kohler	"I'm alive for /now/. But who knows what my next encounter in there will do? Or the one after that? That's one of the reasons I was considering these superfactions...if I could get help, I'd take it." August sighs, before looking up at Sarah. "I know I'm not the only one, that much is obvious. Whether or not others have survived, I have no clue. I haven't seen any other Persona users. It appears not many people know what Persona is, either. There's other people in there, though, in that forest..." August pauses, before speaking again. "The Velvet Room. It's...some sort of carriage, but it's incredibly roomy. And blue, inside, too. There's a man...Igor. Incredibly long nose. He told me what my Persona is. A mask I wear for hardship, the reflection of my inner self. He seems to know what is going on in there, but he didn't tell me what the wolf was, or the woodsman, or any of that." August pauses, as he recalls something. "He had an assistant, too. Oldish lady...reminded me of a fairy godmother sort. Agatha. I don't know anything about her, but I thought all the facts may help." August rubs the back of his neck, turning to Ainsley. "Maybe. But I can't just rely on it." He then nods in regards to the story. "Yeah, I'm German. I thought that a bit myself, too, later, but I don't think I'm a little girl in red, so I don't really know what was going on. That's what I want to do. I want to figure out what is going on in there, find out why children are being tossed in...and hopefully, stop it? I have this power. I need to use it." August nods to Ainsley, as he continues forward. "You're right. Thank you, again, even if it was just listening. I really needed to get that off my chest."
Sarah Parsle	Sarah nods as she listens to the additional exposition. "Sounds crazy. But the good kind of crazy, I guess. Feel free to get whatever help you can. Maybe I'll even pitch in sometimes, who knows. If that's what you think you need to do, go for it." She shrugs. "There's gotta be someone out there who knows what's up... Or if there isn't, go be the first. Just do whatever you need to do in order to survive."