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[arithmethodical]

[ She debates for a bit whether or not to do this with voice or audio, but she feels too shaky for either, and eventually loses patience with herself and the debate. ]

I've been asked by some friends of his to share information that Vision found about the ritual and how it might go. Might have to go.

I'm pretty sure we're all familiar with the prophecy by now, but if not, you can look at it here.

Vision found three things. First is that this thing, the ritual, the 12th of November kept coming up as the most significant time to do it.

Second is that the more imPorts who are there, the better chance it has of working. So show up if you can.

The third is the bell. There are two in Jeopardy it could apply to. The first one is the most obvious choice, the bell in the cathedral of the spider cult church. The other one is the Justice Building, which is apparently pretty much decorative. He wasn't sure if we're supposed to ring the bell at 3am on the night of the full moon, or if we ring the bell to get things started.

I did some of my own research, too.

[ There's a pause here, while she puts together her thoughts. ]

The rock known as the Altar out in the National Park near Jeopardy has no apparent connection to anything. No important myths, no significant legends. There's whispers about it being a place where people used to be sacrificed to guarantee crop growth, but I couldn't find anything else tying it to the prophecy.

The other thing. The twins. I tried to find out what I could about them. Their names are Layla and Sally Clapp. They aren't mystical. They're just two ordinary little girls. They dress differently so people will tell them apart, even though their parents want them to dress the same. They like spiders. They read books about them. They play kid games and have kid imaginations.

So who knows if they actually saw something or not. Who knows if they have some mystical connection to what's happening. They're a convenient fit to the prophecy. That's all.

Comments

[nightmarist]

because there's a fucking prophecy that spells it out for us

and the ingredients of a ritual aren't just for funsies

it's like baking a cake

you're substituting the chocolate with dog shit and trying to feed it to the goddesses you're summoning to save the world

they can't fucking eat it

[arithmethodical]

It doesn't spell it out! It gives us parameters to work within!

If we can serve those parameters without using fucking seven-year-olds then why shouldn't we?

[nightmarist]

but you can't

what the fuck is so hard to understand here

you can't

and there's no second chance once you fuck this up

[arithmethodical]

[ IT TAKES HER A WHILE TO ANSWER BECAUSE SHE'S GONE OUT TO HER MACHINE SHOP TO TAKE A WRENCH TO VARIOUS METAL OBJECTS SHE'S CLAIMED FROM THE JUNK YARD.

When she comes back: ]

I want to be there.

[nightmarist]

tell it to whoever's in charge of this shitshow

i won't be there

[arithmethodical]

So you approve of sacrificing children, you just don't plan to watch.

[nightmarist]

if you had a bomb, would you keep it stored in an oven that might be turned on at any second?

[arithmethodical]

I don't understand.

video;

[timestones]

[Stephen's got some time flexibility that others don't, but he's got a lot of spinning plates and only so many hands, so video it is. And he's clearly doing something else slightly off shot so he's not even fully looking at the lens. Is he stressed? Maybe. Can you tell from his expression? Ehhhh... Debatable, but he's clearly busy]

Listen.

I recently asked someone on the network if we had the small print or the warnings attached to this prophecy--because there's always small print and warnings. They come after the big tasty, tempting spells and rituals that promise a lot of power or whatever.

That small print? That's for them to screw with us, not the other way around.

To find loopholes in prophecies, you need to make intelligent interpretations of what is already provided in that text. You can't erase and change the parts you don't like and replace them with things that you want and are more convenient for us.

You've said it yourself: we have parameters, so the instructions are there. So, if you can find another way to fulfill the 'two babes of the same mother born same hour' thing, you're onto something.

Maybe it's literal twins, maybe it's siblings who mother birthed them at the same time years apart, maybe it's one entity that split.

Or maybe it's these two kids. And if it is, that is something we have to reckon with. Or maybe there's more to it than them just being two innocent kids. Maybe that's the kind of moral question made to create hesitation. That's the kind of asshole-god humour I'd expect...

video;

[arithmethodical]

[ She draws breath to argue, and finds she has nothing to say. The fight goes out of her in a rush, and she looks away from the camera. ]

Fuck.

[timestones]

Mm. That’s the long and short of it.

It’ll be hard, but you and the others will figure a way forward. One dead end just means backtracking to find the full path.

You’ll find it.

[arithmethodical]

[ It shouldn't be easy to take the reassurances of a stranger, but hearing something good, something hopeful, gives her a moment to catch her breath when she feels like the air is being crushed out of her with every conversation. ]

What're you going to be doing?

[timestones]

Continue to try and steer things toward the least destructive outcome without making direct contact. And prepare for whatever does come to pass.

[arithmethodical]

Well. Good luck. To all of us, I guess.

video;

[crassidy]

Or maybe it's not kids at all, mate. Everyone's assuming it's humans. What if it's that Babe from the pig movie, eh? That pig had a spider pal. The dots connect.

oh my god i'm dying

[arithmethodical]

The pig movie?

[crassidy]

Babe?! Obviously.

[arithmethodical]

Right. I think I missed that one in the welcome packet.

[ TIREDLY AMUSED. ]

Or maybe it means two attractive people.

[crassidy]

See, now yer thinking properly! Explore them options. Consider the chances of it being two really hot twins.

[nightmarist]

Honestly the best idea I've heard so far.

[crassidy]

Thanks, mate. Honestly it's been keeping me up at night. Seems so bleedin' obvious.

Re: video;

[timestones]

[At this, Stephen actually glances up for a second.

A slow smile crosses his face, followed by a breathy chuckle, like Cassidy has handed him a bottle of water in the desert. He definitely needed that.]

Sure. Or the pig.

video;

[crassidy]

[Cass is just glad to be of service in some capacity. Even if maybe he'd like to not be the joke of everything one of these days.

Maybe he should stop saying dumb shit if he wants that...]

You're welcome to that one, Stevie. Oi, you run that possibility through yer brain meats yet? I bet we're onto a winner with the pig.

video;

[timestones]

I was about to say you’re a gift to this doomed world, but then you called me Stevie.

video;

[crassidy]

Don't see the problem. Plenty of good Stevies out there.