Transcript: Season 3 Episode 63: The System Works

A Knight of Shreds and Patches Transcript  

Season 3 Episode 63: The System Works

Transcript by Cameron Robertson

Intro:  

[hurdy gurdy music begins]

Nick: Welcome, listeners, to A Knight of Shreds and Patches. An immersive actual play podcast. This episode features the talents of –

Penn:  Penn Van Batavia as Marathon Messenger and Gwendolyn Rozenthall.

Kit: Kit Adames as Birdie Foundling and Vaus Foundling.

Cameron: Cameron Robertson as Emma Blackwood and Janus Foundling.

Sydney: Sydney Whittington as Cassidy Shard and Winifred Foundling.

Nick: Nick Robertson as GM and Narrator.

Sydney: Hello listeners, this is your editor, Sydney, with today’s messages:

You’ve still got one week to wave rainbow flags and take pride in your identity! And after that, it will still be time to wave rainbow flags and take pride in your identity, because Pride month ending can’t take that away from you. It just means the parades are a little further in between, and sometimes have Santa in them for some reason. 

And speaking of things that the month ending can’t take away from you, we just reached 100 Campfire Conversations in our Patreon feed. That’s 100 random questions that our characters have been asked by an increasingly powerful and eldritch being. If that sounds like fun, consider backing our Patreon, which gives you access to bonus episodes, campfire conversations, and other fun rewards, including the ability to submit your own questions to be pondered.

And with that, we wrap up today’s announcements and head into Season 3, Episode 63: The System Works. And so…

“Join us, for now our tale to yours attaches

To carry hope: a Knight of Shreds and Patches.”

[hurdy gurdy music ends]

[electronic beeping]  

[robotic powerup noise begins]  

Distorted Robotic Voice: Power restored. Systems online. Reconfiguring audio connection.  

[robotic powerup noise fades to radio frequency static]

[over radio]  

Kit (as Contrail Axedge):  Last time on a Knight of Shreds and Patches, my name is Contrail Axedge, and I got to fight Rye Stone. [laugh] It went super, super well. We had a really fun time, and you know, although I got stabbed several times, my injuries are not super bad. They're only keeping me in the hospital for 48 hours. Oh my gosh, I'm so lucky! You know, my boss was like, 'he's not going to be a problem to you, Contrail,' and so I believed him. Egg on my face, I guess. My bad! And so, you know, although we've had our differences, and I kind of messed up his knee, Rye and I have been becoming really good friends because our beds are right next to one another's in the hospital, so I'm actually quitting my job [ahh!] and becoming Rye's secretary~. Oh my gosh, everything is coming up Contrail, and I'm gonna hopefully get to hang out with Emma soon, because I really, really wanted to fight her, because she seems so cool and so strong and talented, but you know, some people don't like to fight for their first hangout as friends, and that's totally okay. So I'll probably just hang out the boring way, and like go to a cafe or something like that. What? I'm disturbing the other patients? Oh sorry! Bye bye.

[radio static]

Episode Start:  

Nick:  The main server room beneath the city of Sasnak Traveling is cleaner than when Winifred was last here. Somebody has come through and scrubbed up the signs of battle and removed the corpses of mercenaries. And while there are still some scuffs on the ground, bullet holes in some of the passages that lead into this large cavernous chamber, otherwise, it's like time hasn't passed here. Winifred was able to enter this area through a different series of passageways now that the council chambers are full again and being used, but she knows no one is going to bother her here as she gets to further explore the true interior of the city, the computational interior. The large pillar in the center of the room has just the slightest glow and pulse, as though welcoming Winifred back.

Sydney:  In the last couple of weeks, Winifred has been quite busy. On the official side, she answered a bunch of questions about her failed attempt to restart the city, how the process of that went. She described how, to a Ramp Girl who didn't really have the level of technical expertise necessary to follow it at all, how she tried to bounce the main server, to bring it down and then back up and do some connectivity checks, which is kind of true. It's not entirely a lie from what she actually did, which was dive into it and try to debug it directly, but because the city did restart itself after they disabled the mercenaries intrusion mechanism, Winifred did not end up needing to explain exactly how she knew how everything worked the whole time. It's a lot easier of a story to say 'I tried some things that anyone would think to try because I had access and it just didn't work.' 

So, on the physical side of her work in the last couple of weeks, instead of using the entrances to go through the council chambers, which she knew would be empty during the attack, she's been doing a lot of charting, and in fact even slightly involved Juno, to find her a couple of safe paths that go through a lot less populated areas to get back down here. Though she was hoping she wouldn't need to come back down here, and that she could get all of the access for everything that she was hoping to, just from her workshop. Unfortunately, also in these last two weeks, on the software side, she did a lot of digging the connection that Emma had left for them to be able to resume their session tied to all of the city status things. There was a read-only view of that, and Winifred was able to resume that session from her workstation and explore a lot of the other branches and a lot of the other menu options that they didn't need in the time crunch of trying to reactivate the city, but she wasn't able to touch anything. And over the course of this time she has been putting together that, as far as she can tell, there is a central processing unit or being or brain that directs everything that's going on in the city. All of the software traces and pathways that she's been following with this new access and information, she's been able to trace almost everything back to one spot, and access to that one spot needed physical access, and so she returns back to the central server room. 

This time it is just her, but she's set up, again with Juno's help, alarms on the passageways nearby, just to ping her within her headset and her deep dive setup to make sure that if anyone was to come near, whether it's a staff of the city or a mercenary abandoned in the Guts wandering around looking for light or food or anything that's not an angry octopus, she will be alerted and will have time to unplug and clear out before anyone ever knew she was there, but for now she's hooked back in. We see the same interface pad where the glowing cube removed from the X Bike trophy is used as a countermeasure bypass and she slides her headset and electrodes on, and with the distinctive sound of her senses switching over from analog to digital, she is into the city of Sasnak. 

Nick:  The path through the internal logic of the city is very similar to the path that Winifred and Emma took when they were attempting to restart the city's function. There is a large chasm of security protocols to be leapt over. There is a confusing maze of sub-protocols that must be navigated, and there are hunter killer programs pacing the virtual hallways to dissuade anybody who would attempt to delve too deeply. Winifred is able to skirt these quite easily after her long research, and with the expertise of someone who's spent her entire life learning to navigate this maze. It is made even easier by her previous endeavor with Emma leaving a pathway through a lot of the security. As Winifred is stepping over the de-rezing remnants of a security program that attempted to get in her way, she finds herself standing in front of what can only be the central processing chamber, or the digital representation of it. Weirdly, it looks almost identical to the pillar that Winifred's physical body is plugged into outside. This one simply represents the core of what makes the city tick, and there's nothing between Winifred and the answer to this burning question she has spent so many years attempting to solve: what makes the city go?

Sydney:  As Winifred slowly approaches this pillar, she runs through in her head the questions that had been bouncing around ever since she was a kid, learning about the city, wondering, is it an intelligence that's so advanced that it won't even be able to render its thoughts down for a human mind? Is it something that is humanoid? Can it project a humanoid? Was – is there a biological component? What should she say to greet it, who has probably seen everything that's happened in the city since its founding, and hasn't had visitors in who knows how long, if ever? Then she gets to the pillar and realizes, yeah, it's it's the same pillar as was in the server room, where her physical body is, give or take, but that also means that it is a solid pillar. The scale is a little bit weird. It is taller and thicker than the one that she left behind, but also in this space it is very easy for the inside of a space to be bigger than the outside of a space, or for an opening as small as her hand to be able to fit her whole body in, and she carefully paces around, but only sees the blinking lights in server racks, but no buttons, no controls. Maybe the lights are in a pattern, and she starts to study, and then realizes that maybe the easiest and most fitting way is to try to just interface with it the same way that she talks to it outside, and she materializes her interface onto her wrist and starts typing up a standard handshake and connection protocol.

Nick:  I need Winifred to make me a daunting Wild Tech roll, please - and I'm going to be flipping a GM Story Point to upgrade that difficulty by one. 

Sydney:  Can I have a blue die because it is exactly the same thing that she did on the outside to get here?

Nick:  Yeah, I think that's fair.

Sydney:  So, Winifred is rolling four yellows and a blue against three purples and a red.

[dice rolling]

Sydney:  Two successes, an advantage, and a Triumph.

Nick:  Nice. So, Winifred is able to completely interface and enter the system. She doesn't have any negative consequences. I would say that with the Triumph, she's going to maintain a certain amount of system admin ability after she leaves here - a greater connection with the city going forward that no one else has had before.

Sydney:  As Winifred hits enter and places her hand on the pillar, there's a slight glow, and she sees in the corner of her vision tracking around, it is attached to her viewport, as opposed to within the world, and it now says Authorized User.

Nick:  As Winifred is authorized, there is one frame of stillness, and then, Winifred, you find yourself in a wide circular dark room with very little in it. There's an obsidian throne on the far side of this cylinder. There is a low blue ambient light, making it so that you can see, but details are difficult to make out. The blankness of this room is more silhouette than detail.

Sydney:  Winifred, taking a beat to adjust to the instant scene change, looks around and then takes a step forward and announces herself, 

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Hello, I'm Winifred Foundling. I'm here to see the city.

Nick:  Winifred, your voice echoes in this space and it doesn't feel entirely empty. There are ghosts of movement at the corner of your vision, and brief flashes of color far above you, where it is difficult to see, but as you approach the obsidian throne having announced yourself, from behind this chair steps a tall figure in a hooded robe who stands to one side of the throne and waits for you to approach.

Sydney:  Winifred cautiously approaches, coming to the conclusion that maybe this is an unfathomable intelligence that doesn't communicate by human methods, and maybe this hooded figure is their agent or their mouthpiece, and she slowly approaches, stopping a few steps away.

Nick:  And as you come to a stop, skeletal hands reach up to the hood of the robe and throw it back, and Winifred, you see a gaunt skeletal face and an unmistakable sharp tooth smile as Wander is in this chamber with you.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] Winifred Foundling. What a pleasant surprise.

Sydney:  Winifred is shocked and speechless for a moment. She's trying to digest whether she thinks Wander is secretly in charge of everything or if he's somehow infiltrated her session, and she shakes her head. 

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] What? Wander?

Nick:  One thing that you notice is that when you're in these deep dive sessions, everything has a sort of ambient glow, a slight flicker to it, a sense of unrealness. No matter how good the technology is putting you there, it feels like a simulation, but Wander looks like he is physically here. There is no flicker, there is no glow. He is like a person within the machine. He takes a step forward, nods to Winifred, and says, 

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] I'm glad to see that you've made it here. I know you've been spending a long time trying to solve the city's secrets.

Nick:  And he gestures broadly around to nothing. 

Sydney:  How much have Winifred and Wander interacted? 

Nick:  Not a lot. 

Sydney:  Like Winifred would know who he is. He's the creepy Council person who died and then didn't.

Nick:  Mhm. Winifred probably knows of him from whatever Birdie's told her, whatever the Patina has shared, and otherwise he's just a particularly famous Council person who's known for being particularly strange.

Sydney:  Winifred briefly follows his gaze around before looking back to him. 

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] You know a lot about me, for me being just walking into the Sasnak core, and you also being here. Are you the city? or an avatar?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] Now that's a question that shows a high level of knowledge. Very impressive, Winifred. I am an avatar, but not of the city. I've been watching your exploration from my own vantage point, and didn't want to leave you as disappointed as I knew you would be. You find the skull of the giant to be quite empty, unfortunately.

Sydney:  And Winifred taking that statement in, looks back around and sees if that's true. Yeah, this is there is an empty throne. There is noise, maybe coming down the lines, but there is no - it all is hitting an emptiness and nothingness.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] I have a question for you, Winifred.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Okay.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] What drove you to this place? Why do you seek this knowledge?

Sydney:  And Winifred runs at hand through her hair.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Thirst for knowledge. Well, I wanted to understand why and how, but mostly wh-why? Why was the city built? Why does it make the choices that it does?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] Mmm. What an interesting question. Why was the city built? This city was built for the same reason as any city was built. It was a nexus for trade, a safe haven for its population, and things grow on their own after a point. Now, what makes it tick is also an interesting question. I find myself wanting to answer you, because I respect the pursuit of knowledge. I respect that you are doing it for its own sake. This city was once an avatar of a vast intelligence. Unfortunately, back around the Breaking, it was cut off from its body, beheaded, and now all that makes this city go is flickers of an abandoned nervous system. Part of why your Forecast Bureau can't get to the bottom of this pattern. Why they can't predict with utmost certainty, is because there is a degree of randomness to it. There is less logic than they think, because the city is injured.

Sydney:  Winifred walks and lays a hand on the throne and trails her fingers as she walks around it.

Nick:  She may expect to feel some sort of charge or innate power, but it just feels through the interface like stone, inert, unresponsive.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] So it had a brain, it had a what - a god - and now it doesn't?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] That is the long and short of it, yes. It is tragic. I could potentially sit upon that throne, but I don't want to. It would be freeing to have that much power, to have that much control, but at the same time it's a prison. I'd be locked within the city forever. I would recommend against sitting there, if I were you.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Who had been here?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] What a great question.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Is it a person, or is it something that a human can comprehend?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] It was created by humans. I think it outgrew them, but it would be understandable - a vast intelligence somewhere beyond this planet. Somewhere just above this planet, in fact. Much like I am an avatar, it was an avatar.

Sydney:  Winifred looks up just to see noisy ceiling, and then back to Wander.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Who is your god, or are you the god? 

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] I'm going to tell you something that nobody in living memory has been told, Winifred. I am not a god, but I am not a person either. I find myself somewhere in between. I have been, I once long ago was blessed by the god Reng, and as the ages pass, I become more like him. As far as you may be concerned, or as far as the effect is, I could be considered that, but there is still a greater being somewhere by that name. The city itself works differently. It was a direct limb from a different god. You probably have sworn to them as Croos in the past, but Croos now stands isolated. 

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Croos as in the swear?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] Exactly.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] I mean, there are worshipers, but it - these, these gods exist somewhere?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] Yes, just above. Separated from their people for all eternity. It could be considered tragic or poetic, depending on your point of view.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Is that a figurative above?

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] No, not at all. Literally. Although there is potential that some vestiges are down below as well, it really varies. It's a challenge when you have a pantheon to define them all in the same way.

Sydney:  Winifred is kind of reeling at all of this. 

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] So, why -

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] What's really going to get to you is when you realize that this knowledge doesn't really impact your day to day life. 

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] That gods exist or existed, but they are now dead or gone, and don't affect anything anyway, except for you.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] Exactly. It is my nature to meddle, true. But only insofar as a powerful human would meddle. I wouldn't worry about me too much.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Well, you're here, I suppose. You're playing games with the council.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] It helps the years pass.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Why - why do you seem more real? I know my interface is approximate.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] I, my interface is not approximate. I have the ability to be here in as close to entirety as is possible due to my nature. It just results in a higher resolution. I would say something that makes me stand out, but luckily I don't find many web divers like yourself.

Sydney:  Winifred gives a small smile. 

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Yeah, it's a not an easy technology to cobble together the parts and the understanding. A lot of things were lost.

Sydney:  And she gestures at the empty throne.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] Most things were lost. It's amazing how much humans have been able to rebuild with how much they destroyed. It is impressive, but I can't take up your entire day. 

Nick:  And Wander claps and rubs his hands together. 

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] I'm sure you have places to be, and if I must be honest, it is a little unhealthy for you to stay this deep for this long. I would recommend that you log out soon. And while we've never met in person, if you ever wish to discuss further or need a favor, I've been quite impressed with your resourcefulness - do feel free to look me up.

Sydney (as Winifred):  [digitized] Thank you.

Nick (as Wander):  [digitized] And you may find yourself a little bit changed after you leave here. I caution you to be careful, lest you end up like me - not quite human. 

Nick:  And Wander turns to walk back behind this obsidian throne. The lights dim, and he is gone.

Sydney:  Winifred contemplates this throne and all that she has learned and knows that she has more dots to connect, because as she thinks about it, not in the real time of the conversation, there are fragments that she has seen that would corroborate pieces of this that lend credence to maybe, maybe he is just someone or something who finds it fun to meddle, and sharing the truth occasionally is definitely a form of meddling. And she takes one last look around before disconnecting the session, having well found an answer, many answers, more questions, and her senses fuzz back into her body, and she stands up and goes to pack everything away.

Nick:  We cut away from Winifred contemplating the meaning of existence to Birdie and Emma having some much needed relaxation time together.

Kit:  Birdie and Emma are in a well kept nail salon in two very oversized cushioned black chairs. And the room around them is also black - the floors are black, walls are black, the frames of the mirrors are black, there's a black chandelier - they have their vibe. This is the nail salon that Emma was referred to by the Ramp Girl Riley. As Emma and Birdie relax, they have both wound up with their chosen shades of nails. They have an alarming range of shades of black nail polish with various jewels and glitters and designs that you can put on top of them, and Birdie has chosen an oil slick pattern to her nails, sort of like Winifred's hair. Currently, Birdie is trying not to kick the salon employee who is massaging her feet, because she's highly ticklish. She's covering her mouth and very tense, trying not to flinch or laugh.

Cameron:  Emma is sitting looking much more comfortable than Birdie in this situation, and is just relaxing into the foot massage rather than tensing up from ticklishness. On the side of her chair that doesn't have Birdie seated at it, there is a manicurist who is currently finishing up the nails on her left hand, and Emma has not gone nearly as dramatic as the ambiance of this salon would make one think you would walk out of there looking like. She has her nails still nicely shaped, but they're cut rather short, and she just has a black with dark purple glitter in it that she's gotten on her hands has the nail polish selected waiting to go on her toes as well. But she looks over to Birdie. 

Cameron (as Emma):  Breathe~, Birdie. This is supposed to be relaxing.

Kit (as Birdie):  [very not relaxed] No, it is. It's super good, super relaxing. Um,

Cameron (as Emma):  You're tensing up all of your muscles.

Kit (as Birdie):  [not quite hyperventilating, but not far off] I'm doing my best. I'm doing my best, and um it'll be over in a second. It'll be over in a second, and it'll stop tickling, and then everything will be fine. 

Kit:  Birdie is currently not using her hands to do anything, except her fingers are just flexed out on the arm rests of her chair, because her manicure was just finished up, and her fingernails are the same oil spill that she has chosen for her toenails, and her nails are a bit more impractical than Emma's are. She doesn't work with her hands as much, so she has a little bit of leeway that she can work with, and she's trying really, really hard not to mess with the nail polish. 

Kit (as Birdie):  [rushed] Are you relaxed? Are you having a fun time?

Cameron (as Emma):  I'm incredibly relaxed.

Kit (as Birdie):  I'm so glad.

Cameron (as Emma):  Excuse me, could you increase the pressure on her massage a little bit? 

Kit (as Birdie):  Why? Why!?

Cameron (as Emma):  Because that'll make it tickle less.

Kit (as Birdie):  Okay.

Cameron (as Emma):  It's the super soft massages that trigger all of the nerves on your skin. If you dig deeper, you start triggering more muscular stuff, and that's not as ticklish.

Kit (as Birdie):  All right yeah, that sounds good. Thank you, thank you. I appreciate it.

Cameron (as Emma):  And just keep breathing. [giggle]

Kit (as Birdie):  Ow~. Okay, yeah. Yeah. I have a knot.

Cameron (as Emma):  See?

Kit (as Birdie):  - yeah, right there. It's okay, that hurts. Feels good, yeah, somewhere in there. 

Cameron (as Emma):  Mhm.

Kit (as Birdie):  Okay.

Kit:  Birdie has never gotten a pedicure before in her whole life, if this isn't obvious already.

Cameron:  Emma probably used to get them fairly often with her mom and older sister.

Kit (as Birdie):  Um, yeah, I have.. ah, I'm really glad that we did this. This is actually kind of nice.

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah, and my, my hands really needed it with the work I've been doing on the exosuit. I was, my nails were getting pretty gnarly, and yeah,

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  

This is, this is better. This is better.

Kit:  Birdie is slowly relaxing, and winds up a little slouched in her chair, and she goes,

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, I mean, there's nothing like good cuticle care that comes from [laughing] heavy mechanics work, I guess? Yeah, and battle, battle too, yeah, battle's great for your nails, I hear.

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah, mine weren't really that impacted at all with the whole fight thing.

Kit (as Birdie):  Well, yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  It's really been more the mechanics afterwards of catching them on tools or on the jagged pieces of metal I'm trying to get back into shape on the exosuit.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  Mostly just mostly just covered in grime, really, which I guess is moisturizing for your nails in some way.

Kit (as Birdie):  Sure, yeah. I mean, that sounds right.

Cameron (as Emma):  Not sure if it's a healthy moisture.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah~ but this is good. I'm glad, uh, Ry-Rylan? Riley?

Cameron (as Emma):  Riley.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah them. They told you about this place. This is nice, and very different self-care than what I did with Marathon.

Cameron (as Emma):  [small laugh] A little bit. Slightly, slightly less extreme. And I just realized when you said that, that like most of the friends that I've made since I came here, their name starts with that first syllable.

Kit (as Birdie):  Ry? Oh,

Cameron (as Emma):  Ry. And I do realize how that could be confusing.

Kit (as Birdie):  [mock serious voice] Rydentarius.

Cameron (as Emma):  [snort] I did not know -

Kit (as Birdie):  [giggle]

Cameron (as Emma):  - he had a longer first name or that Stone was his last name. It was learned in all sorts of things. 

Kit (as Birdie):  It's a really ridiculous name, like Rye - yeah, Rye is much better. Just not no last name, just first name.

Cameron (as Emma):  Rye, Rye makes you seem like that's that's that's like a person's name.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  But I mean, I think the his name being something kind of ridiculously fluffy and dramatic makes sense, knowing that his great aunt's name was Opal Stone.

Kit (as Birdie):  [laughing]

Cameron (as Emma):  Like that's that can't be a family who names kids well.

Kit (as Birdie):  [laughing] I'm sure he has a cousin somewhere named like Rocky Stone or something.

Cameron (as Emma):  Oh my god.

Kit (as Birdie):  Rocky Stone. [joyful laugh]

Cameron (as Emma):  I was too scared to ask what any of his other cousins were named after meeting -

Kit (as Birdie):  What other rocks?

Cameron (as Emma):  - Ruby.

Kit (as Birdie):  Quartz. Quartz Stone.

Cameron (as Emma):  Granite? 

Kit (as Birdie):  Oh Granite Stone? Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  You got to be really buff to pull off the name Granite, I think.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, but you could also, then you can just call your family home the Quarry or something. [laugh]

Cameron (as Emma):  [laughing] That's true.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah. Yeah, they got a whole, a whole gig going. I guess it's like that's one way to go with it. You could just like all have like themed names and just like really stick to your guns. Rydentarius is - I don't know what that.. that sounds like someone went off the rails somewhere with their naming convention. 

Cameron (as Emma):  Someone was just putting syllables together I think,

Kit (as Birdie):  [gasp laugh]

Cameron (as Emma):  - and thought that it sounded fun. 

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah!

Cameron (as Emma):  I don't - 

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah. 

Cameron (as Emma):  It's definitely like an attention-catching name, for sure.

Kit (as Birdie):  It's the snootiest name I've ever heard. 

Cameron (as Emma):  Caught me off guard. [laugh] Yeah, it's something.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, I mean, that's just like you're a snoot.

Cameron (as Emma):  Mhm. I am okay with people doing themed names for pets.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):   I don't think you should do themed names for people.

Kit (as Birdie):  I mean, in all honesty, like, was was anyone else in his family like name- I mean, like Ruby Stone.

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah, that's the thing. I don't know what I'm scared to ask.

Kit (as Birdie):  Okay, well, I think you should ask, because now I'm curious, and so 

Cameron (as Emma):  [laughing] You want to know?

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  Okay. When I, when I go see him, I'll get a list. I'll just, I'll just request his family tree. That won't come across as inappropriate or suggestive at all.

Kit (as Birdie):  Suggestive? How could that be suggestive?

Cameron (as Emma):  Um, my thinking was that it could lean to the I am doing family history on you to determine if you are a -

Kit (as Birdie):  [gets it and starts laughing]

Cameron (as Emma):  - worthwhile parent for my future children.

Kit (as Birdie):  A good pedigree. Well, if there's anyone to ask, it's probably him. I mean, like, could you imagine asking like me that? There's nothing, there's nothing. There's nothing before.

Cameron (as Emma):  Do you have one drawn out?

Kit (as Birdie):  No, I didn't go to school. 

Cameron (as Emma):  [laugh]

Kit (as Birdie):  That's where they normally have you do family tree things, right?

Cameron (as Emma):  I mean, I definitely, I definitely did that as an assignment and took multiple sheets of paper to do so. 

Kit (as Birdie):  Oh yeah, you got a really big family. I have a big family, like I mean, the Foundling Clan is like a big family, but like the. we are like, there's essentially from what I understand about - look, most of the Foundlings don't really talk about our parents at all. I didn't know mine, and we just don't ask about each other's parents, you know?

Cameron (as Emma):  And I think that's fine. You could start your tree with y'all at the top, just -

Kit (as Birdie):  Yes.

Cameron (as Emma):  - in a line across as siblings.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yes, and now that you know Winif- what kind of Winifred, but mostly Janus. Um,

Cameron (as Emma):  It's not going to go super deep at this point, still, but

Kit (as Birdie):  It's just a line. It's not a family tree, it's the family line, I guess?  The family horizontal line. Not vertical, just horizontal. 

Cameron (as Emma):  There's - you've got two branches off of it, though.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah~.

Cameron (as Emma):  Like you got two marriages that have happened. [laugh]

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, that's nice. I guess - oh my god, Maria is my sister in law. 

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah, she married your sister. Did you just have this realization? [laugh]

Kit (as Birdie):  I don't know. I've never, I've never had a sister get married before. I forget that like, I don't know. I don't know.

Cameron (as Emma):  You have a brother-in-law, too.

Kit (as Birdie):  Oh gosh!

Cameron (as Emma):  I've forgotten his name because he doesn't talk, so I've just kind of..

Kit (as Birdie):  Oh! Yeah, I think Reed well, his last name is Reed, because it's Janus Reeds, which is.. huh, Reed ooh.

Cameron (as Emma):  See, he doesn't talk, so Janus is there - why would you learn someone else's name?

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, I mean, I should know. I mean, I, I knew him before I got, like, you know, I left the city and stuff like that. Like, I should know his name, but he doesn't talk. Yeah, I just, [being an adult is hard yo]

Cameron (as Emma):  You, you have, you have nibblings as well.

Kit (as Birdie):  Aw!

Cameron (as Emma):  I'm just gonna be pointing out family facts for you.

Kit (as Birdie):  Well yeah, my little nibblings are like - I knew about that, that was awesome. That's hard to forget, because, like, one of them is named after me, or whatever. 

Cameron (as Emma):  Mhm.

Kit (as Birdie):  It's not that I like, I forget that Winifred and Janus are married. It's more like I just had separated the fact of, like, ah, yes, my siblings are married, which makes their spouses my siblings by extension, and I just kind of forget that that's how that works sometimes. Sasnak is not exactly known for having traditional family values, and most places that I've been, I have not really come to talk to a lot of people who have traditional family ties and stuff like that, I guess. So, I don't know. I am gonna have to go see Janus soon, so maybe I should just ask her. [laugh]

Cameron (as Emma):  I'm sure that you can find a way to find out his name without saying 'Hi. I realize that I've been here for quite a few months at this point. Remind me again, what your husband's name is?' 

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah~.

Cameron (as Emma):  There's probably a better way to do that.

Kit (as Birdie):  No, I'm sure. I could just ask Winifred, depending on who I see first. Oh, Vaus would know.

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah, if you ask Juno, Juno won't realize why you're asking.

Kit (as Birdie):  That is a good point. Vaus will think it's funny and will tell me.

Cameron (as Emma):  I would - I, the vibe that I have gotten from Vaus and from the people that Vaus has sent me to interact with, I think they'd find it hilarious, and then would 10,000% tell Janus that you had asked.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, they only keep useful information to themselves, apparently.

Cameron (as Emma):  And that's not useful - that's entertaining.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, well, I don't know. I'm seeing how long I can go before telling Winifred and Janus really anything, because it means the questions are gonna happen.

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah. I mean, you, you still have some time, because I'm just now reaching the point where I'm wrapping up the physical repairs so that we can start with the virus extraction, and I guess that's going to depend on when Winifred has time to come help me too, so that could elongate it a little bit. But we're we're probably reaching the point where, if you don't want those conversations to be rushed, you should probably start having them, even though I know it's uncomfortable.

Kit (as Birdie):  Ugh. Yeah. That would be responsible of me, wouldn't it? 

Cameron (as Emma):  Mhm.

Kit (as Birdie):  And kind.

Cameron (as Emma):  And if you think about it, you're just gonna sit here and continue to stress about the fact that you need to have those conversations.

Kit (as Birdie):  [groan] Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  So if you start knocking out some of the conversations, in theory, that should lessen your level of freak out about leaving as well.

Kit (as Birdie):  Well - Winifred and I talked.

Cameron (as Emma):  About?

Kit (as Birdie):  [sheepish laugh] We talked about whether or not I was going to leave.

Cameron (as Emma):  And did you say yes or no? Did you give a definitive answer? 

Kit (as Birdie):  I didn't give a definitive answer.

Cameron (as Emma):  Okay.

Kit (as Birdie):  Well, I'm just saying there's been a primer. 

Cameron (as Emma):  You did, you did part of the hard thing of where the conversation came up, and you did talk about it, and then just didn't answer it, so that the issue is still there.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, I have. And it's - I love doing that thing where -

Cameron (as Emma):  Now you can have the conversation, again.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yep. Yeah. Which is why we're here de-stressing, right?

Cameron (as Emma):  Mhm. Yep. I really don't think you need to stress about it, though, Birdie. I realize me saying that helps you feel less stress, not at all. But I don't, I don't think you need to - like I think your family just wants you to be happy, and I think they're just going to be thankful that they get to say goodbye to you this time.

Kit (as Birdie):  Ughh. You know, all the times that I've left places, I've never said goodbye to anyone.

Cameron (as Emma):  And that's kind of concerning,

Kit (as Birdie):  It's -

Cameron (as Emma):  This initial one, this wasn't your fault. You got, you got hurled out of the city.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, it's what started, I guess, the ball rolling. Ha ha ha, but it's

Cameron (as Emma):  Not a great pattern.

Kit (as Birdie):  What did you tell your family when you left?

Cameron (as Emma):  Uh that I was leaving?

Kit (as Birdie):  And what did they say?

Cameron (as Emma):  I mean, I told my, told my immediate family first, because we just happened to have a just my household growing up dinner around the time that Wyatt had asked me to go with them, so I had told them that I was, I was working on the truck for a mercenary company, so they did know that already, so that was kind of a natural lead in of - I don't remember who asked me. One of them asked me about how the fix was going, and I said it was going really well, and the leader of the group was really impressed, and they needed a mechanic and had asked me to go with them, and then I kind of just judged everyone's faces after saying that.

Kit (as Birdie):  I see.

Cameron (as Emma):  And then when nobody panicked immediately, so then I said that I was very leaning towards going, or was very strongly considering joining them. And I mean they were, they were sad that I was leaving, 

Kit (as Birdie):  Uh huh.

Cameron (as Emma):  But I mean, my family all knew that I had been unhappy for a while with my ability to really do mechanics in Thunder Bay, since I didn't get the apprenticeship, so like they, they understood why it would be such an appealing offer to me, even if it did mean leaving, because it meant adventure and being able to be myself outside of just being one of the zillions of Blackwoods, and then also I would get to do what I actually wanted to really do, and would have cool machinery to work on, and it wouldn't just all be tractors that had gotten stuck in a field that I needed to go get started again.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah,

Cameron (as Emma):  So they took it really well.

Kit (as Birdie):  Okay.

Cameron (as Emma):  Some of some of my more removed family [laugh], I don't know. Some of the aunts and uncles and cousins that I didn't talk to as much or weren't as close to, just because there's, there's so many of them, you can't be close to everybody, there's gonna be eh, not cliques but family and age subgroups within it. So like there were - I got a few comments about like throwing my life away or whatever, but it wasn't from anyone whose opinion mattered.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  The people who actually knew me all thought it was a good opportunity, and they could tell that I was excited about potentially going, so if, if I was happy, that's what they wanted for me. So, and I think it's the think it's the same - I get the same vibe of just like the unwavering love and adoration from your family. Like they've been so happy to have you back, and even if you leave again, like this is this is time they never thought they were gonna get to have with you.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, that's a good point. I guess I feel like I'm - I don't know. I feel like it's, it's mean to come back and then leave again. And like, you know, we all know that I'll be able to visit if I want to. Communication is still going to be hard, but yeah, they know they know that I'm out there, but then it's like, I guess it's still the uncertainty that they'll have, of like, well, now if something does happen, we'll never, like, we won't know, I guess there's.. it's weird, it's.. it's such a.. it's such a weird feeling to know that it's the good and right thing to do to say goodbye, and you know, reassure them that I'm gonna visit and I'm gonna be okay, versus the fact that I mean Winifred was willing to, like, persuade me, like trying to persuade me to stay, if that's if it was even an inkling in my mind. And I know she wasn't, she wasn't guilt tripping me or anything, it was just for family. For the Foundlings, family kind of means proximity, like I guess in the way of the Blackwoods, where it's like all of your people are kind of in one place, whether or not they're in the same place in the city, it doesn't really matter, because they're all within the city.

Cameron (as Emma):  Mhm. So I think the being willing to convince you to stay, I don't think that that necessarily equates to Winifred - like I'm sure she, I'm sure all of your siblings would love it if you stayed, but they would, I don't think they'd like it if you stayed out of guilt and then were miserable. But I could see that it could come from a very loving place, if, if you're second guessing yourself, and you're not sure if you want to leave or not, having a trusted person who will start arguing for one side over the other often will help figure out which one actually feels like the right choice for you.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  And I could very much, just personality wise, I could very much see Winifred being that person.

Kit (as Birdie):  [fond laugh] Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  Especially as, as the oldest of all of you, like that's that's the biggest-est sister, so part of her quote unquote job, is taking care of y'all, is to make sure that you were you were happy and you were doing what you wanted to be doing. So if she can help you figure out what it is exactly you want to be doing, I think, yeah, she'll start talking up how awesome it'd be if you stayed, 

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  - and all of the cool jobs that you could do together, and you could see, like, you could go and hang out with the baby all the time and -

Kit (as Birdie):  Use their spare room.

Cameron (as Emma):  Uh huh. And bring up all of these things that would be good reasons to stay. And then if you find yourself still being like 'no I really I don't want to stay in one place I really want to keep moving' then good. You've figured out that all of the amazing things that are here that you would love to be able to teleport here and see all the time, you, it's, it's still, you feel strongly enough about, like wanting to continue your wandering across and adventuring and hanging out with us wonderful people in the Patina, that it's, it's worth the trade off of, yeah, you're, you're not gonna get to see them every day, but you're gonna get to have fun adventures with us.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah. 

Cameron (as Emma):  If you're only looking at the good parts of one side of a choice, then it's, you could make a decision that you're not happy with long term.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah. I know that I'm gonna go with the Patina.

Cameron (as Emma):  I think you were accidentally getting therapized -

Kit (as Birdie):  Well, I appreciate it.

Cameron (as Emma):  - without your knowledge. 

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, I mean, I appreciate it from -

Cameron (as Emma):  - both by me and by Winifred, actually. [laugh]

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  You're welcome. [laugh]

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, it's...[laugh] I don't know. I think, like I said, I know that I'm gonna go with the Patina, because I, you guys are, you know, my family, and who I want to be with, just as much as I want to be with the Foundlings, but I can't, just I can't stay here. It's nice. It's got a lot of problems, like a lot of problems, a lot of really horrible things happen here, but I think we did a really good job about leaving places better than we found them, and this is definitely one of them that I think we've done a really good job with. I actually don't feel like terrible about the state of Sasnak anymore. It was pretty, was really rough when we first came here, and it was really rough when I left the first time, but I mean, between Rye taking over Opal Corp, and us becoming the X Bike Champions, or whatever. [we're so cool laugh]

Cameron (as Emma):  There needed to be a few things shuffled around to pop the city out of the rut that it was stuck in.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah. 

Cameron (as Emma):  And it may still have one tread stuck in that rut, but at least it's spinning in circles now,

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  - instead of sitting still. It's got a chance.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah. Well, thank you,

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah. And anytime you want to talk about family stuff, I am here and understanding of the many feels that occur within it, and happy to talk about it, because I know it's, I think, between the two of us we had very different experiences growing up.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, like kind of polar opposite.

Cameron (as Emma):  But we also both had the very strong supportive family portion, and that's like Cassidy left home when she was like 11.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, that's still - god that's so young. 

Cameron (as Emma):  She found some family along the way, but I don't, I don't think she's really.. I mean, if she's gonna start talking about her siblings, it's gonna be Haven to harass you about it.

Kit (as Birdie):  [uncomfortable laugh]

Cameron (as Emma):  And Marathon left home when she was fairly young to go join the ice derby circuit. 

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  Even if it was just her Nana at that point. Like we both, we both had much larger groups of family who we felt cared for by.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  And it is, it's a different experience of leaving that versus striking out on your own to find happiness somewhere or to follow a dream.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah. Family is like really hard.

Cameron (as Emma):  [surprised laugh]

Kit (as Birdie):  Like, like stupid hard. It's kind of easier when you're younger. I think things were kind of getting hard, you know, when the accident happened because Zan and I were just like really not getting along, and it wasn't, it wasn't great, and everything that happened happened, but we didn't like, there wasn't anything but like squabbles until I was like maybe 17, like the year that - maybe I mean even like six months before, I got blown out of the city. Like we didn't have big arguments. Maybe Winifred and Zan did, but I wasn't involved in them, because it wasn't even a thought in anyone's brain that I would leave, and now that I'm back, it's like, oh my gosh, it's so complicated.

Cameron (as Emma):  Well, and you were, you were also, you were the baby, so you want to keep the baby out of the arguments, to not let them know that the adults are fighting.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, this is like -

Cameron (as Emma):  That's standard procedure.

Kit (as Birdie):  like,

Cameron (as Emma):  but now you're the adult.

Kit (as Birdie):  There's so many ughh. It's hard, like it's nice. It's nice to be loved and be cared for, and to have like community and stuff, but gosh. You got to like care about everybody's feelings, all the time.

Cameron (as Emma):  [laughing] It's such a problem.

Kit (as Birdie):  It is!

Cameron (as Emma):  [laugh] No, I, I get what you're saying. 

Kit (as Birdie):  You have to be an active participant in everything.

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah, and I think that is one place where we differ slightly, because you do have a smaller group of people.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  So you are, you are more involved in everything that's going on, because it's possible to be.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, like when you said there are people in my family whose opinions don't matter to me, that's, I mean, I guess, because they're distant enough, but the fact that you see them that often, that's like, I don't know, Janus and Juno's long lost cousin or something like that, like I don't know, there's [laugh]

Cameron (as Emma):  Well and mine was mostly like we're - we tended to be closest with the families of the siblings who my dad was closest to.

Kit (as Birdie):  Oh yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  Because if, when, as you're growing up, if the adults like each other and they want to hang out every all the time, then that's going to be who you're hanging out with, because you are a child and you go where your adults go.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  So there's there's some people that would go out of their way to reach out and involve other people from other subgroups in things, but we kind of each had our own little clubhouses that have, oh, well, this is this is these two families, they're besties, and then they, they also kind of like this third sibling's kids, like it's - so there's a lot more politics?

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  Maybe that go into it. 

Kit (as Birdie):  And you know, I wouldn't have gotten that before we came back here. I don't think I would have understood it at all, but I mean, seeing the fact that, like, Janus and Winifred hadn't seen each other in a long enough time, that, like, I don't know how well Winifred even knows Janus' kids or knew Janus' kids before I came back. Like they're so close, there's no reason for them to be like raising their children apart from one another because of some like old your fault, your fault argument, but now it's like I understand that it was that's how things sometimes get to be, and so I guess I'm really glad - it's really good that I came back, because now they get to have, like, their family, their extended family, and stuff like that. But yeah, I all of this to say, thank you. I will do the hard things, because that's what we're trying to get, I'm trying to get used to doing the hard person to person things.

Cameron (as Emma):  Mhm. Well, if we need to, like, go out and get you a treat or something after you do the hard thing, we can do that.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, I wouldn't be opposed.

Cameron (as Emma):  Similar to telling Marathon to just punch a tree, we can go and take you to get a little treat.

Kit (as Birdie):  [laugh] Marathon gets to punch a tree and I get a little treat. Yes!

Cameron (as Emma):  Yeah, I just.. I just didn't see you really wanting to punch a tree, so I figured that wasn't a good offer. It wasn't really going to be helpful.

Kit (as Birdie):  No, yeah, I get a.. I get a little treat to stay and not run away from everyone and all my problems all the time.

Cameron (as Emma):  I mean, that's just getting to be with us, we're the treat.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yes, yes, it is.

Cameron (as Emma):  But no, it does, it - having, having the hard conversations is hard. So, if you do the hard thing, I think you should get a reward.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah.

Cameron (as Emma):  Because it was hard.

Kit (as Birdie):  Luckily, 

Cameron (as Emma):  Positive reinforcement.

Kit (as Birdie):  - I don't think it's gonna be an argument, which is nice. It'll just be probably that I'm really sad, which also -

Cameron (as Emma):  And then we can go get a cronut.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, we can go get cronuts. Okay.

Cameron (as Emma):  Cronuts make you happy.

Kit (as Birdie):  Yeah, okay, I'll do it for a cronut.

Cameron (as Emma):  [laugh] If your nails are dry, we could go get cronuts right now.

Kit (as Birdie):  Oh, fuck yeah!

Nick:  We cut away from the freshly manicured and pedicured Birdie and Emma, and find ourselves across town. Cassidy has already found herself a seat in a new favorite bar.

Sydney:  The denizens of Sasnak Traveling are all very familiar with the Aquarium Dome, even if many of them only walk past the outside and haven't done the tours of the facilities and the more showy parts, because it is a source of much of their food, and the algae that's grown gets used as sources for the food that feeds their food. But in this lesser seen corner of the Aquarium Dome down on a service level, there is a small, maybe 15 seat bar. A couple of small two person tables, and a line of stools, and the wall behind the bar looks directly into the bottom of the Aquarium Dome tank. It's a little bit darker blue than up on the surface, especially as we're getting into the evening, and evening in the winter is a very short day, but the ambient lights from the city still are filtering down through the water, and it's a deep navy blue coming through the windows with occasional fish swimming up and looking inside and swimming away, and one big grouper that floats just outside the window, following the bartender as he moves back and forth behind the bar. 

Cassidy is waiting at her table in this bar, the Nautilus. It is much like the Aquarium Dome tours, a little bit more - getting access to the bar takes knowing people or a lot of money, and in this case one of the staff that was nearby doing sound for her commercials that she was suffering through, grabbed her after a recording session and invited her a few days back to spend an evening hanging out with people who have a little bit more sense than the marketing people trying to work with Cassidy's talent, and with Marathon being so busy in the Guts serving her term, she's had a little bit of free time to wander around, and so she has spent more time than maybe one would expect in this bar over the last week. Not necessarily heavily drinking, but in showing the ambiance and the novelty of getting to watch fish this closely, but today instead of being seated at the bar and idly chatting with Nemo, the bartender, she has a table and she's watching the door, waiting for a guest.

Penn:  A few minutes pass before a large figure steps through the doorway of this bar, trying to be inconspicuous. She's wearing a full length black trench coat and a gray beanie with a little anchor on it. She's got long silvery hair that reaches down the middle of her back, and as she takes off this large trench coat and starts walking towards Cassidy's table, after scanning the room, we see Gwendolyn sitting down across from Cassidy for the first time without her armor since the Patina has come back. As she sits down, she gives Cassidy a polite smile and waves to Nemo, the bartender, just one finger, and then points at whatever Cassidy is drinking. And under her trench coat she's just wearing a white button-up long sleeve with the sleeves rolled up and some black slacks with some long leather boots underneath.

Sydney:  Cassidy's got on a fuzzy green sweater that matches her eyes. The sleeves are also rolled up, and her inevitable functional yet just mistaken for dressy enough work pants that she doesn't get questioned.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Cassidy.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well I'm glad you could get the time off.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, I mean, finally. I feel like you've been here for months and I haven't been able to talk with you, talk with you.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah.

Penn:  And she leans back in her chair. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Lots of official business going on.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, ugh. Official business. Yeah.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [short laugh]

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  You looking for a job around here, by the way?

Penn:  She says with a gleam in her eye. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Uh~ I, I have done enough work, I think in Sasnak for another uh, for me to do another round of some other cities.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Can't convince you to stay as a Sword? Maybe even First Sword?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  No, I - you have so much more patience that - I would snap immediately. I would take one of these acting dumb rich people, they would poke me like twice in the same conversation, and that would be it. And then the city would enter martial law under my brutal command, and I would regret it, but I wouldn't back down.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Well, there's still time for that.

Penn:  And she has received her drink, and Gwendolyn throws back a large gulp. What are they drinking?

Sydney:  This particular cocktail is called a Crashing Wave. It's a bluish drink with a little bit of frothy white, like maybe from an egg white that was shaken in. There's a little bit of a briny note, and maybe there's like an olive juice to it, but otherwise it's kind of a fresh herbaceous riff on a martini.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Mm. Tastier than I thought, but still prissy as always.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Pfft. It's salty. What do you mean? You just want straight vodka?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  No. No, I.. I have a lot of respect for you, flower girl.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well, you know, I do my best. Also, thanks for -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Think I can - oh yeah, whatever it is you're gonna say, lay it on me.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, thanks for not trying to kill Wander in the middle of coup attempt on the city, and not killing me for trying to talk you out of it.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, well, thanks for stopping me. I [self reflecting groan] not my most shining moment. And hey, I was this close, 

Penn:  And she holds up fingers really close together. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I was this close to martial law, but you know, every day we don't make it there, that's a win.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I don't know how you do that job.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Barely. But no, I don't think I thanked you either. I mean, we, I gave you medals, but thanks for saving the city - 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  - and stopping me from, you know, going crazy or whatever.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Of course. Oh~.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Well, you said you got enough of this city, are you - you're sticking around a little longer, right? I got one more drink date out of you, right?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [laugh] Yeah, maybe one more. Emma's got the Knight mostly back to working order, then we've got a couple of software things -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [interrupting] Okay, yeah, you got to tell me about that thing, because I heard you had a giant mech?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Eh yeah -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  A giant suit for battle?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Um so -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I saw that shit.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  - we found

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  That was crazy,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah. Pallie dug it up out of a garage after we left Allium in the middle of, like, an untouched since the before times, and of course it was in terrible disrepair and she put it all back together, and we've had it since.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Sounds like Pallie.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, so

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Well, I'm sorry again to hear about all that happened after.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, no, I think you kind of smelled what was coming and made your choice to get out while you had a big job opening with lots of perks.

Penn:  Yeah.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  What you thought might happen, did. So, we do what we can, and we move on.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I'm just, hey, I, I know we both had our troubles with the guy, but I mean, you're stepping up. You're looking to be a pretty, a pretty good Wyatt. A Cassidy Wyatt.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [said on laugh] Oh~ .

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I know, I know, I, you got the grimace, but

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I just want to make sure that, 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  In a good way,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I mean, we've got, well, I need to eat. But also we have this giant mech that is a lot of responsibility that I'm kind of not willing to put in anyone else's hands, and maybe that's why you took the job here.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Any chance we, as the city, could offer you any sort of compensation to keep that here as a, as a city defense mechanism? I gotta ask.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [big sigh] Maybe when the rest of us are gray haired and thinking about giving it up the same way that Wyatt and Pallie were.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  When you're gray-haired, I'll be no haired by then, so

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [laugh]

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Keep it as far as I'm concerned. Hey, they run faster away from me than I do you, I bet.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well, I don't, they don't, they don't, if I'm doing it right, they don't even know I'm there. I just sit up in a tree or sit in a lighthouse.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh, and I read in some interviews that you're, you're with one of those new gals in your group, not the, not the Birdie one - 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  - the Foundling.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Marathon.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yes! Unique name. Very your type though. So,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, well. I mean, yes. I don't know, it's been a process when she's not -

Penn:  Gwendolyn leans in.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  - making bad decisions from a lifetime of, well -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [interrupting] Does she treat you right?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  - from a decade of bad decisions. Yeah, she's treating me great.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Okay, she better.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  She just is a little reckless sometimes. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I'm the Sword. I can make things happen. I can probably make her disappear if you need, so

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I don't need her to disappear. She's already down in the Guts doing community service. She got, like, the weakest punishment that - it was so weak it didn't even make sense.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Hero of the city and in the Guts. They don't make them like they used to, huh? 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Nah.

Penn:  And she grins, looking at Cassidy, like thinking back about the last time they were in Sasnak.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  You know, we - five years ago with another crew, we did good work for the city. I mean, we did get enough they offered you a job.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Well, I think they offered all of us a job. [overlapping] I guess I was the only one -

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [overlapping] Well that's right. We did good enough that you took the job. [laugh]

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, I was kind of hoping that somebody else would take a job as well. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [sigh] I am bad at staying in one place. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, I know. It's been nice to have you here as long as you have.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, I'm glad we got -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I was worried we weren't gonna be able to catch up before you got going.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I had to get important enough that you could put it into your schedule. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [cackle]

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well, or that you could use me - 'Oh, I gotta go meet with a hero of the city.'

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, yeah. Oh, and I heard some of your commercials, by the way. Excellent, excellent work. Mhm.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [disgusted noise] I at least, don't feel -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Five in One!

Sydney (as Cassidy):  - about advertising the Aquarium. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I might finally buy it.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah. Hey, it well, if I have.. don't forget the secret. Do you know what the secret use is?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Did you get any free by the way? I gotta check. I've never done any of those sponsorships, but

Sydney (as Cassidy):  No, of course not. They want you - it's important to me for if I was going to use the product to be seen buying the product, 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Mmm.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  So I've never used it. [short laugh] So, what's your.. how long you think you've got this in you? How long are you going to keep being the Sword?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh god.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Until you fall dead on the job? Are you gonna wait for the next person who wins a medal? I mean, you've tried with me, but

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah I - you know, the next time somebody wins a medal, that sounds great. Yeah, some of those Ramp Girls are looking good. I don't know, they're looking promising. I can't say I'm thinking more than a day, two days, three days ahead of me. It's tough with this job,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well especially right now. I'm just, can't imagine.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  My roommate would kill me if I quit too. So,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Pssh. Who's your roommate? One of the other Swords?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Is it roommate or roommate?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Like pizza boxes roommate. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Oh okay. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I wish. You think I get any with this job? [laugh]

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Everyone knows your face. There are people who would run in from the crowd -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [overlapping] By the time I, I, I feel free -

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [overlapping] -  flashing you or whatever -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh, hey. I do get flashed, not that I always appreciate it.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Are you into being flashed? [laugh] I don't, is.. I don't know if we ever talked about your taste before.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Not necessarily, no. I mean, I don't know. Look, I, by the day, by the end of the days, I'm usually too exhausted for any of that stuff, so

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I don't know. What am I doing talking about my love life with you, Cassidy Shard? You're, you're the spring chicken still.

Sydney:  Cassidy gives a 'what do you mean?' gesture.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  No, I want to hear what you guys are doing next. I want to live through you. What are you - where are you going? Why are you leaving?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Because Sasnak is so expensive.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  And we have a truck that's been sitting in storage this whole time, and we're paying rent on that.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I could have, you know, I could work that out to make it free for the rest of your stay if you wanted. Heroes of the city discount.

Sydney:  Cassidy considers the commercial torture that she's been in. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Okay, that might be, uh, that could be a perk I could get behind.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Okay, okay.

Penn:  And Gwendolyn pats around her pockets, doesn't find what she's looking for, reaches into her trench coat pocket, and pulls out a little pad of paper and a pen, writes on it, rips it out, and slides the paper into her pocket. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I promise the system works. I'll get to it later.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Okay. [laugh] Yeah, I think we're probably gonna go to Mellowtone now, that -

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [excited noise]

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Do you remember why we got kicked out?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Of Mellowtone?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, we got exiled for - like the entire Patina got exiled for five years, like I know I was around for part of the night, but I think I went to bed before whatever happened, and I just woke up and found out that we were gone.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Look, I know what Wyatt and I said to each other that night was pretty explosive, and I know my part of the story does contribute somewhat to us leaving, but if you don't know it, I think it's better to keep my mystique that way. [laugh]

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Okay, so you're saying when I come across Iokua next time, that he's gonna know the story?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah. He - let him tell you! He should know the whole thing. I, I reserve the right to not tell my part of the story. [laugh]

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Okay. Well, our term is up in May, so we got a couple of months, but I think that's about if I, if I've been looking at the maps

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  You're gonna hit there right after your term is up, huh?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Brave.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  So we'll have to get through the mountains a little bit, but it'll be getting warm, so. I think that, and then we're gonna, we might dip down into the Quirk area. I don't know totally what our plan is, but Marathons got, she, when she was working in a radio station, she picked up something that we've been trying to track down, and it's dragged us halfway across the continent so far. So we'll see.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Picked up something?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, some kind of signal.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Like a rescue signal? Or...

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Could be treasure. Could be rescue - it'd be a really slow rescue.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Treasure~. Wow, Patina treasure hunters now.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well, I mean, if we get it, then, well, yeah, I guess if we get it, and we can all retire and buy whatever crazy things like beach houses or whatever, 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Then you'll finally come and take my job. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Then we can, yeah, then we can give you the Knight.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh, okay.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  And it can be the Knight of Sasnak, and I won't need to work again.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh, that has a nice ring to it. You know, I wouldn't mind sticking around if I got to pilot that thing. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  It is honestly, it's just like - it's so intuitive that you just kind of think about what you're going to do, and there are controls, but if you just don't think too hard about it, it just does it. So, like Emma was able to, her first time in it, swing the sword like a baseball bat, and like hit something out of the air. It's a pretty slick piece of technology. I don't know, wild tech.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Seems like an interesting use of potential.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah, like a lot of baseball. We spent six months playing baseball in Eagle Hill.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Awww, jealous~..

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well, Emma played baseball. I was, and we were waiting on the train that was supposed to have Wyatt and Zee-o, but

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, well -

Sydney (as Cassidy):  You never met Zee-o. I guess I was another person that had joined and left.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, sounds like that happens a lot with y'all. Are all of y'all stickers? Sticker arounds, you think?

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I think so. At least now. We've had some elevated emotions, but

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Well, like I said before, make sure they're treating you right, Cassidy. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Aww.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Otherwise, you got the First Sword of Sasnak Traveling, willing to leave this traveling hellscape to come and save your ass.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [laugh] All right, appreciated. Let me know if you ever need a map.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [laugh] I haven't needed a map in forever. I forgot you do that though.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well, you've lived in the same place. I mean, Sasnak's not that big. I mean, 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  My map skills are going to be pretty rusty. Yeah,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  No, tell me, do you think I'm doing a good job here? Like, be honest, please. I'm willing to take criticism. I hear it all day.

Sydney:  Cassidy chews on her lips slightly and looks at the grouper at the window. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh gosh, truth bombing incoming.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Well, you asked for it. Don't ask for it if you don't want it.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  No, I do want it. Give it here, give it here to. I'm ready.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I don't.. I don't know how much of this is you. I mean I've.. you were with me for one stint on Sasnak, and it was still true then, but I don't.. I don't know that these duels to the death to resolve disputes are the optimal approach.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Yeah, I absolutely agree. I think this whole system is fucked, but

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I don't know what to do. I'm just here to make sure people don't die.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Or I guess to.. well, I thought I saw you kill a guy in the Coliseum one time.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh, yeah, yeah. Actually, so this one's pretty good. I just gruesomely maimed him and let him go free. So,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I.. is that.. is that better?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I mean, yeah, he lived. I think he was innocent, by the way. So, 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Oh.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I fucking hate the justice system here. God, I hate it. You know, some days I just think I'm gonna drop off this city. Disappear.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I would probably recommend taking the Ramp, but

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [fake laugh turning into real one] Still hilarious.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Stay while you feel like you're doing good.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I don't even know if I'm doing that.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  But if the system is that broken and you're just having to sit and stare at it and see how broken it is, maybe it's time for someone else to..

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  God, I feel like a band aid every day.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  No, give it over to someone fresh who's a little less, hasn't had their spirit so crushed, if that's where you're feeling,

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Maybe, but also somebody who isn't just gonna fold over for everyone.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Yeah.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Someone like this stubborn, moral, wonderful, prissy girl I know who loves traveling, but is looking for a place to settle down on a city that travels forever and could make maps of this city forever.

Sydney:  Cassidy is looking over her shoulders, both shoulders alternating.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  I don't, I don't see who you're looking at. Who are you talking about? [laugh]

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Ah, fuck you. Whatever. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [laugh] No, not last time, not this time. I'm not gonna say not ever, but I'm not that person yet, and I don't know that I will be.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [sigh] I get you. I thought, just thought I'd keep trying. I'll wear down you spirit sometime. So,

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Psh. All right. Well, let's, let's get another drink. There's a fish food dispenser thing in the window.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  I only, my first meeting tomorrow's at nine, so we can go pretty hard tonight if you're willing to stay out. 

Penn:  And Gwendolyn gives her some mischievous eyes.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Just entertain this old wretched lady one more night.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Oh, yes, you've crossed 40 now.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  [laugh] Yeah and you missed my birthday too, so I guess you owe - you're getting drinks tonight.

Sydney:  Cassidy thinks about what her obligations are, and if this note that Gwen tucked in her pocket does what it should, then maybe their monetary needs have just dwindled. 

Sydney (as Cassidy):  [sigh] Yeah, all right.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Perfect.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Like old times.

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Two neat whiskeys, please. Now you're gonna have to drink my style.

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Oh boy. Here we go. 

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  Oh, and put a flower in it!

Sydney (as Cassidy):  Really?

Penn (as Gwendolyn):  There you go. Okay, I made it a little better for you.

Sydney:  Cassidy shakes her head. It is for a brief moment a return to a long lost, a Patina that had an entirely different set of members, and she at some point in the night loses track of everything and asks Gwen where Owyn is before remembering.

Penn:  And Gwendolen just gives her a big tight hug and gets them a couple more shots.

Nick:  And the two stay out late into the night, reminiscing and carousing like only old mercenary buddies can.

[hurdy gurdy music swells]

Outro:

Penn (as Marathon):  Welcome back folks, you’re tuned to Going the Distance: Traveler’s Guide on road dial 1558. That’s a wrap on today’s log and we’re set to loop after these considerations. Further detail for the following is cataloged in the show notes.

This has been A Knight of Shreds and Patches, an actual play podcast using the Genesys game system from Fantasy Flight Games. The show is edited by Sydney Whittington, and features the talents of:

Kit Adames as Birdie. Kit can be found on Twitter and Instagram @ venusvultures. Kit is also a voice actor for Elevator Pitch Podcast, a queer genre-hopping anthology podcast that can be accessed on Spotify and YouTube.

Penn Van Batavia as Marathon. She can be found on Twitter @ acquiredchaste and in drag as horror king JOHN on Instagram @ john.is.risen. Penn is an indie TTRPG designer whose most recent work includes SLICE IT OUT, a grisly carving RPG about cutting pieces of yourself out to fit in. Check out faer other work at pennharper.itch.io. 

Sydney Whittington as Cassidy. Sydney can be found on our Discord server, which is linked in the show notes, and on Twitter @ sydney_whitt. She’s also a contributing editor and occasional guest player for the Orpheus Protocol, a cosmic horror espionage actual play podcast.

Cameron Robertson as Emma. Cameron can be found on Twitter @ midnightmusic13 and on Instagram @ reading_and_dreaming. Cameron is also a player on Tabletop Squadron, a Star Wars Edge of the Empire actual play podcast.

And Nick Robertson as narrator. Nick can be found on Twitter @ alias58. Nick is also the GM for Tabletop Squadron. Nick can also be found as a player on the Orpheus Protocol.

This podcast features the musical talents of Dora Violet and Arne Parrott. You can find Dora at facebook.com/doraviolett. You can find Arne at atptunes.com.

The official artwork for this podcast was created by Rashed AlAkroka, who can be found on  Instagram and Artstation @ rashedjrs.

You can follow the Patina on Twitter @ akosap_podcast or visit the website: www.akosap.com. To further support the show, consider joining the Patreon at www.patreon.com/AKoSaP, where we’ll be bringing you weekly content including bonus episodes, campfire conversations, and other fun rewards.

Until you tune back…

…stay bold and stay kind