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[incorrigibles]

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[incorrigibles]

you can say that again, too.

well, i promise to do my best so it won't, yeah? and anyway... i'm not a soldier. what i do best is keep those i care about safe. so that's what i'm gonna do. if things "get messy" then jinx's safety is gonna be what matters

so she can do what she needs to do

[conflictresolution]

And how do you plan on keeping people you care about safe in conflict where people could die (though potentially not permanently)? Jinx can usually handle herself in physical altercations.

She needs support in other ways.

[incorrigibles]

i'm good at taking a hit and getting back up again.

so what can i do for her, then?

[conflictresolution]

It's better to avoid being hit, but if you do have to take one, getting up is priority. I assume this place provided you a physically tangible form now?

[He actually assumed Charles could just do... the ghost thing.]

Encourage her. Support her. She'll need allies after I'm gone.

[incorrigibles]

oh, uh, i can actually shift between being tangible and not. and when you couple that with only specific stuff actually hurting me for real...

[ well. he does make a rather excellent ghostly shield. ]

wait

what do you mean after you're gone

[conflictresolution]

I see. So you can now eat and drink and party again?

As everyone, including my daughter, enjoys pointing out: I'm old. Some would declare it's a miracle I lived as long as I did.

[incorrigibles]

nah, that's still a no. this is how i've always been, you know? ghosts can shift between feeling solid and not. it's all about intent.

[ ... lived. right, that — he notices that, of course, the easy use of past tense, there. ]

.... right. well, you're here now, aren't you? here and alive. you're not dead until you are.

but for what it's worth... i promise to be there for her as well as i can. support her as well as i can.

[conflictresolution]

That does make sense to me explained that way. A shame. I'd have shared a drink with you.

That may be debatable given my state of existence before being brought here. I can bleed and feel pain and die again, so it seems alive in a sense.

I will hold you to that promise.

[incorrigibles]

looking forward to when you invent the ghost drink, then.

alive and dead are just words here, though, aren't they? we're all existing, regardless of how we were before.

hey, wouldn't be making it if i wasn't prepared to keep it.

[conflictresolution]

I'm working on it, don't worry. We want everyone to feel included after all.

Perhaps a piece of us is existing. I expect there is something missing, but I don't know enough of this place to determine what yet.

I've heard a lot of words, but we shall see when action is required.

[incorrigibles]

maybe. but whether something's missing or not... we're still here. doesn't matter if there's something missing, does it, when everything we go through here feels real, anyway

ha, yeah, that's fair, innit? the whole actions over words thing and all that

[conflictresolution]

For some of us, this is all that is left, pseudolife or whatever it may be. I expect we'll have to continue until this place crumbles around us.

You seem foolish enough to get in over your head and not care as long as those close to you are safe.

[incorrigibles]

afterlife. living after you're dead's not... less than. or less important, anyway, even if it's not the same

damn, mate, that's harsh. not entirely inaccurate, but harsh

[conflictresolution]

I expected more fire and brimstone for the afterlife.

Would you prefer kid gloves?

[incorrigibles]

yeah, well. i guess that's what people expect hell to be like and it's not that, so, you can forget the fire and brimstone part

and hah, no. it was a joke, mate. or like... friendly banter? we not there yet?

[conflictresolution]

So what is hell like then, since you mentioned having a friend go there? I assume you've heard.

Friendly banter is not a communication style leveled in my direction.

[incorrigibles]

oh. uh, does dante exist where you come from? probably not. like, seven levels of hell and all that stuff?

and well, it could be. i tried, didn't go so great, but i can try again

[conflictresolution]

I'm not familiar, no. I have read books here that seem to describe heaven and hell, but both seem bogus to me.

Clearly I wasn't receptive that previous time. I'm not certain that would change in future.

[incorrigibles]

well, can't speak of heaven, and don't fancy speaking of hell.

right, got the hint.

[conflictresolution]

But if one exists, so must the other, correct?

[incorrigibles]

oh yeah, i wasn't saying that

just, seeing heaven would mean passing on, which would mean stopping being a ghost, so that's a no from me

[conflictresolution]

I see. Confirmation wouldn't be worth the sacrifice, no.

[incorrigibles]

right? that's what i think. i mean, i'm pretty happy the way i am now. why'd i risk it even if it's, well, an eternity of peace and tranquility or whatever they say it's gonna be

[conflictresolution]

You'd rather the enjoyment of potential conflict over eternal peace and happiness, hmm? Are you afraid to be happy or perhaps don't feel you deserve it?

[He knows he doesn't.]

[incorrigibles]

i'd rather stay in the world somehow, even if it's as a ghost, than move on to something i've got no idea about.

besides, as long as i'm staying, i'm doing good. helping people. i'd rather do that, even if it's dangerous.