TwiLyghtSansSparkles

Dividing him by zero would kill the Financier, too, as well as setting the clock back ten minutes. I'm considering what sort of adverse effects it might have on whoever he divided by zero--simply killing them would be too easy. Maybe it erases their memories? At any rate, I really want them to meet after Lightwards' mental decay has really set in. Ah, right.

I am currently bracing myself for terror when Astoria gets its own thread. And trying to determine whether or not the Financier would clean Lightwards' coat because the bloodstains reminded him of different numbers, or threaten to divide him by zero. *makes mental note to give Nathan, Remington, and Funtimes each a cat* The fact that he has medicine, or lots and lots of guns?

True. Yes, but his cat rules that clinic with an iron paw. Won't take no for an answer. With a few key details omitted, Neko could easily be mistaken for Koschei. Or perhaps it's the fact Baxter is quite likable, and could probably cause Nighthound to implode with the sheer force of his kindness. (Kidding! I don't want Nighthound to meet Dr. Game because I like him.)

If the Panda's been planning this for a while now, he could have been having his troops circle northward from the south to attack from that direction. Although that would give his pandas essentially nowhere to flee without immediately being spotted as deserters, but that could have been a deliberate tactical move on the Panda's part, similar to a general burning a bridge to prevent his soldiers' retreat, thus giving them no option but victory. The Panda seems like the sort of fanatical, unbalanced Epic who would do that, especially if the idea came directly from the Radiant Panda.

"Rachel! Remington and Alice are coming with us!" Remington knew he ought to be elated, or relieved at the very least. Here he was in a cemetery, a recovering zombie at his side as he faced the leader of Black Fist, who had just given him a ringing endorsement. Permission to enter their hideout. All it took was a mention of Koschei and a promise to kill Lightwards. The former could be easily verified through a quick search of whatever data those Reckoners had managed to collect between tea parties. Too easy, his mind whispered. Unless they weren't planning on sending him back…. "Hold up," he told Max. "I got family expecting me by morning. You can blindfold us, take my gun, take us wherever you want, but if I ain't back by sunrise, you'll have them hunting you down. Asking around, asking questions you don't want asked. I ain't saying that to spook you; just letting you know I've got to be back in one piece. If word gets out about any of this, go ahead and shoot me." Morning. Unless these Reckoners were known for short meetings, he wouldn't make the meeting with Thougttown. Hope Funtimes don't mind. The beardapalooza had gone about as well as could be expected. A surprisingly large number of bearded men had gathered near the tailor's shop, glancing around and shuffling their feet nervously. Phrases like said she's a cannibal and fattening us up drifted through the crowd, and for the first time since Fortuity took Leigh, Nathan found himself praying. ​Please, no pancakes. No muffins. No food. Just…nothing edible, all right? Either God really was listening, or coincidence was a more powerful force than he thought. Laughing, jumping up and down, Funtimes clapped her hands and turned dead leaves into glittering bracelets, necklaces, and other baubles that fell from the sky onto a hundred bearded heads. "Free shinies! Free shinies for everybody!" As the men ducked, dodged, and stooped to pick them up, she pushed her way through the crowd, passing out free hugs. With every hug, she paused to pull back, smile intently into each man's face, and move on. She's looking for someone. Her search was interrupted by a man who wore no beard, but a rather impressive handlebar mustache twisted into a curl at the ends. She drew a gasp, she clapped her hands—and he handed her a letter before melting into the crowd. Funtimes tore open the envelope and let it fall to the ground as another shiny. Her smile became a frown. "Thank you all for coming," she said, raising her voice and folding the letter until it was the size of a piece of chewing gum. "The shinies are free. Take—take everything you want. Bye-bye!" The bearded men had dispersed with their hands full of shinies as Funtimes had read the letter again. "Is everything okay?" "Purple Phoenix," she had said, still frowning. "He needs a party. A really fun one." "Sure. We can do that." The afternoon wore on, and the only word from Remington was a single yellow light on Funtimes' radio—several minutes after seven o'clock. "He's not coming," she said with a small frown. "We should get ready." Nathan knew that there was no way she would leave Sam and Revolution alone for the duration. Unlike the Unicyclist, whose flaming bagpipes had convinced Funtimes to leave him at the museum—safely locked away from any hungry raptors, of course—they were unarmed. Also unlike the Unicyclist, Sam especially was almost certain to make a few jokes at Lightwards' expense. He liked the jokes. But he also liked Sam alive and unharmed. "Doctor," Nathan said as an idea struck, "could I get a clipboard, a pen, and some paper?" All three were different shades of pink, though a quick test confirmed the ink was black. He handed them to Sam. "If anyone asks, you're my secretary," he whispered. "Whenever you think of a joke about Lightwards' hat or something, just write it down there. Okay?" A few moments later, they stood before the Sadrys'.

That's what I figured. I'm writing that post up now, and that's what I have him saying, but I just wanted to make sure that he would be able to avoid a bullet to the head for reasons other than plot armor.

Joe, what do the Reckoners plan to do with Remington and Alice? If Remington claims he has family expecting him back by morning, will they shoot him? I can't think of any way he could stay with them indefinitely and not make Lightwards suspicious.

Yes, but I also don't want Nighthound to hunt her down.

A high and noble calling, if an extremely dangerous one.

It would be more of a cameo—"He strode past Lucy Lockser, who huddled weeping in a corner." Something like that.

Makes sense. Should I work her into/mention her in one of Koschei's flashbacks? Hey, he had redeeming qualities. He wasn't racist, for one. He saw people of all ethnicities as equally deserving of having him as their god, and set about slitting their throats to prove it. …. Yeah, he was a terrible person.

No, not at all. He did that to a lot of kids, so it would have been highly likely that it happened to her. Since her parents are still alive, it probably would've happened when he hit one of the schools early on in his conquest. It's up to you whether she was held hostage for an extended period of time (which he did with a few kids, mostly to use as human shields and/or blackmail) or if she were simply returned to her parents to gain their obedience. If it was the latter, her parents probably wielded some authority in town (though that's kind of a loose definition; if one of her parents was a cop or a teacher, Koschei would've seen that as enough justification for using her as a bargaining chip).

Yes, this is true. (When, precisely, did she meet Koschei? Was it just an in-passing sort of thing, or was she one of the kids he did his wound-and-heal thing with?)

Awwww….why does she look so sad?

If you want to use quotes about them, I can see "Your. Hat. Is. Amazing!" working.

PLEASE tell me his real name is Connor O'Connell.

I think so. Few windows and a back area with no windows lends itself well to being a fortress. If it has a basement, that's even better.

Oh, of course. I took that as a given. Though it would be hilarious to have him announce that and be drowned out by pandas and pigs, it would be rather anticlimactic.

I personally like the idea of Frequency striding in to The Dalles, greeting everyone as "citizens of New Eden" and announcing his plans to revive Koschei. (This guy freaks me out and I love it. )

Um....June, I think? Honestly I'm not sure how I did it. I'm not complaining, of course, but I have no idea how it happened.

All right. I may be able to get that up tonight, when I get off work. Not entirely sure how he'll react--Max's reaction might make him a tad suspicious, so he'll send the "proceeding ith caution" signal to Funtimes. (He's just paranoid, is all.) Agh! I became The Lord Ruler? Why am I always the last to know these things? Thanks.

Yeah, but that's at the beginning of her reign. Imagine her when all the worst Epics are obliterated, but she's still convinced there are evil doers out there. So she looks to the vanillas. And the decent Epics. And before anyone knows it, you can get a death sentence for failing to say hello to someone and "darkening the day of a precious, beautiful human being." (I might be going a little far with that, but these are Epics. Jumping off the slippery slope is practically a sport.) I'm finding myself liking the resident grouch, too.

Here's a fun exercise: Add our favorite chant to whatever documents you happen to view at work or school. For example, I work at a car dealership with a service department. "Customer requests replacement of rear shocks per recommendation. Found rear shocks leaking fluid. Rear shocks replaced and then Nighthound died."

He's definitely nothing like Nighthound. And I fail to see how that could be anything but a very good thing. Ooh, I could work that in. Though the more I think about it, the more I can see Koschei giving his prisoners hot cocoa. Only it would be poisoned so as to give him another way to control them. .... He never met Nighthound. He never met Nighthound. He never met Nighthound.....

I like Baxter. I like him a lot. I am also wondering if Autumn telling Backtrack that the healer might give him some hot chocolate if he calms down and stops fidgeting would be comforting, or just heighten the horror.