friendyousohard | 26th Spell [Video]

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26th Spell [Video]

So, we're in the first week of the new month and we'll probably be getting new people for a while... and it's occurred to me that there's something about that I've been thinking about for some time now, but have never really addressed.

[Twilight folds her arms a bit, frowning in consideration at the screen.]

Most of us ought to know by now about the helpful guide that Riku, the owner of the training center and the new breeding center, wrote about this world some time ago. It's still a useful resource despite needing some updating, and it's where I got the seed of my idea, but it's a bit... oversized for a newcomer, no offense Riku.

Is there a way to maybe... [She pauses a moment to grope for words.] Create some sort of collective document where we all put in our thoughts on what a new arrival should know about this world right away? Something simple and straightforward, that gives them a grounding point for their first few days. I always worry I've forgotten to mention something important when I talk to someone new, and I think that's a problem we all share. This could fix that, and give them a bit of a leg up in adapting to this world. And as long as we all know about it we can be sure someone's going to show it to them when they arrive.

It might not seem like much, but if you think back on how we all felt when we first arrived, I think most of us would have really liked something like that to at least be available.

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Let's see...

[He tries to remember what he thought at the time, but- No. Remembering those days is a terrible idea.]

...That my world was not in any danger during my absence. That the progression of time is fluid here, and that friends seen the day before can be ten years too young when they arrive. Everything else was secondary in my mind.

[Well, that's something she already had, but she nods anyway. His sincerity is appreciated.]

I'll make sure that's listed under the first part. It's the sort of thing everyone worries about.

Considering the situations from which some of us were taken, it's a very valid concern. Add to that differences in time that can reach hundreds of years, and it's enough to make anyone panic.

Hundreds? I guess that's theoretically possible given the lifespan of some of the people we have here, but has it actually happened?

I know of one case for which the difference truly was that large. But everyone involved is gone, now, and I do not recall exactly how many years separated them.

Wow. That's... pretty immense.

[And now she's wondering if it might be possible for Princess Luna to arrive... from a thousand years in the past.

Well that's a horrifying thought.]

Luckily, it was an exception rather than the norm. Otherwise, not even the best guide in the world would help with most of the new arrivals' confusion and alarm.

I can see that. I'm now envisioning people from the ancient past of my world, or perhaps the long-term future, arriving here alongside us, and... well the reactions I'm picturing aren't exactly positive.

...That would be a case where not sharing information about the future would be for the best. Especially if anyone involved is alive during both time periods.

I can think of at least three people I know where that would indeed be the case. Arguably four though the last one survived in some sort of weird shadowy ghost form.

...I'd say shadowy ghosts count. They'd receive a living body if they were brought here, after all.

True. Which is really kind of a frightening thought in his case, though at least he'd lack his powers.

Thank heavens for small blessings. Many beings should not be allowed anywhere near this world with their powers left unchecked.

Don't I know it. My world isn't host to all that much in the way of villainous types, but it sometimes seems like we make up for lack of quantity with entirely too much quality.

The quality of my own opponents is not always... optimal, but they tend to work together on large-scale plans. That compensates for many weaknesses, as shown by Team Rocket's most damaging attacks.

Well, teamwork is a weapon both sides can use, and in my experience the other side tends to have too much pride and selfishness to use it effectively, unless there's one ringleader with a strong enough personality to rope them all into working together.

I've seen it go both ways: a group working as one, with each member playing their part perfectly for years... and a group collapsing upon itself the moment its members were given half an excuse. It depends on the goal to reach, I imagine.

And the personalities involved, to an extent. Trust and cooperation come easier to some than others.

...True. I cannot imagine people such as Kefka or the Emperor truly trusting others, even with a shared goal to reach. Then again, only fools would trust them back; perhaps they have a point there.

Which leaves you with a bunch of knives ready to be plunged into backs as soon as they think they've won. Really if you can make the other side think you're less of a threat to them than their own "allies", you might be able to get most of them to deal with each other.

Again assuming some superior force isn't holding them together.

...Even the strongest force in the world cannot hold certain people together. Especially if it cares little for its own goals, or the risk of betrayal.

Wait, then what did that force care about? It sounds completely apathetic.

Destroying his opponent, the goddess of Harmony. ...Or not, considering that her death left him without the will to live. It was only after her passing that he realized he had no one else to care for.

[Well, that's a familiar word to her...]

Wait wait wait. The Goddess of Harmony? Who... who exactly wanted someone like that destroyed?

The god of Discord, Chaos. A terrible opponent, a danger to his own world, and yet many of his chosen warriors were much more unpleasant.

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