[Keith might not be the brightest bulb on the team, but he's done enough conspiracy work on his end to know what's going on here. After all, social skills may be where he's lacking, but this stuff? It's closer to what he knows. He's a cynic at heart. He's just been here for a little longer than most.]
[Plus, it sounds like Keith can push Asher in there if he gets weird. That's a win-win.]
See you there.
[And sure enough, Keith is there at ten, arms crossed like he's irritated with the world around him. He just has that "naturally broody" look downpat.]
[Asher arrives looking a little worse for the wear. He's just dismounted his mechanical horse which has been stationed in close proximity, and there's still a little dust on his cheeks from his run-ins with the miners.
Yeah, that's it. [No "you're welcome" or anything like that. Niceities escape him most of the time, and this is definitely one of those times.]
What do you wanna know about the dungeon? [Cutting to the chase is really his Thing. He'd ask about the way this guy looks, but honestly, Keith ... probably doesn't look much better. Sure, he has a mask that covers his face and keeps him looking okay, but underneath his clothes, he's been knocked around a bit.
But then, it's not like Keith is the type to really turn down a fight. Most people wouldn't spot the difference.]
I don't wanna say that it's impossible. Nothing like that ever really is. [Keith would be in a far more different place if he truly believed that, after all. Cynicism is something that he actively thrives upon.]
But they didn't take Koltira. Plus, ALASTAIR's been around for ages. Who knows how it's changed. Does that mean it won't change for the worst? There's no way. A teammate of mine forgot how he'd been here before. They aren't perfect. But he wasn't sitting down in that dungeon, either.
[That doesn't mean anything, it's just ... Keith really does think Koltira would have been locked up by now.]
[Keith's talk placates him momentarily, but doubt flares right back up again.
Zymandis might have legitimate reasons for opposing ALASTAIR, and the more Asher learns about life and the multiverse in general, the more it seems that there's no one right answer to any problem at all.]
That kinda freaks me out.
[Ugh.]
Not that...! I don't think K-dizzle should be locked up or anything, don't get me wrong-
[where did that nickname even COME from]
But I worry that they're just using us sometimes.
["That we don't matter."]
Because they don't... They don't even step in when people on the team get hurt, like, a lot of people. Doesn't that sound messed up to you?
Not really? I think we're meant to take care of ourselves. Otherwise, we won't be any good to them, or to the people we're trying to help. Besides, it doesn't seem like there are that many people in charge.
[That doesn't mean that he's perfectly okay with how they're handling things. Keith really isn't. But his conversation with Lloyd appeased him a bit.]
If there's anything I've learned from this mess, it's that they aren't interested in giving us orders. That may sound stupid, but they aren't exactly trying to save the lives of those hosts. That's just an option. They don't stop the worst path from being followed, like it or not. [Keith's understanding of things in Nalawi is that that's how it went. Maybe ALASTAIR is just ridiculously hands off. It'd make a lot of sense.]
[Keith sounds it out all so logically, it almost placates him.
Almost.
ALASTAIR's history is so long and convoluted, there have to be some things that they're covering up. Mistakes make it hard to trust an organization, but there's also so much to be learned from them. What if they're making the same one, over and over and over?
What if time doesn't want to be changed?]
Okay.
[Everything about his tone suggests that he is not.]
So, from my understanding... There's a timeline we're trying to protect, yeah? I haven't been here for that long, but it seems like that's the main goal, to keep that, like, one-hundred, y'know?
Uh, what part is the problem? Because protecting things from going badly seems like a good idea to me. Have you ever seen what happens when things go that way? Have you ever seen a universe so messed up because this one jerk decided to take over all of it? That doesn't sound like a "good" timeline to you, does it?
[Leave it to Keith to finally take the mental detour necessary to be a jerk in this conversation. Leave it to Keith to find a way to lose his chill. Because here he is. He just did it. It's clear in how he's looking at Asher with thinly veiled disdain.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Unfortunately, Keith still thinks that was a pretty solid plan.]
It's not like I've studied the thing, but what do you wanna know?
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[Asher's had enough conversations hijacked, and it's made him wary as of late.
There's a chance that even this private conversation could be wiretapped or accessed by a third party.]
Again, I can hold off on it.
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Right. Name a place, and I'll meet you there.
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He hopes that he's wrong.]
Um, do you wanna meet by the water trough at night? Like, say, 10-ish?
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[Plus, it sounds like Keith can push Asher in there if he gets weird. That's a win-win.]
See you there.
[And sure enough, Keith is there at ten, arms crossed like he's irritated with the world around him. He just has that "naturally broody" look downpat.]
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That's fine, though. At least he's been helping.]
Hey, thanks for meeting me.
Keith, right?
[A name that sounds vaguely normal, at least.]
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What do you wanna know about the dungeon? [Cutting to the chase is really his Thing. He'd ask about the way this guy looks, but honestly, Keith ... probably doesn't look much better. Sure, he has a mask that covers his face and keeps him looking okay, but underneath his clothes, he's been knocked around a bit.
But then, it's not like Keith is the type to really turn down a fight. Most people wouldn't spot the difference.]
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It was empty when you went, right?
[It's not so much the specifics as the notion that it's really there.]
I was wondering if there was anything or anybody in it, at the time.
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[Keith actually pauses this time, to put something into place that he hadn't thought about yet.]
We did just learn that ALASTAIR has enemies, right? Bad ones. They might have a reason for needing to lock them up.
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You mean Zymandis? The little-
[He curls the index finger of his right hand, mimicking the movement of a worm.]
Yeah, maybe, but-
[Shaking his head, the young lawyer sighs.]
I was a little worried about what it'd take for, y'know. One of us to end up there.
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But they didn't take Koltira. Plus, ALASTAIR's been around for ages. Who knows how it's changed. Does that mean it won't change for the worst? There's no way. A teammate of mine forgot how he'd been here before. They aren't perfect. But he wasn't sitting down in that dungeon, either.
[That doesn't mean anything, it's just ... Keith really does think Koltira would have been locked up by now.]
omg i didnt see this tag??? im so sorry
Zymandis might have legitimate reasons for opposing ALASTAIR, and the more Asher learns about life and the multiverse in general, the more it seems that there's no one right answer to any problem at all.]
That kinda freaks me out.
[Ugh.]
Not that...! I don't think K-dizzle should be locked up or anything, don't get me wrong-
[where did that nickname even COME from]
But I worry that they're just using us sometimes.
["That we don't matter."]
Because they don't... They don't even step in when people on the team get hurt, like, a lot of people. Doesn't that sound messed up to you?
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[That doesn't mean that he's perfectly okay with how they're handling things. Keith really isn't. But his conversation with Lloyd appeased him a bit.]
If there's anything I've learned from this mess, it's that they aren't interested in giving us orders. That may sound stupid, but they aren't exactly trying to save the lives of those hosts. That's just an option. They don't stop the worst path from being followed, like it or not. [Keith's understanding of things in Nalawi is that that's how it went. Maybe ALASTAIR is just ridiculously hands off. It'd make a lot of sense.]
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Almost.
ALASTAIR's history is so long and convoluted, there have to be some things that they're covering up. Mistakes make it hard to trust an organization, but there's also so much to be learned from them. What if they're making the same one, over and over and over?
What if time doesn't want to be changed?]
Okay.
[Everything about his tone suggests that he is not.]
So, from my understanding... There's a timeline we're trying to protect, yeah? I haven't been here for that long, but it seems like that's the main goal, to keep that, like, one-hundred, y'know?
[💯]
I'm not sure if I'm down with that.
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[Leave it to Keith to finally take the mental detour necessary to be a jerk in this conversation. Leave it to Keith to find a way to lose his chill. Because here he is. He just did it. It's clear in how he's looking at Asher with thinly veiled disdain.]