Double XP and an Outside View of Team Angst

Okay, so it's obvious by now that Fyre is going villain-side. No, she's not going evil, dammit. She's not evil or bad or even especially a bitch. Somehow, Fyre has become the villain in the group, and even though Masonry is evil, now (again?), everyone kind of still feels bad for him, don't they? E can't be the "bad" one because he's suffering. Frost is entirely too quiet and good and sweet, so it's Fyre by default, I think.

Fyre is simply someone overwhelmed by terrible circumstances. She can cry in a corner or go catatonic, or she can try to "pick up the shattered pieces of her life and move on." Maybe she's not doing it the way someone else would, but she is trying her best. Now, she'll be moving to the Rogue Isles (after a cameo appearance against the Kronos Titan) not because she's "evil," but because she's making a huge sacrifice to save someone she loves. It won't work out the way she thinks, of course, but that's not her fault. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and she has only the very best intentions.

So after Saturday, I started playing Scarlette Blade. Both for story-line purposes and for xp-gain purposes. Not because I decided to take my character and go home. Also, I like Scarlette. (Again, not that I don't like Fyre.) She's happy, and like she told Jack, she doesn't have any "inner demons." The only thing that might be a sticking point for her is keeping her secret identity. No one knows who she is at this point, though that might change. Plus, I'm happier being a scrapper right now, especially a /regen scrapper.

Before she took off, though, Fyre was completely devasted because she's finally completely accepted that E is dying. He's losing his hearing and having black-outs. She was quiet because she was about to burst into tears. Her player practically was, too, if that helps to show how absolutely shattered Fyre actually is. To keep the bargain she's made that is supposed to save E, and to keep the promises she made to E to keep Jen safe, she's hiding out. Character-wise, no one knows where she's gone, not E, and not Scarlette who she's roped into replacing her as E's protector and as a member of the team. There's a small chance I might not use her for Team 3.0, too, so I'd like to leave the "definate" up in the air for a bit longer.


Scarlette got a good introduction to Team Angst on Sunday. They were quiet at first, and Scarlette thought that might be because they didn't know her. (Also, Mason/Nathan wasn't there to fill natural silences, like he usually did.) Scarlette actually did most of the talking. Jack/Mason made a good impression on her. More than E did, even. Especially after E flipped and tried to strangle Jack/Mason in Infernal's altar room. Jack was pleasant, talked to her, asked about her. Everyone likes to talk about themselves. It's a psychological truth. Jack showed caring and wisdom, and any part that might have been Nathan sailed right over Scarlette's head. Most of the angst sailed over her head, probably. She didn't understand what happened in the altar room, and she certainly didn't understand what happened in the Carnie cave, either.

(I am glad what Fyre wasn't around for what happened in the altar room. She'd have been torn between seperating E and Masonry and helping E kill Masonry. Luckily, she and I weren't faced with that choice. Thank you, Scarlette.)

E and Scarlette talked later, and Scarlette understands the situation better, but it's hard to overcome a first impression. It should be interesting to see what happens to her with Team Angst around.