(==>)
ROXY: wow
JOHN: yeah, she's...
JOHN: well, just as much of a card as i remember!
ROXY: just as much of a jerk maybe
CALLIOPE: she definitely was not very polite.
CALLIOPE: bUt...
CALLIOPE: i guess she did more or less end Up doing something!
CALLIOPE: so i sUppose we shoUld chalk that Up as a win and a job well done?
JOHN: i don't know...
JOHN: i was kind of expecting something a bit more...
JOHN: more plot significant?
JOHN: i guess?
ROXY: callie
CALLIOPE: yes dear?
ROXY: is vriska right
CALLIOPE: right aboUt what, dear?
ROXY: about the fact that u dont actually know wtf we were supposed to be gettin up to here
CALLIOPE: well...
CALLIOPE: Um, more or less, yes.
ROXY: bb are you srs
CALLIOPE: oh dear.
CALLIOPE: did i neglect to mention that i only really had a solid grasp on the inaUgural steps of this whole Undertaking?
ROXY: um
ROXY: YEAH
CALLIOPE: oops! ^u^;
ROXY: shit yeah callie that is kind of a fuckin oops!
ROXY: you said you were being compelled by like hella visions n premonishes n mysterious psychic spatiotemporal intuitions n i kinda figured that meant you had this shit all ttly comprehended!
CALLIOPE: i'm sorry, roxy!
CALLIOPE: it absolUtely wasn't my intention to mislead yoU or to overrepresent my level of Understanding of the process.
CALLIOPE: it's jUst that, well...
CALLIOPE: yoU remember how we got so wrapped Up in the initial excitement of finding the singUlarity and the rUined jUjU arch, and sUbseqUently stabilizing it with oUr sUper cool cherUbic-lalondian tech...
ROXY: its true our tech really is so fkn cool...
CALLIOPE: and then, well... it felt like we were on sUch a roll when we came to the conclUsion that we needed to leverage vriska's hyperrelevance to scUrry oUt of here...
ROXY: we did have a whole bunch of high fives about that...
CALLIOPE: it was an exhilarating breakthroUgh!
CALLIOPE: and an eqUally exhilarating high-five session!
CALLIOPE: bUt then the conflict began to ramp Up, and yoUr son got into all those shenanigans, and i wanted yoU to feel like i had everything Under control down here so yoU could attend to it!
CALLIOPE: and all that notwithstanding, we really DID need to hUrry Up and do SOMETHING.
CALLIOPE: i worried that perhaps yoU'd be a bit relUctant to pUll the trigger on this if it felt like all the details weren't lined Up.
CALLIOPE: and so i...
CALLIOPE: well, i sUppose i might have implied a more complete knowledge of the a to zed of all this then i actUally... possessed.
CALLIOPE: and continUe to possess.
JOHN: well, but you don't possess it.
CALLIOPE: no, i'm afraid not.
CALLIOPE: u_u
ROXY: urgh callie i gotta say this feels sorta less than ideal
ROXY: but i guess wcyd
JOHN: wow.
JOHN: feels kinda nice not being the one getting chastised, for a change!
ROXY: john shut ur insensitive blabhole or im gonna chastise the shit out of u
JOHN: jeez!
JOHN: it was fun while it lasted, i guess.
JOHN: just trying to think solution here, but is there something *we* should do?
JOHN: should we maybe, i don't know... follow her?
CALLIOPE: oh, i woUldn't recommend that.
CALLIOPE: whatever's going on in there is likely to be extremely dangeroUs, and scarily...
CALLIOPE: specific.
JOHN: it's dangerous and you let her jump right into it?
CALLIOPE: well she didn't exactly give me mUch of a golden window of opportUnity to try and talk her oUt of it, now did she!
CALLIOPE: besides, what exactly was i sUpposed to say?
CALLIOPE: "hello vriska, lovely to make yoUr acqUaintance, so glad yoU coUld make it to oUr little soiree, woUld yoU mind doing something of particUlar significance next to, bUt not within, that crackling narrative nexUs of swirling spacetime? by the by, i'm not actUally sUre as to what, and in addition to that the forces at play here coUld qUite easily rip yoU or perhaps even all of Us along with oUr entire plane of existence to pieces if yoU're not exceedingly carefUl so do take a second or two to think aboUt it?"
ROXY: i mean mb that woulda helped
ROXY: but rly it sorta seems like she woulda just jumped right tf in anyway
JOHN: yeah.
JOHN: ...
JOHN: well, it doesn't *feel* like we're all being ripped to pieces.
ROXY: ya im feelin pretty structurally intact, hbu callie
CALLIOPE: whole and one!
SOLLUX: yeah i'm all go0d.
ROXY: oh damn dude, when did u get in here-
ROXY: wait tf
ROXY: are those my chips
SOLLUX: i guess they were.
SOLLUX: i found em in y0ur hive.
SOLLUX: had to go 0n a little pilgrimage on acc0unt of n0body in this cast 0f gods and p0litical giants apparently has the requisite clout 0r ability to get a dude s0me fuckin fo0d on time.
SOLLUX: big damn war 0n and i guess that means i have to fucking starve.
ROXY: so u snuck into my house and raided my pantry?
SOLLUX: 0h fuck, i'm sorry, i didn't realize these were sacred human chips that y0u use to c0mmemorate y0ur ancestors' remains 0r play a role in y0ur probably nasty as hell mating rituals 0r maybe this is what you guys use f0r to0thpaste or whatever.
ROXY: xenophobic?
JOHN: isn't it reverse xenophobia?
SOLLUX: reverse xen0phobia isn't a thing, idi0t.
SOLLUX: also it's n0t reverse xenoph0bia, YOU'RE the alien.
SOLLUX: if anything it's reverse-xen0phobic of Y0U to imply 0therwise.
SOLLUX: bo0m.
SOLLUX: race relations blown the fuck 0ut.
ROXY: god whatever
ROXY: gimme one
SOLLUX: ehehehe.
SOLLUX: anyway what's going 0n in here?
JOHN: hmmmmmmmm.
JOHN: i wonder what IS going on in there.