The Plainclothes Clown

fiat_knox: ... But in the meantime, I still have the Hengeyokai book and Cannon Companion for Shadowrun. Joy.

nyghtshayde9: Yeah.

fiat_knox: Well, at least I enjoyed reading them on the way home.

fiat_knox: The *cough cough* comic at the start was a bit, erm ... how can I put it? [cheesy]

nyghtshayde9: *grins*

Later:

nyghtshayde9: hehehehe

fiat_knox: But yeah, c'mon ... "CYCLONE STAR FORMATION!" "BLOODY FEATHER STORM!"

nyghtshayde9: *shudders* What the hell is that?

fiat_knox: From the opening fiction piece ... the comic section.

nyghtshayde9: Ah.

fiat_knox: If I were playing the Bakemono, it'd be "UPTURNED BOX SCATTERING TWO DOZEN FRAG GRENADES ABOUT THE ROOM WITH ALL THE PINS PULLED OUT!"

nyghtshayde9: Alrighty then.

fiat_knox: Now THAT'S a combat move ... ;)

nyghtshayde9: hehehe

fiat_knox: Thank you ... It's known as the Squaddy Manoeuvre, mostly because if British Squaddies were to try and penetrate a room by force, their first calling card would tend to be a grenade thrown through the window or door ...

nyghtshayde9: hehehehe

fiat_knox: Sorry, I'm slipping into gamer mode again ... I don't know what's come over me ... ;)

nyghtshayde9: LOL

Later:

fiat_knox: Oh ... last night I looked up the BBC's home page ...

fiat_knox: I was, of course, looking for material I could borrow for my Hunter Chronicle.

nyghtshayde9: k

fiat_knox: And I noticed a rather amusing little quiz on the site.

fiat_knox: "How Cynical Are You?"

nyghtshayde9: Oh?

fiat_knox: Yeah. I took the test ... and the result was no big surprise.

nyghtshayde9: Oh?

fiat_knox: I'll read it out to you soon as I call it up ...

nyghtshayde9: Okay

fiat_knox: I saved it as a file called "and they have the cheek to call me a cynic"

nyghtshayde9: Kewl.

fiat_knox: "You're a top grade cynic - in fact you've turned cynicism into an art form. You greet almost every news article with sneering contempt. Loosen up a bit."

fiat_knox: Well, in the words of cynics everywhere, "Yeah, what - EVER ..."

nyghtshayde9: hehehehehe

fiat_knox: :D I felt chuffed to bits by that reault.

nyghtshayde9: I imagine I'd be less of a cynic than I was last year.

nyghtshayde9: If I took that last year, I'd have ended up a huge cynic.

nyghtshayde9: But from Christmas on, I think things have been a lot different.

fiat_knox: Oh, the thing about my cynicism is that it's not a defence mechanism, as it is for other, less enlightened people.

fiat_knox: It's a plain old offensive weapon, pure and simple.

nyghtshayde9: Okay.

fiat_knox: I'll bet ... but so far, you've managed to find a few openings in your armour of cynicism through which your soul can breathe ...

fiat_knox: Which is what you need.

nyghtshayde9: Yup.

nyghtshayde9: Oh yes.

nyghtshayde9: What's funny is that Staci has constantly chided me for pushing Phebene away (this was when I met her and after she'd read the books). Now I've embraced the Tinseltot and Staci doesn't want to know the level at which I've gone. :)

fiat_knox: When cynicism's a form of armour, it can get hot and stifling.

fiat_knox: Kewl kewl, luv. :)

fiat_knox: I was about to say "Which is why, for me, cynicism is not armour. It is a sword. In fact, it is a rapier."

nyghtshayde9: Yes it can.

nyghtshayde9: But I don't think my cynicism has ever been armor. Or not strictly that anyway.

nyghtshayde9: I think I used mine as such...it knocked a certain Aries male off his high horse a few times.

fiat_knox: Yeah.

nyghtshayde9: :)

fiat_knox: I also wrote in a friendly little item of feedback on the website, to the question "How Did We Get So Cynical?"

nyghtshayde9: Okay

fiat_knox: My reply was something along the lines of: "Well, let's see, we have been lied to by the Government for more than twenty years. Our parents have been lied to: we have been lied to: our kids are being lied to as we speak.

nyghtshayde9: *nods*

fiat_knox: "When we are not being lied to, we are being spoonfed bland non-news puff pieces concerning the most unworthy people - namely celebs, footballers and all of those miserable hangers - on and camp followers of the showbiz industry.

nyghtshayde9: k

fiat_knox: "And then if we're not having the wool pulled over our eyes by the Powers That Be, we are being patronised by Science and Medicine, by all these white collar quacks telling us of the wonderful new "improvements" to our foods and our environment, "improvements" which have led to soaring rates of cancer, allergies, asthma and runaway obesity.

nyghtshayde9: k

fiat_knox: "So how did we all get so cynical? Look back at the nonsense you've been peddling at us disguised as 'informative and educational,' and you tell me. Oh, and by the way, in the quiz, the word "dirth" should be spelled as "dearth," as in "a dearth of understanding what spellchechers are for.'"

nyghtshayde9: k

fiat_knox: I was in "RAMPANT BITCHINESS BATTLE MODE!!!1"

nyghtshayde9: LOL

fiat_knox: Methinks I shall save this rant ...