<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>On 2012-01-04, at 8:34 PM, Scott Eiler wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div>On 1/4/2012 7:48 AM, Wil Alambre wrote:<br><br><blockquote type="cite">Super Wizard From Space was unsympathetic. "Understand me, Devil. I<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">would be happy to leave you and your four brethren in the prison you<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">have made for yourselves.<br></blockquote><br>... but if the Devil is in the prison, what's he doing here?<br></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Note to self, more practice with expositions. I need to do a better job setting things up if I want to sensibly throw them around afterwards :) This was one of those scenarios that made perfect sense in my head, but I had trouble getting it down in words without rambling (and I *still* ended up spending an issue and a half on it, oops). But anyway, here's the general things I was attempting to describe…</div><div><br></div><div>Around issue 3 or 4, Devil (D1) describes how Wizard killed him. Being evil and from hell, when he died, he went to Double-Hell (H2).</div><div><br></div><div>Wanting to be free, D1 makes a contract with the Double-Hell Devil (D2). D1 must bring the Wizard to H2, and when D2 completes the challenge, he will free D1.</div><div><br></div><div>D2 double-crosses D1 once the wizard is in H2, figuring that by not completing the challenge, he will have both of them.</div><div><br></div><div>Unbeknownst to D2, D1 had also made a contract with the Triple Hell Devil (D3). When D2 renegaded on the original contract, D3 came to trap him as per the second contract.</div><div><br></div><div>D2 apparently suspected some sort of treachery and made a *third* contract the *next* devil up/down (D4?). And supposed D3 *also* suspected hijinks and made a deal with yet *another* devil, (D5?). And it's possible that D5 has done the same? Oi.</div><div><br></div><div>When they all ended up doing this isn't really that important. I think it might even be funnier if the whole legalese and timing/order of it all doesn't actually make sense if you think about it too hard :P The joke is that when D2 renegaded on the first contract, it caused a chain reaction that landed a plethora of devils trapped in Quinto-Hell. Originally I was going to make it Octo-Hell, but "quinto" sounded cooler and I didn't want to think up scenes/gags for eight levels.</div><div><br></div><div>Now, technically, the original contract, the one that started it all, is *still* valid assuming D2 actually goes through with the Wizard challenge he was supposed to do. D1 was was *originally* trapped, having died and been consigned to H2. His contract allowed him limited freedom, to get the Wizard for D2.</div><div><br></div><div>So, based on a loophole ('cause devils love exploiting loopholes), although D2-through5 are trapped, D1 can move about as long as he stays on mission. And if he completes the challenge, then that would cancel D3's contract, which would cancel D4's contract, etc.</div><div><br></div><div>Clear as mud? :)</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><blockquote type="cite">"But I bound by the cosmic challenges forced<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">upon me by the seven super civilizations of the universe."<br></blockquote><br>Is the Secret Living Language eating the Super Wizard's grammar, or did something else take the "am" out of "I bound"? 8{D><br></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Dang it. :)</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><blockquote type="cite">The Devil sighed. "Look,</blockquote><blockquote type="cite">I'm sorry if I put you in a spot, I know you might be reluctant to..."<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">The Super Wizard From Space raised his hand, pointing at the Devil. The<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">glow of star-fire emanated from him, blinding the surroundings before<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">wrapping itself around his arm and ejecting from his finger. A lancing<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">bolt of fusion rammed into the Devil's chest, vaporizing his torso and<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">liquifying the rest in atomic fire.<br></blockquote><br>Yeah, I hadn't thought the Super Wizard was reluctant to immolate the Devil.</div></blockquote><br></div><div>Only thing I left out was a fat-lettered sound-effect :)</div><br><div>.........................................<br>Wil Alambre, follow me on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/wilalambre">http://twitter.com/wilalambre</a></div></body></html>