This is the most traveling I've done in, like, a million years, and that's just because my bedroom is in a place that perceivably moves beyond the complex gravitational pull of a single extra-dimensional planet.
[ He shrugs. ]
I'm enjoying myself.
[ Sometimes. Most of the time. He's actually pretty un-enriched. ]
Yeeeeah, but like -- half the people on my planet just disappeared. So that's even fewer people to play.
Also I learned fairly quick that when I go back I'll be picking up where I left off. Why not take a vacation? See how people entertain themselves in multiple universes? Hell, I bet there aren't even Elders in some of these universes we stop into. How crazy is that?
If I had to guess? One certain Mad Titan who was on the hunt for a bunch of ancient powerful artifacts almost as ancient and powerful as I am finally got them all and used them to cull half the living beings in the universe.
[ Glancing up at nothing as though reminded of something. ]
...Come to think of it, I think my brother, the Collector, had to have had at least one of them. That's concerning.
Anyway.
[ This is probably the most honest he's been about his situation since he got here. ]
I assume that's actually why I wound up here. It's easily the only way he could have killed me and if you're alive you've got a 50/50 chance of getting caught in it.
[ He reaches over and pats his hand, all without really looking at him, because yeah, that's probably the first time he's admitted out loud that he may have died. ]
When you're from the beginning of your universe, you don't really sweat the fact that people die. Unless it's me. Because that's supposed to be virtually impossible.
[ There's a reason other than arrogance that he wasn't too worried that he was on the losing side of an uprising on Sakkar. Games end. There are usually losers. That's how they work. ]
But yeah. Half the universe. Gone in a snap.
[ He's being hyperbolic; he doesn't actually know that's literally how it happened. ]
I suppose, when put in that kind of perspective it makes sense. I was going to ask why, but any creature with 'Mad' as an adjective in their name must not have all their senses properly aligned. And it doesn't really line up with our original discussion.
Yeah, they don't exactly call him The Perfectly Reasonable Titan Who Comes Up With the Best Plans for a reason. My understanding is he'd been practicing his policy of halving populations on multiple planets across many systems for...quite some time now. My brother could tell you more; Sakkar doesn't really get pulled into those things normally. ...It's usually the opposite, in fact.
[ But then there's so many and he doesn't exactly know all his denizens by name. Or listen on the odd occasion when somebody gets close enough to him to tell him. ]
[ Because let's be real. Depending upon where you fall, it's up in the air whether scavengers or slavers are going to get to you before people that are going to offer you a job.
He hms thoughtfully. ]
You don't strike me as a fighter; you wouldn't be one for the arena. But you're good at what you do. If you found a place, somewhere to settle, allies who recognize your talents -- would you even want to be noticed?
[He shakes his head in agreement. Hux might be a life-long soldier, but he's not much of a hand-to-hand brawler. Not like Ren or Phasma.]
I think I would want to be useful. Endear myself to the highest authority I could find and then barter a way offplanet to return to where I came from. I'm good at flattery, crawling from the bottom to the top, backstabbing..
I never thought of it that way. Maybe you're right. It was always a bit of a game, politics within military, trying to figure out who to ally with and who was plotting to murder me.
[Hux tilts his head, curious]
Determination isn't something I've ever been lacking. I came from nothing; I made it to second in command of a cutthroat military hierarchy.
[and that was while being weedy and unassuming. But the Grandmaster is also right; he doesn't have a ton of experience in other areas]
Well, sure, but while I've got an army, I'm not running any sprawling military empire. That's too much structure for what I need. You'd be ambitioning your way into a den of hedonists with well-armed guards, and I'm willing to wager you've never even been to an orgy...
[ While he liked to toy with the idea that you were secretly a freak in bed, Hux, he's not surprised that this is your reaction. ]
It would be challenging in an entirely new way for you, probably. I think you could manage it, if you wanted it badly enough. Maybe learn some new things about yourself in the process. And I'd hope I'd meet you eventually.
Ah, well. There's other places than the palace. Hell, you might do well with the army. You might even wind up in the palace; you remind me a lot of Topaz, my old assistant. Very serious, focused on her job. I always suspected she might have a wilder side, but if she did, she kept it to herself, left that to people that wanted it. And she didn't get where she was through intrigue; she did it because she was the best at what she did.
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[ He shrugs. ]
I'm enjoying myself.
[ Sometimes. Most of the time. He's actually pretty un-enriched. ]
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Because you were the ruler of your own planet. Now you're regulated to a bedroom.
A very nice bedroom, but a bedroom nonetheless.
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Also I learned fairly quick that when I go back I'll be picking up where I left off. Why not take a vacation? See how people entertain themselves in multiple universes? Hell, I bet there aren't even Elders in some of these universes we stop into. How crazy is that?
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Half the people on your planet disappeared? That's..horrifying. What happened to them?
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[ Glancing up at nothing as though reminded of something. ]
...Come to think of it, I think my brother, the Collector, had to have had at least one of them. That's concerning.
Anyway.
[ This is probably the most honest he's been about his situation since he got here. ]
I assume that's actually why I wound up here. It's easily the only way he could have killed me and if you're alive you've got a 50/50 chance of getting caught in it.
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I'm sorry, I'm still struggling to understand. You. Potentially your brother. And half the people in the universe?
I murdered trillions, but it's still difficult to grasp. I think you may be underreacting.
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[ He reaches over and pats his hand, all without really looking at him, because yeah, that's probably the first time he's admitted out loud that he may have died. ]
When you're from the beginning of your universe, you don't really sweat the fact that people die. Unless it's me. Because that's supposed to be virtually impossible.
[ There's a reason other than arrogance that he wasn't too worried that he was on the losing side of an uprising on Sakkar. Games end. There are usually losers. That's how they work. ]
But yeah. Half the universe. Gone in a snap.
[ He's being hyperbolic; he doesn't actually know that's literally how it happened. ]
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I suppose, when put in that kind of perspective it makes sense. I was going to ask why, but any creature with 'Mad' as an adjective in their name must not have all their senses properly aligned. And it doesn't really line up with our original discussion.
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[ That only especially powerful ships can use. Small details. ]
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Not just the accidentally lost?
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[ But then there's so many and he doesn't exactly know all his denizens by name. Or listen on the odd occasion when somebody gets close enough to him to tell him. ]
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If I came across one of these portals to Sakkar and fell through, and you were alive and well there, what would happen?
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[ Because let's be real. Depending upon where you fall, it's up in the air whether scavengers or slavers are going to get to you before people that are going to offer you a job.
He hms thoughtfully. ]
You don't strike me as a fighter; you wouldn't be one for the arena. But you're good at what you do. If you found a place, somewhere to settle, allies who recognize your talents -- would you even want to be noticed?
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I think I would want to be useful. Endear myself to the highest authority I could find and then barter a way offplanet to return to where I came from. I'm good at flattery, crawling from the bottom to the top, backstabbing..
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And I'm sure you would do well. It's a game in itself, in a way. It's why I'm all for it. But.
[ Thoughtful hm again; he watches him. ]
You strike me as very... untried, in certain regards. It'd be interesting to see how you'd adapt, but if you were determined enough...
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[He seems to brighten at that]
I never thought of it that way. Maybe you're right. It was always a bit of a game, politics within military, trying to figure out who to ally with and who was plotting to murder me.
[Hux tilts his head, curious]
Determination isn't something I've ever been lacking. I came from nothing; I made it to second in command of a cutthroat military hierarchy.
[and that was while being weedy and unassuming. But the Grandmaster is also right; he doesn't have a ton of experience in other areas]
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It would be challenging in an entirely new way for you, probably. I think you could manage it, if you wanted it badly enough. Maybe learn some new things about yourself in the process. And I'd hope I'd meet you eventually.
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I can't. I'm not....that isn't an option for me.
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[ Pity, that. ]
Ah, well. There's other places than the palace. Hell, you might do well with the army. You might even wind up in the palace; you remind me a lot of Topaz, my old assistant. Very serious, focused on her job. I always suspected she might have a wilder side, but if she did, she kept it to herself, left that to people that wanted it. And she didn't get where she was through intrigue; she did it because she was the best at what she did.
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[please - any topic change he'll take, away from orgies and his own inability to deal with his asexuality]
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