The Rule of Fives states that all things happen in fives, or are divisible by or are multiples of five, or are somehow directly or indirectly related to five. The Rule of Fives is never wrong.

One could, naturally, argue otherwise. (777 straigt across adds to 21 and reduces to 3, whereas the cube of 7 is 343, which reduces to 10...)

Not to say that 5 isn't a Relevant Number.

18:22 < xeno> I see you fixed the url for 777
18:22 < solios> yes.
18:23 < xeno> 42 characters
18:23 < xeno> 4+2=6
18:23 < xeno> factors of 6: 1,2,3,6
18:23 < xeno> 2+3=5
18:23 < xeno> 6-1=5
18:23 < xeno> YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE LAW OF FIVES

Xenothaulus approaches the subject matter from the persepctive of a naturalist. I approach the subject matter from the perspective of a scientist and a rationalist, eyeing everything from a Qabbalistic and Newtonian perspective. I've come to this perspective over time, having begun from a perspective similar to Xeno's. This dichotomy makes for a spicier approach to Things- LOC would be pretty goddamned dull if Xeno and I agreed on everything.

[01.07.49] < @solios> fagbot: Dave?
[01.07.49] < fagbot> eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeheeehehehehehehehe! *snort* *wheeze* *fat noisese* heeeeeeeheehheeeeeeee!

[21.28.30] <@solios> fagbot: doot for DAVE
[21.28.30] <+fagbot> CHRIST GODDAMNIT, YOU GREEDY BITCH - DO I LOOK LIKE A VENDING MACHINE TO YOU?? FUCK OFF ALREADY.

The perpetual state, resulting from clash of perspectives and understandings. The two of us typically know enough not to talk about Things, especially with each other (beyond that which is Obvious). Otherwise, voices are raised, tactical flatulance is deployed, and the resultant unpleasantness typically resolves itself through becoming Lost or going There.

What solios will be once he has completed Aeon. Aeon spans at least four different projects, each of which has been in varying stages of development since 1994. It's a Very Big And Complicated Story. And a Very Small Part Of It is being told in the form of The Dualist. Solios would like to be Done before he dies.

solios and xeno attended the same high school and the experience was... formative. solios expounds on the subject of popularity here. xeno was "fortunate" enough to have fallen into that distinct class of teendom that allowed him to comingle in and amongst almost every clique. The nerds, the jocks, the greasemonkeys, the hicks - xeno invaded them all with equal lack of concern, and managed to fit in.

It is interesting to note here the lack of online images of said school. Searches via google came up null, with only a text page for the school district, and a staff listing for the school itself.

One of these:

Only puke green with truck tires. You really honestly do not want to know how it drove, handled, what was in the trunk, what the deal was with the stain in the back seat, or anything else about it all save for the fact that it got us Lost. Frequently.

The Kingdom of Loathing owns you.

Synopsized here, which also references this essay. Defines our (more or less) common perspective of the Machine and the means by which to work around obstacles when you're the only one that sees them as such.

Xeno, iirc, enjoyed himself in high school.

Paraphrasing the most accurate definition of the concept:

   Magic is the act of causing change in ones environment in harmony with ones will.

This could range from anything as simple as changing your underwear or finally getting off your ass and calling the student loan company to triggering a Bad Ass Thunderstorm. As a process, Magic is on the base level the act of getting off of your ass and accomplishing your Will- the things you Want to do or realize Need Doing. Popularly misinterpreted as applying strictly to the non-material plane with trickle-down results into the World around the self. An act of Magic is, simply, stating your Goal and Achieving it. Reference Newtons laws of motion with regards to inertia and the process by which existing forces counteract an opposing force. An act of Will on the material plane is easy to record and reproduce: the interaction of the Will on other planes is much more difficult to prove through the Method of Science, and is consequently subject to speculation.

nat·u·ral·ist n.

One who believes in and follows the tenets of naturalism.

nat·u·ral·ism n.

Philosophy - The system of thought holding that all phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes.
Theology - The doctrine that all religious truths are derived from nature and natural causes and not from revelation.
Conduct or thought prompted by natural desires or instincts.

The natural state is chaos. Any attempts to instill order into the natural state will, ultimately, result in failure. To enact will upon environment, one must refute dogma, creed, etc. (i.e. disbelieve the illusion.)

BLAR

The past tense section contains material that was written in the late 90's, after my removal from the war zone and before I pulled my head out of my ass. It's presently the only LOC fiction to date. It's old, and it's moldy, and it contains a lot of things that are still in use to this day- most of the Fictionalizing has taken hold in ATC and has been put to use there. The material from this era was written during the most stressful time of my life, and at some points reads like it. Reader beware.

Having used the term in reference to my perceptions, I feel I should clarify. I use the term "rationalist" in what might possibly be a nontraditional sense. The definition of the word itself is reliant upon reason- a thing we all know to be a lie, as it relies wholy on the perceptions of the self as opposed to what Is. Rather, I am, through experience, firmly convinced of the Fundamental Interconnectedness of All Things (re: Dirk Gently). A more concise description might be Bruce Lee's philosophy of Jit Kun Do applied to the flow of human sociology and the World in a larger sense.

[14.01.06] * @solios has a +15 to save against feminine wiles.
[14.01.54] <@ejp> most people call that "gay".

The story being told through Among The Chosen (for the next year or so) is comprised of three major story arcs and several minor ones. One of the arcs concentrates specifically on the LOC characters, one of whom is haunted by the ghosts of things that Actually Happened (somewhat Unpleasantly) in 1997-99. Another arc features characters that were created for LOC specifically in a Behind The Scenes capacity. I met these characters under different names in the fall of 1999.

21:21 <solios> they fixed it.
21:21 <solios> :|
21:22 <xeno> no, i did
21:22 <xeno> i backed it up
21:22 <xeno> copied it over to text editor
21:22 <xeno> someone put a lot of work into it, i'd not fuck it up for them
21:22 <xeno> BUT STILL
21:22 <xeno> :D
21:22 <solios> :D

Generally, we Prefer Not To. Check time and date stamps on the log and various entries- LOC goes through periods of intense updating and development, and even more intense periods of heavy, staggering, grueling !updating. We spend much more time !updating than updating.

LOC is, to paraphrase William S. Burroughs, a story told in a series of oblique references.

Much LOC dialogue- specifically via voice and IRC- is case Sensitive. Xeno's much better at the nuances of this than I am, specifically in the sense that he actually speaks in a Case Sensitive sense, putting the emphasis in the right places. Specific examples of case Sensitivity:

There - Where we usually intend to Go in the Hoopdi.
  ("Dude, we're There." "No, we're Here." "No. We're There." "Oh. Granzo.")
Not Here - Where we Were one time in the Hoopdi. Not Here Sucks.
Stuff - Like Things, only Not.
Things - Presumably something that's Done, like Stuff.
Lost - Where we usually are in the Hoopdi.

case Sensitivity implies a state of mind or Going, and is used to turn otherwise vanilla adjectives and nouns into proper names.

[20.22.47] < solios> look man, I draw freakish teenage mutant ninja pr0nchicks and play lots of quake. I'm not exactly, yanno.... cultured.

[00.03.49] < ejp> fagbot: doot for xeno
[00.03.50] < fagbot> service wife, puppet rub, new socks, hot chocolate, cat bath, new bedding for the guinea pig, affix cross to toilet bowl, eat whole bag peanut M&Ms, urinate out back window
[00.04.04] < xeno> fagbot: botsnack
[00.04.05] < fagbot> thanks xeno :)
[00.04.06] * ejp falls over