A message from Burn Unit
This is barely worth a single point, yet worth the whole world to me: Playing this game with you people is awesome. Playing it with my kids is incredibly rewarding. Who cares if you can't get your five year old to wear a mustache and plant a wooden shoe on the wooden frame of a roller coaster? It doesn't matter if you can't get footage of breastfeeding so your infant son can post a proof for Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It doesn't matter if the temperature didn't drop enough in South Dakota to freeze your water balloons full of paint.

I've made a big deal out of this game the last several months. There's been a lot to think about and to do and I've tried to assert all kinds of ideas or theories or positions here there or another place. I've made up words, occasionally pushed home an insight, fomented conflicts, pushed too hard, sparked a great conversation, touched the face of "Epic" a couple times, secretly prayed for votes here, mentally projected flags there, begged for attention one place, skulked around hoping not to get noticed for something elsewhere. Do you know I've lost virtually every SF0-related battle I've fought? Whether private struggles (I tried to reach out to or change the minds of certain players who left--more than one, in fact--and I have dozens of PMs saying "you should do this or that differently/be ashamed of thus and such/apologize for that" I wonder if there's a stat for number of private reprimands, rebukes, or other conflicts. I'd be interested to compare notes) or public duels two losses despite completely intense effort! I've concocted ideas, hatched schemes, outlined notions. I've outvoted everyone--and I don't know if people think one way or another about this, but it's been completely without thought to advancing my own performance, never a quid pro quo--not even for the Villain's portraiture, which I'll point out I never got anyway so even that vote is pure, but I just thought it was some good praxis. I hope people can see that clearly I haven't expected anything in return. If you thought I did, you should message me, so I can pad your rebuke stats.

But all of these things are worth it when your four year old talks constantly about running for senate. When your son's laughter and excitement are inspiration for one more task. When you want to keep playing and playing for no reason at all other than their joyous company.

To paraphrase:

I've seen things you people couldn't imagine. I've seen Lank's hips on fire from Shalaco's immolation. Theurgy, glittering in the dark near doorhenge's gates. All these things could be lost like tears in rain^*.

Time ... to drive