So an amazing thing happened the other day, and I want to share with you all. I feel like this scene underscores a lot of the differences between 'then' and 'now' in regards to RP, the feel of the sim, and the rules.

Carly came to visit Circe on Reject turf. Circe texted Piper and she arrived in time to see Carly shoot Circe. Piper drew on Carly, and Carly fell as she fired at Piper, allowing the shot to miss. Piper had Carly point black, and here's where the magic happens. Carly dropped her gun and waited to die. Piper pulled the trigger, but the chamber was empty.

All of this happened without any conversation in IMs.

I know Carly has a death limit, because we all do. Carly knows I'm not going to kill her, because there's rules. That's exactly why the rules are there. Not so that we can follow people around and point fingers, but to support RP. To make the magic happen without even thinking about it. Just follow the rules, and RP goes the way it should.

In fact, you don't even have to think of them as rules (though of course they still are). They're more like, common courtesy and sense. Don't pull shots that won't miss. Don't make someone else have to suffer so your ego remains unblemished. Don't mouth off/throw punches/dodge/run at when someone has a gun to your head. Not many people will do that, unless you're this guy. And he was so special they put him on the news.

I will be the first to tell you if someone has a gun to my head I will drop what I am doing and pray like a motherfucker I don't get shot. Piper does the same, only with more profanity.

So maybe if we all focused first on internalizing the rules of CD, rather than finding fault with others, we'd all be able to play together, rather than only in our 'safe' cliques, where we know the others can be trusted not to PG us. Imagine a CD where we could walk down the street and know that anyone we met could be part of our character's story, without having to worry about PG or MG or egos. Imagine the possibility, the creativity, the stories.

Thank you, Carly, for trusting me to play by the rules, and for making a short, intense scene one of the best I've had in a while. I still hate your ass XD