This is a song of myself-- And myself-- And myself-- Be yourself, bring your whole self to work We'll accept anyone that's just like us I found I had a mask that I couldn't take off 'Supposed to be a horror plot, but that's just life Feelin' pretty trapped in this mirror lined cage It's really more important that you act on the stage Listener up there! What have you to confide to me? Look in my face while I pass the last of evening, Talk honestly, no one else hears you, And I, heh... I stay only a minute longer. Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, I am large, And I contain multitudes. Who wishes to walk with me? Will you speak before I'm gone? Could it be that you'll prove, That you're already too late? It's time to leave the poem, It's time to embrace fate.

[Annelle] I met up with some guys in this little mountain town They said there was a treasure in some ruins deep down I was bored with it, really; I had a debt to repay It's what tends to happen when you take up with the fae But then someone said it, the literally magic words I could feel my lady's interest turn just like a flock of birds The treasure in question was naught but the one she sought And with its acquisition shared ambitions might be wrought [Chloe] It's gaming night with my friends, down at the comic shop I've never rolled a cleric but her intentions are so pure She's neutral good, though, Annelle doesn't know when to stop Even I'm sometimes surprised at how badly she wants to cure [Annelle] I joined up with the team, I had no plans to miss this chance We're a wee lit'le group going deep, fighters who relish the danger dance Our goal is a treasure only found down at the bottom of these old ruins They called it _al maral an fel_, it was guarded safe from humans Lurue didn't need to tell me, we both knew we had to nab it We'd been searching for a way to help, that disease was causin' a panic We grinned inside and prepared ourselves to break some social rules I'm a healer but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few [Chloe] It's been a wild night, Annelle always has surprises I'm used to my characters coming alive from before This one's motives can take on many guises I don't always know what she's got in store [Annelle] The guardian is in front of us and I guess I'm not surprised It's a giant fiery bull, with glowing reddish eyes The others surged forward, either they or it would be dead I'm glowing too, magic healing horn on my head They turned around to grab it, I was already there too soon It was then that they put it all together, with it being a unicorn and moon My lady stood behind me now, her cloak around us two Don't be hasty now! the leader said, but we bid them all adieu [Chloe] Now my friends are mad... they didn't see it coming But neutral good characters are full of cunning We planned it with the DM on an earlier day But it wasn't my idea, our surprising little play It's been a wild night, Annelle always has surprises I'm used to my characters coming alive from before This one's motives can take on many guises I don't always know what she's got in store

Lying awake at night, I felt something jostled in my memory by the game. Like many others, I had an imaginary friend from childhood. She was a beautiful angel with glowing white hair, but also a mischievous kid like me. Her name was also Annelle. Like her role playing namesake, she loved to explore, and to help others. When I remembered her again, a while back, I wanted to write her into a story. One time I was out in my grandma's forest, playing with her. We'd been out adventuring that day. Like Odysseus, we were just trying to get home in one piece. But... We came upon a campfire of orcs. I said, "they look angry, they look dangerous, let's get 'em before they get us!" I thought I was just coming up with another fun adventure, but somehow she ran with it. She held up a hand to stop me and said, "observe". To my surprise, she just walked right up to their campfire with her hands in the air. When she was close, she said, "do you need help?" Of course they were surprised, and grabbed their spears and axes and swords, thinking of a sneak attack. But she let her wings unfurl and set the whole campfire to a kind of fey brightness that doesn't hurt the eyes of even cave dwellers, but cools the soul. They set their weapons back down then, knowing she was no foe, doing their best to kneel on the ground. She went about their camp, protesting and asking them to sit back where they were comfortable, healing them one by one. "This is my friend Chloe," she said when I got close. When she was done with her healing, she said, "See Chloe, they're just like us." The orcs felt honour-bound over her healing help, and they adventured with us the rest of the way to the house, and helped defend us against pirates! She liked to teach me things like this. _That_ Annelle was also sometimes unpredictable. I mean, theoretically I was coming up with her lines in my head, so why did it go like that? I guess I had a big imagination! ... or did I? Whenever I felt sad, scared, elated... my Annelle was with me. Her disappearing act, even from my memory, was the most unpredictable thing of them all. "Things are not always as they seem," she said to me not too long before she stopped coming around. I forgot about her until I started making this character. I guess I felt betrayed, or maybe I did the betraying, thinking I had to move on to grow up. But I never forgot those words. "Things are not always as they seem." I know she was my _imaginary_ friend, but I can't help but miss her, and wonder how she is today.

I never knew... What you meant to me Out of the blue... You came back to me! A lifetime of time Was lost between us But now that it's time I feel so delirious! Here under the stars We can play once again The games may have changed But beside you I'll stand! I couldn't be there When you needed me most Please just look at me ...I'm not a ghost.

It's all fun and games, until somebody's hurt Sometimes you can't see 'em, you don't know their worth You think that my truth, is all in my head I try my best to please you, and suddenly I'm dead Only got so much time on this planet called Earth We're told who we are from the time of our birth I can spend my life trying, to fit into your plan No matter what I do, can't seem to make a stand You can wait all day, to get the permission Meanwhile I'm in here, dying inside You need yourself a shrink, cure your head fiction But you always are yourself, even if you tried Gay, trans, lesbian, bi, enby, questioning Furry, otherkin, plural, and questing Depressed, autistic, dreaming, and more I don't know When you come into the world, they all gotta go Oh you didn't need that family, didja? Supported you from birth, and now they sucker punch ya You're the butt of Hollywood's latest quip But just about now, it's time for a table flip And here I am, caught in the crossfire An "imaginary friend", thrown on the pyre I'm not causing harm, why are you afraid of me? C'mon, just leave me be... You can wait all day, to get the permission Meanwhile I'm in here, dying inside You need yourself a shrink, cure your head fiction But you always are yourself, even if you tried Who should I trust, myself or a yahoo? My friend who's always been there, intentions always true People don't like what they can't touch and see Sometimes ya gotta say no, if you want to be free~

Once upon a time it was just you and me I understand you had to go and grow up to be free But now that we're together again the world is open wide There's no need to tell them 'bout the strength you have inside So long ago the two of us would roam throughout that place We started in the forest and we flew to outer space Sometimes we hung out in your world, sometimes we hung out in mine Ahead of us was a life where we could shine I'm a part of you, and you're a part of me It sounds pretty cliché, but we are family The game has been changed, but we can help each other The stage was set by life, but we support one another So come along, old friend, let's be on our way It's not getting longer, what's left of the day You could use a friend, and so could I Ahead of us is a life where we can shine

Tell me, O Muse, of the stories of the forlorn. The past and present will - I have filled them, emptied them, And proceed to fill my next fold of the future. I too am not a bit tamed; I too am untranslatable. You will hardly know who I am or what I mean, But I shall be good health to you nevertheless. Missing me one place, search another, I stop somewhere, waiting for you. Walking with you.