you don't need to trust me.

this is hope.

and this is what it's like to be humbled.

a guy goes "follow to win 10k", in the usual fashion. a low-leveled player, standing in the middle of lumby. not many pay him any mind, just two obviously inexperienced, and one slightly more savvy player. i tag along, hoping to catch him in the act.

"trade to win" isn't exactly incriminating. i wait. the first guy doesn't understand, he keeps asking questions. by now the third guy's left. he explains "trade. whoever's got the best items wins." after a few long rounds of deciding and stating who's leading, i trade him. i put up a power ammy, an addy pick. stuff i just happened to have in my inventory. apparently, after that, i'm leading...

it goes on. it's incredibly boring. the lure of more money than they've probably ever touched is what keeps them here.

he brushes off the second girl with "it's a tie. between..."

i trade him for the last time, apparently "you have to beat my items to win", which i do, only to decline the trade and talk about how trust games're such awful things.

so he obviously chooses the first guy, with whom i've been having a conversation about the evils of item scamming via pm the whole time. and over pm i get "he's for real."

it's excruciatingly embarrassing, and i do believe i made a larger fool of myself there than any other time in that capacity. still, it's too ever so heartening.

i explain myself, and apologise simply, "i'm sorry." he replies with "np" and i go on to talk about phrasing his alturistic intentions less suspiciously. he's patient, almost condescending in his monosyllabic placating, and i can't say i can blame him at all. either of them, really, the first guy takes a leaf out of his book and responds in pretty much the same manner "np", "same here lol", and after the demise of our awkwardly brief exchange, "you're nice." hey, he even uses "great", and "i can see why..." i apologise to him, too.

i refuse to wonder if he delivered only because i spoke too early. it'd do him no credit, it'll be like, crying sour grapes.

besides, i like to think that he just did it, out of the goodness of his heart.

like i said, that's hope.