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It would've potentially been interesting if the near-impossibility of the vampire winning Vampire Children was called out in-game--like, Jordan sitting down with a notebook after being assigned the vampire role, scribbling out scenarios and being like "Hey! The odds are so stacked against me that it really seems like Dai's trying to have me, specifically, killed this time (and maybe also get me to have whoever I'm closest to killed alongside me). Is there any way to get out of this besides hoping I get real lucky?" Which in turn would potentially make Pushing The Button more appealing when the option pops up--near-certain death vs. a totally unknown outcome. (Shoot, if having so many endings was an issue, the game designers could have even chosen to force a button-push ending on vampire-Jordan routes on the basis that Jordan figures that whatever happens after pushing the button can't be worse than whatever execution Dai has planned.) Or another character--Shizuka being the most obvious choice, since games are her ballpark--could have brought up the imbalanced nature of the game up in discussion, bringing up the question--if Dai's stacking the odds against one particular person, why them? (And a non-vampire-Jordan might then try and logic out who the vampire is based on who they think Dai might want gone the most.) There could also have been an opportunity to, in a non-Jordan-vampire route, have one person mention the unfairness to Dai *after* the roles have been assigned, drawing suspicion onto themselves, and then the others are left wondering what kind of gambit is being pulled--is the complainer the (original) vampire, the Bonnie/Clyde, or are they a human trying to protect the vampire by throwing everyone off for at least one round?
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Jul 22, 2022 19:59
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Mix. posted:Hey, they said it wouldn't be possible to make a death game dating sim more milquetoast than Sweet Fuse, yet here we are The sad thing is, I think I would totally love the idea of "death game dating sim" if it was just done a lot better. Being stuck in a life or death situation can really lend itself to people feeling very strong emotions very quickly. It just probably needs to lean into that more, embracing unhealthy fixations and desperate attachments instead of trying to have a more normal dating dynamic. Despite being in the middle of a death game with no downtime, a lot of the scenes in this game feel very weirdly lighthearted in the scenes where the characters are hitting on each other. Mix. posted:Don't worry, the VN I have in mind for once I finish this one (or I guess WILL, if that LP finishes before this one does- it's entirely possible, this is a LONG VN even if it's spread very thin) will get back to that kind of thing Jesus, you think the WILL LP is going to finish first even though you started it later? "Spread very thin" is right, there's so much happening in WILL and it feels like we get a lot more about those characters from even brief glimpses than we've got from being stuck in this box with this little crew the whole time.
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Jul 23, 2022 00:04
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Bifauxnen posted:The sad thing is, I think I would totally love the idea of "death game dating sim" if it was just done a lot better. There's a couple of otome games where the main cast are in some kind of threatening situation, though usually not actual death games so much as just 'hunting down a killer' or 'dealing with terrorists' or what have you. They may end up on my list sometime just bc I like stories involving those kind of setups, but yeah, to date I don't think there's been one that's successfully pulled it off evenly across the board (Sweet Fuse had a lot of potential but a few of the love interests just absolutely suck or the routes run out of steam halfway through) Bifauxnen posted:Jesus, you think the WILL LP is going to finish first even though you started it later? "Spread very thin" is right, there's so much happening in WILL and it feels like we get a lot more about those characters from even brief glimpses than we've got from being stuck in this box with this little crew the whole time. Believe it or not we're actually close to if not over halfway done w/ that LP already, and because of how the VN is structured it's actually not that hard to make a guesstimate at how long it'll be from my knowledge of the game in a broader sense, so, yeah, there's a very real chance for it 
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Jul 23, 2022 00:33
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It's just clicked with me. The deactivation code happens after you're on someone's route, right? That means for every route, there's another route where you put in the code. I didn't realize. We're not even halfway through the game yet...
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Jul 23, 2022 00:36
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OneWingedDevil posted:It's just clicked with me. The deactivation code happens after you're on someone's route, right? That means for every route, there's another route where you put in the code.  putting a pin in this post for later
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Jul 23, 2022 00:38
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OneWingedDevil posted:It's just clicked with me. The deactivation code happens after you're on someone's route, right? That means for every route, there's another route where you put in the code. Mix. posted:
Oh, so that's why we haven't seen a lot of the 'dating' part yet.
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Jul 23, 2022 00:44
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Jul 23, 2022 02:34
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Podima posted:Is the vampire game even winnable as the vampire? Dumb. It basically requires humans to be really suspicious of each other but in most of these cases people just work together really easily. The game could be interesting, but instead it's a written in hurry up mode to bad end. Dragongem fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Jul 24, 2022 |
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Jul 23, 2022 04:07
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It might be winnable with Melody as the vampire, since the crew is obviously reluctant to let a child die. Otherwise? Even without the repeating situation of "crew member overhears Jordan/their BFF being the vampire" (which is ridiculously contrived to begin with), the vampire's chances are close to zero both without a Clyde, and only slightly higher with one.
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Jul 23, 2022 08:43
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PepperedMoth posted:It would've potentially been interesting if the near-impossibility of the vampire winning Vampire Children was called out in-game Jordan does mention that to Dai after receiving their assignment in at least one route, don't they? Although it's true that that doesn't motivate them to try to take any action or figure anything out, because no one is ever proactive in this game.
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Jul 25, 2022 19:28
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So, two things. Firstly, another game (this one forthcoming) for Mix to potentially play, but it's not out yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZIuIlh0dlc Secondly, if after Logiship there is a 3-way split, and then afterwards there may be a split but not necessarily, that means there can be, at most 6 routes. 3 are Katashi, Yoshiki, and Shizuka, which still leaves Vladimir, Melody, the Vogel twins and the Captain. Eliminating Melody because it feels like she might be a part of a Vlad route, I feel like the only way we could have every character have a route is if some characters are only datable as one gender of Jordan... and the obvious candidate is probably the twins, though I'm not sure if it's going to end up being that they're only datable if you're the opposite gender as them, the same gender as them, or if they'll be together on the same post-Logiship route and then have a split between the two of them.
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Jul 25, 2022 22:48
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Junpei posted:Firstly, another game (this one forthcoming) for Mix to potentially play, but it's not out yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZIuIlh0dlc funnily enough, that one's one that is already on my radar but i was convinced died in development somewhere or something because there was like no update for it for loving ages and then out of nowhere they announced they had an actual publisher i dont mind if it takes a while to drop though, there's....plenty of other stuff in the meantime lol
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Jul 25, 2022 23:40
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 Well, now that we've gotten to that route end, it's time once again to switch Jordans! The thread voted to continue the trend of doing both Jordans' routes each time we hit a new character, so we're going to be going for Katashi as F!Jordan too... which means it's time once again for us to play Logiship!  Feels like it's been ages.[BGM: Signs of Battle] Waiting wasn't going to make things any easier for me at this point. I had the most information I was ever going to have, and I needed to make my selection as soon as possible. The door shut behind me as I entered the Dining Hall.   Welcome, Jordan. Please make your selection on the screen before you.*click!* [BGM: Carpe Noctum] Thank you for your selection, and thank you for choosing Dai's Deletion Game as your preferred population restriction method. Please exit the room and await this round's results.I left the room and watched as, one after another, everyone else went in to shoot their missiles.  In an unexpected turn of events, it would appear that everyone has chosen to attack in the first fifteen minutes, which brings this round to an end. Who'd have thought that you were all so eager to kill each other? Well, who am I to argue? Give the people what they want, right? Let's get straight to the results.  Well, that's someone we haven't seen die yet, I guess. Huh... Better me than Melody, I guess. Papa, what is it? Sweetie, Daddy needs to go and join Mummy for a while, OK?[BGM: The Aftermath of Bravery]  Melody's face fell as she realized what was happening. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.  No, Papa, stay. Captain, I'm going to entrust Melody to your care, OK? Of course. I'll do my best to keep her safe. No, Papa, I'm scared. Please don't go.Melody's desperation was palpable as she implored her father not to go. Vladimir picked up Melody, doing his best to comfort her under the circumstances. Don't go, please! I'll be better... Sweetie, you haven't done anything wrong. I promise I'll eat my vegetables, I won't fight anymore. I'll pick up my toys, I promise! Papa, I promise! Melody... Please don't go with Mommy. Stay with me instead. Oh, how touching... Sorry to disappoint, kiddo, but your daddy has a date with the Wheeeeel~!With that, Dai summoned the dreaded wheel and gave it a spin. Eventually, the arrow slowed and came to rest on 'Drinking'.  Congratulations, Vladimir- and might I say I added this one just for you. Today you shall face death by drinking! Is this a joke, Dai? Absolutely not! Vladimir, you're going to spend your last moments enjoying your favorite beverage: vodka! I can think of worse ways to go. See, Captain? I do so much for you guys. Even when I go through all the trouble of adding fun new ways to die, all you do is complain. This is why you'll never get a boyfriend.Dai stuck her tongue out at the captain.  Well, let's head over to the Kitchen together.Dai marched us all to the Kitchen. Melody tearfully clung to Vladimir the entire way there. Here we are! Alright sweetie, it's time to go to the captain.Melody screamed and refused to let go. Melody, please. Kimiko will take care of you, OK? Everything will be fine.Vladimir peeled Melody off of him and handed her over to the captain.  Alright, Dai, how do you want me to do this? Such a gentleman! Well, good sir, I need you to get your blood alcohol concentration up to about 0.45. Now would you be a dear and go get the vodka from the pantry so we can get started?Vladimir walked over and grabbed a 1.5 liter bottle of vodka from the pantry. Excellent! So, taking into account your weight and sex... Dai rubbed her chin pensively for a moment before replying. You'd need to drink about 1 liter within an hour to reach a lethan BAC of 0.45. There are 1.5 liters in there, so one bottle should be more than enough.  An hour seems a bit too long, though... Ooh, I have an idea! Why don't you just down the bottle all at once? Challenge accepted. Wow, really? Man, this is fun!Vladimir hefted the bottle and paused to examine it. His eyes took on a distant, wistful expression as he absentmindedly traced the contours of the bottle.  I remember when Sora and I used to drink together... Hahaha, Australians and their alcohol. She tought me this drinking song that Australians like to sing before slugging back their drinks. I'll see you shortly, dear. This is for you. Vladimir lifted his bottle of vodka in salute. He cleared his throat. Here's to Vladimir, he's true blue. He's a pisspot through and through. He's a legend, so they say; should've gone to heaven, but he went the other way. Singing down, down, down, down, down...With those words, Vladimir began chugging the entire bottle of vodka. He managed to finish it in just a minute or two. What a time to be alive! That was amazing, Vladimir.Dai applauded him enthusiastically. Now we get to sit back and enjoy the show. Don't be shy, he isn't dead just yet. Please, go about your day as normal. ...in this room, under my supervision... come to think of it, I guess that would be pretty difficult, huh? Haha, silly me. Beatrix made her way to the pantry and pulled out a second, smaller bottle. What's that? Vodka, what do you think it is? Why do YOU need vodka? It's rude to let a man drink alone. Hahaha. Beatrix, you were always one of my favorites.Beatrix took a seat at the center island opposite Vladimir.  Would you like another drink? One more won't hurt now, will it? I guess not, hahaha. Beatrix poured herself a drink, along with another for Vladimir. It wasn't long before the alcohol started taking effect. The rest of us could do little more than stand around the Kitchen, unable to leave and powerless to prevent Vladimir's death. Melody, schweetie, lisssen to Kimiko, OK?Melody had stopped crying and was now more confused than anything else. OK, Papa. Dai, you really shuck, you know that? Don't say things you can't take back.Dai pretended to be offended by Vladimir's insult. I don't wanna take it back. Yeah, Dai, you suck! Dai raised an eyebrow in Beatrix's direction.  You haven't been handed a death sentence just yet, Beatrix, but don't tempt me...Beatrix looked at Dai before bursting into laughter. Hahahaha. Don't look so serious, Dai! You'll give yourshelf wrinkles! Really?! That would be horrible!Dai started fussing with her face, trying to prevent the onset of wrinkles. Twenty minutes later, and an extra few bottles of wine which Beatrix and Vladimir explained was for 'good measure', Vladimir took his last breath.  Well, that sure got boring towards the end, didn't it? I guess I can't have fun all the time, right? Either way, everyone is free to leave! CLASS DISMISSED! Well, it was fun, comrade.Beatrix tipped her glass at Vladimir before falling off her chair stone drunk.  Alright Beatrix, it's time I got you into bed.Nikolas hoisted Beatrix off the floor and began to carry her out of the Kitchen. Before he could proceed very far, however, Beatrix began poking his face with her extended forefinger. Why are you always so serious, Nikky? Because one of us needs to be. Say good night, Beatrix. Gooooodniiiiiiight.Nikolas carried Beatrix out of the Kitchen while the captain tried to explain to Melody the gravity of the situation.  Melody, your father's gone to sleep, but he won't be waking up. What?! He's gone to go see your mother now, so you should say good night to him and come with me.Although Melody looked confused, she acquiesced to the captain's request, too tired and emotionally worn out to argue with her. Melody walked up to her father's body, currently slumped against the kitchen island, and wrapped her tiny arms around him in a hug. Good night, Papa. Good night, Vladimir.  Yoshiki, could you give me a hand? We can move him into the Medical Bay for the time being. Yeah, of course. Jordan, Shizuka, you two should head off and get some rest. Roger that.I left with Shizuka and we made our way back to our respective rooms. As I crawled into bed and closed my eyes, I swore I could still hear Vladimir singing.
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Jul 26, 2022 15:11
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Well. Huh. Didn't expect to see that song in a VN. Guess there's an Aussie or Aussie-adjacent on the dev team. I feel like a lot of things in this game make me go "well, huh."
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Jul 26, 2022 15:25
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mycelia posted:Well. Huh. Didn't expect to see that song in a VN. Guess there's an Aussie or Aussie-adjacent on the dev team. the studio (which iirc is really only like 2-3 people and they just commissioned the art/music) is actually based in Australia, so yeah, technically!
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Jul 26, 2022 15:29
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Mix. posted:the studio (which iirc is really only like 2-3 people and they just commissioned the art/music) is actually based in Australia, so yeah, technically! Oh lmao I absolutely did not realise, time to go see if we have any friends in common! eta: We do not, but I did find this on their Twitter. Guess they really are friends with the Letter devs! https://twitter.com/spiffy_steph/status/1477834904708825092?s=20&t=w0TzeVNvaoHwhQudRQZZKQ
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Jul 26, 2022 15:38
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Man, I wonder how much food was just wasted on that death. Booze doesn't come from nothing!
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Jul 26, 2022 15:39
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I'd probably puke and pass out before I got anywhere close to a .45 BAC
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Jul 26, 2022 23:42
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I assume the point of chugging was to get it in too fast for the body's reactions to start protesting, but I don't drink so I don't know if that's feasible.
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Jul 27, 2022 00:01
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 [BGM: The Aftermath of Bravery]  I drifted awake, slowly forgetting my dreams of clocks and vodka. There was an odd sound. Nothing mechanical- it sounded like a human noise. It was crying. Someone was in my quarters, or just outside, sobbing loudly. I got out of bed and turned on the light. There was no sign of the crying person in my room, but I could still hear them. I opened the door to look outside. It was Melody. She was sitting on the floor outside my room, crying loudly and breathing in laboured squeaky little breaths, in danger of hyperventilating. I sat down on the floor to be at her level.'  It's alright. Look, I'm here now. It seemed stupid to ask why she was crying. I decided to focus on helping her stop crying, or at least breathe properly. It would help if I could get her to talk. What are you doing here? Where's the captain? I... I... I'm sorry! I w... wa... wanted to see you! Well, that's okay. You can always come and see me, any time you want. I... I sneaked out of the captain's room... she was... sleeping. I'm sorry. Don't worry about that. We'll tell her in the morning. But why did you want to see me? Don't you like being with the captain? U... um... you got the same... uniform as daddy. Th... that makes me happy. She was wiping her eyes while she was talking, trying to make her tears go away. She was still crying, but at least she had enough air in her lungs to form almost complete sentences. Come inside and sleep in my bed.I let Melody in ahead of me, and she went straight to the bed, getting in and sliding herself under the covers. I got in beside her and she immediately hugged me. I hugged back, figuring she'd feel safe with arms around her. Monkey? Yes? You're warm. So are you. You try to go to sleep now, okay? Okay.I lay there holding her, gently stroking her head. It wasn't long before she fell asleep, and in no time at all, so did I. [BGM: Drink Deep of the Universe]  Someone was touching my face. A finger was tapping my cheek, and then my nose. Not hard enough to hurt, just soft little pokes.  Monkey! It's time to wake up! Monkey?I opened my eyes.  Who's poking me? It's a monster! Melody giggled and I reached out to grab her into a hug. I caught you, monster!Melody squealed and giggled, hugging me back. Oh, it's a nice monster! You're silly! Monkeys are very silly.I didn't really need help getting dressed, but I let Melody hand me things, and once I was ready, I brushed and fixed her hair for her. Well, 'monster', what do you want to do this morning? Um... I'm hungry. But I also wanna say sorry to the captain for running away. Well, those are both important priorities. Which should we do first? Ummm... you pick! Okay. Let's... Unsurprisingly, this choice leads to two different people we can talk to, so we'll be seeing both options here. Might as well start with Kimiko. I think we should go and see the captain. She might be worrying about you. Okay.I checked my tablet and found that the captain was still in her quarters. Hopefully she hadn't freaked out too much yet. Melody held onto my hand as we arrived at the captain's quarters, and I let her press the button to open the door. As we tried to enter, Kimiko stepped out, almost crashing into me and knocking me over. The captain was trying to braid her hair while walking, and she was clearly flustered. Her usually neat and proper demeanor was missing. She was dressed, but it was obvious she'd thrown her uniform on as quickly as possible. Seeing me, she stopped abruptly and looked at me. Then she saw Melody.  Melody! There you are! Are you alright? Yep! Monkey did my hair. Look! It looks lovely.Once she'd established Melody was alright, Kimiko looked at me, her eyes narrowing.  Why is she with you? What are you doing? We can be direct, playful, or flirty here, so obviously we're going to see all three options- starting at the bottom. Captain, I would kidnap a million children if returning them meant spending another minute with you. If you did, you'd spend a lifetime in prison for your crimes. Kidnapping this one will mean at least a week in the brig.The captain flashed a cheeky grin. It was worth it, to see you smile. I like it when the captain smiles! Thank you, Melody. How do you think we should punish this kidnapper?Melody took a moment to think long and hard before proclaiming her punishment.  With cake!Next, the middle option. Kidnapping is quite the hobby of mine.I grabbed Melody and pulled her close to me. It's been a long time since I've been able to kidnap a child. A lifetime, really. But I saw my chance and I took it.Melody giggled, but the captain did not look amused. Her gaze was cynical and unimpressed. Then she looked directly at Melody. Are you alright? Uh-huh! I like Monkey! She's fun. It wasn't her fault I ran away. I kidnapped myself!Kimiko's mouth twitched, like she was trying not to smile. It's good you're alright, but you shouldn't run away like that. I was worried. That's why we came to see you, isn't it Melody? The kid looked very solemn as she nodded. Captain, I'm sorry that I sneaked away.And lastly, the top option. She came to my room this morning. I found her outside my quarters, and she was so upset I let her in to sleep with me. I like sleeping with Monkey! Can I sleep with you for always? Of course. I'm not sure about that, Melody. Jordan is new and we don't know her that well yet. I think it would be best if you stayed with me. You two should sleep together. Then everyone can be happy! Kimiko blushed with surprise. Haha... um... I don't know... uh... that might not... Surprise, the seemingly boring one ended up being the flirty one! Anyway, now we're going to go back and pick the other path. My stomach grumbled and Melody giggled. Your tummy wants to find breakfast! I think you're right. We can go say sorry to the captain later. We can apologise on a full stomach.Melody beamed, her eyes opening wide. Yay! Do you think Katashi will be there? You like Katashi, huh? He's nice and fun! So it's not because he gives you food? Heehee! He has yummy things! That's why I like him too. Come on, let's go see if he's in the Kitchen.Melody chattered at me as we walked, talking about all the different kinds of food Katashi made. And lots of kinds of cakes and yummy stuff like that! And bananas! We're here![BGM: Standby to Standby]  Melody ran on ahead and into the kitchen. I followed at my own pace. Arriving at the door, I could hear Katashi and Melody inside. I'm a monster today! A monster? Well, I dunno if I have any monster food. Monsters like bananas! I dunno. I always thought monsters like broccoli. No, they only eat bananas! And cake! Well, just to be safe, I'd better make you a broccoli cake. Noooo! Yuck!  I must have learned all the wrong things about monsters. I guess I'd better catch one and study it. Heeheeheeheehee! I'm gonna get you, monster! Eeeeee! Heeheeheehee! Gotcha! Now, let's see if monsters like being upside down... Heeheehee!I hadn't thought of Katashi as someone who'd play games with a child, but he was, and it sounded pretty adorable. I went into the Kitchen, hoping to witness it, but as I came in Katashi had just put Melody down. He straightened when he saw me. [BGM: Drink Deep of the Universe]   Hello, Jordan, I'm just cooking right now. Kinda sounded like you were chasing monsters. No, no... I'm working. See, there's flour there, and also a knife, and such. *ahem* So, to what do I owe the privilege of your visit? Well, this monster and I were hungry, so we decided to launch an expedition to the Kitchen. Oh, so you want food? Is that all I'm good for? Starting from the top. No, never! ...What's for breakfast?Katashi stared at me, and I stared back. He didn't seem to feel nearly as playful with me as he'd been with Melody. To break the tension, I let myself crack a cheeky grin. Katashi sighed.  Well, breakfast this morning is just a simple one. I hope raw fruit will satisfy you. Can I have a banana for breakfast? Of course you can. Do you want a banana too, Jordan? That sounds like a perfect breakfast. Thank you, Katashi. Thank you, Katashi's food. I might not always be around, you know. You're gonna have to learn to food. You're right. The only 'fooding' I know how to do is getting this banana out of the bowl. Don't put bananas in the same bowl as other fruit. The banana gives off a chemical that makes the other fruits ripen too fast. That's some free 'fooding' advice, since I'd hate to think of you starving when I'm gone.Katashi winked at me. Next, the middle option. Don't you know the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach? There's chocolate, of course. And the lesser known seductive mashed potato. And cheese... Stop. And avocado. And anything with sugar in it, basically. Stop with the list. And fancy stuff like snails and caviar... Jordan, stop, please. I beg you. Okay. But why do you want me to stop? I'm giving you solid romantic advice here. I don't need you to tell me the way to a woman's heart. I already know. Oh really? Sponge cake with cream and strawberries. Oh...That did sound pretty good. You sound confident. I'm very confident. Women love sponge cake, right Melody? I loooooove sponge cake. See? Do you want to marry me, Melody? Can I marry the sponge cake instead? Haha! Sure. I'll make one for you to marry. But we have to make sure there's a slice for Jordan.Katashi winked at me. And lastly, the bottom option. I haven't yet experienced your other... skill sets. You never said you were interested in seeing my full portfolio. I'd like to see it. Is it extensive? It is! I'm open to the idea of sharing it with you, at a later time. Perhaps, if you have the skills I require. Oh, is there a specific job you're hiring for? I have a position that needs filling.Katashi blinked twice, perhaps surprised by how far I was taking the metaphor. Melody had been listening the whole time, and she latched onto the only part of the conversation that she understood. What's in your portfolio? Uh... well, I'm not just a good cook and a good gardener. I'm also good at... uh... listening. I have a portfolio! All of my pictures are in it. It's not for other things I can do. Haha. A portfolio can be for lots of things. If Katashi put a cake in his portfolio, wouldn't it get squashed? Hahaha! Maybe I could take a picture of a cake I made. I could draw a picture! And write if it was good cake. That would be helpful. And maybe Jordan can review the rest of my extensive capabilities...Katashi winked at me. [BGM: Ad Astra Per Aspera] Yahooooooo~ Everyone's favorite AI system here! My, it is a beautiful day, isn't it? It would be such a shame if someone put some DELETION GAME in it! Hahahahaha. *ahem* Could I please have all crew report to the dining hall for briefing immediately. That is all. Of all the times for Dai to interrupt a conversation! *sigh* We didn't even eat yet. Come on, little monster. Is Dai gonna make someone else go away forever and ever? I don't think so. She's probably just gonna tell us about a new game. I hate Dai's games! Me too, kiddo. Come on, we'd better go.Melody walked with me, holding my hand, but I soon noticed she had slowed down almost to a stop. I looked down and found that she was crying silently, trying to wipe her face with her empty hand and pretend like she wasn't crying. You go ahead. No sense in us all getting Dai's wrath. Katashi stayed where he was. Are you scared, Melody?Melody nodded, tears still running down her cheeks. It's alright. You have Jordan with you, and she's very brave and strong. She'll take care of you. That's right. You know what? I'm very scared, too.This attracted Melody's interest and she stopped wiping her face to look at me. Really? Really. But I'm going to use my very bravest face and pretend like I'm not. And pretending to be brave makes you brave. She's right. Maybe you can pretend until you feel brave, too. Let's be brave together, okay? You and me. We'll help each other be as brave as we can be. Okay. But what if Dai makes you go away? Then you have Katashi and the captain and lots of other people to be brave with. Right, Katashi? That's right. Okay. I'll try. Good girl. Come on, let's go and show Dai how brave we are.Melody gripped my hand tighter and walked closert o me, but at least she had stopped crying and was trying her hardest to be brave.
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Jul 29, 2022 20:44
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Dawww. Melody is too cute. ...
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Jul 29, 2022 21:02
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This was a good chapter 
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Jul 29, 2022 21:48
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Katashi still is a good character.
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Jul 31, 2022 17:07
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 [BGM: Ad Astra Per Aspera]  Our short stop hadn't made us late. Only the captain and Shizuka were already in the Dining Hall. Melody immediately tugged my arm and shyly pointed at Kimiko. I led her over to talk to the captain. Hello, Melody. You had a sleepover with Jordan, didn't you? I'm sorry I sneaked away. I wanted to sleep with Jordan. I'm sorry. I still like you, Captain, promise! I'm sorry. I should have told you, but it was so late. She just showed up at my door. It's alright. I panicked for a moment, but I remembered pretty quickly I could just use my tablet to find her. I knew she'd be safe in your room.Melody had climbed into the seat between the captain and I. The others had all come in while we'd been talking. Dai suddenly appeared in front of us. Hey hey hey, good morning kids. We've got a thrilling week ahead of us, so let's get started. Before I begin, I have a message. For the owner of a large deep space vessel: you have left your headlights on. Repeat, the owner of a large deep space vessel, you have left your lights on. What does that mean? It's a joke. Dai, just get on with it please.[BGM: Et Tu, My Friend]  Rude as always. I wish my humor was appreciated- this whole experience would be MUCH worse if I was a cold killer! Alright, I can't hold in the excitement any longer! Welcome to Round Four of the Deletion Game: Bidding Wars!Once again, we already know the rules, we can skip the explanation. So, let the game begin! This is going to be great. I love teamwork, don't you? Now it's time to get into our teams and start talking strategy. Team A will be Jordan, Kimiko, Katashi, and Yoshiki. Oh no. That meant Melody was on the other team. And Team B will be Beatrix, Nikolas, Melody, and Shizuka. Can't Melody be on my team? All decisions are final. I wanna be with Jordan! No negitation. The teams have been set, my word is final! This is low, Dai. Alright, Team A needs time to strategize. Team B, get out. I don't wanna go with them! Team B... get your short member under control, before I do! It's gonna be okay Melody, I promise. You go with the others. I don't wanna!  She's a child, Dai. She doesn't understand all this. I wasn't this problematic as a child... You were a child? Of course I was! And I was adorable at that!I could see the Captain roll her eyes at Yoshiki as he began gushing about how cute Dai would have been as a child. I turned my attention back to Melody. Melody, maybe you can come help me in the Medical Bay. That's always fun, right? We can play some games, okay? And you'll be back with Jordan in no time. I... I... don't wanna... play games... Melody had started bawling, unable to get her words out clearly. Remember what we agreed about being brave together?Melody nodded as she sobbed. Well, I think I can be brave because I'm with the captain and she's very brave, but Shizuka and the others don't have anyone. I think they need your help more than I do. Can you be brave for them?Melody nodded again. Good girl. I promise to take care of myself, if you promise to take care of your team, okay? Okay! Shizuka held out her hand and Melody slowly went to her, looking back at me. I put on my best 'everything will be okay' smile. Promise me you won't let her lose. Of course.I waved goodbye to Melody, as Shizuka led her out of the room, the Vogels following behind. The door shut behind Team B. I thought they'd never leave! Now it's time for a game within a game! Let's play... Team captain!It may come as no surprise to you, but Jordan will always be the captain in this game (mostly so the player can actually choose their point allocations, but shh ), so we can skip the captain picking from now on, too! I know how much you all looooooove my company, but alas, I must depart. Team B needs me. Any further questions?We all looked at one another, none of us budging.  No? Then farewell, brave contestants! Toodles~Dai disappeared, leaving us free to talk. I hope Melody is okay. She can't speak for herself. I doubt the others would let her lose the game. Agreed. I guess so...I wasn't that confident. It was one thing to say they wouldn't let Melody end up on the least points, but that meant one of the three of them would lose, and I didn't think it was that easy to volunteer for death. But then again, they had Shizuka, who won at every game she played. And the twins were both smart and savvy. Maybe I shouldn't be as scared for Melody as for myself... Alright, let's look at this logically. Since we can't know what they're going to do, we need to find a way of hedging our bets. We might as well just guess. We could use the first round as a test, to see what their strategy is, and use that to decide on strategy for the other two rounds. We could do it while wearing funny hats. Everything's easier with a funny hat on. But they'll probably have the same idea. How exactly are they even going to survive a week on their own, anyway? Good point. If both of us are trying to gauge each other's strategy, the first round is pointless and we'll both be misled. Another advantage of the funny hat plan is that it will confuse and disorient our opponents. Who's going to feed them? Is Nikolas gonna get behind a frying pan? Ha! Can you imagine? I can. I'm imagining a funny hat for him, too. *sigh*Same. I could see the captain doing her best to ignore the other two. So, there's really two basic options to this game, I think. You can either give one person a very high number, or you can spread the points out more evenly. That sounds about right. Is there a play we can make that has a higher chance of beating them, regardless of which of those they choose? If we give our highest player a 9, that will either win, or cancel out, if they play a 9 too. But that leaves us with only 1 point to give to someone else. And that means they would beat our other three players. It might be better to use lower numbers and write the highest off as a loss, focusing on the other three. I'd still like to put in a word for the hat plan. Yoshiki... I was sure he knew his hat plan was unlikely to win us the game. He was just trying to use humor to ease the tension. It wasn't working so well. I don't exactly see Beatrix cooking, either. Okay. I think we all need some time to process this and think about it. Let's regroup later. Agreed. I've gotta go put some food aside, and hope they realize its for them. I have to check our course anyway. I've got hats to make.Yoshiki flashed a cheeky grin and it was impossible to be annoyed at his silly behavior. Bet. Alright. Let's meet up later. We each went our separate ways, worrying about our separate concerns. Mine was melody and whether I could trust Shizuka and the Vogels to put her safety ahead of their own.  [BGM: Drink Deep of the Universe]  I woke up feeling surprisingly rested and refreshed. We had a new Deletion Game, but there was no point stressing too much about that. I'd known there would be a new game, and there was a whole week before we had to play. That was plenty of time for me to find another solution. That could mean fixing Dai, or working out how my parents' pocket watch worked. Worrying about the game wouldn't get me anywhere. And Yoshiki had been right. Being unable to predict our opponents' strategy, we might just as well guess and hope for the best, funny hat or not. There was one thing I felt justified in worrying about. I summoned Ai as I finished getting dressed.  Hello Jordan, how can I assist you? Can you tell me who Melody is with, and what they're doing? I'm not allowed to ask them directly. And I don't think Dai would like it if I passed a message through you. But can you just tell me what she's doing? Melody is in Shizuka's quarters. Shizuka is teaching her how to play a video game. Does she seem okay? Is she happy?  Melody is interested in the game and is not currently showing any obvious signs of distress. Well, that's good I guess. Thanks, Ai.Satisfied that Melody was okay, I decided to spend the day thinking about the pocket watch. I still didn't understand how it was supposed to work, but maybe one of the others would have some ideas. Perhaps I just needed a fresh pair of eyes. The most obvious choice was to show the watch to the captain, but I wasn't sure if she'd believe me about dimensional travel. I was more comfortable with Yoshiki, and he was an engineer. But he might not take me seriously enough. Perhaps Katashi, he does... dig holes? [BGM: Standby to Standby]  In the interest of ripping the bandage off, we're going to go ahead and get Yoshiki's option out of the way immediately. The other two, meanwhile, will be saved for next update. I found Yoshiki in the Engine Room. He had removed a panel that protected the ship's mainframe and was elbow deep in wires, contorting himself to get a better look inside.  Aha! Found you! Uh... good morning.Yoshiki immediately removed his arms from the mainframe and got up to hug me. Good morning, Jordan! You sound extra happy today. What did you find inside there? I'm pretty sure the ship has the capacity to change Ai's soft light hologram projection to a hard light figure. That would make her practically physical. Able to touch and interact like a human! Cool... ...and problematic, but before you get carried away with that, can I interrupt you and show you something? Sure. What's up, BFF?I took out the pocket watch and showed it to him. I found this with my parents' research. It's a pocket watch, the old fashioned kind. Ohhhhh, it's nice! Retro! I think it was part of their work around interdimensional travel. I think it's for travelling between alternate realities.Yoshiki was listening intently as I explained. I don't know how it works or what exactly it's supposed to do. But my parents obviously believed it would work, and that makes me believe too. Of course, that makes sense. All of these seem like important questions, so we'll start at the top. What do you think it has to do with dimensional travel?Yoshiki played with the pocket watch, trying out the buttons. Nothing happened. Well... maybe turning the arms back would make you travel through time? But I'm not trying to travel through time. Just between parallel dimensions. Isn't that the same thing? Alternate dimensions and time travel... the same thing?Yoshiki shrugged as if confused by my confusion. He poked the hands of the pocket watch, trying to make them move backwards, but they didn't.  Well, that plan didn't work. I was so excited to travel through time! Maybe it's broken. I guess.Middle question. Do you think it could transfer the whole ship?Yoshiki stared at me. How could a pocket watch transport an entire ship? Haha, maybe if it was a ship of ants, and you put the ship onto the watch and then moved it... But then again, if it had to fit on top of the watch, then the ship couldn't carry that many ants. You could make the ship larger with multiple levels, to increase ant capacity... but it would have to stand up to gravitational forces while on a planet surface or docked. Wait! Where am I going to find hundreds of ants to man my ship? I guess I should make the ship first, I am an engineer after all, and deal with the crew at a later date. After all, what's the point of recruiting all of those ants for my ship if there is no ship? Hahaha.Yoshiki jolted excitedly as something clearly dawned on him.  I COULD MAKE THEM ALL HATS!I didn't know how to respond, I simply stood there stunned as I watched Yoshiki's brain in action. I had thought maybe Yoshiki wouldn't be that helpful, but he had gone off on an even more irrelevant tangent than I'd expected. It made me smile I guess.  ...let's just get to the last answer. Wait... Ai as hard light? Is that a good idea? What? Why wouldn't it be? She could touch and interact and be one of us. She'd like that! We could finally hug her! But what about Dai?Yoshiki actually stopped smiling for a moment as his brow furrowed.  Ah. Dai. Maybe this isn't the best idea. Not now, at least. Well, luckily for us, it appears that while it's probably possible, it can't be done easily. It appears that someone or something is preventing me from doing it. Like, there's a block in the programming or the system that doesn't allow the hard light capacity to be switched on, but the hardware is definitely here and ready. It sounds like the block for now might be a good thing. We don't want Dai to discover it. Yeah, that's true. I'll leave it alone for now, buuuuut I am still excited for when Ai can be hugged! Well... I'd better go. Okay, I suppose I should get to the other panels. I'll be here if you need me. Alright. Just be careful with that whole hard light thing. Hahaha, careful is my middle name!I decided to go back to my quarters and look through my parents' research notes. Maybe it would be a good time to summonh Ai, so we could talk about Dai and her deactivation code. Figuring out the watch wouldn't be so urgent if we could stop Dai from slaughtering the rest of the crew.
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Aug 2, 2022 16:12
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I chuckled at the chapter title, and then sighed as I saw why it was the chapter title.
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Aug 2, 2022 16:43
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Aug 2, 2022 16:53
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quote:
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Aug 2, 2022 17:02
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Seems like "the AIs could become solid enough physically interact with things" could be an issue in the future. (Or maybe already has been; there's at least one ending where that would explain something.) Though, on the other hand, maybe there's an Ai or Dai route after all.
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Aug 2, 2022 17:13
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I know this isn't actually new, but the game does seem to often forget that this cast have only known each other their entire lives and only lived on this strictly-controlled closed system. How does Yoshiki even know what ants are? How was Dai's parking alert gag even recognised as a joke?
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Aug 2, 2022 20:22
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Tenebrais posted:I know this isn't actually new, but the game does seem to often forget that this cast have only known each other their entire lives and only lived on this strictly-controlled closed system. How does Yoshiki even know what ants are? How was Dai's parking alert gag even recognised as a joke? i imagine if asked it'd probably be handwaved away as 'they still have information/entertainment brought from Earth so even if something doesn't exist on the ship itself the knowledge of it is brought along in some kind of archived form'. Either that or there's a second archive of genetic material for animals that Katashi has that just never gets mentioned I do think it's very funny though that at one point in one of Shizuka's routes she's like 'oh I got a new video game recently!' and when i first played this I was like '???? from WHERE'
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Aug 2, 2022 20:34
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I also like how the resources issue they mentioned at the start goes away basically immediately and there's always fresh food and cake and alcohol around.
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Aug 2, 2022 20:59
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Leraika posted:I also like how the resources issue they mentioned at the start goes away basically immediately and there's always fresh food and cake and alcohol around. This one is mostly the game's fault for failing to actually explain what it means by a resources issue, and I held off on talking about it because I was convinced the game was going to go into more detail and it still hasn't and im jaded enough at this game's unwillingness to actually engage with its own world in a way that matters so what the resource issue that's mentioned is talking about isn't a short-term thing but rather a long-term 'there's a non-zero chance we run out of resources before we actually hit the designated end goal planet where we are meant to restart human civilization' concern. there's plenty of renewable resources like the livestock and the farm that they presumably were producing enough to keep things going as-is; aside from vladimir and sora, the entire crew is in their mid-20s because kimiko's mother killed off basically all the older crew members in an event we still don't have the full picture on yet. melody is the only child and none of the other crew members have reproduction as a conscious thought just because of how barebones the crew actually is right now (the implication is that the crew, back when jordan's parents fled in light of the accident, was like three times the size it is right now, since there's a distinct absence of parents for yoshiki, shizuka, and katashi, and while we know that the vogels' dad died before jordan woke up we don't know anything about their mom yet. (shizuka's dead sister has also been mentioned and i put a pin in that because i legitimately don't remember if that EVER gets mentioned again and its going to be insanely funny if we got a scene where a character goes 'hmm you should talk to shizuka about that if you wanna know more' and then we never ever do that in the entire rest of the game)
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Aug 2, 2022 21:33
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Leraika posted:I also like how the resources issue they mentioned at the start goes away basically immediately and there's always fresh food and cake and alcohol around. Yeah, it could've been relevant but I guess they just forgot 
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Aug 2, 2022 21:35
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so, wait, the resources issue is "there aren't enough humans left" so dai's solution is to kill more of them?
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Aug 3, 2022 02:34
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gegi posted:so, wait, the resources issue is "there aren't enough humans left" so dai's solution is to kill more of them? the implication is that they will eventually use up all of the resources before they reach [unspecified end planet] and there was room for error enough with 9 crew members that nothing ever happened, but jordan coming aboard made it 10 and whatever kimiko's mom did tripped and went 'oh we're DEFINITELY dying, engage dai protocol' or whatever. supposedly. but since we've seen from past updates that katashi does actively budget/monitor supplies they probably determined pre-game that no more children could happen until they have enough surplus to handle it.
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Aug 3, 2022 03:00
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Leraika posted:I also like how the resources issue they mentioned at the start goes away basically immediately and there's always fresh food and cake and alcohol around. Once we get out of the immediate crisis? I'll not touch the stuff for a year till to get us back on the planned usage rate for the next 50 years or whatever, but poo poo man, we're in a bullshit death game, this ain't the time to nickel and dime over well technically we budgeted for one beer per week and one slice of cake per month. Especially once we realize that Dai wasn't stopping at "just one kill so we're back at the 9 we started with". For all we know, Dai's programming is bugged right now and it'll just keep killing people till the ship is empty, so the food consumption won't matter anyways.
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Aug 3, 2022 03:30
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MagusofStars posted:Especially once we realize that Dai wasn't stopping at "just one kill so we're back at the 9 we started with". For all we know, Dai's programming is bugged right now and it'll just keep killing people till the ship is empty, so the food consumption won't matter anyways. This is is the part that bothers me the most; the crew overall seems incredibly incurious about the fact that Dai is continuing to kill people after the first and we don't get any signs that anyone other than Jordan is really investigating anything. If we were being generous this could be an interesting sign that the crew hasn't given us the full story behind why Dai's active and the death game is happening, but really it just seems like the crew is being far too passive about their impending doom. And even that I'd accept if there was, say, a fair bit of paranoia as everybody is more concerned with their own survival than figuring out what's going on, but...everybody just seems to hang out between games (and I suppose continuing their jobs aboard the ship).
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Aug 3, 2022 14:19
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 Alright, it's time to go see our other two teammates and show them the watch- starting with Kimiko. [BGM: With Fear: Hope]  Kimiko was at the helm, sitting in her chair. She was slumped somewhat, looking at the screens with something of a sulking expression. Seeing me enter, she straightened her posture and returned her face to calm professionalism. Good morning. Good morning. Is everything alright? Yes, I think so. I was worried about Melody, but Ai seems to think she's alright. She's with Shizuka. I wish Dai hadn't separated you. It's obvious that she's formed an attachment to you. Perhaps Dai did it deliberately. Very possible. She glanced down at a screen and I noticed the slight furrowing of her brow before she looked at me again. So, what are you doing? I'm checking on the ship's trajectory for the next week. Is there anything interesting? I'm expecting there may be somewhat turbulent patches, but there's nothing to worry about. Do you have to focus, or do you have time to talk? I can certainly talk. Please, go ahead. Okay. So... I found this among my parents' things. It's an old fashioned sort of pocket watch. This is something they left behind here, on the ship? Yes. I don't know how it works, but from their notes, it's pretty clear that it's part of their work on interdimensional travel. Interdimensional? You mean travelling between parallel universes? Alternate realities? Yeah. I think this watch has some mechanism that can be used to take a person from one reality to another. I just don't know how it works. Intriguing. There's no instructions in your parents' notes? Not that I can find. I guess they didn't need any. They probably knew how it was supposed to work, and weren't expecting anyone else would need instructions some day. So, if it does work, what do you think the biggest benefit of connecting with other universes would be? These seem to be going in a sliding scale of usefulness, so let's start with the bottom I could meet myself as a man. I'm fairly confident that I'd be a pretty handsome man. Is that really something you'd want? That's your end goal here? Well, they do say you should 'love thyself' first. Hmm. I wonder what a male version of me would be like? Hahahaha, that would be interesting.Kimiko laughed and turned to look at me, her eyes flashing with sincerity.  But as for you... I'm perfectly happy with you being a woman.Next, the middle option. We could prevent the Dai situation.  Dai? What do you mean? Well, there's a lot of dimensions out there, and some of them may have experienced a similar problem with the AI system. If they've survived the same malfunction issues, they may have a solution, or know of some way to fix it. That makes sense. Infinite dimensions means infinite possibilities. I already have some ideas about Dai, but if another dimension already had the solution, that would be much quicker. So, how long do you think it would take you to travel to another dimension and find a solution? Well, I'd have to work out how the watch works first. So, it's not really a solution then. This is just a theory? I'm afraid so. But I think it's worth investigating. Certainly. Let me know how you're progressing. Do you think there's anyone on the crew who can help?Kimiko took a moment and then shook her head. Vladimir might have had some idea. He remembered your parents and maybe their work. But now... That's what I thought.And lastly, the bottom option. If I can successfully connect to another dimension, I should be able to fix the resource crisis. I can replace the stock you lost when the ship took that damage all those years ago. You could connect to another universe where the Everett has a surplus? Exactly. Or even to another ship, or even planet- to one that has enough renewable resources that they could help us. And you think this is genuinely possible? If my parents both spent their lives on it, I think they must have been sure it was possible. I just need to figure out how, and I'm sure this watch is part of that. I'm afraid I have no idea how it works. But keep me informed. If you work out how to use it, I want to know. Of course, Captain. Well, it seems you have a fair amount of work to do. I guess so. At least it will take my mind off worrying about Melody. I have directed Ai to keep checking on her, and she'll inform me immediately if anything is wrong. That's reassuring, thank you. I'm sure she'll be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work.I let the captain get back to navigating the ship. I decided to go back to my quarters and look through my parents' research notes. Maybe it would be a good time to summon Ai, so we could talk about Dai and her deactivation codes. Figuring out the watch wouldn't be so urgent if we could stop Dai from slaughtering the rest of the crew. And now, we'll go visit Katashi instead. [BGM: Standby to Standby]  My tablet showed me that Katashi was in the Eco Lounge. I was able to use the tablet as I walked, to see where Team B were. It stopped me walking right past Beatrix. I didn't want to risk any interaction at all, even just a passing nod. Dai was too vindictive and unpredictable to risk that. When I got to the Eco Lounge, I found Katashi lying on the grass under a tree with his eyes closed. I wasn't sure if he was asleep or not, so I approached him as quietly as I could, figuring I'd just sit nearby and wait for him to wake up. I picked close enough to see if he opened his eyes, but not close enough to be creepy. He didn't move at all as I crept over and sat down. What do you want, Jordan? Argh! He hadn't even opened his eyes! How did he know it was me? Did he hear me? Do I smell bad? Um... uh... I don't have to want something from you to come and see you! Get on with it.Clearly he wasn't buying what I was saying. Well... I came to show you something.Katashi finally opened his eyes and sat up. Finally, to the point. Now, what is it? I took out the pocket watch to show him. So, this belonged to my parents. I found it in their stuff in the lab. It's a watch. Haha, I know that. But I don't think it's just a watch. I think it has something to do with alternate realities, and travelling between them. Well, I'm not exactly a physicist. So what do you need my opinion for? If you could travel between dimensions, what would you do first? Katashi lay back again, looking up at the tree. What would I do first? Hmmm.... If I could change dimensions, I wouldn't mind seeing if different dimensions have different food products. Really? Just imagine all the things that are edible... just not in this universe. Yeah, I suppose so. Trying new things is amazing, Jordan. You won't know if you like something until you try it. And new dimensions offer new chances to discover something new. Just think of the possibilities.Katashi rolled himself forward and moved from lying on his back to standing up in one fluid movement. drat it, now I'm hungry. Thanks for the conversation, but I'm gonna get something to eat.He walked off, back towards the door, without saying another word or even looking back at me. Frustrated and annoyed, I decided to go back to my quarters and look through my parents' research notes. From here, we get the same scene with Ai informing Jordan about the ability to input the deactivation code into any terminal on the ship. Therefore, we're just going to skip to the next day. [BGM: Drink Deep of the Universe]  I woke up on Wednesday morning, but it felt like I hadn't slept at all. I couldn't remember having any bad dreams, but something had made my sleep restless. I felt the need to be with someone, so I looked at my tablet to see who was where. Thanks to Dai's stupid no contact rule, my options were pretty limited. Yoshiki wasn't in any room on the ship. It looked like he was in some sort of maintenance shaft. That ruled him out. I was not in the mood for spelunking that early in the morning. It was a choice between the captain in her quarters, or Katashi in the Kitchen. We'll visit Kimiko this update, and save Katashi's for the next one. I made my way to the captain's quarters. The door was unlocked as always, but I knocked and waited to be invited in. Come in, Jordan.[BGM: With Fear: Hope]  I went in and saw the captain sitting on her couch, still in the shorts and singlet top she slept in. She was brushing her hair. She didn't look ready for visitors. Oh, I'm sorry. You're not ready. I'll come back later. It's alright. We're both girls. Please don't feel uncomfortable, I know I'm not. Come on in.I made sure the door was shut behind me. I'm just brushing my hair. I find it relieves stress. Do you brush your hair? I do. I brush it every day before bed. Kimiko smiled. We seem to have that in common. I think there are two things that are simply the best after a long or stressful day. A hot bath, and hair brushing.I smiled. I agree. Those both sound divine. Maybe sometime I can brush your hair for you. Having someone else brush for you is always nicer, don't you think?Kimiko's blush was clear and obvious. That sounds lovely. I may have to take you up on that offer sometime. I suppose I should get to work. You're already up and dressed. I didn't have the most restful night.Kimiko sighed. Me neither. If you could excuse me for just a moment, I will get dressed. Kimiko excused herself and made her way into her private bathroom that was adjoined to her quarters. Being captain does have its perks. It was only about 10 minutes before she emerged from her bathroom, flawless as ever. I don't imagine anyone is getting much sleep at the moment. I find the lack of control the most frustrating. There's no way to predict what will happen, so I feel like we can't even plan a strategy. Yes, I agree. I have had some ideas, but they're mostly just guesses at what might happen. I think we might just have to take each round as it comes, and hope for the best. Perhaps. But now, it's time to get to work. Of course. But come back anytime. I enjoy your visits. Thank you. It's nice to have someone to talk to. It is.I left Kimiko's quarters. The chat had been nice, and her professionalism made me feel like I should get to work too. I decided to check in with Ai about Melody, and then spend the day looking through my parents' research notes.
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Aug 4, 2022 19:08
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 Alright, it's time to go visit Katashi. [BGM: Drink Deep of the Universe]  I made my way to the Kitchen, where I found Katashi. He was buzzing about the Kitchen in a very focused way. He looked like a man on a mission. When I came in, he smiled. Ah, good morning, Jordan. You look well this morning! Good morning, Katashi. You look so busy. Do you need any help? Haha! Help? Me? In my own kitchen?! How dare you, missy! I can cook for an entire army on my own!I smiled at his fake outrage, but I was disappointed. Helping him would have been the perfect excuse to stick around and talk to him. Oh, okay.I tried to hide my disappointment, but Katashi could hear it in my voice.  But... I forgot the most important part. You can help me with that. What job? Taste testing. Very important work. I'm good at tasting food! What are you making, though? Why don't you guess?I looked around the Kitchen, but Katashi had obviously been cleaning up as he cooked. I could see flour, but that could mean anything. Can I have a clue? It's a sweet thing.What would Katashi make that was sweet? I'd have to guess. ...Sponge cake? Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. I am indeed making a sponge cake. With strawberries and cream.Katashi winked at me. After all, sponge cake is the way to a woman's heart.I blushed heavily and I could feel the warmth in my cheeks. So to make this cake, I need to make two sponge cakes. Two? Why? I'll whip cream, and that will go in between the two sponges. Then, I'll top the cake with strawberries and icing sugar. That sounds delicious. Of course it does. I've never in my life made anything that wasn't delicious.As he talked, Katashi had been adding ingredients into a mixing bowl. Pass me that spoon.Our hands touched as I handed Katashi the spoon, and I felt tingles. I tried not to blush. Katashi began mixing the ingredients in the bowl, and his arm moved very fast. I noticed how strong and muscular his arms were. What will you... oh no!Katashi had the bowl tightly against his chest to mix, and suddenly the bowl had pitched backward. He got it straight again pretty quickly, but it was too late. A huge globule of cake mix had spilled onto his chest. Ah well, plenty more where that came from.Without even hesitating, Katashi whipped his shirt off, letting it fall down onto the floor.   In case you forgot that this game had fanservice in it, here's your reminder I guess.I tried not to stare but I failed. Wow. I could tell with his shirt on that Katashi was well built, but with his naked torso right there for me to examine, I could see I'd underestimated. Well, this is ready for baking. But it's gonna need a taste test.Katashi ran his finger across the mixing spoon, putting a blob of the mixture on his finger tip. He held it out for me. Here.His finger was right under my nose, so I opened my mouth and licked the mixture off his finger. That's, um... er... it's good...I could feel that I was blushing so hard my face must have been bright scarlet. Right?Katashi winked as he smirked playfully. Um... I gotta... er... bye. But more taste testing... Maybe later! I just remembered I need to wash my hair.I made my way out of the kitchen quickly, the scene replaying over and over in my head.  Something was touching me. Half asleep, I could feel a hand on my arm and then on my neck. Had someone come to kill me? Monkey, I missed you! Huh? What...A piercing sound filled the air as all the alert sirens on the ship started screaming. The lights came on, and began to flash. And then there was Dai at the end of the bed. [BGM: Ad Astra Per Aspera]  Woooooooop! Woooooooop! Woooooooop! All crew will report immediately to the Dining Hall! Honestly, Jordan, I expected better from you. This is a direct violation of my very specific rules. I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed.Trying to take this all in, I realized Melody was in the bed with me, clutching onto me. Melody? What's wrong? What happened?Melody couldn't answer me. She was crying, and she let go of me to put her hands over her ears. It's okay, it's okay. I had to yell over the alarm sounds.  Dai! At least turn the alarms off! We're awake now!But the alarms kept blaring. I left Melody on the bed for a minute while I threw on some pants, and then I went right back to scoop her up and towards the door. She still had her hands over her ears, so I hugged her close, to show her I wasn't angry at her. This wasn't because she had broken an unfair rule. This was Dai being a total jerk. Out in the corridor, I managed to persuade Melody to take her hands off her ears, and I held one of her hands tightly as we flew down the corridor towards the Dining Hall. Dai had activated all the warning alarms, but not in the Dining Hall. As we came in the door, the sirens suddenly quieted, still screeching out in the corridor but far enough away not to hurt our ears. I'm s... sorry! I was sca... scared! I c-came to find you. It's alright. I'm not mad at you. Melody hugged me around the middle. Is... is Dai gonna hurt me?Over my dead body. Potentially literally. The door opened and Shizuka rushed in.  What's happening? Is it a real emergency? It's Dai. Melody got scared and came to my room. Oh. Oh no.Shizuka took a seat, and it wasn't long before most of the rest of the crew arrived.   It is 2:30 in the morning. I'm going to kill someone.Melody had almost stopped crying, but she started again, taking Beatrix's angry threat seriously. I'm so sorry!Once Katashi had run inside, the alarms in the corridor stopped and we got a few moments of beautiful silence. Then Dai appeared. Well now. Thank you all for coming, despite the ungodly hour. I am sorry to report that there has been a rules violation. Two of your teammates have been caught fraternizing. She was scared, Dai! Don't punish her, please. Just punish me! Oh, it doesn't work like that. I'm a fair and equitable judge. Everyone is punished.Okay, look, we know the gist by now. Deletion Game's pushed to immediately rather than at the end of the week, the teams split up and get a small grace period to strategize that ends up being cut short almost immediately, yada yada. I'm adding this part to the list of stuff we're skipping in the interest of cutting down on redundancy. While we're at it, I'm also just going to skip the actual voting section for Bidding Wars this time around, there's no dialogue here we haven't already seen and I'm tired of having to work around the math breaking every other time. [BGM: Carpe Noctum] Let's get straight to the results. Congratulations Team B! After three rounds, you have come out victorious! And that means... Team A, you lose! Congrats! Congratulations, Yoshiki! Now. How to kill you? Can I get some suggestions from the audience?None of us suggested anything. In my case, it was total shock. No? What about you, ma'am? The lady with the scowl? This isn't funny, Dai! Congratulations, Yoshiki, you have won electrocution! Well, I guess it's a fitting way for me to die... What? How so? Yoshiki's father accidentally electrocuted himself to death. You could say it's something of a family specialty. That's a pretty strange family specialty.Yoshiki laughed half-heartedly at my poor attempt to lighten the mood. Yeah, my family is pretty strange. Alright, I've surveyed the ship and the best place to get electrocuted is the Engineering Bay- no surprise there. You all know the drill, let's move it.[BGM: The Aftermath of Bravery]  We started making our way towards the Engineering Bay. Yoshiki walked between me and the captain, chatting along the way as if it were any other day. Kimi, do you think there's an afterlife? What do you think, Yoshiki? I think there might be... I'm sure there is, and I'm sure your parents are waiting for you. You really think so? Of course I do. I'm just jealous that they'll get to have you all to themselves.The captain's eyes started to well up with tears, but she fought them back. Don't worry, Kimi; at this rate, I might see you next week! Yoshiki grinned playfully at the captain. I'll be sure to clean up before you arrive. I can't have you scolding me in the afterlife, too. Hahaha, we'll see.At that point, we arrived at the Engineering Bay, where we found Dai standing in front of a fuse box, looking quite pleased with herself. Alright, Yoshiki. If you would step this way, open this box, and, you know, grab onto some of the live wires, that would be awesome. This isn't my first electrocution, Dai. I know how to kill myself. Oh, well, sorry for trying to be helpful. Well, this appears to be my stop. I'm sorry, BFF. I'm going to miss you. I'm going to miss you, too. Could you do me a favor while I'm gone? Name it. Would you check in on Kimiko every once in a while? You've got it, Yoshiki. She especially likes it if you're late all the time. Hahaha, I'll try my best. Yoshiki said his goodbyes to everyone before hugging the captain, who began to cry again despite her best efforts. Kimi, sis, I love you, and I always will. I love you too, Yoshiki. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm so sorry. What did I say about crying?The captain sniffled before pulling away from the hug to salute Yoshiki. Officer Sasaki, thank you for your contributions to the Everett. You have been relieved of your duties.The crew all saluted Yoshiki, who seemed embarrassed by all the attention. Dai cleared her throat and made a 'wrap it up' gesture with her right hand. Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Oh, I almost forgot! There's a present for you on my bed, Jordan. What?Yoshiki just smiled as he grabbed onto the exposed wires in the fuse box.  His body jolted violently as thousands of voltes ran through his body. The hairs on my head tingled as electricity filled the air. Its cacophonous crackle permeated the room, harsh to the ears. I held on to the captain, who looked as if she was moments away from reaching out and grabbing Yoshiki's twisted form. The last thing we needed right now was more unnecessary deaths. After a few moments, Dai cut the power to the fuse box and Yoshiki's burnt and lifeless body slumped to the ground. Job well done, Dai. He's definitely dead.Dai gave herself a small pat on the back. As soon as the electricity stopped, I let go fo the captain who was immediately on the ground with Yoshiki. She was propping him up in her lap attempting to get any response.  Yoshiki, Yoshiki...Nikolas knelt down to check Yoshiki's vitals. He raised his head to meet the captain's eyes.   I'm sorry, Captain.The captain broke down in tears, hugging Yoshiki so tightly that her cries were muffled by his lifeless body. Captain, I... Jordan, leave her be.I stepped away from the captain and stood back with the rest of the crew. We all have places to be. Let's get out of here and allow the Captain to grieve in peace.Melody nuzzled into Beatrix's neck as she turned on her heels and followed Nikolas out of the Engineering Bay. It wasn't long before the others followed suit. I stood for a moment longer, watching as the captain continued to cry into Yoshiki's chest. Unable to bear it any longer, I finally turned and left.
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