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Dog, Snake, Rooster, Sheep, Bunny, Pig. Six routes down. How do you see the remaining six routes playing out (that would be Mouse herself, Ox, Dragon, Tiger, Horse and Monkey at this point).
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Jan 26, 2023 07:20
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I think Monkey, Tiger, and Dragon's will be the most interesting. So far each route's had the titular character being murdery, but Tiger and Monkey have already shown that they'll let themselves die instead, and at the end of Dog's route, Dragon shoots Dog to save Mouse even though that kills herself too
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Jan 26, 2023 07:39
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Yeah, it totally sucks that nobody mentioned Sheep's Clothing at all. They're like "sorry, we have to kill Monkey, nothing we can do." Everyone's been shown to be terrible so far in their route. (Rooster is the still the best person, of course.) After Sheep's route, I'm worried that even Selfless Tiger will reveal herself to be a bad person.
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Jan 26, 2023 07:40
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It will be interesting to see what Horse, Tiger and Dragon will do on their routes. They seem to be the types that will resort to violence if they are the traitors due to either their size, strength or background. But then again, the game may surprise us and have them do something clever to get around that trope. Monkey will likely use her psychology to get into others' heads and make them do things for her if she's the traitor. She briefly showed that during one of the later routes, and it was a bit chilling. Ox and Mouse will most likely use their cleverness to try to win the game. However I am looking forward to seeing how Mouse would react when she finds out that she's a traitor. That's going to be quite a huge plot twist if you've only seen others' routes so far.
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Jan 26, 2023 15:11
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Monkey's strikes me as the most interesting because she could easily manipulate everyone to either a lot of good or a lot of bad. I'm glad there are endings that are "sort of good but not good enough", it'd be a depressing slog if every ending was just awful.
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Jan 26, 2023 15:20
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Sketchie posted:
I am just gonna assume that the mouse route will most likely be either true route or a precursor to it, that seems reasonable for the meta. Also "clever" seems like an odd personality to be either winner or loser, although mouse's ability befits a winner personality.
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Jan 26, 2023 15:26
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Sketchie posted:Monkey will likely use her psychology to get into others' heads and make them do things for her if she's the traitor. She briefly showed that during one of the later routes, and it was a bit chilling. There's actually a possibility Monkey's route might not involve her being the traitor. Let's check stuff so far: -Bunny and Dog routes involve them as the Victorious and Defeated traitors. -Snake's route had him as the Ambitious traitor with a fellow Hateful (who could be Dragon given her attitude). -Sheep's route involved the Determined and Selfless traitors, but Sheep was neither of them! She cloned Horse who was the actual traitor (Selfless was Tiger). -Pig and Monkey are the Desperate and Content traitors... but the routes associated to them as traitors are Pig and Rooster! We'd be missing Clever + Unknown and Unknown+Unknown, with the Unknowns having to be Ox, Sheep and Rooster, subbing Dragon if she's not hateful for whoever it is. (Assuming Mouse can be a traitor and has a non-true route) If we assume the 12 routes have the same pair of traitors in 2 routes each (unless we see a 3rd case of like, Desperate and Content), then Monkey and a combo of either Horse or Tiger would have to have a route where they are not the traitors, because Monkey was already the traitor twice and there'd be 3 routes with Selfless/Desperate combo. And even if they do something like only having Clever as traitor on 1 route and specifically use another traitor 3 times, there would still be a misalignment. ...my head hurts.
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Jan 26, 2023 15:39
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Interesting. Pig suggests that perhaps any connection to Brian is a red herring; the players are here because of their connection to Bowen. The question is...why? It's becoming more clear that the Jade Emperor's goal isn't to punish people, perhaps, but to create a situation where the truth can come to light. Speaking of, we have our second route where they talk directly to the players, this time for more than a line. This would seem to confirm that A) the Jade Emperor is monitoring the game directly and B) is not one of the twelve contestants. Does that mean they're Brian? It does seem like it in Sheep's ending (where he refers to "my father"), at least. Dragon recognizing Dog but not being able to place it suggests she's been to his bar, which means it's possible she encountered Bowen at some point without realizing it. Why that's significant though, who knows at this point. As for future routes, I have a feeling when we finally get to routes where Mouse's personality is activated, it will be opposite Ox as the other personality. It has a nice symmetry for one (the daughter of the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney). In any case future routes should be interesting since in most cases we'll know who the traitors are going in, as we've figured out most of the personalities.
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Jan 26, 2023 15:49
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I'm really hoping for a Mouse traitor route. I'd really like to see a 'playing the traitor' scenario fully play out, after being burned by Birth ME Code. Pig's note confirms my original theory that the players are tied into the conspiracy, although as Pig herself mentions Dragon, Monkey and Mouse remain outliers. Conveniently they are also some of those whose routes we haven't seen. The point that this a lot for one kid to set up is a good one. At the moment my best guess is that Brian's a puppet, unwitting or not, of the conspiracy, which is trying to clean up loose ends in a bizarre but deniable way. In that case, the possibility of Brian being among those 'cleaned up' would explain why he is so silent in some routes, but there is more to learn about what's going on behind the scenes there. With Brian and the mysterious post-route voice talking about luck and different outcomes, I'm really hoping that there isn't some quantum or timeline weirdness in this, so far it has been pretty grounded (for a death game).
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Jan 26, 2023 15:57
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Mix. posted:Just like that, the voice went away. The bent of superiority in Brian's voice as he left us pissed me off to no end, but I couldn't dwell on that now. Like it or not, we won. I may have lost Monkey, but... ten of us didn't die. That might have been as good as I could hope when thrust into such a lovely situation. wait, did something happen to Mouse offscreen? She didn't die, but she's not in the list of escapees... Mix. posted:
  I'm not owned! I'm not owned! Those grapes were unripe anyways!
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Jan 26, 2023 16:01
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Sybot posted:I'm really hoping for a Mouse traitor route. I'd really like to see a 'playing the traitor' scenario fully play out, after being burned by Birth ME Code. If you believe the relation between the players is the conspiracy and not Bowen themselves, then everyone could actually fit. Monkey might have been told to watch over Brian and Mouse, Dragon might not have ties to Bowen but to tje conspiracy itself, and either Mouse's dad was actually paid off to underperform despite believing Brian's dad was innocent (and Mouse is his proxy) or Mouse was put there just in case because her dad found out about the conspiracy and was killed (and the illness/cancer was a coverup)
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Jan 26, 2023 16:05
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:There's actually a possibility Monkey's route might not involve her being the traitor. Let's check stuff so far: This setup (with Monkey and Pig as traitors) has two different route splits. The first is when we choose whether to side with Ox's suggestion (putting us on Rooster's route) or go with Monkey's, and the second was whether to check up on Monkey ourselves or let Pig do it. We let Pig do it to get on her route, so I'm guessing having Mouse do it puts us on Monkey's route.
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Jan 26, 2023 16:07
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:If we assume the 12 routes have the same pair of traitors in 2 routes each (unless we see a 3rd case of like, Desperate and Content), then Monkey and a combo of either Horse or Tiger would have to have a route where they are not the traitors, because Monkey was already the traitor twice and there'd be 3 routes with Selfless/Desperate combo. Since the endings are represented by playing cards, there should be a 13th route (probably the "true" route, or maybe the missing "Cat").
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Jan 26, 2023 16:26
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Brian is actually a contestant who everyone acknowledges in-game but is conveniently off-screen for the player every time!
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Jan 26, 2023 16:36
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Mix. posted:
not the true ending, smh
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Jan 26, 2023 16:37
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wologar posted:Brian is actually a contestant who everyone acknowledges in-game but is conveniently off-screen for the player every time! The Jade Emperor's name has always been Sean?
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Jan 26, 2023 16:53
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dervival posted:wait, did something happen to Mouse offscreen? She didn't die, but she's not in the list of escapees... That line is part of her first-person narration, so I think the fact that she also made it out is a given.
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Jan 26, 2023 19:10
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wologar posted:Brian is actually a contestant who everyone acknowledges in-game but is conveniently off-screen for the player every time! In game with a lot of stupid/bad twists this was definitely the worst.
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Jan 26, 2023 19:24
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Mix. posted:
Is this the first time the ending summary has refered to itself as an explicit entity within the setting, as opposed to a meta-voice of the author? Twib fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Jan 27, 2023 |
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Jan 26, 2023 21:40
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Twib posted:Is this the first time the ending summary has refered to itself as an explicitl entity within the setting, as opposed to a meta-voice of the author? I noticed that as well. It'd be an interesting twist if RQM turns out to actually be Brian. This ending also seems to reinforce the notion that a lot of what the Jade Emperor is saying is automated or pre-recorded, and 'Brian' only steps in at the end. There is even a vague sense of Brian trying to encourage them to find the proper solution. This makes me think one theory would be that he's set up the death game as a high-stress situation to get the 'conspiracy' to confess their crimes. Maybe he even hopes they can all work together. I'm also going to theorize that if RQM does have meta-knowledge, then instead of being a quantumly-connected many-worlds universe, it will be a computer simulation instead.
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Jan 26, 2023 22:28
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ZCKaiser posted:In game with a lot of stupid/bad twists this was definitely the worst. I actually thought it was one of the better twists, in that it didn't come out of nowhere and wasn't improbable for the setting (shrug aliens)
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Jan 26, 2023 22:48
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Kangra posted:I'm also going to theorize that if RQM does have meta-knowledge, then instead of being a quantumly-connected many-worlds universe, it will be a computer simulation instead. RQM does mention "coding" in the opening dialogue: Mix. posted:
So the idea of this being a computer simulation makes sense. Also, I don't think we've seen the Green Question Marks person since the opening... I'm thinking there's a solid chance that Green Question Marks is Mouse, on the evidence that A) Mouse wears green and B) RQM seems to see her as the "main character," going off his comments on the various endings. (And Mouse is, of course, the actual main character of this game.  )
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Jan 26, 2023 22:49
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dervival posted:wait, did something happen to Mouse offscreen? She didn't die, but she's not in the list of escapees... Mouse is officially Rat, according to Brian. She just changed it to Mouse because nobody wants to be called a rat.
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Jan 26, 2023 23:37
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Dirk the Average posted:Mouse is officially Rat, according to Brian. She just changed it to Mouse because nobody wants to be called a rat. rat is also not on that list of escapees, though
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Jan 26, 2023 23:47
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biosterous posted:rat is also not on that list of escapees, though Mouse/Rat is not on that list of escapees because she's the one doing the narration and didn't include herself.
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Jan 26, 2023 23:55
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biosterous posted:rat is also not on that list of escapees, though Ah, I see what you're referring to - Brian did explicitly say that rat made it to the end, and Mouse does say that ten people survived (including her), so it makes sense that Arzaac posted:Mouse/Rat is not on that list of escapees because she's the one doing the narration and didn't include herself. is the reason that she didn't include herself in the list.
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Jan 27, 2023 00:01
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Sybot posted:I'm really hoping for a Mouse traitor route. I'd really like to see a 'playing the traitor' scenario fully play out, after being burned by Birth ME Code.
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Jan 27, 2023 01:20
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I feel like Pig's letter, particularly the post-script, is going to be important for figuring out the golden route to the game. Just a hunch.
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Jan 27, 2023 02:17
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 Hey, we're roughly halfway through the routes at this point! And yet, there's still so much more to come, with plenty of mysteries still unanswered all this time... Pig's route is one of the shortest in the game, and yet it still raises so much to consider that you wouldn't really notice if playing for yourself. Honestly, really great timing for a halfway point too, especially with all that stuff right at the end.  Maybe we'll start tying up a few more loose threads here soon...?One thing that Themis did note is that originally the game was set up so that the player had to actually find the solution with everyone's pieces themselves- they even had gone so far as to code some of it already before they realized how impossible of a task that would've been without any kind of guidance, which is why the game just tells you the answer instead. (Honestly, credit where it's due, Themis is very willing to cut out stuff that obviously wouldn't work, something more devs should be willing to do )Either way, the thread managed to avoid all the other endings this time around, too, so let's not waste any time and just get into it. [Hitch a ride with Pig.] [BGM: Silence]  I pressed the ACT button. I'm not entirely sure why, I just... did. I mean, why not? What's the harm in it? It should move me exactly 1 space. Just as we all agreed. And if I didn't, Pig might feel offended. So this was right, right? It couldn't possibly hurt, at any rate. Well, time to meet up again, like promised. I would've preferred to walk with Pig, but she seemed to have gone ahead without me. No problem, I'd just go down by myself. I took a staircase down to the first floor. Right as I walked into the cafeteria from the back hallway, I noticed the screen on the TV had changed. And people were freaking out. ...Freaking out? Why, why would they be...? [BGM: The Undying]  As soon as my eyes focused on the screen, I realized why. Pig... She was in the lead, by like, a lot. She must've used her ability. No, no, it wasn't just Pig that was in the lead. So was I. I was also in the lead. Bunny, who had stopped freaking out for long enough to notice my presence, turned around to talk to me.  Hey Mouse! What the hell is this about? Are you in on this?! Wh-what?! No, no, no I knew nothing!! Then why'd you hitch a ride on her? Because she said to! She told you she would be doing this? No, no, she just said to hitch a ride on her! Others were noticing me, and they were making their way over. They were mad. I could very much see where this was going. And needless to say, I didn't love it. So what did I do? I was a rat. I scurried away. I fled as fast as my feet could take me, just trying to put distance between myself and the cafeteria. Okay, okay, hold up. I get it. I know this just makes me look worse. I know this hurts me a lot. I know this, honestly speaking, was sort of a dick move on my part. But trust me, I saw exactly what would have happened had I stayed in that crowd. It would not have been good for me. There's no way I could convince them I wasn't in cahoots with Pig. A traitor's ally is a traitor. No, fleeing was the best option.  I kept running and running, pretty soon I couldn't tell if anyone was pursuing me, but I really didn't care. Until I finally felt like I had put enough distance between me and them, I would run. I ended up stopping in what looked to be a screening room on the first floor (I had gone up and down some stairs). This was as good as any place to hide. I made my way behind the bleachers oddly placed in the room, and crouched down. Far from a heroic action, but it was really the only thing I could think of. From there, I just hid. The others would deal with it, right? The others would get Pig, they'd almost certainly find her and deal with her. Kill her, if I was going to be honest with myself. It was pretty sad, but it appeared she was, in fact, the other traitor. Monkey had confessed. Pig hadn't. So now I'd let the group deal with the situation, and rejoin in a bit, when everything had likely cooled down. I mean, it's not like I'd be useful to the group, so what's the harm? [BGM: Silence]  The only question that remained was what to do with the tablet. Just choosing to RUN ran the risk of getting closer to the line and pissing off the group further. So what to do? Ah. I had it. I'd simply continue to hitch a ride on Pig. Pig probably wouldn't be going anywhere, so this was ideal. I spent the next few rounds just hiding, hoping no one would find me, and choosing to hitch a ride on Pig with my tablet. After two rounds, I planned on leaving my hiding spot and testing the water, sort of feeling out how everybody was doing. However, to my shock (and horror), after only two rounds of this, I felt my collar come undone. Does... does that mean it's all over? As if to answer my own question, I heard a booming voice come on the speakers. Not a noise, a voice. The Finish Line has been crossed. The winners are RAT, OX, and PIG. Congratulations! Anyone who has not won has lost. Prepare for execution.Wh-what? What just happened? [BGM: Weak Pig]  Did I just... survive? No, no, that wasn't the question to ask. Did everybody else die? What on earth? How did they not catch Pig? How did they not stop her? Dragon's ability, Monkey's ability, those should've been able to do something! And yet, a small voice in the back of my head called out. But hey, you survived. You didn't even have to get your hands dirty. No, that's absolutely the wrong thing to take away from all of this! That can't be the moral, it just can't be! [BGM: Silence]  Reluctantly, I got up, and made my way to the cafeteria. I don't know what I expected, but I certainly wasn't ready for what I saw. A sea of dead bodies, all pained, all with blood flowing from their throats. I had to just close my eyes and walk through, I couldn't bear to look at it anymore. Just the glancing sight had scarred me in a way I would never truly recover from.  Eventually, I had gotten to the front entrance of the school. There stood Ox. He looked none too pleased. Ox. Mouse.
You saw the outcome, I presume. Ox, I swear, I neve- Save it, Mouse. You don't need to apologize. Huh? I know what you're going to say. You knew nothing of what Pig planned to do. And afterwards, you were just scared. You hid and panicked, never expecting to actually get out like that. Uh, well, that's not exactly it, but... ...Yeah, more or less. Figures. That's about as much as I should've expected from you, if I'm honest. The failure to stop this is on my shoulders, and mine alone. If things went so bad, how are you still alive, Ox? It became pretty clear soon enough that we weren't going to be able to stop Pig from victory. However, thanks to my Stampede, I got within spitting distance of the finish line the round before last.  It was either you two survive or us three survive. That group is by and large scum, but even they wouldn't drag someone else down with them when they're beat. Oh. And you're standing here because...? This is the exit to the school. Pig eventually has to pass by here. And when she does, I want to confront her. What she just did, whether she was forced to or not, was mass-murder. Nine people are dead because of her. She needs to face those consequences. What does that mean? Oh, don't give me that look. I'm not going to kill her or anything. I just want to make her look me in the eyes and justify herself. And I don't want her running away. I don't know how the police are going to treat this- these circumstances seem tricky to prosecute, but still, she at least needs her day in court. However, I must say, it is taking her quite some time. What's holding her up this long? ...Ox, you know there's also a side exit to the building, right?
poo poo. [Ending King of Clubs]  Choosing not to play is a valid option for Mouse. In some ways, it is a good option, when faced with potential death as an alternative. However, refusing to play refuses you the option to control the outcome. And who, in their right mind, would give up control?The second ending we missed was when Horse was attempting to break down the door to get to Pig, who has just confessed... [Encourage Horse.] [BGM: Metal Horse]  You can do it, Horse! Get in there and teach Pig a lesson!Horse nodded towards me. And just like that, Horse slammed into the door. The chain lock held, but with just a single shove, it was clear Horse would be able to break in soon enough. I sort of expected him to keep slamming into it like he had just did, but after the first strike, he changed course. He began kicking at the door's hinges with the might of a sledgehammer. Before long, the castle's gate was open. Without a second though, Horse stormed in. He didn't wait long to question why the room was suddenly filled with some sort of fog. ...Fog that was continuing to fill up the room, actually. Was there a fog machine in there? No, it wasn't quite fog, it wasn't quite that dense. Luckily for me, I was observing this with a bit of distance.  For Horse, who had run straight into the thick of things, he felt the effects of the substance almost immediately. His entire form began to sag; he tried to walk around the center desk, but stumbled. He tried to turn around, but tripped on himself. Once he was on the floor, he struggled to pick himself back up. With Horse out of the way, I could finally see the source of the gas. It was coming out in a high density from a beaker sitting on a table in the middle of the room. Was this... did Pig set this up? There were a lot of chemicals in the lab back up on the third floor, but still. I knew she wanted to be a chemist or something, but to create something like this was ridiculous! And yet, I didn't know what other explanation there could be for the sight.  That was about all I could think about before the flash. In an instant, something incredibly bright flashed from the room, and I lost my vision. Was that a loving flashbang? Did Pig create a flashbang? I rubbed my eyes, trying to recover. By the time I regained my vision, I caught the tail end of Pig, who had apparently pushed her way through the doorway and was now sprinting down the hallway. Immediately, I began to run after her. I wasn't the closest to her, though Dragon had already begun her pursuit, and Bunny was already pulling ahead of me to my side. At this rate, it was inevitable that Pig would be captured, and brought to justice. ...But if she thought her escape route this far ahead, shouldn't she be expecting this? As if to answer my own thought, Pig immediately turned around mid-run and threw two things at once. A bucket, which she had apparently been carrying with her by her chest as she ran, which was filled with a tar-black substance. And a vial of something else.  I don't know exactly what it all was, but what I do know is that the bucket spilled all over the floor, and as soon as the vial crashed down onto it, a burst of flames lit up the hallway. Luckily enough, Bunny and I were far enough back to stay out of the range of this sudden inferno. Dragon, on the other hand, had kept her mind on a single track, and ran into the liquid right as it lit on fire. As the flames came up, she cried out.  I expected Pig to use this distraction to turn back around and continue fleeing. But apparently Pig was full of surprises today. Instead she ran forward and slammed into Dragon, while grabbing a hold of her tablet. The result? Pig was able to flee the fire with Dragon's tablet in her hands. I even heard her shout something.  I'm sorry!Noted, Pig. Dragon, on the other hand, stumbled back and fell onto the fiery floor. We had to act immediately. [BGM: Silence]  Bunny looked at the situation, and after a brief pause, tried to scooch around the fire to keep after Pig. For my part, I risked the flames and tried to pull Dragon out of the fire. Unfortunately, Dragon had gotten some of the black substance on her clothes, and it continued to burn. I pulled off Dragon's jacket and jeans in an effort to stop it. At this point, the others had caught up with me. Sheep and Snake both helped the efforts to save Dragon. When all was said and done, she was badly burned, but not dead. Not dead yet.  However... We have to find Pig, fast. We don't even have the luxury to discuss a strategy everybody immediately split up and look for her. Unfortunately for us, Dragon's tablet was our only way of trying to stop Pig, so we need to capture her. Hey now, that's not right. Since Dragon used her 'Dragon Breath' last turn, shouldn't Monkey have access to it? You're right! Oh, look at that. I can stumble into being useful every now and then. Okay. Monkey, you Dragon Breath the lane right before the finish line. The rest of us need to split up and search for Pig, pronto! And like that, we broke off. We were in a panicked state, hurriedly searching all over the school, trying to find her. I found a row of classrooms and decided to check them out, one by one. A mistake. As soon as I grabbed a hold of the handle, it was over. I honestly can't describe what happened next. Just that, in a mere few seconds, I would be lying on the floor dead. But that was a blessing in disguise. Because had I searched elsewhere, I would eventually meet a much bloodier fate. I got to pass on peacefully. Lucky me.  [Ending King of Hearts] Don't. Underestimate. Prep. Time. Say what you will, Pig actually has an incredibly creative mind, and a lot of knowledge. With tempo on her side, she's able to devise a plethora of tricks. Following in her pace is a recipe for failure.This ending makes more sense (and is also kind of funny) because we did Snake's route already, so we know exactly what killed Mouse here. The final ending is if we don't stop Ox when determining whether the group needs to find more Minor Trinkets. [Believe Ox is right.] [BGM: Silence]  Yeah, at the very least, we need a few more. We don't have a ton of time to spare though. Then we'll just have to work fast! Since there's no more threats, we can split up, search the school, and find what we've missed! Uh, is it okay to leave Pig alone? Sheep's right, we need at least a guard on Pig. She might be trapped, but a Major Trinket could turn things around. I'll stay here, make sure she doesn't try anything shifty. If it's alright with everyone, I think I'll stay here too.[BGM: A Bite That Persists]   Tch. Think I can't handle it? Of course not. I just think it'd be better to have at least two guards. Then can't I get someone I can actually stand? I think our differences actually make us suited to work together. Oh really? I'm just going to nip this in the bud now. Dragon, Bunny, you two stay here and make sure Pig doesn't try anything. Everyone else can split up and search for Minor Trinkets.Everybody nodded. It was a solid plan. Likely to work. We'll try to reconvene here with some time before the round ends. That way, we can coordinate our moves based on how many Trinkets we have. And like that, we began to search the school. For my part, I looked around pretty hard. Went through a number of classrooms in a language hall on the second floor. I actually did come across one safe, but once I solved the puzzle to open it, it wasn't a Minor Trinket, but a useless Major Trinket, only good for killing. And now was around when we needed to return and regroup. What a waste of time. I was disappointed in myself, but, well, what could you do? There was still plenty of time to search, and everyone was on the same page. Things had definitely gotten hectic, had gotten dark, but finally, it was, in fact, checkmate. [BGM: Mousetrap]  However, as I walked back to the cafeteria to meet with everybody and discuss what our moves for this round should be, I noticed something very troubling. By the door guarding Pig, Dragon was gone, and Bunny looked in a bad state. Bunny! Are you okay?! What happened? I'm fine, I'm fine. We shouldn't have underestimated Pig. What do you mean? Did she do this? Two guards, close to the door it wasn't enough. We were caught off guard, and she threw something out of the door. I don't know what, all I know is that it blinded Dragon and I.  And the next thing I know, I feel myself being shoved, and by the time my vision recovers, Pig is running down the hallway holding a tablet. Holding a tablet? You know how I was holding onto Monkey's tablet? Oh no.This couldn't be happening, could it? Oh yes. We tried to chase after her, but she managed to set off a fire in the hallway that blocked us off. She started a fire?? Don't look at me! Anyways, Dragon is still searching for her. It may be too late, but...Instantly I understood. Alright, I'll help look. Bunny nodded at me, and I ran over to the nearest staircase. There wasn't much time left, and it was likely Pig had already made her move. Still, I couldn't just sit back and die! What the hell were Dragon and Bunny doing so that Pig could get the upper hand on them?! No, I couldn't think like that. After all, it was my fault for not insisting on more guards. I mean, we had 10 people at our disposal. Surely we could have spared 3 or 4, and spread them out around the area. That would've been better. What happened? We were cocky. We assumed it was the end of the line for Pig. In my final, desperate moments, rushing around the school, I was reminded of my father. On more than one occasion, I had a decent piece lead on him. I felt confident that I would finally beat him. And in every one of those situations, he would end up pulling a comeback through a bizarre checkmate I didn't see. A checkmate I didn't think possible. That's what this was an unexpected checkmate. [BGM: Silence]  My father was an opponent I never ended up beating. Now, I never could. Before, when I had that thought, it was because he was dead. However, for the first time, there was another reason why I could say that with confidence. When the round ended, I was in an empty hallway, still searching. But I heard the announcement play on the speakers. The finish line has been crossed. The winner is Pig. Congratulations! Anyone who has not won has lost. Prepare for execution.Yeah, that's what I thought. Monkey's 'Monkey See, Monkey Do' ability was powerful. As was Rooster's 'Encouraging Crow'. Those two together made for a powerful combination. If we had used Monkey 's tablet earlier, had made a movement plan for this round ahead of time, none of this would have happened. But oh well. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Should've viewed Pig as a greater threat. Would've liked to give her a solid punch before I died. Could've prevented myself from being executed if I had just hitched a ride on her every turn. And like that, the collar went to work and I collapsed on the floor. A painful minute or two later, I was completely dead.  [Ending King of Diamonds] 'Appear strong when you are weak, and weak when you are strong.' A random Sun Tzu quote, just to think about. On a completely separate note, Pig's lead makes her dangerous. All she needs is a single round where she can find an edge, and it's game over. For victory to be certain, she must be completely out of options.Next update, we start on a different path towards a different route!
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Jan 28, 2023 01:19
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Mix. posted:
Goddamn Batman gambits. 
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Jan 28, 2023 01:34
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Love seeing Pig go ham on the jury. Most, if not all of them, deserve it!
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Jan 28, 2023 01:45
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It's really interesting how Pig's route can either go from being the most bloodless with just Monkey and Pig dead, to the most bloody with everyone dead except for Pig. Quite a big difference.
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Jan 28, 2023 02:55
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Pig is really good at chemistry, yikes. Also, Mouse and her dad play chess therefore Mouse is clearly Brian in a wig.
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Jan 29, 2023 04:53
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Well, I mean, they both wear predominantly green. And Brian has their hood up so we can't see their hair color.
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Jan 29, 2023 08:12
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Maybe Brian is Mouse's dad. "I faked my own death years ago to set up this killing game as a birthday surprise. Why does my daughter refuse to speak to me now?"
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Jan 29, 2023 08:18
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I'm surprised there's been no metaknowledge required yet for any route so far, at the halfway point.
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Jan 29, 2023 09:47
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I hope the 13th route or special endings involve metaknowledge. A lot of games introduce new choices or outcomes after playing enough routes, but for this game, the allusion to predestination implies that the choices are already available and that we can stumble upon them if we choose correctly.
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Jan 29, 2023 10:19
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I personally hope that if we do need to use metaknowledge, it isn't in a in-story sense in the same way that it is in many other games. I've been enjoying how grounded this is, with the slow unravelling of the corruption the characters have been involved in and their own self-justifications, rather than hopping timelines or setting up a gimmick to contact the player. The 13th route probably comes about by everyone confessing before the traitors are set, or some other action that breaks open the conspiracy immediately. Not sure how we could bring that about, or what Mouse would confess in that case, but we still have several routes to see.
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Jan 29, 2023 11:36
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 It's time to get started on another route! This next one's actually also going to be very straightforward to start, as it's a path we've already seen...very recently! Stop me if you've heard this one before:In Round Two, Mouse will go explore with Sheep and Horse in the workout room and find a Major Trinket, and then the group all votes to RUN once again. After this, Mouse goes with Pig and Monkey to the room with the kangaroo words puzzle, where they find a Major Trinket. After this, once again, the group all votes to RUN once again, and reconvene in the cafeteria, where we get Brian's end of Round Three message once again: DESPERATE can only win if they finish first with no more than two other people, and CONTENT wants to finish last, which will result in only the two of them surviving. The group is in disarray for a moment, but Monkey steps forward and confesses- she is the CONTENT personality. After comforting Mouse, who is distraught by this news, Monkey is tied up to prevent her from being able to hurt the group in secret. The DESPERATE personality does not come forward. With that settled, Ox encourages the group to split up once more to continue Trinket hunting, but Monkey speaks up, saying she feels it is unsafe to split up considering one of the traitors is still unknown. Mouse thinks about it for a moment, but ultimately decides that Monkey is right. She suggests they search in pairs, to keep things safer. The groups pair up, with Dog staying as the solo party due to their odd numbers; Mouse finds herself with Pig. The two start investigating classrooms, but after some conversation they realize that Monkey being tied up like she is will result in her dying from being unable to vote if someone doesn't go to untie her. Pig offers to go by herself quickly to handle it, but Mouse isn't so sure about that... [BGM: Silence]  I didn't love the idea of Pig going off on her own. You know what, I can handle this. Really? You're sure you don't want to just let me handle it? Yeah, it's fine, I can just do it. You stay here in the meantime.Before she could get in a word edgewise, I left. I stopped by a nearby classroom to press the RUN button on my tablet. Then I made my way to the cafeteria. I went over to where Monkey was tied up. [BGM: Mourning Crow]  Hey there, Monkey. Ah, Mouse. Are you here to allow me to input an action on my tablet? Of course! Something I planned to do this whole time. Naturally, naturally. Not for a second sitting here did I think that people might have just forgotten about me and let me die to execution. Right. Indeed. Okay, so here you go. I undid Rooster's surprisingly good tying job to let Monkey free. You can go input your action in the restroom nearby. I shall do just that.And like that, Monkey left to take care of business. I stood by, waiting for her return. So, is everything fine? Indeed, thank you Mouse. Great to hear. Now, please tie me down once more. I still think this is stupid. As do I, but I'd rather not stir the pot at this point. Alright... And at Monkey's behest, I tied her down to the chair again. It still feels so... so horrible that this is the last time we'll get to talk to each other. It is truly tragic, is it not? But it must be so. I just can't accept that. Maybe we could try and get the collar off, maybe we could barter with Brian. There's gotta be something we can do to save you! You're so determined, Mouse. It's your 'hamartia'. 'Hamartia'? It's Greek, for fatal flaw. In Greek tragedies, as in life, everyone has one. You have a stubborn determination. It will get you far, but when you get like that, you lose sight of the bigger picture, and refuse to back down when you really should. I don't think that's true... It is. We all have a hamartia, Mouse. It's important to learn what yours is, and to be aware of it. Well then, if everybody has a hamartia, what's yours? Mine? Hmm... I suppose it would be... curiosity? Curiosity? That's not a fatal flaw. Ah, but Mouse, curiosity killed the cat. Don't get me wrong, curiosity has taken me far in life. In fact, I became a therapist because I was curious about the human condition. But it's also gotten me in trouble before. When I was much younger, I made many mistakes out of curiosity. Some, I dare not repeat. Like what? I dare not repeat them neither in my actions nor aloud. Oh come on, you can't just say that and then expect me not to want to know what you're talking about! Another time, perhaps. ...You know there won't be another time. ...Then I guess I'll take the stories to my grave. Perhaps then, you'll know the curse of curiosity. How rude. ...Anyways, I'm going to get back to searching for Trinkets. You do that. Oh, and Mouse? Yes? You know you can trust me, right?[BGM: Silence]  This is arguably one of the earliest choices you can encounter on a route in the entire game, so I really had no good way of taking a vote for this one.  That said, Mouse absolutely trusts Monkey, so no reason to stop now. Of course. More than anyone here, I know I can actually rely on you. That's good to hear. Remember that. I am frightful of the unrevealed traitor. If things go south, know that I am on your side. Of course, I know you're with us. ...Listen carefully, Mouse. I am on your side. ...Right.I wasn't entirely sure how to take Monkey's last comment. Regardless, I was done here. I made my way back to the room Pig was at.   Ah, Mouse. How did things go with Monkey? It was, uh, good. Helped her not get executed, which is a good thing. Cool, cool. So, uh, where should we look next? How about we look around the first floor some? If you want to, sure. Great.[BGM: Cock a Doodle Doo]  And just like that, we were decided. We made our way down to the first floor, and began to search through some of the classrooms in that hallway. We searched for a while, before moving onto another nearby classroom. It was a silent, but well-paced search. Before I knew it, it was midway through the fifth round. Might as well help out Monkey again. Already? There's still quite a bit of time. Yeah, but why delay it to the last second, you know? Alright, sure.And so, once more, I left Pig to her own devices. I pressed the 'RUN' button on my tablet in a nearby classroom, then made my way to the cafeteria. I greeted Monkey once more, untied her, and let her go to the nearby restroom. Then, when she returned, I tied her up once more. It was a lot more silent this time. Then, I went back to the room with Pig.  Monkey's good? She's good. Thank God for that, you know? She's giving up her life for us. The least we can do is treat her right. That's really considerate, Mouse. Well, you know, I don't think it's anything special. I just don't want to view anyone differently because of this stupid game. Even the unrevealed traitor... I don't think they're evil or anything. I don't think they're plotting our downfall. I think they're scared. They were put in an impossible situation, and they don't know what to do. I pity them. What an empathetic position. Yeah, well, maybe it's a dumb take. But it's just how I feel.
[BGM: Silence]  There's... something I want to tell you. Something I know. Something you know?I didn't expect this development at all, but I was more than ready to welcome it. Pig hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should speak. She gripped her tablet tightly to her chest, holding it like a life preserver. Then, she opened her mouth to speak the truth that she felt she nee- *bang!* What? [BGM: Steadfast Gallop]  I couldn't register what had happened even after Pig's body hit the floor. But something had just flown in through the door. Through Pig's chest, through her tablet, through a nearby desk. No, not something. A bullet. Pig had been shot. Pig!Once I had regained my senses, I rushed over to Pig's side, to try and help. My first instinct was to stop the bleeding, but I had no idea how exactly I could do that. Y-You're going to be okay, y-you're...I trailed off, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. My brain had completely shut down on me. Someone lay before me, dying, and I had no idea how to save them. I had no ability to save them. I just flailed around, helpless.  As she lay dying, Pig locked eyes with me. She looked... oddly content? At peace? Still, she opened her mouth and tried to get across something to me. She struggled to speak, but she wasn't able to get out the words. Then, after much struggle, she closed her eyes. She was... dead. It was a cold, empty feeling that inhabited the pit of my stomach. Someone had died. In front of me. I didn't know how to cope. I was in denial. But then, in an instant, I moved on to anger. Who had just done this? Who had killed Pig? I burst out the door, looking down the hallway both ways. I hoped the catch the culprit in their flight from the scene, but alas, I was too late. drat it! What was I doing, trying to save an already-dead Pig? I bet what she was trying to say was 'forget about me, go catch the killer, dumbass!'. drat it, drat it, drat it! I failed you, Pig. But it wasn't too late. One of the traitors was tied up, the rest were in pairs. Surely this was done by a traitor, there'd be no other reason to kill. Which meant... that the murderer must've split away from their pair. And if nobody did that, it must've been Dog, the only person by himself. I couldn't waste any time, it was imperative I narrowed down everybody's movements as soon as possible. Right away, I ran into the cafeteria.  Mouse. What's wrong?Monkey was still tied up in her chair. Thank God for that. I really didn't want to have to suspect her. Pig... she's been shot. Seriously? That's... Mouse, are you sure you're even okay? No, but we don't have time for that. Monkey, did you see anybody heading through here recently? I'm sorry, but I can't say that I have. If she's been shot, shouldn't you gather everybody as soon as possible? That's exactly what I'm planning on doing. Very wise, Mouse. Just like you. If you're looking to find everybody, why don't you start with Tiger and Bunny? I believe they're in a classroom right at the top of those stairs to the right. Alright, I'll do just that. Thanks for the advice, Monkey. Don't mention it. I'm only here to help.
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Jan 31, 2023 02:18
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| # ? Jun 8, 2024 14:05 |
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Mama Monkey in action. I'm intrigued at the possibilities of this dynamic. Also, who'd shoot Pig, of all people? I assumed she was going to tell us her personality, but did someone assume she would confess to her part in/reporting on the conspiracy and try to shut her up? That...would not narrow our suspects down much, but it's a potential motive. *I'm on mobile and haven't gone back to fact-check so there may be obvious logic errors here.
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Jan 31, 2023 02:40
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