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Yi is a slimeball using textbook abuser talk. "Be glad I'm hitting you" And really, who could have seen this coming? He seemed like such a nice guy!
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Aug 23, 2023 05:26
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| # ? May 31, 2024 08:58 |
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 content warning: misgendering, implication of police brutality [BGM: Trick Score]  Yi looked at this notebook with some interest. gently caress.  Oh? What do we have here? Don't touch that!Krish cried out, but it was too late; Yi had already picked it up, and began rifling through it with interest. Ah... Ah, I see. So this is your little 'ideas' journal, huh? For stories, things you want to write? … Come on, speak, will you? It... it is. Ah. I see, I see.Yi nonchalantly flipped through the pages.  Interesting stuff here. I mean, nothing usable, but interesting. You really intend to be a writer, huh? Like, you want that to be your job? ...I do.Krish answered this with much more conviction. ...Wrong choice.   Well, that's no drat good at all, is it? Huh? I mean, put the practicalities of the market aside and look at yourself, Krish! Really look at yourself.Stop it. You know Krish, I really do believe you've got greatness inside of you. Problem is, I've never been too much of an Aristotlean. I'm a believer in the theory of forms, you see. Everyone should strive for excellence in the field they're meant to. And striving for forms that you aren't? Goes against the natural order. Waste of talent, waste of time.I knew what was about to happen. I readied myself. And then... I waited. With a sad sigh, Yi tossed the journal into the nearby trash fire. In a panic, Krish jumped forward to try and save it, bu t Yi was prepared. A kick to the gut, and Krish was back on their knees. That journal meant a lot to Krish... and I could've saved it if I had acted then. But... thinking about it logically, that journal wasn't worth much – just a collection of written ideas. It wasn't worth compromising my position for something like that, not in a matter of life and death. [BGM: Silence]  Hey, I admire the guts, wanting for something like that. Trust me – I've been there, done that. Didn't work.Yi leaned down to Krish. Look, from one piece of sewer trash to another, take my advice: stay in your lane. That journal? A complete waste, a siren song. And hey, I read through a bunch of that, and really nothing of value was lo–*krack!* Krish had had enough. In a rage, they struck out, landing a solid straight punch right to Yi's jaw. Yi was sent reeling by the blow. AAAaargh!! God, gently caress![BGM: First Rubber]  Yi began rubbing his face in the place the blow landed. Oh, oh Krish, you little poo poo, you really, REALLY shouldn't have. I'm doing you a favor here! I'm being generous to you! To all of you!Yi was now bellowing, looking out to the whole group. For the first time, Yi was blatantly irritated. For a moment, it looked like he was going to go into a frenzy... but instead, Yi took a breath. And just like that, he recomposed himself. Ah, well. That's the way it goes, isn't it? Still naive, Yi. Think of Carlin's Rule: 'Imagine the average person, and realize that half of the population is stupider than that'. From the start, I needed a better example.And with that, Yi reached behind him and pulled out what looked like a flat wooden stick he had been keeping tucked in his pants, behind his jacket. Then, with his spare hand, he unsheathed the stick to reveal that this was no mere piece of wood, but a very short iron blade... more of an oversized knife, being honest. So, everyone! You know Krish here. He's a pretty bright young lad. But he's a painfully stupid young lad... and I think he just volunteered to be an example as to just what the Duats can get away with.Okay, I had stalled for as long as possible. Let things proceed without intervention any longer, and we were getting into 'serious repercussion' territory. Currently, I possessed the element of surprise. What to do with it? Thinking carefully, there was a clear target I needed to take out first. Earlier, Zaochi had his hand in his pocket; looking at the bulge, I was pretty sure he was carrying. Best to stun the person with the gun at the start. [BGM: Grand Slam]  I had to make sure my attack landed true. A falling attack...  I slammed into Zaochi with a falling strike. The momentum of my fall hurt me a bit, but it hurt that guy a hell of a lot more. Zaochi was clearly not a fighter, and with just this attack he crumpled like a bag of bricks. But I couldn't let up, not for a second. Element of surprise didn't last long. Next biggest threat – the Goliath.  I kept my momentum up and charged right at Fang. Like a bullet, I shot at him, and once I got in range I jumped up and struck at him with all my force. It did... a bit of damage, but not enough. The man flinched, but only temporarily. Then, he geared up for a counterattack.  With a frightening speed and competency, he swung at me with his left arm. At the last moment, I ducked under the attack, grabbing a nearby discarded trash can lid in the process. Right as his arm passed by, I jumped up and slammed the side of the lid into the side of his head. The man flinched and lowered a bit in response to the attack, giving me the opportunity to lift the lid and slam it down like an axe. That one landed, causing him to stumble back.  But even with that monster blow, I was experienced enough to know that he was far from defeated. This guy would take all my attention. Best to first deal with the two looming fighters regaining their senses every second. I rushed over towards them, making my way past the civilians on the ground. As I charged Xia, he readied an attack at me.  Xia tried throwing a right hook at my charging figure. However, he mistimed it. Right before I got into range I paused, but Xia took the swing anyways; now off-kilter, I rushed forwards and slammed him in the gut with a kick to his right side. Then I pushed past him, hoping to make an attack on his sister... but of course, she was ready for me.  She swung her metal bat from the upper-left quadrant, meaning the blow would land in the lower right quadrant. I ducked over to the left, and the weapon barely missed the side of my head. Instead of considering how close I just came to imminent death, I punched Jia squarely in the side of the chest. With this moment of opportunity, I continued by giving her a straight punch to the nose.  She stumbled backwards, but I heard a sound from behind. Xia had recovered, ready to strike back at me. No sooner had I noticed this than Jia took a step forwards, ready to strike at me again. ...Rock and a hard place.  Xia, strangely enough, was going for an uppercut punch. Jia was going to swing her bat at me. In a brilliant instant, I realized what I had to do: nothing. Well... not quite true, I moved out of the way of the incoming attacks. But then, in the center where I once stood, Jia's bat connected with Xia's fist. He howled in pain, and she recoiled, realizing what she had just done. That recoil was all I needed – I jumped up and kicked her right in the stomach. I then pushed off her body, using the momentum to power my punch at Xia's face. I didn't stop moving in that direction after the punch connected, however. Instead, I charged straight past, at Fang. At this point, the man had fully recovered, and was making his way over to deal with me. I couldn't have that. With this many opponents, I needed to stay on the offensive, making them react to me. Fang saw – perhaps expected – my charge, and prepared to retaliate in turn.  Fang's arms outstretched wide, prepared to grab onto me the moment I got within range. I... gently caress, there wasn't a good counterattack. Anything I did, this man would take in stride, then proceed to restrain me.  Meanwhile, in the corner of my eye, I noticed Zaochi, the one with a gun, was fumbling with something in his pocket. I didn't have time to tango with Fang. I just leaped low past him, avoiding his attempt to grab me. I almost lost my footing in this maneuver, but persisted in my run at Zaochi. He noticed my charge, let out a slight yelp, and put up his arms to try and block my attack.  Zaochi braced for a punch... but I didn't throw a punch. I just slammed into him with the full weight of my body. This completely broke his guard, and after I took a step back the kick I sent at his head connected easily. I could've continued to bully this punching bag for a while, but I noticed the bigger problems I had. I turned around and, sure enough, right in front of me Fang stood, fists clenched. To my right, Jia and Xia were just as close, both aiming to take a swing at me. Zaochi on my left would only stay stunned for so long. poo poo, too many enemies, too many possible attacks... What to do...? What could I do? My brain was in overdrive.  Too many opponents, too many factors. Needed an out, but where? ...There! Between Fang and Xia, there was enough space. I launched my body into a low dive, and got through the opening while avoiding the attacks of both parties. I kept running a few more feet, before reaching the alley's other wall. I came to a running turn, but at this point, I was faced with a very similar sight. Fang was upon me, Xia right behind him. Jia was flanking my left, and back to the right, Zaochi was still fumbling with his gun. poo poo, I'd have to deal with that. I was starting to feel a bit fatigued... but I was far from out of the fight. What's the next thing I sh– [You won 7 chips!] [BGM: Silence]  That's enough!Suddenly, Yi shouted out, catching everybody's attention. drat it, I had completely forgotten about him! He had his blade around the neck of that white-haired girl I saw whispering to Krish earlier. She was quite understandably frightened. Impressive show, hoodie, but I think it's time for you to put it to rest... or else there's going to be more examples than necessary to get the point across.I grimaced. This was bad...  Honestly, that was quite a display – golf claps all around. But I'd wager you're an experienced enough fighter to know you're picking a losing battle. So why don't you spare my men some dignity and just call it quits here? Keep roughing them up and you're going to start giving some of them self-esteem issues. I wanted to argue back, but the truth of the matter was that Yi was correct. I was surrounded by experienced armed thugs. The element of surprise had propelled me for a while in that fight, but they had all come back to their senses. Frankly, I doubt I could take Fang down even in a one-on-one setting. Factor in that fat bastard and the wonder twins nipping at my heels, and I've no chance. And as Yi already pointed out... unintended casualties were too risky a factor. Tch. If only these sheep would do something. If any of them had been paying attention, they'd have remembered that a pistol was flung over Jia and Xia's heads earlier. With them out of the way and with Zaochi unarmed, getting your hands on that pi stol would get you instant control over the situation. Or hell, just run away, get out of here! This was the problem with Krish's plan from the beginning; it relied on bringing a bunch of people together. But people lose their efficiency in a group, rather than gain it. Most persons are smart. People are dumb as hell. Better to handle things yourself... or employ others intelligently. ...Well, that was besides the point. Fact of the matter was, I had lost. Game over. Reluctantly, I got on my knees. Yi smirked. Well now, looks like we should've been paying more attention to the New Guy in town after all. So then–And just then, Yi paused... because he heard what we all heard. [BGM: Trick Score]  The faint, faint sound of an approaching siren. In an instant, I could feel the fear that had slowly begun to build in my gut dissipate. Thank God. I had stretched just enough time out to save our asses. See, this is why you need to be smart when deploying your trump cards. Sometimes you really do need all the utility you can squeeze out of the situation before you bring them in. While Krish and the others looked relieved, Yi looked incredibly frustrated. For a moment he paced nervously, then threw his hands up in defeat. Fine, fine, fine, you guys have clearly gotten the point. I think this little demonstration has made it crystal clear that this whole endeavor is a dumb loving idea. Listen – we all know your faces. We'll know your names. Don't start poo poo, keep your head low, and all of us will be doing just fine. ...Now, scram.Yi brushed his hand away, shooing the crowd down the alleyway. As he did this, his members reluctantly made their way to the doorway Jia and Xia had been waiting in earlier. Many of the gathered crowd didn't need to hear Yi's advice twice. They scurried away, certain to never cross the Duats again. However, quite a few were unsure of what to do, and just stood there dazed. Well... some of them stood there dazed.  Hey, hold on, why should we be running? Y'all, we're the victims in all of this! The cops are on our side! There's no need to run! We should stay! This is an opportune chance!At this, Yi scowled. However, before he could speak up, I did.  Drop it Krish. They're saving our asses, we'll call that a win. For real?Krish looked confused and a little hurt by my suggestion. I was just being practical. Yi just made a big deal about how the Duats strike back, and we didn't know who or how many were coming to our 'aid'. At the very least, I doubt staying would do us much good, and it had the potential to just get us in more poo poo. The tactical thing was to just flee. You heard what your friend said, Krish. Scram!Krish hesitated, then began to begrudgingly jog down the alley. And with them, the rest of the group followed. Yi gave me a curt nod, and then began to walk towards the door the others had fled to. ...Which meant he wasn't looking at me. … [BGM: Silence]  I told the others to get out of here, but I didn't say anything about what I'd be doing. As quietly as I could, I scaled the exact same drain pipe and settled on the exact same balcony scaffolding as I had before. You might think it was dumb to pull the exact same move twice in a row... but that was probably why they wouldn't expect me to do the exact same thing. ...Maybe. Eh, worst comes to worst, from my position... I scanned the surroundings. Sure enough, there was a nearby fire escape I could jump to at my height. I could use that to make my escape, and could easily get away pretty risk free. Yeah, it was worth the risk to start spying. After frankly far too long, I saw a police officer coming down the alley. They'd likely parked nearby. It was a balding, slightly fidgety man.  He walked down the alley at a brisk pace, with his right hand clearly placed atop his holster. Further down the alley stood Yi. He nonchalantly leaned against the door his comrades had exited through. A bold move, staying around, but perhaps an understandable one. Was this standard procedure?  S-so, Yi, funny to see you here. A pleasure, Seth. You know I'm not here just for fun. There was a, uh, a call placed. A report. Said there was a major situation here, big incident of, erm, gang violence or something. A big beatdown. Oh? Sounds positively dreadful. Yeah, well, sounds a little far-fetched. But hearing about gang violence, I was sent to, you know... check it out. So then, well, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this report, would you? I figure I would. You would? And why's that? Why, because I was inciting that gang violence. Inciting gang violence, well, that's just not good at all. Did you know that's a crime? Is it? It is. Which means it's my job to haul you into the station.The two stared each other down for a beat. Then, without looking behind him, Yi knocked on the door. Coast's clear, boys.[BGM: The Gungniri]  I loving knew it. Zaochi, Jia, Xia, and Fang all made their way back into the alley. Seth didn't look particularly troubled by this, until Zaochi began getting in his face.  The gently caress, Seth? You totally frigging ruined everything! We were in the middle of doing our poo poo, and then you came and we totally had to break it up! You were practically interfering in Duat business!Seth's gaze dropped down.  Oh dear, oh dear, I'm s-s-so sorry about that, really, I hate to offend... If there's anything, I mean, anything I could do to–As he was saying this, Seth nervously put a hand on Zaochi's shoulder. Then, in the middle of his sentence, Seth pulled down hard on the back of Zaochi's neck and lifted his left knee with a fury. It made solid contact, landing a pretty gnarly looking blow on Zaochi. Immediately, he covered his nose with his hand, trying to soften the pain. However, just as soon as he did that, Seth also covered Zaochi's face with his hand, pushing him back. He stumbled over and landed square on his back.  You're seriously pinning this on me, dipshit? How the gently caress was I supposed to know what the hell was going on? You should be thanking your lucky stars I was able to get clearance to handle that report! A-and also, you know, how long does it take for you guys to do your drat jobs? I took so many detours on my way here it took me twice as long to arrive than it would for any standard officer.Yi put his hands up diplomatically. Relax, relax. Nobody here's trying to criticize you, you're doing just fine. Ignore Zao over there, he's a dipshit.Zaochi didn't look too pleased to be both injured and insulted in such a short time frame, but he also surely wasn't going to bring that up now. Honestly, I feel as though, as though you guys don't appreciate the risks I'm taking. You're appreciated! Everyone appreciates you. Hey, Seth? You're doing great.Yi held out a thumbs up. Oh, bite me. Well, if it hadn't been clear beforehand, that little conversation was the final nail. Seth was as dirty as they came - a Duat agent, in the police force. Shifty little poo poo. Still, this was really a blessing. They clearly didn't realize I was here. So if I could get a recording of this conversation... I patted my pocket, and instantly a bolt of horror jolted through my spine. Where's my phone? I looked around the scaffolding, then around the alley, and then... then I saw it. Oh you have got to be loving kidding me. I spotted my phone, lying facedown in the alley; it must've fallen out of my pocket at some point during the brawl. Go gently caress yourself, God – not even a little bit funny. ...Whatever. Even if I couldn't get proof, I'd have to settle for info. Ahh, this was really loving annoying. So, I can't help but notice that your guys were already a bit roughed up before I got here; what's that about? Ah, that... To be honest, it was a complete blindside. There's a newcomer in town that came in for the save. A newcomer? I mean, I have to assume. Never really got a great look at 'em, what with the hoodie and the fighting and whatnot, but those arm tattoos, they were pretty drat distinctive. They were black and swirly... ringing any bells? What, someone in a hoodie with arm tattoos? Yeah, funnily enough, that's not ringing any bells.  All right, smartass, I get it.Yi took a cigarette out of his pocket, and held it out to Fang. Fang took out another lighter and lit it for Yi. Okay then. Guess I'll have to look into our mystery guest myself. And then, depending on what I figure out, I suppose I'll handle it. Please, don't tell me what I don't need to know. Hey, I'm not saying anything specific. But in all seriousness, can you just, you know find someone like that? It's a small city. Duats got eyes in more places than you think. Might take a bit, but you really can't hide for long. And then... you know. Unfortunately.  God, it's really a sick profession you dabble in. Oh? You think you're much better? I'm n-not talking about morals or anything. I'm talking about like, having the stomach for it and all. I mean, to do what you do... Pretty sure I'd get stomach ulcers. Yeah, well, you're you. No, I think most people without a craving for violence would react similarly. No no, I really do think it's a you thing. Whatever. Look, think of it like this. To even get here, I had to pretty brutally betray the trust of someone who looked up to me. And you know how much guilt I felt about doing that? None? Not an ounce....Easy, easy. Have to keep my composure. So when you put it in that context... Breaking a few bones or whatever? Child's play. I guess, I guess. So... was it worth it? Might've been if you didn't break things up so quickly. I told you– Easy, easy, just messing with you. You really are wound up like a screw, huh? Tighter. Three guesses why. Uh huh, uh huh. Anyways, I think for the most part the point was made. People by and large take the easy way out... that is, unless they're spurred to action. And that's where I have my concerns.  You're talking about Krish?It had been a minute since anyone but Yi or Seth had spoken up. To Jia, Yi nodded solemnly. Kid has real spirit. I mean that. It's the type that can cause a problem... and at the moment, Krish certainly has the motive and the fire to cause trouble. So I figure it's my duty to get a handle on that before it spirals into anything else. To start with, I need to actually find the brat. And then? ...I don't know. I'm hoping Krish will listen to reason. Could be a useful addition to the roster, someone with that many ties to Panthea's community. Do you really think Krish is likely to flip?At this, Yi took a real pause. He took a long puff from his cigarette... then, he dropped it to the ground and put it out with his foot. ...Suppose not. All right then. Guess we gotta kill 'em.I could feel my heart sink. It's a shame, a proper shame I'm telling you... but that's just how it goes. So you're looking for this Krish to be dealt with? Feels like that's how it has to happen. All right then. I know of this Krish... if it's necessary, I could... 'make a mistake', you know? Loud and clear, loud and clear. Well, good to know you're on our side... although you'd have to be pretty lucky to stumble upon Krish before our guys do. Right, right. That's for the best, too; don't want to deal with poo poo if I don't have to.[BGM: Silence]  The group of bastards continued to talk, but at this point it was all getting drowned out – drowned out by the buzzing in my ears. ...This was going to be difficult to navigate. ...   Once again, the cops have to come in and be a buzzkill. And just when things were getting good! Lame! gently caress you, Seth, you ruined a perfectly good show. ...Well, it was nice when it lasted – had all the key elements that create great stories. Tension, drama, tragedy... intimidation, torture, degradation... It was fantastic! I loved looking in on it. ...You did too, right? ...Kinda. Right, definitely! And of course, Vels enjoyed the scene, right? I mean, if you didn't enjoy the scene, and you had the opportunity to drop down and break it up, you'd imagine you would, right? Even if there was a logical reason not to, to just sit there and watch everything unfold... Well, either you didn't really mind what you were seeing all that much, or you're a total sociopath! ...I guess I can't clown on Vels too much, though. After all, the method worked out. Yi's quite the cool criminal, it appears. Speaking of... Look, if you take him at his word, you could maybe make the argument that he's, in some way, doing this for Krish. ...But come on, I'm hosed up and even I won't make the argument you can justify putting a hit out on someone for 'their own good'. So I guess I have to give you the win on this bet. Honestly, maybe it was a little easy? Yi was obviously sketchy. Oh well, having a few easy ones to start with is fine. It won't get easier from here. Regardless, Vels has bigger problems than you. Or, well, actually, I'd say Krish has bigger problems. Pursued by the Duats, purused by the cops... there's now a noose closing around their neck, whether they know it or not. I wonder if Vels will be able to save them? ...I wonder if Vels will choose to save them, especially if it comes at a cost? Guess we'll just have to wait and see. And with that win, we're now up to 45 chips! Which means we'll probably also be betting more come our next one, too!  In any case, it's back to our good friend 'Olif' next update...
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Aug 25, 2023 20:29
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Seth! You had one job! You're not supposed to have two! T_T Vels continues to be a mere observer. Fighting the Duats didn't lead to much since the police sirens would've broken up the event soon enough. I don't think Yi was going to do more than threaten Krish in the minute-or-less fight scene and subsequent de-escalation.
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Aug 25, 2023 22:43
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Getting some nice crossover, at least. At least now we know how much to trust Seth when we get back to Laverna.
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Aug 26, 2023 01:50
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Awww, Seth no! I liked you!
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Aug 26, 2023 01:52
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I like that Seth was like “Come on, assholes, I bought you so much time and you still do this?”
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Aug 26, 2023 02:15
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 content warning: implication of/reference to police violence [BGM: Pip Count]  Finally, I got a response email from the Devil. That had taken quite a bit of time. Well... maybe it wasn't fair to judge him so harshly. He probably had a life or something. The point was, he was responding. I opened the email and began reading.   Again, I have to apologize. At this point, I'm simply not willing to part with the evidence I have. Ah, God drat it. We were still on this. This was the problem with these conspiracy nuts – even if they had some useful poo poo, they didn't know how to make good on it. This might be a dead end after all. In full honesty, it is sort of the only fully unique card up my sleeve; a trump card, if you will. And while I admire and appreciate your quest... being honest, I've only shared a handful of emails with you. Surprise surprise – I'm a little paranoid with who I trust. At least he was self aware. Now, I'm sure in all likelihood you're exactly who you claim to be. Funnily enough, his paranoia was actually justified this time. But I can't rule out the chances you're one of “God's” agents. An... “angel”, if you will. I won't.  So for now, at least, I think I have to keep that to myself. That said, that doesn't mean I'm not willing to help. Far from it – I'd like to help in any way possible. In any way other than giving the goods, it appeared. For a moment, I wondered if he even had this evidence at all. He could just be bluffing, trying to keep my attention. Only one way to find out. Let me talk a bit about myself. You might be wondering how I get all of my information. In truth, you're not the first to reach out to me. There have actually been a number of people who have read my site and found the truth hidden behind the lies. I like to call these folks my 'Satanic Army'. It's a bit of a tongue and cheek title, but you have to admit – it's a decent bit of good branding. Fair. Well, not that this sort of group should have branding. Anyways, nobody is dedicated enough to actually do anything major on my behalf, and I prefer it that way. I don't want to drag in ordinary people above what they can handle, but they have been doing an excellent job of reporting any suspicious information whenever they find it... and I do a fair amount of investigating myself. I don't want to give too many details in the interest of protecting my privacy – again, not that I suspect you or anything. To make a long story short, I tried my hand at investigative journalism once upon a time; there was even a world where I might have worked at the Oracle. ...Unfortunately, that bastard Kane Shay turned me away – for bullshit reasons, too. The purpose of this was obvious: because I made my true intents known. Kane couldn't have someone dedicated to finding the truth on at The Oracle. That posed too big a risk, since he was safely in “God's” pocket.  Now this was just not true. After all, Kane had let Jacy work at The Oracle just fine, no problem there. Felt more likely that Kane had (accurately) pegged this guy for a conspiracy nut, and didn't want to give him the job. And now, this conspiracy nut was bitter, and roping in Kane to his conspiracies. Then again... Jacy did go missing. … I kept reading. Anyways, since I can't put my skills to work at the Oracle, now I put them to work on the website. And I'm a drat good investigative reporter – it's how I got that evidence I mentioned. So, there are some of my bona fides; now, moving on to more interesting subjects. You said that you read some of my site. However, given the quantity of work I've put out, I have to imagine that you haven't gone over the whole thing. We could try and work out how much you currently know, but I think there's a better option available. Why don't I just give you the key points to my thesis? Not the vague, emotional marching orders I put on my site – I'm talking brass tacks. The core of my argument against Panthea. That'll put us on even footing, right? Awaiting your response, The Devil Ugh. Well, Devil's proposal made sense to me – would save me the headache of having to spend any more time on that horribly ugly website of his. So explain away, Devil. I began typing up my response.   Dearest Devil, I totally understand your hesitance to show me your critical evidence. In the spirit of total honesty, I must admit it comes as something of a disappointment that I can't see it, but your wisdom in holding those cards close to your chest only redoubles my belief that you are trustworthy. I can only hope that, with enough time, I will eventually be worthy of receiving your trust – and with it, the evidence. As for your story regarding Kane Shay, I can only offer my utmost sympathies. I haven't heard anything positive surrounding that man. I can only conclude that, as you surmise, he is in the pocket of something – or someone – far larger than him. Hopefully it's through the work of determined individuals like ourselves that he will eventually get what's coming to him. I think your proposal about the summary sounds delightful; as you guessed, I haven't had the time to look into as much of your work as I rightfully should – although I seek to remedy that soon enough. In the meantime, highlighting the points you feel particularly relevant would be helpful in our discussions. Thank you for your continual help in this matter. Olif Aaaaaaaand send. Ugh. Man, I didn't like kissing this guy's rear end like that. Well, that's life. I tabbed over to the other inbox. Perhaps this conversation would be more fruitful. Turns out I had gotten my response from Chara. I opened it up and began to give it a read. [BGM: Opening Lead]   So, you want to hear some real poo poo about Olympo? Well, here's some real examples about how it's gone all to pot now. First up, could we talk about the frankly blatant nepotism going on? I mean, maybe it's something of an industry standard, but that doesn't make it any less hosed up. Their poo poo is straight up dynastical – reminds me of a monarchy. In fact, I'm pretty sure that comparison is deliberate. I think the Deismas would love nothing more than to evoke the monarchy, to think of themselves as royalty, to think of Olympo as their kingdom, to think of their employees as their bloody subjects. The company was founded by Odin's father, but after he passed at an early age Olympo was still pretty small-time, so his son inheriting and continuing the business didn't seem that bad. But then Odin turned that company into an empire, and became proper chuffed at that, beyond a healthy amount. I don't know the details well enough, but I can't imagine their growth was all that legitimate. Anyways, now Odin's practically retired, and the next CEO in line is his oldest son, Art Deisma. He's spent his whole life being taught by Odin how to run a company – learning all the worst lessons. He got a job here right out of college without even an interview, and climbed the ranks with ease. Textbook case of nepotism, probably bordering on illegal. Hmm. Nothing in what she's said has been wrong so far, but it was interesting to notice what she wasn't saying. Usually, when people lobbied the nepotism argument, Polly was the critic's weapon of choice, and yet I hadn't heard a word about him. Curious.  What really makes the family grip on the company so apparent is taking a look at their stock situation. Did you know that 75% of the company stock is owned by Deismas? That means a mere 25% is in the hands of the public. Ratios like that are unheard of, and reek of paranoia. If that doesn't make it clear that the whole thing is a dodgy family business, then I don't know what will. But okay, maybe you don't give a poo poo. Let's go monarchies. Dynasties ftw. Or, alternatively, who gives a poo poo about who's in charge? Gonna be some rear end in a top hat bigshot anyways, right? I think I can at least somewhat get behind that second response. If it was just the nepotism thing, I really wouldn't care either. The problem is, like I said, Art has learned all the worst lessons from Odin. He's been trained like a dog from birth, honed on profit above all else. This has resulted in a robotic-like rule from him. Maybe he has some empathy towards his workers... maybe. But if he does, he certainly doesn't show it; he's prioritized getting the most out of his employees by any means necessary. At times, that can be carrots – he makes sure that the place is pretty enough to feed his own ego. For the lower ranked employees, he makes sure that they get the respect that they deserve, if only cos his employees are a reflection of his. And for the higher ranked employees, he makes sure they get compensated well with salaries and bonuses, if only to keep them loyal and keep them motivated. But... that's about where his generosity ends – because if it's a matter of spending money on unseen affairs, affairs that don't seem to really affect the bottom line, he cuts corners like a pro. Because if it's the lower ranked employees, then he pays them barely minimum wage, safe in the knowledge that they can be disposed of. Because if it's the higher ranked employees, he facilitates a competitive atmosphere amongst his employees to keep them coming to him, instead of each other. His only concern is expansion – domination – no matter the cost.  If a deadline is to be hit, then people aren't going home until the work is done. If investors are visiting, everybody is to be on their best behavior. If the company's value is falling, it's everybody else's problem – and they will be paying for it. Just have a gander at the employees' faces when they leave the building, and try spotting a single happy one. Well... I think that last statement might be true of most jobs. This all sounded pretty bad, sure, but nothing particularly outstanding. However, Chara's message still wasn't done. And here's the worst part: Art wants to win no matter what. Win what? That's unclear. Initially, it was to win control of the company over his siblings, but at this point that war has long come and gone; Art is in charge, and it's not like there's a compelling other company in Panthea that really stands a chance against them. Olympo's technically a national company, but I haven't heard many plans to expand out that direction just yet. Maybe he's just trying to win Odin's respect? But, if that's the case, I almost feel bad for him... cos that's probably never going to happen. Whatever the case though, Art wants to win, and just using the overwhelming power his massive company has isn't enough – he's willing to use illegal methods to get ahead as well. Which, like, wtf mate, you've already so much at your disposal, you still feel the need to resort to lovely tactics like that? One quick example: Olympo basically has a manual on how to properly cheat government taxes. Olympo does these regular charity drives, saying they want to give back to the community, but imo its pretty clearly just for looks. If they really cared about helping the community they wouldn't be bending over backwards to give as little tax money as possible. How Aija hasn't gone and patched up the loopholes Olympo's been using to at least get some revenue from city taxes is beyond me. So yeah, all in all, pretty lovely stuff from Olympo. You can see why I'm so pissed off about it. Yeah, yeah, it sounds like a pretty bad situation. I'd definitely feel pretty outraged in her situation. ...Not outraged enough to get in a bunch of petty Kamapa arguments, but you know, to each their own. Olympo sucked, I didn't feel the need to fight that. However, there was something I thought worth saying. I clicked on the reply button and began drafting up a response.  that all deffo sounds lovely. i sympathize, i really do. id say to try changing jobs, but since you've got a pretty high ranking position, i imagine thats not really an option. props for that, btw. i mean, in this economy? especially in a job thats so competitive? thats gotta be a pretty big achievement. anyways. those are some decent horror stories. but i mean... yeah. i believe 'em. and you know why? cuz thats pretty much what corporations are like. i mean, im not trying to sound disrespectful, even tho i definitely am coming off that way LOL. but i dont think olympo is especially monstrous or anything bc of all of that. most big companies end up being real shitheels. like you said, its the natural slide, survival of the fittest. or in this case, the meanest. i bet anyone at a similarly sized company could go tit-for-tat with you on these sorts of stories. for that to not be the case, youd have to like, do some pretty large scale changes... which, fuckin go for it i guess. but as it stands, this is just one story of a bunch. and on a more practical note... i dont know what you can really do about it. i mean, i imagine if youre this passionate about things you plan to do something about it, eventually, youre not one of those hypocrites that just bitch and moan without any concrete plan to change things. so in that case, wyd? you said that art is playing an illegal game, but really, i didnt hear you actually bring up any illegal acts. like, you talked about the tax cheat thing, but you called it a loophole: loopholes =/= illegal. scummy, sure, but thats already a given. so its not like you can get them on a legal issue. i guess your best backup would be rallying for better management? keep climbing the ladder, supporting good people, ultimately aim to put someone good in the seat of power. but... if things are really as dynastical as you talked about, seems like thats p much impossible as is. maybe you could try killing art lol. so yeah, guess im just asking if you have any real plans to do something. and if you dont fair enough i guess. And send. … What was my point with all of that? I was sure I had one when I started typing up a response. Eh, whatever. It kept the conversation moving, at any rate. Well, I gave my response. Let's see if my other lead had gotten back to me. ...Well well well. A new email. And yes, it was from the Devil. Let's see what he has in store for me... [BGM: Danrasu]  Greetings, Olif. Delightful. It has been a while since I was able to truly rant about the truth of the matter to someone unenlightened. This shall be productive for us both. Now, where to begin? I suppose it is only right to start from the outside. Let us take the perspective of the most docile of sheep. Take an aerial view of Panthea. Even from here, you can see many problems with Panthea: dissatisfaction amongst the civilians, organized crime, poverty and extravagance... but you're liable to completely misdiagnose the core issue at it all. After all, from the outside, it appears as though the issues stem from the fact that the city is at war with itself. At this point, it's useful to highlight the four principal factions we will be discussing, for in Panthea, there are four groups who really lord above it all. You have Panthea's government, currently helmed by Governor Aija. You have Panthea's law enforcement, currently helmed by Chief of Police Arrianne. You have Panthea's largest company, currently helmed by CEO Art Deisma. And you have Panthea's organized crime, currently helmed by Marduk. These four groups each have their own role, and they keep different aspects of the city in check. The police threaten those who operate in the crime-filled slums, with the power to summon or withhold law enforcement at will. The Duats threaten those who live middle-class urban lives, extorting and harassing whoever they see fit. Olympo threatens those who live in the upper-class forest, the unyielding power of money and commerce to do whatever they wish. And the government rules above them all, making slow, broad unstoppable sweeps across the city with no check but the will of the people. No matter where you are in Panthea, you have to answer to at least one of these organizations. And to an untrained eye, it appears that these four powers are in an unending struggle for power.  Let's go through this in a bit more detail. At first, you'd think Aija was against them all – you'd certainly think that if you listen to her speeches. She's passed the blame to everybody but herself. She's chastised the police department for being unable to properly rein in the growing threat the Duats pose. She's classified the Duats as the biggest current threat to peaceful living in Panthea, calling people to action against them. And she's rallied against Olympo, calling them a damaging entity which hurts the small businesses of Panthea. In fairness, this much makes sense – when you're a politician who's been in power for as long as she has, you have to spread the blame everywhere else. And she certainly hasn't done anything in her run as governor that would outwardly help any of these groups... but she also hasn't really done anything to hurt any of them, either; more on that point later. Instead, let us move to the police force. Again, we have a group that seemingly has rivalries with all the other factions. “Rivalries” may be a bit harsh, but their job is to stamp out any crime. That means keeping Aija in check, making sure her campaigns and her governance is above board. That means keeping an eye on Olympo, making sure that there is no corruption or white collar crime going on over there. And they are certainly meant to be hunting down the Duats, imprisoning them and hindering them every chance they get. Once again, a faction seemingly opposed with the other three. Then look at Olympo. Olympo as a company has done no favors for the other three. They've very conspicuously failed to give Aija and her government the slightest bit of praise or support. They are hesitant to employ the police, instead always opting for their private investigators and security staff. And they've very specifically and very publicly made the choice to give no jobs to anyone affiliated with the Duats. So there you have it: Olympo distances themselves from the other three factions as well, just like the others. Finally, let us take a look at the Duats – the one most obviously at war with the other factions. For rather obvious reasons, the Duats despise the police. Olympo stores have been the target of vandalism and looting. And hell, Governor Aija was almost assassinated by a Duat member; the attempt was foiled, and the assassin jailed, but it's clear that the Duats have no love for Aija. One faction against all three. The Duats. Olympo. Aija's government. The police. They're all at odds with each other. This conflict has led to a lot of the problems we see in Panthea. ...is what you'd foolishly be misled to believe. However, we are smarter than that – we see the bigger picture. (This may be a good time to take a break and grab something to drink.) Are you following me so far? -The Devil  Man. This Devil character sure was making a compelling case. ...A compelling case against his own point. Like, everything he said tracks, that was all a bunch of established facts. ...Facts that pretty clearly show that the city isn't under one person's control. If that were the case, there sure as poo poo wouldn't be this much messiness. Where was he going with this? ...Whatever, I should just respond to keep the conversation going. I began writing up a response. Dear Ol' Devil, Thanks for typing all this up! I appreciate the effort you're putting into this. To your question, I am following along so far. Your explanation of how the city operates coincides with my current understanding of Panthea. However, it's the next step that I'm unclear on. The evidence does suggest that people are on different pages. But... that doesn't feel right. Hopefully you can clear up the truth for me. -Olif After typing that up, I hit the send button. Hopefully the Devil was actually going somewhere with all of this. I tabbed back to my Kamapa private messages. Oop, looks like Chara had sent a response. Goodie. Let's see what else she has to say. [BGM: Golden Point]  Oh wow, real insightful stuff there. 'You should do stuff about all the bad things going on'. You think I didn't already know that? Ffs. You literally just laid out why it isn't easy to do things about it. But, for whatever it's worth, no, I'm not one of those people who just bitches and moans with no plans to do anything. For what it's worth, I'm currently working on that management angle that you talked about. You're right in that it's the most straightforward angle; unfortunately, I've my doubts about how that's going to pan out. There are times I get a sinking feeling I've been putting my eggs in a faulty basket, if you catch my drift. But... I've gotta stick to my guns. So if you're just asking whether or not I have a plan, yeah, I've got a plan. Also, fyi, the tax thing isn't the only illegal thing they've done. I consider the loopholes thing basically illegal already, but I digress. You want straight up illegal though? Art hardcore insider trades – he trades information about Olympo's future business decisions for key investments from other big companies. He trades those key investments for stock in other companies. He trades that stock in other companies for information about their future business decisions. From the sound of things, he's got a whole web of trades and offers that he carefully manages – like, apparently helming a giant company isn't enough of an advantage for him. To achieve the completely dominating results in the business world he's been getting, he needs to pull out all the stops. drat. Okay, now this was juicy. This was the stuff worth my time. But then, how the hell did she know this? If she knew this, surely others would too.  I know what you're thinking. 'How do I even know this'? Well drat, she had me dead to rights. Honestly, it was a stroke of luck more than anything else. I was about to come out of the restroom at work when I overheard a conversation between Art and Odin. He was discussing the whole thing with Odin – possible risks, the rewards, et cetera. Apparently not even the people he's been dealing with know that he's the one behind all of this. As far as other companies are concerned, this is the work of a rogue higher-up at Olympo. And guess what else? Not only do I know all this damning info, I even know where the damning evidence is kept. Art does all these dealings on a burner laptop kept in office. I went and found it myself – he keeps it in this table drawer. Perks of being at the office, I suppose; beats the posh atmosphere, at any rate. So yeah, I wouldn't call Olympo 'just another morally bankrupt company'. I mean, I guess I don't doubt other morally bankrupt companies also do this. But at the very least, Olympo are actually doing illegal stuff, and their success can, in some large part, be chalked up to some cheating. Well... not like I care about that aspect of it so much – as far as I'm concerned, all large companies are cheating in the market. All right, okay, this was what I was talking about. This was some actually interesting information, some useful poo poo. This, this was exciting. I hurriedly started drafting up a response.  drat ok lol. yeah thats a bit more weighty. first things first, sorry about the tone of my last message (and most of my messages thinking back lol). was just trying to get info. curious about your management plan, but if you didnt elaborate I assume thats for a good reason. but about that laptop... i mean, im probably pointing out the obvious here, but if youre looking to change olympo isnt that a prime opportunity? seems like getting your hands on that info would be a big get. like thats gotta be incriminating, and you clearly already have the hax0r skills to crack a burner laptop. you even know where it is! just grab it and go. when you get to safety, break open the laptop, then send the info to the police and its bye bye art. or hey, maybe you use that info yourself to rake in the $$$ B) After giving my response a once over, I hit send. Again, I was sort of pointing out the obvious, but hopefully I was also moving the conversation forwards, and that counted for something. Speaking of conversations moving forwards... Time to check my email. And hey... there it was, a response from the Devil. [BGM: The Gungniri]  Ah, Olif. Let us just cut straight to the heart of the matter, shall we. As I've laid out, it appears to the untrained eye that the four factions are at war with each other. But really, the things they levy against each other are, ultimately, weak – they appear more like token gestures than anything else. Aija talks about the police being incompetent, but does nothing else. Aija talks about Olympo being damaging, but does nothing else. Aija talks about the Duats being a threat... but does nothing else. The police, meanwhile, claim to investigate Aija, but no one on her staff has been arrested. They claim to investigate Olympo, but no one on the payroll has been arrested. The police even claim to investigate the Duats, but the group continues to expand. Olympo speaks against Aija, hires their own security and investigators, refuses to take on people affiliated to the Duats – but does nothing else. And the Duats are against the police, but when was the last time you heard about a cop actually being killed by them? How is vandalism and property damages the best the Duats can do against Olympo? And the Duats are against Aija, but why was the assassination attempt they carried out against her so easily foiled? You have to look beyond appearances. At the core, these gestures are merely that: gestures. When you want to establish where people's true allegiances lie, you have to look far deeper, far closer – you have to examine their actual actions. Technically speaking, most of the things that the Devil has brought up until this point have been actions, but I got the gist of what he was saying.  So then, what do the actions suggest? Let's start with Governor Aija. Vocally, she is against the current police force, but there is a detail she routinely fails to mention: it is Panthea's governor that appoints the Chief of Police. And the Chief of Police is pretty much the unimpugnable head of the police. This means the head of one faction is directly responsible for appointing the head of the other. Tell me, does it seem remotely conceivable that Aija could actually be against Arrianne, considering that? Next, let's look at the police. They haven't found anything on Aija, haven't found anything on Olympo – big whoop. Maybe they're all clean, but there's one group that is definitely not clean, and that's the Duats. The Duats, meanwhile, are currently unopposed. Do you know how they won the war? Not through bloodshed... or, at least, not through bloodshed alone – the police ended up cracking down and catching several high-profile members of the Shikome, and most of those members ended up committing 'suicide' in jail. How, then, did the Shikome get wiped out like this, while the Duats still run amok today? If you ask me, I'd say that the Duats sold the Shikome out to the police, that those two groups already had a point of contact. Would explain why the Duats are bigger than ever right now. It's a better explanation than just chalking it all up to incompetence. Now, onto the Duats. Vandalism, property damage? What is that poo poo? Low tier stuff for a group like the Duats, complete nonsense. They're bigger than that. Or they should be, at any rate. The Duats are strangling pretty much every business in Panthea, with one key exception... Olympo seems to be doing just fine, hasn't ever been the victim of something major. Is it because Olympo is so big and powerful that even the Duats are worried about rubbing them the wrong way? But Olympo has pretty clearly disrespected them with the 'no Duat affiliated hires' policy... that's not something that would be allowed to pass, even when you're bigshot Olympo. That's not the gang way. The only reason Olympo can get away with poo poo like that is if there's something more going on between the two groups. Speaking of, Olympo. You know how little they pay in taxes? You know how much of that is due to the tax loopholes they exploit? Tax loopholes that could easily be patched up if Governor Aija gave half a drat! So why doesn't she? Big company like Olympo, she should be counting on a paycheck from them. Except... what if she already has? You look into Aija's campaign finances, there's a whole lot of fog of war going on. Whole lot of major donations from shell organizations – it's hard to follow the money. And above all else, you should always follow the money. I feel pretty confident that Olympo is actually financing Aija's campaigns, and maybe giving her a little something something on the side.  So, to recap. On the face of it all, four factions look opposed; however, in reality, Aija is the one who appointed Arrianne, the leader of the police; in reality, the police seem to have worked with the Duats in the past, and aren't reigning them in now; in reality, the Duats seem to be deliberately targeting everybody but Olympo, and Olympo seems to be financing Aija's campaigns. They're actually all propping each other up! Which brings me to my final point: did you know that last Wednesday, Aija, Arrianne, Marduk, Art, and Kane were all unaccounted for at night time? What if they were going to a monthly in-person meeting to discuss things? A six person meeting – the five Archangels, and the God. Aaaaaaaand here was where he started to lose me. This was the problem with conspiracy theorists, they always had to take things one step too far. Like, big surprise you don't know where a mob boss and a rich executive and a governor are doing on any given night. And there's no reason to wrap Kane Shay into any of this except for the clear and obvious grudge that you have towards him. Of course it had to all be the work of a single, omnipotent 'God'. It was this sort of thinking that made the whole idea look stupid. Meanwhile, the Devil did have a very salient point buried in there. There were clear connections, contradictions between the big powers in Panthea; the issue was assuming that it was one single, well-thought out web. Life is too messy for that. More likely, these contradictions the Devil were seeing were the result of individual incidents, unseen causes and effects, and personal decisions. Pinning all these effects on a single cause was a hollow attempt to try and simplify things in a digestible way. Hopefully, with this explanation, you start to see where I'm coming from. From there, we can begin to work on the next steps. I eagerly await your response, - The Devil Alright, well. I had to keep the dialogue going. Let's see here...  Dearie me, Devil, I never really looked at it that way. However, everything you said matches my information – I'm surprised I didn't put things together like you have. I'm surprised more people haven't rejected this 'clashing factions' view very clearly being propped up as a sham. If you actually look at who benefits, it's clear that each of these groups stand to gain something from the other. It's simple globalization. Sometimes life is a zero-sum game, but more often then not it isn't. Working with others is often the best way to get what you want. It's like that old childhood moral of 'the true power is teamwork', but taken to its logical – and darkest – extreme. When they stand united, they all stand to gain, while the rest of us lose out. It's clear to me now. So I guess my next question is pretty obvious: Who is the God? I mean, to control all these factions, you'd have to be pretty influential, right? I can't imagine that the 'Angels' as you put it all bow to just some nobody. So then, who do you think is pulling the strings? Interested to hear your thoughts on this, -Olif And send. All righty then. Back to Kamapa. And, like clockwork, Chara had sent a response. I was really getting into the rhythm of switching between the simultaneous back and forth rallies – it was just an advanced form of swapping between personas. So, what did Chara have to say... [BGM: Doubling Cube]  Oh wow, great idea! Why didn't I think of that??? /s Okay, well, no need to get mean about it. I already said you had probably thought of it! ...Forget it, just keep reading. Obviously I'd like to get my hands on that laptop. If I did, cracking it open would be child's play – Art isn't some technical whiz, probably has super barebone digital security. And the stuff on that computer would definitely put him away... or, failing that, still do damage to him. At the very least it'd make Odin reconsider his faith in Art. But there's one major problem in that sentiment: I'd have to get my hands on the laptop. Say what you will about Art, but he's really anal about security. Especially on that floor. I could get the laptop, sure, but getting it out? Not a chance in hell, not without some serious bribery or conspiracy or whatever. And I've not the slightest idea how I'd start that. Should... Chara really be telling me all of this? Well, in fairness to her, she probably thought of me as the void. As far as she was concerned, I had no dog in this race. Still, it was an unnecessary risk on her end – spoke to a general attitude of carelessness on her part.  Here's the funny thing about the whole thing. I've actually got a pretty good idea of how I could get the data out of the building. It's a really solid plan imo, could definitely work. Problem is, it's a two-person job, meaning that I'd need a partner for it to work. Wouldn't need to be somebody at the company, mind you – anybody would do. But that's not the only issue. If they figured out that the data was stolen, which they very well could, then they'd be able to narrow it down to people with a certain clearance level. Not too many people that have my level. Then they'd look for any visitors to the Olympo main building... if anybody affiliated with me came by during that time, it'd be curtains for me, they'd put two and two together. And I mean it, Art is serious about this poo poo. I've heard rumors he's even got a personal investigative team. And for data that'd put him behind bars? He'd pull out all the stops, thoroughly vet everybody. Anybody close enough to me that would help with something like this would be figured out. That right there is the final issue – I'd need the help of somebody close to me to commit a serious crime. If I was caught, I wouldn't get the book thrown at me, I'd get it launched at me from a pitching machine. It would be a baaaaaaad deal. And I think I'd be willing to take that risk, I'm fed up enough with this poo poo to go for it. But getting other people involved? Idk. I don't think I could risk it. I don't want to bring somebody down with me. So, tl;dr: I'd love to steal that laptop, but right now, it just doesn't look possible. [BGM: Silence]  … I read Chara's message a total of four times. Then I thought really hard. This was... a bad idea, most certainly. A really, really bad idea. Or... was it? … Eh, gently caress it. Let's just throw it out there.  so, to pull off this heist, you'd need the aid of somebody you're not affiliated with. somebody there's no way they could connect you to. somebody that you wouldn't feel bad about getting involved. somebody crazy enough to try a caper like this with no promise of a tangible reward for their help. thats a pretty tough recipe. but, if you really want to take a shot at olympo, and youre willing to get your hands dirty/take real risks... ...why not recruit me? … [BGM: Silence]  Oh man, what a scene! So much to discuss, huh? Well, let's get the bet out of the way first. You knew Ms. Tucker was genuine. Bully for you. Have your rightly-won chips. All right, now that that's out of the way, I've got to s– … What? …  Uh, this is awkward. I actually have to dip for a bit. Something needs my attention. You can go on without me though. Don't worry, I'll catch up to you, it'll be fine. ...Next update, let's see what's going on with Mercury's adventure aboard the Mandjet.
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Aug 30, 2023 01:27
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...Look I'm sure Olif's route has some actual interesting bits in there but I think the developers could have done something more interesting with the formatting there. Without any portraits or even real scene changes, it's just a lot of text that I just glazed over. Maybe it plays out more interestingly when you're actually playing the game and reading it in real time, but I was already wanting a TLDR by the second conversation with the Devil.
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Aug 30, 2023 01:36
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Maaaan Laverna's twin really is unlikable compared to herself.
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Aug 30, 2023 07:58
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I would like to remind people that we've met Chara in person before, during Lock 1:
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Aug 30, 2023 08:06
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Well, Olif is still insufferable but at least that's some interesting info about the laptop situation and I guess he gets some credit for his willingness to get involved in a way that isn't just shitposting and feeling superior. He definitely loses points for only just figuring out that the politician, crime syndicate, police and mega-corporation are all working together.
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Aug 30, 2023 11:33
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It's a weird section for sure. I'd love to know if it feels more or less different than usual VN pacing from someone whose played it. Now, crazy conspiracy time (Zodiac Trial spoilers). To control all these factions, you'd need something pretty impressive to break the ice at least. Like a SD card full of super-blackmail. So is this what Mouse does with all their winnings?
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Aug 30, 2023 12:34
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 [BGM: Crawford Game]  So there I was, crawling in a vent, on a ghost ship, middle of the night, masked assassin right behind me. I'd take the time to retrace the steps that led me to this situation if it weren't for the fact that I was very much still in danger. It was difficult to crawl through a vent with any sense of urgency. Forwards, forwards, forwards. It was tight and it was cramped and it was uncomfortable – but as far as I was concerned, it was a tunnel to safety, so I took it. *pow!* Extremely loudly, another bullet fired through into the vent. I wasn't able to estimate exactly how close the bullet had come to impacting me; however, from the sound of it, it wasn't far behind. Then again, I was unclear how accurate a metric that was, as the sound of the gunshot echoed all around this vent, extremely loudly. ...Whatever, let's just say the gunshots were right on my rear end. Probably a safer assumption to make. Keep scooting, keep scooting... to what end, I wasn't sure. Didn't have time to consider those thoughts. Had to just keep moving in a forwards direction, best I could. *pow!* Another gunshot, gently caress. Thane could run faster than I could crawl, and thanks to the noise I was making it was clear where I was at any given time. What initially seemed to be a saving grace was looking less and less like a viable option of escape. If things stayed the course, I'd have a bullet in me in no time flat... and once that happened, I'd be dead.  Think, think, think! There were very few situations in life that couldn't be solved through being clever enough, and this wasn't one of them. Sure the odds were, to perhaps a comical level, stacked against me; 99 times out of 100, I would die on this boat. But if there was one thing I hated in life, it was treating something within your grasp as impossible. I had outs right now – the question was if I'd be able to find them or not. So... to the task at hand: what was the core problem? Thane was faster than me. Thane knew where I was. Thane wanted to shoot me with his gun. Those three things combined spelled bad news, pretty clearly... to survive, I'd have to topple one of those tenants. Given the current situation, convincing Thane to not shoot me with a gun, especially from up in this vent, seemed unlikely. I also didn't know any “pro-vent moving strats”, so that ruled that option out. What I was left with, then, was stopping Thane from knowing where I was. He only knew where I was because I was making a lot of noise. So... time to stop that. Well, I didn't have great hopes with the plan I had just concocted, but it was the best I could come up with in the few seconds since the last shot. As quickly as I could without interrupting my momentum, I took off one of my shoes. Then, with a ton of force, I tossed it ahead. It bounced along the vent walls, making a ton of noise. For my part, I stopped in my tracks; in fact, I began to very slowly, very silently, move forwards. The shoe only bounced and made noise for a few seconds before it stopped. And then?  Silence. Thane had no idea where I was at this point. If I stayed silent, it would stay this way... and, like I had realized earlier, he had a limited number of bullets on him. If he just wanted to go crazy shooting up the whole vent searching for me, that'd be a hard task. So then... was I safe? *pow!* I got my answer in the form of a bullet breaking through the vent – except it was far, far down the vent. There was a lot of distance between myself and where that gunshot had hit. ...Huh? How badly had Thane judged my positioning? Quite severely, it seemed. Still, that seemed too far to be a reasonable shot– *pow!* Another bullet shot fired through the vent, a second or two later, just a bit closer than the last. Huh? I was getting confused now. What was Thane's play here? *pow!* When another shot was fired – an equal amount of time between shots as last time, an equal amount of space closer – I got the drift. Oh gently caress. Thane didn't think I had made it that far. He was just defining an outer bounds; the farthest I could possibly be. *pow!*  And now he would slowly, methodically, walk forwards, firing every other second, until he came to where I hid. I'd be struck, and even if I was just glanced, I'd make a noise – and then I'd be hosed. The vent wasn't big enough to try and dodge the bullet... so, what to do? My instinct was to turn around and start hurrying in that direction, but there were a bunch of problems with that idea. For one, turning around fully in this vent would likely pose a larger problem than I expected. More importantly, moving back the other direction would just put me in the same position as before. *pow!* Except this time it would be even worse. See, going forwards, it wasn't far until a turn in the vent – and that turn represented, as far as I was aware, a turn past a wall, a place where Thane couldn't directly follow. I don't know how well Thane knew the architecture of the ship, but regardless, keeping up with me once the vent was going across walls would be incredibly difficult. On the other hand, behind me was just a straight shot for a long time; enough time for Thane to catch up and put a bullet through my chest. *pow!* But what other option did I have? The bullets continued to come with very little time apart, very little distance apart. He'd definitely hit me at this rate, definitely, definitely. *pow!*  Jesus Christ, this was terrifying. I could feel the sweat on my forehead beginning to build up; I needed to make sure it didn't hit the bottom of the vent and give me away. *pow!* What was truly frightening was how robotic this process was. How robotic Thane was. I'd been calling him a demon, but a cyborg comparison felt more apt – he was precise, and he was deadly. *pow!* Same time between each shot. Same distance between each shot. Like he was running on a program. Wait a second... *pow!* That was it! This mechanical nature of his, it wasn't thoroughness, it was weakness. It made him painfully predictable, and I could deal with predictable. *pow!*  The timing on this was going to be incredibly tight. Like, insanely tight, ordinarily too tight to count on. But my senses were heightened... and it was do-or-die. My only way out was through – literally. *pow!* So then, measure the time, measure the distance. This was all happening too quick to actually try measuring those things out with actual numbers or anything; I'd just have to feel it in my gut, get a feel for it. *pow!* That last bullet was close... really close. Not much time left before it was time to go. *pow!* Okay, running position... scooch a little forward... Next bullet– *pow!*  Right as I heard the bullet, I pushed forwards. As the bullet was breaking through the vent, I was moving towards it... and when it hit the top of the vent, my head was already under it. My feet were pushing forwards as fast as I could, practically running sideways. Push along the vent with my arms, with my legs. Forwards, forwards, forwards! *pow!* Clearly, I had caught Thane unawares. It took him a second to react to the sudden noise, and because of that he was a bit too slow on the draw. Faster, faster, keep running! I caught up to my thrown shoe and scooped it up with a hand – and kept moving. Honestly, my first instinct was to just abandon it and soley focus on moving forwards, but I couldn't completely abandon the bigger picture; being without a shoe would likely hurt me further down the line... and I planned on making it to further down the line.  Up ahead, the vent turned left. *pow, pow, pow!* Right behind me, Thane was still letting off a volley of shots, but none of them were connecting. I stayed with the vent, moving left while maintaining as much of my momentum as I could manage. In theory, this moved me away from where Thane could reach, but I didn't feel like letting up. I kept moving and moving, no idea where I was in relation to anything. The only thing I could tell was that there were no more gunshots being fired. A bit further ahead, the vent turned to the right. Without much choice, I continued in that direction. Faster, faster. ...Was that another loose grating? That thought crossed my mind right as I came atop it – probably would've been better to acknowledge that sooner. Before I even knew what was happening, I felt my center of mass begin to fall. gently caress! With a loud clattering, the grate I'd ran over fell to the ground, and right after it– *thud!* So, too, did I. That wasn't good. Instantly I looked around to ascertain my surroundings. [BGM: Silence]  I was in a small, empty room. Cool, didn't need any other details for now. Instantly, I rushed over and put my body weight directly against the door. I did this primarily for two reasons. First of all, looking at the door's window, it would be difficult to see me at this angle from looking in. ...I mean, I guess if you specifically tried looking directly behind the door, you could probably see part of my body, but if it got that far I was already screwed. Secondly, if Thane did hear that and was running right towards the door, this would help me fend him off – I could try and keep the door closed by pushing against it. It was far from an elegant or permanent solution, but it might buy myself a bit more time. So that's why I kept pushing against that door. And then I waited... and waited... My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. Why this approach, instead of just running straight out? Well, the way I saw it, there were about three distances Thane could be from where I'd fell and impacted. They could be very close to the fall; in that case, running out would likely have me running directly into Thane, which would result in a bullet in me – Bad End. He could be somewhat nearby, but not super close; in this case, if I haphazardly started running out, I wouldn't know what direction he was... so, again, I ran the risk of encountering Thane and getting shot – Bad End, Again. Finally, Thane could be a good distance from the fall; in that case, right now they still weren't sure where I was. If I just waited for a bit, I would be safe. So... I just waited for a bit. [BGM: Furiten]  And after a minute or two, I determined we were in that third situation. I had, more or less, finally lost Thane. Excellent. This was ideal for me. I mean... as ideal as this situation could be. I still had to... gently caress, what was my endgame here? I hadn't had the time to really think that far ahead yet. Well, while I was hiding, now was that time. Way I saw it, there were three general strategies I could try, though they didn't necessarily overlap with each other. First, I could try just waiting it out until daytime. On the one hand, it felt sort of unlikely that Thane would willingly take the ship back to the dock while there was still a liability like me aboard... but then again, I didn't know how a lot of aspects of this operation worked. This was a fairly large ship, clouded in secrecy. There was the possibility that Thane and whoever else owned this ship simply didn't have the option of keeping it out in the middle of the ocean indefinitely. And if it was just a matter of hiding and staying alive, well, there was a lot of space. Still, this plan didn't feel great. ...Unfortunately, none of these plans felt great. Plan two certainly didn't feel great: it was to somehow steer the ship to dock myself. Did I know where the steering controls of the ship were? Well, no. Did I know how to steer a ship? No. Was it likely that the people aboard this ship would take kindly to me sailing it right back to shore? No. That last bit was the biggest hurdle... but it also might not be, considering plan three: Eliminate all other threats on the ship. ...I use the word “eliminate” broadly, but in all likelihood I'd have to kill them – though, incapacitation would be ideal. Regardless, this almost felt like the least likely option of the three; Thane certainly didn't look easy to get the jump on, and, more upsettingly, I had no idea if Thane was even the only “threat” aboard. So far it seemed as such, but with an operation like this I could easily see there being more people involved. I still hadn't accounted for those footsteps I'd heard above deck. If the screams were real, those probably were as well... Not an optimistic situation, to be sure. But if I wanted any chance of survival, I needed to bank on one – or more – of these tactics. As far as I could tell, some combination of these three plans was my best out.  ...Okay, that's enough hiding. Honestly this little break was more for my own benefit than a strategic reason, but I couldn't just stay here the whole time. Even if I did want to angle for Option 1, hiding in a random room like this would probably backfire before too long. ...Though first, I crawled over, grabbed my shoe off the ground, and put it back on. Great. Then, veeeery slowly, I opened the door. ...God, these doors creak. I entered the hallway, gingerly placing one foot after another. There. I was in the hallway. ...Now what? … Silence. I didn't hear... anything. What on Earth? Surely I should be hearing at least something at this point. Had Thane just stopped looking for me? Or was he in another part of the ship entirely? Neither option felt promising. Well... the only way out is through, I suppose; had to start moving at some point. I mean, I could keep hiding, but again, probably a bad idea.  Slowly, very slowly, I made my way through the metal halls. At each corner, I made sure to quickly pop my head out to check if there was somebody around the bend – Thane, specifically. However, I kept lucking out, and I didn't run into him. Lucky me. I kept slowly making my way through this iron coffin. God, now that I was no longer in immediate danger, that good ol' paranoia was beginning to kick back into gear. Thoughts – mindless thoughts, illogical thoughts – started flooding in. What if Thane was right behind me? What if Thane had shut all the exits, and was actually flooding the boat? What if I was actually already dead? ...Okay brain, 'already dead'? We can do better with our dumb paranoid conspiracy theories. gently caress, where was I even trying to go? I guess making my way back to the deck of the ship, above board, would be ideal. I couldn't quite determine what the specific logic for that thought was, but I felt it somewhere in my gut. ...Dear God. Feeling things in my gut. What had I devolved to? ...Whatever. I sure as poo poo didn't know the layout of the ship, but I always had a decent sense of direction – an internal compass, if you will. Despite everything, I could feel the direction where I'd came from on some kind of subconscious level. Or at least... I thought I did? I really hated relying on my subconscious thoughts. But, it was where I was at, so... I continued my silent, methodical movements. Now at least I had a sense of direction. Down halls, around corners, I slunk, fully aware that at any moment I'd have to spring into action – at any moment, I could be face to face with a gun wielding maniac. Well... if that happened, gently caress me I guess. Play my outs. I'm going to be fine, I'm going to be fine. I repeated that mindless mantra to myself as I made my way through the ship. And, after a while... I was back in familiar territory. I knew where I was in the ship. I was close to the stairwell that led back up to the deck! The excitement of this realization made me want to speed up... but no, no, I still kept it slow and steady. You never knew when you'd encounter danger. [BGM: Silence]  …Like now, for instance. I took two steps backwards. I was... pretty sure he hadn't seen me? ...He didn't see me, right? I held my breath. … No, no noise. He definitely didn't see me. Or, even if he did, he wasn't moving from his spot. Around the corner in front of me, the ship had a straight path, with a turn to the left midway through that path. Standing firmly right in the center of that turn – the turn which led right to the stairs – was Thane. I'd only got a glimpse, but it looked like he was just standing there. He had had... something in his left hand, though I didn't get a good look. The pistol was still in his right. Jesus Christ, the moment I saw him my heart had plummeted. I couldn't deal with this... I couldn't keep dealing with this. How had I gotten here? What even pushed me to board the Mandjet? I tried retracing all my steps to center myself. Was any of this worth it? ...Yeah, yeah it would be. I mean, if you'd told me exactly what I would be getting myself into, then yeah, maybe I'd have some second thoughts – but I didn't regret starting this quest. I couldn't. After all, it was Jacy's last request, and I could've been a pretty bad friend, but... I at least owed her this much. [BGM: Ura Dora]  Even though we didn't end in the best of places, Jacy was one of my oldest friends. I remember being close with her ever since I was a kid. It wasn't really a thing I had a lot of control over; my parents were friends with her parents. That sort of thing happened a lot. Still, I count myself lucky that I got to meet Jacy at all. She was always so bright – and I mean that in more than one way. She had a bright personality and a bright mind. In some ways, I might've been smarter than her, but even still I often felt like I was the one trailing behind. I felt the need to try and impress her. However... even if she wasn't such a sparkling personality, things probably still would've broken the same way. You spend enough time with someone at a young age, you're bound to have an incredible connection with them one way or another. It's the reason people can have absolutely abysmal parents, and still feel the need for their approval. So yeah, one way or another, Jacy really defined a lot of my younger life. We hung out a lot, went to the same school, hell, at one point I might've had a crush on her, I don't know, I wasn't really emotionally mature enough at the time to understand it all. If I did, it was probably a good thing I never acted on those thoughts at the time. Whatever it was, eventually I moved past it. Jacy and I stayed friends all the way into high school. But from there... well, life happened. We became different people. At one point, we got into a pretty big fight; she was probably in the right about it, but I'd never have accepted it at the time. She pulled away, so did I. Our lives went in separate directions. I'd tried reaching out to her a couple times since then, tried to keep somewhat in contact, but... none of our subsequent conversations really went all that well. There was still a definite distance.  A lot of that was my fault. But I didn't want to keep Jacy out of my life – especially not permanently. I mean, we were moving in different directions, but still... in the back of my head, I always viewed the rift as, I don't know, temporary; that eventually, we'd get over it. Eventually, we'd be close again, hanging out frequently. And who knows, maybe that would've been the case had life played out a little differently. But we make plans, and God laughs. Never take anything for granted, yadda yadda. Before I'd known it, I got my last message from Jacy. And, shortly after that... she disappeared. Dropped off the face of the globe. ...No, she didn't just drop off, she was killed. Killed, I was fairly certain, on this very ship... and the only person who could do anything about it was me. That's why I boarded the Mandjet. That's why I was staring down death. ...And that's why I'd have to get out of this place. It was really the only way to make things right with Jacy. So then. I shook my head; I needed to keep my head in reality. Stay focused, and escape. That was my purpose. [BGM: Tsumo]  Okay, let's think this through. Thane was standing in front of the stairs. He seemed to just be standing there casually. He was fiddling with... something, though I couldn't say what specifically. He'd probably been standing there for a while; that's why it was so silent. Had he defaulted to guarding that point after he'd lost me in the vents? Probably. So then, why? What information does this give me? Well, there were three inferences I could make, in descending order of reliability. The first one I was pretty much 100% confident about : those stairs were the only way back above deck. If there were multiple ways of getting up there, Thane would not be putting all his eggs in this basket the way he is – that'd be completely unreasonable. Hell, Thane looked to be completely defenseless from behind. If there were another way to get above deck, I could rush behind and stab him, or something. The fact that he seemed so utterly unconcerned with this possibility made it pretty likely that wasn't a possibility. So, one way out. Second assumption I wasn't as sure about, but it still seemed to make sense: if Thane wasn't making any moves to kill me now, then he probably felt confident that, if things stayed as they were, I'd die eventually. It was possible that while he stood there, he was contacting the other crewmates to come down and hunt me. That might've been what he was doing. Or... maybe there was some other reason why he thought I'd inevitably die, some unknown factor I wasn't thinking of for whatever reason. Given what I'd seen, Thane needed to kill me; if he seemingly had no immediate desire to do so, I had to assume he thought the situation would rectify itself. The final assumption I was worried might have been wishful thinking, but thinking about it... Let's say those first assumptions hold true – that's the only way above board, and my life was on a timer. That doesn't necessarily explain why he'd be puppy guarding that one spot. Given Thane's twisted personality, I imagined he'd still be hunting me down, if for no other reason but sport. Unless, of course... he couldn't afford that sort of arrogance? Him standing guard there implied to me that there was something above deck that might give me a chance of living... or, at the very least, being above deck meant I wouldn't necessarily die. If that was the case, then I really only had one option available, no? I had to get past him. I didn't know how, per se, but I had to trust my own logic if I wanted to survive. The third assumption might've been the weakest of the three, but it was also the closest thing to a plan of action I'd had for a while, and it gave me some much needed hope. So then... how to get past Thane? As it stood, I had no chance whatsoever; luckily, there was a place pretty close by that might have something of use.  Making sure to still move gingerly, I made my way back to the torture room. Hopefully, there would be something I could use. Looking at that corpse again, my stomach began to drop. Ugh, I was going to be sick. This was absolute brutality, the likes I hadn't yet seen. Well, that wasn't quite true – there was one other corpse that probably had this one beat. ...Ugh, keep it together. I was supposed to have a good gut about these sorts of things. I moved forwards and began to check the older man's corpse. This was vaguely disrespectful, but now wasn't exactly the time for respect. If this guy was still around, I'm sure he'd think the biggest sign of respect would be evading his killer and avenging his name. I was just seeing if he could lend a hand. I thought it was a dead end, until I felt something at his left leg; I pulled up his (quite bloody and ripped) pant leg to find a thin, sharp ice pick strapped to the back of this guy's leg with a leather string. It had narrowly avoided the bullets that had entered the human it was attached to. I'm surprised Thane let something like this slip through the cracks. Was this guy just waiting for an opportunity to put this thing to use? Did he just never get the opportunity? ...What was your story, old man? Thane had said you brought this upon yourself, that you 'chose the wrong side'. I had a couple guesses, but none that quite made sense of the whole situation. What on earth could this ship really be? ...No, those thoughts were for when I was safe; they weren't likely to have any application here. At the very least, I had gotten a weapon. This was big. My eyes were also drawn to the strange machine that had a wire connected to it, that had been torturing the old man. I gave it a closer look; to be honest, I had had difficulty telling what the actual function of this thing was. Eh... probably useless. What really stood out to me instead was this papery tube on the side that ran from top to bottom. I could see that it was screwed to the top. Out of curiosity, I tried unscrewing it... and instantly regretted it, and began screwing it shut again. The moment there was a bit of give, smoke immediately started pouring out of it. loving great design there guys, holy poo poo. What a load of...  Hey, hold on. How much smoke could this make exactly...? The pipe was fairly large, and the smoke started coming out of it preeeetty quick. If I could make a lot of smoke, it could act sort of like a smoke screen... right? That had to be something that I could use! ...Except no, that probably wasn't right. I mean, what good would a smoke screen realistically do, given the current setup? Thane would just see through it, put some distance between himself and the smoke screen, and start firing through it. Anything I intended to do with this wouldn't work; Thane would just see right through it. ...So then, what if I counted on that? The key to adaptability was counterplay. If a plan would fail for some reason, make that reason part of the plan. ...Okay, okay, actually, I think this could work. It was a risky gambit, certainly, but risk was the name of the game at this point. I grabbed the mystery machine and left the torture room. Then, very silently, I made my way back to where I had seen Thane last. As delicately, as quietly as I could, I made my way around the corner in such a way that Thane still couldn't see me. I got as close as the T-turn as I could. Then, I ever so delicately sat the machine down, bent down, and began to unscrew the pipe. This had to be super delicate... I was basing my movements on the pressure and bit of past experience I had. There. Right where it got as close to being loose as it could be, I stopped. The pipe was super duper delicately positioned now; the slightest movement might cause it to come loose... and that was what I was counting on. Now, to get in position. I moved with an odd combination of speed and silence – I didn't want things to get to the action before I was in place. However, if Thane heard me slinking around, it'd be 'Game Over' for sure; I was lucky the sounds of the rocking sea gave me a bit of cover. I moved back around the corner, back to the torture room... and I kept moving, past and around the torture room, around the hallways. I hadn't actually been down this way yet, but I was making a bet on how the ship was structured – and the bet paid off; I ended up on the other side of that hallway, on the other end of the T-intersection. I could see further down the hall that the machine I had left in a precarious position had yet to burst, thank God – that was my biggest fear with all this. I got closer to the T-intersection, staying as silent as I could. And then... I waited. And I waited. … [BGM: Silence]  poo poo. I thought the pipe was barely on, but what if it wasn't? What if it wasn't going to burst open any time soon? Could I risk going back around and screwing with it more? That felt like a huge loving risk – the fact I hadn't been heard up until this point was already a miracle and a half. And who's to say I wouldn't just mess up screwing the pipe next time? What else could I do then? Try knocking over the machine by throwing something small at it? ...No, if Thane was paying careful attention, that would ruin the whole thing. It was in this panic-stricken moment of mine, as it often was, that the world exploded into chaos. [BGM: Grand Slam]  Just as I was worried about the smoke not doing its job, the apex of my concern, the ocean hit us with a particularly disruptive wave. Enough to rock the machine enough to cause the pipe to come undone... and, in an instant, smoke billowed out, immediately making a loud noise and flooding the place. My smokescreen was being created, and Thane reacted appropriately. I could see from my position him rush out, facing the smokescreen – and backing away from that side of the T-intersection. He had his pistol out. *pow, pow!* He fired twice into the smoky abyss. This was as good of a chance as I was ever gonna get... I took out the ice pick and rushed at him, hoping to stab him in the back. Because of Thane's strafing, I was pretty close to him, and his attention had been successfully diverted. Unfortunately... the geography worked against me; the T-intersection meant that the wall jutted out on the right side, the side with which I was holding the ice pick. Because of that, I couldn't swing wide, and instead had to sort of bend a bit during my stab. I don't know if that was what made the difference, or if I had never stood a chance, but somehow Thane sensed the attack coming sooner than he should've been able to. In a clean motion, he began turning towards me, and smacked the first I held the ice pick in with the hand he held his pistol in. gently caress! The ice pick went soaring off over toward the stairs, well out of reach. My one means of fighting back, gone. ...No, not true. I still had two pretty lethal weapons.  Keeping the momentum of my surprise on my side, I aimed a square punch at his face with my left arm. If I hit him head on, that'd hopefully stun him enough to allow a follow-up. And in a one-on-one scenario, once someone begins wailing on the other person, the fight is usually over. Unfortunately, as already made apparent, Thane was no pushover. He bobbed to my side, my first just barely missing his stupid black helmet... and as my swing failed, he began an attack of his own. His right hand was curled into a fist, and he threw an uppercut right at my stomach. Usually I'd be on guard enough to avoid that sort of thing, but I had put my all into the missed punch at his head, so his blow hit me straight on, and I was knocked right back. I was sent flying back on my rear end, defeated – not because I was in a great amount of pain, but because I knew I had already lost the fight. Thane swung the pistol in my direction. He had the time to square the shot. I was lying flat on my back, I had no mobility; I was a fish in a barrel. The moment I moved at all, I'd be shot. If I rushed at him, I'd be shot. If I rushed away, I'd be shot. If I did nothing, I'd be shot. No matter what, in a matter of seconds, I would be shot. Oh, God... this was it, wasn't it? I had gotten this far, done so much, and now, on this mystery ship, to this mystery man, I would die. And then, I would likely disappear, just like that – my existence, removed from this plane. This was the time to reflect. Had I lived a worthy life? One to be proud of? Was I destined to hell? I had had a hard life, of that I'm sure; a sympathetic one; a thankless one, too. I always tried to do my best, tried to do the right thing when I could. I tried to make things right... and that led me here, to this boat in the middle of nowhere, about to be shot. Just great. I sent my prayers to whatever lay beyond... if there were an afterlife, please have mercy on me. And if there wasn't... then please let somebody back here take up my quest and finish it. So now... goodbye. … … … I was expecting a bullet to come at any moment, but Thane hadn't yet pulled the trigger. Why? ...I got my answer moments later.   Why? What are you doing here? How did you get here? How do you know about the Mandjet?This just confirmed what I already suspected: for whatever reason, Thane wasn't expecting me here. Huh. I mean, that made sense. Seemingly, I had decided to come investigate the ship on my own; nobody could have predicted that. But then... why did I pass out in that container? Forget all that supernatural bullshit, I wouldn't randomly fall asleep like that in the middle of an investigation. I didn't think it was being drugged at the time, since I didn't see any gas in the container back then. However, I had defaulted to accepting that explanation in lieu of any others. Thane, though, didn't expect me on this ship. So... how on earth could I have been drugged if the owners of the Mandjet weren't aware I was here? ...I didn't have an answer. I saw Thane begin to tense up, the grip of the pistol slightly changing. poo poo, poo poo, poo poo! Get your head in the game! Forget that prayer bullshit, if Thane was willing to be talked with then I wasn't out of options yet. I had exactly one way to stay alive at this point, and that was through some serious bullshitting. ...Luckily, serious bullshitting was right up my alley. If I answered this honestly – that I had no idea how I ended up here, and that initially I boarded the ship to investigate a probably murder – then I could guess how that would probably play out. No use for me, bullet in the head. So then, I needed another answer. [BGM: Silence]   Don't shoot! I was sent by your boss!At this, Thane cocked his head – clearly not the answer he was expecting. Then, after a beat, he responded in a slow manner. And... that would be?Okay, one question down. How to handle this one? There was a standard response to this. However, going down that path would likely turn the conversation towards a lot of details I just didn't have. I was in a do or die situation. If ever there was a time to take some bold shots in the dark in a bid for high payout results, this was it. You don't want to kill me! I work for the Devil!It was hard to tell with the mask and all, but this response seemed to confuse Thane. Then, he began to chuckle a little bit. Who?I saw his pistol grip once again begin to tighten. Ah, gently caress. Wrong answer. He was going to shoot. Either it'd be a fatal shot, or it would be a debilitating shot... and if it was the latter, then I'd have no chance of escape. Looks like I was right to pray. Today was the day I– *CRASH!!!* *pow!* [BGM: Keep Hitting]  It happened in an instant. Although, it took me a second to process what “it” was. From the stairway up to the main deck, a figure had come barreling in, crashing right into Thane's side. Thane, caught completely unaware, ended up gripping the pistol tighter, and by extension the trigger. This was a pretty common occurrence when something sudden happens to somebody holding a gun. Luckily, Thane also reacted to the crashing by moving his arm in reaction to the blow. Because of that, the bullet mercifully fired and hit the metal ground a couple of inches from my shoulder. Tooooo close for comfort, but then again, that's the general trend for tonight. After the crash had happened, I could finally comprehend who my savior was. It was some girl with red hair and glasses. I think I had seen her somewhere before, though I couldn't put my finger on any specifics. She looked, to put it mildly, pissed. Well, I wasn't gonna just haplessly lie around anymore. This was a loving miracle, and I immediately needed to take advantage of it. As I started making my way to my feet, the woman barked orders at me in a harsh tone.  Get moving! Already on it!Like I said, at this point I was already on my feet. Instantly I began running to the stairwell Thane had been guarding just moments ago. In the corner of my eye, I could see him already getting to his feet as well. My savior also recognized the looming danger and began running up the stairs, just a bit ahead of me. Soon enough, we had sprinted all the way back up onto the ship's deck, in front of the small room that led to the stairs. We didn't exactly have a ton of time for idle chit chat. However, as the two of us caught our breath, I figured that encounter was worth a few words. Thanks for that.  Who the hell are you?Well, not the response I was expecting. Huh? The gently caress are you doing here? Good question! I could turn that question back around on you. Seriously? You're gonna turn this back on me? Hey, I was just trying to thank you for saving my life! Only did that to get some answers – answers you're not giving me. Well, look, it's a really tenuous situation we're in right now; I think it's justifiable tha– Quick, poo poo, run! In the corner of my eye, I noticed through the window that Thane was making his way back towards us. Behind my savior, I saw a half-open metal container. I immediately began running towards it, grabbing the woman's wrist as I passed by her. I was afraid I'd get some resistance from this, but luckily she was pretty smart and began running with me without a second thought. Right as we jumped into the metal container, I heard two more shots fired off. Sounds like one hit metal, maybe even the container itself. As I entered the container, I turned around and grabbed the handles of the doors, slamming them shut. [BGM: Silence]  poo poo, that was close. You're telling me. That piece of poo poo's loving efficient, if nothing else. Yeah, well, luckily we were able to–Once again, I cut myself off as I noticed something happening in the corner of my eye. The doors of the container were beginning to open. And, in the crack, I saw it was Thane opening them. Immediately, I jumped over and grabbed the handles, pulling them back shut. I strained with all my might, struggling to keep the container closed. On the other side, it was clear Thane was also pulling the container open with all his might. This brief clash of wills lasted a few seconds, but luckily keeping the doors closed was an easier job than opening it. Also understanding what was happening, the woman rushed over and helped me pull it shut. Her assistance was a surprising boon, making our job much easier. A few seconds more, and it seemed Thane gave up trying to pry the container open. I heard the sound of pounding – Thane slamming his fist against the wall. Then, a pause. *pow, pow!* Two gunshots impacted metal. From inside the container, I noticed an indent on the container wall, where the bullet had almost penetrated it. We... may still be very much screwed. Oh, you think?…  Next update, it's time to check in with the fake Thane. 
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Sep 1, 2023 23:31
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Mix. posted:Thoughts – mindless thoughts, illogical thoughts – started flooding in. What if Thane was right behind me? What if Thane had shut all the exits, and was actually flooding the boat? What if I was actually already dead? Don't worry! I have it on good authority that you can't not be on a boat.
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Sep 2, 2023 01:29
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Was “playing to your outs” explained in this or in Zodiac Trial? I swear I’ve heard it before but don’t remember what it means.
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Sep 4, 2023 23:21
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It means if something is fixed-either a guaranteed win or loss-you don't devote any thought or consideration to it because it's an expenditure of energy. Focus on the things you can change, rather than things you can't.
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Sep 4, 2023 23:29
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It's a concept that comes up a lot in competitive games like poker, chess, even stuff like magic the gathering, where you don't let yourself get hung up on the games you were going to lose no matter what and, sometimes, instead actively develop the willingness to lose for the games that aren't guaranteed losses... because sometimes being willing to lose is what actually gets you the win. Sometimes the reckless play will pay off whereas being reserved/careful would ensure you lose there, and it's better to go for it and possibly put yourself into a win then do nothing and ensure the loss, since if you go for it and lose anyway, well, guess you weren't winning that one either way, yknow?
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Sep 4, 2023 23:36
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BassMug posted:Was “playing to your outs” explained in this or in Zodiac Trial? I swear I’ve heard it before but don’t remember what it means. It was in zodiac trial yeah. Edit: In update 39 “Playing your outs”. Elite fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Sep 5, 2023 |
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Sep 5, 2023 01:56
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Junpei posted:It means if something is fixed-either a guaranteed win or loss-you don't devote any thought or consideration to it because it's an expenditure of energy. Focus on the things you can change, rather than things you can't. Mix. posted:It's a concept that comes up a lot in competitive games like poker, chess, even stuff like magic the gathering, where you don't let yourself get hung up on the games you were going to lose no matter what and, sometimes, instead actively develop the willingness to lose for the games that aren't guaranteed losses... because sometimes being willing to lose is what actually gets you the win. Sometimes the reckless play will pay off whereas being reserved/careful would ensure you lose there, and it's better to go for it and possibly put yourself into a win then do nothing and ensure the loss, since if you go for it and lose anyway, well, guess you weren't winning that one either way, yknow? Elite posted:It was in zodiac trial yeah. Thanks :D
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Sep 5, 2023 04:08
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 [BGM: Doubling Cube]  So, I had decided to replace Thane, hiding his death and keeping myself alive for longer. Cool, cool, good plan... There was just one teensie little problem though: I needed to find out where the 'V-Hall' actually was. If I didn't know where to show up, I'd be dead in the water from the jump. Luckily, I had a lot of Thane's poo poo – hopefully I could get something useful out of all that. And if I couldn't... well, let's manifest some positive thinking, why don't we? I'd already broken into the stolen phone, not much of use there, so next up were the burner phones. I chose one to try and open, but unfortunately it had a password. Well, no matter; in this day and age, a password is really more of a warning sign than a roadblock. I hooked the phone up to my laptop and began to get to work. …  Oh, by the way! This hacking puzzle has 'yellow tiles'. You don't have to be scared of them, they're actually kind of helpful when you think about it. For one, they will always be 'live'. Also, of the 8 tiles surrounding them – left, right, up, down, diagonals – exactly 4 of them will always be dead. Isn't that a neat info gathering tool? All right, get to it. As before, the solution is under the spoiler tag here  [You won 7 chips!] Voila! Here we go. … [BGM: Ones Are Wild]  I spent some time browsing the phone. The most important information to learn was the address of the V-Hall; since I was already into the phone's system, it wasn't hard to access the locations this phone frequently visited. Cross-referencing that with some past texts, I was able to get an address. Lucky me. Going through the rest of the phone, I read through and subsequently memorized as much information as I could. This was only giving me a partial picture, but at least I had something of a cheat sheet for Thane's life – some building blocks, as they were. I wanted to look through the phone a lot more than I did, but Yi said I needed to get to the V-Hall ASAP and I already wasted a lot of time. There was one thing, however, that brought me a great deal of unease. Thane had named this phone 'Duat Burner Phone'. So then, if this was the Duat burner phone... what was the other phone? For personal use? You wouldn't really need a burner phone for personal stuff... I mean, maybe if you were super paranoid about privacy – that could be Thane. This could also be nothing to worry about, but I mean, why would you bring your personal contact phone in an assassin's briefcase? ...Maybe I was overthinking things. Or, maybe, that other burner phone was important. I really wanted to crack that other phone but, again, time crunch. So, going to my first Duat meeting. What did I want to bring? Something told me that bringing the full silver suitcase to something like this was the wrong approach. Or... maybe it wasn't? Was Thane the type to never go anywhere without his suitcase? I couldn't tell. So in that case, what could I talk my way out of? If Thane usually has his suitcase, it'd be easier to explain why he doesn't have it... but if he usually doesn't have it, bringing it to the V-Hall would be a really, really, really bad idea.  So the suitcase was out. But what about a pistol? That felt reasonable to bring. Or... maybe not? Like the suitcase, bringing weapons might be taboo. Besides, I wasn't exactly a pro marksman, so there was the question of how useful a pistol would actually be to me. If I had to use it, it'd probably already be too late. But... just having a gun afforded me options; the threat of it, and all – and again, maybe it'd be weird for Thane to be without a gun. Ultimately, I used the same decision making process as I did with the suitcase – easier to explain the lack of a gun than the presence of one. So... I was going to go into the belly of the beast completely unarmed, with only a quarter of the knowledge needed to pull off a successful disguise. Awesome. Well, better to rip off the bandage. It was time to make my way over to the V-Hall. I exited the hotel my usual way – out the storage closet, down into the sewer. I stayed in the sewers to get to the other side of the city. From what I could tell, the V-Hall used to be a production facility... that is, until it was purchased by Olympo, then let go. The actual owner of the land was in limbo, but through some circumstances, the Duats owned it. Now, all the actual machinery that had went with it had been disposed of, and it had served as the Duats' central lair for some time. This was some pretty good info. Not super key info, mind you, as this was where the members hung out, so naturally it was a little too conspicious to keep anything truly damning... but still, in terms of understanding the layout of Panthea, it was a good piece to tuck away. I tried to walk through the sewer with some amount of urgency. I was still too sore to break into a full sprint; however, I hadn't yet figured out where Thane usually lived, so I didn't know how long it would be reasonable for Thane to take. Eventually, I got close enough to the location to climb out of the sewer and walk the last bit above ground. ...There, that building must be the V-Hall.  From the outside, it looked pretty rundown. Probably the intent, huh? Helped keep a low profile. ...All right, no turning back now. I approached the building with a sense of confidence – I was Thane, after all, nothing in this building should give me any pause. I was a Senior Officer! I went right up to the front entrance and opened the door. Not locked, huh? Well, the guard standing by the door probably had something to do with that. Also, it's not like anybody'd be stupid enough to enter a place like this if you weren't a Duat yourself. ...Oh, wait.  Hey Thane. Been a minute.Before me was a leather-jacket clad Duat member. A grunt, if I was placing him right, accustomed to front-line work. I didn't know the guy's name, so I simply nodded. This seemed to work for him; thank God Thane was the way he was, because playing a 'silent type' character really was a lot easier. All right then, just to be sure, what's the password? Man, what was with people asking regulars to give passwords? ...Actually, considering I was hiding my face, it was probably fair in this case. Luckily, this was one piece of info I had actually gleaned; fortunately for me, the password changed pretty recently.  'To speak the name of the dead is to make him live again'. Cool, cool.I had to say, it was a pretty wordy password – I didn't quite get the purpose behind it. Apparently, it had been assigned by Marduk. Maybe that gave me some insight into his mind? Though, if it did... I couldn't define it. So, now I'm afraid I've gotta pat you down. Put your hands and arms out, if you please. Fine.I feigned annoyance at this as I complied, but honestly the only thing that passed through my mind was relief; I had made the right call. Had I a pistol on me right now, things would've been a lot more awkward. As I was being examined, I got a better look at the inside of the facility. It was pretty big, all things considered. There was an open-air area, with a lot of members congregated – I guess this was a factory area, previously. A number of doors and hallways to other sections of the building lined the walls. And there, I saw a familiar face. Yi approached me with a smile on his face. ...Here we go. [BGM: Silence]  Thane! Good to see you, good to see you. Say, what are you doing, letting this scrub pat you down like that? Huh? Senior Officers are exempt from body checks, dipshit. Thane, why would you subject yourself to that?gently caress. Seriously Leather Jacket, you had to do me like this? You had to gently caress up in a way that would out me? I had just gone through the door and already I couldn't catch a break. Seriously, gently caress me. I was waiting to see if this one would catch on to it himself.I said that with as much menace as I could muster. I needed to lean on one of Thane's biggest advantages – his threatening aura. It seemed to work on this punk, at least. I-I-I'm so sorry, uh, sir, I wasn't r-really thinking... See, I don't usually have g-guard duty, so, um– Is that your excuse?[BGM: Bidding]  Yi looked to me, and then the grunt before me, and then back to me with a slight smile on his face. Oh, give the kid a break, Thane. I'm sure he gets the picture. Right, pal?Yi gave Leather Jacket a friendly punch on the shoulder. O-Of course! Totally!I let the silence linger for a second longer. ...Don't do it again.And like that, I began to walk into the lion's den. Yi casually strode beside me. Hopefully that bluff had successfully gotten the heat off me.  Ah, Thane, why do you always have to pick on the tykes like that?Do I? Awesome. You really that much of a sadist? Do it just for kicks?I merely shrugged. The problem I had right now was that I wasn't quite sure how to approach Yi. I hadn't quite pegged their relationship. In theory, they were both Senior Officers; so then, were they colleagues? There seemed to be more to it than that, though. I needed to pick up on Yi's vibes to understand how to proceed. A shrug was noncommittal enough that it wouldn't get me in any hot water. Say, what took you so long getting here? What, you fall in the toilet or something?So, I guess I was late. That's to be expected, I suppose – I did take a while. But I must not've been too late? You caught me at a bad time. I got here before the meeting began, didn't I? Ah, ya got me there.Good, so Yi didn't feel like pushing the issue. That's a good sign for me. Another person walked over to Yi and I. It was a woman with red hair and glasses.   Hey Yi, Thane, how're you two on this lovely day? Lara. I'm doing just fine, got a good night's sleep. Love that, great to hear. And you, Thane? I'm fine. Good, good, good. Good.At first glance, things seemed to be fine. However, Lara was very good at hiding her true intent; I was pretty good at reading body language, and it was clear that Lara was extremely uneasy about Thane. She didn't want to bring it up, but something about him made her nervous. I thought back... Ah, yes, of course. I actually knew why Lara was nervous around Thane. Well, all the better for me. Nervous people were less likely to push issues.  Do anything interesting this weekend, Lara? Ah, if only – I'm too boring to do much, unfortunately. I fall into the regular patterns I feel you there, sister. Nowadays, I'm more and more inclined to curl up at home with a good book. Feels like I'm becoming an old man. What about you, Thane? I didn't do anything worth talking about. Yeah, that figures. So, what do you guys think this meeting is going to be about? Marduk's really hard to get a bead on. Ah, well... why speculate, when we're going to have the meeting in a few minutes anyway?I'd actually like to speculate, Yi; if I knew what I was getting into, I could better prepare. Because it's fun, silly. Just trying to make conversation? I suppose, I suppose. My problem is that it's not like we have much to go on. Marduk's always been a man of whims, even more so these days. For all we know, he could've called us here on random impulse. You know, I actually like that in a man. Someone willing to do what they want, when they want? It's the sort of confidence fitting for our head. Hey, don't get me wrong, far be it from me to question our Supreme Leader. Just saying that guessing what the meeting's about is going to be hard. There aren't exactly any recent events worth discussing, so, failing that, it could really be about anything. That so? No recent events worth discussing, you think? Nothing comes to my mind. Anything come to yours, Lara? No, no, can't say that anything does, unfortunately. At this point, two other Duat members walked over.  Hey Lara, how's it going? Did everything work out with your apartment? Oh, hey guys! My apartment's fine, but thanks for asking. Really, I was just bitching about nothing problems, you don't have to worry about that. What about you two, you gone to see your sister yet? Not yet, I'm afraid. What? Why? 'Fraid she's gonna be mad at us... Seriously? You two did all this work to pay for her surgery; she'll be thrilled to see you! And even if she's really mad about how you got that money, it's still worth just going down there and hashing it out in person. You're right, you're right. As always. Look, we'll try and head down there whenever we get some free time. That's the spirit.The burlier man then took a second to look at Yi and me. So, what're you doing hanging around with these two? Well, Old Man Yi here was asking for my help. I was teaching him how to set up his iPhone. The lack of buttons confuses him...The others snickered pretty heavily at this. Yi, on the other hand, strained to keep a grinning face. ...Did, uh, these guys have a different metric for burns, or...? Oh ho, Lara, you... If you spent less time working on your stand-up and more time working for the Duats, you wouldn't have to get on your knees to stay a Senior Officer. Begging isn't a pretty look. Aw, but Yi, if I did more of your work, what would you have to lecture the rest of us about?More snickers. ...Different senses of humor, I guess. At that moment, a tall, lumbering figure walked into the room. I initially didn't think much of it, but when he entered, everyone else instantly shut up. At first, I thought that was because this guy must have a high rank; however, after analyzing the situation a few seconds more, I realized the real reason why his presence brought the conversation to a halt. This man had come from the one conspicuously prestigious looking door along the wall of the open area. Unlike the other doors and rooms in this place – where I saw people coming and going from them – this one had been completely devoid of visitors so far. [BGM: Silence]  I could make an educated guess as to what the room was. It was the office of the head of this whole operation... Marduk's room. The next words spoken confirmed my suspicions. Marduk's ready for you.He directed this comment at the three of us: the Senior Officers. Agh. I had a feeling things were getting a bit too chummy around here. We better not keep old Marduk waiting. Definitely don't want to keep him waiting. He can be such a hassle when he's in a grumpy mood. Ah, well. Might as well get this over with. Here's hoping today's meeting'll be painless.That makes two of us, Yi. Doubt it. Oh, why are you two always such Debbie Downers? Meeting the boss isn't supposed to be a bad thing! ...At least, if you've been doing your job properly. If that's the case, then why do you look so chipper?Lara let out a little chuckle. Oh, Yi. You're always such a tease. That's me all right. Real jokester.As much as I dreaded entering that office, the real Thane would probably say something along the lines of... Did we not just talk about not keeping Marduk waiting? Yeah, yeah, we're getting to it Thane. Jeez, always so on edge with the whole Marduk situation. Totally! Thane, you should really learn to lighten up. We should go for drinks sometime! I know a super cool place – one of our operations. Didn't that den run into a spot of trouble recently? Oh, that was nothing, it's back on its feet already. Let's meet with Marduk first. Afterwards, we can... discuss future plans, if you like. Got it, got it.[BGM: The Bomb]  And with that prompting, we finally began making our way to Marduk's office. I didn't know what to expect going in; honestly, I didn't even expect to get this far. Things had been going pretty well so far. But so far, I was just coasting along on the easier stuff – things I had some idea of how to tackle. But a meeting with Marduk... What was he even like? How much did he know? What was Thane's connection with Marduk like? I knew some things about him – some things most people didn't even know, but nothing that felt like it'd help me in this situation. More importantly, it was the nature of this meeting that frightened me. It wouldn't be for conversation. It would be for business. Business discussions tended to be details-heavy... and details were the last thing I was looking for right now. ...Whatever. I'd just have to bullshit my way through this. Play to my strengths. I'd gotten this far, hadn't I?
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Sep 7, 2023 01:15
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This guy rules 
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Sep 7, 2023 01:40
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This path definitely picked up once he had some other people around to play off.
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Sep 7, 2023 01:55
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So Lara is the one that took Polly Deisma’s money back in Lock section 1. The drinking place she mentions is probably the underground casino we saw in Lock’s chapters. So presumably something bad will go down there. There’s a line “Man, what was with people asking regulars to give passwords?” which again refers back to Lock section. Lock section 1 also has a line “Jeez, you're killing me. What, you think somebody's gonna be able to just disguise themselves as me?” lol. Lara’s also the one that rescued Mercury from Thane in Mercury section 2. It also sounds like Lara has a specific reason to be nervous around Thane. Most obvious thing is the boat scuffle in Mercury’s chapters, but it’s unclear how fake-Thane would know about that. I think we can start assembling an idea when some events occur relative to each other now too. Devon1 is before Laverna1 as she’s investigating the murder that he committed. Olif1 and Olif2 are before Laverna2 as she’s investigating the theft that Chara was still considering in Olif 2. Lock1, Lock2, Mercury1 and Mercury2 are probably before Thane1 and Thane2 just based on some of the conversations in Thane 2. Elite fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Sep 7, 2023 |
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Sep 7, 2023 17:21
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They totally know, right? "Hello, good friend Thane! Why, you seem to be doing something that is quite unusual for you! Ah, now you have explained this in a more expected way! Good, good, now let's go see our good friend Lara!" Meanwhile, Duat grunts in the back are taking bets how long this one will last.
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Sep 9, 2023 08:51
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Also, sorry updates have been slow/delayed the last two weeks, work-related stuff has basically been taking up most of my energy lately so I haven't had a lot of time to prepare new updates, but things are finally settling down so we'll be back to a regular schedule soon
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Sep 9, 2023 14:13
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Is this an excuse to stall for time so we don't notice you've actually been replaced with an imposter? No worries, take your time.
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Sep 9, 2023 15:26
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 [BGM: The Bomb]  Into the room I went. Marduk's office was... nice. It was quite nice. There were several desks displaying a variety of knick-knacks, and in the corner, a big potted plant sat; the left wall was nothing but windows, which let a pale blue light filter into the otherwise unlit room. The only lighting being the faint natural light created an odd, but not unpleasant atmosphere. In the center of the room, there were two couches with a small glass table separating the two of them. One was completely empty... but in the other, Marduk sat. So... there he was. The head of the Duats.  He certainly had an aura about him. I could tell by the age in his face that he was well past his prime. If I had to guess – and, well, I didn't have to guess – he was deceptively old. I say deceptively because... he honestly looked pretty good; sure, he was bald, but his sideburns didn't have a single white hair in them. I'd guess he was dyeing them if I didn't know this man's character better than that. He possessed a hulking figure, enough to exude clear dominance – his arms were the size of logs of wood. If you stood him side by side with Fang, he wouldn't look that much shorter or taller than the behemoth. Who knows how intimidating this guy was in his prime? This was the man who could lead the Duats with an iron fist. Who could lead them through multiple gang wars, lead them to complete Panthean control. This was a man who could still be the indisputable kingpin despite being so far past his prime. Instantly, I was struck by the same feeling of awe that every other Duat member must have felt. Without moving a single muscle, Marduk spoke to us in a low growl.  Took you long enough....Gulp.  Sorry, sir, we were a little busy dealing with some of your troops. So, the grunts are more worthy of your time than me? Of course not! We tried to get here as fast as we reasonably could. But obviously, it's important to keep the will of the people on our side; wouldn't want to be dismissive to them.… Very good.The smile on Lara's face took a slightly pointed edge. Clearly, in her mind, she had just scored a point against Yi. Sit.He didn't need to tell us twice. Yi sat on the far left left of the couch, while Lara let me pass by her before sitting down. She must've wanted me to be a buffer between her and Yi.  Lara. Yes sir. How are you faring these days? Me? Doing just peachy, sir! Living life to the fullest.A slight smile crossed Marduk's face. Good, good. Youth is a time to be lived to the fullest. How are you spending your free time? Ah, well, there's so many vices to choose from, sir; little gambling here, little drinking there. ...Of course, all in healthy moderation. Naturally. And, naturally, none of this has distracted you from your Duat work? Not at all, sir!  Troop efficiency has never been as high, thanks to yours truly. Ah, good to hear. How do you do it, I wonder? Oh, that? Who wouldn't want to live a life of violence and degeneracy? Really, the work sells itself.At this, Marduk even let out a little chuckle. I'm sure you have your ways. And I'm happy to provide them – if you want, I could even motivate Thane for you.Suddenly, Marduk's expression turned sour. And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?Even without directly looking at her, I noticed Lara's facial expression freeze – the realization that, in her playful manner, she had accidentally stepped on a landmine of some kind. However, like a professional, she only stayed frozen for a second. Well, you know, just trying to help out around. Thane can be, well... a little robotic in nature, sir. Right, Thane? Lara playfully punched me on the shoulder. I just stayed silent. Not getting involved in this one. So I was just offering to try and make him a bit more enthusiastic. Hmm.This response had not impressed Marduk. Given the nature of this job, I would imagine a certain amount of gravitas is healthy. If anything, it is you, Lara, and your seemingly permanent upbeat attitude I would sooner have called into question. Y-yes, of course, sir.Lara was now full on looking directly down, unable to maintain eye contact. Marduk, however, felt content to keep staring at Lara for a couple more seconds... then, like a predator seeking his next prey, his attention moved to Yi.  Yi. Yessir?I could hear a hint of optimism in Yi's response; clearly, Lara's blunder there had filled him with confidence. How are the Duats looking? We have never been better, sir! These last two months, we've seen a 13% increase in revenue, which as I'm sure you know is pretty much unheard of. We have had minimal complaints, and have yet to run into any significant issues since our last meeting. Except, of course, the Milo situation. Um, well, yes, that was a minor setback, but as you know we dealt with that situation, I would say, with grace and aplomb. And, later today even, we'll be putting a close on the whole thing. See to it that you handle things delicately. Of course, sir. Speaking of issues, I also heard whispers of a gathering of locals discontent with our organization not too long ago.Yi paused, a slightly confused look plastered on his face. If I had to guess, he might've been wondering how Marduk even knew about this gathering in the first place. There was a slight kerfuffle, yes, but I dealt with the matter appropriately. I didn't think it worth bringing to your attention. Just because you dealt with it, Yi, does not mean the situation is dealt with – it means that we are reaching a critical mass of bad will with the civilians. And you know what that means... Sir, if you would, I think you may be focusing on the wrong things. Yes, there are a few hiccups, but there are comparatively fewer issues than there were in the past despite our increased presence. That is an achievement to be celebrated: we have raked in an incredible amount of cash. I've already begun making preparations for our next wash, and it's only been a year and a half!Wait, the Duats only wash their money every few years? And in singular bulks? Speaking of cash influx, I have three new proposals for new revenue streams I'd like to get your approval on whenever we have the chance. As for risk assessment, we still have our police contact, so that angle is covered. This one's been far more cooperative than the last, and more effective. Our intelligence network has yet to report any significant threats to the Duats. Recruitment numbers haven't been this high for decades. We are on an upwards swing, sir.After Yi's pitch, Marduk let the silence linger for a couple of seconds. ...Very well then. Keep up the good work.I could almost hear an audible sigh from Yi. Finally, Marduk turned to me. Ah gently caress. My turn. I was fearing this. Thane.There was a coldness in Marduk's voice. Have you been doing your duties appropriately? Y-Yes. Yes?! A flare of indignation in Marduk's voice instantly let me know how I had hosed up. Yes, sir; of course, sir.Marduk's stare had hardened. It looked like he might break into a tirade before long, so I did something that felt incredibly counterintuitive: I kept talking. All tasks assigned to me have been completed with total success; I have performed all my duties to perfect satisfaction. Additionally, I have also spent my off-time performing additional activities beneficial to our cause. I have no outstanding incidents to report.… I had loving no idea if that would pass, I really was just going for it there. ...Good.Oh thank God. So, Thane... Are you going to ask to be relieved of the Black Mask?Huh? What did that mean? I had to read between the lines, quickly. Thinking about it for a moment, the icon of the Black Mask was a pretty risky position... it was a visible sign of being one of the Duats' most feared enforcers. It was the type of position that probably would not be envied, and it was weird for such a high ranking member to take such a risk – especially when, functionally speaking, anyone could don the outfit. Given the tone Marduk had taken when asking the question... No.The brief look of surprise on Marduk's face told me I was going down the right path. I believe there aren't many Duat members who could perform the Black Mask's duties as efficiently as me. Additionally, I wish to earn being relieved of it; as of now, I don't think I have.A silence lingered in the air. ...poo poo, had I said too much? Every second Marduk didn't respond, I felt like my heart dropped an inch. Good. Very good. I was worried you weren't ever going to understand... however, it seems like you've finally come around. Yi, is Thane correct in his self-assessment? How has he been performing? I think Thane was pretty much right on the money. As far as I've seen, he's been doing his job pretty much perfectly.Marduk nodded at this solemnly. Well, then. Keep it up, Thane.[BGM: The Poison]  You know there was a time when you were set to inherit the Duats. I earnestly hope that, before I pass, you can reclaim that right. ...Thank you, sir.I hesitated saying this, because I was keenly aware of the looks I had just been given by both Lara and Yi; neither of them had been pleasant. But... that wasn't my biggest concern at the moment, because a pretty horrid thought had just crossed my mind. 'Thane' was defined by the Black Mask and the outfit... which meant that, theoretically, multiple people could don the getup and pass for Thane. Hell, that was what I was doing! But if that was the case... Who's to say I actually killed the real Thane? I mean, by the sounds of it, Marduk had Thane currently as the sole owner of the mask... but also by the sounds of it, it seemed as though Thane was not a fan of this arrangement. He was a Senior Officer... gently caress, I had no idea what he really looked like. The man I buried... that was definitely Thane, right?  ...No, no, I was just delving into conspiracy theories. I was fine. I killed the real Thane – they were definitely dead and buried in that forest. If I thought otherwise, I'd drive myself insane. As I was worrying over this, Marduk stood up. He had begun to pace, gradually making his way over to the windows. Since I've been doing less frontline work, I've had a lot of time to think about things... bigger things. I know plenty of people are criticizing how the Duats have been acting as of late. They say we've been too brutal – too ambitious. Those people are, like, total idiots! They don't get anything! Yeah, completely worthless. If I hear any talk like that, you can count on me to set them straight, sir. I'm talking now. When I want your input, I'll ask for it.Lara and Yi both winced. Something told me that being the silent type was proving a pretty big boon in this meeting. These people have a point. We are in an age of unprecedented expansionism, but there's a reason for that. I've led the Duats for a long time now. Been with them through two full-on gang wars, and a minor civil one. I've been through highs... and painful lows – ones low enough to almost break the Duats outright. And throughout it all, I learned a single important truth: 'tides rise and tides fall'. Success can be temporary; you'll never know when the next storm will come, and how much damage it will do.Marduk had returned to the couch and sat back down. But... there is another truth: 'power begets power', and there's a critical mass, one we're close to. If the Duats get big enough, then no matter what comes, we will stand strong. We're already almost there. This push I've been spearheading, it's not mindless. The brutality we're seeing is temporary; the bleeding will stop. And, when it is finished... the Duats will be reforged. Our house will be made out of bricks, as it were, never to topple again. I do this not out of some vain sense of legacy, nor selfish greed; it is because the Duats must stand strong. They are important.  They are important to every dumb kid without a chance in life, doomed to poverty. They are important to every person who's made mistakes, and has nowhere else to go. In this world, there are only a few key ways in which you can 'succeed' traditionally – if you're lucky enough to be born wealthy, or born with a natural intellect, or, in rare cases, stunning beauty... you can get ahead. But, failing that? You're doomed. That is the Duats' most fundamental purpose: to be another way to gain power. Traditional society may not value strength or brutality, but that's because traditional society doesn't reward it. I say the path to riches should be open to all – the Duats must be that path to those afforded no other ones. And, so that the path may stay strong, so too must the Duats. And for the Duats to weather whatever storms come, they must have complete control... complete power. So then... how should we do it?At this, Marduk paused. Excuse me, sir? I'm asking you, my Senior Officers, my highest ranked members. We've been ambitious up until now, but we're not there yet. Let us strike while the iron is hot... How would you propose we increase our power?Marduk let this question linger in the air. Clearly, it was a very important one to him... and giving the right answer was very important to the others. Yi was the first to speak up. Well, sir, 'no man can buy back his past', but he can surely buy his future. It's an ironclad rule that under a capitalistic rule, money is the purest form of power. If you were to ask me, the best way we could secure Duat rule is to continue what we've been doing – increase our revenue. As I mentioned, I already have a few proposals for this that I think you'd be interested in. Eventually, if we keep raking in more and more, we'll have enough raw cash to move mountains. In my opinion, the strongest walls are made of dollar bills. ...So, your answer is to simply continue how we are? The path to unbreakable power is incremental change? Such a response is utterly lacking in the drive needed to truly bend this city to our will.And just like that, Marduk rebuffed Yi completely. Hoping to take advantage of Yi's failure, Lara pitched an idea of her own.  As you've so intelligently pointed out, sir, we've already got money! We should be looking for what we don't have... and right now, that's the people's support. You know what also has complete control? The government. History class always taught me that governments get their power from the consent of the people; I think if we spent a little bit of our cash back on the community in some key places, that'd go a long way. I believe in the power of the people. So, your plan would have us seek approval from the masses? Naive. A true gang can never really receive widespread support from civilians. Not true support, the type that matters. The people's respect is difficult to capture, and harder still to utilize. The people's fear, on the other hand, is far more reliable.It seemed as though Lara's pitch was also something of a swing and a miss. Oh well, Lara. You did your best.  With all eyes on me, I realized I was the last to offer my opinion. Ah poo poo. I should've been thinking about this while the others went, shouldn't I have? Well, whatever. I just needed a good enough proposal. ...We should stay the course. Excuse me? Power is useful, nobody denies that. However, power attracts envy – it attracts enemies. If we did achieve true dominance, it might help us from the threats of the past, but it would attract entirely new threats, ones we could not handle so easily. We should shore up our defenses, sure, but to keep expanding so recklessly? It only invites someone to dethrone us. And if somebody does come threatening the Duats, we will break their nose and throw them in the dirt, like we do to all our enemies. True power is the ability to resist the jealous and the hateful; to strive for less in fear of the problems it may bring is simple cowardice, plain and simple.Well... that could've gone better. I would've been feeling pretty lovely right now, had Marduk not rebuffed Yi and Lara's ideas as well. Seems like we had all failed whatever test Marduk was presenting us with. Marduk sighed heavily, putting his head in his hands. He was not happy with this result. ...Of course. Of course you all can't see the true vision. Then, Marduk lifted up his head and rolled his neck. There is only one person who truly understands my will, and they aren't in this room.At this, Yi and Lara both tensed up, until Marduk continued. The fact that they will not join the Duats is a tragedy... instead, I'm left with the lot of you. As I grow weaker and feebler, all I built up will fall to the hands of one of you. Can any of you truly hold up such a burden? Will you be able to live up to the great expectations thrust upon you? Ha! I doubt it.None of us knew how to respond to this. We all just avoided his gaze. Jeez... I wasn't even a Duat and I was still feeling pretty rejected by Marduk. This was how he treated his Senior Officers? Part of me was surprised there hadn't yet been a mutiny... although, a part of me also understood completely. Marduk spoke and moved with such an air of superiority that even I wanted nothing but his approval. He let out a long sigh. Ah...[BGM: Silence]  Every day that I move closer to my death, I look back and miss the days that have passed me by. How I long for those older days, back when I was still in action. I still remember my tenure as a Serpent with pristine clarity – when I was powerful, when I could do things for myself, when I was building something. Nowadays, I build and build and build this group more and more... and yet, it's never enough. I fear it won't ever be enough, not before I go. And all I get for my efforts is spite and vitriol from others....This was awkward. None of us really knew quite what to say to Marduk at this point. We just had to, like, sit there, until he was ready to let us go. It almost reminded me of being reprimanded by my parents. Wasn't a good reminder. However, at this point, Marduk looked at us and realized this listless ranting wasn't exactly going anywhere productive. He let out one final sigh, then switched gears. [BGM: The Gungniri]  This isn't the time for such words. They should be reserved for a death bed, and I certainly still have a few more strong years within me. You all look dejected – disheartened that you've all failed to gain my approval. Well, there's nobody to blame for that but yourselves. If you wish to remedy the situation, then I have a simple command for you: Be better.Be better. Very simple sentiment, and yet I could feel the force behind those words. He wasn't saying that lightly. None of you are Senior Officers haphazardly; you all have greatness within you, I can sense it. I could very well see any one of you becoming someone worthy of succeeding the Duats. I hope to someday become that person, sir. Agreed. I'll be sure to keep on striving to be a more worthy leader, just like you strive to improve the Duats.I decided to stay silent for now.  Very well then. I just called you here to check in on you – we really should have more regular meetings of the Senior Officers.Please don't. For now, just continue as you are. Yi, we can discuss those proposals of yours for the additional revenue streams at some later date. Knowing you, I'm sure they'll be fine, but I still want to look them over. Of course, sir.Then, there was an awkward pause. After a few moments, Marduk spoke up once more. You are all dismissed.With this, he waved his hand outward. We didn't need to be told twice. Yi, Lara, and I all got to our feet and began to leave the office. Well, that could've gone better – for Thane, that is. What did this mean for me? Specifically, in terms of the whole 'getting away from the Duats' angle. ...Hard to say.  Clearly there was a struggle over who would inherit the leadership of the Duats. I could surmise that Thane at one point was in the lead, but for some reason had messed up massively and was now in 'last place'. However, Marduk still wants on some level for Thane to succeed him... I guess? At the end there, it felt like he thought nobody would be truly fitting to succeed him... and to some extent, I had to agree. I mean, gently caress the Duats and all, but as far as I could tell neither Lara nor Yi really carried Marduk's will with them. If either took charge of the gang, it would undoubtedly go in a drastically different direction. And if Thane took charge? Let's... not consider that. Although, on that note, what would happen if Marduk... happened to die in the near future? Did he have some sort of will proclaiming who would succeed him? And if there was such a thing, would it even be acknowledged by the others? No doubt if Marduk made a decision and publicly passed the headship of the Duats to one of the Senior Officers in front of everybody, the others would have to just grind their teeth and accept it. But a will? Or... here's a scarier thought: what if there wasn't something like that? Would it just devolve into a straight up civil war? It seemed possible enough. A part of me wondered if this ambiguity was intentional on Marduk's part. If the fate of the Duats was in the air, undecided, it would be difficult for any particularly ambitious figures to try and... “speed up the process”.  As we exited the room, Yi draped his arm over my shoulder. Then, in a low voice, he spoke. Oh, don't let him get you too down, Thane. He'll keel over and die soon enough.And with that, he steered our walk over to a nearby room along one of the walls. I noticed Lara giving us a side-eye look as we walked in this direction; however, she didn't say anything... which meant I had no excuse. I had to walk with Yi over to this unknown door. [BGM: Bidding]  Entering, I was instantly awash in a completely different vibe from Marduk's office. There were maybe five total lamps all around, each completely superfluous as draped along the ceiling were Christmas lights. Whether they were still up out of laziness or a deliberate aesthetic, I couldn't tell. In the center of the room was a wooden table, with a couple knocked over beer cans and poker chips atop it; surrounding said table was a couch far dirtier than Marduk's, alongside a few chairs and a beanbag. On the other side of the room, I saw a pinball machine sitting next to a couple of familiar arcade cabinets. I also spotted a pool table at the back; atop it sat an out of place gold-flecked vase. Sitting next to the door we had just entered was a mini-fridge, with a microwave haphazardly set on top. I knew what this was. This was a bonafide man cave. Guess even violent gangs had hangout spots like this. There were three other men already inside the room: the previously seen goliath, a heavyset man with a horrible fashion sense, and a younger guy wearing far, far too much denim. So, Yi, how was the meeting? About what could be expected. The she-bitch was frenching the boss's rear end, while Marduk proved his growing senility. This one kind of took the cake though, towards the end I legitimately thought he was in a different time zone. Almost felt a bit bad for him. The elderly's loss of reality is a truly horrifying prospect.Apparently not that horrifying if you were willing to joke about it like this.  Wow. Must've been bad for you to feel bad for the old man, huh? Almost, Xia. I said almost. Was anything of use accomplished in the meeting? If anything of use was accomplished, Fang, I would've said so, okay? No, as a matter of fact he just brought us in to talk poo poo – asked us for ideas to expand Duat presence and all that, and then dismissed all our ideas out of hand. I mean, Lara's was pretty stupid, and Thane's non-committal, so I understood dismissing those two. But his only response to my proposal was that it 'wasn't thinking big enough'. The gently caress am I supposed to say to that?? He didn't even get around to hearing my proposals. Not your precious proposals! Oh jeez, what are we gonna do without your fricking proposals! We're really in trouble now. The two snickered to themselves. You two having fun over there? Done mocking the guy actually getting poo poo done? Oh, come off it, Yi. We're just having a bit of a laugh, you have to admit you've got a bit of a stick up your rear end about these plans. Hah, yeah, well, you guys're gonna make fun of me for having a stick up my rear end when 'DuatBot 3000' is sitting right there?Yi thumbed over at me. For my part, I just stayed silent. Eh, that's no fun. Yeah. Thane never reacts to poo poo. Kinda sucks the fun out of making fun of him, you get it? So sorry about that. Woah, sarcasm! Your router must've gotten an update. That metaphor doesn't make sense. Ah, that's more like it. Fang turned to Yi, trying to keep the conversation on track. Even if nothing much of substance was discussed, it was still a meeting of the Senior Officers. Those are far from meaningless. How is the 'war' progressing?At this, Yi took a long pause. He seemed to be seriously weighing the question. Well... A wash? Lara's rear end kissing definitely backfired a time or two, but if I'm being honest, I don't think I was exactly killing it in the old man's eyes either. Honestly, if it wasn't for his last answer, I would've said Thane was the one who got the most out of today.Xia, finished with the beer he'd been drinking, threw his can at the nearby trashcan. He missed, and the can bounced off to land with the other half dozen misses. Are we gonna have to start seriously wondering what we're going to do if Lara gets the Duat headship? 'Cuz if that happens, we're all sorta hosed. Oh, please. There's no need to be scared about something that won't happen. 'Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow'. Sure, the she-bitch might be a bit more popular with the grunts, but even without half his wits Marduk still doesn't respect shallow poo poo like that. He has, and will always, prioritized results. He knows who brings him the cash. He knows who's served him the best.Then Yi punched me on the shoulder. And besides, it's two on one! That girl ain't got a chance in hell!The little speech elicited some cheering from Zaochi and Xia. However, it just brought me concern. I don't know whether or not Yi meant it to be explicit, but I saw the look he'd given me back in Marduk's office. He didn't want to stop Lara from claiming the Duat headship... He wanted the headship. Could I really trust Yi? Well... from everything I could tell, the real Thane trusted Yi. So I guess I had to follow suit with that.  So, gentlemen, how have you been? What's been going on in your rich personal lives? Not much with me. Jia's been acting like more of a dipshit than usual. We got in a fight recently– You two? In a fight? You don't say!Xia shot Zaochi a dirty look. Yeah, well she sent me a text earlier this morning saying that she was gonna be blowing off work because she didn't want to see me.… Seriously? She's just gonna not do Duat work? Eh, forget her. She's a major buzzkill anyway. I'm sure she'll get over herself before too long. What about you, Zaochi, how've you been? Not great Yi, not great indeed. Spent the weekend trying to get some action, but I'm sad to say it was to no avail. You don't say? It's the whole 'Duat' thing. Women say they like bad boys, but that only goes so far. Yeah, it's definitely the 'Duat' thing holding you back. Excuse me? What exactly are you trying to say, buddy? Woah, woah, easy there Zao. Xia's just trying to get under your skin. Tch. Hate on my fashion style all you want, pal, we'll see who history favors. Fang! You, how have you been, how's your life been? Uneventful. I've been working on my latest piece. It's almost finished. Really? I'd love to see it when you're done. Where do you even do the sculpting, Fang? Can't imagine you've got a space for it in your apartment. I've got my ways. Okay man, just asking you a simple question, don't need to get all ominous about it. That's Fang's way, Xia. You gotta respect it.Finally, Yi turned to me.  So then, what about you Thane? How've you been spending your free time?A personal question. Great. I couldn't be assed to be clever. Just going to take the easy way out. Take a guess. Oh, gently caress off! Anyone ever tell you you're no fun, Thane? Yes. You. Ha! You got me there, bud.Yi gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder. Well, whatever you've been doing, hope it hasn't been too exhausting... because tonight, we're dealing with the Milo problem, and we need you to be in top form for that.Oh, awesome. Forget meetings, I'd have to tag along for an actual Duat mission. Can't wait. ... [BGM: Silence]  Taking a ride on the crime side, it seems. I like it, I'm digging it. I think I might just have a soft spot for everything that doesn't toe the societal line. There's a power in numbers that can manifest in rather awful ways. Step out of line, you lose out on that power. And if the majority thinks they 're losing that power, that you're a threat? Oh boy, watch out bucko. It's a sad state of affairs, and we need to change it. Minorities! Revolutionaries! Murderers! All equally oppressed, looked down on by the world. Really makes you think. Society, huh? Crazy stuff. ...Okay, I admit, this might not be my most salient point. Between you and me, I forgot that I had to prepare a little conversation for when the scene ended, so I've kind of just been winging it. But there's something in there, I think. A good point buried in the rough. Ah, well. Life goes on. Next update, it's back to Devon.
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Sep 12, 2023 14:58
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'Thane' is a lot better when they get to bounce off people. We get to see a lot of worldbuilding without them being wallpaper like Vels gets close to sometimes. They're probably just behind Laverna for me right now.
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Sep 12, 2023 15:32
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Does the Thane mask have a voice changer in it? Because that whole scene I was wondering how close “Thane’s” voice is to the real one.
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Sep 12, 2023 19:46
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BassMug posted:Does the Thane mask have a voice changer in it? Because that whole scene I was wondering how close “Thane’s” voice is to the real one. It does, Mercury mentions how artificial the voice sounds when that Thane first speaks, and this "Thane" mentions they have to grab the helmet to modify their voice before answering Yi when Yi calls them in Thane 1.
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Sep 12, 2023 19:57
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Mix. posted:It does, Mercury mentions how artificial the voice sounds when that Thane first speaks, and this "Thane" mentions they have to grab the helmet to modify their voice before answering Yi when Yi calls them in Thane 1. Ah, I forgot. Thanks!
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Sep 12, 2023 21:23
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I wonder who this “one person” Marduk mentioned is, the one who won’t join the Duats but truly understands his will is. Are they someone we’ve heard of? Are they relevant to the overall story? Hm. Also Lara and Thane both being Duat officers raises a number of questions with Mercury’s story…
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Sep 13, 2023 01:50
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Idly, do you like the art style of the character portraits here more than the Zodiac Trial ones? With the thicker lines and all.
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Sep 13, 2023 02:13
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AweStriker posted:I wonder who this “one person” Marduk mentioned is, the one who won’t join the Duats but truly understands his will is. Are they someone we’ve heard of? Are they relevant to the overall story? I’m guessing the person who understands Marduks’ will but won’t join is “The Devil”. Just calling yourself The Devil probably vibes well with Marduk based on his passwords. Most obvious way for the Duats to solidify their position is to make inroads to the other major factions.
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Sep 13, 2023 02:34
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AweStriker posted:Also Lara and Thane both being Duat officers raises a number of questions with Mercury’s story… The dark comedy option is that the real Thane died on the boat and the current one actually killed Mercury who'd taken their place (assuming all this happens after).
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Sep 13, 2023 15:07
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Actually, the real Thane was Rooster, and we’re all screwed :P
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Sep 14, 2023 00:00
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I find it really interesting that, for all of his importance to the Duats and to the city, Marduk apparently doesn’t have dedicated sprites and is instead background art.
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Sep 14, 2023 02:50
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 [BGM: Furiten]  … I liked good music. It was just... nice. Not much more to it than that, I just liked listening to good music. It put me in a good mood. My mind didn't wander as much when listening to music. Recently I had gotten into this one singer, Talei. I really dug her style; her songs had a lot of really moving lyrics, and I really connected with them – it felt like she was talking right to me. She was really talented. Man, imagine being born able to make music like that. What would life be like? I envied it, I truly did. … I wonder if I could get a ticket to one of Talei's concerts? I had plenty of money, but no real way to spend it. So far, I'd just been saving most of it. After all the jobs I'd done, I had an amount of money that smarter people would know what to do with... but I was never cut out for that. I didn't know how to spend it to make a profit, and I didn't know how to spend it to have fun. A concert seemed fun, though... The only question would be if Talei would be touring in Panthea any time soon. I didn't to leave town in case I was needed on short notice. I wonder if I could get Talei to hold a concert here? Would that be possible? … I didn't like the line of thinking I was going down. It was a little bit too self-motivated. At any rate, it was more than late enough. I pressed pause on my music and took off my headphones. Let's see... from my vantage point, I didn't see any threats. Still, couldn't be too sure. I began to sweep the area around the building. Were there any witnesses? Were there any spies? ...The answer to that last question was probably no, but the answer to that first question was probably yes.  Unfortunately, the Governor's office was the heart of Panthea. It was almost inevitable that there'd be plenty of passersby walking around. It was extremely late, which tempered things somewhat, but Panthea was a city where far more people were awake at hours like this. There was nothing that could be done. The only way to reliably enter the building without any witnesses would be if there was some sort of secret underground entrance or something... and that just seemed silly. Well, what could you do? I had on a nondescript grey hoodie, a baseball cap, and a face mask; at this time of night, it'd be extremely hard to identify me, and more likely than not, nobody'd even notice me making my way over there. All this thought was an exercise in paranoia... but I liked to exercise my paranoia as often as possible. Anyways, paranoia's been checked – time to start walking over to the building. The Governor's building had, to put it lightly, a lot of security... more security than most would expect. A team of three guards patrolled the building at all times, and there were countless cameras – both inside the building and out, some overt, some hidden. The building didn't have many entrances, and there were even a limited number of windows, all being too small to reasonably enter through. There were only two ways into the building: there was a back exit that had a shutter drop behind it during off hours, and there was the front entrance, a wide open set of glass doors. ...Bulletproof glass, to be precise; not that the average person would even be able to tell. After hours, it even had a complex locking mechanism keeping it in place. The only way to enter it – only way I knew, at least – was to be buzzed in by the person working the graveyard shift at the front desk. Although, if I had to guess... there was probably some other, secret way in. Not that I needed to know. I simply kept walking over to the front entrance... then stood in front of the glass doors. I waved at the front desk, even though I knew the camera was already being checked at the moment. Moments later, I heard the telltale sound of the doors unlocking. There we go. I grabbed the handle and made my way inside. There, sitting behind the desk... I saw Secretary Gani. He was in the process of taking off his headphones, and looked none too pleased. Usually he would be above taking graveyard shifts like this – typically, the after hours slot was held by one of two lower-level employees. However, Governor Aija had arranged for Secretary Gani to be on desk duty tonight, for our meeting. ...Which meant, in a roundabout way, I was responsible for him being stuck here tonight. 'Whoops'. [BGM: Silence]  I decided to walk up to him and make some small talk.  Um... Oh, hey Devon. You're here a bit late. ...Which is to say, right on time. Oh, well, you know... I guess time got away from me. I was busy listening to some music. Oh yeah? What's your fix these days, dude? I was listening to Talei's newest album. Dude, Talei? That poo poo sucks, man – totally overrated trash. You like that garbage overplayed pop? Uh, yeah... … Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess. Right... Alright, well, Aija's in her office as usual; she's ready when you are. You already know your way over there – down the hallway and to the left. Of course. I'll go see her now. Tell her I said hi. Sure.I nodded, and shuffled away from the desk. [BGM: Trick Score]  To the left of the desk was a long, plain hallway. There were various paintings hung, depicting Panthea's long and storied history; they all were nicely done. I walked over to the closest one and put my hand on the bottom of the painting's frame. There were “No Touching” signs, of course, but I wasn't supposed to obey them. *click.* There we go. I had pressed a small button underneath the frame of that painting. Great – the sensors were now deactivated. After hours, this hallway was in 'Sentry Mode': when it was in this mode, there were active sensors in the middle of the hallway that would detect anybody walking by. If the sensors caught any movement, chainlink fences with heavy metal bottoms would drop from the ceiling. If you looked closely, you could actually see the markings where the fences would drop from. I'd even heard that the fences were electrified... though, that part might not be true. The way to get around it lay in the paintings – the paintings on either end of the hallway had a small button underneath their frames, and pressing them deactivated the sensors for two minutes. More than enough time to cross. This all seemed a bit excessive, and building it all from the ground up would probably be too much... however, according to Ms. Aija, the chain link fences had already been there when she became Governor. A previous Governor apparently had had them constructed where they'd drop down manually, and Ms. Aija had just adapted it to work with sensors to be an actually efficient security measure. It was a super well-kept secret, though; only a literal handful of people knew about it. The other security measures were all standard stuff that experienced burglars could get around; however, something like this, nobody could anticipate... and would almost certainly foil any nefarious plot. And, if I knew Ms. Aija well enough, there was probably at least one other super secret measure that only she and maybe a different group of people knew about. ...Not that I needed to concern myself with that. With the sensors deactivated, I walked down the hallway and opened the door on the left to Ms. Aija's office. She was sitting behind her desk, waiting for me to arrive. She'd probably expected me to get here slightly early; I hoped she wouldn't hold that against me. ...She probably wouldn't. She's nice.   Ah, Devon. Ma'am.I slightly bowed.  It's been far, far too long since we've had a nice chat. That's my fault. No no, it's nobody's fault. Anyways, I'm just glad we get to meet – even if it is in slightly strained circumstances. Please, come in, come in. Make yourself at home.I just nodded at this, and moved forwards to take a seat opposite Aija. Her room was quite lovely; the back walls were bookshelves, housing who knew how many stories, while the side walls held several plaques, pictures, medals, and a display case or two. The rug on the floor was equal parts luxurious and down to earth. There were a number of interesting knick knacks on Aija's desk – a Rubix cube, a little globe, an actual pen sitting in an inkpot, a jar of loose change, a small statue of an emperor made out of jade. And, right behind Ms. Aija... was the piece that really brought the whole place together. Painted with surprising detail, Aija stood proudly in front of Panthea, a calm smile plastered on her face. I thought it was a really good portrait. The artist, Nar-C, usually did street work, but Ms. Aija personally reached out to them to make this important piece of art. I had always thought that was really emblematic of Ms. Aija's personality: looking to reach out to the little people. The whole room was lit by a sole lamp standing in the corner of the room. Ms. Aija had a personal lamp on her desk, and the room had regular lighting, but at night time she liked this setup.  So, how have you been Devon? Staying healthy? Of course. I make sure to maintain a solid diet and exercise regularly. That's not what I mean. I'm talking about your mental health.Oh. That's fine too. Is it? Last time we'd spoke, you opened up about some doubts you had on that end. You know the last thing I want is for you to 'lose yourself in the clouds'. I've been fine, really. I was only half-lying. Sure... I've been starting to spiral more frequently as of late... but I've also been catching myself more frequently. To me, that's progress. More importantly, there hasn't been any sign of those spirals interfering with my work. I was just as useful as ever. I really think you should consider seeing a therapist. I have someone in mind – I could give you a personal referral, if you'd like. No no, I don't want to give you undue work. Really, giving you a referral to a therapist is no sweat off my back. But opening up to a therapist could give you more work, right? …It was rare Ms. Aija didn't have a response. Trust me, I'm fine.After a pause, Ms. Aija just sighed.  I'll trust you on this matter. Still, I want you to look after yourself. What about hobbies? I know you like to keep yourself busy, but you should still have plenty of free time. You should take up an interest; I think that's healthy.This again. I don't know, ma'am. I tried looking for interests when I was young, but I didn't really do well at any of them. Having a hobby isn't about excelling at it! An interest is something you do for no other reason than you like to do the act in and of itself. It's a zen thing.That didn't match up with how I remembered it. 'If you're bad at it, what's even the point?' I also didn't really find anything that spoke to me. You've grown as a person, haven't you? You've matured – your tastes have matured. I think you might find joy in things you previously didn't. Maybe. At the very least, I think it's worth a shot. It'd be healthy.If you say so...  What about you, ma'am? Excuse me? You said hobbies are a good thing to have... do you have a hobby? Something you do to kill stress?Aija let out a light, gentle laugh. Ah, unfortunately not, Devon. You may have free time, but I will not be so lucky for the coming years. Keeping a city in check is a taxing occupation, doubly so when that city is Panthea... but you know all about that. Still, I know you're not working 24/7. So how are you spending your free time? Devon. We were talking about you. It is impolite to try and change the subject. Sorry, ma'am. I wasn't trying to be– I know, I know. Of course, I know you'd never try and be impolite. I am just letting you know so you can do better in the future, okay? Right. Thank you, ma'am, that's useful to know. Good. Glad that matter is settled. Ms. Aija stretched her arms out, then put them back on the desk and began to tap them in a rhythmic fashion. So, with that matter settled, we should probably move on to other matters... the ones I called you here to discuss.I recognized that transition. Ms. Aija's face mostly remained the same, but I could tell that her expression was slightly different from the one she usually wore. It had taken a long time before I could recognize that change. This was 'Business Aija'. Good. Backwards as it was, I actually felt more comfortable with Business Aija... it was more familiar. Um, ma'am? Yes, Devon? If you don't mind, I have a question to ask. Well then, by all means, feel free to ask it. Okay...I took a deep breath.  So, after the Aften job... I removed all evidence of my presence and left, all according to plan. Once I exited the building, I ran away. Right. That is all very good. Right, so... I checked the news after it all happened. I do that a lot – just, you know, to get some idea about public sentiment of the thing. And... I found out that there were two people who died that night. Correct. I was there when they found the second body; horrible event, that. I'd imagine. But, um...I didn't know how to phrase what I was about to say. The last thing I wanted to do is come across as insulting or accusatory... but I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't ask about this. I looked into it some more, and according to the article on The Oracle... the victim seemed to be killed by being struck over the head with a bronze bell. And, you know, to most people that would just be a coincidence... but that doesn't really seem likely. I mean... 'Who'll sing a psalm? I, said the Thrush, as she sat on a bush. I'll sing a psalm. Who'll toll the bell? I, said the Bull, because I can pull. I'll toll the bell.' … It matches the next verse. But... I didn't kill that person. I'm the Cock Robin Killer, but I don't know what that body's doing there. And from the report on The Oracle, it doesn't look like the bell could've been planted there postmortem either. Why are you so quick to jump to conclusions? Sometimes a bell is just a bell. Well, that's...I thought about what Ms. Aija had just said. Is it possible that this murder weapon was just a coincidence? ...No, no. Something like that was too unlikely. I don't think that's likely – I mean, it was a murder at the same place, I can't write that off as coincidence. ...You're probably right about that. Oh well. For your next mission, remember to skip the bell. Yes, of course, I know that. But that's not what I'm asking. You're asking something? I have yet to hear a question. What happened to that victim? …Ms. Aija looked down, considering her words carefully. Twice now I had caught her at a loss for words. Eventually, however, she composed herself and gave a simple response. Does it matter? It isn't something that you need to concern yourself with. We can just view it as a lucky case of additional noise and move on. Move on?Could I just... do that? It was an attractive offer – I didn't want to linger on this any longer than she did. But regarding this, I had a rare spark of curiosity... and a much more common spark of uncertainty. I don't know if I can do that, Ms. Aija... this seems like something important. Something I deserve an answer to. 'Deserve'? Something I'd like to know, I mean. It's just... as far as I know, there are only three people who know the truth of the Cock Robin Killer. I know I didn't kill that guy, and I know the other person couldn't have done it either, not with this time frame. Devon... I didn't like the direction I was heading with this. However, I couldn't stop now. Additionally, there were some details about The Oracle that stick out to me. When that reporter found the body, they'd already been dead for a bit. The psalm connection wasn't found until the police arrived and searched the body. I don't know exactly when the Bell victim died... however, I do know that even before the police arrived, nobody was allowed to leave the venue for any reason. And the Bell verse... comes after the Psalm verse. People don't just happen to have bells on them. So, one way or another, I'm pretty sure the killer had to know that the Psalm verse would be fulfilled that night ahead of time. Devon, are you seriously implying that I killed the man outside? That's not– As you pointed out, after Mr. Aften was found dead, nobody was allowed to leave. That includes me. Therefore, it is impossible that I would have anything to do with the Bell victim. But Ms. Aija, it's not clear when the Bell victim was killed. If you wanted, you could have left the gala earlier, killed him, then slipped back in right before the Mr. Athen chaos. That's– Ma'am, if you wanted somebody dead, you know I would've been more than happy to do my job. But that's why I'm here: to kill for you. I'm just worried that if you took matters into your own hands, if there's any evidence that leads back to you... That's enough! In a way I hadn't heard before, Aija had raised her voice. She was clearly, legitimately, angry. Uh oh. Are you accusing me of murder, of killing a man? I assure you, I did no such thing – and if you continue to make such baseless allegations, there will be consequences.I went too far. Stupid, so stupid. I'm sorry, ma'am. I was completely out of line. I meant no offense. …For a few moments, Ms. Aija just stared at me with fury in her eyes. Then, gradually, she recomposed herself. For your information, this gala was my personal fundraiser. As the host, I was indentured with many duties, including constantly making my way around the room, greeting guests, and having the right conversations. If you were to take witness statements, everyone there could attest that at no point did I 'slip out of sight'. Additionally, as you so wisely pointed out, if I wanted somebody dead. I would contact you for that. Please know that I had absolutely no knowledge of the death of Maximillian Collins ahead of time. And know that I do not know the identity of whoever killed them. Of course. I am sorry to have questioned you.Leave it there. But... then, isn't that an issue? That somebody died in line with the Cock Robin Killings, and we didn't know about it? ...That isn't your concern. Right, right. Again, I'm sorry.Ms. Aija took a deep sigh, then adjusted herself in her chair. It's fine. Honestly, I should expect outbursts like this more frequently. Just try and keep in mind your place. Making accusations like that is not your place. Understood.Understood.
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Sep 14, 2023 20:32
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Maybe she was gonna send him to Monkey, and this is actually a Zodiac Trial prequel :P
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Sep 15, 2023 02:44
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Well that solidifies Aija as a baddie. Hope Laverna, Lock, or Olif can expose her.
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Sep 15, 2023 06:21
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