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 [BGM: Last Dice]   Wh-what? Give me a reason - any reason - for me not to pull the trigger and blow your brains out right here and now. I'm asking you to just give me something. ...I don't have anything to offer to the Duats. I'm not asking for the Duats. I'm asking for myself. Please, just person to person, explain it to me. You're telling me to beg for my life? I'm asking you to convince me. Begging you, practically. I don't know what to say. Your mind's made up, right? I definitely have to die tonight. Dude, you're not making this easy for me. Oh I'm sorry, because I care so much about making things easy for you. Specifically not murdering you? Yeah, I'd think it was in your interest to make that aspect easy for me.
 I know you. Huh? Not, like, literally, but I know who you are. And you've got a lot of demons in you. You've committed a lot of sins, and I'm not going to say that you can necessarily wash all of them off. But deep down, you don't want to kill me. If you did, you wouldn't be asking me to try and convince you otherwise. So if you don't want to kill me, and you still do, it's going to stick with you. You can try to repress it, you can try to ignore it, but it'll still haunt you. You'll never be able to truly wash it away. I might just be some random old man, I might mean nothing to you, but even still you'll see my face in your dreams from now until the day you die. Way I see it, nothing's forcing you to kill me. I pose no threat to you. Only thing killing me'd accomplish would be to send a message. Apparently everybody else in Panthea has heard that message loud and clear already. So... you don't need to do this.
 gently caress. Why had I asked him that? What was the point? It only served to torture myself. Maybe I was a masochist deep down that seemed like a reasonable explanation for why I kept doing things like this. Ugh. I wasn't cut out for this. Who was? This was a job for psychopaths. And now, with my back to the wall, I had to kill an innocent man. A belligerent man, to be sure. One that had brought this on himself. But certainly not somebody who deserved to die. Because of this stupid situation, I had to murder this guy. ...Well, it's not like this would be the first person I killed. 'Murderer' is defined as someone who murders. By that definition, I was already a murderer, and nothing could change that. In for a penny, in for a pound. But... this was different. Way different. ...Or was it? In a way, this was a form of self-defense. If I refused to kill him, doubtless I'd be found out and murdered. Him or me, one of us had to die tonight. If I had any chance of getting him out alive, then sure, maybe I'd have an obligation to do something. In that scenario, deciding to still kill him would definitely be a sin. But as it stands, my defiance was worthless. So I should be fine to kill him, right? This wasn't being a bad person, this was understandable, this was... It was the only choice, right? There was absolutely no way to save him. So I could just... lift up my gun and... ... gently caress. gently caress, gently caress, gently caress. [BGM: Challenger]  I walked over to a nearby wall and started slamming my fist into it. It was exceedingly rare that I lashed out in rage like this but this was a rare occurrence when it was worth it. Besides, it had the added side benefit of making a lot of noise. Maybe Yi would think I was beating him up or something. Milo just looked confused at this display. gently caress me. God drat it, why did I have to always think things through. Why did I have to notice things? loving God drat it fine. I'd totally shoot myself in the foot for this stranger. You win, conscience. God I was irate. I turned over to Milo and started speaking in a hushed tone. Listen here, you little poo poo, and you listen good; I'm only going to say this once. O-okay? I don't want an 'okay?' I want an 'okay.' Okay! In a moment, I'm going to help you up so you can scamper on out through that window behind me.I turned around and pointed at the window in question; it was high and small but it'd have to do.  After that, you're going to scurry on out of the alley and go far, far away. I don't mean in the city, I mean in the country. You don't show your face anywhere near Panthea. Not now, not five years from now." As far as you're concerned, you're no longer Milo. You're someone else. Pick a fun name. I've heard 'Bishop' is in style. And you thank your loving lucky stars that I'm the person who walked into this room to do the deed tonight instead of anybody else.
You hear me? I hear you! Totally, totally, I 100%% get you. I just... I don't get why you're doing this for me. Yeah, that makes two of us.Without another word, I pulled out my pistol; time to put this thing to some use. I pulled the trigger and aimed it at Milo's shoulder. Before he could understand what was happening, I pulled the trigger. *blam!* Woah, that was a lot of recoil.  Milo screamed incredibly loudly. He was in a lot of pain. gently caress! AAAAARGH!Immediately, I got to work. While he thrashed, I took his shirt off him. Then, I began to wrap it around the wound. I was far from a doctor, so it was a pretty shoddy job, but at least it did a decent enough job of keeping blood inside his body. He'd have to get this checked out more thoroughly at a later date, but that wasn't my problem. I had already done this man enough favors. What the gently caress! I thought you were letting me go! Quiet.I applied a little pressure to the wound, and he shouted out again. The others needed to hear you scream a little bit - they needed to hear a gunshot, and there needs to be blood here. In other words, you had to be shot here tonight. Argh, drat it! It hurts like a mother fucker. Easy, easy. Calm down. ...Actually, don't, I've heard adrenaline helps numb things. Was this really necessary?! That ungrateful tone better not mean you're questioning me. Would you have preferred I gone with the first option? That's... Still, you could've given me some heads up. I fail to see how that would've made this situation any better for you. Anyways, we can't afford to waste any more time. Time to get you out of here.Milo didn't feel like arguing with that. It clearly took quite a bit of effort, but Milo made his way next to the window. I bent down in front of it and put my hands out. With a lot of effort, I boosted him up. Ugh... You really tend to underestimate how much a human weighs. Turns out: they weigh a fuckin' lot. Still managed to get him to the window. A moment later, I heard a thud. He'd dropped to the other side. Well... godspeed now. The rest is out of my hands. I did my duty, at least loving went above the call, I'd say. I'd be in some poo poo later on. But I think I could buy a surprising amount of time... If I knew the Duats right. It was a gamble, all right, but to save a life... I think you should be prepared to gamble. All right then. Now to seal the deal. I lifted my pistol and aimed at the ground. *blam!* Kill shot. I holstered the pistol again.... and I walked out the door. Confidence, confidence. Yi looked at me casually.   So? How'd it go? How do you think? Hey now, no need to be snippy. Never hurts asking. Any day could be the day you make a dumb mistake. As robotic as you try to be, remember that you're still flesh and blood under that mask of yours. Every human on earth, no matter how carefully they try to avoid it, is owed a cosmic smack on the back of the head in the form of a critical mistake. I handled things. Are you happy? Can't say I'm happy. Jesus Thane, we just killed a man what sort of devil do you think me? The murder hasn't stopped your smoke break. Yeah, well, even if someone died, what's the use of wasting a perfectly good cig? Now that would be a sin.  You really gotta fuckin' knock it off with those cigarettes, Yi. I thought you were smarter than that. That so? Zaochi, I don't criticize your vices; show me the same respect. Just trying to be responsible for once. Anyways, we wanna go in there and clean things up? There's no need. See, Thane? This is what I like about you. You're a professional. You know this poo poo already.Thank God. Zaochi, this is all about sending a message. We're specifically not making it look like an accident or 'disappearing' the body with an ocean burial. People have to know what happens when they go to the cops. The rumors about Milo trying to get us arrested have already spread. When they find his violently murdered body, those rumors will also spread. Sure, that will also put police suspicion on us, but... we've already handled things. There ain't a scrap of evidence that can be used to place us at this murder scene. And even if they know this was a Duat bullet, for all they know we sent some lower level grunts to do this as an initiation. In other words, no need to hide our handiwork. All right, jeez, I got it in the first sentence or two. No need to break into a whole lecture about it. Ah, sorry. Must be my teacher instincts snapping back into gear.Well I, for one, loved hearing that explanation. I couldn't describe how much of a relief it was to hear that my reasoning had been spot on. Was a pretty loving big risk, if I said so myself. If Yi even felt like giving the body a once over, I'd be mincemeat. But I took a risk to save a life... and the risk paid off. So can we go now? Got a hot date waiting for me. Now, now, Zaochi. There's no need to make up lies. Saying you're bored is a perfectly adequate excuse. You fucker, you're gonna be rotting in hell, you know?[BGM: Silence]  I thought it was perfectly clear that all of us were destined there. Anyways, yeah, nothing left for us here. Let's turn off the lights and get moving.We began to exit the venue. And it was right at this moment Fang entered the store. As soon as I saw him - saw what he was holding - my stomach fell three feet. Oh no. gently caress. I felt the ground rushing up at me. No, stay still, stay normal. Stay grounded.  Look what I found scrounging out around in the alley.[BGM: Spot On]  In Fang's oversized hand, Milo was hanging by the scruff, biting his tongue from screaming out in pain. He had a nasty looking bruise over his right eye. God loving drat it. Just my luck that I had to let a goddamn moron try and run free. ...Well, shooting him couldn't have helped. Should I have told him about Fang? No, but Fang was nowhere near the alley. And if you were trying to avoid attention, you'd never run out to the front, where there are windows. The only way he could get caught was if he was loud and slow. ...Sounded like Milo, all right. I could feel the room closing in on me. My swing at benevolence had completely whiffed, and now I was going to have to pay up. No, I couldn't give in yet. I'd just have to play this carefully. Very carefully. Yi squinted at this arrival. First disbelief, then irritation, then back to disbelief. Huh. Good catch, Fang. That's the reason we keep you outside. ...Well, well, well. What in the nine hells do we have here? A dead man walking. Well, you could hardly call him walking. In fact, you look pretty beat up, buddy. But noticeably not dead. Mind explaining what happened? It's simp- Now, now, Thane. Let the man speak. You can have your turn in a minute....gently caress.  Milo shuddered, but remained silent. Yi kicked him in the stomach, and he started coughing violently. How'd you get out alive, Milo? I don't like violence, but I'm pretty fuckin' good at it. ...It's not my fault. Ha! That's pretty obvious. No one would ever call somebody surviving certain death that person's fault. It's also not an explanation. ...It was Thane.Oh, you little poo poo. He shot me in the arm, because he wanted to make it look believable. Then he helped me out over the window. He said he wanted to help me help me fake my death, get out alive. I didn't have a choice! It was either this or be killed! What did you expect from me? Your boy here said to run, I ran. That's it! That's all. That's all that happened. So please, couldn't you tell Fang to stop holding me like this, it really, argh, really really hurts, aaaargh! Yi noticeably didn't tell Fang to let him down or make him more comfortable. Instead, he just digested those words. He just stood there, looking over Milo. Then he let out a little chuckle." Milo. Dear Milo. Of course, you did nothing wrong in that situation. You just did what you were told. Honestly I wish you had that skill earlier, before it came to all this ugliness. I'm afraid I can't accommodate your request for Fang to let you go. Safety concerns and all. Wouldn't want you getting away again, right? But we'll get to you in a moment. For now...Yi turned over to me. Oh gently caress, he was pissed. He was smiling but he was clearly super-duper-not-even-joking pissed. I had to stand firm. Thane was an emotionless robot. For Zaochi's part, he just looked between the two of us with a worried expression. He clearly wasn't expecting a fight to break out like this. Fang, meanwhile, stood emotionless shocker, that. So, Thane. You gonna tell me that all that was a crock of poo poo? That you thought you killed him, he somehow survived the wound, and escaped after you left? No. Everything he said was accurate. Oh, okay. Then was what I just said the story you were gonna try and spin us after we found out this gently caress never died? ... My, my, my. Thane, Shadow of Panthea, Senior Officer of the Duat... lets a pathetic little poo poo get away. Refuses to kill them. Isn't that out of character! Going soft there on me buddy? Growing a bit of a heart? I No, no, of course you wouldn't. That's not even believable. Boy, but if that's the case... Then what's happened here? Why would you not kill him? Why would you try to lie to us?Could it possibly, maybe, I don't know... Have something to do with undermining me? ... Thane. I thought we were friends. You're killing me here! I hate having to call your trust into question like this. But this? You better have a drat good explanation.[BGM: Silence]  I could see his hand drifting towards his knife. Zaochi and Fang were loyal to Yi; I couldn't survive if this turned to a fight. And if things progressed how they've been going, a fight was definitely going to break out. Yi couldn't let a lie this big go unpunished. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. The real me might back down, look to escape, maybe talk my way out. But I wasn't me. I was Thane. Thane was bold, unerring he stood strong. I had prepared myself for death several times today, and if I was going out, I was gonna go out swinging. The one good way out that I could see involved a risk. I had to bet on some dynamics that haven't been yet made explicit... but that was a bet I was willing to make. [BGM: Danrasu]  Watch your tone. The gently caress? Who exactly do you think you're talking to?I took a single step towards Yi. He took a step back. That told me all I needed to know. I'm not- Don't think I didn't see you move your hand towards your knife. I'm too experienced a fighter to miss cues like that, Yi. You know that. What can I say? Nervous reflex. I think after all the time I've spent doing your errands, you've begun to forget what our relationship is; I am not your man. I am not Fang. I am not Zaochi. I am not Jia or Xia. I am your fellow Senior Officer. You are not to make moves against me and you certainly are not going to making accusations before even giving me so much as a chance to speak.
 ...Hey, woah, Thane, what's with this hostility buddy? You know what, you're right. I was coming on a little strong there. You know how I get when I'm confused, right? Look, absolutely no offense meant, I'm sorry if I came off that way. I was just surprised!Oh thank Christ, it was working. Honestly, that was something of a coinflip in my eyes. With all the info I'd gathered, I had a read on the situation: Thane used to be the leading Senior Officer, shoe-in for becoming the next head of the Duats. Then something happened, and Thane became on Marduk's poo poo list. He was tasked with the relatively risky and exhausting mantle of acting as the Shadow of Panthea... hence the Mask, the getup, the whatever. As a part of this deal, he was put under the supervision of Yi, whom Marduk possibly viewed as a more reasonable and cautious Senior Officer. Despite some resistance on his end, Thane ultimately worked with Yi, and worked with him quite well the two probably legitimately became somewhat close. Given Yi's dominant personality, Yi assumed the role of acting leader, and given Thane's stunted personality, he probably didn't resist too much... but beneath it all, the two were equals. ...No, Thane might even outrank Yi. That was my theory, at least. Seems like it was at least halfway correct. ...If you're done, I'll give you the explanation you're owed. Please! I know it's a policy to kill traitors. But when I entered the room, this one started making some interesting claims. Said that he didn't feel bad about ratting us out, because from day one he had ill will towards us. However, that didn't mean he didn't fiercely stick to his values. And that got me curious. Decided it might be fun to run a little experiment. So... I put on a show where I was 'smuggling' him out. Obviously, with Fang standing guard outside, and his injuries, he'd soon be caught and brought back in here. I wanted to see how he reacted at this point. If he really cared so much about these 'values' of his, surely he'd respect that I had saved his life and keep my secret for me.I then took a few steps and leaned down, putting my face right next to Milo's. But you didn't, now did you? I-I... Guess that means he failed the test. ...Well, even if he passed, I probably would've had to kill him. But I was willing to give him an out. My explanation hung in the air. Had I given it stumbling over my words, in a weaker position, it would've sounded like a pathetic excuse. However, if I could sell it as a beast, playing with his prey Heh, Thane, my man, I know you're hosed up but you really gotta tone stunts like these down.I thought it earlier, but Thane was truly an easy disguise to pull off. I mean, what if Fang here hadn't caught Milo? Weren't you banking on a lot here? I trust your man wouldn't be so utterly incompetent as to let a bleeding old fool get away. And if he did, I'd just hunt him down myself. Been a while since I got to have fun like that. drat. Thane, I said this before, but you're really hosed up, you know?[BGM: Silence]  Throw him down, Fang.Wordlessly, Fang complied. Milo skidded a solid couple feet, shouting in pain the whole way. There, he started to get up. However, he paused in his tracks when he looked up to see me pointing my pistol right at his head. Immediately, he got down on his knees. Please! Please! Just give me another chance! You saved me once, you can do it again!Sorry, Milo, but that simply wasn't true. I already did my good deed. I gave you your out. It's your fault you weren't able to make the most of it. Anyways, at this point, it truly was futile to try anything else. Fang, Zaochi, and Yi surrounded us all armed, all better at gun combat than me. As convincing as I had been up until now, if I continued to avoid killing this guy for any longer, they'd see through my bluster and fill me with just as many holes as they'd put in Milo.Either two of us were dead, or one of us were. Besides, I didn't particularly feel like saving this shithead. He had already proved himself obstinate and short-minded... and immediately turning on his savior the moment he suffered a bit of pain was the last straw. I lifted the pistol right to Milo's forehead. I saw his eyes open wide with recognition, and then *blam!* [BGM: The Wire]  One shot, and he slumped to the floor. Just like that, I had taken another life. ...But I had probably secured my own, and that was what mattered. ...That... was what mattered. Huh. After all that, just a shot to the head? Let him off pretty easy, huh?"I almost responded with 'no sense in playing with my food'. I was this close. I really needed to remember at all times what a psychopath I was playing. I'm not in the mood anymore. ...That response probably worked. The more I could shift focus towards Yi's blowup, and the more irritated Thane seemed about it, the less Yi was going to be willing to push me in the future. A part of me worried that this little confrontation was going to have longer lasting implications for my relationship with Yi... but it was kind of the only card I had available to me. Well, uh, that sure was something. Guess our Milo problem's been sorted out though. You can say that again. So can we go now? ...No. No, now Fang's fingerprints are on Milo's coat. That's evidence. Oh! Good catch, Yi. That's what I'm here for. So what should we do? Luckily, I came prepared. Fang, could you hand over Option D?Fang nodded, and then fished around in his coat's pocket. Moments later, he pulled out a small metal container of lighter fluid. He handed it to Yi, who wasted no time pouring it all over Milo's splayed out corpse. He made sure to thoroughly cover it. All right, everybody take a step back. It's about to get hot in here.[BGM: Silence]  Yi took out his lighter. He bent down, and put it to the fluid. Immediately, he jumped back, as Milo's body lit ablaze. It took almost no time for the once recognizable human form to start to char. He was a person and now he was unrecognizable. The fire burned so bright, but the body was so black. Hey, Thane, you coming?Yi had put an arm on my shoulder. The others had flipped the lights off, and were exiting the building. But I was still stuck there, standing, watching the burning display. I didn't respond. I just stood... and watched. The fire kept burning. Burning, burning, burning. Burning the person I killed away. ... For the following few days, whenever I closed my eyes to fall asleep, I'd picture the burning. I could see it clearly.   Add another notch to Thane's kill count, I guess. Not bad definitely starting to look not bad. I wouldn't feel too bad if I were Thane. For a lot of other reasons, but... also because that Milo guy was toast any way you sliced it. I mean, a guy like that? You really think he was going to navigate these waters with a cool head aimed for survival? Nah, the moment the Duats set their eyes on Milo, he was toast. If Thane was really merciful, they would've just shot him in the head from the start. That faux escape attempt really was just playing with your food.  But... Milo bores me. Let's talk about something else. Take Yi, for instance. His little origin story. A college murder, eh? And not just a spur of the moment thing, either! An elaborate plot, with fireworks, and timing, and preparation, and everything! That's the sort of caper you might see Laverna looking into. And all for the sake of justice! Apparently. Never took Yi for that much of a righteous guy. Which... means that probably wasn't the real reason he went through so much trouble. More than likely, the guy just got on his nerves. It was a personal hatred and I can get that. Right? I mean, imagine this: you spend a bunch of years with this person you cannot stand total rear end in a top hat. They do all these things that anyone would call awful, but like... they're lowkey. Could you sympathize with killing them? Uh, no? Right. Of course not. Because if you wanted to kill someone after experiencing them be a dick for a couple of seconds while you read about it, a couple more while you think about it you're a total psycho! The question is, how would you feel if you lived with that person for years? Every day, for hours, you had to deal with them. Then would your answer change? ...I suspect it might. It's not the moment you directly consider murder where that desire to kill grows. It's the quiet moments at night, with nothing in your head but hatred, where that little desire seeps in. And that can't be emulated in two sentences. That's the thing about stories. We can pretend like they're putting us in someone else's shoes, but they're not not really. There's a reason it's called walking a mile in someone else's shoes, not a couple of feet. Stories merely provide a tourist-like diversion from people's everyday lives. They can get people to consider other points of view, but to truly empathize with a story? No, there's only one way for that to happen. You have to be drawing on real experience. Next update, it's time to see how Devon's been doing.
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Nov 5, 2023 18:42
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| # ? May 29, 2024 06:41 |
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drat, this Thane is great at thinking up poo poo on the spot. Between that and Yi's elaborate backstory, this was a really fun chapter.
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Nov 6, 2023 04:32
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"how the gently caress did you know that was a Terry Pratchett quote" is one of my favorite lines.
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Nov 6, 2023 05:31
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Thanes scenario rules. It really leans into the same feeling as Mouses route from Zodiac Trial, the I have to get away with murder, treachery, and manipulation element thats so awful and compelling.
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Nov 6, 2023 05:42
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It took a bit to get there, but "Thane" is one of the stronger routes so far because the main players have a good amount of banter and even the faceless goons have a good amount of character.
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Nov 6, 2023 10:00
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Hmm, I guess I feel skeptical about Duat members being Pratchett fans. Pratchett stories always end with justice upheld and the good guys winning. I cant imagine Yi is stupid enough to think hes a good guy. I suppose I can see just him being a Ventinari fan, but not the lower level guys.
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Nov 7, 2023 05:06
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 content warning: child neglect + abuse [BGM: The Gungniri]  I spent a lot of time sitting around, watching, waiting. Came with the job, I guess. But actually, thinking about it, I also do it a lot when not on the job. ...I mean, right now I'm definitely doing it for my job, but you know, even off the job, I tend to just sit down and look out into the world aimlessly. ...I needed a better hobby. Peoplewatching had to be the bottom of the barrel, even if it was useful. ...I turned off the music I was listening to in my headphones. Ever since my conversation with Secretary Gani, I couldn't really listen to Talei anymore. I couldn't put my finger on why. I mean, it's not like anything changed about me, I should still like it. But now I felt... I don't know, self-conscious about listening to it? I don't know why I cared. I certainly didn't care about Secretary Gani's opinion. But nonetheless, I felt self-conscious... so I turned it off. Silence would suit me just fine.  Without the music, my mind wandered to thoughts on my job to fill the void. I thought back to my conversation with Ms. Aija. A part of me felt guilty for questioning her like that. But a part of me, a traitorous part of me, was still annoyed at her. I believed her when she said that she didn't kill that man. Thinking about it, she was probably right in that she was too busy to have the time to go out and do it. And more to the point, she's trusted me with so many of these kills. There's no reason why she wouldn't have me deal with it. The only explanation would be if she didn't plan on killing him. But in that case, where'd she get the bell? She had nothing to do with that kill. No, what annoyed me was why she wasn't looking into things further. I had always been told that only three people knew the truth about the Cock Robin Killings. And if I remembered correctly, I'm pretty sure the third party wasn't anywhere near the crime scene at the time of the kill. If somebody knew our secret, that should be huge cause for alarm. And Aija was just pretending like nothing happened? The only way I could square that away in my mind with Aija's personality was if she knew who the real killer was. ...Had Aija lied to me about who knew about the Cock Robin murders? Why? Did she not trust me enough? Had I ever been disloyal? I wouldn't think Aija had a fourth member I wouldn't know what for. Everything required for the murders was already handled, and I didn't know of anybody close enough to her that she'd let them in for the sake of things. But if the Bell Killer was truly a mystery to Aija, she'd be furiously searching for the true culprit, paranoid that the operation had been leaked somehow. The fact that she wasn't told me all I needed to know. ...Well then, that's fine. It just told me I needed to do more to win her trust. If she couldn't trust me with that information, it means I haven't earned it. Everything in life must be earned.  Anyways, on the topic of complaining about Ms. Aija, she really could've done to get me more information on Lock. Her 'file' was laughably sparse. A lesser assassin wouldn't be able to do anything with such little information they'd demand more info. That's why I was top-rate. I wasn't fussy like that. If there's not enough to go on, I'd do my part. I spent some time digging as much as I could find on Lock; unfortunately, that was trickier than expected. Maybe I had been too harsh on Ms. Aija after all, it's not like I was able to do much better. Lock was a mysterious character. He played things close to the chest. He hadn't been in town for long, though I was a little unclear of the timeline. I wasn't able to locate where he lived. I didn't know what his official job was. I didn't even know his last name. ...And that wasn't unintentional. I was good at my job, so if I was struggling to find information, that meant it was being hidden. Was Lock preemptively hiding from an assassin? That was, frankly, a ludicrous explanation. Who then was he hiding from? Considering he seemingly arrived in Panthea not long ago, I doubted it was a force like the Duats. He theoretically wouldn't have done anything to anger them. Combined with all the other information I had, my best guess was that his trip to Panthea was something of an escape hatch. He probably conned the wrong people in some other city and fled over here to try and lie low until the heat died down. Whether he was being chased by the cops or some outside crime organization was unknown and irrelevant. The point was, his pursuers had failed to do their job, so now I had to do mine. Lock clearly had gotten comfortable in his new city he had settled in, and moved his eyes to a new target to scam. Only problem was, somehow, that was going to interfere with Ms. Aija's plans. Goes to show, you can only live a life of crime for so long before you step on a bigger fish's toes.  As limited as my recon ended up being, I was able to get the info that I needed. Nohoi's Nest was definitely not my scene, but it was good for getting information people talked when they were drunk. I heard a lot of stories about Lock; I had a decent read on who this guy was, and any doubts I had about this target were dispelled. The only information I really needed to know, with an assignment this broad, was where I could find him. This didn't need to be a Cock Robin kill since Lock probably had a lot of enemies, and lived a less-than-scrupulous life, it'd be an open-ended investigation the cops would be content to let fall to the wayside. The poem was also starting to run low, so I should save my verses. There probably needed to be at least one more decoy or else people would grow suspicious, so the number of actual kills it could be used for was drastically reduced. Lock would have to do with an unceremonious end. ...Fitting, I thought, though that sort of thinking was a bit too emotionally driven for this line of work. Right now, Lock was rattling around in his coffin. I had no idea what he was doing; frankly, I didn't care. All I knew is that he was doing his regular routine of a nightly visit at Nohoi's Nest. Hopefully he enjoyed himself. Because the moment he popped out of that hidey-hole, it'd be curtains for him. I had been staking out Nohoi's Nest for several nights now... but, one way or another, I must've kept missing him. Maybe he was coming less frequently, or maybe my timing was off. Whatever the case may be, tonight I hit jackpot. I had a clear shot of Lock entering the venue earlier. It was from a distance, but with his getup, there was no mistaking him. I could've done it right then... Unfortunately, right as he was entering the front restaurant, an older couple who seemingly were attending the actual restaurant legitimately for a meal happened to be on their way out of the venue. Further down the street, a large group of drunken college students were on a bar crawl. There was also a businessman making their way back to their apartment close by. All in all, it was still too early in the night there were plenty of witnesses. It'd probably have still worked out if I made my move then, but there was no need to rush things like that. Nohoi's Nest had one entrance and one exit, and it's not like Lock was going to stay the night or anything. Eventually, he'd leave the casino, probably after a successful night of swindling drunks out of their money. Given his schedule, it'd likely be right in the dead of the night nobody around then. ...And I'd just finish him off then.  For now, I was just leaning back and waiting for the time to strike. My current arrangement wasn't what one would call 'comfortable'; I always prioritized function over comfort, and this was a very functional spot. Currently, I was lounging on a fire escape on the apartment building directly across the street from Nohoi's Nest. The section of the fire escape I lounged on was right next to an abandoned apartment. Finding abandoned apartments isn't as hard as people make it out to be, you just need to be patient and discrete. From my current position, I had a nice aerial advantage over my shooting range. It would be hard to directly spot me from this position, and I had many exit paths. With all that said, I was still a little more exposed than I was comfortable with... but sometimes a hit required putting yourself out there a little bit. As for equipment, I planned on this sniper rifle doing most of the heavy lifting. It was properly silenced, properly calibrated, and I was properly trained. If I saw Lock, it'd take seconds to pull out this thing and put a bullet in his head. And, just as a backup, I also had a silenced pistol in my holster. The sniper rifle was a little unwieldy, so it's always good to have backups. For an assassin, the setup was pretty solid; for a person, it was far from ideal." The metal was not comfortable... and the wind up here was starting to make me a little bit chilly. I was better at ignoring it when I had the music on, but now that I was in my thoughts, however, they started to wander to how physically uncomfortable I had become. The answer? Time to turn back on some music. I shouldn't let my self-consciousness drive me away from listening to Talei's music that was dumb. Or, hey, why not try listening to a new artist? There was a lot of music out there." However, right as I reached for my phone, my heart dropped. I began to receive a call. That, in itself, wasn't that bad. [BGM: Silence]  What was worrying about this call was the fact that it came from an unknown number. Someone not on my phone's contact list. This shouldn't be possible; I used this phone for work, and I was extremely cautious with who got this number. Everybody who knew it was in my contact list. So for somebody not on that contact list to be calling... I hesitated. Should I even pick it up? I mean, I was in the middle of a job I shouldn't be distracted. More to the point, if I answered this phone with my voice, that might give, well... something away. I had a policy to never enter a battle I didn't know I could win. It might be overdramatic to call a single phone call a 'battle,' but I regarded any call made on this phone as such. If they really needed to get in touch with me, they'd leave a voicemail or send a text, like a normal person. From that, I could judge the situation better. ...Unless. What if the call had come from somebody who had this contact number? I mean, if they were calling this phone, that tracks, right? And if they were calling from an unusual phone, well, that implies the situation might be grave or dire. What if Ms. Aija was currently under attack or something? Answering the phone might be vitally important. Quickly, I weighed the risks of picking up the phone against the risks of just ignoring the call and waiting for a voicemail. I decided the bigger risk was not answering the call. Hesitantly, I put the phone up to my ear... and I clicked the answer button. 
I waited. I sure as hell wasn't going to have the first word. Who was I dealing with? [BGM: The Bomb]   ...I can hear your breathing, Devon.Odin?! The moment I heard that familiar voice, I instantly began to clench up. What...  Weren't you taught to answer first when receiving a call? For shame. O-Odin. Ah, there's that familiar voice. Why are you calling? Oh, do I need an excuse to talk to my son? Who says I have a particular reason? ...So you still consider me your son? But of course! Did I not make that clear? We, um, left on kind of ambiguous grounds. Precisely. If I were to fully sever our bond, trust that you'd be fully aware. Oh. ...Then, if I am your son, it's been a pretty long time since you talked to me. Untrue. Simply untrue! Or did you forget our conversation at the gala?My heart skipped a beat. I don't... We didn't, I wasn't at the gala. Oh, sure you were! I mean, you were in that dreary getup. But I can recognize your telltale plodding in any context.A part of me wasn't even surprised. Odin was many things, but anything less than supremely insightful was not one of them. Still, back then, to notice me... I gulped. You know, normally I wouldn't have a Deisma acting as a lowly waiter. Fortunately you were wearing that mask, so I gave it a pass for the night. Besides, it seemed as though you were putting yourself to good use. ...Even still, you never spoke to me. You didn't notice? Pff, you always were slow on the uptick. I noticed you eavesdropping, so I made sure to speak to both you and Art. Oh. You know, between the two of you, I had so hoped that at least one of you would've seen through my words. But then again, I always did push you to unreasonable heights. I didn't know what to say to that. Instead, my mind tried to go back to what Odin was talking with Art about on that night. ...I couldn't recall accurately enough. Something about why Odin didn't just retire? Beyond that, it was a blur. Then again, if Art couldn't solve one of Odin's riddles, I surely had no chance. At any rate, you are right on at least one mark, which is that we haven't had a proper conversation in quite some time. So then, let's talk, Devon. How are you enjoying your new job? ...It's good. It's fulfilling, being good at something. Splendid! You did have quite a talent for murder, didn't you? Even won that silly award! If only we had learned of it sooner, perhaps we could have cultivated that talent instead of wasting so much time; I know a friend who'd be perfect at that sort of training.I was speechless. Speaking with Odin was usually an exhausting experience, but rare did he throw out so many high-velocity punches this quickly. I don't know what you're talking about. Playing coy? What did I always say about keeping secrets? ...I could try, but I'd never be as good at hiding things as you'd be at seeing through things. So you do remember at least some of my lessons! That's nice to know. As you said, trying to hide from me is a waste of breath, Devon. That Cock Robin thing? It's really silly. Still, you got a job working for the governor, so I can't be so derisive honestly, it's rather impressive. ...How... How do you know all about that? Kehehe... You just admitted it for me, you dolt! I-drat it. This was why saying anything to Odin was a mistake. No matter what you said, he'd always find a way to twist it around, to use it against you. Stupid, stupid Devon.  Before now, it was mostly a suspicion of mine... but of course, my suspicions are often correct. The mark of the ruler is a killer intuition. It's that killer intuition that kept you alive in the army, I'd bet. But... it occasionally misfires, so it's always nice to get confirmation. But before that, your hunch how did you get to that? No, more importantly than that, how did you get this number? Those are better questions. Let's see... Well, as I said, I saw you at the gala. Later that night, dear Athen was the victim of a rather awful murder. It didn't take much to put the pieces together. In truth, since we had last spoke, I had essentially given up on you. For years you tried my patience, but it appeared you had well and truly given up on ever becoming worthy of the royal blood that flows in your veins. Had you died in a ditch a month later, I wouldn't have attended your funeral. But... seeing you in action had me curious. I always knew you had potential, and I am rarely wrong about those sorts of hunches. I have a very special Birdie who is unbelievably talented at gathering information. I tasked my Birdie to gather as much information as they could get on you. And after some time... they gave me their report, along with this number. So I thought it was worth giving you a call.A... birdie? A birdie had found this out? How had I... what had I... Let me guess. Weak as ever, you're now panicking about how you didn't do a good enough job at covering your tracks? Dispel those fears. It took a considerable amount of effort for my Birdie to get what they had on you, and little of it was substantive. But it was impossible for my Birdie to {i}not{/i} uncover your secrets, eventually. They can get their hands on pretty much any information in Panthea, the things mere reporters and police officers can't reach. It's one of the secrets of my immortality, you see.
 I didn't know what to make of all of this. It was all too much. I was struggling to keep a grip on the conversation at all it felt as though at any moment the whole thing would slip completely out of my control. That's what talking with Odin felt like; you never really held any power, not in where the conversation was going. The best you could do is try and hold on as much as you could and ride it out. If you were lucky, he'd stop talking before too long. What do you want? I wanted to talk with my son! To tell them they've been doing an excellent job....What? Huh? I must admit, if you had told me a decade or so ago that one of my sons would grow to be an assassin, I would've scoffed at the idea. It isn't exactly a task fitting for a ruler. But over the years, I've grown an appreciation for violence. In a sense, the ability to take lives at will is the greatest measure of power there is. And, unlike a typical thug, an assassin's methods are elegant and well measured they rely on information, skill, and an iron will, all important traits. Additionally, from what I can tell, you're using your skills to support Governor Aija. To be honest, I can't say I fully approve of having Panthea led by such a woman. My assessment would rank her as utterly unworthy. You- However, it appears that her reign is for the best. ...At the very least, Art seems to want her in charge for a bit longer probably for some small-minded reason like tax exemptions or whatever, knowing his priorities. And my biases aside, simply put, supporting the current governmental monarch is an achievement of itself. It's a position of great power. Better than I would have ever dreamed for you. You have done well to get there, Devon. ...Thank you. Keep things up, and who knows? Huh? Like I said, I never officially disinherited you. Polly has been a thorough embarrassment, one even greater than you, if that's possible. And Art... Well, he certainly inherited my ambitions, and much of my talent. However, I have been having growing doubts about his place. To rule requires a fire within, yet he seems increasingly... hollow. As of now, he is still superior. But if he keeps up his downward trajectory, and you keep your upwards one... Well, the future has many twists and turns. I never would have imagined this situation, and yet here we are. Life has so many amusements. At the very least, maintaining your position could be advantageous to the Deisma family down the line... so keep up the good work. I'd love to talk more, but I've got to bail the dumber of your brothers out. From the looks of it, I would guess he's being played as we speak.Advantageous to the Deisma family? Did he seriously think I was still loyal to them? ...Was I? It seemed as though Odin was about to hang up, but in an entirely unexpected turn of events, I wanted to keep talking. Wait! Oh? You have more to say?
You... Did you kill Maximilian Collins?The phone was dead quiet. Then, faintly, I heard it... Keh heh... Keh heh hehehhehehe! Interesting! Very interesting indeed! So, you didn't kill that one, is that right? Now this, this is quite fascinating to me. Answer the question! Maximillian Collins... He was related to Veronica Collins. It is rare that a woman can capture my respect. Veronica was one of two such women, the other being your late mother. For all the entertainment she has given me, I would much rather not lay waste to her relatives. That seems like an acceptable baseline of respect. You're not saying you wouldn't though. ...Or wait, what about your Birdie? Is it possible that they killed him? Devon, Devon, Devon. For as far as you've come, you never learned how to properly use that thing in your head that barely qualifies as a brain. Think for a moment. In what I've told you tonight, is there any way that you can ascertain that answer through your own efforts? God drat it, Odin, answer something straight for me. My mind replayed everything that Odin had told me. Not relevant, not relevant, not relevant... Relevant. You only looked into me after the night at the gala. That's when you contacted your Birdie. Maximillian was killed in line with the Cock Robin Murders. But he was killed, at the very least, around the time when the first murder happened. Neither you nor the Birdie would have known about my involvement at that point, and you wouldn't know that the psalm murder would be happening. Good, good. ...But then again, if I had figured you out, and subsequently murdered Maximillian, I could have lied about when I started looking into you. Did you? Well, well. You tell me. Kehehe.And just like that, Odin hung up on me. I felt like throwing up. [BGM: The Poison]  My vision was literally blurring. I don't know what was happening, but the moment I got off the phone with Odin, a wave of emotions hit me.Maybe I was bottling them up during the conversation in an attempt to get through it, I couldn't say. All I could say was that I was feeling seriously unwell. ...Which was pretty bad considering that I was in the middle of a job. Why was I freaking out like this? It wasn't rational. We just talked some. He even congratulated me. And I felt good about it. But Odin... just hearing his voice, I could feel so many things coming back to me. I was beginning to spiral. I gripped onto the metal handrail, in an attempt to stay in the moment. Focus, focus. I was in the real world. Stay lucid.  Growing up in the Deisma family was incredibly weird. From the outside, it might seem like a blessed childhood. We lived in a fancy mansion, we went on nice vacations. In theory, I could get anything I liked, I could eat anything I wanted. We had so much money, it was ludicrous. But living there was like making a deal with the devil. Shiny on the surface, horrible on the inside. I don't remember Mom Art was the only one old enough to have any real memories of her. There were servants, but they were specifically instructed to do their jobs and nothing else. Really, we were just raised by Odin. Odin was, is, a very weird person. One could generously call him an eccentric; I would call him an rear end in a top hat. Only now, with my years of life, could I see that though. He wanted to impose his view of the world on us, and he had a very interesting view of the world. If you wanted anything, you must earn it. Your only value in life was what use you provided. Everything was, in reality, a competition. The winner was right. Never give up power. We were always taught and tested with these lessons. Whenever we asked for something, Odin would be quick to caveat it with a challenge or a price. Whenever we failed, there would be serious consequences, for what was life without stakes? Our property would be destroyed, we'd be banished from the house. Physical punishments were rare, but not unheard of. I remember my fair share of beatings. We learned to play his stupid games from an incredibly young age. And as much as I wanted to hate him, it was hard to; after all, he walked the walk. He would consistently provide us opportunities to prove him wrong... and I was never able to. He constantly told us that our purpose was to continue and grow the Deisma family. Everything we did reflected on the Deisma name, so improper behavior was discouraged. Failure was unacceptable.  Art had always thrived in this environment. He could devote himself to Odin's studies with a single mind. He'd spend hours training himself to succeed in school, to pass a test, to solve a type of puzzle Odin threw at him. If he was given a chance to prove himself to Odin, he took it... and he always succeeded. Well, not always, but often enough that he never really saw the true darkness of Odin's parenting style. When I had heard Art was becoming Olympo's CEO, that didn't surprise me for a moment. I always resented him for raising the bar to an impossible level. For a long time, I blamed him far more than Odin. Polly, on the other hand, had his fair share of issues. He was horrid at studying. Couldn't stick to anything. He also always cared the least about Odin's approval, his challenges, about Odin in general. Those two would get in a number of shouting fights, and Polly would be punished pretty severely at times. But he also wasn't the worst of us... because despite it all, fundamentally, Polly was talented. He might not have seen it himself, but Odin certainly did. When it came to natural intellect, Polly probably even surpassed Art. He might not have behaved as elegantly as Art, but he had a natural charisma around him. People liked Polly; they wanted to be his friend. And perhaps more than anything, Polly was always passionate and driven. While part of Odin hated Polly's insolence for constantly defying him, I suspected that a part of him also respected the gall of it all. But then there was me. Middle child. Most absolute failure. I tried, I really did, to succeed to be the son that Odin wanted. But... I just couldn't do it. My best wasn't enough. I was just... lesser. I wasn't smart. I wasn't clever. I wasn't disciplined. I wasn't elegant. No part of me showed the potential to be a leader. I could never apply myself like Art, show his level of grace. I never had a natural talent like Polly, couldn't make people like me like he could.I kept trying to live up to Odin's expectations. And Odin kept trying to make me better by putting me through his lessons. I got the worst of it. Some of the things he put me through to try and motivate me... It wasn't really that bad, on an objective level. I was probably just being a baby about it at the time. Regardless, at a certain point, my ineptitude became clear: I would never be the heir Odin wanted. I was forgotten, left to the wayside, written out of the will. Odin began to erase my presence. I was the embarrassment. Nowadays, most people don't even know that Odin has three sons... and eventually, I'd like that just fine. I was meant to be the Unknown Man. But when I went to war, when I was spiraling... the thought that if I died, I'd finally be completely blacked out... It was a scary thought. It might've kept me alive. [BGM: The Pistol]  Suddenly, I snapped out of my funk and to attention. I saw movement in front of me. It took me a moment to actually register what I was seeing. But once I did... Oh, loving...With seemingly no prompting, a bunch of people had begun to swarm out of Nohoi's Nest. Not, like, a couple no, it seemed like an entire casino's worth of people was fleeing at the same time. Men, women, all rushing out in a cramped fashion. None looked particularly scared, more annoyed. gently caress. ...gently caress. What on Earth was happening? Was it... Was it possible that somehow, Lock was onto me? That they were using this chaos as a cover? I mean, if that's what was happening it would be a pretty drat effective method. I quickly scanned the whole crowd. Lock, Lock, where are you... You had to be here somewhere. How could he have known an assassin was waiting for him?Did he know, or was this some sort of coincidence? I couldn't tell. If it was deliberate, then it was unlikely that he solely hoped to escape just utilizing general confusion. It's possible that he was implementing some sort of disguise I still hadn't been able to get a very clear picture of his face, and I'd mostly been going off of outfit to identify him. If he took that out of the picture... No, no, I didn't see him carrying anything like a disguise when he entered. And I don't think he could just happen to find a disguise in an underground casino. Was finding him even worth it at this point? There were so many witnesses at this point. I might even hit someone in the crossfire. ...No, thinking about it a bit more, I had to take the shot now. If you considered the possibility that this panic wasn't a deliberate ploy, that means Nohoi's Nest had run into some trouble. They might be closed.... they might be closed for some time. Leads on Lock were scant, and if he stopped coming to his usual haunt, that'd make doing my job in a timely fashion really hard. And alternatively, if he had intentionally caused this panic to try and escape, then he probably knew someone was after him. ...And again, doing my job would become very hard. The witnesses would make it hard, but it was super dark out, and there were no lights near my location and I had a silencer. And, honestly, the chaos probably worked to my advantage; I'd fire and flee. It'd probably work out. ...If only I could find him... Where on Earth was he? Without really thinking, I backed up a bit, just trying to get a wider perspective on the scene at large. And just in the side of my vision, I saw it. From this angle, it was almost impossible to see... but I saw it.  In the side alley right next to Nohoi's Nest, I saw a familiar looking suit carrying a metal suitcase. Lock! ...What the gently caress? How had he gotten over there? I swear he hadn't come through the entrance... No, forget that. Immediately I pulled out the sniper rifle. I aimed right at him. ...poo poo! At the last possible moment, he walked out of my line of sight. He was too far down the alley for me to shoot at this point. drat it, if only I had taken a step back a bit sooner... No, I couldn't start despairing now. Admitting defeat before actually being defeated was a fool's most common mistake. I knew where he was. I wasn't going to let him get away just like that. I put the sniper rifle back around my back, and got to work. I climbed over the fire escape railing. Then I jumped down. After falling a little bit, I landed on a lower section of the fire escape. I repeated this process three times, before finally falling down to the street. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't take the most direct path. There were a ton of witnesses spread all out, and they were concentrated too close to the back alley to cut through like that. Even though it was pretty dark, I didn't want to risk anybody getting a look at my face. ...It's fine. I ran further to the right. I kept my movement at as brisk a jog as I could manage. The mistake would be breaking out into a pure sprint. When I last saw Lock, he was casually walking. That meant I could afford to waste a bit of time. It's more important to keep my energy. After making my way about two blocks from the initial incident, I turned left and made my way across the street. Even the furthest stragglers hadn't made it this far from Nohoi's Nest. Given that everybody was fleeing from the scene, someone in a hoodie jogging should be the least of their concerns. There was an alley that cut across this block pretty close by. I ran over to it; then, I made my way through the alley. Didn't take long to emerge on the other side. Now, where was Lock? I started scanning, and saw him walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. It would be too cumbersome to take out my sniper rifle and take a shot. I was fast with it, but even for me, it would take a little bit of time to properly set it up, and make a decent amount of noise. The safer play was to just default to my silenced pistol. I grabbed it from my holster, then kept jogging. There was a bit too much distance right now for my liking. I crossed the street until I was on the same sidewalk as him; then, I got a bit closer. Okay, from this distance it'd be a sure thing. Two bullets in the back would probably do it. I readied the gun, and said a silent prayer.  Goodbye Lock. I don't know how or why you almost slipped from my grasp, but you were dealing with a professional you never stood a chance. And as if to punish me for this thought, it was at this moment Lock turned back to look right at me. No, chalking it up as a coincidence seemed wrong from the desperation with which he turned, the anxiousness I caught on his face, it was as though he expected to see me behind him. But how? How did he know I was approaching him from behind? I hadn't made a noise, and I had stayed out of his eyeline. Did this guy have a sixth sense? His eyes registered what he was seeing just as I made the decision to fire the shots. Lock was saved by a frankly astounding set of reflexes. In a life-saving second, he bounced off one leg and began to run down the alley to the right, further from Nohoi's Nest. Had he been a second slower on the uptake, had he panicked or tried to call out to me, my bullets most certainly would have hit their mark. But I could now see why this guy was a gambler: apparently, he just had a God's worth of luck on his side. He had escaped my initial volley, and was now keenly aware that I was trying to kill him. It's not like I had a choice before, but now I was really dead set. This guy had to die fast.  Immediately I ran after him. Instead of going down the same alley, however, I kept running forwards. Thinking about this guy's trajectory, this would be a better move to cut him off. And in this panicked, high-tension state, I highly doubted that he would be composed enough to notice that I wasn't directly following him. Once I got to the next alley, further down in the direction Lock was already walking, I then turned right. I hoped to already see him from my angle down the alley. ...Unfortunately, it was no dice he must've kept running in the direction of the alley. Typically, this would've been a really dumb choice - had I followed him down the alley, he wouldn't have had time to get to additional cover, and I would've easily been able to shoot him down. He probably was too dumb to think of this, however, and accidentally ended up out-maneuvering me. ...Whatever, I kept running down the alley. But, just then, I heard a voice shouting out.  I don't know what you want, man! But it's probably for the money, right? In this case is way more money than whatever your employer is paying you. I'm dropping it down into the sewer right here in this hole, just go after that and get paid.Huh? What was he getting at? Right as I came out of the alley, I saw what he was talking about I caught him right as the metal suitcase that he had been carrying up until now fell down into the sewer through an open hole. Lock was now carrying the sewer cover in one of his hands.  Trying to bribe me, huh? Sorry dirtbag, but unlike you, I wasn't motivated by the money. Cute plan, though. Lock began to run into the nearby alley, sewer grate cover still in hand. I readied my pistol, hoping to get him in the back before he got out of my line of fire. ...But again, right as I prepared to shoot, he spun around 180, holding the sewer cover right by his chest with both hands. This turnaround was more explainable, though he probably heard me. *blam!* As I fired a shot, it ended up hitting and bouncing off the sewer cover he was holding with both hands. I couldn't tell if this was a calculated defense or a fluke accident saving his life. I would've bet on the latter.... especially considering right as the shot bounced off, Lock let out a girl's yelp. Yeah, this dude was flying by the seat of his pants. His instincts caused him to drop the grate as he ran down into the alley; unfortunately, from my angle, I couldn't get a clear shot. I wasn't gonna let this fucker outrun me. I crossed across the street diagonally, and quickly got to the alley he had run down. Just like a lot of the alleys in this side of town, it wasn't particularly well maintained - graffiti and sewer drains lined the walls. BGM: Silence  I ran down it, and got to the next street. But there, I completely stopped in my tracks. What... Where had he gone? I looked from my left to my right, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Based on my speed, he didn't have time to cross the road and go down another alley. Well, what if he looped back around one of the alleys to the street I was just at? That would be clever. ...However, the reason I went down the alley Lock did was because the closest alley to me had a big chain fence that would be difficult to scale. And there weren't any nearby alleys on the other side. So... what the gently caress? Hey! Where are you?I ran further into the street, looking for him. Was I just bad at estimating speeds? That couldn't be it. Could it? ...gently caress. Just to try and check, I ran down the street and across the alley to another street. I still couldn't find him. No, no, he couldn't get away like this... ...Wait. Idea. I ran into this street, and found the closest sewer grate. With a bit of difficulty, I moved it out of place, and went down into the ladder. I pushed the sewer grate back into place, and descended fully into the sewer. Great. [BGM: Ones Are Wild]  As silently as I could, I moved towards where the metal case would've been dropped. It took a bit of doing, but eventually I found the spot. Awesome! To double check, I walked over and opened it. Just as Lock said, it looked like there was a ton of money in here. So then, this should work. I scoped out the area for a second, then found a brief dead-end close by. I leaned up against the wall over there, and began to stake things out. If you were to make your way to that suitcase, you'd have to move this way. And it was impossible to see me before I saw you with how I had situated myself. Thinking about it, Lock wasn't the sort of guy who could afford to just lose such a big chunk of money. Of course, if it was to save his own skin, I had no doubt he'd give it up. But if he had a chance at recovering it, he'd take it. No matter how far he was, he must've heard my shouts wondering where he was. At that point, he probably correctly assessed I was more interested in killing him than getting the money. In that case, in his mind, the next step was clear. After getting a bit more distance on me to have properly lost me, he'd go down into the sewers and snake back around to grab what he had lost." That's what I'd be counting on." I sat silently. Waiting... Waiting... Soon enough, he'd come. He had to. Everything that I knew about Lock told me that he'd come back. He was greedy, he was opportunistic and he wasn't going to give up whatever he won that easily. If he saw a chance to recover it, he'd take it. ...So then, why wasn't he coming back? At this point, surely I would've heard something if coming back here was his first priority. ...Still, this wasn't a loss; this probably meant that, perhaps smartly, he prioritized getting to safety above all else.  He was probably incredibly shaken up, hoping to get as far away from me as possible. But even still, with that in mind, that doesn't mean he could give up this amount of money. He probably suspected I might've come back to take it. However, in his mind, it had to be worth it to at least come and check to see if the money was gone. Not even going to double check the place you had left this amount of money was insane. It was unthinkable for Lock. So eventually... eventually. Eventually he'd come back over here. So I'd wait. I'd wait. ...There! I heard something! I readied myself. Somebody else was moving in the sewers, I could hear it. They were far now, but it was clear where they were moving. Come on, Lock. Get your prize. ... Huh? The movement stopped? What happened? Was it possible they noticed me here? No, no, there's no way. I was hidden so that I'd have to see you before you saw me. More to the point, the noise didn't even get remotely close before stopping. Was Lock just... still running from a phantom threat, and hoped to use the sewers to throw off the trail? ...The noise was Lock, right? ...Of course it was. Who else would be going through the sewers at this time of night? ...Whatever. Eventually, Lock would check the case. He couldn't lose this much money without even checking on it. It was impossible for him. [BGM: Silence]  ... ... ...Hours passed. Hours more. I waited, in the dark, smelly sewer waiting... and waiting. And eventually, I accepted a simple truth: Lock wasn't coming back for this money. I... had failed. ...  Kind of a poo poo assassin, huh? I mean, I get it, Lock's a scheming bastard, whatever. That only gives you so much of an excuse. This was a complete whiff of Devon's part, plain and simple. It's not even a hard job! Killing people is really easy. We're not apex predators, not remotely. We're fleshy, soft, easily poisoned, over-grown babies that are arrogant enough to assume we'll live a century or so. Don't believe me? Just try it! Grab a knife, walk into the street, and just loving go apeshit on a passerby. 'Course, it's not getting caught that's the tricky part. Stupid governments with their stupid rules. Isn't there an amendment about this? Can you believe Big Brother over here restricting my right to murder people? What is the world coming to?" ...We've gotten off-topic. In case you haven't noticed, that's something of a common occurrence with me. Sorry. Anyways, we've got something to get to. The bet! We bet on whether Devon's father is alive, and as we now know, he is very much alive! At least, currently. But yeah, Devon's none other than the product of Odin Deisma's ballsack! Isn't life great? Hey, do you like how I pretended like this was a suuuper unimportant bet? That you had no way of knowing? But actually, it's something that is important and that you did have a way of knowing? Unless you figured it out before now. Did you? ...Oh, don't answer, you'd just lie and say you did regardless. Whatever. You were wrong and said that Odin was dead, so you lost all those chips you bet! Yay! ...Bye! Another cycle of cards down, which means it's back to the top with Laverna next update!
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Nov 9, 2023 00:27
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This has been an exciting set! We found out Eris, the 'real' Olif! Devon's the long-lost Deisma! Lotta fun twists and crazy happenings. So, doing my post-Devon check-in again. Any connections or interesting thoughts? Theories? Who's shot up in your rankings of the seven?
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Nov 9, 2023 04:58
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I'm not sure if non card characters count, but at his point I wouldn't be surprised if some doofus chucked a spear in the air and yelled, "I dedicate this battle to Odin."
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Nov 9, 2023 05:02
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So that explains the missing Deisma sibling. No major changes in ranking for me. Laverna's still the best and Lock is still the worst. Lock gets some credit for not dying and having a game in his section, but he continues to be an underhanded jerk. Based on my understanding of the game, he failed pretty badly and should've swept that. I know we're not ranking Odin, but I like him a lot as a villain.
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Nov 9, 2023 06:29
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I feel like the bottom trio is still some mix of Vels, Olif and Mercury. Olif got more interesting now that she's actually interacting with people instead of it just being walls and walls of text, but she had such a rough start. Vels kind of the same, most of it he's just standing by the side and he got to talk to other people finally recently. Mercury isn't bad but... they're the least interesting set-up so far, kind of in the same boat as Vels. We're learning more about Lara and that's it really.
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Nov 9, 2023 06:59
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 [BGM: Silence]  Ah, another day, another crime. It was a little perverse, but I did get a little excited whenever I was called to a crime scene that I knew nothing about. I mean, it's sad. Very sad. I wasn't so far gone that I didn't acknowledge the horrors of crime and all. But that's why I called it perverse. I knew it was wrong. But still, for someone curious like me, hearing about a new crime, new mystery, it was a little exciting. ...Just a little bit. I took a deep breath in, then let a deep breath out. Calm down. Get steady. Remember who you were. I am Laverna Smyth, slightly-eccentric private investigator. I was here to solve the case I was called in to consult on. That was my role. ...Okay. All right. With that in mind, let's go. I walked forwards towards the store. Milo's, huh? I hadn't had a chance to eat here. No idea if it was supposed to be good or bad. Probably wouldn't get a chance to check during the investigation. I started walking towards the store. By the front, I saw two familiar faces in a tense conversation. [BGM: Dummy]   Okay, okay, just, keep that between the two of us, please? I'm not really supposed to give away investigation details. Right, right. Don't worry, I'm good to my sources. You won't be named. Then you can't get in trouble. Oh, uh... I don't think that's really going to work. Every time an 'anonymous source in the police' speaks up on a case when I'm around, everybody at the force assumes its me. It's totally a pain. It usually is, right? That's not the point! All right, all right, jeez. Look, we'll just have to work something out, okay? Okay. In the meantime, let's expand a bit more. You're saying that the Duats stole from this store. Allegedly, yeah. Do you believe that? Seems pretty obvious. So, the Duats' guilt is obvious? In that case, can we expect arrests from this little incident? Uh- And if that's not the case, what does that say about the Panthean police force? Well- I mean, if they can't even arrest the Duats in an obvious incident... That's not a good look, huh? That's not- People are already losing faith in this police force. There have even been disturbing rumors about collusion. How are the people supposed to feel safe if even in an obvious case of Duat guilt, the Duats remain untouched? [As fun as it was to just stand to the side and listen, this was probably as good a chance as I'd get to interject. ...And I probably should interject, all things considered. I walked up to Kane and Pandora.  Oh, would you quit it with the bullying, Kane? Bullying? Me? I'd never. Then how exactly would you characterize the interaction between you and this strong upstanding officer right here? I'm just asking some hard-hitting questions. Bullies hit hard. 'Quod erat demonstratum'. drat. Look, Laverna, I'm just doing my job. Your job requires badgering poor people with unfair questions? That must be a sad profession. You won't hear me denying it. Still, somebody's gotta do it. I maintain it's a pretty fair line of questioning. If the police can't even arrest the Duats when they've 'obviously' committed a crime, then the people deserve to know. Hmph. I have not yet been familiarized with the case, so I can't speak definitively. All I'll say is that oft all that glitters is not gold; the truth of the matter is rarely what it seems. You're saying the Duats might be innocent? Who is to say? What I am saying is that whoever is guilty shall be captured and prosecuted. On that, you can count on." Ah, so they got you consulting again? I thought that obvious by my very presence. Fair, fair. So, I can count on an arrest to report on? If the culprit is inside the building, unquestionably. Well, that is exciting, now isn't it. Guess I'll be rooting for you then.Ugh. Kane's face remained unwaveringly punchable. ...Whatever. I had defused the situation. Hopefully Pandora would be somewhat grateful. I checked the time. All right, that's been long enough. I had to actually get to the crime scene by now. I walked over to the restaurant's entrance and opened the door. [BGM: Dealing Hands]   Lav! Like clockwork.I was going to respond... but then I felt my phone buzz. Ah, finally. I pulled out the phone and turned on the speaker. Eris. I'm at a crime scene.  Wow, you? At a crime scene? I wouldn't have guessed. Sarcastic as ever, it seems. Pretentious as ever it seems. Could we get to the point? As I said, I'm at a crime scene. I don't exactly have infinite time on my hands. It sure seems like it sometimes. ...Eris. Look, you're the detective. Surely you can sleuth out why I'm calling you. It's not hard to guess. There's only one reason you'd be contacting me. It's about the matter I asked you to look into, right? And circle gets the square. You know, must we keep with the bickering? I, for one, am adult enough to put the past behind us. Mhm. When I think of you, I think adult. Eris. Look, now's not a good time. Like I said, crime scene. We can talk about the matter later. Fine. I'll just call you back soon enough. Th-Before I could speak anymore, Baldera walked over and cut in. Hey Eris! It's me, Baldera! I'm here too. ...You are just as I clicked the red hang up button.  Hey, Lav! That was a wee bit rude." A wee bit? I'm aware. Why'd you hang up on her? Because I know my sister. Whatever she was about to say, it was not going to be pleasant. To save the dignity of all three of us, cutting the snake off at the pass is simply optimal. 'Cutting the snake off'? drat. Harsh. I thought you said you were adult enough to put the past in the past, Lav. And you heard how she responded to that. Trust me, Eris is a lost cause best to let her drift to the wayside.  Uh, what was the, um, thing you asked her about? If you don't mind me asking. Oh that? Just, you know, a thing for another case I asked her to look into for me. Loathe as I am to admit it, I'm not particularly tech savvy; Eris, on the other hand, had already learned coding back in high school. It's just simpler to lean on her every now and then for help. I understand. Anyways, Lav, how are you? How have you been keeping up? It feels like forever since we hung out. It wasn't. But it feels like it, no? Too true. And a merry welcome to you too, Seth. Th-thanks. I assume Baldera called for your consultation again? How astute Seth. Heh heh... sorry? Baldera, you really have to start doing this through official channels." Where's the fun in that? Be grateful Arrianne is b-busy, that's all I have to say. I assume I would not be called were it not warranted? I, uh, guess?  This isn't so much of a who-dunnit as it is a how-dunnit. Um, well, that's g-getting a bit ahead of ourselves, isn't it? Oh, really Seth? Don't tell me you're buying anything the Duats are saying? I'm just saying, uh, you know. Assumptions are bad for clear-headed investigations. Pfft. Seth is entirely correct. Certainly, assumptions are useful in terms of tipping the probability of possibilities. To ignore preconceived notions is to disregard previous cognitions a complete waste of useful mental effort. However, crimes are already the realm of the unnatural. If ever there were times to bet on double 0, it would be times such as these. It is a simple matt[BGM: Kicker]  Before I could say anything else, I was interrupted by a loud shout. Oh, that does it!The man who was obviously the owner of this restaurant (Milo?) had seemingly had enough. Enough of what? Who's to say. At any rate, he lunged out at the man facing him down: Yi, Duat Senior Officer. Yi, for his part, just took a few steps back. Before Milo could catch up, Seth was able to rush over and grab Milo, restraining him. Easy, easy man! Calm down, please. This man walks into my restaurant! Intimidates me! Steals from me. And he has the gall to insult me? To my face? I won't stand for this! Hey, hey, easy buddy. I was just suggesting some improvements you could make to the decor. I like to think of myself as a man of high aesthetics. Just a little friendly advice. You insult this restaurant! I'm pointing out places it could be improved. This restaurant has fed this city for decades! The decorations are tradition!" I respect that, I respect that. But then again... 'Tradition is a prison with majority opinion the modern jailor.' ...From Hen Oh, gently caress off! Let's all take a moment to breathe, shall we? Crime scenes create a lot of pressure. Hostility is perhaps warranted. But it is not useful. So then, repeat after me: In... Out...Nobody joined in with me. There, is that not preferable? And who're you supposed to be? Laverna Smyth, private investigator. An absolute pleasure to be of service. Ah, detective. I can respect that. Nice to meet you. Likewise. Tch. The drat detective is fraternizing with criminals. I'm doomed. Criminals? Now, Milo, why on earth would you say that? You Yi, please. Don't provoke him. I'm not doing anything to provoke anybody! Wouldn't dream of it. Oh, I already don't like you.  Could we just get on it with it? I have already wasted too much time with this frivolity. These arguments serve no point.Quick note, I'm using a third dialogue portrait here, but don't take this as any kind of confirmation or de-confirmation of who's behind the mask right now, it's just an attempt to keep things relatively consistent across the LP; this portrait will just be used whenever we encounter Thane and there's not a clear way to distinguish (in contrast to Thane from the Mandjet, or 'Thane', the perspective, etc). Ah, I completely agree. We will get to the heart of the matter in a moment. However, quick sidebar, if you would.I grabbed a hold of Seth and Baldera and took a few steps away. Apologies for my ignorance, but what's with the person covered head to toe in black who is also wearing a mask? Wait, seriously Lav? You don't know about the Shadow of Panthea? Well, that's a surprise. I've heard the name, I am unfamiliar with the concept. He's just the biggest, baddest Duat member there is! If they want to intimidate someone, that's the guy they send. He's one of their top-ranking officers. He's, uh, he's mighty horrifying. Only trouble is, he's always in that, uh, that dark getup a getup that can b-be bought, theoretically, by combining a number of things, which makes narrowing any crime with him involved down a hell of a lot harder. At this point, it'd probably be worth it for Governor Aija to just ban that outfit altogether. Feels like there m-might be some constitutional issues with that idea. Eh, constitution's just a document. That's the spirit, Baldera! It is? Regardless, I believe I have a better understanding of the facts. My thanks, to that end. That said, is it proper for him to wear this getup during an investigation? We already had him take off the mask and confirm his identity. After that, we don't really, uh, have the authority make him stop wearing the outfit. We would if we had a warrant or something. But we don't. Okay, yeah, we can't stop him. Still, it's pretty messed up for him to just ignore our suggestions! You're surprised by that? A little. Okay, okay. We will simply proceed as is. His appearance shall simply make this whole matter more visually interesting. If you say so.[BGM: Bust]  I turned back towards everybody else. Very well then. As you might know, I am late to the party, so to speak. And since the crime has been henceforth unsolven, I think it would be useful for everybody if we litigated the events as they stand. Unsolven? Ha! There's nothing to be solved, these guys stole my loving vase! Easy, Milo, easy. You're going to hurt my feelings with all these reckless accusations. You... Wait, wait, this whole thing is just about a stolen vase? Just a stolen vase? Just a stolen vase? That vase is a priceless heirloom! It has been in my family for decades! It is priceless! More than priceless! It belongs in a museum. And you kept it in a safe? What an affront to the arts. You... Aha! Yi! How did you know it was kept in the safe? Uh, because we've said that point about half a dozen times up until now? Oh. Right. Hehe, sorry... A little overeager there, Baldera. Oh, hush.I cleared my throat. Apologies, Milo; I meant no disrespect. Frankly, I am happy to hear the sole point of contention is a stolen vase. It simplifies things quite a bit. Would you mind giving your account of the supposed theft? It would be hugely helpful. Fine. It started when those two came to my restaurant. On the surface, it was just for a meal. Those two referring to Thane and Yi? No, Yi and Zaochi. Ah. And Zaochi is the shorter man in the corner? Hiyah! ...And shorter, really, that's my descriptor? It's succinct, Zao. Quit being so sensitive. Anyways, before long those two were harassing me, threatening me for protection money. Now, now, now. Don't mischaracterize the interaction. I was simply offering you a business opportunity. Security is important, and my firm was willing to sell it to you. 'Willing' is putting it lightly, you were pretty clearly threatening me! I'm sorry if my tone was overly hostile. Mr. Yi, I will get to your account shortly. Of course, my apologies. So then Milo, what happened next? Yi kept harassing me, bringing me back to the Employee's Lounge. It's a private room, which means he could be even more pushy. Was nobody else in the restaurant at this point? No, just these thugs. Probably a calculated move on their part. Anyways, dealing with Yi was exhausting. I told him my answer was final, and I ordered him to go back to the front of the restaurant. I retreated into the kitchen for a brief moment, just to collect my thoughts dealing with them is frankly exhausting. Nobody else was in the kitchen at the time of the incident? I told my employees to leave and take a break when I saw Yi and his whole squad enter. Understandable. After a moment's respite, I left the kitchen back into the restaurant, where I went up to the table Yi and Zaochi were at to begin pleading with them. It was at this point I noticed Thane had made his way into the restaurant at some point; he was sitting at a table on the other side of the restaurant. Still, I paid him no mind... at first. Too busy dealing with Yi. However, before I knew it, I heard the sound of the kitchen door opening. I turned back, and saw Thane gone. He had clearly walked into the kitchen. I ran over to the kitchen, but by the time I entered, he had already made his way through the kitchen into the Employee's Lounge. I followed after him and saw him standing right by the safe in which I kept my precious vase! I questioned him about what he was doing there. He claimed he was just touring the area, but I didn't buy it for a second. I opened the safe, and what do you know, it was missing! I had checked the safe a few loving hours ago, it was there, nobody else suspicious had entered the building since! Clearly, these rats stole or broke the vase to try and intimidate me into accepting their little racket! Well, I wouldn't have it! Jeez, this guy sure likes hearing his own voice, huh? Mind if I say what actually happened? Milo, have you finished giving the relevant points to the sequence of events? Pretty much. After I noticed the vase had been stolen, I called you guys over. And you didn't let any of us out of your sight since then, right? Of course not! Don't want you messing with the crime scene at all. Splendid. Then by all means, Yi, give your explanation. I don't have anything that contradicts how Milo told it. Just a different color to the whole story. Look, my associates and I all represent Tutelar Inc, a very well-respected protection company dozens of Panthean stores employ. Because you force them into it! Apologies for Milo, anybody who knows him will tell you he has a thing for hysterics.
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Nov 13, 2023 01:53
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 [BGM: Bust]  Now, I'll be the first to admit I play a little hardball when trying to close a deal. What good salesman doesn't? But extortion? Please. Nothing like that happened. Certainly, nothing I said would count as extortion in court, for what's that worth. For what it's worth, that is the sort of distinction somebody in the business of extortion would mind. Heh. So it is, huh? Look, lady, I'm just trying to save both of us time. And by all means, I respect that. You do? Hush now Milo, Yi and I are speaking. Anyways, in terms of sequence of events, I don't have anything to really dispute. I brought Milo into the Employee's Area to have a discussion. I saw the aforementioned safe sitting nice and pretty there at the time. He got upset, went to the kitchen. I spent no more than a few seconds admiring the Employee's Area atmosphere before returning to the main area of the restaurant. Thane, a friend of mine, had entered the restaurant while I was speaking with Milo. Milo came out, and discussed the business deal in further detail up close and personal. I must have simply missed Thane wandering off to the kitchen. He likes to do that. He's a wanderer. And then, well, you know the rest. I am so sorry that dear old Milo has had his precious heirloom stolen. Truly, I bear him no ill will, and I admire his tenacity in trying to get the vase back. But the simple fact of the matter is, neither me nor my associates have anything to do with the vanishing vase. Okay, okay, I think I get a picture of things. That's enough witness testimony. Seth, Baldera, can you fill in the details from there?" Well, not much more to say, Lav. Seth and I were on our way back from another investigation when I got the call to check this place out. We were some of the first on the scene. The, uh, the layout of this place isn't complicated. You've got the m-main restaurant sort of area here. Tables. Menus. Cashier desk, et cetera. You also have some restrooms over there, but that's not really relevant. And then you have the door to the kitchen on the one side of that back wall, and the door to the employee area on the other. And then the two are connected with another door. The Employee Area also has a fairly high up window. When we arrived, it was closed. Right, right, that's worth saying. Also, the safe. According to Milo, it's new. Right! Ever since Yi and his boys started hounding me, I got worried for my vase. Looks like I was right, too. I went to a nearby security shop a bit over a week ago, bought one of their standard, secure safes. Changed the combination so only I'd know how to open it. Though, it also has a safety key that can be used to open it as well. Right.[BGM: Raise]  Forensically speaking, we haven't found anything that interesting. The good news, investigatorally speaking, are two key cameras that get some good stuff. One of them's from an ATM machine outside on the street across from this store. See, the window in the Employee's Area is above a dumpster in an alleyway the ATM camera doesn't quite get the best view of that place, but it does sort of get the further half of the alleyway. Basically, it doesn't quite see the actual window, or the dumpster, but it sees enough that we can rule out the idea of anybody entering or leaving the restaurant through that window. If they d-did that, they'd probably get seen by the camera... somewhat. Only other entrance or exit's the front doors in the restaurant area. The other camera is one mounted in the top corner of the main restaurant area. It gets a, um, decent look at the whole scene. Yeah, it more or less corroborates the testimonies Milo and Yi gave. But... there's one interesting bit. When Yi and Milo are in the Employee's Area, that's when Thane entered the restaurant. But with his back turned towards the camera, instead of taking a seat he walked right towards the kitchen door. A moment or two later, he exited the kitchen and made his way back to his seat. ...I was looking for where Yi and Milo were. I started my search in the kitchen. There, I overheard the two's argument, so I decided it wasn't my place to get involved and returned. That's your story? Yes. Well, there you have it. Anything else noteworthy about the footage? Oh, uh, the spare key to the safe was left in Milo's work apron. The camera actually catches him hanging it up behind the clerk's desk, and the camera has it in view the entire time. That's... actually not technically true. When Thane first makes his way to the kitchen, he briefly passes in front of the keys. Yeah, but he's too far from the keys to grab them, and everyone else is accounted f-for. What does that matter? Just, you know, wanted to be thorough. Correct impulse, Baldera. Any information, however seemingly innocuous, is important to my process. You don't need a process! The evidence is obvious. These thugs have been harassing me for over a week at this point. I refuse their advances, then they show up and my vase goes missing. It's obvious what happened. Obvious, you say? Pray tell, how would you construct the story from a god's perspective? Huh? Uh, I think Lav's asking you what you think happened, in specifics. Oh, easy. Thane went to the Employee Area. He broke into my safe, but he knew he couldn't smuggle the vase out, so he just broke it into pieces. Then he hid the pieces, knowing they were a lot easier to hide. Hid the pieces, you say? Uh, yeah. Milo, I hate to do this, but you're not thinking clearly. We checked out the Employee Area front to back, there weren't any vase shards hidden anywhere. Nor were they on his body. Simply put, there was nowhere for that vase to go; it doesn't seem possible for Thane to have stolen that vase. But that's... No, that can't be. It has to be him. It has to be! That's the only thing that makes sense...[BGM: Pip Count]  Don't worry Milo, I've got your back. It seems pretty drat clear that the Duats stole this vase to me. Sure, maybe there wasn't a place to hide the vase, nor was it possible to get it out of the restaurant through the front entrance. However, there's still one way to get it out... and that's the window. Maybe a person would've been seen on that ATM camera, but just the vase could easily be dropped straight down into the dumpster and nobody'd be the wiser. Perhaps this is a little obvious of a question, but that dumpster has been checked, correct? Of course nothing showed up. But that doesn't prove anything! Like I said, the ATM's camera only got half the sidewalk. With a sneaky accomplice, the vase could've easily been retrieved by an accomplice of Yi waiting in the wings. Mr. Yi, you were alone in the Employee Area after Milo stormed into the kitchen, correct? Yes ma'am. Heh, then couldn't you have stolen the vase right then and there? You could have broken into the safe, taken out the vase, and chucked it right into the dumpster. Why don't you just save us some time and confess? Ah, man, I'm going to hate proving you wrong. It's not fun to crush a bright spirit like yours. Sad to say, but that's impossible. How's that? Milo, only you know the passcode to the safe, right? Uh, yeah. And in the week or so you've had the safe, you don't think your spare key could have been stolen? ... Answer honestly, Milo. I can't prove it hasn't been stolen. Okay, well, let me ask the police; if somebody buys a safe, worried that their heirloom's going to get yanked, do you think they're inclined to leave the key to said safe unattended? Doesn't seem likely, uh, does it? It doesn't, Seth very good. So then, I ask you all this: With no knowledge of the passcode, and no opportunity to make a duplicate key, how exactly do you propose I broke into that safe? I mean, you all bandy that term around so frequently, making it seem like just a thing that people can do. Why, if that were the case, what'd be the point of safes at all? They wouldn't be very safe at all.The man in the corner snickered some. You deny the existence of lockpicking? I acknowledge it, sure. What I don't acknowledge is this master lockpicker that can break open a lock in a matter of seconds. I was only in that Employee Area for a moment or two, and the camera'll attest to that. And not just me, Milo followed in short step after my good friend Thane; neither of us had much time at all alone with the safe. Maybe if we had a key, knew the passcode, sure, we could've done something. But breaking into a safe in that time? Totally impossible. You can't deny the possibility! You could just be really good lockpicks! Heh. That the angle you're going to take on this? All right then, take that safe in for examination. Test for signs of forced entry. Look all you want for it. And when you find none, I want you to look for a single lockpicker on this earth that can break into a fresh safe in less than ten seconds without leaving a trace. You do that for me, and I'll confess right here and now. That's... ugh.[BGM: Silence]  The problem for Baldera was, Yi was right. The situation Baldera had proposed was improbable at best. So you see? There were exactly two points either Thane or I were alone with the safe, and neither lasted more than ten seconds. You can't get into the safe without a passcode, the keys, or without breaking into the safe. We didn't know the passcode. We couldn't grab the keys. We couldn't break into a safe in less than ten seconds. All those facts combine to prove one simple truth: this 'supposed thief' isn't Thane, and it sure as poo poo isn't me. Now, if you want to keep us here, then try and disprove one of those facts, or try and find a way that they can all be true and we still stole the safe. I'm sure you'll find either a trying task, to say the least.The room was silent. Very well then, it was time for the detective to emerge. [BGM: Ante Up]  Milo, would you mind if I examined the safe for myself? Uh, sure; it's still in the Employee Area. Thank you. I'll be back in a moment.And just like that, I left the confused group to their own devices, and entered the Employee Area. Yi was right, it was a nice room, but there was no time to dilly-dally I had to confirm something. I walked up to the safe. It was slightly ajar, sitting in the corner of the room on a lonely table. I examined the sides of it, the dimensions. I reached forward and grabbed it from the bottom, then held it up to my chest. It was a pretty small safe, all things considered; must've also been a small vase. I picked it up with both hands off the table, holding it low; it wasn't that heavy. I tried walking with it; I could transport it fairly easily. Okay. I placed it back on the table. Then, I looked up to the window, and examined the window's size. I walked up to it, and jumped. With a bit of effort, I could easily touch the bottom of the window from the ground. All right. This was fun, but it wasn't too hard a puzzle. ...Was it rude to have expected a harder challenge? ...No matter. I re-entered the main restaurant area. It seemed little of importance had occurred in my absence... Excellent.  You know, deductions don't need to be one sentence affairs. As you're creating your deduction, you might see a period pop up on screen. That means a period will appear at that point in your final deduction, so you should split up your syntax accordingly! Just a silly little thing to keep you on your toes, don't worry about it. I bet you won't even notice it's there. Basically, this is just confirming that deductions can be two separate statements now, instead of one big one. That's about it. X + Y + X + Y + X. Y + X + Y + X + Y + X. [X] - Thane could bring something to the kitchen. - The camera faced Thane's back. - Yi could smuggle the safe out the window without being caught. - There was a decoy safe. - Milo was talking in the employee area. - He was alone. [Y] - if - and - when - then - so Solution: Milo was talking in the employee area and the camera faced Thane's back so Thane could bring something to the kitchen. If there was a decoy safe then Yi could smuggle the safe out the window without being caught when he was alone. [You won 7 chips!] [BGM: Silence]  Attention, everybody. I will now be solving the crime. Oh? Just like that, will you? My, my, that's impressive. Y-you know what happened, Laverna? Ah, I knew I brought you in for a reason. Of course I know what happened, Seth. I am a detective, after all. That is my job. Well, get on with it! Relax, relax.[BGM: Showdown]  Milo, you made one key mistake in all of this. A mistake that occurred before Yi or Thane even entered the restaurant. The issue is that you bought a common safe from a common store... and because of that, you opened yourself to a rather unique angle of attack. Huh? I'll explain. See, I thought it odd how Thane entered the restaurant, and how he made his way to the kitchen. Having his back to the camera the whole time, well, I found it slightly unnatural. And it was then that it dawned on me. What if that shielding was intentional? What if it was to hide a rather large prop needed for the swindle? Prop? I introduce to you a new concept, previously not imagined that is, the existence of a Decoy Safe. One prepared beforehand, completely empty, for the purpose of this heist. It is perhaps a fantastical prop, but introduce it, and many things fall into place. It better, if you expect us to buy into a second safe, Laverna. I haven't seen any evidence of it. And that's the key, isn't it! Oh, well I, for one, am interested. How exactly does this spare safe change things? Simple: it allows this whole swindle to occur! You see, Thane blocks out the relatively small safe from the camera with his backside. In the kitchen, he hides the safe out of sight. In a closet, below a table, anywhere that it isn't immediately visible. Then he returns, the first step of the plan carried out. Next up, comes to the actual theft. This occurs when Milo decides to leave Yi unaccompanied in the Employee Area an understandable blunder, but a fatal one. Yi then takes it upon himself to dispose of the safe. He picks it up, and with some difficulty, drops the whole thing through the window Yes! That is the core illusion. The safe was never broken into... at least, not on these premises. Yi threw out the safe wholesale, which would take mere seconds, then casually strolled back out to the main restaurant area. Wow, how brave of me. And then, if Milo decided to return to the restaurant area through the Employee's Area? Well, that would be a somewhat unorthodox line of movement on his end; however, had that been the case, he likely would have freaked out, and went straight up to your table to chastise you. In this case, I imagine you'd play dumb, and then the plan would play out much the same way it did in this case. The only difference would be that your scheme would be a bit more apparent, and Milo would be confused about the disappearing and reappearing safe. Oh? And could you please explain to us how exactly the rest of this 'played out,' huh? I thought you were smart, Yi do I really need to spell it all out? Thane's little 'tour' was nothing of the sort; it was an obvious lie from the start. But it was a worthwhile sacrifice, storming the proverbial gates as you will. Because of that, you were able to finish the coverup. Thane went and grabbed the Decoy Safe he stashed in the kitchen. Then, as Milo went over to the kitchen to stop him, he made his way to the Employee Area to replace the missing safe. Right as he finished the deed, Milo walked in and saw him standing right in front of the replaced safe and just like that, a beautiful theft. Nothing beautiful about it, that's downright scummy! Eh, it's a little beautiful.
A little? Just a smidge? Quit it, Lav. More to the point, I think there's some people who need to explain themselves. Tch. Bullshit. The lot of it. Is that right?" Then please, have at me with your counterarguments. The safe. It'd still be in the dumpster. How do you explain that? I already explained this! The ATM camera wasn't flawless. You just had one of your Duat boys waiting in the wings, ready to snatch up the thrown out safe. That's- Easy, Thane. Leave this to me. I got this.Thane looked over to Yi... then, he shut up.
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Nov 13, 2023 01:53
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 [BGM: Kicker]  That's quite a nice story, Ms. Smyth. Really, I'm impressed by you and I don't say that often. But I'm sad to say, I don't think it'll hold water. Oh? And why is that? The safe... I do believe I know the store that you bought it from, Milo. Of course you do! Like the detective said, you got a copy! Who's to say. But Milo, if I remember correctly, the safes sold there have sale stickers plastered on their bottoms. I wonder, Milo, did you ever bother removing that? Uh... Well, I mean, I don't think so. Ah, Milo! You have to remove those things, they're really an eyesore. ...Ah, but if it's on the bottom of the safe, I suppose you don't think to check. Milo, when exactly did you get this safe? Uh, 9 days ago? Time of the day? About... 5 o'clock, I'd say. Excellent, excellent. Seth, would you mind going back to the safe in the Employee Area and checking the seal? I... Uh, okay.A little uneasy, Seth walked over to the Employee Area. What are you getting at, Yi? If Laverna's theory holds up, then surely the sales sticker will be different. This new safe couldn't have an identical sales sticker. What? That doesn't prove anything! Even if the sticker matches Milo's purchase, that doesn't clear you. You could just take it off the first one, and put it on the new one! Ah, just ripped it off the old safe, placed it on the new? That's... not possible. Ah, I knew you were a smart one, Laverna. Ms. Baldera, you ever try peeling off one of those sales stickers? Especially one that's been left on a safe for over 9 days?It's pretty loving hard. I mean, you can do it, but you'll usually tear a bit of it somewhere. To truly peel off the full thing without the slightest indication that it's been removed? That takes a lot of time and, frankly, tools. Doing that freehand in ten seconds is pretty unbelievable. Seriously? That childish reasoning is what you're using to your defense? Heh, it is a bit silly, I have to admit. But it holds up. He's right. Removing the sticker in the ten seconds he had without any trace of tear or wear... I mean, that'd be on top of actually lifting and throwing the safe out the window it's way too tight. Okay, uh, what if the person on the outside who grabbed the safe from the dumpster removed the sticker! Ah, yes, I thought this would come up. What you proposed is more than possible; however, when exactly would they have given the sticker back to Thane? There's no opportunity... Uh, they could... they could've thrown it back through the window? Then, what, did Thane place that sticker on the new safe in the exact perfect place when he reached the Employee Area? That's possible, sure. Oh, but then he'd have to close the window, since it was found closed. ...And then he'd need to put the safe back on the table. ...And that was the last thing he did, since Milo saw him by that table when he walked in. Again, aren't you overestimating the time Thane had? ... And ever since Milo looked in that empty safe, we've all been in his sight. He said so himself! So, as Milo as our witness, we never had a chance to tamper with the safe.It was at this point Seth entered the room, holding the safe. He had a disappointed look on his face. ...The sticker. It matches the time and date Milo said. That's not... That can't be! You must've just bought your safe right at the same time! Wow, we must've been on the ball to pull that one off, huh? But no. Check the store for the specific details of the purchase if you want. You... Did you... You must've faked the sticker! All right Milo, this is just getting sad to hear. Again, to do that, we'd need to know all the details of your store transaction ahead of time, which, impossible. But if you're really bothered, go and do some forensics, see if the sticker matches the ones from the store safes. Seth, you didn't see any sign of wear or tear? Check f-for yourself, Baldera! It looks like it's come right out of a store. I don't think anybody'd be able to rip it off cleanly.
[BGM: Challenger]  So, I think this disproves Laverna's theory? Fingerprints. Huh? We'll check this safe for fingerprints. If I'm right, if the safe was switched out, then it won't have Milo's fingerprints. That should prove foul play, right? Heh. Heh heh heh. Cute! Very cute. Sad to say, Milo does have fingerprints on it. Remember, he made a huge fuss about checking the safe, and he was the one who found the vase missing, right? That... Still, we should see noticeably less fingerprints, right? Maybe. But then again, this is Milo we're talking about. He's a bit of a perfection freak. He easily could've wiped down the safe to keep it nice and shiny. He does that, and those previous fingerprints vanish. I haven't wiped down the safe once! Hmm. So you say. Unfortunately, I don't think that testimony'll hold up. I think it's been proven pretty clearly that you have a grudge against me, as ill-placed as it may be. You clearly mistakenly believe I'm responsible for everything that goes wrong in your life. If it'd help bring me to justice, you could easily falsely claim you had never wiped down the safe. Your testimony'd never hold up in court. And it'd be inconclusive at best. You rear end in a top hat! Language, language.Seth had to grab Milo to break up another fight. So now. Now can we say Laverna's theory is disproven?I wanted to speak up. I wanted to wipe the smug smirk off this criminal asshat. He was clearly lying through his teeth. He knew we knew, he was gloating in it. But to prove it... ugh! My theory was right, I knew that much. Yi's weirdly defensive reaction to my fingerprints suggestions had practically proven it. But the stickers... how to get around the stickers? Were they swapped? How? I had some ideas, but they were half-baked, and had holes. Ultimately, I had to hold my tongue. [BGM: The Bomb]  All right then. So, does anybody have any theories other than Laverna's about how either Thane or I could have stolen the vase?Again, Yi was met with silence. He had thoroughly stumped the room. When the silence became resounding, he clapped his hands together. Brilliant! Very well then, I think that's our cue to leave then. Huh? Y-you can't do that. Oh, I most certainly can. I think I've just proven rather conclusively that you all have no reasonable justification for suspecting us for this theft, and we've given all our testimony. I truly extend my apologies to Milo, I hope you are able to find the thieves who burgled your precious heirloom. But if there's nothing else, I do not believe you all have the authority to detain us for any longer.For a third time, nobody was able to bring up anything. We all wanted to say something, to keep him here, to trap him. But his barrage of hard-hitting questions had effectively bullied us into submission. We had his little gang surrounded and despite that, he was going to manage to slip away. Lovely chatting with you all. Nice meeting you too, Laverna, though I hope we don't meet again. Come on, Zaochi, Thane. We're done here.And those were the last words any of the three men spoke. Instead, they all just strolled out of the restaurant ...and we were all powerless to stop them. Baldera turned to Milo. I am so so sorry. Really, we tried to do our best. It's just, you know... I mean you saw it, right? It's... ...Baldera was really struggling to get words out. Just save it. Huh?[BGM: Spot On]  I said, just save it. I don't need your apologies, I needed you to do your job. And you failed - completely. Well, 'completely' is a little harsh, don't you think? We can keep the investigation open. Surel- Save it - you let them get away, and you're not going to reel them back in. I know how this works. It's... Ha! Do you know what I just did, how much poo poo I'm in? You don't try and snitch on the Duats. You just don't! Everybody knows that, there's an understanding. ...And I just did. And you failed to follow through. You know what that means? It means I'm screwed. That's not- Oh, but it is! I stuck my neck out for you guys, by reporting this. I was giving you a chance to get a win, and you flubbed it. You failed it. You lost your chance to actually do some damage to the Duats... and like that, it's gone. Poof. And I'm stuck holding the bag. I'm stuck standing here, going to have to answer the consequences. Sir, if you feel intimidated, you can make a statement. You can request protection, we can put you under surveillance. For how long? Huh? No, no, everybody knows that without proof, police 'protection' doesn't mean poo poo. It buys a few days, weeks at most... and eventually, it goes away. And that's when it snaps you. No, I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to go with my own form of protection, thank you very much.
 It's because of incompetent officers like you that the Duats run these streets. It's people like you that prove to everybody that you can't trust the police. You know your whole posse is a laughing stock to the locals, right? Yeah, well, it's for good reason. You should be ashamed of yourself and you should think about what exactly you're doing. All right, that's enough buddy. Excuse me? No, excuse you. I get you're in some poo poo right now, and we'll try to help out, but frankly you're not doing yourself any favors. Got anything worthwhile you actually want to say? No, as a matter of fact, I believe I'm done. As luck would have it, I kind of have a lot of things I need to work out now.And in a huff, Milo turned around and went to the back of the store. Baldera looked pretty shaken. Seth grabbed her arm. Hey, forget that jackass. He's salty. He's right. He's unimportant. How many years have you been on the force? Are you still getting shaken up by the emotional shouts of every grieving victim? No. Then good. Now come on, we've got work to do.The two began to exit the store. [BGM: Trick Score]  Whatever my current thoughts may be, I wasn't content to let Baldera leave just yet. I had something I had been looking to tell her for a while. And if I didn't bring it up now, who knew when I'd next get a chance. Hey, wait! Lav? Seth, would you mind if I stole Baldera from you for just a minute? There is something I wish to ask her. All right. Ask away. It is... something of a private matter. Private matter? Something you can tell her b-but not me? I'm offended. It is related to a lady's sensibilities. Believe me, neither you nor me wishes for your presence in this conversation. ...If you say so. I'll be in the police car, Baldera.Seth clearly still didn't like the idea of leaving me free to talk to Baldera. But he also knew pushing the issue would be pointless Once he left the restaurant, I took a seat at a nearby table. Baldera remained standing.  All right, Laverna. You've got me. What do you want to ask?
Think what you will, I am just as aware as the next person that my manner of speaking is, in some ways, unrefined. That is why dwelling on ways to word this delicately is almost certainly time that could better be spent simply getting to the matter at hand. So then. Seek not the intentions behind my words. I am merely going to convey some information to you. Interpret it as you wish. Uh, all right. First off... Seth. Seth? I have looked into his record. His record? His police record, Baldera, keep up. I obtained it from Arrianne. That doesn't seem like the sort of thing the Chief would do. Just trust me.Baldera didn't need to know about how I got this info, or about how weak the Police's record keeping digital security was.  The point of the matter is, Seth has been on an unnatural number of cases with suspected ties to Duat matters. Most of the time, his involvement was either a result of his physical proximity towards the scene of the crime, or him volunteering for this particular case. So? It's a small force we have here, we're strapped for officers. That doesn't mean much. That alone doesn't mean much; however, it appears there is a near one-to-one correlation with Seth's presence on a Duat related case and it's inability to bring about prosecution. That isn't to say there aren't plenty of cases where Seth wasn't around that no prosecutions were brought... it's to say that in almost every Duat-related case Seth has been a part of, nobody was found accountable. Laverna. What are you saying? As I said at the beginning, I am simply providing information. But... come on, Baldera. You know him better than anybody. If there is anything to be assumed, you should, on some level, sense it. ...Perhaps you have already sensed it. Careful, Lav. I like you, but I've known Seth for a lot longer. ...Okay then. Let us move on then, shall we?" There's more? A bit more. I'd like to discuss the Cock Robin murders.Baldera was confused by this seeming left-turn. I recently looked over the past cases... and a certain detail caught my eye. The initial officers on the scene. Scanning through it, one name popped up far more frequently than the others. Chief of Police Arrianne. A-Arrianne? But... but, what, what does that matter? Are you saying she has something to do with the items left behind? Because in case you forgot what you yourself just said, she was around more often, not all the time! Hell, she was on the other side of the city the night you learned about them! Certainly. However... Previously, the thing that led us to believe this was the work of a serial killer was the fact that no discernible pattern between the victims could be found. But, if we view the murders committed where Arrianne was not present as a separate list, that line of thinking now wavers. Admittedly, I can't see a clear motive, even with the reduced list. But the victims Arrianne certainly couldn't have planted evidence on are all people of either high status or with some importance. I need to dig more, but the possibility of finding a through-line with this list of suspects seems, at the very least, possible. Laverna, you can't seriously be accusing- I am not, mind you, accusing anyone of anything. I am simply providing information. That right? It is. Which brings me to my third point: the murder of Isa. Laverna...Baldera now seemed full-on hostile. Tragic event. ...Yeah, it was. Absolutely awful. Sometimes bad things happen in this line of work, you just gotta move forwards. 'The rain falls with no one to blame'. Ah, but in this case, there was somebody to blame, was there not? The robber. He was eventually caught, and brought before a court; however, despite being pegged for the robbery, I couldn't find any evidence of him being convicted for the murder. Couldn't find enough evidence to put the bastard away for it. Doesn't mean anything, though. Does it not? Tell me, was Chief of Police Arrianne accounted for the night Isa was shot? Huh? I, I don't know. Then, were you? Excuse me? You said you were listening in from a separate location on the police radio. Is there anyway to corroborate your position? Okay, that's it. Baldera began to turn away and leave. I reached out and grabbed her arm. Hold on! Why should I? Just listen, would you? I ask because I want to believe you. You want to? Just like everybody else, I looked into you, Ms. Vasquez... and I couldn't find any trace that you are anybody but an upstanding police officer who harbors a deep love for her city. Maybe that just means you are particularly good at erasing your tracks, but I suspect it means you are something that's rare: a true, untainted soul. Somebody who earnestly strives for the best. Somebody who can be trusted. Depended on. Counted on. The type of person this city so desperately needs. ...I don't know about all that. Nor do I. But that is my most optimistic approximation of your character. And I desperately hope it to be true.[BGM: Silence]  Again, Lav, what are you doing here? What do you get out of telling me all this? I'm telling you this because, for better or worse, I am choosing to place my trust in you. I think we both wish to get to the truth behind this city, to truly make it live up to its potential. And the more I look at the past, the present, it appears as though people like us don't have long shelf lives. What is that supposed to mean? What it means...I thought about what to say. ...is up for you to decide. As I said, I am simply giving you pieces. Assemble the puzzle however you wish. Huh. Scorn me for my suspicions, if you wish. Perhaps such scorn is warranted. But I bring these pieces to you, Baldera, for your own good. I think you ought to be fully equipped to the nines, both with equipment and information. You deserve to have the fullest capability in determining who is friend or foe. ...The two of us just stared for a moment. Baldera usually wore her emotions on her sleeve. Times like these, where I couldn't get a bead on her, were rare. Eventually, she just sighed. Thanks for the tip, Lav.And just like that, she turned around and walked out of the store. ...Ah, well. Was that a mistake? Did I move too early? Were the seeds I sowed enough? Was I placing my mistrust in the right people? My trust in the right people? I couldn't say. All I could do was what I thought was best. This seemed like the best move to make. And so I made it.  Well now, aren't thinks starting to heat up in ol' Laverna Land. ...Not really with the whole vase thing, because come on, who the gently caress cares about that? It's a stolen vase, get over it. And I mean, we already know that that dipshit Milo gets a bullet to the forehead, so really, what's the use of retreading any of this? I imagine this whole little plotline is going to be dropped from here on out. But besides that, feels like Laverna's slowly uncovering the police force's rot. At least, she has theories. Seth being a Duat agent, Arrianne having something to do with the Cock Robin murders, there being more to Isa's disappearance... Sneaky stuff, gotta say. And she's giving this info to Baldera. Are we to assume, then, that she trusts Baldera? Wonder if that's so wise... Anyways, the thing I'm most interested in is Laverna's little theory about Arrianne. I mean, Arrianne, the Cock Robin Killer... It certainly makes a certain amount of sense. You could certainly make a compelling theory towards that - Laverna apparently has. But I don't know, feels a little cliche. There are some oddities in that story, if you ask me. ...But then again, perhaps it is that simple? Laverna certainly has an impressive track record with finding the truth. She's probably right. I don't know. Say, this feels like a decent thing to bet on, right? ...Yeah, come on, it'll be fun. So, what do you think? You don't get to just answer if Arrianne is generally sketchy, that's already in the air. I want to know, specifically, if you think Arrianne is playing an active, knowing, willing part. ...So? Is she a direct accomplice in the Cock Robin Murders? No, she's not. Choosing to believe in Arrianne? Or... perhaps not; all cops may be bastards, but perhaps Arrianne is a bastard in a different way? Either way, bet made. Now you've gotta choose how much you're actually betting.A third of the votes said that Arrianne is connected to the Cock Robin Killings, so we'll be betting 31 chips, rounded down. Okie dokie, just gonna... jot that down. Cool! Let's check back in on that when we get a clear answer, one way or another. Might... be a bit. Next update, let's see what our buddy Lock's got going on. 
Mix. fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Nov 15, 2023 |
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Nov 13, 2023 01:53
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Yes, Chief Arrianne is in on the Cock Robin murders.
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Nov 13, 2023 05:48
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Chief Arrianne is not a direct accomplice. She could be a good person overwhelmed by her force's corruption, or she's letting Aija do her own thing without getting involved. For the mistake of buying a mass-produced portable safe, the egregious error of snitching on the Duats, and the failure to use proper security cameras, Milo deserved what was coming to him.
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Nov 13, 2023 07:34
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So a glaring thing stood out to me there. Why did nobody try Milo's key? That seems a better judge than the label on if it's a different safe or not. For that note, it's interesting that the police force managed to snag Thane's identity and that so little came of it. You would think the tabloid reporter out front would have been all over that.
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Nov 13, 2023 13:57
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OTOH it's Seth who says that he had him take off the helmet - all things considered, that may or may not have actually happened.
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Nov 13, 2023 15:51
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Another thing to consider is that Thane's identity might actually be known. Their outfit doesn't have to be concealing their identity, it's just a menacing symbol that happens to work out for the imposter. And if it is, I would imagine Yi would have known who Thane is. And so that gives us a bit of timeline for when our fake Thane shows up. It's been a week? Yi mentions the meal he had last week, when they're waiting at Milo's restaurant. So the real Thane dies some time in between that time range.
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Nov 13, 2023 17:46
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ill give it one more day for the vote then poll's closed also would you guys say having the update in one big batch like this is better? most of them are only 1-2 post's worth at most, its mostly laverna that hits 3 consistently lol
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Nov 14, 2023 00:23
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I'm going to go with No for the vote. Of the cocktail ro in killings we've seen all have been fully independent actions, including the gimmick, by Devon save one. And while she was on scene for that one, the body wasn't found by the police which seems counterintuitive if she was killing people and/or dramatically flagging the bodies with props.
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Nov 14, 2023 01:10
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Assuming the overall update pace remains the same, I prefer the updates split up since there's more time to theorize and comment. Laverna's mysteries and Lock's games are well-suited for discussion.
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Nov 14, 2023 01:12
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No, she's not. Choosing to believe in Arrianne? Or... perhaps not; all cops may be bastards, but perhaps Arrianne is a bastard in a different way? Either way, bet made. Now you've gotta choose how much you're actually betting. A third of the votes said that Arrianne is connected to the Cock Robin Killings, so we'll be betting 31 chips, rounded down. Okie dokie, just gonna... jot that down. Cool! Let's check back in on that when we get a clear answer, one way or another. Might... be a bit.Next update, let's see what our buddy Lock's got going on.
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Nov 15, 2023 04:38
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To be entirely fair, we know Milo opened it, and presumably he used either the key or the passcode and the passcode is easier. How would they set the safe's password to the one Milo used? That's largely the issue with that line of thinking. (and if they could set it to that, then you are assuming they know the passcode and then the whole safe switcheroo thing line of thinking becomes irrelevant) That said, it's Seth who said that no one found any shards - if we assume he's lying, that's actually the sticking point. Regallion fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Nov 15, 2023 |
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Nov 15, 2023 10:24
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I think the theory is that the Duats swapped and left the new safe open. Milo didn't need to unlock anything. Now that the swap theory is public, Milo is incentivized to reinforce it by claiming his code and key don't match the new safe. The Duats can discredit anything he has to say since he has been trying to frame/accuse them from the start. The sticker defense was cool, but was there a vase in the first place?
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Nov 15, 2023 19:51
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Regallion posted:That said, it's Seth who said that no one found any shards - if we assume he's lying, that's actually the sticking point. Yeah, the real issue is that we know Seth covers for the Duats, so the crime scene could have been tampered with in a number of ways, either actively by Seth or just via him turning a blind eye to someone else.
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Nov 15, 2023 19:57
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That's also probably partly why Laverna doesn't push too hard, she's already suspicious of Seth and there's nothing she can do here right now.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:11
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Not to give anything away but there is an answer to at least one of these questions in a past update 
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Nov 15, 2023 21:03
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NeoRonTheNeuron posted:I think the theory is that the Duats swapped and left the new safe open. Milo didn't need to unlock anything. In the update where they killed him Milo asked about his heirloom and the Duats confirmed they'd stolen it.
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Nov 15, 2023 21:24
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Haha, I meant that more rhetorically. Can Milo even prove that there was a vase in the first place? The Duats can't be caught with such flimsy evidence.
NeoRonTheNeuron fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Nov 16, 2023 |
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Nov 16, 2023 06:09
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I think Baldera is the Jade Emperor.
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Nov 16, 2023 06:27
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You know, the main mystery that Im focused on is Who is Ez? I really doubt that she is just a framing device for the story, and I am fairly certain she is one of the characters, possibly one of the POV characters. However, I dont think she is going to turn out to be the mastermind/god/main villain, as they already did that twist in Zodiac Trial. Im also wondering the why of the framing device, and who is the Us she is telling the story to.
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Nov 16, 2023 16:20
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Considering how heavily the last game was inspired by the 999 series I wouldn't be surprised if the 'us' was like some kinda Blink Winkle like character like in VLR.
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Nov 16, 2023 16:46
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I'll say we do already have at least one detail about her that I don't think anyone's picked up on yet.  you may have to do some real digging to locate it, though...
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Nov 16, 2023 16:52
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Mix. posted:I'll say we do already have at least one detail about her that I don't think anyone's picked up on yet. Or I just forgot to post anything back when I first noticed it. By the way congratulations on finally getting Birth ME Code archived (I went to the archive first before the thread) Mix. posted:
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Nov 16, 2023 17:12
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No, Ez, it's insane! I've never blown up to this extent!
The series of articles I published on the incident have become the go-to thing to read when you want to know what happened. I've been getting booked for so many different podcast appearances, and since I've been plugging nonstop, that means increased viewership on all my other projects.
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...wait, so Ez isn't Monkey but a friend of Pig?
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Nov 16, 2023 17:47
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I mean I thought it was clearly established at the end of the last game that Monkey's story had kind of come to an end.
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Nov 17, 2023 01:33
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 I double checked the address. ...Yep. Yep, this was definitely the place. [BGM: Bidding]  Okay. I mean, fair enough not like I was living it up lavishly. Still, this place? Really? I guess it didn't feel particularly... gubernatorial. I... think that's the word for governor-related things. I'm like 80% sure. I mean, considering Bach's current financial state, I really shouldn't be surprised frankly, if he was lounging in a pretty nice place, I'd be a little miffed. But here? It looked honestly unsafe, and in Panthea, that was saying something. Still, no better place to meet than Bach's apartment. Meeting at Nohoi's Nest was off-limits for some time whoops. Look, I had to pull the ripcord somehow, but they'd be back on their feet soon enough. ...Probably. No, not probably, definitely, they'd definitely be fine. But, for now, they were laying low and rebuilding after the whole police-raid false-murder scare. Really, for my purposes it didn't super matter. Not like meeting at an underground casino was a great idea for a political election campaign meeting. I checked my imitation watch. Hm. I'm on time right now. Probably better to still wait a minute or two. I stretched out my arms and started leaning against one of the brick walls in the alleyway right next to the building. Aimlessly, my eyes wandered up, looking at the graffiti and fire escapes all over the place. This scenery... it was familiar. Ah, what was I doing thinking about this? This wasn't a good period of my life. No happy memories here. ...But... I guess it was pretty god drat formative. [BGM: Ura Dora]  They say that the points where you're close to death are the points where you decide how you're going to live. In my case, that was pretty literal. Living on the streets was rough. I didn't have a resume to help with a job, and I didn't have half a shot at getting any sort of higher education in my position. I didn't have the first clue how to fend for myself; I just lived off the generosity of strangers. And... I learned pretty quickly that there really wasn't a lot of that to spread around. It was a cutthroat world. If you wanted to get anything, you had to earn it. ...In game theory, the term zero-sum game means a system where any gains inevitably come at the cost of somebody else. It's overly simplistic to consider life a zero-sum game. That's the sort of thinking that leads to the dumbest policies or lifestyles. Plenty of things in life simply make life better for everyone. That could be grand scientific policies achieved through working together, or shared positive emotions through humor or stories. ...But there was a darker side to that as well. It also meant that there were times where people's losses were smaller than the gains others could receive through those. Anyone who claims money's value is a constant is a loving moron a 100 dollar bill in the hands of a poor man is worth dozens more than that same bill in the hands of a rich man. It's all relative. To maximize total global happiness, the trick was to make sure resources were in the hands of those who'd appreciate them the most. To survive, I started needing to make some real money. My mind went to straight -up theft or pickpocketing, but I couldn't stomach that. Just too high risk, a little too mean-spirited. But... it's not like I had any actual talents that could be marketed on the streets. I wasn't a dancer, a musician, artist, anything of the sort.  ...Well. I had always been a bit sharper than the next kid. Why not take advantage of that? I started out performing from the bottom of the barrel: three card monte. It took a bit to get over my more justice-based objections. Luckily, hunger pangs do a lot towards squashing moral arguments. The three-card monte racket I started wasn't particularly refined or profitable, but it got its job done. I started making a bit of cash... and I used that to invest in myself, of course. Started researching more scam methods throughout history. Human psychology. Bought props. Started coming up with more original routines. More elaborate ways to get money from any given passerby. I didn't really feel bad for anyone if you're putting money down on a street-side bet, you're pretty much just giving to charity in reality. All the while, I was learning about more types of cheats; refining my sleight of hand, working on a conman's vocabulary. Eventually, I had enough funds to move up in the world to the next step: underground gambling. Run in the circles I did long enough, and you learn where to find them. I had been saving capital from my scams, and eventually, I had decent enough seed money. I still remember the absolute terror with which I first entered the casino. If things went wrong, if I blew my starting amount, I'd be real hosed. But things didn't go wrong I'd studied enough, I'd practiced enough. Like I always thought, I was sharper than most guys in any given room. And I knew how to put money to better use than any other drunken bum throwing their salary down on roulette. People refer to gambling as a luck-based skill, but it's not really... not when you're willing to cheat. Then it's a mix of luck, intelligence, and performance. I made money, then more money, and more money after that. The fun thing about gambling is that you can really start to compound your winnings if you want. ...Of course, winning so much in the same place at the same time was too suspicious. I knew to play the long game. I switched between the few casinos in the city, and got into the habit of wearing different disguises whenever I went to the same place twice. Coming up with disguises was actually quite fun - it got me in the habit of character work early on. But... it couldn't hold forever. Eventually, all this poo poo would catch up to me. [BGM: The Wire]  That whole scene got wise to my game. The night they decided to make their move, had I not been particularly on edge, I would've likely been capped then and there. But once again, I was smarter than the next guy, and was able to get out alive. At this point, I knew when to cash out. I took all my winnings and hightailed it out of there went right to Aurea. It was close by, and it felt like a good place to stretch my wings. Using my winnings I got a cheap-rear end apartment, and began planning my next move. Small time scams were kind of risky, and didn't really pay off in major ways. How long could I survive just going after little fish after little fish? And were random upper-class dudes really the best target? If I was going to live risky... why not go bigger? I spent time getting to know Aurea better. You see, a city always has two sides: the national side, the one people outside the city think of, that visitors see. And the real side, the hard facts and knowledge that the locals knew. It was that real side I needed to take advantage of. I spent time fishing around Aurea, looking for ways to get to my main target. And eventually, I found an in. I planned carefully and put my all into the job. All my savings were spent making sure things went off without a hitch. I put my disguising talents to good use, playing multiple characters to set things up just the way I wanted. And finally... I struck. 'Operation Drachma'. With perfect precision, I carried out a completely bloodless heist of Aurea's central bank. It was a combination of confusion, misdirection, and well-crafted lies that got multiple trusted individuals to start dancing to my pace. In the end, it was the Bank's Manager themself that loaded an empty, unmarked car right next to the Bank with the cash himself. And then, when he went back in to grab the last bag, I simply entered the car and made off in my well-prepared escape route. With several carefully crafted red herrings to throw people off the scent and a scheme to quickly exchange the dirty money with clean bills, I was able to make a completely clean get away. This heist was a real talk of the town. People still talk about it. They called me the 'Auto Larcenist' dumb title, but still cool to know that I had a title. With the payout from that job, I finally had real money to my name. I had made it. I was so impressed with myself, so proud of how far I came.  You know, I was so excited I even ended up telling all this to an old friend from way back when. Went out of my way to get in contact with them too. But instead of the excitement I was expecting, I was met with nothing more than... disappointment? I think that'd be the right word for it. A look of 'what have you become?' ...Seriously? Seriously? Oh, I'm sorry that I carried out a bloodless, victimless crime. The bank was insured! The people who used the bank didn't lose out, the bank didn't lose out, the only people who lost out were so abstracted and so high-up that a loss like this was a minor inconvenience. To me, this was life changing money! Was I really supposed to feel... What, bad? Guilty? gently caress that! People have narrow views of morality because of what society reinforces. And it makes sense society would reinforce those narrow views if everybody saw things straight, there'd be a lot more Auto Larcenists. But break out of the narrowly conditioned box, and you get a much better view of things. A thief really isn't that amoral. Or, at the very least, it's not significantly less moral than any number of jobs that are perfectly legal as things stand. The only real distinction is that getting taxes from a thief's a lot harder. No, I slept on my Auto Larcenist laurels quite nicely. But... It really wasn't that big of a score, all things considered. I mean, when you factored in all the costs, and then how much I lost when taking measures to throw people off the scent... It was a lot, don't get me wrong, but not enough to just live off of indefinitely. But Panthea... Panthea hid untold riches. If things went well, I wouldn't have to work another day in my life when I was through with this city. So then. Time to make my way up. I entered the apartment complex, and quickly began climbing the stairs. I made my way to the number I was given. Pretty high up, all things considered, though not the top floor or anything like that. Took a bit to find the right door drat numbering system made gently caress all sense. Eventually though, I found Bach's apartment. I knocked on the door... and seconds later, I was greeted with a familiar face. [BGM: Stand]   Oh, Lock! You're here! For a second there, I thought something had happened or something. Yeah, sorry 'bout that, got a bit mixed up on the way here. Hope I didn't keep you waiting that long. No, no, of course not. Anyways! You're here! Make yourself at home. Thank you, my dear friend, I think I'll do just that.I walked into Bach's apartment. It wasn't particularly spacious. Right next to the apartment door, I saw a set of doors that I imagined to be a closet. Walking further in, there was a bit of a main area. Bed to the side. Window out to that alley on the wall. Table in the middle of the room. Over to the left, I spotted another door probably went to the bathroom if I had to guess. ...Man, what was with my obsession with mapping out every goddamn room I ever entered in such detail? I mean, in theory, it could be useful at some points, but I highly doubted I'd ever need to be all that familiar with the layout of Bach's apartment of all places. I guess it just went to show my general paranoia. Not the worst trait, in this line of work.  So, how have you been holding up Bach? How has life been treating you? It's been, uh... you know. Alcohol prices keep dropping, so that's nice. Mhm. Mhm. Pro tip, Bach: that's not a good answer when somebody asks you how your life has been going. I don't know if that's true. It lets you fill in the blanks some. Yeah, blanks that don't need filling in. I'm just being honest. You're a politician now, Bach! Honest is the last thing you need to be. Well, that isn't exactly an anecdote I'd give if I was on the campaign trail. Every citizen of Panthea is a potential voter.  Well, forgive me if I'm arrogant for thinking I have your vote fairly locked in. You don't know me. I'm undecided. Surely you jest. Note number two: don't use words like 'jest.' They make you sound elitist and douchey. What? Why? Because the elites use words like 'jest', duh. I use the word jest though! And I'm sure as poo poo not 'elite.' It's perception, Bach. It's all perception. I can't imagine this is the most productive use of our time. Right you are. Should we just get down to brass tacks? The sooner the better. You're making me think you don't like hanging out with me, Bach. ... You wound me. Truly, you wound me. Now who's talking like a jackass? Fair enough to business we go.I settled down in my chair. I wasn't exactly eager to get to the first point of business. But it had to be done. So. About our first major funding attempt. Yeah, about that... No way around things I screwed the pooch. Didn't pan out. In my defense, how exactly the gently caress was I supposed to plan around Odin coming to chew out Polly the same night I tried to spring this poo poo on him? loving horrible coincidence, that. But... sometimes that's how the die rolls. Sometimes you roll a one. You just kinda have to move forwards the best you can. Honestly, at that point, I should've just packed up and left, but I still had an out with Odin... and I bungled that as well. Crazy old bastard was a bit more perceptive than I gave him credit for. Bach looked down.  Was it... was it my fault? What? No! No, no, no, you did just right. Okay, good. You know I was really worried when that alarm went off... because, you know, you said it was sort of a last resort you weren't expecting to have to use. Well, I didn't expect it... but that's why you always create at least three escape plans. And you came free. Granted, a simple 'hey, I saw a guy got killed, here's the location' would've done, but you know... you got the job done. That's all I can ask of you.Bach sighed out a little bit. He clearly was still minding his presence around me he didn't want to get on my bad side. That's a little sad. No, no. The blame... the blame's on me. That doesn't seem fair. I mean, like you said, you were screwed by random chance! Who would think Odin Deisma would show up at a place like Nohoi's Nest? I sure wouldn't! Mmm. But if I won his game... Wasn't it, like, a custom game he designed? You can't really be expected to win something like that on your first try. I mean, you saw what happened with me. You tricked me into that Blackjack Battle game, screwed me over. It's the same thing.
No, no it's not. Because if I were in your shoes, I sure as hell wouldn't have fallen for a stupid trick like Battle Blackjack. Because, unlike Battle Blackjack, Star Alignment was a fair game. Odin gave me an out several, even but I failed to grasp a single one of them. The words he'd left me with rung in the back of my head. 'I suspect that you wish to dominate the entire city of Panthea. That is the air of ambition you give off. Right now, your ambitions overshadow your talents. You don't have it in you to face down Panthea, if the best you can manage is to flee from me.' It was the crazy mutterings for a near-senile old fool. And yet... I couldn't help but feel that in some way, he was right. That the sharpness that had carried me so far now wasn't enough. That I was far from the smartest person in this city." Ah well.[BGM: Double Down]  I could've been killed, and I managed to avoid that, so that's a glass-half full. You loving what? Oh, did I not mention that? Yeah, some crazy dude tried to shoot me when I was leaving the casino some sort of assassination attempt. You're kidding. Why didn't you tell me this before now? You didn't ask! That's- Heh heh heh. I'm glad you find this a funny situation. Ya gotta laugh, Bach, because it's that or crying. Well, what happened? What happened is that Lady Luck was paying me back for the Odin shitstorm she sent my way earlier that night.Luck, and my typical paranoia. Turns out checking your six in the reflections of windows actually can help out every now and then. Had I not seen that... I shuddered. Anyways, after catching sight of the creep, I put some distance on him. I may not be a fighter, but damned if I'm not a good sprinter. You outran the assassin? Sorta, sorta. But drat, I had to throw away a perfectly good suitcase and a ton of nice counterfeit bills trying to rid myself of that psycho. Oh? Yeah, I chucked it down the sewers to try and get him off my tail. Worst part? I'm pretty sure he didn't even go for it! ...Well, I guess that's some dedication. Where do you find a killer that focused, huh? Bet the dude pays top dollar. Although... maybe not if a shlock like me was able to dodge Death's noose by just running away. Do you know who did this to you? Did you get a good look? Uh... I mean, no, not really? Got a decent glance at his general build, and heard him shout out, so I kind of got his voice down, but... it was dark, he was obscuring his face, I was kinda busy trying to not get shot in the back... Yeah, no, I doubt I could point him out of a lineup. drat. ...Is, uh... Are assassins a usual thing in your, erm, line of work? Nope, I have to say, this is a first, mon frere. Kind of feels nice finally worth trying to be killed. Gives you a sense of value, you know?Bach stayed silent for a moment, a forlorn look on his face. Clearly, he was thinking of something. Was he worried about his own safety? I'm sorry.Guess not. Oh? I'm really sorry. I mean, it's because of me, right? Because of all this? That's why they tried to kill you. Pfft. Doesn't someone have a high opinion of himself? Huh? The assassin could've come for any number of reasons. Hmm. I'm just... Even if the assassin wasn't because of this, if you really are going to try and get me elected, you're going to run into trouble. Trust me, it's going to be dangerous you really should- Oh, Bach! You're really still trying to weasel your way out of this, huh? Huh? Scaring me with a bunch of spooky stories, as if Governor Aija's so worried about a lowlife campaign manager that she's going to start making my life hell. No, no, you are going to win this election, pal o' mine, and you're going to do it with the help of yours truly. O-okay. And on that front, let's move to the next point of discussion!I slapped my hand on the table for effect.  The election looms ever closer, and we need to fortify our position every way possible. Our main financing operation might have been a bust. Fine, okay. Campaigns run into snags all the time; we'll circle back to that soon enough. But... it's not like that's all I've been doing. It isn't? No no no I've been a very busy bee, Bach. Not really having a job means that I've got a lot of time to help your campaign in a number of different ways. I know we need to make big swings at Aija if we really want to win the election, but big swings only work if there's groundwork and a follow through. We need to have a solid push for your Governorship already going before we bring out the big guns. Okay, that makes sense to me. What does that mean in practical terms, though? Glad you asked. Elections are wars. You rally your troops, secure weaponry, and charge into several battlefields all across the city. A skilled General, like a skilled gambler, has many outs. Wait, if you're the General, who am I in this scenario? Why, the President of course! I answer to you, after all. I'm already the President? Right. You don't think that's a little confusing, considering that in reality this is an election? Feels like we're mixing language at this point. Yeah, well, you know, I didn't actually think through the metaphor in that much detail, I didn't think you were going to get into the nitty-gritty. But you answered with such confidence! Yeah Bach, that's what I do. I spout bullshit with confidence I thought you knew by now. Now, can I make my point? Uh, sure, sorry. Good. So, right, I'm the General of your campaign. And, right now... I'm launching a three-pronged offensive. The first branch is the simplest: the frontal assault. This is your standard stuff: community outreach. You've already identified your niche: man of the people. You just need to lean into that more. A lot of the communities in Panthea are very tight-knit... which is why I've been going around, spreading your praise on foot. You have? Yup. You don't think word-of-mouth campaigning is a little... small-scale? I'm loving shocked that you have the gall to actually say that aloud with your own mouth. But, also, yes, going to every single person in Panthea is a waste of time and also impossible. The visits have been to key community leaders, and the talks more in-depth. The hope is, I'm spreading the gospel to those who can spread it further. ...But of course, just me talking ain't gonna really do poo poo. I hope your schedule's clear, because I've got you signed up for a bunch of events in the coming weeks. Seriously? You're just telling me this now? Exactly, I'm telling you this now, so you can prepare. Trust me, this is the perfect way to get the ball rolling. You need to be seen in-person by as many people as possible, not even necessarily in a political sense. So, these events aren't speeches? You've been doing enough speeches. You know who comes to your speeches? People interested in your politics. We need to reach the people who aren't interested in your politics. I guess. But I don't think just being seen around is going to get people to vote for me. You underestimate how stupidly people choose to vote. But you're right, just being seen isn't enough on its own. What it represents is visibility. Like I said, to win we're going to need to take larger swings. For them to land, you need a large foundation of visibility. ...Whiiiich leads us to the second prong of my offensive: aerial support. Aerial support? How does that work? Again, sort of coming up with the metaphor on the fly, not a one-to-one translation. I'm talking about your internet presence. Ah, yeah, I know about that. I've got a Pyrim account that I've been managing, and a site that accepts donations. Uh huh, uh huh, I know, I love it. One issue: it's all kind of garbage. Seriously? Hey, don't worry! Aija's internet presence sucks poo poo as well! Sucks poo poo seems harsh. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement. But the point is, neither of you are properly harnessing the net. This is actually a front Aija's vulnerable on. When she first campaigned, the internet was barely a thing to consider. She hasn't properly adapted with the times which gives you an opening. Fact of the matter is, young people LOVE the internet. They're big fans. Young people are also way more open to change, to shaking up the status quo. They don't give a poo poo about Aija having been Governor for as long as she has. For all they're concerned, that's a negative. Really, young people are - they should be - your core demographic. Hence, aerial support. I've been whipping up a bit of an internet brigade on your behalf. I mean, some people already knew about you before, but it was hardly a movement. But I've been spreading my influence, posting a bit on Pyrim, a bit on Kamapa, just generally stirring the masses into a more codified block. It took some doing - alts and bots and the like, but once the ball started rolling, it kind of just managed itself. Huh. You know, I have seen more online donations recently. And now that I think about it, more people seem to be interacting with my Pyrim updates. See! Aerial support already in effect. Huh. Well, to be honest, I feel like some of what you've talked about has gone over my head, but if it works, I'm thankful for it. So then, what's the third prong of the attack? Ah, yes. The third prong. This is the one I'm most proud of. I feel like this might be the thing that really sets us up to take the lead: the rear attack. The... rear attack? Yeah, the rear attack. It's pretty simple.[BGM: Dummy]  All I've been doing is putting up a bunch of campaign posters and flyers for Governor Aija's campaign. Governor Aija's campaign?! But, what, why? Because people need to hear the word. 'Bach Underwood stands firm in the ruling of Melia vs the State. He's gone on record supporting how that case was settled! Can you really trust him to handle similar decisions in the future?' B-but, I do? Obviously that was settled correctly. Exactly! Which gets people thinking: 'does Aija not support that ruling?' I don't... See, describing them as pro-Aija posters aren't really doing them justice; they'd more accurately be described as anti-Bach propaganda. Carefully distributed anti-Bach propaganda, mind you. Some pamphlets distributed nearby Duat turf talk about how you've expressed 'pro-Duat sympathies!' Posters on the streets leading to the Olympo building advertise how you're unqualified, a mere 'ex-Olympo employee!' Propaganda all through the streets question your qualifications. Are you even born in Panthea? Your parentage seems questionable... Hey, what the gently caress? That's way over the line! Exactly! What the hell is the Aija campaign thinking? Do they really need to stoop to hateful rhetoric like this? Is this even legal? Hey, none of this propaganda is billed as officially endorsed by Aija. As far as anybody else is concerned, this is all the work of Aija fans. But the thing is, like it or not, your fans are inevitably going to reflect right back on you. If Aija goes out to publicly criticize these propaganda posters, well, she might just be losing the approval of people who actually liked these posters. There isn't a clean way for her to get around it. However you slice it, she's gonna get some mud on her thanks to this tactic. It prevents her from staying on the defensive... and that's what we're counting on.
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Nov 18, 2023 16:12
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 [BGM: Dummy]  I... Ugh.Bach clearly had something he wanted to say. Something on your mind? That last strategy seems a little... I dunno... amoral? You think? Bach, I was never much of a Bible scholar, but I'm pretty sure lying is bad in pretty much every creed... and you could argue about what it technically is, but let's not bullshit, it's definitely a type of lying. Yeah. Right. That's not a problem for you? Heh... Bach, buddy, seriously? You remember how we met, right? In case you forgot, I still have a truly horrific photo of you stored on my phone. Let me rephrase: it's a problem for me. Oh! Well, lucky you, that's what I'm here for. But you're doing it on my behalf. Correction: I'm doing it on my behalf. I just don't want to play dirty. Yeah, you and every other schmuck who runs for office. That's why you guys lose. That's not That's exactly the reason. Tell me, do you really think Governor Aija has moral qualms about how she decides to run her campaign? You think she's above the tactics I'm employing? Well, uh, I mean I haven't seen any evidence on that front one way or the other... Oh, come off it, Bach. You're wiser than that. She keeps her power by sinking her poisoned fangs into any dumbass that tries to oppose her. Anyone who has their ear remotely close to the ground can tell that much. She's a serpent, and that's exactly why you need me only way to win this drat thing is deciding to play on her level. Need a snake to wrestle a snake. Do snakes wrestle? Don't know, but if they don't, someone should make them. I bet there's good money in that idea. I'd pay for it. ...We're off topic again, my point, plain and simple, is that if you want even a chance of winning, you can't pull your punches. You've got to use all tools available to you... and me and my amoral methods are the biggest tool you've got. ...Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I don't love the idea, but you're right, this election can't be won with fair means. If this is what you think is for the best... Then we'll do it. Awesome! I knew you'd see the light. That phrase doesn't feel appropriate given the context. You sure get hung up on improper metaphors, don't you? Well, I was an English major. Ah, and now you live in a shithole apartment like this makes sense. Now that's just a cheap shot. And I'm not above cheap shots. Uh huh, I've figured that much out. Okay, moving on. I want to keep pushing your campaign forwards, but to do that, I'm going to need to know a bit more. A bit more about what? About you. Me? What for?[BGM: Opening Lead]  Look, I've looked into your politics and speeches and the like, but that's only going to get us so far. For better or worse, humans are emotional creatures we resonate more with stories. I want to hear yours. My... story? Your background, your history, your personal motives. I just want to get a better feel for who you are as a person it'll help with my campaign strategy. Well, I mean... sure, I guess. Ask away. Awesome. Let's just start from the beginning: where were you born? What was super early life like? Hm. I don't think it's particularly interesting, but sure. I was born in Stagbluff, spent my very early years there. I was an only child. I don't, uh, have any interesting stories from that time of my life I barely remember Stagbluff, honestly. I have more memories from my few trips back there than any memories from when I legitimately lived there. Some time in elementary school, my dad had to move to Panthea for business related reasons so just like that, we moved here. We were never a particularly well off family; middle-class at the best of times. Needless to say, we weren't living it up in the nice part of Panthea. But still, I really liked Panthea. Despite everything that's happened since then, the city's core really hasn't changed over the years. It's not a flawless core - has scratches and the like but it's a genuine one. A shining one. There's a lot of people, and so many different types. There are close knit communities all across the city, so many different things to see, places to visit. It's not even a particularly large city, it's just dense. And Pantheans, you know, we're not the nicest bunch we have our differences. But we can also band together in some pretty spectacular ways. I don't know. Maybe it's worthless sentimentality. Undoubtedly I'm biased, since I was from Stagbluff; compare that place to Panthea, and it looks like a complete ghost town. I definitely appreciated the change of scenery. Okay, cool, cool. You moved to Panthea at an early age, and appreciated its beauty you're a big fan. Let's move on in the timeline a bit more. What's next? What's adult life like? Again, nothing particularly special. Leaving college, I had some big ideas about what I wanted to be. Ideas about really making a mark, changing things.[BGM: The Wire]  They didn't, uh... they didn't particularly pan out. Life's not fair. Not often fun. That's just a lesson you eventually learn. My story is perhaps relatable to a lot of people who never left Panthea. I started working at Olympo because it was a job that I could get. It was never my passion, never what I pictured as my end goal. I always thought of it more as a stopgap, you know? Help pay for some bills, give me more experience. I'd swing from that to... something else, I don't know. I didn't really have a hard plan, and that was the rub, I guess. Life doesn't really give you clean points to stop and plan things out, it just goes. It's very easy to get lost in its flow if you're not mindful. So... I stayed at Olympo for much longer than I expected. Moved up the ranks because I was decently talented. Before I knew it, I got to a decently paying job. It paid well enough. I knew how to do it. It was easy, and it was safe. I just... fell into a groove, you know? And that was that. Have any hobbies? What's that? People like to relate over shared hobbies. You probably had some spare time to yourself, right? I mean, no family, no obligations, definite spare time... so, how'd you spend it? Oh, well... you know more than me. Nohoi's Nest, and all. Sure, sure, but I was wondering if there was anything else you did with your free time. ...Nope, can't really think of anything in particular. Really? Just drinking and light gambling? Uh, well, I watched TV and read some books, but that's kind of it. ...Hm. Okay. So then, you're an office drone, working day in day out. Suddenly, you decide to run for office. Why? What changed? Why now? Why uproot your life like that? ...Bach was deep in thought. ...You okay? Yeah, yeah, just... getting my thoughts in order. Give me a moment. Sure, sure, take all the time you need.As I said, I gave Bach another beat. It's hard to say. I guess... I guess I was just tired of the way things were going. Like I said, I always thought I wanted to be important to do something, to make an impact. And it was becoming painfully clear that nothing I was doing was making any real difference. It was easy to not see that. To delude myself elsewise. But one night, I left a bar a little drunk... and as I was stumbling out, I kind of walked right up to the road. And a car zoomed right past my face. Had I stumbled a few more steps, he would've run me over and that would've been curtains game over. That night, the encounter played in my head over and over. What would have happened if I did die then and there? What would be my legacy? ...And I don't know, it's not like I made up my mind right then and there. You don't really come to big decisions that quickly, not really. But if you had to ask me, I'd say that was the seed. A seed that wriggled and wriggled and combined with other events I was reading about until eventually, the idea to run for Governor was truly born. Like I said, I don't actually hate Governor Aija; I don't think she's doing all that bad a job. But she's not... I don't know, maybe this is pedantic to say, but I'm not sure that she's doing things fast enough. I think that's because she's more concerned with not rocking the boat, with personal reputation. Because of that, she slowly moves towards a better Panthea. ...But I don't think moving slowly is going to work. For every step of progress you make, the city will just take another step back. The Duats have been around for decades, and that's not going to change unless you actively make swings at them. There have been legal loopholes just sitting around that have been out in the open for years now. To really get change, you need to be a wrecking ball, one not concerned about political gain or optics, and Aija doesn't have it in her. And, I just... I don't think we really have the same vision of Panthea. Aija seems to favor Olympo. She wants them to become this behemoth, this titan of industry. And like, she wants to help smaller jobs too, sure. But if you create a trillion dollar company in your city, that's a big accomplishment. That's a lot of leverage. That gives you power on a national scale, international scale even.[BGM: Stand]  I think Aija almost sees Olympo as a main facet of Panthea, as a part of Panthea's DNA. She wouldn't be opposed if most everything commercial here is some offshoot of the Olympo brand and I just... I don't know if I agree with that mindset. There is strength in centralization, sure trust me, as a higher-up at Olympo I could tell you that for days. You get efficiency, you get order, you get a single-minded focus. But to me, Panthea's real strength had always been its diversity. We're home to so many different types of people, points of view. There are tons of aspiring artists or promising young entrepreneurs or simple good-working citizens, all who have value. When I moved to Panthea, there were too many restaurants to even count! Everyone brought their own distinct flavor, their special spark. They weren't all good, hell no, but they were all worthwhile. Nowadays, at least half of the restaurants here are Olympo owned, and it feels like the other half is soon to follow. My ideal Panthea would have security, and stability, and prosperity, sure. All those things that Aija wants. ...But it'd also focus on creativity, and freedom. It'd be a place where people could choose what they wanted to do, try and spread their wings, and either plummet or soar based on their own merit. A freedom that actually favors the little guy, a careful freedom measured by the government. Not the 'freedom' Aija now totes, a wild freedom that favors the strongest, that favors Olympo. For a singular moment, I saw it. I saw the appeal Bach brought as a candidate. It was obscured by a dozen other things, but beneath the surface, Bach was a strong idealist and a decent speaker. It was certainly an uphill battle, Lord knows it was uphill... But he really had potential for this. Fantastic. Truly, great stuff Bach, absolutely loved it. This is what I need to work my magic thanks for sharing. Uh, no problem. Just... sort of talked about myself. And that's all that you needed to do! Pro tip: open yourself up more like that going forwards people love it. I'll try to, I guess. Don't know if it'll make a difference. Oh, sure it will! Uh huh. Tell me, honestly speaking, how are we looking in the election? Like yes, you had your whole three prongs thing and that's a setup or whatever, but right now, what are our odds?
You know, dwelling on the negatives isn't good for the soul. Lock. Maybe 5% we win? Bach sighed. Which! Mind you about a 1 in 20 shot. That can happen! It can happen! Right, things are slightly better than if I had put all my life's savings on a single number in roulette. Except - wait! If I win, I don't even get 36 times my winnings back. Ha! Hey, hey, buddy! Chin up! Why? You said it yourself, we won't win without swings. Well, we don't have swings to take. Stick a fork in me, I'm done. You should just pack your bags and spend your time on a more fruitful prospect. You know, right now I feel like slapping you to bring you to your senses. ...Now I'm not going to do that, because it's probably a little extreme and uncalled for, but I'm just verbalizing that to show you where I'm at, right now. I already said we're in this together, so quit with the 'woe is me' crap, and help me think for a bit, would ya? Lock, if I could've come up with some way to win this election, I'd have done it by now. Yeah, well before you didn't have me. With our brains combined, we can come up with an earth-shattering new strategy that will define the Panthea election meta for years to come! Mm.[BGM: Dealing Hands]  Bach seemed less than unenthused, but I trudged on forwards. Here's the problem, and I'm going to loop back to an old metaphor like this. Right now, in this war, we're a poor country going up against a world superpower. The main reason we've yet to be blown off the map is because said world superpower isn't dedicating all their forces to us. Our guerilla tactics are useful, sure... but they're not going to win. Not really. That's not exac Guerilla tactics don't work when going on the attack, okay? Right now, we're the invaders Don't! I loving saw you open your mouth, just let the metaphor play. ...Now, as I was saying. We're only going to have a real shot at winning this if we get some high-grade weaponry of our own a nuclear bomb, of sorts. And to acquire that, we need a ton of cash, quick. You really could have just led with that. I'm an artist, I like painting pictures, sue me. Look, I agree, if we had a fraction of Aija's funding, we could capitalize off of all that groundwork you've been putting out. The problem is we don't. We had a chance with your idea to scam Polly, but that went south, and it's not like we're going to be able to do the same thing twice. That's...Bach was absolutely right. The Deismas were now a dry well... and there weren't any other uber-rich families with exposed weak points. To get a huge score, it'd probably take a carefully crafted plan. A plan I didn't have time to create, what with the election looming so close. ...poo poo. There's really no way around it; we just need money. Money truly runs the world. If we want to take down Aija, we need a ton of money. It's the only way. The only path is money. Or a scandal. Or a ... ...What? Or a scandal. Or. A scandal. ...You're starting to freak me out a bit, Lock. Bach... you're so right. You're so, so right. If something huge got out about Aija, she couldn't just make it go away with the snap of her fingers. It would really give you an opening, huh?" Yeah, but I mean, come on. Aija's been very smart about this stuff. She has a carefully crafted life built to avoid scandal. We don't have anything on her. I mean, there isn't anything to have on her. Is that right...I scanned my mind. Focus, focus, focus. Think about everything I know about Panthea at this point... all it's quirks. Is there anything anything at all that might lead to a weakness of Aija. I turned through it all in my head. And eventually... ...I might have something. Huh? ...The assassin. The key is the assassin. What do you mean? I thought you said the assassin could have been after you for any sort of reason. No, no, that's wrong I said that out of ignorance. Thinking about it carefully, nobody from past cities I've visited possibly knows where I am. I made sure of that, I can say that with 100%% certainty. ...And they were definitely after me, for a strong reason. They didn't loving take the suitcase bait! It had to be an assassin directly after me. Okay, and? Who would want me dead? Enough to send an assassin after me? Who hates Lock with that burning a passion? Okay, and now you're talking in third person, that's fun. My Deisma con failed, so they had no reason to go after me plus, the assassin came right after the night at the casino, that's not enough time to hire an assassin in the best of circumstances! And you don't know this, but since I've gotten here, I really haven't done that much; low rate gambles at worst. No, no, there's exactly one thing of substance I've done that could make me the target of assassination... And that is become your campaign manager. Seriously? I mean, I know I sort of suggested it earlier, but... Would Governor Aija really... I don't know, it just seems a little extreme, doesn't it? Assassinating some random campaign manager. Why not me? Because if her political rival got gunned down, it's a story. If a no-name conman does, it's a non-entity. Depending on how good her info network is, she could've known that I was making moves against her. While she knows she can deal with me, she recognizes a snake when she sees a snake. She recognizes a threat when she sees a threat. Takes one to know one, and all. Aware that I could come after her in ways that are unorthodox and dangerous, especially if she does have legitimate things to hide, she wanted to wipe me out of the picture very early on. Hence assassination attempt." Okay then. So... what?" So what? A governor is sending assassins, and your response is so what? Look, no doubt, this story is unbelievable, Lock. Definitely unbelievable. But assuming its true... what does that do for us? The best we have is your half-measure of a story. That's nothing, that's less than nothing. That's not a scandal, that is a half-baked theory. Right, right. On its own? Doesn't mean anything. But the key is that Aija has a man like that in the first place. Because of that, we can make some assumptions how she'll react to given scenarios. The key is linking her to the mystery man, and then the mystery man to assassinationy things. If we do that, then we have her. And again, how do you intend to do that? Oh, leave that to me. First things first, we've gotta link Aija to the man.How to go about that... ...You know, this might be as good a time as ever to put that kid to some use. You know what, I have someone in mind who could be of help. You do?I let out a little laugh. Better put your war face on, Bach. I'm about to start the real battle.... [BGM: Silence]  Ah, politics. They exist. ...And that's all I have to say about the subject matter. gently caress people who say that everything is political I've got a poo poo load to say about that. Everything is political in the same way that everything is art, or everything is negitation; it's just linguistic soup at that point. Maybe I'm just dumb. Big scale things hurt my brain. I only have enough room in it to contemplate one 'big scale idea', and I've had one in the oven for a while now that's taking up all the space. I prefer human interest stories. I like to get real personal with my... well, with my friends, for one! Like you, you're my friend, right? Lady, I don't even understand who I am, I don't even know what that would mean in this context. Woah, seems like you're dealing with some pretty heavy stuff. You know what you need in times of crisis? A friend! Sure! Aw, thanks bestie! You know who else I like? Bach. Bach's fun! A real punching bag. We all need a punching bag in our lives. I wish I ran into more Bachs. I run into precious few as it is. So yeah, Bach's great. Just wish he didn't have to keep that deep dark secret... Yeah! ...Wait, what secret? Bach doesn't have a secret! Oh, you don't know? Bach totally has some super dark secret. I mean, I don't know know it, but like, it's obvious, right? He's too... I don't know, he's just not got anything going on. Clearly there's going to be some big twist with him. He's secretly going to be working for a Satanist cult or something, you can just tell, right? ...In fact, I'm so confident about this, I'm going to make it a bet. Go on, claim some free chips, bet on the fact that Bach is hiding a deep secret from Lock. It's sooo obvious. He's got secret-haver written all over his face. And think about it, I'm making it a bet! A bet that has to be checked at some point. Like, clearly when the secret is revealed. What would the alternative be? Like, how do you reveal the fact that he doesn't have a secret? What would that even look like? Hempel's Raven it? Seems awful complicated. No, no, this is free chips. So just go on. Bet. Does Bach have a deep, important secret he's hiding from Lock? No, he doesn't. Seriously? You hate money? Jeez, okay, your choice. But bet low.We're betting 18 chips here, based on how the votes fell. All righty then. That's all I had. On to other scenes! I wonder if things have gotten better for Vels since we last saw them? Mix. fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Nov 21, 2023 |
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Nov 18, 2023 16:12
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| # ? May 29, 2024 06:41 |
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...You know what, I'll take the most ludicrously extreme response to Ez's bet: Bach absolutely has something to hide. He is actually The Devil, and Ez's mention of Bach potentially being a satanist is hinting at it. Is there any stronger proof than a single line of text taken out of context?
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Nov 19, 2023 05:18
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