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Wait, is Olif meant to be an anagram of 'Foil'? I mean he would be a terrible representation of that role, to be fair.
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Jul 22, 2023 13:13
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 16:01 |
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 She's genuine. Okay, okay, I like that, I can see that. And, how much are you betting on that?Everyone collectively agreed that they think Chara is legit here, which makes this the first 100% vote of the LP!  Now, it's not an option to bet 0% of our chips - Ez won't let us not bet - so what I'll be doing instead is betting an even 50% of the chips we have (rounded up) instead - which means, in this case, we'll be betting 14 chips. Alright, cool. Another bet in the books. Guess we'll see soon enough, eh? Next update, we move to the bottom row to meet our next perspective, Mercury!
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Jul 23, 2023 04:05
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Yeah, no points for who Mercury's named after for the mythology poo poo.
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Jul 23, 2023 06:40
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Yay for unanimous votes and gambling! Nothing could ever go wrong when so many people uniformly agree! Next up is the flashlight icon. Did we get the archetype names already? It could be a spelunker, but considering the city setting, someone on night watch or guard duty is more likely. (They should have had us bet on the meaning of the icons before we see their perspective.)
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Jul 23, 2023 08:46
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 [BGM: Silence]  I was never a big fan of the sea. I know people said there was beauty in it and all, but I just never got the appeal. The ocean was just so large and chaotic. Made me uneasy. If I never set foot on a boat, I'd be perfectly content. ...Unfortunately, that didn't appear to be a possibility. I was visiting the seaside specifically to board a rather large boat. Unlike some of the other ports in Panthea, this one was pretty out of the way. You had to walk on land for a little bit just to get to it. That made sense to me. It wasn't as if many people were going to be using this port. It was rather apparent from a fair distance that most of it was taken up by one rather large freighter ship. In fact, when I'd first approached the dock, I imagined that was the only ship docked here. However, when I got closer, I saw a smaller humbler boat nearby. ...Probably somebody's personal sailboat. Man, imagine having your own sailboat? If only. ...As I got really close, however, I noticed something. The boat wasn't actually properly tied to the dock. Instead, it was very slowly drifting away. If I didn't do anything, it'd probably be far from the port before too long. I tried to reach over and grab it, but it was too far at this point. Is there anything within arm's reach that could help me pull it back? Unfortunately, this little search of mine came up empty. drat it... It'd be smart to just ignore this ship and move on. I had nothing to do with this. Just walk away, Mercury. …  ...I took three steps back. Then, slightly nervously, I took a running start and leaped. Please don't let this go wrong. Falling in the ocean now would be a huge pain in the rear end. Luckily, I was decently athletic. I landed in the boat without too much issue. Great. Annoyed, I began paddling with my arms on the opposite side of the boat, trying to float it closer. There... had to be a better way to do this. Oh well, it worked. Soon enough, the boat was close enough to the dock that I could grab its rope and jump back on. With the rope in hand, I properly tied the boat to the port. Jeez... now my arms were all wet... Whoever owns this boat should really learn how to be more responsible. They really couldn't count on strangers docking their ships for them. Whatever. With that handled, I turned to the actual task at hand.  Before me, on the other side of the port, was a humongous freighter ship. Frankly, it was kind of ridiculous how large it was in comparison to the dingy sailboat I had just boarded. And written across the side, in big white painted letters: the word MANDJET. I was in the right place, all right. This ship... if I was on the right track, the horrors that occurred on this ship... I shuddered. A part of me wondered if I should just casually be doing this, by myself. This job felt like it'd be better suited for, I don't know, a cop or something. But... that wasn't really an option. So it fell upon some rando like myself to get the job done. With this thought, I got a buzz on my phone. Ugh, please don't be who I think it is. ...Yup. A text from someone I would call a coworker. 'Hey, where are you?' God drat it. Are you serious? Now? I shot back a reply. 'Why do you need to know? Are you my keeper?' ...I got another text. 'What? Look, I don't need to know specifically where you are. I just meant that you've got a job to do!' 'I'm aware. Are you aware that this is my day off?' 'Yeah, I know, you said that. I just... I could really use your help. It'd be really helpful if you could swing by.' 'I'm sure you can handle things by yourselves. If a single employee was really that important, I'd get decent pay!' With that, I shoved my phone in my pocket. I didn't really have it in me to argue with my 'coworker'. Pain in the rear end, more like. I worked myself to the bone day in and day out... I hadn't had time for myself in, like, weeks. I was owed a little personal adventure.  All right, back to the task at hand. How the hell was I going to board that ship? Well, if my intel was right, nobody should be onboard right now. So then... how would somebody who was supposed to be on board get on? After a bit of looking around, I found a ramp to the ship at the end of the port. Well, that's one way to do it. I walked over to the ramp, and was greeted with a little chain fence and a sign prohibiting me from entering. Physically speaking, it didn't do much to stop me. Mentally though, it did give me pause. Did I... really want to do this? If I boarded this ship, best case scenario, I'd be committing a crime. And if the rumors were true... Well, boarding a 'ghost ship' didn't sound like my idea of a fun time. However, this hesitation was pretty brief. I didn't go all the way out here and clear my schedule to be turned away by a sign. Nobody would know if I just hopped aboard for a little bit. What's the harm? With that dismissive thought, I easily scaled the fence and made my way up the ramp. After a longer walk than I would've expected... I was finally aboard the Mandjet.  I began to wander around the top of the ship, just sort of exploring the area. It was really something to behold. Dozens of these large containers were stacked all over the place. A lot of cargo ships would keep the units in orderly rows, but the Mandjet had these spread out seemingly haphazardly. A part of me wondered if, when viewed from an aerial position, the boxes would spell out a word, or have some sort of design. The containers themselves were also notable. I had always seen pictures of them, but this was my first time seeing one of these up close and personal – first time touching one. Up close, you could really tell how many people one of these containers could fit. … Was this where it happened? Was I... on the wrong path? Or is this the place that... ...poo poo. A deep-seated rage, one I had pushed down for a while, started to flare up again. Easy, Mercury. Calm down. Compartmentalize. From the start, I said I'd keep myself from getting too emotionally attached. That was a recipe for disaster. This wasn't some haphazard quest for vengeance. This was a search for the truth, plain and simple. But still, looking around... it began to dawn on me. This was likely the location where it happened. The boat on which she died... where she died, and nobody knew. Nobody cared. Well... not nobody. That's why I was here. I repeated a brief silent promise. A promise to nobody – a promise to set things right. Then, I shook my head. That was my daily dose of sentimentality. Time for practicality. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for. However, whatever it was, it was probably in one of these containment units. So, time to start looking around. As I moved from unit to unit, two things struck me. One: usually units like these should have some sort of locking mechanism on them. However, I didn't find anything like that. Maybe that was connected to point two: usually containment units... you know, contained things. All of these were empty. ...For the time being, at least. Unfortunately for me, that also extended to being empty on clues. From unit to unit, I searched, looking for any trace of... well, anything. But I was faced with dud after dud after dud. It was the sort of reception that was incredibly demoralizing, the type that made you want to just stop right then and there. But I had gone too far to stop after a bit of resistance. Just keep searching. …This persistence paid off before too long. In a red container in the middle of the ship, I noticed something on the floor. I bent down and looked closely. ...Was I sure about this? Oh, yeah, I was sure. [BGM: Furiten]  This was definitely blood. Flecks of old blood, most of it washed away. But looking closely, it was most definitely blood. ...Yeah, that was a bit concerning. But at the same time – vindicating. ...Not as vindicating as what happened next. I was bent down, trying to look closer at the blood, when the doors to the containment unit slowly began to close behind me. Not because anyone closed it, mind you, it was just the sort of thing where the momentum of the doors did it by themselves. At first, I was annoyed. Because of that, the light in the unit had dropped drastically. However, as I moved to open the doors again, I thought I saw something with the little light that seeped in through the cracks. These doors closing wasn't a stroke of bad luck... it was a miracle. It showed me something I so easily could've missed. A message, carved into the container's walls. With what, I didn't know. I also didn't know if this message remained because the owners of this ship didn't think it worth the effort to erase, or if they simply never noticed it. But I had noticed it. 'DON'T TRUST THE DEVIL – THEY LIE' To most, this would come off as the ravings of a madman. Not to me. I knew exactly what this message meant. And I knew who had left it. I chuckled to myself, but also felt like tearing up. It wasn't just this ship. She had been in this very container. And she had left me a message. It was an important message, of that I was sure. I didn't know how, but it was really, really important. I couldn't believe what a stroke of luck this was. Honestly, I'd figured that actually visiting the site like this would be a waste of time. Even if I was right about everything, the idea that there would be any trace of that left... well, it was a naive hope at best! But apparently luck was on my side. ...Hah. I wished. No, I wasn't lucky. Karma was just giving me a little advance favor. It needed to keep the scales balanced for what was about to happen next. [BGM: Silence]  This discovery should have had me invigorated. Instead, for whatever reason, I just felt... exhausted? That didn't feel right. Sure, I had been working myself to the bone lately. But I shouldn't be this tired. It was still day out! I wasn't... I shouldn't be... Why was I so sleepy? I yawned. Uh oh. My instincts were flaring up, giving me the equivalent of 'Red Alert'. This... was bad. Really bad. But what could I do? As soon as this thought crossed my mind, I felt my feet begin to wobble. Woah! Alright, let's just... I made my way to the floor on my own terms, aware that if it weren't doing this, I'd soon be falling to the floor anyways. Then, when I finally lay flat... it all slipped away. The boat, container, the message... consciousness. All I could feel was the slow, calm rocking of the boat. Back and forth... back and forth... … … … … … … … … … … … …? ...ugh. ...What..... what happened...? [BGM: Furiten]  My head was ringing like I had just had the worst hangover. The pain was... indescribable. It was that combined with the grogginess that left me temporarily clueless towards anything and everything. I shook my head, trying to bring myself into focus. So... I wasn't on my bed. That's the first thought that entered my head. Why wasn't I on my bed? What did I do last night? ...Night? I don't remember last night. Last thing I remember was... In a container. That can't be right, can it? No, no, I was investigating the Mandjet. And then... I fell asleep? ...What? If I was remembering right... that was bad, that was really really bad. No, surely I was mistaken somehow. People don't just lose consciousness in the middle of dangerous situations. In fact, those are the times where very specifically people are not likely to lose consciousness. I hadn't done anything that would correspond with losing consciousness. I hadn't seen any drugs being pumped into the container, nor a grenade of any sort. But the moment I had laid my eyes upon that message... I fell to my knees, defenseless. It was like this boat was really cursed. ...Okay, okay, let's not get ridiculous here. Curses don't exist. I mean, if they did exist, a ghost ship like this is 100% absolutely the place they'd reside. But that doesn't matter because they didn't exist. I was a logical person. I knew better than to believe in the supernatural. Ghosts and ghouls were just make believe scapegoats people created in times of high stress. …Correction – weak people created in times of stress. And I wasn't weak. There was no curse. This wasn't a ghost ship. I would be fine. Enough wallowing around in the darkness of this container. I had probably just had a moment of heat stroke. In all likelihood, I had only been out for a couple of minutes. Time to resume my search. I reached around for the container walls, and before long, I felt the doors. I pushed them open, shielding my eyes, expecting to be blinded by the sun. ...How good was I shielding my eyes? I looked up... and my heart sank. I could see outside... but not because of the sun. No, all I could see was the same moonlit ship I had explored seemingly minutes before.  Okay, okay, okay, this wasn't the time to panic. This didn't look – or feel – good, true, but it was no time to panic. Panic would just make things worse. So... it looked like the heat stroke explanation was out. Or, actually, maybe not... maybe heat stroke can put you to sleep for hours? ...I wasn't a heat stroke expert. The point was, I had been asleep for longer than expected, but that was fine. As I took a step out of the container, I nearly fell over. It felt as though the rocking of the ship had only gotten worse. Easy there. Again, I looked to the sky, only to find stars and clouds and a bright moon illuminating everything. It wasn't quite a full moon, but it looked close enough to one that you could mistake it for one. It was honestly quite beautiful. ...That is, had it not been for every other detail about where I was at this point in time, I'd have found it quite beautiful. At the moment, I could only acknowledge its beauty on a logical level, unable to take it in at all on an emotional one. So... what now? Not really a question. I had found all the confirmation I needed, and a good hint to boot. Time to cut my losses and run. I began to walk to the edge of the ship by the dock. Woah, easy there! I didn't remember things rocking this much. The waves must have gotten worse. …That was my theory, anyways, before I reached the side of the boat. However, as I approached that side, I saw something in the distance. I saw land. I saw Panthea. ...Wait, if that's in the distance, then– My walk turned into a run. As quickly as I could, I made my way over to the side. There, I looked down. ...We were at sea. The Mandjet was at sea. And I was onboard. [BGM: Ura Dora]  Immediately, I started imagining if I could swim to shore. By my estimate, I wasn't too far from shore. People have swum tens of miles in the past, surely I could get back to shore, right? But... it was the dead of night. The water was almost certainly freezing cold. And who knew what creatures were in the water? What if the Mandjet decided to make its way back to shore and just plowed right over me? I've never been a great swimmer... No, no, swimming back to shore was just as dangerous as staying aboard. ...Okay, so now might be a more appropriate time to panic. ...No, no, panic was the worst thing I could do at a time like this. Let's try and think logically about what to do next. Try and analyze whether or not I was in any real danger. That was the smart thing to do, yes. ...Which is why it wasn't what my body did. My body immediately began pacing around like a nervous mess. My legs refused to stay still. My hands shook for no apparent reason. My ears began playing tricks on me. But my eyes... they started to really look at the ship. This... wasn't a normal cargo ship, was it? Look at that on the ground! That was dried blood, right? I couldn't be sure about that. I was viewing things under the light of the moon, and more importantly, through the lens of a panicked person. Obviously things would look worse than they really were to me. Still, the Mandjet wasn't a friendly environment. The floor was rusted metal. Across the ship there were these accursed containers, stacked as high as the eye could see. They made the top floor like a maze, without a clear path through it. This was the place where people got murdered. This was the fodder for cheesy horror movies. …Pull it together, pull it together. I was honestly a bit disappointed with myself. I always thought I had pretty good nerves under a lot of pressure, but right now I was unraveling at the seams. I guess this was just a whole other level of fear, one I'd never been exposed to. Or... would it be more accurately described as another type? It was at about this point that I thought I heard the faint sound of screams.  Okay, okay, wait just a second. I thought at first my ears were playing tricks on me. But just then, I definitely loving heard somebody screaming out in pain. I couldn't quite tell from where, but that was an actual scream. Right? ...Right? ...loving ghost ship bullshit god damnit – This ship wasn't haunted. Ghosts didn't exist. And if they did... if all they did was make very faint screaming sounds, they were pretty lovely ghosts. So... nothing to be worried about. Pull yourself together, seriously. Why did I keep jumping to the supernatural to explain things? I probably was actually hearing screams. Nothing to worry about. …Hold on a second. That was worse, wasn't it? Thinking about it, yeah, if I was actually hearing screams, that seemed... very bad. Considering the rumors about the Mandjet... The fact it was currently at sea... If I was hearing screams on this boat, with no way to get off it... … You know, people were always so skeptical of ghosts, but really, it was a plausible enough idea, right? This was a place with a lot of tragedy, surely it could just be ghosts! ...Stupid. Stupid! It wasn't ghosts, and it wasn't real! It was just my ears playing tricks on me. I needed to shape up and think about some actual next steps. So what could I do in a situation like this? What did I even have on me? My phone, yes, my phone! How could I forget such a simple thing? In this modern era, you're never truly stranded from the world. Not when there's a convenient escape hatch in your pocket 24/7. I let out a sigh of relief. Thank God. For a minute there, I really thought I was in a bad situation. Instead, I was a few buttons away from safety. Thinking about who would actually bail me out, especially at this time of night, did give me a moment's pause. This was going to be... one hell of a sell. Whatever. I'd cross that bridge when I got there. First, to open the phone ap– …  What do you mean, no service? What do you mean no service?! You're loving me. You're actually buttfucking me right now. What sort of loving city cell plan did I have?! No, no, no way in hell this was a coincidence. Something was blocking this signal. Hopefully, something supernatural. ...All right, fine, gently caress. At least I had a phone. Anything else on me? Any weapons? No? Great. All right, well, might as well wander around the hull, see what I could see. I tried to find what might be a main console, or maybe a cockpit. I was kind of wandering aimlessly, bu– I stopped. *clonk, clonk...* … I continued to wander some more. With a boat's geometry, the thing I'd be looking for would likely be in the middle of the boat, from left to right, and either on the front or back. Was hard to tell which was which, fra– Again, I froze in place. *clonk, clonk...* ...Okay, seriously, what the hell was happening? Either I was losing my mind... or I was hearing footsteps. Which, okay, that was bad enough. But the fact that they were stopping when I stopped? That meant I was being stalked. I looked all around, to no avail. I even tried running around a container. ...I did two full circles before I felt like too big of an idiot to continue. gently caress this.   Hey! Who's there?… No response. Of course not. I just want to talk! Please, just come out. Really!I considered saying I didn't have a weapon or anything. On the other hand, given my situation, should I be advertising the fact I was defenseless? A part of me thought not. … You're really freaking me out, person!The wilt in my voice probably made that clear enough without me stating that aloud. ...Okay, okay, fine. Maybe I was losing my mind. Maybe I was imagining the footsteps. Maybe I was imagining the screams. Maybe I was imagining this whole thing, and I was actually safely dreaming back at home. If only. If my stalker decided to make themselves known, good for them. In the meantime, I'd continue my search.  I continued to walk until I thought I spotted something on the floor. With only the moon as my light, I nearly missed it. But how could I miss such a big puddle? …Puddle of what? The pale blue light made the color hard to see. Annoyed, I took out my phone and put it on flashlight mode. And... after a moment I really wished I hadn't. It was blood. Yup, okay, this was officially bad news. This was already above my pay grade, but that was really the last straw. Not old blood – oh no no, that would've been too kind. Fresh blood, wet blood; blood not yet mopped up. Blood from somebody who had been bleeding on this floor recently. Cool cool cool, very cool. In a sense, it was comforting. Ghosts didn't bleed... probably. Well, if they did, they bled ghost blood. ...Wait, what if this was ghost blood?! I hadn't touched it yet, maybe it was translucent or something. ...I wished my brain was joking when it had that thought. The fact I was sincerely entertaining such notions was so pitifully sad I felt like laughing. I just... had to keep moving. I couldn't think about it for too long. Just, you know... block out the blood. Not a relevant detail. After a bit more wandering, I found something actually promising. It was a double doorway to a room above deck. A brief glance through the windows revealed that this room actually housed stairs. Stairs that led further inside this beast of a ship. To whatever structures lay inside this thing. … It was something, right? Probably worth checking it out? Or... maybe not. Maybe I could just go back to that container I passed out in and go back to sleep. Maybe by the time I woke up next, it'd be daytime again, and the boat would be parked again, and I could just go about my business. ...Some part of me doubted things would go that smoothly. But even fi it wouldn't go smoothly, that didn't mean I should instead go deeper into this super sketchy situation, right? All the tenants of common logic said that nothing good could come of opening these doors.  Hold on... What if getting stranded on this ship wasn't a bad thing? What if it was an opportunity? I said I'd come looking for the truth. So then, shouldn't this be a great chance? If I wanted the truth, it probably lay below deck. So then... why not open the doors? ...For the reasons I had just outlined, brain. Because it's dangerous, brain. Stop reaching for those door handles, brain. ...Too late. Once I had sold myself on the 'pursuing truth' angle of this, I just couldn't help myself. The doors opened without any resistance. And, just like that... I made my way down. Down the stairs. Further into the madness. Whoopee.
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Jul 25, 2023 00:36
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Well this perspective is quite different than the others so far. As a note, I'm only now appreciating that every track on the OST is named for a term from some gambling game or another. Furiten is a hand state in riichi mahjong. If you are one tile away from finishing your hand, but any tile in your hand that would finish that hand is also a tile you've previously discarded this round, that's furiten. It's always bad: if this is the case, you can't call Ron and finish your hand with someone else's discard -- you either draw that last tile yourself or you don't finish it at all.
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Jul 25, 2023 00:45
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This route seems better than the last couple ones at least. Don't know if Mercury is a more interesting perspective, but the set-up is. I think one weakness of this and the last one though in a LP-specific setting is the heavy amount of narration. Without NPCs talking to each other, it's just a lot of text. Hopefully it'll ease up once we start moving past the initial stacks.
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Jul 25, 2023 01:39
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Dead person trapped in a container that makes you sleepy with the doors closed. Wonder what sort of gas was still in there.
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Jul 25, 2023 03:46
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It really is a spelunker. I didn't expect a ghost ship!
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Jul 25, 2023 09:02
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Mercury says that she isn’t a cop, but it sounds like this investigation is related to work so I’m thinking Mercury might be a reporter. So the ‘coworker’ on the phone might be Kane. It’s also possible we might be investigating what happened to Jacy Nazea. Not sure what’s going on with the ship. I assume there’s a mundane explanation for everything rather than a supernatural one, in which case this is some kind of criminal operation to torture and kill people. But using a container ship for that seems... kind of insane? Unless you need to kill like a hundred people. The Ducats are the main criminal organisation we’ve heard of, but it sounds like they have a very wide range of operations (so explains how it ranges from street thugs to huge ships). A container ship could also be used for human trafficking, and Olif’s section did have a mention about “lots of somebodies disappear in Panthea”. Not sure what to make of The Devil message written in blood. I suppose that The Devil website might be some sort of controlled opposition thing, where they weed out enemies with promises of insider information? Mercury seems to know exactly who this message is referring to. Going back to an Olif update for a moment: quote:Like, The Devil reported on this one rumor about someone seeing this female police officer putting on a jet black mask at night. That one felt like someone was just yanking his chain. I’m betting that this rumour is actually true, and is one of the viewpoint characters. Maybe the gun icon.
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Jul 26, 2023 00:07
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Oh good, you're paying attention and making connections. I think you're on to something here regarding the bigger picture. I've been too distracted by the viewpoints to think about all the allusions they're making. 
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Jul 26, 2023 05:24
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Elite posted:
Yeah, it's utterly impossible for there to be supernatural phenomena in this town filled with people whose names and deeds echo those of deities. 
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Jul 26, 2023 06:19
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TheDavies posted:Yeah, it's utterly impossible for there to be supernatural phenomena in this town filled with people whose names and deeds echo those of deities. Well if there are supernatural elements, and no rules for the supernatural are established then it kind of makes Laverna’s and Lock’s deduction mini games a bit pointless. “a ghost did it” “they used actual magic” To me all the references to gods seem like more of a metaphor than them being literal deities. And I don’t think their deeds echo mythology either so not sure what you mean by that. Olympo is powerful is the closest thing to spring to mind, but the old boss was Odin (rather Zeus or Chronos) so that’s coming from the wrong mythology and things are muddled up weirdly.
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Jul 26, 2023 07:51
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The fact the containers are set in a tangled mess instead of lined up makes me assume some kind of illegal death match set up. Admittedly I might just have played too many Yakuza games. Or watched too much Kaiji. Still, interested to see how some of this goes.
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Jul 26, 2023 18:27
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 content warning: emetophobia, gore, descriptions of torture [BGM: Danrasu]  The atmosphere was abysmal. Below, I found hallways of metal. It was lit with cold lighting, emanating an oppressive white light – the type you might find at the worst type of doctor's office. These lights were on, big surprise. The plain metal walls, the metal floor, the metal ceiling, it all reinforced the feeling that this was a giant sarcophagus I was entering. And the slow swaying of the boat... Jesus, I was going to be nauseous. Keep moving forwards, that was the mantra. Surely before long I'd find something of note. Early on, I was encountered with a choice. Left or right. Without much to go on, I decided to turn right. I passed by several doors, but they were all shut and looked unimportant. But just moving straight, I soon found a door that was hanging open. It had probably not been closed properly, then opened on its own due to the swaying of the ship. Might as well pop a look in there. ...Okay, okay, bad choice, wrong choice. Immediately I began repressing the urge to vomit. I mean... holy poo poo. Holy loving poo poo, what was I looking at? I mean, a dead body was one thing. But this? This was... gently caress, I didn't know what to call it. A sick joke? A loving abomination? Overkill, most certainly. Well... what it was in a literal sense was a dead woman.  She didn't seem too old, by the looks of things. ...Hard to tell though, when her entire face was caved in. I don't just mean beaten up. I mean I couldn't tell you what color her eyes were, or how long her nose was. It even took me a moment to work out hair color. The entire front of her face was nothing more than exposed flesh. But I could tell – some dark, twisted part of me could tell – that it wasn't because she was flayed or anything. That flesh came from an earnest beating. ...Holy poo poo, the more I looked, the more details I noticed, the more disturbed I became. The girl was wearing a lot of denim, as well as a camo jacket, but her jeans had tear after tear – not natural tears, tears covered in blood, as though somebody had taken a knife and had stabbed it up and down both legs. What kind of sadistic murder ritual could this possibly be? But the worst detail – at least to me – I hadn't noticed yet. I had to look closer to see what had happened to the fingers on her hands. It seemed as though... as though, underneath each finger nail, there was blood. A deep bleeding. As though somebody had taken a drill right between her nail and her finger and then slowly, painfully twisted it through, making those incisions. Agh, Christ! I felt my skin curl. Despite everything, that was what really stuck with me. That was what was really loving me up. I guess I was just antsy about fingernails. And it also made it clear this wasn't just murder. This was torture. Urgh... ...but wait. With all this, surely there should be more blood around, right? Yeah, yeah, that was weird. There was blood in the room, sure, but not nearly enough.... I mean, considering everything – not like I was some weirdo who wanted blood or whatever. I looked at my feet, and that was where I noticed flecks of blood, in the direction of the body. I turned around to where I had came from, and my suspicions were confirmed – more tracks of blood led here. ...Which meant I could also find where the body had come from.  I began following this lead. ...And moments later, I heard another scream. This time, there was no mistaking it. This wasn't my imagination. This was the sound of somebody on this floor. The sound came from the direction of the blood trail. Holy poo poo. Was something like what had just happened to the woman still happening? My pursuit of the trail sped up. I didn't want to waste any more time than necessary. And eventually... I found another door. One that looked far less rusted and far more official than most. This was the place. ...Should I really be doing this? My mind flashed back to the body I had just seen. ...I needed to see for myself what was going on. As slowly and as silently as I could, I opened the door. One creak, and I might be dead. Luckily, inside the room, it was dark – at least, where I was. So I was able to step inside and still be hidden. To my benefit, there were some boxes of who-knows-what nearby. The corners of this room were completely engulfed in darkness. On the other hand, the center of the room was lit up by a single, dangling light. It was clearly set up for dramatic effect... and it worked. The floor of the room was covered in plastic wrap – and that plastic wrap, covered in blood. Too much blood, so much blood. In the light, I saw two people. One was a man in his early fifties, if I had to guess. He actually looked pretty good – his silver hair fit him well. ...Though maybe I only said that because his face was the only aprt of him undamaged. Most notably, his arms were tied behind his back. But not just tied up with rope. He was tied with some sort of wire. A wire with multiple exposed sections, attached to a machine with knobs and lights. I had to assume it was a setup to electrocute this guy. But... why resort to that? After all, he was bleeding from his knees, and now from one shoulder. They were gunshot wounds. Using context clues, a pistol had probably been fired at him point blank multiple times. ...By who?  Well, by the intimidating figure in black, of course. I didn't call him a 'man', even though that's probably what he was, for a reason. He gave off an aura not of a man, but of a demon. From head to toe he was clothed in black – boots, leather pants, jacket, gloves... but most frightening was the mask. Not some sort of ski mask, this was a sleek mask made with black glass. It was a mask that inspired fear. It was the mask of Thane. Yes, I knew who this person was. This person was a nightmare standing. Even without the pistol he held in his hand, he would be incredibly intimidating. His mere posture, it oozed carefully calcuated composure, mixed with colossal confidence. And then, with a modulated voice emanating from a speaker on his mask, he spoke – a dark, twisted, mechanical voice that made my heart plummet.  I know there's more. The fact you're trying to pretend that's not the case... well, it makes me sad.Thane continued to pace. How long had they been at this? ...What even was 'this'? Look, I'm not going to bullshit you. We both know how this works. We both know you're not going to get out of this alive. But that doesn't mean you don't have a choice. If you keep playing brave, you'll end up just like the girl. You saw her expression. That was a nasty way to go... and she was alive for most of it. And you know... I could've made it much worse. The only reason I didn't make it even worse for her was because at least she gave me something useful, even if it wasn't the full course. So... that's where you come in. Give me the full course. Thane didn't say it in a pushy, or demanding, or even threatening way. He stated it plainly. And what followed was a painful pause... one that literally made my stomach cramp up. ...Why? Why are you so insistent on making things worse for yourself? I mean, the girl I got. But you? You've been with us for long enough. I would've thought you'd have known us better. ...Not enough to not take the wrong side like this, at any rate. …I mean, look at this. Seeing what you've seen, do you really think the opposition stands a chance? If your bastard scheme to take from me actually had a chance of working, well, I could at least understand it on a logical level... but it's very obvious who's going to come out on top. So what's with this useless charade of honor? You abandoned all that when you turned traitor.How was the man reacting to all of this? I felt his facial reactions would be a big hint, so I tried to lean further beyond the boxes I'd hid behind. ...I'm not a very good torturer, am I? Maybe it's just because I'm not used to talking this much. I like to be the silent type. Maybe I'm not good at the negotiation part of this? Well, at the very least, I know I'm good at the torture part of this.[BGM: Silence]  Thane was clearly in the process of something. However, I never got the chance to learn what that something was... because as I was leaning around the boxes, the ship encountered a particularly large wave. It rocked, and caught me off balance... and I ended up stumbling out of my hiding spot. ...Out into the light. Thane's helmet turned, and soon enough he was facing me head on. For a solitary, magic moment... nothing happened. The two of us just stared at each other. ...Well, I stared at him – his masked face was only pointed in my direction. Neither of us particularly wanted to break this little stalemate. ...The bloodied man certainly didn't want to say anything. If I had it my way, we'd just sort of, I don't know, stay like this. No end in sight, just kinda locked in this one moment where nothing was happening. ...Unfortunately, this moment didn't last forever. It actually only lasted for about two and a half seconds. [BGM: Burn Card]  Afterwards, without even moving his head, he raised the arm that was holding his pistol up. The gun was squared firmly at the shivering man's head. I saw his mouth open, obviously about to shout out some sort of plea or, failing that, perhaps a spiteful epithet. Whatever he meant to say, he never got the chance. A second later, the pistol recoiled, and I heard a splattering sound. I saw a burst of blood spurt into the air from the victim's forehead. The man stayed on his knees as the blood fell through the air to the floor. And then, a good three seconds later, the man too slowly collapsed onto the floor. I was so shocked by this display of life's fragility that I hadn't focused on Thane's actions during these critical seconds. He was reloading the pistol and moving his arm in a new direction. poo poo. poo poo, gently caress, poo poo. Immediately I pushed off on my right foot and began to lean left. I didn't have time to get a proper running start; I recognized that it was more important to start moving instantly. This instinct of mine was proven 100% correct a few moments later. The bullet Thane had sent my direction ended up missing me by, god, inches? I couldn't say for sure. It sure as hell felt like inches. I could feel the breeze off it – or, at least, it felt like I could. It was, indisputably, the closest I'd ever come to death. An experience like that would usually be traumatizing... it'd force me to really stop, take a minute, and re-examine what I was doing. And, sure... trauma was almost certain to come later. But, luckily, there was something in my brain that acted as a big blocker to all those traumatic impulses: the giant, newly erected sign flashing GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE in big, bright letters. That brief hop to the left quickly transitioned to a full-on sprint. In seconds, I was moving faster than I ever had in my life. It felt like I was running at world record pace. ...Again, hard to tell how much of that was just my imagination. Regardless, the fear of death tended to put some real spring in your step, it seemed. Time also seemed to keep pace at this slow-motion speed it had been ever since Thane laid eyes on me. I was able to think crystal clear about every small movement I was making. ...Which was good, seeing as I was coming to a choice earlier than I thought.  Leaving this torture room, where to go? Left, right, or straight? ...Well, straight was immediately out. Looking further down, it took a little bit before the next turn into another corridor. Thane would likely get to the door in time to have a clear shot at my back. So then, did I go left or right? Right... was the way I came from, I remembered that much. My gut wanted to try and get back to the top of the ship. But hold on a second – how much would that really help? It's not like I had an escape plan up there, either. More importantly, this sort of instinct was so natural that it was probably obvious. If my biggest priority was to put distance between myself and Thane, I should be trying to choose options that would lose him easily. He couldn't know too much, but he'd probably expect me to retreat back up the stairs. So then... left had to be the answer. Those thoughts passed through my brain in the course of a second. In the next, I jumped off my right foot again, curving left. I got about five seconds forward before I realized my mistake. 'Thane would think I ran to the right', huh? ...Not if he could hear me running to the left, dumbass! At the sprint I was moving, in an empty ship like this, he could very obviously hear my movements. I also heard footsteps a lot closer than Thane should have been, so clearly he had begun sprinting after me when I turned around. I didn't have time to transition to a slower, stealthier pace. And, at this point, I'd already committed to going left. Going in the direction I had no idea about. ...drat it. Time might have felt like it was moving slowly, but that was an illusion. Clearly I still wasn't actually thinking things through. Well... in for a penny, in for a pound. Further down the rabbit hole we'd go. I kept running down this left corner, and soon enough I was presented with another juncture. Left or right? This one was easier; thinking about the structure, going left again was moving back towards the direction of the torture room. It's possible it'd just lead to another entrance to that room. So, to the right this time. Not long after that was another choice: left, straight, right. I could hear that Thane would soon come up to the last juncture that I'd reached... which would give him a straight shot. I had to just keep running. So... left once more. At the next juncture, I went right again. Then right again.  This place was a loving maze. Who built ships like this, what was the purpose? True, I passed the occasional map of the floor – plenty of closed doors, too. Sometimes there were cargo boxes left sitting in hallways. But with Thane so on my rear end, I couldn't pause a single moment to fully take in things like this. Instead, my brain jumped to a horrid thought: why did Thane shoot the bloodied man first? I'd like to think I would've dodged either way... However, it felt as though, in my dazed state, if he shot at me first he would've killed me. So... why attack that guy first? ...Think about it logically: either way, it looked like he'd given up on whatever he was doing at that point. He just wanted to kill us both. So... why kill him first? The only thing that made sense was that he knew I couldn't escape. That it was only a matter of time before he caught me, so he might as well finish his current job first. That the bloodied, beaten, barely conscious man was more of a threat than me... was that right? No, poo poo, I was giving him too much credit. He was a loving demon, sure, but he was still a man. ...Probably. He might've just been caught off guard, didn't think things through. It was this thought process that struck me as I made a wrong turn. I was confronted with a straight hallway, with a gate right in the middle of it... a gate with a lock on it. gently caress, gently caress, fu- ...wait, the lock had been left unlocked. Jackpot! ...Maybe. I ran forward and struggled with opening the gate. Open, drat it, open! After a bit of a struggle, I got through, and from the other side I pushed down on the lock. Right as I was secured it, Thane turned the corner. gently caress! Behind me were a couple more cargo boxes – instantly, I dove for cover behind them. And by dove I meant literally, both feet leaving the ground. I credit this odd escape approach for my survival; had I simply run for the cargo boxes, the shot that fired at me almost certainly would've landed. When I slid behind the boxes, I instantly turtled up. It was just instinct, that. Didn't want to have any part of me exposed. In this fetal state, I heard three more shots. Two flew overhead, and one impacted the boxes I was hiding behind with a dull thud. I could feel one of them move closer from the shot, now touching me. But... it didn't go through. Whatever was in this box had held the bullet firm. After that third shot, the bullets temporarily paused. I used this opportunity to reorient myself from a fetal position to a crouching one. I looked at my surroundings. On the other side of the hallway, I saw a big metal door with a wheel on it, leading into another room. Looking up, I also saw an opening to a vent. Cool... I guess. gently caress. gently caress, no good place to go from here. I then heard two shots impact metal. It... sounds like they were hitting the gate? Was he... trying to shoot off the lock? gently caress, that's totally what he was trying to do. Luckily, I didn't hear anything fall to the floor. And it's not like a pistol had infinite bullets, right? I doubted he wanted to take potshots all day. The cargo boxes weren't far from the lock, either. This guy assumed I was caught hapless, but he couldn't be reckless either. For all he knew, I had a gun on me. ...Well, at this point, he might have ruled that possibility out. But something like a knife? He had to factor that in. So if he approached the lock to try and get it off, the chance that I could try rushing him to stab him through the gate was a real fear. What seemed to be a certain dead end for me actually held a glimmer of potential. How would this demon respond now, huh? The ball was in his court. I had a few seconds of nothing but breathing. Then... like a miracle, I heard the sound of footsteps retreating. No. No way. It couldn't be... [BGM: Silence]  As I heard them turn a corner, I risked a very, very brief look behind the boxes, prepared to pull back at the slightest sign of danger. ...But I was right. Thane had left. Seriously? Had he just given up on me? That didn't seem likely. Maybe he was going to do something drastic. Maybe I should use this opportunity to run the opposite way. No... no, that was stupid. This could easily be a trap. The moment I tried fleeing from this dead end he'd just shoot me from around the bend. More importantly, just because I locked that gate didn't mean I could unlock it. Ironically, I had actually trapped myself in this lovely situation. So... what now? I had gotten that far in my thoughts before I saw Thane walking back. poo poo. [BGM: Spot On]  Immediately, I pulled back, hiding once again behind the crates. I expected a bullet to whiz by once more... but no, I retreated successfully. That was probably because I saw Thane holding something in his hand. I'd only got a glimpse of it as I instantly retreated at the sight of him. What did he grab? That... was quickly answered by the sound of pouring. A hose. ...A hose? Then, I saw from my vantage point a black liquid slowly sliding down the floor. Black liquid... Oh, gently caress off! No goddamn way. Did he really have a container and hose of gasoline just lying around nearby?! The gently caress was up with the Mandjet? No, the time for complaining about outrageous circumstances wasn't now. Now was the time to panic. It was clear Thane was in no rush. He was going to, very patiently, wait for the right opportunity.,, and then he'd exterminate me. I was a trapped rat, and he was going to slowly corner me until I suffocated. I could just picture that black void of a helmet now. Expressionlessly standing there, holding a hose. Watching the gasoline slowly spill closer and closer... waiting joylessly until it was time to light it up. Focus! How the hell could I get out of this one? As far as I saw it, I had two options. The first was the door... couple of problems with that option. For one, my guess was that it was still a dead end. It'd be a room with no other exit, and I'd just be trading one place to make a last stand for another. For another, it almost certainly was the move Thane expected. He could hold a hose with one hand and a pistol with another... and it was all the way on the other side of the hallway. I didn't like those odds. And the third problem? I had no idea whether or not it was locked. From my angle I couldn't even tell whether or not it had a lock on it. But, if it was a door behind a gate with a lock on it, it's plausible it could also have a lock. If I rushed over there and couldn't open it, it would 100% be game over. ...So then, time for a risk. The odds of the other plan working were a lot lower, but there was a way higher yield waiting for me if I could pull it off. Which option had a better risk-reward ratio was obvious. I needed a heavy object. Well... what were in these boxes? Hesitantly, I tried to pry off the lid of the top box on the pile I was hiding behind. It was easier than I thought. Blindly, I quickly scrounged for something. I felt something hard, so I grabbed it and pulled it behind cover.  ...A rock? A weirdly shaped, weirdly colored rock, but a rock nonetheless. What possible set of circumstances could've led to a box of weird rocks being placed haphazardly in a container below the deck of a ship like this? ...Whatever. No time for hypotheticals. I'd only played a bit of baseball back in middle school, but I was decently fit.... and I was desperate. So, here goes nothing. Instantly, I threw the rock with all my might at the vent on the nearby ceiling. Before I could even see the results of this, I popped up and began to jump off the pile of boxes I had hid behind. Please... ...Yes! Turns out the vent covering was real old, real lovely. I was able to knock it loose with that rock, and with my leap from the boxes, I grabbed a hold of the opening. Not wasting a second, I pushed up. *blam!* A bullet was fired. It wasn't until I had completely pulled myself into the narrow vent that I realized the gunshot wasn't a complete miss. My pants had a tear, and the front of my right leg was very faintly beginning to bleed. ...Holy poo poo, the bullet had literally skimmed me. loving hell, how was I still alive? ...I was still alive. Right now, I was in a cramped vent, away from Thane. I was alive! *blam! blam!* Two shots whizzed through the bottom of the vent, both narrowly missing the position I had scooted towards. ...Yeah, it might be a little early to celebrate just yet. With more energy than I had ever had before, I began to scoot for my life. … [BGM: Silence]  Oh, it's over? On that? drat, gently caress cliffhangers. ...I mean, yes, okay, I did sort of make the cliffhanger. I'm allowed to get mad at myself! And I do so, frequently. Back to the scene, that was a real nail-biter. For the back half there, I really thought this stack of cards would end at one. Imagine! And for the first half, well... it was real spooky. The type of poo poo you'd see in a horror movie, like a paranatural haunting might start up at any moment. Say... do you believe in spirits? No. Really? Not even a little itsy bitsy bit? Well... I knew it! I knew you had just a little bit of that fear in you, deep down. I appreciate your honesty. Believes in ghosts... good to know, very good to keep in mind. Well, at the very least, no spirits have shown up in this story yet. That we know of! BRAAOOW-KRASH! ...That was my imitation of thunder, if you couldn't tell. Did you like it? Don't answer, I already know you did. But yeah, for all you know there's not anybody even inside of Thane's mask. The whole thing could just be animated by, like, dead souls or some poo poo – you don't know. Anyways, this is just me talking, but so far I'm digging this card stack. I've got just one problem... it's taking place on a boat. ...I'm not a boat fan. I hope these scenes don't stay on the boat for very long. They wouldn't, right? That'd get boring soon! ...What do you think? Let's say in, oh... two scenes, do you think after two more full scenes with Mercury we'll still be on a boat?This is a vote (and the group voted yes), but you do get the option to say you think Mercury won't make it that long, at which point Ez quips at you to vote where the corpse is instead. Probably. Really? You really think so? Boy, I hope not. Okay then, why don't we actually bet on that? Yeah, no, I don't know why I didn't think of this before now, this is a great topic to bet on! Can't believe I didn't think of that before now. So come on, how much are you gonna bet?It was mostly agreed that we will still be on a boat by the end of Mercury 3, so we're only betting 18% of our chips here - which rounds down to 2 chips. Okie dokie, now there's some stakes. Now you can really cheer for Mercury to stay on that boat! Which, uh... seems a bit counterintuitive, but whatever. Yeah, gambling makes this way more fun. All right, let's keep going. Next update, we meet the next to last perspective, which... well, you'll see shortly. 
Mix. fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Jul 28, 2023 |
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Jul 27, 2023 01:22
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Huh, no minigames in that stack sequence. And no Kane. Anyway uhhhh I dunno. Gonna say no we'll still be on the boat, because I can't tell what mindgame this is but without any other info like how many cards are left in the stack I assume we'll have to get off the boat at some point to meet up with Kane. And it could be that we get off at the very end of Mercury 3.
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Jul 27, 2023 01:34
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ApplesandOranges posted:Huh, no minigames in that stack sequence. And no Kane. That we know of, braaoow-krash. Also, Yes.
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Jul 27, 2023 02:30
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Yes, boat adventures will continue. What are you gonna do, jump overboard?
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Jul 27, 2023 05:07
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What a meta-question! We covered a lot of ground in this first set of updates, and we ended up on open waters with no signal and almost no hope of getting back safely now that Thane knows we exist. Mercury will have to commandeer the boat, get help by coincidence (i.e., another boat), or hide/explore. Mercury will still be in a boat, even by the end of Mercury 3.
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Jul 27, 2023 05:55
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Staying on the boat seems like a pretty bad idea that will get Mercury killed sooner or later. On the other hand, they're injured now, making it even less likely they'll be able to swim to safety. But getting away somehow should be their number one priority now, so my bet is that Mercury will no longer be on a boat by the end of chapter 3. Interesting how the bet is phrased though. It clearly says "a boat" instead of "this boat", so if chapter 3 ends with Mercury grabbing a lifeboat and making a break for it, they'll still be on "a boat".
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Jul 27, 2023 09:39
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In game yes, well be on the boat. Out of game, what a stupid rigged bet. Woman, you're telling the story. You can break it up anywhere you want, and with knowledge of the bet, you can thus make the outcome of the bet whatever you want! No sane person would ever take this bet.
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Jul 27, 2023 11:55
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...You know though, the "Will the corpse still be on a boat" brings up the possibility that if Mercury gets shot and dies, falling off the boat as they do so, that would count as them not being on a boat anymore. I mean I don't think that will actually happen, but. We will be on a boat.
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Jul 27, 2023 13:52
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It would be very funny if the mechanic of the game was that she will always rig the outcome against us, therefore we have to bet against whatever we want happening. But for the sake of playing in good faith: Yes, it seems likely boat adventures will continue. It would be odd to set up the story as "trapped with a killer on a boat in out at sea" only to immediately escape that situation the next chapter.
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Jul 27, 2023 14:34
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ZCKaiser posted:It would be very funny if the mechanic of the game was that she will always rig the outcome against us, therefore we have to bet against whatever we want happening. The thing is, if we assume this tale is based on a true story(tm) in the universe, she's at least constrained by the truth of what happened. Here? The bet entirely hinges on the pace she tells the story, barring our viewpoint dying on the boat without getting tossed overboard. And she is part of that bet.
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Jul 27, 2023 15:22
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If there’s one thing I’ve learned from manga it’s that it takes loving years to get off a boat. Voting that Mercury will be still alive and boating. quote:why did Thane shoot the bloodied man first? I'd like to think I would've dodged either way... However, it felt as though, in my dazed state, if he shot at me first he would've killed me. So... why attack that guy first? ...Think about it logically: either way, it looked like he'd given up on whatever he was doing at that point. He just wanted to kill us both. So... why kill him first? The only thing that made sense was that he knew I couldn't escape. That it was only a matter of time before he caught me, so he might as well finish his current job first. That the bloodied, beaten, barely conscious man was more of a threat than me... was that right? No, poo poo, I was giving him too much credit. He was a loving demon, sure, but he was still a man. ...Probably. He might've just been caught off guard, didn't think things through. I was going to point this out too, however the conclusion I reached is that Thane is an idiot. Standing around with a gun with one bullet and shooting the basically-already-dead tied-up guy over the person running free. Elite fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Jul 27, 2023 |
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Jul 27, 2023 18:49
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Yeah, my best guess would be that Thane thought Mercury must know more than the guy, so they didn't need the old guy anymore? They might have initially tried to catch Mercury alive, which is how Mercury could escape so far. Not sure what the current plan is, but the gasoline doesn't look too promising. Still pretty stupid to shoot the old guy. Maybe Thane was really worried he'd escape?
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Jul 27, 2023 19:08
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The other thing is after Mercury woke up she’s been wandering around the ship for a fairly long time and heard plenty of torture noises but no gunshots. So.... has Thane been standing there waving a gun around with only 1 bullet in it for 20 minutes?
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Jul 27, 2023 21:02
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Probably. Really? You really think so? Boy, I hope not. Okay then, why don't we actually bet on that? Yeah, no, I don't know why I didn't think of this before now, this is a great topic to bet on! Can't believe I didn't think of that before now. So come on, how much are you gonna bet? It was mostly agreed that we will still be on a boat by the end of Mercury 3, so we're only betting 18% of our chips here - which rounds down to 2 chips. Okie dokie, now there's some stakes. Now you can really cheer for Mercury to stay on that boat! Which, uh... seems a bit counterintuitive, but whatever. Yeah, gambling makes this way more fun. All right, let's keep going.Next update, we meet the next to last perspective, which... well, you'll see shortly.
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Jul 28, 2023 00:42
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 [BGM: Silence]  Man. What a beautiful sunrise. Even blocked by the trees and all, I could appreciate a view like this. It was a view I didn't get to see all that often. A lot of the time, my work kept me up late at night. I'd sleep right through these golden morning hours. But for once, that had been taken to its logical extreme. My work had gone on for so long that it went straight through the night and kept me up for long enough to see sunrise. This was gonna gently caress up my sleep schedule. ...Who was I kidding, my sleep schedule had been hosed for a long time. These beams of sunlight did indicate that I really had to get a move on, though. My time was running out, and if I delayed for much longer, things could go really badly. Worse than they already were. But, you know? It was worth taking in these moments whenever I got the chance. When was the next time I'd get to see a sunrise like this? Judging by how things had been going, maybe never. So then, why not enjoy it? The immaculate orange hues, pushing away the purple clouds. The sky wasn't bright, and yet the sun shone so brightly. This contradiction led to a beautiful clash between the previous night and the oncoming day. This was the sort of sight talented painteres drew inspiration from. If I had a camera on me, I'd have taken a photograph, despite it all. It was a nice view to rest to. And boy, did I need a rest. Leaning against a tree wasn't exactly comfortable, but right now, it felt like the most exquisite bed. That was how badly I just needed something to rest against. My back was killing me. My arms were sore as hell. I don't know if I could even feel my legs. My hands were calloused all to hell, and moving my fingers caused me to wince. This alone, I could easily handle – what was really killer was the fact that I wasn't done yet. Just the thought of getting back to work made my bones give out a collective groan.  Get it together, me. I thought I was in better shape than this. How was I getting this tired? ...Maybe I was being unfair to myself. I mean, I was still in shape – it had just been an exhausting night. I couldn't expect my body to be, like, an unerring machine. But I was too young to be getting back pain, for Christ's sake! That should be a curse exclusive to men in their, I don't know, 40s or something. Whatever. I'd see a physical therapist whenever I had some time off... whenever that would be. You know, what was really killing me was my parched throat; what I wouldn't give for some water. ...An idea crossed my mind. I leaned down and opened the silver case by my side. Maybe there was some water packed in here? Thinking back, I was pretty sure I already knew the answer... but it never hurt to double check. I rifled through the contents: a silenced pistol, a spare change of gloves, some thin black rope, a stun gun, grenades of various types, night vision goggles, a transceiver, a swiss army knife, some medicine, black duct tape, two burner phones, a stolen regular phone, a whistle of some kind... and not a loving bottle of water. Just great. In the future, I should really make sure to bring water to any excursions with the potential to last a while. Whatever. Let's just get it over with. The more time I killed just standing around, the more risk I was accruing. It'd be best to just get it over with. I reached down to the ground and grabbed a black, glass helmet. ...You know, that thing was really loving annoying to wear. Not comfortable in the slightest. No small wonder I took it off when I was giving myself a moment to relax. I guess then the question I'd pose to myself was why I was even putting it back on, if that was the case. I was about to do some more physical labor. Surely restricting my breathing like this would hurt, not help, right? I mean I wasn't a health nut, but that seemed like a no-brainer to me. [BGM: Ones Are Wild]  I guess it was the principle of a thing. It's about playing a role – when you're in a role, it's best to inhabit that role in every aspect. In your thoughts, in your clothing, in your actions. You want to keep that character separate from your own person, else you're going to start doing some pretty existential questioning in regards to your own 'self'ness. There was a reason so many actors had complete mental breakdowns. So why was I doing a task like this? ...Yeah, let's put on the mask. I walked over to the nearby shovel and begrudgingly picked it up. Come on. No more stalling, time to just... you know. Get to work. I pushed the shovel deep within the dirt. My muscles burned, making their resistance to this act noted. Sorry muscles, you didn't get a say in this. Further, further down did I push the spade, until it was beneath a sizable chunk of dirt. And now, for the hard part. If my muscles burned before, they were on fire as I tried pulling the shovel up out of the ground, scooping the dirt around it all the same while. With such a quantity of dirt, I didn't exactly have the luxury to carefully move the shovel once in the air. I moreso just flung the dirt I had lifted in the direction I wanted. And this method worked; the hole filled with a bit more dirt. And again, the process repeated. And once more too. I kept shoveling and shoveling, filling in the hole... hiding the past. After a bit of this, I took a moment to catch my breath and assess the scene. I was making good time – you could barely see the hole anymore. Just a bit more digging that needed to be done. There was one issue, though... you could still very clearly see an arm sticking out of the ground. God drat it. This was squarely my fault, I had to admit. I really should've set things up differently when I was placing the body in the hole in the first place. If I had been thinking, I would've thrown the man in arms first. But then... what about the legs?  Maybe it was best to dismember his limbs? That definitely would've avoided this issue. It would've also gotten blood all over the place, but I could just throw the bloody dirt in the hole. Overall, it likely would've been more efficient, but... I don't know. Doing that post-mortem just seems kind of messy and unnecessary. It was fine as is. I'd just... have to put some dirt over the exposed arm. No problem. Honestly, if we're talking about this from a 'hiding the body' perspective, how deep the hole was wouldn't really matter. If dogs were looking here, dogs would find it. To truly, properly make a body disappear, you'd need a far more thorough method than what I was handling. Still... I felt pretty confident that nobody would find this body. This job was more than sufficient. For one – imagine finding this one spot in the middle of Panthea's forest? It'd be like searching for a needle in a haystack: really hard. You'd only search that hard if you were looking for a body... and I was pretty sure nobody would be looking for this body. I mean, people disappeared all the time in Panthea. And this guy? Yeah, if he disappeared from the grid, it wouldn't really cause a stir. It'd be difficult for the police to even place where he was before he went missing. Yeah, I was covered on all sides. This gravesite I was digging would be this man's final resting place. So, might as well make it a good one. I got back to work with the shovel. The breather didn't help. Shovel some dirt. Throw it on the hole. Repeat, repeat. Ignore your aching body. This really was not much fun at all, but it had to be done. Soon enough, the arm was hidden. But just hiding the arm wasn't enough. I didn't want a deer to trip over it or something. So a bit more, a bit more... ...okay, that was properly buried now. But it was pretty obvious what had happened here. I needed to cover my tracks a bit better. Using the shovel, I evened out the dirt around the hole some more, making it all level for the most part. Finally, I started spreading some leaves and twigs over the whole place. ...There. If you were just walking by, that'd look totally normal. If you were going for a hike, you could walk right over this corpse and never know it. [BGM: Silence]  And that was that. For all intents and purposes, the man beneath my feet was no longer my problem. I thought about the guy for a moment. He didn't exactly go out in a peaceful way. Strangling... yeah, that's gotta be rough. You're alive for long enough to know exactly what was happening – to feel the pain, the fear that you'd soon be dead. And, eventually, you'd run out of breath, and slump to the ground. Oof. The poor guy didn't see it coming. He was just going about his business standing by one of these trees before I came up behind him. ...Well, I didn't feel guilty about it. I was just doing what I had to do. Him or me. If he didn't like this outcome, he shouldn't have gotten in this game. Still, seeing as nobody would ever see him again, it felt wrong to just completely abandon this spot without a second thought. Awkwardly, I got on one knee and put my hands together, and then... I gave a prayer, I guess? The whole thing felt weird; I certainly wasn't religious, I didn't believe in any gods, any sort of afterlife, and I doubted this guy's soul would see salvation. So why, for this one person I barely knew – that I owed nothing – did I take the time to pray for them? It's hard to say. Just a random compulsion, I guess... yeah, just a whim, I guess. That's the most I could make of my own actions. I wish you the best, man. May you rest in peace. ...Okay, that's enough of that. I got back on both feet. Time to make my way back home. First things first – to get out of this drat forest. This much I could handle on my own. ...Hopefully. Just to be sure, I took out one of the burner phones and opened up a GPS app. Right, okay, I was correct. The way back to the urban part of the city was definitely, 100%, the direction I thought it was. Didn't hurt to check, though. If I spent an hour walking just to come out by the sea side, I'd be proper pissed. So began the walk. Ugh. You know, something like this really made me regret ever thinking I liked walks like these. There was a time and a place for them... and that time and that place definitely wasn't when you were already incredibly sore from a lot of work. I'd just have to pull through and endure. The map showed I wasn't that far from the urban side. The one thing I hoped to avoid was any hikers. It had become early morning, but should still be too early to run into anybody with some sense in them. Problem is... hikers weren't exactly known for their sense. They were the exact freaks who enjoyed waking up at this ungodly hour. Why, they very well could try going for an off-the-path hike and run into me. But if that happened... whatever. You couldn't fret about hypotheticals. You just had to assume bad luck wouldn't strike. And deal with things appropriately when it did.  Before too long, however, I finished my trek uninterrupted. The dirt turned to pavement. I was at the city borders. Fantastic. I could take a cab back to my– ...gently caress. I probably couldn't do that, could I? I mean, it would probably be fine... plenty of people went for early morning hikes, like I just said. The police wouldn't even know to look for anything. But wasn't this, like, the thing that got people caught for murders that were tricky to prove, like this one? My mind was already flash-forwarding to the trial. 'So, Mr. Cab Driver, did the person before you definitely show up to ask for your services that morning?' Fuuuuuck. Fine, fine, fine. Sorry muscles – you lose to my long term safety. I knew the way back to my place from here.  It wasn't that long a walk. I'd just have to suck it up and live with it. Through gritted teeth, I continued my journey on foot. Passed by closed stores, faceless towers. Crosswalks, parking lots, supermarkets. Like I said, it was still that golden hour, too early for most sane people. You were actually more likely to see people out and about at 1AM than you were to see them now. It was really nice, if a touch creepy, to see these familiar streets without their usual hustle and bustle. A change of pace. My murderous morning had given me a lot of nice sights. My eyes caught a row of posters pasted on a nearby brick wall. All were campaign posters for Governor Aija. Election's really coming up around the corner, huh? I felt bad for her competition. Bach had good spirit, but just, ugh. There were a lot of factors standing in his way. None so more of a giant iron wall than the simple difference between his lack of funding and Aija's advertising budget the size of a small company. Aija already had the advantage of being a household name, and she had a decent resume to boot. If you wanted to take down a goliath like that, either a huge scandal needed to break out regarding her, or you needed to launch a strong offensive. ...And it's hard to launch a strong offensive if you could barely be heard, doubly so if you were being actively drowned out by Aija's campaign. No doubt she was using the full extent of her connections to squash Bach's efforts. ...Though that last bit was probably unnecessary, given the state of the election. Bach had had a greater presence earlier, in the primaries. Plenty of people eager to take a shot at Aija, politically speaking, but Bach rose above them, seeming to be the best contender. And now, when it was time to shine, he was going to be buried... all according to plan. The whole thing was just, bleh.  Speaking on the note of elections, I also saw one of the new digital voting booths being installed. The 'new hot craze' for Panthea. I didn't see the appeal, frankly – sure, it'd help sort out election results faster, but did that really matter, though? ...I guess it must. I walked past a young couple. However, when I looked at them, they recoiled. That's pretty rude, isn't it? Where did they get off acting like... … ...I was still wearing the mask and getup, wasn't I? Welp. God, how had I not noticed that earlier? Tonight's proceedings must've just really taken things out of me. Well, thank god I didn't look for a taxi or anything. That might've been a touch stronger evidence against me. Part of me wanted to abandon things now – walking around like this at this time of day seemed ill-advised. But what the hell was I to do? I needed to take the outfit with me. I don't think it could fit in the suitcase. And holding the mask and jacket and everything else under my arm didn't seem like a notable improvement. Guess I'd just have to deal with it until I got to the location. And, on second thought, it really wasn't that bad a setup. As I passed an old man, he instantly turned around and started walking the other way. Ha! Yeah, striking just a little bit of fear into random civilians was a fun enough novelty. It... was a passing novelty, however. Before long, I got to my place. Or rather... close enough. What I really found was an abandoned street close enough to my place. One that let me slip down without any witnesses.  I approached the manhole, and with a final burst of strength, lifted it up. There we go. Then, quite delicately, I began to move down the ladder. Once below the manhole, I slid it back into its proper place. Then I continued my way down the ladder. [BGM: Last Dice]  Finally, I was in the underground sewer. Home stretch. It was weird that the stench of the flowing sewer water was a good smell... but I associated it with returning to the safety of my home. I made my way further down the cement walkway, lit with the dim light bulbs hung much too far apart from each other. And soon enough, I found a small stairway. Walking up it, I found myself facing a door. I then fished in my pocket and pulled out a key before unlocking and opening it. I walked through it to find myself in a small, closet-like area. I made sure to close the door behind me, re-locking it. Lightweight security, to be sure, but I appreciated it. I stepped out of the storage closet into the stairwell, and I made my way up two flights of stairs until I got to my floor. Two doors down was my apartment. This was, to put it lightly, a unique way to get home... but what can I say, I valued thoroughness. Panthea had multiple hotels; this one, however, had a nice little perk – one of its supply closets had a direct connection to Panthea's sewer system. Don't ask me why that was the case. I think it was a remnant of whatever this building used to be before becoming a hotel? Regardless, I was thankful for it. It's why I chose for my apartment to be in this building. I'd scoped out this feature before choosing to live here, you see. Why else would I spend my time in an ill-maintained, cramped, low quality place like this? Certainly not because of the stellar service. With this, whenever I wanted to go out, I'd just sneak out through the storage room, pop up somewhere through a manhole. Similarly, whenever I was making a return trip, I could do the opposite approach. The main benefit of this was making it incredibly difficult to find where I actually spent my nights sleeping. Even if you were actively running surveillance on me, or this hotel or whatever, it'd be difficult to tell. There were any number of reasons why somebody would want to hide where they lived in Panthea... and I had several. Walking into my apartment, it felt like I could literally hear the heavens singing. I was entering my own pearly gates. [BGM: Silence]  My small, dirty, one-room pearly gates. I wasn't a picky person. I didn't need a lot of living space to be happy. And I definitely didn't need a lot of living space to be happy right now. Because, right now, I just needed to be living. God. I had had some rough nights, but this one might take the cake. I tossed the silver case on the floor and collapsed onto my nearby couch. I felt like going into a coma. First things first, I was going to take off this stupid costume. Goodbye helmet. Goodbye gloves. Goodbye jacket, goodbye boots, goodbye pants. I stripped down completely, and just lay down. If I wasn't careful, I might fall asleep here and now. … ...No, actually, I don't think I could. I felt... dirty. And fair enough, I was incredibly dirty. This called for a shower. I walked over to the restroom and turned the knob. Annoyingly, this place took a minute before hot water started to flow... and today, it took two. Finally, when my hand told me it was ready, I stepped in. Now this - this was heaven. I took my time washing my hair, scrubbing my face, and just letting the warm water envelop my body. Literally nothing felt better than a hot shower when you were entirely exhausted. ...Well, a hot bath might be better, but that would take too long and I didn't have a bathtub. But shower? Close second. If I had it my way, I'd just stay in that shower for hours, but practicality sank in at some point. After I was thoroughly done, I stepped out and began to towel off. I walked over to my wardrobe and picked out a very casual outfit. ...And then I fell down on my bed. I just wanted sleep. This was obvious, I had thought it several times at this point. But... no. I couldn't fall asleep now. For one, as I'd said, it would just completely throw my sleep schedule out the loving window. This was too critical a time to have that sleep schedule off balance. And I also just had too much to do... especially in light of recent events. … Much to do, huh? What even was there to do? Reluctantly, I rose back to my feet. Then, I walked across my apartment to my desk. I took out my laptop. At the very least, I knew one site I should check. [BGM: Bidding]  That was where my mind was at when I heard it. A faint buzzing. ...Buzzing? Where the hell was that coming from? It was so faint at first, I thought it was like, an insect or something. But no, it was in my room – and it wasn't faint, it was muffled. I continued to wonder what it could be, until I felt the floor vibrate a little. ...The floor? I looked around the mess of stuff I had left lying on the floor. One thing grabbed my attention as probably the main culprit; sure enough, at the next buzz, I noticed the silver case visibly move around on the floor. poo poo, poo poo, poo poo. Immediately I ran over and opened it. What the hell was doing that? Looking into the case, I saw it immediately: the transceiver. Looked like Thane was getting a call. ...I didn't want to answer. I really, really, really didn't want to answer. Not now, not like this. But I didn't exactly have a choice, did I? I didn't want to think about what would happen if I didn't answer the transceiver. With slight hesitation, I accepted the call coming in on the transceiver. There was a brief lull. Then, a familiar voice rang out on the other side.  Hey, Thane! What's up, man? Why'd you take so long to pick up? You mad at me or something?Ah crap. This'd be tricky. I opened my mouth, my first instinct being to respond. However, before it was too late, I caught myself. No. Wait. Not my real voice. The last thing I wanted was to give away my real voice right now. I looked around, desperate. Where the hell did I put that drat helmet?! When I saw it lying haphazardly near the couch, I almost dove to grab it. I couldn't keep him waiting for a response for long. Hastily, I shoved my head in the helmet, and turned on the voice altering doohickey. Then I picked up the transceiver.   Morning.Then, I thought to shore up my position a little bit. ...Yi. S–I almost apologized for taking so long to respond, but I caught myself right at the last moment. It's a beautiful morning out today. Really, something to be admired. You got a chance to go for a walk yet?I thought for a solid three seconds before responding. I couldn't double think every statement, I had to just stand firm. Afraid not. A little early for me. Ah, trying to get your beauty sleep, huh? I feel you, I feel you.Good, good. This was going well so far. After a moment's pause, Yi spoke once more, this time with an edge in his voice.   So, in regards to last night's little situation... I trust you handled things?drat it, this wasn't just a personal call. This was to talk business. Well, this was the likely outcome. Yi didn't strike me as the type to make a lot of personal calls. Realizing I was, once again, taking too long to respond, I spoke. Naturally. Who do you take me for? Hey, hey, I wasn't questioning you or anything. Just, you know... doing due diligence, is all.That response seemed to satisfy him.  So then, did you strike gold?Spoke too soon. Thinking about what that phrase usually tended to mean... If I'd struck gold, I would've contacted you. Ah, yeah, that's true enough. drat. Kinda had a good feeling this time, too.  Well, what can you do? As our good friend Benjamin Franklin is wont to say, 'Diligence is the mother of good luck'. We keep at it, and surely a crack will form soon enough. Indeed.So, that's what he was calling me about, right? Surely our conversation was now done. Anyways, I'm calling you to say that you're needed.Seriously? You're kidding. No rest for the wicked, kid. Meeting at the V-Hall. All Senior Officers required to attend. Which means that the she-bitch will definitely be there, so more fun for us. Yay. What's the meeting about? Thane, you should know Marduk better than me. Has he ever been the type to give a straight answer about his intentions? … What can I say, he called the meeting. I'm sure we'll know when we're there. That it? Unfortunately not, my friend. We also need to finish up that whole Milo situation. Although, seeing as you've been doing a lot of work lately, I can probably give you something of a break between the meeting and that. Thanks. Don't mention it! It's what I'm here for. Anyways, get over to the V-Hall ASAP, okay? Understood. Cool, see you there.And like that he hung up. ...gently caress. Thane, feared Senior Officer of the Duats, the infamous Black Mask of Panthea, had been called over for an important meeting. After that, he had to conduct important Duat business. Seemed like a standard enough day. So what was the problem? It was simple. I'm not Thane. [BGM: Trick Score]  Thane, God bless his soul, was taking a nice nap at the bottom of a dirt pit, courtesy of yours truly. God loving drat it. Why did I have to kill him? Well, I know the answer to that... if I hadn't, I'd be dead within the hour. But because of that rear end in a top hat, I was wrapped up in this nightmare of a situation. What the hell was I supposed to do now?! There weren't any good answers. gently caress, gently caress, gently caress! I punched the wall. …Ow. Okay, let's think about this logically. I was way out of my depth. I had no business being wrapped up in this whole gangster poo poo. If I just went to the police, maybe... ...No, that wouldn't work. If Thane really was a Senior Officer, there was no way the Duats would let his death just simply be. As soon as they found out what I had done, it would be Game Over for me. They'd look into what Thane's last assignment was... and they'd soon realize who was to blame. Once they knew I'd killed a Senior Officer, my life was over. No matter what I did, the Duats would have their vengeance. They were simply too big a force to deal with through any normal means. Even if I fled Panthea, got police protection, went into complete hiding... there was no way I could guarantee my safety. Not to mention, I'd be completely abandoning my life here in Panthea. Giving up everything I had worked for. So that was it, right? Curtains for me. Finito, end of story. Because I had killed Thane, I was in a pit, and I couldn't get out of it. ...So, let's take that statement from the inverse position. So long as I hadn't killed Thane, I wasn't in a pit. So long as Thane was 'alive', so was I. Well, how exactly was I supposed to make a dead man look alive? I mean... It was almost too convenient that the person I had killed was conveniently known for wearing a mask with a voice filter. For being an enigma of a person, with an unknown background, history, or place where they lived. Surely I shouldn't... It's like the Fates had set up this path for me, and were giving me a side eye. Like, 'hey, you want an out? Here you go!' ...I didn't like it. It was so convenient it almost felt forced. It felt... dangerous.  Like I said, people knew nothing about Thane. ...Nor did I. Who was he? What connections did he have? How did he fit in with the Duats? What were his priorities, who knew his secrets, how would he behave? I had some hints – maybe – from our encounter, but that sure as poo poo wouldn't be enough. … But what other option did I have? Like I said, if Thane was dead, I was screwed. …Ah, gently caress. loving gently caress gently caress gently caress gently caress. Okay. I didn't know what to expect from this meeting. I was entirely exhausted from today's outing. The odds that I would be found out within minutes were quite high, and if that happened, I'd just be shot in the head or something. But... what the hell? If the fates give you an out like this, you're stupid not to take it. This wasn't exactly a long-term solution. It's not like I could just live as Thane for the end of time. However, I was out of other options. Maybe, just maybe, this charade would give me some sort of out. So then. There wasn't anything to worry about. I hadn't killed Thane. I was Thane. That was the simple truth. I was Thane. The Shadow of Panthea. To the V-Hall, I go. … [BGM: Silence]  Woah! How about that poo poo, huh? We got ourselves a bonafide actor up in here! I got to say, there are a lot of ways to approach this sort of sticky situation, but the “identity theft” angle certainly takes some guts. And this freak thinks that it's the safe option? Uh, can you say skewed priorities much? I mean power to them, but still. Anyways. You've already seen Thane in action, haven't you? That must've made this little tableau quite fascinating. For you to think you were watching this horrifying figure, only for said figure to be already dead! What a swerve! Well... you can't really guarantee that. After all, you can never really know who stands behind the mask. And people can change so drastically. I'd say anything's on the table, if you ask me. And, on that note, I think we should take advantage of that confusion. I think it's time for a b-b-b-bet! That's right, time for some more gambling! So then, what to bet on... Oh! I know. Our troubled main character has decided to assume Thane's identity. A risky prospect... one that could easily go to poo poo. So, I ask you: do you think that they'll really be able to keep it up? In more concrete terms, do you think somebody will discover the real identity of this “Thane” within the next 3 scenes of this stack? Yes. Aw, you don't believe in Thaney-poo? How rude. ...But, smart, probably. Okay then, bet made. How many chips are you putting up for this?Once again, a collective agreement here; therefore, we'll be betting half our chips, which adds up to 5 chips total when rounding down. Alrighty then, we have a bet! So now, let us enjoy the trials and tribulations of our newest, bestest Thane with all our hearts! Next update, we start the final stack, and are introduced to Devon... Mix. fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Jul 31, 2023 |
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Jul 29, 2023 01:23
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Really wasn’t expecting to see Thane as a viewpoint. Also kind of funny how it likes ambiguously saying ‘work’ for the first couple of paragraphs, but we know what that work involves. Then there was more evidence that Thane is kind of an idiot. (Burying bodies with arms sticking out, strolling around town in their murder suit) Then it turns out that it isn’t the actual Thane. Which makes the earlier thoughts about playing a ‘role’ make more sense. We got confirmation that Thane (and thus the ship) are tangled up with the Duats. He’s a senior officer. We also got confirmation that Yi is involved with the Duat’s wetwork, contrary to what he said but surprising exactly nobody. And seems he’s more senior than Thane. Sounds like Marduk might be the big boss of the Duats possibly. This viewpoint character impersonating Thane has to be familiar with the Duats, since they recognise Yi purely by the sound of his voice. A question is, is the Thane on the boat the real Thane or the impersonator Thane. I’m thinking boat Thane is real, because a) torture seems a bit much for a viewpoint character, b) impersonator Thane seems a lot less talkative than boat Thane. I’d also say that’s confirmation that there’s a significant time differential between different perspectives. Thane cannot simultaneously be out in the forest on a murder errand, whilst also be doing torture work on a boat when both of them take up a long time. (Whereas I do think it would’ve been possible for Kane to turn up in Vels’, Lock’s and Laverna’s perspectives all in one day). Also betting that someone does uncover impersonator Thane. It can’t be the Duats as a whole as then this character would just die. But maybe a third party or a character within the Duats who has an agenda of their own (there’s already signs of some internal conflict within the Duats). That’s a way to ratchet up the tension because then there’s another character that could expose them at another time.
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Jul 29, 2023 07:55
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Marduk was a Mesopotamian deity, the patron one of Babylon, even.
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Jul 29, 2023 08:02
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Definitely getting exposed. Already had a murdersuit near miss, can’t imagine they’ll be much sharper going forward.
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Jul 29, 2023 12:14
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I'm choosing to believe that every time Thane takes an assassination request, they are killed on that mission and the target takes up their mantle. There is no real Thane. Hasn't been for a long time. No one knows, but their targets keep disappearing so the Duats figures it's working out.
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Jul 29, 2023 13:45
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This guy gets made within the next three scenes.
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Jul 29, 2023 22:37
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TheDavies posted:This guy gets made within the next three scenes.
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Jul 30, 2023 01:04
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Yes. Aw, you don't believe in Thaney-poo? How rude. ...But, smart, probably. Okay then, bet made. How many chips are you putting up for this? Once again, a collective agreement here; therefore, we'll be betting half our chips, which adds up to 5 chips total when rounding down. Alrighty then, we have a bet! So now, let us enjoy the trials and tribulations of our newest, bestest Thane with all our hearts!Next update, we start the final stack, and are introduced to Devon...
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Jul 31, 2023 00:27
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Seems like we have our first big question on a timeline here: is the Thane on the boat the real Thane or the imposter? Presumably the real one, but who knows what the fake ends up going through.
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Jul 31, 2023 14:48
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The torture monologue seems a bit too much for fake Thane, unless Thane's story takes place a long time before the boat. I can see fake Thane dropping everything to chase the new intruder though.
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Aug 1, 2023 10:19
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It would be funny if we found out it was fake Thane, and those two people were actually members of the Duats that they were trying to get info out of before offing them. People can do some desperate things if they think they need to in order to survive. It would also explain why this dangerous assassin couldn't catch and kill a random stowaway of seemingly no appreciable skill.
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Aug 1, 2023 14:19
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The twist is that both Thanes were fake Thanes. The actual Thane died years ago and has since then been replaced by a long string of increasingly less competent idiots who manage to bumble their way into killing the previous Thane. The Duat noticed like five seconds in, but don't care, as it makes things harder to track by the police.
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Aug 1, 2023 16:11
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