Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

[LP CYOA] Epic

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
B "Empress had Cyber Jack kill Kyrie, Hoshikawa is a scapegoat".

But if "Qin loves Senya" option is winning, I'll flop to which ever has second most votes.
Not sure that would work. It doesn't provide a reason for Kyrie's murder and I rather wonder if she doesn't know "cyber jack". Remember, the manager suggested we go to this restaurant. The manager left just before the robot fell. Qin called the manager just before trying to kill us.

While the manager was talking to us, Qin was already sad to the point of tears. Why? Because she knew that in a few moments she'd be meeting Kyrie's killer face to face.

This whole situation, is a setup for her to kill us. D here - not that I'm advocating it - would probably let us know that she was contacted by someone who told her about us and gave her a plan to lure us to our death - Shulgi, the Empress, our mother, take your pick. The manager either knows cyber jack or is cyber jack or is a fake cyber jack. The other option is that she's been hacked by cyber jack, but that wouldn't explain Qin's lack of fear concerning cyber jack.


edit:
Her manager doesn't want police presence, which would create rumours, and calls have been made all the way up to the higher ups in the Federation to pull strings for a bodyguard from this department.
The plan was to lure US. They knew all the other investigators would be busy with the cyber jack case. Whoever or whatever the manager really is, she's as fanatical as Qin if she's willing to stab someone and cause 3 people to kill themselves.
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
The suggestion should include something that will make Qin help us with the case. That's why I included Cyber Jack. I also left out the "for political gain" because she can figure that out herself. If she believes the empress killed her own daughter, I'm sure she will come up with a few reason why she would have done so. Didn't treave confirm this?

While the manager was talking to us, Qin was already sad to the point of tears. Why? Because she knew that in a few moments she'd be meeting Kyrie's killer face to face.

I thought that was because she heard us saying to her manager that we don't know who she is. She being an actress put a show for us that she is "hurt" by the fact.

But you are right about the manager. He/she might have connections to Cyber Jack or might be him/her. That's why we need Qin's help. But we need her to be smart about it, and not go stabbing every girl Senya talks to.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Didn't treave confirm this?
Pretty sure treave said we needed a why to be in there for something like that.

treave said:
The first part is alright, second part doesn't work as well because it's certainly possible for Kyrie to love Senya and for him to be the culprit in her murder.

Azira's 'Empress killed Kyrie for political gain' is probably the benchmark to be aiming for here if you want to establish the 'why' for innocence. Other than that, you could have a 'Senya loved Kyrie', which somewhat weakens her belief that you are the murderer.
That was in response to 'I love Senya because Kyrie loved Senya. Empress framed Senya.'

edit: Anyway, my point was that she might know cyber jack and therefor be unwilling to believe cyber jack did anything. We don't know her relation to cyber jack at all, so including him might screw things up.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Guys, what's the reasoning for making Qin love Senya? So far we've heard two:

(1) This gives us the best chance of making Qin stop attacking Senya in the immediate situation.
(2) This will make Qin help us out in the future.

So, let's actually think about this:

(1) Yes, but other options are just about equally likely - e.g. merely that Kyrie loved Senya and Empress framed him for power.
(2) Qin is not a central player in what follows - she is only a central player right now. Unlike Naim, she doesn't have resources and info we can draw upon, and she doesn't seem to be in league with Cyber Jack. So it really is "Hey she might be helpful for something somewhere down the line".

Meanwhile, the disadvantages of putting in the love clause is clear:

(1) More insanity points for manipulating someone that strongly - make no mistake, making someone love you this way is pretty bad on that scale.
(2) Risk that she will become super clingy, obsessive, etc., and get in our way for future endeavours.

So yeah, I have no idea what the voting distribution is at the moment, but I think we should go for some variant of Empress framed & Kyrie loved, and not Qin loves Senya.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Good job breaking it down. My vote is Senya loved her, she him. Empress framed him for power.
But I'm the only one voting that. :(
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Implanting a why for love makes things a lot less confusing for the girl, but a why for the Empress's motives for killing can be easily discerned without a suggestion by just pointing out who is now President of the world. Having a why for the motive as part of the suggestion will heavily reinforce that belief and ensure she probably thinks that to her grave.

It doesn't establish Senya's innocence, of course.

Merely mentioning that the Empress framed Senya doesn't establish her as the culprit either, just that she saw an opportunity and used it. Of course, that may be sufficient... because that could be the truth.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
*sob* "Kyrie, died in my arms and I don't even know who really shot her. I promised I would come back for her, but all I could do was sneak into her funeral on the last day and hold her hand. I couldn't even be there when she was buried. Yua, more tears!"

edit: treave an alternative is: I love Senya. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power.


It establishes our innocence - Doesn't have a motive for the love, but we don't need her to be absolutely devoted to us. We can just use her desire to avenge Kyrie upon the Empress to manipulate her.

or for those who don't want Qin to love us:
Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power.
edit: ^If treave approves this second one, it's my vote. Having her love us makes things too complicated.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Yep. I go with the Lambchopian option: Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Qin loving us adds too many variables because:

1. She's batshit crazy.
2. The thing everyone is forgetting about is These--I mean Naim. If we steal the girl he's into again, he'll probably want to kill us AGAIN. Right now we can somewhat use him because he's given up on Kyrie loving him, but if we double the amount of Theseus-esque drama, he'll double the amount of bullets he puts into us.

She already loves Kyrie and we can use our mutual love for Kyrie to make her sympathetic to win her to our cause. If we can win her as an ally of sorts without the love thing I'm for it. Though had we chosen the "kick him in the balls" option earlier I'd totally vote to bag her if only for the machoness of it all.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Well, the votes are a fricking mess. The only actual bloc I can make out is Azira's, which appears to have the majority with 6 votes. I'll leave this open for another 3 hours or so, then I'm going with that one, if there are no further changes. Make sure to edit your original post if you flop and be clear about the exact wording you are flopping to.
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,518
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
Lamchops last iteration is actually quite good. Considering flopping to that. It doesn't force Qin to love Senya, but tries to assure his innocence while providing the "why" of Kyrie's death.
It would've been more elegant if it was in a single sentence, but maybe it's the best we can do?
 

Zwist

Learned
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
236
We should have made Naim and her fall in love....
Bam! problem solved.

Lambchops last variant is nice. I'll vote for that.

B. Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Azira - B "Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power."

Rex Feral - B "Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power."

Lambchop19 - B "Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power."

Tigranes - B "Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power."

Zwist - B "Senya loved Kyrie. He's innocent. Empress killed Kyrie for power."

---

Storyfag - B "Empress killed Kyrie for political gain, Hoshikawa is a scapegoat"

m4davis - B "Empress killed Kyrie for political gain, Hoshikawa is a scapegoat"

Stygian Lurker - B "Empress killed Kyrie for political gain, Hoshikawa is a scapegoat"

ScubaV - B "Empress killed Kyrie for political gain, Hoshikawa is a scapegoat"

---

Kayerts - B "Senya's the hero Kyrie loved. Julia killed Kyrie. Senya = scapegoat."

---

TOME - B"Empress had Cyber Jack kill Kyrie, Hoshikawa is a scapegoat".

---

Kipeci - B LOVE

root - B LOVE

Smashing Axe - B LOVE

---

Esquilax - ???

aleam iacis - ???

***

Right, uh, let's see... root and Kipeci flopped to a Lambchop19 option, but that was one that would have made Qin love Senya. I'm keeping the Love votes as a block. Esquilax doesn't appear to have made a proper vote but judging from the brofists, he agress with the NO LOVE faction. aleam iacis has not voted either, but has spoken in favour of the NO LOVE faction too. TOME's contingency option only kicks in if the LOVE faction is winning, so his vote still stands alone.

So, if taking the votes as they stand right now, the latest Lambchop19 option should win.

Let's have it that way, then?

Now, regarding the choice in question... you're convincing her that Senya loves Kyrie, not the other way around. If/when you manage to get Kyrie back, expect a barrage of empty mails with titles along the lines of:

"How are you getting along with her?"
"Have you kissed yet?"
"Have you held hands? Why aren't you holding hands in public?"
"I'm watching you two."
"You love her right?"
"You still love her, right?"
"You said you love her"
"you still do right?"
"if you make her cry"
"won't forgive"
"you"
"saw another girl coming out of your apartment."
"Who was"
"She"
"TRAITOR"
"TRAITORTRAITORTRAITORTRAITOTRAITORTRAITOR"

"i'msorry"

Well, all jokes aside, all I'm saying is that you are leaving her alive, and with a certain conception of how things are. This means that if you don't reinforce the suggestion and actually back it up by acting like you care for Kyrie, she might be prone to some more nutjob behaviour, or the suggestion itself might even become twisted with misconceptions of her own making.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Case of the Cursed Songstress, Act VI


I pin both of her arms over her head with one hand. With my free hand, I cup the smooth nape of her neck gently, lifting her head closer to mine. She stops struggling and freezes up like a deer in headlights. I quickly let my tendrils get to work. I can feel them pushing through my skin of my fingers before dividing into microscopic extensions that worm their way into Qin's neck. It is an odd feeling, having parts of myself tunnel into her so gently.

I need to access the cortex and the hypothalamus by just the sense of touch. It would be much easier if I turned her over so that she was face down, but I don't have the luxury of time. I need this to be done in 5 seconds before she begins to struggle again.

“What are you doing?” she whispers. I stare into her eyes while I try to work out the intricacies of rewiring her neuronal connections manually. If I had time I would be able to accomplish it with pure neural manipulation, but as things stand, it would be much easier to use external stimuli.

“I loved her,” I say.

“Liar.”

“I didn't kill her.”

“So you say.”

“The Empress did it, for power.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“No, I expect you to know that, if you loved her as I did. Just think, Qin. Think about the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

It is done. Her synapses had fired in response to hearing my words, and in that instant I had made it the truth for her. I lay her head onto the pillows gently and let her arms go. She looks at me blankly for a second.

“I must admit,” she begins grudgingly, “You have a point. The president's rise to power was too swift, as if everything was planned out.”

“I don't know if everything was planned out. All I know is that I didn't do it.”

She peers at me suspiciously. “You ran. You could have exposed the president's scheme by speaking out. Instead, you're hiding out, pretending to be a government agent.”

“I have my reasons.” I'm not sure it is the right time to reveal what Naim told me yet. I need to be particularly careful with who I speak to about Kyrie from now on.

“Tell me your reasons for abandoning her.” she says coldly.

I just laugh. “I didn't, and you are already in enough trouble with this Cyber Jack business. There are things you are better off not knowing.”

“Do you regret knowing what you do now?”

“Well, no.” I say. “It has been... harsh, but I am where I am now because I still don't know enough. Would I have been happier not being a part of all this and staying ignorant? No, I don't think so.” I put on my best wistful smile, and give it my best shot. “I managed to make countless precious memories with Kyrie. That alone makes all the trouble worth it. You understand that feeling, don't you?”

The look in her eyes softens, turning misty with tears. “I... I do. You really did love her, just as I thought.” Qin sighs.

“I'm sorry that I doubted you,” she says. “I think I always knew it wasn't you, but I just didn't know what to do. I accepted the official explanation blindly because I wanted someone, anyone, to blame. I'm really sorry. I almost did something terrible.” She begins apologizing, over and over. It looks like she's finally convinced now. Time to really get into her good graces.

“Qin,” I say. “I can't tell you everything right now; perhaps we can do that after you are no longer in danger from Cyber Jack. Would you like to hear some stories about Kyrie instead?”

She nods, smiling. “I would love to.”

***

Qin is asleep on the bed, having finally dozed off to my bedtime stories of my adventures with her beloved princess. I cover her with the blanket and stand up, heading out into the living room. Yua is keeping me awake by manipulating my endorphin levels; I still have work to do. There's a few hours till dawn breaks.

First, I check in with Emiri – she is due to report on the status of the cult here in Higashi.

“I'm sorry to call you at this hour, but I've been busy.”

“Don't worry about it, I'm used to pulling all-nighters!” she chirps cheerfully. “Besides, I have some very important stuff to tell you. I was gonna find you if you didn't call me. It's that big.”

“Perfect. What is it?”

“I think the Messenger is in one of our old temples in Hokkaido.”

“The... Messenger?”

“Yes. The one that grants the Third Hierarchs their powers, through the blessing of its flesh. It's a Messenger from God. One of the old-timers told me that it's enshrined in Hokkaido.”

“Old-timers... wait, how many people have you been talking to?”

“Lots! There's a lot of people unsatisfied with how the Great Mother has been handling things, y'know. I mean, no offense but it's like she threw us away and ran off to save her own skin. I think people are ready to gather under your banner, my Master.”

“My... wait, what banner? How many people are there exactly?”

“Um, about three hundred? We don't have anyone in the higher ranks, but there's only about a few dozen of them left around here anyway and they're really loyal to the Great Mother, so we don't approach them.”

Three hundred cultists now listen to me?

“And they're answering to you?”

“Of course!” she beams. Then, she adds, a bit bashfully, “I am your personal handmaiden after all. They treated me really well once they found out that I met you. Oh, but don't worry, we're being very discreet about all this!”

I didn't recall making any such appointment. “By the way, you weren't anywhere near this cheerful when I first spoke to you, Emiri. Has something good happened?”

“Well, I'm always happy to hear from you, and we met in... other circumstances. I mean, I was really scared back then. But you're just so gentle and nice, and not that much older, and cool, and... um... kinda cute – oh, sorry!” I can almost hear her blushing. “Eheh, I get too carried away sometimes. I'm sorry, my Master. I have been rude, haven't I?”

“No, that is fine. You have done well, but next time try to keep yourself under control, especially with other cultists.” I say, my tone serious. She's fourteen, and I can expect some flightiness, but if she does not maintain discretion I could lose her and any chance of infiltrating the cult at the same time - well, if what she says is true, I could probably wrest control of the remnants of the cult on Earth whenever I wish, but that's besides the point. “This is no laughing matter. You know how dangerous things can become.”

“I understand,” she says softly. “I'll be more careful in the future. But, my Master, I am sure you can trust all of us!”

“Perhaps,” I mutter. “Perhaps not. I will decide. In the meantime, I want you to tell them this. These are my words, and I expect them to be conveyed faithfully.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Stay safe. I don't want anyone getting into any danger, or anyone dying recklessly. Your lives are more important to me than anything in the whole world.”

“Yes, my Master!” She sounds absolutely delighted. To be honest, she reminds me of old Yua.

“I told you, we are different entities altogether!” protests the new Yua, reading my mind.

“I don't need to be called Master. You can call me by name,” I say. “Emiri, I will want a list of names of those three hundred.”

Before I hang up, I ask Emiri to have the cultists focus on...

***

A. Looking for Kyrie. I'm not sure where to start, but if she happens to be somewhere in the vicinity of Higashi, the cultists might be able to give me some leads. This shouldn't be a risky request – I will just give a physical description and gather all the information I can get from them for Yua to sift through.

B. Getting news about the Hokkaido temple that enshrines the Messenger. If my guess is correct, from that weird game Shulgi gave me, I have a good idea what this 'Messenger' really is. I have a nagging feeling that the main branch of the cult will not leave the Messenger here, barely guarded, for long. It would definitely attract more attention from the remaining higher-ups, though.

C. Doing nothing overt and quietly consolidating their presence. I mean it when I say I don't want anyone getting into danger for my own goals.

***

Next, I turn my focus back to the Cyber Jack case. His motives are unclear, but I have one major lead; Qin's manager. She was the one who recommended the Yamaten to Naim. The work that had gone into staging that event would need preparation; they had known beforehand that Qin would be there.

“Here's the information about Nancy Muir.”

I look through the profile obtained from the government database. That's the good thing about working through official channels – I get to tap into information I should have access to with little hassle. I don't need to go to all the trouble of hiding my tracks for once. There seems to be nothing that stands out to me; no reason why she would be involved in the case. Perhaps I'm approaching this from the wrong way? I lean my head back against the cushions and think.

There's that matter of the ten thousand suicides that was Cyber Jack's opening salvo.

If they are indeed committed by the same culprit, and I'm pretty sure by now they are, judging from the modus operandi, there could be a link there.

“Yua, cross-reference the name list of the victims with Nancy Muir.”

“I'm on it.”

It takes a few minutes before Yua returns to me with a match.

“Jonathan Logell, moderator of some of the most popular virtual worlds in the 7ch community and a mid-level employee of the Muramasa Foundation. He has been engaged to Nancy Muir for six months. His current status is now deceased. The cause of death would be a violent impact after jumping off the 16th floor of his apartment building. The coroner found no foul play. Digital investigations show that there was no apparent tampering with his cognitive augments. Age at death is 26.”

“Now we have a connection, but the motive is yet unclear.” I should have paid more attention to the suicide case from the start. “Yua, I believe that there were suicide letters from the victims, posted on 7ch shortly before they leapt. Show me.”

“Roger that.”

I read through the evidence and the case-files of the ongoing investigation. After I finish my perusal, I get up and begin pacing about. Jonathan's suicide message was no different from the others. If there was one underlying thread between all the letters, it was that they were rants about the rotten state of the world, the futility of life, and a message of thanks to the internet for having brought them all together. That, in itself, is probably not exceedingly strange or noteworthy – they were all members of the same net community and it wouldn't be a surprise for them to share the same outlook on life. Plenty of nihilist fan communities put out similar manifestos every once in a while, and things have only gotten worse since the war started. The investigators have made a note of this, and are actively pursuing this particular line of inquiry.

What struck my attention, however, is how they signed off, on each of their posts.

“'Til we meet again.” I mutter.

On first glance it seems innocuous enough, but there isn't anything in their rants to indicate a belief in an afterlife. There is something else at work here; and from the demonstration of mass suicide, I am starting to think that a cult of some sorts may be involved. It might not be the Apostles – this doesn't seem like their doing, as they have never shown much digital savvy. It might be some a new organization. In any case, I will not be able to uncover anything else without approaching Nancy directly.

***

A. I will alert the department and have Nancy invited to the office tomorrow using official channels. I know that they have experienced interrogators there who should be able to ferret out useful information; there is no doubt she is involved with Cyber Jack by now.

B. I gather the evidence and confront Nancy in private, without letting the department know. Perhaps we can come to a deal... it is not like I have anything against Cyber Jack personally. As long as our interests don't clash, we might be able to work something out to our mutual benefit.

C. I do not do anything yet. I will maintain the status quo and dangle Qin out as bait so that they will make a move again, allowing me to glean even more information before taking action.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
This is a tough one. My first inclination is BA. For 1, I'm hoping Naim being on our side...sort of...will keep Kyrie safe. For 2, Cyber Jack was trying to help Qin kill us - at least, I think he was. Also, I don't think Jack ever wanted to kill her. He had ample opportunity and didn't. Plus, I don't think "Til we meet again." is a reference to the afterlife. I think it's just like Jack's original vague message to Qin - a message to us, designed to lure us in.

I need to think about this one.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
The frame crashing happened before Qin recognized you, and the kitchen robot was escaping for some reason that you are unaware of.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
B - I want to be a Gieloth

C - I could go three ways here. That said, it'd be nice to have some more information before we make any rash decisions. I just hope it won't be too late. My only other concern with C is Yua getting hacked and Jack consequently fucking around with our body's systems

Edit: Confused Qin with Yua for some reason.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Unless you subscribe to the theory this is all an elaborate plot to get you and the hacker already has his eyes on you at all times (or else how would he know how to lure you out?)
Yes. That one.

edit: too slow!
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Isn't that what you said before Naim shot us in the eye?
edit: but it is paranoid. I not 100% on this theory, but it's all so very odd, I'm just not sure what else makes sense.

I think Cyber Jack does want Qin to spread his message to the world though. That's based off meta knowledge of the whole Senya declaring his love in song though.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom