week 4 ( tuesday )

[subordinacy]

[Is Max sick of him yet.]

First: could I make a formal request for an audience with the Composer?

Comments

[concertmaster]

Apparently. [he's a tad judgmental there] There's not much else you could've done to convince them.

[except maybe tell akira not to add the second note]

[subordinacy]

... If it comes down to it, there's always revealing myself...

[Though he'd rather not do that unless he has to.]

The third thing I wanted to ask you: the kit and the knives from before. Are those related to the Players with advantages, since I assume those to be distinct from Reapers?

[Now that he knows Jacopo and co. don't belong in that category.]

[concertmaster]

Are you popular enough it'd change their mind?

[he's just. saying.]

Nope. It's unrelated to those guys.

[subordinacy]

No. [He really doubts he is.] But it'd be a show of good will, if nothing else.

... Then why did we get those things?

[concertmaster]

Wow. It's not a Player advantage and you know it isn't from the Reapers. I wonder who that leaves.

[subordinacy]

... Is there a reason they decided to...? Anyway, are the Players with advantages still active?

[concertmaster]

[he shrugs]

Yeah. Why wouldn't they be?

[subordinacy]

... Have their advantages had any obvious impact on the Game, or is this more of a behind-the-scenes kind of thing?

[concertmaster]

...Both, I guess?

[subordinacy]

[Damn it, he's going to be wondering about this forever.]

How important would you say they are to getting the outcome I want?

[concertmaster]

Their advantages wouldn't help you out there, if that's what you're asking.

[subordinacy]

So in that regard, their actions don't have the same direct level of impact as, say, the Reapers'.

[concertmaster]

They don't have a specific win condition, so I guess not.

[subordinacy]

... Your "I guess not" suggests it's more ambiguous than that, but I suppose that technically any Player, advantage or not, can screw everything up.

You can't give any other hint as to what their advantages are, I assume.

[concertmaster]

Bingo.

I can't, but you should be able to figure out at least one if you think hard enough.

[helping!!!]

[subordinacy]

... All right.

[...]

Max. If the second group of Reapers wipes out the first, thus fulfilling their win condition, does the Game automatically end? There's nothing the Players can do about it?

[concertmaster]

... No, there isn't.

[subordinacy]

... I figured. That just supports the idea that that isn't our ideal ending all the more, huh...?

No point in a Game where the main pieces aren't the ones to decide their fate.

[concertmaster]

Pretty much.

[hm]

Did you think about it? Why the Games exist at all.

[subordinacy]

Are you able to confirm anything now or is this still for probing at my thoughts?

[concertmaster]

We'll see.

[#ominous]

[subordinacy]

... But the Players are the central piece in most Games, or...?

[concertmaster]

You're right on that count. Reapers... are just a cog in the machine. They've already played this shit.

[subordinacy]

Are you allowed to give me examples of how other Games have gone? You did say our setup was unusual.

[concertmaster]

........

[ugh]

I can, but it has to be my own, which is a whole fucking thing. [he doesn't look like he wants to go over that much.] Alright. Bare bones of that shit: it lasted a week, the other Players involved were from the same camp as me, I knew the area we were in, and most of the Reapers were just sending out traps or Noise after us.