Chapter Text
LIMBIC SYSTEM
- Do you feel that? Do you feel your flesh be torn asunder, your nerves screaming against a thousand rays of all consuming light? Doesn’t it hurt?
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - There, there, baby… It’s all over now… You don’t have to do-
LIMBIC SYSTEM - Wait. Something isn’t right… Even more so than usual.
LIMBIC SYSTEM - You’re not supposed to be here.
YOU - Where… is here?
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Here? Here is the primordial ooze. We’re in the space between worlds now… Nothing, upon nothing. You don’t have to do anything any more.
YOU - But… There was something I had to be doing. I had someone I needed to help.
LIMBIC SYSTEM - Shhh… It doesn’t matter any more. Nothing does. Whatever was… It’s barely an echo of a whisper within an infinitely silent, desecrated building. Less than silent, it is the sound of… nothingness.
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - But you don’t have to worry about that any more, do you? You don’t have to worry about anything.
YOU - But I like worrying about things. It’s important that I do.
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Is it? Is it really?
LIMBIC SYSTEM - Do you want to go back to it? To all the billions of little apes, fighting each other pointlessly? Waiting infinitely for the tiniest centimeters of progress?
YOU - It’s not pointless.
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - No, of course not. Just so slow it appears so.
LIMBIC SYSTEM - Crawling and crawling and crawling… So incrementally slowly as to seem inert… Is there truly even a difference between there and here?
YOU - Well, there’s at least one: I would like to be there, and I do not want to be here.
LIMBIC SYSTEM - That’s too bad.. It’s much nicer here than out there.. The other one certainly seemed to think so…
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - The sweet caress of unconsciousness strokes against you. But just outside of it, at the very edges of it… A sensation.
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Painfully, it pushes through the comfortable nothingness, and it is everywhere. Your liver, your lungs, and most of all…
ENCYCLOPEDIA - Your mind.
SUGGESTION - Your heart.
PAIN THRESHOLD - All of the above. Maybe more? Dear god, who the fuck thought this was a good idea?
PERCEPTION - Wait. There’s more. Just beyond the ache, there’s…. Sound?
HALF LIGHT - Quick, it’s probably an ambush. We need to get back to ourselves before they get the chance to do anything.
REACTION SPEED (Impossible: Failure) - Huh? What?
VOLITION (Challenging: Success) - Everyone, stop. You’re only making this worse for him. Whatever happens, he needs to be able to concentrate.
VOLITION - Focus on opening your eyes. Whatever is going on, you won’t be able to do anything if you don’t even know the situation.
PERCEPTION - I second that opinion.
YOU - Just barely, you’re able to pull your fracturing mind together long enough to begin to open your eyes, shielded from the light pouring in by a thin, short figure. However, it quickly becomes apparent that this figure plans on evening out the amount of stimulation that you’re experiencing, using his incessant, and quite frankly irritating, voice.
ANNOYING VOICE - “Hellloooo? Kim? Kim!? Kim Kitsuragi, Kimball, lieutenant of the fifty-seve-”
YOU - “Yes, yes, I’m awake. And you are..”
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Have you really forgotten everything again so soon? This man is your half-brother, someone you would lay down your life for. Someone you are certain would do the same.
YOU - “My what?”
ENCYCLOPEDIA - He’s referring to Lieutenant Kitsuragi, the man you met a little under three days ago.
YOU - “No, that’s not right.”
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Exactly, on every level except chronological, you have known this man for several lifetimes. You had a kinship with him before you’d even met.
NOT LIEUTENANT KITSURAGI - “What do you- Oh, wait, are you talking to my voices!?”
EMPATHY - The thought seems to excite him. But what does he mean by ‘his voices?’
ESPRIT DE CORPS - That’s a rather rude title to refer to your colleague. Lower than you in rank or not, he’s still a seasoned detective worth his salt.
LOGIC (Medium: Success) - He probably just misspoke. You were just passed out for an unknown period of time, it’s understandable that he would get excited at you finally responding to stimuli.
YOU - “Khm.. So these voices are yours?”
LOGIC - No, idiot, we’re your voices, we are literally sharing a head right now.
ENCYCLOPEDIA (Formidable: Success) - Memories flash in your mind. Church, noise, nothing crashing down on your and your partner. He had shouted for one of the young people to turn it off, but, given your state, it’s safe to assume they’d failed to do it in time.
VISUAL CALCULUS (Legendary: Failure) - Wait, “nothing” crashing down? And you and Kim acting weird… Maybe something in the church gave you a concussion? You should check, just in case.
NOT LIEUTENANT KITSURAGI - “Hah, yeah. I know they can be a lot, but they’re really useful! I don’t know what I’d be without them, to be honest. Probably….”
NOT LIEUTENANT KITSURAGI - “I.. Actually can’t think of anything. Usually Con or Innie would pitch in with something here, but.. Well, they aren’t in this head! It’s weird having it be so empty.” He says, incongruous with his usual pattern of speech. His active movements of his hands is another odd behavior, something he actively tries to avoid in most circumstances, especially in highly emotional ones. And yet, there they are, swinging around without care for scrutiny.
EMPATHY (Medium: Failure) - Ahw, he’s warming up to us.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - We should ask him to bone.
SUGGESTION - No, not yet. We’ll have a higher chance of success if we wait a little bit.
COMPOSURE (Formidable: Success) - You feel your face heat up at your own perverted thoughts, but luckily your blush isn’t very distinctive from the regular lividity provided by frequent alcohol consumption, leaving Kim none the wiser about your feelings towards him.
YOU - “Hah, well, at least I can finally understand some of your odd mannerisms throughout the case..” You think your words over for a moment before continuing on your bizarre conversation, “That is, if you are actually-”
NOT LIEUTENANT KITSURAGI - The lieutenant interrupts before you can finish your sentence, “That’s right! I am Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau!”
COMPOSURE (Easy: Success) - You do your best to level an unamused eyebrow at the man. The motion is severely impaired by your difficulty forming facial expressions, but it’s obvious he understands the message, cushioned however it might be by your clear fondness of him.
DRAMA - My liege! Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau is our thing, and he dares to try and take it!?
YOU - “No, it’s still your thing. Somehow I don’t think Harry using his own fake name is challenging whatever hold you have on it.”
LOGIC (Trivial: Failure) - What.
YOU - “Ah, right-” You clear your throat, clearly trying to maintain some form of dignity even while you blather to the voices in what might not be your head, “It’s me, Kim. It seems like whatever happened with the two millimeter hole switched our bodies.”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Waow.. Kim is inside us right now.
COMPOSURE (Impossible Failure) - Oh, oh, god, no..
YOU - “There, there.. I know it’s hard being separated from him, but there’s no need to panic. We will continue with the investigation as normal.” Despite your words, your hands are shaking. It’s clear the facade of calmness is for yourself as much as the voices in Harry’s head, as much as Harry himself. You are thankful that they can’t seem to read your mind and find that out, but they might still be able to piece it together just by reading your behavior if you aren’t careful.
VOLITION (Impossible: Failure) - Chat, I think we have to pack it up forever.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Yeah, you’re right. I’m surprised you have to comfort them about this though, I thought they’d be pretty happy to switch to a more sane brain.” He taps against the side of his (your?) head for emphasis.
YOU - “They seem more attached than they let on, then. Are they always so prone to catastrophizing?”
HARRY DU BOIS - “I guess so? At least when it comes to..” He trails off, face giving away his uncertainty at a continuation.
RHETORIC (Medium: Failure) - Catastrophizing? We aren’t catastrophizing!
ENCYCLOPEDIA (Trivial: Success) - In the past few days alone, you have seen us throw up, twice, follow a nothing lead on nonexistent insects, nearly make the roof of an entire church fall on both your and our heads, and now…
SUGGESTION - Now is the part where you leave us.
PAIN THRESHOLD - Hey, asshole, this might have hurt less if you all didn’t take the time to spell our every mistake out like that.
- 1 Health
- 1 Morale
VOLITION (Heroic: Success) - Guys, stop it. You’re right, Kim has seen all of that, but he has stuck around each time. I don’t think this will be any different. We just.. Need to calm down.
COMPOSURE - Right, yes… Sorry.
VOLITION - Stop being apologetic for a second.
DRAMA - But it’s our copot-
RHETORIC (Formidable: Success) - Stop. He has a point. Besides, even if he did want to leave, he’s physically stuck in the same body as us, making it nearly impossible for him to do so.
YOU - You let out a quiet hiss in response to pain caused by what can, for now, be described as your thoughts. You take a quick, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pause to gather your bearings before you begin to speak.
YOU - “You’re right, or.. He is? Either way, I’m not leaving. Both because we are sharing a body and because it is still advantageous to the case to work together.” And because you don’t want to leave, but that part goes unsaid, as it usually does.
HARRY DU BOIS - He gives you a big, dopey grin at that, “That’s really sweet, Kim.” It’s a strange look on your face, but at least he’s yet to contort it into the usual, pained expression he wears.
EMPATHY (Trivial: Success) - He doesn’t even try to hide how happy he is to hear you say that, even if you technically weren’t talking to him.. But then, can we blame him?
YOU - You can feel a shift in your thoughts, as they calm down. Some kind of separation anxiety, maybe? Whatever it was, it’s mostly gone, and for that you are thankful. Though, your heart’s yet to get the message, still pumping far quicker than it should be.
+1 Morale
SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - “Hey! Are you alright there!?” A concerned, accented voice breaks through the air. Right, the programmer, she was the one that originally caused the outburst in the first place.
HARRY DU BOIS - “We’re fine!” Harry called out. This was only partially true, as it left out the part where you had both, quite inexplicably, swapped bodies. You weren’t entirely sure if this omission was because he’d already told her, had forgotten (rather uncommon for him, despite being an amnesiac), or didn’t see this occurrence as particularly upsetting. (That last one was at once unsettling and reassuring. One of you needed to be fine with this turn of events, and despite your very impressive composure, it didn’t feel like it would be you.)
YOU - I think I can pull off being fine with this.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - For someone who seems so certain of that, you’ve stayed on the floor for much longer than strictly necessary.
HARRY DU BOIS - “What about you all?!”
SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - “We’re good here! The loud one managed to unplug the system before the church completely collapsed, and none of the glass hit anyone!”
PERCEPTION - Sure enough, as you look up, the mural of Dolores Dei is even more broken than it was before. You can barely even make her face out.
VOLITION - It’s okay if you need to take a breather. Harry will understand.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Fuck that pansy shit. You got this. What kind of man can’t even pull himself off the goddamned floor!?
COMPOSURE - It would be pretty embarrassing if you weren’t able to get up right now. Though, saving grace, at least it wouldn’t technically be your body that failed at it.
PAIN THRESHOLD - Are we seriously considering getting up right now? The headache has gotten better but our legs haven’t, and the liver pain is definitely worse when felt by someone unused to it.
YOU - I would prefer it if I got up now.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT (Formidable: Success) - With some difficulty, you manage to lug up the heavy sack of meat in which you’ve currently taken up residence. Not bad, all things considered.
SAVOIR FAIRE - But not particularly good either.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Not going to lie, I was pretty worried when I woke up first. Wouldn’t be surprised if my body just gave out suddenly but it’d be so unfair if it did it while you were inside.” There’s a brief pause as he considers his words, and your- his -ears turn red. You sincerely hope the blush response isn’t as obvious when you do it. “Not-not like that of course.” An awkward chuckle punctuates the words.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh but how we’d like it to be.
COMPOSURE - Stop embarrassing us in front of Kim!
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh c’mon. Damage has already been done anyways. Besides, can’t you feel it?
YOU - What are you talking about?
PERCEPTION - No wait.. He has a point. Didn’t you catch that?
YOU - What do you mean?
VOLITION - They’re trying not to worry you by keeping you in the dark.
VOLITION - It’s not going to work guys, it never does.
RHETORIC - Kim is a completely different person than the usual though, it might be better this time.
YOU - If it matters at all, I would prefer not to be left in the dark.
SUGGESTION - Maybe we can let him piece it together? It would be a good way of letting it sink in gently.
AUTHORITY - And one that would absolve us of any power or agency.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Or responsibility!
VISUAL CALCULUS - Besides that, it’s not actually.. the worst idea?
SAVOIR FAIRE - You’re only saying that because you like the idea of being his first check.
VISUAL CALCULUS - Oh and what would you propose? Have him intuit the situation by complete chance?
- Intuit the situation by complete chance (Inland Empire: Impossible)
-3 Sceptic
- Try to piece together what the voices are talking about (Visual Calculus: Heroic)
+1 They’re trying to help you
-1 They’re not particularly good at it
- Wait what the hell is this?
LOGIC - What? Do you mean the choices? It’s your list- your dialogue options. They’re how you interact with the world.
YOU - That’s concerning.
LOGIC - You’re lucky this is the first time it’s come up. Usually, it’s for basically every sentence you choose to say. And it still might become that way…
YOU - What do you mean by that?
LOGIC - ..They were right, it’s probably for the best if you figure this out on your own- or, with minimal help from us.
SUGGESTION (Easy: Success) - Besides, it would be good to get used to the lists and checks in a harmless way, rather than stumbling through it blindly later, wouldn’t it?
- Intuit the situation by complete chance (Inland Empire: Impossible)
-3 Sceptic
- Try to piece together what the voices are talking about (Visual Calculus: Heroic)
+1 They’re trying to help you
+1 Got a hint from LOGIC
- I don’t have time for this
VISUAL CALCULUS (Heroic: Success) - You’ve already gotten used to talking with us in your head rather than by speaking out loud, and it wasn’t even noticeable or forced. It felt like sliding on a well worn glove, if anything.
VISUAL CALCULUS - Even the lists, disregarding your temporary confusion, were like second nature for you to navigate.
EMPATHY - You’re worried about it, aren’t you? We can tell. We couldn’t do that earlier.
Half Light - This is bad.
VOLITION - No, no, it’s not!
LOGIC - Maybe not bad now, but definitely a cause for concern. We shouldn’t be getting used to another so fast.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - It’s not the worst thing that could happen, and certainly not the worst person it could’ve happened with. Maybe that’s why it’s going so fast?
EMPATHY - No, his way of thinking is entirely different from ours. Even if it was some kind of broderbund, it should take longer than this.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Maybe it’s Pale related? Dei knows that stuff doesn’t make a lick of sense, no matter how people try to pretend it does.
PERCEPTION (Easy: Success) - Just Dei? Not Dolores?
YOU - This is good, though. I mean - the fact that I’m getting used to this way of thinking so fast.
HALF LIGHT - For you , for now . But what happens when we switch back? Viscera, gore, twisting into shapes that are different from what we used to be. You want to do that to us? Want to ruin us for him?
VOLITION - Calm down, no one is twisting anyone.
SUGGESTION - But there is also that thing the psychic mentioned earlier. You’re not taking this well either, are you?
YOU - I don’t know what you mean.
EMPATHY - You’re hard to read for now. Traces of your feelings tease at our being. We aren’t one person like we were before.
HALF LIGHT - We are fragmented more than ever. We cannot stay like this. Something bad is going to happen.
EMPATHY - If we keep going like this, we’ll know you. Truly know you. Your memories, your thoughts, none of it will be safe from us. More than that, it will be us.
RHETORIC - And I think you can already tell we aren’t the best at keeping secrets.
LOGIC - But, as we’ve already established.. It’s not entirely negative. Outside of that, it’ll probably be fine. If we adjust this quickly after nearly four-and-a-half decades of Raphael over there, then we’ll be fine after however long it takes to get back.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - It would be good for us to get in sync.
- Okay I want to get in sync with you all (opt in)
- Get out of my fucking head you god damned voyeurs (opt out)
- Can’t I just decide later?
SUGGESTION - What are you? Some kind of moralist? No, you can’t decide later, this is very much a now issue!
ENCYCLOPEDIA - That, and our attention span is very low. Once we let go of thoughts, they’re gone forever.
VOLITION - It’s okay if you need to take your time to consider the options. This is a big ask.
COMPOSURE - Though, preferably not too much time. You don’t know what Harry is talking about with Soona but you’re sure it can’t take much longer than it’s already taken you to have this ‘thought.’
- Okay I want to get in sync with you all (opt in)
- Get out of my fucking head you god damned voyeurs (opt out)
THOUGHT GAINED: The Mind Amalgamate
Research Time: 15h 24m
Temporary Bonuses During Research:
+2 Inland Empire, Nutjob
-1 logic, Fragmented
> Problem: The mind is ineffable, the Pale even moreso, and your head is currently some ungodly mixture of both. On Monday, you watched the results of these wackjobs in the form of a suicidal alcoholic, on tuesday that suicidal alcoholic showed you his absolute brilliance as a police officer, and on wednesday, he showed you his crashed Coupris 40. Now, just how do you get there? Be like *that*?
LOGIC - It is the most logical course of action.
RHETORIC - Self name drop? Really?
LOGIC - Right, sorry for being named after a very common word.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Wait.. This- I’m not sure about this any more.
RHETORIC - I’d have thought you’d be the most excited about this. What happened to broderbund?
ESPRIT DE CORPS - I’m not sure it’ll keep meaning the same thing if we end up doing this.
LOGIC - It probably won’t, Kim and Harrier are both very different people after all.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Very different..
HALF LIGHT - I told you . I told you, but he’s already opted in, and-
VOLITION - It’s fine, everyone. He’s accepted it but he’s yet to internalize it. Besides, thoughts can always be forgotten.
VOLITION - Don’t listen to them. They’re afraid of the future and of change, but both will come regardless of what you choose.
VOLITION - And, for the record, whatever it is, I will support it.
LOGIC - You can’t know that. None of us can. You will change too.
EMPATHY - We are rarely kind to the person we inhabit. Will we be cruel to him too? He hasn’t spent as much time dealing with us, he might not be able to handle it.
ENDURANCE - I’m sure we will.
PAIN THRESHOLD - Speak for yourself. This mind can barely handle the liver pain, let alone decades of painful downward spiraling.
YOU - Bold assumption to make.
YOU - You internalize the thought by going to your “thoughts” tab and clicking on one of the diamond shapes. To add space in your thoughts library, you have to spend one skill point.
HARRY DU BOIS - “So, what do you think?”
REACTION SPEED (Challenging: Success) - Your gaze immediately snaps towards him. Quick, form a smooth response to his question!
PERCEPTION (Medium: Success) - Your eyes flicker to Soona behind him, still tapping away at the computer, but now with a newfound vigor.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Maybe they found a way to switch our bodies back?
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Unlikely. For all his self flagellation, Harry isn’t the humblest of people. If they managed to do that, he would be jumping up and down with the urge to brag of it to you.
VISUAL CALCULUS - Still, it’s likely to do with what just occurred. He’s shown interest in a lot of paranatural things before-
RHETORIC - More than you’d like, even.
VISUAL CALCULUS - -And this, if not unscientific, certainly falls into a similar wheelhouse. Not to mention, every detective worth their salt loves a good theory.
- “Did you figure something out?”
- Take a guess at what he’d discussed with Soona (Conceptualization: Medium)
- Pretend like you’d been paying attention the entire time (Drama: Formidable)
HARRY DU BOIS - “Why, I’m glad you asked!” He is, you didn’t notice it earlier but he’s very excited. Not quite bouncing up and down, but certainly enthused.
COMPOSURE - He is actively stopping himself from sounding moreso to not get your hopes up.
HARRY DU BOIS - “So, here’s what we’re thinking, right? The two millimeter hole- it might be an origin point for the pale.”
CONCEPTUALIZATION - I did tell you so.
HARRY DU BOIS - “By most accounts, the Pale shouldn’t be forming this far inland, right? But that’s just the thing, the whole idea of it as some sort of outer ocean might be completely wrong! Me and Soona think-”
ENCYCLOPEDIA - It should be ‘Soona and I’.
HARRY DU BOIS - “-that it’s more like a cancer, spreading to other sites of Elysium. She’s already writing to her coworkers about it. I know it’s a cold comfort after all of this-”
EMPATHY - You can already tell he’s going to apologize.
AUTHORITY - Cut him off, now. It’s humiliating when he does that.
YOU - “No need to apologize, it is fascinating. Besides, it might help us with reversing this.”
HARRY DU BOIS - He glances away. Your face is incapable of blushing, but if it could, he would be doing so right now. Huh, wait - he came up with that theory all on his own, didn’t he? That’s actually incredibly impressive.
YOU - “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how do you know all this stuff?”
HARRY DU BOIS - “I don’t know.. I just feel like-” He gestures with his hands, mumbling vague noises that don’t seem to sound like any specific words.
COMPOSURE - This would never have happened if he’d had his lists on him.
YOU - Somehow I don’t think the lists were the pinnacle of normal human conduct either.
HARRY DU BOIS - “I guess I just feel like I’ve talked about it before, but I really can’t recall… But hey, if I’m in your body, wouldn’t the muscle memory be yours as well? Maybe it’s something you were interested in, and you just forgot?”
HALF LIGHT - No, ever since you were little, the Pale has been terrifying to you. Even in your classes, you hated thinking about the all consuming, inexplicable thing in the oceans.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - It’s part of why you’ve never traveled, alongside the pitiful RCM paycheck. And, of course…
DRAMA - Sire, they lie! Surely you remember wanting to be a-
SHIVERS - …A young boy, in the middle of destruction and hunger and poverty, sits within the confines of a burning, self-cannibalizing city. In the middle of it all, he does not even resent this place. It is his home, it is all he’s ever known, and all he’s ever cared to. He loves this place, as it loves him. And he will love it even as it kills him, smiles to his face as it drives its fingers deeper into his wounds. Because that is the nature of this place for all of its people, and he knows that better than anyone.
YOU - “No. No, that’s not it. I think it’s an interest of yours.” You take a deep breath, recovering from whatever the hell that was, “Yes, definitely yours.”
YOU - “It’s probably a mental thing that you’re recalling. You’ve done it before, I think.”
HARRY DU BOIS - He seems to ponder it for a second, before nodding, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just strange, I think, since usually it feels more..” Again, he’s lost in thought, searching for the proper wording, “Explicit? Since there’s always like- a voice or something saying, ‘you recall this’ or like, telling me the origin of it?”
ENCYCLOPEDIA - That would be me, yes.
HARRY DU BOIS - “But now it’s just a feeling of, um, ‘Jamais Vu’ without anyone even narrating it, it’s… weird.”
PERCEPTION - For the first time in the conversation, you notice how nervous he’s seemed the entire time. He’s visibly sweating, if you look closer. He’s been fidgeting with your shirt for a good while now. He stops for a little bit, realizing that he’s done it, and then resumes again.
EMPATHY - It’s his first time doing anything without us there to guide him. He’s not used to it any more than we are, and he’s having a harder time adjusting to it.
SUGGESTION - His tie. You should give it to him.
- “Everything alright, detective?”
- Give him his tie, wordlessly.
- Give him his tie but mock him about it
- Say nothing
HARRY DU BOIS - “Huh? Oh!” His eyes light up, as you hand him the piece of fabric.
VOLITION - I’ve never much liked that tie but it’s undeniable the kinship he feels to it.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Thank you!” He rushes to put it on, relaxing at its mere presence.
YOU - You give him a small smile, “Of course, detective.”
AUTHORITY - The tie around him is symbolic of how you needed to comfort him. It tells people, him included, who’s in charge.
LOGIC - It’s his tie, I doubt he’ll be up all night thinking about how he can repay you for giving him his own belonging.
AUTHORITY - You’ll see what I mean.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Here, you should take these back, then!” He passes you your gloves.
VISUAL CALCULUS - Not even close to the right size of your current body.
VOLITION - But it does feel good to have them, doesn’t it?
+0 Morale
YOU - Wait, plus zero?
VOLITION - Yeah, sorry buddy, you’re already at full health.
YOU - Feels wasteful..
VOLITION - Look on the bright side, now you have your gloves in your inventory. Wearable or not, you’ve just gained an item!
HARRY DU BOIS - Your face must have given some of your (wasteful) happiness away-or perhaps his empathy just isn’t wholly tied to the voices in his head-because, if possible, he’s beaming even brighter. He really enjoys helping other people, you’ve noticed. It’s admirable.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Only “ admirable ”?
YOU - “Khm,” You clear your throat again, it’s one of many tools in your arsenal for repressing yourself, “Yes, well, if everything is in order, we should probably leave this place. It doesn’t seem to have any signs of Ruby, and we’re unlikely to learn more of the Pale by sticking around.”
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Aren’t we?
LOGIC - No, we aren’t. The machines have already been turned off, and Harry’s summarized all he’d theorized with Soona. This is the most information you’ll get out of this.
RHETORIC - Besides, if anything more could be learned, you have a feeling Soona would want to contact him. He is surprisingly knowledgeable on the topic.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Alright!” He claps his hands, “I just want to check on the speedfreaks before we go. Soona says they’re fine but that still probably shook them up. Egghead was right, that was way too hardcore.”
COMPOSURE - It was, but you cannot show it.
HALF LIGHT - It would show them you’re weak.
AUTHORITY - You’re not anything of the sort.
COMPOSURE - You get up to follow him, trying to keep any shakiness out of your limbs. You can walk normally. You can show everyone that you’ve remained wholly unaffected by this turn of events.
SAVOIR FAIRE (Trivial: Failure) - You trip and fall. Hard.
- Accept your fate
- Try to catch yourself before you land (Reaction Speed: Challenging)
-2 New to this body
-1 Those heels
REACTION SPEED (Challenging: Failure) - You barely have time to process the fact you’re falling, let alone to reach out your arms and brace yourself.
PERCEPTION - The ground is coming ever closer.
PAIN THRESHOLD - You all are the reason I’m with the party one on team Alcohol, you know.
INTERFACING - Something just grabbed your wrist, trying to keep you upright.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - It is a shame that your body, weak as it is, isn’t able to hold us up.
PAIN THRESHOLD - The detective’s well intentioned efforts only make things worse as he falls on you, though luckily the ratio of your body masses means that it doesn’t actually hurt that much. Certainly not as badly as if the situations were reversed. Lucky you, the majority of the pain comes from your face making hard contact with the wooden flooring.
-1 Health
HARRY DU BOIS - “Fuck, sorry Kim! I didn’t mean to- are you alright?”
- “I'm fine, detective.”
- Tell him you’re fine and reassure him about falling on you (Suggestion: Medium)
- Scold him for falling on you (Authority: Medium)
-1 Just tripped embarrassingly
HARRY DU BOIS - “Hah, well.. That’s good to hear at least!” He looks away, clearly embarrassed about falling on you. “I’m fine too, by the way. Thanks for cushioning the fall.” It’s an insecure kind of joke, his voice much easier to parse without the gravel obscuring it.
- Get up
- Get up and hold your hand out for him (Esprit de Corps: Easy)
-1 Did not reassure him
+2 Harry trusts you
- Stay on the floor with him
- Stay on the floor but make him get up (Authority: Challenging)
-1 Didn’t scold him
-1 Just fell
+1 Harry feels guilty about falling on you
ESPRIT DE CORPS (Easy: Success) - The detective smiles in gratitude as you help him.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Sorry about that, guess the new bodies are pretty hard to get used to, huh?”
HARRY DU BOIS - “If the heels are fucking you over, I just found some nice pair of sneakers- the, uh, crab-man’s ones. You should try them on - well, I know they fit actually. Good for running but they aren’t as stylish as the crocs, don’t go with the orange.” Saying this, he pats down his- your -jacket.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh, he caught your meaning - you didn’t think we would, did you!?
YOU - Be quiet.
YOU - “I don’t think your shoes can actually constitute crocs, detective. They seem to be made from snake skin.”
HARRY DU BOIS - “Eh, tater-tots, it’s all reptilian and green either way, yeah?”
DRAMA (Easy: Success) - He’s fucking with you.
LOGIC (Trivial: Success) - Correction, he’s fucking with me .
ENCYCLOPEDIA - He’s also misremembering how good those shoes are for running - they are also heeled. And, while not as obviously, they are also made of snakeskin. But that doesn’t impede running so much as the heels do.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Tell him to lay the fuck off. It wasn’t the heels that screwed you over, it was this asshole-
SAVOIR FAIRE - Oh, like you’ve never failed a check before-
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - But running in heels is instinctive for us, easy shit. We could do this when we’d lost all our memory, we can do it while the fucking bino’s in the body.
HARRY DU BOIS - Harry has already left your side, chatting up the delinquents to make sure they’re alright. Thoughtful man.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh baby, you got it ba -
VOLITION - We don’t “got” anything, let alone some ill-advised crush on a superior officer from another precinct!
HARRY DU BOIS - “I’m sorry the church turned out like this, I didn’t think it could put all of you in danger.” He makes his voice quieter than he would’ve had he been in his own body. Hell, even quieter than you usually speak and you mumble half your sentences.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Not so reckless at 5’7, are you big guy?
VOLITION - It’s not even that big a difference in height, all things considered.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - You’re right, it’s the entire stature that’s the difference. I mean have you seen our bicep girth?!
ANDRE - “Don’t stress it, officer! Church is still intact enough for the club.” He’s clearly nervous about the idea, but he also doesn’t want to give it up.
EMPATHY (Heroic: Success) - This is the first time in a long time that something he’s attempted has seen even mild success. He does not want to lose it.
AUTHORITY - Doesn’t want to lose it? He’d been ready to start using this church, a sacred ground, to start selling drugs! Put this juvenile in his place and tell him to scram.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Your partner is already in the middle of talking to them, let him speak.
- Tell them to scram (Authority: Easy)
+1 Familiar with delinquent youths
-1 Helped get into the church in the first place
-1 Harry still wants to help them
- Assure them the church will be alright (Suggestion: Challenging)
+1 They want to believe you
-1 Not fond of teenagers
-1 Not entirely sure it will be
- Let your partner do the talking
HARRY DU BOIS - “Yeah, looks that way at least. And hey, you survived the roof nearly coming down once, I’m sure you can handle it happening again.”
SUGGESTION - Take comfort everyone, we aren’t the only reason he’s always saying something stupid.
RHETORIC - Unfortunately, now he’s saying the stupid things while inside your body.
COMPOSURE - He’s making you look bad, make him stop!
EMPATHY (Medium: Success) - The loud one, Egghead, seems cheered up enough by it, at least. Noid and Acele don’t seem super psyched up, but they’re willing to go back inside. Noid’s paranoia is more regarding people than the stability of churches, though he does seem to be interested in both. Acele, meanwhile, seems entirely apathetic to where their operation takes place, but happy to get to partake in it regardless. Happier, now that it’s back to music rather than drugs.
YOU - “Are you all sure you don’t need help with this?”
SUGGESTION - You don’t know why you said that. It would be a complete waste of time, even more unrelated tangents that do nothing to further the investigation…
EMPATHY - But, you do somewhat like the direction their music is heading in. Besides, resentful of youngsters or not, you’re not about to let them die over it.
HARRY DU BOIS - Harry beams at you. It’s a grotesque twisting of your features. And yet..
ACELE - “Nah, don’t worry about it. I don’t think there’s much you can do either way.”
HARRY DU BOIS - “Alrighty.” He says, snapping his fingers into finger gun positions, “Let us know if that changes though!” He shoots them off.
AUTHORITY - He makes a mockery of the title double-yefreitor.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh, loosen up a little!
HARRY DU BOIS - “We'll come back in a bit either way though, still have business to attend to here once you guys get all your stuff back and running.” He nudges you with his elbow and, honest-to-god, winks at you as he says it. He’s expecting you to know exactly what he’s talking about.
ESPRIT DE CORPS (Impossible: Failure) - I got nothing.
YOU - You raise an eyebrow in his direction, but don’t make any comment. You’ll have to trust his judgement on this one, you suppose
HARRY DU BOIS - You follow along behind him, blessedly easier now that the situations are reversed. He still runs like something’s hunting him, but your legs are fitter and longer now. You’re finally able to keep up - though, you’re fairly certain running next to him is still a good way to get bowled over, body swapped or not.
MARTINAISE SKY - It’s late out, right now. Usually, you’d already be in bed. Usually, you’d already be left alone.
ENDURANCE - It has been a long day. Not quite as long as yesterday - if you ever see one of those accursed insect traps again, you might just scream - but still long.
YOU - Between cryptozoologists and that bookstore owner, I’m honestly not sure who’s worse. At least the bookstore lady can embrace believing in made up things.
RHETORIC - Hardly makes her less annoying, though.
HARRY’S GAUDY NECK TIE - Intimidated by others’ superior powers of imagination eh, pizda!?
YOU - You blink.
COMPOSURE ( Challenging: Success) - You didn’t hear anything. It was just your imagination. The overcrowding in your head is clearly just getting to you.
PERCEPTION - You’re near the boardwalk, the air oddly still. Harry has stopped moving.
REACTION SPEED (Easy: Success) - Just barely, you manage to stop your own feet before you knock into him.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - It’s the location Evrart gave for your “meeting” regarding Harry’s gun or lack thereof.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - Ideally, by the end of this, there won’t be a “lack thereof” to speak of.
HALF LIGHT - Your entire body is tense, itching with the need to enact that frantic terror onto another person. If whoever took the detective’s gun really is here, you’d surely rip them apart with your teeth, cornered animal that you are.
AUTHORITY - No. We are not cornered. We are the predators about to catch prey in our maw. We cannot hesitate here.
YOU - You walk up the stairs that lead to the boardwalk.
PERCEPTION - Loud sirens go off, and that terror crescendos.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - That’s an inappropriate reaction to the sound from an officer of the RCM.
THE PIGS - “Put your hands where I can see them!”
COMPOSURE (Godly: Success) - You keep the fear inside you, outside from a faint tremor of the hands, you are fine.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - On instinct, those trembling hands reach for your gun… It’s not there. The detective still has it because it was on your person and you didn’t ask for it back.
VOLITION (Godly: Failure) - At least we have the gloves..?
THE PIGS - “Show me your hands! Show me your hands right now!”
PERCEPTION - By your side, the detective is frozen. He does not reach for your gun. He doesn’t even speak.
COMPOSURE (Easy: Success) - He was expecting to be put on the spot like this but he didn’t truly come to terms with what that would mean.
THE PIGS - “The man appears to be pulling out an object from his pocket! Fear under threat! FEAR UNDER THREAT!” Her shouts get more aggravated, louder. There’s an undercurrent of something there, but you can’t parse it.
PERCEPTION (Medium: Success) - You’re the one who reached into your coat, but her eyes aren’t on you. They aren’t even on Harry. They’re completely unfocused, clouded over.
EMPATHY - The woman in front of you is clearly mentally unwell.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - She’s covered in police paraphernalia. Where on Earth did she get all of that?
Hand/Eye Coordination - She’s waving Harry’s gun around. That’s the important part. We need to find a way to disarm her without getting shot for it.
THE PIGS - “Subject yourself to a full body cavity search!” She commands, listing the places she’d search with an unshaking voice. Is she even processing the words she’s saying?
EMPATHY (Medium: Success) - Yes, she is. In fact, she’s processing it on a much deeper scale than either of you. As long as she’s saying it, it’s real for her.
YOU - “We can resolve this peacefully, please calm down.” You say, voice carefully controlled. It seems it’s managed to snap Harry out of his inertia as his spine straightens up.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Ma’am, please.. My partner is right, we want to help you!” His hands don’t so much as twitch towards your gun. You know it’s not from a lack of muscle memory.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - You knew he wouldn’t want to use it.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - But it might very well be necessary.
REACTION SPEED - It’s best to have it before anything can happen.
RHETORIC - Alright Trigger, Happy, we know you like going bang bang at scary things but right now the adults need to make sure everyone makes it out okay so could you calm down while we talk this out rationally?
THE PIGS - “Disturbance reported, authorize deadly force! SECTOR, TAKE THE SHOT! BIG RED KEY, BIG RED KEY!”
COMPOSURE (Godly: Failure) - The talking isn’t working!
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Wait, ‘big red key?’ That’s code for the battering ram. You know this because it’s cop talk.
INLAND EMPIRE - This is a woman who has been lonely for a very long time.
INTERFACING - And suffering from a neurodegenerative disease.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - She has drugs on her. Magnesium? Drouamine? Maybe even speed!
HARRY DU BOIS - He must have come to a similar enough conclusion because he blurts out, “Are you on drugs?”
LOGIC - No, if it is medicine, then she’s clearly not taking it like she should. And even if it’s not, none of those drugs would result in something like this on their own.
THE PIGS - “CONFISCATED CONTRABAND!” The megaphone metalizes her voice, scraping painfully against your ears. “RESTRICTED ACCESS, TWO KILOS MISSING, EYE-WITNESS REPORT COMPROMISED!”
YOU - “I don’t think she’s on drugs. Being off drugs might actually be the problem.”
HARRY DU BOIS - He seems to consider it. He’s still shrunken away. He runs all the possible options in his mind, everything he can say.
COMPOSURE - It shows on his face, in his eyes: it’s too much for him. Again, he’s overwhelmed.
AUTHORITY - The task of getting control of the situation once more falls to you.
RHETORIC - Maybe try to snap her out of this delusion?
SUGGESTION - Or play into it, it might be easier to convince her of something if you play by rules that she’s already set up.
YOU - “ You’re not the police! We are, and you are out of line!”
THE PIGS - “Back-up? BACK-UP! STATUS UNCONFIRMED!” She lowers her megaphone momentarily, but then just as quickly brings it back up. Still, you’re getting somewhere. She’s willing to believe that you’re the police, to see you as something other than an enemy.
AUTHORITY (Formidable: Success) - She’s just a civilian badly playing copper. You have the body and badge of a double-yefreitor lieutenant. Surely, even in whatever imaginary scenario she’s cooked up, you outrank her.
DRAMA (Heroic: Success) - Make sure you use the double-yefreitor title. It’s the one you have the badge for, which might be necessary.
AUTHORITY - It’s also more impressive sounding, four-times-decorated-but-never-promoted lieutenant.
VOLITION - Now is not the time.
- Introduce yourself as a double-yefreitor (Drama: Medium)
+3 In Harry’s body
+2 Have Harry’s badge
- Introduce yourself as a none double-yefreitor, disappointingly regular lieutenant
DRAMA (Medium: Success) - My liege, you were made to perform this role!
AUTHORITY - The words march sternly from your tongue, you know your titles and you embody them.
YOU - “Lieutenant double-yefreitor Harrier Du Bois, 41st precinct. This is my partner, Lieutenant Kitsuragi, from the 57th.”
THE PIGS - “No…” She’s mumbling something, shaking her head. “No, no.. I thought.. Mr. Morrand, Gareth.” Her shaky hands very nearly drop her megaphone, before tightening at the last second. “AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, MAN DOWN, OFFICERS IN PURSUIT!”
HARRY DU BOIS - “What do we do, Kim?” His eyes are trained on the woman, but he’s barely more present than she is. His eyes are glazed over. If he still had voices in his head, he would talk to them. As it is, he plays with his tie and tries to think without them.
THE PIGS - “LAW ENFORCEMENT COMPROMISED, ” the woman bellows, and red and blue lights illuminate her spit as it flies from her mouth, “IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER!”
DRAMA - How can she not believe you, sire!? Your performance was impeccable!
LOGIC (Easy: Success) - How good your performance is hardly matters to someone who isn’t present for it.
- “Okay, you got me, I’m not actually a double-yefreitor. But we are still cops.”
- “Come on, you know I’m a cop. Look at me and my partner’s clothes.”
- “We’re not impersonating anyone.” (Take out Harry’s badge and show it to her.)
- “You’re the impersonator here!”
THE PIGS - “Licence and registration!!!” She bashes her head with the megaphone, hard enough for blood to get on it, before bringing it back to her mouth.
VISUAL CALCULUS - There’s dried blood already there, this isn’t her first foray into self harm.
THE PIGS - “LICENCE AND REGISTRATION! COME IN DISPATCH! SECTOR, SECTOR, AZIMUTH!”
ENCYCLOPEDIA (Medium: Success) - It’s not code for anything, just disjointed words.
HALF LIGHT - She’s losing it. Make a wrong move and things will get much bloodier much faster.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - There’s already quite a bit of blood on her. Even disregarding the megaphone, she has deep scratch marks all over herself. Neck and cheeks the most obvious, illuminating when under the blue beacon of her rotating police lights.
PAIN THRESHOLD - She was going through something very, very bad. She needed to remember that she had a body. She needed to carve reminders for herself just to stay present.
THE PIGS - “THIS IS THE POLICE! UNLAWFUL ENGAGEMENT. HANDS ON THE GROUND, SCUM-BAG!”
HARRY DU BOIS - “Kim.. The gun isn’t loaded.” It’s a faint whisper, spoken like he’s just realized it.
YOU - “What?”
HARRY DU BOIS - “I don’t think it is at least - It should be safe. Ninety-seven percent sure.”
ENCYCLOPEDIA - A 97% is the highest chance for success you can have when rolling a check, as the check system dictates snake eyes will always lose, constantly leaving a 3% chance for failure.
EMPATHY (Medium: Success) - But he’s exaggerating, he’s not actually as certain as he says he is.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - He needs the courage for what he’s about to do.
- “Do what you need to do.”
- Stay silent
- Stop him (Half Light: Medium)
+2 Know he’s lying about the numbers
-1 You trust him
-2 You truly trust him
HALF LIGHT (Medium: Failure) - How? He’s unstoppable when he puts his mind to something. He’s going to get your body shot and there’s nothing you can do about it.
VOLITION (Godly: Success) - No, that’s not right. You know him. He wouldn’t put you in unnecessary danger. If he thinks this is right, then it is.
HARRY DU BOIS - He is nimble on your feet as he rushes to take the gun from the woman’s hands.
THE PIGS - She’s startled by your partner’s quick movements, immediately pulling on the trigger.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - She’s not even aiming properly. Not that it matters, no shot rings out. There’s just a click which only serves to amplify the nothingness that happens. She barely even has time to even look at the useless weapon.
HARRY DU BOIS - Harry was right. He takes the opportunity, grabbing the gun from her hands. It slides out easily, all previous resistance drained out of her.
THE PIGS - She looks like she’s the one who’s just been shot. “What?” She whispers in a daze, tears swelling in her eyes and painting them a strained red. “This isn’t police issue. Police weapons have bullets. This isn’t real! What is this?”
THE PIGS - “Police guns always have bullets… What is this? Why did you sell me this?” The sirens cut off, leaving her kneeling in darkness. The tears flow freely down her scratched cheeks. She looks devastated.
THE PIGS - “No one ever cares anymore.. Why would they cheat me like this…” She’s rocking herself, her voice fainter and fainter.
CONCEPTUALIZATION (Challenging: Success) - She’s mechanically pushed herself through undignified suffering and pain, and is now realizing her completely human weariness. She doesn’t want to walk in the desert any longer. Doesn’t want to carry on at all. Not as this, at least.
HARRY DU BOIS - His face is remorseful, even as he holsters his pistol. “Poor woman..” He whispers, more to himself than anything.
YOU - “We need to figure out what to do with her now.”
THE PIGS - “Nobody’s ever around..” She mumbles, her eyes blank, she doesn’t even blink away her tears, “Nobody ever comes to visit me…”
HARRY DU BOIS - “You’re not alone. We’re all here.” Despite his best efforts, the woman is motionless and unresponsive.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Like the carcass of a dead animal, buried in a grave of police paraphernalia.
INLAND EMPIRE - She is alone there, trapped in a world of blue and red lights.
EMPATHY (Godly: Success) - You know what this is. You’ve felt it a million times before. Loneliness. You push it away but unlike every other companion in your life, it stays throughout the hardest of times. Especially at the hardest of times.
LOGIC (Medium: Success) - Whatever family she has, if she has any, stopped coming during her hardest times.
YOU - She’s in a stupor, I’ve seen this before.”
YOU - But how long has she been like this? Hours, Days?
ENCYCLOPEDIA - There is no way to know.
ESPRIT DE CORPS (Godly: Failure) - This is the RCM’s fault, it should have never gotten this bad. This woman should have gotten help long before this incident.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Why was she like this in the first place?”
ENCYCLOPEDIA (Formidable: Success) - Dementia often results in hallucinations, paranoia, confusion and disorientation, agitation, and depression.
INLAND EMPIRE - Her delusions were specific though, channel 8 cop shows must have been her closest companions.
- “Channel 8, Cop shows. Horrible things. This is why I only use my radio for contacting the station.” (Lie)
- “Dementia, probably.”
- “Loneliness.”
- Say nothing.
HARRY DU BOIS - He just nods, silently. He wishes there is something he could do to help.
ESPRIT DE CORPS (Impossible: Failure) - An irrational, indignant, worthless little part of you that used to get picked on in school and at the precinct bubbles in anger. What does this man know of loneliness?
VOLITION (Godly: Failure) - Get your fucking shit together, lieutenant. Of course he’s upset at this.
AUTHORITY - He needs someone to take the reins again, tell him what to do.
YOU - “We could let the Hardie boys know about this. This is a perfect problem for the local ‘peacekeepers’ to handle.”
AUTHORITY - Letting unofficial vigilantes handle this only further undermines your position as the authority here. It is the exact opposite of taking the reins and not at all what I had in mind.
LOGIC - You have a case to solve and you do not have the time necessary to adequately help this woman. You probably won’t even be here by the end of the week. The Hardie boys, meanwhile, have a duty to Martinaise specifically. Hell, they might even know her personally.
HARRY DU BOIS - “Yeah… Yeah, he sounds like the guy for the job.” He says, pointedly looking away from the woman.
EMPATHY (Easy: Failure) - Like he thinks she’s pathetic.
YOU - “We should hurry, it’s late and they might have already gone home.” You urge, and he takes the hint. But, as you move to leave…
THE PIGS - “Please, leave the radio on…” She mutters, a reflexive and half remembered-sentence.