#I try to remain canon compliant when possible but I can't even tell what his canon knowledge IS at this point

[descendant-of-truth]

*grips Klug by the shoulders* what is going on with you in this game

I really thought I had it all figured out in my last post, where I determined that Klug is still very much aware of the demon in his book, and that it has some sort of connection to Sig. I even thought it was safe to assume that he still remembered being possessed by it back in Fever 2, because it was the only time it happened where he wasn't confused afterwards.

But then that scene in Schezo's story happened and I have so many more questions. Because this really sounds like someone who doesn't even know that there's anything IN that book?? Which he very obviously does???

I'm not even talking about previous games at this point, because there's been weirder cases of amnesia in this series before; Klug repressing the knowledge he has of his book isn't a farfetched idea. But the problem with it is that this is the only scene (so far) where he's this clueless, and it happens later in the timeline than this one in Risukuma's story (if I've been tracking it right):

Klug's reactions here when Risukuma seems to be on the trail of What's Weird About the Book are absolutely about him wanting to keep Ayashii (whatever he remembers about it) a secret. I mean, would he really be that nervous if all he thought he was going to say was "it's got powerful magic inside of it"? He never really tries to hide that part, seeing as he casts spells with it.

It's even less obvious where in the timeline Accord's conversation with him happens, but he directly references "the tome" being ill at ease, once again suggesting that he at least sort of knows what its deal is. Plus, he says this to his teacher, so the idea that his book has feelings isn't even something he's concerned about keeping a secret.

And lest we forget, he even gets in an argument with it off-screen. What's up with this "how can a book be fussy" nonsense?? He's not even saying it to cover up Ayashii's existence to other people, he's saying it to himself.

What changed? Is this just some accidental inconsistency, or should we be expecting a scene in a future update to explain it?? I'm losing my marbles over here

[smytherines]

Oh my god, one of my favorite mutuals knows what I'm talking about, hell yes!!! Thank you Hyl!!

There's some really interesting options too, because we could have their innies working at Chimera headquarters, doing the same office stuff they do on Severance, going down the elevator, etc, which already has a ton of interesting implications.

OR, perhaps their innies are spies, or Chimera's equivalent? [Insert cryptic comment about what the OTC makes possible]

So pre-fall we have Curt working for A.S.S. and Owen working for MI6. Owen falls, is captured by the Russians, tortured, gets bought by Chimera, recovery time, goes through the same dark spiral as canon Owen. Let's say all that takes about a year.

Meanwhile, Curt has retired from A.S.S., and he takes what he believes is a severed job as a security consultant. Not because he really wants to work, he's just desperate to turn his mind off to escape the constant crushing grief and guilt

outie!Curt would have no idea what sort of work his innie was actually doing (and wouldn't want to ask questions because he feels like the severance is helping him), but Curt M. is still fundamentally Curt, so he ends up having to spend a lot of time in the break room before he starts ~behaving~

After Owen is healed up (as much as he can be), his superiors at Chimera suggest that he undergo Severance because they claim it will help him remain detached in the field, prevent panic attacks and spiraling and whatnot. And of course Owen would be desperate for any relief from the part of his mind that is constantly fixated on how Curt lied to him and left him for dead. Even if he never gets to experience it, I think the idea of a perfectly emotionally detached version of himself who can focus solely on doing the job without all of Owen's human frailties would be deeply appealing to him (y'know, kinda like he wants to be as DMA in the show)

Just thought of this-- what if it's safehouses that activate the switch? Like Chimera has safehouses all over the world, and they're basically just shacks divided into two totally separate spaces. So one agent shows up, gets locked into one side, presses a button, and once the other agent shows up and is locked in and presses their button, the switch activates and a pathway opens up between the two areas. Gives us our weird unsettling trigger mechanism while still doing spy shit. It would somewhat break the isolation element of severance, but they would be focused on maintaining cover and staying secretive because spies, so I think the tradeoff could work.

Anyways, so Curt M. is finally more or less compliant after so much time in the breakroom. He desperately wants to do good, so he buys into the Chimera Kier-like cult propaganda that tells him he is saving the world, etc. He's on the job about a year when he starts being put on missions with a newly severed spy-- Owen C.

I think this could be really interesting, because they would kinda switch positions as innies vs outies. Outie!Owen is climbing the ranks of Chimera's corporate structure, amassing power, scheming, and so on. He considers Owen C. a thing, not a person. Just another tool to be used to get what he wants. But Owen C. is still fundamentally Owen. He can't help but question things. Outie!Owen is totally ideologically committed to Chimera because of everything he has survived, but Owen C. has no such loyalty. He wants to know who they are, what they're doing, what Chimera is. He is the new worker who cannot stop pushing the limits.

And maybe Curt takes a shift or two in the breakroom to cover for the new guy, because he doesn't know the rules yet. Outie!Curt would be horrified if he knew the work they were doing, but between the breakroom and the propaganda, Curt M. has bought into the bullshit

Oh shit! Originally I was gonna suggest Tatiana and Barb as an Irving and Burt type of situation (which I still think could work), but what if Tatiana is the Petey?? What if she [redacted] and starts trying to make contact?

Oughh I have like a million more ideas but I'll leave it there for now. I do think it would be super interesting from either side though!

I love this au so much though!! It has elements of Mark S. and Hilly R., Mark S. and [redacted], and Irving and Burt

the worst au is the one based on a show nobody else in your fandom has seen. Mr. Smy and I just finished Severance and let me tell you the idea of a severed curtwen working together and not knowing that their "outies" knew each other and loved each other and lost each other is gonna be running laps in my mind for a minute

The basic premise is that if you get severed your consciousness is split between work (the "innie") and your personal life (the "outie") and they are completely separate and distinct. The innie only knows their first name and last initial, has no memory of the outside world whatsoever. Neither part of your consciousness remembers what the other part knows or does.

So imagine post-fall they both take jobs as severed workers (substitute Chimera for Severance's Lumon). In the outside world Curt is mourning Owen so badly that he needs to take a job where his consciousness shuts off for half the day just to survive it. On the outside Owen is spiraling into rage and grief and violence. But on the inside Curt M. and Owen C. are slowly becoming friends again, becoming more than friends, blissfully unaware of their baggage from the outside world but still trapped in a hellish existence they have no hope of escaping from