#cf ryo

[wackyworldcomics]

Ryo does not understand...

... what Claire and Atka like to do.

[wonderfulcrazykawaii]

[fireemblems24]

Merit Based System

This is a bit all over the place. Sorry about that. I watched a show this weekend that really illustrates why I no longer believe in Edelgard's system after her support with Ferdinand.

Spoilers for Fire Emblem Three Houses CF route and Edelgard & Ferdinand's support and the show Segodon up to episode 8.

Segodon is a taiga drama that retells the life of historical figure Saigo Takamori a. k. a. the last samurai. This man was a brilliant politician and played an instrumental role in Japan's tumultuous 1800s where they overthrew the shogun and instated a modern government. The show itself is absolutely fantastic so far (though, I love anything to do with the Bakumatsu, no, that's a lie, there's some real shitty Bakumatsu anime.).

Like the real life Saigo, the fictional representation has a lot of "merit." As the show writes him, he has a high level of empathy for people who are hurting because of Japan's horrible, outdated systems and is constantly does whatever is in his power to convince the powers that be to back off a bit because their taxes and punishments are so harsh at times, his native Satsuma was at serious risk of starving its entire agricultural force out of work.

Not only is Saigo intelligent, but he's also tenacious. He "dares" to ask his "betters" to see the errors of their way, goes out of his way to try and get audiences with people far above his station, and does everything he possibly can to help everyone around him. Whether he's tackling problems with a larger system or a hurting individual around him, he's trying his best to make things right. And when people listen to him, things improve. People are also naturally drawn to his leadership and overall gentle disposition.

He's also broke.

Saigo comes from a very poor, very large family. So when the powers that be grant him an opportunity to travel to Edo (then capital of Japan), where he could get real experience, where he could start rubbing shoulders with the right people and find ways to gain influence, learn, etc . . . He can't. Because his family can't cough up 30 ryo.

No matter how much merit Saigo has, his upbringing keeps him from reaching his full potential. The top leadership of the area invites him to the opportunity of a life time, but even with an open invitation, he can't so easily accept it.

His mother, father, and grandfather had all just died (and this is a historical fact, at least) and left him in charge. The family went into even more debt buying medicine during various illnesses. There's younger and elder family he needs to look out for, a sister who he now needs to find a husband for, and a new wife on top of everything else. They don't have 30 ryo to spare.

No matter how much merit Saigo has, no matter how much he wants to make a difference, he can't. Because he was born into poverty, because he can't afford to step away from the family land or else risk running out of food in the winter. His merit isn't enough. You need privilege. And he's already got privilege in that he wasn't born a farmer, that he has the personal attention of those in charge through connections and channels his family name permitted him, he's already jumped over hurdles others can't - and he still can't take advantage of his merit.

A merit based system benefits those who have and punishes the have nots. All the rich kids with rich parents who don't have to think twice about spending 30 ryo and have servants to take care of the elderly and young in their families. They can take every opportunity so the gap widens even further. Even worse, a merit based system tells the people born poor, born sick, born neurologically divergent, born into an abusive family, born into a historically disadvantaged race/gender/sexuality/etc, etc . . . that it's their fault they're not at the top. That if they just "tried harder" and had "more merit" they could make it. You too could be a billionaire if you just pulled on your bootstraps hard enough, and failure means you didn't try hard enough. And, yes, this is very much happening in our culture today.

That Edelgard didn't even consider something as huge as inequality before starting a war that would kill thousands really shocked me. Her support with Ferdinand exposed just how naive she is and how narrow-minded her world-view and experiences are. If she's going to sacrifice thousands of people for her supposedly better system, I wish she'd put at least some thought into it.

I do not expect a Fire Emblem game to get hyper-political or into nitty-gritty details. Honestly, I wish this support didn't exist. If their A-Support focused just on educational reform or even Ferdinand cementing himself as a actual check/rival to Edelgard, then I'd be more willing to believe she could make a good leader. But, for some reason, they decided to use this support to show how little Edelgard actually thought about her actions despite the dire consequences of them. These details aren't needed. These lines could be completely omitted and let the reader imagine Edegard has the political know-how to actually pull what she wants off. But instead the game went out of it's way to show she doesn't really have a single clue what she's talking about, and I cannot fathom why. This isn't even touching on her admitting it didn't even occur to her that her actions would leave a power vacuum and would need to fill it (like - what -), but that's for another day.

THIS is why I can't get behind Edelgard. Because her merit based system isn't worth all the lives she destroyed in her war. She thinks her ideas are worth everyone that dies, but her ideas aren't well thought out. This episode 8 of Segodon illustrated perfectly why Edelgard's system is a house of cards that will do nothing but pat the nobility and otherwise rich and privileged on the back while blaming farmers and otherwise disadvantaged for their continued poverty because "lack of merit."

I honestly can't express how badly I wish these lines in this support didn't exist. It serves no purpose except to expose Edelgard's lack of forethought and lack of understanding about the lives of the people she's claiming she's making better.

But, yeah, watching this episode just made me think about Edelgard's system and reminded me again of the exact moment I gave up on supporting her war.

(spoiler alert about Segodon: all those people he kept helping scrounge together 30 ryo so he can go to Edo and leaves the lands in charge of his younger brother, and yes, he's going to go down in history, but also . . . prepare for a downer ending if you actually watch this (I mean . . . it's the Bakumatsu). I already know I'm going to cry my fucking eyes out and I haven't even meant this version of Sakamoto Ryoma yet)

[thesinglesjukebox]

CHAI - CHOOSE GO! [6.38] We do!

Alfred Soto: A helluva bass track works as propulsion and sound effect on this Japanese quartet's track -- they chose go, all right. Avril Lavigne and Toni Basil would have approved of its sweets and spritz. [6]

Julian Axelrod: Man, what a relief to hear frantic, ecstatic post-punk that isn't played by shaggy white trust fund kids and doesn't center around roommate conflicts and fights with their ex. Chai have enough energy to power a small town, and I'm sure this absolutely crushes in a live setting. But even after multiple listens, I'm having trouble fully locking in -- and I don't just think it's the language barrier. The chaotic four-piece attack feels disjointed, like they tried to cram ten hooks into a song instead of refining three good ones. Then again, maybe that's exactly what they're going for: world domination through unwavering inclusion. And I'm sure they don't need my help getting there. [6]

Thomas Inskeep: If you took Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and made it simultaneously a little perkier and a little more indie-sounding (cf. Yeah Yeah Yeahs), and then translated it into Japanese, you'd have something close to "Choose Go!" [6]

Ryo Miyauchi: "Choose Go!" finds Chai stepping up their neo-kawaii philosophy from a soft self-love mantra to a take-no-shit mindset. They don't play nice to drill that down, and their essential message to get your sorry ass back up can feel like a tough gesture of discipline more than a friendly push. But Chai ultimately lead by example, earning their respect as a life coach through the toughness flowing from their wired garage-rock. While they simplify the course of action as if throwing out bad thoughts were as easy as trash day, their rambunctious energy convinces that it might actually be as simple as a set of instructions. [6]

Will Rivitz: The conductor of my college choir has a bumper sticker that reads "Friends don't let friends clap on one and three." Smacking the ride cymbal on one and three is even worse. [4]

Will Adams: A ball of tightly wound power pop that's as propulsive as its title suggests. Extra point for the psychedelic warping near the end. [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: The thing I love most about punk is its efficiency -- the collapsing of the bloated structures of rock music into points of energy. "Choose Go!" exemplifies that efficiency, cramming in a full set of sonic rules and then those rules complete breakdown in a concise, endlessly fun package. [8]

Ashley Bardhan: When I first heard this song, I couldn't make out any of the English words other than the emblematic title, "choose go!" Then I heard it in my head after the song was over, that rubbery bassline and those splashing soda-pop cymbals pillowing under the effervescent refrain: "choose go!" What does that mean? Who fucking cares what anything means? I see all the choices of my life lined up in little black boxes in my head, and when I listen to "Choose Go!" I feel cute and I want to set all those boxes on fire. What does that mean? That I like this fucking band. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[ajora]

Hello. I've been reading your translations of the Wonderswan games since I can't play them myself. I have a question about Brave Tamers and would like to know if you have some theory to explain it. When Ryo visits the Adventure world to help the original Chosen Children, they seem to be living in 1999. Yet they speak of the events of Anode/Cathode, Tag Tamers and D1 Tamers as things from the past. Why is this so? They shouldn't know anything about it at this point of time, right?

In-universe answer is that there’s time loop nonsense Millenniumon pulls again just by existing (cf: Anode Tamer). Plus, the more he attacks ENIAC, the spawning point of all of the Digimon universes, the more he completely warps time, space, and everything. Foreknowledge of future events is probably a side-effect of that–the kids are essentially reliving things in their past. Real world answer is that the game designers want to appeal to the players’ nostalgia.

[maniac-yokosuka]

タイガー 昨日確認を忘れて今みたら全てハッチしていて慌ててしまいました💦 By Ryo https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf-vCw5LyOp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lazarus-hope-project]

the water of life || atsuko & atsu || trial 6.6 || re: clement, kazuko, cyril

It’s a wonder to Atsu how Clement doesn’t immediately step away, push her off of him, leave her alone like she deserves. All of those times that she’d spoken about being a beast and a monster, they’d been about the serial killing, yes, but they’d also encompassed sins that she didn’t even remember committing, was positive that, with the body and mind she’d had, she hadn’t. When he does none of those things, even steps in front of her as though she’s the one who needs protecting from the old bitty who’s lording it up at the desk, she looks at him with wonder in her eyes. There might not be a dragon to slay, so to speak, but it reminds her more than a bit of those fairy tales.

Her daydreaming is cut short, and Atsuko’s fiery rant at her clone is also silenced by the existence of questions being posed to them. She didn’t miss these sorts of interviews. For sixty years, she’s avoided them, but she’s not unused to unwanted, unsolicited phone calls asking her inane and useless questions. Bo and Kisuke did a wonderful job of bothering her even after all of these years. Too bad she could never block their numbers.

As predicted, she does roll her eyes when Cyril goes and kisses Naoya on the head, but she waits until he’s done to respond to anything.

(But not before Atsu can get a squawk of “I’m right fucking here!” at the aging comment.)

“I’ll speak to the clone however I want. She’s undeserving of sharing a name with me, so she’s undeserving of decency as well since she so likes to disregard basic kindnesses like not betraying everything we’ve ever worked for. None of you are even really people. Just incomplete prototypes of the human beings society needs if it wants to thrive as a utopia, if we want any chance of creating a mortal Elysium.

As for your original selves: they’re dead. They were all killed in the first iteration of the experiment. The control group, so to speak. You found a file detailing that, or did it slip your mind already? I know there’s not much in there, so surely you can find room for it.”

Atsuko’s nails clack against the desk as she rhythmically taps her fingers one by one, staring at Clement with none of the familiarity her gaze held for him even on the plane. He is, in her mind, a stranger. They knew each other once, but things have changed, and she has no attachment to this clone any longer.

“Even if I disagree or disagreed with some things that Clara Futura did, it was all for the greater good. Humanity is flawed. Humans are flawed. Something is wrong in our creation that causes us to all eventually become self-serving, arrogant, unempathetic, and cruel. We are only out for ourselves and our own survival. Although problematic, you all, as well as myself, have some shred of hope for improvement. You were thought to be the ones who could be trained to rid yourselves of the need to kill and serve yourselves through selfish survival instincts. Don't ask me why some of you were chosen because I couldn't fucking hazard a guess. Maybe Ryo's just too stupid to see past pretty faces. It wouldn't surprise me. However, as you can very clearly see, you’ve all failed each and every time for the past 60 years. Congratulations.”

She says that with as much ire and sarcasm as she can physically muster--which is quite a bit! She’s got 60 years of hatred to work with.

“Even CF refused to see this through--that’s another problem with humanity, you know, you people are all too willing to just give up. You’re all too willing to throw in the towel at the slightest sign of resistance or turbulence. Nothing will ever get done if no one sees things through, and so nothing will ever improve. I refuse to lower myself to that, to become a quitter. Even if it took my entire lifetime, I would never stop because this must work. They talk about how the world has become a better place, but it’s still the same, the slime and muck and scum that have always been there are still there.”

While Atsuko speaks, Atsu looks on, and she’s unable to argue until the very end.

“You’re wrong. You’re blinded by some toxic preconceived notion that spawned from, what, some high schoolers taking the easy way out?! Police not helping, god, ten--no, seventy--years ago? Our father not helping in our childhood? Hope’s Peak being Hope’s Peak? If you just bothered to listen and wait and ask for help, then people would have--”

A bang rings out as Atsuko slams her hand against the desk.

“Help!? Ask for help!? Because that’s gone over so well in the past! People duck out as soon as it gets difficult or they just don’t see the need or they just don’t fucking care enough to bother. You’re just blinded by meaningless words! What makes these promises different from others, hm? Nothing! They will all amount to nothing.”

Once more, both Atsuko and Atsu fall silent, staring each other down with venom dripping from their teeth.

[indulgentia]

█   ＢＡＳＩＣ ＩＮＦＯ

Nᴀᴍᴇ:  Ryo Asuka  ( 飛鳥 了 )

Aʟɪᴀꜱ:  Satan  /  “Adversary”  /  The First Fallen

Aɢᴇ:  + 4 billion years old  ( appears to be on his late teens )

Bɪʀᴛʜ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ:  Unknown ( Leo? )

Bɪʀᴛʜᴩʟᴀᴄᴇ:  Unknown ( currently living in Tokyo, Japan )

Sᴩᴇᴄɪᴇꜱ:  ( Fallen ) Angel

Gᴇɴᴅᴇʀ:  Male ( Human )  /  Intersex 

Oʀɪᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:  Homosexual  /  Demiromantic

Oᴄᴄᴜᴩᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:  University Professor  /  Monster Hunter

Aʟɪɢɴᴍᴇɴᴛ:  Chaotic Neutral  ( but encompasses the entire chaotic spectrum )

MBTI ᴛyᴩᴇ:  INTJ  ( Architect )

⠀ █   ＰＨＹＳＩＣＡＬ   ＴＲＡＩＴＳ :

Eyᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ:  Pale blue  ( can change when he uses magic )

Hᴀɪʀ ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ:  Buttercream Blonde

Hᴇɪɢʜᴛ: 180 cm (6')

Bᴏᴅy ʙᴜɪʟᴅ:  Athletic Skinny

Nᴏᴛ���ʙʟᴇ ᴩʜyꜱɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛꜱ:  with his blonde korean-undercut, he is always seen in white clothes including a large overcoat.

⠀ █   ＡＢＩＬＩＴＩＥＳ :

Hɪɢʜ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀɪᴛy ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜᴩᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ:  Ryo is specialized in tracking and hunting supernaturals in general, ranging from weak fae to powerful demons ( being his speciality ), most times knowing ways of killing them ( either by using weaponry or setting traps ).

Fɪɴᴇꜱꜱᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴡᴇᴀᴩᴏɴꜱ ɪɴ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ:   he is clearly skilled with guns including a sawed-off shotgun used to scare off crowds, and a sniper rifle for long distance attacks (such as when Sirene attacked Akira ).  He carries an assortment of guns including a machine gun, an anti-material sniper rifle, and a pistol.

Hᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ ꜰᴀᴄᴛᴏʀ:  In this supposedly human form, Ryo recovers from wounds and injuries much faster than a regular human, even the kind that should be fatal.

Kᴇᴇɴ ꜱᴜᴩᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇꜱ: Ryo can also sense demons from their psychic signature, allowing them to track down their locations.

Cᴏɴꜱɪᴅᴇʀᴀʙʟᴇ ᴄᴏᴍʙᴀᴛ ꜱᴋɪʟʟꜱ:  He is considerably skilled the hand-to-hand combat, although possessing the strength of a regular human, being able to get his way through a mob of angry party-goers.

Hɪɢʜ ɪɴᴛᴇʟᴇᴄᴛ:  As Ryo he earned a Ph.D at a young age and even taught classes. He was an accomplished driver and mechanic, driving a modified sports car to keep up with a demon and using to hold his equipment. He is also a keen manipulator, able to control people and events to the point of total domination

⠀ █   ＢＲＩＥＦ   ＢＩＯ :

　　　 Ryo has a very serious, intense, and haunting personality, likely from the threat of the demon apocalypse looming over him. His actions at the Black Sabbath event show that his approach to the war between humans and demons is possibly even more pragmatic than Satan's, instigating violence and dooming an entire group of people to their deaths on the off chance that he or Akira ( his best friend ) may become devilmen. Despite his initial enthusiasm, the more the war goes on, Ryo becomes convinced that humanity is doomed, even finding dark humor in humanity's futile attempts to delay the inevitable.

　　　 At first, as a child washed up upon land Ryo Asuka came across as unfeeling to other children and would consider mercy killing for anything that can't be saved. As a young man he was very forward and sure of himself. He took practical steps for what was at hand even if they involved breaking several Japanese laws such as owning and using an array of guns and driving with an American driver's license. Ryo is also willing to kill anyone to protect Akira's secret as Devilman. Ryo himself did not initially believe in love or suffering, being rather apathetic to these feelings.

　　　 His most dangerous skill however, is his charisma. The beautiful and attractive appearance alone gives off a sense of leadership and thier personalities comfort many around them. This allows them to have people do whatever they want by manipulating his desires, vices, and passions. This can range from throwing a large party and getting the party-goers to attract and be possessed by demons, or even cause a nationwide panic by revealing to the public about demons while leaving out crucial information about Devilman. It’s no surprise, therefore, that Satan commands an entire army of demons with absolute loyalty.

　　　 Ryo strove to create a better world free of the demons and regardless of the number of lives lost. Like any other human he expressed horror at being attacked by demons, and concern with the possibility that someone had recorded Akira in his Devilman form. A deep seated fear was shown in response to the flash of light caused by God that wiped out an American Navel Fleet.

Sᴀᴛᴀɴ　( spoiler alert! )

　　　Turns out the real Ryo Asuka e died an unspecified point of his youth, and his identity is then assumed by Satan, an angel who fell from grace when they defied God by siding with the demon race that he planned to destroy, becoming their leader. Satan had went against God's cold and bitter regime, later being banished to Earth in its prehistoric time. There, he encountered the demons, finding their simplistic but brutal ways interesting. However, when God had its forces attack Earth to wipe out the demons and restart from scratch, Satan and the demons would continue to thrive. In Satan's case, he would reincarnate.

　　　 After an initial victory, Satan and the army of demons go into hibernation to prepare for the final battle. They remain in this state until they wake up two million years later, to discover that the Earth had been taken over by humans. Disgusted by these new creatures, Satan decides to deal with them first before resuming their battle with God.

　　　 As Satan, they are displayed as an intersex being with breasts, but male groin area. Their blonde hair grows longer and becomes wavy. Wearing no clothes, their body is covered in a veil of light. All around their body are pairs of white wings that appear on their back, the back of their feet, and the back of their head.

Satan has a wide range of powers, including flight, telepathy, telekinesis, mind control, and firing massive beams of white light from their hands that can cause much widespread destruction. Satan's telekinetic powers are strong enough to blow bodies apart. They can summon a sword when they battle the forces of God in Devilman Lady; here they also demonstrates the ability to split their consciousness in two. Satan presumably has more powers than other angels due to being 'the child of God'.

Sᴀᴛᴀɴ ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛ Lᴜᴄɪꜰᴇʀ!

　　　 Lucifer is mentioned but once in the Bible. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning." Isaiah xiv. 12. Shakespeare uses it six times. "Falls like Lucifer." Henry VIII., Act iii. Sc. 2. " Lucifer and Beelzebub himself." Henry V.

　　　 Nowhere within the context of Isaiah 14, however, is Satan depicted as Lucifer. In fact, quite the opposite is true. In his commentary on Isaiah, Burton Coffman wrote: “We are glad that our version (ASV) leaves the word Lucifer out of this rendition, because... Satan does not enter into this passage as a subject at all” (1990, p. 141). The Babylonian ruler was to die and be buried — fates neither of which Satan is destined to endure. The king was called “a man” whose body was to be eaten by worms, but Satan, as a spirit, has no physical body. The monarch lived in and abided over a “golden city” (vs. 4), but Satan is the monarch of a kingdom of spiritual darkness (cf. Ephesians 6:12). And so on.

[cerastes]

ryo-maybe: CPEX had built-in summaries of the previous games, did you check if CF has them too, just in case?

Oh, actually, that is a good idea, I’ll check that. I wouldn’t be surprised, considering all the stuff they added in the game alluding to older games, like the CS-era OST, etc.

[wackyworldcomics]

Was relistening to "Popular" from Wicked and immediately realized that Ryo is a lot like Glinda. I am stupidly obsessed with this strange little man who won't be in the pilot, but boy will you get to see him later on (mostly to the annoyance of Claire and Atka, but they still see him as a friend). Man- I wish I had the energy to color this. In the future, I might find the time. Because "Popular" is their relationship to a T.

Anyways- please ask me about Cave Finders! Pilot coming out whenever I get to it! @wackyworldcomics

[angelshinhye]

BTS Mamonde & Ryo CF😘@Regrann from @patsyshiu - [ #Flower_Of_Angel in HongKong ] 20170610 CF Video 1 #Flower_Of_Angel #HongKong #박신혜 #ParkShinHye #パクシネ #朴信惠 #朴信惠FlowerofAngel亞洲巡迴粉絲見面會香港站 #朴信惠香港粉絲見面會 #朴信惠FlowerofAngel #ssinz7 #Mamonde #Ryo #呂 - #regrann #PSHforMamonde #PSHforRyo

[lazarus-hope-project]

STUDY OF REVENGE || CYRIL || TRIAL 6.3 || RE: CLEMENT, ATSUKO, SOME WILD SPECULATION

Cyril had expected this. The bias was subconscious, but not unrecognized. It’s hard not to recognize that he’d be biased towards the woman who hit him over the head with a shovel, stabbed him, and rejoiced in his execution. But it wasn’t quite that simple. He’d focused on Atsuko for much the same reason that Clement refused to consider her—not because he thought that anything else was impossible, but that the alternative was unacceptable. 

And he could tell from looking at the prince’s expression that it was an unspoken understanding. That Clement knew why Cyril had left out the most obvious other candidate. It didn’t make it any easier. Cyril returns the other man’s quiet stare for a moment before his eyes drift down to his own podium again. 

“Yeah. I’m biased. But that doesn’t mean the profile is entirely off. All the criteria are based on the facts we have, even if my first suspicion is subjective. Have to fucking start somewhere. And I’d rather finish that before moving on to the next.” 

Sorry, bestie. He can’t give it up just yet. Cyril lets out a small sigh and looks back over to Clement again.

“You’re right that Atsuko doesn’t show any qualms about swearing. But neither does the Admin, based on the conversation transcripts. They swore plenty, but they still corrected whoever it was over the phone. Sounds hypocritical to me. So that’d fit as well.” 

He turns to stare down Atsuko at that last part. He thinks it’s fairly self-explanatory that she’s a hypocrite. At the very least, his voice is still absent of anger as he addresses her other points. Who says you can't be civil while discussing someone's innocence.

“The Admin said they were brought on for their determination and morals. It mentioned on the subject files that Ryo gave them this position. That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have been involved with Clara Futura before that. Bo and Kisuke were both already agents and brought into the experiment as well. Not impossible that the Admin worked on a different operation prior to this one.”

“As for leaving your son… not going to question that you wouldn’t want to leave him for sixty years. Of course you fucking wouldn’t. But we know the experiment wasn’t expected to have gone on for this long. Clearly. Maybe the Admin thought it would be a year or two deployment at most. Or there was some other sort of miscommunication.”

“Seems like there was a falling out between the Admin and Clara Futura in general. On the video call, they accused the original Kisuke of not upholding the commitment he’d made. Said that he’d stopped using the ship for its intended purpose, whatever the fuck that means. And we found the memo about the director’s death and the change in leadership in the trash. As far as I can tell, the Admin doesn’t seem to be Clara Futura’s biggest fan anymore either. Or even affiliated with them. They got fired.”

He frowns quietly to himself. This is where things got extremely speculative. 

“No way of knowing when or why there was a disagreement, so take this next part with a huge fucking grain of salt. Can’t stop wondering why the Admin was so desperate for this experiment to work, even after they’d been told to pack it up by Clara Futura. The point was to test morality and shit to make a new perfect society, right. The original Kisuke said on the video call that it was already happening down on earth without this experiment working.”

“My guess is that the Admin didn’t believe that was really happening. Not because they thought it was a complete lie, but because they didn’t have faith in Clara Futura to make a perfect society anymore. They’d gotten disillusioned by something. Possibly Operation Scorched Earth itself, since we know that it was fucked up, it only happened after we'd already been launched into space, and the Admin isn't exactly high-ranking enough to make CF change their mind about anything. But we have no way of confirming that’s what it was.”

“Even if it was something else, it could mean that in the Admin's eyes, this experiment is the last actual hope for society. Which is why they’re so fucking desperate for it to actually work. Maybe they think that if they can figure it out, then there won’t be any more companies like CF in the future that kill innocents for their own profit.”

Cyril goes silent again after all of that speaking, and then simply shakes his head. He certainly doesn't believe that could be solved by a social experiment, but what does he know. Besides, the theory is too much speculation and not enough fact for him to really put any stock in it. But maybe it was a start. Maybe someone else could correct it and build on it.

He looks over to Clement again, his voice dropping to only be barely audible between their two podiums.

“If you want to describe the others that fit the profile, then go ahead. But I can’t.”

[lazarus-hope-project]

wise folks || atsuko || trial 6.2 || re: clement, renee

After Clement finishes speaking, Atsuko leans in and whispers to him, squeezing his hand gently. They’re words of reassurance, of saying that no one’s expecting him to carry the discussion or be the head of it or anything like that, that his contributions were very helpful. She even manages to keep the “unlike some people” out of her voice. Just for you, Clement. Just for you.

“I don’t think it’s Bo-san and Ki-kun. After all, why would the admin care if clones of the original people were involved in the experiment and didn’t know anything about their original selves agreeing to be part of CF?” 

She hums, tapping a finger against her cheek as she thinks further.

“And…It sounded to me like Ki-kun outranked the Admin that we’re trying to find by a considerable margin--at least enough that he was allowed to fire them. Why would the Admin object to anything Ki-kun and Bo-san did? Personally, I agree with Clement that we’re supposed to assume that the Admin had two people that they didn’t think would be a good fit for the experiment. They said ‘Their characters would no doubt bring great benefit to the experiment, but I believe they’re best suited to be placed elsewhere.’ To me, this either means that they would be good influences on others or their improvement would be good for the results of the experiment.

If we go with the first theory, then it’s probably Clement and another kind person. If we go with the second, it could either be Naoya-kun and Cyril or Cyril and myself--as in, the pair that the Admin clearly couldn’t fucking stand or the two serial killers who kept fucking things up. One of the two, and I’m not sure which.”

Wouldn’t it be simpler if Ryo would just, what, sacrifice himself and drop the name? They could always bring him back…Or maybe he didn’t know. What a pain.

[lazarus-hope-project]

ALL IS NOT LOST || CYRIL || TRIAL 6.1 || RE: PHONE CALL TRANSCRIPT, CONVERSATION TRANSCRIPTS, RULE CHANGE, ATTN: AUTO

The slow, sinking pit in Cyril’s stomach perfectly mirrored the ride down the elevator back to the trial room. He hadn’t wanted to ever see this place again if he could help it. He couldn’t, of course. There were more important things to take care of, and he didn’t intend to waste any time being more for an asshole than he had to. Not that he planned to be nice either, but a firm grip on Naoya’s hand and the other man occasionally leaning against him was enough to remind him of the actual goal. 

“No way that phone call transcript was between the Admin and Inoue. It fucking referenced her, yeah, but it wasn’t talking to her. Was in the third person, complaining about her. Sounded a lot like a kid complaining to a parent or an older sibling. Who else would get scolded about ‘language’ like that. Who the fuck else would ask them to come home, either. Doubt they could keep a partner if it's long distance for sixty fucking years in space.”

Cyril continues disagreeing with basically everything Carolina said, but at least he’s not outright calling her stupid. That’s still a very low bar.

“There was more than one conversation transcript as well. One of them was labeled 'A+S' and was definitely between the Admin and Sentinel. Referenced going down to give us something fucked up, probably another motive. Not a reach to assume the other one labeled 'A+A' could have been the Admin and Autopilot. Especially since one of the speakers was clearly on our side.”

He frowns to himself for a moment, and then continues.

“Even with all that… can't be sure. Still might be more than one Admin. Not entirely convinced the rule change applies to Autopilot or the CF fuckboy. Easy way to make sure of that, though.”

Cyril turns over to where Sentinel’s body is parked, but he’s addressing Autopilot.

“Do you even count as an admin, or is it just your code keeping you from telling us anything useful—if you can even tell us that much. Does that Clara Futura idiot count as an admin either. Last I checked his records said he was a subject like the rest of us, right.”

He means Ryo, but why would he ever bother to actually use his name.

[lazarus-hope-project]

Clearing a Name | Trial 1 | Bo | Re: Renee

For the entirely of this trial, Bo had been staring into space (no pun intended.) While they had made a career of searching for the truth it seemed like they were unsure if those same skills could be put to use in a murder trial.

Finally they butt in.

"It wasn't Kisuke."

They pause, glancing pass Renee to look the man up and down.

"He is... pretty scrawny looking, isn't he? While humans can secretly know fighting styles, as suggested by Jackpot, I think you're all looking for someone stronger than him. Given the connection between that dent in the wall and Ryo it seems like he was smashed against it. I think you need some strength to bend metal like that using someone's spine.

They pause again.

"Ryo wasn't the aggressor, yes? He didn't have a device to be shown a motive, right? I don't think CF thought of him at all. He didn't even have a room, sleeping in the first aid room..."

[lazarus-hope-project]

Let Us Take You on a Little Trip

After the display with Ryo and Sentinel, the man slinks over to you all and stands beside you. An observant eye can see that he's trembling, and his violet eyes are wide in shock. What does he know that you don't?

Sentinel pantomimes cleaning her hands and turns to face you. A nearby panel lights up as Autopilot is here to observe as well. Autopilot gets right into it, speaking up a little before Sentinel can speak.

"It looks like everyone is here. Good! We can begin with the next phase of this experiment. We have concluded our introductory segment of the experiment #427. Now it's on to the good part. You are all parts of our experiment to test morality, ethics, and altruism in a stress induced setting. The isolation of space does a perfect setting. You must be wondering-

Sentinel steps closer to everyone, interrupting the system.

“So why are you all here…?

We-

Failur-

No-”

Sentinel seems to be glitching out but it only lasts a moment before she pauses, going silent, then restarts herself.

“Our little social experiment is very simple. You fools are going to kill each other! Plain and simple! We don’t want a battle royale bloodbath, No no no! Be a little smart about it, won’t you? We want to watch you kill maybe one or two people. Do it how you want but please don’t make too much of a mess of the place. If one of you doesn’t kill the other then we’ll have a little problem and have to force our hand. We at–”

She sputters again, Autopilot wiggling frantically in her direction before she holds herself steady.

“--Don’t believe you’d like that. What happens after the murder is a surprise. Your only hint: Don’t get caught.”

Ryo covers his mouth as he begins to slink away from the crowd. Sentinel puts her hands on her hips and laughs a robotic laugh.

"The only way out will be to finish the experiment and prove to us humanity is truly worth all this effort! Better kill, and get snappy! I don't have forever, you know."

With that, Sentinel opens the elevator door, pressing a long string of keys and walking in. The door closes swiftly and you are all left in silence. Killing? Morality? Ethics? Social experiment? What does all of this mean? There was an air of unease in the hallway as eyes glanced at one another, unsure of whether to take this seriously.

Then, without notice, Autopilot comes back online as you all hear a 'ding' from your CF devices.

"Just in case any of that was a little confusing- I know I was a little lost!- I have added an application to your devices about the rules! Pretty simple stuff! Please do try not to break them, okay?"