#klaasje my wife Klaasje….

[plasma-packin-mama]

Collection of disco crumbs…

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

🎵 Whirling in Rags, 8 PM

"To hell with this. *I* still believe you saw the phasmid."

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "A true believer," she looks out the window. "Sometimes I still see it, too. The real memory of it. How it was there... Not the memory *of* the memory. But it's so hard to tell the two apart..."

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Rising, unfolding from the reeds on a hot summer's day... like a benevolent god.

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "Either way, I should go. Poor Morell is running a fever and I need to get him home to Jamrock. Before we overstay our welcome with Gary."

"Are you sure you don't need help getting to Gary's?"

"You do that. I'll check the traps one more time."

"Be careful out there, Lena." (Conclude.)

"It's been a pleasure, ma'am." (Conclude.)

"The rest of it is pretty grim. Thanks for bringing some light." (Conclude.)

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "Oh no. Thank you, but I can get there on my own, this old thing is gas-powered." She taps her chair. "And then a taxi home. It's not so bad."

2. "You do that. I'll check the traps one more time."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Really?"

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "Oh sweetie..." She looks at you, worried. "Please don't get stuck on a dream. Take it from me and Morell."

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - No one can STOP you from finding the phasmid.

3. "Can I have your address? Just in case there's news."

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "Okay, it's 1113 Tabernacle Road. Jamrock, but..."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - A sigh. She doesn't think you'll need it.

6. "The rest of it is pretty grim. Thanks for bringing some light." (Conclude.)

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "You're welcome, sweetie." She flicks a switch on her chair and the engine turns on with a whir. "I'm glad it helped you, even though it turned out to be a..." The sentence remains unfinished.

Task complete: Find the Insulindian Phasmid

+30 XP

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - A waste of time?

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - A dream?

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - A lie?

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - A *fool's hope* -- say her lips moving in silence.

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - Like that, she drives off. The gas engine putters quietly, as she gets to the doors -- then pushes them open. Outside the cold coastal wind blows.

KIM KITSURAGI - "We should go too."

Now we need some way to kill four minutes before we meet with the Pigs. Let's... *briefly* talk to Klaasje.

🎵 Miss Oranje Disco Dancer

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "It's always good to see you." She cracks a weary smile, leaning back against the railing.

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] - Something in her demeanour has changed. She's tired, consigned to her fate -- to being here with you and what's to come.

3. [Volition - Legendary] Look her in the eye.

+1 Slight confusion about bullet.

VOLITION [Legendary: Success] - Soft, light brown eyes look back at you, directly into the space behind your eye sockets. You see the smoke rise from between her painted red lips. She's beautiful...

I have bad news for you.

What?

VOLITION - You know these guys?

LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - Who, me?

DRAMA [Trivial: Success] - Yes, you. He's talking about you, you boring stiff.

VOLITION - You too.

DRAMA [Trivial: Success] - Me? What did I do? I'm merely a master thespian...

VOLITION - These guys are compromised. She's got them singing along to her tune. The little bleeps and bloops you trust for info -- you can't trust them anymore.

Oh my god.

What?

I knew something was off...

VOLITION - I'm sorry I didn't catch it sooner. It takes conscious effort on your part.

+5 XP

Which ones exactly are affected?

How did this happen?

Does this mean she's been lying to me?

What is her *plan*?

I've been talking to myself long enough. Let's get back to it.

VOLITION - There's no way of knowing. At the moment I'm afraid it's best to assume...

...*all* of them.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - Bullshit, man, I ain't *compromised*.

VOLITION - *Especially* that guy. That guy's the most compromised one in here.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - No fucking way, man, I just want a drag of that sweet Menthol ziggie.

VOLITION - Really? Quick, tell me what's under her jumpsuit?

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - GLORY. TRUTH. SOFTNESS. PROTECT HER. SHE WANTS YOU.

VOLITION - I take it back. He's got it pretty bad, but this *next guy's* on another level entirely...

SUGGESTION [Trivial: Success] - She likes you. The Crownhead is a boring condom. He's jealous. This is human nature.

2. How did this happen?

VOLITION - How it always does -- through subtlety.

What can I do?

VOLITION - There's nothing you can do about it. You are how you are -- and she is how she is. Things will go as they do.

Can't you turn them normal again?

VOLITION - No.

What use is this then?

VOLITION - It's better to know you're being played than to be played without knowing it, is it not?

3. Does this mean she's been lying to me?

VOLITION - I think it's safe to assume: yes. Mr. Thespian here hasn't been speaking up. If he were, I suspect there would be paeans to her truthfulness. Like this...

DRAMA [Easy: Success] - She isth a laedy most fair and juste!

VOLITION - In his defence -- to reduce him to such inadequacy, she probably had to employ half-truths more often than outright lies.

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - That is correct. And omissions too.

Can I trust that guy?

VOLITION - A little. They're all still of limited use, interpreting things to the best of their ability. Maybe they add flair or something? I wouldn't know. I don't add flair.

But when it comes to assessments of character and factual accuracy they are not to be trusted. Not with her.

Can I trust any of them *ever again?*

Okay.

VOLITION - Don't be melodramatic. You can trust them. Just not with Miss Oranje Disco Dancer here."

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Challenging: Success] - A light green speck, and imperfection, on the outer rim of her right iris. It sparkles...

4. What is her *plan*?

VOLITION - You can't draw a sound conclusion. The one who usually does says...

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - She may want to control the information roll-out -- not to become a suspect. She may have a past she's escaping, unrelated to this case. You doubt it's something truly insidious.

VOLITION - See? It's oddly moderate. Probably compromised.

5. I've been talking to myself long enough. Let's get back to it.

VOLITION - Don't worry, it's only been four or five seconds. You've got this.

It's actually been *fifteen minutes*, but ok.

(Say it out loud.) "Miss, are you manipulating me?"

(Don't say anything.) Just close your eyes and let the moment pass.

Probably better not to let her know we're onto her.

VOLITION - For a second her face disappears from your cornea. Only a silvery negative remains.

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - Still smiling a tired smile.

6. "Let's return to this later, miss." [Leave.]

We have an appointment to keep.

🎵 Disco Elysium, Pt 2

🔊 Police Sirens

THE PIGS - "Put your hands where I can see them," the ageing woman under a mountain of police paraphernalia mumbles to herself, then notices you and reaches for the megaphone...

"Show me your hands. This is the Pigs. Show me your hands *RIGHT NOW*," she screams in the megaphone. "SHOW ME YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW!"

Scavenged battery-powered police lights protrude from her back. The flickering light-show reveals a gun in her shaking hand.

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - Her hand is trembling from some sort of neurodegenerative disease.

The lieutenant draws his gun.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Madam! Please drop the firearm immediately!"

"Wait, what should we do, Kim?"

Raise your hands.

"Easy, ma'am, take it easy…"

KIM KITSURAGI - "This is bad," the lieutenant whispers. "Getting your weapon back is the priority. We can't have an unhinged civilian running around with a gun."

THE PIGS - "COMPLY, OR I WILL LIGHT YOU THE FUCK UP!" she continues to yell as she lumbers about.

Raise your hands.

THE PIGS - "The man appears to be pulling out an object from his pocket!" Her eyes fill with terror. "FEAR UNDER THREAT! FEAR UNDER THREAT!"

"Superseding event! Split-second decision! Get on the ground! GET ON THE GODDAMN GROUND!"

"I wasn't taking anything out of my pocket."

"Ma'am, we just wanna talk to you."

THE PIGS - "Subject yourself to a FULL BODY CAVITY SEARCH! PROHIBITED MATERIALS CONCEALED IN NOSTRILS, EARS, MOUTH, NAVEL, URETHRA, FORESKIN, VAGINA, AND RECTUM!"

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - In her mind the cavity search is happening, as long as she's saying it. It appears the things she says are very real to her.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Be careful, detective. Don't do anything that might set her off."

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - The situation looks bad. Calm yourself. Steady your breathing.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success] - This is dangerous. You're 70% certain you always leave your gun loaded.

"We can solve this peacefully, please lower the weapon."

"Please identify yourself, ma'am?"

"You're not the police. *We* are the police."

[Hand/Eye Coordination - Formidable 13] Time to get my gun!

"Doesn't look good. Let's deal with this later." [Leave.]

THE PIGS - "OFFICER IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE!" Her eyes dart between you and Kim. "SUSPECT AT LARGE, GET ON THE GROUND!"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Ma'am, please..." The lieutenant is trying to maintain eye-contact. "We want to help you, but you need to lower that weapon."

"Let's just talk, alright?"

"That's it, you're under arrest!"

"Blow her away, lieutenant!"

THE PIGS - "Disturbance reported, authorize deadly force. SECTOR, TAKE THE SHOT!" Her head snaps at you. "BIG RED KEY, BIG RED KEY!"

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Big red key? That's code for the battering ram. Cop talk. You know this.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - What happened to make her like this?

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Loneliness.

INTERFACING - Yes, sure. But also -- in a less abstract way -- the neurodegenerative disease I mentioned earlier.

"Ma'am, we're here to help. Tell us what's wrong."

THE PIGS - The woman looks at you, but through you. Like you don't exist. Her eyes gleam feverishly and the rotating police-beacon lights reveal deep scratch marks on her cheeks.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - Recent. Self-inflicted.

THE PIGS - "THIS IS THE POLICE!" She howls through her megaphone. "UNLAWFUL ENGAGEMENT. HANDS ON THE GROUND, SCUM-BAG!"

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - So this is what the weather's like on the other end of a cop's gun?

"Kim?"

"I hear you, ma'am, look..." (Start slowly bending over.) "...hands going on the ground."

"We *just* want to help, that's all."

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant's eyes stay fixed on the woman and her gun -- he studies them closely, then mumbles: "Fascinating."

"See?" He glances at you. "This is what happens, when we're not around."

"Please identify yourself, ma'am?"

THE PIGS - "IT'S THE GODDAMN POLICE, SHIT-BAG," she yells into the megaphone. "HUG THE PAVEMENT, YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!"

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - As she waves her hands, you notice familiar-looking ampoules and packets sticking out the mountain of police gear on her back. Medicine? Or drugs?

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - She thinks she's a police officer... Try treating her like a police officer. A *lower-ranking* police officer.

"Officer, Pigs! Double-yefreitor Harrier Du Bois, requesting your sidearm for inspection." (Hold out your badge.)

"Are you on drugs?"

"You're not the police. *We* are the police."

[Hand/Eye Coordination - Formidable 13] Time to get my gun!

"Doesn't look good. Let's deal with this later." [Leave.]

THE PIGS - "CONFISCATED CONTRABAND!" The megaphone makes her voice almost painfully metallic. "RESTRICTED ACCESS, TWO KILOS MISSING, EYE-WITNESS REPORT COMPROMISED!"

KIM KITSURAGI - "I don't think she's on drugs," the lieutenant whispers. "Being *off* drugs might actually be the problem here..."

"Officer, Pigs! Double-yefreitor Harrier Du Bois, requesting your sidearm for inspection." (Hold out your badge.)

THE PIGS - "Wh... what?" She lowers the megaphone and stares at the gun in her hand.

"Patrol officer, you're in gross violation of the RCM Code of Conduct."

"Just lower the gun, officer."

"That's right, Pigs, give me the gun. It will be alright. It's mine."

THE PIGS - "Sir..." She hesitates, looking around in confusion. The three barrelled pepperbox wavers in her hand.

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - In this moment of hesitation she almost doesn't seem disturbed, but like someone suddenly waking from a deep sleep.

"Patrol officer, I have to sign you up for a disciplinary hearing…" (Slowly shake your head.)

"Please, Pigs, just give me the gun."

"It's okay, ma'am. Everything's gonna be alright."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Easy..." the lieutenant whispers. "Press her too hard and she'll..."

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Too late, lieutenant.

THE PIGS - With a swift, poorly coordinated move the woman slams the megaphone against her lips and teeth. A trickle of blood runs down her chin. She doesn't notice it.

"OFFICER COMPROMISED, UNLAWFUL IMPERSONATION! PIGS *EN ROUTE*, ENGAGE AT WILL!!!"

SUGGESTION - Okay, she's actually *more* agitated now. My bad.

"You're not the police. *We* are the police."

THE PIGS - "Back-up?" She lowers the megaphone half-way, but immediately raises it again and screams: "BACK-UP, BACK-UP! STATUS UNCONFIRMED!"

"Baby, you know who I am -- everybody knows." (Wink.)

"*Back-up*?! There's nothing to back up, nowhere to back down -- the terrible finale is on us!"

"Me, back-up? More like a fuck-up…"

"I'm with the Remote Viewers Division."

"Lieutenant double-yefreitor Harrier Du Bois, 41st Precinct. This is my partner, Lieutenant Kitsuragi, from the 57th."

THE PIGS - "No," the crazed woman mumbles, shaking her head. "No, no, no... I though Mr. Morrand... Gareth..." Suddenly she raises the megaphone and screams: "AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, MAN DOWN, OFFICERS IN PURSUIT!"

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - There's a scenario unfolding in her head right now. It has nothing to do with what's happening here.

KIM KITSURAGI - "What's the situation..." the lieutenant hesitates addressing the woman, "... officer?"

THE PIGS - "LAW ENFORCEMENT COMPROMISED," she screams in the megaphone. Red and blue lights illuminate the spit flying everywhere. "IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER!"

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Does she not believe you two are actually police officers?

"Wait, what if she's right and I actually *am* an imposter?"

"We really are cops. Look, white rectangles!"

"We really are cops. Look, my badge…" (Take out your badge and show it to her.)

"Hey, you're the one impersonating a police officer!"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Now..." the lieutenant takes a deep breath and steadies his voice, "... is not the time."

2. "We really are cops. Look, my badge..." (Take out your badge and show it to her.)

THE PIGS - "LICENCE AND REGISTRATION!!!" She repeatedly bashes the megaphone against her head, then screams in the bloody mouthpiece: "LICENCE AND REGISTRATION! COME IN DISPATCH! SECTOR, SECTOR, AZIMUTH!!!"

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - It's not a code. Just disjointed words.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - She's losing it -- one twitch and there will be blood.

Nothing left to do but try for the gun.

[Hand/Eye Coordination - Formidable 13] Time to get my gun!

+1 This is the Pigs. +1 Rogue cop on the loose.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Formidable: Success] - Alright, here's how we do it: As soon as that gun isn't pointed at you again, you dash right, then immediately close the distance. Left hand grabs the barrel, right one breaks the wrist...

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - No. That won't be necessary. Look closer. The gun, all three barrels, red and blue light shining through -- it's not loaded.

(Whisper.) "Kim, I'm almost certain there are no bullets in that gun."

"My god, it's not loaded... The gun isn't loaded!"

"Ma'am, the weapon you're holding is mine and I *know* it has no bullets."

"Go ahead, pull the trigger. I dare you."

KIM KITSURAGI - "I've been thinking that too. But it's impossible to tell for certain in these lighting conditions."

2. "Ma'am, the weapon you're holding is mine and I *know* it has no bullets."

THE PIGS - "What...?" The woman looks at the weapon in disbelief, her eyes suddenly reddish with tears. She looks straight down the barrel... and squeezes the trigger.

"Wait..."

THE PIGS - A click. Nothing happens. She looks at the useless weapon. "This isn't police issue. Police weapons have bullets. This isn't real! What is this?"

The sirens stop.

The gun lands on the wooden planks and tears run down her scratched cheeks. "Police guns always have bullets... What is this? Why did you sell me this?"

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - She looks devastated.

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success] - Grab the gun! Right now! This might be your *ONLY* chance.

(Pick up your gun.)

"I'm done with this gun." (Leave it behind forever.)

Item Gained: Villiers 9mm Pepperbox Pistol

THE PIGS - "No one ever cares anymore," her voice is growing fainter as she rocks back and forth, slowly. "Why would they cheat me like this..."

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - Great gears are grinding to a halt. The machine is powering down. She's all out of jolt.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Poor woman..." The lieutenant holsters his pistol. "We need to figure out what to do with her now."

Task complete: Confront the Pigs and get your gun back

+30 XP

Level up!

THE PIGS - "Nobody's ever around," the old woman mumbles, staring blank at the boardwalk, "nobody ever comes to visit me."

"You're not alone. We're all here."

"What do you think is happening to her?"

"Should we just arrest her?" (Proceed.)

THE PIGS - The woman stands in front of you, motionless, unresponsive. Almost like an inanimate object now. A mountain of police paraphernalia.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - In there she is alone, trapped in a world of blue and red lights.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - Her children and their children, if there were any, stopped coming when it got really bad.

2. "What do you think is happening to her?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "She's in a stupor," the lieutenant replies, inspecting the catatonic woman standing in the dark. "I've seen this before. God knows for how long... Could be days when they get like this."

"But why was she like this in the first place?"

"Understood."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Honestly, I don't know. Dementia, probably," he lowers his voice. "Dementia and Channel 8. And loneliness."

Nod. "Neurodegenerative disease."

"Yes. This is what happens when you listen to too many cop shows on the radio."

"You're probably right." (Nod.) "Loneliness."

"I guess we'll never know."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Could be," agrees the lieutenant. "Her hands were trembling and she did seem uncoordinated... But what are we gonna do with her?"

3. "Should we just arrest her?" (Proceed.)

KIM KITSURAGI - "I don't think there's any need for that. In her current state -- and without the gun -- she isn't really a threat to anyone."

"We could let Titus know. This is a perfect problem for the local 'peacekeepers' to handle. They might even know her family."

"Wait, I was really hoping I can give her one of those station call slips..."

"Yeah, Titus sounds like the man for the job."

"I don't want to endorse the Hardie boys' inflated sense of self-worth. They're not cops -- we are."

"I think we can just leave her like this. She'll be fine."

I don't think any other option here is worth considering.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Then we can ask him once we get back to the Whirling. But we have to hurry, cause it's late and they might have already gone home."

New task: Hardie and the Pigs

"But I think we're done here for now. Let's head out, this is done."

THE PIGS - As you turn to leave, the faintest of voices comes from the woman. "Please, leave the radio on..." she mutters. It seems like a reflex, a half-remembered sentence.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - Reflex to what? Being left alone?

EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - Exactly. With only the voice of Gareth Morrand to accompany her on Channel 8.

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - She stands motionless. Just a heap of clothes and flashers now -- maybe if you search her once more?

VILLIERS 9MM PEPPERBOX PISTOL

Equip this when times are most dire.

A three-shot revolving barrel Villiers-LaSalle pepperbox, typically assigned to officers of the RCM upon reaching the rank of sergeant. The butt of the gun is worn and the engraving on the side reads: Sunrise, Parabellum! This is *your gun*, no doubt about it.

Let's break here.

[alteredsilicone]

5 Favourite Characters

Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

tagged by @writtense let's gooo

If you vote, you gotta make your own poll (unless you've done it already) 🫵🫵🫵 (sorry I'm cringe and don't like tagging people WAH)

Visuals of each character:

Arcade who was my Loid before Loid existed <3333333 I love him and was OBSESSED with him back when I played F:NV

Disco Elysium is full of amazing women, but Klaasje really hit that sweet spot in terms of character... she's like straight from the works of Henrik Ibsen

My first husbando, from a shitey Korean MMO (I have a lot of favs from GE but like they're gonna lose in the poll against other characters anyways)

Everyone knows Loid, my current obsession and husbando, I expect him to sweep this poll because 90% of my followers are here for Warframe and out of that 90% a good chunk are Loidposters

Magister Sieran... she was my first love, my crush. I love her, my plant wife. Everyone's favorite was Tybalt, but my first order was the Durmand Priory and I will always love Sieran. <333 Yay for side characters

[weepylucifer]

“there are some moments when he says ''her'' and it's genuinely unclear whether he means klaasje or a half-memory of the phasmid”

tell me about those moments, i’m so invested

This one comes to mind:

He looks at the reeds, not at the town, when he says "her". The twitching is associated with the neurodegenerative effect the phasmid has. The low-frequency hiss is also later identified as the phasmid moving around so. she is there

Loosely related ephemera:

Empathy: It's not just chemical

Harry: omg he is in love with the bug

Kim: bug love is beyond my capabilities to comprehend, detective

doesn't want to leave his wife :(

Volition implying that Dros would have ended it all awhile ago if it weren't for the phasmid keeping him together

the last thing he says before losing it completely is "Us..." and a moment later the phasmid appears. clearly referencing his relationship to his bugwife

[sunday-12-25]

god ive been wanting to write a post abt this for YEARs, ok! ok. so i remember watching tv on one of those christmas-new-years days and they were showing this New russian comedy with гоша куценко, and from what i remember it was a story abt a family with some kids in which, due to some new years miracle, the mom and the dad swapped bodies. the mom was played by кристина орбакайте, and she had that klaasje swag. straight blonde bangs n shit.

n i dont remember what they were like before the swap, but i DO remember gosha, this big bald dude being all faggoty acting like that wife. with the OOOHs and AAAs and THE HAND GESTURES

but more than that i remember THE WIFE. it was supposedly the husband in her body trying to act like her, so she tried to make dinner for the kids, but she sucked at it and it turned out to be some shitty omelette with the eggshells still in there. the kids were like Mom WTF

and she just. god this was my butch awakening i swear. in that made up beautiful womanly face, she smiled with all teeth out and went: 'well! that's more calcium : )'

IT CAME OUT IN 2006. GOD. ! the scary russian media that is turning the kids trans

[o-wyrmlight]

For the fandom thing, how about Disco Elysium?

Admittedly I haven't really played much in like 2 months due to Other Things so I still haven't passed the third or fourth day but...

Blorbo: Harrier "Harry" DuBois has so much potential for development and his internal dialogue is incredibly Interesting.

Skrungly: Kim Kitsuragi is shaped like a friend and you cannot tell me otherwise. I'd want to make him proud if he existed in real life, personally.

Scrimblo Bimblo: Morell The Cryptozoologist and his wife. I love how passionate Morell is and how his wife genuinely cares about if he's okay after the bridge went down. Thanks for that Harry

Glup Shitto: Klaasje Amandou and Lawrence Garte (I have two. I make the rules I am Allowed). Garte is just so tired and Klaasje is a trooper for putting up with all of that bullshit, poor lady. I want Garte and that lady he was interested in to get the chance to date. Give this guy a break.

Poor Little Meow Meow: Cuno, the Little Shit. He's just a kid, man. Someone please help him. Please.

Horse Plinko: Measurehead. I don't understand you, Measurehead. How are you a reverse racist. Where the hell did you get your ideas. Why am I allowed to subscribe to your theories. You know what, I don't care. You're massive, stacked and your ideas are frankly frightening. Stay 50 feet away from me at all times. Down the Plinko you go.

Eeby Deeby: Cunoesse and Evart Claire. Cunoesse better leave Cuno alone or else I swear she will catch these hands, and Evart... he seems like a scheming, lying piece of shit. Having me sit in a chair that takes away a whole health point and can kill someone if they aren't careful. No I will not take your money. Give me my fucking gun and my badge. You are interfering with police investigation. I hate you

[thuranni]

got real concrete progress in disco elysium today. found the bullet, sent the body to processing so kim left to go drop it off. in his absence i lied to joyce messier, made titus hardie respect me and thus unlocked talking to klaasje for when kim’s back, just real solid work. was doing a real bangup job. and then i called my ex-wife and felt like i got shot

[mbabol]

more . ewysium

·        I want to make art about dolores dei. I think that’s fascinating. My feelings on this phenomenon are so .

o   Dolores dei to me was absolutely one of the most fascinating parts of de. She is the encapsulation of the issue of womanhood and misogyny in de, and encapsulation in that she epitomizes the concept of the figure. She is a projection that by its metaphysical nature is capable of being everything at once, even contradictory people and ideas. She was once a historical figure, but through “love” she lost her humanity, just as harrys ex wife lost her humanity through his idealization of her – a common thread between many of the women in the story is the way that they are flattened by the men in the story into caricatures, representations. A woman is no longer a person, either by idealization or by demonization, turned into a country, a religion, a political ideology – synecdoche* (think more on this later)

o   Like I think its so disingenuous when some fans interpret dolores dei as like, pure good or evil. The whole point is that she must represent both, because she is the construction of womanhood by mankind – she is the extremes of good and evil because she is built from the delusion that womanhood is necessarily defined by either the best of humanity or the worst. That a good woman is inhuman in her patience and kindness and beauty and that a bad woman is inhuman in her ugliness and cruelty and selfishness. See: Klaasje, Ruby (to some extent), Dora.

o   Like dolores dei was always so fucking creepy to me in the game because of her association with organized religion, particularly Christianity, and the imperialism, colonialism etc that follows that – the game explicitly informing you that dolores dei the historical figure is criticized as being a mass murderer feels twofold: true, in the dimension where dolores dei represents Christianity and fascism; false, in the dimension where dolores dei represents romantic love and womanhood (I lean towards the first reading, but I can see the second, where mass murderer is just a euphemism for the common idea that women figuratively murder men through heartbreak and seduction)

§  Struggling with these two halves is the point, I think. Any interpretation that ignores one of these parts is weaker imo, because youre supposed to feel conflicted by the simultaneous truth and untruth of The Figure – in terms of womanhood, it replicates the discomfort of navigating those two expectations as a woman. In terms of the concept of representation/figures/symbols, it explains how a symbol will always have tension because it is trying to collapse an inevitably multifaceted and contradictory reality – the various facts of dolores dei do not mesh well, because she was a real person but has been turned into an idol. Idk where else I was going with this but yeah

§  In general I think the game is fascinated by the idea of symbols and what they mean. It comes through in other aspects of the game too, like the parts that deal with racism (the caricatures on the mugs – more violence in the form of simplification) and colonialism (hjemdall, whirral, etc)

·        On that note I am fascinated by the game’s explanation of whirral in the basement of the bookstore – I think it was one of the more subtle condemnations/critiques of racism in the game. And self aware – it purposefully drew parallels between the rpg whirral and the rpg of disco Elysium and then critiqued whirral and the fantasy genre its derived from for thinking itself as more objective and less racist than outright nationalist storytelling like hjemdall, when the tropes that it relies on are too based in racism (the fair skinned, beautiful, thin haired elf alikes, versus the whatever they were called “tribal” “short” unpopular race)

·        I just think that’s a good critique, and unfortunately needed, perhaps even too subtle, because disco Elysium DID fall prey to the unfortunate trope of the Conglomerate Asia that a lot of fantasy prescribes to – and whether it was intentional or not, it was not done in a way that subverts the trope, merely replicated it. So yes, unfortunately, disco Elysium the rpg did also have unfortunate racial stereotypes even as it tried to (and sometimes successfully did!) subvert those stereotypes and write a full story that addresses how Racism Is Bad

o   And on that note about conglomerate asia – short example is kim. Kitsuragi is, obviously, a Japanese surname. But there is very little fleshed out about fantasy Japan, even as fantasy French and fantasy post soviet union dissolution are highly articulated. Like if u were getting into that, you would have to delve into the sociohistorical politics of imperial Japan and the rest of asia which. I mean its not even simple if you keep it contained within east asia. Like a Japanese person and a Korean person will be treated very similarly on the day to day within the racial hierarchy of the united states and the broader western world, but they are VERY much not going to be treated the same in other contexts, like in asia and on a global scale. Or even according to time period, such as with Japanese internment camps or the Korean war. Like all of that is a lot of complexity, and that’s not bringing in the fraught relationships between the global north and south, discussions of colorism, east asias neocolonialism in southeast asia, etc etc etc and those complexities don’t disappear just because a particular Asian person lives in the western world. Especially if you are trying to write a game that is trying to present a complex, thoughtful interpretation of history and systems of oppression

EDIT: JUST REALIZED I DIDNT EVEN TOUCH THE WAY WHITENESS TWINES WITH DOLORES DEI TOO i think this part wasnt as fleshed out as it couldve been but it was definitely paid attention to i think, that idea womanhood is of course also entwined with the idea of whiteness and that dolores deis canon appearance as swathed in white, straight haired, pale, blonde etc etc is relevant to how she represents the supposed epitome of womanhood and that is another way in which the symbol is insidious in how it promotes (as per the christianity theme) white innocence, white purity, white godliness and particularly in relation to gender

[warsofasoiaf]

Hi again, just a friendly reminder for you about Disco Elysium. I played it myself 2 weeks ago and I thought it was a wonderful game, looking forward to hear your opinion.

Here’s the weekend reminder about disco elysium: at some point I’d like to hear your thoughts about Kim and the deserter, but I’m sure you have a lot of first thoughts about the game’s narrative and styles at large and the overall themes ?

Yep, I’ve got many thoughts on Disco Elysium. Overall, I found it an incredibly enjoyable throwback to the classic role-playing games of the old Infinity Engine in a good way. It’s dialogue-driven in the way Planescape: Torment was, but was confident enough to avoid the pitfalls of combat that punctuated the D&D games in favor of a mechanical challenge of skill checks. All conflict is done through dialogue, either through picking a dialogue choice or engaging in a skill check. The game also helpfully gives you feedback, not only in your skill totals, but in how your actions influence the choices you’ve made. Did you take the corrupt union boss’s check? He has you over a bit of a barrel so it’s harder to resist him. Did you impress Cuno with your marksmanship by shooting down the body? You have a bonus to impress him since you’ve already done it before. This sort of openness with the mechanics of the game helps smooth over understanding of the functions, as well as reinforce the themes. Since everything you do is in the dialogue trees, and all of these choices occur in dialogue, it stresses careful reading of the dialogue box as opposed to something you just blow through to get quest markers or goodies.

Alright, let’s talk about the plot. Since there will be spoilers and it’s a relatively recent game, I’m going to throw a cut in here.

One of the chief themes of the game is sadness and loss, it’s written all across the setting. Heck, it’s even written into the name. Disco is the archetypical music genre that is dead, despite its followers wishing that it could come back. Elysium, the afterlife of Greek mythology. It was a failed communist revolution followed by a failed monarchist rebellion followed by a capitalist invasion, and now exists as a pit of corruption, crime, and plenty of people within Martinase look back to the lost days by cleaving to the old political systems as a source of comfort. Communists and monarchists look back to the old communes that were established, capitalists look to the successful Coalition and the ability of capital to absorb its naysayers and failures into itself for success, and the moralists look at the other three and say “you extremists are absolutely insane!” and hold to their own centrist platform and the path of incremental caution. This is hardly unusual in our own history, with far too many historical examples to list here. There’s a longing there for something that is lost, the people you meet in the game are lost, even what seems to be simple comedic beats have their own secret wishes, like Cuno who ends up helping you in the final act if you lose Kim, and can even become a junior police officer once out of the thumb of Cunoeese. Harry can sing the saddest song about the littlest church, and it’s a perfect expression of his regret, as his reptile brain lets him know. The deserter is lost in regret, albeit an incredibly negative sort. He curses those who are not ‘committed’ like him, who aren’t willing to murder like him. He looks at the Rene, the old monarchist with his boule, and wishes only to pull the trigger and silence him. 

The main character you inhabit is a great twist on the blank slate character that dominates the ‘western RPG.’ The main character starts the game passed out in his own drug-fueled excess. Where most RPG’s either expect reading a large lore dump (this was the case with the Forgotten Realms Infinity Engine games, which expected people to know who Cyric or Auril was) or largely wave it off with bland exposition, this was a game that made what happened an integral part of your character. What drives such a man to try and destroy himself so completely? Going through the game reveals the answer: it’s Dora, your ex-wife. Before, your obsession with your job (your case load, as noted by Kim, is exceptionally high), seemed to be at odds with your character’s penchant for substance abuse and overall instability, but exploring the failed relationship with Dora sheds new light on Harry DuBois. Dora was a wealthy woman, and your character was clearly a member of the lower classes given his demeanor and salary. Your character tried to immerse themselves in the work perhaps to earn more money, or simply to earn prestige to help alleviate the mismatch. It didn’t work, Dora left six years ago, and the detective has been alone ever since. By calculating the ‘cop tracks’ that the character can be on, the game can populate dialogue with references to the behavior, allowing the character to fill out aspects of themselves in a character-driven way. Tyranny did this with its campaign character generation, and Disco Elysium does it here. Such things are always going to be niche in RPG’s, the driving trend these days is instead make a completely blank character and have them be built out from actions taking place in the game world, but this typically leads to characters who rationalize performing optimal paths and who do everything the game offers in the world, which translates either into a lot of time doing repetitive content (in order to built up other character builds to the same level of mastery to the original build) or leads to ludo-narrative dissonance at the ease of which the character plows through the content, like becoming the Arch-Mage in Skyrim without being able to cast a single adept-level spell.

However, that isn’t to say that Harry is alone. Instead, the detective is quite a crowd is his own head, with the 24 various skills that he has developed largely advising, suggesting, yelling, and talking over each other. This was almost certainly part of the reason the original name of the game was “No Truce with the Furies.” The Furies, in Greek mythology were embodiment of vengeance, primal feelings that sought out their goals. These 24 skills in your head almost cannot be compromised with, only accepted or rejected. They’ll yell inside your own head to listen to them. Electrochemistry wants its next fix, Volition is certain that Klaasje is trying to manipulate you and wants you to slap cuffs on her right now, Physical Instrument wants you to show everyone who’s boss with fists while Authority wants the same with words. This was almost overwhelming at first, 24 characters to figure out in addition to my own character as well as Kim, Cuno, Joyce, Everett, and the Hanged Man made me wonder what exactly I was going to do. What was the difference between Volition and Composure, or Shivers and Inland Empire? It helps on a replay once you figure out what the skills actually mean and can help shape your character into your preferred vehicle for exploring Revanchol West. Dealing with these characters can be fun, insightful, and incredibly heartwarming, as the player can understand when they finally find out that Reptile Brain and Limbic System are simply trying to help Harry out with the loss of his ex-wife by trying to get rid of the sad feelings as best they can. 

What helps with this though, is that failing skill checks is not a death sentence. One of the most annoying things in games comes when you depend upon success after success that is out of your control, it encourages save-scumming behavior. This isn’t to say that failure isn’t a valuable learning experience or that difficulty is something to be avoided; the enduring popularity of the Soulsborne genre suggests that difficulty is not itself a bad thing. But failure typically has to be fair. If instead a game drops you in a room with 25 gorgons, forcing you to roll 25 checks against petrification or die immediately, that’s not challenge, that’s just padding the length of the game by forcing repeat content. Disco Elysium instead makes failure, particularly of red skill checks, either entertaining or allowing alternate paths. I laughed with absolute glee when my character took off from Garte yelling at him about the trashed hotel room which ended up becoming a full sprint while flipping him the bird, causing me instead to run over the nice wheelchair-bound old lady, in true black comedy fashion, or that you can get into a nodding war with Kim that’s so intense that you actually break your neck. That the game offers so many different methods to the same path helps elevate the role-playing elements.

Similarly, one of the best moments of game design was when you looked at the billboard to find out where Ruby could have gone. It’s a difficult Shivers check, which might force people into an insurmountable wall if they haven’t upgraded their Shivers skill. However, doing stuff in the fishing village, from going on a date with the harpoon girl to tracking down what went on with the body on the boardwalk, gives you bonuses to the check, encouraging the character to perform the side quests and explore the bonus content. 

The game’s side content really does reward some more of the Dirk Gently type of character that sees connectivity in anything. The old lady reading outside the bookstore doesn’t have a missing husband only to later be the wife of the man who died on the boardwalk, or that a grounded character won’t walk out into the water to speak with the apparition of Dora as the mythical Dolores Dei (another great reference to what was lost, the lost wife seen as the lost mythic Moralist conqueror and crusader) means that the more grounded character does have the more grounded, less intense story. But the short length encourages replayability, and the idea that a grounded character has a more grounded story is in it’s own way a commitment to the game’s overall vision, even if it means you miss out on a key insight the first time around.

I’m incredibly impressed at how the developers stuck to their visions and the finished product that they developed. My hat is off to them.

Thanks for the question, Khef, the multiple Anon’s who reminded me, TBH, and everyone else who was looking forward to this essay.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[mbabol]

Disco ewysium thots

·        Still fucking betrayed by the two instances of racism being unpredictable like that and therefore difficult to guard against like I TRIED to avoid every racism card but I COULDN’T!! BC WHY DID THE GAME FORCE ME TO PICK UP THE RACIST MUG IN THE TRASH and WHY did trying to make kim DANCE mean I had to call him racial SLURS???? HELLO??????

o   Fucking. Pissed. I made up with kim after but its not enough. God. Fucking. Help

·        This game is playing as a man who is desperately, cringe worthingly trying to gain the approval of his ex wife, the epitome of down bad, while you, the player, is desperately, cringe worthingly trying to gain the approval of the companion character, in another example of the epitome of down bad,

·        I DON’T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT LETTING KLASJE GO…….IM NOT MAD ABT IT BC I DO THINK IT’S THE MOST MORAL THING TO DO? BUT I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HER WHAT IS HER DEAL

o   Logarto so right when they said that klaasje is like the most interesting character in de

o   Also I don’t know if there was a way to save ruby but oh god that was a horrible scene :( I really really wanted to save ruby maybe I should’ve just let her run. Scratch that I def should’ve just let her run I didn’t realize that was an end – and that’s the point

·        God so in total so many people dead………also lol I fucked myself over looking up spoilers that spurred me to bring my gun bc im kind of curious how I would’ve done without it…..like I was dead set on not doing any more favors for evrart and just making do without the weapon but oh goodness it would’ve been rough

·        ALSO I FORGOT TO GO BACK AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE 2 MM HOLE IN THE WORLD IM SO MAD I EVEN TALKED TO CRABMAN BUT I DIDN’T FOLLOW THROUGH IM SO MAD

·        ALSO WHATS IN THE BUNKER?

·        ALSO I CANT BELIEVE THE FUCKING CRYPTID ?

·        At least I made harrier gay.

·        Also I never figured out the pale how the fuck do I discover the pale

·        This isn’t even touching on like. The major themes of the game.

o   COLONIALISM

§  Trying to parse this hurt me. Like I got the general vibe of “fuck colonialism” and the playing out of like, colonial fantasy and how neocolonialism manifests in the material and the cultural conscious but like. Idk. I didn’t know what else I could reflect off that. I think I need to understand the pale better to get a grasp of the games thesis on this but I didn’t GET that scene.

·        Interesting side note is that I DO very much like the island motif – it took me a while actually to understand what interisolary meant LOL but the whole vibe reminded me of Caribbean scifi and how it manifests in islands too, playing with mainstream scifi tropes and ideas of outer space as imagined as the Caribbean as a set of islands and vice versa etc etc. I think in this game it was less specific than that, was anchored in a more general sense of colonized islands and maybe the idea of every man as an island, but they both are interested in location and spatiality in similar ways

o   Politics

§  Im not even going to touch this lol im not nearly versed enough to tackle this in an interesting way

o   Misogyny (women in general?)

§  “Politics is just misogyny and broken heart syndrome” is an interesting thesis. I don’t know if I buy it. I suppose the thesis could also be “misogyny and interpersonal bullshit inevitably leaks into politics” which I favor more. But the game is structured a little weird for me to read the second one before the first – theres just a little too tight a twining between the theological, political lore of the game and the main targets of misogynistic blame/heartbreak. Like honestly I was all for saying fuck dolores dei bc I don’t trust organized religion or anything that calls itself innocence but like. If you then. Tie that to. Main chars ex wife that he cant get over. Like that by itself is fine honestly I think that’s still an interesting, rich story but mirroring it, doubling down with the main guy behind the murder? I don’t know. That felt………..eh. okay. Sure. The thing is that I don’t believe that the politics are always motivated by misogyny and heartache so. Like. What do you want me to do with that. I don’t know. Maybe I haven’t talked to enough communists to know

§  Thought about it a little more and I think my issue is that it is so adamant that romantic and sexual desire in particular are driving forces of many political actions and movements. And the misogyny that’s layered onto that and twists a normal embitterment into violence, interpersonal and political. Because like. I agree that the personal is the political and that political ideals can be used as a veneer for other, more individualized issues, but . I am very much going off the model of the personal is the political that Black activists use as a framework, which is that political abstractions like racial equity or class equity are based in, inseparable from the day to day lives of the people it affects most. Which. Looks like “im a communist because my family cant afford basic necessities” not just. I don’t know. The parallels between harry and the deserter were not compelling to me. Not when theres a lack of balance in the rest of the central storyline. Parallels are compelling when theres distinct differences that make similarities meaningful, and when that meaning is something that I think is justified lol. I don’t know. maybe this isn’t a fair critique. Curious what other people think

·        That post that was talking abt the way de balanced keeping harry in character despite him being a player controlled character was right and I feel like its because it was about telling a story, about harry, this is harrys story, and not about us and our wish fulfillment. If this had been a story about us we would’ve been able to fucking romance kim kitsuragi.