piper90 | [video] [encrypted]

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[Someone has spent the last few hours holed up reading through everything on the network. Everything. Every post on both the public and encrypted networks, every comment, every introduction. He might have made notes if he'd had any paper, but for now he's just keeping it all in his head. And it's a lot.

But finally, he gets around to making a post himself. The new face that pops up on the comms is young, though the exact age is hard to determine – one of those baby faces that could be anywhere from like twelve to eighteen. He seems thoroughly unimpressed as he sits back to stare down the communicator screen.]

Wow, the corporate hellscape was pretty bad, but apparently there's a murderer on the loose, too? You'd think they'd at least switch up the genre this time.

[Who is "they"? Well, that's what he'd like to know.

But his expression abruptly changes, all childish excitement and wonder. He grins down at the communicator, nearly bouncing with excess energy.]

But how cool! A special network secret from Jorgmund? It's like we're spies! I'm sure with everyone working together, we can get out of this whole mess!

[Aw, how nice. Unfortunately, that optimistic energy suddenly disappears as the smile drops off his face, replaced with a sly smirk.]

Is that what I'm supposed to say? You're all pretty naive if you really think this network is any safer than the other one! I guess that's how so many of you have gotten picked off by just one killer, huh? What, did you just skip up to this mystery lady like "heeeyyy, you totally won't peel my face off, right?" and expect to be best friends?

[ bitch that's rude ]

Aaaanyway, I guess it's pretty standard to introduce ourselves on these things. Pretty rude of you guys to not even bother meeting people properly in person, but whatevs!

[He leans back in his seat, sizing up the communicator like it's an actual person prostate before him, and spreads his arms in a theatrical gesture.]

I'm Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader. I'm sure we're all gonna be the best of friends!

[A cheery smile, completely shameless as he tacks on at the end:]

But that's a lie. You should probably know I'm a liar.

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[ Woah, cool your jets. ]

Nah, bad Mexican doesn’t agree with me even before you get to the side of jailbait.

Whew, that's good! I'm not into creepy old men anyway.

I’ll be sure to tell Planker you’re just not that into him.

What a pal. Thanks for safeguarding my purity!

["Purity". Right.]

We here at Jorgmund place your purity above replacing rancid hot dogs on the 7-11 meat rollers.

"We here at Jorgmund", huh?

[Could be nothing. Could also be a slip-up. He's hyper alert for this shit right now.]

[ Robbie has no idea what he’s getting at here. ]

Did you sleep through the presentation? You’ve been “hired” by Jorgmund to help clean up this world.

Duh! I'd just sooner puke than act all chummy with Jorgmund, even as a joke. I mean, we're only here because of them, right?

[And who can say whether they're also tied to the shit going on where he came from? Either way, fuck Jorgmund.]

You’re going to need a lot of barf bags.

[ Because a certain amount of chumminess is needed to avoid infractions and zaps. ]

We’re on the Rig because of Jorgmund.

[ Robbie’s not sure that Jorgmund is ultimately responsible for them being in this universe. ]

Well, good thing that was a lie.

[ kokichi for the love of god ]

I mean, they're holding all the cards here, right? It only makes sense to play nice. Smart people know how to adapt, y'know? I'd rather survive than go down with you losers and your resistance.

It sounds like you’ve got it all planned out. If you’re sure that the evil empire that implanted a lethal shock collar in your neck is your best chance of survival, we’ll get Lonestar to pull your access.

[ His head cocks to the side. ]

Smart people know how to adapt, y’know?

[Unshaken, he just grins. At least there's some spark of rationality in some of these people.]

You'd just leave a little kid like me out in the cold? Just like that? How heartless!

[He leans in, wagging a finger at the screen.]

But don't you have bigger problems than me right now? I mean, you apparently can't recognize a potential traitor unless they walk right up and tell you you should be careful around them! You think a real mole is gonna be that obvious?

Yeah, the thing is, Jorgmund is the one with the shoddy temperature control leaving us all in the cold at night. As for us, there’s an open network, and face-to-face interaction, so it’s not like you’d be in solitary. You don’t have to be on the red phone.

[ He’s not saying this to be threatening; he’s just trying to lay it out. ]

I think most of us give New Hires the benefit of the doubt. We’re in the same boat, and Jorgmund doesn’t give a shit about their low level employees. The low level employees don’t even think we’re real people. They’re not interested enough to plant a mole.

But if you keep announcing that you’re going to Benedict Arnold, why wait until you do it to pull the plug?

[It's fine, he's bullshitting anyway. Probably.]

Huh? Who said I'm pulling any plugs?

I swapped the meaning of the pronoun to a generic you, as no one’s sure who controls the encryption.

YOU, Ultimate Gordita Supreme, don’t know where the plug is.

Ehh? Are you really threatening to just shut me out??

[That's an entirely reasonable thing to do, and honestly probably the wiser decision. But Kokichi's eyes quickly fill with tears and he rubs at them like a little kid.]

D-don't tell me you actually believed all that traitor crap? Didn't I tell you I'm a liar??

Was that a little too cazh for you to get? It’s not my call, but you’re the one acting like a butthead to a bunch of displaced, enslaved refugees. If my opinion matters, yeah, I’m good with restricting your access.

It doesn’t matter if I believe you or not. You’re a liar. What matters is having a pathological condition isn’t an excuse for suggesting to exterminate Gadget. “I’m a liar” isn’t blanket permission to be a nasshead.

H-huh? Aren't I a displaced, enslaved refugee too?

[Welp. Here come the waterworks.]

Y-you're so mean!!

You are. Don’t mistake a fact for an excuse.

[ He thinks it’s becoming very clear that Kokichi is quite young, but it’s not like they can go talk to his parents. ]

I’m not mean. You can’t project on me when you’re the one suggesting exterminating sentients.

[No parents to speak to anyway. Probably explains a lot, really.]

N-no, you're the worst! I'm just trying to look out for everyone, b-but...

[The obnoxious childish tears continue to flow.]

[ Someone please collect this child; this is not a scenario that Robbie’s overly skilled at.

He sighs. ]

I admit I’m not the best, but I’m not the worst person on this Rig. I think that’s the chick who impaled me without blinking.

[ That’s a concession, right? Maybe that will be enough to take the place of a “hey, buddy, don’t cry.” Even though Robbie thinks they’re crocodile tears, they still work to a degree. He has to push past the guilt they invoke to press his point. ]

But come on, don’t insult my intelligence. You weren’t trying to help everyone. Gadget is one of us.

[It has absolutely been noted and filed away that the crocodile tears are at least a little effective on this dude. Unfortunately for Robbie, th3 fact that there's some success means he isn't inclined to let up just yet.

Yeah, he continues to wail.]

I j-just miss my friends! I don't wanna be here, I wanna go home!!

[That's a lie. He has no friends, and nothing to return to.]

[ Truth be told, Robbie misses his friends and teammates a lot. Life is always better when you’ve got your fam - sometimes, he feels like crying about it too.

But he has Querl to lean on, so that automatically puts him in a different position from people who know no one when they blink into this reality.

He sympathizes, and he’ll stress over being too harsh with the new kid later, but these piss poor excuses don’t even make sense or segue nicely. Yes, people lash out when they’ve had traumatic experiences - boy howdy, do they.

This doesn’t feel like lashing out. It’s selective - he went for the small, female mouse and hasn’t lashed out at the talk, male human despite Robbie taking up a similar position to Gadget’s and even defending her.

Instead, he gets an emotional responsibility dodge, and that does not work on him, regardless of how true it is or isn’t. ]

We all do, but you need to own what you said and fix it. Now. You have to live on this Rig with the rest of us, and that means accepting that the rest of us are sentient beings and given equal weight, no matter what species they are.

I’m sorry you miss your friends, but you make a choice every time you says something. So you made a mistake. We all do, sometimes. What matters is what comes next. Stop defending and dismissing your screw up and do something. You know, like apologize.

[Ugh. This puts him in a tight spot. Going too far with playing nice risks damaging the image he's building in hopes of drawing out any real traitors or getting Jorgmund to believe he doesn't give a shit about these people. Being too callous perhaps isolates him too much. It's a tricky balance he's trying to maintain while still getting his bearings and deciding what the best course of action will be.

Fortunately for him, this is about the moment when he hears the door of the bathroom he's hiding in start opening. The tears instantly dry up – clearly crocodile tears – and his head tilts as he glances to the side.]

Ah, I'll have to get back to you on that one. I may or may not be getting killed soon!

[He sounds way too good humored for that to be taken seriously, but there is a murderspirit running around.]

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