IC Inbox

[retested]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, AMANDA. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 102.92.004.06 *** gameover has joined 102.92.004.06 <gameover> This is Amanda. <gameover> If you need to contact me, do so here. <gameover> DO NOT waste my time with stupid shit.

Comments

[retested]

[Nagisa doesn't know the half of her, and honestly, he's better off for it. Amanda's not a 'cool' adult; she's essentially a wrathful, homicidal, self-destructive child in the body of an adult, a product of something like an emotional version of arrested development, starved for approval and possessing only the most tentative of control over her own emotions. She'll keep all the secrets she can, even from allies, because in this place she doesn't have much else to hold close. The Fog God is one thing, and Amanda is endlessly grateful to Her, but She's no John Kramer and that puts Amanda one step closer to the edge.]

I doubt I'll need that kind of help.

[Still. She decides to make an effort, poor as it is, to talk to Nagisa with a little less acidity in her tone. Because he's a child, because he's a product of an environment enough like that of her own childhood for him to matter to her.]

...But I'll keep your offer in mind.

[expectional]

[Hey, if she was a reasonable and well-adjusted adult, Nagisa wouldn't be here right now. He wouldn't go this far out of his way to try and protect her, especially now that he knows she's not a conduit. He has to protect them, regardless of their age, because the Fog God asked. But every other adult? Their safety is not his concern, even if they are on the same side. They can take care of themselves, in this situation.]

[The aloe leaves perk up a little when she says she'll keep his offer in mind. He's still mad, she knows it. He harbors no illusions that she's actually forgiven this stunt. But...he appreciates the effort on her part.]

That's all I ask. I'm not very strong, but I am pretty smart. And I want to use that to do whatever I can to make sure this situation ends favorably for us.

[Because what use is he if he can't do that much?]

Actually...no, there's one other thing. Can you think of any traps that could be set up in places like the lake or park? Deadly traps. That rival00 person who keeps causing a fuss on the network is responsible for killing our lake conduit. And the only reason he was able to find them was because he noticed they spent a lot of time in fog zones. He seems to think that the Fourth conduits are doing the same thing, especially since anyone else who goes in their loses all their powers, giving them an extra layer of protection. And besides waiting for them to leave, there are only two ways to get around that issue...

[Shoot 'em or wait for 'em to fall in a trap.]

[retested]

[For what it's worth, Amanda does give his question some serious thought, trying to think up ways to adapt her traps for a new environment...]

All the traps I've ever built were designed for use in enclosed spaces. I can't think of anything I could set up in an open environment.

[...But coming up with nothing. Devices confined to one room, or a series of connected rooms? Of course. Devices attached to people from the start? Certainly. But there isn't one thing she's built that she can pull off out in the open, and her considerable engineering prowess isn't geared towards designing anything new that could fit the bill. Jigsaw business relies on surprise and seclusion.]

Sorry. It's not my area of expertise.

[And she's loathe to admit it. It makes her feel small, stupid, lacking.]

[expectional]

[He shakes his head.]

It's alright. I couldn't think of anything either. [Well...spiked pit falls and bear traps but...those are pretty standard and there's no guarantee they'd actually kill someone.] I just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, since you know more about this sort of thing than I do. And I'm starting to run out of ideas.

[Which is something HE'S loathe to admit because he always has a plan. That's kind of his thing. But so far, none of his plans have worked. It's beyond frustrating...especially since some of them were really brilliant!]

[retested]

Tell me about it. Every plan I've made to help Her this time around...I keep getting fucked over.

[And by "fucked over" she means both of her murder attempts on the Fourthies she was torturing were interrupted and foiled. It's just not fair, goddammit!]

She'll be so disappointed.

[And there's so much self-hatred and fear in that one statement that it's borderline palpable. If Amanda disappoints Her, what then? She'll be replaced by someone more capable, more formally educated and stronger with more to offer Her. Amanda won't be needed and the very idea makes her want to vomit.]

[expectional]

[And his hair goes right back to drooping again. She'll be so disappointed. Yeah, that's what he's worried about too. He may not be quite as devoted as Amanda, but the Fog God expects things from him. She gave him a task, and so far he'd rate his performance as "acceptable", if even that.]

[If he can't live up to her expectations, what if she makes him go back home? Realizes there's no point in keeping him around because he's a useless, stupid child?]

[He's silent for a few moments, gazing at some spot on the ground with a far-off look in his yellow-green eyes. Eventually he sighs, closing his eyes and shaking his head a little before opening them again.]

Well...lamenting our failures won't accomplish anything. You only hold yourself back when you dwell on things like that. There's still time, so we'll just have to try even harder from here on out.

[He's definitely not giving up. Nope.]

[retested]

Yeah. Whatever it takes.

[At this point she'd even consider letting herself die, if only it could help her take down a Fourth adherent at the same time. If something could help her meet expectations...]