28th Jul 2020, 10:31 PM
Escape the mall
. . .
You decide not to contribute to MondolGroup's data on your spending habits. You grab your laundry box and you make your way back to the entrance of the mall.
On your way to the door, you spy the guard you spoke to earlier.
"Hey," you tell him offhandedly, "I tried your app, but it just kept redirecting me to a closed church."
"I'll submit a report. Thank you, Ms. Stevens."
oh
"We hope you found what you were looking for here at MondolMall," he replies. "Sorry for any inconvenience."
Nope. Nopenope. No.
You. Fucking. Bail.
You hold onto your box like it's a shield. Your power walk is maximum.
You don't have to wait at the bus stop very long, which is good for everyone.
The bus greets you in her usual warm but... precise tone. "Where would you like to go next, Plaire?"
"AnywherethefuckbutMondol," you blurt out as you find your seat. "Flasks. Where can I buy a flask?" Crush Souls has a mechanically important flask. Also you need to do mana wine science. ...Also flasks are cool.
"Mond--"
You make a very special Plaire noise, and the bus immediately switches gears (so to speak).
"According to their website, Furniture & Whatnot sells metal flasks."
"...So the Whatnot is flasks?"
"Furniture & Flasks would be tighter branding," replies the bus.
"Flasks & Furniture," you mutter. "They could specialize in bar-themed furniture, too, like stools and... glass racks. Dart boards. Things they have in bars."
"Pool tables," the bus suggests.
"Yeah!" Damn, if only you could get paid to have ideas. "Can you take me to Furniture & Whatnot?"
"Of course," says the bus.
You are driven across town to the local Furniture & Whatnot. Or at least, to the bus stop nearest to it. It's not a long walk, but you do have to pause before you exit the bus--
"Can you watch my laundry?"
"I can," the bus confirms.
"Thanks! I'll try to make it quick so you don't have to like... fight anybody off."
The store looks like it's seen better days. Aside from how heavily they're leaning on the Whatnot part (seriously, they could rename the store to As Seen On TV), a lot of the random knick-knacks, cutlery, hair care products and other assorted items are on clearance or heavily discounted.
Which is bad news for Furniture & Whatnot, but good news for you, a person who is broke.
"Hello. Hi," greets a young lady in a uniform polo. "Hi there. Can I help you?"
"I need a flask," you state.
"I..." she pauses. "Do not know where we keep those, but I can sure find out!"
You follow her for a little bit as she checks a computer toward the back of the store. Along the way, you pass another employee who is giving free samples of cookies; you nab a cookie.
Eventually, you both eat the cookie and find a metal flask. You also grab a laundry bag.
You inquire about getting your house key duplicated, but--
"Our key copier machine thing is down," says the employee.
Hmm. "When'll it be fixed...?"
The employee shrugs. "It's been months."
While in the line to check out, you also pick up a bag of candy.
You are left with almost no money.
You once more board the bus, who assures you that no one messed with your cardboard box full of laundry. You add your newly acquired loot to the box, minus several pieces of candy that mysteriously disappear while you decide what to do next.
It's about 4:52 pm.
"By the time you walk out of a Mondol building, they know you better than you know you."
You decide not to contribute to MondolGroup's data on your spending habits. You grab your laundry box and you make your way back to the entrance of the mall.
On your way to the door, you spy the guard you spoke to earlier.
"Hey," you tell him offhandedly, "I tried your app, but it just kept redirecting me to a closed church."
"I'll submit a report. Thank you, Ms. Stevens."
oh
"We hope you found what you were looking for here at MondolMall," he replies. "Sorry for any inconvenience."
Nope. Nopenope. No.
You. Fucking. Bail.
You hold onto your box like it's a shield. Your power walk is maximum.
You don't have to wait at the bus stop very long, which is good for everyone.
The bus greets you in her usual warm but... precise tone. "Where would you like to go next, Plaire?"
"AnywherethefuckbutMondol," you blurt out as you find your seat. "Flasks. Where can I buy a flask?" Crush Souls has a mechanically important flask. Also you need to do mana wine science. ...Also flasks are cool.
"Mond--"
You make a very special Plaire noise, and the bus immediately switches gears (so to speak).
"According to their website, Furniture & Whatnot sells metal flasks."
"...So the Whatnot is flasks?"
"Furniture & Flasks would be tighter branding," replies the bus.
"Flasks & Furniture," you mutter. "They could specialize in bar-themed furniture, too, like stools and... glass racks. Dart boards. Things they have in bars."
"Pool tables," the bus suggests.
"Yeah!" Damn, if only you could get paid to have ideas. "Can you take me to Furniture & Whatnot?"
"Of course," says the bus.
You are driven across town to the local Furniture & Whatnot. Or at least, to the bus stop nearest to it. It's not a long walk, but you do have to pause before you exit the bus--
"Can you watch my laundry?"
"I can," the bus confirms.
"Thanks! I'll try to make it quick so you don't have to like... fight anybody off."
The store looks like it's seen better days. Aside from how heavily they're leaning on the Whatnot part (seriously, they could rename the store to As Seen On TV), a lot of the random knick-knacks, cutlery, hair care products and other assorted items are on clearance or heavily discounted.
Which is bad news for Furniture & Whatnot, but good news for you, a person who is broke.
"Hello. Hi," greets a young lady in a uniform polo. "Hi there. Can I help you?"
"I need a flask," you state.
"I..." she pauses. "Do not know where we keep those, but I can sure find out!"
You follow her for a little bit as she checks a computer toward the back of the store. Along the way, you pass another employee who is giving free samples of cookies; you nab a cookie.
Eventually, you both eat the cookie and find a metal flask. You also grab a laundry bag.
You inquire about getting your house key duplicated, but--
"Our key copier machine thing is down," says the employee.
Hmm. "When'll it be fixed...?"
The employee shrugs. "It's been months."
While in the line to check out, you also pick up a bag of candy.
You are left with almost no money.
You once more board the bus, who assures you that no one messed with your cardboard box full of laundry. You add your newly acquired loot to the box, minus several pieces of candy that mysteriously disappear while you decide what to do next.
It's about 4:52 pm.
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average rating: 5
It's still bad that Mondol knows her name, but at least it's not surprising.
No, wait, he's not wearing glasses.
Straight implant into his eyeball? That's a big-ass investment for a lowly mall cop. Imagine what they outfit their soldiers with.
But then, Temperance held her own against maybe three mid- to high-level goons? She's even scarier than previously assessed.
Note to self: Don't get on the bad side of the Mayor's office.
Edit: Also ask if Kate's mom has old school supplies we could borrow, like backpack, scissors, etc.
Maria could probably duplicate a key, though it might take a bit.
I guess we've all decided that Player is going to be dependent on drugs.
We all, except for me. -1.
Without narrative hints to suggest these drugs are bad, comments against an anxious fictional character taking antianxiety meds because "drugs," comes off as regressive as hell and they do generally impede my enjoyment of things to have to read.
Therefore, I say +200 to all drugs forever. Let's take a Brainsate, smoke some cheap level with our friendly neighborhood pharmacist and think about all those neurotransmitters that just can't function or regulate because it would be immoral.
Which I said sarcastically. But honestly we could do with new friends for multiple reasons and maybe Plaire doesn't need to be running around all the time.
I don't think anyone was suggesting that people don't take their meds or that they shouldn't treat their conditions.
I suffer from PTSD that leaves me with social anxiety similar to Plaire's and has changed the course of my entire life for the worse. However, anti-anxiety meds are in my opinion useless and harmful bunk that do not work as advertised and I've chosen not to use them to help me with my problems. At the same time, I think that people should make their own choices as to what the appropriate solutions to their own problems are and I don't pass judgment on them for the choices they make.
Good news on that front: so far, those side effects have not manifested to Player. So I'll concede that side effects don't appear to be a problem (yet?).
But Player also asked about withdrawal symptoms. The bus replied, "you shouldn't experience any noticeable withdrawal symptoms from a single dose."
That means this isn't one of those super-addictive drugs. But that means there can be withdrawal symptoms.
Sure, I'm anti-drug, broadly speaking, but I looked these terms up. Regarding drug withdrawal, "in order for the symptoms of withdrawal to occur, one must have first developed a form of drug dependence." So I looked up drug dependence, reading that it "results in withdrawal upon cessation of drug use."
Great, Wikipedia's definitions reinforce each other.
Anyway, this means that dependence can be a thing with Brainsate. Again from Wikipedia, "Dose, frequency, pharmacokinetics of a particular substance, route of administration, and time are critical factors for developing a drug dependence."
What's a safe dose for this drug? We don't know. Kate gave Player two pills that first time, but that could be one dose for Kate, which might not be wise for Player.
(Going to one pill at a time was probably a good idea, given all the unknowns.)
What's a safe frequency? We don't know.
Are there any safer routes of administration? We don't know.
How long can she take it? We don't know, beyond the fact that one (or two?) doses, one time only, would have been safe.
That frequency and time are listed separately means that they probably interact complexly, so (for instance) doubling the dose frequency might not halve the time it takes for dependency to set in. It could reduce it to one quarter of the previous time, or it could reduce it by one quarter of the previous time.
The bus also said that it was recommended to take Brainsate on a full stomach. This kind of implies that it's not really supposed to be used to suppress symptoms, since symptoms don't ask your stomach before manifesting. Maybe it's supposed to be a once-every-so-many-days/hours thing, to prevent symptoms.
Choosing to depend on the drug is an option. Then drug dependency is a risk. Then she needs to deal with those withdrawal symptoms if she ever wants to discontinue use. What are those symptoms? Is this risk worth it?
There are so many unanswered questions about the long-term implications of taking this drug that no person who claimed, "I need to start thinking about the long term," yesterday morning ( mda.thecomicseries.com/comics/94/ ) should even think about getting more before getting answers.
Look, maybe once we have answers, it will turn out that taking Brainsate regularly is a good idea. If the facts warrant it, I'll withdraw all objection. But I maintain that charging forward without facts is risky and irresponsible.
Assuming the price for Brainsate is not too high:
+1 to acquiring Brainsate with conditions: Have it ready, but only use as a very limited last-resort resource.
But, no ID card, no bus rides.
Give Kate a call, see if she found pants and wants to meet up to talk about what happened in the dream?
The staff at Furniture & Whatnot seem friendly. We should keep the store in mind in case we need more furniture, or whatnot. Help out a local business that's not Mondol.
Also, since money is getting a little tight, we could consider asking around if anyone would happen to be hiring at the moment. It's a bit of a long shot, so we shouldn't devote *too* much time to it, but if we happen to be in somewhere we like it wouldn't hurt to ask. F&W probably can't support a new hire right now, but Maria might appreciate another pair of hands, possibly.
After that, head to Kate's for the night?
From the moment Mondol plucked him out of the vat they grew him in, he should have known better. And now that he's crossed you, he'll forever regret it.
Because you're a petty, resentful knee-biter.
Seriously though, I can't believe you did that.
Now, buying a couple correct blank keys and a couple needle files and a small clamp, copying a key by hand is not hard...time consuming, but not hard.
The difference, in my understanding based on what I know and which interpretation is being used here, between The Hanged Man and The Fool is that The Fool's choices are nearly limitless, unformed like a lump of raw clay. Where as, The Hanged Man's choices are fixed, limited, and they can't choose, like a clay vase that only needs a glaze before it's ready to be fired. But The Hanged Man can't choose between, say, a sturdy glaze that will help the vase withstand a lot abuse with minimal chipping but will muddy the colors and patterns a little, or a delicate clear glaze that will brighten and preserve the vase for years to come, but only if it's not damaged.
put a different way, they are both stuck at a cross roads in their paths, but The Fool has freedom to go anywhere on any path, but if they are not careful they will face many unknown perils, and The Hanged Man knows the three best routes to take and where they lead as well as the perils they may face, but can't choose between them. Do they take the quickest path with the most dangers to get to a large village? Or the longest, safest route to the big city? Or perhaps they go down the medium path to get to a small but prosperous port? That kind of thing.
It might also be worth noting that if we're not careful, Plaire could end up like Jevil, a fool driven mad from the truth not meant to be known. Too much freedom can be a problem.
I'm getting a bit worried that using an accomplice's powers through the demonshell is draining them a lot.
Maybe we shouldn't rely on it too much until we know more.
She'll be like, "Yup, first time it happened to me I had my hand on my knife 'til I was half a mile clear," or "Nope, they've singled you out; their kill squad is certainly just waiting for an opportunity to off you while dodging the consequences."
Anyway, another person's perspective is good, especially someone with Mondol experience.
+1 to also today talking to Kate to try to figure out how to stop Mondol trying to kill Maria's Grocery.
EDIT: we should only play games if we are not sleeping over at Kate's
The crux is whether or not sleeping away from the house gives does not advance the Alcazar death clock. Would the neighbor gentleman know?
Also I vote if Plaire needs money she should work at Maria's. Good way to make a friend.
EDIT: I thought about this some more and I vote to sleep over at Kate's tonight. And find some way to keep in contact with Franklin so we don't waste a day trying to track him down again.
That's been there a good long time. There's one in the top left, too.
new page monday or I'm burning my house down
While we are there we could promise Maria to try to stop the vandals and ask if we could work at her store sometime to get some money since we are having trouble making internet videos.
would like to have a page up before then but no guarantees, I'd rather it be late than fucked up and stained by migraine brain