REV INBOX

[copyrewriter]

Text or call.

Comments

Day 35, eveningish?

[4thwalled]

[sometimes it has been a few days since you last heard or saw someone and you know part of the issue is you not knowing wtf to do but also that feeling of If You Don't Do Something, Nothing Will Change and so here Kim Dokja is staring at his phone and debating if this is the right way to go about it before deciding that he doesn't actually know if there is one and so, a text is slowly typed...

deleted...

retyped...

reread several times...

deleted again...

probably this happens a few times before a tentacle smacks his hand and it has him hitting send before he can rethink it again.]

Hey.
You ok?

[... he regrets how lame of a start this is but there's nothing he can do about it now. A WRITER, HE IS NOT.]

[copyrewriter]

[ Ah.

She stares at it for a while and, almost oh reflex, pulls out a cigarette to light before she types up her own answer. ]

Why, you don't like me with paws?

Day 56, continued

[copyrewriter]

[ from here

She's quiet for a while longer as they exit the basement area and back to somewhere with more space, her ears remaining low and tail limp.

Once out, though, she gestures to Dokja. ]

... I've had enough of exploring for now, so you can go on.

Re: Day 56, continued

[4thwalled]

Go where, exactly? We've got plenty of time in this place to explore later.

[ah yes. the feeling of being the wrong one so he must leave...]

[Cloud System]

[pagereturner]

Day 59

[pagereturner]

You fool.
Don't just explore the prison all day and all night without any care. You have no idea what's out there.
At least make sure you're exploring with Kim Dokja or I. A shadow could attack you while you're alone.

Sphinx, if you're still in control, you can't just take her body out all night and not return it.
At least give notice next time.

Day 60

[pagereturner]

Where did you disappear to.
Did you die, you idiot.
Sphinx, if you're responsible for this, I'm yanking your tail twice.

[Later in the day....]

Hurry up and return, Han Suyeong.
If whichever one of you is in control doesn't say something by tomorrow, I'm checking solitary confinement.
And if you're in there, I'm breaking the door down and punching you in the stomach.

[Later still.....]

It's not a joke.

Day 61

[pagereturner]

God dammit.

[This line of text is deleted after a while.]

Day 62

[pagereturner]

A group of inmates has vanished.
Their bodies have been completely taken over by their possessions.
Something must be unraveling their stories from within.

Others are attempting to bring them back by going into their hearts. Kim Dokja appears to be trying to help several.
I'm staying outside. If a shadow showed up and attacked now, it could be devastating.

I won't stand by and watch people's stories be destroyed.
Whoever did this is going to pay.

Day 63

[pagereturner]

Dammit.
Dammit.
Dammit.
I was almost there.
Her barrier was breaking.
I almost had her.
That god damn dragon's story stopped me again.

She's just like the constellations. Just like the dokkaebi.
She runs us through these scenarios to kill and humiliate us.
She tries to rip away people's stories for her own gain.
I swear it. Next time, I'll definitely take her head.

Day 64

[pagereturner]

The difficulty in getting healing items here is becoming a giant pain in the ass.
At least now that we're back in this prison, we should be able to use the suggestion box again.
But I refuse to use my tokens after so many of them already got wasted.
If you were going to go into solitary, you should've given me your tokens first.

Whatever.
I'm tired of this place forcing me to feel passive and reactive.
I don't know what yet, but I'm going to do something.
We can't just be caught by surprise again the next time something happens.

Day 65

[pagereturner]

Ah! Han Suyeong!
This is where Yu Junghyeok is leaving his messages to you, right?
Well --
I didn't try to read them.
I wanted to let you guys have your privacy.
But I may have.
Accidentally looked at some of them?
It wasn't on purpose! I promise!

Anyway. I just. Wanted to tell you something, too!
I had an idea to do something to help Yu Junghyeok!
I don't think he'll admit it, but he's kind of upset that you're in solitary confinement...
And if I try to talk to him about it, I think it'll just make him even madder...

(even more so now since I interrupted him when he was trying to attack the warden...)
(but I had a good reason for that! I promise!)

But I came up with an idea!
I'm going to find some people to be Yu Junghyeok's friend!
If he has more friends...it'll be okay if you have to sleep for a while!
So...just go ahead and rest as long as you need to, okay? I'll handle things here.
Have a good rest, Han Suyeong!











And Sphinx too!
I didn't forget Sphinx!
Please don't be mad at me, Sphinx, I promise I didn't forget you.

Day 66

[pagereturner]

Han Suyeong!
I think it's going to work!
I found some people I think are willing to be Yu Junghyeok's friends!
I talked to four people and they all seemed really nice!
Hopefully Yu Junghyeok doesn't just...tell them to go away...or beat them up...or threaten them...
B-but I'm sure it'll be fine!






Um.
What would you think of the name "Cozy" for me?

Day 67

[pagereturner]

I can't figure out how to send a mass text with this phone.
This phone is impossible to use.
I need Shin Yuseung or Lee Jiyhe.
Kim Dokja is no help, and he's being extremely annoying about a variety of things.
He's being avoidant about his lost stories. Which makes me think he's been slacking on recovering them.

I'm going to try and break through the scenario restriction.
It's the only way I'll be able to fight the Warden.
Or those Shadows, if they come back.
It's the only thing I can think of that's not just sitting on my hands.

Day 68

[pagereturner]

I cannot believe you two wouldn't let me kill that dragon.
Do you know what it's gotten up to now?
It's possessing me and using my body to harass strangers, and then convincing those strangers to harass me in turn.

I place the blame for this squarely on you.





It's irrelevant.

There was another pointless distraction today.

People had strings on their hands. I believe they conveyed emotions for whoever the string led to.

I had one red string.

Don't get a swelled head about it, you bastard.

Day 69

[pagereturner]

I've started using Sphinx's training room.

It's a virtual reality simulator. It has robots as well. It has its uses.

I've tried to recreate the night the shadows broke through the gate, with the scenario restriction. It's had limited success. I haven't made any progress in breaking through the restriction. I can't go past level 20 on any of my skills, no matter what I try.

Transcedense is similarly capped. I can't go past the second stage. I know there's further that my body can go, but when I reach for it, it's just...locked. It's incredibly frustrating.

My stories would be a way to bridge the gap, but...

...I'll try my stories tomorrow. God dammit.

Day 70

[pagereturner]

I hate this dragon.

Every time, every single time I try to use my stories, I have a few seconds, at most, before its story starts running all over them. I can't force its story down. I can't ignore it. I can't go past it. Nothing works.

And I can't change it for another monster because it spends my tokens.

I seriously cannot believe you two wouldn't let me kill it. God damn it.

Day 71

[pagereturner]

I really screwed up Yu Junghyeok's training, huh.

I guess that's nothing new. I've screwed it up for him every time he's tried to fight seriously, too.

I'm not. It's not like...

I've read his story a ton of times now... ...maybe not as many times as Kim Dokja has, but, maybe I've read it the second most times of anybody! Just 'cause...I love his story that much! He never gives up, no matter how tough things get or how many allies he loses, he just keeps going, trying to save as many people as he can, and I just...

When he's fighting, and using those stories that he loves so much....

I just...I just wish I could be like him...I wish my story could help him too...

I know my story is worse than useless to him, though. But no matter how much I try to stop it from interfering, it just keeps doing it.

Dammit. I wish I hadn't spent his tokens when I was berserk. I wish he could just get rid of me for a different monster. A monster that wouldn't be so much worse than useless for him.

Day 72

[pagereturner]

This isn't accomplishing anything.

I haven't made any progress against the restriction or with my stories in four days.

I should try something different. As I am, I would still get badly injured against a single shadow and I wouldn't even be able to do anything against the Warden without shattering my own arm, and that's if I could only use my stories.

If I can't close the gap myself, then the only thing to do is close it with numbers. Last time, the fight with the shadows was complete chaos because of how unexpected it was. Maybe I can find some people and we can use some basic tactics at least so in another situation like that, the injuries wouldn't be so high. Healers and healing items are less effective here, so limiting injuries in fights is a huge priority.

Maybe if we did a coordinated attack on the Warden the next time she appeared, it would actually accomplish something.

...so I guess I'm going back to fighting with my phone. Dammit.

There was some kind of masquerade party today. I was busy training and didn't go. It looked mostly pointless. The kind of thing you probably would've enjoyed.

Day 73

[pagereturner]

There was a scenario today.

We were all in cages held by winged beasts. Each rounds we had to choose a team to raise and a team to lower. The raised team went up 3 levels, the lowered team down 1 level. Four rounds. 12 levels. Anybody that was in the top 3 levels at the end of the game or hit level 13 at any point during the game fell from the top and died.

Three teams died.

It was a constant struggle with the rest of Sphinx. They all cracked almost immediately and were focused on their own personal relationships regardless of whether or not they were in meaningful danger. I couldn't make a single move I actually wanted to make and had to compromise down to a bunch of choices that mostly wound up accomplishing nothing. It was basically a total disaster.

Which is what the scenario was constructed to be, of course. No ability to communicate and no way to know it's coming. So you have to weigh the abstraction of "everyone's lives" against the very powerful reality of risking your loved ones. It's impossible for a normal person to do.

I have to kill the Warden before another scenario like this occurs.

But failing that, I need to at least make some kind of contingency for this.

Dammit.

This is it. It ends tonight. I'm not sleeping until I figure out how to use this phone.

74

[pagereturner]

I did it.

I sent a mass text.

I figured it out.

I asked everybody what choices their teams made. It's a start. Maybe we can figure out some way to cooperate in future games from this.

[Several hours later.]

Everybody is screwing around in the replies.

God dammit.

Day 75

[pagereturner]

The shadows are back.

Somebody has been setting off explosives in the graveyard and people's shadows are coming out of the graves. If it's anything like last time, most people won't be equipped to handle it. I have to get involved now or people are going to d--









Of course it had to be wearing the goddamn white coat.

I'll be right back.

Day 76

[pagereturner]

I lost.

It wasn't even close.

I barely made it out without it killing me. It wouldn't have mattered even if I'd had my stories - it didn't even need to use its stories to overwhelm me. It was having such an easy time beating me, it spent the whole time talking.

I don't....I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore.

I can't defeat the Warden. I can't even defeat my own Shadow. I can't stop people from dying in the scenarios. I let a team die because I wasn't willing to force Sphinx to make the right choices. I can't break through this power restriction. Kim Dokja's gone. Uriel's gone.

...

...

...

I keep thinking that if I keep talking to you, you'll eventually wake up. But you're still asleep. And I don't know what else to do.

....maybe I can purchase it with the Magician....

Maybe it would be easier if I could just...



Don't even think about saying that word!



-- what the hell?



You won't listen to me any other way, so....I'm just gonna talk to you using Cloud System! If you don't want Han Suyeong to see it, you shouldn't have started thinking about doing...that! And I swear, if you try to buy that skill using the Magician I'll possess you and throw your phone into a lake!

You promised you would never do...that again, didn't you?! You promised Kim Dokja and Han Suyeong and everybody?! How could you even think about breaking that promise just because of the Warden and a Shadow?! Those are nothing compared to the things you've done before! That Shadow couldn't go through 1865 turns! That Shadow couldn't...stand up to Olympus or survive the Demon King Selection or make it to the Final Scenario or.....!



I survived all of those things because of my stories, which I can't use because of you, you jackass.







Well.

Well, kinda, yeah!

But....you said that the Shadow didn't even have to use its stories, so you would've lost anyway! So it's not because of that, isn't it?!

And it's not like I'm trying to stop your stories intentionally! I've been trying to stop my story from interfering with yours for months now, but....it just....does what it wants! B-but, while we're on the subject...why haven't you ever just USED it?! I understand if you hate me for possessing you, but are you really gonna let yourself die just to spite me?!



I'm not using your story.

Do you think because you've read my stories and you're some kind of fan of mine that I want your help? You're just another constellation, using my story for yourself. I would rather die than make a contract with you, and that's exactly what it would be if I used your story.




...

...yeah.

...yeah, I guess I kinda am.

I'm a lot closer to just being any other constellation than being like Kim Dokja, or, heck, even Uriel. I didn't need to read your story to survive. I just....liked it. I never interfered like any of the bad constellations did, but I still spectated your life and all the pain you went through for my own enjoyment. Just because...I thought it was a great story.





Fine.

Then...let's make a different kind of contract.

Use my story once. Use it to beat the shadow.

Then you can use the Hierophant on me immediately after. I won't try to stop you.





The Hierophant will -



Probably make me stop existing, yeah. If it's between that or you trying to use the Magician, it's an easy choice.

The idea of Han Suyeong waking up to find out you did that makes me sick to my stomach.



Fine.

Just this once, I'll use your story. Don't regret the terms. You set them yourself.

Day 77

[pagereturner]

...the shadow is dead.

All of the rest of them have even been defeated or are leaving. I couldn't assist others as much as I wanted to, but I don't think there were many deaths or injuries this time.

When I defeated it, it left something behind. I can feel the rest of my power. What's being held behind the restrictions. I can't harness it yet, but...I know it's in here.





I'm sorry. That I considered breaking my promise.

I thought for a moment that I was where I'd been so many times before. Trapped at the end of a scenario with no options, no allies and no hope. But...I'm not alone, and you're not gone. I know that now. I'll keep fighting in this realm until the Warden is stopped.



Um.

W...would it be alright if, uhm. I said goodbye to Han Suyeong and Sphinx before we...?



Stop stammering, you buffoon.

I have a bone to pick with you.

Your story is all rough edges. It's one of the unwieldiest things I've ever tried to use. If I'm going to be using this thing, you're going to need to whip it into shape before the next fight comes.



...

o....okay....



Good.

I don't allow such sloppiness from my allies.



Holy shit.

Holy shit.

Holy shit, Han Suyeong, he called me his ally.

Day 78

[pagereturner]

The Warden tried to start another scenario today. But they were unable to. Somebody else interrupted them. They seemed to already be having trouble with their transmissions...they're clearly struggling with somebody. I don't know who, but, they started a different scenario.

This one seems to have zero stakes or danger involved. So whoever they are, it's possible they're an ally. But the more important thing is that the Warden's power may be slipping.

[Some time later.]

I've decided I hate this new person as much as the Warden. Possibly more.



They put everybody in Christmas pajamas for the scenario and Yu Junghyeok was in a kig--



I haven't fully decided against killing you yet, you know.



Ggeeeeh, nevermind!