Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Rebirth

Oh? Not the plan I'd expected to hear, and if it's followed as literally as that line implies, I guess add Mortum to my list of looking forward to later revelations.

 

> I play into their fear, making them flee the building.

Leaning into the comfortable weight of the Rat King, you reach out and let the sea of thoughts surround you. The telepathic boosters that Dr. Mortum designed make the process surprisingly painless, allowing the Rat King to filter the worst excesses before they touch you. In the old days, a mass panic like this might have floored you, sent you into a curling ball of pain, unable to filter the unadulterated emotions. This time, the tumult just splashes against your fences, a wave and not a tsunami. You can handle this.

No, you can't just handle it. You can use it.

Emotions. Thoughts. One the cause of the other, the serpent eating its own tail.

Sifting out the right emotions, you send them back to the rest of the crowd with the weight of your own will behind them. Fear. Panic. The need to escape. You want them fleeing before you, evacuating the building so you can get on with your work.

The resulting stampede is glorious in its viciousness. People cry and whimper, but above all, they move. Struggling, shoving, clambering over each other to be the first one to escape.

For the briefest of moments, you're in the crowd with them, the panicked urge to flee overwhelming everything—end it, end it now, the window…

No!

You tear yourself away from that memory and straighten your back, shrugging off the unwanted baggage. You're stronger now. You've learned from your mistakes.

You've learned how to do this—you're an unmoving rock, walking forward, parting the human waves before you with a simple gesture.

> There, Now That's Done With

You allow yourself a moment of quiet, taking a deep breath as you take in your surroundings. It's not like you've got a lot of time, as you're on the clock. But at the same time, you know you can't hurry so much you forget to pay attention. You've got this—you've gone over your plans in your head time and time again, and there is no need for panic.

No need for mistakes.

So far, there has been no sign of the inevitable heroes arriving on the scene. But you know that's not going to last. Better get the important things finished while you have time.

Closing your eyes for a moment, you focus but find no trace of hostile intent. Good. That means there are no heroes here yet, and everything is going according to schedule. You won't have much time, though, so you'd better get on with it.

Tonight, this atrocious building will be wiped from the face of the city. And your name will be on everybody's lips.

Leaving any doubts in the foyer behind you, you walk straight for the load-bearing core of the building. You've gone over the drawings again and again, and you think you've located the spot where you need to plant the bomb.

Since the facade consists of so much glass, the central core with the elevators supports much of the building. Destroying that core will cause much of the building to collapse. And even if it remains standing, the elevator shaft will carry the flames to every floor of the building.

In theory.

Casting your mind around the area shows you there is still no trace of any heroes, so you reach back for the large explosive device you have magnetically attached to your armor. This should do the trick, or…

Hesitating, you eye the elevator shaft, pondering your choices. Sure, you could set the bomb, but the nanovores in your glove are a constant hum of hungry energy. Maybe this would be a good time to test what they can do? For science?

　‣ No, stick to the plan. Time for the bomb Dr. Mortum supplied.
　‣ I wonder if I really can disintegrate something this big….

Should we leave this to the bomb as planned? Or should we see if our nanovores can take out that central support shaft directly?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: The unnamed villain

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

The unnamed villain's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 42% (+10) / Obscurity: 58%
████████▒███████████
Arrogance: 22% / Anonymity: 78%
████▒███████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 60% / Caution: 40%
████████████████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

Bomb as planned. We put so much offscreen prep into this plan and the control of how much destruction we bring, it would be a shame to get impulsively experimental before we have a good reason to >:)

 

Just minutes ago, we swore we'd be a smart villain. Obviously we'd never do anything as foolish as diverging from the plan.​

> No, stick to the plan. Time for the bomb Dr. Mortum supplied.

Deviating from the plan brings risks you don't want to deal with right now. You can test the nanovores' capabilities later. Right now, the priority is blowing up the building.

This is no time to get experimental. You've got the main bomb left, and it would be a shame not to use it.

You take a moment to survey the scene, translating the schematics from the plans into real life. It's typical of this city, really: once the government regulations had been withdrawn, it was up to the developer to ensure the safety of the construction. You are sure that the original plans submitted were well-prepared to deal with aftershocks or sudden fires, but once they had been filtered through the usual array of corruption and cost-saving adjustments, the result was less than perfect.

However, that means more than perfect, for your purposes.

Pulling out the compact array of explosives from the hidden compartment in your armor, you quickly place them one by one. You don't have that much time; your inner clock is already calculating the estimated time of arrival for the heroes. It can't be long now. Even if they check to make sure the civilians get out of the way first, you should expect them soon.

So, how long do you set the timer for?

　‣ Not long; if I get caught in the explosion, my armor should protect me.
　‣ Long enough—I'd rather see it get defused than be trapped in an exploding building.

We have time, but probably not much. Do we set the timer to the time we'll need to get out, or do we figure our armor can handle the place coming down?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: The unnamed villain

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

The unnamed villain's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 42% / Obscurity: 58%
████████▒███████████
Arrogance: 22% / Anonymity: 78%
████▒███████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 60% / Caution: 40%
████████████████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

...I'm finding myself inclined to say "not long." It could add to interesting problems, like:

- If our armor gets damaged, how do we plan on repairing it, again? Don't think I missed it being tracked in the stats screen there. Or that we're not currently Mortum's fave villain.
- We went to a bunch of careful planning to reduce the odds of deaths, but not make them zero, and this won't be as flashy an introduction if the incoming heroes prioritize defusing bombs over saving civilians - if they have time to do that.

 

Who needs caution? May we and/or our enemies live in interesting times!​

> Not long; if I get caught in the explosion, my armor should protect me.

You have to trust your armor to protect you in case the explosives go off before you get out of there. Dr. Mortum has done a good job so far, and falling buildings won't be the worst it has to stand up to. Besides, if you should end up trapped, your glove will take care of that. Rubble is no obstacle to nanovores.

So, steeling your resolve, you set the timer for the shortest amount of time you estimate it will take you to get out of the danger zone. And then you turn and run.

It's not really dignified, but to hell with dignity when you have no way of knowing how big the blast will be. Dr. Mortum assured you it will pack a punch, but she neglected to tell you which weight class she was talking about. There's a slight difference between Marshal Steel and Herald, after all, even if both can throw a punch that will hurt.

> Herald?

There, it seems like Herald has come out to play at last. He probably had to take a few minutes to change into his suit, or save some civilians, or whatever heroes do. You can't remember anymore—Sidestep feels like ages ago.

You're someone new now, someone reborn from the dust and wreckage of your past life. And as Herald flies through the doors right at you, you dodge past him, speeding for the exit with him in pursuit.

You are fast enough. He is not.

The brief burst of terror as the bomb goes off is wonderful to feel. Your laugh mixes with his scream as you leap through the broken windows, the jump-jets giving you the boost needed to clear the danger area.

You are still laughing as you come to a halt in the parking lot, just as the cloud of dust and debris catches up. Everything is brushed in white and gray; your suit switches to its internal air supply as you turn towards the ruin, standing tall.

The night has hardly begun. And as you see Herald crawl from the wreckage, covered in dust and bruises, you crack your knuckles and smile once more.

> So This Is How It Feels

Overhead, a news chopper has appeared, just as you predicted. They tend to be on the scene faster than the police.

The LDPD, as an organization, is notoriously underfunded. The idea of a municipal police department doesn't fit well with the laissez-faire lack of government in the Western Territories. Private security firms are the norm, which tends to leave public spaces like this better targets than private ones. Back when you ran with the Rangers, this was an ongoing concern. It looks like little has changed.

Not that you expected it to. People never change.

The chopper descends over the ruins of the museum, hovering overhead to get a better angle and kicking up new clouds of dust. Good—you want this on the news, your victory immortalized.

Around you, the dust is slowly turning the surroundings monochrome. Fires have broken out; screams clash with sirens and alarms, a background noise that mixes well with the psychic chaff you feel from the terrified crowd.

People are scared. You are the cause.

Grinning wildly underneath your helmet, you turn to look at them, watching the people closest to you step back in terror. Nobody knows what will happen next; they are frozen like rabbits, unsure whether they should be running, or if that will get them killed.

Their futures are in your hand. You never imagined the thrill that kind of power could give you.

> This Is It

Herald takes a step forward, and you refocus your attention on him. While enjoying the moment is all fine and well, you won't make the mistake of getting distracted before the fight is over. You have seen too many of your opponents go down because they did not see you as a credible threat.

To be fair, you can't really blame them. You didn't exactly look like one back in those days.

"Now, I suppose we should get on with it." You speak the words softly, meant for nobody but yourself, but Herald picks them up anyway. Does he have enhanced hearing as well? You make a note to check into that later.

"Who are you, anyway?" Herald looks genuinely puzzled, as if there might be some briefing he should have remembered. He can't recognize you, can he? There should be no similarities between the Josie he met and the person you have become.

What will you tell him? It is a question that needs to be answered sooner or later.

　‣ I won't tell him who I am—let the papers make up a name.
　‣ Time to reveal the new identity I have chosen for myself.

This is the moment we've waited for: the moment they first hear the name of their newest, greatest enemy. Our public debut. Are we ready to introduce ourself to the world?

…Of course, we could also just skip the chatter and let them call us what they like. If we don't approve, well, we have ways of correcting them.​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: The unnamed villain

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

The unnamed villain's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% (+5) / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 22% / Anonymity: 78%
████▒███████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 60% / Caution: 40%
████████████████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

name ourselves Sidestep (joking)

 

Hey, why not?

…Okay, I guess that's why not. At least, not with an Anonymity stat this high.

 

aw what d'you mean that after all this effort to keep everything a secret including lying about not having powers anymore we don't wanna immediately out ourselves, makes absolutely no sense, can't believe this

 

Maybe we'll just sidestep the question of what to name ourselves :P

Slightly less jokingly, I keep wanting to do something with the hunger for destruction, to play on the nanovore, but I haven't gotten one yet.

 

For what it's worth, the current choice isn't actually asking what our villain name is, just whether we plan to give a name at all tonight. If you guys opt to give a name, we can handle the specifics after that. (The game does also suggest a few options, if you're at your wit's end.)

 

I mean, I definitely vote we name ourselves.

 

It's high time we told our enemies exactly who they're up against.​

> Time to reveal the new identity I have chosen for myself.

You let the moment drag on until it is uncomfortable, quietly watching Herald from behind your mirrored helmet. You know very well how unnerving silence can be. Herald's stance shifts from wary to frustrated.

Good, that gives you the power here.

"How ignorant." You speak the briefest of moments before he is about to open his mouth, cutting him off with the precision of a scalpel. "I would have thought your kind would be more informed. I am…"

　‣ "…Entropy."
　‣ "…Retribution."
　‣ "…Anathema."
　‣ No, I am named something else….

Okay, now I'm actually asking. What will our name be?

If we're short on inspiration, the game puts forth a couple of options, as well as the possibility of taking up our fallen comrade's name—perhaps as a tribute, or as a challenge to the Rangers, or for our own reasons.

Feel free to discuss/brainstorm as long as you feel like! I'll step back in when we reach a consensus or 2+ options we can put to a poll.

Also happy to answer questions about what the game will accept/what it can handle without getting grammatically awkward/etc. (For clarification's sake: Anathema is one of a few names that get a unique response, but Entropy and Retribution are not.)

(And if it helps to lift any of the pressure, we're not absolutely, permanently stuck with what we pick here.)​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: The unnamed villain

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

The unnamed villain's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 22% / Anonymity: 78%
████▒███████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 60% / Caution: 40%
████████████████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

so I'm gonna say that of the provided options I am most inclined to go with Anathema, purely because I wanna see what reaction that gets, but if anyone has ideas for original names that'd be very cool, I am just regrettably short on inspiration.

 

Ooooh. Retaking Anathema is a fun option. The meaning of it seems relevant on a couple levels to Josie's self image and goals here, and the twisting jab at the heroes!

...It also seems likely to me that it could speed up the discovery of who we are - taking on the name of the hero who vanished in the same mission as Sidestep, right? Especially when we do things like nudge crowds into fear so they'll run away. Or it might also give them the impression that we stole Sidestep's power...? That could be a fun misunderstanding, if the paths manage to branch that much. :|a The wording up there about the unique response implies that maybe it doesn't.

 

Naming yourself Anathema results in unique dialogue both when you first give your name and in a handful of later scenes. (The same goes for Sidestep; there's also a name that only gets unique dialogue from book 2 onward because the author didn't think of it originally.) Having a Suspiciously Meaningful Name™ won't unlock, like, a whole separate plot branch, but it can potentially affect other characters' opinions and suspicions about the villain.

(EDIT: It might also be worth noting that "a crowd fled in terror from the villain after the initial wave of explosions" doesn't necessarily scream TELEPATHY if you're not already looking for it. It's possible our enemies have ways of detecting that, but I'd imagine it seems pretty normal otherwise.)

 

> "…Anathema."

There is something so very fitting about stepping into your old comrade's boots; you might not be secreting acid, but your nanovores more than make up for it.

You have no idea how Ortega will deal with someone using the name of her old friend, her old failure. Still, it would be fun to rub her face in it. Are you prepared to deal with the repercussions?

　‣ I am!
　‣ I won't risk my anonymity this early.

That sound good to everyone? Or should we rethink this?​

 

I'm READY, let's do this

 

I'd say "yolo", but that seems like the wrong sentiment for the occasion.​

> I am!

Herald's eyes narrow as he hears your name. "Anathema, huh? Shouldn't they be dead?" You can see he has no idea how to process this. Is it really Anathema hiding underneath the armor?

"Dead and buried," you agree, your vocal distorters grinding every word down to its base components. "As you soon will be."

"Not much style in grave robbing." Herald clenches his fists. "Or in pretending to be someone else."

"It's not about pretending," you say, finding yourself meaning every word. "It's about reminding you Rangers that sometimes people get killed. Sometimes even heroes." You make a threatening gesture with one hand.

"Whatever…." Herald clenches his fists, refocusing himself on the fight. You've seen that before. You've done that before…pushing back the doubts and the fear, preparing to move forward instead of pulling back. The first step in a fight is always the toughest one to take.

This time, you're not the one taking it.

As if he senses your unspoken challenge, Herald takes to the air, accompanied by the gasps of the reporters. The dust swirls in his path, trailing him like a tornado, revealing the air currents supporting his body.

How would it feel to be able to fly? It must be nice to look down on things, to always have an avenue of escape open. To never feel trapped.

That's a line of thought you don't need to pursue: envy is one thing, but daydreaming is quite another. You've already got more freedom than he does—the freedom of the mind. The freedom to not be tied to one body. Why would you ever wish for anything else?

Still, out here he has a better advantage than before. Even more so, if he plays it smart and waits for backup. Perhaps he's thinking that he's invisible against the dark skies, indigo suit erasing his pale skin, the news choppers moving in to circle the scene like buzzards. Little does he know that even without focusing on his thoughts, you can track his progress through the helmet systems, little red pinpricks of light marking his flight path as you look up.

More cameras have arrived at the scene, the media creeping into position to capture the coming battle. Good, no need to prolong this. Time to bring Herald down…all that remains is to decide how.

　‣ I've brought down tougher people than him in a fair fight back when I was Sidestep.
　‣ He can't really hurt me. I can take my time with this.
　‣ He's a hero, and I'm not. I'll use that against him.
　‣ Time to test those jump-jets….
　‣ Last time, I didn't have telepathic powers that were this strong.
　‣ I've studied him; I know his tactics.

Round one: go! What's our strategy? Our suit's jump-jets might let us challenge him on his own turf; alternatively, we could try to use his heroic nature—or even his own mind and senses—against him. Or we could just treat him like any boost with more power than sense—like the old days, but with far more flair.

(Evidently we aren't so concerned with Herald that we'd devote extra attention to planning for him, personally.)​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 29% (+7) / Anonymity: 71%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 64% (+4) / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

I will put in my vote for "he's a hero and I'm not"

I really WANT to go for the telepathy but after we just named ourselves Anathema, maybe it's best to avoid obviously and openly using the telepathy if we can help it for the moment...I mean idk if it really actually matters in terms of the actual story and whether or not people figure us out, but...