Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Retribution (ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ …(^_^)…)

We do have somebody else to set us up the bomb, these days, but you never know

 

> I have a new apartment away from my puppet.

After giving it a lot of thought, you finally moved to a new apartment. With how your powers have grown, there's no need to stay close to your puppet anymore. In fact, it's risky to do that now that there are people in your life interacting with Barbara. You don't want anybody making the connection.

Besides, a new apartment for a new life.

　‣ The most luxurious one I could afford, of course.
　‣ A spacious apartment, I need air and room.
　‣ A comfortable apartment that doesn't stand out.
　‣ A cheap apartment in the bad part of town.

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

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

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 19% / Anonymity: 81%
███▒████████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Comfy and cozy, I think

 

> A comfortable apartment that doesn't stand out.

All you need is a place where you can rest and relax, and you found just the place. It's a small apartment in a good neighborhood, well insulated and downright cozy.

Somehow you sleep better here. Maybe it's the air-conditioning being not quite as loud.

You'll have to get home for a few hours of sleep later, but first, you need to get out of your armor.

Stripping off the various pieces, you make a note to run a diagnostic once you've had something to eat. Dr. Mortum is still needed for major repairs, but everything else you can do yourself. If only you had access to the kind of workshop Dr. Mortum does, the tools…then you could have some real fun. Maybe one day. For now, you have to settle for keeping it in perfect working order.

Dr. Mortum. You don't like relying on someone else, especially with Barbara getting close to Ortega. It was an awkward run-in at the hospital; you'd rather forget it ever happened.

Unfortunately, the good doctor seems to disagree.

Regardless of your reservations, you need her and her genius.

‣ Even if I'd rather be self-sufficient.
‣ I will manipulate her through my puppet.
‣ I've grown fond of Dr. Mortum and my masquerade as Barbara.
‣ I've grown fond of Dr. Mortum, even if I have to be Barbara.

We last checked in on Barbie and Dr. Mortum in the hospital after their date at the museum gala. In the two months since... Have we become genuinely invested in our—or Barbie's—relationship with Mortum? Have we tried to avoid getting too close? Or are we just using Mortum's feelings as a means to an end?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

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

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 18% / Anonymity: 82% (+1)
███▒████████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Difficult decision.

Have Mortum's proddings at Barbara to get out gotten more or less insistent, with time passing and no more close explosions? I could see that as both annoyance and a reason to like Mortum.

 

It feels oddly in-character for Josie to bluescreen the moment they're forced to contemplate having a personal life. :P

 

I wasn't around for the first playthrough so I'm down for whatever on this one ngl.

 

If everyone feels ambivalent on this one, I could roll a die between some or all of the options? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I asked the expert on our feelings, random.org, which said 3:​

> I've grown fond of Dr. Mortum and my masquerade as Barbara.

It feels weird to keep flirting for this long, but Dr. Mortum doesn't seem to mind. She lets you set the pace for how fast you want this to proceed, and it is nice to be able to laugh and relax and just pretend to be a normal human for a couple of hours at a time. Discuss some new applications of cutting-edge technology over dinner, end up in a bar, sharing beers and laughs.

Just because it's for a good cause doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.

You can feel it now; your first instinct after this current mess was to call her. Talk about what happened. Vent your frustrations. Stop the wheels in your head that just keep turning.

Has Dr. Mortum become more than a tool for your plans? The answer to that is, unfortunately, yes, and you've accepted that. But what's more worrying is that you feel as if the walls between you and Barbara have started to become muddled. Is that true?

　‣ Yes, sometimes it's hard to remember the difference.
　‣ Maybe, everything is so different in her body.
　‣ No, Barbara is a mask, nothing more.

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

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

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 18% / Anonymity: 82%
███▒████████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 70% (+5)
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

>Maybe

 

We're committing to this ambiguity.

 

perhaps barbie is not us, nor a mask, but a secret unspecified third thing?? makes you think​

> Maybe, everything is so different in her body.

Everything is so different in her body. The way you react to Dr. Mortum, the way your body responds in turn. It only serves to drive home what you already know.

This kind of relationship is something you can only have through your puppet. You can let your guard down with her; there's no risk of being found out, no need to keep careful track of physical boundaries.

You have been flirting for months now and are starting to realize that…

　‣ Friendship is what I really want.
　‣ Dating really has added something to my life.
　‣ Maybe I want more. Maybe I want to get physical.

unfortunately, it may be difficult to maintain an equally ambiguous relationship status​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

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

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 18% / Anonymity: 82%
███▒████████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 70%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Personally I'd rather do a no sex scene run, but I'm more mixed on friendship v romance

I'll vote friendship as long as I have to pick something?

 

Ah yes, the human emotion known as friendship.​

> Friendship is what I really want.

It is always easier to manipulate people through their libido, but in the long run, it can be exhausting. Dr. Mortum is clearly into Barbara, but as time passed, you realized that you didn't feel the same. Sure, you still enjoy her company, and she certainly is still your most useful ally, but the constant dancing around the sexual attraction…

It's gotten old. You've gotten tired. It's not even your own body.

It's bad enough with Barbara and Ortega. You don't need to complicate your life further.

You've been putting off telling her. Again and again. Hesitating.

You thought you were through being scared.

Putting the last bits of your armor away, you sigh and stare into the mirror. The phone is right next to you.

It's easier than you thought it would be to just pick it up and text her. Suggest that you meet up at Joes. Tonight. Because you need to talk.

No XX at the end. Just plain. You've been stupid enough for one evening; at least you can sort out this mess.

> Later That Evening

Later that evening.

You're safe inside your puppet in your usual corner at Joes. The speakers are blaring classic American rock. Two tables away, someone's arguing about firearms. Overhead, the fans are working hard to circulate the air, thick with tobacco smoke and the sweet, slightly acidic smell of active enhancements.

Dr. Mortum tells a joke. Her teeth flash white, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes. They are worried. And trained on you.

　‣ I fake a laugh, looking away quickly.
　‣ "Whatever you're thinking, you're probably right."
　‣ I echo her smile. "So, yeah, this is not working out."

Okay. We're a powerful villain, we can handle one not-quite-a-breakup. Just think: what would Barbie say?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

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

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 18% / Anonymity: 82%
███▒████████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 70%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Oh no, I thought that Barbie would have already had the conversation with her...

Hm. I feel like what Mortum is assuming is 'Barbie's boss is pressuring her in ways she's unhappy with,' not 'Barbie just wants to continue this as friends'. So option 2 won't work, but option 3 just seems like it'd be a breakup instead of 'I value your friendship, let's keep doing that.'

 

And it's not even exactly wrong for Mortum to maybe read "work exhaustion has worn out Barbara's libido" in this situation...

 

FWIW, our character does intend this as an "I want to be platonic friends" conversation regardless of which dialogue option we choose, so I wouldn't worry about the game itself misreading your intent.

 

>be blunt about it (#3)

 

Only one (1) voice in our head is not currently consumed by awkward flailing paralysis, so let's go with that:​

> I echo her smile. "So, yeah, this is not working out."

You echo her smile as you drain your whiskey for courage. It tastes of tar and smoke. "So, yeah," you clear your throat, but she doesn't interrupt you. "This is not working out."

"Clearly," Dr. Mortum nods, but the frown deepens as if she's suddenly unsure if you are talking about the same thing. "But what exactly?"

"This. Us." It takes two to tango, and neither of you has been dancing for a while.

"I was getting that impression, yes. I would have expected you to break things off weeks ago." There's something almost careful about how she pronounces every word as if she's worried about being misunderstood.

"Really?" How like the good doctor, to always want to have things under control. Know every variable. And yet she knows nothing of you.

"You did your job." Her long, slender fingers are playing with the glass in her hand. Still full. "Your boss got what they wanted. There's no reason to drag things out."

"Drag—" Maybe you shouldn't be surprised about your misunderstanding. Dr. Mortum was always hard to read, and Barbara isn't a telepath. "Wait a moment, did you think I was just using you?"

"The thought did cross my mind."

"Fuck!" You know you shouldn't curse as Barbara, but you can't stop yourself. She's right, you have to give her that. But also dead wrong. "That's not it at all."

"Then why all the awkwardness?"

"You noticed that?"

"I have spent the last decade providing armament to the most dangerous villains in this city; I do know how to read people. And yes, ma chérie, that includes you. And your boss."

"You're not wrong." Another shot of whiskey. Just to smooth the road ahead. Anything to help make sense of your feelings in a way that you could explain to her.

　‣ "I don't want a relationship, but can we still be friends?"
　‣ "It started out as a convenience thing, but I actually do like you."
　‣ "Don't take this the wrong way. I like you, but I don't 'like' like you."

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

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

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 18% / Anonymity: 82%
███▒████████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 70%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

still be friends?