Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Rebirth

Hey, maybe lowering her restaurant standards is the one time too many! tbh I read all "get mad at Ortega" options with an implicit "…who SHOULD KNOW WHAT SHE DID"

 

you know what, with this interpretation, I am now voting for the Ortega option
initially I wanted to vote for Steel but...the idea of 'you lowered your restaurant standards, you've let me down for the last time' is an interpretation that amuses me too much to pass up

 

※ By voting in this LP thread, you agree that management cannot be held liable for the thread's choices. Even if management thinks they are really funny.

 

Herald! What's this guy's deal.

 

…Huh. This isn't particularly important, but the joking about the wording of that option jogged my memory enough to check and realize that the framing of the Ortega and Steel options differs slightly between paths, probably due to an editing pass that didn't catch everything. It's not a huge difference, but in case the rationale the game gives makes a big difference to you here, the other version says:

(The other options are the same.)

The…more you know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

We're currently split at 1 vote for Ortega (with Steel as second choice), 1 vote for Herald. Anyone else feel like weighing on either side (and/or suggesting someone else entirely to be mad at)?

 

That Steel's version varies too intrigues me, alas we didn't get the suspect version

 

For clarification's sake, there isn't any actual difference between the two versions! Choosing Steel (or Ortega) gets you the exact same text regardless of how the choice is worded; "treated me as a suspect" and "never treated me like one of them" are just different ways of summarizing the same rationale.

 

In all the years we knew her, Ortega wouldn't have been caught dead in that hole in the wall. And she picks now to lower her standards and complicate our life again? Now, of all times?​

> Ortega, for letting me down one too many times.

Ortega is the one to blame for so many things. If she hadn't befriended you back when you started out, you would probably have given up your career as a vigilante before long. If she hadn't trusted your skills, you would never have walked into that building. Wouldn't almost have died. Wouldn't have got captured again.

Abandoned.

She should have been there. That was the deal, wasn't it?

And she broke it.

And she doesn't even care.

That's the worst part. That she thinks she can just walk back into your life as if nothing had happened.

And you can't tell her without revealing far too many other things, so now you have to juggle two conflicting parts of your life, and it is all her fault, and she has no idea. Her smiling face keeps haunting your memories and throwing off your rhythm. Why you can't just dispel that ghost for good, you have no idea.

You want to get it all under control: the fear, the hatred, the frustration. Your breathing is off—too rough, too ragged—your hand is shaking, and your eyes have teared up. You are not sure why you are crying, and part of you wants to deny it, but you are.

Maybe for lost chances and missed opportunities, maybe for what you fear you might have to do in the future. It's not like your tangle of motivations is easy to unravel, and honestly you don't care to try.

Instead, you step back, burying your face in a towel. It smells like sweat and deodorant, the scent of a stranger as familiar to you as your own body. You have spent so much time in the quiet corners of her brain lately.

Barbara. Your sanctuary.

"Are you alright, miss?" The intrusion of another voice into your own inner struggle catches you by surprise, and you look up, eyes red and moist.

"I'm not sure," you confess, stomach making another turn as you recognize the woman. "Just stress," you tell Ortega where she stands, completely unaware of who rides inside the skull of this woman she is concerned about. Ortega, with her bright smile, looking like she's been wearing hakama all her life, the black belt around her waist adding to that impression.

An impossible fluke, you tell yourself. A coincidence.

"So, I've never seen you around here before," you say. "Are you a member of this dojo, or just visiting?" Your smile is all practiced artifice now, and it hides the nervous flutter in your stomach as you wipe the sweat from your face.

It feels odd and slightly dirty to slip into the coy female body language you use when you wear her body. This is not a stranger; you know this woman. Which makes the act all the more important.

"I'm a member," Ortega says, and you wonder why the smile is so different than when she aimed it at you at the diner earlier. Maybe because this time you return it. "I usually attend the early sessions. Need to wake up somehow. Coffee rarely does the trick these days."

"Ah, that's it then." You're proud your voice remains calm. Have you been this close to running into each other all this time? "I'm usually not here this early, but I needed to get some frustration out today. Bad night."

"Well, let's hope your bad night might come with a silver lining. Or does that only work for clouds?" Ortega smiles again, and you realize that she might be flirting with you. You are not even sure how you feel about that, but right now you…

　‣ …encourage it.
　‣ …discourage it.

…Speak of the devil and she will appear.

How should we, which is to say Barbara, respond to this perfectly normal friendly stranger?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

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%
██████████████▒█████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 12% / Anonymity: 88%
██▒█████████████████
Ruthlessness: 49% / Empathy: 51%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 49% / Caution: 51%
█████████▒██████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: old friend.
Ortega and Josie: 74% (-12)
██████████████▒█████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 49%
█████████▒██████████

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%
████████████████████

 

Ortega! Going to THE WRONG DOJO?! You've lowered your workout place standards, you've let us down for the double last time!!

...E-Encourage it...? At least a conflicted attraction could be a cover for any other strange reactions we might make.

 

as much as I acknowledge it would be weird and likely suspicious, I really wish there was a "panicked screaming" option bc I'm ngl that was my first internal response on Ortega popping into the scene

 

Okay, okay, don't panic, we're just a normal martial artist Barbie living her normal life. We can handle this. We'll just… uh… roll to seduce…??​

> …encourage it.

"You could have been smooth and pointed out that even the darkest night ends at dawn," you say with a wink, reaching for your water bottle.

You are well aware of how your lips look wrapped around a squeeze bottle, and you make the most of it just to see her squirm. It feels good, being back in control. This was all a fluke. And now that the first shock has passed, you find it rather amusing how your paths have come so close to crossing again and again, separated only by the hours of the day.

"If I had indeed been smooth, that would have been a good line. Sadly, I'm not at my best right now. I just have a bit too much on my mind," she replies with a self-deprecating smile, her gaze momentarily distracted by your display.

"Oh?" You don't ask openly, but your stance shifts into focused curiosity, encouraging her to continue. The decision is only half conscious; this is what you were trained to do before you ever struck out on your own. A different kind of Sidestep, weaving conversations the way you want them to go. Making them trust you, before you were strong enough to force that trust.

"It's nothing, really." Ortega shakes her head and you raise an eyebrow.

"You're looking way too tense for this early in the day," you joke, using your shared smile to disarm some of the growing tension.

"I am, aren't I?" She laughs, and you know you've succeeded in lowering her guard. "It's just that a friend of mine has ended up in some trouble, and I'm trying to work out how to fix things."

She actually loses her smile for a moment there, and you realize she must be taking the whole Lady Argent business harder than she pretended to earlier. You suppose it's not often she's left standing around feeling helpless.

"You're one of the good guys then?" you ask teasingly. "To care that much about your friend?"

"You don't have friends who do?" she teases back, hitting a little too close to the mark.

　‣ "Of course I do…."
　‣ "I work too much…."

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

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%
██████████████▒█████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 12% / Anonymity: 88%
██▒█████████████████
Ruthlessness: 49% / Empathy: 51%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 49% / Caution: 51%
█████████▒██████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: old friend.
Ortega and Josie: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 49%
█████████▒██████████

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%
████████████████████

 

Barbie is a workaholic

 

With *checks notes* over 200 careers, I guess she'd have to be.

 

> "I work too much…."

"I work too much for close relationships." You can't hide the scowl, though you try. And even to your own ears, your voice sounds bitter.

You can remember how it felt, though, when you kept up the act and still could have illusions about people. Before you knew what they were. What they thought. How they felt. No wonder you love slipping into Barbara to be rid of that curse.

"That's a sad story," she manages to say without sounding patronizing. "Sometimes it's nice to have someone to fight who can't counter your every move."

You catch yourself halfway through the laugh, but it's too late to stop it.

"Reflections do have their disadvantages, I suppose." You are not sure where that laugh came from; just being around Ortega makes you question your current goals. Dangerous…but on the other hand, it keeps you honest. Questioning your life is what led you here in the first place; you can't just stop now.

"Want to spar?" she offers, the cocky smile provoking a similar one on your own face. "If you want a moving target, I mean."

Okay, you have to admit that is a tempting prospect. Not just because you might want to hit Ortega, but because that would mean you could judge her current abilities.

And her interest in you….

　‣ "Sure, if you feel like you're up to it."
　‣ "I'm already finished, but I'd love to grab coffee if you have time?"
　‣ "Sorry, I'm running late already. Maybe I'll see you around next time?"

That's an interesting proposition—it's been years since we last saw Ortega in action. It might not be the worst idea to take a break from the internal screaming and make use of this opportunity… or take some of the internal screaming out on the person responsible. Or should we get out of here already so we can scream in private?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

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%
██████████████▒█████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 12% / Anonymity: 88%
██▒█████████████████
Ruthlessness: 49% / Empathy: 51%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 49% / Caution: 51%
█████████▒██████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: old friend.
Ortega and Josie: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 49%
█████████▒██████████

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%
████████████████████

 

Let's fight Ortega!

 

yes yes yes fight fight fight!!

 

SURVEY SAYS: (ง •̀_•́)ง​

> "Sure, if you feel like you're up to it."

"Sure, if you feel like you're up to it." You wipe your smiling face with the towel before giving her a challenging look.

"Wouldn't have asked otherwise. I'm Ortega, by the way. Julia Ortega."

"Barbara," you reply with a smile. "Now let's get to it."

"I'll get my gloves." Ortega turns around, giving you a moment to reflect on what you just agreed to.

Your heart has started speeding up, and you're not sure if it is in anticipation of a fight, or if it is because of the enormity of what you are about to do.

Why did you agree to this? Why are you taking this risk when it would have been so much easier to just walk away and never return?

　‣ I miss her—even if it won't be real, maybe we can be friends again.
　‣ The more she likes me, the more leverage I'll have in the future.
　‣ I'll see what shape she's in, and whether she's got more mods.
　‣ I need to release some frustration, and this is the best way.
　‣ Flirting with danger is what I do best.
　‣ This is the face I want to punch—how can I pass up that opportunity?

Nothing we've done today has been according to plan, so might as well add "examining our motives" to the list. We came here to get away from Josie's baggage; why are we getting up close and personal with it instead?

(Note that while we have many talents, our anonymity stat says flirting with danger is not currently one of them.)​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

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%
██████████████▒█████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 12% / Anonymity: 88%
██▒█████████████████
Ruthlessness: 49% / Empathy: 51%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 49% / Caution: 51%
█████████▒██████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: old friend.
Ortega and Josie: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 49%
█████████▒██████████

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%
████████████████████

 

The human disease called friendship

 

Justified to self as reconnaissance re: her abilities, especially when she's already crossed paths with Josie so suspiciously - odds of our villainy crossing paths in the future isn't slim