Haynes Game 3: The DESPAIR Trials/Logs/The Tortoise and the Hare

Logs are from April 20, 2018.

Logs

[5:06 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie knocks on the door, careful not to push the door wide open. “Hello?” he calls out, quiet so that he won't wake the others.

[5:06 PM] Preston Mills: Preston tilts his head up.

[5:06 PM] Flora Strassen: Flora gets up and opens the door.

[5:08 PM] Julong Leoi: “Ah-- good evening, Strassen, Mills. Is... is now a bad time?” he asks.

[5:08 PM] Flora Strassen: “It’s fine. He just lost some blood, so we don’t have to have him active in the conversation.”

[5:09 PM] Preston Mills: “I'm... still... awake... Just need... a good night’s rest...”

[5:09 PM] Flora Strassen: “Dramatic bastard took the bed. Ugh.”

[5:09 PM] Julong Leoi: “I-- he what?” Louie looks to Mills with disbelief. “Mills, you’re going to die if you keep pushing yourself like this.”

[5:09 PM] Flora Strassen: “Aw, don’t get my hopes up like that.”

[5:10 PM] Preston Mills: “I tested the blood drive...”

[5:10 PM] Flora Strassen: “His blood wasn’t good enough, didn’t win us what I wanted.”

[5:10 PM] Preston Mills: “I saw the robot pour the blood on the floor inside the wall...”

[5:11 PM] Julong Leoi: “Oh, did you?... May I ask what you won?”

[5:11 PM] Flora Strassen: “Do you remember the prize list? Take a guess. If it’s something we could use, you’re guessing wrong.”

[5:11 PM] Julong Leoi: “So you won a picture of the mascot flipping the viewer off, then.”

[5:12 PM] Flora Strassen: “Even better: a bow and arrow.”

[5:12 PM] Preston Mills: “Any group besides us could’a used it.”

[5:12 PM] Flora Strassen: “Hey, you like bows, right? Why don’t you try the blood drive and win something, and we can trade. Win-win.”

[5:12 PM] Julong Leoi: “Oh!” He chuckles nervously. “My apologies. Say, uh... Hm, how many arrows are there?”

[5:13 PM] Preston Mills: “10.”

[5:13 PM] Julong Leoi: “I... no thank you, but I do have something else I could trade with you two.”

[5:13 PM] Flora Strassen: “Is it a carbon fiber suit of armor? Because that’s what I want most right now.”

[5:13 PM] Preston Mills: “The prizes fell from the ceiling, so I'm speculating the prizes are stored in the ??? room.”

[5:15 PM] Julong Leoi: “Oh, I wish it were a suit of armor. But, ah, this is better than nothing, I suppose?” He pulls a jagged knife made from scrap metal out of his suit. “This is certainly a one-handed weapon. There's more I could offer, too.”

[5:15 PM] Preston Mills: “Where did you get that?”

[5:15 PM] Flora Strassen: “What else could you offer?”

[5:17 PM] Julong Leoi: “Ignis made it from scrap metal. I can also offer a handsaw.”

[5:18 PM] Preston Mills: “If we trade, do you mind if we keep 2 arrows?”

[5:18 PM] Flora Strassen: “Hmm... Tempting, but neither are of guaranteed quality. Maybe if you find blood you could give the drive a shot?” Flora seems to nudge in Preston’s direction as she says this. With anyone else you might think it was unintentional but no yeah you get it.

[5:19 PM] Preston Mills: “Lemme see what the handsaw looks like.”

[5:19 PM] KingHaynes: It's a traditional construction handsaw, slightly rusted.

[5:21 PM] Julong Leoi: “I’m... not giving blood. I have an extra screwdriver I could throw in, too, though. And... fine, I suppose I'd be okay with letting you keep two arrows.”

[5:21 PM] Flora Strassen: “It doesn’t have to be your blood.” Another nudge towards Preston.

[5:21 PM] Preston Mills: “I’m not sure if that machine just takes blood.”

[5:21 PM] Flora Strassen: “It probably only takes blood.”

[5:22 PM] Preston Mills: “It might have injected me with something.”

[5:23 PM] Flora Strassen: “He’s more stupid than usual from the blood loss, don’t mind him. But I think if we were to trade, we’d need a peace treaty for the upcoming trial as well. An official alliance, or something.”

[5:23 PM] Preston Mills: “Yes, I agree with Flora.”

[5:24 PM] Julong Leoi: “Of course!” Louie’s expression turns serious. “I didn’t come to talk just about the weather, you know. I wanted to talk about other pressing matters. But, to reiterate: the knife, the saw, and the screwdriver for the bow and eight arrows?”

[5:25 PM] Preston Mills: Preston whispers to Flora.

[5:25 PM] Flora Strassen: “Right, sounds good. And if worse comes to worst in the trial, we ditch whatever other team before each other.”

[5:26 PM] Preston Mills: Preston nods.

[5:26 PM] Julong Leoi: “I understand.” Louie nods. “Ignis is already asleep, but I’ll sooner wring him out than let him throw you two under the bus.”

[5:26 PM] Flora Strassen: She coughs. “AlsoifweloseandyouwinfirstplaceyoukillPreston” COUGH.

[5:26 PM] Preston Mills: Preston feels unsafe.

[5:27 PM] Julong Leoi: “... Subtle, Strassen. So very subtle. I see now why you and Ignis get along well.”

[5:27 PM] Preston Mills: Preston sighs.

[5:28 PM] Julong Leoi: “Either way, will we be shaking on this, or is my word simply enough?”

[5:28 PM] Flora Strassen: “I guess so. I’ve still got enough arm for that.”

[5:28 PM] Preston Mills: Preston gets up and, wobbling over to Louie, offers a shaky hand.

[5:28 PM] Julong Leoi: [They shake hands, I guess!]

[5:34 PM] Julong Leoi: “Thank you both. Now, ah, one moment; I’ll go grab my end of the deal... No killing each other behind my back, please.”

[5:35 PM] Flora Strassen: “Don’t worry, the rules prevent that from happening.” Flora looks very upset as she says this.

[5:35 PM] Preston Mills: “Flora’s the one being merciless.”

[5:36 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie returns with a saw and a screwdriver, handing them and the scrap-metal knife to Flora. “The bow and quiver, if you could?”

[5:36 PM] Flora Strassen: Flora gets those and trades them off, picking out two arrows to keep.

[5:41 PM] Julong Leoi: “Thank you for your business," he nods. “And... about what I was trying to talk about earlier today — that ‘certain something’ that happened at a ‘certain somewhere’.”

[5:42 PM] Preston Mills: “. . . It was a... necessary evil.”

[5:42 PM] Julong Leoi: “Strassen, I’m not talking about drug trafficking, either; you look the sort to make marijuana jokes.”

[5:43 PM] Flora Strassen: “Huh? No way, drugs do such horrible things to the human body, that’s nothing to joke about.”

[5:43 PM] Preston Mills: “...”

[5:45 PM] Julong Leoi: “I'm... surprised that you're so mature about it. Huh.” He raises an eyebrow. “I suppose there’s no good in beating around the bush, though; naturally, I’m here to discuss the accident that happened two years ago.”

[5:45 PM] Flora Strassen: “I didn’t think Preston was quite that young... Oh, that. What about it?”

[5:47 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie crosses his arms and looks away. “It’s difficult to accept my hand in damaging so many American lives, but I understand if you’re cross with me. I told Omega team this, too; I'm taking it upon myself to personally apologize to each of the survivors.”

[5:48 PM] Julong Leoi: “... I hate myself for these mistakes I’ve made and these losses I’ve caused. It’s been twenty years of nothing but regrets and misery. Believe me when I say that I want to make it up to you and will do what I can to atone for my crimes.”

[5:49 PM] Preston Mills: “We had to see its capabilities... it was necessary for the future of the United States.”

[5:49 PM] Flora Strassen: “Weren’t you not even in office at the time? You probably helped with assisting in the facade afterwards, but I blame Mills for most of it anyway. Unless there's something I’m missing here.”

[5:50 PM] Preston Mills: “I apologize to the survivors, but for the sake of the U.S.’s military power, it was necessary.”

[5:51 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie winces. “I understand that! But I thought that, in my own naïve land of daydreams, that we, as the human race, could advance if we did this.” He takes a moment to breathe deeply and calm down. “I was elected as the vice-president under Mills. Through supporting him, it is my fault.”

[5:52 PM] Julong Leoi: “... I feel horrific for sponsoring something so gruesome, whether or not it was necessary. No one should have to die, Mills. I don’t get why you wouldn't see that."

[5:54 PM] Flora Strassen: “Eh, the politics of large scale things like that are a mess, some people really thought it was for the best. You weren’t a smug son of a bitch about it right after all our friends died, though, so it's alright.”

[5:54 PM] Preston Mills: “People are always risking their lives for the sake of the US, and that’s their choice.”

[5:59 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie grips his shoulder, wrinkling his shirt. “Mills, the experimentation was more dangerous than simply going out to war. Civilians may be hurt by these things, even now. And the families of everyone who was involved...” He whines a string of curses in Mandarin Chinese. “Listen, Mills, I’m not here to pull your tortoise-shelled<ref>

The tortoise is “vulgarly known (1) as wángbā (王 八), from a nickname given by the people of the village to Wang Jian, who after a youth spent in violence and rascality, became the founder of the Earlier Shu State, dying [C.E.] 918; or (2) as wàngbā (忘 八), ‘the creature that forgets the eight rules of right and wrong—viz., politeness, decorum, integrity, sense of shame, filial piety, fraternal duty, loyalty and fidelity (禮 義 信 恥 孝 悌 忠 信)—from a superstitious belief in the unchastity of the female. Hence, wángbā is a common term of abuse, equivalent to cuckold.”

—C.A.S. Williams, Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs, fourth revised edition.</ref> campaign through the mud. I came to apologize to the survivor of a tragic incident for being involved in furthering the pain and misery it’s caused.”

[6:01 PM] Preston Mills: “As long as we’re inside here, the past is irrelevant, and we need to escape with as few deaths as possible.”

[6:03 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie softens his grip on his shoulder and shakes his head 'no.' “Damn it, Mills, you more than anyone else should know why I can’t simply forget about things that have happened. I can’t stand death, and...” He takes a shaky breath. “Even though sometimes death is the only answer, it isn’t a self-contained thing.”

[6:05 PM] Preston Mills: “We need to keep looking forward toward the future. Looking backwards will only cause you to fall to despair.”

[6:07 PM] Julong Leoi: “I live to make sure what already happened won’t happen again!” he shouts, losing control of his temper. He’s crying a little bit as he tries to calm down. “I... I do what I do and have done what I’ve done because I miss the way things used to be. Mills, surely you remember my father's fate...?”

[6:10 PM] Preston Mills: “I apologize... I wasn’t thinking of that... You know what they say, ‘If you don’t learn the mistakes of the past, you’re doomed to repeat them.’”

[6:13 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie wipes his face on his sleeve. “I... apologize for letting my temper get the best of me. That was rather unprofessional. Nevertheless... this is why I can’t just allow us to sweep the incident under the rug.”

[6:15 PM] Preston Mills: “...I see.”

[6:17 PM] Julong Leoi: “No man is an island, Mills. We all have friends, family, pets, co-workers... even acquaintances, really, who will be affected by our deaths. So... I have to offer my humblest apologies to each survivor and do my best to mend what has been wounded.”

[6:18 PM] Preston Mills: Preston nods, “I’ll allow it.”

[6:19 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie glances at Mills. “... I didn’t come here to ask for your permission to do that, Mills. Either way... I'm rambling. If you two need my help, I’ll do my best to assist. I refuse to be a bystander in this mess.”

[6:20 PM] Preston Mills: “Fine.”

[6:21 PM] Flora Strassen: “Right, thanks. I could use some help pushing him off of my bed so I can sleep, but no worries either way. You should probably rest for the trial too. Anything else? Or is this goodnight.”

[6:22 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie shakes his head ‘no.’ “My apologies for taking up so much of your time. That would be all, unless either of you two had something else to say.”

[6:22 PM] Preston Mills: “I don’t have much else to say. Goodnight, Louie.”

[6:24 PM] Julong Leoi: Louie nods, enthused. “Good night, you two. Don’t hurt yourselves with that knife... or the saw, or the arrows, or the screwdriver. Euch, just—” He cups his head in one of his hands. “—be careful with that stuff I gave you. Good night.”

[6:24 PM] Flora Strassen: “See ya.”

Notes

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