Tall tales tell all

Pray baby, pray Over our sins And oh, we'll grow, our own Status: Pure

[aseaofquotes]

Jessica Khoury, Origin

[abattoirprince-blog]

"…yeah, honestly. I’d just have to know more about what we’re dealing with. If it’s just a sick child or a literal god. I’ve had alternates fit both descriptions. If I could learn to deal with his mom, too, that’d make things easier, but Queens can be difficult when you’re telling them how they’re not taking proper care of their kid…" Though allegedly this Queen ought to be aware of and trust Scribe already, seeing as Scribe was the designated ‘babysitter.’ What a weird thing for the game to have coded in.

[pentothepages-blog]

"He's..." Scribe struggled, drawing on her game-memories. "He's both. Hugo is the core of the world with incredible power but he's also just a sick baby. I don't know how much luck you're going to have with the Queen." She sighed and ran her fingers through her shock white hair. "She got so caught up in planning the party she forgot who it was for and she's...she's stubborn. You can try if you can find her, I doubt she'd try anything with any version of her son but even I couldn't track her down right now. I have no idea where she goes when she's working on the fabric of the world, and strictly code-and-meta-wise I don't know if she's active. " 

[platinumpurifier]

"…" Babysitter? A strange term to assign to who he can only assume being Scribe. And almost idiotic with how much trouble the woman always got herself into. However that was beside the point.

"There was a matter I planned to discuss before returning back to my Kingdom, but it seems as if it will need to be postponed." Annoying. "..It is strange that it is only the two of you who are active. Is your file always like this?"

[pentothepages-blog]

"Mm." The Batter shrugged again. He felt a slight sympathy for the irritation of people not being where they were supposed to be (he glanced at Scribe's desk, why wasn't she here? She was his only source of amusement and conversation right now) but Batter also didn't really care. "She is rarely gone for much longer than a few hours given the infestation that fills her precious books, perhaps you could return later. This file has only been like this for a few days. The babysitter theorizes that others will appear soon, particularly once the Puppeteer has arrived to assist me on my mission." 

There was something that the Red-Eyed batter said that could his attention though. "Kingdom?"

[platinumpurifier]

He viewed the other as little threat, the King’s opinion of Batters always being higher than that of any other character— minus the Puppeteer. Unless he was given a reason to doubt this man’s purity; his thoughts would remain neutral. 

This Batter’s eyes were strange, the monarch never meeting one whose eyes were such a shade. They looked like Scribe’s. His mouth twitched at that, but he was soon stoic once more. “Where is your Puppeteer?” Scribe couldn’t have taken on another Batter herself, but this purifier seemed unattended.

[pentothepages-blog]

Batter shrugged, crossing his arms loosely over his chest and leaving his bat sitting on Scribe's desk. "Not here. They're coming. For the moment it is just myself and the babysitter."

He peered curiously at the King Batter. "Why are you here?"

[platinumpurifier]

The purity was well aware of how agonizing and mind numbing boredom was. He had been accustomed to waiting around for extended periods of time, forcing his patience to the farthest point possible. It was a relief to be out of the other’s situation. 

"I can tell." Came the monarch’s own blunt reply. He did not turn to leave however, keeping up his proud gait as he approached the staircase leading up to the other. He had not come looking for the Batter here, but his curiosity was piqued enough to get a closer look at him. When he reached the top of the stairs, he pushed his cape— or perhaps it was more of a shawl, over his shoulder, revealing the bat holstered to his side as the king rested a hand at his hip.

Red eyes gave Jack a glance over, “..You are the Savior of his file?”

[pentothepages-blog]

The Batter watched the king ascend the stairs impassively. He wondered if this other man intended a fight of some sort? He got the feeling that he wasn't Scribe's friend. Scribe's 'friends' had been chattier so far, even the other Puppeteer that seemed to have a tense relationship with her. 

The others dress was...odd. The bat at his hip though was interesting and endeared Hubert to him a little more instantaneously. "I am." He responded simply, hopping off of Scribe's desk and poking the brim of his hat up to meet the King's red eyes with blue. 

[platinumpurifier]

The monarch did not want to loiter too long away from his own file, but there were certain arrangements that had to be settled first, and therefore a bit of traveling was needed. He was expecting to see the ex-Player when he worked his way to the center of the Akashic Records, but instead he was meant with a completely different character.

There was a Batter to this file? Strange the blond had not sensed him until now.

He said no words, letting the clicking of his boots against the metal flooring announce his presence to the other purifier.

[pentothepages-blog]

Given that Scribe had been right, and that Jack and Scribe were the only two active NPCs right now, Jack had...basically nothing to do. He had never experienced boredom before and he hated it. Killing the spectres infesting the hallways while Scribe was working gave him some entertainment, but there were only so many times you could kill the same monster without an exp reward without getting bored. He hassled her mostly, or he did at first particularly after he found out she had been a Puppeteer once. That had been a long and loud conversation but for the moment Batter was settled. She had taken off to 'run some errands' which confused him, but whatever. 

Batter looked up at the new intruder as they stepped in to the room. She had a lot of visitors didn't she? "She isn't here." Batter said bluntly without so much as a 'hello'. 

[loyaltyinpuppetryy]

Would you like Scribe more if you knew your last Batter was tolerant of her?

"While that is an interesting little factoid, that has no relevance to the dynamic of our relationship."

"We are—or were, in her case—two of the same. We are akin to the multitudes of Batters, Zacharies, or any type of character in theory. The only reason we as players are unique is because we were never meant to be coded, and by extension, never meant to be the same.”

"Scribe was the first player I met who stood in opposition to my ideals. And she was the first to openly express it. She questioned me, opening a discussion that we could debate back and forth. Scripted dialogues no longer wounded me or made me think twice about my actions, but she did.”

"I am both repelled and drawn to her."

"No other being can influence these feelings. Only us, as beings who have shared the unique experience of playing our roles, have the right to stand on the same level and judge each other."

[loyaltyinpuppetryy]

Unexpectedly, a low chuckle escaped the Puppeteer’s lips, seeming amused by the topic of their spat. "Patience is a virtue, my dear Batter. If you have the patience to wait for your player to arrive, then you know you will meet with the Queen when the time is right. You will get nowhere bothering this one—her stubbornness outlasts the patience of even the greatest men."

And it was true. Scribe was stubborn as a mule. But she knew it was no insult to her. Part of her expected that the other woman took some pride in it.

When asked if she would return, she does not answer right away, a contemplative silence filling the air. Would she? Part of her had not anticipated the question.

"…I suppose." She finally nods. "Yes."

[pentothepages-blog]

Batter gave a long sigh laced with several volumes of frustration. "I'll...attempt to be patient. Thank you, Puppeteer." Her at least he seemed to listen to, even if she wasn't his Puppeteer. 

Scribe gave a litttle 'ehh' hand wave. It was true being stubborn was one of ehr qualities, she couldn't really deny that. 

Scribe wondered if she was going to say no and...well she was pleased when the Puppeteer said Yes "The door is always open for you, and I'm usually here to talk."

[loyaltyinpuppetryy]

Disappointing. It would have been a unique opportunity to take Scribe on as an extra boss. If it could be considered a treat to free her from being restricted to this realm and purge her existence entirely, the Puppeteer supposed she would have to be inclined to agree with her reasoning.

"Understood." There was no need for her here, though it never hurt to ask. It would not do well to linger here longer than necessary, seeing how the likelihood of talking to the woman one-on-one was low.

"In that case, I hope I have not indadvertedly interrupted any preparations for their arrival, unless you two were bickering over something else." She had caught them in the act, hadn’t she? "Your voices carried quite far. Unless I’m mistaken it is a rule to speak more quietly in a library, no?"

[pentothepages-blog]

Scribe shot Batter a dirty look. "Sorry you heard that. We were arguing about the Queen. Batter is under the preconception I could lead him to her before the story starts- which I can't." 

Batter frowned. "Why? You and I are active she could possibly be too."

"Yeah but she's not. I'm Hugo's babysitter, not a magical Queen tracker." Scribe tossed her hands in the air, clearly tired of this argument. The other Puppeteer seemed to be making 'ending this conversation' motions which Scribe could respect, their conversations usually were pretty short, but...

"Will you come back?" Scribe asked without entirely knowing why she did. 

[abattoirprince-blog]

 "But will you still be you, or will you be rewritten into what the code thinks you should be, without any leftover junk from you being a puppeteer? What if you die and forget everything outside of being a guardian?" Hugo frowns, wringing his fingers. "I know this is just… baseless speculation, but I’ve never dealt with anything like this. This is… weird. Having the file manifest like this, all of a sudden. Mm…"

He hesitates, wondering if he should bring this up without discussing it with Chevie first. “If… things go south, and there’s no other option, I can take care of this file’s Hugo. I’d rather not see another of my alternates die, which I’m sure you can understand…”

[pentothepages-blog]

"I have no idea." Scribe admitted. "The file sustains me, it's whats keeping me alive. As long as it's not actually deleted I should be alright but it might overwrite my memories again like when I first reconstructed like this...but I could be wrong.  I don't know much more than you." 

She thought about it. "I'd like to see Hugo survive." Scribe admitted. Hugos death had always been...traumatic. It had been the turning point of her as a Puppeteer that ended her damaged trust in the Batter and caused her to reject him. "It'd probably halt the file but between that and the possibility of this file not resetting after the end of the game that might be the best option..."

[kr0x]

Another OFFxInu Curry Style!

[h10z]

バッターさん描いたの詰めた

[loyaltyinpuppetryy]

The Puppeteer listened attentively as the other elaborated, her attention only diverted to spare a nod to acknowledge the Batter’s greeting. It seemed straight-forward enough, yet the answers only begged for more questions. A frown began to form, and it had only deepened by the time the explanation came to an end.

She did not have any former knowledge of what these “expansions” were, and she was certain she’d never heard of any Jozlyn’s or Alain’s, but based off what she was told…

"So your relation to the game has been watered down to unnecessary," The Puppeteer bluntly deduced. "An unfortunate circumstance, though one could argue your existence had been unnecessary the moment you stepped down from your role as a Player."

Any sliver of hope that the two could have turned a new leaf and started anew was dwindling fast, now that the prospect of a new mission was at the forefront of her mind. She did not mince words for the sake of keeping the third party in the dark, to whom she now turned her attention to.

"I would not be opposed to stepping up to the task, if you would prefer to not be kept waiting."

[pentothepages-blog]

Well that was insulting, but not unexpected. Scribe just shrugged. She didn't really care if she was unnecessary in the other Puppeteers eyes. That was disappointing but the other Puppeteer was very single minded so Scribe decided not to take it to heart. 

"If you think about it, every extra npc, secret boss, extra item or 'secret' is unnecessary in any game. They're treats for the players and additions to the flavor of the story. It doesn't bother me and it's preferable to being dead or insane." Scribe pointed out. The Batter had turned to study Scribe's face, with hard eyes and a small frown. Oh crap the other Puppeteer had spilled her secret hadn't she. Scribe sighed. That was not going to be a fun conversation. "Technically I exist as both now, it's a little hard to explain." 

The Batter looked at the Puppeteeress in white and shook his head. "You're not my Puppeteer. They're coming soon enough." He paused and seemed to be struggling to find his next words. "Th...Thank you? Thank you." Once again thinking beyond the script was a new experience for him." Perhaps another time." He was vaguely aware of the concept of new blocks and new games, at least somewhere deep down. 

[abattoirprince-blog]

"Wait, what’s his name? He wouldn’t tell me." Hugo sniffs, rubbing at his nose. "Are you sure you don’t want help? I’m not looking for a fight. I can handle just talking to the guy. Maybe figure out what we’re gonna do… If you kill him once the game starts, it’ll just… count as a game death, won’t it? And he’ll get respawned by his puppeteer, in theory. Though… do you still count as a puppeteer? Maybe you can control him."

[pentothepages-blog]

"His name is Jack." Scribe told him bluntly. "Don't tell him I told you that though."  

Scribe started pacing back and forth, turning the problem over in her head. There were no Elsen in this version of Bismark yet. For the moment she and Batter were the only active characters, she imagined the rest of the NPCs would appear soon. "If I killed him when it starts, yes that'd just be an in-game death and he'd be restored again to the Puppeteers save file. In theory he could finish the game without killing me, just like Batter can finish the game without ever finding Sugar but most Gam- Puppeteers- are completionists ." She paused and made a face "I was.  And even if he didn't I'd still be wiped out if the switch is flipped. I'd be reset and I don't know what that means for my memories that I just got back." 

She went back to pacing again. "I've lost a lot of my Puppeteer powers since I'm basically a puppeteer soul shelled in code now, I'm not really a full 'human' anymore. I can't control him against his will and he doesn't know what I really am." 

Scribe stopped and exhaled a long sigh, she looked at Hugo and smiled. "I'll be okay Hugo. I'm an NPC now. Just like The Judge and the Elsen, every time this version of the game is replayed, I'll be there." 

[kbearart]

sketch warm up

[abattoirprince-blog]

"Well… yeah," he mumbles lamely. "Maybe he’ll behave, but I dunno. It’s hard to tell what they’ll do. Batters. Um. I feel a little better I guess. I haven’t gotten a lot of opportunities to just rest, but I’m powering through it. Should be okay… Do you want me to come with you when you go see him? He didn’t seem like he’d be hostile to you."

[pentothepages-blog]

"Probably not." Scribe admitted. "Ja- Batter never liked me on principle but you're right- I don't think he'll get hostile at me until the game starts and the Puppeteer chooses to take me out or not."

Scribe made a face at him though. "I can handle him, you need to go home and rest. Don't stress yourself while you're sick." She admonished him. "You should be thinking more about yourself right now."

[abattoirprince-blog]

"No, no, he was just kinda unfriendly," he replies quickly, shaking his head. "I didn’t tell him who I was. Um… Is this going to be a problem? If he’s the Batter here he’s inevitably gonna try to wipe the place out, unless something goes wrong. Can you just code him out of existence? Or are you just gonna deal with him?"

[pentothepages-blog]

Scribe exhaled a long sigh and leaned her back against the wall of the building. "It's a problem." She admitted. "For me. I don't think I can delete the main character and if I tried the resulting glitch might be even worse than the one that messed me up before. I don't dare."

She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her palm. "I'm just gonna have to deal. I'm glad he didn't get hostile at you...thanks for the heads up." She looked at Hugo again "Are you feeling any better?"