keybroad | TNDG Day 9: Third Date

[Ronove brought a teapot and some food for later, prepared with as much care and expertise as one may expect from him. He greets Lotus with friendliness]

That's not a problem. I'm flattered you're willing to spend time with me even if it's as a result of this game's challenges.

[He does look rather sincere about that!]

I still owe you for your help not too long ago. Needless to say, I'm willing to use my vote according to your indications -- including voting for you, if that's what you want.

[She rubs her hands together, the rings on her fingers tinkling, and clothes her eyes to breathe in. There'll be tea! That's exactly the pick-me-up she needs after this long day.] Oh, I'm more jealous than ever of your lady.

[She sits down at a chair.]

I don't know if you're looking for a "friend", but I have been thinking more and more that it was wrong for me to think of you solely in terms of the vote you could provide. The "miracle" I made happen was more of a monkey's paw than I anticipated. I can tell you more about it if you like, since I know you think deals with the devil are so interesting... Maybe we could establish a standard of confidentiality during this "date", so I can give you the most honest and therefore interesting answers? Mutual confidentiality, of course, I won't exact my payment from you with a onesided confessional.

[Ronove adjusts one of his gloves methodically, pensive]

It'd be nice to have someone to consider a friend around here, if you're willing to think of me as a friend.

[Most of his relationships are intermingled with his job, it'd be a nice change of pace to have a friendship that doesn't involve work in any way]

That sounds promising. This shall be a time for complete secrecy, then. Nobody will hear a word of what you tell me. My, what'd Milady say if she heard I'll be keeping another woman's secrets as zealously as I keep hers, pu ku ku...

Then secrecy'll go for me too. [She makes a gesture of zipping her lips and throwing away the key. She plucks her fork between her fingers.]

I can think of you as a friend; I mean, to a certain extent I already do, so far I've been using the word pretty casually, like our American hosts. But I'm not sure I can treat you like a friend... You see, I thought of Katou as a friend, but I didn't treat him that way in the end.

[She looks into the shiny surface of her fork, much more interested in her own reflection. Her voice takes a confessional tone; the cadence that you hear from someone deeply trusting you with something very serious, when you have not actually known one another long enough to have a habitual speaking style.] We had enough fun whenever we spoke, whatever we drank. I voted for him one round, he voted for me the next. So I thought of him as a friend; someone whose welfare was at least equal in importance to my own. But it wasn't on my mind... All I could think about was how your gratitude would increase my chances of surviving so much.

Katou voted for Zelda at first. He hoped that Zelda would vote for him in return, or secure a vote some other way. However, she didn't make this type of public declaration before the fire. Then Ene appropriated Zelda's vote.

Now, back in the third round? Snake had a deal with Ene. He would vote for her, and then she would let him control one of her votes in the fourth round. Ene's first vote went to Ib, obviously, which was apparently already listed as an exception in their deal. However, now Ene had a second vote that Snake could freely influence. To be clear, I'm talking about Snake so much because he's one of the several people whom I'd known before we showed up here. We have significant sway over one another, and Snake is especially susceptible as he is much slower to gamble with others than, for example, myself. To give you an idea of how slow, the first round he insisted on personally voting for Clover, not even letting any other members of the group do it. Therefore, Snake simultaneously did not trust Ene enough to want her actually pledging a vote for a member of his group, and did not have a strong opinion about what non-group-member would most benefit. So I had a lot of influence. And I wanted this "deal" to increase the welfare of the group as much as possible. "A vote with no strings attached whatsoever" is always going to be more useful than "the vote you might get from your friend who likes you".

Ene seemed to have a feeling that Katou deserved the vote because it was still basically like a trade with Zelda, but of course, she still actually did what we wanted. By then, most of the votes were decided. I traded for myself with Dee. There were four unprotected people: Aku, Charlie, Katou, and Sophie. And there was one vote not cast: Charlie's own. Obviously, Charlie could not vote for himself. So, I thought he would want to not have Katou's blood on his hands, and vote for him, maybe not even realize it was too late to make someone else vote for "Charlie".

When I found Charlie, he was totally out of the loop. He was figuring he'd vote for this other guy who had actually been covered already. And maybe I should have just let him do that. Fewer people would die - in the long term, you understand, I'm constantly thinking about how many opportunities we're missing to save lives by sending people to the hotel - but any person he'd been thinking to send to the hotel wasn't someone I'm trying to protect, instead someone I hoped would be one of the many inevitable deaths. So, I thought it would be more likely that more "people I'd want to protect" would survive in the end if Katou survived right now. Which was pretty terrible of me.

I didn't want to lie to Charlie... I told him the truth about who was supposed to be voting for whom, then told him Katou was someone reasonable he could vote for. Charlie asked if Katou would actually trade, and that's when I panicked. I told him Katou was voting for Zelda, who had been badly injured in a fire and might not make it, so maybe Katou wouldn't mind voting for Charlie instead. Even though I knew in that moment, Zelda dying would be bad, she's a lovely young woman I shouldn't want to see dead. And besides, a lot of people would hate me if they saw me as responsible.

Well, Charlie went to talk with Katou. And then... [Her head has started to hang, her mood very gradually going down as she was talking about all this. Lotus lifts her chin back up and a melancholy smile splits her face.] The second miracle happened. The equal and opposite reaction to the miracle of your survival, Ronove. Katou could have voted for Zelda and hoped Charlie would vote for him. Or he could have actually traded with Charlie, and Zelda would have died. Instead... he must have had Charlie vote for Zelda... and then voted for Charlie himself. [She laughs bitterly, tightly clutching the fork in her fist.] This complete stranger! I'm really not sure if they'd ever spoken once! Charlie certainly didn't seem to remember speaking to him! And Katou could have said really negative things about me on the broadcast, you know? Wreck my reputation. Even if it's everyone else's fault also for not voting for him. It's what they think that matters. But he was "a good sport".

So it's a new voting round now. I'm trying to be practical. If Katou wasn't mad at me, then I shouldn't be mad at myself, and it's certainly his own actions that show he accepted his death, which is an event that does still make it likelier I'll survive, even if his presence in the game was also useful for me. I'll just have to make the most of how things are now.

[That's a rather surprising tale. Convoluted, involving a lot of people, and with more lives at risk than he had expected there to be. Ronove is silent for a moment, repeating a few parts of her testimony to himself, before nodding]

I see. In the end, Katou put the life of Zelda ahead of himself. That's a rather noble thing to do, and it's a shame that young man sacrificed himself like he did. It sounds like he deserved better than that.

Leaving that aside, I don't think your reputation would be wrecked if Katou had said anything about you. Juggling these votes is a responsibility nobody should have, it makes that person a target, but you did your best with what you had. Not only it is unreasonable to see you as the cause of someone's death -- the hosts want it to happen. The more discord there's around, the more likely it is they'll stoke it even more. You're doing the right thing by not letting yourself feel mad about what you did.

Katou had his own life in his own hands and chose to give Zelda a chance. That was his decision, you didn't force him to do it.

[There's something strange about knowing everything that had to happen for Ronove to be saved. It's a conflicting feeling Ronove isn't sure how to deal with]

With some luck, you won't find yourself in a situation like that one again. What a heartless game this is...

I appreciate the vote of confidence, Lotus. If you're willing I can tell you something confidential as well, since it involves me and those four women of the Ushiromiya family we have here.

Yes, it should be better in the future. We can all think ahead about our actions more, come up with better plans together, and try to incentivize being noble.

[Lotus is sufficiently heartened by Ronove not walking out on her that she has regained her appetite a little, and she begins to load slices of meat onto her plate. She nods at Ronove, entirely ready to move on to his story.]

I've been curious about that for a while, I'm definitely interested. Rosa and Eva wear the Golden Eagle because they're blood relatives of the Ushiromiya family, right? Kyrie and Natsuhi don't. But I'm assuming you're not related, since they don't exactly talk about you like family. At first I didn't know the eagle's significance, then I got into other things and you and I had been talking less than before.

You're right, I hold no blood relation to the Ushiromiya family in any way. However, this sigil can be given to valued servants too -- only when given by the head of the family, that is. Being Milady's butler, I was given the sigil.

I'm aware my presence here has raised those four's suspicions. I have the feeling there have been discussions about myself and about who I am, and they all have tried to find out the truth. To be frank I have deceived all of them so far, giving them pieces of information that sound true but are largely inaccurate.

[How to tell it in simple terms...]

It's said the island of Rokkenjima has two masters, one by day and one by night. The master everyone knows is Kinzo Ushiromiya, the patriarch of the Ushiromiya family. He's quite a fearsome man, and his life and work are legendary. It's said he summoned an otherwordly being and obtained several tons of gold. That being...is Beatrice, known as the Golden Witch. There's a certain measure of truth, Kinzo did obtain an outrageous amount of gold ingots from Beatrice.

Since then, the legend of the Golden Witch permeates the island of Rokkenjima. That's the master of the island at night. Many tales have been woven about Beatrice, and she is treated with fear and reverence by the servants of the Ushiromiya manor.

That's the master I serve. Milady is Beatrice. We are aware of the secrets and lives of the family, as you may imagine.

[Ronove pauses, about to go into a bit of the supernatural side]

As you're aware thanks to this game, there are many worlds connected to each other, so by now you may not consider it impossible that there are also different planes of existence. That's where I reside. Beatrice and I are in an entirely different plane of existence than the Ushiromiya family, and that's what the Ushiromiyas among us aren't aware of. Rosa believes I'm working under Kinzo's direction in a different manor, while Kyrie thinks the legend of Beatrice is a way to cover up a sordid relationship with a mistress and that I'm working for that mistress.

[It's all complicated to tell, and while Ronove didn't outright state he's a demon, by now it may be clear that he's not human]

Did you understand or did I make this too convoluted?

[This is giving Lotus a lot to chew on; literally, she begins to eat as the explanation gets involved, though she sets everything down entirely well before it's her turn to speak. She has paid close attention to all this.]

I'm pretty sure I understand everything. The most important part is that you come from "a different plane of existence" within the same universe that the Ushiromiyas call home. That's also the main reason you didn't previously meet "the Ushiromiyas among us", even though you live in "the same manor". And yet, you see it as very important to not disclose this information, so you "tell lies of omission" and allow them to assume that you live "within the same plane of existence as them". [She's almost animated about this; Lotus finds these theoretical topics really interesting.]

It's probably the smart decision; I won't get into the incidents that have given me this impression, but you seem to agree with me that they're fairly paranoid by nature. If you would do whatever it takes to get the grand prize and help your lady Beatrice, a master who is not Kinzo or themselves, then they might interpret that to mean you would stand by as harm befell "the Ushiromiyas among us".

So. [She flicks her wrist.] My follow-up question is, what are your intentions towards "the Rokkenjima four minus one"? Obviously, no matter what I won't tell them you're "from another plane of existence, where Beatrice exists and you're loyal to her instead of Kinzo". However, if you did actively want them dead for some reason, we would have problems going forward. They're very important to me. [Ronove is at liberty to interpret "important" as either emotionally precious or helpful to her survival.]

Your assessment are correct. The hosts of this game made the mistake of kidnapping them before the family conference, where they were all prepared to get into a tough argument with Natsuhi and her husband. It's no surprise they're still on edge.

[No matter what 'important' means, chances are that Lotus wants them alive no matter what, so he chooses to believe that]

I hold no ill feelings or any particular affection towards those four, but I don't actively want any of them dead. In fact, if it were up to me, I'd send the four of them to the hotel as soon as possible, to save their lives in this game. Mary sending Natsuhi to the hotel was lucky happenstance, yet I can't take credit for it. Their consolation prizes may change their lives to the better back in our world, too.

It sure is stressful being married to the family head... [Lotus nods, relieved by his answer.]

The problem is of course saving them all at once, which in the current rules is very difficult. So, I've been playing it slower than that, maybe something slow that I wouldn't prevent them all from being among the final five. It was lucky that Natsuhi alone left and is alive. If Kyrie was gone at the same time, and we were left with Rosa and Eva, it might be difficult to save them from themselves. They haven't accepted votes from anyone else this entire time.

However, I am optimistic that they won't reject a ticket to the hotel once the circumstances make it really clearly necessary to live.

...the moment Kyrie or Eva or Rosa leave will be the moment the remaining two will have to start relying on the rest of us. It'd be simple to make it happen in a round like this one, where there are people with several extra votes. One single vote more on one of them...that'd all it'd take to force it to happen.

[Ronove chuckles]

Lotus, I can guarantee that none of them will accept going to the hotel voluntarily. Eva is staunch in her goals, Rosa is more devious and intelligent than anyone can imagine, and Kyrie is a fearsome woman, willing to take risks no matter what. Out of the four, Natsuhi is the only one that'd accept the offer to go to the hotel.

If they are to be saved, it'll have to be behind their backs, as shady as that may sound.

You're not wrong about the way they are... [She looks down at her plate and flips over a vegetable with the flat side of her fork.]

I'm just gun-shy about shadiness. Not even for moral reasons per se. After all, one of the very few consensus points about who not to vote for is that "a person who lies about their vote in one round is not entitled to a vote in a subsequent round". [Bitter sigh--] I really wish people thought more about who they're not voting for.

Anyway... I see your point about rounds with an uneven distribution. I'll have to think more about if this one is the right one. Given some of the players who got the short end of the stick, I do think we might still be in the first stage of the game. Or maybe this is already the second stage and it's the third stage that hasn't started yet...? Sorry, I've never actually said out loud before that I think of the game in stages.

What's the difference between stages, if I may ask? It's a strange way to think of this game.

It is pretty strange. "Stages" is really just an idea, not an actual gameplay mechanic or anything. Maybe if I...

[She pulls over some of the untouched serving plates.] Yeah, I should show you. It's a metaphor, so I should use examples, it's not like I can just wordlessly transmit the "vibe" these things have in my head.

[First Lotus points at a bowl of soup.] Here, it's like the first stage. That was back when people were trying to escape, drink themselves to death, all of that. It's like the way that some parts of the soup rise and fall according to gravity. The probability of those specific people dying was very high, and the probability of anyone else dying was very low. The last part of this stage was in the third voting round, where we lost Gorix who had been trying to escape and Frank who had made a poorly thought out vote in the first round. Now, there's nobody left who is such an obvious liability. And the hosts thought at least sort of similarly.

[She picks up a basket of assorted breadrolls.] The next stage definitely started in the fourth voting round. Hotel passes were added to the game, showing that even zero-voters were people who had been somewhat competitive. It was also the first time that a non-zero-voter was killed. In this stage you aren't just choosing "your allies" over "people you've never even met". You have to decide whether you'll choose "your allies" over "your closest allies" or "people who you think it's very important to see protected". Metaphorically, you have to decide how to give out the most delicious pieces of bread, and then there are limitations, because some people are allergic to nuts or something. You know, kids these days have such weak immune systems?

It's at this time that my risk of dying is the biggest, for three reasons. A, I'm in an awkward position where very few people would say "Lotus is my closest ally". B, I feel a moral responsibility to worry about the welfare of the children. C, I fear having a reputation as "sacrificing the children for my own benefit" or "betraying the members of her own alliance". Maybe I can flee any vengeful Ushiromiyas by returning to my own universe, but I'd be abandoning my daughters by not returning to our universe. If I betrayed a member of the "tai chi club", any surviving member would follow me to our shared universe, and said person would definitely murder me in cold blood. So I am not going to push my luck by asking for a second vote or hotel pass during this stage.

[She pulls over a platter of individually molded chocolates.] This represents the third stage. Where it's really obvious to the naked eye that there are finite final five slots. [As she speaks, she tests the chocolates with her fingernail.] At this point, I'd be ready to go to the hotel if there were an opportunity. The hotel and the final five aren't too different to me. My grand prize is obviously better, just not so much better than my consolation prize plus a 100% chance of not dying. On the other hand, this stage is the most dangerous in that there are only a few rounds left and less penalty for defecting. Which is a metaphor for how some people have a second stomach for desert. [On the fourth chocolate:] Lemon! Nice. [She picks it up and looks at Ronove.] So, that's my mindset. Like acts of a play. What do you think. [She eats the lemony chocolate.]

It's an interesting way to think about it, and makes sense. Now that you mention it, it wouldn't be strange for the hosts to introduce a new mechanic once the game starts getting into that final phase. It's going to be a while before we reach it, though.

It makes me wonder who among us is going to continue in the game long enough to reach it. There are many here that are determined enough to get there, and it's still too early to know what exactly they're all willing to do to achieve it.

[...oh. Right. What they're willing to do...]

I wonder if anyone's going to make a move for the hotel pass.

Yeah, we definitely have at least one more round in the current second phase, maybe two. It will depend if they keep up this huge deficit of like four votes. Maybe if our alliance adventures continue I can write a list for you.

[As for who's going to try and get the hotel pass? Lotus answers immediately.]

Ene is. [She flinches immediately, then shakes her head, realizing it's not an error to mention this.] I knew that earlier, but now she's been showboating about it in public, making it sound cute. For your own safety you should stay away from her, and also don't vote for her.

Understood.

[Still, that's a surprise]

Ene...I admit I didn't think she would. It's worrying she's boasting about that in public. People who do that don't tend to do something harmless.

[...speaking of his own experiences with Beatrice, at least]

[She smiles thinly.]

In the process of learning that Ene wanted to do something, I realized that I understood her way less than I thought I did. So I don't know if she's plotting some kind of harmless performance that'll magically wow everyone, or actual extreme danger; I certainly agree with you that "in between" is not in the realm of possibility.

I mean, it seems very strange to me that after over a week of little effort in any game, Aku found supplies to make a bomb even though other players haven't found the same types of things, I have several friends who've looked. Maybe worse, anyone who tries will presumably be looking to outdo a bomb. I can't say I know of anyone besides Ene who is attempting. I'm pretty sure my allies Snake and Clover and Jumpei aren't doing anything untoward.

Anything that ends in the loss of life will outdo that bomb.

[Ronove serves tea, until now he hasn't eaten anything. It seems he had been waiting for Lotus to finish her portions before he started digging in]

I had the impression Aku liked fire. I heard he was threatening to torch someone with his eyebrows the first day. Judging from that, it may not be illogical to think he may have knowledge the rest of us didn't -- in terms of fire and incendiary artifacts.

Now that you mention Snake, Clover and Junpei...how did you come to know them? Especially Junpei, he's a charming young man. Reminds me of Milady's guest back at home in some ways, pu ku ku

Oh, hm! You're right, maybe he knew what would catch fire faster, like he had some unusual material that would make a good fuse. It's not like there isn't wood. Well, I don't think Ene would murder someone, but really the only area I can imagine between "burning" and "death" is "losing a limb", so I don't know. I guess it's just speculation.

[Her lips twitch. She accepts the cup of tea.]

My acquaintances from home all told are Snake and Clover who are siblings, Santa and June who are siblings, and Jumpei who is June's "soulmate" to put it succinctly, as well as Seven who is no longer with us. You'll notice I can't claim any similarly close relationship with a single one of them. So I'm in an awkward position.

The "daytime" version of the story is that a little less than a year ago, we became a close-knit group of friends when we all joined the same "tai chi club" in Tokyo where we happen to live in close proximity... [She looks down at the cup of tea, then up at him again.] I think you wouldn't believe me if I had presented that as a fact by itself, or said there wasn't a "nighttime" version. However, the cost of that version is seriously steep. I mean, I do definitely trust you to not literally tell anyone, but still.

Don't worry. I don't intend to pry if you don't want to. Besides it may be for the better, as I'd otherwise have to tell you much deeper secrets -- and I fear those may influence your behavior towards the Ushiromiyas.

If you say you're all from a tai chi club, then I will believe that.

[It's not like that's something vital he needs to know, after all]

Then I guess we'll have to both live with unsatisfied curiosity about each other's acquaintances for the time being. I think you and I are in the same position where the other learning that information would "decrease those others' odds of surviving" instead of simply "increase my date's odds of surviving".

[She sips the tea and thinks.]

It's really frustrating managing their votes, though. If Rohan trades with Dennis and Niles trades with June, then you'll probably need to trade with me. Would that be OK with you?

I'm fine with that.

[Ronove takes out his tablet, voting for Lotus]

It's done. Of course if you or Zelda think I should change it then I will, but you're safe now.

Thank you.

[She does it too.]

I might have to change it, but you can always find me by the lite brite board, where you'll see right away what I'm voting for instead.

TNDG Day 9: Third Date

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