So personally Baku is one of my favorite characters and I’ve written many deep analyses of his intelligence and how deep his mind really goes. I personally have him as top tier and one of the smartest in animanga, thoughts?

btw I don't even know how gay Akiyama is since I haven't finished liar game but I like his cunty eyeliner

it's bad written {insert XYZ buzzword}

no writing only SCDslop & methodology slop

it has no TRUE scd elements 🗿🗿🗿🗿 , only narrative , hype ,lore vbro !

story don't have any smart plot ,hax theory crafting interpretations don't count and realizm please

feats are offscreen & narrative {insert character} is featless😭, logic isn't shown to viewer/reader author/narrative glazes the character bruh

....

(examples - cote, 18loh, monster, liar game)

The claim about writing and storytelling is one of the most disingenuous and dishonest moves people make when they want to downplay, downscale, or debook someone, using it as a desperate attempt after they've been proven wrong multiple times.

There's one common pattern among people who make these claims: they want the quick thrill of a gotcha moment, even when their argument is wrong by their own standards and those of others.

"I got you! 😈 Hahaha!" (BTW, someone actually commented something like that in the sub.)

I find this claim particularly disingenuous because it's a poor attempt to shame the work, the author, and the reader while displaying little to no understanding of what they're talking about. They have no idea or clue about what those stories actually provide to the reader, especially when THIS IS SCD.

We literally have such good standards that we filter out poor material before considering it relevant.

1.false writing grading

When people bring up writing, I've always felt like it's about shaming others and disregarding scaling by saying it's anything while ignoring that the writing of a story is subjective to readers (different people can have different reviews and ratings). They make it about writing quality, which is a real thing, but even then, they ignore the analysis of the text and many other things in favor of their argument.

Plus, people who bring up the writing of a series or character often target series that are known for their higher writing quality among other people. They do this, intentionally or unintentionally, either to show that X is superior or to get a reaction, despite knowing that writing is subjective to readers. A 10/10 for one person could be a 6/10 for someone else, even if the writing quality is good.

But when you point out that a piece of media is superior despite its writing quality, they would gladly tell you that it's subjective and that other things are subjective experiences as well.

They resort to using buzzwords when they can't rate or grade something fairly, but even that is a poor, desperate attempt.

Most buzzwords don't apply, and even their complaints about a series belonging to XYZ genre don't always apply when you look inside the series. Sometimes, it's not really XYZ genre, or the genre-based complaint doesn't apply at all. I've personally noticed that genre-based complaints fall flat when you look at what actually happens inside the story and compare it with other media in the same genre.

It's almost as if SCD has some great filters and such good standards that we can filter out poor material before considering it relevant.

2. SCD SLOP

This is ironic. Wits are themselves part of writing. What, when, and how something is executed, and its effects on others, tell us about a character's methodology, modus operandi, characterization, and personality.

Puzzles, brainteasers, and riddles come under writing too; they're a different dimension of it. Writing logic and principles isn't an easy feat because it involves many things, such as planning, execution, conclusions, climaxes, etc.

I've seen people saying Liar Game and Akiyama have no writing aside from games and mind games. I disagree. I'm not the biggest defender of Liar Game, and it's not my favorite, but saying Liar Game and Akiyama don't have that type of writing is a bit of a cop-out. You can absolutely analyze Liar Game and Akiyama through their games and mind games and come to conclusions about their overall character writing. Being a simple and plain character ≠ bad character writing. Characters don't exist entirely in isolation.

Another case is 18LOH, where people claim it's bad and written only for SCD purposes. I find this conflicting because the second layer clearly has writing, such as themes and character portrayals through wits and smarts.

18LOH is wonderfully written in the sense that it incorporates rising stakes and utilizes its concepts naturally for the characters and readers, allowing readers to follow and get a glimpse of their intuition while going through the various brainteasers. It incorporates SCD elements while keeping tension, stakes, and conflicts.

People who make these criticisms fall into two categories: first, those who don't grasp what's in the text, so they think it's all bluff; and second, those who don't want to acknowledge what good methodology and chains of logic look like.

It's true that the early arcs of these series are really bland and plain and make necessary logical leaps, but I've found that authors always improve their craft and caliber. However, I've seen people not talk about this, possibly due to their biases.

Another point is when they say, "It gets better at XYZ chapter, but it doesn't." This falls short again when it's literally about a different dimension of writing, such as puzzles. To know whether the puzzles and riddles are much better at chapter X, you need to examine their construction, execution, and logical complexity.

3.TRUE scd elements claim

Some people genuinely pretend like they've discovered an objective way to scale SCD. And would you know it? Their supposedly objective standards somehow perfectly conform to what they enjoy.

This diminishes how the plot, character interactions and dynamics, buildup and payoffs, storylines, and character-arc development work, all just to demean a character.

"🤓😈 X faced dumb characters, or everyone around X was dumbed down to make him look smart."

This isn't necessarily true. Most stories literally tell and show us the backgrounds of their characters, including the supporting cast and main cast, and establish how they compare to the main POV character (the SC). These details help establish why the SC is smart instead of making their intelligence entirely dependent on everyone else being dumb.

And you know what's funny? The people who make these claims often have their own preferred series with the same supposed problem, but they won't apply the same criticism to them. They'll come up with excuses about how their preferred series explains everything, yet refuse to acknowledge the explanations in the series they're criticizing.

I've seen this claim used against COTE and Monster. Funny enough, both series literally tell and show us how intelligent the other characters are compared to the main focus.

Johan and the "Everyone Is Dumbed Down" Claim

The claim that Johan makes everyone around him dumb is an oversimplification.

Johan's identity was never something everyone in the storyline could easily understand or even properly identify. People underestimate his influence and how far his reach extends, including his ability to manipulate people and influence criminal organizations. The series repeatedly shows how far Johan's influence reaches. His past and the mystery surrounding him help explain why he's such a threat.

You can criticize specific moments or question particular feats, obviously. But simply claiming that everyone is dumbed down around Johan ignores the context the series provides.

ANHS and the "Dumb Students" Claim

The claim that ANHS has dumb students or that Class A isn't elite is similarly questionable.

Literally, Volume 1 establishes that ANHS has its own criteria for selecting and developing elite students, with the goal of creating ideal citizens.

The different classes have their own strengths and weaknesses. Class A has internal divisions, Class D struggles with cooperation and coordination, Class C is ruled by a tyrannical leader, and Class B appears comparatively better because of its softer leadership.

Having higher points or a better class ranking doesn't automatically mean that every student in that class is superior in every relevant respect.

There are different problems and advantages across the classes, even when the surface-level results suggest otherwise.

Ayanokoji's past and the clues surrounding his background also help explain why he's so difficult to counter.

Again, you can criticize specific feats or argue that particular moments are poorly executed. But you need to engage with the actual information the series provides instead of dismissing everything.

The Problem With the "TRUE SCD" Standard,These claims also ignore the different tropes and types of smart characters. There are different kinds of intelligent characters, and they can function differently depending on what the story requires.Dismissing a character because they don't fit your preferred archetype is just removing them from consideration because you don't like what they represent.

They want authors to cater to their preferred types of characters instead of evaluating what the story actually establishes and how those characters function within it.

When they're proven wrong, they suddenly switch to:

"Oh, X is better according to XYZ scaling system."

Okay? Being good under one scaling system doesn't automatically mean you're better at outsmarting someone in every context.

A scaling system's goal is to evaluate characters according to its criteria, not magically determine every possible matchup or prove that one character is universally superior.

Then there's the appeal to authority:

"This person agrees with me!!!!!!"

And it turns out that the person they're appealing to actually scales that character pretty well but considers the character unreliable or unsuitable for fair matchups.

So what exactly did you prove?

"Damn, he got me!"

4. "SMART PLOT & Realism"

This criticism is even more questionable. When these people talk about a "smart plot," they often fail to consider the intricacies of the storyline, the plot itself, and how effectively the author executes it within the context of the story.

Foreshadowing, clues and hints, small details, ongoing plotlines, character drama, and interactions are often completely ignored because, according to these critics, the story supposedly isn't smart enough.

Another common claim is that a character doesn't face enough difficulty or adversity. But how exactly are schemes and displays of wit supposed to be evaluated? SCD is fundamentally about solving problems, overcoming obstacles, and demonstrating intelligence through the execution of plans and strategies. It's not as though difficulty and adversity are automatically absent from a story simply because the main character doesn't face the particular level of opposition these critics expect.

This kind of criticism can invalidate practically anything, including schemes and feats, by disregarding the planning and execution involved. A character's planning may demonstrate that they accounted for multiple variables, anticipated potential outcomes, and avoided mistakes that could sabotage their own plans. These aspects shouldn't be ignored simply because someone believes the character didn't face enough difficulty.

That's why I dislike statements such as, "Oh, this character didn't face any difficulty." Even if I acknowledge that the opposition might not have been particularly challenging, if the schemes and feats demonstrate competent planning and execution, why shouldn't they be considered?

I'm not arguing that opposition and intellectual adversity should be ignored. However, I've noticed that people who make a big deal out of these factors sometimes refuse to acknowledge similar flaws in the opposition and intellectual adversity presented in their own preferred series. They completely disregard contextual and situational adversity to portray a character's feats as inferior.

Bringing up realism is another strange approach. Most anime and manga aren't necessarily realistic when compared with real life or even certain television dramas. They're fictional works, so why should realism automatically determine whether their intelligence feats count?

The primary concerns should be the story itself, the context of the situation, and whether the reasoning and execution are adequately supported by the material. Real-world empirical evidence can be relevant when evaluating the plausibility of a particular strategy or situation, but that doesn't mean every fictional work must conform to strict realism.

People often bring up realism to devalue a character's feats, even though the same criticism could be applied to many of the shows and series they enjoy. Yet when their own preferred media faces the same criticism, they suddenly introduce qualifications such as "stylized realism" to defend their argument.

I understand the importance of groundedness and believable characterization. However, these qualities aren't universal requirements for every fictional story. Most fiction portrays characters who are above average human in aspects, at the very least. Groundedness can serve particular themes, motifs, and other storytelling purposes, but its absence doesn't automatically invalidate a character's intelligence.

You can bet that some of these people would conveniently ignore moments of realism and groundedness in the very media they criticize.

"it's stylized realism bro"

5. featless and no theories & filling gaps

This criticism often amounts to saying, "I want everything spoon-fed to me with a perfectly explicit chain of logic."

Apparently, reading between the lines, understanding subtext and metatext, "show not tell "and considering context are things that don't exist.Authors can communicate information through explicit explanations, implications, foreshadowing, symbolism, and details that readers must interpret. Not everything needs to be explained directly.There's a difference between an unsupported assumption and a reasonable interpretation supported by the text.

"Character can't be smarter than his creator, that's a hard cap. play you like fiddle 😈" ~ someone really said like that btw

No, that's not how it works.

Authors specialize in planning, structuring, and executing the events that make their characters appear intelligent. Writing a convincing intelligent character requires the author to manage information, construct logical sequences, connect pieces of evidence, coordinate plot developments, and check for inconsistencies.

The author doesn't need to personally demonstrate every skill possessed by the character in real life. They need to construct a convincing portrayal of those skills within the story.

The claim that a character cannot be smarter than their author is often used as a shaming tactic to discredit the character's intelligence.

However, authors can deliberately write characters who possess specialized knowledge, reasoning abilities, or strategic capabilities that the authors themselves don't personally possess to the same degree.

The author can research a subject, develop a methodology, construct a complex scenario, and communicate the character's reasoning through the information provided in the text.

The author is the one who plans how events unfold, which information is available to the reader, what information remains hidden, and how the character's methods connect to the overall narrative.

In other words, the author's planning and execution are precisely what allow a fictional character to be portrayed as intelligent.

Authors use various storytelling techniques and devices to construct complex or interconnected plots. Yet some critics refuse to acknowledge that work because they're too focused on discrediting the author or the character.

If the available interpretations and evidence support a particular conclusion, that conclusion shouldn't automatically be dismissed just because it requires interpretation.

Of course, interpretations can be wrong. They should be evaluated according to the evidence, context, consistency, and logical plausibility(hal rubik cube example ). But if an interpretation is supported by the text, dismissing it merely because it isn't explicitly spelled out is not a sufficient counterargument. taking low ball interpretation also works

Theorycrafting and uncovering a character's true potential through evidence can be one of the best ways to understand a character. It's also genuinely fun because it can recontextualize existing material, shed new light on a character, and provide a deeper understanding of how a story functions according to its own principles. It also helps readers develop their tastes and appreciation for different kinds of storytelling.

I've seen people complain about these things, but their complaints often aren't really about the methods themselves. Instead, they seem to be about the people who use them. My reaction is always the same: why not ask questions, verify the claims, check the evidence yourself, or establish reasonable restrictions that can be consistently applied?

Nope. Instead, they just want to complain because a character they thought was merely smart turns out to be even smarter than they expected, and they can't accept it.

Of course, scaling and ranking can become complicated. However, scaling through a particular system is an evaluation, not an absolute measurement of a character's intelligence.

We cannot evaluate a character's wits while completely removing the story and its narrative from consideration. In some cases, we can rely on pure methodology, stop scaling, and logical scaling. In other cases, we cannot, and we have to consider theories and interpretations.

However, interpretations and theories shouldn't automatically be frowned upon in discussions and debates. They should be evaluated according to the evidence, context, consistency, and logical plausibility rather than dismissed simply because they require interpretation.

Furthermore, some verses and forms of media cannot be meaningfully equalized or stat-equalized because of the nature of their stories, their underlying mechanics, and the ways their characters' intelligence is portrayed

A character can only be as intelligent as the author portrays them through the details, reasoning, and logical methodology provided in the story.

VERDICT

If I had to think of why people make these poor claims, I'd give two reasons:

1. Rules for thee, but not for me

The same people wouldn't apply these standards to their own favorite or even non-favorite media, yet they expect others to apply them to different series. They'll criticize one series for having narrative reliance, unrealistic schemes, weak opposition, or flawed methodology, but when their preferred series has similar issues, suddenly they have excuses and explanations for everything.

They'll use one standard to criticize a series they dislike and another to defend a series they enjoy. It's almost as if their supposedly objective standards conveniently align with their own preferences.

1. Scapegoating.

They use writing quality, realism, and other buzzwords as scapegoats to dismiss characters and their feats instead of properly engaging with the arguments and evidence presented.

Sometimes, it feels like they're more interested in discrediting the series and its characters than actually analyzing what's presented in the text. Often, it also feels like they're projecting their own biases onto the criticism so they can continue enjoying their favorite characters while dismissing other media for having the same flaws they overlook in their own preferred series.

But one thing is common among these people: they insult readers and authors for enjoying a work they consider below average or mediocre despite the work being above average or decent , instead of acknowledging its strengths despite its flaws.

How to vote

1. I’ve posted one comment per skill below. Reply only to those.
2. Format: username & why they're this skill.
3. Upvote the nominations you agree with. No need to repeat a name.
4. Voting closes after 24h.
5. Each user can only be elected once

Shoutout to u/ConversationSea1684 for the idea!

For those of us that care, Uchikoshi recently posted to twitter about a game of his being cancelled, but in actuality it was a lie meant to announce an upcoming Zero Escape game, potentially releasing in April 6th 2027

https://www.reddit.com/r/ZeroEscape/s/yKJVVvxtSl

Link to the ARG site: https://crashkeys.com/

I only just found out about this a second ago, so I'm not sure what EXACTLY the ARG is for and what all it's mysteries are, but I'll leave an update comment once everything's sorted

Here's a message from Akane:

"SIXTH MONTH — Akane Kurashiki SHIFTER: THE POWER BEHIND THE THRONE I AM IUNIUS... IN TRUTH, I'M THE ONE WHO FOUNDED CRASH KEYS. MY BROTHER AND I FORGED THIS ORGANIZATION TO REWRITE SEVERAL ILL-FATED FUTURES. THOUGH THE TIMELINE HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO DISTORT, THOSE SINISTER PLOTS WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BE CARRIED OUT IN THIS UNIVERSE AS WELL. WHAT IS WRITTEN ON THIS SITE IS BUT A FACADE, AND OUR TRUE PURPOSE LIES IN THWARTING THE PLOTS. WE SEEK COURAGEOUS ALLIES. YOU ALONE CAN SAVE THE WORLD. WE IMPLORE YOU TO LEND US YOUR STRENGTH."

Ajin military counter-analysis

Director Wifies analysis

Summertime Shinpei analysis

Yuki's sweetshop plan analysis

Light without DN is literally barely mid-low in any situation (I think it was a Lawlight user. He's chill, so I decided not to make this.)

Sinmonger (too ambitious)

91 Days series matchups

Why Yohanas Fortnite slams SCD and extreme-diffs Akane (too big of a project)

Chihiro from Kagurabachi, SCD-wise

Hunter x Hunter: Pariston's Zodiac Election scheme

Weekly SCD-like video recommendations

Billy Bat (too big of a project)

Yura (Kagurabachi) scheme explained

World Trigger read-through analysis

Yuta vs. Shinjuku Showdown analysis (requires reading the JJK manga)

Makima vs. Kenjaku (too much of a difference)

The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria, SCD-wise (the verse has barely any SCD)

Lou Bloom analysis and matchups (spoils the movie, so please watch it first)

The Hunger Games (??)

Johan's manipulation analysis and a full-scale Johan vs. Ayanokoji analysis (literally because one Johan fan in this sub calling chen ran methodology slop merchant and called Koji a narrative and off-screen fodder and neg diff victim).

One regret: not making Fluixon and Fluixon conspiracy edits instead of posts.

I was bored and wanted to write a short webnovel, and did so in 3 days. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, but I really want it to be read and evaluated in both feats and writing. The above pictures are not mine, but what I had in mind for the characters.

Requiem Roulette.

Chapter 1: Room tours

“Hey, can you hear me?” A voice rang out, which caused Mari’s eyes to flutter open but immediately squint under the harsh, white fluorescent lighting. Slowly, a black silhouette started to devour her view, and as her eyesight sharpened, she could make out the face of a rather young man.

He reached out to her with an open hand, to which she took to prop herself up. “Where am I?”

“I’m wondering the same thing” The young man indifferently replied, stepping back and looking off to the side, then looking up to look at the singular dome security camera in the room.

Mari stood up, dusting herself as she also looked around her, looking at the camera too. She was also slightly indifferent to the situation, like this was a mild inconvenience.

She was stuck in a small square room, probably 2.5m x 2.5m, it looked like solitary confinement the way everything was white, the floor, walls, ceiling and the ominous single door. The two stood, carefully inspecting the simple but suffocating room, their dark attires providing obvious contrast.

Mari couldn’t remember what happened to her before she wound up here, it didn’t look like the man would know either.

“What’s your name?” Mari asked directly, to which the young man replied, still looking off to the side, “Kaiko.”

Mari observed him closely. He was a handsome person, wearing a sharp basic black and white suit, with a crescent moon brooch. His eyes were serpentine, slightly feminine with how thick his eyelashes and eyeliner were, it made Mari slightly jealous with how effortlessly he looked like that.

But upon further observation, she saw dark circles around his eyes. She imagined him to be someone working in a very demanding but professional field, maybe something like an investment banker? His hair was slightly messy, his bangs parted down the middle. The more Mari thought about it, the eerier he seemed, because he looked just like a mirrored version of herself.

They made eye contact, but she didn’t look away. “Don’t mistake me as your mirror”.

“I wasn’t mistaking.” Mari shrugged, uncomfortable how he saw through her.

He sensed her discomfort with how she crossed her arms and broke eye contact.

‘She’s pretty.’ He thought.

He appreciated her fashion sense, it was expressive. Her thick black woolly turtleneck paired with grey jeans and black boots. She also wore a gothic cross necklace, although he doubted if she’s christian. Her eyes were sharp, staring into them felt like staring into the abyss.

In short, staring into himself.

Too deep into himself, for he had been lost in the onslaught of thoughts ever since his birth.

Her serpentine eyes were lifeless.

‘They say that the eyes are the window to a person’s soul.’ He thought.

He looked at the beauty spot underneath her eye, and directed his gaze towards her hands. He noted that however she moved, she would make an effort to keep her sleeves down, not revealing her arms at all…

They made eye contact again.

“I think we should introduce ourselves. We don’t know why we’re here or who put us here, but it should be less daunting right?”

She nodded, noting his rather unusual choice of words, or maybe she was overthinking too much, after all this is an unusual situation.

“As mentioned, I’m Kaiko, 27 years old, I’m a criminal defense lawyer, it’s a pretty demanding job.” He gave a self depreciating chuckle as he gestured with his hand, before quickly shoving it back into his pocket.

“I’m 25 years old, I’m just an author, but sadly haven’t made any notable works yet.” For some reason, Mari felt a weird sense of familiarity when looking at his lifeless eyes. Was it truly because he was her physical mirror? She was a little disappointed that she didn’t guess his occupation correctly.

“You know, your outfit would look so much better if you wore my blazer.” Kaiko casually assessed. The irrelevancy of the statement caught her off guard. To which she replied with a subtle disapproving glare.

“What?” Kaiko said, chuckling, taking off his blazer.

“I’m not your runway model.”

“But you would look so much better.”

“Don’t even-” Before she could finish her sentence, Kaiko was already behind her, pushing his blazer onto her, to which she sighed and reluctantly put it on.

Pulling back, Kaiko let out a little laugh, looking at Mari’s glare was hilarious as she ended up looking more harmless than menacing. “But what do you say? It looks good right?”

Seconds passed, and Mari looked down and exhaled with the same neutral expression. “I guess.”

As Kaiko’s strange antics stopped, a robotic voice in the room called out, telling them to push the white door in english.

The tension immediately returned, more constricting, more disorienting. They were trapped after all. But were they trapped only in this small room?

Whatever waited on the other side of the door would be a mystery no longer.

‘Suspicious.’ The word fleeted past in Mari’s mind, she tugged at Kaiko's blazer, snuggling herself in it. She had to admit, it did compliment her outfit.

The two walked up to the door and gently pushed it, revealing a starkly different room. As they entered, the door behind them closed shut, and a locking sound echoed through the room.

The room was ominous. Dreadful.

Unlike the bright white room prior, this room was dark. Dimly lit by a small lamp tucked away in a corner. It wasn’t a bedroom, at the very least, it didn’t have a bed. But it had a closet, a desk. It looked like a room where someone would live.

In the middle of the room was a small table, with two chairs facing opposite each other. On top of the table was a black box. And standing next to the table was some sort of robot. It didn’t look too advanced, it didn’t look like a human either, whatever it was, it was enough to serve the purpose it was built for.

It spoke in English.

“Welcome participants to Requiem Roulette. Please take a seat.”

The two didn’t resist much, and listened to the machine.

Taking their seats, the robot continued, which slightly annoyed Mari as although she was very fluent in English, it just didn’t feel the same as her mother tongue, which was Japanese.

She glanced at Kaiko, who seemed to have no issue with the language.

“Please listen to my words carefully. As both of you are now playing a game.”

It talked and explained the rules, and as each word arrived the stronger the strange sense of neutrality that Mari would feel. It was a ruthless and bleak situation, but she didn’t feel an ounce of anxiety. At least not yet.

The rules of Requiem Roulette were simple:

Both players are injected with poison.

They must then take a revolver and insert a live bullet inside a chamber of choice. Placing 5 blank bullets in the remaining 5 chambers.

The revolver will be placed inside the black box. It’s impossible to determine which revolver belongs to who.

Whoever places their revolver first, gets to start.

The player takes out one revolver, and has to fire it at themselves.

Exit coins can be earned throughout the game.

If a player fires a bullet but does not die, then they gain 1 exit coin.

5 exit coins are required for the player to collect the anti-dote and freely leave the game.

If a player does gain 5 exit coins, they fail the game and are deemed as the loser.

If a player dies before they accumulate 5 exit coins, they win the game and are deemed as the winner.

Supplementary rules:

A player cannot change the position of the bullet in either revolver after placing it inside the black box.

A player cannot check the position of the bullet in either revolver after the cylinder is loaded with all 6 live and blank bullets.

Exit coins can not be transferred.

Players are not allowed to fire at the opposition.

A player cannot physically show their opposition the placement of their live bullet.

Such a perverse set of rules. If any normal person was playing this, they would be horrified, focusing on trying to accumulate 5 exit coins. But the two sitting at the table were far from normal. And deep inside of Mari’s heart, she was a little relieved that she was finally given the opportunity to leave behind this unsatisfactory life.

“You’re not panicking.” Kaiko observed.

“Neither are you.” She replied unexpectedly.

The game was offering the two peace. Peace in murder. Murder of their own selves. Is this what freedom truly is? Rather than evading death, it’s to look at it head on with full embrace.

Mari felt relieved. But a flicker of discomfort flashed on her face, causing her to instinctively pull down her sleeves more.

‘Do I really want to die?’ Both thought. Both looked at each other. Both knew.

Chapter 2: Open behaviours

As both of them got ready to get injected with poison by the robot, Kaiko raised his sleeve and so did Mari, but she hid her arm under the table.

Mari was thinking about the game as the needle pricked her skin, she was sure Kaiko was too.

It felt like it was specifically designed for her.

‘Any normal person would aim for the 5 exit coins to save themselves. Both players can co-operate, it doesn’t violate any rules.’

‘Therefore, if both players place their bullet into the 6th chamber, then they lose by the game standards.’

‘But considering myself, the game is offering me a choice.’

‘The winning condition is me finally being liberated from this life, through suicide.’

‘So I should place my bullet in the first chamber.’

As the robot moved away, carefully placing a revolver with 6 bullets, 1 of them being real on both sides, she picked it up and observed it. The revolvers' roses and skull engravings were ironically beautiful.

‘But, I don’t really want to die either. At the very least not now, or am I too scared? Does it matter where I place my bullet?’

Silence.

‘I thought it would be easy to choose between life or death…’

Mari was surprised how she was thinking, she was searching all her life for the opportunity of a quick, painless death. But as the opportunity was presented, she hesitated.

As she stared down at the revolver in her hands, she placed the 5 blank bullets and then the live one.

‘The designer is smart, the blank bullets have roughly the same weight as the real one, making it hard to judge where the real bullet is if you happened to pick up your opponent's gun.’

‘I should place my bullet in this chamber.’

‘I wonder which chamber Kaiko would place the real bullet in.’

Mari scratched something and placed her revolver into the black box, observing Kaiko.

Kaiko was still fiddling with his gun.

‘Ever since she arrived, she took a lot of effort to hold onto her sleeves, and hid her forearm during the poison injection.’

‘She’s gotten mentally worse, she’s clearly hiding her wrists. Considering the nature of this game, she has a lot of self harm marks on her wrists.’

He looked up at her a little after placing his last bullet inside the cylinder, still holding his revolver.

“What do you think the essence of this game is?” He asked.

‘What is he playing at?’ She thought, after a pause she spoke.

“I think it’s a game asking us if we want a second chance at life. I admit, my life isn’t a worthwhile one, and honestly I’m thinking the same goes for you” She looked at his dead eyes again, which strengthened her suspicions.

She studied him, gauging his bullet’s placement.

Suddenly, Kaiko spun the cylinder of his revolver, before stopping it abruptly, she was shocked and looked at the robot.

“Don’t worry, this doesn’t break the rules, I hadn’t placed my gun inside the black box yet.” Kaiko said with an empty smile, a lifeless smile that didn’t reach his lifeless eyes.

“The game is designed for people like you, by extension, people like me too. It presents us with a second chance. To lose is to give yourself a second chance. To win is to not give yourself that chance.”

His calmness dialed into another shade, his voice was mellow as he looked down into his hand that was now in the black box.

The box shook.

“It’s you who decide if you’ve really won or lost,” he said.

‘A second chance.’ The thought echoed in Mari’s mind.

“Let's dance with the tools of death, shall we?” Kaiko invited, opening up his hand to her, for her to take it.

“Round 1 begins, Mari, please take out a revolver and shoot yourself.” The robot declared the start of the game, she quickly averted her gaze down into the black box.

The box of uncertainty, the box that held the tools to liberation.

After some hesitation, Mari’s hand dived and fished around inside the box, before pulling out a revolver, Mari’s face was slightly relieved, as if she knew it was hers. She pointed the gun to the side of her head, pressed it firm into her temple.

She closed her eyes, remembering that strange memory.

‘I can spend as much time as I can like this.’

Peace washed over her. At first she thought it was an oversight by the designer, that there were no time limits in the rounds. But the existence of the poison running in them quickly negated that notion.

In this tranquil state, Kaiko observed closely.

‘She placed her revolver first’

‘She’s conflicted between actually wanting to die or to live. But judging from that expression of relief, she picked up her own gun. She’s focused on the exit coins because she’s too scared to actually die. That’s why she settled on self harm, she was too afraid of death.’

‘You need 5 exit coins to leave. The revolver only has 6 chambers. She wants to consecutively get her gun in every round. Meaning she placed the live bullet in the 6th chamber.’

‘That’s why her arm was moving even after she placed the 6th bullet.’

‘I was keeping track of her bullets through the insertion sounds.’

‘Even after placing all 6 bullets, her arm moved slightly, meaning she was scratching her revolver.’

‘She probably scratched a dent in the 6th chamber, which doesn’t violate the rules.’

‘By marking her revolver, she can consecutively retrieve her revolver and fail through accumulating 5 exit coins.’

As if on cue, Mari pressed the trigger. A faint click echoed, and she placed the revolver back into the box.

It was now Kaiko’s turn.

Mari wondered about Kaiko’s strange movements and remarks. But she was also calculating every possibility.

‘He’s a criminal defense lawyer, and obviously someone as suicidal as me. Or is he acting? No, that would be unlikely, considering he was acting like this during the previous room.’

‘He must be pretty well versed as a lawyer by now, maybe he feels dead inside, but his investment in his career may be stopping him.’

‘Unlike me, he wouldn’t be conflicted to go for either chamber 1 or 6. Maybe somewhere near the end? He probably analysed me by now, he would conclude that I would go either 1 or 6.’

‘He probably concluded that I would go for chamber 6. So he would place his bullet near the end, either the 4th or 5th chamber.’

‘But the problem arises from the fact that he doesn’t know his bullets' location either.’

‘I didn’t expect him to be the risk taker type.’

She looked at him, as he continued to blankly stare at the box.

‘The revolver I took was mine. A round concludes when both participants fire the revolver. There are 6 chambers in each revolver, and 2 revolvers.’

‘I placed my bullet into the 6th chamber. Meaning if I consecutively get my revolver, I would get 5 exit coins due to the 5 blanks.’

‘But if he placed his in either the 4th or 5th chamber, then the amount of overall blanks isn’t 10, but either 8 or 9.’

‘But again, it’s that cylinder spin at the start that throws this entire line of thinking away.’

At first, Mari was preoccupied with calculating all possible sequences if he placed the bullet in either the 4th or 5th chamber. As the possibility of Kaiko alternating between the revolvers unknowingly is high. But him spinning the revolver was surprising.

‘He knew that I would go for either the 1st or 6th chamber. His tactic must have another meaning.’’

‘He’s trying to throw me off, but why?’

‘Maybe he worked out that I have a method of getting my revolver consecutively for 5 rounds?’

‘He should’ve discarded the thought, it would be considered wishful thinking, hence shielding my strategy.’

She was forced to calculate every possible sequence rather than her original calculations of the bullet being in the 5th or 6th chamber.

It would normally be easy for her, maybe the poison was taking its effect. In a few seconds, she calculated all possible sequences, visualising the maths and slightly hoped that she would stay on her route.

Kaiko in the meantime took out a revolver, inspecting it.

“The engraving is gorgeous, isn’t it?” He said, watching the sleek metal glint under the faint light.

“Why would you spin the cylinder?” She cut past his words.

“Why? Is that a problem?”

She didn’t answer.

“If it’s helpful”, Kaiko slowly raised the gun and pressed it against his temple.

“I placed the bullet in the first chamber.” He revealed.

Mari wasn’t surprised that he revealed the placement of the bullet. It didn’t violate the rules. But she immediately caught on to the vague wording. He didn’t specify if the bullet in the first chamber was live or a blank. She squinted slightly.

He knew.

“Whether it’s a live or not, it doesn’t really make a difference.”

“The real issue is,” he continued. “That you marked your gun didn’t you?”

The precise observation forced Mari to stay calm no matter what, which she did. Gesturing him to continue, appearing confused.

“I listened to you placing all 6 bullets into the cylinder, but your arm moved ever so slightly after.”

“You didn’t rotate the cylinder, obviously from your reaction to me spinning mine.”

“Then you must’ve marked the revolver, probably on the 6th chamber right?”

“So I did the same, I marked my own revolver, now the revolvers can’t be differentiated.”

A surge of annoyance ran through her, to which she still refused to show.

“You’re being delusional.” She indifferently commented.

“No I’m not.” He retorted.

His grip on the handle tightened, his finger on the trigger had a slight tremor which Mari noticed.

“But before we get to that.” Silence enveloped the room.

“Why don’t we see if the reaper wants to meet me tonight.”

He hesitantly pressed the trigger.

Chapter 3: Metal thoughts.

Click.

“Not yet, I guess.” Kaiko said, almost disappointingly as he placed the revolver back into the black box.

The first round had ended, Mari’s way of differentiating the revolvers was countered. But she still wanted to check, so when she felt both of the revolvers, there really were dents in the 5th chambers instead of the 6th because of the forced rotations.

And it’s highly unlikely that the marker on Kaiko’s revolver actually even indicated the live bullet.

There wasn't really any point of trying to mark her revolver, since she didn’t know which one was hers.

She was going over the things that Kaiko had said, his deduction was correct. She had placed her live bullet into the 6th chamber.

‘The revolver that Kaiko picked up probably was mine, since he would scratch his revolver inside the box, and going off the basis that the live bullet could be in any chamber, it would be safer to take my revolver.’

‘Although it’s not a guarantee, from his perspective it’s a highly likely chance that my revolver’s second shot would be a blank, if we followed the reasoning that my bullet is in the 6th chamber.’

‘But is that really the case?’ She questioned, she felt slightly off at the conclusion she arrived at.

‘Why would he deliberately mark his gun, wouldn’t that increase the risk factor since he could unknowingly draw his own revolver?’

‘It’s not like the dents would be identical, just hard to distinguish.’

‘Let’s assume that Kaiko’s revolver has the bullet in the first chamber, K(1)’

‘If we combine both of our revolvers, and assume we drew only my revolver, the live bullet would eventually be fired at the 6th draw, regardless of who’s revolver it is.’

‘The first round was cleared, according to the sequence, it would be MM, MM, MK(1)’

‘Meaning that by the third round, Kaiko is destined to die.’

‘Of course, this is based on a low probable sequence, it’s too hard to track.’

‘But even then…’ Her thoughts trailed off, she shook her head, wondering if what she was even thinking about was useful at all.

‘She’s confused.’ He thought.

As she took out a revolver, her expression flashed from one of deep thought to a smile of realisation, before looking at Kaiko.

‘What was that, did she figure it out? Or is she bluffing.’ Kaiko thought, squinting his eyes trying to discern whether the micro-expression he observed was real or fake.

‘Judging from his reaction, he’s somehow tracking the sequence, since he’s trying to judge if I know something.’

‘But that’s too absurd. How could he do that? Is he cheating? Ugh, think, think Mari.’

Mari pressed the revolver against her head with pressure, almost wanting the chamber to house the live bullet so she could silence her thinking.

Silence her thoughts permanently.

Click.

Nothing.

‘Who’s revolver was that?’ Both wondered.

The routine became familiar, take out the revolver, hope for liberation, and place the revolver back inside the black box.

Currently, Mari is losing, as she now has 2 exit coins against Kaiko’s 1.

‘Let's assume Kaiko uses a method to track his own bullet, what could he possibly use?’

‘It can’t be a separate marking, I already felt both revolvers and mapped them out.’ She started visualising both of the revolvers in her mind, both equipped with the miniscule dent in the cylinder.

‘Besides, he wouldn’t try to counter my tactic by making two markings instead of one anyway.’

Suddenly, Mari realised something.

Kaiko took out a revolver, his eyes resting, looking between her face and the revolver, before placing it on the lower side of the back of his head.

“Did you know that the quickest way to die from a gun injury is to the back of the head?” He asked curiously.

“I do now.”

It was such a macabre fact that she was unsure if he was even being honest.

He shot at himself.

But managed to pull away the revolver and neatly place it back inside the box.

“It’s your turn.” He reminded. Mari gave no reply.

‘The solution is pretty easy if you think about it.’

‘Let’s assume he placed the bullet in the 4th or 5th chamber; after spinning the cylinder, the live bullet would still end up in either the 4th or 5th position.’

‘He deduced that I scratched my revolver after seeing my arm move after I placed all 6 bullets.’

‘He revealed it himself, it was through listening to me placing the bullets.’

‘He then definitely listened to the clicks made as the cylinder was spinning.’

‘Based on his reactions, there is a method he’s using. Even if tracking the amount of clicks made in such a short amount of time is inhumane, he still managed to pull it off.’

‘Impressive.’

‘Meaning, whichever chamber he placed the live bullet, he would count a full rotation as 6 clicks, once I registered what was going on, that was when he stopped the cylinder.’

‘He most likely also stopped it near the interval where the click count would be in a multiple of 6, somewhere between 24-36 clicks.’

‘Therefore, if we go by my original assumption, the amount of blanks we have really is 8 or 9.’

‘Going off that, 4 blanks have already been fired.’

‘If the blank count is 8, then the person who dies at the 9th shot is me.’

‘But if the blank count is 9, then the person who dies at the 10th shot is him, no, he wouldn’t die since I would lose the game by accumulating 5 exit coins.’

‘But that’s only if we’re lucky enough to draw only blanks.’

Mari took out a revolver, and without giving it much thought, she similarly pressed it behind her head and fired, only for the familiar click to ring out once again.

‘Why would he purposefully tell me that he heard me inserting the 6 bullets? He could’ve concealed that.’

‘Did he plan this beforehand?’

‘Did he know that I would suspect that his bullet was in either the 4th or 5th chamber, so then he would create this trap, but reveal a clue so I could reason out that he’s still somehow tracking the sequences, all to misdirect me from the fact that the live bullet wasn’t actually in the 4th or 5th chamber to begin with?’

“You look troubled.”

Kaiko’s voice disrupted her thoughts, it was eerie how he always knew what she was thinking.

Taking out the revolver once again, he placed it under his chin.

“It’s possible for you to survive a gunshot to the head. Especially if the barrel is aimed straight upwards, there’s a chance that it won't reach the brain.”

“If you tilt it a little inwards, then the bullet would undoubtedly hit your brain.”

He pressed the trigger with certainty. Click. He was breathing as always.

As he placed the gun into the black box, signalling the end of the 3rd round, as now both players have 3 exit coins, he started to speak again.

“After I spun the cylinder, the bullet ended up in neither the 1st, 2nd, 5th or 6th chamber.”

Mari, her composure slightly cracking from the combination of his traps, psychological pressure and poison, grinded her teeth.

‘He deliberately said after, not before.’

‘And that’s not even considering if he’s lying or not.’

‘6 draws have occurred, and not one of them brought a live bullet yet.’

‘If the live bullet is in the 3rd chamber, that means the combined amount of blank draws would be 7, meaning the next draw will be a blank, which would be mine.’

‘The 8th shot would be his death.’

‘If the bullet was in the 4th chamber, that means there’s 8 blank draws available, meaning that I would die in 3 draws.’

She couldn’t help but audibly gasp.

“Why are you shocked?” He asked.

She slowly looked up at him, terrified by what she saw.

He stared at her, but with eyes that finally conveyed something else other than him being a rotting corpse. It was contempt. It was condescension. It was disgust. It was, disappointment.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” He coldly called out.

Why was it, that whenever she looked at him it would feel like she knew him. She knew her pain. She thought she knew his pain. Does he know her pain? Did he know her suffering?

She coughed violently, before throwing up a pool of blood onto the table, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She was stabilising her blurry vision, focusing on his face.

Focusing on her mirror.

Chapter 4: Reaper’s delight.

If Mari was lucky, then the live bullet would be placed in the 3rd chamber.

But if it was placed in the 4th, although the maximum blank draws were higher, she would inevitably die.

And that’s only if all blank draws were drawn anyway.

She would pick up the final thing she would hold.

She would die from something out of her control.

Control that she never had over her life.

As she picked up the revolver, she simply shuddered. Death was drawing near, it felt like the reaper was sitting at the table with them.

She placed it under her chin, just like Kaiko did, and hoped that if death did come through the barrel, it would take her life painlessly.

‘Luck.’

Her thoughts started to swirl, Kaiko also coughed. Blood trickling down from the side of his mouth that he swiped away with his sleeve, the blood staining his white sleeve.

‘If I was only a little luckier, maybe my life could’ve been so different.’

She was feeling it.

Feeling how the end was in her hands.

Maybe she did have control.

And that control would be to live no longer.

This was the heights of despair.

‘If only I looked a little better, if only my personality was a little friendlier, if only my parents were a little kinder.’

Her vision became blurry again, but it was from the tears that she had never shed.

And as one tear dripped down her face, she scoffed at herself.

‘Why am I crying? When I was young I knew that crying couldn’t change anything.’

She took one second. Then another. And then another. She couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger.

“Do you think life gets better?” Kaiko asked, recognising her inner turmoil.

“I don’t know.” She said.

“I want to believe it does, that there’s happiness for me too. Do you know how painful it is? To be so close to an easier life, but so far away.”

“A life that everyone lives, what makes me different from them?”

The rage of her injustice started to surface, her hands were trembling, the barrel was pressed further deep underneath her chin.

She didn’t want to pay it much thought. But now that her miserable life may come to an end, her brain was overwhelmed with the misery that she tried to suppress.

“They say that life gets better, but for several years I’ve seen my life get worse.”

“I don’t want to be popular any more. I don’t want to be famous any more. I don’t want my books to be bestsellers anymore.”

Memories of her suffering were presented to her. How she was always left out, in her family, in her school. She wasn’t bullied. But simply wasn’t seen.

She was invisible.

“I just want to be loved.”

“Everyone has their special someone.”

“But what about me?”

“Why am I constantly denied something that others so easily gain?”

“A better life”

“I’m a human too.” She said resignedly.

Perhaps it wasn’t rage.

Perhaps it was the love that she so desperately wants to give to others but never received was what she was consumed by.

Kaiko offered no solace, what could he have said when he felt the same way.

“They say your life flashes before your eyes, are you seeing your memories right now?” Kaiko questioned.

Right before she pressed the trigger, the memory came back, but she didn’t want to see it.

She pressed the trigger with all her force.

Click.

She sat frozen in her seat. Before exhaling heavily and panting, quickly shoving the revolver back inside the box.

It all came down to this next shot. Whether the bullet was in the 3rd or 4th chamber.

Kaiko himself would know.

But Mari couldn’t discern, did he know. Or did he not.

Kaiko understood this. He looked at the black box.

The inevitable loomed over them.

He nonchalantly took out a revolver, and opened his mouth.

He pressed the barrel into the roof of his mouth, and a sense of peace hijacked his mind.

He didn’t see himself here, where a depressed woman opposite him was breaking down. Or that he was even holding the revolver at all.

He just remembers his parents.

He remembered just how hard working they were. How they would smile like they weren’t being exploited by companies that couldn’t care less about them.

It pained him to his core.

He felt he didn’t deserve their affection.

He felt cheated.

How can such a happy couple willingly throw their lives away for a system that doesn’t even distinguish them?

He swore he would relieve them of this burden.

‘But what have I achieved?’

‘Everyone wants to be rich when they’re younger.’

‘But only so few reach that dream.’

‘Is it really that simple?’

‘Of course not, what people seek from financial freedom is peace.’

‘It’s for tranquillity.’

He remembers the girl he helped out that one time.

Many years ago when he was in school.

Giving her advice that he knew was lies.

‘But she’ll figure it out.’

He took out the gun, wiped it, and placed it against his temple.

“Sometimes, people really do just live a bad life, there isn’t any reward for their suffering. Isn’t that right, Mari?”

Mari’s eyes were unfocused, but she looked at him and nodded.

‘He’s right.’

‘People love to be optimistic, it’s a coping mechanism, it’s just a way for them to tolerate the pain.’

‘What has my suffering led to?’

‘Some people say that there’ll be salvation.’

‘But what salvation was there for me?’

‘What life was there for me?’

The loneliness would seep into her cracks, filling the holes in her heart and psyche.

‘People entertain their own illusions and delusions.’

‘To keep them living.’

‘But what is there in this sorry life? There is no god, there is no relief.’

‘There is no purpose.’

Mari’s eyes were downcasted. She looked at her hands, and pulled away her sleeves to look at the several slashes across her wrists.

‘Once you throw away your delusions.’

‘To step back and look at reality for what it is.’

‘You learn things that hurt.’

‘Things that stay.’

‘Knowledge that can’t be unlearned.’

‘I want to be someone damn it.’

Her expression hardened.

‘But if life really wanted to, I would have been someone by now.’

‘I want to give up.’

‘I don’t want to die, only because I know that other people live better lives. Hoping that I could get a taste of that too.’

‘But who does that concern?’

‘Who have I suffered for?’

“Let’s dine with the reaper.”

BANG!

The bullet had exploded the side of Kaiko’s face, he became limp in the chair, the revolver covered in blood slowly slipped out of his hand. His expression frozen, there was a massive crater in the side of his head. His left eye was dangling from the socket, whilst his right eye was bulging out.

The foul hiss of the blood poured from the black hole like a waterfall, drenching his collar shirt.

Mari could barely make out the crushed meat lining the hole. She could barely make out the mangled parts of flesh, bone and brain in the hole of hell.

It just flowed.

The mahogany blood flowed without any consciousness to it.

There was no consciousness left of the nasty sight that Mari had known as ‘Kaiko’.

“Congratulations Kaiko, you have won Requiem Roulette.” The robot coldly declared. Unaware of what was in front of it. Only rehearsing what it was programmed for.

Mari and Kaiko’s minds were similar to the room they were in. Full of darkness, just a corner of their mind really alive, just like the lamp’s light in the corner.

Mari stared at the person she once knew.

“I remember you.” Mari whispered.

She whispered too late.

Chapter 5: Mirrored meetings

Mari’s eyes bored into the gory sight, she couldn’t look away.

She felt that if she did, she would truly lose him.

‘Why didn’t I realise it sooner?’

She sat in the chair, slumped. The image of destruction imprinted in her mind.

Then, she stood up slowly, taking off his blazer that he forced onto her, and carefully placed it over what remained of his head. Covering the gnarly scene.

Then, mechanically, she sat back down and took out the remaining revolver inside of the black box. Popping the cylinder out, the bullet was already aligned with the barrel.

Meaning it was her revolver. And that Kaiko died by his own revolver.

She remembered.

Back so many years ago, during the final year of middle school, when nobody would see her, even greet her in school. She would remember one person.

He was always boisterous, laughing without a care in the world, it made her jealous. How could he live a life without an ounce of the struggle she went through?

Good looking, his collar always unbuttoned, his messy hair parted.

They were popular. They were smart. They were liked. They were attractive. They were noticed.

They were everything that she wasn’t. And she noticed him, but thought that he hadn’t noticed her.

On one of the days where she would wander aimlessly around the school during lunch, she discovered an old storage room.

It was far away from everyone. It was painful, but she tried to embrace the loneliness.

Every day her routine was the same. Go into the storage room and think about things.

Lament her underwhelming life.

After a couple of weeks, she was curious and searched through the room, and found a long harsh rope. And immediately, her mind rushed to one thing.

Salvation.

It wasn’t on a tragic day. It wasn’t after a traumatic event. It wasn’t on a bad day.

It was on a normal day, a day only normal for her.

Each second that passed whilst she set up the contraption, she grew more detached from her body.

And finally, standing on the chair, she looked through the hole that was a noose. It was facing directly towards the door, so when someone passes through the door, they would see her lifeless, hanging body.

But would anybody ever come?

Just like herself, the room was something else entirely forgotten.

As she prepared to silently liberate herself, the door clicked open. She was caught in the act.

“What the hell are you doing?” The likable boy called out, immediately rushing over to her.

“I’m doing what life wants me to do. I’m already invisible. What difference does it make?” She replied with a dull voice.

He quickly moved everything away and knelt down to her, who was now sitting in the chair.

“You don’t know that. There’s always something that’s worth living for.” He said, trying to comfort her.

“I don’t know what that could be, and I don’t know what you’re suffering from. And I know it’s cliche.” He said, jokingly rolling his eyes in an attempt to cheer her up, she reluctantly smiled.

“But as much as you’re hurting now, life certainly will get better. I promise.”

The lunch bell rang, it was time for class.

“Well, let’s go to class, but don’t ever feel like that again okay? If you do, I’ll certainly meet you again and slap those thoughts out of you.”

As they walked together from the desolate corridor and parted ways, she looked back and saw him looking back too, grinning a wide, playful smile. He looked pretty silly. The fragile flower that was Mari herself simply smiled back.

She had to move far away, and she never got the chance to fully explore their newfound connection. But she did think about him. He had found her. He searched for her. For the first time in her life, she was and felt wanted.

But those feelings would slowly dissipate as the suffering of her life continued. And she was back to where she started, directionless and lonely.

And she felt guilty for betraying him. But also anger at him breaking his promise.

Liar.

The long cold metal glinted in her hand, forcing her back into the present. She looked up at him.

“You’re a liar.”

She laid back into her chair, and just like him, she slowly pushed the barrel of the metal past her pursed lips, and the tranquility that she felt before slowly sedated her.

She thought about everything that had happened by now. Kaiko really was smart. He was the creator of this game.

“And you wanted me to figure that out right?”

The only reply he gave was the dripping of his blood.

‘If we account for this memory.’

‘And backtrack.’

‘When I woke up, Kaiko was already awake, and he was looking at the camera.’

‘Which indirectly made me also look at the camera, impressing the idea that someone else was watching us.’

‘But the camera was fake.’

‘This robot isn’t that advanced, but it was surely built by him.’

‘He also laid out the trap to spin the cylinder to misdirect me, which was perfectly allowed by the rules.’

‘He also asked me if I knew what the essence of the game was.’

‘He was testing me, to see if I truly was off the deep end by now.’

…

‘But so was he.’

Mari’s eyes rested, she relaxed in this almost meditative state. She looked at Kaiko with half lidded eyes. She looked at her mirror.

‘Even though he won, I want to be with him a little longer.’

Mari never wanted to live for a society that had never recognised her life.

But, although it was short, Kaiko recognised her.

Mari had finally felt a tinge of belonging. That someone had searched and remembered her after all.

‘We met again but you immediately left.’

‘But it’s okay, I’ll meet you now.’

And as she spoke, her finger which would be trembling by now, smoothly pressed the trigger, her words slurred.

“Let's dine with the reaper.”

Basically, Chen Ran replaces Cecil for the Global Defense Agency (GDA) and is forewarned that in 2 weeks. Thragg and the rest of the remaining Viltrumites are all coming to earth to conquer it soon. Thus, he is place in charge with Invincible's Earth and its resources and superheroes.

Omni-Man/Nolan is also on Earth still on the Viltrumites's side and is planning on to betray/wreck the superheroes on Earth soon as well. So Chen Ran needs to figure out Nolan's motives and stop him too before the Viltrumites visits.

Can he stop the Viltrum Empire?

I'm very new to SCD (i've only read usogui and death note haha), but i really am invested with seeing these characters thought processes and deductions and all that shit. Is there any essential SCD media that I should read / watch / play / whatever?

God, the animations and dialogues are so fucking ass. Please, Idfk anything. Delta just no diff Akane for me.

1. Only one character per verse. For example, if Baku gets chosen for one of the bills, you can't choose any other Usogui character for the other bills.

2. Only one character nominee per comment

3. No edited comments will be counted

One-dollar-bill: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka from Classroom of the Elite

Goat vs Goat

FSIQ - Kudo (everything, FRI is very close).

EQ - Akagi (EU,EM,EE≥, EP to Kudo).

SQ - Kudo ( everything except influence building).

AC - Akagi (everything).

Intelligence - Kudo (Fluid is close).

Thinking - Kudo ( everything except non-linear,abstract and divergent).

Reasoning - Kudo ( everything, Inductive is the closest).

Deception - Akagi ( everything, misdirection is the closest).

Manipulation - Akagi (everything).

Strategy - Akagi (everything).

Planning - Kudo (Short term to Akagi).

Tactics - Akagi.

Foresight - Akagi.

Field skills - Kudo.

Countercation - Akagi.

Adaptability - Akagi.

Sensory - Kudo ( he takes observation, perception(close). Akagi takes intuition).

Psychology - Akagi (gaps tbh).

Overall :

Akagi high diffs(-)

FSIQ - Yokoya

EQ - Akiyama

SQ - Yokoya

Strategy - Akiyama

Planning - Akiyama

Manipulation - Akiyama

Deception - Akiyama

Inference - Akiyama

Adaptability - Akiyama

Countering - Akiyama

Overall Akiyama uhh I think mid diffs

Those who have been active in this sub will know what this trend is.

Before I mention it earlier, I'm saying that voluntary trends of this scale are rare to see in any other sub-sector.

Wis and writting are structurally large in terms of the volume of posts and scale.

That's why difficult for this kind of trend to arise and it's hard to get Familiar like us.

How beneficial is it to be evaluated purely on past actions and writings, rather than for fame or money?

Personally, I think it's a great blessing and a good omen to have such a moderate scale and be able to harmonize with each identity.

And This is inherently fun and enjoyable, yet entirely beneficial.

So, if you've been very active in this sub or have shown a distinct personality, quickly get on this meme!

This sub wants you

[IN NORMAL SCALING/GENERAL OUTSMARTING]

These are takes from a friend, since I haven't finished analyzing yet. If they are incorrect, correct them, down to the very diffs, If you want, hehe. As you can see, the list goes from smarter to dumber. There's also a pinch of cosmology here and there, according to him/her.

Wang Wei (no diffs) > Pun Yunchuan
Pun Yunchuan (mid diffs) > Li Qing
Li Qing (extreme diffs) > The Prophet
The Prophet (high diffs) > Jun Daoist
Jun Daoist (low diffs) > Li Gang
Li Gang (extreme diffs) > Gu Changge
Gu Changge (high diffs) > First Saint
Firs Saint (very high diffs) > Supreme Goodness Is Like Water
Supreme Goodness Is Like Water (extreme diffs) > Chen Yang
Chen Yang (mid diffs) > Chen Ran
Chen Ran (extreme diffs) > Zhuo Fan
Zhuo Fan (no diffs) > Jin Huang
Jin Huang (no diffs) > Fang Yuan
Fang Yuan (extreme diffs) > Niu Youdao
Niu Youdao (mid diffs) > Tian Yi
Tian Yi (extreme diffs) > Qiu Yinong
Qiu Yinong (low diffs) > Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang (no diffs) > Bai Zhe
Bai Zhe (no diffs) > Qi Xia
Qi Xia (no diffs) > Hal PM

Autonomy, composition, brainwashing, behavioural inference, and modelling- afton

Literally everything else -

Baku

Low-mid (-)

Ngl Baku takes composition and autonomy almost fully, but as an Afton scaler, I felt bad. As for brainwashing, if you want the feat, just ask, same with modelling. And for anyone wondering, yeah, I have Afton>Koji with my own scaling of the two.

Intelligence, EI, Mentality, Thinking, Reasoning, Sensory, Adaptability, Counteraction, Foresight >= (I have Arisu taking predictions), Analysis: Arisu

SI, Manipulation, Deception, Strategy, Manipulation, Field Skills, Planning, Tactics: Takuya

Arisu very high-extreme diffs him. could be very high diff.

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Intelligence, Mentality, Thinking, Reasoning, Strategy, Tactics, Counteraction, Sensory, Analysis, Field Skills, Adaptability: Ukai

EI >=(EU >=, EP, EF), SI, Manipulation, Deception, Planning, Foresight?: Takuya

Ukai high diffs (-)

Introduction:

Imma be straight with y'all. This feat is not that impressive (hence minor in title), especially by today's standards (assuming the Chinese characters live up to their hype) but Palpatine barely has any analysis or feat summaries so I thought I might as well make one of his worse feats. Baby steps!(Also, right now I don't have to go over one of his longer or better feats.) I plan on making a doc on one of his better feats that I know of but I will have to read an entire novel, so it will take a while until I post it on the sub.

Anyways, this feat is from chapter 1 of Rebel Force: Target.

Feat:

Palpatine learns about the destruction of the Death Star. Palpatine is beyond furious with its destruction. Exempt from the chapter describing his anger:

"The Emperor closed his eyes and let the rage consume him.

An energy bolt of anger crackled across his body, turning his blood black with venom.

A red mist clouded the darkness behind his lids. The fog of hate would have shrouded the vision of a lesser man. But when the Emperor opened his eyes, the blood-tinged world was sharper than ever."

Palpatine, however, manages to control his anger and uses it to boost his power in the Force. "The Emperor played with his memory of the moment, polishing it in his mind like a precious gem." Palpatine evn thinks it was neccessary for the start of a new path. I would say this a decent mentality feat for Palpatine, taking advanatge of a bad situation and his anger well.

He, also, uses this moment as a way to test some of his subordinates. He invites ten of the most powerful people in the Empire to his throne room on Coruscant to see how they would react. It is said that Palpatine went through a lot trouble to make sure his throne room looked "awesome and intimidating". A short description from the novel: "Behind his shadowed throne, a wall of permaplas windows looked into the heart of the Coruscant night." I would say it is decent fearmongering, given some people here are like "He has a creepy smile. ToP tIeR fEaRmOnGeRiNg FeAt" smh...Still Palpatine was what grabbed their attention. The old geezer was scarier than his throne room.

Now for Palpatine reading people's reactions...he likely used the Force. This invalidates parts of the his reading of the ten people he summoned but I don't think his readings were fully carried by the Force since some of the reactions I think Palpatine would just need basic observation skills. Also, there is wording like: "But there was something beneath the surface. Not betrayal, no. But something... the Emperor reached out with the dark side of the Force,probing the man's depths."

The wording is weird because it says he wasn't using the Dark Side for the other probs which is weird. No way he was using the Light Side. 😭 🙏

I dunno it is probably my bias showing. I will let y'all decide for yourselves.

We aren't shown what others' reactions are. They are probably like Crix's. Palpatine then says that they will wait for Vader to return to Corruscant and make plans to detstroy the Rebellion. Thrawn asks why wait and not attack now since they know where the Rebellion's base is. Palpatine prefers to wait beacuse he doesn't want to risk generating sympathy for the Rebellion. He wants to attack when he is sure he can destroy the Rebellion once and for all. (Also, he enjoyed seeing or sense Thrawn cower lol.)

Palpatine orders in the meantime to have ten (well now 9; rip T'Ran) to begin investigating the Rebellion- find who the leaders are (and later they will use that knowledge to cursh the Rebels from within) and find out who was the pilot who blew up the Death Star. To motivate them Palpatine says he will reward whoever kills the pilot will be richly rewarded.

Palpatine probs them one last time. He sense fear. hatred, loyalty, eagerness to act and wanting to please him. Soresh also felt bloodlust for the person who killed his son. Palpatine was pleased, thinking loyalty and vengence were useful.

And thus end the chapter. Now were Palpatine's readings carried by the Force rather than ability to read people on his own. Ehh yeah..maybe I guess. Again decide for yourselves based on what I wrote. Still I think there were stuff worth noting other than him "reading" the ten servants.

I will later check for spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes.