2023-12-05: In re: the preceding week

• Cast: Leina Ashta, Luanova Luckwright
• Where: Vertex
• Date: U.C. 0097 12 04
• Summary: December 4th, three days after the Nagoya Massacre, two days after the opening of the gate.

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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Subject: In re: the preceding week
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: what
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: the
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: FUCK
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Your Friend, Centy Chaudhary

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: its a long goddamn story
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: short version?
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: yuliana is an abused rea cyber newtype lab experiment they injected alien cells into
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: suddenly she feels cut off from this world, like reality is less than real to her, and hears the voice of an alien god from another realm which is more real to her
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: whom she marries? because elisa is her but didn't know it at the time
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: now believes that everyone would be better off if she brought the alien god here
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: which unlikely????? god
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: would be bad for everyone including her but shes being so expertly manipulated
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: its a whole thing!  i hate it!  i hate it so much

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Oh I didn't mean just specifically that, I just mean like
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: The whole everything
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But I guess thank you for the explanation
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Which doesn't really explain much of anything
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Okay, 'abused cyber newtype they injected alien cells into' is actually pretty clear tbf
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But I have no idea what 'Elisa is her but didn't know it at the time' means
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I think I said something to one of them about that but I was kind of running on fumes at the time and I'm not even sure I understand what /I/ said
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Also which one is Yuliana and which one is Elisa
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Is one of them a dragon?? Is the dragon an alien?? I don't fn understand any of this

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: whoof tell me about it
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: so elisa is this weird powerful witch that can
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: teleport mind control lightning from her fingers amnesia magic like actual dark ritual spells locate people anywhere monster summon and control
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: also maybe unkillable and heals anything???
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: formerly a kaiju scientist
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: then she became a piece of an alien god as you do
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: apparently thats a thing that can happen???  i dunno!
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: yuliana is indonesian but now with weird snake tendrils attached and headfrills?
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: she was in the weird shadow giant
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: elisa just looks like half meltrandi and buff as hell she was an olympian
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: the dragon is an alien dragon that elisa summons and just controls
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i dunno how!  she just does it and yuliana dances and shit happens!!!
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: or unhappens!  as you saw

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: How do you know all of this
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Like the way you and the other pilots were talking to Yuliana(?)
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Always sounded like you were like war buddies or something, like you knew her personally before she started ending the world
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But is this actually all just from the fact that the two of them Never Shut Up??
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I guess 'unkillable and heals anything' is a very helpful heads up because I was going to ask why no one has shot her head off
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: from space

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: like so she was an ace pilot for the rea
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: before she went rogue for the rea doing u know doing crimes against humanity to her
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: so she knows a lot of people already
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: as for me its because well 'abused cyber newtype' might tip you off
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: after everything that happened to me i feel kinda
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: compelled to try to help her?
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: she's making it harder and harder though
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: it's more just
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: ugh
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: the girl i once knew in neo-zeon was a lot like her
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: yuliana is like if she grew up in the rea or something
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: and well when i was brainwashed by this dickhead not long ago
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: it took a lot to save me
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: by all rights? i shouldve died

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But Hey
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Speaking Of Crimes Against Humanity
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Did you see what happened in Nagoya
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Because I saw it
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: from the front row
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: the day before the north pole shit
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: and fucking
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: i don't fucking know

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: yeah i was there
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: its
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i dunno either
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: shit
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: so first off shoulda asked it already
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: u ok? like
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: front row seat to a genocide doesnt feel like anyone would be

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I'm probably not okay
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I don't think anyone is okay after sitting through that
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I mean forgive me for the presumptive phrasing here but
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: you're probably not okay either
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: It's a blur and my memories of it are kind of like
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Not in the correct order and I have to sort them out
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Shit started happening and I was in go mode
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But like what the fuck can i do
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: My security had scouted the exit and I was yelling for people to storm it
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Like there were Britannians back there
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But at least you can't fit Knightmare Frames inside the staff exit halls and a tide of enough people would mean some would be able to overwhelm them and push through
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: That's rationalizing, I wasn't thinking that clearly in the moment
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: There was a family
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: They made it through into the exit halls and I pulled them in with my security detail
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And I spent that night at the spaceport pulling rank and yelling at Britannians to let me through
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And then after departure pulling rank and yelling at Americans to fast-track these three through naturalization under an asylum program they hardly ever touch
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But it was a family of four

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: sometimes u do what u have to
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: its four more who are alive
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: maybe thats cold comfort to u
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: but its not to them
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: not every thing can be solved by us piloting with a big gun right?
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: u survived the chaos and
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: so did four more u helped
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: and thats not nothing
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: things like 'i coulda done more' or 'why did i survive when so many died' just eat away at someone
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: its a poison so
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: dont let it seep into u

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: No, read that again
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: It was a family of four
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: That's three more who were alive
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And then the next day I get off the phone from naturalization and I go to talk to the three who made it out
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And there's a call from mom and the north pole is splitting open
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: One cup of coffee
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: No sleep
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And in the middle of all of that
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: That's when I remember seeing their daughter
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Pulped
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Have you ever thrown up in the cockpit

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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: yeah
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: ive done that
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: sry for misreading

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: It's okay
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I mean, it's not okay
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And you're not okay, in the sense that we've both witnessed this and this shit is emotionally wounding in ways that I'm probably not done processing yet
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But You in the Context of This Conversation are okay
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Thank you for listening
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: AND ALSO
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Mother has been keeping tabs on my itinerary and outreach contacts
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And she has noticed that I was receiving some information from some activists calling for pressure on Britannia through collective action, and she has been Very Clear that I am not to make any public statement acknowledging these campaigns
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: With the ~implication that she cannot be made to state directly~ being that it would be Strategically and Economically Damaging to provide support to a trade embargo that might leave us stuck selling arms to only one side of the war of rebellion and not both

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: im not
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: but more okay than i would have been a year ago
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: im not sure thats such a good thing
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: ur welcome
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: oh of course that'd be her focus right now after
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: ALL THAT
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: taking a page from anaheims playbook there
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: god mad mad mad mad mad mad mad
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: im no fan of britannia
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: (understatement of the year)
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: but
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: euphemia was as a good a person as one can be in that position
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: and im convinced that zero was behind what happened

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I haven't... well, I didn't ever meet the princess, I only know of her from what I hear secondhand
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But she never sounded like the worst of them
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And that was not normal behavior even by the standards of the kind of person who would consider coralling civilians into a kill zone "normal"
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Not really sure how Zero would convince her to slaughter people in the most conspicuous way possible
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Unless you're about to tell me that Zero is also a teleporting unkillable witch who summons dragons
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: If he is you have my permission to tell me, at this point in the conversation I am prepared to believe that

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: so im not boasting but im a really powerful newtype
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: if she was trying to corral us into a killzone i would have felt the intent to do so before
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i didnt until she ran back on stage
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: my mom worked with her she was always so genuine in her desire to help people
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: to better their lives
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: can i explain how zero did it? no
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i cant
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: ive been exposed to fast brainwashing methods
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: mine took three days
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i dont know any methods that are faster than that
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: but this girl who was with me there was an expert on people who have been
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: and she was sure
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: so i dunno how he did it
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: still really sure he did
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i used to work in intelligence and that man is a snake
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: do i support them over britannia? sure on most days
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: but ill never trust him
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: the timing of that announcement after was too damn convenient

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Probably not witch dragons then, I guess
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: More likely drugs
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Or a body double
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Or some weird underhanded shit that's not very intuitive to think of
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Never heard of a drug that can exert that kind of fine control over a person, let alone over that short span of time
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But an altered state of consciousness would fit with the weird way she went about it
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Why specifically Zero, though
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I mean I get the cynical take, drum up support and righteous fury for his revolutionary army by manufacturing an atrocity to rally against
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: But why Zero specifically, why not any of the other cruel cynical actors who might have set this up

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: i mean there's plenty of possibilities of collusion
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: too many to list
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: britannia has many enemies and the black knights just as many backers
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: why zero specifically?
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: timing convenience stood to benefit the most
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: weird cadence of his speech being that 'look at this massacre of our people britannia brought about' 'i refuse cooperation with britannia' - like no shit you do
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: 'also im forming a new nation out of the ashes of this tragedy before the bodies have even grown cold heres its name'
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: again no proof just all intuition hunches analysis of who stood to benefit the most
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: and it honestly all points back to him with a bunch of folks in second place

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I'm not discounting the possibility
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I'm just saying it seems a bit circumstantial
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: It could be callous, cynical gamesmanship betraying his involvement
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Or it could be callous, cynical gamesmanship betraying his naked opportunism
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: The problem is larger than any conspiracy anyway
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: They posted the Knightmare Frames up all around the stadium before Euphemia ever went backstage
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: The soldiers followed orders
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: And now I have to think on whether there's anything I could do to throw attention at this without getting Mother in front of the cameras right afterward explaining how I'm mistaken and it's not like that
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I found a case worker who seems pretty genuine and it seems like they're getting the Japanese family's case moving forward
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: They've got somewhere to stay in the meantime. Somewhere nice, not some second-rate tenement.
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: So I guess you were right about that. We have to take the little victories.

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: authoritarianism is always the real problem yeah
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: the system is rigged
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: honestly not sure its worth it
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: if i had real proof? maybe?
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: but often even real proof isnt enough
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: side 2 and side 5 both saw the federation fire a superlaser at me
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: the federation is still calling it an 'electromagnetic event caused by solar wind'
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: often thats all we have
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: rapid sudden change sounds great but
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: like i said its rigged to resist that
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: to make even good people fall into the trap of benefiting their status quo
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: its why i do a lot of volunteer work
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: if i couldnt see the little wins id go crazy
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: and kinda did anyway
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: they actually brainwashed me using my uh
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: despair over the idea that things could never really change

[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: It often doesn't matter what the system considers proven
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I'm just thinking in terms of what's proof enough to do anything with
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: I don't really care if it's government bodies that are doing the anything
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Which I suppose is a scandalous statement coming from me of all people
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[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Thanks for listening, again
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Thanks for telling me you've thrown up in the cockpit
[VERTEX] Centy Chaudhary: Nobody wants to be the only one who's done that

[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: nah not scandalous at all
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: ur a whole ass person long before u are her daughter
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: np
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: like look
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: ive thrown up more like four times
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: the first time it was when i went to a plant the blue cosmos wing of ghound had occupied
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: they were putting anyone too young, too old, or too infirm to work in boxes to starve to death
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: and like i held it in until me and my boyfriend got them out
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: we got them on a transport and
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: then after i just turned off the comms and
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: yeah
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: that was the first time
[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: second time?
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[VERTEX] Fraw_Bruder: gforces are a bitch