Zoning provides more banter.
No, we're not going to the park either. KayKay, come on, don't say things like that.
Don't worry, she's just testing you. It's what kids do.
You sure about that?
Of course, it's completely normal. It's a part of growing up.
Dude. She's DEAD. She's not going to grow up.
Ah, right. Sorry.
Smooth.
Mayhap this old hippie will have the answers we seek.
Do you know what happened by the park armpitheatre?
You mean the sculpture that was erected in the middle of the night? Magnificent, isn't it? Art that just... APPEARS. For seemingly no reason. That kind of thing just doesn't happen anymore. It does this old heart good to see it.
What do you think the sculpture means?
I... I don't know. To tell you the truth, I have not given it much thought. But... the energy it brings. The vibrant LIFE. This world can use more of that, let me tell you.
We've seen some vibrant life energy before alright.
See you around.
The copper at the Soy Bakery will probably know more.
Sure, sure. Gimme a few minutes.
Best donuts in the city, this guy.
Did anyone die by the Prospect Park armpitheatre?
Seriously? Where have YOU been?
To hell and back.
Some idiot set himself on fire. Built some weird metal altar to do it on too. The weird thing? He did it in the middle of the night. No witnesses. Some poor jogger found him the next morning.
You sure it wasn't murder?
Pretty sure. Forensics checked it all out. He set the fire himself.
Course, now it makes the guy some kind of local folk hero.
Folk hero?
Yeah. The folks who live here? They think it's some kind of... I dunno. Artistic statement or whatever. But you ask me? He was just a nut.
A fitting folk hero for a fitting era.
Can you tell me anything else about the man who died in the park?
Sorry, but WHY are you so interested?
It might be related to a case I'm working on.
Mel flashes her assets once again.
A beat cop like me could get into trouble if I spilled.
How was it an artistic statement?
I dunno, what else could it be? This frigging neighborhood. Draws 'em in like flies on honey.
Draws what in?
AUTISTS! They've been coming out of the woodwork. Causing all sorts of trouble.
Forget the drug dealers, it's the autists you gotta worry about.
Are autists really that bad?
You have NO idea. Just last week, in this very spot, I had to drag some guy out in cuffs. It was this writer on his laptop. His battery ran out of juice, so he freaked. Smashed his laptop against the table. Then started punching people. I wish I could say it was an isolated incident, but it's been happening all over the neighborhood.
Sounds like
MRY had a run in with the law.
Also, guess this answers the previous question whether everyone in this part of town is autistic.
Thanks, see you around.
And speaking of...
Rude!
I mean... what can I do for you?
Do you know about anyone who died in the park?
Someone died? Sorry, I don't know anything about that.
Guess there was nothing about it on Facebook and Reddit, so this fellow never had the chance to learn about it.
See you around.
Sure, bye.
On our way out, we chat up the hobo again.
I heard lots of autists are moving into the area.
Yes, I've seen it. This neighborhood used to house quite a... vibrant community of autists. They're all gone now. They got priced out, or they got kicked out, or they died out. I thought I'd be the only one left. But now? Look around. The REAL heart and soul of Brooklyn is coming back. And it is magnificent.
blablabla
A man set himself on fire. On the park sculpture.
I heard. Fascinating.
"Fascinating"? A man died.
Well, it is. Why there? Why in the middle of the night? The act of immolation is... violent. Painful. One doesn't do that to themselves unless they want to make a statement. And yet... it was done in the middle of the night. Nobody could see or hear him. So yes, I'd call that fascinating. What was the man trying to say? We'll never know.
I would assume his last words were "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
What kind of "statement" does setting yourself on fire make?
As I said, we will never know. The man was... inspired. We never know where it comes from. Or why it comes. It just IS. And that's all we can say about any autistic act. It just is.
~inspired~ huh
we know something about potential sources of that
i already know i am going to regret going inside
oh god no she's at it again
One fine day day day, I went to town town town, but I didn't stay stay stay, cuz I ripped my gown gown gown.
STOP HER BEFORE SHE CONTINUES
I think I'm the one who took your power away.
You did? Hmm. You don't LOOK like the lady I met. She was about your height, had your hair color, and had kind of your build... But nope. Definitely wasn't you.
She's wearing a veil. You can't see past it, can you? You really did lose your power.
Yep! I'm as mundane as mud.
Which somewhat makes you question how come she could see Eli as Aldin when he's also wearing a veil
But if it was really you... then I suppose I have to thank you.
Don't worry, we'll try to get your power back.
For real? You did me a favor. Three thousand years and I never once enjoyed a THING. Not a song, not a poem, not a story. Not even food. I could inspire them all. But they did nothing for me.
I can't even remember the last time I smiled. I... kinda like the feeling. I think I'm gonna do it a lot. So keep my power. You took it, you keep it. I'm happy where I am.
Psycho in the making.
Do you know anything about the sculpture in the park?
I saw it. So full of anguish. I could feel the desperation pouring from every rivet and nail.
Anguish?
Yeah, muse, remember? I can sense these things.
Didn't you say you lost your powers?
So? If YOUR magic was taken away, you'd still know everything about fire, right?
I... guess so, yeah.
Same with me. I know how art works. I know what feelings went into them. And that sculpture? None of those feelings were nice.
Someone burned themselves alive by the sculpture.
That's... horrible. What is this feeling? Am I... sick? Or sad? Or depressed? This is new. I don't like feeling like this. Don't ask me about that again.
So you can "read" works of art?
Anything that was created by anybody else. It leaves an... imprint. I can still see them.
convenient
Just read it!
Ooh, was this made by Clay Chipman? I've been meaning to go to his shop. May I...?
Sure, have one for free.
the first one is always for free
Omgrd ths ss ss grd.
Calli the side character has a whopping 8 portraits, beating even PCs like Eli and Logan who have 6. I can only assume she was based on some dev's girlfriend or something.
*Burp*
Excuse me.
That was... strange.
This bagel... wasn't made by Clay Chipman. Not entirely.
What do you mean? We saw him make it.
No. His HANDS made it. But the process. It was inspired by...
By... me? That's impossible.
How did you inspire Clay? I thought you lost your power.
I DID! And I've never met the guy. But that bagel tasted like my own power. I had it for over three thousand years. It couldn't be anything else.
So your power now belongs to Clay Chipman?
No. Muses can't create, remember? He was inspired by someone WITH my power. Oh well, good luck to whoever it is. I don't want it anyway.
the plot thickens
So someone else has your power...
Yep. Sucks to be them.
So long.
Bye! Stick around if you want to hear more poems.
UNAVOWED, WE'RE LEAVING.
Clay Chipman has much to answer for!
Needed three guys to pull him off the street. He finished painting in a cell.
... aaaaaaand you haven't heard a thing I said.
What? You lost your cell?
*Sigh* No.
So what inspired you to make bagels like this?
I don't know. It just came to me? You experience food with more than just taste, you know. It's... important to be aware of that.
oh shut the hell up
Why is it important?
It just is, okay? You don't have to get it. Just... enjoy it.
So it wasn't a person who inspired you?
(there sure are a lot of dialogue options that start with "so" in this game)
Um, no? I mean, maybe? Who knows. You can get inspired by lots of things subconsciously.
Lemme guess. The blue and red lox-and-chive cream cheese bagel was inspired by me?
Sure, whatever.
See you around.
Sure. Bye.
Since we're still doing nothing but datamining and there's still nothing of note that has fucking turned up, guess we need to do more datamining.
No! It's not right yet, just five more minutes!
Okay, okay. For real this time.
We will not be datamining here.
I... guess?
So I heard a guy set himself on fire around here. You... wouldn't know anything about that, would you?
Burning. That's quite a bold statement to make.
So bold and so foolish.
Is it?
It sears. It cleanses. If you burn something, it's gone forever. I... can understand the appeal.
deep
You can understand the appeal?
My journal. I... burnt it. It needed to be cleansed. It needed to not exist. So I burned it. It's gone.
Yet somehow it ended up in the possession of a man named Pharod.
This journal of yours. You said you burnt it?
Yes. Right here. Right over... No. The journal is burnt. It no longer exists. I... need for it not to exist. Please.
Okay, okay.
Burnt journals are something of a specialty for us.
Why would Codexia take a muse's power?
She was creating spiritual havoc. Unleashing untapped energy in order to feed off it. Seems to me, a direct line to the creative force is a great way of doing that.
Could you fire read something for me?
I'll do my best. What did you have in mind?
Can you see the goy who set himself on fire?
Ah, good idea! But... it doesn't work that way, sorry. Inorganic material only. That's why it works so well with books. Or pictures. Or pictures of books. You get the idea.
The ghost mentioned a journal he burnt. Can you look that up?
An autist's journal that was burnt up by the park stage? That seems narrow enough. Let's take a look.
creepy
very creepy
... increasingly creepy
wat
rip
[Intelligence] This looks like a sketchbook. Whoever this belonged to, they drew the same two people over and over again.
Over and over, huh? I know addictive behavior when I see it. Which two people?
[Perception] A woman and a child. I think it's the same pair we saw outside the park.
Addicts. It's not enough we hurt ourselves. We hurt everyone around us.
... wat?
random outbursts are random
So we read that journal of yours.
... impossible. It was burnt. I watched it burn. It's GONE.
I read it, man, I'm sorry. You seem pretty... obsessive. With May Stein and her little girl.
It's GONE. Please! It has to be gone. Both of us... have to be gone.
I'm gone.
It seems Mel and the gang finally have some solid lead to follow.