[LP CYOA] Epic

[Storyfag]

A2 C

 

[ScubaV]

A2

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

*sigh* Now, 2 more people know our identity. That's 3 now including "Qin". Worst secret agent evah.

A2


C - Let's let Senya's innner badass come out.

 

[Zwist]

Naim pauses, thinking of what to say. After a while, he replies, “Reckless and insubordinate. I suppose he had his talents, in a way, but he would have made for a poor soldier. I don’t think we ever got along.”

“Hm, that’s a pity.”

“Why would it be a pity? Because of him, she left me,” remarks Naim absent-mindedly.

Who called him Thesus again?
This is at the very least a trap.
C. Murder Murder Murder

 

[Kipeci]

A2

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Flopped to C. Why did he say "Because of him she left me."? Was she with him at some point after the staged death? I smell a rat named Theseus.

Edit: And besides that, I rather like the idea of playing the badass version of Senya we saw earlier.

Edit2: If C doesn't have the votes then B2.

 

[Rex Feral]

Flopping to B1.

This guy isn't to be trusted. No need to kill him, however.

 

[Storyfag]

Fuck that shit. Flopping to C. For fuck's sake, this guy might not be what he seems.

This guy isn't to be trusted. No need to kill him, however.

Now that's just plain retarded. If we're not trusting him, let's brain-rape him. At least we'll gain considerable knowledge this way, meaning the whole idea of getting involved in the movie won't be just a one big waste of time.

Give me one good reason for not brain-raping him.

 

[Zwist]

Just that we are perfectly clear: Killing Niam now is killing a possibly innocent person, that on top of that to some degree is dear to Kyrie and might be a great ally, on the basis of a gut feeling.
I am o.k. with that.
But do not act surprised if the next update makes us drift even further into derangement.
We are basically killing him "just to be sure".
(And if we do I hope the Idol is Jack. Now that would be a glorious.)

 

[Esquilax]

Give me one good reason for not brain-raping him.

Other than what Zwist said, it's important to note that our derangement also causes a certain lack of self-control: it's very telling that we don't remember putting together the Lothal plan, nor did we really have any control of ourselves when murdering the cultists. Another reason: Naim is a pawn in a much bigger game and he could (potentially) be a great ally. Also, what the fuck are we going to tell Azo? We can't exactly continue on with our mission to find Kyrie and to determine the Empress and Relius' plans from the inside if we return telling him that we turned the world's biggest movie star into a drooling vegetable. Think ahead, goddamnit.

You guys are buying into Lambchop's whole "NAIM IS THESUES!!!!" nonsense, which I always thought was bullshit from the beginning because the analogy doesn't really work. I seem to recall Lambchop19 being pretty goddamn gung-ho about stabbing Kumare in Chapter 3 of Ean's saga just because he might have been Shulgi. Well, he was wrong then and I am pretty sure that he's wrong now.

And who's fault is it that Naim knows about our identity? It's Qin's - if there is someone to really be wary of, it's her. She instigated this whole thing:

Qin turns to address me. “How about you, Kurou? What did you think of Hoshikawa? You met him too, right?”

Great. Just great. I carefully keep the impassive expression on my face.
...
Once we are in the washroom – the ceiling is opaque here – Naim wastes no time before grabbing my collar. He shakes me strongly enough for my sunglasses to fall off. “What are you doing here? Are you insane? I almost didn’t recognize you. If Kawano hadn't said anything...”

I believe that our best option here is A2: we should take the leap of faith here. We may have had our problems with Naim, but he let us go when he had no reason to and I don't believe that he is truly loyal to the Empress and Relius. I think that he is a powerless pawn in his situation, and he's just trying to make the best of it, and I don't think that this is an elaborate plot on his part to fuck with us and deliver us into her clutches. I mean, Qin was the one who brought our identity up in the first place, not Naim!

B1 I think is too conservative and I don't see how holding out on him will help our long-term goals. He knows who we are thanks to Qin already, we might as well just be straight with him and tell him what we're after. I think C is a terrible idea because it'll push Senya's dark side to the forefront, but also because it will cause a huge mess and possibly cost us our position with Azo - we can't keep doing gung-ho cowboy shit like this all the time.

A2

 

[treave]

Hints:

Interestingly enough, Esquilax is partially right about this not really working as a Theseus analogy. See, Theseus stabbed Ean because he didn't know what was going on. In this scenario we find ourselves in, the positions are reversed when it comes to Kyrie: we are the ones who doesn't have sufficient information, while you can expect Naim probably knows more than we do. This means that the choices have to be considered not only in terms of the amount of information that it nets us, but also how Naim might interpret our choices given the extra knowledge that he has. Why would he tell us that Kyrie is alive?

This also means that there is a possibility that we are the Theseus if we ram our tentacles down his throat in a restaurant washroom on the off chance that he might not be placing our welfare as a priority... but sometimes paranoia is justified too, for our own safety.

I will say this, though; we have the resources to pin the assault on Cyber Jack and get away scot-free should we choose to...

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Give me one good reason for not brain-raping him.

Naim is a pawn in a much bigger game and he could (potentially) be a great ally. Also, what the fuck are we going to tell Azo? We can't exactly continue on with our mission to find Kyrie and to determine the Empress and Relius' plans from the inside if we return telling him that we turned the world's biggest movie star into a drooling vegetable. Think ahead, goddamnit.

You guys are buying into Lambchop's whole "NAIM IS THESUES!!!!" nonsense, which I always thought was bullshit from the beginning because the analogy doesn't really work. I seem to recall Lambchop19 being pretty goddamn gung-ho about stabbing Kumare in Chapter 3 of Ean's saga just because he might have been Shulgi. Well, he was wrong then and I am pretty sure that he's wrong now.

Uh, I wasn't actually sure he was Shulgi, but I knew he was up to something. Pretty sure I wanted to brain-rape him, not stab him. Turned out I was right and the king of Egypt got killed in his sleep. Had we brain-raped him, we'd have gotten that info and been able to prevent it.

And my Theseus "analogy" isn't an analogy. I'm characterizing Naim as Theseus as far as his personality and behavior goes. Not in that the situations are at all similar, but that were Naim put in a similar situation, he might make a similar choice to Theseus'.

Also, we won't be returning and saying that we turned anyone into anything. We'll say the cyberhacker, Jack did it - like it says in the choice.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Hints:
This also means that there is a possibility that we are the Theseus if we ram our tentacles down his throat in a restaurant washroom on the off chance that he might not be placing our welfare as a priority... but sometimes paranoia is justified too, for our own safety.

Bros that don't want tentacles rammed down their throats, shouldn't be dicks to the protagonist all the time. Just say'n.

edit: And, btw, we are the only ones allowed to grab collars, Naim. :tentacleshepard:

I will say this, though; we have the resources to pin the assault on Cyber Jack and get away scot-free should we choose to...

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Also, if I could triple post a moment, let's really consider what treave just said.

This choice is about information:

we are the one who doesn't have sufficient information, while you can expect Naim probably knows more than we do. This means that the choices have to be considered not only in terms of the amount of information that it nets us, but also how Naim might interpret our choices given the extra knowledge that he has.

What Naim gives us is dependent upon how we choose. C obviously get's us the most info and without the possibility of deception. B1 Get's us next to nothing, so I'd recommend against it.

Why would he tell us that Kyrie is alive?

A2 has the possibility of giving us a lot of information, but I believe there is a high probability that Naim will...alter it somewhat in an attempt to use us for his own ends. I think that that is the entire reason he's telling us. Whatever Kyrie's situation and whatever Naim's motives, Naim has a goal he is unable to achieve on his own. He intends to use us to further his objectives and you can bet our well-being isn't going to be a high priority, as treave said. Maybe his goal is to rescue or save Kyrie somehow. Maybe it's to become the new president of the Shinar. We won't really know unless we either wait and possibly get manipulated or jack his brain and find out now.

(Also, for the record, I think B2 is a better alternative to A2 because it makes it more likely that he'll let some of the truth slip in an attempt to convince us Kyrie lives. It'd also keep him off guard.)

This also means that there is a possibility that we are the Theseus if we ram our tentacles down his throat in a restaurant washroom on the off chance that he might not be placing our welfare as a priority... but sometimes paranoia is justified too, for our own safety.

I will say this, though; we have the resources to pin the assault on Cyber Jack and get away scot-free should we choose to...

This is one of those choices where it's better safe than sorry. We'll find out who's side Naim was on once we know what he knows - along with a bunch of other useful info, no doubt.

 

[Esquilax]

Uh, I wasn't actually sure he was Shulgi, but I knew he was up to something. Pretty sure I wanted to brain-rape him, not stab him. Turned out I was right and the king of Egypt got killed in his sleep. Had we brain-raped him, we'd have gotten that info and been able to prevent it.

Also, we won't be returning and saying that we turned anyone into anything. We'll say he cyberhacker, Jack did it - like it says in the choice.

Nigga please, he didn't know shit, we wouldn't have gotten a fucking thing. All he knew was: "convince Runi to kill me at Heracleopolis", so don't try to spin it like you had a crystal ball all along. The issue there was that we left Memphis undefended to go attack Astarth, giving Astarth a window to set up the assassination. Also, I meant stab him with Ean's brain-raping sword, but really it's the same thing. My point is that you are trying to draw a connection between two different scenarios where it just doesn't work, and you have done this by trying to compare Naim with Theseus time and time again.

How is Naim (supposedly) having a similar personality to Theseus relevant at all? What are the implications of it and what does it have to do with the choice at hand? Not sure if I'd agree with the comparison either, but whatever, I don't feel that it's relevant.

Regardless, this is the crux of the matter and what we ought to discuss:

This means that the choices have to be considered not only in terms of the amount of information that it nets us, but also how Naim might interpret our choices given the extra knowledge that he has. Why would he tell us that Kyrie is alive?

Okay, so there are a few reasons that he might be telling us that Kyrie is alive:

1. He's looking for an opportunity to fight against Relius and the Empress, but he's powerless because he's really just a glorified grunt who got labelled as a hero. He has little real power, but he's working from the inside and needs help.
2. He's in cahoots with the Empress and this is part of his plot to bring us in.

If you bros have any other ideas about why he might be telling Senya about Kyrie, I'm all ears. However, considering that there is some definite mysterious power behind Relius' apparent resurrection and the Empress' rise to power, I doubt he can do a damn thing about it himself. Let's do some quote-mining to see how trusty Theseus Naim is:

“It's good to see you again, Your Majesty, but what have I done wrong?” I call out. I'm not even going to mention the credit she stole from me; that'd be just petty of me, no? Naim looks uncomfortable, averting his eyes from me. I suppose he knows the truth.
...
“So it seems you are stubborn. Very well. Kyrie, get over here. That boy is dangerous.” She raises a hand as the soldiers move forward. Naim looks troubled, but he says nothing.
...
“Ensign Hoshikawa.” Naim is piloting the yellow Onuris, sounding conflicted. “I’m sorry. I…”

“Are we going to fight here?” I say coldly. “If you’re going to do it, then do it.” I’m in no mood to talk about anything right now. Naim draws his beam saber and leaps at me. He’s not piloting anywhere near his best – I easily block him with my own saber, even in an uncalibrated frame. He pulls back, landing a few dozen metres away. Sensing incoming danger, I have my CF leap to the right, dodging a rifle shot from Jean that gouges out a small crater in the ground.

If I’m going to have to take the two of them down to escape, I’ll do it.

“Senya, just come back with us! I’m sure the Princess-“

“No, don’t.” interrupts Naim, his voice now composed. “Jean, we didn’t manage to capture Hoshikawa. He managed to fight us off and escaped where we could not track him.”

Okay, so he received all the glory for our mission so that the Empress could discredit us, which sucks. But his reaction is weird: even though he's at the Empress' side and he's gained a ton of status from working under her, he seems conflicted and unhappy with what he's doing. Then, to top it off, he gives only a half-hearted effort to stop us (I am fairly certain that Jean and Naim could have stopped us given that Naim was in an Onuris frame and ours wasn't even calibrated, even despite the huge skill difference) and lets us go. I'm not saying that it's 100% proof that he's totally on our side, but I do believe that we can work together and that at least in the short-run, he won't do anything to jeopardize us.

Quite frankly, we ought to be more concerned with Qin than we do with Naim.

 

[Esquilax]

A2 has the possibility of giving us a lot of information, but I believe there is a high probability that Naim will...alter it somewhat in an attempt to use us for his own ends. I think that that is the entire reason he's telling us. Whatever Kyrie's situation and whatever Naim's motives, Naim has a goal he is unable to achieve on his own. He intends to use us to further his objectives and you can bet our well-being isn't going to be a high priority, as treave said. Maybe his goal is to rescue or save Kyrie somehow. Maybe it's to become the new president of the Shinar. We won't really know unless we either wait and possibly get manipulated or jack his brain and find out now.

(Also, for the record, I think B2 is a better alternative to A2 because it makes it more likely that he'll let some of the truth slip in an attempt to convince us Kyrie lives. It'd also keep him off guard.)

Great point about B2: if we play dumb and act as though we desperately need his help, he might reveal himself to us. This is a great way of safely figuring out if he's lying to us: we'd be able to figure out if he's telling us some bullshit or the actual truth. For instance, if he says something along the lines of "only the Empress and I know Kyrie's alive" we'll know he's full of shit, because obviously Relius and Julius both know that she's alive.

I might flip to B2, but I am inclined to believe that Theseus is on the level here: it was Qin that blew our cover, and he responded to it exactly as she hoped he would.

This also means that there is a possibility that we are the Theseus if we ram our tentacles down his throat in a restaurant washroom on the off chance that he might not be placing our welfare as a priority... but sometimes paranoia is justified too, for our own safety.

I will say this, though; we have the resources to pin the assault on Cyber Jack and get away scot-free should we choose to...

This is one of those choices where it's better safe than sorry. We'll find out who's side Naim was on once we know what he knows - along with a bunch of other useful info, no doubt.

You're underestimating his usefulness. Naim is still a high-ranking individual who is close to the Empress, he'd be quite useful as an ally. Also, more importantly, I don't like the idea of Senya indulging his psycho alter ego. It'll be taking the easy way out, and you're not acknowledging that there's going to be a price to pay here that's going to affect Senya. Basically, you're looking at the situation and thinking that it'll be completely positive for us.

 

[Azira]

Has Esquilax led us astray before? Listen to reason here. Brain-raping Naim "because he's Theseus!" seems retarded to me.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Azira, yes he's led us astray. As long as we're talking about Egypt, recall that he wanted to stay and fight as an alternative to going with Nabu. That would have made us Marduk's body for the next 1000 years - edit: oh, and gotten us buried under a mountain for for something like 2000 years too, iirc.

Nigga please, he didn't know shit, we wouldn't have gotten a fucking thing. All he knew was: "convince Runi to kill me at Heracleopolis", so don't try to spin it like you had a crystal ball all along

You're the one with the spin, bro. Just how do you know that's all he knew again?

The issue there was that we left Memphis undefended to go attack Astarth, giving Astarth a window to set up the assassination.

Right. We trusted the guy that was obviously up to something instead of jacking his brain like we should have. Also, what about the poisoning of the water supply? What about the other agents in the court? If he was dead by brain-rape and we even had an inkling of what was going on it'd have been better than taking his advice.

Also, I meant stab him with Ean's brain-raping sword, but really it's the same thing.

Still, didn't want to do that. Messy. I wanted to be able say the guy had some sort of attack and collapsed.

My point is that you are trying to draw a connection between two different scenarios where it just doesn't work

Nope. That's you right now.

How is Naim (supposedly) having a similar personality to Theseus relevant at all? What are the implications of it and what does it have to do with the choice at hand? Not sure if I'd agree with the comparison either, but whatever, I don't feel that it's relevant.

So his character isn't relevant to whether or not we decide to trust/work with him? Come on, Brosquilax.

However, considering that there is some definite mysterious power behind Relius' apparent resurrection and the Empress' rise to power, I doubt he can do a damn thing about it himself. Let's do some quote-mining to see how trusty Theseus Naim is:

That situation tells us nothing for certain. Our skills were extremely superior to his. Maybe he didn't realize our mech was uncalibrated and feared going toe to toe. Maybe he let us go because he knew Kyrie would never forgive him for killing us. Maybe he didn't have the heart to do it after we saved his ass so many times and wanted to let us go so that he wouldn't have to feel like he owed us anything. Could have been a million reasons. I'd like to believe the guy is bro, but his constant looking down on us (even when he didn't realize it was us) let's me know that it's not in his character to give a shit about anyone but himself and his own desires. Maybe not to a Dio level, but he's still a selfish prick.

As to the situation with Relius, yes, it's more than he can handle. Maybe he wants to clear Relius out so he and Kyrie can be together. Who cares. The point is, it'd better to have all his knowledge of the situation while not having to work with someone who doesn't place a high priority on our well-being, doesn't like us too much and is suspicious as hell.

 

[Esquilax]

Not true, Lambchop19, I ended up voting for the earthquake option back in the end of the Egypt chapter. I was considering holding out against Nabu's psychic assault, but you were the one that actually swayed me away from it. You also talked me out of a foolish assault on Nabu's tower. And now I'm returning the favour.

So his character isn't relevant to whether or not we decide to trust/work with him? Come on, Brosquilax.

Not if they are not alike. I guess I can see some sort of vague similarity: they are both glory-hungry guys who are fighting over the same girl as us. But other than that - I don't see how these situations are at all alike.

But look at how he's behaved towards us thus far: if he had bad intentions towards us, why would he have let us escape?

Has Esquilax led us astray before? Listen to reason here. Brain-raping Naim "because he's Theseus!" seems retarded to me.

LISTEN TO THE MAN WHO IS TELLING YOU TO LISTEN TO ME!!! I AM ALWAYS RIGHT!!!

Dude, you've totally jinxed me: suddenly, it's going to turn out that Naim is actually a reincarnated Theseus who has been working for the Empress and serving the Masters. This is going to be a disaster. Besides, you guys have done pretty well while I've been posting sporadically.

But really, I don't see why people are so against Naim here. Okay, he was a bit cocky when we first met him, but what else? I see a few reasons for trusting him, but I don't see why we would have to rape his brain. Also, treave, I am curious:

Once we are in the washroom – the ceiling is opaque here – Naim wastes no time before grabbing my collar. He shakes me strongly enough for my sunglasses to fall off. “What are you doing here? Are you insane? I almost didn’t recognize you. If Kawano hadn't said anything...”

I'm assuming you brought this up as a way of mentioning that Cyber Jack probably doesn't have surveillance here, correct?

 

[treave]

Actually, that's just because it's a washroom and most of their rich customers don't feel at ease going with the sky over their heads, but you are right anyway that Cyber Jack isn't monitoring the washroom - or rather, isn't able to at the moment.

I hope you guys didn't expect that this Naim confrontation is the only thing that's going to happen at the restaurant?

Also, here's more fodder. There's 1 Bad End amongst the AB12 combinations.

C doesn't lead to one, but as pointed out if you want to slide further down into amoral sociopath-dom, that's the way to go.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Another step down the bad road is a given, but it's totally. Worth. It.

Not true, Lambchop19, I ended up voting for the earthquake option back in the end of the Egypt chapter. I was considering holding out against Nabu's psychic assault, but you were the one that actually swayed me away from it.

lol, yeah, I remember. I had to fight you tooth and nail on that one. :D

So his character isn't relevant to whether or not we decide to trust/work with him? Come on, Brosquilax.

I guess I can see some sort of vague similarity: they are both glory-hungry guys who are fighting over the same girl as us. But other than that - I don't see how these situations are at all alike.

Again, not the situations, bro. The character. People murder and make selfish choices for love all the time and Naim's personality is prone to it. Let's not give this Theseus his chance.

Besides, you guys have done pretty well while I've been posting sporadically.

Hey, you are right a lot of the time! Sometimes I need someone to talk me down too btw. Not this time though.

 

[Smashing Axe]

I'm voting C not because I think Naim will betray us necessarily, but because it gains us the most information, removes a rival whilst keeping us from any blame, let's us develop our psionic rape abilities, and will steer Senya towards greater Dio-esque ruthlessness. Back on the Kaguya-hime we had numerous opportunities to off the Empress, but our morality kept us in check. Think how much difficulty we would have spared ourselves if we drove a stake in that vampire's shriveled heart! Naim's just the same, a dick looking to eventually screw us once he gets what he wants.

I want to be a dra- Dio

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

though, this choice doesn't make us a Dio, just puts us further down that path. (Hey, it's for love after all. )

 

[treave]

As long as there is talk about finding Kyrie because she's important to whatever avenues to power you guys want to pursue, I will always have the leeway to spin it away from the 'true love' narrative.

Senya will never be as amoral as Dio, though, even in full slasher mode. What drives his ruthlessness is a strong sense of confidence and disdain for most people. There are a few things he would find somewhat unpalatable according to the twisted logic that Ruthless Senya follows, shaped subconsciously by his forgotten experiences as a child. Dio, on the other hand... under the Codex's guidance he lost the last vestiges of whatever conscience he had within 8 updates.

I'll probably update in about 8 hours (I believe A2 is ahead by one vote here), but update speeds should slow down again to about once every two days next week.

 

[Esquilax]

Another step down the bad road is a given, but it's totally. Worth. It.

It isn't worth it, especially over something so petty. We would lose more of our own personality just so we could get information that we could easily attain by working together with him on this. Going down this road only because of baseless paranoia seems like a big mistake.

Qin is the one we ought to be watching out for. She's been going around trying to blow our cover a few times already, and we really have to keep our eyes on her. Naim also seems like he'd be a handy ally to have now that she's out of sight at the moment and trying to blow our cover*, not to mention that he'd be a massive help in providing us with future information on the Empress as well as Relius' doings.

* Seriously, what the fuck is up with this?

Halfway through their meal, Naim gets up. Giving Qin an apologetic smile, he excuses himself. “I need to head to the washroom for a while. Could I borrow your bodyguard for a while? I have things to ask him.”

I stare at him from under my shades. “My place is with Ms. Kawano.”

“Oh, I insist.” He leans in close to me and hisses in my ear. “I need to talk with you… Hoshikawa.”

It seems that he realized who I am after all. I curse silently as I look at Qin, who shrugs and waves me away. “I’ll be fine. I won’t die just because you leave me for a couple of seconds, but come back soon!”

Maybe this is my own paranoia acting up, but I find this last part kinda ominous. She certainly steered things into a confrontation between Senya and Naim, so she definitely has ulterior motives here. But still, we ought to be more worried about her than we are of Naim.

Again, not the situations, bro. The character. People murder and make selfish choices for love all the time and Naim's personality is prone to it. Let's not give this Theseus his chance.

This is absurd, man. "Don't give Naim a chance to betray us... if in fact, betraying us is what he had in mind!!" This doesn't hold up under scrutiny. There is maybe a surface resemblance to Theseus, but that's about it: the point is this, he wants Kyrie alive just as much as Senya does. I don't see why he would fuck us over in the near future because of it, and your paranoia isn't really justified given that he had let us go previously.

That situation tells us nothing for certain. Our skills were extremely superior to his. Maybe he didn't realize our mech was uncalibrated and feared going toe to toe. Maybe he let us go because he knew Kyrie would never forgive him for killing us. Maybe he didn't have the heart to do it after we saved his ass so many times and wanted to let us go so that he wouldn't have to feel like he owed us anything. Could have been a million reasons. I'd like to believe the guy is bro, but his constant looking down on us (even when he didn't realize it was us) let's me know that it's not in his character to give a shit about anyone but himself and his own desires. Maybe not to a Dio level, but he's still a selfish prick.

You're letting your hatred of Naim cloud your judgment. Look at our interaction again:

“Ensign Hoshikawa.” Naim is piloting the yellow Onuris, sounding conflicted. “I’m sorry. I…”

“Are we going to fight here?” I say coldly. “If you’re going to do it, then do it.” I’m in no mood to talk about anything right now. Naim draws his beam saber and leaps at me. He’s not piloting anywhere near his best – I easily block him with my own saber, even in an uncalibrated frame. He pulls back, landing a few dozen metres away. Sensing incoming danger, I have my CF leap to the right, dodging a rifle shot from Jean that gouges out a small crater in the ground.

The first thing he does here, uncharacteristically, is apologize. Then, he gives only a half-hearted effort to stop us and lets us go. If he were afraid of us, he would have given us everything he had, but he didn't do that. And as for looking down on us while he didn't realize it was us, there is a simple explanation for that: we were cock-blocking him in the middle of a date. More importantly, Qin set the situation up in such a way that he would become suspicious of us - remember, she's the one that instigated the situation and blew our cover.

As to the situation with Relius, yes, it's more than he can handle. Maybe he wants to clear Relius out so he and Kyrie can be together. Who cares. The point is, it'd better to have all his knowledge of the situation while not having to work with someone who doesn't place a high priority on our well-being, doesn't like us too much and is suspicious as hell.

How is he suspicious? In what way do you believe he will fuck us over? Here is why this is bullshit: your arguments in favour of brain-raping him basically amount to "he was mean to us when we first met him!", but that is a pretty thin justification, not to mention it ignores the fact that he let us go when he easily could have subdued us with Jean. You also want C because it hedges our bets, but I don't believe it's worth it and the benefits don't outweigh sliding further down into sociopathy.

While I'm pretty certain that Naim doesn't like Senya on a personal level, but I also believe that he genuinely wants to fight against whatever it is the Empress is planning, and for that he is willing to bury the hatchet.