The Gloves are Fucking OFF

Well, I almost made it to New Years without making another post. I had been thinking about doing a piece about what A has been up to, but I decided to wait and see how that played out first. Otherwise, just note taking here and there, commenting where I felt like it, and musing about how much the "prizes" in the Steam Winter Sale SUCK compared to the Summer Sale, but whaaaaaatever....

Now... I'm kind of upset at myself for doing this. Though I didn't explicitly "promise" back when I was making my big spill about not talking about the subject anymore, it had been my intention. And I've been doing a really good job I think, at the very least, not even mentioning her fucking name or commenting on any of the stupid shit I've been seeing related to the subject of her activities. I don't need any more shit dumped on me thanks to her and the fact that we don't get along. I just wanted to stay the fuck out of it, so that was my unspoken promise, to leave it alone... and I really HATE breaking promises. But fuck it. You people are crazy and you obviously need to get slapped in the face a few times, so if I have to take a few punches to try getting that point across then so fucking be it. Consider my offer nullified because I am officially pissed and I have no good excuse to just let it go.

So we're gonna talk about Elaine.

We'll get to why later... but first, a little backstory. See, I don't want you guys to misunderstand. I don't want you to think I hate this bitch for no reason. Okay? Fact of the matter is, I happened to really LIKE Elaine when I first encountered her. Hell, she was one of the first people to comment on my blog. Kinda made me feel special. And hey, what a nice girl she was! Sure, had a few skeleton's in the closet, but so do most people in this mess, so who am I to really judge? I mean look at her! She's working so hard to help people. She's found a way to keep people safe from the Construct. Look at all the people she's protecting. Isn't she just great? An outstanding member of the runner community? I honest and truly had a great deal of respect for her, just like the rest of you did... and some of you, inexplicably, still do.

Hell, I've never even intentionally attacked her. Our first "conflict" was over a freaking miscommunication, which even after I corrected she still insisted upon blowing out of proportion. Since then, we apparently just had a few differences in opinion and she decided to take it reeeeeeeally freaking personally. Like how my offhand comment here, which in retrospect may not have been in the best of tastes, but I was just trying to make a referential point, ended in her sicking her fucking dogs on me. And I felt bad about that, especially during the time I was recovering from my illness and hadn't quite yet gotten around to learning what happened while I was out. Because I didn't want to upset Elaine... I liked Elaine! I was trying my damnedest to pussyfoot around all of these sensitive issues of hers so I could get back on her good side and then...

...Suddenly all of it was justified...

I felt betrayed. Like all of you fucking should have. The bitch had been selling everyone out from the start. Hope was a sham. It was destined to burn. Yet so many of you still supported her after that. What madness is this?? Stop for one second and THINK. For all the people she "saved," for all the people Hope "sheltered," what happy endings did they get? Nearly everyone who's set foot in that place has died. Many occurring the very same week Hope burned. And how did Elaine choose to take responsibility for her actions? She tried to fucking kill herself. To abandon her burden and everything else rather than live with it. What a fucking coward.

And to make things even more fun, she's still ruining lives even without the empty facade of Hope. Went to visit Spencer and crew? And what do you know, The House turned into a month long nightmare, like the House of Leaves on fucking steroids, the worst of it conveniently waiting to come until AFTER she had run away from it, leaving her "friends" to their fate, giving nothing in return but her broken record "I'm so sorry"s on every post the Couriers managed to make.

And then, as if one of her comments to Ember(or Salome I suppose, in this case) wasn't clue enough that they were still bestest buddies, she recently posted outright that she's still hanging with David! Really?? The same David you were selling everyone out to? That you brokered your bullshit deal for Hope with? That David? The David I've heard so much about lately? The one that fucked up Ember a mere week before your happy little pre-holiday get together? And you're just chilling with him like it's totally cool? AND EVERYONE IS OKAY WITH THIS?!?!?

And now, noooow, the coup de grace, David, oh David, my friend, thank you for that revelation. Not that I didn't already suspect it to be the case. I was withholding judgement on the matter purely because I was afraid I was jumping conclusions under the egotistical notion that I was somehow "important," but now that my suspicions are justified I can barely contain myself. That "fucker" who "had it coming?" That was ME!! Huzzah! I feel so fucking special! As if I wasn't justified enough beforehand! I'd been going out of my way to try to think of ways to turn it all around and get back on Elaine's good side, and meanwhile, she was preparing to backstab me and sell me out to David. How fucking Awesome is that shit?? My god, I'm fucking honored! And don't you feel so good about yourself now Elaine? Some poor bastard that wanting nothing more than to make you stop hating him, than honestly wanted you to like him, was tangentially responsible for your whole operation burning to the ground, because you just haaaaaaad take a stab at him and you got caught in the act. You dumb bitch.

So now that I've got a real stake in this, tell you what? Our mutual dislike of each other can step up to the next level. You. Are. My. ENEMY. You fucking PROXY Bitch. You are the Anti-Spiral. Giving everyone you meet false hopes, only so that you can whip them away at the last moment and leave them with Ultimate Despair. I don't care how many "friends" you still have or how many people come after me for railing against you. I am going to hammer away at every stupid fucking thing you do from now on until everyone fucking knows without a shadow of a doubt that you are the most evil person alive.

To Benjamin, I don't know what kind of protections you think you have, but trust me, the moment that bitch leaves, death will come knocking on your door. You'd do well to kill the bitch now. Do yourself and everyone else a huge favor. But mark my words as a damn near guarantee, as soon as she's gone, hell is coming for you, so I hope you're fucking prepared for it.

To Elliot, I don't know how you got to be so fucking genre-blind after everything you've been through, but if you have any ounce of sense left in you at all, you will grab Em, find Richard, and get as far the fuck away from Elaine as humanly possible. She is only going to get you Killed. She didn't rescue you or anyone else from that forest. Your captors knew exactly where she was taking you all. They followed you there. They followed you to The House. They're following you Right Fucking NOW. That bitch is a fucking Proxy GPS Unit you have No Chance so long as you're staying with her. RUN. For the love of god, RUN.


To everyone else, I've said my piece for now. Open Your God Damned Eyes! This bitch doesn't deserve your help or your sympathy. The farther you stay from her the better. She will ruin your life just as she has with everyone else she's come into contact with.

And to those that still support her after all of that? ....Come at me Bro.

Happy Holidays, Perhaps?

Yeah, so... Merry Christmas and all that jazz... hopefully you're in a position where you can enjoy it. At least a little bit...

Oddly, this wouldn't be the worst holiday season I've ever had... thankful for that much I guess. Or something. Things seem relatively sane here for the moment, so provided my headache ever dies back down, I should be fine.

Anyways, think I'm gonna lie low for a bit and try to take my mind off of things. Need a breather after that mess the other night to get my head straight.

Luckily, I think Steam should be able to keep me busy and occupied for quite a while, provided my wifi holds out. Thank god for Paypal and credit card fraud.

Unless something comes up, I'll see you again sometime after New Years. Will try to have more content prepped by then. In the meantime, stay safe everybody.

Something Passed Over

...and it wasn’t fucking Santa Claus.

I almost didn’t post about this...
I’ve been sitting here wondering what to even say about it for a few hours now. At first I was just panicking and running about the room trying to decide what to do, if I needed to pack, to run, to wait, what? It just happened so god damned fast that I didn’t know how to respond to it...

Aaaand I am getting way ahead of myself again... Okay, slow down. Spoilers first. It wasn’t the Construct. Again. I’ll try to stop getting your hopes up for activity with false alarms and other crazy shit, but this is just kind of the life we’re living now, isn’t it?

So what the fuck...?

Okay, I’m going to describe this as best I’m able, but it’s not going to be very good because I was too upset over it to really take notes at the time and I’m going by a really shakily recalled memory here... Basically, I’m just chilling out here in the hole, like “normal” or whatever... and I was... I don’t even remember what I was doing anymore, probably reading a blog or thinking about how much I miss pizza or something and then- Fuck.

Noise.

My cameras outside are always broadcasting. I usually keep the volume low unless I hear birds or something out there and want to listen in for a bit because that’s actually kind of peaceful and relaxing when you’re spending your days in near dead silence all the time and- oooooff topic... Okay! So they’re always broadcasting. I’m not always paying them attention, but they’re on and playing in the background on my laptop... and suddenly there is this noise. It came out as a sharp static burst of sorts at first, grabbing my attention awfully damned quickly. So I click over to the camera feed and just watch, looking for anything. I turned the volume up to see if they were getting anything and- that... that was really a mistake I think.

I started hearing voices.

A freaking LOT of Voices.

They were coming from nowhere. I was looking everywhere, I saw nothing. Nothing was out there. Suddenly there’s like this sharp powerful wind and the trees and bushes and everything starts swaying like there is something huge passing through them, bending unnaturally as some invisible force passed them by. And the voices got louder... and louder... and LOUDER. I could make out the words now. Different tones of voice. They were like mere Whispers yet they echoed louder than the most violent of shouts. And the voices were Cruel. Demeaning. Maniputively insulting. And yet they sounded so sweet as they spoke, like a mother’s gentle caress.

They just kept getting louder, invading my mind and echoing through my brain. My head was pounding. There were too many voices. It was too much at once. I thought my eardrums were going to explode. What the fuck was this?? How was this even happening?!?

And then it was just gone.

Fleeting whispers fading away into the distance and the wind died down and everything returned to normal...

Heh, “normal” ...Right.

And I was out of my chair and freaking the fuck out thinking the Construct had found me and trying to think of some way to keep him out of my head and what the fuck was going on and---

I calmed down eventually... <.<;

It’s taken an awful lot of rationalization, but I think I’ve managed to sort it all out. I think so at least... It didn’t make sense for it to be the Construct. None of it fit his typical modus operandi... but it did fit something else. Now, I can’t be certain because I don’t research this stuff enough, but going purely by what I know... I think The Choir passed over me.

I don’t think it was here for me... It may not have even realized I was here as it passed. I think it was just passing through and I just happened to be in the way. I’m really, really fucking hoping that’s the case at least. In any event, it hasn’t come back.

I’m a little happy about the random coincidence of it though... now I have a pretty good idea of how badly I’m going to freak the fuck out when/if the Construct finally does show up around here. Maybe now I can be better prepared for it...

In Memoriam

The day was young as the battered and the weary trudged into the clearing on that cold winter morning. Ahead of them the beast stood, tall and imposing, looming above them all as Its empty gaze fell across them in their approach. Minutes passed into hours as more and more of them began to arrive, their numbers vast and incalculable, each as different from the next and yet all assembled for the same purpose, marching towards the same goal, trembling with the same fear...

As the sun rose into the sky, they gathered together, surrounding the living nightmare that their unified presence had summoned to this place. They held no illusions that they had trapped the monster within their circle. They knew all too well that they were the ones caught in the hunter's snare and there was no escape for them. Yet they would not run. They would stand their ground, just this once, and face the monster head on, knowing full well that they would not survive the encounter.

Steadily, their voices began to be heard. A chanting chorus echoing across the field. "For Maduin" "For Beth" "For Lucas" "For Lizzie" "For June" "For Cam" "For Nessa" "For Milo" "For Ray" "For Damien" "For Amelia" "For Luke" "For Logan" "For Sage" "For My Classmates" "For My Family" "For My Friends" "For Everyone" The chanting filled the air, growing louder and louder with each passing second, until suddenly... a hushed still... and a cry of unison, a battle cry, "FOR ZERO!!"

And the earth shook, as the crowd rushed forwards to meet their respective ends. Their minds could not be swayed, their determination could not be broken, they drew forth what petty weapons they possessed and launched themselves into the futile battle. The monster merely looked on as the masses approached, unfazed by their numbers or their cries. Those which opposed Him would fall, just as all the others.

And so it was, as the first man came into range that the monster tore him asunder, thrashing limbs tearing him apart piece by piece until there was nothing left. And yet the people still charged ahead, unblinking, undeterred. The creature continued His assault against the masses, ripping through them like a hot knife through butter, but for every soul He cut down another would take it's place... and another... and another. Endlessly they came, like lambs to the slaughter.

From the back lines, shots rang out. Marksmen carefully aimed to fire their bullets into the beast. Bullets made of Lead, of Iron, of Silver... some coated with Salt, others with Poison... more still with Operator Symbols carved into the heads... anything and everything to stand a chance of penetrating the monster and bringing Him down. But if the shots had fazed It at all, It showed no signs of it, as if the projectiles had never even reached their mark.

On the front lines, they struck with sharpened blades... knives, axes, and swords... they swung with blunt instruments... bats, hammers, and crowbars... yet each blow to land a solid strike drew no blood, produced no damage. Their attacks were as meaningless as they had ever been. Their numbers served them no favor. The creature would never tire, never rest, until It had consumed them all.

Perhaps that is why the creature did not notice until too late that something had pierced His unearthly flesh. A blade, not of iron or of silver or of steel, but of wood... wood that bleeds. The beast paused in His attacks to turn His blank gaze upon the man who had done this, upon the boy who grinned back at Him as he twisted the blade. "Cut from the very branch our hero hangs upon... Our gift to you, from ZERO!!"

With an inhuman screech, the beast tore the reckless Hero apart, drawing out the weapon and smashing it into cinders. It lashed out once more against the foes that surrounded It, tearing them to pieces as they approached... but the tide had already changed. The masses came no longer in reckless abandon, but with a guided purpose. They drove their weapons into the wound, hacking and slashing away with everything they had to give. They had been given a target... a Weak Spot, at long last.

And the beast recoiled... feeling, for once, the very same fear It had so masterfully inflicted upon Its victims. A black ooze bubbled up from the wound, pouring out with a sickly hiss... they were Hurting It. The monster's scream filled the air once more, but this time it was not with a lashing of limbs, but with a flurry of fire that He attacked. The flames igniting the dry grass and setting the field ablaze. The combatants withdrew from the fires, retreating to a safer distance to escape the expanding circle of flames. Within the center, the creature seemed to grow... towering and massive, like they had never seen It before. Its fear induced fury reaching its peak as It prepared to destroy them all in one fell swoop of His might hand.

But the people were not afraid. A glimmer of hope ignited in their eyes as they heard another chorus raise their collective voice. "The flame that purifies all, send this wretched creature back into the fiery pits from whence it came!" And the earth became aglow, a circle of magical inscription carved into the earth and empowered by the blazing fires makes itself known. With a final, resounding cry, the beast attempts to crush the assembly, but He is held secure within the towering pillar of light that shines forth from the battlefield... and in a blinding flash, He is Gone. Nothing remains of the circle but the scorched earth within and the survivors lying without.

There is a silence among the crowd. A shocked awe of disbelief. And then the cheering begins, an overwhelming symphony of laughter and joyous screams. They had done it. They had won. They joined together once more in celebration of their hard fought victory, sharing their memories of the battle and mourning for those who were lost.

They would return to their homes that night, sleeping soundly for the first time in a long, long time... But each of them knew, with no passing uncertainty, that though the battle was won, the War was far from over. They had sealed the creature away for now, but how long the binding would last they dare not guess. A year? A month? A week? It was impossible to tell. They only knew that one day the beast would return and their fight would begin anew...

But they had hope now... For even though the Wound may heal, the Scar would always remain. A reminder to all of them, that the Monster Bleeds. That It CAN be Defeated. That they can Win. Perhaps they themselves may never live to see the day the creature truly falls, but they know now that it is only a matter of Time...



~For Zero

Bonne Wiley SIGMA

You know, I'm still pissed they canceled Megaman Legends 3. I was looking forward to that... Granted in my present state I probably wouldn't have gotten to play it anyways but... it's the point of the matter.

Anyways, not here to talk about vidya gaymes... that just sounded like a good stupid title to go with the rest of them.

So... Σ

Now, I'm making an big EverymanHYBRID reference with this one, but "Sigma" is essentially a form of... Radiation? That was first detected in a sliver of black "material" found by Dr. Corenthal and delivered to a specialist in... ahh... elemental... stuff. Wow, I forget small details really fast. Point of the matter... the material is believed to be some "part" of the Construct which was left behind during one of his visits. This wouldn't be the first instance of the Construct leaving behind one form of ectoplasm or another, so sounds plausible enough. Anyways, having detected and identified this new form of radiation, dubbed "Sigma," they were able to build a device which could detect the radiation. The EMH boys found this device and inevitably discovered how it worked through... ahh... "unconventional methods of testing." After which they confirmed that each of them had Sigma Radiation in their blood.

So... what is the point I'm getting to with this? Well, whether you believe specifically in the existence of "Sigma" or not, it is still a very viable answer to the question of how the Construct tracks his victims. Previously, I've referred to the concept of the Construct "marking" his victims. I couldn't say how he does it, but the point of the matter is that once marked, it's like you've got an active homing beacon on you. It doesn't matter how far you travel or where you hide, the Construct will find you. Sigma Radiation is simply one means of explaining this. (It's also probably a good explanation for why people in contact with the Construct have a tendency to get sick... You know? Radiation poisoning or something? Meh, topic for another time.)

Also, with this explanation, comes the possibility of a means of evading the Construct. By dampening or outright removing the radiation, the tracking beacon, you could potentially "lose" the Construct and render him unable to track you. However, this assumes that the beacon is something as simple as "radiation" or "pheromones" or some other naturally occurring "thing" which could be used as the beacon. It would require experimentation that I have no means of conducting however... BUT there have been cases of "cures" in the past, so something of this nature does seem possible.

Basically, just so long as the beacon isn't a literal "psychic" mark, then presumably it could be eliminated via some natural means. Your body might even be capable of removing the toxin on it's own over time, provided you were able to evade the Construct for long enough. (Perhaps why/how many young children who were exposed to the Construct were able to escape from him. The infection was not yet strong enough to track before they were moved to a new location outside the Construct's grasp?)

It is still possible however that the beacon is more supernaturally based. I'm leaning towards some form of psychic link, especially given the occasionally touted "hivemind" between Contruct and Proxy theory. Something like that would be a lot harder to remove. Short of being someone really well experienced and learned in that kind of... Activity. And even then it's questionable if such a thing could be removed.

However it works, I do believe that the concept of being "marked" is a sound one. And that once marked you're pretty much screwed. Especially given that prolonged exposure to the Construct likely strengthens the beacon over time. But there is evidence that the mark can be removed. It's just not very easy...

Perspective is Key.

The Man who would Smite the Gods

Arkady Svidrigailov.

Certainly not the world's greatest role model.

But I noticed something in his story... Something I think people must have missed. Not that missing things is a difficult thing to do when you're observing these things in real time or hastily skimming over them as you try to perform "research" on the Construct. However, as a person with far too much time to sit around analyzing the community's encounters, I've started to notice little things here and there. This is one such observation... and though I don't have the entire logic of how it works figured out, I still think it's important to note.

About midway through his early adventures, Arkady had a run in with Porfiry on a riverbank. He had no problem beating the snot out of the poor proxy, but when the Construct shows up he winds up finding himself in a world of pain just before getting tentacle bitch-slapped into the river. Later an unknown passerby happens to spot him upstream and drag him out of the water, after which he spends the rest of the day dragging himself back to his car and spends quite some time after with serious phantom pain issues. And so that part of the tale ends with very little further examination of the events. Nothing more to see here. Moving along then, right?

But something about this encounter concerns me. There is a very sudden shift in the Construct's behavior here. Something which from a logical standpoint seems out of place when compared against Arkady's previous encounters.

Up until this point, the Construct was always quite clearly "in control" of any given situation. Early on, for all his bravado, Arkady was completely helpless to act against the Construct and was guided along like a puppet on a string. Fear of death held him back from taking the actions he so boldly envisioned in his mind. It was only when he finally accepted the inevitability of his death that he was finally, truly able to begin fighting back. To see his inner ego become more present on the outside...

Still, the Construct remained in control, undeterred by Arkady's sudden awakening. The introduction of Javert at this point is interesting to note however. The Construct's usual methods have failed to bring him his prey, so his tactics take an appropriate turn to whittle away at Arkady's resolve through other means. Still, he forced the Construct to change tactics... control was waning. Only by so much however. As the next few times Arkady has a direct encounter with the Construct, despite becoming emboldened enough to attack it, each assault was met with the same resistance as he had encountered in the past. What I’ve described previously as a Perception Barrier stops him in his tracks, holding him frozen in place for an extended period of time. The Construct accomplishes this feat with ease. Try as he might to strike the creature, Arkady could never get close enough to land a blow. “Layer Three” was in full effect.

Then we reach the confrontation at the river...

Once more Arkady is stopped dead in his tracks, body wracked by intense pain as the Construct exerts its control over him... but then something happens. Something I don't think the Construct was expecting. Arkady Got Back Up. He didn't just crawl to his feet either. Arkady drew his knife, staggered forward, broken into a mad dash, and took a swing right at the Construct's face. And the Construct reacted. It lashed out with a tendril and made violent physical contact with Arkady for the first time. And my question, is Why? Why the sudden escalation from this point forward in the Construct's method of attack?

Perhaps I'm reading too much into it. Perhaps this was just the Construct's way of showing Arkady his place. It was just toying with him after all... It could do whatever it wanted. It was in control.

But I'm beginning to think that's not the case. I think things suddenly escalated, because Arkady had succeeded in making himself a Threat. You see, Arkady shouldn't have gotten back up. The Construct was exerting its control. It had erected the same psychic barrier of defense as it had always used before... That had always Succeeded before... Strengthened it even, to pour on the pain, to make Arkady submit to the agony it was inflicting upon his body... But Arkady somehow managed to resist. He fought through the Construct's control and tried once more to strike it. The barrier was already up... and it wasn't working. Upon realizing this, the Construct had only a few moments to react, so it instinctually defended itself... Making a last second physical strike against Arkady.

From this point forward, the Construct always uses a more drastic form of attack when facing Arkady directly. No more subtle bullshit... Straight to the Fire and the Tentacles every time. (Barring one final instance of what I’d call a maximum power Slendy-Mind-Fuck-Time-Loop-Illusion.)

I'm not exactly sure what it was about Arkady that caused this shift to occur. Was it something to do with his changing perceptions about himself and/or the Construct? Had his Ego simply grown too great to be dominated? Was his renewed determination and resolve simply enough to overcome such forms of mental attack? It's impossible for me to be sure... but whatever the case, I feel it is important that we delve into it. There could be something here that could allow us to finally gain the capacity to slip past the Third Layer, the Construct's most powerful defense against us. He may still have his other methods of attack... his other Layers... but if we can actually get close enough to strike him... then we may finally be able to learn what makes this thing Bleed.

So You Wanna Punch Out the Construct?

Easier said than done.

I'm not sure if I want to include this post as part of the Slender Man Doctrine, but it kind of fits. I wanted to take a moment to look over the various defenses the thing possesses. Not a specific abilities rundown, but rather just a "This is all the shit you're going to have to go through if you want to hit it." Which is somewhat important because... I don't think it's so much a matter of finding the right weapon to fight the Construct with, so much as it is finding a way to actually CONNECT with said weapon. So here we go...

Firstly, to strike the Construct, you need to consider the base levels of protection that it possesses. I'm going to address these as "Layers," of which there are three.

Layer 1 - The Malleable Body
The Construct is capable of changing it's shape. Twisting, stretching, and contorting itself beyond our feeble imaginations. Becoming taller, elongating his arms and/or legs, growing new limbs from seemingly nowhere. This is a pretty clear indicator of a physical make-up that is more like clay or... jello, than a truly solid substance. As such, I believe it is presumable that the Construct's body could easily absorb and/or deflect any direct attacks, bouncing back from them as though he hadn't even been touched. (Go poke a big slab of jello really hard, you'll see what I mean.) It's even plausible that the Construct could perform a form of rapid self-healing in the event that such a near-liquid body was punctured or cut.

Layer 2 - Tentacle Onslaught
Whenever actually threatened by something, or perhaps just when motivated/annoyed enough to do so, or just for kicks... I don't fucking know... the Construct brings out ye old flailing appendages. These things serve multiple purposes and act as much as an offensive structure as a defensive one. Though I could note that "the Best Defense is a Good Offense" so whatever. These things act primarily as a distraction, they draw the eyes with their constant, rapid movements. This makes it more difficult to maintain your aim when the target's body is constantly obscured and/or moving about. Additionally, they serve the obvious purpose of keeping you from getting anywhere near close enough to attack the first Layer directly. The number seems to vary, though I imagine that the more of a threat you are, the more you're going to see... until there are so many that they're the only thing you can see.

Layer 3 - Perception Barriers
Note the "s," plural. The Constructs greatest weapon is, and has always been, it's ability to affect the mind... through what I assume is some means of psychic activity. There are any number of mannerisms that I've observed through my studies that you might come across. Perhaps one of the more frightening is the ability to make himself invisible to the human eye. This approach is selective, seeming to only work on certain individuals... but regardless, it allows the Construct to hide from you while in plain sight. As in, standing dead center in front of you in a wide open empty space and you still don't see anything.

Another instance is an apparent ability to stop an individual dead in their tracks. Causing the body to simply lock up and be either extremely difficult or damn near impossible to move. There may even have instances in which the Construct has taken control of the victim through use of this version, forcing them to move how he wants them to or perhaps just flinging them bodily across a room without actually touching them.

Yet another is the simple act of creating an actual physical barrier, which would react to those who encounter it and objects that strike it as an invisible wall. They stand as if to say, "You may go This Far, No Further." Effectively rendering any attempt to get near the Construct an effort in futility.

And perhaps the recent favorite is the Loop. Trapping your consciousness in a state of perpetual existence, apparently separated from the real world around you. These vary from the simplistic, in which you find yourself performing the same act repetitively in succession, the same moment occurring over and over again until the chain is broken... to the highly advanced, in which a large area has been isolated from the rest of the world and looped inwards upon itself, creating a perpetual space of nothingness, in which nothing ever changes and time is effectively non-existent. Such loops tend to only occur in extreme or special cases however, likely do to a higher level of effort required in creating and maintaining them. So they aren't the type of thing to expect often, but nonetheless are part of the Constructs arsenal of mindgames which prevent you from actively approaching him.

Lastly, a perceptive element that can be applied on it's own or in conjunction with any of the previously mentioned versions, is the Illusion. Just as the Construct can make himself invisible to your eyes, he seems to be able to make other things just as transparent... and things that aren't there at all, suddenly very real. Another of his most powerful tricks, the Construct's ability to make you see, feel, or otherwise "experience" things that cannot possibly be happening to you. By manipulating your perception, it can make you believe anything it wants you to believe... or at least, it can try to.


Each of these Layers is like a particular stage of a complex boss battle, in which you must find the weakness of each form before you can truly pierce at the heart of the beast. It would likely require a very well coordinated group effort or else one extremely gifted individual, to bypass each layer simultaneously and actually strike a damaging blow against the Construct.

However, it may also be possible to avoid certain layers entirely. The second Layer being the easiest to avoid, but doing so would require catching the Construct off guard. Which may be easier than it sounds. The Construct seems to rely on the third Layer most heavily, typically capable of rendering any foe helpless merely by directing it's gaze in their direction... but if one were capable of overcoming a given Perception Barrier, then one would have the opportunity to lash out at the Construct while it remained unguarded by the second Layer. This strategy is not foolproof, as I shall point out later in a "Case Study" I'm preparing, but it holds potential.

There is also the rare instance in which both the Second and Third Layer are cast aside. Typically in situations where the Construct WANTS you to go running into his open arms. Or maybe he wants someone else to and you just happened to be around at the right moment? Either way, it's a perfect opportunity to strike if you could time it right.


One last thing to consider however. I wouldn't necessarily refer to this as a Layer, but it is an important factor to consider nonetheless when attempting to attack the Construct and bypass the Layers that comprise his defenses. And that thing is SPEED...

For something that stands around not doing a damned thing so often, the Construct is remarkably fast. This should be obvious enough while observing the movement of it's slender appendages, but is not an immediately recognized fact in regards to the speed at which the Construct actually "Moves." This is probably misconception resulting from it's nature as a still fixture, standing in place, silently observing. I hesitate to suggest the Construct is capable of actual teleportation, supposing rather that's it's use of "the Path" accounts for its capacity to cross vast distances in short timespans. However, in regards to close range travel, the Construct is able to reposition himself at rapid speeds, almost the blink of an eye. Though reports of him "walking" are few and far between, there are documented cases which it, and the speed by which he flows across the ground has been noted as alarming. Henceforth, unless the Construct has chosen to fight you standing still, then piercing through each of those Layers is going to become increasingly more difficult.


These observations are not meant to discourage you from opposing the Construct, but rather to inform you of what you're going to be up against so that you may take proper precautions and (hopefully) not do anything stupid. Good Luck... and remember, that "Perception is Key."

We're the Same, You and I

You know, I think there's a reason I seem to get along with Proxies so well. I think it's because I treat them like human beings and not sub-human scum. (That or they're playing nice so I'll be easier to stab later, but I'm giving them the benefit of a doubt... while not ever taking my eyes off of them.) Too many people nowadays seem to see "Proxy" and immediately designate them as "Enemy." Then the inevitable fighting starts.

I really don't think it has to be that way.

We're all a lot more alike than you think. Right up to, in many cases, being murderous bastards.
I mean, what? You really think that because you're a Runner that makes killing a Proxy okay? That makes it somehow different? No. A Runner killing a Proxy is no different than a Proxy killing a Runner. They're both human. You just killed a Person. A real living breathing person, Just. Like. YOU.

In reality, from my observations, there is no legitimate difference between any of the groups, be they Runner, Fighter, or Proxy. Each of these groups has the Exact Same Goal. "Survival." The only key difference between them is how they go about accomplishing that goal.

Runners survive by, what else? Running. They seek to evade the Construct by keeping out of his reach and trying to stay one step ahead of him at every turn. They search for new means of escape, for new ways of tricking the Construct's vision.

Fighters, on the other hand, are not content to simply evade their fate. They seek to eliminate the Construct and end the game once and for all. They experiment to find potential weaknesses in the Construct, confront the creature in direct combat, or simply attempt to sabotage it's operations by killing his minions.

And Proxies have chosen to lay down their freedoms and Serve the Construct in exchange for their continued survival. It is a sound tactic, in all honesty, but it has the unfortunate side effect of putting them at the mercy of the Construct's whims. And the Construct seems to enjoy seeing watching people get stabbed.

But Proxies are still much more than mindless killing drones. They come in many flavors, as all humans do. Some Proxies are your average Joe, just trying to survive by whatever means necessary. Some Proxies regret the situation they've been dragged into and would do anything to escape from their torment. Some Proxies are intelligent and cunning, plotting grand schemes and adding a theatrical flare to their performances. Some Proxies are batshit insane assholes who go around murdering people without mercy or conscious.

Now stop for just a moment... copy and paste that last paragraph into notepad and do yourself a little Ctrl-H (Find and Replace) work. Just replace the word "Proxies" with "Runners" or "Fighters," then read over it again. See how it still fits? Isn't it funny how that works?

Now, don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying to go out and hug the next Proxy you meet and everything will be better because Hope and Love and Happiness and Rainbows... because they'll probably stab you. All I'm trying to point out is that we're really not so different after all. We're all after the same Goal and we're all Human. We're just having to live with an unfortunate side effect of allegiance that pits us against one another. But at the end of the day, Proxies are not the "Enemy" of the Runners. The Construct Is.

So I guess the long and short of this is... Defend yourself, but Remember who you're fighting against. The Construct is the Enemy. The Proxy is merely a Victim.