The arrival of someone who brings so much dread to everyone here obviously gets her guard up. These people are bloodthirsty spectators in matches to death, with no qualms at sending a bunch of people to their doom just for some entertainment. To have so much fear in them, in such a sincere manner...yeah, something's up. Better keep her guard up.
As she sees it, either this Vault Hunter will try to kill them, or he'll leave and abandon them to their luck. The second one probably will be what she'd prefer.
No time to pick up the whip. Nuwa makes sure to keep the Invitation, having discarded the other one. She doesn't approach the vehicle or the Vault Hunter -- she keeps her distance, ready to run towards the open doors if necessary]
[Owen did not let go of this thing, and well. He's always enjoyed screams of fear and anybody being upset. The stranger is... dressed so weirdly, who the hell is this dude? If he knew what a robot was, he'd probably call it that.
It's not the first time Owen's died here or at home, so he will continue climbing into the Hogcrusher.
He does pay attention to which way the people were running. Looks like his out is the way the vehicle came.
Not that he knows anything about driving this thing, even now that he's properly on it. Sure his arm is bleeding and broken, but these things happen. Also Cerberus is as stubborn as he is, so I guess they're both bleeding on the seats.]
[ The newcomer pauses a moment as most present attempt to flee. Even with their filtered voice, it's hard not to feel that disappointment. ]
They're running away. / Well, this is disappointing. / Now, where is that Vault?
[ They are, regardless, focused on the prize it seems. Though when Owen kinda just. Climbs into the car with him, they turn their head at the wizard. The holographic screen reads a large ?. ]
What are you doing? / I do not want your baggage.
[ ...They don't seem to mind, per se. But the earth rumbles some more, and he turns his head a little bit. ]
Don't cause me trouble.
[ Well, hold on tight then! Because someone is apparently not going to slam the gas on this Hogcrusher, you're along for the ride. Don't forget your dog Owen, and don't fall behind Nuwa, as the assassin drives the car right into the doorway at full throttle. Entering the coliseum walls, they'll see flickering lights and steel insides, maybe an H-shaped logo here or there. Alarmed yells of any sad dregs of people who were actually making a sorta-okay living as janitors diving out of the way abound. ]
Tell me what you know / the location of the Vault / or else I cut you.
[Thank goodness Nuwa is in great shape. If only she still could teleport...but no, she can't. Following by foot will have to do.
Listening to his questions...well, clearly he's the sort of person who doesn't hesitate to attack. Good, that's admirable enough. Nuwa looks at Owen on that vehicle, waiting to see what he'd say. Did you find out anything about this Vault other than what these people were shouting?]
[Even if they don't want him, there, Owen is here now, and holding onto some piece of the vehicle. Why can't they just use brooms like a reasonable wizard. They might be a West, they're dressed insanely enough.
Unfortunately, he does start smiling as people have to jump out of the way. Yes, it's good to watch people being terrorized when he is not part of that group.]
Dunno. They put us in here to die and "win a vault" whatever that means.
[ I'm sorry to inform you Owen that Zer0 is actually one of the most sane and reasonable of the Vault Hunters. There are others who are definitely more West than this one. Zer0 might be a Central-North. ]
So, you know nothing. / Feel free to get off the car / Your convenience. [ That's one way to say 'fuck you'. ] Or, that is, unless...? / If you help me find the thing / then I will help you.
[ Seem like a fair deal to you? Seems like a fair deal to him. He glances back towards Nuwa once, who's doing a good job of keeping up. You too, lady. ]
[Lowe is completely right, he really is one of the most reasonable ones, haha.
The glance in her direction doesn't go unnoticed. You know what, being civil probably is the right move here. Nuwa nods]
To our mutual benefit.
[Saying yes to that. Although she doesn't really expect Zer0 to help her, most likely backstabbing her later, hey, this is the only choice she sees right now. Saying no would leave her stranded wherever this is. At least aiding should give some time to analye everything and decide what's the best course of action]
[ Alright, we have reached an accord. So, Zer0 is just going to reach down a moment and grab Owen's collar by a four-fingered hand (not missing a finger, it is legitimately a four-fingered hand) and pull him up to the driver's seat. And then he drops this bombshell on him. ]
Can you drive a car? / No? Well, you better learn quick. / Get to it, chop chop.
[ Fortunately it seems like straight road, granted heading downwards for the time being so Owen doesn't need to do much... yet, but familiarise yourself quick. He'll leap down after unceremoniously plinking Owen down in that seat to also help Nuwa up, so now you can both scream in Driver's Responsibility. Or maybe you can just revel in the fact that you can just absolutely run everything over with a fucking armed-to-the-teeth steamroller, dealer's choice. ]
To the lowest floor. / A Vault Guardian will come. / I mean to kill it.
[A Vault Guardian is such a grandiose title, no less grandiose than 'Demon King' or the many self-proclaimed tyrants in Da'at. They're always no big deal, no reason to think this will be any different. Titles are always such a sign of weakness.
Nuwa grips Zer0 and gets up, accepting shared Driver's Responsibility. Move, Owen, you and Nuwa are sharing, yup.
........
Does this even have seatbelts? Perhaps that's only for trucks, she supposes. Well, whatever]
Full speed. Time is of the essence.
[Says the one who fully intends to bail if this looks like it'll crash against a wall. She probably would be able to pull that off without terrible injuries.
Truthfully, with the penchant for violence, the disregard for other people's lives and the drive to fulfill goals no matter what, she's halfway there to be a Vault Hunter. Perhaps we all should be glad she's not interested in being one, hah]
[ You're in a truckstop, who knows? Maybe your endgame trial will require you to drive a car, and you will fondly look back on this cyoa, and realise that maybe the friends you made along the way were the real trucks or something something something something.
Anyway this imagery of Nuwa on top steering and Owen down bottom pressing the gas pedal is mindbogglingly hilarious and extremely probably canon for Borderlands.
Zer0, beside them, is completely nonchalant as your truck runs down a poor passerby or two. The truck bumps violently, but he is busy looking at a map he's pulled up from a fancy wrist machiney thingamajig. ]
Oh, yes. I think so. / In five hundred meters, though / we turn at a bend.
[ He seems to be, like. Fine with this reckless driving, I guess. Meanwhile, they're going to hear and feel a violent rumble shake the entire thing, and some parts of the roof, steel, concrete, stone and all, start to cave in in small chunks at a time. They can kind of hear some muffled screaming and yelling from above, I guess. ]
[Nuwa holds on while passerbies suffer their unfortunate demises. Won't be long before they get to their destination, so perhaps asking right now will be good:]
I believe it's about time you explain how you intend to kill this...Vault Hunter -- and if this detestable man and my role is, to put it bluntly, to serve as fodder while you perform the deed.
[No hard feelings if they're cannon fodder, really. She doesn't intend to die, so she can't really be upset about such a futile role assignment if that's what's going on]
[If he dies like this, it's more fun than being exploded. It'll certainly still hurt the way every death hurts, but hey. These things happen. His soul's not really here anyway.
Owen has no response to being called detestable. That's true and more people should call him that.]
It's obvious, no? / It is a glorious fight. / Bloodshed, viscera.
[ Said so frankly, or so you think it might be, given it's hard to tell tone of voice with this one. He hadn't thought of them as fodder exactly, since Zer0 isn't really in the business of manipulating and necessarily sacrificing other people to get what he wants, unlike some other, more cruel bandits and hunters... but then again, if the dice shake out that way, it doesn't matter to him. He's in it for the challenge. ]
I don't need treasure. / Did you want the prize? That's fine. / Fighting is my love.
[ So it goes, apparently. Maybe this Vault, if it's indeed here, will give you something nice, like a brand new whip. Or a way out of here, wink wink. Anyway, here comes that bend. Zer0 points. ]
[Seems like a good time. Without a way to focus on her main, huge goal back in her world, Nuwa focuses a lot on the immediate goals. Now there's one here: destroy the Vault Guardian. Great, very great!
[ Excellent, indeed. He loves bloodthirsty, but classy people. He and you could get along great Nuwa, probably.
But here we go, the wheel is turned and they get a pretty sick 180, tires skidding and sparking fire across the ground as they make a bend. Frickin' awesome. Maybe slightly less awesome is the fact that there is a steel door in front of you and it is most definitely a bit too hard to brake hard enough to avoid it? You're already on full gas mode!!! anyway. Actually, it's fine, because what's going to happen is that you're going to plow through that steel door with your metric ton of iron teeth and hard heavy steamroller, tearing down those doors most violently. Brace yourselves and hope you have a good hold on the wheel, this is going to get turbulent.
When they arrive, though, they'll have come to a strange basement of sorts, extremely spacious -- and in the center, a kind of arc of some sort that looks like an upside down V, or an A without the bar. The structure, seemingly metal, stone, and something else, remains dormant for the time being.
The Hogcrusher is smoking and steaming, and it's probably a good idea to get out of it. Rest in peace, fucked up murder truck, you worked overtime this day. Zer0 will go ahead and hop out of the vehicle when they arrive where they're at.
Assuming Nuwa and Owen are feeling alright, you can do a short observation round or two, or try to recuperate after that very bumpy ride. ]
Bumpy, like the sea. / Storm, throwing me asunder. / You're a bad driver.
[ It's actually pretty good given nobody ***who matters died. ]
[ While you don't see anything quite yet, the rumbling and crumbling of the ceiling above should certainly tell you that something is coming.
The room itself is strangely bare, though with the Vault itself, it's got an appearance that looks like it was attempted transport, only for the perhaps-once-ship to crash violently and burn. Seems bandits found it and took it over in the end, used it for their own entertainment without really fully understanding the depths of it. ]
Are you Vault Hunters? / You don't look familiar. / Can you fight as well?
[ It's just a short brief of questioning as Zer0 looks them both up and down. Nuwa has her Wedding Invitation, and Owen has... a small dog. While Zer0 is willing to believe that this tiny animal is somehow a super-killer (Pandoran fauna are known to be quite wild and violent), he is not willing to suspend the disbelief that you two are really well-equipped.
You don't even have any armour. ]
Combat is glory. / You seem... ill-prepared for it. / Here, take this gun -- oops.
[ In what's probably a terrible decision, he throws a gun Owen's way.
Except I rolled a 1 I'm literally losing it. So he's 'throwing' this gun to Owen. It is a submachine gun. It is fireable. We have no ammo limits on this cyoa.
However you have to roll every time you fire it to see if you accidentally drop it or not. D'oh, butterfingers. ]
[ Yeah enjoy the gun, it's called the Crit. Also my favourite line is him aggroing you by going 'Oh YEAH? I just SLAPPED you and stuff, whatcha gonna DO about it BIOTCH' then if you beat him he's like 'Nice fight'. The priorities and hypocrite-ness of every other character in this game is one of its funniest things I swear.
The assassin tilts his head at Nuwa for a minute, but she's not the strangest thing he's seen. Even her manner of dress might seem impractical to some, but who's he to judge. And then there's Owen who's in some kind of suit, which also seems impractical, and also Zer0 thinks he looks like an asshole because everyone corporate looks like an asshole, but whatever.
He nods once simply, then, as the ceiling rumbles once again with utmost urgency the final time, as something -- a large laser abruptly runs its course from right above into the ground, carving out a really unnecessarily perfect square from the steel. A giant tip of metal, infused with some glowing unnatural element, stabs into it next, and it lifts the square out from its hole and tosses it aside like a plate. A massive robotic eye looks in from above, the light twitching and observing from the arch, and then to the three. Let's go with a supersized version of this thing for our Vault Guardian for this run. You intrinsically know that killing the Guardian will activate the Vault.
Here we go! The Vault Guardian reaches a robotic, metal hand down through the hole, seeking to squash the enemies it finds! ]
[Nuwa gets squashed because I rolled a 1 right at the start of this fight. Way to go, Nick.
Okay no, haha.
Aiming at something that's descending right onto you is a bad idea. First thing you need is to find a safe spot from where to aim from, she judges. Doesn't communicate with Zer0 or Owen, she just gets moving, trying to figure out any favorable positions she can find on this vault.
and i suppose she misses every single one because seriously you rolled a 1 nick what the hell]
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The arrival of someone who brings so much dread to everyone here obviously gets her guard up. These people are bloodthirsty spectators in matches to death, with no qualms at sending a bunch of people to their doom just for some entertainment. To have so much fear in them, in such a sincere manner...yeah, something's up. Better keep her guard up.
As she sees it, either this Vault Hunter will try to kill them, or he'll leave and abandon them to their luck. The second one probably will be what she'd prefer.
No time to pick up the whip. Nuwa makes sure to keep the Invitation, having discarded the other one. She doesn't approach the vehicle or the Vault Hunter -- she keeps her distance, ready to run towards the open doors if necessary]
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It's not the first time Owen's died here or at home, so he will continue climbing into the Hogcrusher.
He does pay attention to which way the people were running. Looks like his out is the way the vehicle came.
Not that he knows anything about driving this thing, even now that he's properly on it. Sure his arm is bleeding and broken, but these things happen. Also Cerberus is as stubborn as he is, so I guess they're both bleeding on the seats.]
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They're running away. / Well, this is disappointing. / Now, where is that Vault?
[ They are, regardless, focused on the prize it seems. Though when Owen kinda just. Climbs into the car with him, they turn their head at the wizard. The holographic screen reads a large ?. ]
What are you doing? / I do not want your baggage.
[ ...They don't seem to mind, per se. But the earth rumbles some more, and he turns his head a little bit. ]
Don't cause me trouble.
[ Well, hold on tight then! Because someone is apparently not going to slam the gas on this Hogcrusher, you're along for the ride. Don't forget your dog Owen, and don't fall behind Nuwa, as the assassin drives the car right into the doorway at full throttle. Entering the coliseum walls, they'll see flickering lights and steel insides, maybe an H-shaped logo here or there. Alarmed yells of any sad dregs of people who were actually making a sorta-okay living as janitors diving out of the way abound. ]
Tell me what you know / the location of the Vault / or else I cut you.
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Listening to his questions...well, clearly he's the sort of person who doesn't hesitate to attack. Good, that's admirable enough. Nuwa looks at Owen on that vehicle, waiting to see what he'd say. Did you find out anything about this Vault other than what these people were shouting?]
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Unfortunately, he does start smiling as people have to jump out of the way. Yes, it's good to watch people being terrorized when he is not part of that group.]
Dunno. They put us in here to die and "win a vault" whatever that means.
[He has learned nothing.]
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So, you know nothing. / Feel free to get off the car / Your convenience. [ That's one way to say 'fuck you'. ] Or, that is, unless...? / If you help me find the thing / then I will help you.
[ Seem like a fair deal to you? Seems like a fair deal to him. He glances back towards Nuwa once, who's doing a good job of keeping up. You too, lady. ]
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The glance in her direction doesn't go unnoticed. You know what, being civil probably is the right move here. Nuwa nods]
To our mutual benefit.
[Saying yes to that. Although she doesn't really expect Zer0 to help her, most likely backstabbing her later, hey, this is the only choice she sees right now. Saying no would leave her stranded wherever this is. At least aiding should give some time to analye everything and decide what's the best course of action]
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I'll help.
[For now, anyway.]
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Can you drive a car? / No? Well, you better learn quick. / Get to it, chop chop.
[ Fortunately it seems like straight road, granted heading downwards for the time being so Owen doesn't need to do much... yet, but familiarise yourself quick. He'll leap down after unceremoniously plinking Owen down in that seat to also help Nuwa up, so now you can both scream in Driver's Responsibility. Or maybe you can just revel in the fact that you can just absolutely run everything over with a fucking armed-to-the-teeth steamroller, dealer's choice. ]
To the lowest floor. / A Vault Guardian will come. / I mean to kill it.
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Nuwa grips Zer0 and gets up, accepting shared Driver's Responsibility. Move, Owen, you and Nuwa are sharing, yup.
........
Does this even have seatbelts? Perhaps that's only for trucks, she supposes. Well, whatever]
Full speed. Time is of the essence.
[Says the one who fully intends to bail if this looks like it'll crash against a wall. She probably would be able to pull that off without terrible injuries.
Truthfully, with the penchant for violence, the disregard for other people's lives and the drive to fulfill goals no matter what, she's halfway there to be a Vault Hunter. Perhaps we all should be glad she's not interested in being one, hah]
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He does, however, press down on the gas pedal and lets Nuwa handles the actual wheel of the thing.
Cerberus is still in the car and biting Owen's broken arm, but it's not the worst he's ever had! He's still alive!
I hope they get to run over everybody in their path.]
Straight down?
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Anyway this imagery of Nuwa on top steering and Owen down bottom pressing the gas pedal is mindbogglingly hilarious and extremely probably canon for Borderlands.
Zer0, beside them, is completely nonchalant as your truck runs down a poor passerby or two. The truck bumps violently, but he is busy looking at a map he's pulled up from a fancy wrist machiney thingamajig. ]
Oh, yes. I think so. / In five hundred meters, though / we turn at a bend.
[ He seems to be, like. Fine with this reckless driving, I guess. Meanwhile, they're going to hear and feel a violent rumble shake the entire thing, and some parts of the roof, steel, concrete, stone and all, start to cave in in small chunks at a time. They can kind of hear some muffled screaming and yelling from above, I guess. ]
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I believe it's about time you explain how you intend to kill this...Vault Hunter -- and if this detestable man and my role is, to put it bluntly, to serve as fodder while you perform the deed.
[No hard feelings if they're cannon fodder, really. She doesn't intend to die, so she can't really be upset about such a futile role assignment if that's what's going on]
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Owen has no response to being called detestable. That's true and more people should call him that.]
Are we running the Vault Hunter over?
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[ Said so frankly, or so you think it might be, given it's hard to tell tone of voice with this one. He hadn't thought of them as fodder exactly, since Zer0 isn't really in the business of manipulating and necessarily sacrificing other people to get what he wants, unlike some other, more cruel bandits and hunters... but then again, if the dice shake out that way, it doesn't matter to him. He's in it for the challenge. ]
I don't need treasure. / Did you want the prize? That's fine. / Fighting is my love.
[ So it goes, apparently. Maybe this Vault, if it's indeed here, will give you something nice, like a brand new whip. Or a way out of here, wink wink. Anyway, here comes that bend. Zer0 points. ]
Turn the wheel!
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[Seems like a good time. Without a way to focus on her main, huge goal back in her world, Nuwa focuses a lot on the immediate goals. Now there's one here: destroy the Vault Guardian. Great, very great!
Turning the wheel!]
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So they're doing a full speed turn into whatever bend they're going into.]
I'll enjoy the blood.
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But here we go, the wheel is turned and they get a pretty sick 180, tires skidding and sparking fire across the ground as they make a bend. Frickin' awesome. Maybe slightly less awesome is the fact that there is a steel door in front of you and it is most definitely a bit too hard to brake hard enough to avoid it? You're already on full gas mode!!! anyway. Actually, it's fine, because what's going to happen is that you're going to plow through that steel door with your metric ton of iron teeth and hard heavy steamroller, tearing down those doors most violently. Brace yourselves and hope you have a good hold on the wheel, this is going to get turbulent.
When they arrive, though, they'll have come to a strange basement of sorts, extremely spacious -- and in the center, a kind of arc of some sort that looks like an upside down V, or an A without the bar. The structure, seemingly metal, stone, and something else, remains dormant for the time being.
The Hogcrusher is smoking and steaming, and it's probably a good idea to get out of it. Rest in peace, fucked up murder truck, you worked overtime this day. Zer0 will go ahead and hop out of the vehicle when they arrive where they're at.
Assuming Nuwa and Owen are feeling alright, you can do a short observation round or two, or try to recuperate after that very bumpy ride. ]
Bumpy, like the sea. / Storm, throwing me asunder. / You're a bad driver.
[ It's actually pretty good given nobody ***who matters died. ]
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[...no, Nuwa, you are a bad driver. You don't know how to drive.
Nuwa hops off the vehicle as well, making sure her sniper rifle was still intact and in good shape. Seems like it'll still work]
I'm ready.
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[He has to crawl out of the Hogcrusher, but whatever, they're all alive.
For now.
He looks around for the Vault guy their Vault guy wants to kill.]
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The room itself is strangely bare, though with the Vault itself, it's got an appearance that looks like it was attempted transport, only for the perhaps-once-ship to crash violently and burn. Seems bandits found it and took it over in the end, used it for their own entertainment without really fully understanding the depths of it. ]
Are you Vault Hunters? / You don't look familiar. / Can you fight as well?
[ It's just a short brief of questioning as Zer0 looks them both up and down. Nuwa has her Wedding Invitation, and Owen has... a small dog. While Zer0 is willing to believe that this tiny animal is somehow a super-killer (Pandoran fauna are known to be quite wild and violent), he is not willing to suspend the disbelief that you two are really well-equipped.
You don't even have any armour. ]
Combat is glory. / You seem... ill-prepared for it. / Here, take this gun -- oops.
[ In what's probably a terrible decision, he throws a gun Owen's way.
Except I rolled a 1 I'm literally losing it. So he's 'throwing' this gun to Owen. It is a submachine gun. It is fireable. We have no ammo limits on this cyoa.
However you have to roll every time you fire it to see if you accidentally drop it or not. D'oh, butterfingers. ]
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Nuwa doesn't seem even remotely worried]
Ahaha...I have experience.
[Surviving in Da'at isn't easy. She has been there since olden times, she'll be fine in here too]
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Cerberus looks as mean as ever, and is waiting to find something else to attack. ]
I can fight.
[ Usually with magic, but they don't need to know that. ]
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The assassin tilts his head at Nuwa for a minute, but she's not the strangest thing he's seen. Even her manner of dress might seem impractical to some, but who's he to judge. And then there's Owen who's in some kind of suit, which also seems impractical, and also Zer0 thinks he looks like an asshole because everyone corporate looks like an asshole, but whatever.
He nods once simply, then, as the ceiling rumbles once again with utmost urgency the final time, as something -- a large laser abruptly runs its course from right above into the ground, carving out a really unnecessarily perfect square from the steel. A giant tip of metal, infused with some glowing unnatural element, stabs into it next, and it lifts the square out from its hole and tosses it aside like a plate. A massive robotic eye looks in from above, the light twitching and observing from the arch, and then to the three. Let's go with a supersized version of this thing for our Vault Guardian for this run. You intrinsically know that killing the Guardian will activate the Vault.
Here we go! The Vault Guardian reaches a robotic, metal hand down through the hole, seeking to squash the enemies it finds! ]
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Okay no, haha.
Aiming at something that's descending right onto you is a bad idea. First thing you need is to find a safe spot from where to aim from, she judges. Doesn't communicate with Zer0 or Owen, she just gets moving, trying to figure out any favorable positions she can find on this vault.
and i suppose she misses every single one because seriously you rolled a 1 nick what the hell]
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✦ CLOSING.