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Author's note: Okay, the concept I had for this was that Elysium - the world in Disco Elysium - was actually Dark Bramble (from Outer Wilds), millions of years in the past, and that the Pale was a by-product of the Dark Bramble seeds, which eventually pushed the planet apart. I really loved this concept, but I couldn't come up with much of a plot. I ended up just writing this little scene to capture some of the basics of the idea; I had an idea to make it a little fangame with the Disco Framework for RenPy, but again, without a plot, I came up kind of short. Feel free to expand on this idea if it speaks to you, I would love to see someone do it justice!
This also contains a brief nod to the wonderful fic Into the Wild Pale Yonder by TellCosy. Go check it out if you're a Kim/Harry fan, it's fantastic.
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1113 TABERNACLE ROAD, CENTRAL JAMROCK - You wave gently at the closing door behind you as you exit into the waning late-afternoon sun.
KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant gives a soft smile as you do so, before turning towards his Kineema.
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - It’s a nice change for him, to be able to give good news. It’s not something he gets to do enough.
1. Pause on the road.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - It’s not the nicest street in Jamrock, but it’s far from the worst. It’s a respectable part of a tough town.
EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - It hasn’t been easy for Morell and Lena, carving out a life here.
The cryptozoologist couple were overjoyed by your news, and rendered speechless by the photo the lieutenant handed them.
PAIN THRESHOLD - Lena squeezed your hand so tightly, it’s still aching.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - You’re still thinking about the stories they told of where Morell was going next. To the edge of the world. To the pale, to see the creatures that live on the fringes of reality.
1. The pale…
VISUAL CALCULUS [Challenging: Failure] - It’s *expanding*, Joyce said. But how?
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Formidable: Success] - It’s still matter. It has to be coming from something.
1. Maybe it’s the global heat increase. Heat makes things expand, right?
2. Maybe it’s related to the Weiss-Weissman coefficient. As the divide between the rich and the poor grows larger, so does the pale.
3. [Conceptualization - Godly 16] Maybe it’s…
CHECK SUCCESS
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Success] - Maybe it’s… alive.
INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - It can’t be alive. Living things have form, not like… that.
LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - Maybe the pale *itself* isn’t alive, but something’s emitting it.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - A defense mechanism. Like a squid, or a corpse flower.
INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - The pale is powerful enough to break chunks of reality into nothingness, to foil all attempts to penetrate it. Whatever’s emitting it must be unthinkably strong.
HALF-LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - What does it have to hide?
1. Blink.
SHIVERS - A light breeze ruffles your jacket as you stand in the heart of Jamrock. You raise your head slightly, instinctively, letting it through your hair and nose. Spring is here, and with it the smell of fresh leaves and thawing mud.
1. What’s in the north?
In the coastal town of Martinaise, a young man throws another bucket of water on the plaza of Rue de Saint-Ghislaine, washing away traces of burnt fuel, and picks up his broom. The edges of the plaza’s shattered tiles catch the dark sludge of seawater, ash, and blood, soaking it into the earth beneath.
2. What’s in the south?
Past the motorways at the end of a single dirt road, a middle-aged motel owner with a wooden leg puts a kettle on to boil. They had no customers last night, nor the night before, but they aren’t worried. There will always be more visitors to the forest at the edge of the world.
3. What’s above?
Another clear day headed to a cold night. The clouds forming on the horizon aren’t visible past the tenements. A small bird flits by overhead, towards its nest of new hatchlings balanced precariously on a fire escape.
4. What’s below?
Beneath your feet, the imperceptible sound of a tree growing.
5. Follow Kim. (Continue)
KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant is unruffled by your contemplative pause, taking a moment to drink in the sight of the city as well. As you approach, he opens the door to the motor carriage.
“Let’s go, Detective. We should wrap up our day back at the station.”
[END]
Art by me for the aforementioned game concept