Part 32: Third Playthrough - 10 PM (♃ + ♆)

We've got that last choice at 10 PM to get to, but at this point I should explain how these endings work. Or just confirm what you've already figured out by now.

You may notice that the choices we've seen are set up so that you cannot give equal screentime to all three kids in one playthrough. For most of the paths you can take to the end, a certain pairing will come out on top, but more importantly, there'll be one character who had been left out of 4 or 5 scenes. The idea is someone has to be excluded; the friend who's left out when two grow closer gets an ending that focuses on them. For our first playthrough, Jupiter was excluded from four events for the "Red" ending. For our second playthrough, Neptune was excluded from four events for the "Blue" ending.

For this third playthrough...well, look at what the stars say.

I'm skipping to Jupiter and Neptune at 10 PM and then going straight to 2 AM from there. Offscreen, I'm choosing Jupiter and Neptune for at least 3 of the 4 other hours it can be picked (the exceptions being 7 PM and 1 AM, when Venus is conditionally included) to guarantee this ending. Since no event is more important than another, the only thing that counts here is the sum of all our choices. I'll talk more about this later.

[MUSIC: Victim of Circumstance]



Now then. Two must go. One must stay.



♃: Are you sure?
♆: Yeah, are you really sure?
♀: Staying in one place is pretty hard but I think I'll manage.
♃: ...what?
♆: ...oh wait it's a JOKE.
♀: Um well, now I feel a little bit less confident but—
♀: I know we can't light candles or burn incense without the house catching fire but I can wrap my radio around the door.
♀: And there‘s no other way in.
♃: Okay, if you‘re sure.
♆: Then let's go. We're not even going to catch the devil anyway so let's just get it over with.



[SFX: The insects of the woods are clicking loudly, backing the soundtrack.]

Just a small thing but I dunno I think it's interesting: the sound of the insects here, which is the same as when Venus saw something back at 1 AM, plays with the music only for this choice at 10 AM. For the other two it's just the music.



The woods are noisy with insects and frogs; nothing ever shuts up around here. Nature doesn't care about humans or the devil.

But we sometimes think they'd take his side over ours if they got the choice. The world probably resents being nothing more than god's gift to us.

[MUSIC: The Sirens]



♃: Nah. He's totally going to die.
♆: ...both of you sure have the element of surprise when it comes to telling jokes.
♃: Ahaha.
♃: ...
♆: Are you seriously worried about him?
♃: Maybe. A little.
♃: He's weird. Not in a bad way, necessarily?
♃: But maybe in a bad way, possibly.
♃: Sometimes I don't even know what he is.
♃: Do you think he notices how much of a jerk he is sometimes?
♆: I wish.
♆: He'll be so great if he leans into it on purpose. He'll be just a bitch if he stays like this.
♆: No boy is innocent. Or whatever he is.
♃: Well we're all stuck together whatever we are. For the rest of the week.
♆: We could just go now.
♆: We could run away right now and never come back and never have to know what happened here.
♆: The highway isn't even a mile away.



♃: ...you say 'just kidding' after a lot of...pretty huge things.
♃: Would you go for it?
♆: No, it's stupid. Summer scouts is almost over anyway. Some things you just bear with and then it's over.
♃: Haha, that is really thoughtful.
♃: You don't bear anything quietly though.
♆: No why the HELL should I, this place is ruining my entire summer and no one deserves to forget it.
♃: God, yeah.
♃: This place...really is the worst.
♃: I'm glad you don't give me a chance to say yes to any of your bad ideas, haha.



♃: Are you okay?
♆: My eyes feel so weird. My skin feels weird. I hate these bugs and this everything. Nothing could be grosser.



♃: Neptune, we—
♃: Ah. Nevermind. Yeah. Let's go back.