Sep 12, 2024
Author's Commentary #137:
Time to talk about Chapter 137: The key to victory.
Remember how I drew attention to the number of DESPER keys in previous commentaries? That was a hint to let you know that Carol noticed Iori's message and retrieved the DESPER key from Mimoko. Carol actually swiped the key without Mimoko knowing, because she figured that's what Iori would have wanted her to do. Despite not being good at chess, she does have street smarts.
Speaking of Carol, I actually went back and forth on whether to kill her off. Then I arrived at the solution you saw in the story. If this game ever gets a video game adaptation, players would be required to give Mimoko the DESPER key case otherwise Carol actually would die. Here however, she lives and this story is ultimately the canon.
As for the Glasstone stuff, Kon Iving is clearly a pun on the word, "conniving" while Duos Calceamenta is Latin for "two shoes" which is a pun on "goody two-shoes" and Tyran is a pun on "tyrant". This was actually going to be where the names were revealed for the first time, but I decided to have Kon's be revealed in the previous chapter for obvious reasons. Kon Iving is actually based off of Pewler which is why Pewler feels so connected to Glasstone and has such a big hubris because of it. This also means that Glasstone's author, Regis Revere must know him well.
Another thing I'll mention is that DESPERs prevent anyone from dying before the match is concluded. Chess boxing is the exception, however, if Carol had requested a chess boxing match, her wounds would have been healed to the point where she would stand a fair chance against Lakisha and not hinder her in the match, however, any injuries she'd receive in the match could kill her.
Speaking of the match, it's actually the game that was originally used in Chapter 34 before I rewrote the game. I felt the game didn't fit the play-style of Okisato and Gyro, but Carol and Lakisha are a different story. Plus, it was a game that I won without any help against Chess.com's 1800-rated Wally bot, so I felt it was a worthy game to have be Carol's big moment. I also felt a little bad about removing the game from the story, so this chapter gave me the perfect chance to rectify it.
Now that everyone's back safely, they'll be subjected to Mimoko's slaps and tearful embrace. However, there's still a few loose ends to wrap up before Season 4 ends, notably challenging Maestro Frisch and resolving some issues with his SPCMs. There is also a mystery that needs to be solved, so see if you can solve it before the answer to it is revealed in the final chapter of the season.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
