God, Please (The Lieutenant's Theme) - A Disco Elysium Fan Track

Decided to write a piece for my favourite character's finest moment! Any and all feedback much appreciated


[Please ignore my misspelling of 'lieutenant' if you can :)]

[jonaderjona]

It is my deep-held belief that every person gets one "God, please" per life and I already wasted mine on a billard trickshot.

[bobbarker]

+1 The Lieutenant Trusts You
+2 Kim *really* Trusts You

[wolfensniper]

Fun fact: According to the author of the artwork, the ghost behind Kim is not Harry but "Eyes", nickname of Kim's ex-partner in the 57th, mentioned in a dialogue about Kim's eyesights.
In Chinese DE fanfic community (the author is Chinese), a popular theory was that "Eyes" was killed in line of duty to protect Kim years before, hence this artwork was made, implying that Kim was thinking about "Eyes" when he took the shot.

Dialogs related:

KIM KITSURAGI - "I had a partner once. They called him Eyes, because he had to show me things. It's that bad."
EMPATHY - This partner of his, Eyes -- things didn't end well. It saddens him to say his name. Don't even ask. He wouldn't answer. Maybe some other small talk?

(After Tribunal)
KIM KITSURAGI - "Then I shot and wounded him while Glen took a bullet in the spine." He nods. "It was meant for me. Glen did not survive." There's a pause.
EMPATHY - This is not the first person to die in his place. He goes on.

[mellonbread]

Imagine being an elite special forces team with invincible bulletproof armor and modern firearms, and getting squad wiped by a binoclard and an alcoholic ham sandwich armed with flintlock pistols.

[Masonxx]

When you first meet Kim, there's a passive Esprit de Corps check that says "If an assault were launched on this building right now--if the windows came crashing down and the whole world descended upon you--this man would hurl himself in death's way to save you. You are sure of this" and that made me pause and think for a solid minute. Literally right from the start the game tells you that you can trust this man with your life and he never disappoints you. Kim Kitsuragi is a hero.

[MrGemHunter]

If an assault were launched on this building right now -- if the windows came crashing down and the whole world descended upon you -- this man would hurl himself in death's way to save you. You are sure of this -- but why?

[lakelandbuzz]

"The Lieutenant gives you a smile only you can see."

[LOLKFC]

[Hand-Eye Coordination - Impossible 20] Fire a round through the eyeholes of Ruud's Helmet.

-2 Binoclard

-1 Bad shot at the academy

-2 No time to aim

-2 Missed the hanged man's noose

-2 Couldn't save Eyes

+9 Harry needs you

[SecretWizardful]

Lt. Kitsuragi sits at his desk, typing up his report on the events of the previous week. He thinks of Eyes, the marksmanship exams scraped by, and he thinks of Lt. du Bois. He thinks of the shot. He doesn't think about the violent and irrepressible miracle that it finding its mark represented. He doesn't think of the sprirt of the city that carried it on a breeze, course correcting that little chunk of lead into the softest part of a very hard man. He does his best not to think of the aqueous humour bursting, and the blood vessels, nerves, and brain tissues shredded by a bullet shattering inside someone's eye socket.

He considers how best to record the details of this incredible shot. He knows many cops would spend paragraphs embellishing its difficulty to try and get a raise out of their captains. He thinks of this with disdain.

"Lt. Kitsuragi incapacitated assailant."

A wry smile plays over his face. His little protest against machismo.

He sighs. And continues writing.

[orelyosif]

That "God, Please" of his has became engraved into my memory

[OceansideSpiderHouse]

My favorite thing about Kim’s shot is how absolutely miraculous it is. You hear so much throughout the game about how that armor is more or less unstoppable by common means—that it’s going to be the instrument of a massacre. But the armor does fail because Kim, much like the bullet, intervenes at exactly the right place and time. Probability outmatched by a miracle. Love that moment.

[adams]

Kim Kitsuragi has never put much stock in the supranatural. He has about as much faith in higher powers as he does in the likelihood of a Kind Green Ape showing up with a winning lottery number in its outstretched green paw. But as the killer, Hoenklowen, lines detective Du Bois (Harry!) up in his sights and pulls the trigger, Lieutenant Kitsuragi finds himself out of options.

He scores a solid 70% on his marksmanship exams by due diligence, by marking the targets out in his mind and striking them by rote repetition. Muscle memory, more than any conscious understanding of where they are in space. But the killer is no stationary target. He is alarmingly mobile, lively and bobbing unsteady on a tide of blood-alcohol. Kim cannot plan, he cannot ask Harry for help as he spins away, his pilfered mercenary armor sparkling and tinkling in the rifle’s aftershocks. He cannot practice his kill-shot after hours by bribing the range officer with a box of cigarettes. He gets one chance. One. And the trigonometry connecting his and Harry’s survival and Hoenklowen’s death passes through a numinous gunpowder cloud that his eyes cannot pierce. It is, infuriatingly, outside of his control.

So, at lack for better options and against his better judgment, ltn. Kim Kitsuragi raises his gun and starts to pray. To whoever might be listening…

[zanethezaniest]

God had already blessed Kim with an immense gift, not the miracle like precision, but the ability to not go insane from dealing with Harry’s bum-fuck shenanigans for a whole week.

[rattles]

The Tribunal, the actual conversation, that was Harry's moment. He showed just how good of a detective and peacekeeper he really is. He did everything he could to avoid needless death all the while barely keeping it together, but even then, he alone couldn't save them from the merc's hatred.

But the fight, when the whole world descended upon you, Kim Kitsuragi did exactly what you knew he'd do. He threw himself in front of danger to save you.

He always thought of himself as competent, just good enough, never anything spectacular. When questioned, he says that Precinct 41 sent Harry as he was the best, even with his spiraling issues, and yet never admits his Precinct did the same. The shootout in front of the Whirling-In-Rags proves it anyway. He's not just the man for the job, he was exactly where he needed to be, where he was meant to be.

Kim Kitsuragi is exactly who we needed him to be.

[alcanalimposible]

Harry: Any casualties?
Kim: Yes. One of the Hardie Boys... Glen. He was standing behind me when the woman fired.
[Empathy: Challenging: Success]
"It's not the first time someone has taken a bullet meant for him. But who was it?"
[Volition: Medium: Success]
"Don't ask. He wouldn't answer."

[alcanalimposible]

Fun fact: The full picture has two dice displaying 6's. Realy showcasing how *lucky* Kim got.

[FlamingLily]

HALF-LIGHT: Harry won't be able to dodge the next one. Take the shot.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION: You draw your Kiejl A9 Armistice 9mm pistol, aim, and...

INLAND EMPIRE: Wait. Do you feel that? Those Eyes watching over you?

EYES: One centimetre to the right.

VISUAL CALCULUS: It's still a million to one chance to hit.

KIM KITSURAGI: "God, Please."

HAND/EYE COORDINATION: You shift your aim one centimetre to the right, and fire. An explosion threatens to shatter your wrist, and makes your ears ring, as a single nine millimetre bullet flies from the barrel.

COMPOSURE: You stare at the marksman for what feels like hours, the bullet, a tiny shard of hatred and murder, streaking towards an indestructible man.

SHIVERS: Throughout the city, everything stops. Every living soul watches this bullet fly. A faint breeze washes over the bullet mid-flight, changing its course just enough. A silent gift, from the city herself.

HALF LIGHT: The bullet strikes true.

[cellophanezebra]

Most intense moment for me, i had a 72% with a +1 Kim trusts you and a +2 of Kim fully trusting me, and i muttered "Please god don't fail this check"

[carvotheboss]

Desperation tempered by duty, focused on an eye-slit as wide as his finger.

One shot to save them all.

An Insulindian Miracle.

[jordancantrell]

I just beat this game and my God, Kim is such a wonderful character.

I was fully content to be a WILD amnesiac in the world being mad goofy but Kim was such a powerful Character I LITERALLY cleaned up my act.

I started leveling completely different, I MADE SURE not to do any drugs or alcohol, I was INCREDIBLY thorough about the case, and I made myself as LEAST a fool as possible.