Nexial Intrigue Issue #2

An in character interview between A political figure in the World of the The Great Tree named Chancellor Lafleche and Dara himself. The point of this is emphasize the goal of the Nexus and that is to collaborate between authors and their creations. If you'd like to participate in this type of content, feel free to join the Discord at the bottom of the page! But, we begin this interview with a conversation with the author himself, Youssef Hegazy, or to use his handle: Section.   Section is currently going to school for graphic design, and is neck deep in the anxiety and optimism that comes with attending university. When asked about how his project came about he let us know that he feels somewhat hypocritical about his art and what he is going to school for. Reassuring him that the two disciplines have plenty of overlap, but he still felt odd about pursuing this project to the degree he has. After having read it, I can say without a doubt that he is a talented mangaka.

He takes quite a few inspirations from settings like James Bond, Night Fire, Metal Gear, Indiana Jones, heavy elements taken from Frankenstein, Folk versions of Little Mermaid, and a plethora of other sources that are obvious call backs to source material in unique ways. We also very much liked his mentality on story telling, to call it throwing an unholy amount of existing themes, stories and tropes into a blender and presenting it in the way you wish to tell it, would be accurate. I can't help but enjoy that mentality and his enthusiasm over his projects.   His current project being for Kyoto Awards 2025, he told us that it really put him and his team under quite a bit of stress as they finished the project with nary a day to spare. Currently, he and his team are recovering from a significant amount of burnout, but the fruits of their efforts is sweet indeed.

Lafleche began his interview with the world renowned assassin by watching the Man be brought in by a group of armed personnel and sat at the table before the Politico, the man wore his hood up as the bandolier with a full radio set up patched to it beeped quietly. Lafleche was unable to see the mans face due to the shadow cast from it, he began the conversation by asking; What is it like living in the compound?   Dara turned out to be quite the chatty and personable entity as he bagan speaking about his life. Speaking of how he considered both Koi and Dr. Rand his friends, though wholeheartedly unable to comprehend what Koi's obsession with the Dr. was. He spoke at length about how nearly everything was provided to him, food, shelter, a place to rest his head. Additionally he went on to describe how he relished the chance to knock the heads in of various villains he came across on his mission. To him, there wasn't anything more he could ask for.   Lafleche was more than happy to sit and listen to this, enjoying his own surprise at how friendly this man had been. From all reports he had been given, Dara was a dark brooding and altogether untalkative man. To which he was surprised to hear that there are many different Dara's. Apparently aware of this, the current Dara is a decidedly different entity. He was relieved to hear that this would be an easy conversation.   Lafleche continued to ask about both the Dr. and Koi themselves. He animatedly spoke about Koi being a Mushroom Folk and her ability to make coffee perfectly. She being far kinder than the vast majority of the assistants and technicians wandering the compound. Being one of the few people to actually speak with him on a regular basis. While Dr. Rand was decidedly pragmatic with Dara. Only telling him enough information about himself to secure loyalty but not to know particularly well.   He spoke at length about the Doctor's wife, April. A mermaid who needs a new set of lungs, and is in an ambiguous state of survival at the time of the interview. Dara had just completed a mission to secure an ambassador to further secure medical treatment for the Doctor's wife. Dara saw no issue with this as to him he was able to neutralize "a bunch of bad guys and save the day."   Dara did let Lafleche know that he was an avid movie fan, his favorite being a title with a rather humorous name. Reminiscent of a title produced by a man named Johnny Knoxville, the entire description of the title had the old Politico amused from start to finish. Even Moreso when the assassin told him the set up he used to watch the countless VHS tapes was nothing more than a 100 pound CRT on a rolling stand that would seem quite at home in an underfunded inner city middle-school.

  The conversation ended with Dara being asked about how his harmonics system worked. To Lafleche's surprise, Dara is actually the amalgamation of three corpses stitched back together with a mind of his own. These bodies still have their minds and fight his own personality for control. Memories that aren't his, faces he recognizes yet has never seen. Many things that make his world unstable, but Dr. Rand had built a system to allow Dara to function much more normally. A harmonics system that, well, brought harmony to his his mind. Additionally this system is built to allow him access to reflexes and skills at will from these other bodies he is made of.   Dara turned out to be a much more talkative and entertaining conversation that he wa led to believe. A treat to be sure, and would welcome the chance to do so again.