The search for the Insulindian Phasmid cryptid may be hopeless, but it leads to some great moments:
The player can initially dismiss the Phasmid as yet another delusion on behalf of Harry's addled mind, and there are even a couple of dialogue choices where you react as if it is, but then Kim says the four most magical words in the English language:
Kim: I can see it.
You can reassure Lena that even though her encounter was probably a false memory, that doesn't make her mutual love for her husband any less real. After you find out that it was indeed real, you can mention that one of the first things you want to do after the case is visit Lena to give the good news.
At the climax of the story, the search turns out not to have been a complete waste of time as it surprisingly becomes relevant to the case. The Phasmid turns out to have been real all along, as Kim turns out to be able to see it too. In the grim, thankless world of a Precinct 41 police officer, there is a great need for wonder.
When you show the photo of the Phasmid to your task force, they are all awed, and an Empathy check notes that the clinically depressed Jean is seeing something that's making him less sad.
Among various other things in the conversation with the Phasmid, it'll tell you to "let the woman go". Yes, even cryptids care about you, and wish you to finally overcome this weight you're carrying around.
Insulindian Phasmid: That woman — turn from the ruin. Turn and go forward.
Another one of the Phasmid's lines is a rare genuinely heartwarming example of No, You:
You: Are you the miracle? Insulindian Phasmid: No. You are the miracle.
Several moments in your relationship with Kim stand out:
If you don't have enough money to pay back Garte at the end of day one (which is likely), Kim will pawn a nice set of hubcaps to square things up so that you'll have a place to stay the night. He insists that he didn't actually like them and didn't intend to put them on his car, but the Empathy check to realize he's lying is extremely easy.
If you vomit the second time you try to inspect the corpse, Kim gives you a very badly-needed "get your shit together" speech. Assuming you've been treating him well, one of your attributes will chime in to tell you that he genuinely means it and is trying to help you.
When you wonder if you should find a hobby and Kim responds that anything is better than annihilating yourself with drugs or alcohol, Esprit de Corps chimes in to say it's meant in earnest, not as a jab.
The Debriefing at the end of day 1 can be extremely encouraging provided you made some progress on the case, and even more-so if you showed Kim you’re a good person. It’s implied Kim also only does it because he sees you’re at rock bottom and knows you’d get a morale boost from being treated like an actual detective.
On the other hand, if you didn't do much relevant to the investigation then Empathy can note that he's making sure not to be too harsh so that Harry isn't driven back to drinking.
If you get a chance to perform karaoke, you can dedicate the song to Kim. He gives you a quick smile before turning away, and your Composure might note that he is incapable of blushing, but if he weren't — he'd blush. It very likely sticks in his head, since he mentions the performance at the end of the game.
If you happen to fail the check for singing karaoke, you will sing a very tortured-sounding, caterwauling version of "The Smallest Church In Saint-Saëns", which gets a cold reception from the crowd. Except for Kim, who is genuinely impressed.
Kim: Let's go, officer. These people wouldn't know a good performance if it bit them in the ass. You: You... liked it? Kim: Detective Du Bois... (he gives a light bow) It was downright *tragic*. Now let's go. Esprit de Corps: I mean it, he thinks. Conceptualization: To him, being a cop in the RCM was truly expressed in that performance.
Warning Kim to watch his back during the firefight after the Tribunal, followed shortly thereafter by Kim helping Harry heal up after he takes a bullet.
Especially since the check to warn him is not a measurement of reaction times, but Authority — i.e., how much he trusts your judgment in a dangerous situation. "The lieutenant trusts you" is a possible modifier here; "Kim *truly* trusts you" is an even more powerful one.
When you finally find your badge, which just happens to be in the completely unsalvageable wreck of your police car, showing just how bad your self-destructive, amnesia-inducing bender was, you can take the time to review it, and find out that you are a Lieutenant Double Yefreitor, which Kim will explain means that you've declined promotion to Captain twice despite earning it. One of the dialogue choices then ignores that (it's worth noting that this is only possible on day 3, and he's had a lot of your antics to deal with) and has you ask him:
You: Is that why you're working with me? Because I'm the same rank as you?
Kim: I'm working with you because, despite your eccentricities, you're doing damn good police work.
At the end of the game, if you've done a good enough job, Kim will say that while Harry is definitely a mess, he's also one of the best detectives he's ever met. In turn, Harry can offer Kim a place on his special team at Precinct 41, and Kim will gladly accept.
During your conservation with Little Lilly, she will offer you to give her stuffed doll "Lamby" a hug. You can try to reject this attempt at cheering you up, but Kim will have none of it and straight up orders you to do it. Also easily counts as a Funny moment:
You: I don't deserve it. I'm scum. Kim: Press your damn cheek against Lamby, okay? (the lieutenant sounds authoritative — and surprisingly gruff)
When reading Dick Mullen and the Mistaken Identity, you can have this conversation with the book:
You: Why bother solving crimes when the world is so evil? Dick Mullen: Is it really so evil, Detective? You: Okay, maybe not. There are parts worth saving. Dick Mullen: Like what? You: Friends and family. Dick Mullen: Do you even have those? You: I've got Kim. Dick Mullen: Make sure you don't lose him. You'll not find another one like him. Esprit de Corps: It is true in more ways than you know.
If you let Ruby make her escape rather than try to take her in when she makes it clear that she would rather commit suicide than allow herself to get arrested, Kim earnestly tells you that he doesn't blame you for making that choice, and assures you that he would have done the exact same thing had he been in your shoes.
You can buy Suzerainty, a "wholesome family game", at the bookstore and offer Kim to play. He will only refuse because you're short on time, but a fairly easy Suggestion check will make him change his mind and join you, bringing out his more Adorkable facets in the process, like admiring game tokens and openly grinning when you end up getting crushed by Kim's final move. While the excuse to play the game was "thinking of more creative solutions to the case", you both end up having a genuinely good time.
While commenting on Kim's Coupris Kineema you can impress him with your mechanical knowledge about it and a good roll can make a suggestion to some time in the future work with him to modify it, to which he responds he'll think about it. It's quite clear that Kim takes pride in keeping the Kineema maintained and is happy to have someone to geek out about the technical details with.
After finding out that Kim is a regular listener to Speedfreaks FM, you're given several opportunities to lightly tease him about his uncharacteristic taste in music. Eventually, after following some leads, you can have an opportunity to actually call into Speedfreaks FM, and you're given the option to request a shoutout for Kim. This takes Kim back a bit, but while talking with him after hearing it, it's one of the few times in the game where he smiles brightly without even attempting to hide it.
When talking with Kim, there's a chance where you can ask him why Precinct 41 even sent you on this case. Given the mental state the Detective is currently in, you come to the conclusion that they must have sent you there becauseyou're a fuckup, as a joke. Kim somberly says he considered that a possibility, but if you've maintained a good relationship with him, he pulls it right around that he doesn't think it's likely, because he thinks you're a good cop. He was sent here by his Precinct because he was the "safe bet" to solve the case, something he humbly dismisses saying he's "the best of nothing", and he thinks your Precinct thought similar, that you were the "safe bet" to send in. Ending with a statement that will actually heal your Morale:
If you tell the Working Class Woman that you think you might be a "fuckupatoo" at the end of the Cockatoo side-quest:
Working Class Woman: The what now?! You: The fuckupatoo. It's the one who always fucks everything up. Working Class Woman: No, you're not. Don't think that way... You're just a regular talkative cockatoo and let's leave it at that.
There is also the hug you can share with her with if you are a Communist. While also a very funny moment, it is very sweet all the same:
Working Class Woman: What is happening? (awkward pause as you hold the hug for five seconds) Working Class Woman: Uh... What are you doing, officer? You: I am fighting for the working class. Working Class Woman: Fighting for it how? You: A hug a day keeps the bourgeoisie away. Working Class Woman: Oh... (she hugs you back)
Nearly every successful Esprit de Corps check is about genuine camaraderie.
Calling the precinct to inform about your missing badge turns into a prolonged roast where your colleagues take turns making fun of you in incredibly lame ways. Higher Esprit de Corps shows that they find the situation tragic and they laughed because they care about you, but don't know how to reach you about getting help.
You can go on a date with Lilienne, where you hang by at Land's Edge and talk about the weather, and the weariness of the world. It's clear that, until you swear off alcohol, you're not going to be a couple, but if the date goes well, it means that Harry is still capable of loving again. She gives her sword to him, which doesn't do anything except remind him of her.
Later, following the Tribunal and provided that your date went well, Lilienne will notice that you have been shot and express a surprisingly sweet moment of Anger Born of Worry, confirming that you did made a very good impression on her.
Annette is a little girl who works outside of her mother's bookstore in the rain and snow, which gives her so much anxiety that she chews on her fingers. Plaisance is initially adamant that she's doing nothing wrong, but she realizes that she's only treating her daughter the way her mother and husband treated her.
Annette does form a friendship with Harry, even giving him a hat so that he more resembles Dick Mullen.
A somewhat bizarre one comes from using Inland Empire to speak with the corpse of the Hanged Man. If you take the time to examine the corpse's hair (but do so gently), and then hold his hand, he will sincerely thank you for showing him some tenderness, telling you that people haven't stroked his hair in such a kind manner since he was a little boy.
This bit of the resolved Date of Birth Generator thought:
You are 44 years old. The bloating might never leave your face, but beneath it — you still have some years. You still have some hope.
Every sufficiently hard Empathy check is very likely one of these.
Many of Volition's comments. He is basically a manifestation of the part in any given person that absolutely refuses to give in to darkness, hatred, and oblivion, and always trusts that we as individuals have the capacity to change ourselves, our situation, and the world for the better, no matter how bleak things might seem, and if you allow him to, he will always have your back.
Volition: No. This is somewhere to be. This is all you have, but it's still something. Streets and sodium lights. The sky, the world. You're still alive.
If you have your breakdown in front of Acele after she casually insults your hat, and finish off your angry tirade by starting to ugly cry, Acele who — just a brief moment ago — was taken aback by your explosion of anger, becomes very empathetic, and recognize that your source of pain is something else:
Acele: This... isn't really about the hat, is it? You:(meekly, through your tears) No... Acele: You know, you're not the only one with issues. I self-medicate, shit... life's a horror, you know. Crying helps though. Get it out of your system and then maybe we can talk, okay?
Later, if you press Acele on what she's doing with her tape recorder, she'll explain she's recording samples to make her own anodic music with, but she'll start feeling insecure in her hobby in the face of not having the same kind of tools or talents as bigger musicians. Seeing her clearly getting down on herself, Kim will offer his coat for warmth, and while she refuses the offer, she'll accept your hat if you hand her one. Afterwards, if you succeed an Empathy check, you can pick up the discarded recorder and give her a rather sweet Rousing Speech that helps her feel a lot better about her passion.
You: I'm sorry you have to sit here on the ice, feeling miserable. At your age — or at any age — in this weather... waiting for it to get dark. (She looks you in the eye, her pupils wide, surrounded by a ridiculous amount of make-up.) You: The people who built this world intended it to be better for you, but they failed. It is easier to live in their failure with this by your side (You tap on the tape recorder) (The wind howls. She remains silent.) You: It is not a childish fantasy. It can be a real weapon against what's coming for you now. Acele: What is...? (Her shoulders shake a little.) You:Nothing, if you got this. Don't be scared.
The evolution of your relation with Titus — starting out as seeing you as an utter joke, you can get him to truly respect and appreciate you. Among other moments, two that stand out are both times you get to notice he'd make a very good cop. The first time, he'll tell you he's already one, and you're the one that has to prove you can be one too. The second time, he openly says he's considering it, no mockery attached. When Harry gets shot and knocked out during the Tribunal, if you played your cards right, the first thing Titus yells is to cover you, showing (even if pragmatically) he sees you as someone invaluable to let die. Provided he survives, when Harry wakes up, Titus offers you a spot in the group, and seriously considers your recommendation to join the RCM. At that point, you've earned his trust and friendship.
Speaking of Titus - he's an impenetrable wall, both physically and mentally. Nothing gets to him - except Angus. There, Titus is so protective of him, he will ignore strategy, safety, advice from Elizabeth. Targeting Angus with your comments is one of the few ways to get him off balance, even for a moment. He later admits Angus was younger than most of them and shows almost a paternal side to him when talking about him after the Tribunal and his death.
You can ask Steban why he and Uli still hold faith in their ideology, even though the world keeps them down.
Steban: The only promise it offers is that the future can be better than the past, if we're willing to work and fight and die for it. You: But what if humanity keeps letting us down? Steban: ...It demands great faith with no promise of tangible reward. But that doesn't mean we can simply give up [...] It's our way of saying we refuse to accept that the world has to remain... like this...
If you throw the improvised Spirit Bomb at Major Kortenaer, you get to ask the now Beautiful Necktie what is going to happen to the merc as the burning Molotov cocktail shatters all over him. The tie assures you that Kortenaer is going to die a horrible, painful death. In spite of everything he has done, you still have a last chance to feel a hint of compassion and pity for the psychotic war criminal.
You: May he find peace by his brother. Beautiful Necktie: It's good to see you still have capacity for compassion, my friend. Deep down you are a good man.
The renovated room in the Whirling after the tribunal scene. It's mentioned Garte spent an entire day fixing it. It really is amazing to see the room finally look like a place you would like to sleep in, with everything that was broken finally repaired. Also shows how far your efforts to mend bridges with Garte got you.
At the end of the game, if Cuno was befriended and stepped up as your temporary sidekick after Kim got shot, he will make a speech in defense of you, which, while ridden with profanities and incoherent slang, is very supportive of you, and Rhetoric admits that it was a pretty good speech, if a bit too long. You can reply in kind, when Jean tries to dismiss Cuno's testimony by referring to him as a ten-year-old, by indignantly pointing out to Jean that Cuno is not ten, he's twelve. When you do this, Empathy notices that Cuno really appreciates that you cared to remember that.
He has also started to warm up to Kim too by that point. When you wake up after the Tribunal, he tells you that Kim is dead as a joke. If you don't show any concern at the news, he chastises you for being selfish, and says Kim didn't deserve to get hurt. Later on, if you join him in calling Kim a binoclard, he again points out that Kim took a bullet for you and that while Cuno has no obligation to be nice to him, you do.
Cuno:(looking at Kim's case notes) Oh... "Motorcycle Emptiness" — that's a cool case. Cuno can solve that shit for the bino. You: Yeah, Kim is such a binoclard. Cuno:(with a frown) Pig... It's cool for Cuno to rip on the 'clard, but he took a bullet for you. You gonna shitmouth Cuno too if he falls in battle? You: It's just good-humoured banter among friends. Cuno:(deadly serious) For you, maybe. But take it from the Cunn: Binos don't always get that. They get their feelings hurt. Cuno doesn't want this for your pal. He's alright in Cuno's book.
Near the end of the game, with high enough Inland Empire you can have a conversation with the Insulindian Phasmid. It reveals that beings similar to it are afraid of humanity and consider their complicated brains, which can hold multiple thoughts, to be a hellish curse. But it — or your own mostly self-deprecating psyche — can also note that it finds your struggle with this admirable, respectful and beautiful, describing a funeral in honor of your determination. Some of your skills — and thus, you — will respond to that in utter triumph. For once, even a few seconds, you're not a Defective Detective. Just a cop.
Insulindian Phasmid: The arthropods are in silent and meaningless awe of you. Know that we are watching — when you're tired, when the visions spin out of control. The insects will be looking on. Rooting for you. And when you fall we will come to raise you up, bud from you, banner-like, blossom from you and carry you apart in a sky funeral. In honour of your passing. Volition: In honour of your will, lieutenant-yefreitor. That you kept from falling apart, in the face of sheer terror. Day after day. Second by second. Inland Empire: DETECTIVE Esprit de Corps: ARRIVING Authority: ON THE SCENE
The city's spirit, Lá Revacholiere, have these parting words for you when speaking with her in the Church, if you manage to figure that she is frightened of something, and she in turn reveals that she wants you to help prevent her death in a future nuclear attack:
I NEED YOU. YOU CAN KEEP ME ON THIS EARTH. BE VIGILANT. I LOVE YOU.
While Jean has not managed to say anything nicer than a veiled insult about you, the final visuals of the game are of you and him walking with an arm on each other's shoulders, and it's not just because you're wounded and limping.
It comes in the context of one of the game's most painful failures, namely the event where you fail an Authority check in the Church and call Kim a racial slur, but you are offered nothing short of an extremely poignant opportunity to turn it around. If you follow up by apologizing for your behavior to him afterwards, Kim considers the apology for a moment then asks you what you see when you look at him. Most choices lead to roughly the same response; Kim telling you what it feels like to be born and raised in a society in which, no matter what you do, everyone will treat you like an outsider because of how you look. But under certain circumstances, you can give him a response that takes him completely by surprise and leaves him moved to for once be seen by another the way he sees himself.
Kim: What do you see when you look at me? You: A true *Vacholiere*. (the lieutenant appears caught off-guard by your response; he takes a moment to collect himself) Kim: Nobody's ever said that to me before...
Despite how belligerent Volition has been towards Klaasje during your interrogation of her, should you decide to not go through with arresting her, but writing her a summons instead, he still has a small moment where he proves that he ultimately values showing compassion towards others above everything else — the sense of wounded pride he feels towards Klaasje notwithstanding — when Drama chimes in and gravely tells you that you might have made a mistake in being so lenient towards her:
Volition: Maybe. Maybe not. Mercy is rarely a *complete* mistake.
This takes Kim back a bit, but while talking with him after hearing it, it's one of the few times in the game where he smiles brightly without even attempting to hide it.