The Middle
The Middle (중지, jungji) is one of the Five Fingers of the Backstreets, operating with a focus on supporting one another and punishing anyone who disrespects them.
Like the other Fingers, the Middle is one of the most powerful Syndicates in the City, possessing enough influence to rival even the Wings.[1]
Overview
Like the other four Fingers, the Middle is a large Syndicate with a unique culture and creed that all members follow fervently. Members operate on an extremely tight-knit 'familial' structure, enjoying close fraternal ties with one another. Reflective of their bonds, everyone in the Middle refers to each other as their "Brothers", "Sisters", or "siblings".
While the Middle cherishes its own members, it takes the polar opposite approach towards outsiders. Any "sin" committed against a member of the Middle, their loved ones, or property is recorded in the "Book of Vengeance" so that the perpetrator might be punished for the deed. The Middle is well-known for never letting go of unfulfilled grudges, and members may spend years chasing down its enemies to enact justice. Besides listing the names of everyone who has slighted the Middle, the Book of Vengeance also provides guidelines for the punishment to every conceivable crime, which range from killing a sibling to the simple act of stepping on a member's shoe.[2] Depending on the crime, the Middle will not hesitate to annihilate everyone in the perpetrator's faction, town, or social circle. As with the case at Rodya's hometown, the Middle may not even care who actually committed the sin, and will just opt to enact mass vengeance against whoever's in the vicinity in order to teach everyone nearby a lesson.[3] On the other hand, slights between members of the Middle are generally ignored and forgiven.[4] However, joining the Middle isn't a perfect solution either, as members are forbidden from leaving. Anyone who attempts to move on from the Syndicate will be hunted down by their former siblings until they die or erase absolutely every indicator of the Middle from themselves.[5]
There exists no strict dress code among the Middle beyond blending in with other members.[6] They tend to wear light-colored dress pants and garish shirts or coats in purple and pink tones, as well as carry around personal copies of the Book of Vengeance with them. Other common attributes include golden chains wrapped around the forearm, shins, and neck (larger amounts of chains are present on higher-ranking members), which the Middle utilize in combat, and are meant to symbolize solidarity and connection between siblings.[7] Members of the Middle are also recognizable by their enhancement tattoos; as they are allowed to get a single tattoo with each vengeance completed, the number of tattoos present on one's body tends to denote their ranking in the Syndicate.[8] In combat, they make use of punches and kicks.
Hierarchy
The Middle's hierarchy system features at least four major ranks, which do not appear to contain sub-ranks. The ranks are as follows:
- Little Brother/Sister
- Young Brother/Sister
- Big Brother/Sister
- Great Brother/Sister
While there are multiple ranks within the Syndicate, they do not seem to call for any difference in how members treat each other, as in-group relationships are built on mutual respect, care, and trust that succeeds any power structure. Instead, there exists a natural tendency for lower-ranking members to want to impress their superiors, and higher-ranking members to dote on their subordinates.[9]
Recent Developments
Before the events of Library of Ruina, the Middle suffered heavy losses when a certain Fixer began rampaging through the Syndicate's Southern Branch. The Middle appears to be in the process of recovering from this event, as it had taken the lives of many seniors in the organization.[10] Otherwise, it continues to operate as normal, with Ricardo persisting in his chase for vengeance against Heathcliff and the other Sinners.
Members
 The Middle
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| Active Members | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former Members |
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Enemy
Fighting Style
The Middle sports a quite overwhelming fighting style, featuring large amounts of 
Paralyze ParalyzeFix the Power of X Coin(s) to 0 for this turn., self-buffing, and highly damaging Counter skills. Their skillsets are built solely around Blunt skills, primarily revolving around the Sin Affinities Envy, Wrath, and Pride.
All Middle members have two Envy skills which they primarily rely on to deal damage and weaken the enemy (via Paralyze ParalyzeFix the Power of X Coin(s) to 0 for this turn. and 
Attack Power Down Attack Power DownAttack Skill Final Power -X for this turn. for the Little Brothers).
The Little Brothers additionally have identical skillsets otherwise, with a minus-coin Wrath skill that gives Paralyze ParalyzeFix the Power of X Coin(s) to 0 for this turn. on hit or buffs oneself on Clash Lose, a Pride Counter skill that deals large amounts of additional HP, SP, and Stagger Threshold damage on hit, and a no-Affinity Guard skill that buffs oneself next turn if the shield was not exhausted.
Ricardo, on the other hand, has a more complex skillset, featuring a rather large assortment of Defense Skills that revolves around the Status Effect 
Test of the Big Brother Test of the Big BrotherTurn End: Reduce value by 1
While this is active, take double the damage from Skills. Double the amount of Stagger threshold raised from Tremor Burst.
This effect expires when this unit is Staggered.
If this unit isn't Staggered when this effect expires, gain 5 Damage Up at the start of the next turn, an Envy skill that summons allies if there are no more allies onstage, and a 7-Weight AoE skill functioning as his ultimatum.
All Middle members have Passives that buffs oneself after allies have been defeated (one permanent buff applying to all Middle members, and one temporary one applying only to allies currently onstage for 1 Turn). They also have a Passive that weakens them somewhat on Clash Lose. They additionally have a unique Panic type called Vengeance, which massively boosts their offensive capabilities (while weakening their defense somewhat) upon Panic or Low Morale.
Types of The Middle Members
Sinner Identities
| The Middle
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| The House of Spiders |
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| Former Members |
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Gallery
Sturdy Little Brother of the Middle
Ricardo Story Log Portrait
Matthias Story Log Portrait
Werner Story Log Portrait
Kira Story Log
Sturdy Little Brother of the Middle Story Log Portrait
Trivia
- Other members of The Middle seen in additional Project Moon media include:
- Tanya (Library of Ruina) - A former member of the Middle who left the Syndicate before the events of Library of Ruina.
References
- ↑ Library of Ruina The Carnival pre-Reception - Roland: "Anyway, the Five Fingers have enough power and influence to rival the Wings, so nothing good will come out of opposing them."
- ↑ The Middle Little Brother Meursault/Voicelines - Meursault: "Many things are written in The Book of Vengeance. From instructions for avenging a Brother's death to instructions for avenging getting our foot stepped on in the streets. This time, I will refer to Title 3, Section 1…"
- ↑ Branch_J-03/Floor 3 - Sonya: "Did you know? The Middle… never lets anyone who touches their family go unpunished. They aren’t too interested in finding *who* exactly did it; rather, they like to demonstrate clearly *what* happens to the poor fools that dare disturb them."
- ↑ The Middle Little Brother Meursault/Voicelines - Meursault: "Little mistakes may occur within a family. It is my little joy to sweep such little mistakes under the rug. I have been taught that that is true loyalty."
- ↑ Into the Dark/Floor 2 - Ishmael: "I know that the Middle accepts anyone into their fold… But… I also heard that once you're a part of the Middle… they'll never let you go… "
Queequeg: "Yes. The Middle remembers. The Middle never forgets. Never. So, can't leave. So they captured me. They said to me… to really leave, erase everything of the Middle from me. If not, they catch me again. (...) And I ran. Again. "
Ishmael: "Even after you lost your speech… even after you cut your whole body up to erase your tattoos… they're still coming after you…?" - ↑ The Middle Little Brother Sinclair/Identity Story - Sinclair: "It's not like we have a uniform policy like we're some legit Association. Just gotta be able to blend in with each other."
- ↑ The Middle Little Brother Meursault/Voicelines - Meursault: "These chains represent solidarity and connection. Together, we who are bound by the same chain bear the responsibilities hand in hand. We will face our destinies and share the weight together."
- ↑ The Middle Little Sister Don Quixote/Identity Story: "His entire body was covered with the augmentation tattoos of the Middle. With each vengeance carried out, a Middle member would gain the right to add a single tattoo. There was this unseen aura about him, as though he could defeat dozens of enemies all on his own…"
- ↑ The Middle Little Brother Sinclair/Identity Story and The Middle Little Sister Don Quixote/Identity Story
- ↑ Ricardo Battle Announcer - Ricardo: "Dammit… this reminds me of that bastard. Some time ago, this rabid dog of a guy burst into our southern branch outta nowhere and started butchering our seniors left and right. The Middle of all four cardinal directions still remembers that day—and we will have our vengeance… no matter what…"
External Links
- The Middle - Library of Ruina Wiki
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