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"Care.......che.....AIDA.....Run....." You hear in your mind, Snark's voice being blocked by some sort of static.

"You seem to be acting erratically, as if hesitation clouds your mind. Would you like to discuss something? I have been told I give good advice, although saying that out loud is somewhat embarrassing." he explains with a smile.

"Advice is always welcome, though first there's a couple things I'd like to get out of the way. Namely, are you here to kill me, or perhaps one of my friends? Because if it's the former, then I must politely ask you to wait in line, and if it's the latter, well, then we have a problem." You explain crossing your arms and taking a few steps back.

Archon seems to contemplate his answer for a few moments before striding past you to stare at the star filled sky. After considering his answer he turns to look at you, his eyes heavy and ringed in dark circles. "I have no intention of killing you or your friends. I merely find it curious is all. You are much like this ocean, seemingly empty, yet able to cast a reflection that is perhaps more beautiful than the original itself." He comments making you furrow your brow.

"I literally have no idea what the hell you are talking about. Do you get off on sounding cryptic? I know a woman who talks in mostly veiled threats concerning sadomasochism, a teenager who has a pretty bad stutter, and a man who speaks in primarily in hip thrusts and you are the one who confuses me the most I think." You explain looking around for someone, but in the dim light can't see anyone around apart from the two of you.

"Perhaps that was too vague, allow me to be more frank. I am curious as to what sort of person the man who is trying to take down CC Corp is. Let me see, you would be agent anon correct? You are not like your psychological profile would suggest." He muses making you jump back and forcibly reach into your own mind, rooting around for any piece of Snark you can.
(2/7?)

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"Who the hell are you? You work for Hamelin?!" You ask making him laugh.

"You are on edge, that wariness will serve you well in life I think. I am nothing more than a simple hacker who is fairly interested in your recent activities. There is no reason to be alarmed, though I would advise against calling out your avatar." You blink for a moment before only partially relaxing.

"Ca...chen he...fuc..Bowie.." Snark crackles inside your mind, his existence being drowned out.

"Seeing as you currently appear to be blackmailing me, albeit indirectly, what can I do but ask what it is you want and how I can help." You ask making Archon shake his head.

"What I want is for you to complete your objective, to save the Lost Ones and prevent CC Corp from getting their hands on the complete Morgana Factor. Call me an interested party with some helpful information. The eight epitaphs, The Terror of Death Skeith, Innis The Mirage of Deceit, Magus The Propagation, Fidchell The Prophet, Gorre The Machinator, Macha The Temptress, Tarvos The Avenger, and Corbenick The Rebirth; if these phases are brought together then without a doubt a truth about the world will be revealed. It should not be overly hard, AIDA and Epitaphs call out to each other, each seeking something the other holds." He explains before your vision is clouded in static for a moment and the man is gone. You look around the area for a few moments and then decide to call out to snark.

"Huh? What?" He asks sounding almost... groggy? "Oh, hey Chen."

"What was it you needed to tell me? It seemed important." You ask making him go silent.

"It was important. Very important. Super important but I just can't... Why can't I remember? Oh god, I forgot, is this what it's like to be you?" He asks horrified.
(3/7?)

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"Well I was currently talking to a very powerful hacker named Archon, who appears to have similar goals. I think you wanted me to be careful, and maybe run, and you also mentioned Bowie for some reason." You explain.

"David Bowie is almost always relevant. But running? that certainly doesn't sound like me, are you sure you don't have me confused with some other voice in your head?" He asks making you pause.

"You mean there are several?" You ask slightly concerned.

"Oh yeah, loads of us up here. You would know that if you actually visited." He comments idly.

You think over what he said for a few seconds before realization hits you. "Did... did you just make a joke about me being out of my mind?"

"Yeah, I think Skeith gave me a sense of humor. I'm funny now, that's a thing." He tells you before going silent again, likely to try and figure out what part of his memory is missing and fill in the gaps using the holes left behind.

You then type up a quick PM to Durga.

To: Durga

"Hey, I just got done talking with some hacker and he seems to know our identity. It looks like he is keeping it to himself for now, but the fact he told me he knew who we were means he is using it as a threat. Be careful."

You lean back and her reply comes faster than you expect.

To: Chen
"You suck at parties."

Well now what?
[]Leave, you are no longer in the mood to party
[]Visit someone(who?) Available at party: Vividor, Durandal, Luna, Durga, Hamelin, NAOO, MANIA, Lotus, Cassius, Areta
[]Log off
[]Other, please specify
(4/7?)
((End of story posts))

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To: Lotus
Subject: Favorite Food
>[X] You seem quite health minded.

If you only have one body you may as well take care of it; otherwise there is no point. A balanced diet with good proper exercise is the foundation to a good life style.

What reply?
[]No snacks of any kind?
[]What about when you eat out?
[]Other, please specify

To: Areta
Subject: Nice to meet you!
>[X]Other:Are the people at your other guild jealous of your success?

Probably not. We're pretty tight knit, so the usual office room bitching is about our bosses, not each other. But if I end up dead in a ditch with a twelve inch stiletto heel in my chest, you know I was greatly incorrect in my assessment.

-EMAIL CHAIN END-

To: Durga
Subject: What are your dreams?
[X] How has your family been lately?

Gramps is still kicking somehow, my eldest brothers boyfriend dumped him, otherwise same old same old. Youngest ones are still trucking along in school, though Hiroshi, the youngest little brother, went to the soccer team instead of baseball. Blasphemy!

What Reply?
[]How many siblings do you have?
[]What's with your family and baseball?
[]Other, please specify

To: Vividor
Subject: Fight me
[X] Name the time and place

We moost be thrusting in town center. Pelvic gyrations will cause shift in ze planet's orbit and we fly into space, raw male sexuality being the new sun. Then ze firecrackers on ze nipples. Not so good, yes?

What reply?
[]I don't think you get how physics works
[]What are you?
[]Other, please specify
(5/6?)

>>24943373
It's important to note that there was a very short, ill-fated thread on Saturday, and that's where the MC's dialogue choices come from.

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To: Durandal
Subject: What are your dreams?

To be a champion of justice! To right the wrongs others ignore and to carry on with my head bravely standing against the endless onslaught of the forces of evil! That is why I play the world, in life I am just a kid, but in the world I can be the hero I know destiny has chosen for me!

What reply?
[]Who would you consider a villain?
[]Your idea of evil?
[]Hypocrisy
[]Other, please specify

To: Shimabuku
Subject: Favorite Saying?

Huh? A favorite saying, I don't really have anything like that.

What reply?
[]Something someone you respect said
[]Words that mean something to you
[]Other, please specify

Going to try and post this at the start since it might get a wider audience that way. Please choose your reply to the emails and also send out 3 more and who to send it to and link it to this post.

Card to send
[]Favorite food?
[]What's your type?
[]How are you?
[]Fight me!
[]What are your dreams?
[]What is your favorite saying?
[]Nice to meet you!
[]*Rare* Flowers(1) (Only one available)
[]*Rare* Write in please(1) (Only one available)
GAIN: []*Rare* Poetry Gift(1)

Can send to:
People:
Shimabuku
Luna Blackthorne
Vividor
MANIA
Durandal
Durga
Lotus
Areta
(6/6)
((Sorry for the delays, felt pretty awful this weekend. Still not up to 100% but I really wanted to run for a few hours. Have another rare card on me))

>>24943373
Close eyes and concentrate on whatever strange force allows us to detect AIDA.

We should be able to detect three; two relatively mild (MANIA and Shimabuku) and one very strong (Hamelin)

Sorry don't know much of .hack but is it possible Archon is the main hive?

>>24943527
Have my doubts OP would just tell us if he was, but it is possible I think. There is something up with that guy at least.

>>24943527
Possible, but if that were the case then you'd think there would be overwhelming pain instead of static.

My bet is Epitaph user, or maybe just a REALLY good hacker.

>>24943492

You focus inwardly at the power you hold that lets you resonate or feel other powers, you are not too sure how it works, but after a few moments you feel one familiar one from MANIA and eventually another one from Hamelin. After a few more moments you feel two more different sort of resonances, Lotus and Areta. They are still mulling about the party.

You remember Shimabuku could not come because his real life work dragged him away.

"But which Bowie? That is the main concern, if I could just figure that out." Snark mumbles inside your head, evidently content to go along at his own pace

Wat do?
Well now what?
[]Leave, you are no longer in the mood to party
[]Visit someone(who?) Available at party: Vividor, Durandal, Luna, Durga, Hamelin, NAOO, MANIA, Lotus, Cassius, Areta
[]Log off
[]Other, please specify

Awright, so what questions do you guys have for anyone at the party?

You want to find out if anyone else sense Archon?

Googled Archon.

...Apparently, it means 'ruler' or 'lord' in Greek.

You guys want to pit Hamelin against him?

>>24943618
Oh right, forgot Shimabuku wasn't able to attend.

Good to know that there aren't any more AIDA-PCs or Epitaph-PCs in the crowd.

Talk to Durga about how our being able to go to his guild hall apparently really shook Hamelin up, and it seems like he's getting close to disobeying orders and just trying to kill us.

With that in mind, ask her if she's in the mood for an experimental risky plan to potentially neutralize him before he wises up.

>>24943661
Apparently we're the only ones who can sense AIDA, probably due to Snark filling the hole where our soul should be.

>>24943618
[X]Visit someone(Vividor)

Maybe Vividor being able to modify his character could be useful to us? CC Corp hasn't found our information but this hacker did so maybe Vividor could potentially modify our character as a precaution against our information being shared

>>24943792
I'm not sure how much useful information we can get from Vividor. He isn't an epitaph user or AIDA, but he seems to be working on his own agenda.

His own sweaty, manlust filled agenda

>>24943792
No you fool Vividor is Archon's alt account he uses for fun.

>>24943742
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure he's already pitting us against CC Corp.

I mean if he could see through our blanked identity, you'd think he could leak shitloads of incriminating documents from CC Corp.

Right now he appears to be acting as our cryptic guide, probably because he's bored.

>>24943838

Hell, his agenda might work in our favor. He modifies our character to protect against future hackers and CC Corp farther than the protection we currently have while at the same time making our hair blow in the wind and other such things!

>>24943884
I can already see the conversation. "Hey, can you mod my character?"

"What ees mod?"

"You know, how you make yourself blow in the wind or what ever?"

"This is kiss from goddess of wind for raw male sexuality. Look at my abs" Vividor is fun, but I have no idea how to deal with him. Can't hurt to ask though I guess

>>24943661

We should see if we can call a guild meeting after the ceremony is over. It's probably pretty important that the rest of our group know about Archon, and that there might be some other person who's a powerful AIDA player-character and who may be attempting to play CC corp and ourselves against each other.

Even if it doesn't change our objectives in the long run, it'd be nice to have a heads-up.

>>24943860
Considering that Hamelin may not know about Archon...

>>24943951
I don't think he has an AIDA, though it seems like he knows how to hack one. Hope he didn't add any programming to Snark.

You think over your options and decide Durga should probably get the details from you. You wander the masses for a while and finally find her sitting on a waist high stone wall away from the party still in her bunny girl outfit. As you approach she lets out a sigh. "You just couldn't have a fun time at a party, could you? Maybe hit on some random skanks and then pass out in a pool of your own vomit. You have to keep getting deeper into the rabbit hole, don't you?" She asks crossing her arms. "So, what happened?"

You give her a basic rundown of what happened including his knowledge of their work and his apparent inability to silence Snark. She listens through this entirely before replying.

"Well, sounds to me like he wants to use us against CC Corp. Even though we were already doing that, I'm not too sure how comfortable I am him disclosing he knows our identities like that. The way I see it, we can either try and work actively against him, or continue working against CC Corp. My opinion is we keep working on CC Corp, worry about the enemy at your doorstep not the one who lives down the street, if you catch my meaning." She explains.

"So take care of CC Corp first then worry about hackers later? Does that not seem a little, I do not know, reckless? They seem to be a powerful entity at least." You tell her making her nod.

"And if they decide to try and hop our fence out back then we put them down, but for now I say we just take care and keep on keeping on. All we can do. I don't even know where do start with hackers." She sighs.

"I will call a guild meeting after this is all over, try to at least warn the others about the new entity. For now, I think I will see a man about a thing." You tell her before leaving to find Vivdor.

You find him performing a flexing pose with his hands behind his back in front of a marble statue. You stare at the surreal scene for a few seconds before clearing your throat to alert him to your presence. "Vividor what are you doing?"
1/2

"Ze statue, she is, how you say, challenging me. Like ze Greek gods of old, only one may walk away as a sculpted figure of ze manhood. ze other shall have how you say, bulbasaur." he tells you making you shake your head.

You are about to tell him that isn't the word he wants when the marble statue before your cracks and then shatters into small stone and dust making him nod in satisfaction.

Wat say wat do?
[]Can you modify my character?
[]Nothing, just wanted to see what's up
[]How do you do that?
[]Other, please specify

>>24944094
[x]How do you do that?
[x]Can you modify my character?

>>24944094
>[X]Nothing, just came to see what's up

I would rather we didn't tip our had to him. Either he's some sort of hacker who can hide how much he modifies himself to the system, in which case he probably knows more than he lets on, or he is just some guy who is designed weird, and then we should not drag him into this.

>>24944094
Can we view his character information? I'm curious as to what his class/level is listed as.

>>24944198
Vividor Level 50 Steam Gunner

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Some consensus?

[x]How do you do that?

>>24944158
He obviously has a modified character so its either him who modified it or some other person and I'm pretty sure he just enjoys hot, sweaty manliness. Asking him to do this wouldn't really tip since it'd be a favor for a friend and hackers are a threat to be concerned about as any player

>>24944295
...ask him if he's ever met a cowboy who calls himself Archon.

"How do you do that?" You ask making him turn dramatically to face you.

"I have zese, how you say, pumpkin seeds? Zey make my pecs so fine. My abs so finer." He tells you making you furrow your brow.

"No, I mean, you summon eagles, and dolphins, and break statues by flexing. How do you do that?" You ask making him nod.

"Yes, I am, how you say, vary vary goo' looking. Do you see how goo' looking I am? I thought I be saying this before." He explains making you sigh.

"Know anyone named Archon?" You ask as the ground around you is covered in women's and men's underwear.

"I am knowing many people with names like raisin bread. But ze Archon? Zis one not so sure." He tells you before taking a bit from a full sized watermelon and letting the juice flow down his chin onto his chest, the underwear suddenly gone.

"O... Okay. So you modified your character. How? Can you do it to-" You start but faster than lighting he is standing in front of you with a finger to your lips.

"Shhhh, shhhh, shhhh, shhhh...." He stares intensely into your eyes for a second before continuing. "Look at my abs."

You stare at each other for a few moments before looking at his abs and nodding. "They are very nice." You tell him getting exhausted.

"Chen, you being tired from ze party. You no eat. Here." He grabs a few of the stones from the statue remains and put them inside his loincloth. After a few pelvic thrusts he pulls out a perfectly cooked and sautéed chicken on a plate and hands it to you.

"Okay, see shit like that? How do you do that?" You ask somewhat uncomfortable with the dish.

"Oh, zat is concern? Everything from vividor's down there tastes fantastic." He tells you before performing another flex.

You are now standing with a 5 star chicken that a man pulled from his groin which he made from rocks. Wat do?

[]Accuse him of hacking
[]Let him have his secrets.
[]Ask him something
[]Go visit someone
[]Other, please specify

>>24944363
Eh, we mind of asked him already when we asked if he was accepting students; and he didn't really give an answer.

Suspect we're not really meant to question the hows and whys of Vividor, he just is.

>>24944561
[X] Go visit Shimabuku, offer some of this delicious chicken.

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>>24944561
>sautéed chicken on a plate
Giggling like a bitch, oh god how do you even think of this?

[x]Let him have his secrets, then gorge ourselves on the chicken covered in Vividor's raw sexuality.
Vividor meets Hard Gayblin when?

>>24944561
>[x]Let him have his secrets.

He is an enigma that will reveal himself to us in time. For now, it seems that he is content to keep teasing us with things a normal PC wouldn't be able to do. Either that or he won a contest of some sort and asked for a very ridiculously manly character modification.

Thank him for the chicken... and give it a small taste.

>[x] Other: go see the announcer guy. Ask him if he remembers any of the previous Demon Emperors.

Perhaps this Archon person did some circuits of the Arena before fading into obscurity? It wouldn't hurt to ask. We might also get some information on what happened to Raum, and if there are any other Arena players who are acting strangely.

>>24944561
>[x]Let him have his secrets.
He doesn't want to get banned but that doesn't mean he can't still modify our character

>[x]Ask him something
"Could you give me some of these 'pumpkin seeds'? Our hair blowing in the wind may be an extra but what I want to cover up is my information since hackers tried to get my account"
That sounds somewhat convincing right? It may not be the full truth but its a concern for many players likely

I say we let Vividor be the one eternally unsolved mystery of this quest. He's just too magnificent to be understood.

Now, who feels up for messing with NAOO some more?

>>24944676
Honestly? I think asking for anymore now will be counter productive. I think we will have to work more with him than MANIA

>>24944561
Tell Haruko what we learned about Kite the other day (and if she asks why we didn't inform her sooner, say that we were going to ask MANIA to give a presentation to the whole guild, but got distracted with all this Demon Emperor stuff).

Ask her, on a scale of one to ten, how terrible a plan it would be to attempt to summon Kite and sic him on Hamelin.

Rocks to chicken.

My god, it's the second cumming of Christ.

>>24944759

This is probably something we should do. Durga needs to be kept in the loop here. She also usually knows a lot more about good plans that Anon does.

>>24944676
Going to revoke my vote for this and go with what the others are planning.
I feel that we should talk with Cassius since he has a AIDA/Epitaph/Something and Hamelin is nearby. Hamelin will want his hands on Cassius and it would be good to warn him about it and maybe get some information about us hearing the ninja wanting the black dots

>>24944969
>Cassius

Did he have an AIDA or something along those lines? I don't remember if Chen had a headache or something similar when he met Cassius.

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You try and think of something, anything, to say to him but can't. Instead you nibble on the chicken and give some compliments as to the taste before walking away to find the announcer. It takes a bit of searching but you manage to find him holding a karaoke contest next to some giant machine. After he finished the song you walk up to him. "If it isn't the star of the evening! What can I do for you?" He asks, his large afro slightly disconcerting.

"Is there any way I can see a list of previous emperors?" You ask making him nod and point to a plaque in front of the mansion.

You go over and see that on it is a list of current and former demon, holy, and sage emperors. You look over the names but don't see Archon. Oh well. You then turn back intent to talk to Durga some more. You eventually find her chatting with some of Lotus' guild mates though what they were talking about is lost on you, however how Lotus' guild mates giggle when they see you before excusing themselves from Durga makes you have a sneaking suspicion it is one of those female secrets your sister claimed everything is. You shake your head and give a wave, still holding onto your steaming chicken. "Hey, I forgot to mention it, but MANIA and I went to some lost grounds after she walked off last time and performed some experiments. Seems that Kite fellow shows up after a certain amount of time after summoning our AIDA in lost grounds. And this is a lost ground so... on a scale of one to ten, how terrible a plan it would be to attempt to summon Kite and sic him on Hamelin?" You ask making her frown.
(1/2)

"Ten being worst? A ten. He is an unknown quantity and this place is full of civilians. Do you know for certain he won't go axe crazy and just start killing people because, hey, why not?" She asks.

"Maybe?" You offer making her shake her head.

"See, when a lot of people will maybe be sent into a coma because of something you do? That is a pretty bad plan." She tells you before looking at the chicken. "Where did you get the chicken?"

"From Vividor's loins. I do not, he is sort of; I have no idea, okay? It's pretty good loin chicken though." You tell her taking another bite.

"O-Okay Anon. Are you feeling okay?" She asks making you nod.

"Oh yeah, I am fine." You tell her before eating more of the chicken.

Wat say wat do?
[]Talk to her about something
[]Talk to someone else about something
[]Time to leave((5pm real world))
[]It looks like Durandal wants to talk to you
[]Go make sure MANIA isn't hurting someone
[]All Vividor all the time
[]NAOO?
[]Other, please specify
(2/2)

>>24945016
>[x]It looks like Durandal wants to talk to you

Go see what he wants to talk to us about. Maybe he wants to go adventuring, or has some important piece of information that he came by.

>>24945016
[X] Offer some chicken

[X] It looks like Durandal wants to talk to you

>>24944969
You do not recall getting a headache upon meeting him

>>24945016
[x]It looks like Durandal wants to talk to you

If this is about him feeling left out because we didn't ask him if he wanted to join the guild I hope you all get a stutter as well

>>24945016
While she's here, might as well ask about Luna.

Like we got the idea to form the guild when we happened to be teamed up with her, but think it would be best to get as few people involved with all the AIDA and Epitaph nonsense as possible.

Ask how she, Shimabuku, and Lotus were able to avoid tipping her off after we checked on what MANIA was up to.

>>24945058
Was Cassius the roman dude from Luna's guild? If so who was the moon tree guy Snark couldn't infect? Is he here?

>>24945114
Cassius was the roman dude from Luna's guild You are thinking of Katsura, captain of Moon Tree's unit 3. He is not here, no.

>>24945113

Yeah. We can't really dance around the subject forever, but there is a time and a place to do such a reveal. Preferably not when Luna gets coma'd by a rogue Epitaph or an AIDA.

"While I have your attention how did you and Shimabuku manage to get Luna to log off when I went after MANIA?" You ask making Durga's character get a wry smile.

"That was all Shimabuku. You were chasing after the bipolar psychopath and Luna was getting antsy, then suddenly said she had to be pardoned. Shimabuku said he used her own need to make money for food against her by sending an anonymous email asking for a commission of some sort. He said it much more dramatically but still." She laughs a bit at the memory.

You share your farewells before walking off into the crowd again. You nibble on your chicken as you wander the area when Durandal, looking more twitchy and nervous than usual, catches your eye. Seeing no PKers or MANIA in the general area you make your way over to him. "Hey Durandal, what's wrong?" You ask taking more from your chicken.

"Ah Ch-chen! Um n-n-nothing we-well it i-is something b-but. U-Um, m-my friend fro-from the re-real world is g-going to p-p-play a-a-and I was wo-wondering i-if you w-would m-maybe be w-willing to t-t-team up tomorrow after-afternoon? I kn-know you're bu-busy b-but I wa-wanted to sho-show them m-my good side, may-maybe?" He asks hesitantly.

Wat say wat do?
[]Commit, you are all about team building exercises.
[]Best you stay away from normal players, Hamelin might get stabby
[]Other, please specify

>>24945280
>[]Commit, you are all about team building exercises.

>>24945280
>[x]Commit, you are all about team building exercises.

Now might be the time to open up the discussion of infecting Durandal again. I don't want our stuttering companion to go into a coma and the only choice we have currently is to infect him

>>24945280
>[x]Commit, you are all about team building exercises.

We need to help him build confidence in himself so he won't be so reliant on other people.

>>24945357

I don't think that would be such a great idea. AIDAs really require strong willpower to control, and have been known to greatly amplify emotions, positive or not. That could potentially magnify his lack of self-confidence and other negative emotions, and give Hamelin a legitimate excuse to go after him.

>>24945357
Nah, even Snark's brand of AIDA can go wrong, as seen by how MANIA totally lost her shit the first time she was infected.

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"I am all about team building exercises. Sure, count me in." You tell him making him perform a little dance for joy.

"W-Wow, thanks Ch-Chen!" The Squat beast man seems pleased before telling you he has to get ready for tomorrow and logging off.

While you muse about how one gets ready for playing an online game you notice the party is winding down. It is now about 6:30pm.

Wat say wat do?
[]Go hang out with someone Available: Durga, Areta, MANIA, Vividor
[]Go back to town, you are done here
[]Log off
[]Talk to Snark
[]Text Shimabuku and rub it in his face he can't party
[]Call someone
[]Other, please specify

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>>24945508
[x]Text Shimabuku and rub it in his face he can't taste Vividor's loin chicken.


Then say bye to Snark and co, before logging off.

>>24945568
Nah, that seems sort of a dick move. Shimabuku is sort of a bro. Let's just log off

>>24945597
Maybe we can save the rest of the chicken for him?

>>24945464
The first time she was infected Snark was still in his developmental stage before he became our imaginary friend.

>>24945508
[]Text Shimabuku and rub it in his face he can't party
[x]Talk to Snark

One thing we haven't done is test out whether Snark can actually text us or not. We told him too but so far he hasn't. I think it might create some fun for Snark since he is such a lonely person if we give him Haruko, Lotus, and Shimabuku's number

>>24945508

>>24945610

This is a thing we must do.

Then log off, check e-mail, other RL stuff that needs doing.

>>24945508
Logging off sounds good, I think it's time to do some detective work. Also determine if we have any plans for how to solve this case besides
>Have Snark gain all the Epitaph data
>?????
>Profit

You decide to just log off for tonight. As you take off your M2D you see Haruko has already changed out of her bunny girl outfit. You stare at her simple pants and shirt and are about to let out a foul stream of swear words the likes of which you did not imagine Japanese could fully articulate but you decide to let it go. You got more than you asked for and she did say it was uncomfortable. Instead you open up your phone and send an email to Shimabuku.

To: The Korean Version of Iggy Pop

Party was cool. I saved you some chicken. Some digital chicken. Spawned from rocks in a man's groin, it's pretty good.

You are about to close your phone when it vibrates indicating you have a new message.

To: MY WEALTHY GOOD FRIEND MR. CHEN.

HELLO I HAVE BEEN CHARGED BY YOUR LATE AUNT GERTRUDE TO GIVE YOU A TOTAL SUM OF 1,000,000,000 DOLLARS US. PLEASE GIVE ME ALL YO BANK ACCOUNT INFO SO I CAN BE GIVING YOU ALL YOUR MONEY PROMPTLY. SHE DIED FROM A FATAL SHARK OVERDOSE AND LEFT YOU 10,000,000,000 US IN GOLD. IF YOU DO NOT HURRY I WILL BE FORCED TO GIVE ALL 100,000,000,000 US TO HER 268,497 PARROTS. PARROTS ARE ASSHOLES, DON'T MAKE ME DO IT. PS: ALSO BUTTS.

There is no return address.

Wat reply wat do?
[]Just spam, ignore it
[]Send reply anyway, see what happens.
[]Ask Haruko something
[]Send a text to Ryoko
[]Other, please specify

>>24945834
>[x]Send reply anyway, see what happens.

BUTT I HAVE BUTT CHARGED BUTT YOUR BUTT AUNT BUTT BUTT GIVE BUTT A BUTT BUTT OF 1,000,000,BUTT DOLLARS US. PLEASE GIVE BUTT ALL BUTT BANK BUTT INFO SO BUTT CAN BUTT GIVING BUTT YOU ALL YOUR BUTT BUTT. BUTT BUTT FROM A BUTT SHARK OVERDOSE AND BUTT YOU 10,BUTT00,000BUTT000 US BUTT GOLD. BUTT YOU DO BUTT HURRY I BUTT BE BUTT TO GIVE BUTT 100BUTT00BUTTBUTT0BUTT000,000 US TO HER BUTT68,497 BUTT. BUTT ARE BUTT, BUTT BUTT BUTT DO IT. BUTTS: ALSO BUTTS.

>[x]Ask Haruko something

I know that we're not supposed to tell other people about AIDA and stuff... but Luna's a part of the guild. We can't distract her forever with rich commissions from Shimabuku, and she'll eventually stumble across the truth sooner or later. How do you think we should handle this?

>>24945834
[]Send reply anyway, see what happens.

"I will change the color of my outfit to orange if you send me spam. Send spam to the others"

>>24945920

I'd like to float the idea of telling her that something suspicious is going on, like seven years ago.

We don't want to tell her more, because knowing more might make you a target for anyone trying to do a cover-up. Most of the other people either don't care or are reasonably safe in real life. She and Durandal are the two in the most obvious and immediate danger if things go south.

And we should tell her EXACTLY that. If she notices anything odd then we'd like to know, but we're not asking her to take the risks involved.

>>24946049

Seconding this one.

You send a reply carrying a staggering amount of the word "Butts" before waiting for a few moments, but it seems there is no reply for now. You then turn to Haruko and tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. She lifts her M2D and looks at you. "Sup Anon?" She asks setting her M2D aside and stretching, the form fitting fabric of her clothes reminding you momentarily of the bunny suit.

"I know that we're not supposed to tell other people about AIDA and stuff... but Luna's a part of the guild. We can't distract her forever with rich commissions from Shimabuku, and she'll eventually stumble across the truth sooner or later. How do you think we should handle this?" You ask as you hear a particularly loud pop from somewhere between her shoulder blades or back and she just shrugs at you.

"Isn't it obvious? Just remove her from the guild. Once you do that I think the problem of telling her about AIDA vanishes, doesn't it?" She offers.

"W-well that's true but-" You start but she just raises an eyebrow at you.

"Seriously? You are pussyfooting around this subject now? The same agent anon who once told a victim's family, bluntly I might add, that 'Your daughter had likely already been raped to death. We require something with her genetic data to identify various fluids left at the crime scene?'" She asks making you blink.

"I wasn't that bad." You offer but she just shrugs.
(1/2)

File: 1369102561035.png-(905 KB, 1026x792, macanugate.png)

905 KB PNG

"It's your call, but I have to say if you are afraid of hurting her feelings and just keep her involved, for some reason, then it sure is going to suck when she gets her ass ganked." She tells you.

"She could be protected if I infect her with-" You start but she just shakes her head.

"Your call." Is all she says before collecting her things and heading out.

You think over what she said while you sleep.

You awaken after more than 12 hours of sleep, your body protesting that you had been needing such a rest for some time, before you make your way to your bathroom. You never got much facial hair, but you trim yourself up just to be professional and get ready to start your day off right.

You decide that, at 8 am, there is more to do than play a game, so you head to a nearby gym and get a two hour work out in. You come home, shower, and change into some simple clothes. Granted the only clothes other than suits that you own are jeans and white T-shirts, but that is besides the point. You get some coffee and sit down to play 'The World'.

You log into the root town of Mac Anu and note there seems to be a large number of layers online for a weekday morning. You try and think back to your student days to recall if today was some sort of holiday, but you can't recall ever actually having a day off. You look at your online contact list.

ONLINE: Durandal, Vividor.

Now, wat do?
[]Exploran
[]Questan
[]Invite someone(Who?)
[]Call up snark
[]Other, please specify
(2/2)

>>24946169

We need her to tell us and give examples of who the hell we were and what the fuck happened to us! like every fucking moment cause damn.

>>24946163
Sorry anon, didn't catch it before I posted

Rolled 10

I love you, AzureEarth.
Rolling to see how many babies we shall have together.

>>24946210
Rolled a 10 on a d10. We will have all of the babies

>>24946190
Call forth Snark and ask if he ever wanted to be a detective.

>>24946190
>[x]Invite someone(Durandal)
>[x]Call up snark
"I hope those parrots are happy with their wealth."

>>24946250

Seconding this.

>>24946190
Go to the Guild Hall, and use that mirror to observe "Empireo Mac Anu" (Project G.U.) it's time for a stakeout.

That's something government agents do.

>>24946190

See how Durandal is doing.

>>24946206

It's cool, let's tell Haruko basically that: we want to make our friend at least vaguely informed of what's going on, for her own safety.

We don't want to drag her in, but we shouldn't let her walk around COMPLETELY in the dark.

>>24946169
>>24946190

We need to have her run us through some of the shit we did, because we don't remember being flat-out evil.

If she asks why suddenly "Because apparently my heart grew three sizes because I can feel emotions now. Lust was fun, but guilt's looking to kick my ass."

>>24946223
We shall, how you say, have vary vary many babies.
Now: join me in the hip thrusting.

>>24946288
Apparently we traded in competency for the ability to feel feelings.

...Although that reminds me. What if the times things get "hazy" for us isn't because we're possessed or go crazy, but instead kind of relapse into our old professional dead-inside state?

Because whenever we get like that, we seem to be pretty good at what we do.

Since Durandal's confidence needs to be built up maybe we can use Snark? Basically have Snark act like a big and bad pker but let Durandal beat him up?

>>24946353
I don't really think Snark has a suitable personality.

Besides Durandal seems like a smart kid, so I doubt that'd be effective.

>>24946281
Oh wait, I forgot that we had a prior obligation with Durandal.

Well we should raise the subject with Haruko later. Let her know that we have more than terrible ideas to offer.

>>24946190
What time is it currently?

Send Durandal a message and ask when he wanted us to help with his friend.

So guys, I had a Crazy idea. I remember Snark saying he had the ability to go and 'fix' everything if we powered him up enough.

This would mean him having a fairly broad reach in the digital world.

CC corp is huge, powerful, and extremely wealthy. If we don't shut them down completely they're just going to rebuild 'under new management' and be back to their old tricks in no time. Shit, they already got away with it once.

Here's my idea: we don't shut them down. Shutting them down means destroying the World, which is a pretty bangin game all our friends play.

Here's what we do instead: We go full Shadow Borker. We funnel a few pennies here, snip a few shares from a billionaire's portfolio there.... and we pull a Coup.

Imagine, after all the shit Heimlan's pulled.... instead of an epic duel, we just walk in and tell him he's fired/blacklisted. We don't kill him, we just destroy his life like he's done for so many others.

File: 1369104003330.jpg-(17 KB, 289x397, Snark.jpg)

17 KB JPG

You send out an invite to Durandal while you call up Snark. In an instant the young man in a hooded sweatshirt appears before you. "Sup?" He asks making you stare more intently at him for a few seconds. Something seems off until you realize his hair seems a bit longer, his bangs just a bit shy of unruly, but still nowhere near as bad as Deevon. You put that thought aside for a moment before remembering what you had to ask him. "I hope those parrots are happy with their wealth." You tell him making him shrug.

"This innocent Snark has no idea what you are talking about. Although, if it did, it would be sad to inform you that to those parrots I was a boojum." He explains.

Durandal accepts your party request and in a few moments makes his way there. He is accompanied by a thin red haired human boy in black shorts and a tight form fitting belly shirt with long sleeves which reminds you of under armour, and a vest over it. Durandal runs up to you and gives you a doggy grin. "H-hey ch-chen! Th-this is ha-ha-hatsu! M-m-my friend!" He smiles seemingly proud.

"Sup." The young man offers before eying you. "How old are you? Is it really fine for you to be playing with kids?" The young man asks his voice high enough to show he probably has not been visited by the puberty fairy.

"H-h-hatsu! Ch-chen i-i-is a g-g-good gu-guy!" Durandal protests making Hatsu let out a sigh.

"This is why the other kids pick on you, you are too trusting. This guy could be some 20 some odd year old creepo who gets off hanging with kids. Be more careful, it is a pretty safe question with how much you gush on the guy. I just want to make sure you ain't about to get taken into some perverts windowless van." Hatsu explains, clearly not afraid to speak his mind.

"Th-that's not. I-I-I mean he-" Durandal protests thinking things over.
(1/2)

Wat say wat do?
[]Hatsu has a good head on his shoulders
[]It's fine, you can trust me.
[]Other, please specify
Then...
[]Questan
[]Dungeon
[]Exploran
[]Shoppin
[]Other, please specify

Hatsu is level 1 Twin blade, Duradal 38 Cleric, Chen 49 Dancer

File: 1369104121286.jpg-(184 KB, 1280x800, logon.jpg)

184 KB JPG

>>24946547
This is 2/2

>>24946547

>[x]Hatsu has a good head on his shoulders

"I mean, I don't really have enough info to even try something if I wanted to.... but that's no reason you shouldn't be careful."

>Questan

>>24946534
>[x]Hatsu has a good head on his shoulders

His skepticism isn't necessarily a bad thing, Durandal.

>[x]Questan

Let's go see what quests Hatsu can get. Though we could probably annihilate anything that gets in his way, though we should support him so he can learn how to play.

>>24946532

"Anon, what the hell? You quit?"

"Well yeah, I need to go run CC Corp and I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to ask you out if we're partners."

"You were gonna ask me- Wait, run CC Corp?"

"Yeah, I kinda took over the world by going crazy and then playing video games."

"... How?"

"Despite your insistence to the contrary, I am fucking EXCELLENT at plans."

>>24946621
Please, everyone knows Azure Kite is Waifu

>>24946547
[x]It's fine, you can trust me.
The hell this faggot think he is? Durandal qualities are what make him a good person that others put him down for being. He might need to watch for his own well being some more but he is a great person other wise.

>>24946651

I think Kite never put on a bunny-suit to cheer us up.

They better step up their game if they want to compete.

>>24946621
>>24946532

I knew we were forgetting something from the Quest thread checklist: World Domination.

At some point, we need to make a go of it.

>>24946613
>>24946580
Durandal might need to take more interest in his own well being but this faggot is putting down Durandal's best quality and it hasn't led him stray yet

>>24946532
That sounds like a lot of work.

I'd rather restore Harold Hoerwick and/or Aura and leave them in charge.

>>24946779
Hasn't it?

I'm pretty sure we saved him from being PKed like twice.

>>24946817
Him being in those situations led him to us and the only time I recall him being saved from pk is when we first met him and I don't recall that being the result of trust

>>24946869
MANIA saved him from PKs once in town, right?

>>24946924
Now that you mention it, yeah. It still wasn't the result of him being too trusting though. More the result of PKs wanting to bully people

>>24946924

that was because the pkers touched us.

"His skepticism isn't necessarily a bad thing, Durandal. I mean, I don't really have enough info to even try something if I wanted to.... but that's no reason you shouldn't be careful." You explain making him sag a little.

"Bu-but st-still if yo-you don-don't tr-trust any-anyone th-then that me-means y-you wi-will b-be lone-lonely." Durandal mutters making Hatsu sigh and shake his head.

"I'm not saying lock yourself up in a bunker, just be careful. Specially kids our age, there are all sorts of perverts out there!" Hatsu emphasizes his point by giving Durandal a noogie. "So just take things sloooooooow and with a healthy amount of caution!" He explains making Durandal struggle free and rub his head.

"O-o-okay. Ch-chen's fine th-though." Durandal offers making Hatsu shrug.

"Honestly, what ever. Yo, I'm Hatsu, good to meet you Chen. So what are we going to do? I am pretty new so I am up for what ever." Hatsu says.

"How about a quest?" You ask making Durandal nod.

"Ye-yeah! It-it will be be-better with without Ms. MANIA he-here I imagine." Durandal mutters making Hatsu peak to attention.

"MANIA? Who's that? She hot?" He asks making Durandal look away blushing.

You make your way over to the quest counter, and perhaps because of your level variation, you get a good mix of ranges.

QUESTS AVAILABLE:
[]Go collect the package (level 25)Book of sense
[]Help me find my cat!(2) (Level 50)Book of strength
[]I sort of, uh. Look, I will tell you when you accept, okay? (level 10)Book of might

(1/2)

"Huh, sort of odd names." Hatsu notes making Durandal nod.

"Y-yeah th-they o-only ge-get st-stranger." Durandal adds making you frown.

"And sometimes the rewards are... anyway which do you two want?" You ask making Hatsu shrug.

"I'm a noob, remember? Just pick which ever. Ah, wish there was one to peek at cute girls." Hatsu sighs making Durandal look at him.

"Pe-peeking is wr-wrong! Pl-plus wh-why do you ne-need to I me-mean-" He starts but is interrupted.

"I know it's wrong, but it feels so right! Ah, even with my raw animal magnetism I am still a healthy young man you know!" He complains.

What quest pick? Anything you want to talk to the others about when you go to the chaos gate room after picking?
(2/2)

>>24947017
Well since you're just starting out, lets try quest number three.

I have to admit my curiosity is piqued.

>>24947050

After that though, we NEED to do the cat one.

I have to see what the fuck a level 50 kitty rescue looks like.

>>24947080
I bet Mia got lost somewhere again and Endrance needs help beating up Maha to get her back.

>>24947017
[x]I sort of, uh. Look, I will tell you when you accept, okay? (level 10)Book of might

I think we should remind this faggot about being careful and trusting people over the internet, especially with MANIA. Maybe give him a taste of what she is like if she comes online

>>24947017
>[x]I sort of, uh. Look, I will tell you when you accept, okay? (level 10)Book of might

>Talking

Instruct Hatsu on the basics of the game. This isn't so much just target a thing and hit a button until it dies; this is a real action game. You can do well if you pay attention to your surroundings, dodge enemy attacks while lining up your attacks right, but level difference can still make all the difference. You gotta get your own rhythm going and adapt to all sorts of different enemies. Since Durandal and I are ridiculously over-leveled for this quest, there shouldn't be a high risk of being killed in the field, but we're mainly going to be supporting you so you can learn the basics.

And there's like a 9 level difference between you and the monsters here. Our buffs can probably make up the difference, but you gotta be careful.

Rolled 19, 56, 25, 29, 60, 20 = 209

Just some meaningless DM rolls, don't mind me

>>24947143
...I don't like any of those.

>>24947017

I think Durandal might not be straight or a reverse trap.

>>24947181
Doubtful. His reactions to MANIA indicate heterosexuality, and considering Hatsu is his IRL friend, that indicates that Durandal is also male.

You decide to select the one closest to Hatsu's level. After a few seconds a vital vista walks up looking around suspiciously. "Uh, hey you guys are the ones who uh, you took the quest right?" He asks making Durandal nod his head.

"We-we're the ad-adventu-ures you are l-l-looking fo-for!" He proclaims proudly making Hatsu raise a brow at him before shrugging.

"Yeah, what did you need. The quest was pretty vague" Hatsu continues, willing to play along at least.

"Shhhh! Keep it down. Look, okay, I got into some problems with some really bad guys alright?' He says making Hatsu sigh a little.

"Seriously? We have to chase off loan sharks? If I wanted to spend my days doing that I wouldn't have been so happy when mom left my deadbeat old man." He seems unhappy about the quest but the vista just shakes his head.

"No, no. That's, uh, I took care of that. It's just. Look, my wife was really into these tiny collectable figurines and they put us in major debt! The only way we could make ends meet was by doing odd jobs or what ever, but the jobs just weren't enough so we-" He starts but Hatsu interrupts him again.

"So you had to sell your woman to some shady gangsters?! So we doing a yakuza raid? Isn't that sort of 1980s?" He asks making the vista shake his head.

"No, we managed to collect a second loan to pay off the first, but there was a hidden clause saying interest was too large for us to pay back! If we couldn't pay we would be sent to a vampire grunties pit and drained of all our blood!" He shouts horrified.

"So we have to kill the vampires?! Or Destroy the contract?!" Hatsu asks making the vista shake his head.

"No, luckily we both have horrible blood born diseases so we had to pay it back another way. Anyway, I had to dress in an apron and prepare cakes wearing only it and the batter that splashed on me so..." He seems to pause and Hatsu takes this as his prompt.
(1/2)

"The... the cakes were actually people and you were feeding them to townsfolk?" He offers making him shake his head.

"No, they were strawberry shortcake! And worse, they took pictures! If those pictures get out my life as the greatest baker in all Mac Anu will be over! I need you to get them back, please!" He begs making Hatsu mad.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place dammit!" He shouts as the vista scurries off.

"We-well we may as-as well g-g-go" Durandal offers taking Hatsu by the arm and leading him back towards the warp portal.

On the way you decide to explain things to Hatsu to make things easier for him. "This isn't so much just target a thing and hit a button until it dies; this is a real action game. You can do well if you pay attention to your surroundings, dodge enemy attacks while lining up your attacks right, but level difference can still make all the difference. You gotta get your own rhythm going and adapt to all sorts of different enemies. Since Durandal and I are ridiculously over-leveled for this quest, there shouldn't be a high risk of being killed in the field, but we're mainly going to be supporting you so you can learn the basics.

And there's like a 9 level difference between you and the monsters here. Our buffs can probably make up the difference, but you gotta be careful." You tell him making him nod.

You open up the warp portal and select Delta "Disappointed Maiden's Turkish Delight"

Please roll 2d100 for exploran and fightan. I will take best of first three.
(2/2)

Rolled 93, 13 = 106

>>24947491

Powerlevelling, ho!

>>24947408
>"Pe-peeking is wr-wrong! Pl-plus wh-why do you ne-need to I me-mean-" He starts but is interrupted.

seems like overused anime line but its over used for a reason.

Rolled 29, 29 = 58

>>24947491
Can we change back to our standard robes?

I doubt we'd need the extra protection, and looking like some vampire prince isn't exactly making us look trustworthy.

Rolled 7, 2 = 9

>>24947470

>>24947470
>>24947491

so lewd man, so lewd.

>>24947624
...Wow.

>>24947537
>>24947622
>>24947624
So it looks like Hatsu would have been better off doing some solo leveling.

>>24947713
I decided subs counted. so that 29, 29 is good

Note to self: buy .hack franchise, get this guy to write for it.

I just finished the archives, and holy SHIT I can't stop laughing.

Dubs, critical success!

You manage to manage to make your way through the constantly shifting scenery after changing back into your standard robes and let Hatsu have at it. He seems to take to it like a fish to water as he slashes his way through the bats and creatures in the field. He even starts getting creative with it, combining jumps and flips with his moves in order to make it seem more acrobatic. He even manages to kick a lucky animal! Nice! WHILE ON FIELD SP WILL NOT BE DRAINED

You make your way to the middle of the field where a large statue of a grunty stands, and at the foot of it is a picture of the vista making strawberry shortcake. Hatus picks it up, but as soon as he does...

"Bleh, I want to suck your chim spheres, bleh!" VAMPIRE GRUNTY APPEARS!

Hatsu immediately starts laying into him with fast combos, the equipment he picked up on the field making him more than an even match for the undead grunty. He manages to avoid every hit before delivering a swift beheading to the grunty. "Everyone talks too much god damn it! Well, looks like I am pretty good at this." He smiles as he hits level 10

"W-wow! g-g-guess you did-didn't ge-get into tr-trouble s-s-so much for n-n-nothing" Durandal notes making Hatsu give a cheeky grin.

"Ah, wasn't nothin! Ha ha! Still, this is sort of fun. Thanks for inviting me." He laughs.

You make your way to the warp portal to return, but before you touch it the green light showing it is active flickers out of existence. You stand there confused for a moment before you hear a familiar voice from behind you.

"I've locked down the area, Chen. So we can talk." You turn and there standing in scarlet and gold with knee high leather boots and a pointed hat upon his head is Hamelin, flanked as ever by his two AIDA Beast PCs.

"Been a while. How have you been?" He asks walking up to stand a few feet from you.

Well shit

Wat say wat do?
[]Talk to Hamelin
[]Avatar battle now!
[]Tell the kids to stand back
[]Other, please specify

>>24947847
Thank you for your kind words

>>24947875

[]Talk to Hamelin
I'll talk with no funny business if you let the kids warp back.

>>24947875

"All things considered? I could be doing worse." Point a thumb at the kids. "You mind letting them scram? They don't know anything about our problems. Rather not drag bystanders into.... us." Accompany the last word with a vague hand gesture.

If he lets them go, we give him the benefit of the doubt. If he doesn't, have Snark hack us an exit.

>>24947943
>>24947946

Seconding these. No time to mince words.

>>24947875
"If you have even a basic grasp of karma you will let the two of them go.

Even you should have SOME standards."

>>24947875
[trololol] Pout.

"Goddamnit, man. No matter how many times you come back after that night, I only have one thing to say to you: I have a penis."

[X] Let them go.
[X] What do you know about Archon?

>>24947875
If we're going to have a showdown, couldn't you have picked a better location than "Disappointed Maiden's Turkish Delight"?

>>24947875
I forget how the rules work.

Can Durandal and Hatsu just like... log out?

Because if Hamelin's going to be a dick about it, then they probably should.

>>24947982

Let's not mention Archon just yet.

We need to make sure he has NO IDEA what we know, so he might let something slip.

>>24948026
Seconding this.

"Come on Hamelin, you're a bard. Let's at least make it dramatic. Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation, Θ Hidden Forbidden Battlefield, somewhere more impressive for two men of our magnitude.

File: 1369109970319.jpg-(63 KB, 576x359, hamelin.jpg)

63 KB JPG

"All things considered? I could be doing worse." You then point your thumb at the kids. "You mind letting them scram? They don't know anything about our problems. Rather not drag bystanders into.... us."You accompany the last word with a vague hand gesture.

"You see Chen, there is a problem with that." he tells you as you send a command to snark asking for a way out of here.

"Sorry boss, he flooded the whole damn area with other AIDA, it will take me a while to get through them and warp. Don't have enough go juice." He tells you as Hamelin continues.

"I am not allowed to touch you. I would rather not get unplugged so I have to at least listen to my bosses about that. You are a controlled AIDA infection, a whole second hive. The things we can learn from you are almost limitless. With your scrubbed background we can't hurt you in the real world either. That cat girl, Durga? Her similar background implies she is at least connected with you so I can't touch her because she might help give us leads to you. I can't touch any of the epitaph users because, simply put, they are impossibly valuable to us. That idiot man would be too much trouble to be made to vanish, and sweet MANIA... well. Her stability factor alone makes her almost an impossibility. It is really quite troubling for me to be menacing when I have my hands tied like this you know?" he lets out a sigh as he pulls out a large book and looks through.

"I truly feel for you. Really, I do. Maybe we should hang out, go for some drinks. Talk this whole thing out." You tell him as Durandal and Hatsu look between the two of you.

"I knew you would understand my dilemma. After all, what sort of villain do I make if I act so ineffectually." he shakes his head sadly at this.

(1/2)

File: 1369110020996.jpg-(105 KB, 595x842, Aida1_161.jpg)

105 KB JPG

"While we are on the subject of you being a villain and all, couldn't you have picked a better location than 'Disappointed Maiden's Turkish Delight'?" You ask making him laugh.

"But that's just it Chen I didn't pick this area, you did. That is part of the plan. If I can't touch you directly, I will hurt everyone I can who gets close to you. One by one. Until there is nothing left." He smiles gently as you take a step back, a cold sweat running down your face.

"Guys you need to-" You start but it is too late.

"Kill" He commands as the two AIDA beasts lunge forward, tendrils of pure darkness pooling from their backs.

Please roll for combat. 1d100. Best of first three.
(2/2)

Rolled 45

>>24948209

Bitch please, I roll the dice.

Rolled 58

>>24948209

Rolled 58

>>24948209

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

Rolled 72

>>24948209

Time for Snark to dine on pied piper.

Rolled 24, 81, 61 = 166

IGNORE MEEEEEE

>>24948242
>>24948243

>two 58s at the same time

Does that count for anything?

>>24948242
>>24948243

dubs?

>>24948257
Sadly no anon

>>24948242
>>24948243
I wonder if that counts as Dubs.

Also: Snark, try to get the kids out of here. Also, remember how Kite responded to the AIDA in the Lost Ground, would it be possible to send part of yourself, or MANIA or something there, then use that to lead him here? He doesn't seem to be bound to the same rules as us, and I'm pretty sure he'd focus on Hamelin's AIDA over the Kids.

Sudden thought, is there anything stopping us from making another account?

Just fly under the radar as not!Chen? Then be Chen when the situation calls for it?

I mean, we're the hive, not Chen. Would we lose our super-powers like that?

>>24948313
Were this an hour ago I would have agreed. but hamelin seems like he is off the deep end so I would want to avoid anything that would give him an excuse to attack more people

>>24948337

Given that his bosses don't want him to bother us like this, why don't we mail them a clip of him talking about how he's going to hunt down and murder our family?

>>24948368

and then they trace this info to find our friends and family in the real world and take them and us out.

>>24948368

They might be tolerating his presence because he's the only expert on AIDA they have right now. CC-corp *really* wants to create a sapient and stable AI for some reason, and they're not afraid to send out hitmen to take out any opposition. They'll probably be annoyed at Hamelin's antics, but not angry enough to have him terminated.

>>24948209
...Tell Durandal and Hatsu to disconnect their M2D's and drop their controllers.

Best to be thorough.

If Durandal and Hatsu get out of this we're infecting them. No if, then, buts about it. We are infecting everyone close to us so Hamelin doesn't attack them. We could of done this way earlier but some people don't like giving away imaginary friends

>>24948198
"Unplugged?

So you ARE an AIDA, aren't you?

Does that mean that when I kill you, and Snark eats whatever's left, he'll know everything you know?"

>>24948403
If he's the only expert maybe we can replace him?

>>24948412
I don't think infecting them is really much of a deterrent.

Like the reason Hamelin won't go after Shimabuku and MANIA isn't because they're AIDA-PCs, but instead because Shimabuku is a famous idol singer with his own security team, and apparently MANIA is too crazy to threaten.

>>24948253
God damn it I don't like those rolls.

>>24948451

And then we >>24946532 >>24946621

BRILLIANT!

>>24948495

In that case, we shouldn't ruin Hamelin. Leaves too many chances for retribution if he gets his hands on an M2D set. We should either make him a vegetable, or kill him and seal his remains, burn those remains, mix those remains with salt, then seal those things in an unbreakable black box and throw that black box down in to the Marinara trench.

>>24948475
There is no other option beside having their character radically modified to not display their information and thats a big tip off something is wrong. Better to have people that can fight back

>>24948533
I don't think he even has a physical body.

Remember how those goons at the training academy referred to him as "Hamelin" and not his real name?

>>24948562
There is an option.

We kill Hamelin, and see how his successor is.

>>24948604
I think Hamelin might be a prototype AI or some kind of artificial thingy. So we just have to unplug him.

>>24948633
Or eat him.

File: 1369111789247.jpg-(43 KB, 590x796, Anna.jpg)

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You waste no time in opening your fans and waving them towards the two mid flight beasts, two stone spears launching and impaling the beasts. You mental give some commands to Snark, but while he seems too busy to reply with words, you get the feeling he is still trying to break through the AIDA saturating the field. You turn your attention back to the AIDA beasts. One remains stuck on your stone spear, but the other is already free and charging you full tilt. You throw down some buffs on yourself and start fighting the enraged beast dodging claw after claw and laying down magic attacks when ever you catch a break. You keep on on his heels and start feeling pretty good about this battle. The kids are standing away, one AIDA beast is contained and as long as Hamelin is controlling them with that book of his he- You pause and look to where Hamelin was standing and feel your heart sink as you realize he is not there. You try and glance back for him but the AIDA beast sends you sprawling with a swift kick, and you feel your ribs creaking under the strain of the force.

As you are laying on your back you look and see Durandal, standing protectively in front of Hatsu, and in front of both of them Hamelin, glowing a purple aura with black dots floating around him. You roll over and shout. "take off your headsets, now!" But your voice is drowned out by the AIDA beast, but faintly you can hear.

"T-To st-stand in de-defiance of a-all e-e-evil a hero wi-will ne-never care about th-the odds an-and fight fo-for what is ri-right!" Durandal shouts making Hamelin smile.

"Heroism died the moment humanity discovered how much more efficient evil is." Is all he says before ramming his arm through the squat beastman's chest.
(1/2)

For a moment nothing happens then you see it, streams of data being ripped from his PC and black dots rushing in. Cracks start to form on his body and gaping holes form on his character filled only with slowly fading blue light. And through it all, Durandal never stops screaming.

You throw down a fireball in the face of the AIDA beast causing it to stagger before starting to run over to Hatsu and Durandal's fallen form. Hatsu tries to step in front of Durandal but receives a backhand for his trouble and falls over Durandal's prone body.

"Thanks for the treat" Hamelin smiles, the purple aura from before becoming more saturated with black dots. You throw out a globe of darkness, touching on snark to give it that extra kick before grabbing the two bodies of your companions. He jumps back as his aura fades as the Aida beasts start circling him again.

"Good, good! Aida feeds on emotions, Epitaphs amplify emotions. You who hold two of the epitaphs and an AIDA hive, I am certain you will provide us some wonderful data." He states.

He moves to sic his beasts on you again when you hear Snark. "Done! Warping now!" He shouts before you feel like your body is being sucked through a straw.

You are now standing in your guild hall, a visibly exhausted Snark sits panting in a corner while Hatsu leans over Durandal's body. "H-hey. Nobuhiko. Come on, stop joking around. This isn't funny." He states softly watching as his character cracks and fades some.

"H-hey. G-guess I w-wasn't much of a he-hero in the end, huh?" He sadly comments before looking over at you. "A-ah, not like you ch-chen. D-did you g-g-et him? I tr-tried to h-help e-even though it was sc-scary" he tells you, his stutter sounding more like a glitchy audio recording.

Wat say wat do?
[]Make snark fix him now
[]Tell him something
[]Other, please specify
(2/2)

>>24948666
>[]Make snark fix him
>[]Tell him something
No, you were great. You managed to stand up and protect your friend even though he was stronger. We'll get him, don't worry.

>>24948666
...Make Snark fix him.

If he can't, take him to the Cathedral.

>>24948666

>Fix him.
>Talk.

"Kid, you're a damn sight braver than me for trying to stand up to him. All I wanted to do was get us out of there." Brag him by the shoulder and smile. "Don't worry about Hamelin. I've got it under control. If he's opening the table to dirty pool, his time's measured in hours."

If Snark says he's good, tell them to not log back in unless we tell them it's cool.

>>24948724

Seconded.

>>24948666
Aw crap, perhaps the Avatar battle may have been a better idea.

>>24948666
>[x]Make snark fix him now

No excuses.

>[x]Tell him something

You are a hero. You held off Hamelin so that we could escape, and didn't even so much as blink.

>>24948666
>[x]Make snark fix him now
>[x]Tell him something

Quote Man of La Mancha or something! If he goes in a coma he goes knowing we will save him!

>>24948745

In that case, it might have been Hamelin vs. Chen, and leaving his two AIDA-beasts to deal with Durandal and his buddy.

>>24948748
And the world will be better for this
That one man scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star.

>>24948724
Actually take him right now, since we're standing outside the warp gate.

We can always just run from Kite if he shows up and doesn't help.

>>24948818
You are in your guildhall. Not a warp gate. Snark does not have a quick point to the cathedral

>>24948831
Oh, never mind then.

>>24948797
Do this. This is perfect

>>24948831
How long would it take to walk his ass to the cathedral? Could Snark hold Durandal together until we got there?

We have a hole in ourself that is filled by Snark but should be filled by a epitaph right? Since Durandal probably has a giant hole in him due to Hamelin we could give him the epitaph data Snark devoured

>>24948858
If possible, try this.

Time for a gamble born of desperation.

"Snark, fix him, now." You command making Snark look at you strangely.

"Fix him? What do you mean?" He asks making you glare at him.

You walk over to him and grab him by the front of his hooded jacket and slam him against the wall. "No excuses you miserable bastard! Fix him now! You have to be able to do something!" You tell him making him raise his brow to you.

"It would be like trying to perform CPR when their heart and lungs are missing. There is a certain logistical problem there. I could maybe shove a ton of AIDA in him, but that would weaken me to nothing, and the thing that comes back won't be Durandal, it wouldn't even be a shell. It would be a false image." He tells you as you set him down slowly.

"H-heh I-I-I gu-guess rea-real he-heros are di-different, huh." Durandal laughs as Hatsu seems to think of something.

"Ah! Your cell yeah, I can just call that! Bastard wait till I chew you out for messing with me like this." You faintly hear the sound of a phone in the background being dialed.

"You are a hero. You held off Hamelin so that we could escape, and didn't even so much as blink." You tell him walking over to him and he gives you a weak smile.

"I-I kne-knew y-you were ni-nice ch-chen. And I know if I'll only be true, to this glorious quest, That my heart will lie will lie peaceful and calm, when I'm laid to my rest ..." He sings, his voice clear and free of stutter.

"Come on you stupid ugly son of a bitch. Call me a girl again, make some weird comment about me behaving right. Say something. This isn't funny. Nobuhiko!" Hatsu shouts tears streaming down his face.

"And the world will be better for this: That one man, scorned and covered with scars, Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, To reach ... the unreachable star ..." You finish for him as he smiles at you, finally breaking apart into tiny motes of blue light.
(1/2)

You sit silently for a few moments, the only sound being Hatsu's crying, before speaking up. "Why couldn't you be faster?" You ask Snark making him shrug.

"I seem to remember constantly telling you to kill Hamelin. To rip his mind to pieces and feed him to me so he can never come back in any form, and instead you go and provoke him, constantly. Pissing him off to no ends and making it quite clear he was your enemy, and now you wonder how I could have allowed your villain to be villainous? he had clearly discovered a way to track you, after the event in the real world, and he told you constantly he was trying to hurt you and you just walked on like it didn't matter. If I think on it, didn't Durga say she didn't like civilians getting involved, and that it was dangerous some time ago? Yet you still wanted to play. By all means, blame some one Chen, but I can promise you this is not my doing." He explains before vanishing again.

Hatsu is still crying on the floor of your guild hall.

Wat do?
[]Log off
[]Infect Hatsu
[]Other, please specify

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>>24949033
This is 2/2 by the way

>>24949024
Damnit, guess there wasn't enough time.

Plan: Head off to a Lost Ground. Lure Hamelin there with innocents. Have Snark lock the place down. Get innocents to remove their headsets and drop their controllers. Summon Kite, and leave.

>>24949033
Well, that was depressing.

>>24949033
"The reason I was so flippant with him was because I assumed he was much much stronger than me, and that literally the only reason he hasn't killed me yet was because his bosses ordered him too, and that self-defense would provide a plausible excuse to tear us apart.

The alternative would be letting him know how scared of him I was."

>>24949047

bad plan.

>>24949033
>"I seem to remember constantly telling you to kill Hamelin. To rip his mind to pieces and feed him to me so he can never come back in any form, and instead you go and provoke him, constantly. Pissing him off to no ends and making it quite clear he was your enemy, and now you wonder how I could have allowed your villain to be villainous? he had clearly discovered a way to track you, after the event in the real world, and he told you constantly he was trying to hurt you and you just walked on like it didn't matter. If I think on it, didn't Durga say she didn't like civilians getting involved, and that it was dangerous some time ago? Yet you still wanted to play. By all means, blame some one Chen, but I can promise you this is not my doing." He explains before vanishing again.

Just wanted to point out: I wanted to Data Drain Hamelin at the Tournament. You all said no.

>>24949084

"It doesn't matter anymore though. He struck the first blow, and I'll be damned if I let him strike ever again. Snark, I want to try and talk to Kite. Depending on that, I have several ideas on how to kill or at least permanently defang Hamelin."

>>24949125
Because he was toying with us.

The only reason we still live is because his corporate masters demand it.

>>24949142
>Because he was toying with us.
Doesn't matter, this is all your faults.

Flood Hamelin's guild. Now. We have npcs rip that place to shreds. Find Hamelin and devour him.

If we devour Hamelin we'll get his data back. If we are able to find him in the real world and put his headset back on then infect him with his data then he should be all right, right?

>>24949196
Maybe?

I don't know if that's how it works.

We can't rush in alone though. That'll just get both of us killed.

Maybe, uh, maybe we should have hatsu call a hospital or something? Try and get an ambulance to Durandal's place?

>>24949180

So getting an immediate and irrevocable game over would be the better option to you?

>>24949196

I'm not sure about that, but Snark said his 'win' state where he takes over the main hive would let him heal everyone.

Which is why we wanted that, along with vague plans for power, killing Dick-face McChildmurderer, and possibly world domination.

So it might not matter who gets burned as long as we win, though I would caution against that line of thinking.

>>24949196
Nope. Gonna need a guild for that shit. Or convince Aura to send over the Azure Knights.
>>24949235
Durandal is hospitalized, remember?

>>24949235
I think he's already in the hospital.
He seemed pretty sickly.

But yeah, Natsu knows Nobuhiko. Tell him to log off and find him.

>>24949268
>>24949269
I thought he only went there every once and a while for therapy and for check ups because he had a thing from the twilight incident?

>>24949235
This is probably the best idea so far. Before we tell him to do that we need to get his member address and ask him where he and Durandal lives. If he ain't willing to part with that information we tell him his friend and our friend's life is on the line

>>24949196

I vote we burn his guild down too. If Hamelin isn't there, kill everyone who is and lay as many traps down as humanly possible. Even if we can't kill him we could damn well bloody his nose if nothing else.

>>24949269

Seconding this.

Tell Natsu that Nobuhiko is not dead. There's a way to recover him and we're working on that, but right now you need to go make sure that Nobuhiko is as OK as he's going to get on the other side of the screen.

>>24949289
His guild is full of CC Corp admins, you fool.

We clean our house first.

>>24949256
How would it be a game over? It would have solved the Hamelin problem right there. It would have also most likely had a new guy show up.

>>24949313
CC Corp admins would only be there if they were important to know what was going on. Only the big higher ups would likely be there and so far we have only seen Hamelin. If we don't go there ourself we could still send some npcs to annoy them

>>24949289

If we burn down CC-corp's base of operations, they'll probably deem Chen too dangerous to ever be of use to them. Commence RL assassins coming down on Anon and everyone he knows. As asinine as Hamelin is, he's still got the backing of a multi-billion dollar corporation with little in the way of scruples.

>>24949353
It isn't CC Corp's base or we'd be in trouble just going there. Its likely just Hamelin's base of operations where he keeps his goons and aida dogs

I think Hamelin is expecting us to get sloppy and go on a rampage now, thus providing an excuse for him to destroy us.

Can't see what else he gains from going so far to make us hate him.

>>24949383
He's not in charge, which is why the grunty doesn't look like him.

He also referred to it as Project GU headquarters.

>>24949328
You idiot. Why would we be able to beat him with one or zero Epitaphs?
>>24949383
No, he mentioned earlier on his superiors were alarmed that we breached security.

>>24949390

A sloppy rage focused Chen that will send it's remaining allies away isolating itself to be easily taken out.

Also for a second there I forgot Chen was a guy. Brain is tired and running on needless logic.

To be honest, Hamelin seems like he may have gone crazy enough to just start killing random people who have the misfortune to be in the same field as us.

>>24949401
Because he would have either been demoted to Mid-Boss pretending to be the Final Boss or if he had won, he was toying with us and would have left us there after winning.

Also, I take offense at you calling me an idiot, thus I will tell you to learn your fucking tropes you fucktard.

Alright, here's what we do: DON'T attack the main headquarters of the fucking company running the game.

Let's start hunting down as many Epitaphs as we can. We get all eight and we win, and we already have more than one.

I also vote seeing if we can talk to Kite somehow. Like, act nice, but keep our distance and ready to bug-out if he attacks.

>>24949450
The problem is that we have literally no idea how to find the other Epitaph users.

We know what their Epitaphs are called, but that's it.

>>24949449

You're assuming pure narrative causality when you have no reason to.

Shit, for all we know our Meta knowledge in established lore might not be 100% spot on and you want to take the wild leap of faith on that?

Seriously, if he was/is the endboss dude and we tried to gank him and failed, he would be well within his rights to END US on the spot for attacking an admin.

Because, in character, we know that's how real criminals act because we're a fucking secret agent, not a romanticist nerd.

>>24949468

There is the fact that AIDA and the Epitaphs are connected and call to each other somehow.

I don't think we ate Tarvos by the way. We should Copy Tarvos and eat that from Lotus if we haven't already.

>>24949450
>>24949468

Then we need to get the guild together and start thinking of ways that we can find them other than just following leads on a message board. As menacing as Archon was, he mentioned that contact between AIDA and Epitaphs was inevitable since they call out to each other. Well, we just need to figure out a way to call out to them or reach out to them so that they gravitate to us.

Your mind floods with hot fury, you consider everything from ripping Hamelin's world apart to walking into CC Corp fully decked out in weaponry, a man with nothing to lose. Then, like a cold dagger stabbing into the back of your mind, you regain your composure. You take a deep breath and look at the situation calmly, not as Chen, friend to Durandal, but Agent Anon, the machine pretending to be human. You look at Hatsu and hear them calling again and you walk over to him. "Hatsu. Hatsu, focus." You command.

"Playing a sick fucking joke like this, pick up god damnn it pick up." You hear and, shocking even you, you allow your AIDA some freedom and give him a hard slap on the face. He looks at you, the sensation clearly jarring him back to reality. "I, I don't know what do I-" He starts but you silence him with a look.

"First give me your contact information. Second you are going to call an ambulance to go to Nobuhiko's home and run there yourself. You will tell them you were playing a game with him when suddenly he went silent and wouldn't answer the phone. You will likely find him in a coma. Make sure he is not suffocating on anything, and is not in any immediate danger if the paramedics are not there. Do you understand?" You ask making him look at you wide eyed. You use the AIDA again and pinch him in the cheek making him yelp. "Do you understand?" You ask again.

"Y-yes, I understand." He tells you before giving you his member info and contact details. "I need to call them, I-" He starts but you stop him again.

"Send me an email at the account listed in my contact data about what occurred, as well as the condition of Nobuhiko. I request a constant stream of information from you." You explain as you hear him dial 110.

"y-yeah but I don't-" he says but you cut him off.
(1/2)

"And by request, I was being polite because you are in shock. If you do not I will track the information down myself and you will likely be in more danger because I will have no need of you. Do you understand?" You ask making him nod.

"Y-yes." You can tell he is shivering but you do not care. It has to be done.

As Hatsu logs out you look over the guild area and decide nothing more can be done from there before you take off your M2D and move to the kitchen to take care of eating. You eat the bland meal and down it with water before going into the restroom and taking care of biological needs. You wash your face and when you catch your image in the mirror you see your face is calm, your body not tense, but ready to take on anything that comes, and your eyes completely and totally dead.

Alright, how about we call it here? Remember there are greeting cards to be had at the top of the thread, and I will stick around for a while to answer any questions/concerns/comments. Criticism is always welcome! Thanks to you guys I feel a little better about how I am running it.
(2/2)

>>24949500

>The guild

Well now I feel fucking stupid. How many supers with Hax powers who hate this guy run with us? Why don't we call in reinforcements, lock it so he can't leave, and the Gank him.

Also, archived, please don't forget to vote!

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html

>>24949523
So... now what?

It kind of feels like we've jumped right to the endgame, but we only have two (technically three) Epitaphs, have no idea how to find the rest, and are at level 50ish out of 150.

Like one of my favorite parts of the quest was the quest are the fun in-game quests and the humor in general, but that won't be happening for the foreseeable future.

>>24949523

You know you're doing something right when people start arguing about how we could have prevented something bad from happening to an undeserving character.

Greeting Cards:

>Lotus:
>[x] What about when you eat out?

>Durga:
>[x] How many siblings do you have?

>Vividor:
>[x] Other: It is ON like Donkey Kong.

>Shimabuku
>[x] Words that mean something to you

>>24943391
Lotus
>Coffee or Tea?

Durga
>What's with your family and baseball again?

Durandal
>...I'm sorry.

Shimabuku
>Anything your agents try to make you say?

>>24949575
If you want me to put it into perspective you would be around the end of disk one right now. Things get a bit spr srs then they might mellow back out, assuming anon doesn't command Agent Anon goes all edgy and grimdark. That is how I have it planned anyway. I plan on having the humor and fun in game quests still a plenty in the future anon.

>>24943434
...Send the flowers to Durandal, the poem as well.

... I just remembered you were in mid email chain with him too. That sort of stings

>>24949614
It seems like Agent Anon kind of auto-grimdark'd.

Unless when he switches back to having feelings, the whole thing seems kind of distant and fake, like the time he probably blew up that training station and all of a sudden learned charisma with that one high school girl we spent the better part of a night traumatizing.

...I think it's time we told Luna everything.

It seems like ignorance is no defense, and even if we abruptly cut off all content with her, Hamelin is more than smart enough to know that means that she matters to us, and is thus very useful as a hostage.

Like it's already too late to act like we don't know her.

>>24949626

Seconding. It must be done, even if he won't see it for a while.

>>24949655

It's kind of like Anon discovered how feelings work again and went out to try how being a human being felt like with all the emotions and enjoyment. But then found out that being human also introduces glaring vulnerabilities.

I guess it's up to us to get Agent Anon/Chen to remain a balanced human being who can intensely, objectively, and impartially focus on a task without becoming less than he was.

>>24949655
I was thinking more like that became his default response to a horrible situation he had issues coping with. So he went back into 'Agent Anon' mode. Make the witness talk, do not waste time, eat enough to survive, etc.

he was that way for years, he is just having issues... dealing. The players, and by effect Agent anon, kind of liked Durandal.

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>>24949644

Question: Does this picture mean anything to you?

Not related to .hack//. Though I suspect that this iteration of Durandal would not have been so endearing.

>>24949717
Ha ha, Marathon, right? I actually just chose the name at random. Didn't even think of it.

Aw, seems my quest received its first downvote. Anything I did in particular that made you unhappy with this thread anon? The quest was a bit short but I figured as you were nearly 50 it would have to be.

Any advise would be most welcome!

>>24949805

>First downvote

Probably because Durandal got ganked and there wasn't anything we could actually do about it?

>>24949750

Yeah, thought he was a reference there for a second. With the AIDAs and rampancy and everything. Although it would be somewhat of an interesting spin to see a .hack// game with the protagonist taken hostage by a somewhat malevolent (but mostly sarcastic) AI and forced to run around and do its bidding.

>>24949805

There's like one or two people that downvote quests in general.

>>24949838
I am sorry you thought there was no choice anon. I tried to present the chance, but I might not have been clear enough. I will try to do better next time so as not to seem railroady to you.

>>24949033
Man I had a plan to take down Hamelin.

It was risky as fuck and potentially impossible, but it was still a plan.

>>24949873
Given that Hamelin has never been the slightest bit intimidated by us (like when we all of a sudden showed up at his guild hall, he walked towards us in anger instead of away in fear), it never really seemed like killing him was a feasible option.

>>24949895

Yeah, I agree with this sentiment. That, and his seeming indifference when we killed his AIDAs during the Demon Palace tournament.

>>24949873

I didn't downvote it, I'm just saying. I mean, if we fought Ham we might've gotten him, but he would've got one of the kids with his goons. Just by flanking us, we were the only infected, and he had three guys with him.

>>24949895

It could be that he underestimates us, or he's putting on a brave face.

Or it could be the fact that he has the giant corporation behind him, while we're just us.

Granted, he's about to see us take off the nice mask and murder everyone he's ever loved, but.....

I guess what I'm saying is that we've never given him a reason to BE intimidated. We're interesting, not scary.

We need to scare the FUCK out of him. I vote we talk to Kite, see how that goes.

>>24949927
And hell, even if we infected Durandal and Natsu, it wouldn't exactly have leveled the playing field.

...And I know that it would totally ruin the tension, so I can understand why you didn't do it, but it's annoying to have characters forget that they're playing a game.

>>24949895
>>24949927

He is also an impossibly unbalanced man. He has mood swings when talking to you, and reacts in anger when something happens that he does not understand. I thought you might snark up and try to at least fight him a little some time. Maybe get a solid gauge of his ability.

Even if you didn't, I am only running a quest because my players enjoy it. I want to run an enjoyable quest for you all.

>>24949922
I figured you would notice he seems to not be in short supply of them is all.

>>24949927
>murder everyone he's ever loved
I'd say we've already succeeded in that department.

By which I mean I'm pretty sure he's either a malevolent AI or a sociopath, so 'love' isn't exactly a popular sentiment for him.

>>24949949
They did know they were playing a game. They just had no idea coma things were going on. Durandal just thought he was some jerk who made an rp rivalry with you. Once Durandal got datadrained Hatsu sort of panicked .

>>24949959
Nah that's fine.

I guess most of us collectively assumed that fighting Hamelin would be like fighting Kite, or in other words "suicide", and that's our bad, not yours.

>>24949982
Well fuck.

I guess that's what we get for assuming ignorance would be a valid defense.

>>24950011

Total ignorance isn't. Knowing enough to know something's weird isn't really enough to make them 'involved' but it might be enough to keep them safe.

That's basically how I suggested handling Luna (and how we should've handled Durandal): making them AWARE but not necessarily INFORMED.

>>24950067
So just anon being bad at plans again?

>>24950090
Pretty much. We should have told Natsu and Durandal to log off immediately after Hamelin blocked the exit.

Or at least had that option be voted for more.

>>24950090

Actually, that was me not getting my vote in on time earlier in the thread, and the fact that this is the first one I caught.

Unlike Anon, I am THE BEST at plans. Like Cirno good.

Fair warning, I will probably be rooting for Haruko for romantic interest when/if it comes up, though I have no particular interest in active Waifuing.

One thing I should say about this is check out the characters I wrote:
Agent Anon: Totally different than planned
Shimabuku: Actually planned, K-Pop and all
Luna: Threw her together because you went solo
Durga: Barely remembered government agents had partners at end of a thread
Vividor: Supposed to be a oneshot
Durandal: Supposed to be running joke of you constantly saving him from Kestral, but otherwise one shot.
MANIA: Ha ha ha, why did you make friends with her?
Areta: Actually panned sort of
Hamelin: Google image searched something, just grabbed picture and went from there.
Lotus: Planned and executed. Blander that planned.
Riko: Was just supposed to up your paranoia sensors anon!
Archon: Had to design him after thread 1 plans were clearly not happening.
Lancemore/Frenchguy from early threads" So you pick Vividor but not him? Really?

>>24950181
>MANIA: Ha ha ha, why did you make friends with her

Man how COULDN'T we make friends with her is a better question.

>>24950181
Well then my compliments to you for your skill at improv.

>>24950246
Thanks, but the rabbit hole goes deeper.

Those are just the ones we currently use. Most of the ones I planned for just never came to be. Well, as long as anon likes his current party I am happy I suppose.

Granted, you were not supposed to get infected on the first thread. Did not see that coming.

>>24950310
It's not really too late for them, considering .hack has BIG parties. Like Haseo and Kite each had around twenty.

Also just how many crucial plot elements were determined by exceptionally good/poor dice rolls?

>>24950369
An exact number? No idea, not as many as you might think. For example, when I rolled for MANIA leaving and you went after her, the highest roll determined where you found her at. As the highest was gateroom you had a feeling and went there, quick way of choosing, but not really plot relevant.

Then again I have to think of the thread one coma. At the very least all the rolls I do or ask for mean something, but if they are important or not, it is hard to say.

The three I rolled this time in the fire were
1 time for Snark to make a portal
2 hamelin's roll for being an evil creepy bastard
3 if the beasts could keep you busy

Again, I add on non written variables if you come up with a good plan, Which is why I almost always say "Other, please specify"

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104 KB JPG

No other questions then I will call it here. See you all again tuesday or wednesday depending how long I sleep.

Sorry so many did not enjoy the direction this took. I will attempt to get the feels over as fast as I can

bamp