>>25496608
Eh, she has a point in that we don't want anyone to actually take an active role, but I think we (by which I mean Anon) already flunked the stealth part.

Like everyone knows we're snoops, but they can't prove that snooping is our job.

It probably is a good idea to cool off a bit on the whole 'meddling kids' thing though.

>>25496608
Maybe explain that we're kind of afraid that the only reason Moon Tree is being so quiet now, is because they're getting ready to be really loud?

Like it's probably irrational, but we worry that this has the potential to be even worse than Hamelin if we don't nip it in the bud?

Though there is a difference between 'preemptive strike' and 'guns blazing into the unknown'.

>>25496717
Yeah, seconding this, and requesting to attach the 'There are no civilians' part - after what happened with Hamelin, I think we can all agree that they're ultimately closer to hostages than civilians.

>>25496761
Well I don't know, I think there are definitely still civilians, that should stay as far away as possible from all the AIDA nonsense.

It's just that sometimes where she sees civilians, we see victims and witnesses.

Ask her if she has any tips on how we can gather information in as unobtrusive a manner as possible?

Like that was never our strong suit, since I'm pretty sure back then we let Haruko do most of the talking for obvious reasons.

>>25496717
>>25496756
>>25496761
>>25496827
The important thing is that we say we're going to follow her lead on this, since this is really out of our comfort zone.

Maybe we should just smile and nod for now?

>>25496608

Bump

Be nice, I think.

>>25497109
Well yeah obviously.

I mean she's not shouting, has good intentions and is making some good points, nothing to be mad about.

File: 1371519055500.jpg-(97 KB, 750x600, altimitatariredqo3.jpg)

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"After the whole Hamelin incident I don't really think thee are any civilians anymore. They seem more like hostages." You explain.

"Hostages are still considered civilians, Anon." She counters.

"Where you see civilians I see witnesses and victims. How do your propose we deal with that then if we can't go stomping around?" You ask making her sigh.

"We do what we did at the start. Play the damn game, stay cool, and if something pops its head up we jump on it, but don't go in everywhere guns blazing and demanding answers. Act like a player, not a spook. Go do things that makes sense for as a player. Storming into Kestral's HQ while demanding answers from the guildmaster in full view of everyone is not unobtrusive, it's obtrusive." She explains.

"What if Moon Tree is gearing up for an attack? There is a difference between per-emptive strike and guns blazing you know." You explain.

"And what if they aren't? What if not everyone is infected and crazy and it's still small? What if everyone is infected and crazy and they know we are coming? What if, hell, what if they have someone watching Kestral and us asking Deevon to follow up with us gets him targeted? Or they know we are coming now and kill everyone? We don't know even close enough, and acting unnaturally would be a very bad idea." She explains.

Seems she has her concerns out in the open.

What's the plan?
[]Fine, so we just play it cool then?
[]No, there isn't enough time. Sometimes you have to kick in doors to get answers.
[]Snark, your thoughts?
[]Other, please specify

>>25497152
Is she okay with our guild members being involved in this?

How about sending two people to investigate every root town we have access to (Mac Anu, Lumina Cloth, and that one we just found, Dol Dona?) while one person stays here and uses the mirror to scan every guild hall we can access, and overall coordinate the search?

>>25497152
[X] You have a point. How do you propose handling this situation, then?

>>25497130

I have no clue what was going on in the Quest, I just like Azure and wanted to bump a slow thread.

>>25497192
If that's still too obtrusive, then play it cool.

Also tell her everything we've learned so far, starting with that one Moon Tree guy we saw last week, and moving on to the message board and the mirror.

She does have a point in that it's extremely odd for a group to just suddenly jump out and start acting as protectors of the realm, as it were. That shit does draw unnecessary attention. While we do have evidence (staticy camera, forum investigation), none if it is anything we can really confirm.

"For the record, I feel uneasy about this, but since most of it is pure supposition, I'm willing to play it cool for a while longer. Do you have any ideas about what we can do?"

>>25497192
Like I don't know, innocent curiosity about where Moon Tree has gone seems like it could be justified, especially since CC Corp knows damn well that none of them are detectives.

But then again, two people asking questions in every city might be really noticeable.

>>25497223
Your non-specificity of how you like me leads me to believe we will soon be shy hand holding starting from the pinkies. I may be okay with this.

Writing now.

>>25497305
Well I mean CC Corp is already on to us.

They know we killed Hamelin, on some level they know about Snark, and they know we're friends with two Epitaph Users.

Unless she thinks its a good idea for us to disband Eclipse, make new accounts etc, they're never going to dismiss us as normal.

But just because they know doesn't mean the average player should, which I guess is her point?

>>25497345
Not worried about CC corp, as far as attention goes. I was talking players - there's always some that want to play the part of savior, and we'd have them all crawling around us asking to join if our guild got that sort of reputation.

>>25497405
Oh well yeah then she makes a damn good point.

Ideally Eclipse will stay at the exact same size as it is now.

"How about our guild members then?" You ask.

"They are already neck deep in crazy, it's actually more dangerous for them to get uninvolved than it is to stay involved at this point." She explains.

"So what if we had them in the different root towns we have access to and let them ask around?" You ask but she shakes her head.

"That would attract just as much attention from players. We want civilians to remain uninvolved and ideally not trying to get involved with us. Just do like we did from the begining; play the game, keep an ear to the ground." She explains.

"Maybe. We should have someone here watching the mirrors though. Or have Snark do something Snarkish." You explain.

"Has he been listening this whole time?" She asks raising a brow.

"Not sure, probably?" You offer.

"So, we doing it that way? Playing it cool until we have solid information? We were running at the speed of light until recently, but that isn't always good." She offers.

What's the plan?
[]Okay, we play the game and don't stick our necks out too far.
[]No, we have to hurry or people could get killed.
[]Other, please specify

Also, if done
[]Call MANIA in
[]Ask Snark something
[]Other, please specify

>>25497499
Yeah that's fine.

Ask Trap Grunty if there's any way to officially authorize her as co-leader of Eclipse.

>>25497499
[X] Okay, we play the game and don't stick our necks out too far.
So, back to online lurking and waiting for our lead to show up?

Okay. May as well scour some dungeons, find quests...

>>25497499
[X] "I'm not too fond of the idea of doing nothing, but honestly, you're right. I can't really see any way of going about this beyond the mirrors that doesn't attract undue attention...As much as my gut tells me that not stepping in is a bad idea, I'll bow to your wisdom for the moment...but what do we do if our mirror-watching turns something up?"

>>25497499
>[x]Okay, we play the game and don't stick our necks out too far.

The plan was to gather information before acting, anyhow. If there are rumors going about, it's only a matter of time before they spread to the forums or such. If our worst fears about Moon Tree are true, then going in blind would go badly for us. We gotta powerlevel ourselves in preparation for any bad guys in the future; even if they are infected, they still play by the rules of the game. But still... it feels like there's more we could be doing, even if there isn't anything.

I wonder if our favor with that one eccentric guildmaster could be powerful enough for him to pull some strings and find out what's happening in Moon Tree?

>>25497499
Ask Snark what would happen if someone was given an Epitaph they weren't compatible with.

Would it just not work, would it drive them insane, or send them to coma-town like everything else in this game.

>>25497622
Maybe we can smooth things over with the guys Vividor is friends with?

Ask Haruko if she thinks its worth getting involved with those dudes, or if it's too big a risk.

>>25497664

Well, they're our only other lead so far, and Vividor seems to think that they're legit. So that makes them legit in our book too.

>>25497622
Nah we save that favor.

That's our Megalixer.

>>25497607
Let's go with this. Also, send a PM to MANIA thanking her for waiting outside for the moment, and that she can come on in. Seems we can go to team discussion now.

>>25497664
Vividor is going to work on smoothing that out for us. Though, we can PM him as well, when we log off.

File: 1371522042525.jpg-(61 KB, 508x432, Chen9.jpg)

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"So it's back to looking for leads then?" You ask.

"We did sort of kill our main suspect, as it were." She offers.

"Fair point. What if we see something in the mirrors? Or hell, what about Vividor's contact?" You ask.

She frowns. "If it's the mirrors we can probably think up some excuse or lie for being there. We do have the ability to lie you know. As for Vividor, he's either deeper in this than anyone can possibly imagine, or so totally uninvolved it doesn't matter. I have no idea which, so I say exercise your own judgement on that. As for his contact, if he got spooked like that then I imagine he is probably paranoid and getting in touch with him will take a long while." She explains

"I see. Hey Snark?" You ask getting a reply from within your mind. "What happens if the epitaph is put into someone it isn't compatible with?" You ask.

"It breaks free and flees to find someone who it can bond to. Binding the epitaphs to incompatible PCs is what caused the fire thingy at CC corp if I'm, not mistaken. Comas may also be had. In fact, just assume comas come from everywhere and everything." He explains

"Trap grunty, can you make Durga co leader or something?" You ask and he sighs.

"She can be vice leader, like, second banana, but otherwise it is one master per guild." He explains before sipping his coffee, the black liquid life force being the only thing which matters to him.

"Go tit." You explains. You send a PM to MANIA for her to come in and after a few seconds she does so.

"Are you finished?" She asks.

"Yeah, thanks for waiting." You say.

Well, what now?

ONLINE: Vividor, Durandal, MANIA, Durga, Luna

Time: 20:30

[]Do a dungeon?
[]Check out the arena
[]Contact someone
[]Ask someone something
[]Quest time
[]Other, please specify

>>25497945
>[x]Do a dungeon?

We were fairly underlevel for those other quests, as I recall. Why not unwind with a lot of hacking and slashing stuff?

Let's also see who's available for a dungeon run. I was thinking about inviting Vividor and Durga so we can get a feel for him... but I get a feeling that all we'll see are impossibly sculpted abs.

>>25497945

I'm tempted to just log off for the night and send a message to that guy we spooked..

Vividor's probably smoothing out things with his friend for us; Durandal's Lost, we can't do anything really at the moment, except wait for Deevon to contact MANIA, and we just had a near meltdown with Haruko - again. We could use some time to just unwind, I imagine.

I'm thinking coffee at someplace local place.

>>25497945
Quest time.

Try one from Trap Grunty.

File: 1371522889057.jpg-(38 KB, 800x290, Ohshi.jpg)

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Will wait for consensus.

>>25498219
Menage a trois, huh?

[X] Check if Luna is available. If so, dungeoning with her. If not, coffee with Haruko?

>>25498247

This is an acceptable compromise. Luna's going to be involved in a lot more stuff now that she's an AIDA-PC, and it wouldn't hurt to see how she's handling the AIDA infection. Might also need to smooth over some more stuff with Haruko, too.

>>25498273
Actually, we should invite Haruko as well...

Yeah.


[X] Check if Luna is available. If so, dungeoning with her and Durga. If not, coffee with Haruko?

>>25498247
Yeah that sounds good.

>>25498219
>>25498247
Not much of one. Alkaid all day, every day for me.

And yes, let's go ahead and see how Luna's doing. We do need bonding time and some training to teach her how to use her AIDA. See if MANIA wants to come with, since Haruko can't help with that, but we can ask anyway.

So if Luna is busy with her art thing or what ever we go out for coffee with Haruko at 8:30 pm?

Who will you kick to the curb if you go dungeoning then. MANIA or Haruko?

File: 1371523477520.jpg-(203 KB, 808x988, _hack___alkaid___catherin(...).jpg)

203 KB JPG

>>25498376
While Azure kite may be waifu in this game Alkaid is still best girl

>>25498380

Well... we could always invite them both and see what happens. Vividor is probably busy flexing and using his pecs to assuage the fears of our paranoid informant.

They're going to be working together and probably fighting together. We might as well introduce them to the concept early and see if they can't find some common ground other than "you're involved in this world-breaking scenario".

>>25498413
I think parties are only three people, though pretty sure that only matters with quests and not dungeons?

Honestly? Haruko should be the odd one out, since quite literally, she's the weakest link out of our little group. She has no way of detecting, attacking, or defending against AIDA. She's going to be a walking liability anytime things go south.

>>25498434

Oh, right.

Hrm... I guess Haruko, then. We've been doing a lot of stuff with MANIA, and we haven't really gotten a chance to play alongside of Durga in a while. Plus the whole coffee with Haruko thing was to see if we can't smooth out some more stuff with her; if she has time to play with Luna, we'll just do the same in-game.

>>25498489
MANIA just came back. It would be rude to sort of drop her now.

Mooooou~

>>25498489

Well... yeah. I guess Anon can always take a break from the game and hang out with Haruko in the waking world.

Retain Mania, then. But perhaps we should schedule something with Haruko later on? While she might not be real handy in an AIDA fight (yet), we can't just toss her to the side. She's Anon's partner.

>>25498489
We shouldn't find any AIDA in a dungeon though.

Also I'm pretty sure Haruko definitely has a scar of SOME kind on her soul, the only question is what Epitaph can fill it.

>>25498545
Thread one we found AIDA in a field.

>>25498545

The epitaphs we haven't seen so far are:

Fidchell, the Prophet. Typically a lot of brainy stuff or prophecy.

Gorre, the Machinator. While a strategist in the Epitaph of Twilight, Gorre is often depicted as being fuckoff-scary and often occuring in pairs. Like twins or something.

Corbenik, the Rebirth. Giant seed. Hops around a lot.

>>25498576
Well yeah but we haven't seen any since then.

>>25498598
But it is still possible for it to shoe up and get the drop on us, more so now that we've been doing AIDA stuff which would draw attention to us.

Still a bit back and forth. Will wait for a bit.

>>25498686
...Luna has a guild and stuff and Shimabuku didn't need any instructing.

Meanwhile MANIA and Haruko are both right here, and since MANIA is 4th in command (Haruko and Snark outrank her), it's important that they can work with each other?

But then again that sounds like a huge disaster, maybe we should log off before things get worse.

>>25498686
>>25498771

Perhaps logging off is for the best. This has been an emotional day for Anon. Best to check e-mail and other stuff and forums for more leads.

Should we still get that coffee with Haruko? Or should we let things cool off for a bit?

Rolled 9

>>25498686
Consensus seems to be to go see if Luna wants to run a dungeon. If she does, ask if one of the other two wants to come along.

Odds Haruko, evens MANIA.

Otherwise, offline for coffee and discussions with Haruko. Though might I suggest we send a PM to MANIA, telling her to call us if she needs anything, be it Deevon, or just to talk.

>>25498816
I think right now things don't need to cool off due to time travel, but I'm pretty sure Haruko is still tipsy at minimum so maybe we should just turn in early and start work in the morning.

Yeah I think it'd be a good idea to end the day on a high note, and start the new day off taking it slow.

So then calling it a night here then waking up and getting back to it? Is this correct?

>>25499077
I guess...

>>25499077
Think so?

>>25499077
Yes, let's do it, and move on.

You decide to call it a night here then. "Well, Durga, MANIA, as lovely as your company is, I think I will call it here and go to bed." You explain.

MANIA Nods. "Very well." She offers.

"Night Chen!" Durga offers in a sing song tone, likely still drinking.

You log off and check your email, but find nothing of note in there. You browse the message boards and the forums, but don't find anything particularly interesting so you decide to go to bed. Your warm blankets and soft pillows a welcome break from the hellish struggle your life seems to be sometimes.

That night you dream of electric sheep. The implications trouble you.

You wake up the next morning around 6, sleeping in a bit to get some much needed rest before eating light. As you work on your breakfast you ponder how to spend the day.

[]Play The World
[]Go do something in the real world(Sister, Haruko, work, etc.)
[]Do something in some horrible transient state of being neither online or offline.
[]Other, please specify

>>25499176
Play the World, make it a personal goal to have fun.

>>25499176

>[x] Check RL mail.
>[x] Check E mail.
>[x] Check Message Boards for interesting stuff.

>[x] Play the World.

Time to take it easy for a little bit.

>>25499176
Might as well just have some fun. Tempted to go offline for a day just to rest, a bit, but we can go online and see who's around.

>>25499277
Eh we did that for a week after we finished things with Magus.

File: 1371527354949.jpg-(49 KB, 480x320, doldona.jpg)

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You decide to take it easy for a moment and check your real world mail. You play any outstanding bills, ignore the junk, and save the coupons for a later date. Man needs his coupons. You then go through the online bulletin board systems you watch and see a few small flame wars between NAOO's fans and your fans, but otherwise nothing of import. The mods really need to start doing something about that, really. You check your email but find nothing particularly interesting save some garbled gibberish from an unknown mailer. However since you can't really do anything about it you just ignore it for now.

You then log into The World.

Current time: 8 AM

Online: Durandal

Seems you are the only one online. Well, that's odd. You walk into the city center of Dol Dona and scratch your head. Seems you are alone.

Well, what do you want to do?
[]Log off, this is boring without anyone else around
[]Explore the city! Maybe you will find someone/something interesting(Roll 1d100 please Best of first three)
[]Do a dungeon
[]Other, please specify

Rolled 6

>>25499390
EXPLORATION!

Speaking of NAOO, what ever happened to her? Last I remember, she was taking refuge in our guild, since her white knights decided to show their true colors....

Rolled 95

>>25499390
[X] Explore the city
Welp, time for some action.

Rolled 72

>>25499390
>[x]Explore the city! Maybe you will find someone/something interesting(Roll 1d100 please Best of first three)

>[x] Talk to Snark

I know it's pretty early, but it's kinda weird that there's nobody online. You sense anything out of place here?

>>25499420
>>25499429
We seem to be at extremes here...

Rolled 25

>>25499390
Ask Snark if he sent that email we just got, or can decode it?

Also explore.

>>25499390
Without logging off, can we take out our cell phone and call Haruko?

If she's still asleep apologize for waking her, but the day started weird.

Why must turning in early have dire consequences.

Well the good news is that if any of our friends were in comas, their characters would still be marked as 'online'.

Maybe it's just that most people who play the World either have school, jobs, or sleep in.

>>25499522
Like who wakes up at 8 AM to play video games?

Apparently only us.

"Hey, Snark?" You ask and feel the weight of something in your mind as he projects himself.

The Thin young man in a hooded sweatshirt looks at you and gives one of his arrogant smirks. "Yes?"

"Where is everyone? I mean, I know it's pretty early but. Is there something going on? Is it AIDA?!" You ask, your healthy levels of paranoia still there it seems.

He glances up for a second before looking back at you. "Lotus is at work, Shimabuku is in an airplane, Luna was up all night doodling her little frilly dress things and I assume is asleep, MANIA has a school thing, Hatsu is in school, Vividor is blanked so I have no idea where he is. That damn sexual dynamo. I imagine Haruko is asleep as well, though I can only guess based on what I know of drinking heavily from TV and film." He explains.

"Oh, yeah okay that's good I- wait. How did you... have you been tracking everyone?" You ask slightly concerned.

"Like it isn't the best idea ever." He explains before vanishing.

You shake your head and walk into town. You spend a while looking at wares and goods, until something strange catches your eye. You see a figure with very long hair wrapped in belts and bandages walking aimlessly through the streets. You think to yourself he seems familiar and chase after him. For a mopey zombie guy he moves pretty quick, however

>96
(1/2)

You manage to catch up to him on a bridge by the bike shop. "Raum?" You ask.

He turns and you can immediately see the difference. The one eye you can see through his mass of hair twitches slightly, a bit more aware from when you last saw him. He does seem as messed up, or as extreme in his emotions as when you first saw him and he moves to speak. "I-I know you. Yeah, I think I know I think I know you. Maybe, maybe not. But I think so." He mutters, evidently recovering from his AIDA is an ongoing process.

"Yeah, I'm Chen." You say carefully and slowly, making sure he gets it.

"Chen, Chen, Chen, I know Chen. I think I know Chen, Know Chen I think I do I. Maybe." He offers, clearly unsure.

How do you want to handle talking to him?
[]Yeah, we played together at the demon palace tournament.
[]I ripped the AIDA out of you. Er, sorry about that
[]How have you been?
[]Other, please specify
(2/2)

>>25499764
Oh hey, I was just about to bring up that we should track down Raum.

>>25499780
"You got a nasty infection, I tried to make it better. How've you been?"

>>25499764
...Not even Snark knows what Vividor is up to?

Deeply worrying.

>>25499780
>[x]How have you been?

Haven't seen you in a while. What are you doing these days?

Rolled 8

>>25499780
[x]Yeah, we played together at the demon palace tournament.

Let's just take it easy, for now. See how much he remembers.

>>25499780
[x] Yeah, we played together at the demon palace tournament.

[x] Have you seen your sister?

>>25499858
Did Hamelin mention him having a sister?

>>25499919
...Isn't Raum Lotus' brother?

Crap, isn't our fifth-year anniversary with Haruko tomorrow?

While we talked about it, I don't think we specifically said to buy baseball tickets yet.

>>25499973

No.

Raum data-drained Lotus' sister.

>>25499973
Pretty sure no.

I thought that Raum put Lotus's sister in a coma.

>>25499983
>>25499991
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

My mistake.

>>25499764
>MANIA has a school thing

...What... what kind of school thing?

>>25500187
Oh you know, strange domination/worship things.

>>25500227
Referring more towards year.

We are an officer of the law.

((Internet is getting spotty, so if I vanish without saying anything it is because of that))

"Yeah, haven't seen you for a while. We played together at the demon palace tournament. How have you been?" You decide to play it with the safe questions for now.

He seems to think deeply about this for a moment, his visible eye wandering to and fro as he considers each possible angle to the question. Or perhaps he just has difficulty thinking about himself. After what feels like a while he nods gently. "Better." He offers.

"Well that- That's good." You smile hoping for him to offer more but he just nods again, clearly satisfied with his answer.

Well, that went nowhere quickly, but at least he seems to sort of remember you.

What now?
[]Ask him something(AIDA related maybe?)
[]Ask Snark about the personal lives of our companions
[]Get member address
[]Other, please specify

>>25500263
Share contact information, ask if he's interested in doing a dungeon or a quest?

Could get a better gauge of how he's doing with that.

>>25500263
[X] Ask if he'd like to explore a dungeon with us.

>>25500279
Seconded

>>25500279
>>25500341
>>25500263

Are you feeling well enough for a dungeon? You know, just the usual adventure hobo routine.

>>25500392
I want to explore this place, actually.

>>25500263
Dungeon Plox.
Let's go somewhere regarding Demons and Rainbows..
For the dichotomy, you see.

"Are you feeling up for a dungeon? I mean, if you are doing better that is?" You ask and her slowly nods in agreement.

GAIN: RAUM MEMBER INFORMATION

He seems a bit lost for what to do, so you make your way towards the Chaos Gate and try to think up small talk. "You've been gone for a while. What have you been up to?"

He thinks on this for a few moments. "Hospital. Remembering. Was sick, getting better." He explains.

Seems he was in a hospital for the side effects of AIDA. "Been there man. So nothing too exciting?" You ask as you dial up the Chaos gate.

"...Found a beetle. It was large. Eating a banana." He explains.

"Beetle huh?" You ask thinking back on your childhood. You were never too into bugs. You didn't hate them, but you didn't really like them either, guess that line of conversation is dead.

You warp to Θ Gloomy Raccoon's Hair Day

It is a large, dark dungeon, like a cave with no entrance to the outside world save the warp gate. Raum looks around as if amazed and you are thankful he isn't still AIDA possessed as your headache would be absurd at the moment. You look around at the slick moss covered rocks and small entryways as you take out your fans, your robes already set up as you buff the party

Please roll 2d100 for exploran and fightan respectively. I will take the best of three.

Also, what do you want to talk about with Raum, if anything?

Rolled 75, 2 = 77

>>25500628
[X] So, got any friends here?

Rolled 52, 88 = 140

>>25500628
Donating rolls

Rolled 49, 2 = 51

>>25500628

Rolled 4, 36 = 40

>>25500628

Rolling then writing.

Rolled 26, 49 = 75

>>25500628
Can't really think of much, especially since he's in a delicate state.

>>25500683
Not bad.

>>25500696
>>25500691
>>25500690
>>25500683
>>25500671
That's... five people. Kay.

>>25500628

What's your favorite food?

>>25500726
And an unknown amount of lurkers.

I'd say that's pretty good for a mid-ranked quest.

>>25500872
>>25500726
I'm half lurking. I'm mostly just here for the ride, to be honest..

I've missed .hack//AIDA, to be honest.

Exploran: 52 Fightan: 88

Your way through the cave is hampered occasionally by large raccoons with deep seated emotional issues getting in your way. You however are strong enough with Raum to take care of them. Seems the Former demon emperor still has it in him as he cuts and slices his way through the furry enemy and makes his way down into the dungeon.

Get: Aqua Wings(Raum)
40k
Health Pot (x5)

"So, uh, what's your favorite foot?" You ask as you slaughter a raccoon in a tiny sailor uniform, it's girlish screams even creepier when it gives you a flash of what's underneath.

"Pasta with cheese." He answers slowly as he slaughters the raccoon horde; his display more impressive when you consider how hard it must be to fight when you can see only half the world at best.

"So how many friends do you have in the game?" You ask, not content to let the conversation drop so easily

"Not many." He admits, effectively shutting down the conversation.

You manage to kill the raccoon army as you make your way to the large door, and friend yourself int he beast temple, the quick dungeon crawl enough for you to get a feel for Raum. He isn't all there, but he is getting a bit better, and is miles better than when you fought him in the arena.

You open the chest.

Gimme 1d100 roll for treasure please. Best of first 3

>>25500938
I/d do a 24 hour one to make up for it, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to maintain the numbers I need to run.

Rolled 61

>>25501111
Donating again

Rolled 7

>>25501111
Roll up the rim...

Rolled 90

>>25501111
Poor Racoons..

Rolled 20

>>25501111
Good to see he's recovering, though I'm not sure if playing the World is the best idea.

Although for all I know, it could help.

>>25501181
Well.

>>25501181
Tanuki suit? Tanuki suit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6wAc7VB1PY

>>25501201
Hey, what can I say?

>>25501111
...Children play this game.

>>25501218
Glorious.
>>25501237
Why do you think so many kids/people play the game? Because you can get stronk and PERSONALLY SLAUGHTER EVERYTHING!

Also, it's Japan. It's different over there..

>>25501280
I was referring more to the
>you slaughter a raccoon in a tiny sailor uniform, it's girlish screams even creepier when it gives you a flash of what's underneath.

>>25501300
Though then again, it explains why this game is so popular that people are still playing despite the escalating incidents.

ITEM GET!

Oh No Melon(*****) Quest
Tanuki Swords (****)
Mysterious leaf

You make a mental note about how children play this game and you plan on including that int he future report as the two of you make your way back to town. Raum's new swords seem to have the image of raccoons put on it and makes odd sounds when it hits things.

Damn game.

Chen: Level 53
Raum: Level 52

"Well that was an experience, eh Raum?" You ask uncertainly. He gives a small nod in reply. You are about to say something when he suddenly looks up at something. "Have to go." He says before gating out.

Well, that was a thing.

You are now standing in Dol Dona. You try and get the image of Tanuki out of your head and look over your friend's list, but don't see anyone is online that can play.

Well, what do?

[]Go into town and explore once more!(Roll 1d100, best of first three)
[]Ask Snark something
[]Log off and do something
[]Other, please specify

>>25501300
It's a tanuki Japanese thing. Evidently Raccoon balls are a glorious thing that even kids sing about.

>>25501418
>[x]Go into town and explore once more!(Roll 1d100, best of first three)

We should try to visit the bike shop. See if we don't have enough lucre to recklessly spend it on what is essentially a glorified money sink that goes fast.

Rolled 68

>>25501418
I vote for the Oh no melon quest.

Rolled 49

>>25501458

Whoops, forgot to roll.

>>25501418
Log off and order decent baseball tickets.

Best to take care of that now.

>>25501464
You have no idea what it is for yet.

>>25501458
We already have a better bike though, remember?

>>25501478

Oh yeah.

>>25501471

We should do this. Partnership anniversary and all.

Rolled 45

>>25501418
Just because.

>>25501471
[X] Yeah, we probably should.

>>25501534
So you want to go shop around for highschool baseball tickets of some sort? You think there is some summer tournament so if you are willing to spend time and drop a little cash you could probably find good tickets.

Again, however, it will take a while(Hour or more) to find as it is on season.

Go with this course of action?

>>25501593
Do ettttt

>>25501593

It has my vote. Even if we don't agree with Haruko's way of going about things, it's a nice way of showing that we appreciate her input and her continuing to be our partner.

>>25501593
Yes.

>>25501593
Yeah, best to do it now before anyone else is really online.
>>25501626
Eh, it's not too different from our original plan on taking things slow to decompress, it's just that Haruko thinks we should keep cool instead of jumping into panic mode.

I'm inclined to agree, for now at least. I mean we suck at panic mode.

You decide to spend some time looking for good baseball tickets. The prices are, of course, amazing for just getting spectator spots but you manage to keep looking around. You avoid Scalpers who seem to be selling bad seats and manage to
>(DM roll)

find tickets just behind the third baseline, what ever that means. It certainly sounds impressive anyway. You get into a bidding war with some asshole who keeps posting things in french at you, luckily snark isn't in your brain to translate for you as you manage to win the tickets at the last second!

You seem to have won the tickets which will be ready for pickup in the morning. Of course you spent some time and money getting the tickets, but it was worth it. As you stretch you realize it is already noon.

You get some bread and chew on it while thinking over what you can do. You check your cellphone and see you have an email from an unknown address. You open it up and check on it.

To:Anon
Subject: -None-

I am sorry, I do not believe I will be able to assist you much today or tomorrow. I have some private matters to attend to.

I should say this is Alexandra, as otherwise you will think you are hallucinating this email or Snark has suddenly gained the power to take time off. I would advise you save it, if you wish.

You save the address to the phone, not seeing any reason why you shouldn't, and then think about what to do.

[]Go wake Haruko up, if she is still asleep, and tell her the good news.
[]Try and contact Snark
[]Send em-mail back to MANIA. Or Alexandra. Which ever name makes you feel better in polite company.
[]Other, please specify

>>25501933
Send an email to Alexandra thanking her for the heads up, and then log back in I guess.

>>25501933
>[x]Send e-mail back to MANIA. Or Alexandra. Which ever name makes you feel better in polite company.

Send it addressing her as "Alexandra". Just a polite and brief thank-you message for notifying us.

Then get back in-game. We can tell Haruko when she wakes up, or wake her up later when it stops being morning.

>>25501933
Out of curiosity, what's her email address listed as?

You send an e-mail back to Alexandra, thanking her for the heads up and then put your headset back on. You decide Haruko can sleep in as late as she likes without you bugging her as you log back into the world. You find yourself standing on Dol Dona.

Friends online: Durandal, Vividor

You look around the city as you come in and see there are more people online now that it is starting to get later in the day. "Damn these people, not having proper jobs, like we do! Curse them and their standard of bringing down the Japanese employment system!" Snark comments from inside your head.

"You are not even Japanese." You explain making him scoff.

"Nonsense, I was born good and proper on Japanese servers. Just ain't human is all." He offers.

A fair enough argument as you think what to do.
[]Contact vividor
[]Exploran!(1d100 please. Best of first three)
[]Talk to snark
[]Other, please specify

>>25502100
Something with Russian characters which I honestly haven't made yet, but makes it likely hard to get in contact with her if you don't have it saved in your address book. Also probably makes it hard to send her spam too.

>>25502201
[]Contact vividor
Lets ask him If he can convince his friends to "Ambush" us when we are alone investigating one of the broken realms. that way we can get our info from the guy on his terms.

>>25502201
Contact Vividor why not.

>>25502201
>[x]Talk to snark

Ask him about that one gibberish e-mail that we got. Since his AI brain is a lot faster than a fleshy brain, could he possibly decrypt it or translate it into a readable form?

>[x]Contact vividor

Ask him if he's had any luck with smoothening out things in between us and the informant, and if there's anything we could do to help speed up that process.

>>25502269
Nah, leave him to work on that.

Really I'm not sure why we wouldn't meet in the middle of a very public place and communicate via PMs.

>>25502281
Oh yeah almost forgot about that email, ask him if he knows what it means, or if it's malware or something.

>>25502285

Because he's paranoid especially after we broke the agreement to talk alone.

>>25502332
I meant in the first place.

Like I can get the Lost Lands are an AIDA deterrent, but to us they're also a potential death trap.

"Hey Snark, I got a weird email think you can decode it?" You ask.

"I'll put it on my to do list." He explains.

Good enough.

You send out a message to Vividor, asking him what's up. After a few seconds you get a reply.

"Ze things. Zey be made oof, how you say, moose butter? Vividor must teach zen what is be doing." He explains.

"In Dol Dona?" You ask, deciding lengthy conversation with him about anything is impossible.

"Yes. At ze shop." He replies.

You make your way to the guild marketplace and see him standing in front of a stall. "Sir, I can't just give you the item. The prices are listed by the guildmaster who-"

"Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhhh. Look at my abs. Zey be very good, yes? Mooch vigor there. You tell ze guild master Vividor be shopping here and you be giving him discount, yes?" He explains.

"N-No I can't do that I- Sir, please stop thrusting." The shop keeper asks.

"Thrusting? I am not, how you say, thrusting like a wild lion taming ze jungle. A lion jungle." He explains.

"Y-yes you are." The guild shop keeper explains.

Well this is interesting, what do?
[]Watch how this plays out
[]Offer to pay for Vividor
[]Just walk away man. You know he is crazy
[]Other, please specify

>>25502511
Offer to pay tribute for the sex God.

>>25502511
Watch how this plays out, I'm pretty sure Vividor is more than capable of paying for whatever he wants to buy.

>>25502558
>>25502571
Maybe send Vividor a PM asking if he actually needs the discount, or if it's a matter of getting the shopkeeper to recognize the towering pillar of maleness that is before him, and offering suitable tribute?

File: 1371539422449.jpg-(115 KB, 468x576, Vividor.jpg)

115 KB JPG

Again, will wait for a moment or two.

>>25502801
Can we be the waifu for Vividor and Kite? It would make our little sister happy.

>>25502801
I'd say lets just watch, offer to pay if he's still thrusting after five minutes.

You decide to just wait a few minutes to see how this plays out. "S-Sir please I can't-"

"Be accepting of ze vividor? Wy do you fight ze feelings. Ze moist burning feelings of ze Vividors raw man sexuality? " He asks clearly troubled.

"Look, I have no idea what you are talking about. If I give you the glasses will you go away?" The shop keep asks, clearly won over.

"Okay!" He proudly declares, grinding his hips in the air.

"Just- God, just leave." The shop keep says.

"I be signing your table, yes? So when ze people show up, zey know Vividor was here, and he was, how you say, vary vary goo' looking." He says pulling a pen from his pants and signing the table.

The shop keeper just hangs his head sadly as Vividor turns and starts walking towards you, his wide bow legged gait allowing him to add emphasis thrusting with every step. He pauses in front of you and stares at you for a few moments, his habit of maintaining eye contact as unique as always

"Hallo, Chen. It be, how you say, vary vary goo' to have you be looking at me." He explains.

What say what do?
[]Wanna do a dungeon?
[]Want to just hang out?
[]How's your friend?
[]Other, please specify

>>25502972
Want to hang out?

>>25502972
"I learned two things today. One is that most people who play the World are busy with school, work, or sleeping at 8 AM.

The other is that Snark has been keeping disturbingly accurate tabs on my friends for an undetermined period of time.

What he found with you was very interesting."

>>25503035
Wait a beat to see if he says something, if he doesn't then add

"Specifically, he found nothing. According to the artificial intelligence who is either ignorant or apathetic towards the concept of privacy, you don't exist.

Care to offer a non-sequitur vigorously dripping machismo that I have no choice but to accept as an explanation?"

>>25503035
>>25503082
On second thought, that might be way too intense to start the day.

Maybe just ask if he wants to hang out, maybe do a quest, see if he's a fighter as well as a lover.

We seem to be winding down, so why not call it here? I will be available for questions and for finishing tally for how we start next thread.

Better/worse? Felt to me like we needed a few posts to get our groove back but we managed

Also archived, so that's a thing.

>>25503126
I'd say we were pretty cautious to start with, but we got there.

I do think that, unless you don't see it as an obligation but something you genuinely want to to, it might still be a good idea to maybe run both AIDA and Hollow twice a week instead of three times.

Like Predator Quest is the only one I follow who has the same schedule, and he has a different style.

>>25503166
Looking at Suptg, I had no idea just how many quest descriptions start with "In which".

It's pretty neat.

>>25503126
Was alot(my favorite animal) better than the last time you ran this, but that was partly everyones fault. I think you started a little late, and that most people thought you gave up on the quest. Glad to see you working on this again.

>>25503195
I thought it was fashionable. I am a slave to trends.
>>25503178
I have considered cutting out the middle of the week and just doing the start of the week and the friday/saturday portion. Might make it easier on everyone.
>>25503217
Was trying to think of a way to phrase it without hand waving, but in the end I just went with a casual hand wave and moved on.

>>25503126
Everytime I start to read up on a quest and want to get to posting the author stops when I've reached the newest post.

Have you got a twitter with your schedule or something?

>>25503230
So how exactly did Haruko's horrible abusive relationship end?

I know that Anon, even as a terminator, was able to help her not commit suicide, but I'm not sure of the greater context.

I'm asking because it seems like the kind of thing that wouldn't come up in an organic conversation.

>>25503277
https://twitter.com/dothackaida

>>25503285
We don't remember. Our life was fucked before we got infected. And even more fucked as I'm not sure if any of what is happening is completely true.

>>25503277
I wouldn't call it my schedule, but I generally say 1-2 hours before I run: @dothackaida

Unless I am asleep which sort of happens. I also post a link there once I put a thread up.
>>25503285
She finally fought back and nearly killed him. He tried to sue, but one of the cops working the case evidently was a buddy of hers. The Chief then put out any fires it may have started and she hasn't seen him since. Again, the details aren't totally there but you remember the general gist of what happened.
>>25503325
Is this real life Anon?

>>25503358
PARONOIA IS THE ONLY ANSWER TO PREVENT REJOICING!

>>25503325
I'm pretty sure we haven't yet reached the point where the realness quotient is so low that everything might as well be in the imagination of an autistic child.

Because that... really doesn't go over well.

>>25503400
Not weighing in one way or the other, but if it was how would we know?

>>25503407
Easy. When you do the ZAGLO speech itshhappening harder than normal. Otherwise I assume no time is safe.

>>25503433
Stupid phone typing.

>>25503407
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbK0C9AYMd8

>>25503433
Or Zalgo is the only time you return to the hellish distopia that is the real world.

>>25503458
If it turns out that is the twist I will post that song before I reveal, just so you can be ready.

>>25503485
That's all I ask.

>>25503485
That's why I assume none of this is real. We are in a coma and the people we meet are also in the hospital. We also think we are a man that is an awesome government agent, but are actually a girl that wishes she was an older brother(little sister) with dreams of meeting and being a playboy because lesbians are shameful(which is why our family hates us(again look to little sister)).

>>25503485
Just generally speaking, when your twist would make Tite Kubo nod his head in approval, you may have gone too far (I would say make him think you went too far, but the past several months of chapters prove that there is no twist extreme enough that will be too much for Kubo).

Note that this by no means applies to Hollow Quest where twists are just as important as samurai fighting masked hungry ghosts

>>25503558
An interesting theory. But I think that was the plot to sign. Honestly most what I remember is plot plot plot lesbians plot plot Aura plot Sora. Sounds about the same
>>25503573
Or not far enough! I want no one, not even I, to know what's going on anymore

>>25503573
I can already see the final twist for bleach. [Spoiler] it was all a dream

>>25503617
There was already a filler episode like that.
Wasn't even Ichigo's deam

>>25503611
Sign was hey kid you like video games? Well check this shit out, now you live here and the game wants to keep you safe. Oh hey you trying to find out about me and this kid too bad coma time. Whatyou want a final fight? To bad heres a zoom out of giant angel fuck and a quick scene of a girl in a wheelchair looking at hond...errr Subaru..... Fuck I forget her name.

>>25503674
Nah, it was Subaru who was in the wheelchair, Tsukasa was the other girl.
>>25503617
It was all a dream and then Aizen flash steps behind you to say "What gave you the impression it was all a dream? True Bankai!"
>>25503635
Filler isn't real people

Ok enough impressions of being implied of impressed implications of under the thoughts that would blow your mind. I'm going to sleep. Later Azure.

File: 1371544757220.jpg-(119 KB, 919x1300, 16.jpg)

119 KB JPG

>>25503709
If Schrodinger makes any attempt to seem relatable to her students through the use of slang of colloquialisms, can it sound as if it was translated by mangastream unless otherwise specified?

>>25503869
Keep in mind it would be 90s slang and colloquialisms. They already sound pretty weird. Then you filter that through japan?

Yeah, I think I might be able to do something.

>>25503892
Yessssss