Of the various teams across the country building ANIMA prototypes, yours was the first to succeed. Your group numbered five in total. Noble Jurick, yourself. Serena Foster, your anchor. Su Holt, secondary pilot. Nicky Friedman, Su’s anchor and engineer of the ANIMA system. And of course, the Old Man. You knew him by no other name.

A moment of solace, a desperate confession, a damning act. Your conscience burns even as the feel of Nicky against your body lingers. You don’t know how you’ll face her. You don’t know how you’ll face Serena. It was a small mercy that neither had spoken to you much in the two days past.

Something has to give.

---

A bowl of raspberries and oats stares up at you. You stare back, your focus drifting. Idly, you spoon one of the red fruits up from the bowl, set it gently on your tongue, roll it around your mouth. Sour. Bitter. Ashes in your mouth. You swallow.

“What’s up, sad sack?”

You look up. Su again, all smiles and energy as usual. No, it was just a front. Even she was straining as she watched you interact with Serena, with Nicky, with no more feeling than was demanded of you. Even she would crumble, eventually. It would be easy to let it all drop, let everything fall apart.

You look off to the side. “It’s nothing.”

“Like hell it’s nothing. Noble, I’m not the brightest tool in the shed, but…”

“Sharpest tool in the shed. Brightest bulb in the chandelier.” You turn away.

“Whatever. Would you just look at me? What happened? Something happened. I can’t help if you don’t say anything. God, you and Nicky are so alike that way. You have any idea how frustrating that is?”

“I just… almost Blissed out two days ago, when I was foraging in the woods out back.”

“Oh. Hell.”

“The… attacks, I guess you could call them, they’re coming faster. Last one I had was a week ago, you remember. Before that, two weeks. And before that, over a month. Whatever time I have left isn’t much.”

“Oh, Noble.” She sits down beside you. “So then, what’s the deal with Serena now?”

“I guess I don’t know how to break it to her. I didn’t think… neither of us thought that…” You snort. No, no, this isn’t what you wanted to say. This isn’t the thought that’s tearing your heart. Nicky’s face. Thin arms around yours. This is just another excuse to get Su off your case, even when she’s trying to help you.

---

>>29798800

“But that’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”

You feel her arms around you. Warm. Soft-

-tears falling against your cheek-
-her desperate panting over you, in the brush-
-a red sun setting, filling the sky with fire-

No. It's not what's bothering you.

What do you say?

>>29798812
Go full harem, kiss Su

>>29798896

>>29798812

Time for more Bliss Stage!
Welcome back Mars

>What do you say?
Tell her you're grateful for what she's doing and that it means a lot to you. But it's you problem to solve.

Also do we know how the Old Man is staying awake?

Rolled 22

>>29798908
>>29798896
fff

>>29798896
>>29798908

Supporting full harem route. But try and be a bit more tactful than just kissing her strait out.

>>29798910
We don't have a clue how the Old Man is still awake.

>>29798951
Then after this we're investigating. Once we find out we're going to preform a coup d'état.

>>29798896
No
>>29798908
No
>>29798922
Go fuck yourself
>>29798931
No

Are you guys serious? Veto all this shit. We're in enough trouble as is.

>>29798922
>>29798931
>>29798896
>>29798908


You ever played bliss Stage before?

Serena can be our Gf
Nicky can be protected girl we occasionally throw some love to
Su can be our bro

Trying to get them all at the same time is going to blow up horrible and make us bliss. And that's only if one of them doesn't personally kill us first.

>>29799044
>Nicky can be protected girl we occasionally throw some love to
Even that is extremely dangerous. Going for harem end will just instakill us.

>>29799050
>Going for harem end will just instakill us.

Not necessarily, but it will be extremely risky. There will be some difficult rolls involved.

Harem is shit anyways. Only plebs like Harem.

I love you guys and how you're talking through this. I just want to make sure I have it right so far. I count:

2 for harem route, 1 veto, so -

1 for harem route
1 for self-help

>>29799187
Count me in for the veto
I'm
>>29799070

>>29799212

2 harem route, 2 veto, 1 self-help. Writing self-help.

>>29799293
that works. anything but harem

>>29799293

“Come on. Don’t stay quiet. We’re all here for you. Me, Nicky, Serena, especially Serena.”

You pull her arms down. She squeaks in shock. You press your lips against hers, feel her moan into your throat. Your hands explore her ample form, grabbing and squeezing-

You clench your fists. Another unbidden thought. You force yourself to relax.

“I know, and I’m grateful for it. It means a lot to me.” You lean your head against her shoulder. “But this is my problem to solve.”

“Hey, now. It’s not really just your problem if the two of them are tangled up in it, too. Talk to me. Even Nicky's talked to me, so why don't you talk to me, too?"

What do you say?

>>29799397
I'm sorry, Su. This just isn't the best time for a heart-to-heart.

>>29799397
>Even Nicky's talked to me
You talked to Nicky? What about?

Find out what she know and about what? The more she knows the more comfortable I feel with telling her more.

>>29799450
This

Thank god the harem bullshit didn't fly, anyone joining a quest for that can fuck off back to /d/.

>>29799680
We get it anon, you don't like harems.

2 to ask about Nicky, 1 to stop conversation. Writing.

>>29800015

“You talked to Nicky?” A chill runs down your spine. “What about?”

“I know what happened that day. She got caught in one of your traps. You helped her out of it, and then the Bliss hit, right?”

You don’t say anything.

“And then she… she had sex with you. Isn’t that what happened?”

Soft press of budding breasts against your chest. Hands turning your face towards her. Taste of sweet raspberries in her mouth. Taste of bitter tears in your mouth. Heat and wetness. You didn’t even try to resist.

“She feels bad about it, you know. She’s scared she’s ruined everything between you guys.”

The Old Man’s smile rises in your mind, red-eyed insanity, gleaming white teeth.

What do you say?

>>29800134
Don't tell Serena. Things have already turned to shit.

>>29800134
>What do you say?
Please keep it quiet until I talk to Serena.

Not sure why you guys keep treating Serena like some boogieman. If she tells us to fuck of it's her decision. All we can do now is be sincere as shit.

>>29800204
Also have to keep in mind that they're all mostly unstable teenagers, and teens are not known for making smart decisions.

>>29800269
Well... adults aren't known for making great decisions in these kinds of situations as either.

>>29800269

Which meas the chance that she doesn't break up with her boyfriend who just had sex with one of her friends is even higher.

Love conquers all and all that jazz, you'know?

Two for keeping it quiet. Any objections?

>>29800602
none

>>29800602
I'm with it.

>>29800619
>>29800633

You stand up. Su looks at you, expectantly.

“Don’t tell Serena. Promise.”

“Only if you promise to tell her yourself.”

You pause for a second.

“I did say we’d be straight with her, if it came up.”

“Attaboy! Now, come on. We’ve got ANIMA testing to do!” She tugs you along, out of the kitchen. You leave your cereal behind.

There’s a small fire pit that you dug the other night, outside. Serena’s probably behind the ranch, picking more berries. There was a basket full of apples by the pit. Probably from a tree somewhere further back.

You hear the distinctive clicking of a socket wrench from the next trailer. Nicky working on the engine. The creche powered it, and she was the only one who came anywhere close to understanding it. Her lips turn down slightly as her eyes flicker over towards you. She continues her work.

What do you do?

[Try to talk to Nicky before the ANIMA test.]
[Try to talk to Serena before the ANIMA test.]
[Proceed with the ANIMA test.]

>>29801060
Dunno what you guys think but we might want to talk about what happened to Serena before it inevitably comes up during testing.

>>29801104

Our estranged relationship as of now is going to screw us over anyways. If she reacts well then we're fine. If it's bad then maybe we can get the Old Man to pull the plug on our obviously doomed deployment.

>>29801156
This, so much this, it's obvious that if we don't take care of it it will come up at the worst possible moment.

Inb4 the old man knows and use it to spice up the experiment

>>29801217
>spoiler

After this test we are so finding out his staying awake secret and offing the shit.

We can do it under the guise of us needing him to tell us how not to bliss out.

Talking to Serena, then. Objections?

>>29801285
You say those things like they'll be easy. I think we should proceed with more caution than that.

>>29801309
No objections and seconded.

>>29801362

You’ll talk to Serena first. Best to get everything out in the open. You depended on your Anchor to hold you to reality, inside the ANIMA. If she doesn’t, your mind would get lost within the dream, and you would be as good as dead. Worst-case scenario, your ANIMA would manifest outside of your dream in a berserk fury until you died. So many past failures, and you’re the first one lucky enough to get into one and come back out unharmed.

You head back behind the ranch, and hear the sound of an axe chopping wood. Slow, with no rhythm. Must be Serena.

You see her place a block on a stump, lift the maul with a heave, and fall back down. It didn’t split. She stops to take a breath, lifts the maul again, lets it drop. Still no split. She seems intently focused on her work.

What do you do?

>>29801637
See how she's feeling to begin with, then try and square things up after that.

>>29801637
This isn't gonna be fun but we don't have a choice.

>>29801731
This

>>29801731
>>29801967

Writing.

>>29802366

“Serena?”

“Aaah!” The maul slips out of her fingers as it comes down, flying past the log on the chopping stump and into the woods. “N-Noble! Look what you’ve made me do!” She turns around, pointing accusingly at you.

“… I don’t think that was my fault, Serena.”

“Of course it was! You snuck up on me!” She throws down her arms in mock anger, then smiles. “You’re just in time, though. I was having some trouble with this log. I dunno how many times I’ve hit it, now, but it just won’t split. Help me out, come on!” She grabs your hand, leading you over to where she was standing.

“You know how to split a log, don’t you?” She hands you the maul. It’s heavy in your hand.

“Sure I do.” You adjust the log a little bit, and Serena stands behind you. You take your stance, bring it straight up, drop it straight down. The log splits like butter.

“… I’m glad you’re here, you know that?” She hugs you from behind. “I’m sorry about the other day. It just… the fight, the ANIMA, it got to me a little too much. I know that you don’t have much longer. I know. I’m so selfish.”

You stay silent, putting another log on the block, splitting it neatly in half.

“I must have made you angry.”

What do you say?

>>29802628
Well at least she doesn't have the axe anymore.

>What do you say?
It's fine." Tell her you understand how she'd want to get away from all this.

Gage her mood and try to find an opening to talk about what happened with Nicky

Reassure her that we don't blame her. Wanting to get away from horrors like that is nothing to be ashamed of. Guess it's time to make an apology of our own.

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It's a little quiet in here.

>>29803439
Not much to do except wait.
Try playing another quest to pass the time. I'm doing four others right now.

>>29803490
>4 quests at once.
Christ. I'm not even current on everything I follow.
That's pretty unfortunate having everything you're following run at once like that. Or very fortunate depending on your attitude I guess

Sorry about the wait. I wanted to see if any other voters would come in and I'm also following 4 other quests. If there's no objections, I'll go ahead with both suggestions.

>>29803693
Hah. Given that the suggestions are almost the same I'd say we've got consensus.
What's worth following at the moment?

>>29803764
Deniable Assets quest is tons of fun - think Syndicate, but in space, and you play as a mercenary instead of a corporate head. Double Cross is also pretty neat so far - I understand it's based on the Japanese tabletop game of the same name, and it's just starting a new arc, shouldn't be hard to get into. Bloodline Protector, some have called it the anti-PGQ, has great writing even if it has a lot of jargon in it. Also [GATE], but QM for that is still asleep or something.

>>29803693
ooh, which ones?

>>29803764

Try Deniable Assets: >>29798917
Has a QM who's pretty top tier when it comes to comedy and making a story flow.

>>29803945
>Deniable Assets
>Bloodline Protector

Well nice to see You've got awesome taste for more than just Bliss Stage.

>>29803693

“I don’t blame you, to be honest. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it, myself.” You set down another block of wood, bring the maul down through it. The two halves fly apart. You pick one of them up, set it up again. “I need to apologize to you too. For what I said and for, uh, something else.”

“Something else? What are you talking about, Noble?” You feel her adjust her arms around you.

You bring up the axe and let it fall. You miss – it slams into the stump instead, cracking it.

"Hey, Noble, Serena! Nicky and I are going ahead first, alright?" Su calls from the front yard.

What do you do?

>>29804088
"Yesterday, Nicky was having an emotional breakdown, and wanted to have sex with me. I couldn't see any good way out, so I went along with it. I apologize, it was not my intent, but I couldn't find an alternative that would not have badly hurt her."

... Awkward, but I can't think of any possible way to smoothly admit "I just cheated on you with one of our friends who was going through a breakdown".

>>29804088
Let them go. We've got to know how things are going to work out here before we do anything else.

>>29804088
>What do you do?

Answer Su and tell her you understand.

Give Serena the story, the whole story.
Pretty much give her the past tense version of everything you typed for us between setting that trap and going back to base.

>>29804163
It might be worth mentioning the near-bliss experience as well.
But yeah, at the end of the day we're laying ourselves at her mercy no matter how we put it. Gotta just go for that open communication.

>>29804266
We probably would've done it even minus the near-bliss experience, so that's hardly an honest excuse.

>>29804312
Yeah, perhaps it's best to talk about that with her later, bringing it up now might just muddy the waters.

>>29804333
>>29804312

What? No.
Us blissing out during the encounter is a significant portion of what happened. Why would we start cherry picking really important things to not tell her?

>>29804390
Fair point.
Engage maximum honesty.

>>29804390
Because we are trying to apologize, and bringing it up will sound like we're trying to make an excuse.

Yes, it happened, but it would sound like we were trying to pin the whole thing on almost Blissing out.

>>29804474

You’re not sure where to start, but the beginning’s as good a place as any.

“Two days ago, after we argued, I asked Su what I should do.”

“Mm, she told me that. That was sweet of you.”

“She wanted me to bring some of those raspberries to Nicky, so I did. ” Her arms hold you a little tighter.

“I went into the woods later. Wanted to find some field greens, maybe hunt something. Nicky followed me.”

“Nicky followed you.”

Her arms drop away from you, her head still resting on your back.

“Yeah. I thought she was a bandit or something, so I set up a trap. Didn’t realize it was her until she walked into it. I pulled her out, and then I almost Blissed out, and… She was desperate, Serena.” You turn around to face her. She stands limply, her hair covering her face. “The Old Man… I don’t know what he did to her. Something happened. She broke down, and she… We… had sex.”

Serena stands still. She looks up at the sky. The corners of her lips turn upwards just a little bit.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to h-“

“Shut up.”

“Serena-“

“Shut up.”

Wet tears flow down her cheeks. A strange giggle escapes from her throat.

What do you do?

>>29804613
Damn trip dropping on me.

>>29804613
>What do you do?
We shut up and wait for her to say something.

>>29804696
Agreed.

>>29804642
It's ok, we didn't mistake you for the anonymous poster who routinely posts about the same story that you do.

>>29804613
Wait a little bit. In a while, if the wait gets ridiculous, ask if she wants to talk.

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>>29804696
>>29804727
>>29804903
Going ahead with this

>>29804897
Oh, you.

>>29804925

You keep your mouth shut, and look down at your feet. You don’t notice when she grabs you by the throat with both hands, as she throws the weight of her body against you. You fall, off-guard. You’re not sure what happened. In a second, she has you pinned on the ground, the head of the axe pressing your neck.

“Hey.”

You don’t say anything.

“You… you said you almost Blissed out, right?”

What do you do?

>>29805037

Very slowly nod.

Guys, I think we broke her.

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>>29805037
>What do you do?
"Yes, I'm sorry."
As we put our hand to her cheek.

>>29805037
Oh my.

>>29805037
"Yes. As I've said, I'm sorry. I just didn't see a better way out. Can we please talk this through?"

... Not expecting that. I was expecting catastrophe, but not "I am going to murder you".

>>29805211

>>29805037
"I almost did. I think its getting worse. I know its not an excuse. I was scared, I left alone. Nicky seemed the same. I could have fought her off but I didn't. I never wanted to hurt you. I take responsibility. Do what you think is right?" Bare your neck.

>>29805165
>>29805211
Brevity is the soul of not getting your head lopped off. These please.

>>29805866

You nod, slowly. “Yes. I’m sorr-“ You stop as the axe presses down. You wait, blinking. Wetness falls on your face. She says nothing. She breathes heavily, straddling you. “Serena… we can talk through this.”

“You almost Blissed out, right?” She asks you again. The axe head lifts slightly from your neck. You raise your hand slowly to her face, you gently wipe away her tears. She doesn’t move. You think you’re going to die here. You didn’t have long, anyway. You need to say your piece.

“Almost.” You close your eyes again. “It’s getting worse. I know it’s not an excuse. I was scared, I left alone. Nicky, the things the Old Man’s done to her, I could have fought her off but... ” You take a breath. “I never wanted to hurt you. Do what you think is right.”

“So then, it’s not your fault, is it?” You don’t like the sound in her voice. She’s too calm.

What do you say?

>>29805957
>What do you say?
Yes, it is.

Well actually it's the Old Mans fault, so if any of you know a good way to articulate that I'm all for saying it.

>>29805957
"It might be, a little bit, but if you really want to blame someone, blame the Old Man for screwing Nick's head up so much and creating this situation in the first place."

>>29806093
Here we go, this one.

>>29806093
>>29806139
Thirded. It's our fuckup, but at least it's not premeditated like whatever the Old Man did.

>>29806078
>>29806093
>>29806139
>>29806256

“No. I can’t say that.”

“What are you taking about, of course you can! Just say it!”

“Part of it, at least, is my fault.”

“Part of it… ? A-and the other part, that’s Nicky’s fault, isn’t it? Yes, all Nicky’s fault, that conniving bitch…”

“No. She’s a victim in this.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Noble.”

“If you want to blame someone, blame the Old Man.”

“Why would I blame him? He brought us together. He kept us alive.”

“Whatever he did to Nicky, that’s what caused all this. Serena, listen to me. Calm down and lis-“

“She deserved what she got, shut up, Noble, she deserved it. The fucking slut. Did she squeal like a pig when she fucked you?”

She raises the axe overhead.

“Hey, Noble. You’re mine, aren’t you? All mine, right? You're my shield, right?”

What do you do?

>>29806467
Are we in any position to tackle her? I really think she needs a little time to calm down and think about it when she's not so upset.

>>29806555
You're flat on your back with her straddling your hips. Your arms are free.

>>29806555
I feel like escalating things might be dangerous here for a number of reasons.

>>29806467

" Of course I am. I'm your sword and you shield. Now put that down and listen to me."

>>29806705
This.

And in hindsight we should have told her this when she didn't have ready access to a lethal weapon.

>>29806467
I'll protect you. I'll protect everyone. I have to.

>>29806683
It doesn't sound like there'd be a definite way to definitely avoid getting hit by that axe. I am now, however, voting for >>29806705

>>29806771
But that's easy anon! You just have to catch the handle when she swings.

>>29806846
I'll have you roll dice if you do that. Failing won't be pretty.

>>29806871
I was just taking the piss. My vote goes to >>29806705

>>29806846
I was thinking of batting it away if it came to that, actually.

Alright, gotta head out for a little bit. I'll finish up writing once I get back.

I just read the last thread.

Sweet fucking Jesus why did we let Nicky do that?

>>29808247
Out of concern for Nicky. We had three shitty options: have sex with her, walk away, or pray we could talk her out of having sex while getting hit by a Bliss attack.

>>29803764
>What's worth following at the moment?

Shadow quest is pretty excellent, but long and hard to break into.

>>29806467
>>29806705
>>29806749
Start with, "I'm yours, but I'm not yours." Then talk about protecting everyone. "I want to be with you Serena, but we can't ignore what the Old man's done. If I'm gone, bliss out or otherwise. We have to protect each other.

>>29808677
>I'm yours, but I'm not yours." Then talk about protecting everyone.

THis is the last thing you want to say to a unstable girl who loves you. She's not going to get it. and even if she does she's just going to either kill us and everyone else so we're only hers.

It's like you don't even know what a yandere is.

>>29808798

A few tense seconds pass.

“Yeah. I’m your shield, now put that down, okay?”

Her grip loosens. The axe slips from her fingers, falling to the side.

“You promised me. You pro-“ She crumples on top of you, sobbing, her balled fists striking your chest. “You promised me!”

Her words fall into incomprehensibility as she cries. You lean up, carefully, putting your arms around her, holding her close. “Yeah. I did,” you whisper. “I did.”

You stroke her hair, rocking her back and forth as you would a child, until she calms, her breath hitching.

“I love you so much, Noble, I just…”

“I know, I know.”

“Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me? Don’t you ever!”

“I won’t.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise. Never again.”

“I-I didn’t mean… those things I said, I didn’t-“

“Shh, shh. I know.”

“Nicky’s our, my friend, but after all that, I just couldn’t control myself…”

You raise her chin, give her a kiss.

“I can’t forgive her for that, but I didn’t, I shouldn’t have said those things…”

You say nothing more. The sun warms your skin. Wind swirls, gently stirring the raspberry plants. Serena brushes her hair out of her face, shifting in your lap.

“Heeeeey! Noble, Serena! Your turn, now!” Su’s voice again, calling from the trailers out front.

“Come on. Work to do.” You stand up, still carrying her, setting her down gently.

“… Yeah. Work to do.”

“Can you handle it?”

“Mm. I’ll be okay.”

You leave it at that, and head back out front.

---

>>29809849

“Full dive commencing. Good luck, Mr. Jurick.”

It’s not me who needs luck, you think. Once this is over, you’ll settle the matter with the Old Man. You don’t know if you’ll kill him. You just might. The thought pleases you a little, the thought sickens you a little. You feel yourself sink still deeper into the fluid, and then the world falls away.

You hear a voice in your head. Serena’s. Calm, now. No more madness, no more hysteria.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your name?”

“Noble Jurick.”

“Alright. And what’s my name.”

“Serena Foster.” You pause for a second, then go ahead and say it. “As if I could ever forget.”

You can’t see her smile, but you feel it.

---

END

>>29810065
Thank you for running. May Noble not perish of sudden axe-induced trauma.

It's such a cliche weapon for yanderes.

That's it for today. If you guys wanna keep this bumped until tomorrow, I can continue and we won't have to make a whole new thread for it. I should be able to start running around 13:00 or 14:00 server time or so, and as always I'll keep you posted on the Twitter in the OP if anything changes.

Next thread, we'll continue the ANIMA test.

Until then, any questions, comments, or criticisms? Sorry for the delay in getting those last posts out - I was dragged off to dinner with some friends, and only just got back.

>>29810176
Ha, isn't it though? I hope the yandere axe trauma thing won't happen but who knows? We'll see!

>>29810176
Yeah they should really get with the times. How can you say you love him if you won't even use orbital bombardment on girls who flirt with him?

>>29810065
>>29810290

Awesome Mars. You're character interaction writing is great. This is exactly how Bliss Stage is supposed to be played.

Do you have a time set up for your next session yet?

>>29810557
Thanks, man. And yeah, I'll continue it tomorrow as soon as I can, around 13:00 or 14:00 server time. If this thread's still around, I'll use it. If not, I'll make a new one.

>>29810630
>Server time
Still no idea what that is. What time is server time right now?

>>29810699
20:12. Server time is GMT minus 5:00.

>>29810742
Oh hey, that's me!.
Alright I'll have to take off for a while a couple hours into it but I'll definitely be here when you start running.

>>29810253
Your quest is good and you should feel good.

>>29810871
Thanks, anon!

bump

Bump.

Until next time

>>29808584
Long and hard. Sounds good.

bumpan

Of the various teams across the country building ANIMA prototypes, yours was the first to succeed. Your group numbered five in total. Noble Jurick, yourself. Serena Foster, your anchor. Su Holt, secondary pilot. Nicky Friedman, Su’s anchor and engineer of the ANIMA system. And of course, the Old Man.

You’ll deal with the Old Man soon enough. You don’t know exactly what he’s done, but you have your suspicions.

The trailer hums with the power of the creche. It fills with the electric smell of ionized air.

You pull on your Cradle suit – a mess of sensors embedded in porous cloth, keeping them in place while allowing the fluid the creche generated to come in contact with your skin. You slip your oxygen mask on, then enter the Cradle. Serena pulled the securing straps tight around your limbs, preventing you from thrashing and potentially harming yourself in the creche vat. She gives you a kiss. It may be the last you receive.

“Full dive commencing. Good luck, Mr. Jurick.”

Bloody thoughts circulate. Not now. Keep it inside. Unleash it once you have the chance. Live through this test, first.

You feel yourself sink still deeper into the fluid, and then the world falls away.

---

“Alright, Noble. What do you see?”

You look down. Your ANIMA fills your vision, all elegant protrusions of gold and silver, organic swirls of steel and marble. You raise your arms. A great shield falls into your hand, a massive twin-barreled cannon lands on your shoulder, clicking into place atop your spiked pauldron.

“Nothing, other than my ANIMA. I should give it a name.”

What do you call it?

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>>29828336

>>29828395
Ares

>>29828336
Aegis

It's a classic but I like it.

>>29828336
Aegis

>>29829619
>>29829654
Aegismind.

I'll keep waiting a little bit to see if other votes come in. In the meantime, Deniable Assets is currently running, so go check that out instead!

>>29829704

“Maybe… Aegis. Aegis is a good name. It’s classic, fits perfectly.” You heft your shield high.

“Eh. Not inventive enough. Boomstick sounds better to me.”

“Boomstick, really?” You pat the cannon on your shoulder. “And you say I'm not inventive. Doesn’t really fit this thing, though. It’s way too… Too regal, for such a name.”

“Alright, alright. You’re living up to your name, I get it. What else do you see?”

You squint.

“I… it’s weird. Depending how I focus, it changes. I think I’m getting the hang of this. It’s like a level select screen.”

“A what?”

“Like in videogames.”

“I didn’t never played those. I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Or an elevator, you press a button and it takes you to that floor. Kind of like that.”

“So you’re saying… you can choose what to see?”

“That’s… yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“So, what are you going to pick?”

[Turning shapes. You will manifest in the real world.]
[Shimmering colors. You will manifest in the alien world.]
[Squirming lines. You will manifest in the dream world.]

>>29830276
>[Squirming lines. You will manifest in the dream world.]
Let's try a different floor.

>>29830276
>[Shimmering colors. You will manifest in the alien world.]

>>29830276
>[Shimmering colors. You will manifest in the alien world.]

>>29830885
>>29831048

“Colors, I guess. I think they represent the aliens’ world. Wait, how do I know that?”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Noble. That sounds like hostile territory. They could be waiting for you, or something.”

“Don’t think the aliens work that fast, Serena. They waited two years before attacking us for real. We only just got this thing working not even a week ago.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

She’s right.

Are you sure you want to enter the alien world?

>>29831324
>Squirming lines. You will manifest in the dream world.
Headfirst into the deep end sounds bad.

>>29831324
I'll count the latest vote. Two for dream, two for alien.

“It can’t be too risky. If anything happens, you can just pull me out, right?”

“The bail-out malfunctioned last time. Nicky said she fixed it. I don’t want to risk it, Noble.”

“Come on. Have some-“ You stop yourself. Probably not a good idea to bring all those memories back up so soon, not after you’ve just buried the hatchet.

“It’s not that. I just don’t want to lose you.”

The dream world, or the alien world?

>>29831464

Fuggit, Serena is in a delicate enough mental state already.

Dream world it is.

>>29831464
Go with dream, let's not push our luck

Sorry, guys. Burnout is hitting me hard. I'll repost what's been written in a new thread, tomorrow.