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>"The next time she comes back..." Mom looks out the window. "...bring her to see me when she does."
>"Wha!?" I stare at her. "Here!? To the hospital!?"
>"Yeah," she nods. "I'd like to meet this mystery girl at least once before you two end up eloping..."


"H- hey," I stammer, "you know I wouldn't do something like that!"
"Oh?" Mom pouts. "Well I've never seen this woman so for all I know she's the type to up and decide that she wants to run off to Europe or whatever..."
"Mom, why do you always..." I groan. "...fine, I guess I'll TRY to convince her to come here and meet you the next time she's in town."

Not that I even know when that'll be... normally, entire months will pass between Lorelei's visits.

"Great, I'll be looking forward to it!" she laughs.
"Just... whenever she does come into town again, don't get into a fight with her, okay?" I ask.
"I promise nothing," she replies, pouting.

I really hope that's just her teasing again.

"Speaking of fights," Mom says, "what's going on with your latest tree stuff?" she asks.


>well lorelei told me about this book...
>just the usual, jerks causing trouble and all that
>[OTHER]

>>40847283
>well lorelei told me about this book...

>>40847283
>well lorelei told me about this book...

>>40847283
>>well lorelei told me about this book...
Let's raise some death flags!

>>40847283
>well lorelei told me about this book...

>>40847283
>well lorelei told me about this book...

what could go wrong?

Also, first quest i've been able to participate in. PCG and FD have been a nightly ritual for a few months now - thank you Arch!

>>40847524
Well it was either run a thread or sit here in the hotel doing nothing...


>writing

>>40847990
still recovering from Stackzzila?

"Well Lorelei told me about this book," I say, "and apparently it's able to give Branches to whoever reads it."
"...so it can do the same thing as your girlfriend?" Mom asks.
"More or less, yeah," I reply.

no denial of her being your girlfriend?

Shut up.

"Ohhh..." Mom winces. "...it's bad enough that your girlfriend's out there giving out superpowers to random little kids, but even that's not as bad as if a book like that got out to the public at large..."
"Yeah." I nod. "And that's why I'm going to find it and get it to Lorelei before this city ends up filled with new Branch holders."

The mere mention of the possibility of that happening makes my mother shudder.


>[1/?]

>>40848172
>[2/2]

"So these guys who you were fighting yesterday," Mom says, "were they the people who read this book?"


>two of them were, at least
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...

>>40848271
>>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...
Maybe they're Illuminati or Freemasons or something...

>>40848271
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...

>>40848271
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization

>>40848271
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...
>Lorelei told me that they don't like her, but they seemed alright, if a bit mistrusting.

>>40848271
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...

>>40848271
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...

>>40848271
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...

>>40848271
>two of them were, but the other two were from some kind of organization...

>writing

"Two of them were," I say, "but the other two were from some kind of organization..."

why are you telling her about this

"Wait, there's an -organization- of people like you?" my mother gasps. "Like some kind of superpowered Illuminati or Freemasons or..."
"I don't know the specifics," I reply.
"W- well you didn't JOIN them, did you!?"
"What?" I start at her. "No, of course not!"


>[1/?]

>>40849387

"First off, Lorelei actually WARNED me about them, and..." I shake my head. "...anyways, they're after the book too and one of them wants me to help them out so I -might- be assisting them. Just a little."
"Joshua..." Mom shakes her head. "You've been at this for -how- many years without help? I know this stuff is tiring and all, but you shouldn't just jump at the first chance to have someone watching your back."
"Yeah, I know," I sigh.
"That's just a quick way to get stabbed in the back," we both say at the same time.

so filled with mistrust

It's kept me alive this long, hasn't it?

And besides, I at least have you looking out for me.


>[2/?]

Is Joshua like the ONLY FDrite with a relatively benign branch persona? CC's has terrible anger management and trust issues, Char's was so bad she killed it off, Theresa's is horny as hell... well Gabby's seems relatively tame, possibly on account of us not having seen it much.

>>40849556
>[3/3]

yeah

sure

we're a two-in-one hero

"As long as you understand to be careful," Mom says to me. "It would just kill me if something was to happen to you."
"Yeah..." I groan.
"I mean it," she says, looking me right in the eyes. You are the -only- reason that I have to keep on fighting, you hear that?"

guilt trip

"I know..." I say while forcing a smile. "And that's why I'm always extra careful when I do my thing."

liar

"You'd better be," Mom replies. "It's bad enough knowing that you're out there with psychic rapists and plant monster men and all that other crazy stuff."


>now it's time for me to go back out and hunt some more of them down
>stick around here a little bit longer and talk about _____

>>40849700
Isn't gabbys the rabbit?

>>40849756
>now it's time for me to go back out and hunt some more of them down

>>40849756
>stick around here a little bit longer and talk about advice in dealing with the organization when there's a nice girl surrounded by assholes.

>>40849756
>>now it's time for me to go back out and hunt some more of them down

>>40849770
Yeah Gabrielle's is Shary the whatever-doll. Or rather, it chooses to manifest through a doll.

>now it's time for me to go back out and hunt some more of them down

Hmm talking dolls... just how much Insight CC has acquired so far?

>>40849700
Gabrielle and Shary get on about as well as Joshua does with his.

>>40849770
Shary is a poorly-made cat plushie.

>>40849926
wut


>writing

>>40850115
Insight is a mechanic in Bloodborne, The more you have it the more you are aware of the Cthulhuesque bullshit that is all around you. The doll is an interface to leveling up stuff after you have gained your first point of Insight.

>>40850201
Is that the $450 game that has its own specialised hardware?
Neato.

>>40850294
The what now? I'm talking about:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodborne

>>40850326
It's a joke about how the PS4 has no games.

>>40850352
Correction: 1 game.

>>40850326
>>40850352
>>40850399
I for one am waiting for Fallout 4 to come out.

>>40850352
Hmm ok, If that's a /v/idya meme, I last visited that place roughly six years ago.

>>40850416
It's going to be as terribly mediocre as Skyrim.

or if you're the type of pleb that thinks Skyrim was acceptable, it's going to be as great as Skyrim.

>>40850431
Hey, I played though FO3 GOTY edition, and I still say FO4 looks and what we have seen at E3 will play so much better than skyrim. Besides, Dogmeat is unkillable!

>>40850352
It has Infamous 3...

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"Well now it's time for me to go back out there..." I say.
"Of course," Mom pouts.
"Just think of it as me getting practice for whenever I find the one who put you in here," I reply, kissing her on the cheek.

and when we do find him

Yeah. No mercy.


>[1/?]

>>40850514


"That's just something else that I need to worry about..." Mom says, smiling weakly at me. "Make sure you come back tomorrow, you got it?"
"Of course," I reply while giving her a thumbs-up. "Seeing you is the high point of my day, you know."

mama's boy

"Heh, and now I can't even tell you to go and get a girlfriend..." she laughs.
"Very funny," I mumble.


>[2/?]

>>40850674
>[4/4]


After leaving my mother's room, I say goodbye to the usual nurses and orderlies as I make my way out of the hospital. Fun time is over with, and now it's time to spend the rest of my Sunday on business...

so what now?

the usual patrols for bad stuff happening?

or are you going to call irene and see if she has any leads?


>patroltime
>call the irene
>[OTHER]

>>40850806
>patroltime

>>40850806
>>patroltime

>>40850806
>patroltime
>call the irene
We can do both.

>>40850806
>>patroltime
Justice never sleeps!

>>40850806
>>call the irene
My dissenting vote!

>writing

test

>>40851362
We have received your post.

>>40851362
We're still here archelon.

Might as well go on patrol, it's not like people are going to stop getting mugged just because there's some brat running around who can control the pavement.

justice never sleeps

Exactly.


>[1/?]

>>40851427

One of the nicer things about my Branch being what it is is that I have a lot more flexibility than I would if, say, I had enhanced sight instead. So although I do have to concentrate on -what- I want to hear, that only means that I'm focusing on specific things while still taking in the full range of everything around me. So I'm also able to look out for one thing while the voice in my head looks out for another.

After several years of working this out between us, we've gotten pretty good at efficiently scouting out trouble. And that's why I'm fairly confident when I say that there's like... nothing going on here. I dunno if it's because it's Sunday so the usual morons are all hung over or what, but I don't hear a single sign of muggings or attacks or whatever going on outside.

Guess I ought to be thankful.

hey

maybe this means that you're actually making a difference here


>[2/?]

>>40851460
>[3/3]

Yeah, I'm not so naive as to believe that-

AHEAD

I feel it too, dammit. You shouting like that just makes the headache worse.

sorry

but still

Yeah, I can hear them. Judging from the direction that I was walking when the Synapse happened, it's a fair bet that the person who caused it is a ways in front of me...

that heartbeat

it's a male

ex-smoker

"......damn it," I mutter under my breath. Though it's a slight relief that it's not one of the kids from yesterday, I do recognize that heartbeat as belonging to the asshole who Irene was working with.

she doesn't seem to be around though


>see what's going on with him
>you know what, I'm not in the mood for this right now
>[OTHER]

>>40851662
>see what's going on with him

>>40851662
>>see what's going on with him

>>40851662
>see what's going on with him

Seems suspicious for him to be alone given that he has a weak fighting branch.

>>40851662
>>see what's going on with him

>>40851662
>see what's going on with him

>writing

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his heartrate just skyrocketed

Yeah, it seems like his range is the same as mine. I guess I ought to do something before he thinks that he just ran into one of those kids from yesterday.

or you can just leave him

irene's not here so who cares

You really couldn't be any less transparent about you interest in her, could you.


>[1/?]

>>40852047


After ducking into an alley where nobody can see me, I close my eyes and reach out through the soundwaves that are travelling through the ground.

Footsteps...

Cars...

The subway underneath my feet...

...there he is. Now that I've got an exact bead on his (moving) location, I just reach out and use the ground beside him as a speaker of sorts.

you should give him a good scare

No, that might bite me in the ass later.


>[2/?]

>>40852285
>[3/3]

"Hello," I say to him. I can't help but laugh when I feel his feet leave the ground for nearly a full second before landing.
"Th... the hell1?" Lloyd shouts while scrambling to and fro.


>I see that you're not with irene...
>any news on those kids from yesterday?
>[OTHER]

>>40852449
>I see that you're not with irene...
Open with this, then.
>any news on those kids from yesterday?

>>40852449
>>I see that you're not with irene...
>>any news on those kids from yesterday?

>>40852449
>I see that you're not with irene...
>allow infatuated voice in head ask questions about irene to this asshole to its heart's content

head-bro has been chill with us dweebing over Lorelei, return the favor

>>40852449
>I see that you're not with irene...
>any news on those kids from yesterday?
Also, damn it's been a long time since a Joshua quest. I forgot how much I loved them.

>>40852579
All the p/u/reness of the main story is OK, but sometimes you just wanna do a shonen action hero. Reinhold filled that role well enough, but now we have Joshua to fill the void.

>>40852579
Thanks.
This thread's been running kind of slow admittedly mostly my own fault so I worry.


>writing

>>40852638
Still not quite over that stackzilla arch?

>>40852628
I dunno, I do enjoy regular FDQ but sometimes it feels like CC's too much of a victim of shit happening to her, I like that Joshua has a clear motivation and a purpose.
Not sure whether or not he'd make a better MC than Cecile (avenging his Mom over FDQ's 96 threads might feel a little drawn out, plus we wouldn't see the same level of skill improvement we've seen Cecile go through) but it's definitely a lot of fun to play as somebody a bit more experienced, focused and comfortable with their powers than CC every once in a while.

>>40852638
No sweat. I'm having a blast with this one.
Is Lorelei gonna show up?

"I see that you're not with Irene today..." I say.

Hearing her name being mentioned makes his heartrate soar even higher than it already was.

"H- how do you-" Lloyd stammers. "Oh. YOU."
"Yeah, me," I reply. "You still haven't answered my question."
"Where the hell are you, anyways!?" he shouts. "If you want to talk to me then be a man and do it face-to-face!"


>no thanks
>yeah, why not

>>40852739
>yeah, why not

>>40852739
>yeah, why not

>>40852739
>yeah, why not
Doubt it's a trap, seeing as we're the one's who approached him

>writing

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Yeah, why not. I know what this guy's Branch is, and it's not like he can do anything to be as long as I don't attack him first.

you think

Why are you always so cautious when it comes to this guy but you're all about chasing after Irene? I never took you for a skirtchaser.

it's complicated

you wouldn't understand

Suuuure I wouldn't.


>[1/?]

>>40852903
Is head-bro in love with Irene or Irene's head-sis?

>>40852903

Secure in my tactical superiority, I step out of the alley and walk for about a block until I see Lloyd. He looks -quite- pissed.

"Hey," I say, waving to him.
"What the hell do you even want?" Lloyd snarls at me.
"My question still stands," I reply. "Where's Irene at?"
"What do I care, for all I know she's at some bar picking up chicks."

what a dick

"Let me change the wording then," I say, clearing my throat. "What are -you- doing out here by yourself?"
"Getting lunch," Lloyd replies. "What the hell does it matter to you?"

.........well now I just feel kind of stupid.


>[2/?]

>>40853064
>[3/3]

"And what about you, asshole?" Lloyd asks. "What are you doing wandering around here?"
"Patrolling," I reply. "This is -my- city and I like to do what I can to keep it safe."
"So you're some kid playing Batman," he scoffs.

more like skull-

Not now.

"No wonder you agreed to help us..."
"I said I -might- help out maybe," I reply. "Speaking of which, have you found out anything about those two?"
"Nothing more than you have," he shrugs. "Now if you don't mind, I'm off-duty and haven't eaten anything all day..."


>whatever, get lost
>wait, I wanted to ask about _________

>>40853318
>alright dude, peace

>>40853318
>whatever, get lost

>>40853318
>wait, I wanted to ask about The Tree of Life

>writing

I've missed the Joshua threads. Been so fucking long since the last one.

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>>40853318
This guy?

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>>40853504
No, this guy.

though they're both based on the same thing

"Whatever, man." I say, rolling my eyes at him.

tell him to ask

Yeah, yeah.

"Have Irene call me if you find out anything about those guys," I say to him.
"Whatever," Lloyd grumbles.

As we part ways, I hear him mumbling a bunch of profanity under his breath... I thought Church people were supposed to have better manners than that, but oh well.

Not like I know much of anything about that stuff anyways.


>[1/?]

>>40853561

The rest of the day's pretty uneventful, much to my relief. No muggings anywhere that I was patrolling at the time, and at the end of the day I'm able to make it back to Wallace's place without actually having to deal with him.

If I'm going to be completely honest here, I'd rather deal with those Branch psycho kids than have to look at his stupid face.


>[2/3]

>>40853561
I feel sorry for any Christian branch holder looking to join the Tree of Life in the hope of doing God's work (but with superpowers)
It's an organization comprising of 99.9% assholes and Irene.

>>40853615
So it's just like the normal church organizations?

>>40853629
Maybe?
I dunno, I've never been to a church aside from weddings and funerals and I don't know anybody who attends regular service.
My experience with religion is pretty limited, truth be told.

>>40853606
>[3/3

Patrol stuff done...

Tomorrow's homework done...

With my usual (and extra) worries dealt with, I decide to call it an early night since I do still have school to worry about on top of all this.

Er, you can take control if you wanted to get some reading done.

nah, I'm tired too

Alright, then it's off to bed.


BZZZZZT BZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZT

"Gaah!"

Just as I'm pulling down the sheets, my stupid phone goes off and startles me so much that I narrowly avoid falling flat on my ass. After giving it some choice words, I pick the stupid thing up...

oooooh

it's from irene

And naturally I'm goaded into reading the message RIGHT THIS INSTANT.

"Hey Joshua, sorry about getting things off on the wrong foot yesterday," the message reads. "We didn't have any luck on our end today, but I'm sure that at least one of us will be able to find a lead on this business tomorrow!"

I'm getting friendly texts from a member of an evil organization. Wonderful.

"Take care and make sure to call if you need help! -Irene"

Calling it a night here, folks.

I thank everyone who participated in this thread, and I apologize again for the slowness.


Since I have some cleaning to do before I go to sleep, I'll be opening questions until then.

>>40853699
How did you like Vegas?

>>40853699
How's Vegas?
What's the next thread gonna be?
What's the plan with SoU now? Is it gonna impact regular FDQ?

>>40853699
Will the next thread be SoU as well?

>>40853720
>How did you like Vegas?
I'm still there.

>>40853729
>How's Vegas?
Half fun, half shitty.
The shitty parts are mostly because of the fact that I'm unable to just wander around and take in the sights.

>What's the next thread gonna be?
Probably Monday night, maybe Sunday night if conditions allow it.

>What's the plan with SoU now? Is it gonna impact regular FDQ?
It will, but not yet.

>>40853771
>Will the next thread be SoU as well?
Haven't decided yet, though it's possible.


And now I sleep. Thanks for playing!

For further questioning:
http://maouzenigame.tumblr.com/

Game development blog:
https://studioarchelon.wordpress.com/