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>>4138703

strawpoll.me/19530621
strawpoll.me/19530621
strawpoll.me/19530621

Also please vote for your favorite SPR Character!

>>4138703
>>Enact Revenge on that Hairdresser. [Stay home with Odetta and Catastrovania.]
This is our fight

>>4138703
>Go in search of whatever this key is.

>>4138703
>Go in search of whatever this key is.

>>4138703
>Go in search of whatever this key is. [Go with Bruce and Maggie]

>>4138703
>Go in search of whatever this key is.

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“We’ll split the team now, two of us will stay and enact revenge on that Hairdresser and the others will go find that key.” You want to be efficient about this.

“Amsh Ichtinsh (I’m eating)” Odetta refuses to go.

“Enact revenge? Fufufu, such a perfectly MISCHIEVOUS activity! I will stay!” Catastrovania proclaims. She’s just being lazy, right?

“If I go out I need to wear those lame clothes again, right?” Despite wanting to go outside, Maggie doesn’t enjoy her new outfit.

“Yes, obviously.” You give her the bad news. Maggie is thinking about it but doesn’t look thrilled.

“I’ll drive. I need to wake up a little.” Bruce is up for it like he always is. He gently slaps his cheeks.

“You three will deal with the hairdresser then.” You’ll go with Bruce to get this key.

“…I guess I didn't get that boring ass outfit to stay, like, at home all the time.” Maggie will join your efforts as well. She, in a blink of an eye, changed clothes…

“All the info is on your phone. Now, Cat, let’s have some fun with her, shall we…?” Odetta tenderly smiles towards Catastrovania. Both start cackling together. You three leave them be so they can enjoy their devilish schemes together…

And per Odetta’s written instructions, you three went to the outskirts of the same Shopping Centre you were in a few hours ago. The place you’re looking for is a little plaza in front of a building that leads to a restroom area, adjacent to the road. Under the biggest tree around, where Odetta dug to hide the important key.

…

Just now you realize that there’s something really fishy going on. How did Odetta dig anything if she was just a ghost? It doesn’t matter. With Bruce's help, it was easy to find the exact spot you were looking for.

“You sure this is it? I think the tree over there is bigger…” Maggie points out to a tree that is taller, but is just a fraction of the thickness.

“We can check it out later.” You’re already here anyway.

Out of the blue, you hear loud sneezing coming from the top of the tree.

“I-Is the tree ha-haunted…?” Maggie hides behind you. “It has a scroll attached and e-everything! A-And, I mean, look at it!”

“Oh god, not again…” Bruce has a bad feeling.

Paying more attention to it, you believe it’s a woman’s voice…

What do you do?

>Dig up the key and get out of here.
>Climb the tree to assert dominance.
>“Anyone up there?”
>Write In.

>>4138853
>>“Anyone up there?

>>4138703
>Go in search of whatever this key is.
It might be crucial to surviving the Min-Hu Alliance out for our blood.

>>4138705
Sorry Chief. Still a long while before I can recover my possessions from the bastards that took them from me. Once I get my laptop back, I can return to you and begin to proof DYBQ again, and we can figure out a new schedule for me working with you again. I miss this I really do, but... there's a lot of things I need to purge and overcome from myself before I can come back a better man, one changed for the better in many senses of the word. Let's just say... uh... I've been dealing with shit that wouldn't be out of place in the quest's setting. Still a chance I might die for real, like what I... narrowly avoided back in December. I was unironically going to lose my fucking life, dude. I cannot stress this enough - I almost died. I would rather not say any more fitting yet cryptic statements about it, even though I really REALLY want to.

Part of me thinks you wouldn't believe me even if I told you everything and risked something... vital in the process, but you and I have been doing DYBQ ever since September two and a half years ago. You've known me for a long time, at least when it comes to how internet relationships usually tend to last. I feel that you of all people alive would believe me. Who knows? I sure don't. Maybe you might.

Regards,

Your ever-tired and burned-out shell of a retard friend.

>>4138853
>“Anyone up there?”

>>4138853
>Dig up the key and get out of here.

>>4138853
>>“Anyone up there?”

>>4138853
>>“Anyone up there?”

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“Anyone up there?” You ask out loud.

“N-No…” Someone that is not the tree responds from above.

“S-See? Nothing to see here! Let’s go!” Maggie drags you by the arm like a coward.

“I have the key…” Bruce is looking nervous as well. While you were distracted, he dug the key out barehanded. Props to him for finding it.

“Ehm…” You get closer to the tree, turn on the flashlight of your phone and take a look at what is above. Aside from things you expect to find on a tree like a nest, you see a girl sitting on one of the tree branches – she looks rather disheartened.

“L-Let’s go, Allie! N-No time to lose! You’re the one who likes to be efficient and stuff!” Maggie is dragging you away, you’re pleasantly surprised that she’s strong enough to move you around - she has come a long way. Aside from that, is it a good idea to leave that girl there…?

What do you do?

>Leave. You can’t help anyone you see on the streets, you even poisoned a hobo once, remember?
>“Hey you, over there. State the reason for your discomfort.”
>“Maggie, stop dragging me around.”
>Write In.

>>4138855
Stay safe, mate. Hang in there, I'm waiting for you to come back!

>>4138968
>“Maggie, stop dragging me around.”
>offer to help her down

>>4138968
>“Maggie, stop dragging me around.”

>>4138968
>“Maggie, stop dragging me around.”
>>“Hey you, over there. State the reason for your discomfort.”

>>4138968
>>“Maggie, stop dragging me around.”
>>“Hey you, over there. State the reason for your discomfort.”

>>4138968
>“Hey you, over there. State the reason for your discomfort.”

>>4138968
>>“Hey you, over there. State the reason for your discomfort.”

>>4138968
>“Maggie, stop dragging me around.”
plus
>"Props for being able to manage it though. You're doing well."

>>4138968
THIS >>4138992

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“Maggie, stop dragging me around.” You sternly but calmly tell her to give you some space. “Props for being able to manage it though. You’re doing well.”

“S-Sorry, Allie, but I’m a little scared…” A fearful Maggie admits as she lets you go. Little is an understatement. She can beat up a criminal, but a dimly lit tree makes her act like this? You need to train her courage. How do you even do that…?

“Apology accepted.” You walk back towards the tree. “Hey you, over there. State the reason for your discomfort.”

“M-Me…?” Tree girl appears to be confused.

“It’s certainly not me. Right…? I think it’s pretty obvious why, haha…” Bruce nervously jokes to make Maggie feel better, he failed. Both he and Maggie are standing far away from you and the tree. They’re really afraid of it…

“I can’t tell you!” Tree girl responded to your inquiry.

“Explain why.” You want your answers.

“B-Because it would put me at risk!” She wipes the tears from her eyes.

“Is someone dangerous looking for you?” You believe she’s hiding. “I won’t alert anyone unless you believe yourself to be a dangerous criminal. Even if you are, I’ll most likely ignore you. So you can speak freely.”

“A mean woman, the security, a creepy girl and a weird boy are looking for me! I-I owe money… So much money…! And I have no way to pay them…!” Tree girl breaks into tears, but quickly wipes them again – despite being emotional, she doesn’t like to show it. “I-I’m going to go to jail! I don’t have a job…! My life is over again…!”

You’ve heard enough to make up your mind about this situation. Right?

What do you do?

>“You need to be a little more specific than that. To whom do you owe the money and how much? I’ll pay it for you.”
>“There is no one around, you’re safe. And if you’re that worried about the money, I know a place you can work for.” Offer her to work at the New Flux. You believe Calin would appreciate the help.
>“I wish you well, tree girl. Life is harsh.” Leave.
>Write In.

>>4139064
>>“There is no one around, you’re safe. And if you’re that worried about the money, I know a place you can work for.” Offer her to work at the New Flux. You believe Calin would appreciate the help.

>>4139064
>>“There is no one around, you’re safe. And if you’re that worried about the money, I know a place you can work for.” Offer her to work at the New Flux. You believe Calin would appreciate the help.

>>4139064
>“There is no one around, you’re safe. And if you’re that worried about the money, I know a place you can work for.” Offer her to work at the New Flux. You believe Calin would appreciate the help.

Sure, why not. Maybe she can watch the bar while we deal with all the damn drunks.

>>4139064
>“There is no one around, you’re safe. And if you’re that worried about the money, I know a place you can work for.” Offer her to work at the New Flux. You believe Calin would appreciate the help.

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“There’s no one around, you’re safe.” You look around and find nothing but your team members at a safe distance from the tree… “And if you’re that worried about the money, I know a place you can work for.”

“R-Really…?” Tree girl’s eyes lighten up.

“Yes, the place is short staffed and would love to have you on board. What’s your name?”

“I’m Kae. W-What kind of work would I do…?”

“Nice to meet you, Kae. I’m Alfred Brown. You’ll work as a bartender in a little place with an inexperienced owner I work with sometimes. Do you need any assistance to come down from the tree?” You want to make sure she’s fine.

“No, I can take it…” Kae the Tree girl amazingly jumps from one tree branch to another and jumps off the tree like a gymnastic expert would.

You would clap but you’re busy calling Calin. In a short call, you were able to get the job for Kae because Calin has a lot of trust in you! Bad news is that your good name will be in jeopardy if Kae doesn’t live up to expectations. Not like you’re too fond of bartending after last time…

You two start walking away from the creepy tree. You asked for her contact information but Kae’s phone is out of battery and can’t receive information about the job. You sent the information anyway through ‘Chat-Now’, she’s going to have it once she gets her phone going.

“T-Thank you, Alfred.” Kae doesn’t know what to do. “B-But—”

“Don’t disappoint me.” You interrupt Kae.

“Hey Allie, you defeated the tree, right?” Maggie is happy that you’re away from it. Your team members approach you now.

“The tree was never the enemy.” You shake your head. You can’t fault her stupidity right now, she’s not thinking straight after losing Inelle 2. May she rest in peace.

“I-I was about to ask why you’re doing this for me.” Kae chimes with a good question.

“Because the bar is short staffed.” You repeat yourself.

“N-No, I mean helping me in general...” Kae wants a real explanation.

“…” But you don’t give it to her and just shrug. “Do you need a lift?” It’s late in the night and she could use a little bit more help.

“Yes, b-but I’m still confused…” Kae doesn’t get it one bit.

“Hey, I like your hair! It’s all puffy!” Maggie takes a good look at Kae.

“T-Thanks, yours is cool too, I think…” Kae doesn’t know how to react.

“Nah, mine’s shit. It’s all bleh…” Maggie chuckles. Those two start having a conversation of their own.

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>>4139455

“Hey Al.” Bruce approaches you.

“You don’t want to give her a ride?” You didn’t ask beforehand. Your mistake.

“N-No, that’s fine. I’m just like… I don’t know if I should say this… But you reminded me of your dad for a minute there.” Bruce awkwardly appears to be proud of you.

“You think so?”

“Yeah, like when he used to prepare food for the homeless shelter from time to time… Remember?” Bruce starts chuckling. Too bad the homeless in your town are an evil organization that sells private information to the townsfolk.

“H-Hey Allie, your friend over here is about to pass out!” Maggie is holding Kae in her arms. What happened?

“I’m… sorry… I’m just so… tireeeeeeed.” Kae yawns.

“We should go. Tell us where you live now.” You help Maggie out in carrying Kae…

And so, you took Kae to her shitty little apartment, it was close enough to yours so it wasn’t a big deal. You all made sure to see Kae get inside her place and lock the door. That should be enough, right? You all drive back to your boring apartment…

Once back, it was time to know how your revenge efforts against the hairdresser went...

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>>4139457

It was a resounding success! To the surprise of no one...

Odetta explained that Geneviève Bourque was quite the bitch. She wasn’t only the scamming hairdresser you knew her for! She also was cheating on her future husband with random men she partied with. The problem for her is that she wasn’t the owner of the salon or the place she lives, her boyfriend is. Odetta forced her to send an undisclosed amount of money to one of Odetta’s shifty accounts, or she would reveal this information to you-know-who. After getting what she wanted, Odetta told Geneviève’s boyfriend anyway – effectively destroying her life. Odetta could only imagine how hilarious the break up was, while Catastrovania nervously chuckled…

You got another 5000 G-Bucks…

After that, you show them the key. Odetta confirms that it’s the one. Congratulations. What is the key for? Odetta says it opens a PO Box near the Hotel Red Velvet. She checked what’s inside, and saw there was another key… A master key for the Min-Hu Alliance’s base and the plans for a hit job on their leader.

With this briefing done, you knew it was time to go to sleep, everyone was too tired to even think about what to do with this information.

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>>4139460

[DAY 16/MONDAY]

“Hey Alfred, wake the fuck up! I’m hungry as hell!” It’s Odetta. Why is she waking you up all of a sudden? It's like 20 minutes before you normally wake up, and you’re an early bird. “Oh also, ta-dah!” Odetta throws you something. A key?

“What’s this?” You can already guess what it is. It’s the Master Key.

“I know you’re just waking up so I’ll spell it out for ya: M-A-S-T-E-R K-E-Y!” Odetta grins like the little maniac she is. You were right.

“How did you get it?” You ask instead of being grateful.

“I asked Bruce to take me there. The Min-Hu doesn’t know a thing about us two, and we got there while it was still dark so less risk.” Odetta is proud of herself. Bruce is just dropped on the futon next to you like a brick… Poor guy was tired. “See what I’m willing to do for our friendship to keep flourishing?” Odetta smiles that smug, toothy smile.

“I suppose you want something back and it’s not just going to be breakfast.” You’re not naïve. You stand up and the two walk away from the room…

“How perceptive! This is why we’re such a good pair!” Odetta is incredibly cheerful this morning. “I gave you 5k, the most important item for your operation and a wonderful smile! It’s only natural, don’t you think?”

“Hence why I asked.” You start preparing her a healthy breakfast.

“I wanted everyone to be awake to tell… Buuuut, I can give you a sneak peek!” Odetta awkwardly dances around the kitchen. “I told you little bits about my job, right? I’ve been out of the scene for a while, so I need your cooperation right now to put my name out there again!”

“Mmm…?” You’re intrigued.

“Their words; Xi Psi Pi.” Odetta proclaims without making much sense to you. “Do you know anything about the deep web, my fit country boy?”

“I know what it is.” You don’t need much an explanation.

“‘Xi Psi Pi’ is the alias my group used to go by. All my mates left me behind after I went missing. So it’s up to me to open shop again! There is a very infamous forum online where people like me offer their services and I left a notice that I’m back! So requests are flooding!” Odetta explains.

“And what do you need me for? I can’t turn myself into a ghost.” You finished Odetta’s breakfast. You put down a plate and give it to her.

“Astral Body.” Odetta stopped smiling just to correct you. “While I was out, another user that goes by T_T Neko swept all informant jobs – I lost all my regulars. So I need you all to help fulfill requests in my name, so the big fishes know they can count on me again!”

“Again, I don’t think I’m fit for the job.” You shrug as you just eat a hastily made sandwich for breakfast.

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>>4139461

“That’s where you’re wrong, kiddo.” Odetta gets excited. “You see the great majority of the requests posted are fuckin’ stupid. It’s just common folks asking for random stuff like ‘finding their cat’ or inane shit like that. So you’re perfectly capable of doing that and more! Do it for the people, it’s going to be fun!”

“I thought this was the deep web…” Why are normal people in there?

“The whole site started from one country boy like you wanting to make a page for its little village as some kind of bulletin board for requests within the community that exponentially got bigger. It’s the oldest site currently running in this country. So yeah, it’s like an urban myth to some at this point. Cool, am I right?” Odetta is passionate about this site. “I mean, just look at it, it’s all cutesy and shit.” Odetta shows you her phone.

“It certainly looks effeminate.” You admit.

“So yeah, I’m not going to take a no for an answer!” Odetta points at you. “Here, this is the link with all the requests… Just pick one that catches your eye! I want you guys to do 2 a day. So split up.”

[Important Notes: For a period of time you will do these Side-Stories as the only activity of the day, you’ll get bonuses depending on the degree of success you have. You get to choose 2 requests per day: one Alfred and one teammate will do, and another for the two teammates left. Each request is paired with one your teammates because they are integral for each side-story. The other teammates will do one of the other requests you didn’t want to so you can skip the one you don’t want to play (you’ll get a brief summary of what they consisted of later). You’ll open up more requests as you complete them. That’s it for now. Have fun!]

[Also note that options that are not selected to be completed or skipped will remain as options for the future.]

Which request do you want to pick? (Please select first the one you want to do and then select a second as the one you never want to play.)

>"Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena [Bruce Case]
>"My long life rival and I want to settle our dispute once and for all, we require judges for our cooking duel. Can you help us?" requested by Haytham Gerges [Bruce Case]
>"My model for an important ad campaign randomly cancelled on us, I need a replacement pronto! Please help us find someone!" requested by Lai Zhi [Maggie Case]
>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." request by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]
>"Can you help me talk my brother out of being a superhero?" Requested by Gualberto [Catastrovania Case]
>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the day, we continue tomorrow.)

>>4139463
>>"Can you help me talk my brother out of being a superhero?" Requested by Gualberto [Catastrovania Case]
I want to see what happens when autisms collide, I can't pick a quest to say no, all then have huge potential to end up hilarious.

>>4139463
>>"Can you help me talk my brother out of being a superhero?" Requested by Gualberto [Catastrovania Case]
>"My model for an important ad campaign randomly cancelled on us, I need a replacement pronto! Please help us find someone!" requested by Lai Zhi [Maggie Case]

>>4139463
Main Case:
>"My long life rival and I want to settle our dispute once and for all, we require judges for our cooking duel. Can you help us?" requested by Haytham Gerges [Bruce Case]

Side Case:
>"Can you help me talk my brother out of being a superhero?" Requested by Gualberto [Catastrovania Case]

>>4139463
>>"My model for an important ad campaign randomly cancelled on us, I need a replacement pronto! Please help us find someone!" requested by Lai Zhi [Maggie Case]
>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." request by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]

>>4139463
Do:
>"Can you help me talk my brother out of being a superhero?" Requested by Gualberto [Catastrovania Case]
Skip:
>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]

>>4139463
OH, I think I may have made a mistake when you said: "then select a second as the one you never want to play". Does that mean we'll never know whats goingbon with thst one?

>>4139463
Backing >>4139500

>>4139786
It most likely means we'll get a brief summery of what happened, probably less then a post, and never do it

>>4139463
Main:
>"Can you help me talk my brother out of being a superhero?" Requested by Gualberto [Catastrovania Case]

Side:
>"My model for an important ad campaign randomly cancelled on us, I need a replacement pronto! Please help us find someone!" requested by Lai Zhi [Maggie Case]

>>4139463
>"Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena [Bruce Case]
>"My model for an important ad campaign randomly cancelled on us, I need a replacement pronto! Please help us find someone!" requested by Lai Zhi [Maggie Case]

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“Right…” You take a good look at your options here. “So do I gain something for doing all of this?”

“Who knows?! It all depends on the requester!” Odetta plays it up like you could get something cool. “I knew I could count on you, Alfred.” Odetta winks at you. You don’t know how to feel about this just yet.

Eventually, the rest of the team woke up and gathered together in the living room for Odetta to repeat her whole speech. The general vibe you feel is that nobody is thrilled about doing this but they’ll do what they have to do, which is good enough for you. 2 missions, 2 pairs, simple enough. Now it’s time to see how you’re going to split up this team.

“Any suggestions or is it all up to me?” You ask the group. Not noticing any initiative, you decide to take matters into your own hands. “I’ll do this one.”

You show everyone Case #1: "Can you help me talk my brother out of being a superhero?" Requested by Gualberto.

“Fufufufu~, corrupting a superhero to join the forces of DARKNESS! I think it perfectly aligns with my EVIL and MYSTERIOUS ways.” Catastrovania is enchanted with the idea of this quest.

“Nothing in there says anything about turning him evil…” You re-read just to make sure.

“Assistant, it’s quite OBVIOUS that that’s the intention.” Catastrovania scoffs at you. “You have a long way to go.”

“Don’t assume anything. You need to call up the requester before you do anything, stupid.” Odetta doesn’t want anyone to screw this up.

“Nyeeh… W-Who are you calling stupid? I’m a metahuman beyond your comprehension, which means your cognitive level is INFERIOR to mine…” Catastrovania won’t stand for this mockery.

“Guess that leaves us together, Brucey.” Maggie gets closer to Bruce and looks all smug like the gremlin she is.

“Haha…” Bruce smiles nervously. “Shoot.”

They’re going to take "My model for an important ad campaign randomly cancelled on us, I need a replacement pronto! Please help us find someone!" requested by Lai Zhi. Why? Because Maggie felt like it. With the teams formed, you split up to tackle the missions…

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>>4140440

In the corner of the living room, after officially accepting the request online, you know it’s time to get in contact with your client to get more details. You put it on speaker so Catastrovania can listen to him too.

“So you’re the Xi Psi Pi guys? You need more info, huh? I thought you were cooler than that and could get it all on your own.” The requester sounds like a kid not over 13 years old, and he sounds whiny.

“Fufufu, don’t be FOOLISH! We’re merely fact-checking.” Catastrovania responds. You told her to keep quiet…

“Ooooh! That makes sense!” The kid is too gullible. Before you forget, his name is Gualberto. “Well, my big bro is a big dumbass! Ever since he saw that Superhero guy in Pokyo Lokyo on TV months ago he’s been trying to be one too but he’s terrible at it! Now everyone bullies me at school because of him! He ruined my life! He goes by Silver Sun but his real name is Edmundo. Please make him stop, I don’t care how!”

“Didn’t you want us to help you talk him out of it?” You remind him of the request itself.

“Just do what you have to do!” Gualberto whines.

What do you do?

>Ask where to find Silver Sun.
>Ask Gualberto to somehow arrange a meeting with him and Silver Sun.
>Write In.

>>4140443
>>Ask where to find Silver Sun.

>>4140443
Figure out what kind of guy the actor of Pokyo Lokyo is. If he is a typical celebrity scumbag then perhaps Edmundo can be swayed by revealing the true nature of his "hero".

>>4140443
>>Ask where to find Silver Sun.

>>4140443
>Ask where to find Silver Sun.

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“Where can we find Silver Sun right now?” You’ll find him yourself so you don’t have to get this kid involved.

“D-Don’t call him Silver Sun, you’ll get him all excited!! His name is Edmundo! EDMUNDO!” Gualberto gets unreasonably annoyed. “He must be at his SECRET BASE near the hospital, I’ll send you the address. But now that I think about it, he must be waiting in a corner near the shopping center waiting for some kind of crime to happen... He sucks at hiding. I swear, if you miss him you must be a dunce.”

“We’ll check out the shopping centre first then. We’ll contact you later for our payment.” The time for chit-chat is over.

“Please stop him!” Gualberto cries out before you hang up for good.

You turn to Catastrovania after the call is done, she looks strangely excited about this whole ordeal.

“Hmph, in the end, he’s just another weirdo. How disappointing.” Catastrovania looks down on Silver Sun. “Go forward my MALIGNANT STEED! We have no time to waste!”

“Let’s get in the car…” You’re already regretting this. You and Catastrovania get into the rental car and go to the Shopping Centre.

As you exit the parking lot together, Catastrovania poses to point forward to a man in a costume who is against the wall, peaking to the other side.

“That’s revolting LIGHT energy… That man must be the one we’re looking for.” Catastrovania is acting up. “I’m charging My CATASTROPHIC EYE of DESTRUCTION! We may need it…!”

“You said he was just another weirdo…”

“You disappoint me once again with your bad memory, assistant! I wouldn’t stop if I didn’t sense any danger! Danger I already foresaw by the way…”

“Bad memory? You forgot thatI’m no longer your assistant, you demoted me to minion yesterday...” And took your non-existent dental plan.

“Ngh… I-I didn’t forget, fool! I just quietly decided to give you another chance but you squandered it! You’re 200 years too young to understand the EVIL schemes of an Ex-combatant in the Construct Wars!” Catastrovania pouts. “Now it’s time to move ahead, minion…”

Silver Sun is just standing there, waiting for his chance to do something – he hasn’t noticed you yet.

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>>4140579

What do you do?

>Wait for Silver Sun to do anything. See him in action.
>Explain to Edmundo the situation with his brother. He can no longer be a Superhero.
>What’s the best way to defeat a Superhero? With a Super Villain of course! Send Catastrovania forward and let her do her thing!
>Ask Silver Sun what he’s doing here.
>Write In.

>>4140581
>>Wait for Silver Sun to do anything. See him in action.

>Wait for Silver Sun to do anything. See him in action.

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“No, wait.” You grab Catastrovania’s arm. “Let’s wait and see if this guy does anything.”

“W-Why?” Catastrovania doesn’t quite get it.

“Let’s not be hasty. We need to succeed.” You remind her what you’re here for. Catastrovania relents easily after being called out, now you two are watching the man from a safe distance.

In a flash, Silver Sun moves out of his post, you two get closer while still hiding behind a wall to see what made him go in such a hurry.

You see Silver Sun helping an elderly woman cross the street…

…

He succeeded. The elderly woman couldn’t thank him enough. How sweet of him.

“Hey, he isn’t so bad…” Catastrovania acts out of character. “W-What repulsive behavior… Ehem..”

“We need to talk him out of being a Superhero, not to judge if he’s a bad fellow or not.” You remind Cat.

“T-The kid made it sound like he was a complete embarrassment though. B-But it’s not time to have sympathy for the enemy!” Catastrovania shakes her head and tries to play her evil role again. “He truly DISGUSTS me with his SYMPATHY and… and… the other things he does!”

What do you do?

>Get closer and talk to him. Learn more about this guy.
>Keep watching. If your client is right, he’s going to do something ridiculous soon.
>Drop Catastrovania on the scene. It’s time to have a fight between Good and Evil.
>Write In.

>>4140671
>>Drop Catastrovania on the scene. It’s time to have a fight between Good and Evil.
Time to one Embarrassment to meet another Embarrassment

>>4140671
>>Drop Catastrovania on the scene. It’s time to have a fight between Good and Evil.

>>4140671
>Drop Catastrovania on the scene. It’s time to have a fight between Good and Evil.

>>4140671
>Drop Catastrovania on the scene. It’s time to have a fight between Good and Evil.

>>4140671
>Drop Catastrovania on the scene. It’s time to have a fight between Good and Evil.

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You have no idea what good (evil?) this is going to end up doing, but you feel like it’s time for Catastrovania to be part of this scene. A clash between good and evil. Embarrassment against embarrassment…

“Go for it, Catastrovania.” You send her to do… whatever she it is she does.

“You want me to unleash the power of MY CATASTROPHIC EYE of DESTRUCTION? Very well… I’ll show you mere mortals THE IMMENSE POWER of DARKNESS at its fullest!” Catastrovania is hyping herself up because she’s too nervous to do this.

But her nerves don’t get the best of her and, while dragging you, she moves forward! You’re standing at a sizeable distance from Silver Sun.

“Fufufufufufufufufufufufufu! I’ve been watching you for a long time, SILVER SUN!” Catastrovania begins her theatrics.

“How can I help you, little missy? Are you lost?” Silver Sun poses.

“Ngh…?! M-Missy…? C-Can’t you see… You know that I’m… Oh right.” Catastrovania realizes that she’s not prepared for the occasion. She somehow rips apart her new clothes to reveal her old outfit, cat ears included! You have no idea how she kept it hidden under there or how she had the strength to pull it off! But you’re not going to complain. “Ehem… Fufufufu…!” Catastrovania goes right back into character.

“W-Who are you?!” Silver Sun is taking her seriously.

“I’m the whimpering of your silly heart, the dark thoughts that plague your mind – I’m which you cannot describe as anything but fear! I’m DARKNESS personified! I’m 600 years old and an ex-combatant in the Construct Wars! It is I, The GREAT Catastrovania Strifaust Morituros IX! A metahuman beyond your comprehension and your worst NIGHTMARE!” Catastrovania ends her embarrassing speech with a pose. “My only desire right now is to corrupt your soul, Silver Sun!”

“I-Impossible…! That means y-you’re my nemesis… you’re the DARK SUN!” Silver Sun is taken aback. He’s… playing along? A crowd is gathering… They think this is a show…

“That’s one of the many names I went by long ago indeed.” Catastrovania pretends what Silver Sun said is true. “I’ve waited eons for another soldier of light to come out! Now you shall join your brothers and sisters on the path of darkness or retirement… Fufufufufu!”

“No! Never! I shall strike you down, evil overlord!” Silver Sun pulls out a baton from his belt.

“W-Wait, y-you know how these things go, right? Before that you need to defeat my minions!” Catastrovania hides behind you cowardly . “I’m the last boss, r-remember?”

“Oh right. Then you, fiend! I’ll make quick work of you!” Silver Sun is ready to fight.

This is not what you signed up for. Also Catastrovania just destroyed the new clothes you gave her, she was supposed to hide her identity…

>>4140843


What do you do?

>Well, uh, fight him!
>“To defeat me, you have to overcome my challenge…” Throw a puzzle at him or something.
>“No.” You’re not part of this show…
>Write In.

>>4140846
>>“To defeat me, you have to overcome my challenge…” Throw a puzzle at him or something.

>>4140846
>>“To defeat me, you have to overcome my challenge…” Throw a puzzle at him or something.
>throw a literal Rubic's Cube at him. Try not knock him out. Probably.

>>4140843
>Write In.
Use psycological damage. Tell him we know his real identity Eduardo and if he doesn't give up playing hero his little brother will pay the consequences of his actions which are everyone in Gualberto school already knows his elder brother plays power ranger and they think it's pretty cringe and they are bullying Gualberto, if doesn't stop playing hero his little brother will be bullyied forever. If he resists invoke the moral faggotry hero bullshit like: What is more important to you, being a hero or your family? A true hero always put others over their own needs, etc.

>>4140879
supporting

>>4140843
>“To defeat me, you have to overcome my challenge…” Throw a puzzle at him or something.

>>4140879

I have no context, but I'll support this anyway.

>>4140879
changing my vote to this

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The crowd’s expectations rise as they all turn to you to see the next part of the play. You look around and remind yourself why you’re here.

“One second please.” You make a time out signal with your hands and get closer to Silver Sun to whisper at him.

“I’m leaving this to you, assistant.” Catastrovania expects success.

“W-What…?” Silver Sun doesn’t get it. But since he’s nice, he doesn’t even try to make you go away.

“Look, I know your real identity is Eduardo—”

“Edmundo.” Edmundo corrects you.

“I-It doesn’t matter. If you don’t give up playing hero, your little brother Gualberto will pay the consequences.” You continue whispering.

“Y-You’re going to hurt him?! I won’t stand for this!” Silver Sun is nice enough to be whispering back at you.

“No. Everyone at his school knows that his older brother plays Super Sentai and they think it’s pretty cringe and they’re bullying him, if you don’t stop, your brother will be bullied forever.” You make it all clear to Edu… Edi… Err… Ed.

“B-But…”

“What’s more important to you, being a hero or your family? A true hero always puts others over their own needs and you know how this kind of speech goes.” You both know the drill.

“B-But… I’m actually doing this because my brother’s classmates made fun of him for having a deadbeat brother at home… then when I saw WILDFLAME in the news and saw the reaction of the people, I thought… maybe I…” Silver Sun is showing more doubts. Not the answer you were expecting from him

Your only interest here is that he stops this act…

[Reminder: You’ll get bonuses depending on the degree of success you have.]

How do you respond?

>“This is not the way. But you know, we have a crowd here, why don’t give Silver Sun one last hurrah before he goes away permanently? So you can close the chapter.”
>“Why don’t you get a real job instead of trying something this outlandish? People respect well-adjusted individuals and I’m sure things will get better for your brother this way.”
>“You made things worse by acting like an idiot. Don’t you see that this is the kind of thing they made fun of your brother for? Get your act together.”
>Write In.

>>4140989
>>“This is not the way. But you know, we have a crowd here, why don’t give Silver Sun one last hurrah before he goes away permanently? So you can close the chapter.”

>>4140989
>>“This is not the way. But you know, we have a crowd here, why don’t give Silver Sun one last hurrah before he goes away permanently? So you can close the chapter.”
Go out with blazes of glory. Do ro Die

>>4140989
>>“Why don’t you get a real job instead of trying something this outlandish? People respect well-adjusted individuals and I’m sure things will get better for your brother this way.”
>You can even save up some money to buy your brother a taser

>>4140989
>Write In.
>"A true hero doesn't need to wear a mask, a flashy outfit or be a vigilante, look at what you done till now, why don't you channel all this desire to do good become something close to our everyday hero like a policeman who catch criminals, a firefighter or even a medic who actually saves lifes, you can even try and be an actor so you can continue to be a "hero" in a movie or series, you might not be a real hero like Pokyo Lokyo but you seem to be a good person and your brother really cares about you that's why were here so why don't try to talk with him and work to become something which makes both of you proud "

You know try to change his perception from sentai to an everyday hero. maybe even do:

>“This is not the way. But you know, we have a crowd here, why don’t give Silver Sun one last hurrah before he goes away permanently? So you can close the chapter.” so you can close in style.

>>4141019
>Pokyo Lokyo
Meant WILDFLAME.

>>4140989
>“This is not the way. But you know, we have a crowd here, why don’t give Silver Sun one last hurrah before he goes away permanently? So you can close the chapter.”
Let him move on and then collect our reward

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“This is not the way though.” You stop him right in his tracks. “But you know, we have a crowd here, why don’t we give Silver Sun one last hurrah before he goes away permanently? So you can close the chapter.”

“Huh…?” Silver Sun is confused.

“You heard me. Let’s pretend to fight, I’ll follow your lead.” You walk away. Time for the show to continue.

You take your two-sided beanie cap off and reverse it to show the demon pattern it has. It’s not something you like especially but Maggie said it was a good idea to have reversible clothes just in case you need to hide your identity, it was during the time when her smartness was at an all-time high – too bad you got scammed anyway.

“C’mon, Silver Sun, show me what you’re made of.” You cannot take the apathy out of your voice.

“If you want me to show you my light, my light is just what you’re going to get! SHINING SOLAR BEAM!” Oh no, Silver Sun gets too hype. He runs towards you and does a flying drop kick! It’s not even a beam… You had to go out of your way to receive the kick and safely drop him on the ground… It hurt your bum.

As you roll away, defeated, the roar of the crowd is pumping the atmosphere up, you get closer to Catastrovania – and with a discreet hand movement you tell her to get closer. Silver Sun’s intense posing is serving as a distraction to inform Cat about the plan. Catastrovania reluctantly accepts to help just to get the job done but stresses that this is all fiction and she never truly lost for real…

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>>4141124

“DARK SUN! Now it’s time for us to settle this!” Silver Sun advances the plot.

“Fufufufu…! I-I…” Is… Catastrovania having stage fright…? “Ngh… Y-You won’t g-get away with this..!” She’s trying her best... and it sucks.

“Throw me your best puny move! I’ll take it! I have the power of the sun and the people with me!” Silver Sun stands his ground.

“Y-You will rue the day you thought you could stand in front of the great CATASTROVANIA STRIFAUST MORITUROS IX! With my PSYCHOMETRIC EYE, and the power I have charged for CENTURIES… this will be your end, SILVER STUPID!” Catastrovania got so offended with Silver Sun’s words that she didn’t hesitate in her speech this time. From her pockets, she unveils her final move. “ARGUS BUUUUSTER!” It’s 2 pocket sandstorms at the same time…

…

Of course, it didn’t affect the guy wearing a helmet… Silver Sun moves forward and gently slaps Catastrovania on the face with the baton! Catastrovania falls defeated on you in such a spectacular fashion that on a bad day it would have broken your ribs…

It all worked. The families that conveniently formed a crowd that originally came to the Shopping Centre exuded happiness after the great climax as the explosion of cheers continued. After a speech from Silver Sun himself, the show was officially over…

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>>4141126

You earned +3 Courage Points for doing an impromptu show in front of strangers!

You also learned about the deceitful art of acting…

It's been more than an hour after your catastrophic defeat, Edmundo finally appears to thank you two for embarrassing yourselves for his sake. He said he never felt that type of energy before and hopes he can replicate it in whatever his next step in life is. Before leaving, he gives you an autographed replica of Silver Sun’s mask.

“Ngh… I feel like we did this all wrong.” Catastrovania is not happy with what happened. “W-We should have corrupted him to join our forces of evil! This is the wrong ending!”

“Our team is big enough as it is.” You don’t want another lunatic running around your apartment.

“You always miss the point, assistant!” Catastrovania pouts. “This WHOLESOME entertainment is totally not for me! I want something GRUESOME! Something GLOOMY! Something… Ngh…! My reputation is in shambles…” She’s really frustrated. “Besides, you did all the important stuff! I just stood there doing nothing! I-I r-really felt left out...”

How do you respond?

>“What are you complaining about? You were the main villain…”
>“Forget about that, we need to talk about the clothes you just ripped apart…”
>“You know where you won’t be left out? Training.”
>Write In.

Which request do you want to pick for tomorrow? (Please select first the one you want to do and then select a second as the one you never want to play.)

>"Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena [Bruce Case]
>"My long life rival and I want to settle our dispute once and for all, we require judges for our cooking duel. Can you help us?" requested by Haytham Gerges [Bruce Case]
>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." request by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]
>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]
>[NEW] "Help me unveil the mystery of Ghoulzilla, please!" requested by Madotsuki. [Catastrovania Case]


(Last Reply of the day, we continue tomorrow.)

>>4141128
>"My long life rival and I want to settle our dispute once and for all, we require judges for our cooking duel. Can you help us?" requested by Haytham Gerges [Bruce Case]

Gotta hang out with the hommie sometimes

>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." request by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]

>>4141128
>>"Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena [Bruce Case]
>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]
Let's see this cult stuff

>>4141128
>“What are you complaining about? You were the main villain…”

>"My long life rival and I want to settle our dispute once and for all, we require judges for our cooking duel. Can you help us?" requested by Haytham Gerges [Bruce Case]

>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]

>>4141128
>>“What are you complaining about? You were the main villain…”
>"Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena [Bruce Case]
>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." request by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]

>>4141128
>“Forget about that, we need to talk about the clothes you just ripped apart…”
>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." request by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]
>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]

>>4141128
>“What are you complaining about? You were the main villain…”

>"Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena [Bruce Case]
>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]

>>4141128
>“What are you complaining about? You were the main villain…”
>"Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena [Bruce Case]
>"My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo. [Catastrovania Case]

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“What are you complaining about? You were the main villain…” You took the brunt of the whole exchange as well.

“It’s only natural, only one of us two looks like a real star!” This sure didn’t destroy Catastrovania’s ego. “But don’t you see it, assistant? That battle was UNCREATIVE and SOULESS without my input. Now everyone will know my fights are predetermined...”

“What is it then? The ending? The fight itself? Your reputation? I don’t get it.” You stop trying to think like her because it’s rotting your brain, so you expect her to spill it out for you.

“There, there, assistant.” Catastrovania pats your head. “Under my tutelage these answers will become clear in time! For now, just understand nothing you did right now was good enough! It’s only natural though, you have so much to learn! So so much… We should research paranormal activity at home.”

“…Whatever.” You start walking towards the car and wish to forget this ever happened. Catastrovania cavorts behind you, energized for no good reason.

You ended up watching movies about the paranormal with Catastrovania. They had nothing to do with the paranormal, they were just movies Catastrovania liked. They weren’t so bad. Your free time ended once Maggie and Bruce returned to the apartment. You spent the rest of the evening talking about the events that transpired during the day…

The other team’s request consisted in finding a replacement model for a Fast Food Chain/Adult Site named ‘CC&C’ (Chicken, Chicks & Cocks) for their local ad campaign after the supposed big star (or one of them) of the site randomly cancelled on them. CC&C’s fast food joints consist of scantily clothed men and women serving fried chicken and giving foot massages. The owner of the chain Lai Zhi had a specific idea of what woman he wanted to lead the campaign with and none of the options he had available were good enough for him.

At first, they contacted the model to convince her to work the gig since she was ‘too perfect’ for Lai Zhi. But the girl, whose name is Sina Dewitt, was terrified to leave her apartment because of possibly unchecked mental issues. In the end they didn’t want to pressure her to do something this risky! Their solution was for Maggie to take the job instead as the owner thought she was perfect for the role as well! Maggie got paid a good sum of money, will get royalties and a lot of free chicken as well for her efforts... Something Maggie herself negotiated.

“I also got this lousy T-Shirt!” Maggie shows her CC&C T-Shirt proudly. “Oh, and the owner wanted me to work another special gig but I was like ‘nah, I got enough fried chicken for a while’, right Brucey?”

“I-I wasn’t going to let you anyway…” Bruce shakes his head. Rarely, do you see Bruce being so direct.

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>>4141965


“You know, I get it, the guy was kind of sleazy but look at how cute I look here! Even with my lame haircut I think I did a pretty good job!” Maggie proudly shows her strange chicken costume in a set of pictures on her phone. It’s not… what you were expecting her to look like after what you were told. But still, she was supposed to hide her identity and now she’s the face of a shitty ad campaign…

“You look ridiculous.” Odetta brings Maggie’s mood down. “But the client was really happy with the outcome, so mission accomplished.” Odetta turns to you and Catastrovania. “And as for you two…”

“Ngh, d-did we do something wrong?” Catastrovania looks nervous.

“It seems like this won’t be the last we will see of that Superhero. The big bro promised to tone it down but his little bro isn’t convinced… But whatever… It was one of those stupid requests nobody cares about anyway.” Odetta isn’t sweating it.

After the meeting, you all eat the fried chicken Maggie and Bruce brought. Except for Odetta, she ate her special Odetta food…

[DAY 17/TUESDAY]

After your early morning routine (which includes taking a shower, eating breakfast and exercising.) was done, it’s time to do more requests – everyone is gathered around the living room. You have an idea of what you want to do.

“Ha! This one seems perfect for my COOL abilities!” Catastrovania proclaims as she picks "My law firm's office is haunted and I need someone to cleanse the place!" requested by Ubaldo.

“I’m taking this one then.” You show everyone Case #2: "Help! I need to quit the Cult I joined and I don't know how!" requested by Lorena.

“Oh, can I help you with that…?” Bruce looks interested.

“A-Assistant! W-What are you doing?! You’re supposed to aid me in my RESEARCH!” Catastrovania is not one bit happy with your decision.

“W-Wait, that means I’m going with Catastrovania Strifaust Morituros IX t-to f-fight g-ghosts?!” Maggie is already scared.

“You beat up a thug together, what are you afraid of?” Odetta doesn’t get it.

“Thanks to you I know ghosts totally exist now!” Maggie looks angry.

“Sorry, but I’m more interested in doing this one.” You unapologetically apologize.

“Hmph! W-Well then! W-We’re totally doing this mission way faster than you guys will! It’s only natural because we’re COOLER and WICKED, a-and you guys are not even that great!” Catastrovania makes this personal. “Let’s go, Margaret!” Catastrovania rushes outside.

“I-I don’t wanna…” Maggie follows Cat’s lead. You pray for their safety, they’re going to need it.

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>>4141967

As you go your separate ways, you and Bruce talk about the case.

“So any reason you’re particularly interested in this request?” You ask as you go through the information.

“Yeah, I need to do the same, haha…” Bruce anxiously chuckles.

“…What?” He can’t mean…

“Y-Yeah, I was pressured to join the Cult by one of them while I was walking back from college the other day but I never went to a session after missing the first one…” Bruce admits. Sounds like something he would do.

“It’s fine. We’ll get you out of there.” This is a nice moment to do so anyway. “Problem is, our client wants to meet us somewhere to talk over the case.”

“S-So…?”

“Where do we meet? Should we meet?” You ask out loud. You don’t feel like you need to internalize all your thoughts with Bruce. He can give you valid input.

“I think so… How else are we going to help her otherwise?” Bruce doesn’t get what the problem is here.

What do you do?

>Meet up with the client at the New Flux.
>Meet up with the client near the Shopping Centre.
>Just talk with the client over the phone.
>Write In.

>>4141969
>>Meet up with the client near the Shopping Centre.

>>4141969
>>Meet up with the client near the Shopping Centre.

>>4141969
>Meet up with the client near the Shopping Centre

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“I’ll set up a meeting then.”

You pull out your phone and, in a swift call, arrange a meeting with Lorena in front of the Shopping Centre you’re close to. She sounds like a young gal around your age and sounds quite cheerful for the situation she’s in. Lorena will head to the meeting spot immediately! She sounds very thankful for you taking her request, she wouldn’t know what to do otherwise.

Either way, you take the rental car to the Shopping Centre and you park in the same spot you did yesterday with Catastrovania and walk to the entrance. After a considerable time waiting, a mettlesome looking girl appears waving her hands at both of you – you described what your hat looked like to her during the call, so you assume this is Lorena.

“Hello there, gents! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Lorena looks like quite a spirited gal, though you noticed she appears tense. “You’re the guys, riiiiight?”

“Indeed, we’re the Xi Psi Pi guys, I’m Alfred, this is Bruce. We were waiting for you, Lorena.” You greet her.

“H-Hello…” Bruce tries his best to keep his cool.

“Woah, hehe, you seem bored, did I take too long?” The skittish Lorena wonders.

“Yes.” You’re direct.

“O-Oh, pardon me! Here! Have some Orange Juice!” Lorena takes a couple of little juice boxes out from her handbag.

“That won’t be necessary.” You reject them outright.

“I’ll take one…” Bruce grabs a juice box.

“Hehe, you’re going to love it! It will re-energize your body like no other beverage in the whole world!” Lorena is quite excited to share.

“C-Cool.” Bruce is excited as well. He appears to like the taste, making Lorena’s smile wider.

“Let’s sit down over there to discuss the case, shall we?” You point to the bench near the actual entrance of the building.

“Case? Are you detectives? If that’s true, then like Mr. Bruce said; ‘cool’.” Lorena smiles.

“I have no idea what we’re supposed to be at this point…” You don’t know where this honesty attack came from but it’s something you have to vent.

“You sure you don’t want a juice box of the besty best orange juice in the whole world, Mr. Alfred?” Lorena offers you her juice box again.

“I’m fine for now.” You reject again.

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>>4142176

Now that everyone but you is comfortable (you’re standing), it’s time to get more information about the case.

“So you joined a cult and don’t know how to quit?” You start with the obvious questions.

“Y-Yessir, I quite goofed it…” Lorena seems ashamed of her decision.

“This is clearly not something you can just goof into. What happened?” Except if your name is Bruce...

“Y-You’re completely righty-ho, Mr. Alfred! It was all a mistake of mine!” Lorena admits. “D-Do you know anything about YUNG-P?”

“S-She’s a pop idol. Right?” Bruce adds something to the conversation.

“Yes, Mr. Bruce! You’re 100% correct! She’s quite famous!” Lorena seems very pleased with Bruce. “I’m a big fan! Like, I know all her songs! Do you want to hear one of my renditions? I’m a good singer!”

“I would love to later…” Bruce blushes.

“Not to be rude, but what does this have to do with the Cult?” You bring them back on topic.

“Well she’s part of the Cult I joined! The Cult of Chernobog! A-And the members were promised free concerts and many other fan stuff… but that place is just awful waffle! And… I was so stupid! There is no other way to put it!” Lorena hides her face in shame.

“H-Hey, I bet more people did the same.” Bruce tries to cheer her up.

“So did you…?” You put Bruce on the spot.

“Haha, no…” Bruce’s face says he wishes that was the real reason.

“Wait, Mr. Bruce, are you in the same predicament?!” Lorena is surprised.

“Kinda, y-yeah…” Bruce scratches the back of his head.

“D-Do you want some Orange Juice to mitigate the pain?!” Lorena offers another box to Bruce. “I know how awful this situation is, Mr. Bruce.”

Bruce politely rejects the juice...

What do you do?

>“So what’s exactly the Cult of Chernobog?” You know very little from the news you heard long ago.
>“Where is their base? We’ll ask them directly to let you two leave.” No need to waste more time.
>“So any ideas on how to quit?” Let’s keep gaining more information.
>Write In.

>>4142179
>>“So any ideas on how to quit?” Let’s keep gaining more information.

>>4142179
>>“So any ideas on how to quit?” Let’s keep gaining more information.

>>4142179
>“So what’s exactly the Cult of Chernobog?” You know very little from the news you heard long ago.
Then
>“So any ideas on how to quit?” Let’s keep gaining more information

>>4142179
>“So any ideas on how to quit?” Let’s keep gaining more information.

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“So any ideas on how to quit?” You need to gain more information.

“I tried to do it online but all it did was unsubscribe me from their newsletter. But I remember the same message said that if I wanted to quit definitively, I needed to go to one of their offices and do it in person.” Lorena uses all her brain power to remember every detail.

“They really spam your inbox…” Bruce remembers too.

“Yeah, it’s so incredib-billy annoying!” Lorena and Bruce seem to have a lot in common…

“So what’s exactly so terrible about still being in this cult? It doesn’t seem to me like they’re really pestering you enough to be a real threat.”

“T-They take part of my income… I-I need to sell these orange juice boxes to make up for the money I lose.” Lorena looks down.

“How do they take your money?”

“Directly from my credit card…” Lorena hides her face in shame again.

“You gave them your credit card information…?” You’re so disappointed.

“I know! I know! I’m stupid! I’m a silly-willy…!” Lorena cries out as she takes an orange juice box for herself.

“Did you do the same thing, Bruce?” You want to assess how difficult the situation is.

“N-No. It wasn't part of the form I signed… All they do is harass me every now and then, I got used to being pestered around with all the ghost-shenanigans – so it wasn’t a big deal for me, haha…” Bruce admits. Well, he did treat Odetta haunting him as a normal occurrence in his life…

“They only do that when you don’t go to the meetings! That eats a lot of your free time...” Lorena informs Bruce. “We can go together if you guys don’t resolve this today, Mr. Bruce! But you would need to give them all your private information like I did…”

“Oh, t-that wouldn’t be so bad… I-I mean going together… Them taking my info would suck.” Bruce sees the non-existent positives.

“Any other type of information you can give us?” You ask Lorena.

“I have the address, Mr. Alfred. A-And I could show you two around…” Lorena replies.

“Since you go there regularly, why didn’t you ask for a way to quit?” You wonder.

“I-I don’t go regularly… Just once a month, that’s the bare minimum! And… like I said before, that place is just awful waffle! I just don’t see a clear way to do it… I’m sorry, Mr. Alfred, I’m too stupid…” Lorena apologizes profusely. “W-Would a drink of the best Orange Juice in the whole galaxy help out somehow?”

“Lorena, this was designed so normal people like us couldn’t quit. So don’t unnecessarily bash yourself.” You need to find a way to help her. “Also, please stop offering me Orange Juice, I’m fine…”

“Yessir!” Lorena is moved by your words.

“I think it’s a bad idea to go there but I don’t see any other way either…” Bruce is thinking this through as well.

“If there was another way, I pinky dinky swear I tried it!” Lorena gives her word.

>>4142293


What do you do?

>Take a visit to the Cult Base and demand to talk with their manager.
>See if there is a way to contact this YUNG-P directly. Maybe she can help? An Idol doesn’t let her fans down, right?
>Write In.

>>4142295
>>See if there is a way to contact this YUNG-P directly. Maybe she can help? An Idol doesn’t let her fans down, right?
What could possibly go wrong?

>>4142295
>>Take a visit to the Cult Base and demand to talk with their manager.

>>4142295
>>Take a visit to the Cult Base and demand to talk with their manager.
Let’s go Karen way.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4142295
fuck these are both so interesting...time to roll a d2!
>1:Karen way | 2: Get backup from an idol first

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“Because there isn’t one. Let’s go to the cult, I’ll handle this.” You know exactly what you’re going to do, become your worst enemy…

No…

Not Aleister…

Your other worst enemy, you know the one.

“Do you mind accompanying us? We will have your back” You politely ask Lorena.

“Y-Yeah, you don’t have to worry about a thing.” Bruce is being reliable as well. Good.

“Mr. Alfred, Mr. Bruce… Thank you! A-And I will!” Lorena will aid you here as well.

You drive through the city to the other extreme where the Cult’s base is. The building is just a normal office one with no extra flair except for a sign with the cult’s logo (you assume) over the main entrance. You park a couple of streets away just in case…

“Hey, hey, pal. Where do you think you are going?” One of the two cultists guarding outside the main door won’t let you in.

“I wish to speak with your manager.” You channel your inner demon customer and utter the dark, dark words.

“M-Manager? W-What?” The cultist doesn’t get it.

“W-We wish to speak with the Chancellor, please! It’s important.” Lorena pleads in your name as she shows a strange type of necklace.

“Hey, it’s you!” He lowers his guard. “Hold on, do you even have the authority to demand a reunion with the Chancellor?”

“I do.” You stand your ground.

“Y-You wouldn’t want to make him angry, he’s dangerous…” Bruce tries to act like the good cop.

“I am.” You stand your ground again.

“He could create a world of trouble…” Bruce continues to talk like a nervous salesman.

“I could and I will.” You continue to stand your ground.

“Uuhh… Then, I see no other reason to stand in your way.” The Cult Guard moves out of your way. You can feel it… The spirit of an underpaid and undervalued man who lost all will. This place must be terrible, possibly as awful waffle as the legends say. “I just want to remind you, anyone who bothers the Chancellor for no good reason gets… severely punished.”

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>>4142448

“Excuse me.” You’re the first to pass. Bruce and Lorena follow your lead. “Where to now?”

“We need to take the elevator to the last floor, Mr. Alfred…” Lorena is leading now.

As you ride the elevator, Lorena cannot help but to put onto display her anxious thoughts to you two.

“M-Mr. Alfred, is this a good idea?” Lorena doesn’t want to get in trouble.

“Al is going to do everything in his power to make a success out of this mission, d-don’t sweat it.” Bruce gives some reassuring words.

“It’s been an awfully simplistic mission so far.” You try to calm her down as well.

“W-Well, I truly-tuly believe in you two!” Lorena wants to make sure that you know she’s counting on you! “I know I should refrain from asking but would the best Orange Juice on this corner of the Supercluster be of any help?”

“Actually, yeah.” You take the orange juice this time around. You won’t drink it though.

“T-Thanks.” Bruce takes a box as well.

“I don’t think I told you… The Chancellor is the person in charge here. S-She’s fairly new around here but she’s quite serious, reserved and has a competitive streak as well! M-Maybe knowing that can help you out somehow…” Lorena explains.

“We’ll keep it in mind.” You think it will help.

As the elevator doors open, you see one long corridor with a nice carpet leading to one singular door. That must be the manager’s office, err…. The Chancellor’s room. There is no security of any sort around, so you three walk directly in without any other worry aside from the anxiety inducing situation you’re in. Which to you, is nothing…

Congratulations. You leveled up your Courage to Level 4!

“S-Should we knock?” Bruce wonders.

“I think we should…” Lorena doesn't want unnecessary trouble.

So, you knock.

…

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>>4142450

No answer.

…

You realize it’s unlocked. So you open it and politely announce that you’re coming in. Inside, there’s a girl dancing around behind a large desk while listening to music facing the windows in front of her. She hasn’t noticed you’re here.

“Ehem.” You want her attention.

“Huh?” The one you believe to be the Chancellor turns around and notices you three. She turns red and hurries to put away her airpods inside her desk, then she sits on the obnoxiously big chair and pretends you three never saw that. “State your names and the reason for your presence here.”

“This is Bruce, this is Lorena – and I’m something like their lawyer.” You proclaim. Both of them wave at the woman. “You’re the chancellor, right? I demand you to let them quit the cult right here, right now.”

“…………….” She’s thinking this through. “No.”

“State why.” You won’t take a no for an answer.

“Not a good deal.” Plain and simple, and to the point as well.

How are you going to crack the Chancellor?

What do you do?

>“What if I gave you the best Orange Juice from this part of the country for their freedom?” Negotiate.
>“I taped you dancing just now, if you don’t want me to show the others what we saw – you better let them go.” Lie.
>“I challenge you to a duel of wits of your choosing for their freedom.” Fight!
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the day. We continue tomorrow.)

>>4142455
>>“I taped you dancing just now, if you don’t want me to show the others what we saw – you better let them go.” Lie.

>>4142455
>>“I challenge you to a duel of wits of your choosing for their freedom.” Fight!
We were just told that she has a competitive streak

>>4142455
>>“I challenge you to a duel of wits of your choosing for their freedom.” Fight!

"Its time! To du-du-du-du DUEL!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFkdcQgNJHo

>>4142455
>“I taped you dancing just now, if you don’t want me to show the others what we saw – you better let them go.” Lie.

>>4142455
>“I taped you dancing just now, if you don’t want me to show the others what we saw – you better let them go.” Lie.

>>4142450
>>“I challenge you to a duel of wits of your choosing for their freedom.” Fight!
Being competitive can work to our advantage. We can use the lie as a bargaining chip. Either way, best to use what we know.

>>4142455
>“I challenge you to a duel of wits of your choosing for their freedom.” Fight!
Don't antagonize her just try to complete the mission

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“I challenge you to a duel of wits of your choosing for their freedom.” You’re ready for a fight. Lorena mentioned the Chancellor has a competitive streak, so maybe she’ll take the bait.

“………Interesting.” The Chancellor likes what she’s hearing. “But it doesn’t change that it’s still a bad deal. What is there for me to win?”

“What are your demands?” What’s the point of accidentally offering more than you should? Let her dictate this part of the negotiation.

“I want you to join us.” The dry woman knew what she wanted from the very beginning.

“Eeeh?!” Lorena is in shock.

“So you want another uncommitted follower?” You question her logic.

“Perhaps I do.” The Chancellor won’t be deterred.

“Al, you don’t need to...” Bruce doesn’t think this is necessary. “I-I’ll challenge her myself…!”

“Not interested right now. Get in line.” The Chancellor won’t give Bruce the time of the day. She’s not taking her eyes off you. “One game. My rules. Winner takes all. Do you accept the terms?”

“I do but I demand a fair game.” You accept!

“I always play fair. I, Vivienne Neuville, also accept the terms. It’s game on.” The Chancellor pushes a button on her desk. “I suggest you stand back.”

As you three take her suggestion into account, the floor beneath you slowly splits apart to reveal a giant tank of water and…

“C-C-C—Crocodiles?! I told you this place is awful waffle!” Lorena hides behind Bruce, who has completely frozen in fear. There are 2 crocodiles swimming inside the water tank, and the lid is open…

“Maybe they are, maybe they’re not.” The Chancellor stands up and gets closer to the animals. “Do not fret. They are chained at the bottom. Up boys.” Both crocodiles’ heads peek out from the water.

“A-Are you two going to pick one, then make them fight in your name to decide a winner?!” Lorena has a vivid imagination.

“…………That actually would’ve been more interesting than what I have planned. But no, I dislike hurting animals.” Vivienne denies any type of animal cruelty.

“W-Why do you have these 2 chained up here then?” Bruce asks a valid question.

“These were the previous Chancellor’s pets, they are not mine.” Vivienne explains. She says that, but they’re following her commands… “Now, for the challenge, I want you to tell me which one of the two is an alligator. You cannot look it up on your phone, they’ve been deactivated. You two in the back, I don’t want to hear a word from either of you or I’ll severely punish you.”

“I-Is there a way to tell them apart…?” Lorena looks dejected. Bruce just shrugs in response…

It’s all up to you…

Your knowledge is too low to distinguish any difference between the two… At least it’s a 50-50, right?

>>4143372

Which do you pick?!

>Pick the one on the left.
>Pick the one on the right.
>They are both Alligators.
>None of them are Alligators. Lorena said it! They are Crocodiles!
>Write In.

>>4143375
>>Pick the one on the right.

>>4143375
>>Pick the one on the left.
I'm guessing that the one with the scarier looking teeth is the crocodile

>>4143372
Pick the one on the right
See ya later alligator, after a while crocodile

>>4143375
Does she know which is which?

>>4143395

Yeah, she does.

>>4143375
>Pick the one on the left.

>>4143375
>Pick the one on the right.

>>4143372
>>Pick the one on the right.

>>4143375
>Pick the one on the right.
Crocodiles have a narrower, pointier snout.
Alligators have a broader snout

>>4143372
>Wait, you've got an alligator and a crocodile in the same water? Who's the caretaker for these things, because I'm pretty sure he fucked up hard.

>>4143372
>Pick the one on the right.

>>4143375
>Pick the one on the right.

>>4143487
>Add this^

>>4143487
add this beauty to my response

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“It’s the one on the right.” That’s the one you randomly decided upon…

“That’s your final answer?” Vivienne asks. You can’t get any information from her expression, she’s a total blank slate. You hope you’re right...

“Wait, you’ve got an alligator and a crocodile in the same water? Who’s the caretaker for these things, because I’m pretty sure he fucked up hard.” You stop before the final decision.

“Indeed, he did. Take this to your advantage if you’re that knowledgeable.” Vivienne didn’t even react to what you just said. “So, is that your final answer, yes or no?”

“Yes.” You won’t back down now…

“Well then, to all CROCODILES in this room… please submerge this instant!” Vivienne commands her animal to do her binding.

…


…


Both animals look at each other and then…

…


…


…


The one on the right submerged… You were COMPLETELY wrong!

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>>4143535

“N-No…” Bruce cannot believe it.

“M-Mr. Alfred…” Lorena looks hopeless.

“It appears you have made a mistake.” The Chancellor doesn’t look one bit happy despite winning.

“…” You just want to say ‘fuck’.

“It’s erroneously believed the difference between Crocodiles and Alligators is that Alligators have broad U-shaped snouts and Crocodiles have narrower ones, but the truth is – between the many species of both, the size varies more often than not. The true determinant is that Alligators only show their upper teeth when their mouths are closed, while Crocodiles show both their upper and lower teeth. The other way is to determine which is which is to look at their skin and see where they have their Integumentary Sense Organs – they look like tiny little bumps. Alligators have them only on their head, while Crocodiles have them all over their body.” Vivienne explains. “So if you have any doubts, take a closer look at them if you want.”

You gained +1 Knowledge Experience Point after listening to this explanation.

“…That won’t be necessary.” You admit defeat. She’s right…

“It’s time for you to sign the papers, new recruit.” Vivienne looks as impassive as ever.

“H-Hold on!” Bruce steps forward. “Y-You said I should wait in line, and I did… G-Give me a chance! I challenge you to a d-duel…”

“I suppose you want everyone's poorly named ‘freedom’?” Vivienne wonders.

“Y-Yeah…” Bruce is up for it.

“………..Very well. If you lose, you’ll be in solitary imprisonment for a week – you’ll lose your sense of self and aid us in our mission until the very new beginning of life.” Vivienne makes up her mind. “Same terms as before; one game. My rules. Winner Takes All. Do you accept them?”

“Mr. Bruce! No! Stop!” Lorena won’t let him…

What do you do?

>Trust Bruce. He gets lucky sometimes, right?
>“Yeah, it won’t be necessary. We’ll destroy this place instead.”
>“Yeah, it won’t be necessary. I’ll sign your form and we’ll leave.”
>Write In.

>>4143539
>>Trust Bruce. He gets lucky sometimes, right?
Let our bro handle things for once

>>4143539
>Trust Bruce. He gets lucky sometimes, right?

>>4143539
>>“Yeah, it won’t be necessary. We’ll destroy this place instead.”

>>4143539
>>4143558
(Sorry wrong Copy paste)
>Trust Bruce. He gets lucky sometimes, right?

>>4143543
>>4143551
>>4143552
>>4143560

Let's see if Bruce is successful! Please roll 1d100, best of 4!

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>4143573
fuck aligators

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>4143573
Check this!

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>4143573
I hate this place so bad. Bruce please be based.

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>4143573

>>4143539
>>Trust Bruce. He gets lucky sometimes, right?

>>4143573
Are we aiming high or low?

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“Go for it, Bruce.” You’ll believe in your good old pal. That will give him the confidence he needs, or at least enough to fake it.

“M-Mr. Alfred! No! This isn’t worth it!” Lorena wants this to end.

“I-I have everyone’s back.” Bruce gives the 2 most nervous thumbs up you’ve ever seen. “I a-accept.”

“It’s game on.” Vivienne walks back to her desk and pushes the button again. You say goodbye to the Alligator and the Crocodile. “The challenge this time will be quite difficult, there is one item inside this room that is made of chocolate and I want you to find it. It’s in open view, so don’t try to see what’s in the desk’s drawers. You can look but you can’t touch. Once you make your choice, the only way to confirm it is for you to bite the item. You have 2 minutes to decide.” Why is there an item made of chocolate inside this room right now? Was she ready for this kind of thing or…?

“D-Do I get any clues?” Bruce wonders.

“No.” Vivienne harshly responds.

“Oh, rats… haha…” Bruce is thinking this through. “Uhm…”

“Your friends can’t help you either.” Vivienne doesn’t seem to take Bruce seriously.

“I-I know…” Bruce walks around inspecting the items. “I think it’s this lamp…” Bruce bites it…

…


…


It was the lamp. He was completely right! He did it!

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>>4143735

“You diiiiiiiid it, Mr. Bruce!” Lorena jumps in celebration towards Bruce!

“H-How did you know?” Vivienne’s voice cracks a little.

“B-Because it’s nowhere near the window… Probably because you didn’t want it to melt…” Bruce explains.

“Can you explain to us why you have a chocolate lamp in here?” You’re the only one here interested in what the fuck this place’s deal is.

“I do not know either.” Vivienne barely reacts to your question. “Well, it’s time for the last match now.”

“W-What?” Bruce didn’t see that coming!

“You got your rematch, I want mine. It’s only fair.” Vivienne won’t give up easily.

“We aren’t interested in anything you have to offer. So there is no point to it.” You go back to your original role here.

“……………….You have a point.” Vivienne doesn’t seem like she’s going to put up much more of a fight. “But this isn’t the last you’ve seen of me. Now…” She goes to her desk, and takes a bunch of papers out. “Fill them. With this you’re going to officially quit. I give you my word.”

“T-Thank you, Ms. Chancellor!” Lorena jumps right into it. Bruce does the same, not as excited as Lorena though.

“You’ll find out one day that I only wanted the best for you all...” The ominous Vivienne mutters.

After the forms were filled, Vivienne let you all go unscathed from the building – you thought at one point she was going to make her men take you away or something. But she just held onto her word. From going well, to going terribly, to ending up well – what a trip this was.

Back inside the car, Lorena breaks into tears…

“M-Mr. Bruce, Mr. Alfred… I… I… I have to confess! I don’t have any way to repay you for all you did! I’m stupid and broke!” Lorena feels so sorry. “I’m brokestupid! Pleeeease, forgive me…!”

>>4143737

How do you respond?

>“We did it for the cred, nothing else.”
>“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?”
>“Can I offer you some of the best Orange Juice on this planet to attenuate your tears?” Give her the box Lorena gave you earlier.
>Write In.

Which request do you want to pick for tomorrow? (Please select first the one you want to do and then select a second as the one you never want to play.)

>"My long life rival and I want to settle our dispute once and for all, we require judges for our cooking duel. Can you help us?" requested by Haytham Gerges [Bruce Case]
>[NEW]"Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe. [Bruce Case]
>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." requested by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]
>[NEW] "I need someone in Hamje to send a very delicate gift to my parents for their anniversary. If it isn't too much of a hassle." requested by Nina. [Maggie Case]
>"Help me unveil the mystery of Ghoulzilla, please!" requested by Madotsuki. [Catastrovania Case]

>>4143737
>>“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?”
>[NEW] "I need someone in Hamje to send a very delicate gift to my parents for their anniversary. If it isn't too much of a hassle." requested by Nina. [Maggie Case]
>[NEW]"Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe. [Bruce Case]

>>4143738
I'm tired today, we will leave things here. We continue tomorrow!

>>4143738
>“Can I offer you some of the best Orange Juice on this planet to attenuate your tears?” Give her the box Lorena gave you earlier.
Then
>“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?”


Next Investigation:
>"Hey, I need to find the legendary Boxer 'La Pared'. Can you do it? I need his wisdom." requested by Terezinha. [Maggie Case]
>[NEW]"Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe. [Bruce Case]

>>4143738
>“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?”

>[NEW] "I need someone in Hamje to send a very delicate gift to my parents for their anniversary. If it isn't too much of a hassle." requested by Nina. [Maggie Case]
>[NEW]"Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe. [Bruce Case]

>>4143738
>“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?”

>[NEW] "I need someone in Hamje to send a very delicate gift to my parents for their anniversary. If it isn't too much of a hassle." requested by Nina. [Maggie Case]

>[NEW]"Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe. [Bruce Case]

>>4143738
>>“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?”
Maybe ask her for a date?

>>4143738
This >>4143854
and
>[NEW] "I need someone in Hamje to send a very delicate gift to my parents for their anniversary. If it isn't too much of a hassle." requested by Nina. [Maggie Case]
>[NEW]"Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe. [Bruce Case]

>>4143738
>“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?”
>[NEW] "I need someone in Hamje to send a very delicate gift to my parents for their anniversary. If it isn't too much of a hassle." requested by Nina. [Maggie Case]
>[NEW]"Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe. [Bruce Case]

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“Well Bruce, you’re the true hero here, what are we going to do with Lorena if she can’t pay us?” You believe it’s fair like this, maybe your good pal can make the most out of this opportunity.

“Wait, we’re supposed to get paid?” Bruce whispers back a little confused. You nudge him lightly on the elbow to make him get a grip. Yes, you’re supposed to get paid here, but that’s not what you’re getting at. “Y-Yeah… I don’t think any payment would be necessary.” Bruce responds to Lorena with a smile.

“B-But after all you two did for me, I couldn’t live with myself if I don’t repay you somehow!” Lorena gets closer to the front of the car towards Bruce.

“Don’t mind me. I’m satisfied with a good review and the Orange Juice box.” You look at Bruce. “But I agree with you, Lorena. He, on the other hand, deserves better than this.”

“No, I’m fine with the juice too…” Bruce tries to follow your lead.

You indiscreetly nudge him again and whisper to him. “Ask her out.”

“W-What…?” Bruce has a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Mr. Bruce…?” Lorena didn’t understand the exchange you two had, she’s only interested in paying Bruce back in any shape or form.

“…K-Knowing you’re safe is enough for me.” Oh no, that’s Bruce’s voice when he feels pressured to do something. “P-Putting that aside, maybe... you know… w-we... the two of us… together… c-could go on a da—?”

“I would love to!” A nervous Lorena replies even before Bruce finishes.

“…” Bruce’s face displays utter shock.

“…” Lorena’s face is pure red.

“Then it’s settled.” You intervene because these two need help. You step out of the car and throw the keys through the window to Bruce. “Have fun.”

“A-Al…?” Bruce is processing events too slowly now.

“R-Right now?!” Lorena is in shock as well.

“It’s up to you. Bruce, just make sure she gets home safely or we won’t get our review. I’ll be going.” You start walking away without looking back, hearing both of them having a little bit of a meltdown. You wish them success. You may take your time buying groceries, maybe get used to the city…

You arrived quite late to the apartment, once you put a foot inside – Maggie just jumped on you and hugged you like you were her childhood teddy bear. You wanted some space… You expected Catastrovania to act all boastful since they would assume they succeeded earlier than you two, but for whatever reason she’s very quiet. Whatever happened to those two in their mission, it must’ve done a number on them.

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>>4145047

You didn’t want to discuss anything yet until Bruce arrived, since this is a post-mission meeting, but it didn’t take long for him to appear! He really wanted to return the rental car since it wasn’t his. Now with everyone gathered, you ask the other team to start because you’re curious about what happened to them.

Catastrovania and Maggie’s request consisted of cleansing a haunted law firm’s office. The requester was the boss lawyer of the firm, a young guy named Ubaldo Hae-Seong – who Maggie found rather familiar looking. The thing was that there wasn’t actually a ghost in there, instead it was a mystery case about unveiling what every creepy and unusual happenings attributed to a ghost really was

…Until an actual ghost appeared. From that point on, both of them refused to give more details. Catastrovania did describe the event as SPOOKY and SORROWFUL.

“Why didn’t you call me? With me over there it would’ve been a walk in the park!” A confused Odetta wonders.

“I told you we could! Damn you, Cat!” Maggie throws a fit. It’s rare to see Maggie not call Cat by her full name.

“Ngh… I’m really sorry…” Catastrovania apologizes. An even rarer sight. “B-But we actually did it, so what’s the big deal?

“Yeah, it’s better if you do it all yourselves, I’m not always available! I’m trying to do missions on my own now that we‘ve gained some reputation.” Odetta goes back on what she just said.

“Screw you! We're a team, damn it! Now I’m, like, super afraid of everything! Ghosts? I’m spooked! The shadow on the walls? I’m spooked! Odetta’s shitty eyeliner? SPOOKED! Fuuuuck! Allie, I’m going to sleep right next to you and there is nothing you can do about it!” The scared Maggie demands.

“Grow up, woman.” Odetta looks disgusted.

“What are you involving me for?” You ask Maggie, who you have been trying to push away for a while now. You need some space.

“Y-You told me you were going to take responsibility, now you’re pretendin’ to act all dumb?! You should be all like ‘Of course I’m going to protect you, Maggie – despite you looking like a cornball!’ and good shit like that!” Maggie is really panicking.

“C-Calm down, you’re safe here…” Bruce is surprised by how much of a coward Maggie is.


Then it was your turn to explain what happened with the Cult. You didn’t explain what happened after, so these fools don’t tease Bruce about it. But you’re curious yourself, so you went to ask him in private… Bruce said they’re going to go on another date soon. He seems to like Lorena a lot. Good for them.

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>>4145049

“Let’s all look at the positive side, we’re doing great! Which means, I’m doing great! All the clients are happy happy! Nice, nice, nice! Gold stars for everyone!” Odetta doesn’t have one bad thing to say about everyone’s performance. “Now let’s celebrate with some nice, tasty, junk food! I’ll call the restaurant!”

Nobody ate junk food afterwards. Not on your watch.


[DAY 18/WEDNESDAY]

After your early morning routine (that now includes Odetta’s treatment) finished. It’s time to do today’s request. The gang's all gathered to discuss what to do…

“Hey, who wants to go fishing?” Bruce is really excited about this one request he saw.

“…” Nobody raises their voice.

“C’mon, doesn’t anyone want to test their patience and determination?” Bruce tries to sell the pitch.

“…” Yet silence remained.

“What’s the mission anyway?” You wonder.

“We need to capture the legendary ‘Tsunami Karp’ near the city.” Bruce skims over his phone. Then shows you the full request: "Can you capture the legendary 'Tsunami Karp' near Hamje? Honestly, I just want to see a clear picture of it!" requested by John Doe.

“Isn’t that, like, really impossible?” Maggie is right, the mission sounds quite difficult.

“Fufufu… Nothing is truly impossible, Margaret. Not for a metahuman like me.” Catastrovania scoffs at Maggie.

“Then go do it if you’re that great, Catastrovania Strifaust Morituros IX.” Maggie teases.

“M-Maybe I will!” Catastrovania won’t tolerate Maggie’s doubts. “Let’s go Bruce…! We’ll show her!” Much like yesterday, Catastrovania drags Bruce away to their mission. You wave them good-bye.

“Dumb-dumb…” Maggie smirks. “Now Allie, what mission are we going to do together? Somethin’ easy, please.”

“…Ehm. I would say this one…” You show her ‘I need someone in Hamje to send a very delicate gift to my parents for their anniversary. If it isn't too much of a hassle.’ on your phone. “But… Maggie, you’re still in your pajamas.” And under her futon’s cover like she’s sick or something.

“I’m still spooked from yesterday. Don’t know how much I can do to be honest.” Maggie admits. Is she trying to skip this one...?

“Grow up.” Odetta mocks Maggie while looking more or less the same… Maggie glares at Odetta.

What do you do?

>Contact the client first.
>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.
>Write In.

>>4145056
>>Contact the client first.
She'll get over it

>>4145062
>>Contact the client first.

>>4145056
>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.

>>4145056
>Contact the client first.

>>4145056
>Contact the client first.

>>4145047
>>4145049
THEY BETTER FUCK BEFORE WE HAVE TO SKIP TOWN AGAIN THANKS TO MAFIA SHENANIGANS MAKING US LIVE LIFE ON THE RUN!!!

>>4145056
>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.
Grab her hands, look her in the eyes and say something like: "Don't worry Maggie, this will be a simple delivery job and on the occasion something spooky were to happen I promise you I protect you".

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“I’m going to contact the client first, energize yourself in the meantime.” You take out your phone.

“Good. I’ll get something to drink.” Maggie rolls away towards the fridge. That’s not what you wanted...

“I’ll be busy too. Don’t interrupt me, you hear?” Odetta barks at Maggie.

“Sheesh, you get really mad when things don’t go your way, huh? Here, have a can of soda too.” Maggie takes two from the fridge.

“I bet Alfred won’t let me...” Odetta glares at you.

“You’re correct.” You dryly respond. In a quick message you contact the client, she says she wants you to use a service with a webcam to communicate. You’ll have to use Catastrovania’s laptop. “I’ll be in my room. The client seems to be quite picky about the manner of communication.”

“…Give me a can, he’s not watching now.” Odetta murmurs as you walk inside your room. You hear Maggie throwing one to Odetta. Bad girls, both of them.

…

You set up the app the client wants to use, it’s something called ‘Disquid’ – Catastrovania already has that installed. So you only need to add your client’s username to begin the call.

“Ergh… Y-You aren’t the real Psi Xi Pi guys… W-Who are you?” The voice of an annoyed woman doesn’t sound reassuring. The end of her webcam looks pitch black.

“I’m a new member. Are you ‘Nina’? I need more details about the request.” You wonder.

“I work with her, I’m making sure you aren’t a prick… You never know these days…” The girl replies. She sounds more suspicious than you ever will.

“I would appreciate it if you let me talk directly with my client instead. I have a job to do and I want to do it in a timely manner.”

“Y-You sound professional, but that ain’t good enough…!” The girl hisses.

Suddenly, you hear someone open the door from the other side…

“Susie, did you just take my phone?! I told you I was about to talk to the delivery guys before it disappeared! You know how I waited for them to contact me!” That’s another woman’s voice and she sounds pissed.

“N-Nina! I’m busy! P-Please talk to me later!” Susie sounds embarrassed.

“T-That’s my phone! SU—” The other side’s microphone and camera are cut…

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>>4145450

You don’t know what you should do, so you just wait a couple of minutes. Then the call suddenly resumes with a clear view of the woman on the screen, she really reminds you of someone you know – but you can’t quite put it together. Your knowledge is too low…

“He-Hello? Is this working?” The flustered woman that you assume is your real client wonders. It appears she’s in a completely different room.

“Yes, madam.” You respond.

“Please be patient with me, I’m not tech savvy!” Nina bows her head down. “A-And I’m sorry for making you wait as well! It’s so disrespectful from my end. I’m Nina Uccelli by the way, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Nina tenderly smiles. Her name sounds familiar, but alas…

“Nice to meet you as well, my name is Alfred. I’ll be the one who’s going to take care of your request. I contacted you to know more details about my mission.”

“Mission? You really make it sound bigger than what it really is.” Nina chuckles. “I shouldn’t laugh, I’m sorry. I don’t think you want to hear me apologize either, I’ve wasted a lot of your time –and you look quite tired, so I’ll dive right into it.”

“Please do.”

“My parents’ anniversary was a couple of days ago, they aren’t good at keeping up with dates so it’s never been a problem in their relationship, but I’m the one who took upon that responsibility and reminded them with a gift of my own – one special delicate cake my mother loves. It’s a supposed family recipe but… Uhm… I suppose it doesn’t matter!” Nina explains dutifully. It makes you feel like you’re in a class back at school. “I used to make it when I lived there once a year, but I moved to the big city a couple of years ago and couldn’t do it anymore. The cake is too delicate to move around and loses all its flavor after a day, I’m exaggerating but it’s not the same after a while, I swear! So instead I bought them from the only pastry shop in the world that sells this exact same recipe and sent them to my parents to remind them of their anniversary. Thankfully, this pastry shop is in Hamje and my parents don’t live too far. But despite that, the cake always arrives half-ruined – so my parents end up throwing half in the trash and I really don’t want it to happen this time too!”

“Where do they live?” You wonder.

“Oh, they live in Laoling. It’s a beautiful town.” Nina almost left out an important detail.

“You’re from Laoling?” What a coincidence.

“Born and raised!” Nina smiles. You can swear you saw her before…

“Thank you for the history lesson, but I still need to know where to go and who exactly to send them to…”

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>>4145451

“I just sent you both addresses, I think… P-please check! But there is one more problem, the cake I want is no longer listed on the site. I really want to know if this is some kind of error or anything of the like. Could you go look into that as well? I almost forgot, I’ll cover the costs of everything by the way, I promise.”

You skim over the information and finally notices the name of her parents are the same name as a couple you know very well… it’s your neighbors, Berenice and Boris! She must be the daughter they loved to talk about. Should’ve been a given with the puffy hair…

Should you give attention to this detail?

What do you do?

>“I know Boris and Berenice. They are very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”
>“Why don’t you order another type of cake? Doesn’t seem like it’s important.”
>“I’ll be going then.”
>“I know them, they were my neighbors. So you’re the cute daughter they always talked about?”
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the Day. We continue tomorrow.)

>>4145452
>>“I know Boris and Berenice. They are very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”

>>4145452
>“I know Boris and Berenice. They are very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”

>>4145452
>>“I know Boris and Berenice. They are very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”
Be polite. Be professional. Have a plan to kill anyone on your way.

>>4145452
>“I know Boris and Berenice. They are very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”

>>4145452
>“I know Boris and Berenice. They are very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”
hell yeah, came crossover

>>4145452
>“I know Boris and Berenice. They are very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”

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“I know Boris and Berenice. They’re very nice people, thank you for giving me a chance to return them the favor.”

“Really? What a small world!” Nina sounds incredibly surprised. “Hold on! I think I heard of you! Are you their neighbor, lil’ Al?”

“That’s what Berenice calls me, yes.” Not a name you want to be known as if you’re being honest.

“You’re my momma’s little helper! She told me so much about you and what you’ve done! I’m so grateful for all you’ve done that I feel guilty for asking another favor...” It’s like a switch flipped in Nina and she’s all bubbly now.

“I don’t think I did anything to deserve this level of gratitude.” The way she talks makes you feel you pulled your neighbors from a fire or something.

“Hehe, she told me you were the type who would say something like that, I know someone else who’s like that... What’s important to know is that the little things end up making the biggest differences, Al. Can I call you Al? I think lil’ Al is a little disrespectful coming from someone you barely know, and you look like a proper young man as well so it doesn’t exactly fit.” Nina is rambling at this point. “The point is, thank you for giving my momma some company, you really brighten her day – it’s like she’s back to her old cheerful self! And if momma is happy, my papa is happy!”

“Was Berenice depressed at some point?” You did see some improvements on her the longer you helped, but you wouldn’t say she was all sad before.

“Between me struggling in more ways than one and... your father’s death; it wasn’t a great time for her or anyone...” Nina’s face looks all gloomy. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t bring this up. It’s not something you should be worried about. I just wanted you to know how much you mean to my parents but I made this conversation awkward.”

“It’s only awkward if you say it out loud.” Words to live by.

“Haha, I guess you’re right! But I can tell you’re tired of hearing me talk, so I’ll let you go. Call me if you need anything! I left you my phone number as well!”

“Understood. Take care.”

“You too!”

And so, you closed the app… You have all the information you need, maybe a little too much information in hindsight. It makes you wonder how much truth there is in your client’s words, you just hung out with your neighbors only a couple of times after all.

…

You peek outside the room to see Maggie lazing around on the couch. There is definitely something off with her.

What do you do?

>Demand Maggie get herself ready to go.
>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.
>Threaten Maggie that you’re going to leave her here if she doesn’t get her shit together.
>Check out the Pastry Shop by yourself.
>Write In.

>>4146487
>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.
You'll probably get haunted with death hanging around you

>>4146487
>>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.
Try to have an heart to heart something is really buggin Maggie, maybe we should give a ear.

>>4146487
>>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.

>>4146487
>Determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage.
Ghosts aint shit if you can beat some mafia mooks

>>4146487
this >>4146501

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You’ll determine a fast and effective method to increase Maggie’s courage. First you need to inspect the Maggie up close. You leave the room and start taking mental notes about the specimen. Currently, she’s eating some kind of pudding.

“Nom, nom, nom.” The wild Maggie is one fascinating creature who is able to make the strangest of sounds. Most scientists would be surprised to know this specimen is able to hold a spoon and use it rather effectively. “W-Whut…?” Like all wild creatures, this one doesn’t have manners and it speaks with it’s mouth full.

“…” You just stare at it. You already perturbed this creature’s habitat with your presence, you must keep your damage to a minimum without losing sight of your objective – in other words, you need to keep observing her from a distance.

“T-There’s more in the fridge.” The Maggie is feeling intimidated but finishes eating her meal.

“…”

“Sheesh, stop starin’ at me like that, Allie! I know I look, like, real super sloopy and shit…” The Maggie randomly turns red, that’s a signal of weakness. “B-But I’m not feelin’ great, and when I don’t feel great, I don’t look great!”

“…”

“Oh, I get it! You’re cold! You wanna share my blanket? We can cuddle together! C’mere, Allie!” The Maggie is showing signs of affection.

“…” You cannot reciprocate.

“T-That’s not it…? A-Are you givin’ me the silent treatment? Is it because I left you talkin’ with the client all alone? P-Please don’t get mad at me, but you need to understand I’m, like, so at my limit right now…!” The Maggie puts her blanket on her face to hide her shame.

“…” You have studied her enough.

You think you have found the solution.

>Cuddle with the Maggie and tell her everything will be fine.
>Feed the Maggie more pudding.
>“Maggie, are you trying to use recent events as an excuse to laze around today? You’re not old Maggie, I know you are not as dumb as you want me to believe.”
>“Maggie, there are no spooks this time, only cakes.”
>“Maggie, it’s our first mission together and you just want to skip it? You sadden me.”
>Write In.

>>4146655
>>“Maggie, are you trying to use recent events as an excuse to laze around today? You’re not old Maggie, I know you are not as dumb as you want me to believe.”

>>4146655
>“Maggie, there are no spooks this time, only cakes.”

>>4146655
>>“Maggie, there are no spooks this time, only cakes.”

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“Maggie, there are no spooks this time, only cakes. We need to buy a delicate cake and deliver it, that’s it.” The solution is rather simple, you merely need to ensure Maggie that there are no ghost shenanigans in this mission.

“After what happened yesterday you just need to make weird noises just to scare me...” Maggie shivers as she shows her face again through the blanket. “I don’t even, like, imagine what a real spook would do to me! Like, Allie, just think about it? Why would you need a coward like me? I’m worthless and you know it!” Maggie is too comfortable talking about her own cowardice.

“Maggie…” You give her a stern look. This never failed before.

“I-If you’re going to be this pushy, I have no other option but going with you, Allie! I would do anything for you, anyway. But you need to take responsibility this time! Which means I’m going to stand right next to you at all times and you need to be all nice to me! Understood?” There is something about the way Maggie is saying this that makes you feel wary.

“Just get moving…” Perhaps you went the wrong way about this…

“Also don’t expect much! I’ll do what I can, okay? I’m gonna go change now…” Maggie goes to the girls’ room. And what comes out is something else…

Mostly unbuttoned shirt, clothing poorly placed on her body, the disheveled hair – not enough makeup and no shame on her face… Yep, you ended up with Sloppy Maggie. At least she looks kind of happy like this. You hope she isn’t too much of a burden. Maggie happily approaches to grab your arm, then she puts her head over your shoulder.

“I’m readyyyyy…! Hehehe!” Maggie is acting all bubbly…

“…” You have no words…

What do you do?

>“We’re not going anywhere with you looking like this.”
>“We lost a lot of time already. Let’s go.” Time to go to the Pastry Shop.
>Write In.


(Last Reply of the day. Perhaps we will continue Monday or Tuesday, if not, well, that’s kind of it for this thread! Maybe we will get a reply tomorrow plus confirmation for which day we’ll continue, I don’t know really.)

>>4146831
>“We lost a lot of time already. Let’s go.” Time to go to the Pastry Shop.

>>4146831
>Compliment dress however...
>>“We lost a lot of time already. Let’s go.” Time to go to the Pastry Shop.

>>4146831
>“We lost a lot of time already. Let’s go.” Time to go to the Pastry Shop.

>>4146831
This >>4146860

>>4146831
>“We lost a lot of time already. Let’s go.” Time to go to the Pastry Shop.
>Don't think I'm not noticing how you're feeling, but right now we need to be professionals, tell you what, if this goes smoothly on your part, I'll owe you a favour for tonight, anything you want, deal?
Carrot and the stick, boys

>>4146831
Supporting a combo of >>4146860 and >>4148365

>>4146860
big memer energy. lesgo with this.

>All these 1 post IDs

>>4146831
>>“We lost a lot of time already. Let’s go.” Time to go to the Pastry Shop.

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“…Nice dress.” You felt the need to comment.

“You like this? What? What?!” Maggie is in disbelief. She stops holding your arm just to check out how she looks. “N-Now I have to check myself in the mirror…”

“We lost a lot of time already. Let’s go.” You stop Maggie from wasting even more time.

“F-Fine…” Maggie looks frustrated. “It’s not like I can do much, ‘member?”

“Don’t think I’m not noticing how you’re feeling, but right now we need to be professionals. “ You explain. “Tell you what, if this goes smoothly on your part I’ll owe you a favor for tonight, anything you want. Deal?”

“Mmm… I’ll do what I can!” Maggie is feeling way too lazy to even agree to such a deal. “I mean, deal! Deal! Let’s go, Allie!” She smiles.

And so you make the trip in your rental car to the pastry shop known as the Continental Comfit. It’s in the proper city close to The New Flux… The store is not as big as the name implies, which is a letdown in of itself – still you and your disheveled partner walk inside. There are people looking at the cakes on display, and merely 2 people behind the counter serving the public – the cakes look good and so do the other types of desserts. But you’re here for the Lovely Velvet Butter Cake. Instead of joining the line, you ask the one of the chefs that was passing by if they have the cake you’re searching for.

“I’m sorry, sir. We don’t serve that cake anymore.” The very tall chef with a huge neck and a giraffe mask responds. There’s something eerie about her to say the least...

“Why is that?” You need a proper explanation.

“It wasn’t very popular.” The tall chef is obviously lying. “The culinary world is one cut throat business.” She’s now playing with her knife covered in some syrup to drive her point. “Can I offer you another one of my babies instead?”

“Allie, what’s wrong with her neck…?” Your partner for this mission whispers into your ear. Maggie is afraid of the obnoxiously tall Chef.

Maggie’s level of fear is rising.

What do you do?

>“Can you tell me which one is the closest one to the one I asked? I’ll take that one instead.” It’s not like you can order them to make a cake they don’t do.
>“I believe you’ve had that cake on the list for years, why change the menu now?”
>“You know where I can find that cake?”
>Write In.

>>4153841
>>“I believe you’ve had that cake on the list for years, why change the menu now?”

>>4153841
>“You know where I can find that cake?”

>>4153841
>“Can you tell me which one is the closest one to the one I asked? I’ll take that one instead.” It’s not like you can order them to make a cake they don’t do.

>>4153841
>>“I believe you’ve had that cake on the list for years, why change the menu now?”

>>4153841
>>“I believe you’ve had that cake on the list for years, why change the menu now?”

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“I believe you’ve had that cake on the list for years, why change the menu now?”

“How observant… I wasn’t lying about its popularity, there are some recipes we did on request.” The chef puts her knife on the counter. “I’m the newly appointed head baker of this establishment. I took out every item from the list that I couldn’t cook and that was one of them. I couldn’t bring that child into my family…” Giraffe lady gives you a reasonable response.

“W-Why does she speak like that..?! I don’t like it! I don’t like it, like, at all!” Maggie whispers again while losing her mind.

“You were promoted without knowing the whole menu? Did the old chef get fired or something like that?” That’s the only reasonable explanation you can think of.

“No, I was fully instructed by our old chef, he merely retired a couple of weeks ago. I was his chosen successor, but that one was the only dish he never taught anyone here – not even me. I suppose we weren’t really as close as I originally thought…” Chef Giraffe tilts her head. She sounded hurt. You appreciate Giraffe taking her time to answer your question.

“Thank you for giving us your time. What’s your name?” You’ll always appreciate good customer service.

“My name is Lingering, just call me Lin.” Chef Lin turns her head to the other side. “What’s yours, dear customers?”

“I’m Alfred and this is Maggie. Say hi, Maggie.” You reply.

“Hi, Maggie.” Maggie is not showing her best form... You glare at Maggie for being weird, but she’s too afraid to take her eyes off Lin to notice your disappointment.

“Relax, I’m used to people being scared by my presence. I thought the mask would help, but it’s not making much of a difference.” Lin is trying to be nice, but you can tell she’s a little bit hurt.

“S-Sorry, it wasn’t my intention… I got spooked yesterday and I’m not doing well and everything scares me and stuff.” Maggie profusely apologizes.

“I know the perfect solution, eat one of my children! In other words, I can offer you a similar cake of my own creation, it’s my attempt to replicate the flavor of the one you want.” Lin gives you a very nice offer. Should you take it?

What do you do?

>“Yeah, sure. Thank you, Lin.”
>“Can you tell us where the retired chef lives? I need the real deal.”
>“Did you ever tell him you wanted to learn that recipe?” Offer to find the guy and drag him here to teach her the recipe. So you get the cake and help her out too.
>Write In.

>>4153929
>>“Can you tell us where the retired chef lives? I need the real deal.”

>>4153929
>>“Can you tell us where the retired chef lives? I need the real deal.”

>>4153929
>“Can you tell us where the retired chef lives? I need the real deal.”

>>4153929
>“Yeah, sure. Thank you, Lin.”

>>4153929
>“Can you tell us where the retired chef lives? I need the real deal.”

>>4153929
>>“Did you ever tell him you wanted to learn that recipe?” Offer to find the guy and drag him here to teach her the recipe. So you get the cake and help her out too.

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“Can you tell us where the retired chef lives? I need the real deal.” Unfortunately for everyone here, you have a mission to accomplish. “I’m here by request and my clients really wanted that specific cake.”

“Yes, it would be my pleasure – let me write it down for you. Though I must warn you, I’m not sure if my teacher is going to be of any help. He’s not what I'd call the friendliest of guys. So if anything happens, my offer stands still.” Lin takes a piece of paper and scribbles down the address. “His name is Gunnar Ditlevsen, send him my regards.”

“Of course, and thank you, Lin. We will be going.” You are grateful for the help.

“Please come back soon.” Lin waves you good-bye.

Appearances sure are deceiving here in Hamje… You and Maggie step out of the pastry shop, your partner looks rather downcast after what happened. She starts airing why:

“L-Lin was so nice to us, but I couldn’t help myself and I acted like a dick…” Maggie is sure acting different from her usual self. “Allie, how bad was I…?”

“Could’ve been worse. But the mission isn’t over, you still have time to do better.” You try to raise her morale.

“R-Right…” Maggie raises her fist to show some courage, but you can tell it’s not really working.

You drive to the old chef’s home, it wasn’t a particularly long trip from the pastry shop. It’s a fancy looking place, big yard on the front and all. You ring the doorbell on the gate separating you from the house. An old man sporting the same kind of style as Sloopy Maggie comes out from the main door and at the frame – looking towards you two from afar.

“Hello, are Gunnar Ditlevsen?” You shout politely.

“Hell yeah, I am. What do you want? If you want to sell me somethin’, get out of here!” The man screams from his position.

How do you respond?

>“So you’re the legendary baker Gunnar Ditlevsen! We need your assistance!”
>“Are you truly the only man capable of baking the Lovely Velvet Butter Cake?”
>“How much money will it take for you to bake us a cake?”
>Let Maggie handle this.
>Write In.

>>4154040
>>“Are you truly the only man capable of baking the Lovely Velvet Butter Cake?”

>>4154040
>Let Maggie handle this.

>>4154040
>Let Maggie handle this.

>>4154040
>“Are you truly the only man capable of baking the Lovely Velvet Butter Cake?”

>>4154040
>Let Maggie handle this.

>>4154040
>“Are you truly the only man capable of baking the Lovely Velvet Butter Cake?”
He looks like the type we can fire up if we show him some passion for our work.

>>4154040
>Let Maggie handle this.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4154041
>>4154086
>>4154095
>>4154138

This is 1.

>>4154044
>>4154074
>>4154087
>>4154102

This is 2.

Rollin' to break the tie. And writing...

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You elbow Maggie to indicate to her that she will be the one handling this. Maggie looks at you with an expression that says: Allie, what the fuck do you want me to, like, do!? I thought you were handling this! OHMYGOSH!. Now a feeling of great concern has developed inside your mind because you believe that you understand Maggie on a deeper level than any other human should. Despite all these distressing sensations muddling your thoughts, you are not going to change your decision.

“Y-You’re that super cool baker, right?! We need you to bake us one delicious cake!” After a couple of seconds Maggie gathers enough courage to talk.

“I’m retired! Check the Continental Comfit instead of botherin’ me! I was never good anyway!” The man rudely barks back.

“B-But you’re the only man in this entire world that can cook the cake we need!” Maggie’s words stop the man from closing the door. “We already checked over there, and nothing! Like, at all! They don’t serve it! Also Lin said hi.”

“What cake…?” The retired chef’s curiosity got the better of him.

“The Lovely Velvet Butter Cake!” Sometimes you forget that Maggie has a great knack for remembering names.

“Sorry, like I said I’m retired...” Gunnar lost all his bravado all of the sudden. His spark is gone.

“Pretty please!” Maggie starts speaking in that particular tone of voice, the one she uses when she starts nagging.

“Look, that cake is a pain in the ass to make, and it wasn’t even popular enough to warrant people comin’ over to my home to beg for it, so you’re not missing shit. Go back to the Continental Comfit, you’ll get something much better from someone more talented.” Gunnar tells Maggie to fuck off.

“W-What do you not understand about us wanting your stupid cake, old man?!” Maggie got so distressed with life she exploded. “Y-You’re startin’ to piss me off with your self-deprecatin’ talk and shit! You were the main chef over there, remember?! Isn’t that cake the thing that makes you unique?! So, like, get a grip and give us a taste! I know it’s going to be real yummy!” You’re not supposed to eat that cake…

“That cake made me unique? You know nothing, girl! Get off my lawn!” Gunnar gets angry.

“Of course I know nothing! I’ve never eaten that stupid cake, that’s the problem!” Maggie won’t back down. “The cake is not even for us!”

“Doesn’t matter who it’s for, I’m not doing shit!” Gunnar is too furious to listen to what Maggie is saying.

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>>4154190

“Look! Let’s calm down for a second, okay?” Maggie tries to be more diplomatic after throwing a tantrum. “I’m having a real bad day ‘cause I got spooked and I’m sorry…”

“…I certainly wasn’t expecting that.” Gunnar was thrown off his game so he’s acting chill now. “Between hearing about that cake and you two lovebirds buggin’ me, I lost it too.”

“Lovebirds? Where?” Maggie takes her phone to capture a pic of the bird in question.

“Tsk… ha… Not that type of lovebird, girl.” Gunnar smirks. Wait, is this working after all that? Why? “Still, I won’t do it. After all those years of working my ass off to try to be the best baker on the planet, I’m not interested in money or shit like that. So no matter how much money you splash at me, I won’t change my mind.”

“Buuuut… Maybe, if I ask you pretty please again…” Maggie pulls her skirt up, unbuttons another button on her shirt and has a smug expression on her face… You don’t like what Maggie is about to do, you don’t like this at all.

What do you do?

>Let Maggie do her thing. She’s been carrying this part of the mission so far, you must let her finish.
>“What if I told you it’s not about money, but about a family?” Make him see the bigger picture.
>“Can you give us the recipe then? We’ll find someone else to make it instead.”
>Write In.

>>4154191
>>“What if I told you it’s not about money, but about a family?” Make him see the bigger picture.

>>4154191
>>“What if I told you it’s not about money, but about a family?” Make him see the bigger picture

>>4154191
>“What if I told you it’s not about money, but about a family?” Make him see the bigger picture.
Appeal to reason; a man who bakes for a living must know about these things!

>>4154191
>>Write In.
Swat maggie
"Stop that."
>“What if I told you it’s not about money, but about a family?” Make him see the bigger picture.

>>4154191
>“What if I told you it’s not about money, but about a family?” Make him see the bigger picture.

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“Stop that.” You grab Maggie’s arm to stop her from doing whatever she’s planning to do, and take the lead in this conversation. “What if I told you it’s not about money, but about a family.” You will appeal to reason.

“…” Tomato Maggie puts everything back in its place. She’s back to her sloppy look.

“What are you talkin’ about?” Whatever mildly cryptic thing either of you say it seems this guy is curious. He didn’t even notice what Maggie was attempting to do just now.

“Let me explain…”

…And so, you explained more or less the story of the Uccelli family as well as the significance the cake has to them. Of course, leaving it all vague enough to sound cooler than it actually is – including their names, just in case Nina wanted to preserve her anonymity. But to your surprise, the man is not acting angry, surprised, or serene… No, he looks absolutely heartbroken, he drops to his knees. Both you and Maggie are completely puzzled by his reaction.

You two jumped over the fence just to check on Gunnar. He’s just crying… no heart attack or anything of the like.

“You’re telling me that all of these years I’ve been baking those cakes for…” He punches the ground. “Berenice…! My sweet Berenice…! A-And for that bastard and their daughter?!”

You mentally reiterate, you never told him their names.

“W-What’s going on?” Maggie doesn’t get it.

“That’s what I would like to know.” You’re curious as well.

“Would you two… listen to my story…?” Gunnar asks politely. It’s not like either of you have any other choice at this point.

More than 30 years ago, Gunnar and Berenice worked at the same restaurant when they were young, both were learning to cook under the guidance of the great chef, Gerges – that’s where they fell in love with each other and after a couple of weeks they started dating! They truly loved and complemented each other, or so Gunnar says. He had the passion to become one of the greatest chefs in the world and Berenice had her feet on the earth.

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>>4154304

But the honeymoon period faded away and problems started to pile up between them. There were many factors that made those two grow apart:

-First, Berenice was pretty much better at cooking everything except baking, they were even at that. This is the reason why Gunnar decided to be a pastry chef in the first place. Gunnar grew jealous of Berenice and didn’t know how to vent his frustrations. So they started to fight a lot in the kitchen.

-Second, Berenice didn’t want to continue being a gourmet chef at all, she just wanted to have enough skill to open a restaurant in her hometown, settle down, and have a family. But Gunnar wanted to be recognized as one of the best chefs in the world.

-Third, Berenice heavily disliked travelling and for their relationship to continue, Gunnar wanted to travel all around the world to learn more about food and dishes.

But it got to the point where the relationship was unsustainable. So Berenice gave him an ultimatum, his dream or settling down with her. Gunnar decided to continue baking to achieve his dreams.

After two years of defeats and failures, he understood he would never be anything but a mediocre pastry chef, so he came back to Prancijan to look out for his Berenice. But it was already too late – she already married that stupid young fisherman who she befriended at the beginning when they were working with Gerges. He always knew that kid had something for his girlfriend, but now… she was all his…

He moved to Hamje and opened his own pastry shop. And yes, the Lovely Velvet Butter Cake is Berenice’s recipe. He kept making it because it was her favorite dessert, and used to make the dessert while drunk and melancholic. Gunnar never got over Berenice and to this day he still loves her. He still hates himself for letting her go…

“Aww… So you never taught anyone how to make that cake because it made you all sad?” Maggie wonders after the story finishes. You’re all sitting in front of the main door to the house.

“I never thought about it, but you’re probably right, girl.” Gunnar looks down. He already knows both of your names at this point. “Now get off of my lawn, I’m not makin’ any damn cake for that idiotic family!”

“B-But we listened to your whole story!” Maggie is shocked!

It’s not going to fix itself that easily, huh?

What do you do?

>“Can you give us the recipe at least?”
>“This is the last time you’ll do it, it’s never too late to make the next step. I’ll bring you something to drink.”
>“Berenice was too nice for you.”
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the day. We maybe end the thread tomorrow.)