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>>4736815

Information:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QM91m
Discord: https://discord.gg/AmjbaTR
Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=do+your+best+quest (Rough Grammar ‘till half of the 9th Thread)
Incomplete Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-nIx_dvaNCPQ7zLg2BK_ucCyGNM741kAANxqXj7hdDs/edit?usp=sharing

Votes:

Votes are counted until 25 minutes have passed. This rule doesn't apply to the last reply of the day.
Votes that require a dice roll are counted until 15 minutes have passed, so we can speed up the process. Rolls are counted until 10 minutes have passed, so be prepared!

(NEW) Dice Mechanic:

We always roll 1d100s!
Since most people weren’t happy with the system of averaging top four rolls, we’re using best of 2/3/4 depending on the attribute a prompt requires. If Johnny is a genius and it’s a Knowledge based roll, he gets more rolls (Max. 7)! If he sucks, he gets less dice (Min. 2)!

When asked for rolls, I will specify how many you’re going to get. Rolling begins after it’s asked.

Rolling 100 is a critical and ignores all other rolls! In the same vein, rolling 1 means a critical failure (only for Very Hard rolls and above).

The difficulty of the roll is tied with the effectiveness of the action. In other words, the harder the option the better the result!

Don’t forget that at the end of the day, this is a story-driven quest! What the prompts are describing is more important than the difficulty of the rolls, for results in a fight.

Again, rolls are only counted when they are posted within ten minutes of being asked, so watch out!

>>4736815
>Tell Neko you’re going to call her later. You’ll listen to Oliver.

>>4736815
>>Tell Neko you’re going to call her later. You’ll listen to Oliver.

>>4736815
>Set up a way you can talk to both simultaneously. Maybe they can complement each other’s information dump.

>>4736815
>Tell Oliver to scram. You’re going to talk to him in a bit if he wants.

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“Give me a minute.” You cover your phone as you tell Oliver. He nods with the same determined look on his face. You turn back to your device. “Sorry, Susie. Something came up, I’ll talk to you later. Thank you for all of this.”

“H-How many times do I have to tell you to not call me by my name?! Nina is so wrong about you! You’re not gentle, you’re just a prick! A big prick.” Susie loses more energy the longer this little bit goes on, before she sounded enraged, but now she sounds annoyed. “D-Don’t hang up just yet, mentioning her reminds me of something vital.”

“Hmm? What is it?” You would be happy to continue this conversation if it wasn’t for Oliver, so you’ll indulge her just a little.

“Nina has been acting odd ever since you savagely let your lust take over and took advantage of her body. When you two tempted the line between student and teacher; did things only the closest of couples would do. I feel like she’s becoming more… daring. Maybe you awoke something in her? Maybe she wants to go one step beyond… Anyway, I just wanted you to know.” T_T Neko’s perverted excitement is too much for you.

“Neko, stop lying...” You reprimand her like she’s Nariko.

“Johnny, I just report the facts, you can be in denial all you want. But something tells me she’s going to make a move soon… I didn’t lie when I said you’re all she has on her mind! Anyway, I’ll leave you to your dirty thoughts!” Neko hangs up as she chuckles in excitement.

“…” You sigh. You talked things through with Nina, so there is no way what T_T Neko is saying can be true, right? “I’m done.”

“Well?” Oliver has been respectfully waiting for you to end your conversation.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You shake your head.

“No, I mean, were you talking about them?” Oliver is not interested in mindless chatter.

“Oh, yeah, you know them?” You’re happy to take your mind off those perverted topics.

“Whatever you’re planning to do, you can’t mess with them.” Oliver doesn’t want you to do your best. How terrible.

“Huh, why?”

“It’s way too dangerous.”

“I don’t want to sound cocky, but the cult was dangerous too and they are gone now.” You adjust your glasses. You have level 5 Courage, you can do any daring shit as long as you pray for your life for a little bit.

“This is bigger than the cult ever was.” Oliver puts down your accomplishments.

>>4737028


How do you respond?

>“They had a God of Death on their side, Oliver.” The Cult was a big deal! These millionaire fucks can’t be that bad!
>“You don’t even know what I’m planning to do, relax. Just tell me about them.” You don’t need to be confrontational.
>“You’ll have to convince me not to do anything, but as of right now, I’m here to help San Wich and I’m going to do it.” You’re not going to let the Food entity down!
>“I feel like you’re dying to tell me what happened to you. So shoot.” You know where this is going!
>Write in.

>>4737033
>>“You don’t even know what I’m planning to do, relax. Just tell me about them.” You don’t need to be confrontational.

>>4737028
>“You don’t even know what I’m planning to do, relax. Just tell me about them.” You don’t need to be confrontational.

>>4737033
>“You don’t even know what I’m planning to do, relax. Just tell me about them.” You don’t need to be confrontational.

I wonder if Lloydington or the Heavenly Pillars are more dangerous. I suppose both them and Lazarus all of access to essentially infinite goons-with-guns and the willingness to use them, so the 3 major factions we know of that are left all play hardball.

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“You don’t even know what I’m planning to do, relax. Just tell me about them.” You go for a less confrontational response, you want more information after all and there is no reason to have beef with Watty here.

“I’ve seen countless lives taken away because of them. Families torn apart. Communities eviscerated... No, I’m not playing this up. I know I’ve been acting like a fool for a while, but this is the honest truth.” Oliver sounds like a normal human being for a change. Why are people with money in this country so dangerous? “Yes, I don’t know what you’re planning to do. But if you get involved, there is no turning back.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard as much.” You put your phone away. Susie kept repeating the same thing. “I still need to know more to understand what I’m dealing with. I know why they can be dangerous, but I don’t know what they have done. If you know anything, you need to help me out.”

“I’ll answer your questions. I owe you after I eavesdropped on your sad tale last time.” Oliver half-assedly smirks. “I just don’t know where to begin...”

“I suggest you start from the point you got involved.” Matilda makes her presence known.

“M-Master, what are you doing here…?” Oliver is surprised by the presence of the person who owns the place.

“You’re not usually this slow to bring us our beverages, Oliver.” Matilda points out. “Let’s return to the room with the others to discuss this.”

“Yeah, being in the middle of the hallway is kind of awkward.” Scarlet is here too. And San is behind her, playing with her red hair like she’s combing it.

“Huh, I guess the introductions went fast.” You scratch the back of your head.

“Oh! No! I met him before, I didn’t recognize him with his face all swollen up.” Scarlet chuckles. That’s right, they met when you visited Constance once before.

“I have an easy to forget face.” Oliver smiles, returning to his old self for a second. He doesn’t.

“You’re okay with everyone listening? You looked like you didn’t want anyone to be involved.” You wonder if this is a good idea or not.

“I’ll have to build a case to convince you all not to bother.” Oliver is not really that problematic in this aspect. Unlike when he was hospitalized at the beginning. Maybe he wants to talk to people in general or something, he seems kinda lonely. “But a part of me just wants to…” He stares at his closed fist and closes his eyes in visible pain. “Let’s move on.”

Wait… you realize something. Is it a good idea for San to listen to all of this? You know that Ms. Wich is listening through her, and you will have to update Scarlet and Matilda about what you learned. Is she even mentally prepared to remember all of this? You might lose an edge to convince Ms. Wich to stay in control if you don’t take advantage of the information you gathered, it might not end up being as impactful…

>>4737204

What do you do?

>Ask Matilda to take away San. Promise to tell her everything later.
>Ask Scarlet to take away San. Promise to tell her everything later.
>Let San listen to everything.
>Write In.

What do you want to ask Oliver first?

>Why he is involved with the Five Heavenly Pillars.
>Why the fuck he pretends to be someone he’s not.
>Everything about the Price Family.
>Everything about Lloydington.
>Write In.

>>4737212
>Ask Matilda to take away San. Promise to tell her everything later.
>Why he is involved with the Five Heavenly Pillars.

>>4737222
Supporting

>>4737204
>Why he is involved with the Five Heavenly Pillars.
>Let San listen to everything.

>>4737212
>Ask Matilda to take away San. Promise to tell her everything later.
>Why he is involved with the Five Heavenly Pillars.

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“Before we go. Mat, I need to ask you for a favor.” You look at the money hungry girl.

“Yes?” Matilda raises an eyebrow.

“Could you take away San while we discuss this? I promise I’ll tell you everything later.” You ask.

“Is there any reason why?” Matilda wants more details.

“I don’t know how what we’re about to learn is going to affect Ms. Wich. I prefer if she doesn’t listen to it yet.” You explain yourself. “We already know she’s aware of everything that is happening.”

“Madam Snack is involved…?” Oliver doesn’t know how to feel about it.

“San, is there a way to avoid Ms. Wich from listening to what we are discussing?” Matilda asks the entity in question.

“I believe so.” San smiles in a way only she can… “Ms. Wich was able to do it a couple of times to refrain from having me look at the Body while naked at the beginning of our contract. She gave up after she willingly lent me the Body. I’ll attempt to replicate what she did.”

…

…

A flame appears on San’s head. Same location as… well… San, when Ms. Wich is in control!

“I’ve succeeded.” San nods. Philonune seems interested in what’s going on, you wonder why…

[QM Note: I promised Ms. Wich won’t listen to anything.]

“Did she do anything…?” Scarlet doesn’t know how to feel about this. “She must have if she’s this confident!” She convinces herself through her positivity… or denial.

“Thoughts?” Matilda asks you directly.

“Huh, I’ll take it.” You don’t want to cause much of a fuss over this.

“I always found your ability to see flames fascinating.” Oliver notices you were staring at San’s hair for far too long.

“Yeah, it appeared on her head.” You couldn’t tell the difference between a normal flame and a human one. Can you call that a human flame? Or is it a spirit? Or worse… a ghost?! It’s better if you don’t put much thought into this.

“I think we’re ready then!” Scarlet is ready to listen. She loves her stories.

You nod and the five of you return to the room you were previously in. You first had to tell everyone about what you just learned! Scarlet was horrified by some of the bits you learned, but Matilda wasn’t surprised as much, almost like she knew a bit of these events and characters. San was strangely emotionless or ‘normal’ for her standards. During this time as well, Oliver brought the beverages he was supposed to get you all before. Now that everyone is on the same page, it’s time for Watty to start talking.

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>>4737464

“Let’s cut to the chase: Why are you involved with the Five Heavenly Pillars?” You have time to lose, yet you don’t want to lose it! You wanna know the most relevant plot point!

“T-That’s blunt.” Oliver is surprised by your attitude. Doesn’t seem like anyone cares about getting up to speed. “There are many key events, so this is going to take a while…” And so, Oliver begins his tale…

[Chapter 1: A family Broken.] (Oliver actually said this out loud, like he has been practicing this for years.)

Oliver was a little boy who lived in the city with both of his parents, he was neighbors with a little girl named ‘Jaylene’ and became the best of friends. Oliver enjoyed roleplaying as Leo Major, a legendary hero from another galaxy, who triumphed over all evil forces – and Jaylene enjoyed roleplaying as ‘Asherah’, the reincarnation of evil itself that came to destroy the human world. Their battles were legendary and their friendship blossomed.

One day, Jaylene’s father ‘Percy Larsen’ was taken to prison for killing one of his coworkers at his office. Due to this, Jaylene’s family (her mother and sister) left the city to some monastery in the countryside.

Later, they would find out that Uncle Percy Larsen was framed by one of the Five Heavenly Pillars.

A couple of years later, Jaylene and her family returned to the big city, her mother needed time to readjust to their new lifestyle and follow a new career path to take care of her daughters. Reunited, Jaylene wasn’t the same girl as before, she was depressed – and she hardly smiled anymore. Oliver felt forced to do something about it, by returning to play his old character, he earned a meek smile or two from Jaylene, but it wasn’t enough. He made a decision, Jaylene always declared her father was innocent, that he was framed and such… So it was time for a new heroic deed from Leo Major, the first real one, he was going to prove Uncle Percy’s innocence (Despite being pretty skeptical himself). Once the declaration was made, it was the first time Jaylene genuinely smiled since she came back.

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>>4737465

[Chapter 2: More families Broken.]

Oliver and Jaylene created a little investigation team to find the truth of that day. But Oliver knew they couldn’t do something that big so soon, so he proposed to unravel smaller mysteries to gain experience.

-Their first major case was the stolen 1000 Gor$ from one of his classmates at school, one kid was blamed with no evidence (Rhys Frie), but thanks to Jaylene being the only one believing Rhys and Oliver pointing out the contradictions – they found out the real culprit was the victim! He wanted to pretend the money was stolen so his parents would give him more to compensate. Rhys ended up joining their Investigation Team and became the best of friends.

-Their second major case was to discover the truth behind the mysterious Classroom 279 that was presumably haunted. It was Jaylene’s little sister’s doing, Odetta ‘Little O’ Larsen was a known prankster. Yet, nobody really could figure out how she did some of that stuff like making books and chairs float.

-In their third major case they were challenged by the mysterious Phantom Thief of the Red Tulip School! The mysterious man sent a Calling Card to the school administration that he was going to steal the Exam Answers! But Oliver and company managed to stop Zinon Vassatos, and thanks to Jaylene, they decided not to rat him out. He ended up joining the team as well after leaving his moniker behind him.

-Their Fourth major case was the disappearance of one of their classmates (a girl Oliver forgot the name of). A black van just kidnapped her. The only witness, one of their classmates named Ascher Mendel, wasn’t believed by anyone but Jaylene. The team managed to find her all tied up in a Donny Pops factory, the culprit was none other than one of the teachers: Lester Bruun. Ascher Mendel became a fan and joined the team after.

-Their Fifth major case was the return of the mysterious Phantom Thief! This time he was going to reveal all the teacher major secrets! And he did for a while! The first one was a Furry, the second one was dating one of his students – but before the third one was revealed, they apprehended the impostor! It was Little O… After that, they forced her to join and to stop with the pranks, or else they were going to get her expelled. She begrudgingly agreed…

>>4737467

At the same time, they were busting case after case, they were gathering more information about Jaylene’s father’s case. And as they did, they ended up discovering a deep rabbit hole of manufactured truths by different groups of influential people all around the country. A group of rich assholes who were so powerful that they could do whatever they wanted. All their crimes were covered up by other members and they put the blame on innocent people like her father. Why? To get rid of key individuals so these powerful men could keep their hegemony over the whole country, and sometimes just for the sake of it. It varies depending on the case. In this case, the man Jaylene’s Father supposedly killed, was an accidental kill, that man was just a random office worker.

Of course, this group would later reveal themselves as The Five Heavenly Pillars.

With this work done, the investigation group gathered enough evidence to not only to prove that the evidence in Uncle Percy’s case was tampered with, but many other cases as well. It would be the biggest news of the last decade.

It was time for payback! They gathered enough evidence to prove everything, from the falsification of the alibis to the tampering of the autopsies, at least for some of the cases. It was finally time for the truth to be told! They sent this information everywhere, to the police, to the news, anywhere you can think of! And then…

…

Nothing.

Then… Rhys’s father showed up dead. Then Zama’s mother. Then Ascher’s brother.

…And the worst was yet to come.

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>>4737472

[Chapter 3: Pieces of families turned to dust]

“M-Mom…” Oliver arrived home to see her mother’s body shot 8 times. He counted. It was hard to tell from all the blood. But he managed. Maybe there are more wounds, but he managed to count 8. His own mom has 8 fatal wounds. The woman who kissed him goodnight yesterday has 8 fatal wounds on her body…

9. He realized she had one more.

His entire house is ransacked, everything worth a damn is broken or gone. Even his dumb childhood books his mother, who has 9 fatal wounds, used to read him. All gone. Everything is gone.

Oliver’s hands are trembling. Is he scared? Is he afraid? Is he disgusted? He can’t tell. The only thing he can tell is that his mother has—

Wait, Oliver realizes something else. He just saw someone come out of the house. Was that person the killer? He needs to run now. Jaylene… Jaylene and her family are in danger. He needs to get out of here quickly. Aunt May, Jaylene and Little O are in danger. He needs to run out of here and help them.

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>>4737475

Oliver doesn’t remember how he arrived at Jaylene's house. It was the one next door. He has walked back and forth from his house to hers thousands of times, but he can’t recall anything as he opens the door to their house. He even got the secret key under the flower pot right next to the door. But he’s inside Jaylene’s house…

As he steps in, he realizes it isn’t too late here… The stuff is here. It isn’t ransacked. There is a chance to save Aunt May! He starts walking forward with a little bit of hope and—

Oliver hears a Gunshot. 2 Gunshots. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. The same number of fatal wounds his mother has. 10. 11. 12.

He hears someone stepping out of the room, his steps bang the planks of wood on the floor, from the same kitchen Jaylene and her family used to dine together, another person shows up… It’s a tall masked individual, tainted in blood, he hasn’t noticed Oliver… He takes a look at one of the family pictures on the wall in the hallway.

“Shame about your mom, girls!” He starts cackling. “But this wasn’t my fault, don’t you see? It was the kid over there…” Before he can turn around, the tall man has a coughing fit.

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>>4737477

Oliver takes this as his que to escape from the way he came from. But as soon as he puts a foot out of the house, he sees another person. He puts the gun on Oliver’s temple.

“What should I do with the kid?” The guy pointing at Oliver wonders. “Is this the best time to get a coughing fit…?”

“P-Please… I-I-I’m s-s-sorry…” Oliver pleads.

“Sorry, kid. But the Pillars’ orders are absolute.” The unmasked man in front of Oliver isn’t pleased to do this… He’s even hesitating...

But then he also gets a coughing fit… That’s strange… But Oliver didn’t think about it much and tried to run. The second coughing assassin starts following.

A car shows up and crashes into whoever was chasing Oliver, sending him into the air… He opens the door for Oliver.

“May! Is May in there?!” The man inside shouts. Later, Oliver would know the name of the driver: Wessam Carpetier.

“S-She’s dead…” Oliver starts crying.

“Fuck…Get in.” The driver grabs Oliver and both of them drive off…


[End]


“…They took everything from me.” Oliver’s hands tremble in anger. The flame on his shoulder is 10 times bigger than usual. Then it becomes really small. “I just want them to pay, y’know…?” Oliver breaks into tears. Like he always wanted to tell this tale, but never got the chance before.

Scarlet is crying for Oliver. Matilda doesn’t know what to do with herself. San looks sad for the first time ever. And you… What should you do?

What do you do?

>Hug the man. Poor guy is crying.
>“We’ll get those bastards.” Make a manly promise.
>“C’mon, Matilda. Your apprentice is crying.” Nudge Matilda to do something.
>Write In.


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

>>4737478
>>Hug the man. Poor guy is crying.
>>“We’ll get those bastards.” Make a manly promise.

>>4737478
>“We’ll get those bastards.” Make a manly promise.

>>4737478
Did we... just accidently find out Sewel's backstory?

>>4737484
Support

>>4737478
>“We’ll get those bastards.” Make a manly promise.

>>4737478
>Hug the man. Poor guy is crying.
>Drop a one manly tear. You can afford one.
>...why it’s raining indoors? Tell Matilda that roof is leaking.

>>4737631
We did. Props to the QM for the way he presents backstories and infodumps

>>4737478
>Hug the man. Poor guy is crying.
>“We’ll get those bastards.” Make a manly promise.

>>4737478
>Hug the man. Poor guy is crying.
>“We’ll get those bastards.” Make a manly promise.

>>4737731
Support

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You do something neither of your dads ever did, you hug the poor guy. He doesn’t exactly hug you back, but rests his head on your chest, letting his tears keep falling. Matilda gets right next to you and starts patting Oliver’s back. For the first time in maybe years, Oliver lets everything out…

You recall the time he tried to kidnap Constance way back when, this guy went through a lot, there is still so much information you don’t know about his past – like how he ended up joining a terrorist organization and all that jazz. It’s not difficult to imagine the reasons, he told everyone about this conspiracy, all with evidence and nothing happened, he couldn’t trust anything around him anymore.

Oliver, the weirdo that was once a terrorist and your enemy, is just a guy who did what he thought would help dozens of people and it all backfired spectacularly, brutally taking everything away from him… Maybe you can say he tried to bite off more than he could chew, fight something bigger than he and his friends were… But can you really say that he was a bad guy? That he deserved it? Is what he did any different from what you’re doing now? Do you deserve to go through something like this? Does anyone?

With that in your mind, it makes you think about all the people involved, how they all have their own journeys. Their own experiences. Their own reasons. Their own suffering. And you are just aware of the end result. Just like Oliver, a bunch of your friends and people you love were your enemies at one point, like Yu Yan, Yukika, B-WORM, Xavi, Neko, Giorsal, Trent and many others; and you don’t think they deserve this.

…Except Trent, he’s still an asshole. But he’s your pal… that’s still not a good reason for him not to get what he deserves, but he ain’t that bad to get his whole family killed, is he?

…

Is this how cronyism starts?

Point is, life is too difficult…

It’s a good thing you’re going to fight a bunch of irredeemable assholes now!

“We’ll get those bastards.” You make a promise you won’t back down from as you continue hugging this man.

This is one of the few times you hugged another man, the only other time you can recall right now is hugging Dr. Calamity at one point. Oliver feels… uhm… sturdier than what you’re used to? Well, it’s impossible to be as soft and comfy as Nina, or as huggable as Yu Yan, and you don’t want him to get as cuddly as Yukika, it’s not the same type of hug you had with Ajna since you’re doing the hugging, in that sense, it’s closer to when you hugged Roundtilda since you’re doing most of the work and…

Why are you comparing hugs?! What’s wrong with you? Your mind tends to drift off when you’re feeling sad. And you left a bunch of people out of this comparison, you mentally apologize to them as you try to be comforting to Oliver.

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>>4739288

A couple of minutes pass and slowly things start moving forward, the night has fallen without any of you noticing until after the fact. You’re sitting around a little table in the same room, the old TV making some noise while you try to cheer up by eating some ice cream. Of course, it was Scarlet’s idea… At least it has proven effective with the crowd, mainly with Scarlet and Oliver, but that doesn’t mean the rest of you didn’t indulge yourselves. San’s brain freeze was a particular highlight that helped lift the atmosphere with everyone chuckling. Except San. Her brain was frozen.

“Feeling better, Watty?” Scarlet wants to make sure Oliver is fine. It seems the moniker of Leo Major is all but dropped amongst this group, and you’re either calling him Oliver or Watty.

“Yeah, I am.” Oliver is not looking particularly happy or anything, but he’s just calmer.

“See? I told you ice cream always helps cheer everyone up!” Scarlet is all smug.

“I believe you tend to abuse this technique often.” Matilda reminds Scarlet of her bubbles.

“You’re not wrong.” You shrug. Scarlet glares at both of you.

“In this case, I must consume as much as the Body is able to.” San wants to find happiness the easy way.

“Did you forget what happened minutes ago?” Matilda grabs San’s hand to make her stop. “And more importantly, you have eaten enough for the day, you can’t consume too much, it’s detrimental to the Body’s health.” You are trying so hard not to tease Scarlet with what Matilda just said.

“I understand...” San looks sad for the second time ever.

“Seems like Mat wants all the ice cream for herself, eh?” The insatiable Scarlet nudges you as she teases Matilda. The irony is palpable.

The TV rages on with more news about the Cult still…

What do you do?

>Ask Oliver about why he joined those lame terrorists.
>Ask Oliver more about the people involved in the incident in general, like if he knows who the murderers are, and more about the person who saved him.
>Ask Oliver for more information about the Five Heavenly Pillars.
>Time to deal with ‘Ms. Wich’ once again.
>Write In.

>>4739292
>>Ask Oliver more about the people involved in the incident in general, like if he knows who the murderers are, and more about the person who saved him.

>>4739292
>Ask Oliver more about the people involved in the incident in general, like if he knows who the murderers are, and more about the person who saved him.

>>4739292
>>Ask Oliver more about the people involved in the incident in general, like if he knows who the murderers are, and more about the person who saved him.

>>4739292
>>Ask Oliver more about the people involved in the incident in general, like if he knows who the murderers are, and more about the person who saved him.

Anyone want to take odds on this being exactly like everyone is telling us it is: too much to handle and not something we should mess with?

>>4739446
Do you propose we just let them continue what they are doing after hearing all of that

>>4739292
>Ask Oliver more about the people involved in the incident in general, like if he knows who the murderers are, and more about the person who saved him.

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“Anyway…” You start poking Scarlet’s face for no reason, stopping her from getting too close. “Oliver, can I ask you more questions about the incident?”

“Hehe, wha-what are you doing?” Scarlet doesn’t get why you’re poking her and she’s nervously chuckling for some reason.

“…?” Matilda is confused by this. You’re confused too, why are you doing this.

“Of course.” Oliver ignores the poking.

“Thanks.” You immediately stop teasing those red ice cream-filled cheeks… no, not those ones. Scarlet is so utterly confused she stays put, just as you planned. Perfect. Or maybe she wants to listen to Oliver. “Do you have more details about the incident? Do you know who the murderers were? Who was the guy that saved you?”

“I’ll answer as best as I can.” Oliver nods and continues to display his storytelling abilities…

It doesn’t take a genius to understand it was the Five Heavenly Pillars’ doing. They sent two assassins and one cleaner to do the hitjob in Oliver and Jaylene’s homes.

One of the assassins is someone who works directly with the Pillars. It appears to be an incredible bodyguard that uses his talents to do these atrocities for them. His identity is unknown, and it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

The other assassin is the most known and seeked assassin in the whole country, his identity is unknown. But he is known to be an absolute professional and efficient person who leaves no marks or evidence behind. He was specifically hired to do this job because they needed to deal with two people at the same time.

The Cleaner is the man who makes sure there is no evidence left in the scene of the crime and, in this particular case, stole everything inside those homes. Oliver would later find out that the identity of the Cleaner is the right-hand man of one of the Heavenly Pillars: Maximum Price. He knows they’ve been friends for a long time, but it seems this person changes identities every so often.

Oliver, at first, believed the man who pointed the gun at him was the Cleaner, since he lacked any initiative and looked the most hesitant. But evidence he got in the Hosts of Rebellion made him realize it was the supposedly great assassin. Also, Oliver knows the man who orchestrated the murders was Elicarto Lloydington. One of his ex-secretaries left his post and joined the Hosts of Rebellion, and he took the files inside Elicarto’s Computer before leaving. Oliver wishes he remembers what was in those files, but he didn’t have a backup…

Makes you wonder why the terrorists were so against the government, when clearly the problem were these dudes.

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>>4739568

And at last, the person who saved him was a man named ‘Wessam Carpetier’, he is an investigative journalist working for ‘The Lokyo Observer’. Back then, he was working for another newspaper, one Oliver and company sent their evidence to. Wessam wanted to publish the information regardless of consequences, but the higher ups refused, making Wessam resign on the spot but not without stealing the information with him.

The reason he was there is simple, Jaylene’s mother Marcela Larsen was one of his sources and they were pretty close – they knew each other for a long time. Oliver has no idea how a random ass woman like her works as the source of anything, but that’s what the reporter said. Once Aunt May realized she was in trouble, she called Wessam for help. He just arrived too late. Though, there is something Oliver is forgetting…

As for the unpublished information, once Wessam changed newspapers, he requested to run this news. This time his new bosses accepted, but the articles were never published, as the information mysteriously disappeared from the office the same night he told them. Wessam was furious, and that’s when Oliver finally lost it and decided to do something else instead of going through the formal channels (Terrorism!).

Wessam didn’t give up though, and despite the sources of information that Oliver and crew found being mostly gone, he did his own investigation – and despite not having enough information to directly declare the Five Heavenly Pillars responsible for these actions. With what he gathered, he published Volume 4 of his book series “The Real Prancijanian History”, and since he couldn’t directly implicate the Pillars were in on this, nothing bad happened to him.

“That book sounds familiar...” You can’t quite put your finger on it.

“It is pretty famous amongst scholars.” Matilda, for some odd reason, knows about this. “My grandfather read them.” Oh, that’s why. Speaking of super assassins, it couldn’t be Matilda’s grandfather, could it?

“Wait… I know what I forgot…!” Oliver holds his head in pain, ashamed of himself. “Aunt May sent Wessam a final letter to Uncle Percy. She already knew she was done for, but Wessam rushed there anyway, and… he handed it to Jaylene. But now…” Oliver stands up. “I-I need to go…!”

“W-Where are you going?” Scarlet is confused.

“I need to find him!” Oliver starts running away! “Uncle Percy left jail yesterday!”

“W-Wait what?!” Scarlet doesn’t really know what's going on.

>>4739570


What do you do?

>“Wait, Oliver! Let’s find him together!” You’re going to help.
>“Isn’t the Lokyo Observer the same newspaper Genesis works for? Maybe she can give us this Wessam guy’s number. He seems to know his shit!” Let Oliver leave. And find more information about this incident.
>“Matilda, isn’t your grandfather the greatest assassin this country has ever seen?” Let Oliver leave. You have a lead!
>“We’ll deal with San for now.” Let Oliver leave and continue the talk with Ms. Wich.
>Write In.

>>4739574
>>“Wait, Oliver! Let’s find him together!” You’re going to help.

>>4739574
>“Wait, Oliver! Let’s find him together!” You’re going to help.

>>4739574
>“Wait, Oliver! Let’s find him together!” You’re going to help.
Time for some real drama

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“Wait, Oliver! Let’s find him together!” You grab his arm before he gets the hell out of here on his own accord.

“Yeah! Let’s do this!” Scarlet is on board.

“What does he look like?” Matilda is already on the job.

“I will provide moral support: Do not die on this mission.” San gives Oliver a wonderful smile. She can’t leave the dojo after all.

“You guys…” Oliver’s eyes get all sparkly. “Thank you, let’s find him!”

“No need to rush. Tell us when the last time you saw him was.” Matilda calms her pupil.

“I-It was yesterday, he visited me at the batting cages.” Oliver points out.

“Oliver, you haven’t been at the dojo the last 2 days. Are you sure it was yesterday?” Matilda has her doubts.

“…Wait, what day is it?” Oliver is confused.

“Monday.” Scarlet checks her phone. Why did she check? Today is your first day back from the weekend!

“………………….Master, I think I lost my job.” Oliver is an idiot.

“We’ll figure that out later.” Matilda shakes her head. That’s kind of her.

“M-Master! You’re so kind! I’m glad I was right about you, you do get easily attached to people despite your rough exterior!” Oliver is really grateful.

“L-Let’s not get carried away.” Matilda gets a little embarrassed.

“Aw, cute.” You point at the Martial Artist that could potentially break all your bones. Matilda frowns in response.

“What? You don’t like being called cute?” Scarlet doesn’t get it.

“Can we focus on the matter on hand?” Matilda wants to drift the attention away from her cuteness. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“Saturday, early morning. I was on my first break of the day.” Oliver explains with dutiful detail. “He then left to the Green Foothill Memorial Park, WILDFLAME should’ve talked to him…”

“WILDFLAME…?!” You can’t believe it! Is everyone involved in this or what!?

“Could the informant you mentioned before be of use this time as well?” San pulls your shirt to grab your attention.

San is talking about Neko. That would make things easier, but…

What do you do?

>Call Neko and ask her about this “Uncle Percy” guy’s whereabouts.
>Go investigate Oliver’s workplace. Maybe you’ll find clues there.
>Go investigate the Graveyard. Maybe you’ll find clues there.
>Write In.


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

>>4739516
Not necessarily, but I do think we should consider our position and assume that if something goes wrong it will be our family and friends experiencing retaliation rather than or in addition to ourselves. Accordingly, we might should ponder how to react to a few reasonable-to-expect hypotheticals before sticking our noses into this business.

The most obvious and extreme likely-to-occur situation would be having to make a choice between killing one (or several) person(s) or subjecting our friends/family to becoming targets of assassins. Whether that's really right or wrong aside, I really don't think we should poke our noses into this unless we have the resolve to take responsibility for protecting those dear to us, even if it might mean unjustly punishing someone else simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

>>4739694
>Call Neko and ask her about this “Uncle Percy” guy’s whereabouts.

>>4739694
>Go investigate the Graveyard. Maybe you’ll find clues there.
Visit Mom in the meantime, if there is time?

>>4739773
I agree. Acknowledge this as a problem but put it aside. The Five Heavenly Pillars aren't destroying the world anytime soon, while the flame war might. Lloydington is on the hit list regardless, not for being a Pillar but because he's the leader of the White Flames faction as a whole. They're next in Johnny's sights after the Cult of Chernabog takedown, as said before. Who knows? By the end of this war, somebody else unknown and unrelated might take out the Pillars for equally unknown and unrelated reasons at an equally unknown and unrelated time. And let's not forget Johnny knows in-character that Billy has it in for Ruby's dad, who Johnny just found out is one of the Pillars. That's another issue in and of itself, but I would imagine that's also for later.

>>4739694
>Call Neko and ask her about this “Uncle Percy” guy’s whereabouts.

>>4739694
>>Call Neko and ask her about this “Uncle Percy” guy’s whereabouts.

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“Yes, you’re right. Thank you for reminding us, San.” You pat The Body’s head as thanks. Her hair feels smooth.

“The Body finds this action is patronizing, yet relaxing. Please continue. Feel free to massage other areas to maximize the pleasure.” San is enjoying it, but after saying that, you aren’t sure if you want to continue. San gets closer like a cat wanting pets.

“Yeaaah, I don’t think you should.” Scarlet gets in the middle of you two.

“Refrain from interfering with the Body’s enjoyment, Ms. Yuck.” San feels a little irked. Or is it the Body? What’s the difference?

“Don’t call me like that! I prohibit it!” Scarlet shakes her head.

“Why do you always talk in 3rd person? Like the Body this, and the Body that.” You grab your lock of hair in confusion.

“It’s not his.” Matilda gives a quick answer.

“But she just said that she found it patronizing…” You think that’s San’s own evaluation.

“From what I gather, San has control over the entire body, that includes its cognitive aspects. Meaning his awareness goes beyond just perceiving the 5 physical senses, he’s also conscious of the neural activity of the brain. The Body’s response to stimulus is the same whether San or Ms. Wich are in control, how they act under these stimuluses is what sets them apart. Unlike San, we’re used to all of this being intertwined, so we’ll never fully grasp the difference unless we managed to leave our bodies.” Matilda explains.

“W-What?” Scarlet doesn’t get it at all.

“In simple words, if an event happens and it angers The Body, regardless of who’s in control, they will feel the same amount of anger – just like if The Body was hungry. The needs and wants are the same. How they react to such emotions is what separates the people controlling it.” Matilda tries to keep it simple.

“I believe I can determine specifically what the Body feels, wants or dislikes. I want to satisfy the Body first and foremost, so my priority is to voice the Body’s concerns.” San adds.

“But what makes me sad, doesn’t necessarily make everyone else sad. Like, if something bad happens to Johnny, I would cry a lot. But a complete stranger wouldn’t care, right?” Scarlet grabs your arm as she says this.

“That’s mean.” You say. What happened to feeling sorry for another fellow human?

“It’s all speculation on my part based on what I’ve seen from San and Ms. Wich. Perhaps their relationship is unique to them. You’ve seen San react negatively to images he wasn’t aware of, perhaps not at the same degree as Ms. Wich would’ve. I just don’t know. You’ll have to ask Johnny and Oliver if that’s the case with them.” Matilda doesn’t have all the answers.

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>>4741652

“Personally, I feel like your partner’s emotions rub on you. I never felt like our emotions ever clashed. But Philonune is pretty chill, so I don’t know…” You remember you and Philonune feeling anger at the same things.

“I’m a vengeful spirit, partner.” Philonune finds your description ironic. Still, he’s too chill!

“Sooo… It’s like I always say, if I stay positive it will rub on other people!” Scarlet is being Scarlet…

“What about you, Oliver?” You ask the tragic figure.

“I think we should leave this for later and find uncle Percy.” Oliver was respectful enough to let this conversation continue, but he has priorities.

“Oh shit. My bad.” You didn’t forget! You just found this interesting! “I’ll call Neko immediately. Just give me a couple of minutes.” You leave the room to a less noisy place…

It takes much longer than the first time for Neko to answer, but she eventually does!

“So good…” Neko is licking her fingers for some reason. She was probably eating something, and you don’t want to imagine it knowing what she’s like. “Ehem, calling me to pay your dues?”

“No. Actually, I need more information.” You go straight to the point.

“You want to accumulate a bigger debt? Works for me.” Susie doesn’t mind, she sounds in a better mood than before. “By the way, Edamura and that other rascal came to visit. She’s an amazing cook, plus Nina’s cookies. Magnificent, I tell you.” Nariko is not that good of a cook in your opinion.

“Susie, I don’t have much time to chit-chat, I need your help to find someone.” You request.

“Then you shouldn’t call me by my real name if you don’t want to waste time.” Susie sounds irritated.

“Sorry force of habit.” You apologize.

“You just started today calling me that.” Susie doesn’t buy it.

“Sorry force of habit.” You apologize again.

“Tch, who are you looking for, prick?” Susie relents.

“A man named ‘Percy Larsen’, last time anyone saw him, he was at the Green Foothill Memorial Park, last Saturday. Can you find him? Or do you need a pic?” You will provide all the information she needs.

“I’ll check my database first. Hold on a second…” T_T Neko starts doing her informant job. How exciting. “The guy’s dead.”

“…Excuse me?”

“It was in one of the newspaper’s death notices. I automatically update the database with those, so I don’t have to track people unnecessarily.” T_T Neko says it with so little fanfare or care, that makes it easier to let the fact that this is true sink in for better or worse.

“H-How? When? Why?” You need answers, damn it.

“He wasn’t on the watch, so I don’t know. You know the newspaper writes these just to notify people about their death, right? They aren’t flooding with details.” T_T Neko sounds a little taken aback by your reaction. “What’s wrong?”

>>4741656

“I… Well… I think I need to deal with something big. Can you find out what happened to him?” You know Oliver would want the truth.

“It won’t be too difficult if you can give me a couple of hours.” Susie sounds concerned. “D-Did you know this guy?”

“It’s complicated… You’ll do me a big favor if you find out more. So, please do it.” You feel stressed out.

“R-Right… Just count on me. T-Take care…” Susie doesn’t know how to handle this.

“You too.” You hang up.

Fuck…

What do you do?

>Immediately inform Oliver about what you learned.
>Tell the others you’ll wait until Susie contacts you with more information. You need more details if you want to drop this bomb.
>Look for one of the newspapers only and find the notice. Then show that to Oliver…
>Write In.

>>4741660
>Look for one of the newspapers only and find the notice. Then show that to Oliver…
>Tell the others you’ll wait until Susie contacts you with more information. You need more details if you want to drop this bomb.
Oliver was just ready to walk out immediately and deal with this...and I think his only current avenue to investigate would be Wildflame. I think we should play for a bit of time without being dishonest by getting a newspaper, as we don't know if Oliver will try to go pick a fight with Wildflame (either directly or unintentionally) over this.

>>4741660
>>Tell the others you’ll wait until Susie contacts you with more information. You need more details if you want to drop this bomb.

>>4741660
>>Tell the others you’ll wait until Susie contacts you with more information. You need more details if you want to drop this bomb.

>>4741660
>Immediately inform Oliver about what you learned.

>>4741667
Seconding

>>4741660
>>Tell the others you’ll wait until Susie contacts you with more information. You need more details if you want to drop this bomb.

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You give yourself a couple of minutes to sort out your emotions, to calm down and make the best decision. You know it’s not easy, you have experience bringing bad news to people and how important it is to do it right. People need closure, it’s not something you can say and hope the other person accepts and moves on – so it’s wiser if you wait for more details to drop this bomb.

“I think this is the right way.” Philonune reassures your decision.

You start walking back to the room with the others, little whispers of doubts bother your thoughts, but they are not loud enough to make you hesitate. You’re back in.

“What’s the news?” Matilda is the first one to notice and acknowledge your presence back. Yet, Oliver is the one more interested.

“We’ll have to be patient, guys. Neko will look into this but it’s going to take her a couple of hours, she’ll call me as soon as she knows anything and can back it up.” You try not to show any signs of stress.

“I imagine that would be the case.” Oliver drops his head in comedic fashion. The key person doesn’t seem bothered to wait, so that’s good.

“Did something happen? You don’t look so good anymore.” Scarlet is worried about you at the worst time.

“Did you forget who I was talking to? She’s a handful sometimes.” You almost forgot that Scarlet doesn’t know Neko personally.

“Can we trust her to call you back?” Scarlet gets worried with your comments.

“She’s not Mat level, but she’s professional.” You adjust your glasses. Matilda liked that comment.

“Let’s pray for good fortune.” San is probably trying to be as positive as Ms. Yuck.

“She’ll find something, those cats are everywhere.” Oliver is optimistic too. “Sorry everyone, I took the thunder out of you. You came to help Madam Snack and I ended up tangling you in my misery.”

“It’s usually how things go with you.” Matilda doesn’t see a problem. “But I believe we can resume our other activities. Unless you want to call it for the day, it’s getting late. You can wait until tomorrow to get the news, right Oliver?”

“Only one long string of good luck would’ve made me find Uncle Percy today, and I no longer rely on my luck for anything.” Oliver gives you a deflating chuckle. “I can wait. I just couldn’t not do anything after I remembered the letter. Uncle Percy deserves to read it.”

“I don’t think Ms. Wich is going to ignore us anymore, so I think we can leave if we need to.” Scarlet believes in the tragic woman.

“I believe so.” San agrees. “But I do not wish to see the host hurt any longer if possible. Yet, you friends have been remarkable, I do not want to bother you more if you feel tired, I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness. The Body feels tired too.” It almost sounded like Ms. Wich for a second there.

“I guess it’s Johnny’s call.” Scarlet, like always, gives you all the responsibility to you.

>>4741755

It’s 8:02 PM...

How do you respond?

>“Did someone say slumber party?” Wiggle those eyebrows. You’re staying here tonight just to make sure nothing bad happens.
>“I would rather go home today, it’s been a long day.” The stress of being kidnapped hasn’t left your body.
>“Why the fuck am I always making the decisions here? Scarlet, take responsibility for once.” Tease the redhead and make her decide.
>Write In.

>>4741757
>>“Did someone say slumber party?” Wiggle those eyebrows. You’re staying here tonight just to make sure nothing bad happens.

>>4741757
>“Did someone say slumber party?” Wiggle those eyebrows. You’re staying here tonight just to make sure nothing bad happens.

>>4741757
>“Did someone say slumber party?” Wiggle those eyebrows. You’re staying here tonight just to make sure nothing bad happens.

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“Did someone say slumber party?” You start wiggling your eyebrows. You need to notify Ruby about this.

“Wooo! I love the idea!” Scarlet gets all excited.

“That’s up to Master.” Oliver smiles again like the doofus he was before his backstory was revealed.

“What does that mean?” San is confused.

“It means we’re staying for the night!” Scarlet is looking all bubbly.

“I suppose we’re continuing dealing with these issues.” Matilda doesn’t mind. In fact, she looks relieved.

“Buuut… and it’s a big but!” Scarlet interrupts. Like hers? “I don’t have a change of clothes. Maybe I should go back to the dorm and bring some. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being in our uniform all day – and they aren’t comfortable to sleep in.”

“You don’t need to. I can lend you some.” Matilda finds it unnecessary. “Johnny lives close by, so it’s not an issue for him.”

“I don’t know, we don’t have the same style.” Scarlet is unsure as she stares at San.

“It’s just for the day...” Matilda doesn’t get why Scarlet is being this obtuse.

“I mean, it wouldn’t take me that long, y’know?” Scarlet is determined.

“…This is an euphemism of sorts, right? You don’t think they’ll fit you, is that it?” Matilda beats the purpose of the supposed euphemism with her obliviousness.

“I-I don’t remember what that is, but that’s not it at all!” Scarlet gets embarrassed. Then nudges you. “Don’t laugh!”

“I-I haven’t…” You didn’t do anything yet!

“I did.” Oliver found it funny. Scarlet glares at him.

“Ms. Matilda can provide any type of clothing of your choosing. As you can see, I selected the most comfortable ones.” San shows her Matilda brand clothes with pride.

“N-Not feeling them if I’m honest.” Scarlet is being picky. San didn’t like that.

What do you do?

>Let Scarlet go for a change of clothes and do the same.
>Go to your apartment with Scarlet. Maybe one of the other girls you know can lend Scarlet some clothes?
>Stay here. Deal with the stuff as it is. You’ve got important stuff to do.
>Write In.

>>4741824
>>Go to your apartment with Scarlet. Maybe one of the other girls you know can lend Scarlet some clothes?

>>4741824
>Go to your apartment with Scarlet. Maybe one of the other girls you know can lend Scarlet some clothes?

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“Hey Scarlet, why don’t you come with me to my apartment? I’m sure one of the girls I know can lend you some clothes more akin to your style.” You propose as nicely as you can.

“What girls do you know?” Scarlet isn’t sure what you’re scheming.

“Yes, please elaborate.” Matilda is curious too.

“Yes.” San nods too.

“You know, neighbors, among them is Amelia. I feel like you can sort something out with them. They are all nice, and they have some nice outfits.” You try to be vague because you have a bad feeling about going into too much detail.

“I feel like it would be super awkward asking clothes from them even if they are nice. And even if I find some of Amelia’s clothes really cute and we’re close, they definitely aren’t my style at all.” Scarlet isn’t sure if this is the answer.

“So it is a euphemism…” Matilda found the answer she needed.

“It’s possible to befriend the bear…?” Oliver is surprised by Scarlet’s skills. Sheesh, your sister is really socially inept…

“Scarlet, be realistic, going to your dorm and back. It's going to take like almost 2 hours, and that’s not counting how long it's going to take you to pick some clothes.” You remember when you bought clothes together, it took long because she’s quite picky… and the clothes weren’t even for her! “To my home is like a 10-minute walk. Instead of wasting a couple of hours travelling, waste them trying some clothes instead.”

“Aren’t you exaggerating just a tiny little bit? I’m not that slow.” Scarlet is one tough cookie to crack sometimes at the most random moments. “I guess you’re right, but I don’t know if I want to...”

“This reminds me of something… I thought you loved trying on new clothes for Johnny.” Matilda chimes in.

“H-Huh?” Scarlet is confused by this assertion. “What…?”

“I saw a pic of you obscenely showing your cleavage on Johnny’s phone by accident. Care to explain what was all that about?” Matilda is digging into this issue too deep! “At first, I thought it was a poor attempt at flirting, and perhaps you two were dating since Johnny probably doesn’t know any better. But judging by your behavior now, it doesn’t seem to be the case. We have time to waste since you have decided to stay here and Johnny will be gone for a little while.”

“N-No, that’s fine. I-I’ll go with Johnny now! B-Bye!” Scarlet runs away, all embarrassed.

“Take care.” San waves goodbye. Oliver just stands there, confused.

“We’ll be back in a few.” You say good-bye and ignore the elephant in the room that just appeared. You want to think Matilda did this to convince Scarlet to go with you, but you have a hunch she’s genuinely curious…

You left the Dojo in a hurry. You find Scarlet outside, looking like a tomato…

>>4741984

You have many alternatives to pick from, you feel like Scarlet will go with whatever since she’s too embarrassed to choose herself. Amelia, Nariko, Yu Yan, Ruby and Ajna are all alternatives...

Sadly this decision will be made next time. Thanks for playing! And see you next time!

>>4741987
Thanks for running, real good thread!

>>4741656
That's a 10/10 sweater right there.

>>4741984
>>4741987
Good thread, looking forward to the next one