File: it's the opening again!!!.jpg (47 KB, 474x474)

47 KB JPG

previous: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Mahiru

FAQ

Q: What the hell are you doing?
I still don’t know bro

Q: You’re a liar, you meanie :(. You said this would be up in September?
Yup, I’m a lazy sack of shit. Sorry. Excuses are for bitches. Ignore the fact that I am a little bitch

Q: What is this thing?
This is a multiplayer Madoka quest, where some gucas made magical girls and are fucking around in a world of my design. We currently have three players, including our resident autist Clover, aristocratic abomination Hermione, and normal girl Lorene.

Q: How do I play if I’m not one of those three girls?
Unfortunately, I’m a hack and I’m still uncertain on if I can maintain narrative integrity while adding in more gucas. I still want this whole story to have a beginning and an end, after all. However, I have two things for readers. Firstly, you all get to vote in the upcoming interlude! Yay! Secondly, if a new magical girl is created as a result of the players’ actions (probably Hermione), that girl will be piloted by popular vote. Hopefully reading along is passable enough regardless.

Q: Who even is the girl who hates the cold?
Gotta vote for her to find out. (She’s the Witch they murdered)

Anyway, enough fucking around, let’s get this show on the road.

File: awesome host.jpg (334 KB, 700x700)

334 KB JPG

Intermission

In the deep abyss of dreams, an old TV flickers on.

“…It’s been a while, hm?”

A blonde girl stares through the screen from the other side, hand on her chin as she smiles.

“For those of you who are new here, welcome! For our dear returners, welcome back! I’m your host, Cia. As promised last time, we managed to reserve the opening slot!”

A stock clip of polite clapping plays.

“Thank you, thank you very much! I’m so glad to see you’re all excited!”

She snaps her fingers, and brief clips of four different girls play on the screen.

“We have a marvelous selection of interludes for you to choose from tonight, a glimpse into the past of one of these four magical girls! We take audience polling very seriously, so your top pick will be our star opener, before we dive back into the main story!”

The clapping stops. The girl’s eyes become serious.

“Now, before we get started, I have to give you fair warning. We’re no longer in the first act of this little play. Things are only going to get darker from here. …You could die, depending on your decisions. That girl won’t pull any punches. But…”

The girl puts up a peace sign, sticking out her tongue playfully.

“Before that whole mess begins, let’s lighten up the mood with a (somewhat) heartwarming story! Though it might depend on who you pick, haha… Why don’t you take a look at your options?”

The girl spreads her arms wide, gesturing to the images behind her with a grin.

>Clover Beets
>Hermione Rockefeller
>Lorene Lovelace
>The girl who hates the cold

File: 1741752426762260.jpg (207 KB, 692x960)

207 KB JPG

>>6324435
>The girl who hates the cold

>>6324436
damn bro what the fuck you appeared instantly

Wow, is it September already…?

File: the-return-of-the-king-lo(...).gif (139 KB, 220x87)

139 KB GIF

>>6324430
>PIC VERY RELATED!
HOWLy shit OP I was just beginning to lose hope and I'm so so happy to be proven wrong! So glad you're back :)

>The girl who hates the cold

>>6324461
nah it's still august

>>6324475
that's my area of expertise, making people lose hope :P

alright i'll wait like an hour more or something then just roll

>>6324521
Dude we both voted for cold girl

>>6324533
Roll as in lets get the show rolling. not 1d2

>>6324533
yeah i know x) hermione is right, i meant post the first post.

Sorry gals I'm a little special needs my bad

File: whaaaaaat.jpg (105 KB, 850x850)

105 KB JPG

>The girl who hates the cold

"Ehhhhhh? You guys wanted to hear more about her?" The girl bursts out laughing. "How interesting! Me personally, I'd have just let bygones be bygones, since her story's gonna end in tragedy anyway, but if that's what you all want!"

She holds up a hand, about to snap once more, then pauses.

"Right, one last thing. We may not be able to interact with the past as much as Madoka could, but you guys can still nudge her along! A lot of things may be set in stone, but maybe you could make her a little happier before the end?"

The girl's eyes grow a little colder.

"Not that it matters too much. After all, she's just another one of those idiots who wasted her wish on nothing."

The girl snaps. The curtain falls.

File: autumn.jpg (331 KB, 1920x1080)

331 KB JPG

“…Hey. Why are you crying?”

A girl sniffles, coated in a light dusting of snow, as winter clouds block the sky in an overcoat of grey. “…No one wants to play with me.”

“Huh. Me too! We should stick together!”

The girl looks up, a little shocked, and sees another girl smiling at her, tears in her eyes just like her own. That day, a friendship was formed underneath the frozen branches of a snow-laden tree.

~~~

“Bleeeeh, I’m so dead!!”

“Haha come on, Alice, it wasn’t that bad.”

It's autumn. The leaves are turning orange, the heat of the summer is beginning to fade, and the school year has begun once more. With it, old friends are reunited, new friends are made, and the ever-present tides of change come to the fore, as children enter a new year of their lives. The panicking girl pouts. “No, it was! It really was! He’s gonna make me present all over again! Why did I even think it was a good idea to try to put in a joke???”

Her friend giggles. “Well, I thought it was funny.”

“That’s not fair! That’s because you know me!!” The girl crosses her arms with a huff. “I can’t show my face in that class ever again.”

The end of the school day was Alice’s favorite part of the day. Of course, the fact that school was finally over played a large part in that, but by far what she enjoyed the most about it was that she got to walk home with her best friend. Classmates and acquaintances had come and gone over the years, but Sophie and her had been best friends forever.

…Though, there could be a disruption to that comfortable schedule soon.

File: sophie.jpg (132 KB, 850x1460)

132 KB JPG

“Hey, Sophie?”

“Hmm?” The brown-haired girl looks back at her with a smile.

“…Are you really going to join the art club?”

“Yeah! I think so?”

Alice kicks a pebble along the road. “What’s so cool about art anyway? Isn’t it just a bunch of random paint splashes? You can just take pictures of stuff nowadays, anyway.”

Sophie’s eyes sparkle as she whirls around to grab her hands excitedly. “That’s the thing! It can seem like random colors and lines, but there’s so many layers to it! Sure, some abstract art is meaningless garbage, but other pieces can have so much artistry in each brushstroke! And that’s just abstract art! Portraits and realistic pieces might seem like they’re just trying to mimic the real world, but there’s so much nuance in how they frame the subject, the lighting, and-!”

The words all start to blur together in her mind as her friend goes on a passionate speech, but she was happy for her. She was supposed to be happy for her. Sophie had found something she cared this much about. It was good news, great news. She just had the unsettling feeling that this was the beginning of the end for something precious.

“-right???”

“Huh?” Alice blinked, then let out a nervous laugh. “Haha yeah…”

“Anyway, the first meeting is going to be next Monday, and I’m pretty excited. I wonder if there are other people who see it like I do?” Sophie lets go of her hands, and they resume walking back toward their neighborhood, the art-lover humming all the way.

“…Hey Sophie?”

“Yeah?”

“Does the art club have meetings every day after school?”

“I think so! Sometimes there are weekend trips to the museum too!”

“Ah.” Alice looks down at her feet for a moment, before putting on a jokey grin and throwing an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, who am I gonna walk home with, then? You’d really leave your best friend all alone?”

“Hmm, you bring up a good point…” Sophie puts a hand to her chin. “Why don’t you just join the art club too, then? We can walk home together after the meetings like usual!”

Alice blinks. She didn’t really care about art, but that was a possibility. If she were to join, they could keep up their same routine?

>Join the art club.
>Don’t.

>>6324552
>Join the art club.

>>6324552
>join

>>6324545
don't worry about it, we're all special needs here

also i'm still not a graphic designer, shit looks so ugly and i should use more formatting, FUCK

File: clubroom.jpg (100 KB, 1192x670)

100 KB JPG

>Join the art club.

The bell rings. Classes are over.

Alice drags her feet as she shuffles slowly to the clubroom. It really wasn’t that bad, she told herself. Sitting around for an hour was basically nothing. Sometimes she got to chat with Sophie, too.

When she arrives, her friend is already there, surrounded by a circle of her newest buddies.

“Whoa, how did you do the colors on that painting, Sophie?!”
“The sunset looks so vibrant!”
“The shading looks so natural, and frames the subject perfectly!”

“Haha, thanks everyone… I just really had this image in my head I wanted to get down, so I took my canvas home yesterday and worked on it all night…” Sophie sheepishly scratches her head, nearly overwhelmed with praise. When she notices a certain girl entering the room, she perks up and waves at her. “Hey, Alice!!!”

Alice gives a half-hearted wave in reply. “Hi, Sophie.”

The art-lover is quickly swept back up into another conversation, and Alice simply makes her way to the back of the clubroom quietly, sitting by her usual corner easel. Eventually, after agonizing minutes of trying to tune out the excited chatter next to her, the art teacher makes it into the room. The other club members finally quiet down.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone! I was busy getting together some examples of impressionist landscapes, like Lily requested. I was thinking we could do our usual discussion and analysis of these pieces to start the meeting off, then try to do some rough sketches of our own in the last fifteen minutes!”

The lights are dimmed, and the first piece is projected onto the wall. The teacher begins to give some background history on the artwork. Alice yawns and leans back against the warm window, staring up at the ceiling blankly.

At first, she tried, she really did. She tried to force herself to like art. She tried to force herself to see all the random intricacies and details her clubmates pointed out, tried to appreciate them as much as they did. But, eventually, she found out it was pointless. The vase of daisies was just a vase of daisies. The flowers being wobbly meant nothing to her.

The teacher stopped calling on her for comments after the fifth time she said she didn’t know.

File: huge art lover.jpg (89 KB, 850x1133)

89 KB JPG

“…Alright, that’s it for today! I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

When the hour mercifully comes to an end, Alice stands and stretches, grabbing her bag before looking for her friend. Sophie was on the other side of the room, looking at another girl’s canvas, giving hushed yet excited comments.

Alice glances to the side, politely waiting a moment, but Sophie was still going. She eventually sighs, and starts to head over to her. “Hey, Sophie, you ready to-?”

“Sophie!! Lily!! Do you want to grab some food with us?!”

Two club members, whom Alice hadn’t bothered to remember the names of, burst into the conversation excitedly. Lily, the girl at the canvas, nods eagerly. Sophie is about to as well, before she seems to remember something. “Sorry, I usually walk home with…” She glances around, before seeing her. “Alice!” Her smile was still genuine. “Do you want to go grab some food quickly before heading back home?”

…

>Sure!
>No, not really.

oh yeah, also, don't feel confined to the presented options!!!!!! you guys can always try to write-in and do what you want, these are just the things alice immediately thinks of doing!

>>6324600
>Sure
Food's food. If it gets annoying and Lily isn't cool either we can dip out early

i'm gonna sleep
in tradition with the first thread, if you ever have any questions or problems with anything, just let a brother know
i also reserve the right to write what i want
and yes i'm still a fucking wagie, FUCK-

>>6324600
>Sure!

>>6324600
>Damn straight bitch can't live on anime and rice alone hahaha shieeeeett

>>6324751
>>6324600
I'm amending my vote so that we say this specifically

File: what did i just sayyyy.jpg (113 KB, 1200x1078)

113 KB JPG

>Say that specifically.

The eyes of four people on her, Alice’s brain short-circuits.

“D-d-damn straight, b-bitch, can’t live on a-anime and rice alone ahhahahahahaaaaa…?”

The four people blink. The girl feels like jumping out of the window and dying. Sophie covers her mouth to hide her giggle, but her shoulders shake from laughter. “W-what even was that, Alice? Say it again, say it again!”

“aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAA let’s just go eat!!!!”

~~~

“So then, the teacher had to ask one of the boys to go kill the cockroach!!”

“Haha!” Sophie wipes a tear from her eye. “You know, that reminds me of when-!”

“Sophieeeee!!! Which art museum do you want to go to this weekend??” One of the other club members interrupts their conversation, hugging said girl tightly.

“Oh hey Hannah!! I was thinking we might check out [REDACTED] Metropolitan, I hear they’re reopening their classical gallery to the public!”

As Sophie is swept up into the larger group conversation, Alice is left to simply watch from behind. For the briefest of moments, she thinks of reaching out to drag back her best friend, but it’d be kinda weird and rude. And she looks so happy, still. The girl sighs, and just continues to walk, trailing the others from behind.

“S-sophie’s so popular now, h-huh?”

“Hm?” A little startled, Alice glances to her side. Lily stares at the three girls in front of them longingly. “…I guess?”

“I… I’ve gotta be more like her…!” The mousy girl rushes forward to join the conversation over art. Alice just watches, her brain caught in a loop. Sophie… was popular now? That girl, the shy girl who’d been by her side for years, the girl who’d been her only friend for all this time, the girl who’d been crying in the snow because no one wanted to play with her, she was… popular?

File: december.jpg (794 KB, 1800x1215)

794 KB JPG

It wasn’t much longer until their precious after-school routine was broken, only a month or two after that afternoon with impressionist art. Lily had wanted Sophie’s help with her self-portrait. Sophie apologized profusely the next day, but it was a pattern that kept recurring. Eventually, Alice would be lucky if she had two days to walk home with her friend each week. That hour in art club became more and more miserable with each passing day.

It was December. Technically, the anniversary of their friendship was coming up soon. The art club had a winter trip planned, to a cabin by a local lake. They were going to be ice-skating, sketching out landscapes, and huddling by the fireplace with hot cocoa while they watched art documentaries. It seemed like it’d probably be fun.

“Whaaat, how come you don’t want to go, Alice?”

It was a rare afternoon where she actually got to walk home with Sophie. “I just… don’t really feel like it too much, I guess haha… I don’t really know anyone else in the club that well.”

Sophie pouts. “Come onnn, you talk with Lily and Hannah sometimes, right?”

Not really.

“Ally and Jack are pretty cool too! You’ll have tons of fun hanging out, I’ll make sure of it!”

She said they’d be able to keep up their after-school routine, too.

“Pleeease, Alice? It just wouldn’t be the same without you there!”

So Sophie was going to go, whether she wanted her to or not.

>Go on the winter trip.
>Don’t.

File: Crystalis farming.png (1.49 MB, 1280x787)

1.49 MB PNG

>>6325040
>Go on the winter trip.

>>6325040
>Don’t.

we aren't having fun already, let's let our friend miss us a bit

>“D-d-damn straight, b-bitch
lol'd heartily

>>6325040
>Don't
Howlmie we're 'The Girl Who Hates The Cold', not 'The Girl Who Goes To A Place Suspiciously Like Where We Kicked Her Witch Ass'

File: popular girl.jpg (104 KB, 850x1109)

104 KB JPG

>Don’t.

“You sure?”

Alice forces a smile. “Yeah.”

“You suuure?? We’re gonna bake some cookies too, I know you love sweets!”

Her smile is straining at the seams. “I’m fine. You should go without me.”

Sophie frowns, staring intently at Alice’s face. After a prolonged moment, she sighs. “Haaah, okay. I’ll be sure to bring a cookie or two back for you, okay?”

“That sounds great.”

The two of them are silent for the rest of the walk home.

~~~

December 16th. The day they first became friends.

Alice stares down at the ground, sitting underneath a certain tree from years ago. This winter felt colder than usual. Instead of super fluffy snow, most things were just frozen over in slick ice. Probably good for ice skating, she mused.

An icy breeze blows through, and the girl shivers. She rubs her hands together, breathing hot air onto them to try to warm them even a little bit, before pulling out her phone. No messages, yet. As expected. Sophie was on her super fun winter trip with her art club friends, after all. The girl puts her phone away.

“Haa… haaahh…”

The girl brings her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly as she presses her face into her stockings. Winter had never quite felt this biting before.

For the first time in a long while, she was spending this day alone.

~~~

“So then, Jack tried to hit me with a snowball, but he accidentally knocked into a tree, causing all the snow to fall onto him instead!!”

Sophie’s laughing as she gushes about the trip. Alice can only focus on the fact that she never got a message.

“That last night, watching the horror movie while we were all huddled up around the fire, it really was the best! You really should’ve gone, Alice, we all missed you so much!”

If she did, she would’ve sent that message.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot!” Sophie reaches into her bag, rummaging around, before pulling out a small bag with two cookies. “Here, like I promised!” She sticks out her tongue. “They might be smushed a little bit, there was this whole thing where someone sat on my bag, but they were made with love, okay!!”

Sophie presses it into her hands with a smile. The girl stares down at the small crumpled bag of cookies.

>Let her know how you feel.
>Smile and thank her.

>>6325099
>Let her know how you feel.

>>6325099
>Let her know how you feel.
Might as well rip the Band-Aid off now

both of these are dangerous

>Let her know how you feel
and all the bottled up shit will blow up like a cork on champagne. if we don't know what we feel and we can't manage it, then its fucked

>Smile and thank her.
but if you keep it in then the feelings and insecurities will only get worse over time, and if the relationship dies here then we'll be eaten alive by regret.

the ideal would be to explain our feelings /CALMLY/ like Dumbledore in the book, not the movie, but since that may be too hard i offer the following, sensitive alternative:

>"Soldier, my main man, am 'the girl who hates the cold', not 'the girl who likes cookies with ass'

File: it's cold.jpg (462 KB, 1344x756)

462 KB JPG

>Let her know how you feel.

“…I hate you.”

Winter clouds block the sky in an overcoat of grey. Sophie blinks. “…Eh?”

“I hate you, Sophie!”

that day a friendship was formed underneath the frozen branches of a snow-laden tree. “W-what do you-?”

Alice throws the cookies to the ground, stomping on them furiously. “I hate you, I hate art, I hate walking home after school every day! Every single day, I have to sit in that fucking art room for a never-ending hour, and every single day, I have to pretend to be happy and wait patiently just so I can get a crumb of my friend’s attention! Why couldn’t you notice? Why couldn’t you see how miserable it was for me, every single fucking second I spent there?”

Alice shoves Sophie away.

“You promised! You said we’d be able to keep walking home after school like usual! You said you’d always remember that day we met! But no, now you have new friends! Now you have friends who like what you like, and talk about what you like talking about! Everything’s good for Sophie now, right?! She gets her art club, she gets to be popular, and she gets to keep her old best friend hanging around every day for her too!!”

The girl laughs hysterically, laughs until her breath fails her.

“It’s so perfect! All of it! How lucky, Sophie! You get to live such a perfect fucking life, with everything you could have ever wanted, while I get to be surrounded by people and everything I hate!”

Tears streaming down her face, the girl can’t hold it back any longer.

“You’re the worst, Sophie. I wish I never became friends with you.”

…Snow gently falls, covering the two in a light dust. Alice breathes heavily, her breaths rising like smoke to the winter sky as she stares down at her feet. Eventually, she looks up.

“…” Sophie’s lip is trembling. Tears are forming at the corner of her eyes. Her heartfelt cookies were smashed into oblivion. Instantly, the girl wishes she could take back what she said, and instantly, she knew it was far too late.

Sophie runs home, crying all the way.

>>6325242
>>6325231
Yea sorry big dog I don't think that was as calm as you wanted

File: alice cenhelm.jpg (228 KB, 659x1618)

228 KB JPG

…It’s cold. It’s really cold.

Alice huddles underneath a frozen tree, shivering, curled up into a small ball. Her jacket is coated in a deep layer of frost. She can’t feel her face anymore.

“Haa… hahahaaaa…!”

The sun is gone. Her phone has thirty missed calls from her mom.

What an idiot. What a stupid fucking idiot.

Alice shoves her face deeper into her knees. Biting her lip, she can’t hold back from crying any longer. With the cold wind howling around her, it feels as if the tears are freezing right on her face.

…

/ 人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼: Hello, Alice!

The girl continues to sob. The white feline pads a bit closer, before putting its paw on her hand. Startled, the girl jerks back and looks up, tears and snot still smeared across her face.

/ 人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼: Hello there, Alice Cenhelm!

The girl blinks, still shaking from the cold. “W-what- who are you?”

The cat tilts its head to the side.

/ 人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼: My name is Kyubey! I have a request for you!

Its red beady eyes seem to stare straight through her own.

/ 人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼: Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!

File: spring.jpg (314 KB, 900x600)

314 KB JPG

~~~

Winter eventually came to an end.

The girl’s footsteps clack as she walks down the hall. She stops in front of a certain door. For the first time in three months, she’d be stepping into that clubroom once more. She takes a deep breath, before taking the plunge.

“S-sophie! Can I talk to you?!”

The sounds of paintbrushes scratching at their easels slowly comes to a stop. The entire room turns to look at the girl in the doorway.

From her easel in the back, Sophie slowly stands. The girl sitting next to her tries to grab her hand, but Sophie shakes her head with a shaky smile. She looks up at Alice. “S-sure! Let’s talk!”

They walk down the hall in silence. Both of them are shaking a little, yet both of them try not to let the other see. Alice leads her to the grassy courtyard outside, where they both stand beneath a large oak tree. Green leaves are beginning to bud once more, as the warm spring sun shines down through its branches.

File: friend.jpg (145 KB, 850x1133)

145 KB JPG

The girl turns to face her old friend. “I… Sophie, I’m sorry!”

She looks down at her feet, clasping her hands tightly. She’s not strong enough to look at her right now.

“I-I’m sorry, I really am!” Her voice is shaking. Despite rehearsing it countless times, the words won’t come out right. “I know nothing I say can make up for what I said, but I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I loved being your friend. I loved being able to spend time with you. You’re the only reason why every day at school was so fun for me, through all these years!”

Though she tries, she can’t hold back her tears.

“I’m sorry for being such a horrible person! You found something you truly, genuinely loved, and I was scared! I didn’t want to lose my only friend! I was selfishly trying to hold onto you, selfishly wanting to keep you all for myself! When I saw how much fun you could have without me, I felt like I was being left behind!”

Her hands are trembling. Her voice is cracking.

“I was wrong! I was selfish! And, and- I want you to know that you did nothing wrong! So please, forget all those horrible words I said to you! I didn’t mean any of it at all!”

The girl pants. That was it, right? That was all she wanted to say? No, no, she was a dumbass, she forgot the cookies, the cookies-! Alice scrambles for her bag, rummaging for the small sachet of cookies while her tears blur her vision.

“And- and- I baked some-!”

A warm embrace takes her, bringing her out of the cold. “I… I’m sorry too.”

Alice blinks, her friend’s arms wrapping tightly around her.

“I should’ve noticed how much pain you were going through. I should’ve seen how much you hated the club, should’ve known that you were doing it all just for me.”

Sophie’s crying too.

“I was a bad friend. I was a really bad friend. I was so caught up in everything that I forgot to message you on the day we met!”

Alice whimpers, then begins sobbing anew, hugging her best friend tightly. That spring, the frost that had covered their hearts finally thawed, and the eternal winter had finally come to an end.

File: cookies.jpg (248 KB, 960x640)

248 KB JPG

When the tears subsided, the two sat down together underneath the tree.

Alice giggles, still a little light-headed from the rush of emotions. She holds up a small bag of cookies. “I-I actually baked some cookies for you, Sophie, but now they’re all smushed because of that hug.”

Sophie laughs, hugging her friend tightly. “That’s hilarious! I guess it’s payback for what I tried to hand to you in December!”

Alice sniffles, crying happy tears while she stares at the crumbled cookies in her hand. “You know, I really am such an idiot…!”

…

“You know, you really are such an idiot.”

A girl pants, blood dripping from her mouth. Countless red strings surround her, hanging her up against the abandoned factory wall.

File: Spoiler Image (91 KB, 850x964)

91 KB JPG

“What was your wish again? That you could apologize to your friend?”

“Fuck you.” The girl spits, red phlegm spattering on the dusty concrete floor.

“I suppose it did give you something useful. Being able to send out messages to anyone is pretty decent, as far as magic goes.” The magical girl smiles, swinging her cane around lazily. “As long as you have recipients, that is.”

The girl remains silent, trying to squirm against the thin fibers locking her in place.

“Still, arranging an in-person meeting? When you know the killer could have been listening too? There weren’t many things you could’ve done that would have been dumber than that.”

She already knew she was a dumbass. She didn’t need to be reminded. As long as the other magical girls could be safer, that’s all she cared about.

“And, you know what the best part is?” The blonde girl sits on an old crate, resting her chin on her hand. “You actually helped me out quite a bit! I wouldn’t be able to do this if it weren’t for you!”

…what. Alice slowly looks up.

“I hadn’t realized Kyubey managed to contract two other girls in the city! In fact, after tracking you down, I thought I’d be pretty much done!”

No. No no no, she was lying, that couldn’t be right.

“So thanks, messenger-girl! You helped me find who I may have to deal with next!”

Did she fuck up? Did she really fuck up? Are those girls going to be killed now because of her-?

The blonde girl presses onto her soul gem. The girl screams out in pain. “You know, there’s still another way you could help me out! It’s almost comical, how much help you’re giving me!”

No. Please no. She couldn’t Witch out. Not here. Not now.

The blonde girl grins. “I’ll use you to see just what they’re capable of! After all, it’s best to go into these things prepared!”

The girl’s soul gem cracks.

---Ѧ The Girl who Hates the Cold, End Ѧ---

File: the girl who hates the cold.jpg (151 KB, 850x1294)

151 KB JPG

...aaaaaand that was the girl who hates the cold! hope you guys enjoyed! intro posts hopefully tonight, maybe tomorrow!

damn i still need to use more formatting, huh

Huh. Well that's not good. That was that dork I met in the library, wasn't it...

man i fucking hate the cold

>>6325312
>more formatting
You're fine, QM. A story can stand without such stuff.
>just let a brother know
It's just the usage of ..., !!, Haa...haa, and aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAA, that sort of irks, when you could use verbs instead to make it more succinct, but that's just style preferences i m o.

I'm a washed-up wagie

>>6325043
accurate

>>6325326
well, we'll see

>>6325329
don't we all

>>6325535
Many thanks for feedback, it is truly appreciated. Good to know that can be annoying, admittedly that was largely the result of me trying to get into the ultra anime girl mindset that is Alice (can't exactly imagine Hermione's sections using those things, for example), but I will be more wary of those cheap tricks in the future. Please continue to offer frequent feedback whenever things are dogshit

>>6325544
>dogshit
It's just preferences.
For example I dislike the script style for dialogue, because I believed when mixed with actions sentence reads better like this:
"What are you going to do? Sta—" The critic was stabbed. "Fuck."
Rather than
Critic: What are you going to do? Sta—
He was stabbed
Critic: Fuck
Both work. Though I personally believe the former allows for more slipping in of little quirks than the latter

Gomen for not posting yet but Lorene is still alive! I will be a bit more available tomorrow…

>>6325546
i love the latter form because it's always clear who is saying what. i err towards the side of redundance cause me myself tend to get lost a lot when reading dialogue, and i want people as dumb as me to be comfy. its very important to keep in mind that this is a matter of preference rather than form, else you end up correcting a style that's not wrong to begin with

that being said: whats everyone opinion on japanese honorifics? ive always found them annoying until i realized that they do convey meaning in their own culture, then i've learned to suck them up

>>6325552
Wolves display respect and deference to their superiors, AKA 'The Alpha', by rolling over on their backs and displaying their bellies! The Alpha displays tolerance of the submissive wolf by standing over them, but not delivering a killing blow! Don't freak out though--oftentimes displays of submission aren't just to avoid a Wolf War! Cubs will perform what's known as 'Active Submission' to receive food from their elders... this can include licking the Alpha's muzzle, tucking their fuzzy wittle tails between their legs, and so much more! Why even bother with silly names and titles when your body can say things so much clearer? Wolves--we could learn a thing or two from them, am I right? Lemme get an 'AWOO' if you agree! #PackTacts

File: awooo.png (84 KB, 640x640)

84 KB PNG

>>6325557
#PackTacts

File: illusory girl.jpg (321 KB, 1024x1448)

321 KB JPG

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

€ Hermione Rockefeller €
Age: 14

Profile: The world is divided into the haves and the have-nots. It is the role of the haves to rule, and the role of the have-nots to kneel. If everyone just accepted their place in society, the world would be an orderly place. With her at the top, of course.

Hermione Rockefeller was born in the lap of luxury. Her family once ruled the nation with their monopoly, and the benefit of that fortune persisted through the generations. As an inheritor of that prestigious line, she was destined for greatness, destined for all the admiration of her peers, and yet- she’d had none of that at all. Crippled by generations of inbreeding, and about as attractive as vomit, she eventually discovered that almost all her classmates preferred to flock around those whores blessed with beauty, no matter how much money she threw around from her allowance. It wasn’t fair. She was supposed to have it all. And she would have it all, for that was her birthright.

Magical power: Illusions. Those girls really weren’t as pretty as they thought they were, and she was actually very attractive, thank you very much. Limited to visual images. Can extend to fill a room.

Stats:
£ Physical Affinity: 1 / Weak as shit, but brute strength is for commoners anyway.
λ Magical Affinity: 5 / The world is exactly how she pictures it.
彡 Dexterity: 3 / Barely average, but that’s what chauffeurs are for.
メ Perception: 2 / She couldn’t care less about what those mongrels were doing.
⸫ Wisdom: 4 / Can understand enough to get what she wants.
π Intelligence: 6 / At the very least, her mind wasn’t crippled by all the congenital defects.
ღ Charisma: 7 / What she wants is what she gets.
φ Mind: 3 / She definitely doesn’t get scared or nervous or shaky or self-conscious, because that would be beneath her.
Ω Constitution: 3 / Don’t call her wimpy.

Wish: Respect.

File: it's lorene!.jpg (109 KB, 850x1202)

109 KB JPG

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

Ѫ Lorene Lovelace Ѫ
Age: 14

Profile: Being poor sucks. Being taken advantage of sucks even more. That was a lesson Lorene had to learn on her own.

The world can be a dangerous place. The Lovelaces were very kind, trusting, neighborly members of their community, the very picture of generosity, but in a world this cruel and messed up, such kindness was weakness. Very few are deserving of trust, and even fewer can earn it. The only way to survive in this world is to doubt everything and everyone. It’s a lesson her family never seems to learn. She would be different. Having watched her father’s kindness been used against them time and time again, she swore then and there that she wouldn’t fall into the same trap. For their sake, she’d confront the reality of this corrupt world head-on.

Magical Power: Memory erasure. If someone can’t remember something, they can’t use it against you. Lorene can make people forget things she’d rather they not remember. Once erased, those memories can never be reclaimed. Able to target herself.

Stats:
£ Physical Affinity: 7 / She’s strong, holy fuck is she strong.
λ Magical Affinity: 2 / Deception is for swindlers and conmen.
彡 Dexterity: 4 / Fast enough.
メ Perception: 3 / Might miss a few details.
⸫ Wisdom: 4 / Truly understanding others’ intentions is indispensable.
π Intelligence: 3 / School doesn’t teach you what you really need to know.
ღ Charisma: 2 / The truth needs no embellishment.
φ Mind: 4 / Backing down is how they get you.
Ω Constitution: 5 / Tough enough to keep going, despite the pain.

Wish: End my family’s debts.

File: it's clover!.jpg (139 KB, 850x1200)

139 KB JPG

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

χ Clover Beets χ
Age: 13

Profile: On all levels but physical, Clover Beets is a wolf.

Wolves are awesome. Gaming is awesome. Being cool is awesome. Clover’s a very simple girl. If all these things are so fucking awesome, who wouldn’t sign a deal to make her life peak existence? She gets to have a pack, she gets to go on hunts, she gets to show her older brother Henry that she’s NOT an autist and is actually the coolest person in the world! Life sometimes sucks, like when mom died and dad kept buying beer and no one wants to talk to the wolf-girl at school because of her totally intimidating aura, but when you’re a wolf, life’s great! …For the most part. Things never seem to go the way she wants, and it always seems like she messes things up one way or another, but whatever the case, wolves just have to keep moving forward!

Magical power: Pack-leader. Sure, that one documentary mentioned that wolves sometimes kill other wolves and rarely accept others into their pack, but that’s not how true wolves do it! True wolves earn the respect of their comrades, and lead a gang despite also being loners somehow! Has the ability to accept people into her pack. Pack members must willingly join, and willingly wear the wolf-ear headbands she manifests to remain part of the pack. Currently has no pack members.

Can also talk to dogs now. Not cats though, they’re lame.

Stats:
£ Physical Affinity: 5 / Strong enough to protect her pack!
λ Magical Affinity: 4 / Joining her pack is definitely really cool and not a scam!
彡 Dexterity: 5 / Fast enough to hunt!
メ Perception: 5 / Surprisingly observant. Aware of when things are getting dangerous.
⸫ Wisdom: 4 / Wise enough to understand her pack!
π Intelligence: 2 / Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but that’s just according to lame schools!
ღ Charisma: 2 / Cursed and blessed to be a lone wolf…
φ Mind: 3 / H-hey, how about you try that when she has back-up?!?!
Ω Constitution: 4 / Can take a hit or two!

Wish: To form the largest wolf pack in the world! No, n-not friends! PACK MEMBERS!

File: it's summer!.jpg (520 KB, 1055x692)

520 KB JPG

The Witch was slain. Under clear summer skies, a grief seed softly descends.

€ Hermione Rockefeller €

Soaked through to the bone, Hermione had quite enough of this hugging nonsense. It was one thing to be wearing damp clothes, quite another to be literally dripping wet, and beyond either of those to be literally dripping wet while forced into an unpleasant group hug by a delusional peasant who believed she was a wolf. At this point, pondering whether it would be in ‘Beatrice’s’ character to push them away was beginning to become irrelevant.

Hermione was here for one reason, and one reason alone: to lay claim to a grief seed. She had no personal need for one at the moment, but it would serve as quite useful leverage in any future magical girl dealings. Beyond that, there was no point to staying any longer. Her first encounter with a Witch did go rather tumultuously at times, and she did have to admit that Beets had helped her up initially after the beast broke through the ice, but this was still a business outing, and needed to be concluded as one. She had an appointment with her mother to attend to, after all.

Ѫ Lorene Lovelace Ѫ

With the slightest smile on her face, Lorene found Clover’s constant excitability somewhat endearing. It was a little surprising she could keep this up after seeing a dead body just a few hours before, but Lorene couldn’t deny the fact that there was always a bit of a thrill after taking down a Witch. The fact that she had someone to back her up during the fight was surprisingly nice as well; all her previous Witch hunts had been solo endeavors.

However, while the hug was fine and all, there were things she had to do. Her parents were still missing, she’d left Olivia behind rather abruptly, and she’d rather not waste time on either of those fronts for much longer. Besides, while she hadn’t checked her soul gem for a while, she still had the spare grief seed from her previous hunt. One of these two could have the grief seed, depending on who needed it more.

χ Clover Beets χ

‘Beatrice’ and Lorene both break away from the hug at the same time.

“S-sorry, but I really ought to be going-!” “This was fun, but I should probably be heading-”

The stuttering homeless girl and the honorary almost-packmate speak over each other, but Clover doesn’t really care. She just punches the sky and hops around excitedly. “We did it guys! We actually did it! We were so cool, we were like an actual pack! And we all had each other’s backs like when I helped Bea up or when Lorene was about to get slammed and I zoomed in and- and-!” The girl lets out a massive howl of excitement, unable to hold it in any longer. “That was AWESOME!”

File: grief seed.png (137 KB, 441x671)

137 KB PNG

χ € Ѫ

Hermione winces at the howling shriek from the lunatic, her in-built sensibilities telling her to get as far away as possible, lest whatever psychological condition the girl was dealing with somehow proved itself contagious.

Lorene raises her hands to try to calm her down. “Yeah, yeah, it was pretty cool, and thanks for the help, Clover. I’m glad we all made it out okay.” She glances around, before stooping down and picking the grief seed up from the grass. “Alright, I found the grief seed from that Witch. Who needs it?”

The black gem floats in Lorene's hand as she holds it out in front of the two other girls. Clover glances down at the ring on her finger. …right. Her gem was definitely darker after… all that stuff happened yesterday and today.

>Who’s going to get it?

File: the great miharu.jpg (238 KB, 850x1100)

238 KB JPG

sorry for the wait! this is probably the first time (real) (actually real) where all three of you get to directly interact in person, so that's fun. debate among yourselves how you'll split up this reward. hopefully it won't come to blows

and i know it's been a while since the first thread. i've incorporated a bit of recap into your sections, but if anyone needs any actual recaps of anything, let me know. i've got enough memory in here for all of us

>>6325842
In truth Clover had more or less skimmed through all of the words that cat thing talked at her... she'd been far too preoccupied wondering how wolf pack mentality would change if the animals were naturally born with wings. Surely their migration patterns would be altered, but so would their caloric intake, even if wolves could fly high enough to coast upon air currents high above the tundras and forests. More to the point, how would hunting even WORK? It'd be a completely different process, Clover thought--one akin to hawks or eagles in which speed was the deciding factor, not so much tactics, AKA 'Packtics' as she'd grown to call them. Raptors, however, were far less dense than wolves even without the hollow bone advantage, so pulling out of a 'Death Dive' when acquiring prey would turn every hunt into a life-or-death situation, not to mention potentially tearing apart the pack hierarchy in favor of a more 'Lone Hunter' model which, if she was being honest, would turn her favorite animal and, by association, true form, into a completely different beast entirely.

In any case, Clover vaguely recalls a cloudy gem being a bad thing... turning her attention to her new pal Lor-Lor she shows off her ring with a toothy smile!

>"You're smart, Lor-Lor... this is bad, right?"

She didn't dare take the seed outright. Clover was many things, but above all she was a PACK LEADER... and pack leaders put the good of the pack over the individual... and no wolf would be going hungry under her watch, no sirree...

damn straight, we movin

>>6325842
>Steadily shining eyes. Hands outstretched. Words slowly coming as if drawn from great depths. Writ in large across bony features. Hope.
>>Lie! Sob story! Bea needs it to cement a relationship with Rocky. A lingering pride prevented her from begging her friend outright. She could get proper care for her ill dad, prevent her mom from working herself to death, and an actual home for her family to live. Could do what her brother died trying, the American Dream. She'll repay them tenfold for this, God as witness.
>>Lie! False plan! Bea was told by Rocky that it was needed to bait the weasel and that it could be used to figure out the killer. The weasel tells no lies, knows every contractee, and has senses and mind sharper than humans'; it can be used to narrow down the suspects. Like asking who uses red strings. They can bring justice for the victim. Bea would want the same for herself.
>Photograph the seed. The fake excuse being Bea wants to show Rocky. The truth is witches cannot be seen by those lacking potential. A photo should be the same. She'll present it through the Rockefeller Foundation: orphanages, shelters, hospitals, etc. Plucking candidates from squalor, she'll sponsor them in whatever they want, and gain grateful gofers and wishes.

>>6325883
well it's not me you gotta convince, it's clover here (and lorene when she shows up lmao)

you guys can talk to each other like you did in the first thread (though hermione was piloting our sweet samantha instead), if hermione lies it'll be m7 charisma vs lorene/clover's m4 wisdom if they decide to try to use hidden mechanic 1 against her
the only ones who can resolve this thing is you guys :P on hindsight, maybe we shouldn't have ended thread one on this, so we wouldn't have to start off with just a debate between you three, but it'd be unfair to just give someone the grief seed

>>6325883
Know what? I'll make this easy.
>Let 'Bea' have it.
Pack Leaders put the good of the pack over the individual... and Bea did well for someone who just showed up.

Clover might not be tip-top, but she knows read: thinks that helping someone else in need will make her feel better in kind. She's a tough gal. She's been through worse and she'll get through it too.
Awoo.

classic rita maneuver
damn, hermione just keeps winning at everything
we'll see what lorene has to say before we go

>>6325917
>if hermione lies
I will try to have her lie at least once basically every action.
>>6325923
Now we just gotta wait for Lorene. She's the one with it in hand and the sword. If she wants it there's not much we can do to stop her.
As a compensation, Hermione will tell them about the [REDACTED] so they can check it out.

>>6325926
I honestly couldn't fathom Clover taking it even if she definitely needs it (and she probably totally does), especially when someone else needs 'help'.
>>6325927
Yea I'd honestly be more shocked if Hermie told the truth haha

>>6325927
>I will try to have her lie at least once basically every action.
she's technically lying all the time already lmao

>>6325934
this is true. what a good girl (clover, not the abomination) (just kidding i love you hermione)

>>6325927
this is true in theory. lorene does have control of the situation and could try to do something funny. if it's too funny, she'll probably have to roll mind

>>6325849
“Um, you’re probably not in immediate danger but you need to be careful about your gem getting too dark, Clover. You should probably use this grief seed... Does that sound okay, Bea? How is your soul gem doing?”

>>6325959
>Make a show of reaching out and putting her hand on Lor-Lor's shoulder with fresh determination on my face
It's okay, Lor-Lor... it'll take more than a few clouds to keep this old wolf from going on the hunt... and besides...
>Spin and pose. Don't fall over. DON'T. FALL. OVER.
"Bea needs our help! She's cold, wet, and needs this Seed for her friend Rocky... and a real wolf never leaves another wolf hanging!"
>Wiggle ears and smile.
"Look it up!"

>>6325964
>Wiggle ears and smile.
cute!

>>6325964
your dex is pretty damn good, but to not fall over... nah i can't justify it lmao, it's dex m2 max which you still autopass

>>6325964
>>6325959
>Hermione takes the out provided by Beets and gives them a hopeful smile. She wants the whole seed for herself.

>>6325964
>>6325969
Ok, Bea can have the seed. Seems like the best way to keep everyone happy for now.
>Make a mental note that Clover probably needs one and probably has no idea what is going on.
Btw gm do I have any real idea what is going on with grief seeds and witches?

i wrote up an update but i realized i gotta ask a question first to confirm
after getting the grief seed and telling them about [REDACTED], do you plan on doing anything else with clover and lorene, hermione?

also happy halloween i guess

>>6326039
nah, not really. as far as lorene can remember, she's never interacted with any other magical girls during the month since she made her contract, she just kept to herself and hunted witches

>>6326345
> anything else with clover and lorene
Nah. They can go be big heroines and catch the killer.
> happy halloween
Right back at ya.

File: that's a lot of meds.jpg (213 KB, 1366x1200)

213 KB JPG

€
>Lie.

χ Ѫ
>Let Beatrice have the grief seed.

There’s a brief silence, as all three of them look at the unnatural gem floating in Lorene’s hand.

Vaguely remembering something she was pretty sure was supposed to be important, Clover materializes her soul gem and shows it to Lorene. “Hey... Lor-Lor? This is bad, right…?”

Lorene’s eyes widen slightly. The wolf-girl’s soul gem was pretty dark. Not exactly at the point of panic, but enough to be concerned. “That’s-”

“I-I-I’m so sorry, you two!” ‘Beatrice’ quickly bows her head down apologetically, her shoulders shuddering. “If… if it’s not too much to ask… c-could I have the grief seed?”

As soon as Clover had shown her darkened soul gem, Hermione knew she had to take control of the conversation. Otherwise, it’d have started going down a direction she’d really rather it not. With the eyes of the other two magical girls firmly fixed on her, Hermione begins to weave her tale.

‘Beatrice’ swallows nervously. “My family… w-we needed help. My dad is sick. My mom was working, trying to support all of us: me, my dad, and my brother.” Her voice wavers as she continues. “B-Between the medications and the other costs all building up… my brother said he’d had enough. He took on some risky jobs he said would get us the money we needed, and- and-!” The girl whimpers. “H-he never came back.”

File: helping strangers!.gif (2.35 MB, 480x540)

2.35 MB GIF

Clover wipes a tear away from the corner of her eye, nodding along sympathetically. Lorene just stares. Not that she didn’t believe her, the poor girl really seemed to be pouring her heart out here, it was just… her dad had gotten suckered by enough sob stories for her to be at least a little skeptical of these things. There were some really rotten people out there.

“I-I have this friend, Rocky…” ‘Beatrice’ swallows. “I didn’t want to just beg, but i-if I can get Rocky a grief seed, t-then a lot of our problems could be fixed… I’d be able to get my dad the medicine he needs and get a place for us to live, like my older brother wanted…” She looks up at the two of them, eyes shining with hope. “So please, c-could I have the grief seed? I’ll pay you both back, I swear!”

Lorene had… a lot of questions. Too many to even count. If this ‘friend’ was truly a friend, wouldn’t he or she have already noticed the situation ‘Beatrice’ was in? How did having a grief seed help this mess at all? If their home situation was so bad, what did ‘Beatrice’ even wish for when she became a magical girl? Why wasn’t their situation already fixed? Who the hell was Rocky?

Clover puts a hand on Lorene’s shoulder with a sad smile. “We should let Bea have it.”

Both girls looking at her expectantly, Lorene blinks. “Uh… we could. That could be a thing we do. It’s just, you do need to be careful about your soul gem getting too dark, Clover, and honestly I think you should be the one to use this grief seed? How’s your soul gem doing, Bea?”

Clover shakes her head with a sad smile. “It's okay, Lor-Lor... it'll take more than a few clouds to keep this old wolf from going on the hunt. And besides...” The wolf-girl does a spin, before making some goofy pose. “Bea needs our help! She's cold, wet, needs this seed for her friend Rocky... and a real wolf never leaves another wolf hanging!” She grins. “Look it up!”

‘Beatrice’ just looks at Lorene pleadingly.

“…Fine.” The girl sighs, tossing the homeless girl the grief seed. “Bea can have it.”

“Yay!” Clover and ‘Beatrice’ jump excitedly in celebration.

File: warm baths are great.jpg (82 KB, 1240x649)

82 KB JPG

€

“Thank you both so much!” Hermione thanks them profusely for the fifth time. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you!”

The idiotic wolf-girl gives her a salute. “Repay us by saving your family, Bea!”

As she’s about to turn away, Hermione pretends as if she just remembered something. “Oh, and one last thing! I heard there was a [Detective’s Office] at the mall!” She waves as she girlishly dashes away. “Best of luck!”

After she turns the third street corner, fully out of their line of sight, she slowly comes to a stop. It’d be idiotic to drop the illusion now, but she’d rather not waste any additional effort running if she didn’t need to.

The girl stares down at the grief seed in her hands, its silvery metal glinting in the summer sun.

>…It’s probably time to head home, take a long bath, and prepare for a conversation with mother, but is there anything else you’d like to do before heading back?

File: lots to do.jpg (21 KB, 260x340)

21 KB JPG

χ Ѫ
Clover stretches in the sun, happy and self-assured about the fact that she did the right thing. Lorene watches the homeless girl as she runs off, before glancing down. Olivia had been blowing up her phone with messages and missed calls. It was a good thing she’d silenced it before the Witch fight; it could’ve been distracting otherwise.

There are a lot of things to consider. Missing parents, magical girl murder, a detective’s office in the mall, a friend to respond to, the wolf-girl’s darkening soul gem, and Lorene still had some suspicions about that ‘Beatrice’ girl. One step at a time, she supposed.

>What next?

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>6326362
>Hum/compose advertisment song for the plushies. Cribbing the theme from 'Pop Goes the Weasel'. Sister can lend musical talents. It'll be a recorded duet to send off to marketing. The opening verse will be, "Let's make a contract!"
>Message butler. Hermione needs to speak to her sister alone. Today. If she has to wake her up in the dead of night she will. Also pick her up.
>Scrape her plaque using the rotten core's sharp end.

General perception, magical signals.

>>6326371
this is m2 perception, so not exactly peak guca performance, but hermione can't sense anything around her right now in particular that's giving off a magical signal, other than the grief seed she's currently holding :P

there's still the possibility that actually i don't want to influence their actions so i won't say it, but i'll wait until i generally know what the other two are doing before i go ahead with hermioneposting, okay?

>>6326363
"SO!"
>Make a show of thinking intently. Adjust ears to half-tilt. Reduce tail wag to zero. Maintain formation.
"Did you hear what she said, Lor-Lor? A Detective's Office... in the Mall!"
Clover's not exactly thrilled at the prospect of revisiting the mall after her last escapade, but the game was afoot... and wolves never give up the chase! Look it up!
>Jab pointer finger in Lor-Lor's direction!
"Care to be the Watson to my Sherlock HOWLmes, hmmm?"
>Actually wait check your phone what time is it because it might be 'Big Bro gets angry at Clover being out late' hour already

>>6326409
currently around or a bit after 3 pm, so you still got maybe 3 hours before 'big bro gets angry at little sis' o clock!

>>6326391
Can Hermione mosey on over to where the driver parked?
>>6326421
What time was mom meet again?

>>6326422
about 5:30 pm
hermione would like a nice long bath after getting soaked in icy water, so that's gonna be an hour of your time at least already :P at least you can still do stuff on your phone in the bath i guess

>>6326422
also yes she's moseying over and saving like five seconds

>>6326424
> an hour
Lotta phone calls then. Unless I’m allowed to pop a head into the dad and sis talks.

>>6326363
Also just to keep things rolling Clover wants to hit up the mall whether Lorene joins or not. Girl could use a soda and a pretzel. And maybe solve a mystery or two
>Go to mall
>Get soda and pretzel
>Search for clues

>>6326621
Who will you bite this time around?

File: towel.jpg (127 KB, 1100x1020)

127 KB JPG

€
>Head home and clean up.

Hermione looks down at her wet clothes with a grimace. Even her hair had yet to fully dry. How disgustingly unpleasant. She pulls out her phone as she walks toward the street where her driver had parked. “Chauffeur! I’m currently heading down [redacted] street, come take me home. And let the maids know to begin preparing my bath, will you?” She hangs up.

Drying her hair with a small towel, seated uncomfortably on the now damp leather seats in her car-ride home with a nearly empty gym-bag at her feet, Hermione glances at a notification on her phone. Excellent. She now had an address for the Beets residence. That investigation team wasn’t entirely worthless, after all. After thinking for a moment, she calls home. “Butler. Is my sister still occupied? I would like to speak with her.”

“A rather rare request from you, my lady. I’m sure she would be pleased to hear it. Unfortunately, she has just gone to bed, after the conclusion of her discussion with your father. Per your mother, miss Aurelia is not to be disturbed for at least seven hours, to ensure she receives adequate rest. I can, however, leave a message for her to review at her leisure.”

“Hm.” Hermione frowns. “No need for a message. Simply inform me as soon as soon as she awakens.”

---

The red-haired girl lets out a contented sigh as she submerges herself in the warm water of her large bath. It was almost impossible to describe the sheer bliss of no longer having to suffer through damp clothing. As she lounges back, she considers the other magical girl, Lorene. She was a bit sharper than Beets, and rather competent at swinging that sword around. Frustratingly, she hadn’t even been able to get a last name, and the girl had covered her face in Samantha’s group photo, meaning it would be difficult to look into her further.

Knowing so little about her was an undesirable position to be in, but she supposed that as long as they stayed out of each other’s way, it didn’t really matter too much.

Hermione lets herself relax, thoroughly enjoying her bath.

>This is nice. Anything to do on your phone? Or preparations for your chat with mother?

well, the possibility i was thinking of was less likely anyway

>>6326621
excellent choice, mall pretzels in particular are peak, i'll wait a bit more for lorene

File: oyster rockefeller.jpg (487 KB, 2926x2926)

487 KB JPG

>>6326659
>Request the maids to pack a bag: binoculars, bandolier, a torch, a lighter, grappling hooks, and bear spray.
>Thumb through the directory. Is the sandalwood gunsmith in here? She needs something with stopping power for a charging monster and a second iron. Perhaps they could also make a working replica dart gun like in Moonraker. She'll finance it using the tooth fairy money.
>Order servants to bring seafood to eat and prep grandfather's lab room. A learned man he was, but it remains to be seen if his equipment is adequate.

Can I pull the classic sibling move and just go bother sis anyways?

>>6326651
A pretzel, of course! Extra dipping sauce!

>>6326676
bag can definitely be packed, both the maids and i are somewhat curious as to what it's for but i guess we'll find out (the maids probably won't though)
you can ask a maid to bring the directory and pull up the basically never called gunsmith page, i will tell you that it'll take at least a week for a completely custom gun, but you can ask to see if you want to purchase a specific gun with stopping power
oysters rockefeller, fantastic choice my lady, the chef will get started right away. i debated a bit on whether gramps would actually have a lab, and i think the compromise i've come to is no it's just his library, but he does have some old-fashioned laboratory equipment in there, no mass spectrometers or anything, just random stuff a hobbyist chemist would have

>>6326680
you may piss off mom a little by disturbing her, but it is something you can do. hermione would unironically have to roll like mind 2 or 3 just to even consider entering her sister's room to ask her for something, they haven't had a relationship like that for years (hermione's interlude reference lel) and it seems like a "desperate little sister who loves her older sister" move to her

>>6326700
>specific gun with stopping power
4 bore gun! And another another revolver
>hobbyist chemist
Alright, I'll figure out another way to crush up puffer fish.
>ask her for something
Honestly it just to harass her into giving up the heiress position while she's sleep deprived.

>>6326702
ah i see
don't you worry, i'll get you that second conversation at some point

>>6326363
Parents are the priority at this point. I’ve spent enough time on side missions for the time being, and I need to come up with an explanation for Olivia…
>>6326409
“Sorry Clover…but I need to go. My parents need me and I’m no closer…”
>unless a detective might know something…?
“Hey Clover, I don’t want to put anything on you. And I know you don’t really know me. But if you stop by that detective office and it seems legit, could you maybe send me a text?”

Sorry for the infrequent and late posts everyone I am finishing up moving :(

>>6326765
How DARE you have a life outside of Meguca Autism Sim

>>6326762
>Put on a smile! Big one! Keep it there!
"Ha! No 'PAW'blem, Lor-Lor! Parents are..."
>SMILE.
"... Parents are important! Especially when you've got two! Really, REALLY super important... and if they need you, well, then that's totally super understandable! Even wolves know that!"
>Adjust tailwag frequency at Lorene's request. Make it look like you're pondering!
"Hmm...."
>Sniff Lorene.
"Yes... yes, my heightened wolf senses tell me all I need to know... and guess what? They're saying to me: 'Clover, you fuzzhead, quit acting like a total Beta around your new pal Lor-Lor and help her already!!!'
"I'll totally send you a text! Pictures too, maybe!"

File: detective stuff.jpg (175 KB, 800x800)

175 KB JPG

Ѫ
>Focus on your priorities.

As Lorene thinks, Clover pops into her field of view, waving and wagging her battery-operated tail. “What’re you looking at, Lor-Lor?”

She gives a small smile in reply. “Nothing really, just thinking about what to do.”

“Oh!” Clover puts a hand to her chin, reduces tail wag to zero, and thinks intently too. “Hmm, well, did ya hear what she said, Lor-Lor? There’s a detective’s office in the mall!” The girl slowly paces back and forth. “An interesting place, for sure… but nothing a wolf can’t handle!” She points at Lorene with a grin. “Care to be the Watson to my Sherlock HOWLmes?”

Lorene considers it. Then she considers her parents and Olivia. “Sorry, Clover, but I think I should probably go. My parents need me, and…” She trails off, realizing something. “Say, I know you don’t really know me, and I don’t want to put anything on you Clover, but, if you stop by this detective’s office thing and it seems legitimate, could you send me a text?”

“…Sure!” Clover smiles. “Parents are important, real important. If they need you, then you should probably go help them! Even wolves know that!” The wolf-girl stretches nonchalantly. “I’ll send you a text, maybe even some pictures too!”

Lorene smiles. “Thanks, Clover.”

“No problem! Well, I should probably start going to the mall, so I’ll see you later Lor-Lor!” The wolf-girl waves as she quickly runs off.

Lorene waves back, before turning her attention back to the wall of Olivia messages on her phone. Alright. Time to get to work.

>Probably more polite to call than just send a text, but how’re you gonna go about this?

File: tasty pretzels.jpg (99 KB, 838x838)

99 KB JPG

χ
>Check out the mall!

Ah, parents. Parents were great, huh.

As Clover arrives at the mall once more, she takes a deep breath before heading in. She was just here to go look for the detective’s office. Nothing more, nothing less. As long as she stuck to the plan, nothing would go wrong. With that in mind, she begins her search.

While she peers around at all the shops with all their big fancy signs, the smell of freshly baked pretzels wafts over. The wolf-girl’s mouth immediately waters, but she tries to ignore it. She already had that BIG burger from Wolf Burger earlier, so she probably didn’t even have any money left to spare… wait, that’s right, Sammy had paid for them! So she should have more than enough! Clover happily follows the scent of pretzels, and tries to avoid thinking too much about her last conversation with her former packmate.

“h-hi, um… could i get a p-pretzel and a soda please…”

The pretzel cashier tilts his head. “Sorry, what was that?”

“um…” Clover just points, and the boy grabs her one of the pretzels from the rack.

“That’ll be $4.50.”

She puts the money onto the counter and scurries away with her pretzel. She wasn’t that thirsty anyway!

Nibbling on the warm dough, Clover continues wandering the mall. It isn’t much longer before she finds something that didn’t really seem like it belonged.

‘221b Baker Street. Detective Consultant Services!’

Set into the brick wall, a nice wooden door was firmly shut. Hanging from the doorknob, a small sign reads ‘Closed!’

“Hmm…” Clover takes another small bite from her pretzel.

>What now?

gonna have a different ip for the next few days

>>6326765
no worries at all, best of luck. moving is important!

Oh no. Clover and Lor-Lor have split up. Hopefully the former can avoid anymore trauma while the latter doesn't have to do another cha check.

Can I roll int for a hint on how to use the seed to find candidates? Maybe distributing a picture of it.

>>6327095
don't worry hermionepost soon, i just gotta handle a bit of wagecuckery prep
if you want to, you can try an int roll now for that, or you may want to wait for mom conversation, up to you

>>6327068
Mmm... yes, fresh food... Keeps that wolf brain going! As for the detective's office, well...

>WOLF SENSES! Sniff! Listen! Taste the doorknob! Oh, and sense magical stuff too! Anything alarming?
Afterwards (assuming there aren't any immediate pawblems),
>Knock politely!
If no response,
>Try the door. Check for any Hide-A-Keys nearby--sometimes people just leave those around!
If that doesn't work,
>Look for a vent or something to sneak in through!
If all of THAT doesn't work,
>Stealthily unscrew the doorknob with a penny as a screwdriver! Maybe there's a dog or something nearby I can ask to make a distraction while I do it?
And if THAT doesn't work,
>Use WOLF STRENGTH to just yank the doorknob out.
>>6327095
Don't underestimate the Wolf Pack, pup. I only gave up that Grief Seed due to Roleplaying Purposes! (Read: Tism)

>>6327132
i'll take a general perception roll, then an int 2 roll to think of unscrewing the doorknob with a penny (lel)

Rolled 51, 68 = 119 (2d100)

>>6327146
Here. We. GO

>>6327067
Call Olivia, she deserves it. Hopefully I can come up with some explanation for why I had to run off all of a sudden…And maybe she will have a flash of insight on finding Mom and Dad…
>Ask Olivia to meet back up and be as honest as possible without admitting anything that sounds crazy. I hope she is able to accept the “you have to trust me, I’ll explain someday” line.
>Can I roll for any hints of my own?

File: random rifle.jpg (78 KB, 1536x344)

78 KB JPG

€
>Do all those things.

Hermione simply enjoys the warmth for a few more minutes, before sighing and straightening up. It’d likely be best if she were proactive.

“…Miss Hermione, a bag with some of the supplies you requested for is ready. It has been set at the foot of your bed.”

“Excellent.” The girl raises her arms as a maid helps her dress. “Has the library been prepared?”

“The directory has been opened to the specified page and set by the armchair, my lady. Your light snacks and refreshments will be freshly available as soon as you sit down. Though, I must remind you that your mother prefers you reserve your appetite for dinner.”

“That’s of no concern.” She slides her arms through the proffered sleeves, slipping into her comfortable house-dress. “It’ll only be a few oysters, after all.”

As she walks down the hall, she glances at her sister’s room. The door was shut, as it rightfully should have been, considering she was presumably still sleeping. Hermione ignores it and continues on to the library. When she sits in the same leather chair from the morning, one of the butlers brings out a compact dish with three prepared oysters, along with a small glass of lemonade.

“Rockefeller line, huh. Haven’t had a call from you all in a while. How can I help?”

Hermione takes a quick sip of her lemonade. “I would like a custom rifle with good stopping power, perhaps four bore, similar to the one my grand-uncle used on his last expedition. Sandalwood, of course, as is tradition. I would also like another custom revolver.”

The old man on the other end of the line grunts irritably. “You Rockefellers and yer custom guns. I’ll have you know, that rifle I made all those years ago was a real one-of-a-kind beauty, a true masterpiece, and where is it now? Lost in some random African jungle during its first and only hunt. You Rockefellers have no appreciation for the fine craftsmanship that goes into-”

The red-haired girl just eats another oyster as she lets the gunsmith ramble on. Normally, such impertinence would be grounds for immediate dismissal, but he was grandfather’s old friend and his work was of undeniable quality. When she feels the rant begin to slow, she interjects. “So how long will it take?”

“Ehh, probably around a year, maybe, if I toss out all my other jobs and really put my mind to it. But I get the feeling you’re an impatient lass, like your granny was, so I could use the frame from the ol’ prototype and get it to you in a week, maybe less. If you want a second revolver too, which is heresy, mind you, it’ll take longer. Up to you.”

>A classic American tradition, having more guns than you have hands for. How would you like the gunsmith to go about it? After this, you should probably start heading over to mother, unless you have some particular burning urge to do something else.

damn i'm a fucking liar, sorry

>>6327175
sure, you could roll for int if you really wanted to
i'll give you a freebie, last time you were going with olivia to try to check out where your parents may have last been, you could go back to doing that, or maybe olivia will have some new information, or maybe she won't

>>6327469
Let’s just see if Olivia has any ideas. Where is she now?

File: mysterious funny hat.jpg (143 KB, 544x821)

143 KB JPG

χ
>Time to break in!

Clover narrows her eyes as she stares at the office, slowly munching on her pretzel.

>> χ (M? Perception roll: 51 = M5 Success) << (Sense anything from the office.)

As far as she can tell, there’s no one in the office, and no magical signatures she can particularly sense from behind that door. Hmmm. Now that she’s focusing on it, however, there is one other magical signature coming from somewhere in the mall.

Clover shrugs. Priority number one was still getting into the detective’s office! Like any reasonable wolf, she knocks on the door and waits for few seconds. No reply. Then she tries the doorknob. Locked. Any hidden keys? Not as far as she can tell. Windows or vents? Just the mall’s AC system on the roof high above.

Looked like it might be time for some old-fashioned breaking-and-entering.

Setting her half-eaten pretzel down gently against the wall in its wrapper, Clover fishes a penny from her pocket. She’d use a coin as a screwdriver! The wolf-girl kneels by the doorknob, looking at it closely. Hmmmmmmmmm. Those screws were kinda small…

Just as she’s about to seriously consider ripping the doorknob out, a dry voice interrupts. “Looking for something?”

Clover looks back. A brown-haired girl with tired eyes and a funny hat is watching her, leaning against one of the nearby mall plants with an uncaring air.

>Who’s this?

File: her dad's still a cop.jpg (22 KB, 612x612)

22 KB JPG

Ѫ
>Call Olivia.

Lorene takes a deep breath, before dialing Olivia’s number. Best to just rip the band-aid off now. It rings a few times before she picks up.

“…hmph.”

Lorene blinks. “Olivia?”

The girl lets out another hmph. “You know, it’s not very nice to just leave your friend behind and run off.”

Lorene scratches her head. “Yeah, I know, I know. Sorry. Where are you? I’ll start heading over.”

“The question I’m more curious about is, where are you? Did you find some kind of lead or something?”

“Not… exactly. It was just something important that I had to take care of.”

“Gahhhh, that doesn’t answer anything!”

“It’s, uh,” Lorene really didn’t have a clue how to talk about Witches without seeming crazy. “Just trust me, I promise I’ll explain everything someday. Where are you?”

“I’m gonna ban that phrase from ever being used again, so you’d better come up with another way to say that. Well, since my friend just ran off without warning and completely disappeared for like half an hour, I decided to drop by the station where my dad works, to see if I could find out anything myself. Now I’m semi-grounded. And you kind of are too?”

“Huh?” Lorene pauses for a second. “What does that even mean?”

File: olivia.jpg (261 KB, 500x600)

261 KB JPG

Olivia exhales. “My dad doesn’t want us to look for your parents anymore. He says it’s too dangerous. Apparently, most anyone that went looking for the missing people went missing themselves, so he’s got me stuck here, and wants me to get you to come back too.”

Lorene purses her lips. The more she learned about the situation, the more certain she was that magical girls or Witches were involved in her parents’ disappearance somehow. In fact, it sounded a lot like people were being lured into a labyrinth. The only issue was the fact that she knew she’d made dead certain to hunt down every single Witch she detected, including this last one. If this Witch had really been active for months, surely she would have noticed it by now?

“Anyway,” Olivia lowers her voice to an excited whisper, “I still got something of use! I managed to get a glimpse at the map they were making of all the information they knew about the disappearances, and there’s a certain area in town they all tend to happen around!”

Lorene’s heartbeat quickens. “Really? Where’s that?!”

Olivia scoffs. “Come on, Lorene, if I tell you, you’ll just head over to check it out on your own and end up another missing person. No way. But…” Lorene can feel the girl’s grin through the phone. “If you had someone to watch your back, like a certain good friend of yours, maybe it wouldn’t be so dangerous!”

Lorene taps her foot as she thinks. “I can’t let you put yourself at risk, Olivia. It’s my parents that’re missing, so I have to take responsibility. Just tell me the location.”

“And I can’t just let my best friend waltz out on her own and disappear like all those other people, either! Head over to the police station, and the two of us can go check it out together. Or we could just call it here and let my dad handle it, I guess.”

>An actual lead? But Olivia’s pretty stubborn about keeping you safe…

>>6327473
hope that answers your question!

>>6327468
>Rouse the gunsmith to inspiration. Retelling the hunt, the beast, icy waters, the roar of his work, bleeding ichor, and the designs of the Seed. To make him understand what beasts Hermione is hunting. A masterpiece should be used.
>Go to the meeting
The real-life rifle I’m thinking of, called the dinosaur rifle, has a muzzle energy of 30,670 foot pounds. Its maker spent half a decade making it and had to develop his own devices to test it properly and meet government standards. It’s a beautiful gun.
Honestly, I just need the rifle. No need for a custom handgun, just a standard one should work.
Wisdom against gunsmith?

>>6327517
damn, that's one hell of a rifle
you can roll wisdom if you want, but what do you want to understand about him :3?

File: dino.jpg (51 KB, 631x446)

51 KB JPG

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>6327574
I wanna know how to rouse him into working faster.

>>6327575
let's see, this is... m2 wisdom
he really does love making guns, he just wants to make sure they're actually appreciated, taken care of, and used for good reason, as opposed to just relegated to fancy showpiece that you show off to friends. he's a little pissed he poured so much time and energy into making that masterpiece rifle for the younger brother of his friend (grand-uncle), only for it to be immediately lost on its first outing, feels like it was somewhat unappreciated, but he's also just a cranky old man who's being a cranky old man
he'd probably work faster if he knew you'd appreciate it. and yeah that's all just from m2 wisdom, he's a simple guy :P
oh also he thinks he already made the perfect revolver, able to put down most things you'd need a revolver for in one shot, so asking him for another one felt like heresy to him

>>6327575
fuck me, got to rely on the inbred charisma

>>6327578
>you'd appreciate it
I just gotta say I like his stuff. Talk about actually having used the revolver by using the real life examples?
Do i even need to do a roll then?

>>6327581
nah you autopass this, he's gonna be working on it at a pretty decent pace unless you specifically want to piss him off lel
i think just based off real world logistics, fastest you can get a custom-made rifle is like 5-6 days, and that already seems insanely fast, but what do you think?

>>6327582
>do you think?
Damn that's fast. But have you known people who get that eureka and then spend the next couple days not sleeping or working to finish an idea?

>>6327583
well like he mentioned, he'd also be using the base gun frame from the prototype he initially made and showed your grand-uncle for the gun, which cuts down on the required time significantly, since theoretically he's just got to clean everything up, make sure the parts actually work, and whatever else gunsmiths do. the man does love his job though. if you wanted him to make it from scratch it'd be a year
i've heard of those obsessive people but nah, never met them, i almost don't really believe they exist lmao, but supposedly they do

>>6327585
Would charisma 7 be able to stir such a thing? There is no genius without a touch of madness, Aristotle said that

>>6327586
probably not i think, he's just a regular old man doing his hobby, but how's this, you can try to hit raw charisma 7 and he'll think of you like the gun-loving granddaughter he wishes he had and get that cleaned-up remade prototype/version 2 to you in three days
you can also try writing up some beautiful speech but i'll be the judge of whether it actually helps or not, he is a relatively no-nonsense old guy so i wouldn't think flowery nonsense would help

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>6327587
>some beautiful speech
gun autism. I got it.
>Hermione wants a gun that doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It will shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It'll be something that her great great great granddaughter can pick up and use just like it was made yesterday.
C'mon, make a gun that could cut a man in half and give it to the inbred monster

>>6327482
"Hey, a lucky penny! HOWL yea!"
>Pocket that thing.
>Examine the newcomer. Is she... magical?
>Address newcomer
"Looking for the owner! Had a question or two I wanted to ask 'em! Say, do you know where they went?"

>>6327625
i'll take a general perception roll for the girl

File: gunsmithing probably.jpg (204 KB, 1210x648)

204 KB JPG

€
>Request a custom rifle, then head to the meeting with your mother.

“Hmm.” Hermione thinks over the old man’s words. “Just the rifle will do, then. As fast as possible, if you would.”

“Of course. I still owe yer gramps, after all. Let’s see, that prototype frame is real old now, but I should be able to get her up and ready for you in around five days. Any particular specifications you want to add on?"

Hermione waves her hand. “Just the usual. I want it well-made, preferably able to avoid jamming or overheating. It should be robust, able to work regardless of the weather, even while covered in mud or full of sand. And…”

>I want something my great great granddaughter can pick up and use, as if it’d just been made yesterday. +10

The gunsmith grunts. “Alright, I can do that for you. Jamming is user error lotta the time, but I’ll make sure all the mechanisms are smooth as can be.”

“Your efforts are much appreciated. Is there anything else you need to know?”

>> € (M7 Charisma roll: 24 + 10 = 34 = M6 partial success) << (Make a good impression on the gunsmith.)

“Eh, no, that should be about all.” The old man pauses. “You know, you got a good head on your shoulders, seems like you’ll be taking good care of yer gun. I’ll see if I can’t get it done in four days.” He hangs up before Hermione can reply. The girl blinks, before shrugging. As long as the rifle worked well, it was fine.

The red-haired girl glances at the time. It’d be best to begin heading over to her mother. Being prompt and timely were essential parts of being a Rockefeller, after all.

File: veranda.jpg (211 KB, 729x820)

211 KB JPG

When she wasn’t in the sunroom, her mother generally liked sitting in the veranda just outside, particularly in the late afternoon, when the heat of the day had largely softened. A refreshing breeze blows through as Hermione steps through the doorway, lightly tousling her hair. “Hello? Mother?”

The stately woman was seated comfortably in her chair, watching the wind blow through the branches of finely maintained trees in the distance. She looks back at her daughter with a well-trained smile. “Ah, Hermione, dear. Come, take a seat. The weather is particularly nice today.”

Hermione does so, sitting in a chair next to her mother’s. “How were your conversations with the wedding planners, mother?”

“Oh, it was merely the usual. These venue managers always require such specific guidance to get things right.” The woman laughs in a proper, refined manner. “I wanted you to have some first-hand experience with these things and help with some of the phone calls, but Aurelia was so insistent on doing it herself. I suppose that girl really is looking forward to the ceremony, wanting to do so much on her own.” Her mother speaks naturally, in a light and conversational tone.

Hermione focuses on a tree in the distance. “…I really wouldn’t mind helping out.”

Her mother smiles, lightly patting Hermione’s hand. “It’s alright, dear. It is Aurelia’s wedding, after all, so it’s only right that she should have some control over how things are done.”

“Very well, mother.” There’s a brief silence.

“…So, Hermione, dear, what did you want to talk about? It must have been somewhat important, if you wanted to set some time aside with me?”

>…right. What did you want to say?

File: marketing.jpg (32 KB, 600x395)

32 KB JPG

>>6327651
>Present the weasel plushies idea with illusions. Multiple models: normal, lil', green, pink, black, and one that hides in empty heads. Working together to rid curses. Add to wedding decor! Her blind boy, the Kawānanakoa, at last night's party agreed it look great.
>Ichor, gunpowder, and sandalwood clump into a lingering tang curdling a part of Hermione's heart. She will drum up support to covet her sister's birthright, starting with her mother. Arguing that the heiress lacks the steel needed to steer the family into prosperity. Aurelia will crack under the constant push and pull - Hermione is delusional; Aurelia is better by virtue of not being the culmination of everything wrong with the family in spirit and flesh. Hermione should've been drowned at birth.
>>Reveal the 100 wisdom insights. Showing how unfit the dreamer is, personality-wise, for an heiress.
>>Aurelia is mediocre. In speaking, studies, and sensibilities of an heiress do not come to her naturally like Hermione. Does she think that is fulfilling her duties? What kind of world does she think they live in, that a mediocre woman would have the right to occupy a seat that she cannot make full use of?
>>Lie! Aurelia confessed in a moment of weakness wanting to be the younger sibling.

If I commit enough vile deeds eventually someone shall shoot me

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>6327632
And you'll get it! AWOOOO

>>6327499
Head to the police station. I need to figure out the next part of my master plan along the way…
>Olivia’s dad sounds pretty worried. This must be a serious string of disappearances, which means the police must have at least some leads

>>6327713
damn. fuck, bro. i won't tell you the consequences of your actions, but are you absolutely certain you want to go through with this? and i mean absolutely certain. no take-backs

>>6327723
much appreciated!!!

>>6327729
hello lorene, didn't want to leave you out of the reply message chain :P

>>6327713
hot damn. gotta give props to helenanon for making things interesting

watchin

>>6327759
Hello gm! Thank you for your patience, I’m finally able to post more regularly and I’m excited to see where things are heading!

File: closed.jpg (120 KB, 675x675)

120 KB JPG

χ
>Look over this new girl.

The wolf-girl blinks.

>> χ (M? Perception roll: 62 = M5 partial success) << (Examine funny-hat girl.)

The girl had long, messy brown hair, and a thin build, covered up by thick layers of clothing. She had light bags under her eyes, masked by a minimal amount of makeup. Her hat was well-worn, and despite being the middle of summer, she was wearing a heavy scarf around her neck. But, most importantly, Clover could sense a magical signature coming from her. Seemed like she was that other magical signal the wolf-girl had sensed in the mall.

“I’m just looking for the owner! Had a question or two I wanted to ask ‘em!” Clover puts the penny back into her pocket, before turning to face the girl fully. “Would you happen to know where they went?”

The girl gives a brief smile, crossing her arms loosely. “Sadly, you may be out of luck. The girl that ran that office closed it down a long while ago.”

“Oh. I see?” Clover tilts her head curiously. “Do you know why she shut it down?”

“Ah, that might be a bit tougher to answer.” She stares past Clover, looking at the sign on the door. "You see, she started that detective shop because it seemed like it might be fun. Investigating mysteries, helping people out, all enjoyable and good things to do. Then, one day, she got a taste of the real world, and realized it wasn’t all just fun and games." The girl sighs, looking down to adjust her hat. "She closed down her shop soon after."

“Hmm.” Clover puts a hand to her chin, observing the girl closely.

“Anyway…” The girl refocuses on Clover, looking at her directly. “If I were to give some helpful advice, I wouldn’t bother breaking in, or waiting for her to come back. Not much left in there but ghosts of a time long past.” She stretches, then lets out a huge yawn, covering her mouth with her hand. “Unfortunately, the detective of this tale has retired. Take care.” She begins to walk away.

>What’re you gonna do?

fuck

>>6327759
>certain
I am. Hermione’s got a raging complex. And my despair grows with spin-offs.
Wisdom for mom’s mindset towards heirs and the arguments?

>>6327942
sure, you can roll wisdom. and here i was ready to just write the post out :P (it would've been kino, and still can be i guess)
let's see, last time i said wisdom 4 is accurately reading the current emotions of a stranger. i also said that it would be wisdom 4 to read if hermione's mom noticed the fact that there's weird stuff going on with hermione's new appearance, since though mom is familiar, she's the rockefeller matriarch and good at hiding her emotions.
i would argue that accurately assessing someone's mindset is more difficult than reading their current emotions, and that being able to predict how they would respond to something is even harder than that, so i'm going to say m5 wisdom for mom's mindset towards the current heiress situation and m6 wisdom to predict what she would think about your claims, of which there are two that i see
-aurelia's personality is unfit
-her skills are mediocre
if there's anything else in particular you want to assess, just let me know
and then m7 wisdom to predict the future completely, which of course is out of your reach

File: iiiiiitttttsssclover.jpg (68 KB, 736x736)

68 KB JPG

>>6327933
>Scamper around in front of the girl and block her path!
>Insight check! Is this girl hiding something?
"Wait! I really, REALLY, REALLY need to find her! There's... there's been a murder, and..."
>Adjust standing position to limit possible escape vectors. Crank wolf senses and reflexes to 200%!
"And it probably has to do with... what WE are. And my nose tells me other girls are going to become prey too."
>Cock head to the side, adjust ears to a more pleading angle.
"Is there any way you can help at all?"

Rolled 38, 30 = 68 (2d100)

>>6327994
No way can’t predict how your mom would react to something. Or knowing your mom’s mindset.
Also the claim/lie about Aurelia wanting to be younger sis
Anyways vile wisdom rolling.

File: police station i guess.jpg (81 KB, 500x287)

81 KB JPG

Ѫ
>Head over to the police station.

Lorene just thinks for a few moments. “…Alright, I’m gonna head over.”

“And??”

Lorene smugly smiles. “And I’m gonna decide what to do when I get there.”

“Oh, come on!” Lorene can tell the girl just threw her hands in the air exasperatedly. “But actually, that’s fair. See you when I see you.”

“See ya.”

They both hang up. Lorene glances around. Right, she was still by the abandoned factory district. She exhales. Time to figure out the bus routes once more.

As she enjoys the wonders of public transportation, Lorene considers what to do. Perhaps when she got there, she could try to sneak in and take a look at the map herself, so she wouldn’t need to bring Olivia along? Chances were, though, that if Olivia saw her do that, she’d try to tail her anyway. Lorene stares out the bus-window at the streets sluggishly moving along her field of vision. If only there were a way to convince her that she could genuinely protect herself, without saying things that’d get her locked up in a mental institution.

A few transfers and a few blocks of walking later, Lorene finds herself outside the police station.

>What’s the plan? Meet up with Olivia inside? Sneak in? Something else?

>>6328030
well, unfortunately, even if you got me to go down to m4 for both, still wouldn't have made it :(
my counter arguments would've been that hermione's parents are more distant from their children than regular parents, and that they're rockefellers, but moot point now
i was actually gonna say you auto-pass the charisma roll for the lie because i was so used to you talking to normies, but i forgot that your mom is actually supposed to be pretty good at these things, and knows you fairly well, at least more than the average stranger. we'll say m5 charisma for the lie? it's not really that insane of a lie, just claiming she said something, but mom is pretty good. as always, i'm willing to negotiate, though any lower and it'd be back to auto-passing, so

>>6328008
you can do a general wisdom roll to see what you can glean about her if you like! without anything specific, i can't really give magnitudes though, if it's just to see if she's hiding something, that's like m2 or m3 wisdom lel

>>6328039
Does constant illusion obfuscate any physical sign of lying since it’s over the actual face and controlled by her? I’m not above just conjuring a fake scene using illusions to sell it.

>>6328042
hmmmmmmmmmmmm
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
good enough, you sold me

>>6328044
lol, catching hermione in lie gets even harder.
That’s all I wanted to do. I’ll wait for next post. Then Hermione can go harass sis by waking her up and forcing the hell of 5 hours of sleep.

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>6328039
Here we go...

>>6328061
yup, she's hiding something
:P
alright, i won't leave ya with just that. this here is m5 wisdom. clover hasn't spoken with this girl very much, but honestly, it kinda sounds a lot like the girl is talking about herself, given how familiar she is with what supposedly happened. in short, if clover had to wager a guess, this girl was once the detective. she was obviously vague about her past, which is hiding things in the strictest definition of the word, but she's also trying to cover up the bags under her eyes despite not having make-up on otherwise, and there may or may not be other things she's hiding. she does seem generally tired, and maybe jaded? that's all you got from this brief interaction

>>6328061
Hell ya. It’s clover hour. Full moon tomorrow as well

fuuuuuuck i may have to finish up your post tomorrow hermione
sorry

Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>6328073
All good. I going to roll for that int of finding candidates using the seed. Hopefully discreetly. Lucks been bad so far.

>>6328076
lmao there's the luck

>>6327786
oh yeah, fuck, meant to reply to this right after posting your post. no worries at all, seriously, glad you're here. i hope to be able to meet your expectations!

File: gambler.gif (3.44 MB, 160x120)

3.44 MB GIF

>>6328077

>>6328037
Head in cautiously. If it looks like I can come across a map before running into Olivia then go for it, and if one of the officers see me, tell them I’m looking for Olivia and her dad and got lost.

>>6328064
Every hour's Clover hour when y-

Wait... THE FULL MOON?! OH NO!

File: definitely hawaiian.jpg (60 KB, 1034x518)

60 KB JPG

€
>Speak with your mother.

Hermione sits back in her chair, enjoying the cool breeze on her face. “Well, you know, mother, I was thinking over how we might spruce up the wedding décor, and I had a rather inspired idea.” The girl gestures casually, forming an illusory plush of Kyubey for her mother to see. “After a brief discussion with the Hawaiian boy, that distant relative to the Kawānanakoas, I came up with a nice design for a small stuffed animal, which could serve as a centerpiece for each guest table.”

Her mother smiles. “I see.”

Hermione plays with the illusion’s long floppy ears. “Adorable, yet refined enough to avoid being seen as childish. It was inspired by their so-called ‘curse-catchers’, and said to represent the idea that any wish might come true through a life-long bond. Rather appropriate for a wedding, wouldn’t you say?”

Her mother looks at the plush, continuing to smile pleasantly. “An interesting idea, dear.”

“Thank you, mother. I do hope you’ll consider it.” Hermione allows the illusion to fade. She pauses for a few moments, before resuming. “There was one other thing I wanted to discuss, or rather, bring to your attention, mother.”

The woman looks back out at the trees in the distance, the picture of elegance. “Oh? What would that be, dear?”

“As you and father have always reminded us, ever since we were children, the heiress of the Rockefeller line must shoulder a great deal of responsibility. She must be firm in her convictions. She must exemplify refinement and intelligence. She must always keep the good of the family in mind.” Hermione’s tone sharpens. “I believe Aurelia is unfit for the role.”

Her mother keeps the same expression on her face, but her words are ever so slightly more stilted. “Would you like to explain?”

Hermione shakes her head with a regretful air. “The girl’s mediocrity leaves much to be desired. Her speaking skills are passable at best; her studies do not come to her naturally. She takes an hour to accomplish what I might in half the time. In what world is such an average girl fit to represent our family?”

Her mother remains silent, and Hermione continues.

“However, worrisome though that may be, the largest concern by far is her personality.” Hermione frowns disapprovingly. “She lacks conviction. She lacks the steel needed to lead the family forward. She really doesn’t even want this marriage! She’s still the same naïve, dreaming girl that enjoyed reading those detestable romance novels all those years ago. It’s abundantly clear that when faced with any proper form of challenge, she’ll crack from the pressure.”

Hermione laughs.

“Why-! Just the other day, she told me that she’d rather have been the younger sibling! She’s far too weak to be any proper sort of heiress; she hardly wants to be the heiress at all!”

File: imperfections.jpg (196 KB, 600x552)

196 KB JPG

Her words hang in the air for a few moments. Her mother smiles patiently. “Are you finished, Hermione?”

The girl blinks. “Why, yes, just about, moth-”

Her mother slaps her. Hard. Very hard.

“You know, I’d told your father you were getting a bit too arrogant, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Hermione’s hands shake. She reaches up to touch her face. A warm liquid oozes out onto her fingers.

Her mother stands and begins to drag a metal stool closer, the steel scraping against the wood flooring. “He’d reassured me Aurelia would take care of it, that she said she’d be in charge of educating you. He said that for years. I should’ve known that girl would be too weak for it.”

Her mother places the stool in front of her, then takes a seat, facing her directly. Hermione can’t meet her gaze. It takes all her effort not to flinch.

The woman grabs her chin, angling it this way and that. “I must not have slapped you very hard. Not even a trace of bruising.”

Right. The illusion.

Her mother hits her again. Harder. Hermione remembers to let her face bleed this time. “There we are. Now we can speak.” She looks down at the blood smearing her hand disgustedly, shaking it off. “Where were we, dear?”

The woman looks at her with a patient smile. Hermione knows if she doesn’t answer, it’ll only get worse. She has to say something, anything. Even then, her throat stubbornly remains sealed shut.

Her mother sighs. “It’s rather impolite to not answer when asked a question, dear.” She raises her hand, then seems to reconsider. She lowers it, looking down at her stained hand disdainfully. “I’ve already gotten enough of your disgusting fluids on me. I’ll be gracious, and ask again. Where were we, dear?”

Somehow, through all of this, her mother’s voice retained that light conversational tone. Hermione chokes out a response. “T-the heiress, m-mother.”

File: handkerchief.jpg (194 KB, 865x648)

194 KB JPG

She smiles. “That’s right, dear.” She pulls out a handkerchief, and begins cleaning her hand slowly. “You know, you were completely right. Aurelia is weak. She does lack conviction. Despite her academic performance being the top of her class, she does take moderately more time than you likely would.” She tosses the bloody handkerchief to the ground. “The difference is, she knows her place.”

Her face still stings, stings horribly, but she can’t do anything about it.

“Do you know why we never commented on your new appearance, dear? Your father and I, we’re not idiots, you know. Of course we would notice our daughter’s face miraculously changing overnight.”

The silence hangs for a bit too long. Hermione realizes she was supposed to answer. “N-no.”

Her mother grabs her face and brings her closer, looking her directly in her eyes. “Because, dear,” she smiles, “it was the best thing to ever happen to us.”

Her eyes water. Hermione holds back a whimper. Her mother’s nails were digging into her cut.

Her mother lets her go. She falls back into her chair. “Ah, how refreshing. I should’ve said this ages ago!” The woman leans forward, caressing Hermione’s cheek gently. “Do you know how embarrassing it was, having your abominable face in every portrait? How mortifying, to have you there at every family gathering?” Her mother grimaces. “When you gave me that birthday card, years ago, smiling with those misaligned eyes and malformed teeth, I nearly wanted to vomit.” She sits back. “You were a disgrace. I could hardly believe I had given birth to you.”

The blood from her face drips onto her house dress. Looked like it would have to be changed.

“I’ll admit, I had some respect for how you managed to make your appearance bearable to look at. How you did it, I really don’t care about at all.” Though she smiles, her mother’s gaze is cold. “I never want you to forget that in my eyes, you’ll always be the same misshapen atrocity you’ve been since your birth. For you to even fathom the idea of being capable of standing on the same level as your sister, well, that simply indicates to me we haven’t been educating you well enough.”

File: tree.jpg (479 KB, 1161x672)

479 KB JPG

Her mother stares at her, then recalls something. She laughs.

“And plushies, really? I was willing to humor you to a certain extent, but now that we’re finally discussing things openly, what a laughable thought. I’m amazed you thought it’d be a good idea to actually suggest we commission the creation of hundreds of custom stuffed animals for your sister’s wedding. Asides from the childishness, which I might almost forgive, had you considered the fact that the ceremony is in less than three weeks? Your father and I would have to conduct so many negotiations, pull so many strings, just to ensure they might all be neatly prepared, at an acceptable state of quality, and distributed on time for the dinner. Perhaps you hadn’t realized, because your pathetically weak older sister had been hiding it from you, but our hands were already completely full with the negotiation regarding the merging of that family’s assets with our own, in addition to the wedding planning.”

It was just meant to be a light-hearted suggestion. Nothing serious, something to break the ice. Of course she knew, Hermione thinks. Of course she knew all of that. But she can’t say a word to defend herself.

Her mother stands, looking at the thin watch on her wrist. “I’ll need to have a chat with Aurelia. Your father was always too soft on the both of you. I’ve had enough of it. That dreaming girl, with her idyllic stories, she needs to be straightened out.” Seemed her mother still held a distaste for the childhood romance novels Hermione had mentioned. “For her to disclose any amount of weakness to anyone, let alone her younger sister, with such garish words, is completely unacceptable. It seems she still needs far more training before she can become any proper sort of heiress.” Her mother smiles down at her. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Hermione, dear.” She begins walking off. “Dinner is in thirty minutes. Don’t be late.”

Hermione stares down at her hands.

>…Probably best to get cleaned up.

>hermione getting bitchslapped to tears
cathartic. hermione is our very own joffrey

if you think you fucked up, you really didn't hermione, all you did was discover how mom has always felt all this time, and get aurelia in a worse position, which was your goal anyway. you're in about the same position as before, except perhaps from a mind/soul gem perspective
int advice wall later tonight

also sorry guys, been a little busy, i actually just hopped out of a fucking "social meeting" five minutes ago lmao

>>6328830
>Blood thunders in her ears. Clenched nails drawing blood from her palms. Her heartbeat is deafening. A rictus of resentment splayed over terrible features, hidden by the illusion of a chastened face. Hermione will kill her mother. The laying of hands on her was awful, naming her disgrace was wretched, but the most wounding to her pride was that she couldn’t be considered on the same level as her sister. She’ll seek out the killer and ask for a favor.
>Clean up.
>lost in a reverie. that reoccurring dream. rising from bed. dead of night. down the hall. sister’s room. swapping bodies. taking off Hers. putting on hers. it fit perfectly. it's been rarer since what she did to the blind boy

>>6328871
>you really didn't hermione
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQYk1xUPvCY

>>6328897
Howly spit, Hermie... Sorry...

int dump for finding candidates (with grief seed)
since you got fuckin m8 int or something with that 97 you can say 'that's bullshit, i want more' and i will say 'fair, i'll say more tomorrow i guess'
obviously the best way to find candidates is to find an incubator, since those guys can obviously tell you who's a candidate or not, and you need them to even get a guca to make a wish
if we don't want to go down that route, we have to be more creative. i need to discuss more with my guca specialist on this topic, but currently it is uncertain whether you can actually take a picture of a grief seed. if you could take a picture of a grief seed, it wouldn't make any sense why normies couldn't see it too, since it's not like the picture itself is magical, it's literally a bunch of ink blots on a page and it wouldn't make sense for the ink blots to suddenly rearrange as if the grief seed wasn't there depending on the viewer, so the picture wouldn't really help. if you can't take a picture of a grief seed, the whole idea is moot.
(the reason why the uglies could take a picture of 'kyubey' was because it wasn't actually kyubey, they were taking a picture of your illusion, which is a genuine manipulation of light and photos capture light whatever blah blah blah)
you could go to an orphanage i guess and start showing the grief seed around, see if any kids can see it, but that's time consuming and if you hold up nothing and ask a dumb kid if they see anything, they might say yes anyway, which means a lot of wisdom rolls, which means it's an imperfect solution on top of being inefficient since you could miss the kid anyway
so it just kinda goes back to your best bet is to get an incubator. you're gonna need one anyway. incubators can eat grief seeds, but perhaps a more reliable alternative would be to ask a magical girl to find an incubator for you, since they're kinda scarce for some reason. that's all i got for the wall for now, feel free to call bullshit and ask for more but some specific questions might help me know what else to even say

File: remote.png (84 KB, 375x267)

84 KB PNG

>>6328982
>that's bullshit, i want more
That option.
>wouldn't make sense for the ink blots to suddenly rearrange as if the grief seed wasn't there depending on the viewer
I was thinking along the same principles that witches can't be seen by normies. The seed is a witch after all. Like looking at a live news report of it, they'd just see a natural disaster while those with potential would see the witch and co ruining everything.
Hell you can even talk with the weasel through a video call.
>ask a dumb kid if they see anything
I mean it does have a pretty distinctive shape. So that seems like an easy way to weed out dummies by asking them to describe it.

Is it still possible to go through with the corner image advert idea from first thread? Instead replacing the image with the grief seed, saying come eat and RESPECT?

File: drinking coffee.jpg (1.16 MB, 768x1024)

1.16 MB JPG

χ
>Block her path!

“Whoa whoa whoa, wait!” Clover scampers around quickly, skidding to a stop in front of the girl. She blocks the girl’s path with her arms outstretched. “You can’t just leave!”

The brown-haired girl blinks. “Eh?”

“I…” An image of glassy eyes and thin red strings briefly flashes in her mind. “I really, REALLY need to find her! The detective! There… there’s been a murder, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with what we are.” The wolf-girl holds up her ring.

The girl stares at the ring for a few moments, before looking away. She adjusts her hat, looking down. “It’s okay. There are lots of murders.”

“But-!” Clover stares up at her pleadingly. “I can feel it. My nose is telling me that other girls are going to become prey, too. Isn’t there any way you could help at all?”

The girl glances at Clover’s face, before wincing. She closes her eyes for a few moments, then sighs wearily. “This isn’t the place for this conversation. Go grab your pretzel.”

Oh, right, she’d almost forgotten. Clover looks back and forth between the half-eaten pretzel a few yards away and the girl in front of her, wondering if this was a trick.

“It’s alright. I’m not gonna run.” She puts her hands in her coat’s deep pockets. “You’re probably faster than me, anyway.”

The wolf-girl looks at her warily, then goes to grab her pretzel. She follows the funny hat girl closely as they walk away from the old detective’s office.

---

The pretzel was still pretty good, despite being room temperature. Clover sits across from the girl at a nearby café, nibbling on her last remaining piece of pretzel. The girl takes a sip of her black coffee.

“You sure you don’t want anything to drink?”

Clover nods. The only thing they had here was random coffee bean blends.

“Alright.” The girl sits back in her chair. She thinks for a few moments, grimaces, then crosses her arms. “You know, there’s a lot of conversations we could have on this topic. I think I’ll just cut straight to the conclusion, and hope it’s enough.” She looks the wolf-girl in the eyes. “If you look for trouble, you’ll find it. I recommend just keeping your head down and enjoying your life as it is. Do things you like to do. Spend time with people you care about. Ignore all this stuff, and if it happens to be your time, then it happens to be your time.”

The wolf-girl furrows her brow. "But..."

“Did you know the Coordinator?”

The corpse with straw-colored hair. Clover looks down. “…no.”

The girl shrugs. “Then you don’t care, and you don’t need to care. Two people die every second, and no one seems to mind. So it’s alright. No need to do anything.”

Clover frowns.

>...Is she wrong?

>>6329845
"No need... to do anything?"
>Pause. Stare at pretzel intensely.
"No need... to DO anything!?"
>Take one more bite from the pretzel before letting it dramatically fall to the ground.
>Stand!
"In 1927, the last wolf pack was eliminated in Yellowstone National Park leaving only a few lone wolves... not enough for a pack. Not enough to be WOLVES."
>Take a few steps.
"And why? The Park Managers wrongfully labeled them as destructive predators. Ranchers and farmers poisoned, shot, and trapped them. Hunters targeted them to ensure Elk, Deer, and other game could explode in population!"
>Turn around! Ears UP!
"By the end of the 20th-Century wolves were nearly eradicated from 48 States... and why? Because the average HUMAN 'didn't care'!"
>Shake head at the word 'human'. Really ruffle your hair!
"'It was alright'! 'Two wolves die every second and no one seems to mind'! 'No need to do anything!'"
>Spin and face her! Bare those teeth!
"But you know what happened, Scarfy? Someone DID do something! Wanna know what it was?"
>Pause for an answer and keep going when you don't get one in under a second
"They CARED! No one asked them to! No one graciously gave them a Wolf-O-Matic or whatever to repopulate! Howl, most people told them it wasn't worth their time!"
>POINT!
"But they cared anyways! Aldo Leopold! Adolph Murie! Diane Boyd! They didn't listen when people told them they didn't need to do anything... and now? On January 4th, 2021, all Gray Wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species list in all 48 main states!"
>Spread arms wide. Tail wag set to dramatic!
"Just like the one you see before you... Wolves... are BACK."
>Cease tail wagging.
"I don't understand human emotions... wouldn't know what to do with them if I tried, but..."
>Clutch fists at your side! Grit teeth! Shake the tear from your eye!
"But if 'Not Caring' is a human thing, well..."
>Stare Scarfy in the eyes. Intensely.
"... Then it's a good thing I ain't one. Now tell me about the detective--if my caring pays off, great. And if not, well..."
>Pose!
"Then I guess I'll see you in HOWL..."

File: police station staircase.jpg (158 KB, 609x812)

158 KB JPG

Ѫ
>Kinda sneak in.

Lorene tilts her head, observing the police station closely, then shrugs. She heads for the front door. No point to coming up with some super complex plan. If she could get a glance at the map, great, if she couldn’t, it wasn’t worth risking jail time and police suspicion, even if Olivia’s dad could probably get her out anyway.

She opens the door and steps through. The officer on front desk duty looks up. “How can I help ya?” He blinks. “Wait, you’re Olivia’s friend, right? Lorene, was it?” He jabs at the staircase behind him with his thumb. “You can head on up.” He gives a small grin. “Officer Aldridge was kinda worried about the two of you.”

“Thanks.” Lorene heads past the front desk and starts climbing the stairs slowly. Stealth wasn’t really an option at this point, but if she could get a glimpse at that map, then she knew where she would need to go, even if it had to wait.

When she just about reaches the top of the staircase, she slows down. Olivia was sitting on a long bench, leaning back against the wall boredly. Lorene frowns. Of course she had to be right there. Lorene hadn’t been to the police station very often, but she was pretty sure the main workroom for the officers was down the hallway Olivia was currently sitting in. If she wanted to steal a glance at the map, she’d have to run past her, barge into the officer workroom, and hope she could see the map within seconds. Theoretically possible, but perhaps not worth it, considering the hot water she'd probably be in shortly after.

>Accept your fate and just go sit next to Olivia, or take the chance?

>>6329864
sorry clover!!!! kinda cucked your response there by reposting the post with a very mild edit, but rest assured, i got it

also sorry in general for the slower posting

>>6328993
weeding out the dumb kids with that test is a good idea. there's also the chance the kid might be smart and say they don't see anything, which also would require a wisdom roll, but that's neither here nor there

as far as the grief seed picture, yeah, i know, i was operating under the same principle that a grief seed is a witch- my point was that i wasn't even sure if a witch would show up in a photo. because when we're not dealing with horror movie logic, the picture itself isn't magical, so it wouldn't really make sense for a normie and a guca to look at the same image and see two different things, either the image shows the witch or doesn't. (alternative being that the ink on the photo rearranges somehow?) kyubey video call could just be kyubey using incubator tech i think? overall i wasn't sure, discussed with the guca expert, and honestly i'm still not sure. but since not being sure is lame, i'm gonna defer to the canon of someone better than me.
in meguca royale thread 5, the TVs showed jimena's fingers reaching toward the sky, with no mention of the toy she crushed. this was a tv viewed by all the gucas in the tower, who should've been able to see the toy in real life, which means the tv just could not show the magic toy. i'll take that and say you can't take photos of witches or grief seeds, but i am pretty dumb. if you find some other source that disproves it, then i'll defer to you :P

>>6329007
oh yeah, of course, that's still an option

>>6329888
I furgive you. And don't apologize for slow posting! I'm just glad we're playing again

>>6329888
>incubator tech i think?
No, it was touka who built a machine to talk with Kyubey. Lot of the weird canon info comes from that girl desu.
You might not believe this, but the canon reason given for normies not seeing witches is they are straight up on a light spectrum they can't see, also touka who revealed that, also if I recall correctly she gives straight up slideshow presentations using images of witches and soul gems, that was in the anime. A bad analogy would be like how eagles can see UV light while we can't.
>still option
alright, i'll probably end up pursuing a two pronged approach
>no mention
>which means the tv just could not show the magic toy
Honestly man, feelts bit of a stretch, that QM might of just not wanted to include that in the scene because character limit and it wasn't important. The perspective character was dealing with other things as well.

QM, do you want my honest opinion of the whole Hermione and her mom confrontation scene?

>>6329901
my point is still that photos are static sheets of film or a bunch of pixels noted on a screen by a computer. as far as i'm aware, computers can't display a kind of pixel that the human eye can't see, so the witch wouldn't show up for anyone? if i piggyback off your UV light analogy, just because i take a picture with my phone, that doesn't mean i can use that old photo and see the UV wavelengths, because my phone did not record the UV wavelengths at the time. but you know what, since old camera film theoretically just takes all the light from the scene, and becomes visible through chemical preparations, i'll say if you take a picture with an analog camera you can capture it

sure, hit me bro

File: telenovela.jpg (271 KB, 850x1387)

271 KB JPG

>>6329907
>analog camera you can capture it
I bet that in the house is an old kodak laying around. I'll just do that and hope there's an old dark room or go visit the mall and hit up the darkroom.

>hit me bro
I sort of felt the Mom vitriol was less kino and more soap opera melodrama. Though I am likely less objective, considering who I am playing and how I have played so far. Like, seriously, rather than harsh words revealing the truth that she viewed Hermione as an atrocity, it was a slap until bleeding and digging nails into the wound, especially on the face, especially to a family that values perfection. Didn't fit the controlled callousness I assumed the family had; more just wanton cruelty (Hermione desu), especially as to a family placing importance on appearance, marring the face rather than just hitting the body.
I am also baffled about why it wasn't a CHA roll, unless that is something that I need to state for each time explicitly. I wanted to convince Mom to support Hermione as successor, rather than just presenting a logical argument. From my perspective, this violence should've been the result of if I tried rolling CHA but failed the check by A LOT, rather than just straight domestic abuse slap times.
I guess the closest I have so far to an equivalence that you've written is Clover and Ugly 1 breaking up, but that was the logical conclusion of her deciding to take a chunk out of someone's arm with her teeth, and Ugly 1 being a witness to it. Like this should be the sort of confrontation that would occur if I had Hermione annoy her Mom enough times, rather than just from two interactions of asking where she was, unless your plan this entire time was for her to be slapped and called an atrocity by Mom. It felt kinda really outta of left field in a way/artificial that the other moments faced by Clover or Lorene didn't.

>>6329912
that's a fair opinion to have. my great thanks for the honest feedback. i'm generally of the opinion that writing should be able to stand on its own, so if it didn't work, that's a skill issue on my end and i could've written it better. i do apologize.
intentions do matter a little bit though, and i really don't want you to feel like i was specifically out to get you, so i'll explain some of my thought processes about the whole thing. i won't say they're necessarily right, but they're what i was thinking as i was writing. they're also not intended as a defense for poor writing, if my writing is dogshit it's dogshit and i accept that, i merely present my reasoning because i do love having you as a player.

i'll say that i never even thought of the scene before you made your course of action; i thought i'd be talking about setting up billboards or whatever. i had no prior plans for it to go this far.
i've always wanted and tried to keep charisma a realistic stat. the idea that if you just hit a 100 while charisma 7, you can get a guy to instantly kill himself or follow your every order, i tried to avoid. from my reading of your action prompt, i interpreted it as you going all out in trying to convince mom and bringing up literally every single possible point against aurelia so that you could change her mind on the heiress in this single conversation. i saw that task as impossible. if you'd went with a milder approach, growing your position slowly, mom wouldn't have had as extreme a response, and char rolls would've had more of a role. with going all out, in my mind, it was effectively an unreachable magnitude to hit, and an automatic failure. at the same time, i didn't want to just tell you that and completely discourage you from doing it, because i also felt like it'd be incredibly in character for hermione to go all out, given her string of recent successes and feeling pretty good about herself (convincing the others to give up the grief seed, the beatrice disguise working completely, basically winning at school forever by getting evelyn on her side, etc). this was also a course of action done without much prior groundwork, as far as assessing the lay of the land to really gauge how receptive hermione's mom would be; i tried to put in some clues as to mom's true character with her being particular about things, and the major one being that she'd been confirmed to have noticed hermione's face change and hadn't commented on it at all, but they were probably way too fucking obscure. the combination of going all out plus mom's true character led to me writing the scene as it was written, with her hating her daughter for being so arrogant as to basically try to claim the heiress role completely. feel free to ask for elaboration, if you'd like.

hitting face reasoning in following post

as far as hitting the face, that is a true statement. i had thought of that, and that'll be sort of spoilers for when aurelia shows up again. however, as far as why i thought it might be reasonable for hermione to be hit in the face: a. mom is aware you could somehow change your appearance completely, doesn't exactly know how it works, but knows it's not as simple as just make-up or plastic surgery, since she felt your face during the earlier scene, and her finger clipped through the illusion. she would think such bruising could be covered over fairly easily, however you were doing it. b: mom thinks hermione's true face is an abomination anyway, and some cuts/bruises won't make it that much worse. also she was unable to accurately assess how much damage she really caused. aurelia's face, however, is a treasure. c: mom got pissed that you'd dare go on the overconfident rant and was a little irrational

>>6329938
>charisma a realistic stat.
I get that you don't want to have charisma be a make a guy kill himself stat, but at the same time I think the importance of it being at 7, the equivalent of having a 50:50 shot of talking down a skyscraper needs to be respected. If we're drawing on the og royale since you mentioned it earlier, a charisma magnitude 7 example (the only charisma check to reach that high if I am recalling correctly) would be Helen convincing the Coordinator to support a bluff that she had a deadman switch with the godlike witch, which obviously if it got revealed would have definite repercussions for that Coordinator's reputation and is downright insane to ask a stranger. That's the level we're working with, but you are ship master so your word is law.
>little irrational
It's more so just strikes me as needlessly risky and lacking self control, because Hermione can just go to the person with true power in the house, Dad, and ask him to punish mom for striking the face if I uses illusions to make the face scarred to a noticeable degree by the let's say the rings on her hand splitting the skin. Hell I am half tempted to do that blow this thing up even further. The whole laughing and smiling afterwards just struck me as far too gratuitous.

>>6329958
as far as charisma goes, i've used m7 charisma three times so far
one was to convince your friend to go off by herself with two complete strangers who are a little crazy to a secluded part of town where a murder happened, while she's unarmed, unable to protect herself, and her mom has no clue where she is
second was to defy pack-leader's orders after being told she could get hurt, and go in to specifically check out a corpse for relatively shaky reasons, since the police can verify the body anyway
third was to go back in even after you already used up your excuse of confirming it was your friend's corpse, and poke around a fucked up murder site
i feel like the first two were generally fair for m7, since unironically putting your life at risk just because your friend asked you to is pretty crazy. last one could've been lower. every lie you've said has also auto-passed without even a roll. convincing your mom, who's hated you for the past 14 years and helped train and educate aurelia up to be the heiress for 18 years, and who is already generally aware of aurelia's flaws, to say yeah you know what, let's scrap the aurelia idea and completely change the family dynamic, seemed a bit much for me.
also mom always smiles regardless of what emotion she's feeling, but you can do as you like.

>>6329966
Fair enough. I'll keep this in mind from now on.

>>6329877
Stay with Olivia. Friends need to stick together and I owe her an apology for earlier, as tempting as it is to spy.
>But I don’t intend to get her involved in anything remotely magical…

File: being meguca.jpg (58 KB, 1280x720)

58 KB JPG

Is this mahiru right now?

>>6331292
being wagie is suffering…

File: fancy tablecloth.jpg (338 KB, 1050x777)

338 KB JPG

€
>Go get cleaned up.

Hermione sits there for a moment longer. Birds chirp in the late afternoon sun. Her face is neutral, without any trace of emotion. Her shaking hands clench into tight fists, her nails drawing blood from her palms. The girl wordlessly stands, and returns to her room.

Cool water soothes the aching burn from her cut. She rinses her face slowly, letting the water drip back into the stone basin with small ripples, before gently drying her face with a small towel. A maid begins to help her slip into a freshly cleaned dress.

Was there anything to think about? Not particularly. Altogether, things were mostly unchanged. Hermione’s eyes flick toward the grief seed she’d temporarily laid onto her nightstand. All that remained was to continue moving forward.

When she enters the dining room, Hermione finds her sister already seated at the table, staring down at its tablecloth silently. It appeared her mother had reconsidered the seven hours of rest she’d reserved for her. “…Hello, dear sister.”

Aurelia looks up, broken from her trance. She gives a warm and genuine smile. “Hello, Hermione. How are-?” Before she can say anything more, the two of them hear their parents approaching from the hall. Aurelia quiets down. Hermione takes her seat.

>Hermione will be busy with dinner until tonight.

File: gray wolf.jpg (124 KB, 1061x707)

124 KB JPG

χ
>Caring is what saved the wolves.

“No need… to do anything?” Clover stares at her mostly-eaten pretzel. “No need… to do anything?!”

There was something wrong with that phrase. Something deeply wrong.

Clover stands, staring fiercely at the girl. The girl continues staring at her coffee, avoiding eye contact. “In 1927, the last wolf pack was eliminated in Yellowstone National Park. There were a few lone wolves still scattered about, but not enough for a pack. Not enough to be WOLVES.”

“...Okay.” The girl takes a sip of her coffee.

“Park managers had labelled them dangerous predators. Ranchers and farmers didn’t want to deal with the hassle of protecting their livestock. Hunters wanted more elk and deer to hunt. For all of them, their lives were more convenient without worrying about wolves.” Clover’s eyes harden. “By the end of the 20th century, wolves were nearly eradicated from forty-eight states. And why?” She slams her hands onto the table. “Because the average human ‘didn’t care’!”

The girl sits there silently.

“It’s alright! Two wolves die every second and no one seems to mind! No need to do anything!” Clover spins and points at the girl passionately. “You know what happened, Scarfy? Someone did do something! They CARED!” The wolf-girl paces back and forth. “Aldo Leopold! Adolph Murie! Diane Boyd! No one asked them to do anything. Howl, most people told them it wasn’t worth their time. They cared anyway! And now?” Clover stops, turning to face the girl once more. “On January 4th, 2021, gray wolves were delisted from the endangered species list in all forty-eight main states! Just like the one right before you, wolves… are back!”

The wolf-girl paused for dramatic effect, her tail electronically wagging proudly. The scarfed girl looks up at her with a forced smile, as a few random onlookers in the café, eyes drawn by the slight commotion, give a few claps of appreciation.

The tail wagging slows. Clover continues with a downcast gaze. “I… don't understand human emotions. I wouldn't know what to do with them if I tried. But…” She looks up, determined. “If ‘not caring’ is a human thing, then it’s a good thing I’m not one.”

File: bitter coffee.jpg (19 KB, 512x512)

19 KB JPG

At the conclusion of her speech, one or two cheers come from the supportive onlookers, before they return to their café activities. The girl with the funny hat just sits there, lips tightly shut as she thinks. Clover continues to stare at her determinedly. Eventually, the scarfed girl sighs, then looks up to meet Clover’s gaze. “…Listen. You’re not wrong. In fact, you’re right. Caring can make a lot of beautiful things happen. If the whole world thought like me, it’d be worse because of it.” She pauses for a moment, looking away to take a sip of her coffee. She cradles the warm cup in her hands gently. “The thing is, caring only gets you so far. When you sit down and really try to fix something… that’s when you find out how hard it really is.”

Clover takes a seat. Her response is firm. “That’s okay. How hard it is doesn’t matter to me. No one gave Adolph Murie some wolf-o-matic or whatever to repopulate the wolves. Those people thought it was something worth doing, so they did it.” Clover finishes her pretzel, then wipes at her mouth with her sleeve. “Just tell me about the detective. If my caring pays off, that’s great. If it doesn’t… then I guess I’ll see you in howl.”

The scarfed girl’s eyes are hidden under her hat. She tugs at her scarf, looking away, before putting her face in her hands and giving a soft scream of frustration. She looks back up. “Okay, look. I’m… not saying there is a magical girl killer, but say there were one. And say you manage to track her down somehow. What then?”

“What then?” Clover tilts her head, confused.

“Yeah, what then?” The girl looks at her directly, eyes completely serious. “This isn’t some fairy tale. You can’t convince her to stop. There’s no prison that can hold her- she’s a magical girl, she can break out. You don’t really have any way of stopping her at all… other than killing her.” Her voice is somber. “Can you do that? Are you willing to do that? Sure, maybe it’s theoretically the ‘right’ thing to do, but do you have what it takes to be an actual killer? Could you even live with yourself after the fact? And if it turns out you can’t, if it turns out that no matter what you’ve told yourself beforehand, you just can’t do it in the moment, when it really counts…” The girl sets her jaw. “You’re dead. She kills you.”

Clover blinks.

“…That’s just one thing you’d have to consider.” The girl sits back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling, exhausted. “I’m not trying to take this lightly. It’d just be better to avoid it entirely. No point in putting yourself on her radar. Theoretical radar.” The girl sighs.

>...Your thoughts?

File: bench kinda sucks.jpg (106 KB, 789x604)

106 KB JPG

Ѫ
>Sit down next to Olivia.

Lorene considers it for a moment, then shakes her head. She climbs the final steps, before making her way down the hall toward her friend. Olivia looks up. “Hey, Lorene.”

Lorene sits next to her on the bench. “Hey, Olivia.”

“So…” The girl tries to act nonchalant, but her excitement bleeds through her whispered words. “Are we gonna sneak out and head over there?”

Lorene leans back, resting her head on the wall behind her and crossing her arms. “Nah, probably not.”

“Really?” Olivia puts a hand to her chin, narrowing her eyes. “This isn’t some kinda roundabout trick to get me to spill the location somehow, then you head off on your own, right?”

“Nope.” Lorene shrugs. “I’m not gonna let you get involved, and you’re not gonna tell me otherwise, so that’s about it. Friends need to stick together, anyway.”

“Huh.” Olivia thinks for a second, before shrugging too. “Okay! It’d probably have been a dumb idea anyway.”

The two just sit there for a little while. Lorene breaks the silence. “…By the way, I just wanted to say sorry again. For leaving you behind.”

Olivia sighs. “It’s alright, Lor. It’s a little annoying how vague you always are nowadays, but it was probably important.”

Lorene looks down. “…Yeah.”

“By the way, if you’re wondering what we’re doing here, just sitting around,” Olivia stretches. “My dad called Ruth’s parents and set up some kinda sleepover for us at their place. He didn’t want you to have to stay alone tonight.” She glances at Lorene. “Her parents should be coming by to pick us up at some point. You can always say no, if you want, but that’s up to you.”

>That’s pretty nice. How about it? Anything else you want to say or do?

File: not that good of a person.jpg (51 KB, 1105x1080)

51 KB JPG

>>6331292
accurate

>>6331294
true

real life kinda fucked me a little bit, and this update kinda fucked me a little bit too. maybe i'll have some author's notes behind the scenes thing at the end of the thread or the end of the quest if you guys are curious, but it's really not that interesting or actually that much to talk about. anyway, sorry hermione, i decided i needed the timeline to heal/line up, so i'm gonna clover and lorene post for a bit to get them to evening too, which shouldn't take too long

>>6331782
>Ask if there's really no other way. Not even with these gem things? You thought they were important!
>Also she's thinking a LOT about this whole thing. Who the Howl is she anyways? You'll answer her question once you get yours answered!

>>6331785
Also hope all is well, QM. Glad you're still with it, for what it's worth

>>6331785
All good, QM.

some summary shit:
There's like 10 magical girls: Clover, Hermione, Lorene, Alice, Coordinator, Killer, wretched Aristotle (I'm assuming she was in the Coordinator's pictures), Red eyes, Detective (also in pictures), and blonde Teddy girl.
Alice is a toothpick and the Coordinator was strung up, so now there's 8. We (clover our social butterfly) have not yet met the Killer, Red eyes, or Teddy girl.
Killer uses red strings and is blonde.
Killer did in the Coordinator a while ago. She also stole something from the Coordinator's desk. I would guess either a journal with info or a box full of seeds.
Killer knows that two more have been contracted, likely Clover and Lorene, and probably Hermione now if she was watching the witch fight.
People are going missing, and those who investigate then go missing. Police are aware. Lorene's parents are victims of this.
Incubators are rare for some reason.
I have no clue why the killer's killing desu.

>>6331782
>takes to be an actual killer
Maybe Lorene could do it, seems mentally tough enough.
Hermione might if the killer is a commoner and also pretty enough to trigger her hate.
I think Clover could with some luck considering she took a bite out out of a girl.
>You’re dead. She kills you
I sort of think if one hits 0/100 HP, one should just keel over rather than being knocked out.

>>6332131
>dat spoiler
i'm of the same spirit, but maybe just adding a minus threshold would fix that. like, you hit -50 hp and your dead, and anything above but below 0 is considered critical damage

>>6331784
Honestly probably a good idea. I’m confused with everything going on and my head hurts after the long day. Not even sure where else I would go at this point…best to stay near friends.
>Olivia is one of the few people I can trust, but I can’t drag her into any of this, not really. Maybe her dad could provide a little information? Anything helps…
>Give Lorene a hug and try not to cry

>>6332162
>spelled the name wrong
give Olivia the hug please gm

>>6332162
>>6332164
I read this as Lorene ordering Olivia to give her a hug and try not to cry
>>6332128
Hopefully we'll find out what the motive is soon enough! I get the feeling it's a problem that'll only get worse the longer it goes...

File: mystery book.jpg (57 KB, 405x595)

57 KB JPG

χ
>Is there really no other way?

Clover thinks. Then she thinks some more. The scarfed girl continues staring at the ceiling. Clover looks at the ring on her finger. “…Is there really no other way? Can we do something with these gem thingies?”

“Gem thingies?” The girl looks back down at Clover, then at her ring. “Oh, our soul gems.” She shrugs, glancing down at her own gloved hand. “Not that I can think of. Granted, I’m not a genius or anything, so perhaps there could be something in theory, but it’d be difficult. The person with the most experience with these things would be the Coordinator, but…” The girl retreats into her scarf. “She’s not around anymore.”

“Oh.” Clover looks down, ears drooping. “…You’ve thought a lot about this whole thing, haven’t you.” Clover looks up at her curiously. “Who even are you, anyway…?”

The girl doesn’t respond for a while, simply staring into her cup at what little coffee remained. Eventually, she sighs. “Fine, I suppose you deserve to know.” She looks up with tired eyes. “My name is Melissa Holmstead. I’m the girl who wished to be like Sherlock Holmes.”

“That’s cool! I’m Clover.” The wolf-girl stares at her, the dots slowly connecting in her head. A few dots connect faster than others. “Holmstead?”

The scarfed girl winces. “Yeah, I know, it’s lame. I liked reading mysteries, and with my last name, I thought it was fate or something. I was pretty excited to make that wish.” The girl looks out the café window, staring off at nothing. “My past self was pretty dumb. In a lot of ways.”

“I think it’s cool.” As Clover leans back in her chair, the final dots connect. She immediately sits up straight. “Wait, are you the detective?!”

The girl nods. “Yeah.” She’s still staring out the window. “I was, at one point.”

Clover puts a hand to her chin. There were so many questions to ask! But, she glances up at the clock on the wall. She might have to start running home soon, or risk the time hitting angry big brother o’clock.

>What to ask? And, wait, maybe you still have to give her an answer? Should you stay out late?

>>6331843
thanks, clover! that is worth a lot

>>6332128
that's a nice summary right there

>>6332131
i also lean toward the once you're dead you're dead camp. a lot of fights are decided with a few key hits, after all

>>6332162
now you're gonna hug yourself and it's gonna be super lame and awkward and olivia will cry
:P

>>6332212
Oh golly!
>Does she know the Killer's motive?
>Any leads on who they are?
>What links the victims?
>Who might they attack next?
>Are you giving up? Can't we work together?
>Any other info or stuff you can give me?
>How can I reach you if I have more questions?
And finally
>Yes, I would. Wolves are no strangers to killing those that endanger the pack.
...
>But I'd hope I could at least understand why she did it first. Nobody kills for no reason...

File: key hit.png (664 KB, 1314x776)

664 KB PNG

>>6332217
>few key hits
if you wanted to make it really rough, you could have that after dropping below 90/100 HP, once you are at 80/100 a -10 to rolls like dex and pa to represent the impact of wounds. 70/100 be -20, and so on.

File: hug.jpg (80 KB, 828x540)

80 KB JPG

Ѫ
>Hug your friend.

Today has been a long day. A really long day, full of weirdos, murder sites, Witch hunts, and missing parents. Lorene rubs at her eyes. And she’d had a horrible night of sleep going into it, too. There weren’t really any more leads she could follow, not without Olivia following her and being put at risk. It was about time to throw in the towel.

“You okay, Lorene?”

Olivia looks at her, a little concerned. Lorene smiles at her friend. “Yeah. Just tired.”

“Alright.” Olivia crosses her arms and sits there silently.

Lorene yawns. “Is there any way I could talk to your dad? I know he doesn’t want us to look into it anymore, but maybe I could help with the investigation somehow, if he shared some information.”

Olivia snorts. “That’s funny. My dad really is too good at reading people. He’s out on patrol right now, but he told me to tell you ‘the best way you can help is by staying safe.’ He also said something about not wanting to have to explain to your parents why he let their daughter roam around to look for them.”

Lorene laughs a little. Then she hugs her friend, resting her head on her shoulder.

The girl blinks, but doesn’t move away. “What’s this for? I didn’t do anything.”

Lorene softly smiles, then closes her eyes, finally letting them rest. “It’s not for you. It’s for me.”

>Lorene will be waiting with her friend until the sleepover tonight.

File: cafe.jpg (172 KB, 550x688)

172 KB JPG

χ
>Ask ALL the questions.

Clover stands and slams her hands on the table. The girl jolts, a little surprised at the sudden motion. There were way too many questions to ask, so she had to get through all of them now! “Do you know what the killer’s motive is?!”

Melissa blinks. She seems to debate something with herself internally within the span of half a second, before responding. “There is no magical girl killer.”

“Do you have any leads on who they are?!”

“There is no magical girl killer!”

“What links the victims?!”

The rapid questioning leaves the former detective flustered. “Uh, red strings, investigating the killer- theoretical killer!”

“Who’s gonna be attacked next?”

“I don’t know?” Her thoughts are starting to get jumbled. “Whoever she sees as dangerous? Theoretically. Wait, there is no magical girl killer, so no one!”

Clover looks at her with wolf-pup eyes. “Are you really giving up? Can’t we work together?”

Melissa purses her lips. “It’s just… there’s no point.”

“Is there any other info or stuff you could give me?”

“Nope.”

“How can I reach you if I have more questions?”

“You shouldn’t.” The girl looks down. “I wouldn’t really rely on me for anything.”

“…Oh.” Clover sits back down. The girl finishes the last drops of her coffee. The two of them stare at the table as the wolf-girl thinks. She thinks about their conversation, about life and death, about finding the killer, and about what they might have to do if they did. Then she thinks about the straw-haired girl who’d been left there in the dark office, alone. “…So, to answer your earlier question.”

File: random cafe table.jpg (79 KB, 500x750)

79 KB JPG

“Hm?” The brown-haired girl looks up.

“I… think I could do it.” Clover fiddles with her fingers. “Wolves aren’t strangers to killing those that endanger their pack. So… I could do it, if I needed to.” She pauses. “But I’d hope I could understand why she did it… nobody kills for no reason.”

Melissa’s eyes soften. “Clover…” She scoots her chair closer, then pats her shoulder. “Look, I get it. You want to do the right thing. But it’s okay. You won’t ever have to do… that.” She offers a brief smile. “Don’t worry about it. There is no magical girl killer, okay?” Her voice trembles slightly at the end. She looks down. “…This world really is messed up, huh.”

Clover doesn’t respond.

Melissa stares at her lap, then scrunches her face tightly. “Listen. I’ll give you some advice, okay. And this advice is really gonna suck because you’re a good kid, but since I don’t know if anything’s going to happen, I’d rather you be prepared for the real world.” The former detective takes a deep breath, before looking up and staring at the wolf-girl with a steely gaze. “If there was a killer, and if you ended up having to face her… don’t bother trying to understand her. It won’t help you. She’s not human.” The girl looks away. “That’s it.”

>…huh.

Psst! One time payback for Sam-sam metagaming. Your pocket!

>>6332631
Hmm... Howl intriguing, HolmHolm...
>>6332645
I... I THINK I GET IT
>Offer Holmie some WOLF EARS
"Try 'em on! Wolves aren't scared of anything!"
>Whether or not she accepts them, also hand her my phone with the NOTES APP open
"At least add your phone number and stuff!"

>>6332738
are you gonna tell her what the ears do, or no? (may or may not affect the char roll incoming :P)

File: Spoiler Image (231 KB, 1186x1536)

231 KB JPG

>>6332738
>I... I THINK I GET IT
NOPE

>>6332976
holy FUCK thank fuck ugly 3 no longer exists as a character

>>6332874
Sorry, big day!
>Tell her it'll allow her to join THE WOLF PACK and we can look out for each other!
>>6332976
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

>>6332131
Mmm I’m not sure if Lorene really has it in her. She puts on a tough face, but deep down…I don’t think she could really know either way until the instant she has to decide

>>6333115
no worries at all :P
alright, since you were pretty much honest, i think this is an m2 charisma roll to convince her to put on the ears (if you lied, it would have been m3, since with her detective magic she would have known the ears were magical and been more suspicious of you hiding the fact)

current factors going into my decision:
she just met you today
she is uncertain of what the magic ears will do to her, and whether it might compromise her mentally
but clover displayed her lovable nature through their conversation, and was just about as honest as she could be about the ears

as always, i am open to negotiations

>>6333142
oh also she is a little self-conscious about it being cringe, as teenage girls generally are

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>6333142
WOLVES
DON'T
LIE

>>6333128
>Lorene really has it in her
I believe in her. Also because she's the strongest both mentally and physically of the three.
And because if Hermione is there, likely disguised as a girl with bleached hair, I'll support any mind roll with charisma to make a proper royale happen.

holy fuck lads these soulless 7pm meetings are going to be the end of me

>>6333156
sorry clover, i realized i was being a dumbass and about to take away your freedom too quickly. obviously this is a pass, but after you get the detective's number and get her to put on the ears, what do you want/plan to do? you could head home, or you could do other things with your new packmate until you inevitably get a call, or whatever else really

>>6334596
Hang in there, king. Hang in there... Alphas don't quit, can I get an #awoo

I think before my brother yells at me I'd like to...
>Have her let me into her office, give me the tour of all the case notes she has
and
>Tell her to stay alive and keep me informed if she hears about any developments. She doesn't need to get into the thick of it, just let me know if she hears anything via phone.
Oh and
>Her office was in the Mall--does she happen to know who those goons in black suits might have belonged to the other day? The ones that nearly wolfnapped me? Because it was kind of a big deal!

>>6334603
Ooh and if she has any CCTV footage I wanna see it too! For both the murdery stuff AND the wolfnapping

>>6334604
>CCTV footage
Clover smart enough for this to occur to her?

>>6335084
She's a hyperactive iPad-era kid, I think she would ask for visual aids, yea. Also wolves are always aware of any and all trailcams in their forests--LOOK IT UP!

File: Wolf-Pack-Notices-Camera-(...).jpg (110 KB, 1280x716)

110 KB JPG

>>6335103
Clover's not lying, it's really true that wolves get spooked by trail cams. Another uncanny wolf fact to make my nighttime trail jaunts that much more unsettling

cock