>>29754017

“I’d have done it if it formed.” Su sticks her tongue out at you. She was the second oldest at 17, a couple years under you. Serena was a few months behind, and Nicky the youngest at 16. The Old Man… you weren’t sure of his age, but he had to be over 50. You wonder how he hasn’t Blissed out yet.

“Sure, right.”

“You’re just scared I’m gonna do better than you. Hey, Serena.”

Serena smiles, setting a steaming basket down on the table. “I baked some bread. Here, there’s enough for us all. Where’s Nicky?”

“She’s still working on the other ANIMA system. Gets lost in it easily, you know.”

“How do you think it even works?” You ask.

Su shrugs. “Magic.”

“By the way, Noble. The Old Man asked for you. He says it can wait a while, just something you should know. And, uh…” Serena leans in closer.

“Mm-hm?” You try to chew as fast as you can, but it just won’t go down.

“Well… Never mind.” She turns away. “I’ll see you guys later. I’m gonna head out, see if there’s anything to scavenge.”

She exits, leaving the room silent.

“What was that about?”

You shrug. You’re not sure, either. You stand up and pour yourself a glass of water to help the bread go down.

What do you do, now?

Voting is currently open.

[Go to the Old Man.] [2 votes from previous thread]
[Talk to Su a bit more.]
[Find Nicky.]
[Help Serena.] [1 vote from previous thread]

>>29754062
>[Help Serena.] [1 vote from previous thread]

>>29754062
>[Help Serena.]

>>29754062
>Help Serena

>>2975406
>Help Serena

>>29754081
>>29754217
>>29754263
>>29754287

Serena wins. Writing.

>>29754297

You gulp down your bread at last and chase it with more water.

“Guess I’ll go find out. Su, gonna come with me?”

The other pilot shakes her head. “Nah. I should find Nicky while the bread’s still warm. She probably hasn’t eaten since yesterday.”

Yesterday…

Fire and ash whipped your trailer as you left the city behind. The bridges across the Detroit River had all long since collapsed, and there was no way for you to ford it. Heading further south was your only option.

You stiffen. It was the only option.

“Right. Where are we right now, anyway?”

“Not sure. We’ve been following I-75 down, so… maybe Indiana? Close to Cincinnati? Old Man probably has a better idea.”

You head out of the trailer.

“Serena, hey. Need help?”

“Mmm... not really, I guess.”

The trailer had stopped beside a small farm, by the looks of it. No footprints around, no gang signs. With any luck, it’d still be untouched. Good foraging grounds. Serena stands up, basket in hand. You notice berries like red jewels rolling around in it.

“Fresh fruit? Feels like I haven’t had any in years.”

“I know, right?” She wipes her mouth. “Here. Raspberries.”

You pick one out of the basket. Tart, sweet, and warm from the sun.

“There’s plenty more around back, I think. There’s a bunch of them just growing around. Maybe it used to be an orchard.”

“Maybe.”

What do you do?

>>29754584
>What do you do?
Pick raspberries with Serena.

>>29754584
>>29754654
Sounds good to me.

>>29754654
Sure, let's do it.

>>29754654
>>29754788
>>29754823

“Come on. I’ll show you which ones are the best to pick.”

She takes you hand and drags along behind to the back of the ranch house. Sure enough, raspberry bushes sprawled in every direction.

“Alright, alright. Got another basket?”

“Nope. Just this one.” She wraps your arm around yours. “Come on, and be careful not to step on them.”

You let yourself smile as she shows you which ones to pick, as she pulls each berry off the vine and drops them into the basket. Her hands work much faster than yours. The two of you take your time filling the basket, feeding each other a berry after picking a few. The sun beats down, a light breeze flows in, and the soft dirt under your feet radiates its collected warmth. It would nice, you think, if you could just live like this.

“Hey. Noble.”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t we stop?”

“We still have the rest of this basket to fill. Come on, can't disappoint the others."

"No, not that."

"Then..."

“The running, the fighting, all of that. Why don't we just settle down here and forget about all of that? Just live like this until... until we Bliss out?”

What do you say?

>>29754905
Because its our duty Serena.

>>29754905
"I can't just leave everyone behind... They need me. I love you Serena, I want to be with you, but I don't have much time left. I want to make a difference before I bliss out."

>>29754905
"Because of all the other people who want to live that long. We must persevere, to save as many as we can."

>>29755035
>>29755079
>>29755094

“And pretend none of it’s happening? Aliens didn’t kill everyone I know? I can’t do that, Serena.”

“I’m not asking you to forget, I’m just asking you to let it go, so we can-“

“This is our duty. This is what’s been entrusted to us. HQ on the east coast, all those other teams, they’re all counting on us. We have to keep going, for everyone’s sake.”

“But Noble, the ANIMA works. You proved it! Why do you have to keep on using that thing, why do you have to risk your life?”

“And leave it to Su, leave it to Nicky and the Old Man? No, I don’t turn my back on my friends like that. If they die because I didn’t step up to the plate, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Then we can let them join us! We can all just live, live here, and not worry about another attack, about finding enough food to last through the next winter. Send what we know to another team! There’s a garden here, there’s seeds in the barn, we could grow everything we-“

“I don’t have that long left, anymore.”

“Noble-“

“I’m 19 years old. Most folks Bliss when they hit 18. I don’t know if the next time I go to sleep, I’ll wake up. Could be an hour from now, could be a year from now. Those alien bastards took my family from me, and they’re gonna take most of my lifespan. I’ve come to terms with it. I know I’m going down, and I’ve long decided that I’m going down swinging. I want to… I’m going to make a difference before I Bliss out.”

“Noble…”

You clench your fists tight.

“We used to live so long. A hundred years, if we got lucky. Now, twenty, not much more. I love you, Serena, but this… this is bigger than just you and me. So much bigger…”

Serena turns away from you.

“… Let’s finish up this basket.”

---

>>29755412

“Hey, you two! How’d it go? So tell me, Noble, is she a screamer?”

Serena puts a full basket of raspberries on the table. “Help yourself. I’ll pick some more tomorrow. Whatever’s left, I’ll try and make jam out of it.”

She leaves the small kitchen and heads to the back of the trailer, closing the door shut behind her.

“Maybe that was the wrong question to ask?”

“Su, not now.”

“Come on. Tell me about what happened.”

“Old Man still needs to talk to me.”

“Old Man can wait. But if you and Serena are on bad terms, that’s bad news when you pilot.”

What do you do?

>>29755537
>"She asked me to run away from it all. I still have unfinished business. That's basically the whole of it."

>>29755537
"Su, you are a girl right?" You smirk. "What do you do when you have a fight and it doesn't look like it's gonna be resolved? I want to make up with Serena, but I don't know..."

>>29755576
Pretty much this

>>29755576
>>29755587
>>29755626

You’re not sure, yourself, exactly what happened.

“She, uh, asked me to run off with her. Get away from…” You gesture around you. “All of this. I still have unfinished business. That’s about it.”

“Is that all? Well, I guess that could be it. Serena’s a lot more girly than I am.”

You snort. “You are a girl, right, Su?”

“I got tits and I got ass! Not that I would ever think of flaunting my God-given graces.”

“What do you do when you have a fight, and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna be resolved? I want to make up with Serena, but I don’t know what to say. It’s like we’re at opposite ends.”

“You probably are, knowing her. I’ll try and talk to her, but for now, just give her some time, okay?”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, someone’s gotta keep us together! And I hate seeing either of you unhappy.”

“Thanks anyway. You’re a good friend, Su.”

“Ha, of course I am.” She laughs, then hits you lightly in the arm. “Hey, take some of these berries to Nicky for me. I’m gonna talk to Serena right now.”

“Sure thing.”

Su stands up and walks over to the door at the end of the kitchen. “… a little jealous…”

“Say something?”

“Huh? No, nothing at all! Go on, get going!”

What do you do?

>>29755989
>What do you do?
Bring the berries to Nicky

>>29755989
Bring the berries to Nicky

>>29755989
Go to Old Man. Ask him for advice. Whenever possible, make it clear to Serena that you want to spend as much of your last months with her as possible.

>>29755989


>>29756048
>>29756058
Visit Nicky with Berries then see the Old Man.

>>29756078
Writing.

>>29756134

You let Su work her magic while you transfer some berries into a bowl. “Wait, where do you think she is?”

But Su’s already gone.

You head back to the ranch house. Maybe Nicky was inside, looking for more scrap. Maybe she was in the other trailer, with the ANIMA equipment and the Old Man. She’d been spending a lot of time with him, lately. You tried to avoid him as much as you could, or get over your interactions as quickly as possible. He wasn’t right in the head. Anyone who’s stayed awake and stayed alive as long as he has couldn’t possibly be sane. Nearly six years straight, never sleeping. You’d lose it after a week, at best. There’s something admirable in that. Something deeply wrong, but admirable.

“Mr. Jurick. How are you this afternoon?”

“I’m, uh, just fine, thanks. I heard from Serena that you wanted to talk?”

“Hardly a talk. I merely wanted to congratulate you on your effort. Don’t feel too bad about Detroit, either. You performed magnificently against the drone. As well as any of us could have hoped. Ah, raspberries. You are taking those to young Ms. Friedman?”

“Yes, sir.” You don’t know why you called him “sir.” He just had that air to him.

“No need to be so formal, Mr. Jurick.” He smiles, a grin like a shark’s, with a tall, withered frame. Bloodshot eyes, too large for his face.

“That’s awfully rich, coming from you, Old Man. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call any of us by our last names.”

“Ha! I suppose so. Well, carry on. And, ah, be gentle around Ms. Friedman. She is still inside, and she is a little upset right now.”

The Old Man walks over to his own trailer. You head inside the house.

“Hey, Nicky. Nicky?”

No response. What do you do?

[Check the attic]
[Check the basement]
[Leave the berries on the kitchen table for her.]
[write-in]

>>29756541
>[Check the attic]
Call her name first, and say that we're coming in.

>>29756541
>[Check the attic]
attics are much scarier than basements

>>29756541
>[Check the attic]

>>29756541
>[Check the attic]

>>29756627
>>29756634
>>29756638
>>29756650

Writing.

>>29756667

You check the attic. Nicky did always like high places. “Nicky, I know you’re up there. I’m coming up, okay?”

“Stop. Don’t come in.”

“You alright?”

“Fine. Just leave me alone.”

“I’ve got some raspberries for you.”

“Leave them by the ladder. I’ll get them later.”

“You sure you’re okay up there?”

She doesn’t say anything. What do you do?

>>29756765
>>29756765
Leave the berries by the ladder
"Don't do anything stupid"

>>29756765
"Nicky, you know you can talk to me right? It's alright, I'm your friend. Anyways, I'm leaving the berries." Leave the berries.

>>29756765
Go check up on her.

>>29756765
Leave berries at ladder. Tell her you're available to talk at any point.

>>29756788
>>29756805
>>29756941

“Alright. You can talk to me anytime, you know? I’m your friend. I’ll leave these here for you.” You set the berries down and walk away.

“Don’t do anything stupid, okay? We’re all here for you.”

Maybe you should sleep in the ranch house, tonight. It won’t be as easy to get moving if you get attacked, but you don’t think a drone would go out of its way to attack a bit of nothing. They preferred to attack dense population sectors, killing with a minimum of effort. It’d be a sight more comfortable than the old bunks in the trailer, at any rate.

Maybe you’ll bring it up at dinner.

For now, it seems you have a bit of free time. What do you do?

[Gather more supplies from the woods nearby. You may be able to hunt something as well.]
[Test out the Anima some more. You’ll need Serena with you for that.]
[write-in]

>>29757132
>[Gather more supplies from the woods nearby. You may be able to hunt something as well.]

>>29757132
>[Gather more supplies from the woods nearby. You may be able to hunt something as well.]

>>29757132
>[Gather more supplies from the woods nearby. You may be able to hunt something as well.]

>>29757241
>>29757253
>>29757272

Writing.

>>29757498

You head back to the trailer, open up a luggage compartment, and pull out an air rifle and a backpack. You know enough about field greens to forage, and you might come across a rabbit or something. The gun would do you no good against something big, but it looked imposing enough to give a would-be attacker pause. Some fresh meat would go well with everyone, tonight. You open up the backpack, pull out a long knife, and slip it down the ankle of your boots.

You also take a couple bottles and fill them up, then head into the woods.

[Roll 1d100s to determine successful foraging]

Rolled 47

>>29757587

Rolled 66

>>29757587
Food get.

Rolled 12

>>29757587

When is my next mission?

them Food get.

Rolled 28

>>29757587
Just how many rolls do you consider when rolling for actions?
First three? First five?

>>29757767
First four.

>>29757605
>>29757609
>>29757620
>>29757767

No meat today, but plenty of dandylion, shepherd’s purse, and other wild greens. Some mushrooms caught your eye, but you’ve heard far too many horror stories about them. You didn’t risk it.

You hear snapping branches behind you. You turn around to look, but it seems like nothing’s there. You can hear it, though. Something’s definitely moving through the brush. What do you do?

Rolled 45

>>29757801
Ready your weapon

>>29757801
Set a trap. Use your knowledge of the area and find a blind spot. Then get a vantage point and fire at what comes if they are hostile.

>>29757801
It's Su or Serena. We have an impending love polygon mess.

We'd have to fuck more than one girl to have a chance of dealing with the non-mook enemies, so let's start making headway with it.

I wonder if installing free-love libertine methods would alleviate some of the incoming drama.

>>29757905
>>29757910

Heading on a walk, need to get some fresh air. I'll go ahead with this, or whatever the majority is, when I get back. Should be about 30 minutes, writing time anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. Hopefully no more than that.

>>29758274

Whoever or whatever it is, they’re still several minutes away. You pull some rope from your backpack and set up a basic snare, then take a vantage point in the undergrowth.

Footsteps. Unmistakably human. You don’t know if they’re part of your group – better not to assume anything.

You wait.

Splash of brown hair, dark-lidded eyes. Tall for her age. “Nicky? Nicky, don’t move!”

She doesn’t pay attention. She walks right into the trap, and is hoisted up into the air with a scream.

“Aaaaah! Omigod, oh god, Noble? That was you?”

“Yeah, it was. Hang on a second, I’ll get you down.” You grab her by the waist and easily lift her over your head. “Alright, swing your legs over my shoulder.”

“Like this?”

“Yeah, just like that. There we go, just like a piggyback ride. Hold still, now.”

You lean down a little to pull the knife from your boot, slice the rope, then set her down.

“What are you doing out here?”

Then the Bliss hits you like a wave of exhaustion. God dammit, not now. You blink several times.

“I wanted to apologize, from before. I shouldn’t have worried you like that…” She steps in towards you, not quite meeting your gaze.

“O-Oh. Is that so?” You fight off the Bliss as well as you can. Your muscles are slow to obey. “Come on, it’s danger…” The words die in your mouth.

Nicky’s hands press against your stomach, travel up your chest. You can scarcely stand. “Nnn.. Nicky, stop…”

“… No.”

Your thinking slows to a crawl. Your body won’t listen. It’s too easy to just let whatever happen, happen.

What do you do?

Rolled 97

>>29759363
FIGHT IT

>>29759363
"Save them all. Please."

>>29759439
Roll 1d100's.

Rolled 28

>>29759469
Here goes nothing.

Rolled 53

>>29759469

Rolled 53

>>29759469

>>29759494
>>29759505
>>29759611
>>29759439

Writing. I'll include the 97 this time.

Rolled 9

>>29759634
Thank you based Mars

>>29759674

You refuse.

You won’t let it end like this. But it’s difficult, so difficult. Your legs tremble. It’s all you can do to stay awake. You feel Nicky’s lips press against yours, her tongue sliding across your teeth. She tastes like raspberries. It’s so easy to give in.

“N… ssss… Sa-“

You’re interrupted by another kiss.

“I don’t care about Serena. I don’t care about Su, the Old Man. None of them. I want you.” She pushes against you. Your knees buckle, and you fall to your back. You try to move your arm up, but Nicky lies on top of you, grabs ahold of your hand.

“I can’t stand him. The things he does to me…”

Her hand slides down your stomach, down to your crotch, rubbing.

“The things he does to me…”

The Bliss attack still holds you down. Stay awake. Stay awake. If you fall asleep, you’ll never wake again. Just have to get through this, just like the others before.

“Nicky...!”

“I know. I’m horrible. I’m disgusting, ruined. But let me have this, Noble. I want you… to stain me. Get rid of him in me. Get him out of me.”

You feel tears drop on your cheek.

What do you do?

>>29759866
Hug her, "I'm sorry I didn't know. I didn't know. I won't let him hurt you anymore."
Continue to fight off sleep.

Rolled 86

>>29759866
Fight the sleep, but let her have her way. She deserves it.

>>29759866
"Nicky, you're beautiful. Don't let anybody think you're less than amazing."

... Is this "he" known to anybody? I know there's some pre-existing fluff for the setting, but I've never read it.

>>29759866

Keep fighting off the bliss Otherwise let her keep going, as we try and comfort her.

>>29759996
>>29760009
>>29760025
>>29760067

I'll keep the 86 for the Bliss roll.

We need a consensus. Do you let her have her way, or do you resist?

Rolled 73

>>29760154
Let her have her way.

>>29760154
Let her have her way.

Rolled 76

>>29760154
Have her way. Bite your thumb, cause pain to stay awake.

>>29760154
In the absence of information: let her have her way.

I just wish I knew what Nick's... issues are.

>>29760186
>>29760206
>>29760225
>>29760238

Writing.

>>29760238
>I just wish I knew what Nick's... issues are.
They're kind of easily inferred.

>>29760292
Some information can be inferred, information that is rather distressing. However, I don't know who this "he" is, or anything else that's going on with Nicky; I can only suggest bland, generic conversation with her.

Rolled 27

>>29760520
>I can only suggest bland, generic conversation with her.

How horrific

>>29760025
>>29760520
Sorry, "he" is the Old Man. I thought you'd already figured it out. I tried to make it fairly obvious.

Rolled 100

>>29760558
Mars, I thought it was obvious if it's any consolation.Haha

>>29760520
>I don't know who this "he"

There are only two male characters so far. Us and our commander "Old Guy". So unless she's having a PTSD episode from way back or the QM is intentionally misleading us, she probably means him.

>>29760586
Aww, thanks.

You fight to stay awake… and no more than that. The way you feel, you reckon you wouldn’t be able to do anything about if even if you tried. A part of you you’re ashamed to admit is enjoying this. A part of you hates that you’re not even putting up a fight. You close your eyes.

Nicky kisses you again, and this time you return it in earnest. And you swear – wordlessly, as she undoes your belt buckle, that the Old Man will pay for what he’s done.

The sun is red on the horizon by the time she finishes on top of you. Shuddering. Crying. Eyes glazed over in light of the act.

She lies on top of you, not letting you pull out. Her tears keep dripping down your cheek, down the line of your jaw. The Bliss abates at last, and your strength returns. She dismounts, turns away from you. You hear the rustling of clothes.

You hate it. You let it happen. You can’t stand it. The guilt burns in your chest.

You pull yourself up, put yourself away. Nicky is at your side as you stand up. Thin arms wrap around your waist, and she buries her face in your chest.

“Nicky, you’re…”

What were you going to say? ‘You’re beautiful, don’t let anybody think you’re less than amazing?’ The words are hollow in your mouth.

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” And what else? You won’t let him hurt you anymore? What a cliché. You grit your teeth.

What do you do? What do you say?

>>29760558
You did fine. It' was plenty obvious.

Ps. Next time we have a misunderstanding like that it would be awesome if you didn't answer and just let us squirm.

>>29760636
how about I almost bliss out and you fuck me whats the matter with you?

>>29760636
"I'll protect you Nicky. From now on I'll protect you."

>>29760644
Ha! Well, it was a tempting idea, certainly, but I wanted to give the guy a break.

>>29760685
>whats the matter with you?

Sakura Matou syndrome that's what.

Rolled 89

>>29760685

That souns good

>>29760636
"I'm here for you Nicky. I want to protect you, you're my friend. It's hard to come by now and days." Ask her if she's willing to talk about what's been happening with her, but not push if she's not ready.

>>29760685
>>29760636
I'd like to mention we almost Bliss'd but not be judgmental about it.

>>29760756
Seconded.

Three for sympathetic, two for not-so-sympathetic. Writing.

>>29760788
I'll include that, too, as it doesn't contradict.

>>29760841

“Nicky… I’ll protect you. You’re my friend, and friends are hard to come by nowadays.”

“… You almost Blissed out. I know the signs. I knew you were fighting it.” She whimpers into your shirt. “You shouldn’t have a friend like me.”

“I did almost Bliss out, that’s right, but I wouldn’t have… wouldn’t have…” You sigh. “Let you do as you wanted, if I didn’t want it myself.”

There it is, now. Out in the open.

“But this can’t happen again, can it? Noble?”

What do you say?

>>29760968
"that depends on you" kiss her

>>29760968
"We just have to be honest with Serena. We our here that. I don't know if we can do this again or if it's right."

>>29761049
owe her*

Rolled 78

>>29760968
Kiss her

>>29761049
>>29760968
"I can't answer that. At least not right now."

>>29761044
>Almost Bliss out
>Proceed to immediately break a relationship

It's like you don't know how to play this game.

Oh god why did you guys let her do that.

>>29761044
>>29761084
>>29761049
>>29761106

Two yes, two uncertain. We need a tiebreaker, looks like.

>>29761153
It's fine as long as we don't do something that breaks our Serena relationship.

>>29761182
I'M PRETTY SURE WE DID JUST THAT
>>29761084
WHY

>>29761049
this seems good. it would be easy to mess things up from here.

>>29761250
>I'M PRETTY SURE WE DID JUST THAT

Not necessarily. I've seen relationships survive worse. But then, I've also seen them crumble from pettier things.

>>29761182
This never has to get out. Nicky would agree that this was a mistake.

The only way we screw up our Serena relationship is to keep activly going after Nicky as a love interest.

>>29761295
Tie broken, vote goes to uncertain. Writing, and wrapping up this session.

>>29761084
Vetoing this. Seriously. Let's not make this worse. We're cheating with Serena. Not that I would expect /tg/ to know anything about that.

>>29761451
It's alright, things have already been voted in the other direction.

>>29761334

“I don’t know, Nicky. I don’t know if we can do this again, or if it’s right.”

You sigh deeply.

“I can’t answer that. At least, not right now.”

“I understand.” She squeezes tighter. “And Serena?”

“I guess we’ll just have to be honest with her, if it comes up. I owe her that much.“

“I… I see.” Nicky lets you go. “We should get back, shouldn’t we? Sun’s setting, a-and they’re probably already cooking dinner, and…”

“Yeah.” You stare at the sun as it finally drops down below the horizon. Through the trees, the clouds flare purple, yellow, red, blue, so many colors. “Let’s go back.”

You look down at Nicky. She looks away.

She didn’t look at you even once as the two of you headed back to the house.

---

END

That's it for today. Thanks for playing, everyone. What did you guys think of today's session? Anything I can improve, anything you'd like to see?

Nice thread. See you again soon.

>>29761490
>>29761543

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
Good job Mars. That Nicky question cause some real stress and even a little infighting. Perfect Bliss Stage QMing.

>>29761543
Thanks for running. I liked how we had more control, it was fun.

shifty ass players cheating on serena while i was away. fucking sneak dissers that's that shit i don't like.

>>29761554
Thanks. Definitely! Next thread will be tomorrow, probably at the same time, 16:00 server time. I'll keep you guys updated through Twitter if anything changes.

>>29761580
I was hoping these decisions weren't going to be easy for you guys. Thanks for the compliment!

>>29761587
No problem! I did say I'd leave things up to you guys as much as I can, and I'll try to keep it that way until we bring this to an end.

>>29761604
Trust me, anon, I know how you feel. We could have at least tried to resist a little. On the other hand, with them being hormonal teenagers under near-constant threat of death, I think it's still in-character.

Good writing.
Do CCQ. You can do it.

>>29765414
I'm sorely tempted... but Hexer was asked to do it, so Hexer gets first crack at it. Unless he says straight-up that he doesn't want to do it, it's his project.

>>29765695
BUT I DON'T WANNA WAIT.

>>29766107
I know, I can't wait for it either, but I'm not going to snatch it out from under him.