>>3446093
>Get out of bed and get ready, you need to be at work in an hour.
>Try not to think of yesterday's events.

Funnily enough, Wolfgang is just waking up, and I'm now heading to sleep. Tomorrow we'll get this new thread kicked off with whatever vote's the most popular!

Have a good night.

>>3446101
good night sweet prince

>>3446093
>Get out of bed and get ready, you need to be at work in an hour.

>>3446098
>>Get out of bed and get ready, you need to be at work in an hour.

>>3446093
>Get out of bed and get ready, you need to be at work in an hour.
See you when you wake up OP

>>3446093
>wake up, get up, get out there

>>3446093
>Get out of bed and get ready, you need to be at work in an hour
>Dress for absolute maximum style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATcKBMYYSJs

Tunes related

>>3446093
>Get out of bed and get ready, you need to be at work in an hour.

File: GxG.png (598 KB, 800x500)

598 KB PNG

>>3446093
Here's the OP pic with the title included

>>3446564
>>3446093
oh derp, just realized you already put it in

>>3446564
Only just saw the title in the OP pic... cute.

>>3446093
Just finished reading the first thread and was pleasantly surprised. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

>>3446093
>>Get out of bed and get ready, you need to be at work in an hour.
Sweet dreams.

Good afternoon! Sorry for the delay, been way busy this morning. Thankfully I've got the most of my work done, so it's time to rise up and get the day started! Writing now.

You’re really tempted to just bury yourself under your blanket and forget the day, perhaps even screaming a little and having a long brooding session. Unfortunately, you do have a business to run, so you swing your legs out from under the covers and pull your half-naked ass to your feet.

Your room is quite a small area, as is most of your apartment. Whilst you did still have some money to your name, you didn’t really see the point in keeping more than a small living space if you were the only one there. That’s why your room only contains a double bed, your closet, a dresser, and a desk with your PC on top of it – considering you spent most of your time at the arcade, you hadn’t even bothered to put up any decorations.

Putting aside your depressing household, you yawn and walk into the other room, breezing through the kitchen as you make your way towards the bathroom. Considering that if your predictions were correct, you’d have a hell of a day today, so you’re gonna take it on while being SQUEAKY CLEAN.

You are a business owner after all, you have standards.

After a long and dramatic anime shower scene - water glistening off of your body as you lean your head against your forearms that are tactically placed against the wall – you step out of the shower and begin drying your hair as you walk back towards your room. Your skin was still flushed from the hot water even with the cool air of your apartment, and as you make your way into your room once more, you find yourself confronted with the first choice of the day.

What do you wear to work?

>Dress classy – you’re expecting people to be poking around, so you might as well look good.
>Dress normal – you have no reason to pretty up for anyone, you’d just go as you always did.
>Dress casual – the amount of shits you can muster for this day equals 0, so you’re just gonna throw on shit and hope that it works. You know, like a tramp.

>[Bonus points for describing the outfit you want along with the vote!]

>>3447051
>Dress normal – you have no reason to pretty up for anyone, you’d just go as you always did.
Better to hide ourselves
A orange and white shirt with the number 10 on it. I'm thinking he dresses like Travis touchdown.

>>3447051
>Dress normal – you have no reason to pretty up for anyone, you’d just go as you always did.

>Dress normal
Let's not let 0phelia mess up our wardrobe choices along with the entire rest of our life

>>3447051
>Dress normal – you have no reason to pretty up for anyone, you’d just go as you always did.

>>3447061
>>3447064
>>3447090
>>3447099
Time to get dressed and get out the door. Writing now!

>>3447051
>dress normal
Jeans and overlarge hoodie. Black, black, black, maybe some dark gray or edgy red to spice things up. We're not actually trying to be an angsty emo, we just naturally tend that way. We do appreciate how it makes our reflection look when we stare broodily out of windows (especially when it's raining).

We've also never heard of a comb. Screw those slicked-back-hair days of our youth.

>>3447051
>Dress normal – you have no reason to pretty up for anyone, you’d just go as you always did.

Black jeans, white sneakers, white socks, a white t-shirt, and wristwatch.

You begin to dig around in your closet and dresser for a suitable outfit to wear for the day, and after about five minutes of work, you decide on a combination that you think will work. Walking back into the bathroom, you look yourself up and down in the wall mirror that’s mounted on the back of the door.

Your outfit was a bit more colorful than usual due to the white and orange shirt adorning your torso, but the black jeans and maroon hoodie really rounded it out, in your opinion. Your hair stays uncombed – not because you didn’t want to comb it, but you didn’t have the time. It had been a bitch to get your hair presentable back on the competitive scene for events, and it was still a bitch now. After sliding on a wristwatch, you give yourself another once over – yep, definitely good to go.

With your riveting fashionable aching now satisfied, you get your shoes on and walk out of your apartment, locking the door behind you. The air outside is as chilly as it was yesterday, although not enough to pierce the warmness of your hoodie. Goddamn, this had been a pretty wise purchase.

Anywho, you begin walking to work, popping into a gas station to grab a breakfast sandwich and a coffee on the way. It seemed like the town was as quiet as it always had been, nearly no cars to be seen as the local businesses opened. You were aware that you opened pretty early for an arcade, but you had always been an early riser, so you didn’t mind starting up at 7 AM every day. You eventually make it to your arcade, only to find something that initially made you freeze up – someone hanging out right outside the entrance with a dark hoodie.

It wasn’t until you could spot the crimson hair of Cinder peeking from the hood that you shook off the feeling, your pace slowing as you approach the entrance. You can spot the trash bin knocked down by 0phelia still laying on its side further down the street, the five holes she had stomped into it still fresh in your mind.

She was freakishly strong, that’s for sure.

>Try and spook Cinder.
>Walk up to her normally.

>>3447194
>Walk up to her normally.

>>3447194
>Walk up to her normally.

>>3447194
>Walk up to her normally.
Lets get this day over with.

>>3447194
>Walk up to her normally.

>>3447194
>Try and spook Cinder.

>>3447194
>Walk up to her normally.

>>3447198
>>3447202
>>3447203
>>3447207
>>3447216
No need to startle her! Writing now.

You briefly entertain the idea of trying to spook your friend, but you ultimately decide against it. It’s far too early in the morning for any shenanigans. With that in mind, you walk past her and pat her on the shoulder in greeting, to which she looks up at you and takes out her headphones.

“Mornin’.” She says, lowering her hood and letting her long hair flow out. That must have been a bitch to brush in the morning, but she always makes it look fine, so she must not have any issue with it. Maybe you should ask her for hair-care tips? Nah, another time.

“Morning. How’re you?” You ask her, fishing for your keys that you had hurriedly jammed into your pocket. She stretches her arms before she responds, her arms popping as she does.

“Can’t complain. Looks like you were right, though.”

“About what?”

“I’ll show you.” She pulls out her phone and fiddles with it, eventually finding what she’s looking for and turning the screen towards you. You lean forward, and you let out a long sigh.

There it was, the address for your arcade. You had officially been doxxed. Sadly, you had been expecting this.

“It was taken down almost immediately, but a bunch of people are putting it up in all kinds of places. Looks like you’re in for a hell of a week.”

You sigh and unlock the door, stepping through the threshold and turning on the lights. The soothing blues and purples do nothing to calm you as you move further in to get the machines up and running. Cinder follows, idly sorting through her news feed.

“Is it too late to close this place down?” You ask, feeling your phone buzz against your leg. You pay it no mind for the moment, walking over and switching on various power supplies and hearing the whirring of machinery.

“Absolutely, because if you try to, I’ll break your legs.” She giggles, clapping you on the shoulder as she moves past you towards the Warscape machines. “If you get bored, come and watch me play, or even play a round with me yourself!”

“Fat chance, I’m not stepping into that game any time soon if I have anything to say about it.”

“Suit yourself!” She plops down in the booth and pulls the helmet over her head, the slight slump of her body confirming that she had already started for the day. You hear the door to the arcade open behind you along with some low conversation – what do you do?

>Check your phone and idly watch Cinder play, you weren’t exactly required to be at the desk at all times.
>Turn around and go back to your desk, your phone can wait and it’s just polite to greet customers.
>Other.

>>3447307
>>Check your phone as you go back to your desk. If it's something important, handle it after you greet the customers.

First impressions are really important, especially now that we're back in the public view.

>>3447307
>Briefly check our phone while making our way back to the front desk

>>3447307
>Check your phone and idly watch Cinder play, you weren’t exactly required to be at the desk at all times.

Most of these should be our regulars right? If anything comes up we could check the front cameras.

Assuming there's an app for it.

>>3447307
>Check your phone and idly watch Cinder play, you weren’t exactly required to be at the desk at all times.

>>3447307
>Check your phone as you go back to your desk. If it's something important, handle it after you greet the customers.
Oh boy, we're in for a week.

Would it be weird if we moved the trash can back to where it should be and hung a sign by it, something like "0phelia, you break it you buy it."?

>>3447380
Or something like, "Here lies 0phelia's self-respect. Gaze ye mighty and tremble."

>>3447321
>>3447323
>>3447380
Will write this when I get back from eating, my pizza finally arrived lmao. See you in a bit!

>>3447386
I like this one.

Fuck that rule 63 Ninja.

>>3447386
This

[Sorry for the wait, had some essay shenanigans to do and also words were being a bitch.]

You briefly take out your phone and glance at it as you turn around to go back to your desk. A message from Alexis and a missed call from an unknown number, causing your brow to furrow. If you had learned one thing about unknown numbers during the past day, it was that they were fucking annoying and made your blood boil, so you’d let them leave a message if it was something actually important. In Alexis’s case, you just didn’t feel like talking to her at the moment.

You put your phone back into your pocket and look up, greeting a group of regulars as they move past you and flock over to the Warscape machines. You could only hope that this was a sign that the day wouldn’t be garbage, but it was still early. You’d blame it on paranoia, but your shop’s address had literally been leaked. God what an asshole.

You lift the divider and sit down in your chair, and it’s at that moment where fate just throws a fucking ball at your head because you tempted it.

A guy with mousey brown hair ducks in through the door, bringing in a strong draft of cold air with him. Apparently, the wind had picked up quite a bit since you had come in, enough so that a few papers on your desk become acquainted with the floor shortly. The guy straightens his hair and walks over to the desk, looking down at you with a winning smile.

“Good morning, sir!” His voice is deeper than you expected, not suiting his gaunt frame. You bend over to pick up the papers, answering him as you do so.

“Morning. Are you looking to buy a pass for the month?” You fix the papers and look at him, folding your hands over your lap. Other than idle chit chat from regulars, not many people came up here unless they wanted to pay for a monthly game pass. You certainly didn’t know this man, so you could only assume the latter.

“Actually, no. I was told by an anonymous source that I could find N0v4_C43sar around here?”

You resist the urge to slam your head into the desk. You hadn’t expected someone to actually show up this early, nor did you expect him not to recognize you. I mean, come on, you looked pretty damn like your avatar!

How do you respond?

>Tell the man who you are, it would only complicate things by lying. The web knows where you are now, thanks to 0phelia after all!
>Tell him that he does work here indeed, but he’s currently out at the moment.
>Other.

>>3447386
>>3447671
>>3447682
This will happen at some point, I'm not sure when, but it will.

>>3447687
>Tell him that he does work here indeed, but he’s currently out at the moment.
He either wants to berate us or he wants to play a game. We want neither.

>>3447687
>>Tell the man who you are, it would only complicate things by lying. The web knows where you are now, thanks to 0phelia after all!
Yes. There's probably more people who'll come for us, at least one of them's gonna be able to recognize the similarities with our avatar. Lying about it's only gonna get that shit brought up again later.

>>3447687
>Other
>Who..?
I feel like we should see what this guy wants first. Feel him out.

>>3447687
>who?

>>3447687
>What do you need him for?

Ugh, need to head out again. Apologies for being absent so much today, bad form on my part. I'll write whatever's voted most when I'm back!

>>3447687
>Who?

>>3447719
No worries, see you when you get back.

>"I must apologise sir, but this facility is under no obligation to divulge the personal information of our employees or patrons. Is there anything else I can help you with today? Perhaps you wish to renew your game pass?"

>>3447687
just people wouldn't know we are the player we're just the owner it could be any regular who could also use another account normally. it'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

>>3447746
Supportan the proper bidness approach

>>3447746
+1

>>3447687
Changing >>3447726 to >>3447746.

>>3447746
This makes sense.
Change mine >>3447710 to this one as well.

Changing from >>3447698 to this >>3447746

>>3447746
>support

>>3447687
>>3447746
Dunk on him with legalese

>>3447746
This

>>3447687
>>3447746
+ 1 Only proper way to go about it.

Howdy. Sorry for not putting out a lot of stuff today and being gone for most of the time, I just got back home and am admittedly kind of drunk - got pulled into a night out that went way longer than expected. I'm heading to bed because my head is killing me, and I'll get started on writing as soon as I'm able tomorrow morning.

>>3447746
>>3447765
>>3447769
>>3447771
>>3447775
>>3447781
>>3447794
>>3447821
>>3448008
>>3448212
The proper bidness approach is the winner. Will write it in the morning!

Have a good night, and sorry once more.

>>3448436
It's all good OP, get your rest.

>>3448436
Rest up OP. You needed this outing

I'll say, it's nice being mature and responsible in a quest, changes a lot from all the special snowflakes we are used to being.
I'm pretty sure that before we were obnoxiously bright-eyed and loud but now we're more composed and I'd say our past actually doesn't feel gimmicky/mary-sueish.

>>3448624
Yeah, it’s pretty great. Can’t wait to play more combat and see more characters. I’m personally hoping to see the QM have us RP livestreaming on tweetch.tv or whatever this setting’s livestream platform of choice is.

[I live. Thankfully hangover free, as well.]

You’re about to respond, but upon remembering a lesson that Alexis had made sure to grill into you a few years ago, you fix the man with a look and change your initial response.

"I must apologize sir, but this facility is under no obligation to divulge the personal information of our employees or patrons. Is there anything else I can help you with today? Perhaps you wish to renew your game pass?" Your voice is flat and businesslike, and it obviously takes the man aback. He coughs, then chuckles, and then adjusts his tie. You think you can see sweat trickle down his forehead as he hurriedly reaches into his pocket, speaking again as he does.

“Sir, it would mean the world to me if you can point me in his direction…” He pulls out a black leather square from the inside of his coat, flicking it open and pulling out what seemed to be five $100 bills. He counts them and then sets them on the counter, sliding them in your direction. “Would this help at all?”

You find yourself in shock; are you seriously being bribed to reveal your own location? This is some incredulously wack bullshit right about now – but you reign in your scathing thoughts and give the man a once over. Judging by the looks of it, and the fact that he just bribed you, you had a pretty good guess that he was a reporter or something of that sort. He had no reason to offer you money just to play a game with him, and if he was a heckler he probably wouldn’t be as polite as he was being now.

No matter what he is, however, he’s expecting a response. What do you do?

>Refuse the bribe – you have self-respect, you aren’t selling yourself out.
>Accept the bribe – give him what he wants, might as well if more people are already coming.
>Take the bribe and hand him a game pass – you had made yourself clear once, you wouldn’t say it again.
>Other.

>>3448985
>Accept the bribe - tell him it’s us, and we’ve already sold our interview exclusive to a classified buyer this morning, so go away.

>>3448985
Welcome back man! Glad to see you aren't hiding from the sun, recovering from a hangover!


>Take the bribe and hand him something.
I think we should be careful with what we give him, a gamepass gives him an excuse to return although I'm sure we could still ban him from the premises later if he kicks up a fuss..

>>3448995
+1

>>3448985
>>3449014
>Take the bribe and hand him a game pass – you had made yourself clear once, you wouldn’t say it again.
Ah, fuck it actually, I'll go for it if we emphasize the point that it's pretty much just for the game pass. He'll probably take it back anyway.

>>3449024
Supporting this.

>>3449001
>>3449024
>>3449028
Looks like we're taking the bribe and handing him something - a gamepass or otherwise! Writing now.

>>3449001
You have no idea how happy I escaped a hangover I thought I was gonna be fucked this morning lmao.

You reach under the desk and open a drawer, rifling around in it until you can locate one of the smooth plastic cards that you were accustomed to giving out on the regular. You actually looked to be running low, and you make a mental reminder to call your supplier to buy some more – you wish that you could reclaim them after the time on them expired, but after the preload runs out they’re just useless. You had heard that they were planning on changing this in the coming months, but you had heard a lot of things from them – they’re very fickle in the arcade industry.

Setting aside the annoyances of business running, you draw it out and hold it up to the eager looking reporter, picking up the $500 with your free hand.

“I’m not going to repeat myself – I am not going to expose personal information. If you’re not paying for this, take your money out of my hand and go away.” Your tone leaves no room for him to argue, and his winning smile falls as he reaches out to take back his money. You allow him to do so, after which he turns around and leaves the arcade with a noticeable slouch. You can’t bring yourself to care all that much, you know you’ll be putting up with many people like him as the day goes by. You initially thought you would have a few hours to prepare, but it hadn’t even been half an hour and you had a possible reporter showing up.

You let out a groan, leaning forwards and resting your face against your hands. Today would be a long one.

>Answer the text from Alexis, you seem to have a free moment.
>Go and watch Cinder play, if anyone needs you at the desk, a regular will probably point them in your direction.
>Go and fix the garbage can outside, leaving it in the middle of the sidewalk is kind of an asshole thing to do.
>Other.

>>3449073
>Go and fix the garbage can outside, leaving it in the middle of the sidewalk is kind of an asshole thing to do.

>>3449073
>>Answer the text from Alexis, you seem to have a free moment.
I wanna fix that garbage can since it ruins the storefront but she is our landlord. Priorities.

>>3449073
>Go and fix the garbage can outside, leaving it in the middle of the sidewalk is kind of an asshole thing to do.
and
>Respond to the text.

>>3449034
You drunk that badly last night?!

>>3449089
Yeahhh, I don't usually drink and I had more than I usually do, so it kicked my ass.

>>3449085
>>3449087
>>3449089
Honestly I'm pretty sure we can combine all of these, so we're doing BOTH at ONCE! Truly unheard of in the realm of choice based quests. We're pioneers in this thread. Writing now!

You look around, and other than the slow drip of regulars making their way into the place, you don’t see anything to be concerned about as of yet. With that in mind, you rise up and exit the space behind your desk, heading out to the street to pick up your injured garbage can. The air is less chilly than usual, perhaps due to the fact that the town seemed to be more active now. Cars drove by on their way to work, you could hear the distant sounds of children playing at a park, and the grey skies were slowly parting to a much preferable blue.

If you could say one thing about the day, it was that at least the weather is looking pretty fine.

As you walk over to your downed bin, you reach into your pocket and pull out your phone. It appeared that the unknown number had decided to leave a voicemail, but you didn’t feel like listening to it right now, so you instead navigate over to Alexis’s message that she had sent earlier.

>Good morning! Have any people snooping around yet? Looks like you’re becoming more popular, I’m so proud~! Just wanted to let you know that people are posting your shit online, and that I’m trying to pull some strings to get the majority of it deleted. Never say that I don’t care about you~! BTW sorry about yesterday, I didn’t mean for what I said to come off that way. Have a good one and call me if you need me!

You can’t help but smile just a little at the message. As much as the woman got on your nerves, she had had your back ever since the whole event happened. From starting the business for you, to renting an apartment for you until you reached 18 – she was irritating, but you appreciated her a hell of a lot more than you’d like to admit.

You bend down and prop up your bin, the five holes in it still skeeving you out even now. You’d probably need to get the thing fixed soon enough, if only not to have people give you shit for having a messed-up trash bin. Presentation was everything for an arcade, especially due to how many there are nowadays.

>Listen to the voice-mail – it’s for the arcade, so it’s either 0phelia or someone actually worth your time.
>Walk back into the arcade – if it actually is 0phelia, you’re liable to lose your temper, and you’d rather not deal with anger as well as the rest of the day.
>Text Alexis back – thank her for her efforts, just because you didn’t like talking to her sometimes doesn’t mean thanks aren’t warranted, you grumpy boy.
>Other.

>>3449190
>>Text Alexis back – thank her for her efforts, just because you didn’t like talking to her sometimes doesn’t mean thanks aren’t warranted, you grumpy boy.
>>Listen to the voice-mail – it’s for the arcade, so it’s either 0phelia or someone actually worth your time.

Send a quick text thanking her, and if that message is from 0phelia, just don't listen to it.

>>3449196
This,

>>3449190
>>3449196
Supporting this. Just walk back to the arcade as we listen, the moment we hear it's 0phelia, shut that shit down.

>>3449190
>>3449196
Yep.

>>3449196
>>3449198
>>3449199
>>3449208
Writing now!

After making sure your trash bin is aligned just as you want it to be, you turn back towards the arcade and bring up the voice-mail, raising the phone to your ear. You wait a few moments for it to start up, and when it does you let out a real long sigh.

>Hello…

You fucking knew it would be 0phelia, goddamnit.

You cut it off there and swear to yourself that if she keeps calling you you’ll either block her number or file a harassment charge, whichever’s more suitable. Maybe you’ll leak to the press that she keeps bothering the store? That could work, yeah. You pull up Alexis’s contact before you put away your phone, shooting off a quick response to her.

>Hey. Thanks for doing that, it means a lot.

A few seconds pass before you get a response to your response.

>No problem, champ! Keep fighting the good fight!

You slide your phone into your pocket, that was enough of that nonsense. You reach out to open the arcade’s door and resume your daily life in managing the place, when you feel a heavy hand fall onto your shoulder. A second later, you find yourself pulled away from the arcade and subsequently shoved against a wall.

Fucking ow, what the hell was this for? You look up at the perpetrator, and wow that dude is big.

You’re quite sure he’s at least two heads taller than you, his long hair and skin a similar shade of brown. He’s wearing a fucking muscle shirt in the middle of autumn, along with a studded belt and really tight jeans. You don’t get much further past your initial analysis before he speaks up.

“Nova.” His voice is very deep, and his eyes are glaring deep holes into yours. You struggle to comprehend exactly why this is occurring, because this guy sure seemed to be upset…you think you might recognize him from somewhere?

>Attempt to recall who this person is, you’re pretty sure you might have met him at some point. [This will require a roll.]
>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]
>Try and call for help, you knew you’d be dealing with people but not like this!

[I'll tell you what the roll is if it's the majority decision, I gotta bounce to town quick so see you when I get back!]

>>3449278
>>Attempt to recall who this person is, you’re pretty sure you might have met him at some point. [This will require a roll.]
Former teammate? Former rival?

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>3449278
>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]
Gotta keep it legit.

>>3449278
>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]
I'd prefer some witnesses before getting my ass kicked, thank you.

>>3449278
>Try and call for help, you knew you’d be dealing with people but not like this!

>>3449278
>>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]

>>3449278
>>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]

>>3449278
>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]

>>3449278
>Attempt to recall who this person is, you’re pretty sure you might have met him at some point. [This will require a roll.]

>>3449278
>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]
Youch, what does this guy want?

>>3449278
>>Get out from his grasp and head into the arcade, at least there are cameras inside to document anything he does. [This will require a roll.]

>>3449278
>Attempt to recall who this person is, you’re pretty sure you might have met him at some point.

>>3449278
>Stare back nonchalantly.
>"Sir, have I wronged you somehow?"

Hello! I return from my absence - picked up groceries and some lunch.

>>3449294
>>3449296
>>3449300
>>3449317
>>3449318
>>3449326
>>3449328
Alright, so this option is the one that won. Last thread we tried the way of everyone rolling and then randomly selecting the roll, but an anon introduced to me another pretty neat way to do it, so we'll try that one and see how it goes! Please roll me a 1d20, and the DC to beat is 12 - if three people pass it's a great success, two a regular, one a fail.

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>3449532

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>3449532

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>3449532

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>3449532
So ForgottenQM's system takes over another quest, eh

>>3449555
I'm just trying stuff to see what works desu, any suggestions are highly welcomed

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>3449532

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>3449532

>all these low rolls
Are you kidding me?

>>3449541
>>3449543
>>3449554
Goddamnit, I thought all that time playing VR games would mean something

Where's that last anon?

>>3449582
Yes, it means we're a weedy nerd.

Rolled 3 (1d20)

I'm gonna pitch my own roll into this because damn that's a lot of low rolls. Writing now!

>>3449608
cool

You try your best to get out of his grasp, you really do. You think you might even be making some progress, until you realize that it’s the rest of your body moving, not the part he’s holding down.

Well, fuck. This is what you get for spending the last five years behind a desk at an arcade, you guess!

You look up again at the man who is currently holding you against the wall, his face still set in a heavy frown. You really can’t recall where you had met him before, but he obviously knew you – whether it was because of him being an old rival or one of the various people you had enraged when you had left, you weren’t quite sure. All you know is that the anger you feel towards that woman who put you in this situation has reached critical mass. So, you try and steel your nerves as you talk to the man.

“What did I do to you?” You find yourself saying, still trying to strain against his iron grip. From where you’re standing, it looks like his bicep is the size of your head – the proportions on this man are seriously whacked out!

“…you don’t remember me?” He leans closer, eyes piercing you to the very depths of your soul. He uses his free hand to reach into his pocket, pulling out a small white square. When he turns it around, you have to squint to see it.

“…oh no.” You say, eyes widening.

“Yeah. It’s me.” He responds.

Well, this wasn’t something you had expected to see today. In the little square held an old picture from five years ago – a Warscape team was visible on it. Not your own, thankfully, but one you had an encounter with at the Grand Invitational. Your team had thoroughly trounced them in the quarter finals, and things had all been well and good, but you know exactly who this guy is now. And judging by the look of death he’s sending towards you, he knows that you know.

“Look, I didn-“

“Save it.” He leans over and opens the arcade door, walking towards it and moving you along with him. His grip is still like iron, so you know damn well that you aren’t getting out of it – however he seems to make the decision for you, pushing you into the arcade and walking in afterwards. You can see people are now staring at him, because why the fuck wouldn’t they, he’s huge!

>Ask what he wants, because you really don’t want to be on this guy’s bad side more than you already are.
>Point towards the cameras, letting him know that he’s being recorded. Hopefully that will stop him from anything physical.
>Other.

>>3449692
>Point towards the cameras, letting him know that he’s being recorded. Hopefully that will stop him from anything physical.

>>3449692
>Point towards the cameras.
Oh no, he thinks we cheated against him too.

>>3449692
>>Point towards the cameras, letting him know that he’s being recorded. Hopefully that will stop him from anything physical.
Also threaten to call the emergency services.

>>3449692
>>Ask what he wants, because you really don’t want to be on this guy’s bad side more than you already are.
It's been five years; I'm sure the news reported all about how the team house got fucked up, how we pretty much lost all chance of going pro, how we got disowned by our family. This dude is not only still angry at us but angry enough to fuck us up? What is wrong with all these pros?

>>3449692
>Ask what he wants, because you really don’t want to be on this guy’s bad side more than you already are.

>>3449692
>Ask what he wants, because you really don’t want to be on this guy’s bad side more than you already are.

>>3449718
Some people from that tournament hold a grudge, why this guy does in particular, I can't say yet. I can confirm that not every pro is like this, however!

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Also since it's a tied vote, I'm gonna flip between the two and I'll write what it lands on! Writing now.

Your gaze flashes up to the cameras, but you don’t bring them up to him. If anything, if he does anything you’ll certainly have it on record, and you’ll be able to turn it into the police. Hell, if they had caught you being shoved into the place, even that should qualify as a means to contact them, you think? You don’t know, you’re sort of frazzled at the moment.

“What do you want?” You lean against the counter, trying to mentally calculate what he could want yourself. It had been five years after all, and that seemed to be…well, a little long to hold onto a grudge, honestly. He seemed to believe that you had cheated as well, and you had no way to prove otherwise – to your memory, you had hardly even seen him during the match! And if he was as mad as he seemed to be, you doubt your words would matter regardless.

You see his pointer finger extend as his arm rises, and you’re not fucking doing this. Nope.

>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.
>You tell him to get out of your store – he’s already shoved you into the place after pinning you to the wall, if this escalates further you’re going to call the police.
>You let out a long suffering sigh, running a hand down your face. What exactly did you have to lose at this point, really?
>Other.

[Yo sorry for this being late, in the middle of doing an essay as well lmao. Gonna pop off and do that and will be back afterwards!]

>>3449916
>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.
No way, fag.

>>3449916
>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.
If we were still worried about having our place doxxed, I'd probably have gone with playing but that's already done so there's no point.

>>3449916
>Pull out your Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck and say "It's nerf or nothing."

In all seriousness this guy can shove it,
>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.

>>3449916
>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.

>>3449916
>You let out a long suffering sigh, running a hand down your face. What exactly did you have to lose at this point, really?

set outrageous demands at no risk to ourselves, no way he'll accept.

>>3449916
>>You let out a long suffering sigh, running a hand down your face. What exactly did you have to lose at this point, really?
Lets hear him out. Maybe he doesn't even want to challenge us. Maybe he's even an old fan?

>>3449916
>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept

>>3449916
While saying
>this isn't yugioh
is the most ic option I really want to have another match.
>You let out a long suffering sigh, running a hand down your face. What exactly did you have to lose at this point, really?

>>3450066
To be honest avoiding the plot isn’t interesting.

>>3449916
>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.
Obviously i want to play another game but but this isnt a good enough reason yet

>>3449916
>”You’re on. I kicked your ass fair and square last time. My coach installed that damn aimbot anyway, I never touched it.”

>>3449916
>”You’re on. I kicked your ass fair and square last time. My coach installed that damn aimbot anyway, I never touched it.”

>>3449916
>>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.
WTF is with these manchildren???

>>3449916
>>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.

>>3449916
>You decline before he can even point to the machines – this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh, life isn’t decided by games, you want no part in this and have no obligation to accept.

[Yo. Essays are finally done, now I can get back at it for a little while. Been a long night.]

Before he can even move his arm further, you open your mouth.

“Listen, Rock. I’m not going to play you in a match. You just shoved me against a wall, shoved me into my store, and now you want me to play a game with you? That’s not gonna fly with me, especially because I’m not on the competitive stage anymore.”

On the competitive scene, if someone challenged you to a match, it was etiquette to accept. You weren’t quite sure if it had changed over the years, but people got awfully hot to trot over you if you turned down a match - something about how it was like admitting you weren’t as good as them, and in hindsight that was a real fucking toxic way to think, but you aren’t under that umbrella anymore regardless.

Rock’s face somehow twists into a deeper scowl, going to take a step towards you. He was known for having a notoriously bad attitude when affronted, to the point where there were a few articles back in the day about him going after players who had beat him. If you’re about to become a statistic, you’ll at least have it on camera!

Fortunately, it seems to be at that moment that Cinder finished her current set, because you see her step out in front of you and stare the man down.

“What’s the problem?” Her voice is flat as she looks up at him, arms crossing.

“I want to play him.” Rock says simply, stepping forward once more. “I want to beat him.”

“That’s not gonna happen. You can play me, though.”

“Unacceptable.”

You can’t help but furrow your brow at this – what was this guy’s deal? You had only met him once before, and that was in-game. From your memory, he hadn’t even looked that fazed when you had beat him, so where was this coming from? Even if he believed you to have cheated against him, this seemed a little much for that…but what had you done? You genuinely don’t know.

>Step around Cinder and ask Rock what you had done to him.
>Tell Rock to leave, you have him on camera and you’re refusing to play him.
>Set some insane terms for playing against him, there’s no way he’d agree, right?
>Other.

>>3450879
>Step around Cinder and ask Rock what you had done to him.
It might be a fair bet to say he thinks we might have cheated the one time we beat him. This might be a chance to clarify that.

>>3450879
>Tell Rock to leave, you have him on camera and you’re refusing to play him.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>3450919
>>3450925
I will flip a coin between the two! Writing now, and then sleep, because it's 1:45 AM.

Ugh, mark that as I'll write it tomorrow, I can hardly focus. Sorry about that, long day - I have nothing due tomorrow so I'll make up for the spacey content. Have a good night, everyone.

>>3450879
>Tell Rock to leave, you have him on camera and you’re refusing to play him.
Fuck that noise!

>>3450879
>Tell him that playing with that bitch that release our address was a mistake that we are not about to repeat that mistake.

>>3450879
>>Step around Cinder and ask Rock what you had done to him.

>>3451071
+1

>>3450879
>>Tell Rock to leave, you have him on camera and you’re refusing to play him.

>>3450879
Honestly this setting is pretty fucked up, a former professional player quit 5 years ago to run his own arcade and now he's got doxxed and he's getting people coming into his store demanding to 1v1 him? Even real life E-Sport isn't that insane.

>>3451350
This is just like one of my Japanese animes!

Doesn't matter if it's about:
- cooking
- sports
- martial arts
- ancient Egyptian card games
- cock fighting critters
- vidya games
- gambling
- skee ball
It's all SERIOUS BUSINESS.

>>3451350
Well duh, it’s fiction. If you don’t like it, leave. Everyone else is having a blast.
>>3450879
>set some insane terms for playing against him. Make sure Cinder is waiting with a baseball bat if he tries to attack you physically after the match.

>>3451450
Are you one of those people who choose Chaotic Neutral just to go lolsorandumb?

>>3451455
No. But I’d rather not keep dodging the narrative.

>>3451450
lol relax man, I was just observing.

>>3451463
Why can't the narrative be about an arcade owner who rarely plays games? Why do we have to be someone who constantly fights?

>>3451469
Because the combat sessions are really fun? Dunno, I got the impression that this quest was a redemption arc.

>>3450879
>Set some insane terms for playing against him.
Maybe we could use this to our advantage? Maybe have him ward off anyone else he knows is coming if we win, if he knows at all.

>>3450879
>Step around Cinder and ask Rock what you had done to him.
>Set some insane terms for playing against him, there’s no way he’d agree, right?

>>3450879
>>Tell Rock to leave, you have him on camera and you’re refusing to play him.

>>3451478
I got the impression this was gonna be a comedy about a grumpy ex-pro against whom Fate keeps conspiring to thrust him into situations he doesn't like.

>>3453612
You are familiar with the concept of character development right?

File: 1333407387066.gif (1020 KB, 400x229)

1020 KB GIF

>>3453766
Are you familiar with the concept of pacing?

>>3453791
>whining about pacing in a quest
Seriously quests have inconsistent pacing by their very nature. Why the fuck should I care about pacing when the current characterization isn’t fun and leads us to actively avoid fun?

>>3453853
Because going from "I ruined my life over this game and this bitch is trying to ruin it again because of it" and "This game that I used to love is a shadow of its former self, fuck change", to "Hell yeah, I'll play this salty esports shitter that threw me all over the place over this same game" is the sign of a hack writer.

>>3453853
... all that overnight, by the way, which makes it worse.

>>3453861
Now you are just twisting it.
>“Hell yeah, I'll play this salty esports shitter that threw me all over the place over this same game”
You act like this is THE ONLY WAY TO DO THIS when he’s already been willing to fucking play it. He doesn’t even have to enjoy it.
>>3453866
Oh fuck off with this. Plenty of story do shit like that in the same amount of time and most people don’t care because they’re only interested in their own entertainment. The only thing that matters isn’t if it’s “realistic” or “believable” but rather if it’s “interesting” or “entertaining” and I’m not finding the shit you’re pushing interesting or entertaining.

>>3453933
>he’s already been willing to fucking play it.
Doing something to protect your identity isn't exactly "willing", anon. He hasn't anymore reason to play this guy than he did before meeting 0phelia.
>... and I’m not finding the shit you’re pushing interesting or entertaining.
Well, that's your opinion. There may be a Bayformers Quest in the future if that's what you like.

>>3453866
I don’t mind whether this becomes ‘constantly trying to avoid people trying to pull us back in’ or ‘finally got dragged in’ quest, as long as if we DO play, it’s not for a while, only reluctantly and we stay embittered and complaining about it. We’d also need a damn good reason (although I’d also love to make a new account that isn’t linked to us and just constantly trash 0phelia with it).

I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to training Cinder if we’re better than her, though.

>>3454043
I agree. Hell, we could even grow to liking the game again from playing with Cinder.

>>3454043
>make a new account that isn’t linked to us and just constantly trash 0phelia with it
Strong option!

Well this is probably dead

>>3455468
I hope not, but I can see why he would be pissed when we avoid the plot completely

>>3455532
>when we avoid the plot completely
Bruh, if he gave us the option he should be smart enough to know there's a chance it will be picked.
Like I know it's his first quest but I would hate for it to end just because he didn't anticipate that people would pick an option (not a joke one at that) that was given.

>>3455532
It's probably not the quest or choices but probably college I can see how he can be overwhelmed with this on top

Hello everyone, I'm not dead!

When I said that I would update tomorrow, I forgot that at the time, the day was Easter! The reason I haven't been updating is because I've been out of town and spending time with family, which was a fairly good time overall. But the holidays have passed, and I'm here to continue!

>>3455532
>>3455760
Any option picked is one I'm okay with, worst case scenario is that I'd have to ad lib things, I'd never up and leave because of that - that would be bad form on my part. And to be honest, I'm quite enjoying how you guys are playing him!

From the looks of things, telling Rock to leave is the majority vote, so it's time for you to get his ass gone. Writing now!

You harden your gaze as you stare at the man, hoping that the effect wasn’t lessened or dampened by the angry redhead in front of you also giving a death stare.

“Rock, get out of my arcade. I’m not going to play you, and if you continue to cause a fuss, I’m going to call the police. I don’t know why you’re here, or what I’ve done to you, but I’m not going to idle around and entertain you while I have more important things to be doing.” You say this with a resolute voice, and you turn around to walk back to the counter. “If you want to play anyone, play Cinder, she already said she would – leave me the fuck alone.”

You hear a harsh inhale of breath followed by a heavy footstep, which is cut off by an exhale of air and the sound of something thumping against glass. You turn around to see Cinder’s arms outstretched, having apparently shoved Rock against the doors when he had refused to comply. She steps forward herself, arms crossing.

“You heard him. We’ll rent a competitive area to play if you want, but you aren’t staying here. Move along.”

Rock has a look of surprise on his face, most likely from the fact that she managed to shove him, but he composes himself. Instead, this time he points at you.

“I will play him. He ruined us.”

You facepalm, opening the divider and sitting in your chair. This was a hot load of bullshit – is this what the pro scene was like nowadays? Irrational people going after players from the days of old just because they believe they’ve been affronted? You find yourself pretty glad that you’ve left the scene.

“And how exactly did I do that?” You ask.

“Your cheats caused us to lose. Your cheats dissolved our team.”

“For one, Rock, I didn’t cheat against you guys – I admit that I tried to in the final and failed. Second, I have only met your team once, and it was the day of the match – you’re placing blame on me for something that I had no part in.”

This seems to aggravate him further, and Cinder casually places herself between Rock and the desk.

>Ask him what happened – you had done nothing to him or his team.
>Casually raise your phone so he can see it – you don’t care what happened to his team, and you don’t care for his misplaced blame.
>Other.

>>3456205
>>Casually raise your phone so he can see it – you don’t care what happened to his team, and you don’t care for his misplaced blame.

>>3456205
>Ask him what happened – you had done nothing to him or his team.

>>3456205

>>Casually raise your phone so he can see it – you don’t care what happened to his team, and you don’t care for his misplaced blame.

>>3456205
>Ask him what happened – you had done nothing to him or his team.
I'm interested. We are not going to play with him. But maybe we can force him to play with Cinder, so she can have some experience.

>>3456205
>Ask him what happened – you had done nothing to him or his team.
Backstory time?

>>3456227
>>3456231
>>3456232
Time to ask the question. Writing now!

>>3456205
>Ask him what happened – you had done nothing to him or his team.
Actually lending an ear might be good, and maybe even help get him on our side. If we're a dick and deny him any explanation, he's just going to want to see our downfall that much more.

“I don’t know what happened to your team, Rock – I only met you on the day of our match, and I never saw you again afterwards. I’m not sure why you’re blaming your team’s apparent disbanding on me, but please enlighten me as to what happened.” You look up at him from your seat, pulling out your phone and resting it on the table. Whilst you weren’t drawing attention to it, it was a warning nonetheless – at this point you wouldn’t tolerate any more aggressiveness from the man. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see a few people come up to the door of the arcade, but upon seeing the large man they back away and continue down the street.

This fucker was costing you business now? Ugh.

Almost as if he was waiting for you to ask, he steps forward once more. He practically towers over you and Cinder, making his expression that much more intimidating. Why couldn’t this guy adhere to old time gamer stereotypes, why couldn’t he not be built like a fucking brick wall?

“The statistics said that you would lose our match. We were a better team. There is no other way you could have won the battle other than cheats.”

Well, that certainly answered your questions about his team. How good he was at staying on topic, this one! Regardless, you rack your brain as you try and remember how the match had went. It had been so long ago, and that week in particular is a haze to you…you vaguely remember the sounds of booing as you won, the victory being a major upset. That’s about it, but maybe you could remember it before he gets even angrier?

>Retrieve the memory and reflect on it. [This will require a roll.]
>Act like you know what he’s talking about despite not remembering jack shit.
>Admit that you can’t remember the match whatsoever, only that you didn’t’ cheat.
>Other.

>>3456271
>Retrieve the memory and reflect on it. [This will require a roll.]

>While we ask Cinder to search for that match and youtube

>>3456271
>Retrieve the memory and reflect on it.

>>3456271
Supporting >>3456277

>>3456271
>Admit that you can’t remember the match whatsoever, only that you didn’t’ cheat.

>While we ask Cinder to search for that match and youtube

>>3456271
>>Retrieve the memory and reflect on it. [This will require a roll.]

>>3456277
>Also tell that gorilla of a man to take a sit he scaring customers.

>>3456277
>>3456280
>>3456285
REMEMBER THE NUMBERS, WOLFGANG.

Roll me a 1d20! As I'm still in the process of learning what roll style I like best, we're gonna go the best of the first three this time.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>3456316

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>3456316
Fingers crossed

Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>3456316
Woot your back!

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>3456323
Woops wrong roll

>>3456318
Well would you look at that! Writing now.

>>3456323
It's good to be back, anon.

[Words are a bitch, sorry for the delay!]

Rock goes to speak once more, but you raise a finger to cut him off. You think you can recall something, now that you think about it…in fact, the memory rises up as soon as you spend the time to dwell on it. You had spent a very long time reflecting, after all.

The match was a simple one – a 5v5 quarter final in the first Warscape Invitational. It had been your team Genesis versus Rock’s team known as Cirrulean. The match had indeed been mostly one sided against you, their team was known for swift and brutal gameplay. It had been ten minutes before they had shown up - far before your coach had expected – catching your team unaware and sending you and a surviving teammate running into the desert sands.

It was a 2v5 at that point, the both of you only able to take potshots as their ironclad unit roamed. Through tricks and sheer luck, however, you were able to whittle them down to 3 before Quiver went down in a hail of bullets from Rock himself. With her gone, you were forced to step outside your comfort zone, throwing caution to the wind as you engaged them with swift precision.

One went down with a knife through a gap in the body armor, a lucky shot with your pistol downing them. The next by leading them through the forest, obscuring grenades within the underbrush and detonating them with your gun. Rock himself was the last one standing, and you weren’t ashamed to admit that the only reason you had won was due to the fact that you threw yourself into his spray of bullets and killed him before he depleted your own health.

That victory wasn’t one that made you proud, but instead made you relieved. And upon thinking about it, you could technically see where he was coming from – the victory was practically a miracle in hindsight. However, you knew you didn’t cheat in that game, and all you needed to do was somehow hammer that into his head.

“I remember that match.” You say to him.

“Then you know what you did.”

“Rock, I didn-“

“There is no other explanation.”

Was this guy fucking stupid, or just that obstinate? You’re sick of this.

>Persuade him that you didn’t cheat – if he won’t listen to that, call the police. [This requires a roll.]
>Call the police right now – he’s disturbing your business, he’s already laid hands on you, and honestly his opinion didn’t matter that much to you.
>Press again about his team since he didn’t fucking answer that in the first place.
>Other.

>>3456478
>Press again about his team since he didn’t fucking answer that in the first place.

>>3456478
>>Persuade him that you didn’t cheat – if he won’t listen to that, call the police. [This requires a roll.]

>>3456478
>>Persuade him that you didn’t cheat – if he won’t listen to that, call the police. [This requires a roll.]

>>3456478
>Other.
Ask Cinder if there's any archived footage of the match.

>>3456478
>Press again about his team since he didn’t fucking answer that in the first place.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

Looks like due to a tie we will be flipping between these options! Number one is press about his team, number two is persuading him.

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>3456544
Alrighty then...

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>3456544

>>3456544
Time to interrogate. Writing now!

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>3456544
We can persuade him!

>>3456556
Sorry for rolling, I only had time to glance.

“Alright, listen Rock.” You raise your hands up in peace. “Just tell me what happened to your team, okay? I’m not going to play you either way, so you might as well just say it.”

Did that come off a bit too snarky? You didn’t care, honestly, he was the one who barged into your arcade like an asshole. The comment seemingly perturbs him as well, considering how he slams his hands on the counter, scaring the shit out of a few customers and making Cinder grasp his wrist. He doesn’t regard it.

“Due to your cheating, our coach’s plan failed. He had bet quite a sum on our team during that match, and if it weren’t for your trickery, it would have worked like he told us it would.”

…firstly, that didn’t sound like your fault. Secondly, that was highly illegal in today’s society. It was one thing for a civilian to bet on a match, that was commonplace. For a coach to do it, however, is a very serious offense – match fixings were known to occur, along with intentional sabotage just for profit. What the fuck kind of coach would do that to their team? You furrow your brow, folding a leg over your other.

“So you’re telling me you came all this way due to your coach’s stupid decision? Are you mental?” You can’t help but say this, frowning harshly. “I didn’t cheat against you, and I damn well sure didn’t have a hand in that!”

“Putting my coach’s reprehensible actions aside, yours still stand. He has already paid his dues, and you have not.”

You feel a flash of anger go through you, standing up.

“I paid my fucking dues for what I did, asshole. Don’t you talk about paying dues when I lost my life due to what I did.” You snap at him, hands balled into fists.

“So you admit to it?”

“I never denied that I did it, I’m saying I didn’t in your match!” More people are beginning to look over, and you feel your eye twitch. Won’t this fucker just LISTEN?

“I believe that your admission is damnable enough.”

You have a strong desire to punch this man in the head, and apparently you looked like it, considering how Cinder presses her hand to your chest.

>Persuade him that you didn’t cheat and hope that he fucking listens. [This will require a roll.]
>Call the police.
>Ask Cinder if there are records of this match, you can prove your innocence with hard evidence.
>Other.

[In my experience, it’s always the irrational ones who come out of the woodwork first when something comes up from the past. Gonna have a late lunch, brb!]

>>3456652
Wow, fuck this guy
>Call the police.

>>3456652
>Ask Cinder if there are records of this match, you can prove your innocence with hard evidence.

Then
>Give him an ultimatum. Leave now, stay to watch and discuss the recording (if there is one) and silently leave afterwards, or we call the police on his ass.

>>3456652
>Persuade him that you didn’t cheat and hope that he fucking listens

>>3456683
Supporting.

>>3456652
>Ask Cinder if there are records of this match, you can prove your innocence with hard evidence.

>>3456652
>>Persuade him that you didn’t cheat and hope that he fucking listens. [This will require a roll.]

If we fail, then

>>Ask Cinder if there are records of this match, you can prove your innocence with hard evidence.

>>3456652
>Ask Cinder if there are records of this match, you can prove your innocence with hard evidence.
I have a feeling the DC for Persuasion will be ridiculously high, so we take any hard evidence we have and shove it down his throat instead.

>>3456652
>>Ask Cinder if there are records of this match, you can prove your innocence with hard evidence.

>>3456683
Agreed, best option.

>>3456652

>>3456783
to
>>3456683

>>3456652
what kind of autist are we dealing with here? It as a fucking vidya game. Get over it you salty retard.
>>Ask Cinder if there are records of this match, you can prove your innocence with hard evidence.

>>3456683
>>3456696
>>3456697
>>3456783
>>3456798
>>3456813
>>3456825
>>3456829
I'm back and I've eaten, so it's time to start again. Writing now!

[Gotta love multitasking an essay at the same time as this. So much writing.]

You take a deep breath and hold it until your anger cools, your breath releasing a moment later. You know he’s not the type of person who will listen to anything you have to say unless there’s hard proof behind it, so with that in mind, you remove Cinder’s hand from your chest and speak to her.

“Cinder, I’d like you to do me a favor. Please look up that match in particular for me, alright?” You ask her, to which she nods and proceeds to do so, crossing your divider and beginning to tap away at your computer. You look Rock in the eyes, not at all hiding your intense irritation at this obstinate man.

“I am going to give you three options, Rock. Either you walk out the door right now, you go over this match footage with me and then leave afterwards, or I am calling the police right now. I have a lot of more important things to do rather than putting up with your bullshit anger – it isn’t my fault that your coach fucked off with all your money and sunk your team, and I’m not going to allow you to keep disturbing my business. Are we clear?”

“Found it.” You hear Cinder speak up next to you, so you lean over and circle the monitor so it’s facing Rock.

“I want you to watch this and tell me where and how I cheated. This is from my perspective, so you won’t be seeing any fuckery from the outside.” He opens his mouth, but you raise a finger to shush him. “I can’t believe I have to deal with this five years after I quit this fucking game, and when you realize that you’re being stubborn, I expect an apology as well.”

He doesn’t speak, but he leans down and begins watching the match footage instead.

>Roll 1d20 to see how stubborn this asshole is. As I’m sitting here writing this I’m like, “Wow, this guy sure is stubborn!”, because honestly, I could see someone acting exactly like this if competitive gaming were a bigger thing. Shame on him for being a dickhead. But yeah 1d20, best of the first three get it.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>3456936

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>3456936

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>3456936

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>3456936

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>3457008
oof wrong dice

>>3456939
Well shit, I hope actual evidence is enough to lower the DC. From what I've seen so far, however, it'll probably aggravate his Dunning-Krueger bullshit.

Good morning! Sorry for bouncing without warning last night, I decided to go all in on finishing my essay and then I passed out afterwards. Making some lunch now, and then I'll continue. Hope your day is going well!

>>3457832
No worries Cir, it's good to have you back but are you sure you're alright to QM?

>>3457906
I'll be good to do so for the rest of the day, but I'll most likely be taking a break for a few days after this due to an algebra exam on Friday that I need to study for. Which means chances are that after I finish this set of events, I'll archive the thread and make a new one on Monday! Also I'm writing now!

As he continues to watch the match footage, you and Cinder watch as a variety of expressions shift across his face. He’s staring at it intently, and when he finds a part that he’s trying to scrutinize, his eyes narrow and you can see the gears turning in his head. He reaches out and takes the mouse from behind the desk as well, using it to rewind various parts as his expression grows even more troubled. You and Cinder refrain from commenting even as more people walk through the door, hurriedly rushing past the brute and hoping that he won’t crush them or something.

You don’t blame them for thinking like that, Rock is a scary motherfucker.

Eventually he lets out a lumbering noise and stands up from his bent position, his gaze seemingly more intense.

“I cannot locate where you have cheated, but I am bad at noticing things.” He takes a look around at customers that are still eyeing him, then at the cameras, and then at your phone resting on the table. “I am going to get this reviewed by someone. If they find you to be cheating, I will be back. If they find you to not be, I will apologize.”

You can’t help but comment on this.

“The match has been there for five years, Rock, wouldn’t someone have already called me out for that? They did catch me in the finals, after all.”

“You are crafty, Nova. I will not leave this up to my own guesswork.”

You click your tongue as he turns to walk out, scaring the shit out of two people on their way in. He looks back at you once more, just before he leaves.

“If you have managed to deceive my eyes, you will regret it.”

You pick up your phone and waggle it at him, causing him to sneer and exit the arcade with the slam of the door. As soon as he does, you feel the tension within you leave suddenly, and you slump back into your chair with a shaky sigh. Rock had earned a reputation for his wrath in the old days, and there had been rumors that people who wronged him ended up beat the hell up. You were certainly glad not to have become a statistic, although the jury was still out on whether or not that would remain the case.

“Man, is that guy an idiot?” Cinder breaks the tension between the two of you, scratching her temple.

“Apparently so, or he’s just too fucking stubborn.”

>Ask Cinder to look up Cirrulean, you’d find out information about what happened to the team yourself.
>Calm down the people who are still looking your way, Rock seems to have startled a great deal of people.
>Go out on your lunch break and have Cinder cover for you.
>Other.

>>3456939
That 11 saved you from a very upset behemoth of a man.

>>3458015
>Calm down the people who are still looking your way, Rock seems to have startled a great deal of people.
It's business time, something like an upset customer won't hinder us.

>>3458015
>>Calm down the people who are still looking your way, Rock seems to have startled a great deal of people.

>>3458018
>>3458034
Time to calm the masses! Writing now.

>>3458015
>Soothe your clientele

>>3458015
>>Ask Cinder to look up Cirrulean, you’d find out information about what happened to the team yourself.

>>3458015
>>>Calm down the people who are still looking your way, Rock seems to have startled a great deal of people.

Your mind shifts to damage control mode, and you let out a long sigh at the fact that this marks the second time you’ve had to calm down a crowd in the last day or so.

“Everyone go back to your games, he’s not coming back.” You call towards the onlookers, and while some turn away, others come forward and ask hushed questions about why he was here, if you were who they thought you were, and other such things. You answer none of them and do your best to send them back on their way, soon leaving you with your head aching and Cinder looking down at you with a concerned look.

“Want me to grab you some aspirin?” She asks you, resting a hand on your back. You shake your head weakly, figuring that you’d have a lot more to deal with as the day marched on. As if the universe was content to spite your situation even further, the phone on your desk begins ringing shrilly.

You hate everything.

>Answer the phone.
>Ask Cinder to find information about Cirrulean.
>Other.

>>3458143
Give Cinder the phone and tell her to give it back if it's literally anyone but that fucking bitch again... or Rock.

>>3458150
Sure, supporting this.

>>3458143
>Answer the phone.
I hope its that bitch so we can yell at her for being doxxing sad slut

>>3458150
>>3458159
Writing now.

You gaze at the phone for a few seconds, a feeling of unease rising throughout your body. You have the heavy temptation to just ignore the damn thing and move on with your day, but you know you can’t do that in case it’s someone important…that’s when you get an idea.

“Cinder, answer that for me.”

“Huh?”

“If it’s anyone other than 0phelia or Rock, hand me the phone.”

“Alright, if you say so…man, I’m feeling like your personal assistant all of a sudden.” She walks over to the other side of the desk and picks it up, holding it up to her ear.

“Cascade Arcade, what’s up?” She rattles off casually, smirking over at you as you slightly frown. That wasn’t the way that a PROFESSIONAL like yourself would EVER answer a business call. Your core business sense quivers in abject mortification at the aura of casualness seeping from Cinder. Such bad form on her part, truly.

As she continues to listen to whoever is on the line, you see her face change into one of irritation as she slams the phone back onto the receiver.

“Who was it?”

“I’ll give you a single guess. Christ, who the hell has the spare time to be this annoying?”

“Well, she is a livestreamer.”

Blistering opinions aside, you’re thankful that Cinder took that bullet for you. With the events of the day, you most likely would have smashed the phone upon hearing her voice, so you were happy that you saved some money as well as your sanity.

“Do you think we have cause to file a harassment case yet?” Cinder asks you.

“Perhaps.”

>Ask Cinder to research Cirrulean.
>Other.

>>3458288
>Ask Cinder to research Cirrulean.
Fuck, man...

>>3458288
>Other
Call 0phelia back and tell her to stop calling this number
And also ask Cinder to research Cirrulean while we're calling

>>3458288
>>Ask Cinder to research Cirrulean.

>>3458300
>>3458317
Writing now!

>>3458309
No, wait.
Cir, would the landline make a backlog of all the calls received? As in could we save all of the calls we receive from the 0faggot and any other hassle? That way we could make a stronger argument for harassment in the future.

>Ask Cinder about the game's current league, who's running what and so fourth. So you know who's on top now and what's changed since your day.

>>3458353
They are saved indeed, very good thinking - the landline has a local copy of the logs, so does your phone since you have the line linked to it as well.

[Sorry for the wait, had some stuff to do around the house for a bit!]

You try and put the thoughts of 0phelia to the back of your mind, making a mental note to export the call logs for the landline and keep them somewhere that can’t be tampered with. For all you knew, she’d hire a fucking hacker to lambast your system or something else nefarious – it certainly would fit with her childish actions so far.

“Cinder, do you know anything about Cirrulean?” You ask her out of curiosity, idly opening a bookmarked page on your computer as you do. You listen to her as you begin to order some replacement parts that you needed to fix up some of the older machines, the things having endured plenty of wear and tear throughout their days.

“Well, I know that they were a pretty high ranked team, considering they got invited to the Invitational. I think Rock was the captain? Lemme check.” She once again pulls out her phone and acts as your personal researcher, tapping away until she finds something that satisfies her. “Yep, Rock was the captain and also seems to be the only active member of the team left. It was disbanded when the coach was found to have bet a large sum of their budget against the match against Genesis, and was subsequently caught when he couldn’t come up with where the money had gone. Upon suspicion of Rock having a hand in the scheme as well, the Sportsmanship Association forcibly broke up the team and forbid the coach from working in the field again, along with Rock being barred from competitive 5v5 play for life.”

“…well, shit.” You feel quite taken aback upon hearing this, you hadn’t expected Rock to be in on the apparent scheme as well. “Does it say what happened to the other players?”

“Nope, but their last logged game was the tournament match, so it’s probably safe to assume that they just up and quit.”

“So he came all this way to blame me for his personal mess-up?”

“It seems so. You’re pretty good at attracting undue attention, huh? Anyone else that you’ve pissed off?”

“Other than the Warscape scene?”

“Point taken.”

>Ask Cinder about what the league scene looks like nowadays, you find yourself a bit curious and could use a distraction.
>Call 0phelia back and tell her to leave you alone yourself, you aren’t expecting her to listen but you might as well try again.
>Other.

>>3458487
>>Ask Cinder about what the league scene looks like nowadays, you find yourself a bit curious and could use a distraction

>>3458487
>Ask Cinder about what the league scene looks like nowadays, you find yourself a bit curious and could use a distraction.

>>3458487
>Ask Cinder about what the league scene looks like nowadays, you find yourself a bit curious and could use a distraction.

>>3458362
Alright, thanks Cir!

>>3458498
>>3458500
>>3458509
Time for you to get hip with the times! Writing now.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how’s the rest of the scene looking nowadays?” You find all of the parts that you’re looking for, purchasing them and receiving a notifier that they would be arriving within a day. Gotta love having Quikfast™ VIP status, they always got your stuff to you on time. They were much better than the outdated Amazon service, which was practically on life support if the news was to be believed. They didn’t want to adapt to the FUTURE because they were cowards.

You can’t help but notice that Cinder gives you a strange look as she goes through her phone, opening her mouth to say something but closing it shortly afterwards with a shake of her head. After a few moments, she hands it over to you so she doesn’t need to read it off.

“There’s the top five 5v5 teams, I’m sure you’ll recognize who’s on top.”

>Rank #1: Auxilia (Rank unchanged.)
>Rank #2: mercury (Rank unchanged.)
>Rank #3: Dust Devils (Rank +2)
>Rank #4: TIMESPLITTERS (Rank -1)
>Rank #5: w0nderland (Rank -1)

Other than Auxilia, you didn’t know any of these groups. Considering your absence, it was entirely understandable, although it still did give you complicated emotions to not see the name Genesis in that number two spot. Old habits die hard!

“Auxilia is still number one? How good are they?”

“Extremely so! And no one can call them cheaters either, considering that after your scandal they all voluntarily joined the monitoring system!” Cinder says, taking her phone back from you. “These teams are the major players who basically have a chokehold on the scene, they’re crazy good.”

“…any chance you know what happened to my old team?”

“After you disappeared, they all split up and joined other teams. I think your captain runs solo now, though?”

“...interesting.”

You want to inquire further, but you feel your stomach rumble and interrupt you. You glance over at the clock – holy shit, it was almost noon already? How the fuck long had you been dealing with Rock?

>Take your lunch break, Cinder can watch the place.
>Actually, you forgot to do something…[Other.]

>>3458619
>Take your lunch break, Cinder can watch the place.

>>3458619
>Take your lunch break, Cinder can watch the place.

>>3458654
>>3458664
Time for you to go eat, you're fucking hungry. Writing now!

>>3458619
Ask Cinder what she wants and order out.

>>3458714
Order chinese food and ask what Cinder wants, we're buying.

You let out a sigh, standing up from your chair and cracking your neck. You were damn hungry, the breakfast sandwich from earlier not cutting it in the face of strong men and confrontation. You open your mouth to ask Cinder to watch the place, but then you remember something – you had a phone, you didn’t have to fucking go anywhere to eat. Takeout is just the best!

“Yo, Cinder.” You sit back down and look at the girl who sits on your desk once more.

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna order some Chinese, what do you want? I’m paying.” You tell her, already pulling up the number on your phone. You reach down into the same drawer that holds your Gamepass cards, rifling around until you find a folded-up menu for the restaurant tucked in the back corner. You hand it to her, and she begins going through it as you call up the place and place your order. She tells you what she wants shortly afterwards, and a few minutes later you two are sitting in comfortable silence, listening to the various noises of the arcade goers.

“Think anyone else is gonna show up?” Cinder asks you casually, tapping away at her phone while keeping an eye on you for a response. You can’t help but nod, knowing at this point that the news must have spread like wildfire. You click into your browser’s news tab and see that it’s one of the top articles – your supposed return from retirement. Clicking into it yields more of the same – the description of the fight, the events leading to your vanishing act, and even a short interview from 0phelia herself.

>”How did you feel going up against him? How did you even find him in the first place?” Our correspondent asked 0phelia, to which she received a noteworthy response. ”His ability was truly spectacular, although he only won the match on a fluke. For how I found him…well, I was just lucky enough to catch him for his return match, it seems! I hope that I can face him again someday, and if he ever wants a rematch, my messages are always open to him.”

You grit your teeth, and upon hearing your phone ring once more, you reject the call without even looking.

You had to get back at this girl somehow. She had upheaved your quiet life out of spite, and yet still had the gall to smile and act like she had done anything but.

There had to be something you could do, right?

[And here’s where I’m archiving the thread! Thank you all for reading this so far – I’m aware that I’ve been very sporadic, and I believe that my writing quality has decreased due to my mind being on school rather than my product, so I can only apologize for this. Due to having an exam on Friday, chances are that I’m not going to make a #3 thread until Friday night or Monday morning, I hope that’s acceptable! Other than that, please leave your feedback, questions, comments, critiques, and concerns; I am always looking to improve!]

Also I'm still gonna be sticking around the thread for the night, so if you have anything you wanna ask I'll do my best to answer.

>>3458797
Thank you for running, cirno.

I am half tempted to anonymously contact the news and expose 0phelia's bullshit, they could interview us through the DMs of the game.

Btw I think you've been improving during the threads, even if your mind was somewhere else. Take your time with the irl stuff, I'd rather have a late quest than no quest at all.

>>3458840
Thank you very much for the kind words, anon. Hopefully I'll be able to get this exam up and out of the way without much trouble!

>>3458846
Thanks for the run Cirno, you're doing a bang up job. Good luck with life.

>>3458943
I'll need that luck, this exam covers the one subject I'm piss poor at lmao. Thank you for the kind words.

>>3458966
Quick question, what would have happened if we had admitted to cheating just to get Rock off our back?

>>3459365
Since he has it in his mind that you are the root of this problem, chances are you would have been faced with a physical altercation.

>>3459634
In other words, it would have been a bad idea.