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>>4892581
FIRST FOR HUGGING RILEY ;_;

>>4892581
HAHA TIME TO PANIC

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Officer McAvery flashes his red-and-blues and sounds his siren just long enough for the siren to go "wooop". The driver he's tailing gets the picture and pulls over. McAvery slows to a stop behind the car, gravel crunching beneath his treads, and steps out.

He knocks on the car's window. The driver rolls it down.

"Are you aware you rolled through a stop sign back there?" McAvery says.

The man, his hands on 10 and 2, nods. "Yeah. I did, didn't I?"

"In a big hurry?"

"No. Just careless."

McAvery nods. "I'm gonna need to see your license, registration, and proof of insurance."

The man fishes through his glove compartment and hands some paperwork over. He lifts himself off his butt to dig his wallet out of his back pocket and passes the driver's license over as well. McAvery scans the documents with his handheld and waits for the database to confirm them as oll korrect.

As he passes the man's papers back to him, McAvery notes: "says you aren't vaccinated."

"No," the man says, lifting his butt to pocket his wallet again. "I have a religious exemption. You never know what's in those things. I'm trying to keep my body a temple."

McAvery nods. This man seems nice and clean-cut, not thuggish in the slightest, and his record is squeaky clean. Not even a parking ticket in the past two years. "I'm gonna let you off with a warning today, but be careful."

"Thank you, sir." The man holds out a forearm to bump.

McAvery bumps him back. "You have a nice day, Mr. Buridan."

McAvery returns to his cruiser. As he stows his handheld back in the center dash, he briefly considers how odd it is that this guy would be doing arm bumps and yet be antivax. But he shakes the thought off as Buridan's sedan pulls away. McAvery goes about the rest of his working week without any incident.

>>4892586
oh god oh fuck

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"All cruisers, please respond. All cruisers, please respond. We have an active shooter incident at Stanford Stadium. Officers in range, please respond."

McAvery sets his cheesy fries aside and fires the ignition. But as he pulls out of the Del Taco and sets down the frontage road towards the causeway, he sees a bluish-purple flash of light, and then his car's electronics all die. He coasts to a safe stop on the shoulder, tries the ignition again, pumps the gas -- nothing. He tries his radio -- also nothing. Handheld -- nothing. Not even his personal cell will come on.

"Fucking goddamn it," he groans. He engages the emergency brake, pulls the manual catch for his hood, and gets out of the cruiser to check what the damage is.

While he's bent under the hood, Buridan's car pulls behind McAvery's. McAvery hears the car slowing, and comes around to meet the good Samaritan.

"Hey!" McAvery says with a chuckle. "I know you. Man, I'm in a real mess here."

"That so?" Buridan says, stepping up. "Car trouble?"

"Yeah. Fucker died on me all of a sudden. Pardon my French. Can't even get the radio to work. Would you mind letting me borrow your cell?"

"Oh, sure." Buridan hands his cell phone over.

McAvery opens his driver's side door and sits sideways on it with his boots on the gravel. He squints at the phone and tries to figure it out. "Thanks. Glad I let you off with a warning, huh! I would have really been up the creek if you hadn't pulled over."

"Think nothing of it."

"Hey, how do you--"

McAvery does not even see the bolt gun. Buridan puts a clean hole through the officer's skull, and catches the corpse when it slumps forward. Walking in reverse in a semicircle, holding the corpse under the arms, Buridan smoothly guides it into the cruiser's backseat, lays it flat along the floor there, and covers it with a tarp. He slams the cruiser's hood shut again and pulls his coat off, underneath which he's wearing a police uniform.

By the time Buridan gets behind the wheel of the cruiser, closes the door, and buckles up, the effects of the EMP flash have passed, and the car starts easily. He pulls away.

OP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atvsg_zogxo

>>4892591
AAAAAAA

>>4892591
Very polite, very efficient. This man is clearly a former sniper

>>4892591
I HAAAAATE IT

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At the hospital, there's a flurry of people coming in and out to see Aunt Cerise. Family members: Dad, rushing past the swinging double-doors of the ER with panicked agitation, followed by his only slightly less worried wives, and a few minutes later grandma Scarlett, who's still in her chef's whites and smelling of chocolate as she practically dashes in. Friends: Alex Best, who's in tears, and Sable Best, who's chewing her fingernails to the quick; aunt Renee, who looks angrier than she ever got on game night; Nelson, who Armstrong tells to stop crying like a fucking baby, although Armstrong's voice is a little froggy too. And of course David Darkbloom, who you're none too happy to see passing into the ER hallway on his way to Cerise's hospital room, his tall frame in his black evening jacket making him look, to you, like the dapperest grim reaper ever. K-Mom is tasked with keeping press at bay downstairs, and N-Mom is hovering around the halls of the ER with the rest of Cerise's security, watching out for any other threats.

You hate all this commotion, and so you stay in the dimly lit and green-carpeted waiting area, with Riley, keeping him calm. You lie on your back on some chairs, and he lies on your chest playing Pokemon Snap. Minutes drag into hours. He's not paying terribly close attention to the game -- as expected of a boy who just watched his mom get shot. After taking a series of poorly-timed one-star photos of Pokemon he's already seen, he lowers his Nintendo Dream, letting it sit on his tummy, and sighs.

"She'll be fine," you tell him.

He peers up at you, slightly twisting in place. "Why would someone want to shoot her?"

"There's a lot of bad people out there," you tell him.

"Do you think there are other people who want to shoot her?"

You stroke his hair. He twists fully around now, tummy-to-tummy with you, letting the Dream fall to the ground with a soft thud. He hugs you tight and buries his face in your chest. You stay there quietly like that for over an hour.

You're beginning to feel drowsy. But then Amber walks past, not even saying hi, on her way into the ER. The wake she leaves wakes you.

"Sit tight for a sec, all right?" You tell Riley. He gets up, to let you get up, and you follow your sister into the ER ward.

>>4892603
The gang's all here ;_;

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Dad is sitting at a chair just outside Cerise's room with Aunt Rose on one side of him and Aunt Whitney on the other. "Amber--" he begins, reaching for her hand as she walks by, but Amber ignores him. She pushes into Cerise's room. Dad makes to follow her, but Aunt Rose stays him. They're deep into it with Armstrong, who's standing before of the trio discussing matters. Seems he's moved past how distraught he was in the immediate aftermath of the attack, and now he's talking nitty-gritty practicalities:

"Anyway, you can keep Tyrus. I don't need an over-promoted street thug to run security for a US Senator-elect."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of code?" Aunt Rose says.

"This isn't about race!" Armstrong says. "Don't make this a race thing, you dizzy bitch. I just don't like the guy. He creeps me out."

"Whoever you get won't be half as competent," Dad warns him. "And Cerise can decide this one for herself. It's not an issue of campaign strategy -- it's an issue of personal security, and that belongs to her. Not you."

"Fucking A," Armstrong huffs. "You know, this little kerfuffle is actually good news, if you think about it. For her campaign."

"Little kerfuffle?" Dad fumes. "I will punch you. So help me God. My sister just got shot, you piece of shit. And all you care about--"

"Go screw," Armstrong says. "In case you forgot, or didn't notice, I was the one who leapt on top of her when the dookie hit the fan. I was ready to take a bullet for your sister. So don't you act like I don't care about her. I was as worried as if she were my own flesh and blood. But when we got to the hospital, I asked the doctor two things. First I asked: is she going to live? He said yes. So then I asked: is she going to be crippled? He said no. So I said -- fuckin' A!" He claps one palm against the other. It makes your ears ring. "This is great! She'll have a month or two of recovery and then she'll be fine... maybe her rotator cuff will flare up if she moves her shoulder the wrong way from now on, but that's a small price to pay for a runaway victory!" He sweeps his palm like petting an invisible dog. "Five months ago, no one thought she could do this thing. Now she's the odds-on favorite for the US Senate. And you know what? In a few years? White House. You can bet on it." He puts his hands on his hips, flipping back the sides of his suit jacket to do so. Waits for an enthusiastic response. Doesn't get one. So he turns and walks off, waving his hand in the air dismissively. Dad watches him with a reproachful glare.

"Excuse me," you mutter, walking past and slipping into Cerise's hospital room.

>>4892619
Jesus Christ, Armstrong

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Aunt Anna is holding Aunt Cerise's hand. Cerise lost a couple pints of blood, but Anna is the paler of the two. She grips Cerise like Cerise will float away if she lets go. Cerise winces as, wiggling, she tries to sit upright in her bed. Machines display her vitals. She looks somehow smaller in just that puke-green hospital gown.

Amber is on the other side of her bed, holding the beige side-rail, staring down at her. This isn't Amber when she's merely annoyed over something mundane like StuCo politics or your social gaffes. She has none of her characteristic swagger or scowl now as she does normally. Rather, she has something much scarier. Her face is blank, terrifyingly blank with rage. "Who did this to you," she asks flatly.

"We're not sure yet," Cerise says, gritting her teeth and clutching at her wounded shoulder. "They have him in custody though, so I guess we'll find out soon."

"Who was it. What's his name."

"Amber... I don't know," Cerise says. "Let the police sort it out."

"He was wearing a mask," Amber says. "I saw a video of it. Looked like it was more than something to cover himself up with."

Cerise stares at her severely. Anna stares at the floor.

"How do you know there won't be more," Amber demands.

"I don't know," Cerise admits. "There could be. That's why--"

"There won't be more," Amber promises.

"amber please don't do anything stupid," Anna begs.

"Stupid is letting a maniac come after my family. I'm not going to sit around waiting for the fucking cops to figure it out." She fixes Anna in her gaze. "You shouldn't either."

"Are you trying to get yourself killed or just arrested?" You ask.

"You know something too, don't you," Amber says.

You shake your head.

Amber puts a finger to your chest. "If you feel safe hiding at home just waiting for the next big thing, then fine. Don't get in my way." She pushes past you, and leaves.

When you're alone with Cerise and Anna, Cerise asks, "don't suppose you have any clue why this cult would come gunning for me now, do you?"

You shrug. You're hardly surprised Dad told her about the recent intrigue, too. "They're a cult. I'm going under the assumption they don't act rationally."

"tell S-- tell your dad that he needs to keep an eye on amber," Anna says.

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When you leave Cerise's room, Dad and Aunt Rose are missing. Aunt Whitney is a little further down the hall. She's locked in a battle to the death with a vending machine. She kicks and shakes it repeatedly. "Give me my fucking Funyuns," she snarls at it. She bangs on the sides of the machine now, too. "Come on! Shitty fucking day..."

You assess the situation. The bag is caught in the space between the glass and the spiraled metal mechanisms that dispense snacks. Whitney already tried knocking the bag loose by vending even more snacks on top of it, but those just got stuck, too. Now it's a bona fide logjam, with no hope of knocking the snacks loose via external means. So you wordlessly go to your knees, reach past the flap at the bottom of the machine with your cheek pressed against the glass, snake your arm inside, and fish the goodies loose with your waggling fingertips. Not just a couple bags of Funyuns, but some Kit-Kats, Fritos, and a peanut butter cookie, too. All waterfall down with satisfying crinkly thudding, landing in the cubby at the bottom of the machine. You pull them out and hand them all to a now grinning Whitney.

"You're a lifesaver, Wes," she says. "You singelhandedly just made my entire night pull a Yui."

"Yui? Yui who?"

"A U-turn."

"Oh."

She offers you one of the bags of Funyuns as repayment for your heroism, but you turn her down. "No thanks," you say. "Where's Dad?"

>>4892648
>"You're a lifesaver, Wes," she says. "You singelhandedly just made my entire night pull a Yui."
Well, glad to hear she's recovering fast too

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Dad and Aunt Rose are having a quiet conversation in the hospital cafeteria. It's evening by now and the canteen is closed, so they're mostly alone in here, save a few of the night shift nurses who are on break. Their backs are to you. You eavesdrop.

"I don't understand," Dad says. "This kind of stuff isn't supposed to be possible anymore."

"It'll all work out," Rose tells him. "It always does."

He cradles his head in his hands and rapidly jostles his knees. "How? There's a doomsday cult after my daughter, and my sister just got shot. What part of this is working out?"

"She never promised us a perfect life. How many times have you told me that? This isn't heaven -- we have to work for it, the same as anyone does."

"Is this a test?" Dad asks.

"No," Rose says.

He goes from cradling his head to leaning way back in his chair, sliding down a little as he does so. He stares at the ceiling. "Did we do something wrong? Did we make a mistake somewhere along the way?"

"You aren't Job. And what we saw in the lighthouse wasn't God. She can't control everything. That's why it's in our hands now."

Dad sighs deeply. He glances Rose's way. "Have you noticed how much Ophie looks like her?"

Rose nods. "Yeah."

"Why? What does that mean, huh?"

"Who knows. Maybe... she took a form she'd seen with us before. Something she knew would bring us comfort. Even if just subconsciously. There had to have been previous timelines with Ophie, right? Anything's possible... right?"

Dad shakes his head. After a long moment, he says: "I'm scared."

"I am too," Rose admits. She draws Dad into a hug, his head against her bosom.

You take a halting couple steps backwards, into the hall outside the cafeteria again. Is everyone going insane? Is there something in the water supply? Has there been a chemical spill? You can handle being stalked by cultic zealots, sure, but not the prospect that your own father is one of them, or part of a cult that's even wackier. You want to puke.

[ ] Ask Dad what the hell he's talking about.
[ ] Don't stick your nose any farther into it.

And:
[ ] Warn Dad that Amber is planning to go on the warpath.
[ ] Keep it to yourself. Maybe Amber unchained can be a help.

>>4892658
oh maaan

Well, might as well let Ally try to explain himself
>[x] Ask Dad what the hell he's talking about.
>[x] Warn Dad that Amber is planning to go on the warpath.

>>4892658
Ask and warn

>>4892658
>[x] Ask Dad
>[x] AMBER UNLEASHED

>>4892658
>[X] Ask Dad for some of his crazy pills
>[X] Get Amber super grounded

>[x] Ask Dad what the hell he's talking about.
>[x] Warn Dad that Amber is planning to go on the warpath.

>>4892658
>[X] Ask Dad what the hell he's talking about.
>[X] Warn Dad that Amber is planning to go on the warpath.

>>4892658
>[ ] Ask Dad what the hell he's talking about.
Guess that talk with Camelia was good for setting this moment.
Honestly thought the Camelia connection would pop up on Amelia's end. Amelia with a "C", y'know?

>[ ] Warn Dad that Amber is planning to go on the warpath.

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"Are you in a cult, too?"

"What?" Dad says, brows furrowed, as you sit across from him and Aunt Rose.

"I said are you in a cult."

"Asking me whether I'm in a cult is like asking whether I'm angry," Dad says. "I can't say no and look like I'm telling the truth. But no. I'm not in a cult. What the hell makes you think so?"

"She overheard us," Rose says, folding her arms.

Dad massages the bridge of his nose.

"You were saying some pretty crazy stuff. Something about a lighthouse? Meeting God? A perfect life?"

Dad shifts in his seat and tilts his head to one side. "A long time ago, we had a near-death experience. Rose and I."

"What?" You say. "You never told me that. What happened?"

"We got lost at sea," Rose says. "On a boat trip. We almost died of thirst."

Dad continues. "Before we got rescued, we saw some things that are hard to explain. You could say it made us spiritual. Eternal optimists."

You suppress a derisive laugh. "You. An optimist."

Dad is offended. "Sure. What's so unbelievable about that?"

Rose interjects. "If you've never been that close to death, you wouldn't understand. Well. We hope you never do."

"You had the same vision at the same time? Something weirdly specific like a lighthouse?"

"That's why we can't just chalk it up to some kind of delusion," Rose says. "But what it really was... well. That's something we'll wonder about for the rest of our lives."

"But there's something important we took from it," Dad says. "This world has purpose. We have purpose. You have purpose. Nothing happens without a reason. And even if the reasons are hard for us to understand, we can make it through if we stay together."

Seems like being interrogated helped Dad renew his faith in... whatever the fuck he's rambling about. So, time to bring a much-needed dose of reality back into the conversation: "Amber's planning something."

"What?" Dad and Rose say at once.

"Thinks she can get to the bottom of who tried to kill Aunt Cerise. But you already know who it was. Maybe you even know more than you're cluing me in on. Either way, you might want to take care of things before she beats you to the punch. Just FYI."

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Dad shakes his head. "Where did she go?"

"Didn't say. Here's another one for you. Did you hear that this Instrumentalism group is having their next big meeting at Darkbloom Enterprises?"

"Your mothers told me."

"Are you gonna be there? Is David Darkbloom gonna be there?"

Rose is peering at her phone. "It says she's on a northward trajectory. Looks like she's just going home."

"I guess you have all your daughters bugged, huh?" You ask Dad. "Hit me with another one. Where's Ophie?"

Dad rises to his feet. "I think it's time for you to go home, too. Come on. I'll take you."

"No." Dad frowns at you, but you stand your ground. "I'm staying here with Riley. Someone needs to keep him company."

"You might not realize it just now," Dad says, "but I have your best interests at heart. I just need you to trust me a little."

"I do trust you," you tell him. You put your hands in your hoodie pocket and slump in your seat. "I mean. You're my Dad. Just because I trust you, doesn't mean I have to like you..."

He nods. "Liking me is purely optional. As long as you know where we stand."

"Why don't you let my mom be your bodyguard?" You ask, looking up at him.

Dad blinks in confusion.

"Why don't you let N-Mom be your bodyguard?" You repeat. "She only spent like ten years asking you for the job. She'd charge you a lot less than Tyrus does, too. And she'd do a way better job. You think any of these psychos would get close to us again if she was in charge of things?"

Dad is silent for a turn. "Some things are more important," he says like he's fucking Confucius reciting a koan.

"Oh really?" You say. "And what's more important than making sure you don't get your head blown off by crazy mobsters?"

Dad's expression is blank and yet somehow not. He stares. You shrink back in your seat. Then he does that thing where he acts way too much like a normal father. He puts an arm around you and squeezes you tight, and doesn't say a word. It's awkward.

>>4892721
>Dad is silent for a turn. "Some things are more important,"
Awww

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MEANWHILE...

Buridan parks outside the police station. In the parking lot, he uses some garden shears from his duffel to cut off the right thumb of Officer McAvery. Then he uses a melon baller to scoop out McAvery's right eyeball. He covers the corpse back up with the tarp.

With these items, and McAvery's badge card, Buridan can enter just about any room at the precinct. First he heads to the evidence stores, getting through with surreptitious scans of the severed thumb and eyeball, and a flash of the badge card to a disinterested desk clerk. Inside, he steals the bejeweled mask from the shelves there, where it lies tagged and bagged in a ziplock. He stows it down the front of his shirt.

Next he visits the hallway outside the interrogation rooms, where some detectives are discussing their suspect:

"Hasn't said a word since he got here. Except for lawyer."

"Well, it'll be the FBI's problem soon enough."

"Fuck that. This isn't a federal crime. Lenz lives in Palo Alto, he shot a resident of Palo Alto. That makes it local in jurisdiction."

"We might not get a say. Seems like some hothead at the San Fran field office made it their personal mission to see that the feds take over."

"The feds are taking that guy?" Buridan says, coming to a stop before the two detectives, holding a manila folder under his arm as if hurrying on to some administrative task.

"Not if I can help it," one of the detectives says.

"You know Lopez," the other detective tells Buridan, rolling his eyes. "Always wants to inflate his numbers. Easy to book a case as solved when you arrest the shooter on-scene, right?"

"Why does the FBI want this?" Buridan asks. "Just because it was a Senate candidate?"

"You're pretty talky today... McAvery," says Lopez, squinting to look at the name on the little brass nametag above the uniform's left pocket. "Why don't you go file that paperwork, huh. Bet it's real urgent."

"Actually, it's for you," Buridan says. "They emailed over some social media footprints of the perp. Here."

Lopez takes the folder. Leafs through it. "Maybe there's something we can use in here to get that fucker to talk," he mutters. "Thanks, officer." He motions for his partner to follow him with the hand gripping the folder, and they stalk off down the hall to review the forged documents.

"Hey," Buridan calls when they're a few paces on. "Who's this idiot at the bureau, anyway? Trying to take our jurisdiction away from us."

"Some bitch named Keki," Lopez says with a shrug. He and his partner round the corner together, muttering about the unfairness of it all.

>>4892721
>"You might not realize it just now," Dad says, "but I have your best interests at heart. I just need you to trust me a little."

I swear to god OP Studios

>>4892740
Fuck, he's competent

>"Some bitch named Keki," Lopez says with a shrug.
nononononono

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>>4892740
>"You know Lopez," the other detective tells Buridan, rolling his eyes. "Always wants to inflate his numbers...."

>>4892721
>I have your best interests at heart
>Trust me

GUESS WHAT I'M POSTING WHEN I GET HOME


>>4892740
fuckfuckfuck

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Buridan tries the door to the interrogation room. Unlocked, of course. These bumpkins wouldn't be fit to interrogate a vandalism suspect in Mayberry -- no wonder the FBI wants to take it from here.

Inside the room, he takes a seat at the table across from Lenz. Lenz straightens his posture, manacles jangling. He draws a deep breath to steel himself and tilts his chin up to face Buridan head-on.

"Congratulations on your success," Buridan says. "I've come to free you."

Lenz says nothing.

"You wavered," Burdian says, expressionless and emotionless. "You should have freed yourself before these people apprehended you. Thankfully, I made all necessary preparations." He crosses his legs, and draws a pistol. Affixing the silencer, he says, "that's why, before I can free you, you have to bleed. You understand."

"Yes."

Silencer screwed on tight, Buridan looks back up at Lenz and shoots him in the throat. Lenz chokes, and gurgles, and collapses against the table. His lips part and close like a fish dragged aboard a boat. The blood pools out of his mouth, his nostrils, and his ears, running thickly over the shiny chrome tabletop and in drizzles to the tile floor, so much it's almost black. He aspirates on it, gripping the table's edges, his hands too closely restrained by his manacles to touch his neck where he was shot. He struggles a little, lets out a final rasp, and dies.

Buridan pockets the pistol, and leaves the precinct.

>>4892752
Welp. That's fuckin fantastic.

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>>4892752

>>4892752
... Jesus Christ.

>>4892634
It's a little bugshit how good an assassination attempt is for a politcian's approval rating. I really hope Armstrong isn't in on this. I really hope he's just being thick.

>>4892796
I think he's just coping with it in his own way

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"Dead," Lily says. She sets her breakfast tray down on the table and slides into the seat beside you. "Oh, that's nice. That's just fucking nice as shit."

"They got to him inside the police station," you say. You rub your eyes, groggy. Rare are the days you get to school on time for breakfast. "N-Mom was there when they found him... she wanted the FBI to take the case, you know... figuring they could handle it better than the Palo Alto City PD."

"No shit?" Lily says. "I wonder why she thinks the cops in this town are a bunch of incompetent assholes. What would make her think something crazy like that?" She sips her juice box. "Figuring it's this Buridan freak, then?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, don't you worry your scrawny little ass off," Lily says. She pulls her gun. "If anyone comes after you, I've got your back."

"Why do I feel less safe every time I remember that you're allowed to carry a gun on campus?"

Lily narrows her eyes at you. She's still holding her gun. "Say that shit again."

"Right..."

Amber sits across from you. Lily puts her gun away, not that Amber would be intimidated by anything as boring as a loaded firearm pointed at her.

"When were you planning on telling me about your little hostage situation the other week?" Amber says.

"Amber--"

"Don't even deny it. I got all the details from Tyrus. Daddy confirmed. Thanks, by the way, for fucking ratting on me. You cunt. I didn't even do anything and now I'm on 24/7 lockdown."

Lily laughs. "More like you're on a 24/7 PMS. I should start calling you Period Blood."

"I don't remember saying a goddamn thing to you," Amber snaps.

Summer walks up. She pokes Amber in the side. "Are you bullying Wes? I'll have to bully you right back if you are~"

But Amber is far from being in a playful mood. "You got my family into this mess. You and your shitty little sister. Why don't you do us all a favor and fuck off."

Summer shakes her head, taken aback. "I... you mean--"

"Yeah. I mean. Look, I'm sorry that your asshole dad fucked your life over, but don't fuck our life over, too."

"I'm... sorry..." Summer stutters. "I didn't mean... do you really think..."

You take Lily's tray and toss it like a frisbee at Amber. It bonks off her skull. She grimaces in pain and wheels on you. "What the fuck!" She shouts.

Standing, you point at yourself with a thumb. "I got our family into this. Me. Not Summer. So leave her alone or I'll do a lot worse than throwing a plastic tray at you."

"Oh, that's very Wesley, Wesley," Amber says. "Fuck everything up and then wait for someone else to fix it. Bravo."

"It won't be you," you tell her. "Whatever it is you think you'll be able to accomplish against an organization that can kill witnesses right under the police's nose... you're wrong. You'll get yourself killed. Stay out of it."

"Try and make me," Amber says, stands, and stalks off.

"Bitch needs Midol..." Lily says. She glances at Summer. "Oh, stop whimpering and come sit already."

>>4892805
>I should start calling you Period Blood.
Lily, please.

>"You got my family into this mess. You and your shitty little sister. Why don't you do us all a favor and fuck off."
That's a low blow Amber.

>>4892805
Please no fighting :(

>>4892752
And this is the cocksucker who's going to be out for one of our moms.
>>4892804
Sure sure, focus on the positives. Even if those positives are absolutely meaningless if they take a "We only have to get lucky once." tact and send another idiot to shoot her.

>>4892805
>You take Lily's tray and toss it like a frisbee at Amber. It bonks off her skull.

Attagirl Wes. Stand up to your sister when she's being a cunt.

>>4892820

Unironically yes. People deal with traumatic shit in all sorts of different ways.

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After Amber's little temper tantrum, and finding out what happened to Aunt Cerise, Summer is sullen and downcast all day in class. She hardly responds to anything you say to her, only little murmurs -- yeahs and oh sures.

Finally, in American Lit, it comes to a head.

"...which makes absolutely no sense," Talia is saying. "Even granting that present-day languages might not be preserved five or ten thousand years into the future, there are better ways to warn future humans of radioactive waste sites than things like menacing earthworks. Do you know what any explorer is going to say the very moment they see a place with a bunch of jagged, obviously human-made spikes sticking ten or twenty stories high out of an obviously human-made concrete labyrinth painted Vantablack? They'll say to themselves, 'wow, this looks like a place of honor. I bet some past generation's highly esteemed deeds are commemorated here. I should go and check it out.' Is that not precisely what we did with the Egyptian pyramids? Wouldn't you agree those earthworks are a little menacing too? This is basic, rudimentary human behavior we're talking about here. Sheer stupidity. Total ignorance." Behind her, the whiteboard says that today's discussion topic is Henry David Thoreau. "And do not even get me started on cats that change color. The absurdity of it. It boggles the mind..."

You glance behind your desk to see how Summer is holding up to the lecture. She has her cheek in her fist, and she's staring out the window.

"Summer? Are you--"

"It is my fault, isn't it," she says.

You shake your head.

"If you weren't involved with me, you wouldn't have been there that day. You wouldn't have seen me getting kidnapped. None of this would have happened. Because you're dating me... you almost got killed... your aunt got shot. And who knows what else is gonna happen next."

"Amber's just being a bitch," you tell her. "None of this is your fault."

She covers her face with both hands. "I'm so sorry," she says.

You reach for her. The bell for lunch rings. Most of the students are only too happy to be released from the purgatory of Talia's rant about nuclear semiotics, but Summer's rush to get out of the room is spurred by much more than that. "I have to go to cheer practice," she says, probably a lie, gathering her bag and her books, sniffling back her tears. "I'll see you later."

She hurries out.

You sit there in the quickly emptying class, wondering what to do.

"Trouble in paradise?" Talia asks you.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Oh, sure I would."

You actually agree, on second thought. Talia is weird enough to take a story like this in stride.

[ ] Get her advice. A neutral third party might be beneficial.
[ ] Don't tell her. Better not to reveal too much.

>>4892843
>[ ] Get her advice. A neutral third party might be beneficial.

What should we do Snuggy Bear?

>>4892843
>[x] Get her advice. A neutral third party might be beneficial.

We're kinda floundering at this point (especially now that you fuckers have hamstrung Amber).

>>4892843
>[ ] Get her advice. A neutral third party might be beneficial.

>>4892843
lmao OP

>[x] Get her advice. A neutral third party might be beneficial.

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>>4892843
MEANWHILE, somewhere in the desert...

>[X] Run after her
Love Snuggy Bear but some things are more important

>>4892863
Never played the Hanako route, huh?

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>>4892867
Rin best girl

Come to think of it, Rin's very similar to Talia personality-wise

>>4892867
There are times when you need to give someone space. "She thinks she's responsible for your family being in mortal danger" is not one of those times. Better to reassure her now than let her stew on it until she starts making bad decisions.

Also, her own family is heavily involved in all this, so maybe she needs her girlfriend to comfort her, anyway?

>>4892872
You make a good point honestly

Changing >>4892859 to
>[x] Run after her

>>4892871
Yeah, Talia's basically Rin with three extra limbs. which makes her grrrrrreat.

>>4892872
You're not wrong about most of what you said, we should be there for her. But give her some time to process things for herself too. She's not Amber, she's not gonna run off and do something rash. At the same time, we're not Alabaster - we can't fix *everything*. Also, added perspective never hurt anyone.

>>4892875
>She's not Amber, she's not gonna run off and do something rash.
Anon...

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Talia sits at a desk facing you. You explain everything in a whirlwind recitation, beginning with Summer getting kidnapped, ending with Amber's hurtful comments this morning, and sparing no details between, even the lurid ones. Talia listens placidly to every word, silent, but attentive.

"That's some story," she says when you're finished.

"Yeah," you agree.

"What do you want me to do about it?" She asks.

You shrug. "I dunno. I just needed to vent, I guess."

"Do you mind if I offer some unsolicited advice?" She says.

"I would categorize this as very much solicited advice."

"Right. Your immediate priority is to go find Summer and shower her with a lot of hugs and kisses. She needs you right now. Your second priority is to preempt whatever your sister might try."

"How?"

"This Gideon person. He was after that prophecy book, right? It stands to reason the Instrumentalists are, too. That gives you one -- no, two people who have a link to the situation and can be of some help. Amelia van der Boom and Olivia Bosphorus. If some unwitting third party... like, say, me. Were to visit Bosphorus Rare Books and inquire about this thing, do you think Gideon would come running? I think he would. I think Gideon is watching that place like a hawk, and would come rushing in to see who's trying to abscond with the secret prophecy. Then some enterprising person like Tyrus Kang could be ready and waiting to apprehend him, and drill him for information."

"You... want to use yourself as bait?" You say.

"Sure."

"No offense, but... why?"

She cocks her head. "Do I need any other reason than that I care about you?"

"I guess I -- didn't realize that you cared a whole lot. Not that the sex isn't great. But."

Talia taps her forefinger to the tip of your nose. You cross your eyes to stare at it. Uncrossing them to look back at her face -- you see she has just the barest hint of a smile on her lips.

[ ] Go with her plan.
[ ] Too many variables, too much could go wrong. Nix it. You can come up with a better Plan B.

>>4892886
>[X] Go with her plan.
More Olivia is always good.

>>4892886
>[x] Go with her plan.

Well she's convinced me. Operation Chasing Summer is a go.

>>4892886
>Talia taps her forefinger to the tip of your nose.
Excited for the end of this episode where someone asks Wes why she has a miniature tophat on her nose

>[X] Go with her plan.

>>4892886
Taliaaaaa

>[x] Go with her plan.

>>4892886
>[ ] Go with her plan.

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You find Summer where you expected her to be: up on the school rooftop, staring forlornly at the quad below. She comes here when she wants to get away from people -- you had to endure a couple tutoring sessions here, with the wind flapping your hair and your notebooks all around.

"You're persistent, huh," she says, glancing back.

"It's not nice to lie to your girlfriend about where you're going. I might start to think you're cheating on me."

She turns fully around. "We should break up."

"Why?" You ask.

"Because you suck? Because you're a stinky loser who doesn't even know how to wash her own hair? Because ever since people found out we're dating, my reputation has gone like completely down the drain with no hope of recovery? Because every time you eat me out, you bite my clit and you know that hurts like a mother, and you're only doing it to stop me from finishing before you want me to? Because I'm going to get you killed if you keep dating me? Because I'm a stupid useless bitch and you have at least, like, five or six other people you could date instead of me, and you'd be even happier and be so much less stalked-by-a-cult with any one of them?" Tears are rolling down her face. "Mostly because you suck, though. Mostly that's why. So I'm breaking up with you."

"Well, I'm not breaking up with you," you say with a shrug.

"See! That's why you suck! You don't even listen to your own girlfriend!"

"Nothing that happened is your fault. If you don't believe me, fine. Believe that I believe it."

"I'll find someone else to date first, then," Summer says, adopting a callous tone. "Then you'll have to break up with me."

"I doubt it. Not because you couldn't if you wanted to. You absolutely could. You could get with way more people than I ever could. But you won't. Will you."

Summer sniffles. "What makes you so sure? Huh? You've already seen me fuck other people."

"I don't know. Maybe you would. It would be pretty fucking retarded, though."

Summer draws a sharp breath. "You--"

"Running off and ditching someone just because there's a little trouble? I know you're kind of dim sometimes, but come on, Summer. Use some common sense once in a while. Honestly."

>>4892935
No bully!!!!

>>4892935
Hurt people hurt people. ;w;

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Summer's voice trembles. "You are such a fucking--"

"It's your choice," you tell her. "I won't stop you. But I don't think this is what you want. You know, someone wise once told me that you can make it through anything that comes your way, if you stick together with the people you love. I think that's true. Don't you?"

Summer's face twitches. "Love..." she says. She takes a step forward. "Do you mean that?"

"Uh."

"Do you love me, Wes? Don't bullshit me."

"I'm not exactly loving the way you're handling the current situation," you say. "But..." You give her an uncertain look and say: "Yeah. I kinda love you."

She pulls you into a hug that threatens to asphyxiate. You struggle against her, but it's futile. "Sum...mer..." you rasp.

"You fucking weird smelly little perverted moron," she says.

"I... can't... breathe..."

"I love you, too. I'm so sorry everything's so fucked up. But I do. I love you. I really, really do!"

"I'm gonna... pass out-- unf--"

"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you," she repeats, kissing you on top of you head. "Wash your hair. I love you. I love you."

"Cool," you say with the last of your breath, but it could be easily mistaken for a cough. You're beginning to see spots at the corners of your vision when she finally lets go of you.

"Let's fuck," she says.

You look around. "...Here?" You say between gulps of air.

She nods. Oh boy.

>>4892943
>"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you," she repeats, kissing you on top of you head. "Wash your hair. I love you. I love you."
I didn't know someone could be this perfect

>>4892943
Must be nice getting smothered by this warm muffin.

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>>4892943
That's our girl

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Amelia glances uncertainly from you to Talia. "You... want to... what?"

"I want to go to your girlfriend's store, pretend I'm looking for books on prophecy, and have Olivia offer me that Russian fur trapper's diary. This, I expect, will bait out Gideon. Then Tyrus Kang can nab him, and find out what he really knows about what's happening. Shall I tell you the plan a third time, or do you have it all now?"

Amelia glances around the diner as if to ensure no one else is listening in, then leans across the table. She hisses, "This is insane on so many levels. I knew you were crazy when you pulled that fake blindness act, but you have got to be kidding me."

"I am blind," Talia says.

"You're not blind!" Amelia shouts, smacking the table. "You're not blind!" Patrons are gawking, so she calms herself down with a couple deep, bracing breaths.

"You know these Instrumentalists quite well, don't you?" Talia says. "Maybe you know more than you're telling, too."

Amelia looks at you. "I told you all I know, Wes. They have esoteric interests. I used to let them browse the shop once in a while, while Olivia was on her sabbatical. I never had any idea they were violent psychopaths."

"Now you know," Talia says. "And knowing..."

Amelia stares at her.

"Is half the battle," Talia finishes for her.

"Yes! Now I know! Which is why--" She lowers her rising voice to a whisper again. "--which is why I think this little scheme of yours is insane."

"Maybe it is. But I think you're attracted to insane," Talia says. "You wouldn't date a woman like Olivia Bosphorus, otherwise." She rises and gathers her purse straps onto her shoulder. "I'll be coming by the shop around 8 PM. Make sure to let Olivia know. And be careful how you do it. I expect Gideon has that place bugged. Maybe other people do, too."

Amelia's eyes follow Talia out. The she shoots you a scornful look. "What are you thinking, Wes? Telling someone like that about sensitive things like this?"

"If we're all alive by 9 PM," you say, "feel free to punish me."

Amelia shakes her head. "You would like that, wouldn't you?"

"So would you," you say. You reach under the table and take a quick feel. "That's what I thought," you say, confirming it. Amelia's mouth trembles.

>>4892965
hummina hummina

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I'm gonna pause here for the night. Tomorrow: Operation Entrapment is a go.

>>4892965
>"This is insane on so many levels. I knew you were crazy when you pulled that fake blindness act, but you have got to be kidding me."

>"I am blind," Talia says.

>"You're not blind!" Amelia shouts, smacking the table.
Fucking lol. I love these two

>>4892976
Good thread, OP! I'm properly terrified. Can't wait for tomorrow.

>>4892965
>"You would like that, wouldn't you?"
>"So would you," you say. You reach under the table and take a quick feel. "That's what I thought,"
Takes after her dad, doesn't she?

>>4892976
Terrified! Thanks for running OP!

>>4892965
>"I am blind," Talia says.
Talia is great.

The time is now 4:22 AM!

>>4892976
HYPE

>>4892976
Looking forward to it!
I have to admit though, kind of lukewarm on this Buridan guy and not just because of what he's doing or who he's with. Just kind of tired in general of the "hyper-competent secret society/cult" in media. Like how they have all this reach and perfect secrecy from all manner of government institutions. But this might be a personal gripe.

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You sit in the back of the beamer with K-Mom on one side of you and Amber on the other. N-Mom is up front with Tyrus. Bringing you and Amber along was Dad's idea -- he figured if Amber saw some progress being made on the "stopping insane cultists from killing you all" front, she'd calm down.

Dad radios in now. "I'm at the rear entrance with Marquis and Stasi. We'll let you know if we see any movement on our end."

Tyrus holds up a tablet for you all to watch. You see the POV from right around Talia's chest, the camera bobbing with every step, as she walks down the sidewalk. She comes upon Winter, sign-spinning out front of Bosphorus Rare Books. Winter pauses occasionally to point at passersby and hurl invective like: "you! Yeah, you! Get your butt in here and buy some books! Hey! Don't look at me like that! What else are you gonna do with your time and money, huh? Loser! Get back here!"

She's wearing a bear costume. A big, fluffy teddy bear costume with a giant head and a circular cutout for her face to poke through. It's adorable. Whether she has an inborn knack for spinning signs or took it upon herself to practice for the job, you're not certain -- but she has the moves, all right. She bends over and rolls the "RARE BOOKS FOR DISCOUNT PRICES" sign across her shoulder blades, making it turn through a full revolution. At the end of its transit, she shrugs it airborne and lets it fall nearly to the ground before kicking it like a hacky sack back into her waiting hands, only then to twirl the thing on one fingertip like a Harlem Globetrotter with a basketball.

"I think you've found your calling in life, Winter."

"...Huh?" Winter says, turning to find Talia standing there. She stops twirling the sign and holds it steady down by her knees. She looks mortified. "Oh. Go buy some books, Ms. Berenstoin..." She grows angry, then, as Talia just stands there instead of heading inside. "Don't look at me like that! ... Stop it! Stop looking at me! I'LL HIT YOU! GO BUY SOME BOOKS!"

"That's Gideon's kid, right?" Tyrus says.

"Yeah," you confirm.

"Should she really be seeing this shit? Her daddy's about to take a beating if everything goes to plan, and that's if he's lucky. I don't want to traumatize the poor girl any more than she may already be."

"Trust me," Amber says, "she deserves it."

"Do you have to be such a bitch about everything?" You ask.

"Does Winter?" Amber fires back.

"She seems like a sweet girl," K-Mom says. "I agree with Tyrus."

"I'm... kinda with Amber on this one," N-Mom says. "After everything Summer's told me about her."

K-Mom gives her a displeased look, to which she says: "what?"

"Summer told me she wasn't supposed to be on-shift tonight," you say. "Leave it to Winter to be in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time..."

[ ] Create a diversion to get her away from the bookstore.
[ ] Don't interfere.

>>4894193
>[ ] Don't interfere.

If we try to get her away from the bookstore, she's gonna know something's up. Gideon's smart enough not to do anything in front of his kid.

>>4894193
>[x] Create a diversion to get her away from the bookstore.

Also here's your reminder to tweet out about the episode's continuation, OP.

>>4894193
>[x] Diversion

>>4894193
Don’t interfere

>>4894193
Do we even know how she feels about Gideon? He seems like the kinda guy who would leave his kids with daddy issues.

Honestly more torn as to which option is more likely to fuck everything up though. Having her bump into Gideon seems like it might send everything to shit, but then, complicating things with a distraction is also very likely to FUBAR it up.

>[X] Distract her
I guess I'll vote this for now, I could be convinced otherwise though

>>4894193
>[X] Don't interfere.

>>4894193
>[ ] Don't interfere.

Kinda paranoid too since Gideon never actually confirmed with his own eyes (AFAIK) if Winter returned home. Is this actually Winter, or are we getting something similar to a Blue Amber situation?

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"Look, look! Commonalities of Akkadian and Assyrian deluge myths, a first edition!" Olivia, at the top of the ladder, holds the leatherbound book aloft for Amelia to see. "I forgot I picked this one up in Paris!"

"...You went to Paris?" Amelia says.

"It was beautiful. City of light! City of magic! Of course, I got mugged by a Romani beggar. But that's all part of the experience! Oh, I'd love to go back... I even got to visit the hidden apartment in the Eiffel Tower!"

Amelia shakes her head. Hearing about Olivia's travels isn't the highlight of her day. It stings. "I'm really not too into the ancient near east," she says. "I wouldn't be able to tell an Akkadian from a Hittite..."

"You haven't studied it enough. It's the cradle of civilization! Hey, take me to the third shelf there." Amelia steers the rolling ladder a little ways down the stack. Olivia grips both sides of the ladder to keep steady and goes, "weeee" like she's on a roller coaster. Coming to a stop, she motions down at Amelia: "hand me that purple one there."

Amelia passes the book up. "Thelemic eschatology?" She says. "Did you take a closer look at this one? Any good?"

"It's not too interesting," Olivia says. "Such a letdown. Nothing of Crowley in it, and no new ideas. The little shop in Providence where I found it was just darling, though!"

Amelia gazes heavenward. "I bet," she says, tightening her jaw. Every question about the books leads to a description of the interesting locales they came from. All places Amelia didn't get to see, and likely never will. It's hard for her to stay annoyed at Olivia with the view she's got of Olivia's backside, though. She could stare at that fat ass all night long. Calm down, Amelia, she thinks to herself...

"Did you ever think of Dewey decimalizing this place?" Amelia asks. Not for the first time.

"Oh stop."

"Just asking."

"I have a system!" Olivia insists. "So much better than Dewey!"

Amelia glances between a few volumes at eye level. One is a collection of Gaelic legends. Another is a book of zeppelin engineering drawings from the 1890s. A third is a Japanese translation of Dante's Inferno dating from 1920. "What's the system, again?"

"It would take too long to explain, Mel. Just trust me! Hey, can you pass me up that book about Grecian aqueducts?"

"A system only you understand is just fine if it's only for your use," Amelia says. "But it confuses customers. No one else can find what they want."

"Maybe that's better!" Olivia says. She turns and peers down at Amelia with big, bright eyes. "When you can't find what you want, you usually end up finding what you never knew you needed in the first place! And that's--" She holds up a finger, but almost loses her balance, and hurries to catch herself by gripping the ladder even tighter. "...that's the joy of looking through any book collection," she finishes, sounding dizzy.

There's a chime from the bell above the door. Amelia and Olivia share a serious look. It's time.

>>4894234
I love Amelia so much, she's just such a great foil

>>4894234
Waiting with excitement (and dread) to see how this goes...

>>4894234
this wait got spicy

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"...Winter?" Olivia says.

Winter, still in her ursine getup, plops down on a rolling chair behind the checkout counter and kicks up her bear feet. Unzipping them, she turns her bear feet into bare feet. She pulls off the costume's oversized head and holds it awkwardly under an arm as she sits there fanning herself. She's plastered with perspiration. "This sign spinning gig is real work. Isn't Cali supposed to be temperate or something? It's like 100 degrees out there!"

Olivia tsks. "I thought we had a customer."

"You do," Winter says. "You're welcome. I brought her in for you."

Talia pokes her head around the corner now, holding her purse in front of her with both hands. She searches for Olivia at eye level, before realizing Olivia is up a ladder. "I would have come in either way," she tells Olivia, glancing up.

Olivia slides down the ladder like a fireman. Talia can't help appreciating the way it makes her jiggle in certain places. Neither can Amelia.

"If it isn't my favorite customer!" Olivia says.

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Maybe if she had any other girls to say it to," Winter cuts in. She's leaned way back in the chair, a cracked-open copy of Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac in her hands. She sips a bottle of water. "You're the first customer all day."

"Your patronage means just so much to us!" Olivia says, putting the positive spin on it.

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Talia nods. She reaches into her purse and produces a handwritten list: "I'm looking for a few specific things this time. Interests and hobbies of mine, you know."

"Oh, you can't find them on your own?" Amelia asks, grinning.

"Hm? Oh, sure, I can find pretty much all of it," Talia says. She reads from the list. "Let's see. Based on how the store is organized, Grecian aqueducts should be on the top shelf there, right?" Olivia smiles and pulls free the book she so recently put away. Talia nods. "And... Melanesian creation myths should be somewhere around..." she walks to an adjoining aisle and browses for a short moment before saying, "right here. Right."

"You have got to be kidding me..." Amelia mumbles.

Talia returns with the book of creation myths in hand. "But the last time I was here, I came up short in a couple spots, so I thought maybe you girls could help me out."

"Of course!" Olivia says. She circles around the counter, nudging Winter and the rolling chair she sits in out of the way, making Winter totter precariously and pull an angry face. "What is it you're looking for? If, on the incredibly small off-chance I don't have it in my collection -- I'll do my utmost to source it for you!"

"I'm interested in Russian mysticism," Talia says. "Especially on the frontiers of the old Russian Empire. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Siberia, Kamchatka, the Aleutian isles--"

Olivia snaps her fingers. "I just recently got a book in about that topic!" She directs Talia to follow her to the appointed aisle. "Russian Alaska was such an interesting place. Back in the 19th century, fur tra--"

The bell above the door rings again. Talia glances around the corner of the shelves, and sees the man who entered. Not Gideon. She ducks back behind the stacks for cover, and feels the fear coursing through her. Connections form in her brain. Does this make sense? It makes too much sense. Of course he'd be one of them.

>>4894328
what

WHAT

>>4894328
Oh no, who is it?

>>4894328
Shit. It's Buridan, huh?

>>4894322
> She's leaned way back in the chair, a cracked-open copy of Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac in her hands.

So who wound up getting the Jeopardy gig in 422?

>>4894328
It's fucking Darkbloom, isn't it? It's always Darkbloom.

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Olivia falls silent. She hasn't seen the person who entered. She's figuring this must be Gideon, and that the sting is nigh. But there is no sound other than a series of low thuds and ruffling pages. And then Amelia saying: "sir? Excuse me, sir? What are you doing?"

Olivia comes out into the main aisle of the shop that stretches between the entrance and the checkout counter. Winter is missing. Confused, Olivia peers over the top of the counter, into the space between countertop and floor, and finds Winter huddling there, animal panic in her eyes. Olivia turns quickly back towards the new visitor, who's walking back and forth among the bookshelves, knocking books loose as he haphazardly searches for what he wants.

"W-welcome to Bosphorus Rare Books..." Olivia begins, but the man doesn't stop. "Uhhh... may I help you find something?"

Buridan brushes past Olivia as if she doesn't even exist, and carries on his search in a different aisle. Meanwhile, Talia finds shelter in a little alcove, and whispers for the folks outside to hear: "send someone. Send everyone."

Olivia follows Buridan into the aisle where she'd been keeping the fur trapper's diary, just as he's pulling it out. She realizes at last what's happening. Voice firm and level, she tells Buridan: "I can't let you take that. You and your friends are no longer welcome at Bos--"

Buridan pulls a sawed-off shotgun from his jacket, aims it thoughtlessly at Olivia, and pulls the trigger. Only because Amelia lunges and tackles Olivia to the ground does Buridan miss, instead putting buckshot holes through the books and shelves opposite the two women. They scream. So does Winter. Buridan doesn't bother taking another shot, instead ducking around the corner and trying to hurry off. But reinforcements are rushing in from either side: Tyrus from the front entrance; Alabaster, Marquis, and Stasi from the back.

>>4894342
jesus FUCK

>>4894342
JESUS FUCK

>>4894342
This absolute FUCKER.

Well lads.
What's Talia's history with Buridan?

>>4894347
Same as her namesake in Batman. Probably.

The name choice honestly made me slightly leery of Talia throughout the quest, even though I know it's not really warranted. Some stuff in this quest kinda makes me recall a few Batman Beyond episodes for some reason.

>>4894342
>Buridan pulls a sawed-off shotgun from his jacket, aims it thoughtlessly at Olivia, and pulls the trigger
Huh, for a man that professional before this seems like a weird move.

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>>4894342
Jesus

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"Give it up!" Tyrus shouts. He and Buridan exchange gunfire from opposite sides of the aisles as Tyrus pursues him through the store. Bullet holes pepper the walls. Marquis, meanwhile, uses this exchange as distraction to sneak up from behind on the same side as Buridan. He takes a hard swing with his baseball bat. But Buridan, wheeling, intercepts the blow and gives Marquis a firm kick to the chest, disarming him and knocking him back. He drops the bat and tosses a thick, heavy book at Marquis, nailing him in the face.

Stasi gets off a clean shot at Buridan that hits him in the bicep, right around where his heart should be -- but he merely goes off-balance for a moment before dashing for the basement stairs. Must be wearing Kevlar. Alabaster lunges and tackles Buridan the top of the staircase, and they tumble down it together. Buridan smacks Alabaster in the face with the very book he's trying to steal, but Alabaster won't be repelled, and tries to gouge Buridan's eyes. They roll around on the ground, Alabaster savagely grunting, Buridan making not a sound. They exchange punches, claws, and kicks.

Tyrus comes running down, two steps at a time, followed by Marquis and Stasi, but Buridan manages to roll himself free of Alabaster's grip and escape behind one of the rows of shelves. He deliberately drags the nearest shelf down, toppling it to its side across the central walkway, where it vomits books into an obstructive pile. The group smells the distinctive reek of gasoline and can't react in time before there's a blaze of fire that quickly spreads and engulfs the entire row of shelves from wall to wall, centered on the toppled-over shelf and pile of books in the center. Buridan must have hurled a Molotov. Using the fire as cover, Buridan breaks a window along the basement's ceiling that abuts the alley behind the store, and crawls through.

Alabaster, Tyrus, Stasi, and Marquis run for the front entrance. Alabaster is radioing back to the Kekis already: "Watch out! Buridan got out behind the alley! He came in from Homer Ave, so he'll be headed you way!"

Talia steps out to meet the group.

"You know this psycho?" Marquis asks her, breathing hard, speaking accusingly.

"Sort of."

"Sorta? You sounded like you know the fuck out of him." He puts his helmet on, grabs his bat from the floor, and runs for the back exit, to get on his motorbike and try to pursue Buridan that way.

The fire downstairs is still blazing. Olivia and Amelia rush past with a fire extinguisher and some thick felt blankets, respectively. Winter is on the phone, frantic: "Fire! I don't know! It's a fire, my guy! Send us some firemen! Bosphorus Rare Books!"

>>4894376
Oh fffffuck this guy.

>>4894376
Fucking hell, it's only episode 6! We're WAY too early for things to start TUMBLING DOWN

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"No! No!" Olivia shouts over and over, spraying thick flumes of CO2, trying to salvage her collection. Amelia presses the blankets to the places where the flames are licking highest, to try and smother it. Winter is the real MVP here, though: she comes racing down with a bag of rock salt slung over her shoulder, slits it along the bottom, and kills the incipient fire at the source. The flames die almost in an instant. All that's left are embers for Olivia and Amelia to tamp out.

Olivia is despondent, and Amelia breathing ragged, as they survey the ruins of easily 1000+ books gone to mostly ash in mere moments. The room is choked with black smoke and a fire alarm blares incessantly.

"So that's why you have all this salt in the back..." Winter says, rubbing the small of her back.

"Yeah... that's why..." Amelia mutters.

"Oh my God..." Olivia moans, tear-choked and lying over the still-hot remnants of the books. "These were some of my best ones..."

Amelia hugs her and draws her back to a sitting position on her knees. The entire front of Olivia's blouse and skirt and caked with ash and singed bits of pages. Amelia pats her back like she's a fussy baby while she clutches her face and cries.

>>4894380
Reminder that Vail happened in episode 5 of its respective season. This is an OP Studios Adventure. Things can tumble at any time!


>>4894381
Buridan dies, by the way.

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K-Mom hops into the driver's seat of Tyrus's car and fires the engine. She pulls away from the curb, watching over her shoulder to keep from hitting the car behind you, then cutting the wheel hard to get onto the road. She cuts off a motorist -- who slams his brakes to avoid a collision and honks indignantly.

Buridan is northeastbound on a motorcycle, whizzing down Homer Ave just like Dad said he'd be, a canvas bag slung over his shoulder. Sirens wail on the distance as N-Mom puts out the alert that the suspect in this weekend's cop killing has been sighted at Bosphorus Rare Books.

"Run him down!" Amber shouts. "Knock the fucker off his bike!"

K-Mom gets up alongside him. She and Buridan both blow past a red light at the intersection, almost causing a pileup. "Get ready!" She barks at N-Mom, who rolls down her window and readies a pistol. When Buridan points his sawed-off shotgun, though, it's not at either of your moms -- but rather directly at you. K-Mom slams on the brakes without a second thought, and lets Buridan get away.

"You had him!" Amber shouts.

"I... couldn't," K-Mom says. She looks at N-Mom for reassurance. N-Mom nods.

Up ahead, Marquis catches up to Buridan on a motorbike of his own, and you watch the two disappear around the corner in hot pursuit.

People are honking at K-Mom, since she's parked in the middle of the street, so she pops a bitch and returns to Bosphorus Rare Books, where the cops are already out in force to see what the fuck is going on.

>>4894388
fuuuuuck this guy

>>4894376
>But Alabaster won't be repelled, and tries to gouge Buridan's eyes.

Does Alabaster suspect some Bootleg Sand Reckoner implant fuckery?

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"Berenstoin. B as in boy, E, R, E, N as in Nancy..."

You watch from a short distance away as Talia gives her statement to the cops. She half sits on the hood of a police cruiser.

"Samuel. Yes." She looks at the photo the cop holds out to show her -- an image from the security cameras at the police station. "That's him."

"This man is your brother?" The cop says.

"Yes."

"Have you had any recent contact with him?"

"No. Not for several years now. This was the first time I've seen him since..." she looks at the sky, thinking. "Probably my 19th birthday."

"Do your parents or any other loved ones have any contact with him?"

She shakes her head. "None I know of. You'd have to ask them."

Another cop comes up. He whispers something to the first. The first then tells Talia: "we're having a hard time finding your records. Could you spell your name for us again?"

She clears her throat. "Try under Eli Berenstoin."

The two cops share a look. The second one gets back into his cruiser and types it into the miniature keyboard on the dash. "There you are. You still live at Oakfield Apartments? #322?"

Talia nods.

The first cop asks, "do you have any reason to suspect Samuel may be targeting you?"

"None," Talia says. "He wanted a book. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Right. We may want to ask you some more questions in the coming days. Stay in town until we say so. And call us right away if he reestablishes contact, all right?" The cop hands her a card.

"I doubt he will. Thank you, though."

>>4894397
Welp.

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A little ways down the curb, Olivia is also giving her statement. "Oh, you better believe I'll call you! If I don't kick his skull in first!"

"We strongly advise you not to attempt approaching him if you--"

"I will pound his ass! Pound. His. Ass!"

Amelia gently lowers Olivia's gesticulating arms for her. "We'll stay away from him if we see him," she assures the officer.

"He's lucky I didn't get my hands on him!" Olivia says.

>>4894397
Oh man. Poor Talia. Based on her reactions to seeing him again, I can only assume that he made for a really fucked up childhood.

>>4894399
Muh based Olivia

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"My daughter's been through enough," N-Mom is telling a cop. "And so has her sister. I'm not subjecting them to a statement that won't even help you boys. I just want to get them back home safe, ASAP."

"Of course, Agent Keki. But--"

"No buts. You have enough to go off of. Don't you? So stop wasting time and get to finding this cop killer before he kills again. Or are you going to make Alabaster Soliloquy's private security do all the legwork? You know, this is why I wanted the FBI to take over. You people are totally incompetent..."

You slide to your butt and sit along the outside wall of the bookstore with Amber. You're exhausted.

"You know what I'm not hearing in any of these statements?" Amber asks.

You shrug.

"The fact that Buridan's psycho support group is having their next powwow at Darkbloom's evil lair."

"Do you want to tell them?" You ask.

"Fuck no. Fuck cops."

"Then why are you upset?"

Amber turns towards you. Knees crooked, she rolls a pebble under her thumb on the ground between her feet. "Maybe the pigs track down Buridan and arrest him, maybe they don't. He's just a cog. Who runs the machine?"

"You're thinking David Darkbloom?"

"I don't know. But if it isn't him, then he knows who. And I'm gonna find out."

>>4894399
Poor thing :(

Marquis had better fuck him up real good

>>4894402
>"I don't know. But if it isn't him, then he knows who. And I'm gonna find out."
God, I hate that she's right

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>>4894402
Should have unleashed Amber all over these fuckers, but noooooo.

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Ophelia takes a seat at the table in one of the school library's meeting rooms, and Noah gently closes the door behind them, locking it. With the dying sunlight gleaming in from the south window, the room is golden-hued. Noah plays his fingertips across the slider that turns the meeting room's glass walls an opaque, smoky black -- affording them some privacy. He sits across from Ophelia, plugging in his laptop to the bank of sockets at the table's center, while Ophelia is already browsing hers.

"All right," Noah says, tilting his chin up as he peers at his screen, reviewing his work. "So I was stuck on orthogonalizing these vectors in the general case. It's just bookkeeping, but I need to know there's a unique solution for any given n or it really doesn't pay to continue my current line of inquiry here. With boundary conditions it's trivial, but when I--"

Ophelia pushes his laptop aside and crawls across the table on all fours. She grabs him by both sides of the face and rains kisses on him -- lips, cheeks, forehead, neck. "Stop talking about math," she breathes.

"Oph-- Ophie--" Noah gasps, struggling a little, leaning back, hands in the air. But he can't fight it. He doesn't want to fight it. He kisses Ophelia back. They breathe hard through their noses and their glasses fog up, so they toss them aside as Ophelia crawls into his lap. She's as small and warm and desperate for affection as a kitten.

Legs wrapped around Noah's lap, Ophelia says: "I feel you..." Her face is cherry pink and her voice is so trembly that it's hardly coherent, but she isn't going to hold herself back.

"We shouldn--"

"Why not?" Ophelia says, anger tinging her voice. "All our coevals are active. My sisters. Amber is active. Even Wesley is active. Well, why not us? I want you. The moment is right. Don't fight it."

"Ophelia-- please--"

Ophelia grips the lapels of his uniform's coat and bows her head, grunting in frustration. "Noah... if you reject me now... I'll never forgive you."

"I don't want to reject you," he says.

"So don't. Lay me down on this table and fu--"

"My father doesn't want us together."

"Who cares!" Ophelia shouts. She weakly tugs at his jacket. "Are you your father's slave? Will you be his slave forever? Are you going to push aside a real, warm girl who wants to give herself to you because of what your father might think?"

He rubs his eyes. "I love you," he says with some difficulty.

"I love you, too."

He swallows hard. "We could be caught, you know. Here in the library."

"It's not likely. But the small chance of detection makes it more... exciting, doesn't it?" She wiggles a bit in his lap.

Against his better instincts, he surrenders and kisses her back, this time more deeply.

>>4894445
GO GET EM TIGER

>>4894445
GO OPHIE GO
GO OPHIE GO

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"Do you have a few moments?" Olivia asks.

You glance around. Dad and the Moms are all still hectoring the local police. They could be a while.

"Just a few," you say. You stand and follow her and Amelia into the store. Amber, of course, tags along.

Inside, Winter is sitting on the floor, piles of singed books arrayed around her in a semicircle. She's meticulously salvaging partial pages and pairing them with the volumes they go to.

"Having fun?" Amber asks.

"Tons," Winter says without glancing up. "Jigsaw puzzles were, like, my thing back in the day. I could do a 10,000 piecer in less than a week." When Amber meets this with a surprised look, Winter finally meets her gaze and says: "there isn't very much to do when you're living in a cabin in the butt-end of nowhere, Alaska. Same reason I'm big on trivia. Nothing but old almanacs and Jeopardy reruns to keep me company when dad was on the road."

"Bullshit," Amber spits. "I know you're a cheater. That's the only way you did so well at the quiz bowl match. What'd you do, suck the judge's dick to get the answer key?"

"Try me," Winter says.

"Who invented peanut butter?"

"George Washington Carver. Snoooore. No wonder I kicked your butt. You can't think of anything harder than that?"

Amber balls her fists. "What's the world's third highest mountain?"

"Kanchenjunga," Winter says.

Amber's right eye twitches.

Amelia settles in across from Winter and starts assisting with the game of 52,000 page pickup. They fish pages and book spines from the garbage bags Winter loaded them into. Amber huffs, shaking her head. Winter grins cheekily back.

>>4894445
I would feel pity anyone coming into the library and attempting to clam jam Ophelia right now.

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Olivia motions for you to follow her to the checkout desk. So you do. And so does Amber.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," Olivia tells Amber.

"Shut the fuck up and get to the point."

Olivia cocks her head and smiles confusedly.

"This is Amber," you tell her. "She's my older sister."

Olivia blinks. "Oh! Then this pertains to you as well."

Amber gives her an impatient glare.

Olivia produces a notepad and a photocopy of the page in question from the Russian's diary. In the margins of the notepad, it seems she''s been scrawling several of her passes at a more thorough translation.

"I decided to break my own rule and try my hand at solving the riddle!" Olivia tells you. "Now, Mel informs me you have two sisters, right? Amber, here -- daughter of Alabaster and Rose Soliloquy... also Ophelia, daughter of Alabaster and Whitney Soliloquy... formerly Carte... and formerly Price... or so my research says."

You nod.

"Of course. Well, like I told you a little while ago, prophecy can be something of a fool's errand. If we could predict the future with any accuracy, we wouldn't spend so much time worrying about it!" She giggles, and then continues, "but some people in history have been more adept than others. I think our Russian friend here was one of them. His name appears on the manifest of Vitus Bering's Kamchatka Expedition, and I happened to be reading about that recently... several of the men aboard claimed phantasmic visions for decades afterwards... well, never mind. The details aren't important. The point!" She holds up a finger. "This diary could be a genuine artifact of spontaneous oneiromancy -- the power to see the future in dreams!"

"Wow," you say placatingly, raising your eyebrows.

Amber is less willing to play along. "Okay. She's nucking futs. Cool. I'll be outside."

"Girls," Olivia says. "Please. I think this prophecy is about you. Well, the three of you. Including your other sister."

>>4894452
Ohhhh boy.

>>4894452
Don't tell me Ophie's vagina is about to be the third seal of the apocalypse.

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Noah is buttoning his shirt up as he stands at the window. "I think you planned this," he says.

"I think you were an accomplice to the plan," Ophelia counters. She straightens her skirt. "You are the one who shaded the glass."

He turns his head. "...Do you feel any different?"

Ophelia thinks. "Less than I thought I would."

Noah nods. "Agreed."

"Maybe it takes until the tenth or eleventh time to feel different," Ophelia offers.

There's a brief silence. Then Noah says: "We must keep this a secret."

"I promise not to tell. But secrets get out. You should make it a clean break, and tell your father we're involved. Maybe you don't have the courage for that."

He shakes his head. Turns for the window again. "Do you actually want to help me with my research tonight?"

"Absolutely. I would love nothing more. I just... had to get... that, out of my system." She coughs. "I may need to again, later on. Frequent study breaks are only healthy..."

Noah grins despite himself.

"Thank you for asking my help tonight," Ophelia adds. "I am always... honored... beyond honored, when you ask me for advice. Although I have to admit... I don't understand what this current topic of yours is for."

Noah turns. "What would you say if I told you that the universe is cyclic in nature? That at the end of this universe there will be another Big Bang, birthing the next universe to come, and so on, for eternity?"

"I have heard of such conjectures."

"It's not conjecture," Noah says.

END OF EPISODE 6.

>>4894458
oh god fucking DAMMIT

Well this is quite a development.

>>4894458
>Noah turns. "What would you say if I told you that the universe is cyclic in nature? That at the end of this universe there will be another Big Bang, birthing the next universe to come, and so on, for eternity?"
Honestly I think I'd just smile and stop worrying about stuff so much

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There were no lewds in this episode! Not to worry, I'll let you vote on what you'd like to see as a bonus in the coming week.

[ ] Wesley and Summer make nice on the school rooftop.
[ ] Amelia pre-punishes Wesley in the storeroom at Shake 'em Up after Talia leaves. (sub-choice: bring Summer in on it / just the two of you.)
[ ] Winter couldn't help bullying Amelia, but she may have taken it too far...
[ ] Olivia needs Wesley's help taking care of Amelia's libido again.
[ ] Wesley and K-Mom get even closer, right under N-Mom's nose.
[ ] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
[ ] N-Mom and K-Mom decide to settle their wager over Wesley's sexuality once and for all.
[ ] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!
[ ] Write-in?

>>4894445
MUH BASED OPHIE

>>4894458
FUCK

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>>4894464
Oh shit, forgot to mention that the top 2 will win.

>>4894468
MUH BASED OP

>>4894464
god damn, these are some good options. I'm gonna have to think on this.

>>4894464
>[X] Winter couldn't help bullying Amelia, but she may have taken it too far...
N-Mom + K-Mom/Olivia + Talia + Amelia are both very, very tempting as well

>>4894464
If OP gets to have two, then I get to have two too!

>[x] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
>[x] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!

>>4894464
>[x] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!
Tentatively voting for this, but might think of a write-in later

>>4894464
>[ ] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!
>[ ] Write-in: Riley's still looking pretty bummed. Maybe Wesley can help him out with that?

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>>4894512
Wait, that's illegal.

>>4894342
>>4894376
>>4894384
>>4894388
Hey /qst/ friendly suggestion; the next time Forgotten gives us a chance to keep a civvie AWAY from the place where we're baiting GUN WIELDING CULTISTS, fucking take it so someone's Waifu doesn't get shot full of fucking holes.

>>4894445
When I imagined Ophie lewds this wholesomeness didn't cross my mind but I'm glad this is what we got.
>>4894449
Love to see non MCs interact in your stories, Winter and Amber could be great fun~
>>4894458
>"I may need to again, later on. Frequent study breaks are only healthy..."
Once awakened she's terrifying to behold.
>>4894464
>[X] Amelia pre-punishes Wesley in the storeroom at Shake 'em Up after Talia leaves. Bring Summer
I don't think Summer has seen "that" side of Amelia yet right?
>[X] Winter couldn't help bullying Amelia, but she may have taken it too far...
Putting brats in their place please.

I kind of admit Olivia would be nice too since we haven't seen her lewd yet but same goes for Winter. Man, I just love Amelia.

>>4894464
>[X] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!
The three of them need this.

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>>4894464
>>4894468
By the way, I see people picking multiple options -- that's fine! If you only picked one, feel free to pick another that suits your fancy.

>>4894472
Adding this as my second vote:
>[X] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!

>>4894464
Picking a write-in for my second choice
>[x] Summer ropes Noelle into coming on a morning jog with her. Noelle can't hold herself back from the sweaty gyaru, even in perfect daylight when anyone could come across them.

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>>4894543

>>4894464
>[x] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!

>Write In?
Stasi enjoys her retirement (in some depraved manner enabled by lots of money.)

I'm sorely tempted to add 'Satsi and Alabaster's One night Stand,' as a possibility, if only to see OP pull off that unlikely scenario. I would be forced to concede that notion being most improbable, however, what with Alabaster likely having bad associations tied the events of 421 and there being no indication at all on Stasi's part having any interest in Alabaster's brand of debauchery.

>>4892586
Who's Buridan again?

>>4892619
>>4892634
Armstrong literally human shielded for her without hesitation, he gets to be a little crass.

>>4892638
>"tell S--"
I'm glad we're still clapping Anna.

>>4894651
I know, but he should at least know there's a time and a place for discussing things like this

>>4892721
Noelle still wants the Alablaster as much as ever.

>>4894672
He's always been a glass half full kinda person

>>4894464
> [x] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!

Haven’t seen Vivian involved in something for forever

>>4894464
[ ] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
[ ] N-Mom and K-Mom decide to settle their wager over Wesley's sexuality once and for all.
[ ] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!

>>4894464
>[ ] Amelia pre-punishes Wesley in the storeroom at Shake 'em Up after Talia leaves. With Summer
>[ ] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!

TWO Amelia options? Don't mind if I do!

>>4894682
I think he's hesitant moreso because he remembers a fetal 421 Wesley getting smattered

>>4894512
+1 to the write-in

>>4894810
Gonna change it to
>[ ] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!
And
>[ ] Write-in: Riley's still looking pretty bummed. Maybe Wesley can help him out with that?
Honestly this one doesn't even need to be lewd, some wholesome and healing with wee Riley would be really nice after this wild ride.

>>4894464
>[x] Winter couldn't help bullying Amelia, but she may have taken it too far...
im torn between the second amelia choice, >>4894586 write in and riley...
argh...
yknow what, stasi gets my vote

>>4894464
>[ ] Winter couldn't help bullying Amelia, but she may have taken it too far...
>[ ] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
More Amber! More Winter!

>>4894586
>Stasi and Alabaster's One Night Stand

Fuck, +1 to this. Impossible in 421 (along with ally must die modo Mara fuck scene, but she's also dead here) so to hell with it, lets cyka her blyat and rush her B bombsite

>>4894543
this for both my votes. And if you will not accept that my other vote will go to noelle and kay

>>4894464
>[x] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
>[x] Olivia will do anything to keep her #1 customer coming to the store, even if she has to get her girlfriend to help out!

>>4894464
>[ ] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
>>4894512
>>[ ] Write-in: Riley's still looking pretty bummed. Maybe Wesley can help him out with that?
ARA ARA

>>4894464
[x] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
>>4894543
>[x] Summer ropes Noelle into coming on a morning jog with her. Noelle can't hold herself back from the sweaty gyaru, even in perfect daylight when anyone could come across them.

>>4894464
>[x] Amelia pre-punishes Wesley in the storeroom at Shake 'em Up after Talia leaves. (sub-choice: bring Summer in on it
>[x] Winter couldn't help bullying Amelia, but she may have taken it too far...

More Futa pls.

>>4894464
Casting my vote for
>[Stasi]
and
>[Riley]

>>4894464
>[ ] Write-in?
[A younger Sam Buridan brushes Talia's teeth]

>>4896769
Not bad. And good digits. I'll go for these, although I might change my mind.

>>4894464
>[X] Wesley is shocked to find what's going on between Amber and Aunt Vivian!
>[X] N-Mom and K-Mom decide to settle their wager over Wesley's sexuality once and for all.

Riley is not for lewd. I would settle for a long-winded extra segment about his parents being concerned about DBE's plan for developing Pokemon Snapchat though.

>>4897332
>Pokemon Snapchat
I snorted into my drink over this one, thanks Anonymous-dono.

>>4897332
>Riley is not for lewd. I would settle for a long-winded extra segment about his parents being concerned about DBE's plan for developing Pokemon Snapchat though.
Seconding all of this

Question for those of you still reading the thread - since it hasn't been outright confirmed yet iirc, how old do you imagine Riley to be?

https://www.strawpoll.me/45453364

>>4899282
He plays Pokemon Snap but doesn't notice the Professor's case of CRAZY EYES, so pretty young.

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https://www.op-studios.net/fq-lewd-wes13

Happy 4th of July, /fq/! Be kind to your sisters!

>>4904214
This is the good shit

>>4904214
>posting this while I'm at work

h e l p

>>4904214
She's come a long way since the cum receptacle days.

>>4904214
>https://www.op-studios.net/fq-lewd-wes13
"Summer," you say. And you don't need to think. You pet your groin, envision a matching brand for you and her like Amber and Vivian now have. "My c*nt belongs to Summer Denali."
CUTE!

>>4904214
Good thing I have the day off of work today

>>4904522
A lot of it reminds me of Rose and Ally. Though not quite as harsh.

OP doko?

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For some personal reasons, I won't be able to dedicate Saturday/Sunday this week to FQ as entirely as I usually would for a new episode.

So, since I didn't get as far plot-wise in episode 6 as I'd have liked, I'll spend Saturday on writing a couple more lewds (the one already promised + another one or two), and cap it off with some plot centered stuff.

Please look forward to a full episode next week, 7/17: "Unthinkable Natural Law"!

>>4910586
I'll be looking forward to it! Thanks for making the time anyway OP.

>>4910586
Thanks OP! We appreciate all you do!

>>4910586
Looking firward to it and thank you for communicating clearly, always prefer to know about changes than be left in the dark even if it's delays.

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When the police disperse and the Keki family leaves, Talia is among the last people left outside Bosphorus Rare Books. Olivia, ever solicitous, approaches her and lays a hand on her arm. "Are you feeling all right? I know this evening has been rough for you. Is there anything I can get you? Some water, a bite to eat?"

"Surf and turf sounds fine, thank you."

"I'm on a bit of a budget at the moment. How about a bowl of shrimp flavored ramen and... a bowl of roast beef flavored ramen?"

"I thought I heard something about you being a world traveler," Talia says. "Doesn't that take some serious funding?"

Olivia nods. "That's why I'm on a bit of a budget at the moment. I'm not... exactly... flush with cash right now."

"Wesley did pay you for my books, right?"

"Oh, yes! And thank you for incurring even more debt to shop at my store! It was so thoughtful of you. But I had to pay some bills with that money, and..." Olivia's stomach rumbles.

"Not taking well to an all-ramen diet?" Talia asks. "If you ever need some variety. Eggs and tuna are cheap, too. You could--"

"I've had more than enough tuna omelettes lately, thank you."

"Of course," Talia says with a sympathetic nod. "Silly me. I should be going, Olivia, but I appreciate the hospitality."

"Before you go!" Olivia calls, touching Talia's arm again to stop her turning. "I just have to say... we not only enjoy, but desperately, desperately require your continued patronage. And so we do sincerely hope that you haven't been soured on coming back to the store just because you were nearly murdered by your homicidal maniac of a brother on our premises!"

Talia stares at her.

"Family! Right?" Olivia says, laughing and rolling her eyes.

"In all honesty--" Talia begins. But Olivia cuts her off: "Before you answer, you'll want to know that we're rolling out a rewards program for frequent shoppers, and you're eligible for the shopper's savings card! You like cards, right?"

Talia can't lie. "I do like cards," she admits.

Olivia motions at the front entrance of the store. "We're still open for a little while tonight," she says. Talia follows her inside.

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Winter is still sitting on the floor puzzling together the half-ruined pages of burnt books. Amelia is sweeping up, her hair tied back with a bandana. Talia wanly waves at them, but neither seem as enthusiastic about her patronage as Olivia is.

Talia follows Olivia back to the huge, oaken, intricately carved and finely grained checkout counter. Olivia takes a seat behind it and Talia waits to be filled in on the details of the rewards program. But Olivia just smiles stupidly up at her.

"Was there something you needed help finding?"

"How do I get my shopper's card?"

Amelia glances up from her sweeping. "Shopper's card...?"

Olivia shushes her, the harshness of it making it come out sounding like "tchhh!" Then, folding her hands and resuming a pleasant smile, Olivia says: "we're still finalizing details. When the time is right, you will receive your card! In the meantime, feel free to shop for books as normal, at full price and with no discount."

"I feel a bit misled," Talia says.

"I see! Well, I wasn't trying to mislead you. I just didn't expect you to come back inside and ask for your card as soon as I told you there was a card. I thought I'd have enough time to figure out how the card would work before you asked me for it."

"It all makes sense now," Talia says. "You didn't lie to me, you just told me something you knew was was untrue."

"Yes!" Olivia agrees.

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Talia half turns and points at the exit. "I should go--"

Olivia leaps to her feet, bracing herself against the checkout counter. "One of our rewards is a free weekly Tarot reading! Would you like to have your reading now?"

"Not really. Tarot is nothing but superstitious nonsense."

Olivia slumps back into her chair. "Well. Yes. But it's fun superstitious nonsense..."

"She did me the other day," Winter says, glancing up. "Apparently my energies are all wonky. I'm either going to find the love of my life or have, like, major catastrophe this month."

"Congratulations and/or condolences," Talia tells her.

From a drawer, Olivia pulls a deck of cards so large that it almost seems novelty sized. It's a gorgeous Waite-Smith Tarot deck that appears to be many decades old, but pristinely preserved, packaged in a balsawood box. Olivia's hunch here is correct. Talia has a hard time saying no to interesting-looking baubles, and eyes the deck curiously. Olivia shuffles. Talia waits passively for what's to come.

"I can feel lots of positive energy emanating from you! I'm sure you'll get an auspicious reading!" Olivia says, and begins the deal. She arrays the cards in a semicircle, flipping them over one by one. "Let's see... ahem. The Tower... The Devil... Wheel of Fortune, inverted... Ten of Swords... ...um... Death."

Olivia stares at the upturned cards in mute bafflement. Talia lets the moment linger before asking wryly: "give it to me straight, doc. How long do I have?"

"Members get other special benefits, too," Olivia says, making her face bright again, sweeping the cards into a pile and then putting them back in their box. "How would you like a complimentary massage? I'm a registered masseuse, you know!"

"What?" Amelia says. She drops her broom with a clatter to the floor and marches over to the counter. "Are we turning this place into a--" she glances over her shoulder at where Winter is still busily piecing burnt pages together. She lowers her voice not to be overheard. "Are we turning this place into a brothel now?"

Olivia giggles. "You always jump to conclusions! Honestly, Mel... well, if you want to help me serve our customer, then by all means, I'm sure Talia here could use it!"

Amelia glances at Talia. Then back at Olivia. She grabs Olivia by the hand and ushers her to a far corner, where they have an animated but whispered back-and-forth that Talia is polite enough not to listen in on. When they return, Olivia is smiling as brightly as ever. And Amelia seems put out as she goes back to sweeping.

"So what do you say?" Olivia asks. She pumps a fist. "Are you ready for the fivest-star massage you'll ever get?"

"As ready as I could ever be. Just one question. Where will you be doing it?"

>>4913125
Lets fucking goooooo

Nice to see Amelia and Olivia interact more~

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>>4913125
Massage, you say?

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https://www.op-studios.net/fq-lewd-wes14

>>4913195
Hnnnnnng

>>4913195
I'll read the full thing later but somone saw something interesting at the end there~

>>4913125
>The Tower...
Disaster and higher learning, liberation
>The Devil...
Torture, Isolation, generally self inflicted, think like Gal.
>Wheel of Fortune, inverted...
Luck will not change these matters
>Ten of Swords...
Backstabbing, betrayal,
>...um... Death."
Big changes ahead. Usually the end of a relationship or habit.
Basically, the deck is predicting the average late season Fuck Quest thread. Hold tight to your waifus fellow coomers. And your twinks, traps and whatever the fuck an enby is.

>>4914340
Sort of a rule of thumb that all on-screen tarot readings wind up being true, no matter how inept. Thanks for the analysis, Anonymous-dono!

>>4914340
I laughed my ass off at that part.

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!

>>4921745