>>26861766
((Archives are located at http://archive.foolz.us/tg/search/subject/monsterhearts%20quest/type/op/order/asc/
and also at
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Monsterhearts%20Quest

Also, there will be pastebins tonight.))

>>26861766
[]No-one noticed your fingernails turning green in the first place. They won’t notice this either. Head to school.
But talk to Avril about it at the first opportunity. She said to tell her if something weird happened, after all.

Weren't we previously painting our nails?

>>26861766
[X]No-one noticed your fingernails turning green in the first place. They won’t notice this either. Head to school.
Let's not overdo it with the shadowruns this early.

>>26861876
>>26862148
((Okay, writing))

>>26862249
Okay, okay. No reason to be paranoid. Lots of guys paint their nails these days. No-one commented on your nails turning green in the first place. Everything will be fine.

You pack your bag with the rest of the textbooks you'll need today, grab breakfast, and head to school. Your mother doesn't seem to notice the change in your fingernails - or if she has, she doesn't say anything.

You get to school with plenty of time to spare. You have Geography first thing today, then it's time to hand in your Biology project. If you want to talk to Isabella about anything before then, you'd better do it now. Or you could talk to Avril about these changes in your fingernails.

[]Find Isabella. Hold the Biology project over her head (metaphorically) and try and get something out of her.
[]Find Avril and tell her about this... whatever it is that's happened.
[]Find Miss White. She was in her office before school on Monday, she probably will be again. And she did mention her office door could be locked.
[]Other

>>26862564
[]Find Avril and tell her about this... whatever it is that's happened.

Isabella knows as well as we do that if we try to lock her out of the project or sabotage it to give her a lower grade, it'll fuck us up just as much. With how much of a hardass our Bio teacher is on grading, even a professional project done by a grad student for their thesis would get ruthlessly picked apart.
And remember that Isabella picked up new allies that could help her to manipulate her grades; she has a way to recover from a bad mark on this project now while we don't.

>>26862564
((Also, OOC question. I have three pastebins ready to go at the moment: the fade-to-black from the end of thread 8 that's been waiting to be finished for a long time, the fade-to-black with Miranda from last thread, and a non-canon one featuring a "what-if" that was requested in thread 5, with Avril getting gangbanged at Isabella's party. They're all finished and all coming sooner or later this thread, it's just a question of: which one do people want to see first?))

>>26862775
Personally, I'd like Miranda's first.

Which reminds me that we have to introduce Avril to her so they can 'get acquainted' during lunch, and we can have Jill to ourselves.

>>26862564
>[]Find Isabella. Hold the Biology project over her head (metaphorically) and try and get something out of her.

>>26862775
3? wow!

>>26862658
Yea, it'd be pretty laughable.

>>26862564
[X]Find Avril and tell her about this... whatever it is that's happened.

>>26862564
((Okay, writing. Feel free to keep discussing the pastebins and/or coming up with other things you'd like to see, I have apparently blown right through my erotica-related writers' block recently.))

>>26862658
Dis is probably accurate, although i'm curious why she wanted to partner up with us the other day (frog dissection) surely she must have others in her class that she can be with.

>>26862970
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
She's got this whole thing figured out a lot better than us.
It's totally cause Chris is the smartest guy in class. HUE HUE HUE HUE.

>>26862775
Hmmm...
Miranda, let it be so.

>>26862890
>like to see
What Avril and Jill were up to that left that grass stain on her knee, and maybe their date.

Avril+Chris+Miranda, as well as Avril with Miranda; former after school at Miranda's place and the latter at school.

Also, Chris indulging Masami's fetish of hand-holding.

>>26862890
You cast around outside and spot Avril sitting on the grass, playing with a flower. You hurry over, clutching your bag.

"Hi, Avril, do you have a second to talk?"

She smiles, putting the flower down. "I always have time for you, darling. Wait, you look pretty worried. What's happened?"

You wordlessly hold out your hands, the fingers spread so that she can see your fingernails clearly.

"Huh? I don't... wait. What's that?"

"I don't know. That's the problem. It's new. I noticed it just after I woke up."

Avril frowns, standing up and taking one of your hands in both of hers to examine it more closely. "Hmmm. Interesting." She turns your hand from side to side, peering at one of your fingernails.

"So... you know what's going on?"

Avril shrugs. "Nope, not a clue. I've never seen anything remotely like this before. Then again, I've never seen anything remotely like you in the first place, and I've never heard of that soul-bonding process being performed on anyone other than one of the Celtic druids, so we may just be in new territory altogether. It doesn't look like rot, though. The colour is too solid and unvaried. It's something magical. Can you feel anything unusual, anything that's changed powers-wise?"

You nod. "They feel sort of like they're throbbing if I pay attention to them, and there's... I'm not sure how to describe it, but it feels like there's a magical channel running from my fingers to my stomach now. Does that make sense to you?"

"More or less," Avril replies. "Magic is tricky to describe with English, your language isn't built for it. You think you could direct magic out through them, then?"

"Other way round, I think. They take ambient power and channel it into me."

Avril purses her lips, thinking carefully. "This is all really new to me, but it's very interesting. We'll have to keep an eye on this - oh, fuck. I need to dash to class."

"Avril, wait, are you-"

"No time, we'll talk at lunch, okay?"

What do you want to do now?

>>26863249

Go find someone, or spend time with the books.

Actually, I have a better idea. Let's look for that redhead guy, from the hunter group. I forgot his name, since he barely showed up until now. He needs some screen time.

>>26862829
>>26863030
(( http://pastebin.com/AbsJJZfS ))

>>26863089
((As Avril mentioned last thread, she still hasn't actually got into Jill's pants yet, they've just been kissing, groping, and fooling around on the grass. Avril/Miranda and Avril/Chris/Miranda can definitely be sorted, although do set them up IC first if possible, it gives me more of a structure to work with.))

>>26863249
Get to class. We'll have to talk with her at lunch. Also be more wary about our Hungers, since it seems to be attempting a workaround.

>>26863305
Ya, perhaps talking with our allies/tools will be well. Next break though, for now we get to class.

>>26863326
That is most definitely what it looks like to me. To geography!

>>26863249
Talk to Zack, if we have time before class; we said we'd talk to him at school aout meeting the hunters, and we want our lunch free to spend time with our girls and/or Miranda.

>>26863418
>>26863374
Changing vote.

>>26863418
Avril just ran because she's about to be late to class. What makes you think we have time when she doesn't?

>>26863526
Our class might be closer. Also, I got the vibe that was just an excuse. But that may just be my paranoia kicking in.

>>26863249
((Writing))

>>26863578
Shadowruns have been incredibly high lately.

>>26863627
For good reason.
We do have two threats, a rival, and a hazard to watch out for.

A thought while we wait; Avril's dad gave Jill a bunch of quests and said that, while we were allowed to help her, the ultimate responsibility for success must fall on her. Which kind of sucks.

But the quests he actually gave her are "Bring me this guy's crown," and "Bring me that guy's heart." Not "Kill this guy and bring me his crown." - just bring it. So all she really needs to do is carry these trophies over to the fae court, and we can do all the heavy lifting, or at least enough heavy lifting to ensure Jill doesn't die horribly.

>>26863620
You glance around. Looks like most people are heading for class already. But you might still have time to talk to Zack. You dash over to the bike sheds, but there's no-one there. You look in the library, but it's empty for the moment. That was the second bell. Okay, now you definitely need to run to class.

You're the last person to arrive, and Mr Stokes clucks his tongue disapprovingly at you. Zack is already here, sitting chatting quietly with some of the other sports guys. Ajani has taken a seat nearby and is occasionally shooting glances at Zack. His expression is hard to decipher.

You look around for Jill and Masami. There's a pair of two-person tables near the back - Jill has made a space on one, but it looks like Cassandra has taken the fourth seat, next to Masami. It doesn't look like they're talking or anything, though.

You slide into the only available seat, next to Jill, and try to keep your head down, having annoyed Mr Stokes already. Once he gets into the flow of a lecture, though, it's pretty easy to discuss things quietly without drawing too much attention, and you show Jill your new nails.

"Yeah, that's pretty worrying. You talked to Avril about it yet?"

"I did, but she doesn't know what it means either. She said it's interesting and we'll have to keep an eye on it."

Jill frowns. "Okay, well, I guess she would know best. This whole magic thing still weirds me out sometimes. Do you think it's affected your hungers?"

You pause, trying to mentally reflect on your hungers, to see how your metaphorical stomach feels. It's fairly quiescent at the moment, although not gone completely. Just three small threads of hunger wrapped around each other, tugging occasionally on your thoughts.

Wait, were there three before? You think there were always three, but you're suddenly unsure.

Jill is still looking at you, waiting for an answer.

((Also, if you have anything else to discuss with Jill, raise it in your reply.))

>>26863976
"They're staying quiet for now, fortunately.
"I was thinking of introducing Avril to your aunt at lunch, or sometime soon. Since Avril's already got a handle on some magic, I was thinking that the two of them could come up with ways to help you develop your powers."

>>26863976
"I'm worried, I think it might be connected. I'll try to be more introspective later once I have some time and quiet."

>>26863976
"They seem quiet for the moment. I almost wonder if I've started to photosynthesize, but Im not sure how I would tell. I don't imagine you'd like to come to the park with me tonight? We could bury me up to my ankles and see what happens. What would you actually like to do, though? We've already been to the theatre once, and the movies a couple of times. Dinner? I'm sure we could find a nice place somewhere around here."

>>26863976
((Writing now. Another pastebin soon, I think. Canon one or non-canon one first?))

>>26863976

"Well, new things are always suspicious. And I never paid much attention to how my hugners worked."

"Also, when re we going out?"

>>26864325

Canon always has the preference.

>>26864433
Quite.

>>26864325
"They seem quiet for now, but I'm still kind of worried. I seem to be drawing power from these veins somehow - I almost wonder if I've started to photosynthesise, but I don't know how I'd really tell."

Jill shrugs. "We could put lightproof covers over some of your fingers, see if that has any effect. I don't know how we'd get a proper control group, though, they're all linked together."

"You don't think it would work with some fingers covered and some uncovered?"

Jill muses for a moment. "Maybe. We could get you to wear a glove on just one hand for a few weeks, see if you feel any different."

"Uh... anyway. I'm probably not actually photosynthesising. What did you want to do for our date tonight? We could have dinner somewhere, I'm sure we can find somewhere nice."

Jill glances away, blushing. "I... I don't know. I mean, Avril and I never really went anywhere, we just walked around the park or the forest, talking. Mostly. She's trying to take it slow, for my sake. I'm still getting to grips with..." She trails off. "With romance, and dating, and, uh... sex stuff."

You smile softly, taking her hand. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to. But I'd like to make tonight special. We've been to a couple of places together, the cinema, the theatre, but this will be our first proper date."

"Well... I mean, we were going to go to the book-store to start off, weren't we? That's always nice. And, and dinner would be nice too. Maybe we could take a walk in the park? Or go to the town library. There's.... not all that much to do in town, is there?"

You smile and shrug back at her. "It's not what you do that matters, it's who you do it with."

Jill blushes again, but she keeps smiling at you.

On your way out of the classroom, though, you work your way through the crowd and tap Zack on the arm. He raises an eyebrow at you, and you glance at Ajani, then back to him. Zack nods quietly, and gives you a thumbs up.

On to Biology. What's your plan here?

>>26864874
[]Tell Mr Coombs that Isabella didn't actually help at all with your project, and try to get her into trouble.
[]Just present your project quietly, and keep your head down.
[]Have a talk with Isabella.
[]Other

>>26864874
[x]Just present your project quietly, and keep your head down.
Mr. Coombs will not tolerate us making waves.

[]Have a talk with Isabella.

Advance the Corruptor quest.

>>26864874

>>26864985
>>26865106
((Okay, tie. Five minutes for tiebreakers, then I roll off.))

>>26865106
Do you have a plan or an idea of what to say to Isabella? Keep in mind that she has power at school, while we have very little.

>>26865263
I vote we not make waves.

>>26865319
((Okay, writing.))

>>26865263
((Also, oops, lost my trip for a moment there. That was me, just for the record.))

>>26865423
You figure that trying to kick up a fuss in front of Mr Coombs will just aggravate him, so you just put together your project in order and present him with your folder. "Phillips and Donaldson... check," he says, ticking your names off his checklist. "Nice to see you're learning to spell your own name, Donaldson." He glances over at you. "Some of the teachers think you're smart stuff, Phillips. That just means the bar for 'average work' is set higher, understand? Don't go thinking that being 'gifted' will score you any points with me." He nods sternly and moves on, taking the next folder and doling out more insults. Isabella, who had to share a desk with you for the project presentation, sighs and rolls her eyes.

Once Mr Coombs has finished gathering up all the folders, he stands at the front and glares at you all. "Your projects will now be taken, evaluated and marked. They will be returned to you on Monday along with my analysis of their flaws and errors, and along with the marks I will be submitting to the exam board. These marks are final. There will be no arguing, complaining, appealing, or other such whining involved. If you feel that the mark you have received is 'unfair', it is because you are deluded about your own competence." He pauses, frowning. "Well, what are you loitering about for? Class dismissed."

Well, that was abrupt. Even with Mr Coombs stopping to comment on each student, you've still got most of an hour to go until your next lesson, P.E. Jill, Avril, and Zack will all be busy with their own classes, but Isabella, James and Ajani are left to their own devices just as much as you are. And Miss White is probably in her office... as you think about Miranda - about Miss White, you mentally correct yourself - you can feel a mental twitch. You're hungry. Definitely hungry. You should go see her again. She did promise you some more fun...

You shake your head and try to clear it. Focus. What do you want to do?

>>26865898
Would Miss White know anything about this? Maybe we can talk to her, even if she doesn't we still can get sexy time.

>>26865898
We should take the opportunity to talk with Ajani. He seems to already know that it's Zack. We need to arrange the meeting for them.

We don't have any leverage on Isabella, and since she's allied with the Corruptor, is unlikely to give him up while she's still reaping benefits from their alliance.

>>26865947
I'm not sure we've told Miranda about either our own situation or Avril's, and I'm not sure we should. On the other hand, there's no reason to talk to Ajani and James while Zack is still in class, and we're better off avoiding Isabella until we've dealt with the Ice King, so maybe visiting Miranda is in order.

Is Avril in the same class as Jill right now? I wonder if we could arrange a note from Miss White to pull her out of class for a rendez-vous, but if Jill is right there it would look mighty suspicious.

>>26865898
((Also, another pastebin. This one with a little bit more seriousness and a little less unmitigated porn. But still quite a lot of porn. http://pastebin.com/GrSskuZg ))

>>26866106
>there's no reason to talk to Ajani and James while Zack is still in class
We're supposed to set up the meeting for them, though. Shouldn't we, you know, actually talk to Ajani in order to set it up?

>>26866119
Im okay with this

>>26866159
I thought we were just going to bring him along next time we meet them. They already know we want to introduce him, so it's not like it will be a surprise. Even so, a quick word to let them know to expect us at lunch will suffice, and then we can get down to other things.

>>26865898
We're getting tweaked is what it is, we gotta find somewhere quite and ride it out, txt avril not to come near.

>>26866271
*Quiet

>>26865898

>>26865947
>>26866106

>>26866093
>>26866159

((Ok, so... looks like two votes for going to see Miss White, two votes for having a word with Ajani. And one for going off quietly on your own. Tiebreaker?))

>>26866430
Time to go fuck Miranda

Rolled 18

>>26866430
Odds: Ms White.
Evens: Anjani

>>26866457
>>26866470
((Okay, cool. Writing.))

>>26866496
You head over to the History classroom and knock on Miss White's door.

"Hmmm? Hello, I - oh, Chris!" Miranda - Miss White, dammit, you correct yourself again - smiles broadly as she opens the door and sees you, and steps back to let you in. She's wearing a white sweater of some sort and a tight but very short skirt, hugging her thighs, and she's tied her long blonde hair back into a ponytail today.

"Don't tell me you cut class to come see me? I thought I was supposed to be the naughty one."

"Mr Coombs kicked us all out early. I thought I'd come spend some time with you."

You step into Miss White's office, and she pushes the door closed. "His loss, our gain. Now, lock that door so we don't get any interruptions. I'll clear the desk off, and then you bend me over it." She turns and starts to move stacks of paper onto the shelves to the side, reaching back with one hand to pull her skirt up to her waist. She's wearing underwear this time, a slim red pair with two very noticeable cylindrical bulges inside them, one right above the other.

[]"Before that, we should probably talk about something..." ((Specify))
[]"Sounds good to me. But after that, we should probably talk about something." ((Specify))
[]"That's what I'm here for." ((Fade-to-black, then skip to P.E.))
[]Other

>>26866910
So do we tell her about the plant/magic thing?

>>26866910
>[x]"Sounds good to me. But after that, we should probably talk about something." ((Specify))
Meeting with Avril soon and coming up with ways to help Jill train and evade her mother's oversight.

>>26866977
((That's up to you. Hence the "specify" part. You haven't done so yet.))

>>26866977
We can tell her AFTER we have Avril meet her and shake her hand.
Remember how Masami and Avril seemed alright with each other until they actually touched?
We should get her checked out by Avril before we trust her with that kind of information.

>>26866910
((Our third pastebin of the night. This is because some anons back in thread 5 asked for a non-canon recounting of "what if Chris had taken Isabella's deal and let Avril get gangbanged?"

(This one is a little more semi-consensual than the others, so if you're worried about triggers, you may wish to stay away.)

http://pastebin.com/nnJkfvb4 ))

>>26867024
This. We mention wanting to introduce her to Avril, but we don't mention our own supernatural stuff until we get that hand-shake check.

[]"That's what I'm here for"

No idea of waht topic to suggest, and already talked about Jill with her so much...

>>26866910

>>26866987
>>26867024
>>26867251
((Okay, writing.))

>>26867249
>partner, not a servant
Hah! Yeah, right. We might've been a partner, but it would have been a junior partner.
And that's not including what would have happened once Avril's dad catches wind of his daughter getting enslaved..

>>26867375
You smile, turning the door latch, and walk up behind Miranda, stroking her bare cheeks.

"Sounds good to me." You pull her panties aside as she bends over the cleared desk, revealing the two thick silicone toys stuffed inside her, and unzip your trousers.

"Are those vibrators? You really are a naughty teacher, aren't you?"

Miranda chuckles, undoing her bra and pulling her shirt up so that her breasts press against the hard, polished wood of the desk. "I think better when I'm nice and full, and if you're not here, I have to use something else. But now that you are here, why don't you pull one of those out, give it to me to suck, and replace it with something even bigger?"

****************

You slump on the desk, panting a little. After a few seconds poking around in your bag you find a packet of tissues and offer one to Miranda, but she waves it away.

"I can clean up my face and tits later", she tells you with a broad grin, her tongue occasionally darting out to lick her lips. "For now I think I'd like to wear it."

You shrug and put the tissues away, zipping up your trousers. "I did want to talk to you about one or two things. You wanted to help Jill train, right? Did she tell you about her curfew?"

Miranda nods, looking thoughtful. "I can't make her a teaching assistant like I did with you - the school notifies parents of stuff like that, including *which* teacher. Just meeting her at lunchtime every day isn't really enough time. I can probably stop by the town library every so often, though."

"Okay, that might work, as long as you can train her quietly. Oh, one other thing. Are you going to be around here at lunchtime?"

"Absolutely. You'll be ready for another round by then?"

"Actually, I thought I might bring Avril by. You two ought to meet."

Miranda suddenly looks slightly sheepish. "Uh, I don't know, I might end up being busy. There's a staff meeting I should technically go to... Maybe some other day?"

>>26867976
oh whats this? scared are we?

she's definitely meeting Avril now

>>26867976
>suddenly being evasive when Avril is brought up
Suspicious. We definitely need Miranda vetted by Avril now.
"What about after school today? I'm taking Jill out tonight, so before that I could introduce you to Avril real quick. She's been helping with Jill's powers a bit, and meeting you I think is a good idea."

>>26867976
((Okay, writing))

>>26868438
"Well, how about after school today? I'm taking Jill out on a date tonight, but I could introduce you to Avril quickly before that. She's been helping Jill out a lot with her powers, and I really think the two of you should work together."

Miranda's smile is very awkward and fixed looking, and her laugh sounds horribly forced. "Aheheheh. Sure. Lovely plan. I'll see what I can do. If by some crazy random chance I'm far too busy to see her, well, drop by tomorrow or something. Or, y'know, stop by alone, any time. I can always make some time for you." She fishes a tissue from her desk, wiping her face and chest clean and then pulling her sweater back down. There's a small stain or two, but they're white on white, so nothing particularly noticeable. "But right now I have a class to go to, and so do you, I think." She unlocks the door and ushers you out.

Getting changed for P.E is a little bit awkward. You have occasional mental flashes of Miranda's bare skin, the way she looked bent over her desk with her skirt pulled up. Your fingernails are throbbing and pulsing, and you imagine you can almost feel the pull of your hungers greedily drawing energy through them. In fact, when you concentrate, you *can* feel it, a little pool of magical energy gathering in your stomach. As you focus on it, the incoming trickle of energy starts to slow, but the energy that's already there remains available.

As you go through the motions of your P.E exercises, you ponder the extra energy you've gathered. What could you do with it?

[]Channel the energy through your body. Build yourself up further. (( 1 additional experience point))
[]Save the energy for later. You never know when you might need a boost. (( +1 to your next roll))

Also, what are your plans for lunchtime?

[]Go and talk to Ajani and Zack
[]See Jill and sort out more plans for tonight
[]Go see Miranda and see if she can make some free time for you
[]Go see Miranda, and bring Avril along to surprise her
[]Other

>>26868894
[]Channel the energy through your body. Build yourself up further. (( 1 additional experience point))
[] Go and Talk to Ajani and Zack.

>>26868894
>[]Channel the energy through your body. Build yourself up further. (( 1 additional experience point))
[]Go and talk to Ajani and Zack

>>26868894
[x]Channel the energy through your body. Build yourself up further. (( 1 additional experience point))
[xGo and talk to Ajani and Zack

It's becoming painfully obvious that Miranda doesn't want to meet Avril, which means she's up to something and our Darkest Self is too busy with its gluttony to notice the noose being tightened around its neck.

>>26868894
>[]Channel the energy through your body. Build yourself up further. (( 1 additional experience point))
>[]Go see Miranda, and bring Avril along to surprise her

>>26868894
>Channel it
> Talk to the guys

>>26869030
Either Miranda is egging it on or it's up to something either way at some point we should have a introspective and confront it about whats going on. Miranda is the newest thing in our life so if our DS claims it isn't doing this then we threaten to cut her out, I reckon it will confess semi-honestly one way or another after that.

>>26868894
>[]Save the energy for later. You never know when you might need a boost. (( +1 to your next roll))
We've got plenty of xp already, don't we?
>[]Go see Miranda, and bring Avril along to surprise her
If Miranda is going to try and wriggle out of meeting Avril, we need to ambush her.

Hey last thread we voted on an improvement for Chris.

What did we end up getting?

>>26869122
>we need to ambush her.
That's asking for a hostile confrontation. One that will likely poison our relationship with Jill, considering that she's been going to Miranda more now.

>>26869154
((Satiety, a new move which gives you special boosts every time you satiate one of your hungers. Like, say, 1 experience, or carrying forward +1 on a roll. (You can also heal 1 harm or remove a Condition, but you don't have any harm or Conditions right now.) ))

.....

Can we just go talk to Isabella already?

>>26868894

>>26868938
>>26868990
>>26869030
>>26869081

((Okay, writing.))

>>26869320
What are you going to say to her? Do you have a plan?
We're trying to finish up the issue of Zack and his werewolf problem right now, and Miranda's obvious attempts to not get identified by Avril currently have our attention.

What's the plan? It has to be compatible with what we've currently got cooking too, you know.

>>26869413
I was thinking something like "Hey Izzy, whats up? Ya know we really got off on the wrong foot. Id like to let you know there is no bad blood between us, and that I think we should be friends."

>>26869482
She doesn't want friends, she wants servants. We've prevented her from getting Avril as a servant, and she has no reason to be a friend with us.
We also do not have enough power to be worth being a friend with, but enough of a potential liability to to watch warily.
And seeing as she's allied with the Corruptor, it's in her interests to have us captured and handed over to the Corruptor for more power and a better deal.

>>26869604
Nah, the person we she acts like is her mask. She is the Queen, who sold her kingdom to the devil for power, and Is probably way in over her head.

I bet a little friendship could go a long way in breaking down those icy walls she has erected. Hell, a little bit of normal might give her hope enough to escape her fate, and settle all debts.

Really, the only reason she went to the corrupter is because we explicitly ignored her for threads 1-5. We didn't act quick enough, even though the visions warned us ahead of time.

I bet she is all submissive in private too.

>>26869783
*Nah, the person that she acts like is her mask.

ugh

>>26869195
I've been wondering about that. Is our new fingernail thing a symptom of our new ability? I mean, we've all been kind of worried about it, but if it's just part of the package we can maybe be less worried. Obviously, I still don't trust our darkest self, but at least he isn't actively trying to get us killed, and ignoring is probably the best was to deal with him in any case. I feel like acknowledging him is part of what gives him power.

>>26869400
You flex and stretch, feeling the energy flow out through your body and suffuse into your flesh. There's no immediate, obvious changes, but you feel like you're definitely getting somewhere.

As you're changing back into your normal school uniform, you shift round until you're near Zack, and give him a quick nod. He shuffles round a little too, until you're close enough to whisper to each other without being too obvious.

"You know that Indian guy in our Geography class? Ajani?"

Zack nods. "The one that was giving me funny looks all morning? He's the hunter guy? Uh, okay. When does he want to meet me?"

"He'll probably be in the library at lunchtime. You want me to come along with you, for moral support?"

Zack stops and thinks, then shakes his head. "I... kinda want to do this alone, you know? If I ever want to do rugby again, or just do anything, I need to be able to handle stuff without freaking out, or without having someone hold my hand my whole life. I couldn't lie like that."

"Okay, if you're sure. I can come along to watch your back, if you're prefer."

Zack just chuckles. "Thanks, dude, but I think I can handle myself just fine, if it's only him. You worry about sorting out cures and stuff, all right? I'll handle the social side of things, you do the nerd stuff."

You stare at him for a moment, then shake your head. "Well, if you insist. Good luck."

Zack grins. "I don't need luck, dude. But thanks anyway."

He stops to speak to some of his rugby buddies, so you quickly dash down to the library. Ajani is perusing the bookshelves, but he's alone.

"Hey, Ajani. I just spoke to the werewolf guy. He wants to drop by and meet you here, alone. Are we expecting Gloria and the others?"

Ajani shakes his head. "I told them to take the day off, so I could have a nice private chat with Zack. Uh... no offense or anything, you did some really good work here, but that sort of includes you too. Sorry."

Well, fine. What are you going to do now, then?

>>26869875
(( You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment. ))

>>26869875
nothing wrong with accepting our ghoul heritage.

Just because we indulge our hunger, doesnt mean we are going to trigger Dark Self randomly.

Hell, acting more like a ghoul will probably give us an easier time handling it.

And if you dont want to act like a ghoul, why play MonsterHearts?

>>26869880
Let's go and find Avril. Inform her of Miranda being unwilling to meet with her.
We need to determine if we're going to force a meeting between the two, and possibly have a big fight on our hands, or let Miranda get herself ready.

>>26869880
Find Avril and drop in on Miranda.

>>26869922
maximum paranoia time, friend computer.

>>26869880
Lunch time huh?

....Question. Being dead, do we still need to eat normal food or drink? Hell, even sleep?

Or is our paranormal hungers enough to satiate our body?

>>26870001
Are we ready to deal with another freakout and possible fight to the death with Avril and Miranda?
It's obvious that Miranada doesn't want to meet, and it could go very, very badly if we don't handle this right.

>>26869783
Recognizing that I will inevitably be in the minority here, why would that angle make Bel a sympathetic character that we would want to invest the time and effort in "redeeming" (or rehabilitating)? If she's already in over her head then she'd more likely be a political liability than help going forward. Besides, if she knew what she was signing up for I don't see why she should avoid the resulting fallout from her actions.

>>26870005
(( You're certainly capable of eating, drinking and sleeping, and you still get hungry and tired like a normal human. You haven't yet tried going without food or drink for a long period of time, but you can distinguish quite easily between your darker, paranormal hungers and regular hunger for food.))

>>26870062
Seconding this. Though that begs the question, what would Avril see in Miranda that would potentially set her off?

>>26870106
>what would Avril see in Miranda that would potentially set her off?
We have to also remember that Jill has probably already told Miranda about us and Avril.
We haven't told Miranda about Avril's powers, or that she's a fey princess; and yet she already knew that meeting with her would be bad news for her. Jill must have talked then, because the alternative is that Miranda already has a number of informants and agents already in place watching us.
Or a seer of some kind.

>>26870076
I think most of us agree that getting involved with Isabella is a bad idea. It was a bad idea before she got involved with the corrupter, and it's an even worse idea now. We want her boss's heart; his literal heart and not some figurative one, I mean, the actual heart in what passes for his chest. If we plan on ripping eldritch internal organs out of the writhing, tentacled form of her backer, on what terms can we possibly agree upon between us? Add to that the fact that we've pissed her off in our own right.

>>26870076
Honestly?

Bitchy, Icy blondes turn me on.

She's my kind of flavor, and women like her always make the best subs. Izzy might be a fun project. I assume with a great payoff, being a hoard of underlings and such.

My reasons are selfish, and one dimensional. You might say im simply Hungry. I just want a taste

>>26869880

>>26869989
>>26870001

((Okay, writing.))

>>26870229
We've got no evidence that any of what you say about Isabella is actually correct, while we've got stuff to show that she's just what she appears to be.

I mean, look at the Hunters. She could have used them to bolster her powerbase, offering them her network and resources to bolster their patrols.
Instead, she avoids them.

Sure, if we could break her and make her ours then there would be a great payoff.
Just like there would be a great payoff if you rob Fort Knox, ensare the Fae King in a binding that makes him serve you, or you were to convince Lloyd's of London that you were the beneficiary of a multi-million dollar policy.
There's lots of things with great payoffs, that are really not good ideas to attempt.

>>26870255
You step outside, and see Jill and Avril sitting at one of the tables on the grass. You head over, and ask Jill if you can borrow Avril privately for a moment.

"Hey, Chris. What's up that you can't talk about in front of Jill?"

"It's about her aunt, Miss White. I went to, uh, see her earlier, and she was acting a little weird."

Avril sniffs for a moment, then grins. "Not too weird, obviously."

"Uh, no - hey, you haven't mentioned that to Jill, have you? I'm not sure how she'd take it."

She shrugs. "It hasn't come up yet, and I don't see any particular reason why she'd ask. If she does ask me directly, though, I'm not going to lie about it, not to Jill. You should probably talk to her about it sooner rather than later. Anyway, if that's not what her weird behaviour was about, then what is it?"

"Well, I mentioned I'd like to introduce her to you, and she started getting really awkward and making up blatant excuses. I was thinking we could drop by now, see if you can spot anything unusual about her that I can't, like with Masami."

Avril raises an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure she can't be like Masami, if she's really Jill's aunt, and Jill seems pretty sure she is. But I'll come check it out."

Avril stops at the table, finishes off the rest of her salad, and gives Jill a kiss. "Back in a little while, sweetheart."

The two of you head over to Miss White's office, and you knock on the closed door. "Who is it?" she asks through the door. Avril blinks, and looks very confused, but stays quiet.

"Uh, it's just Chris. I thought maybe you might make some time to see me."

There's a click of a lock, and the door swings open. Miss White has a broad grin on her face, which freezes in place when she sees Avril standing next to you.

Avril stares at Miss White, looks over at you, looks back at Miss White, and then bursts into peals of laughter.

Miranda looks very, very embarrassed, and she’s actually blushing for once. “Um. Avril. Hi, babe. Long time no see.”

>>26870464
((Thank you all for being awesome players, as always. Next thread Thursday, hopefully a little earlier than this one, around 19:00-20:00GMT. Questions, comments, etc. below. Also, if you'd like to see any other fade-to-blacks fleshed out, let me know.))

>>26870464
>Um. Avril. Hi, babe. Long time no see.
Oh, so they were just old girlfriends.
Well, that's a load off my mind.
Though I wonder why Miranda is so embarrassed.

>>26870464
OH SNAP

thats actually better than expected....

>>26870229
Fine fine, but if you really want her to be our puppet queen remember to cut whatever strings she's currently holding. Cut off her support. Take her minions. Strip her of her power and dignity then mold her into whatever toy you particularly feel like. By the time that's done and she's been bound by geas to serve us her little army will probably be small time, but I'm sure we can send them on missions that just aren't worth our time. Or something.

>>26870480
something involving a lot of rope would be nice haha

the ones you posted today where hot as hell.

>>26870551
((Thank you! It's nice to know people enjoyed them. I don't think any of the canonical ones so far have involved lots of rope, but there's always non-canon scenes, if I get a good idea or someone else suggests an interesting scene, and the players might decide to do something with rope in the future.))

>>26870402
You're no fun. Live a little, get outside, get messy, make mistakes.

>>26870537
Well yeah, we still need the Corrupters heart for Jill.

I think that, with the help of the Hunters, and specifically Gloria, we could make relatively short work of the Corrupter given a little research into his true name or whatever.

Here's the thing.... Isabella is something we are going to need to handle before we eliminate the Corrupter. As long as she has a hundred innocent school kids to blockade the Corrupter from us, we will never see him much less stab him. Handling Isabella would metaphorically cut off the head of the snake, when it comes to the entire army of loyal drones.

Then we would need to handle the original pact maker (drug dealer boy) and the demon himself.

Considering Isabella is at the head of all the muscle, and all the machinations with the Witch girl etc.... I think we need to start getting a little buddy buddy with her as it is.

A simple conversation will do, If we can ever break this whole super paranoid Chris act.

>>26870799
You just want to be stupid for stupid's sake.
The point is that you're taking stupid risks that a character wouldn't make.

>>26870799
She needs to be dealt with, yes, but from a position of strength, not as a supplicant. Her entire bag is the domination of those around her, and she runs her gang like a cult. I think the most we can get from her is a grudging respect and a tenuous truce, because I wouldn't trust her to honour an agreement that stopped suiting her, and there's no way any pact that kept us from encroaching on each other's territory would suit her for very long, if she felt she could take something from us.

Which means that to deal with her we'll need allies- the hunters, definitely, and Gloria especially would be perfect, but those guys are busy with the Ice King, who I feel we should concentrate on before the Corrupter. We have to deal with him anyway, for Jill's Quest, and the hunters will owe us one afterward, which would give us leverage to send them in Isabella and the Corrupter's direction.

I must admit, I also like the symmetry of dealing with Isabella and her group last, after encountering them first.

>>26871052
Thats your opinion.

The only thing i want is to take the character different places than you do. I want to exercise our inner Ghoul. You want to be a tortured human fighting with his own dark nature. I like handling problems with confidence and gusto before they get out of hand. You like to silently play a background game while cautiously waiting to strike.

I dont even know why Im explaining this. Im never going to stop making suggestions, and neither are you. Its just a vote after all.

Also, quit hating. Its a game. It sucks that my suggestions are something you wouldn't do, but plenty of characters and people alike would.

>>26871077
yeah i get it, and i admit... there is a measure of poetry to it, now that you mention it.

Hmm... Isabella is hard to read. I dont think that we know her well enough to judge whether she is good for her word.

I suppose we should wait until after the IceKing is dealt with yes. That being said, I still think there is no way to approach the Corrupter without handling Izzy Belle first. They just have too large a cult....

On retrospect, perhaps Cassandra is an untapped idea.

> all those shadowruns around me... I want them all...