Begin panicking.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/01(Mon)20:18 No. 644595 ID: 26e769
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She’s so fucking sexy.

Even in a sweater, Mercy is sexy. Hell, especially in her sweaters.

You’ve been sitting next to her in class for weeks. For weeks, you’ve been working up the nerve to ask her out.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/01(Mon)20:18 No. 644596 ID: 26e769
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>Begin panicking

You already are panicking!

How could you possibly talk to her? Raven did ask you to do it, but… what would you say? What could you do?

You’re so scared. Should you tell Mercy she’s hot? Should you just ask? But what if she’s straight? Fuck, of course she’s straight, she has a boyfriend.

But it doesn’t make her any less attractive, and that doesn’t make it any easier to talk to her.

There’s still a good amount of time left in class. Maybe you can think of something before then?

You could, but you won't. Want to know why? You've been sitting next to her making that face for weeks. She knows. Anyone in her position would know. See her expression? She doesn't like you. Not even a bit. She hasn't said anything about it, and that's because she doesn't want to talk to you and you're lucky she only considers it incredibly awkward, not creepy. If you actually tried to press the issue she'd hate you forever. You should just forget about it and go back home to another slow day of drudgery and your mother being a bitch. You can survive until college, and then you can become a bitter, strung-out wreck of a human being like all college students aspire to. It'll be fun! If you define fun as being able to forget about your miserable burnout of a life.

>Fuck, of course she’s straight, she has a boyfriend.
Well, no. She could be bi. Or heck, she could be gay, and that's why they're having issues.

>what do
Forget about what Raven said. Focus on what Lily said, last night. You think she's hot? Just tell her. Worst case, she tells you she's not interested, and then maybe you do Raven's thing and help her anyways, cause she's hot and it's an excuse to get to see her hotness.

I mean, c'mon, if you do the sappy thing and try and saver the boyfriend's chance with her, you'll always wonder if you had a shot.

She looks kind of down. Does that make her more approachable? You could go with a, uh, pick me up before attempting a pick up. You know, try to do something to make her smile or laugh.

>>644596
"What's a pretty girl like you going around with a sad face like that?"

You could try approaching her without the intent to get into her pants first and foremost in your mind.

Just go talk to her and wing it from there. If you want to talk about her relationship with her boyfriend be direct. Dancing around a question is annoying.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/01(Mon)22:02 No. 644624 ID: 26e769
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>You could try approaching her without the intent to get into her pants first and foremost in your mind.

B-but you really want to get in her pants!

>Well, no. She could be bi. Or heck, she could be gay, and that's why they're having issues.

Yeah… yeah! She could be gay! And then you could help her figure out her sexuality! It would be awesome!

>Forget about what Raven said. Focus on what Lily said, last night. You think she's hot? Just tell her. Worst case, she tells you she's not interested, and then maybe you do Raven's thing and help her anyways, cause she's hot and it's an excuse to get to see her hotness.
>"What's a pretty girl like you going around with a sad face like that?"
>Just go talk to her and wing it from there. If you want to talk about her relationship with her boyfriend be direct. Dancing around a question is annoying.

Okay! Be direct. Okay. You can do this. Being direct. Being direct.

”Why’s a pretty girl like you going around with a sad face like that?”

She jumps in her seat slightly. ”H-huh? Oh, Orchid… Sorry, what did you say?”

She knows your name. She knows your name!

“Look, um, I’m going to be um, direct…” You mess with your hair nervously. “I think you’re extremely hot. I kind of really, really like you.”

Her eyes get huge. She blinks a couple of times.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/01(Mon)22:03 No. 644625 ID: 26e769
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“You - you like me?” Mercy mumbles incoherently. “I - I… Me? Like… me? Like you like me in like a sex kind of way?”

>You've been sitting next to her making that face for weeks. She knows. Anyone in her position would know. See her expression? She doesn't like you. Not even a bit. She hasn't said anything about it, and that's because she doesn't want to talk to you and you're lucky she only considers it incredibly awkward, not creepy. If you actually tried to press the issue she'd hate you forever.

…Fuck! You’ve ruined everything! Fuck! Shit! She’ll never want to talk to you again!

What do you do? What do you do?!

>>644625
Tell her if she's not into girls you'll just leave it at that, sorry.

>>644625
Well, there's the chance she was making the same face that you were because she was thinking the same thing you were. Aka she's also into you. Too late to back out in any case.

"Yeah."

Bury head in hands. Die of shame. Peek to see how she's reacting.

"Sorry, I think I made of a mess of this. Just working up your courage is messy."

>You've been sitting next to her making that face for weeks. She knows. Anyone in her position would know.
Well, depends on how wrapped up in her own problems she is. You guys are teenagers, the most self centered people in the world.

>…Fuck! You’ve ruined everything! Fuck! Shit! She’ll never want to talk to you again!
Maybe not! Wait and see!

And uh, worst case, you got a free wish. If you really do make her hate you, you can just wish you didn't talk to her today! Problem fixed. You get a do-over.

So relax, no stress.

Own up to what you said. Also calm down a bit, breathe a little. She could be thinking a lot of things right now so let her process.

Whack your head on the desk. Repeatedly.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/01(Mon)23:05 No. 644642 ID: 26e769
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>Bury head in hands. Die of shame.

You put a hand across your face. You feel like you might cry.

>Too late to back out in any case. “Yeah."
>Own up to what you said.
>"Sorry, I think I made of a mess of this. Just working up your courage is messy."
>Tell her if she's not into girls you'll just leave it at that, sorry.

“Yeah.” Your voice is on the verge of breaking. “ Sorry, I think I made a mess of this. If… if you’re not into girls, I’ll just leave it at that, okay? I’m really sorry.”

>Also calm down a bit, breathe a little. She could be thinking a lot of things right now so let her process.

You wait, trying to calm down, but you don’t think you can be calm anymore.

Mercy is quiet for a while. More than ten minutes pass.

“Where do you want to go?”

“…Huh?”

“Well, I assume you were going to ask me out.” She states it in a matter-of-fact kind of way. “So, where do you want to go? We could spend recess together, if you want.”

>>644642
Yessssssss, let's do that.

>>644642
>So, where do you want to go? We could spend recess together, if you want.
...okay.

I did not honestly plan that far ahead.

Gotta get your nerve back, Orc.

Things didn't blow up horribly, hooray! Agree to her offer then ask for her phone number so that you can make more plans together. Also try not to shout or jump up for joy but don't forget to grin like a fool.

Somewhere far from broom closets & toilets. Lily's having a small panic attack at the moment and might be looking for you.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/02(Tue)00:00 No. 644657 ID: 26e769
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>Yessssssss, let's do that.
>...okay. I did not honestly plan that far ahead. Gotta get your nerve back, Orc.
>Things didn't blow up horribly, hooray!
>Also try not to shout or jump up for joy but don't forget to grin like a fool.

”Yes. Let’s do that. Absolutely.”

You grin like a fool for the rest of class.

As class ends, you walk with Mercy into the cafeteria.

You’re not entirely sure that this isn’t yet another daydream. You certainly feel like you’re dreaming.

>ask for her phone number so that you can make more plans together.

“Can - can I have your number? I mean, I’ll give you mine.”

“Sure.” She nods, reaching into her pocket for her phone. “So, hey, I usually eat lunch at the drama club. Do you want to go there and hang out with Raven and Lily, or do you want this to be more of a one-on-one thing? I’m fine either way.”

Wait a minute

Did eL spend a wish credit to alter Mercy?

Yeah, you may want to start helping people.

>>644658
Naw.. she still looks too shellshocked for me to think this isn't a genuine (if weird) reaction.

So hey, weren't we supposed to help her with something? What was that, again? Something about her boyfriend or some such?

Hmm. Actually get to talk with your crush, or show her / your awesome success off to the others. Hmm. ...someone will feel obliged to ask about her supposed boyfriend and 'help' her, if you go to them. Plus, it might be hard to talk about stuff in front of them. Upside might be the strain would be off.

I guess I say go for the chance to talk.

Maybe admit you've never done this (asking a girl out of the blue) before? Find out how she's doing? Any common interests (aside from the fact she hangs with your sister and Raven).

What do you actually already know about her besides the hotness?

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/02(Tue)12:54 No. 644748 ID: 26e769
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>So hey, weren't we supposed to help her with something? What was that, again? Something about her boyfriend or some such?

You don’t care about her stupid ‘boyfriend’. He’s probably an asshole anyway.

>What do you actually already know about her besides the hotness?

Lots of things! She’s an actress, she’s a really nice person, she’s hot, she’s very introverted but has a lot of friends, she almost always wears sweaters, she’s friends with Raven, she’s hot…

>I guess I say go for the chance to talk.

“Can we just hang out by ourselves for a while?”

“Okay.” She nods again. “I’ll text Raven and tell her I won’t be going today.”

The two of you find a table outside, putting a little distance between you and everyone else. Mercy sits down directly opposite you. She stares at you strangely, like she’s trying to figure something out.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/02(Tue)12:54 No. 644749 ID: 26e769
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>Maybe admit you've never done this (asking a girl out of the blue) before? Find out how she's doing? Any common interests (aside from the fact she hangs with your sister and Raven).

“I’ve never done this before. You know, asking a girl out of the blue.” You continue grinning. “How are you doing?”

She still looks a little dazed. “Um… I’m okay. I mean, I didn’t expect this at all. It does help make sense of why you kept shooting me looks in class. I thought you hated me or something.” She runs her hand through her hair. “You were actually checking me out, weren’t you? Holy crap.”

“…yeah, I did check you out a little bit sometimes.” You cough. “But I like you as a person, too.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” She sighs. “Okay, I’m going to be up front here. I’ve never been on a date with another girl before. Honestly, I’ve never even thought about doing something like this.”

You freeze in place. “What?”

“Look, I am on a date with you, this is a date, I mean…” She leans forward. “I wouldn’t have gone with you if I hadn’t felt something, but I’m not exactly sure what it is that I’m feeling. Does that make any sense?” Her voice sounds very anxious. “…how can you tell if you like girls or not?”

>>644749
Here's a trick!
"close your eyes and imagine kissing a girl; Preferably me. If you feel grossed out, you're not interested, if you don't feel anything, you're curious. But if you feel butterflies in your stomach, you might like girls."

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/02(Tue)15:52 No. 644784 ID: 26e769
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>Here's a trick!

“Close your eyes and imagine kissing a girl; Preferably me. If you feel grossed out, you're not interested, if you don't feel anything, you're curious. But if you feel butterflies in your stomach, you might like girls."

“Okay.” Mercy closes her eyes.

You wait for a little while.

Mercy opens her eyes again. “I still can’t tell.”

“Well, it was worth a shot.”

“…would it be okay if we tried for real?”

>>644784
Well isn't this one straightforward.
...GO FOR IT!

You might as well; this is your chance to date someone you're interested in. eL took a chance to change herself, and now you can do the same without using up wish credits!

There are likely other people who you can help, and if you screw up horribly you could earn some wish credits and fix any serious problems (insanity, suicide, mass hysteria, etc.).

You don't think she'll start dating Raven, right? Nah. That would...

You should start earning wish credits so that your sister doesn't do something stupid without your knowledge.

YES.

...um. *Blink* You sure? I mean, I don't object to sexy experimentation, but I don't want to take advantage of your confusion, here.

Maybe look around and see who's watching, first. No need to publicly embarrass her. Or start rumors heading back to your mom immediately.

>how can you tell if you like girls or not?
Well, it helps if you look at someone and think they're hot, I guess. Heh.

Um. Maybe it's a hierarchy of needs, thing? It might be hard to focus on if there's something else bothering you more. (Token fishing for anything else).

Maybe the two of you should hang out with each other a bit more before doing that. But as long as she is sure about this, you should go for it. Just try to remember that this doesn't mean the same thing for the both of you.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/02(Tue)22:00 No. 644879 ID: 26e769
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>YES.
>...GO FOR IT!
>You might as well
>as long as she is sure about this, you should go for it.

“YES!”

“Oh, thank you.”

> ...um. *Blink* You sure? I mean, I don't object to sexy experimentation, but I don't want to take advantage of your confusion, here.
>Just try to remember that this doesn't mean the same thing for the both of you.

“…You sure, though? I mean, I don’t object to sexy experimentation, but, like, if you’re confused, I don’t want to take advantage of that.”

“If anything, I’m taking advantage of your attraction to me. Don’t worry about it at all.”

“Huh. So we’re taking advantage of each other? Kinky.”

Mercy smiles a little at that.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/02(Tue)22:01 No. 644881 ID: 26e769
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>Are her eyes funny?

Funny? No.

Beautiful? Yes.

>Maybe look around and see who's watching, first. No need to publicly embarrass her. Or start rumors heading back to your mom immediately.

“Hey, we probably don’t want an audience. Should we move away from the windows?”

“Okay.” The two of you search around for a little bit, eventually stopping under a large tree on the campus.

“This looks good. Do you need a minute?”

“No, I think I’m ready.” She looks a little worried. “Just - one thing, before we do this.”

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/02(Tue)22:02 No. 644882 ID: 26e769
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She gets close to you.

“What’s up?”

“If I do turn out to be into girls, I might act a bit weird.”

“Weird? What do you mean?”

“Just… weird.” She shifts uncomfortably. “You’ll know. If I start acting strangely, just hold me at arm’s length for a bit, okay?”

She’s so pretty.

“Orchid? Can you promise to do that for me?”

>>644882
Roll your eyes and say sure sure, fine.

Agree to her conditions then kiss the girl.

She seems haunted.

But seriously, after what you learned this morning? You may need to worry about that.

Drop a line about "Pendel", see if she says anything. If not, don't talk about it.

>>644882
Put a hand on her side, or to cup her face, and ask, gently, if she's okay before agreeing to anything.

>promise to hold me at arm's length
Play to it like she's being kinky. I promise to keep you restrained, no matter how much you beg and plead for more. Mistress Orc is only giving you a taste.

Whatever she is referring to is probably the issue that you're supposed to be helping her resolve, here.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/03(Wed)13:15 No. 645019 ID: 26e769
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>Put a hand on her side, or to cup her face, and ask, gently, if she's okay before agreeing to anything.

You reach out and put a hand on her face. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yeah. I am.”

>Roll your eyes and say sure sure, fine.
>Agree to her conditions then kiss the girl.
>Play to it like she's being kinky. I promise to keep you restrained, no matter how much you beg and plead for more. Mistress Orc is only giving you a taste.

“Sure, sure, fine. I promise.” You strike a pose. “No matter how much you beg and plead, Mistress Orc will only give you a taste.”

She blinks, surprised for some reason. “…okay. Thank you.”

Before you can realize what’s happening, it’s happening. Her face is so close to yours. You can feel her breath.

Her lips meet yours.

Oh fuck, oh fuck, it’s really happening. You’re kissing the most beautiful girl in the world.

This is the best day ever!

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/03(Wed)13:15 No. 645020 ID: 26e769
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Whoa. Tongue? She’s, uh, she’s really going for it.

…

…is that her hand under your shirt?!

Bit er... forceful, isn't she? Doesn't seem entirely normal.

This must be that thing she was talking about, time to hold her at arm's length. On the bright side she seems totally into you.

>>645020
That's the weird. Keep your promise, but don't be rude about it.

>…is that her hand under your shirt?!
Awesome, but you did make a promise. None of that now. Dom her good- she didn't even beg for it yet.

I mean, if she thinks she can't trust you, or you ignore her kinks, the most beautiful girl in world might not be yours for long. And Orchid wants.

Grab her arms. She's just a pretty little thing, the Orc has to be stronger. She doesn't get more than a kiss right now.

Make a rock-out symbol while you make-out.

Is it actually weird to go for a feel when kissing? I'm asking, I don't know: If you were in private and you could uh, tell by the ...warmth and colour of her skin (and scent) if she were just really into this. Even so, maybe this is what she meant about 'acting weird.' I don't know if the correct answer is to grab ass or break off the kiss to ask, "Is that what you meant by weird or should we be finding someplace more private to continue 'kissing?'"

Suspicion: One of the ways that rape victims react to the trauma is to become flirty and sexually aggressive; trying to be the one in control and making things happen so that other people can't do things to them without consent.

>>645020
Ohhhh, now we know why she asked you to push her off you.
You gotta finish that somewhere else.
A.K.A: Pull her away and skip school for some "private time".

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/04(Thu)13:19 No. 645402 ID: 26e769
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>Ohhhh, now we know why she asked you to push her off you.
>That's the weird.
>This must be that thing she was talking about
>Bit er... forceful, isn't she? Doesn't seem entirely normal.
> Is it actually weird to go for a feel when kissing? […] Even so, maybe this is what she meant about 'acting weird.'

Is - is this normal? You aren’t sure! You’ve never kissed a girl before! Is this how you’re going to lose your virginity? Holy shit!

>Make a rock-out symbol while you make-out.
>Awesome

Mmm. Mmmm…

>you did make a promise. None of that now.
>Keep your promise, but don't be rude about it.
>time to hold her at arm's length. On the bright side she seems totally into you.
>Grab her arms.

This is the saddest thing you have ever had to do.

>She's just a pretty little thing, the Orc has to be stronger.

‘The Orc’ is four foot eight and rail-thin. You’re not stronger than anyone. Luckily (or unluckily), she only resists a little bit as you peel her off of you.

“Huh? What?” She mumbles, a smile on her face.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/04(Thu)13:20 No. 645403 ID: 26e769
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>"Is that what you meant by weird or should we be finding someplace more private to continue 'kissing?'"
>You gotta finish that somewhere else. A.K.A: Pull her away and skip school for some "private time".

“Look, I’d love to finish this, but we probably shouldn’t do it at school. Should we go somewhere more private?”

“Finish…?” She suddenly looks shocked. “Oh god! I’m sorry!” She slips out of your grip and backs away a bit. “I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry, Orchid! Are you okay?”

>>645403
Giggle at her. Tell her you were totally okay with it, but a promise is a promise.

>I’m sorry, Orchid! Are you okay?
Giggling is good. So is grinning like an idiot.

Okay? My hot crush who wasn't even sure if she liked girls just snuck off under the trees and vigorously made out with me. I am so much more than okay. I am awesome.

Seriously, what are you sorry for? Making my day? I only stopped you cause you made me promise.

*sultry grin* ...so, you cleared up your confusion, I hope? Cause the verdict seemed in to me.

"If I was a guy I'd have blueballs, good thing I'm a girl. You're hot enough you should be holding out for me buying you dinner first before giving it up though."

>>645403
Okay? I feel freaking AMAZING!

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/04(Thu)23:02 No. 645607 ID: 26e769
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>Giggle at her. Tell her you were totally okay with it, but a promise is a promise.
>Giggling is good. So is grinning like an idiot. Okay? My hot crush who wasn't even sure if she liked girls just snuck off under the trees and vigorously made out with me. I am so much more than okay. I am awesome. Seriously, what are you sorry for? Making my day? I only stopped you cause you made me promise. *sultry grin* ...so, you cleared up your confusion, I hope? Cause the verdict seemed in to me.
>You're hot enough you should be holding out for me buying you dinner first before giving it up though."
>Okay? I feel freaking AMAZING!

You giggle and grin. “My hot crush just vigorously made out with me under a tree. I am so much more than okay! I feel amazing! Seriously, what are you sorry for? Making my day? The only reason I stopped is because you made me promise.” You cuddle up to her. “…cleared up your confusion, I hope? The verdict seems in to me. You, uh, you might wanna make me buy you dinner first, though.”

She doesn’t look at you. “Please stop doing that.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop standing so close to me.” She leans away.

“What, that’s bothering you now? You didn’t seem to mind getting 'close' a few seconds ago.”

“Orchid, please.” Her breathing is a little shaky.

>>645607
I think she can't control herself once she gets into it. It's like a trance. So pout at her but do what she says, and ask for maybe a little detail. What's bothering her?

uh, ok
>back off, talk about feelings

You're scaring her. Back off; you made great progress, don't let it go to waste.

Tell her about your friends, Raven in particular, and have her talk to others about this so that she gets used to it. Else, you'll alienate her.

Okay she obviously doesn't have very good control of herself if she's freaking out right now. Probably give her space. Probably not the place for a loss of control? I guess?

>>645740
that's harsh. have you seen a shrink about it?

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/05(Fri)00:57 No. 645748 ID: 26e769
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>uh, ok back off
>pout at her but do what she says
>Back off; you made great progress, don't let it go to waste.
>Probably give her space.

“Uh… Okay.” You back off a little. She relaxes, sighing with relief.

The two of you sit down, backs to the tree trunk. Mercy curls up in a ball. She doesn't say anything.

>I think she can't control herself once she gets into it. It's like a trance.
>Okay she obviously doesn't have very good control of herself if she's freaking out right now.
>talk about feelings

“Mercy…” You breathe quietly for a moment. “Can you not control yourself, once you get, um, ‘into it’?”

She nods.

>What's bothering her?

“What’s up? You okay?”

“No.” She sounds so sad. “I don’t want to like girls.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because I like boys, too. And I - I get like that around them. Even a hug can set me off. I thought I could still be normal around other girls, at least.” She pushes her face into her knees. “This isn’t fair.”

>>645747
with an addendum of "it's something you can manage already. you stopped when pushed away, and that means you do have some control."

>>645748
...what does she think about being tied up? Being dominated? Let someone else be in control, and she doesn't have to worry about it.

So, she gets excited or violent when anxious? Because you can work with that; a few medium-length handcuffs (with no locks) and some other extra-lite bondage gear to prevent excessive... whatever it is Mercy is talking about.

Is it something that could happen with anybody, all the time, or are there times or people who couldn't set it off? If the crustiest homeless guy you could imagine started molesting her, would she jump him and ride him cowgirl? If the answer is yes she might actually have issues, but I'd be really surprised by that.

"Younger than she are happy mothers made." Count Paris, in Romeo and Juliet, trying to convince her dad to let him marry and get it on with his fourteen year old daughter. He was right that girls were getting married, and fucking, much younger than that.

The problem might be that Mercy just has a healthy sex drive without enough outlets: Too horny for self control if she's not getting it enough times per day. The church people, the teachers, the school advisors... they all try to pretend that teenagers shouldn't be having sex, that girls shouldn't want sex, that it's unnatural, unhealthy and Satan's influence and all that. That's bullshit, and Shakespeare wrote about times before it was like this.

>>645748
I... I don't know how to respond to this.

Ask her how it feels, maybe?

>I thought I could still be normal around other girls
>I don't want to like girls
...oh. Um. Sorry for messing that up. I seriously thought the worst that that could happen from trying is you wouldn't be interested.

Uh, it might not be all girls. Like, I consider myself only a little bit bi. I usually like boys. Maybe it's similar for you?

Or uh, most guys have a one track mind. And, uh, I'm putting out a pretty obvious vibe. Maybe you won't react to people who aren't interested? Which would be most girls?

Geeze, I never thought kissing my first girl would mess things up for someone so bad.

>questions
Is ... is it that scary? I always thought it would be kind of nice to lose myself in the moment.

(A little desperate, reaching). Does it help to have an outlet?

(Sad). ...Does this mean you don't. Um. Me?

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/06(Sat)04:06 No. 646596 ID: 26e769
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>Ask her how it feels
>So, she gets excited or violent when anxious?
>Is it something that could happen with anybody, all the time, or are there times or people who couldn't set it off? If the crustiest homeless guy you could imagine started molesting her, would she jump him and ride him cowgirl?

“So… I’m still not clear on this. Do you mean that you can’t resist? Like, if you get close to anyone, you lose control?”

“Pretty much. Whenever I’m touching someone, If I feel anything towards them, anything at all, I just - I can’t stop. I kiss them, caress them, love them. It started when I was thirteen, and it’s only gotten worse. I tried to hide it. I distanced myself from everyone, I wore these nasty, baggy clothes…”

“I like your clothes.”

“Thank you.” She shrugs. “I thought they might make less people get close to me, you know? But it was probably just wishful thinking.”

>Is ... is it that scary? I always thought it would be kind of nice to lose myself in the moment.

“Is it really that scary? I think it would be kind of nice to lose yourself in the moment.”

Mercy stares at you. “If you believe that, then you have no idea what it’s like to lose yourself. I barely notice when it’s happening. Afterwards, when I remember it, it feels like a nightmare.”

>that's harsh. have you seen a shrink about it? with an addendum of "it's something you can manage already. you stopped when pushed away, and that means you do have some control."

“Sorry. That really sucks. Have you seen a doctor about this stuff?”

“Yeah. He told me he didn’t know exactly why I was like this, but he said I was something called ‘hypersexual’. So at least there’s a name for it, I guess.”

>The problem might be that Mercy just has a healthy sex drive without enough outlets: Too horny for self control if she's not getting it enough times per day.
>(A little desperate, reaching). Does it help to have an outlet?

“‘Hypersexual’? Does that mean you want to have sex all of the time?”

“It’s a bit more than that, but yeah.” She looks miserable. “I hate it.”

“Have you ever tried, um, having sex? It might help you relax if you have an outlet.”

“It doesn’t help.” She shrinks away. “Trust me.”

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/06(Sat)04:07 No. 646597 ID: 26e769
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>...oh. Um. Sorry for messing that up. I seriously thought the worst that that could happen from trying is you wouldn't be interested. Uh, it might not be all girls. Like, I consider myself only a little bit bi. I usually like boys. Maybe it's similar for you?

“…oh. Um. I’m sorry for messing all of this up. I seriously thought that the worst that could happen from trying is that you wouldn’t be into me.”

“It’s not your fault, Orchid. The only reason I agreed to any of this is because I wanted to see if I could be attracted to girls. I got my answer.”

“Hey, it might not be all girls. Like, I’m bi, and I don’t like everyone. Maybe it’s similar for you?”

“If it’s anything like how it works with boys, it doesn’t take much to set me off. I’ve had to watch myself around every boy I’ve ever met. Even my brother.”

“Your brother?”

“Shut up. I don’t have any control over it. It’s so horrible. I used to be able to hug him for a while, but in these last couple of years I’ve started to…” She shudders. “I can’t hug anybody. Not after today. Not ever.”

>(Sad). ...Does this mean you don't. Um. Me?

“…does this mean you don’t… um… y’know… me?”

She looks confused for a moment, then breathes in sharply. “Oh, Orchid, I just don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about. You’re a nice girl, and we’re obviously attracted to each other, but I’m honestly confused about a lot of things. I’m still getting over my last boyfriend, and I’ve never had a girlfriend before.” She glances over at you, a strange look in her eyes. “Oh… Sorry, I just assumed. Would you want to be girlfriends with me?”

>>646597
Well yeah I do but as it is now, I'd feel like I'm taking advantage of you in the situation. Before we become anything, I want to help you get over this.

>Would you want to be girlfriends with me?
...if you'd asked me that an hour ago I would have jumped at the chance.

But I don't want anything you do with me to be a nightmare. That was so good for me. It's really fucking unfair it wasn't for you. I don't want you to be afraid of me, worried I could make you lose your mind at any time.

It feels like a major dick move to kiss you, mess up your life, and then walk away, though.

...and, uh, I really don't mind if you go off on me.

*wacking head back against the tree* God damnit, I never thought a girl wanting to be all over me could be a bad thing!

>the inevitable thought
Orcid... don't you remember a certain someone giving you a free pass at a wish? If you don't want to rule the world after all, you could fix this problem so this would work. If you really wanted, you could make it so she never had this problem. Or, maybe more reasonably, if we don't want to risk changing her past, like what happened to your sister, you could wish she gets better.

And she'd never even have to know you did it.

...course, that's blowing a once in a lifetime opportunity on a fuck. Still, the most beautiful girl in the world might be worth it?

>>646597
Yes, assuming she actually enjoys sex when she wants to go that far. I mean, if she doesn't actually enjoy anything after the fact, it wouldn't be much of a relationship. I expect she would have to describe exactly what acts she's comfortable with before the sex starts, so she doesn't regret it afterwards?

...also it would be really hard for her to avoid cheating on you. Hmm. Chastity belt?

>>646648
Chastity belt wouldn't prevent much and by the flying spaghetti monster that is a horrible suggestion. Also, changing her without her knowledge, understanding and agreement is just slightly a horrible thing to do.

Is the hypersexuality all that's odd about her? It can be associated with ADHD and borderline personality disorder, amongst other issues.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/08(Mon)09:14 No. 647106 ID: 26e769
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>Yes, assuming she actually enjoys sex when she wants to go that far.
>...if you'd asked me that an hour ago I would have jumped at the chance.
>Well yeah I do but as it is now, I'd feel like I'm taking advantage of you in the situation. Before we become anything, I want to help you get over this.

“I do, yeah, but right now I feel like I’d be taking advantage of you, and not in a kinky way.”

“It would still be my choice.”

“Maybe I can help you through this? Can hypersexuality be, like, cured?”

“I’m on medication. It helps about as much as anything can.” She sighs. “There’s no real ‘cure’. Thank you for caring, though.”

>Is the hypersexuality all that's odd about her? It can be associated with ADHD and borderline personality disorder, amongst other issues.

“Well, at least you’re seeing a doctor. Is there anything else you want to talk about? You’ve been in and out of class a lot.”

“Huh? Oh… Yeah, it’s hard for me to get to school. I have a lot of trouble pushing myself to do things. My mom does her best to help, but still. I don’t have a lot of self-control, you know? It’s like…” She pauses, then waves it away. “Never mind. I mean, thanks for listening, but really, it’s nothing.”

>I don't want anything you do with me to be a nightmare. That was so good for me. It's really fucking unfair it wasn't for you. I don't want you to be afraid of me, worried I could make you lose your mind at any time. It feels like a major dick move to kiss you, mess up your life, and then walk away, though. ...and, uh, I really don't mind if you go off on me. *wacking head back against the tree* God damnit, I never thought a girl wanting to be all over me could be a bad thing!

“Okay, if you’re sure. Hey, was it really a nightmare for you?”

“Huh? Oh, um… not with you, specifically. I just mean that it feels horrible, afterwards, to realize how out of control I was.”

“I don’t mind, you know, if you go off on me.” You grin. “It was so good for me. Was it really that bad for you?”

“Well… Not that bad.” She smiles. “In fact, I’m not entirely sure I like girls… Should we do some more ‘tests’?”

You feel like you have butterflies in your stomach.

“Yeah… Yeah! But wait, won’t you-?”

“It’s okay. I trust you. Just promise to pull me off every few minutes, so I can, you know, ‘check in.’”

“I promise.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/08(Mon)09:14 No. 647107 ID: 26e769
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“’Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone — and yet no farther than a wan-ton's bird, that lets it hop a little from his hand, like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, and with a silken thread plucks it back again, so loving-jealous of his liberty.”

“I would I were that bird.”

“Sweet, so would I. Yet, should I kill thee with much cherishing, good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/08(Mon)09:15 No. 647108 ID: 26e769
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“God, I… I just can’t get into this.” Franklin looks frustrated. “Seriously, where is Lily? This is the second day she’s missed.”

“Yeah, seriously.” Amanda gives you an unhappy look from across the room. “Are you going to pull double duty here, Raven?”

“Hey, I already told you guys. Lily’s going through some shit.”

“What kind of shit? Are people harassing her again?”

“Hey, lay off.” Paolo speaks up. “She broke out screaming and crying in class, earlier.”

“What?” You turn to him, eyes wide. “She did what?!”

“Oh, damn. Is she okay?” Franklin turns to you. “What’s going on with her, Raven?”

Lily is dealing with the realization that she is a burger.

>What’s going on with her, Raven?
I... don't fully understand it, really. (Only a half lie. You know what happened, but you really don't understand it). And even if I did, I'm not sure it's my place to put it out there if she's not talking about it.

That's really the best explaination you can give them, short of the insane truth, or making up a lie. And any cover story should be coordinated, not made up off the cuff.

Wonder to yourself if Lily would be better off trying to relearn the material and do the play. Is that just rushing her, or would trying to fit back into 'normal' take off the stress of being a pseudo outsider?

>>647108
It's private.

"Try not to bug her or gossip about it too much, please: One thing I'm sure that would make it even worse for her is if everyone starts talking about it. She'll get over it--it's only a question of how long it takes to recover now--but until then she's going to have trouble remembering things she should know, and occasional panic attacks. One thing, she might need help getting her lines and cues down again, actually."

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/08(Mon)23:16 No. 647276 ID: 26e769
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>Lily is dealing with the realization that she is a burger.

“Lily is dealing with the dramatic, life-changing realization that she is, in fact…” You build up some suspense. “A burger.”

“…what?”

>It's private.

“Guys. It’s private. You do get what that word means, don’t you? ‘Private’?”

“We’re just worried about her, Raven. Come on.”

>"Try not to bug her or gossip about it too much, please: One thing I'm sure that would make it even worse for her is if everyone starts talking about it. She'll get over it--it's only a question of how long it takes to recover now--but until then she's going to have trouble remembering things she should know, and occasional panic attacks. One thing, she might need help getting her lines and cues down again, actually."
>I... don't fully understand it, really. (Only a half lie. You know what happened, but you really don't understand it). And even if I did, I'm not sure it's my place to put it out there if she's not talking about it. That's really the best explaination you can give them, short of the insane truth, or making up a lie. And any cover story should be coordinated, not made up off the cuff. Wonder to yourself if Lily would be better off trying to relearn the material and do the play. Is that just rushing her, or would trying to fit back into 'normal' take off the stress of being a pseudo outsider?

“Look, she’s going through some complicated stuff. I only half understand it myself, and I don’t feel comfortable just putting it out there if she’s not talking about it. And, hey, I don’t want any of you spreading rumors about her, either, you understand? If you really want to know, yes, she’s going to have some difficulty doing the play, at the very least. I’m trying to read lines with her when I can, but still. She’s a bit distracted with personal stuff right now.”

“Uh, Raven-“

“Look, she’s just not coming today. End of story. Is that good enough for you?”

>>647276
Oh wait she is coming, I guess she's just late. Hi Lily!

>>647276
She's behind you, Raven. Time to shift to girlfriend helping mode from girlfriend defending mode.

>>647276
begin feeling an odd presence behind you.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)16:37 No. 647432 ID: 26e769
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>Oh wait she is coming, I guess she's just late. Hi Lily!
>She's behind you, Raven. Time to shift to girlfriend helping mode from girlfriend defending mode.
>begin feeling an odd presence behind you.

You turn around. “Lily?!”

"Lily!" Amanda calls out, almost at the same time you do.

“Uh… uh…” Lily glances around at everyone else in the room, looking worried.

You quickly walk up to her. “Hey there, Flower…” You lean in, give her a small kiss, and then start whispering. ”What are you doing here, baby? I can’t cover for you if you’re standing right next to me.”

”I - I’m really sorry. But I didn’t know where else I could - I mean, I…”

”Relax, relax. It’s okay. What’s wrong, Flower?”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)16:37 No. 647433 ID: 26e769
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”Please help. I think I’m having my p-period and I don’t know what to do.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)16:38 No. 647434 ID: 26e769
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…

You mean it isn't obvious?

give her a pad. while tampons are less conspicuous they can really mess you up the first time you try them.

Make an excuse to the group and take her to a bathroom or something. Preferably a less frequented one so you can lock the door without causing a fuss.

>>647434
Go talk with her in private, ask what she's feeling and explain what to do if it's really the case.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)19:59 No. 647474 ID: 26e769
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>Make an excuse to the group

“Uh, guys, we’ve gotta go. Sorry.”

“What? Why? Hey!” Franklin calls after you. “Come back! We can't lose both of you!”

>give her a pad. while tampons are less conspicuous they can really mess you up the first time you try them.

“Hey, hey, it's just, um, personal stuff, okay? Sorry again!” You pull Lily through the door, close it, and start moving as fast as you can through the hallway. “Lily, how bad is it? Do you need a pad right away?”

“I - I don’t know! I don’t know what pads are!”

>You mean it isn't obvious?

“Oh my god.” You shake your head. “This is - this is just… You really were a boy, weren’t you?”

Lily looks a little crestfallen. “Only on the outside.”

“Right, right, sorry…”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)20:00 No. 647475 ID: 26e769
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>take her to a bathroom or something. Preferably a less frequented one so you can lock the door without causing a fuss.

You find a teacher as quickly as you can, and ask him for the key to the staff bathroom. You barely have to say the words ‘feminine issues’ before he shoves the keys into your hands and turns away, embarrassed.

>Go talk with her in private, ask what she's feeling and explain what to do if it's really the case.

“Okay, Lily.” You say, closing the door behind you. “Tell me what’s going on.”

She sits down on the toilet. “Um, well, it started with a stomachache, and then I started shivering and sweating, and now I've got this headache. My head feels like it’s on fire.” She looks worried. “Also, I think I might need to throw up. Is that normal?”

>Also, I think I might need to throw up. Is that normal?
*cough*. Yes Raven, is that normal?

Well, Raven doesn't know it, but were were just in a room with lots of drugs. Wonder if we had a reaction to that. Or if Orchid has some kind of food allergy Lily doesn't realize she had now that that she's an identical twin (Raven might now if that's the case?). She was a boy and then a lesbian, so she's probably not pregnant. ...or it could just be anxiety. She has been stressing out like crazy.

Dunno, that's every silly idea off the top of my head. Raven, apply filter and common sense.

>>647475
Headache and nausea fit with PMS, but not the fever and sweating. Check her head for an actual fever- she could be sick.

Theories:

1) eL contracted some form of mental sickness as a result of your shenanigans when she was a guy, and they transferred because the sickness was linked to mental subroutines and not a physical problem.
2. The Lily that was pre-programmed contracted a disease.
3. Bad luck.
4. ... eL got pregnant. By HERSELF. Yeah, this one's an out-of-the-ballpark.
5. Average anxiety.

Okay, this should be easy to fix. Just use a wish credit to cure her if you have to. Save up for now, in case it's an incurable fatal disease or something.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)21:11 No. 647493 ID: 26e769
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> it could just be anxiety. She has been stressing out like crazy.
>Average anxiety.

“Could it be anxiety? No offense, but you’ve been stressing like crazy.”

“No, I don’t think so. It does feel w-weirdly familiar, though. When did I…?”

>Headache and nausea fit with PMS, but not the fever and sweating. Check her head for an actual fever- she could be sick.

“You might be sick, Flower. Hold on, let me check your-“

“No!” Lily yells, making you jump “Oh god no! I remember!”

“What’s wrong, Lily?!”

“No, I - I won’t! I won’t! This can’t be - No! Please no!” She starts screaming.

“Flower, calm down!” You rush towards her, arms outstretched.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)21:11 No. 647494 ID: 26e769
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Suddenly, she stops. She lowers her arms, staring at you strangely.

“…Flower?”

“Huh?” She mumbles. “Raven?”

>>647494
"Wait, are you double-trans now? Is-is that what's going on?"

>>647494
This might have turned into an emergency room situation. Ask what she was just screaming about. Is she okay, do you need to get her to a doctor?

I have a feeling this has something to do with Pendel.

>>647494
What's wrong with her eyes? She's got like... a million pupils, now. Does testing if she can track your finger even help with that?

>“Huh?” She mumbles. “Raven?”
*very calm and carefully* Lily, I need you to tell me what's going on. Please. What do you remember just happening?

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/09(Tue)22:10 No. 647504 ID: 26e769
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>What's wrong with her eyes? She's got like... a million pupils, now. Does testing if she can track your finger even help with that?

When you blink, they’re back to normal. You wonder if you just imagined it.

>"Wait, are you double-trans now? Is-is that what's going on?"

“Are you, uh, double-trans now? Is that what’s going on?”

“What?” She pulls her hair out of her eyes, looking confused.

>Ask what she was just screaming about. Is she okay, do you need to get her to a doctor?
>*very calm and carefully* Lily, I need you to tell me what's going on. Please. What do you remember just happening?

“Why were you just screaming? Do you need to see a doctor?”

“Screaming? I wasn’t screaming.”

You force yourself to stay calm. “Lily, I need you to tell me what’s going on. What do you remember happening?”

“I was… on my way home, I think.” She stares at you. “Raven, where am I? Why are you calling me Lily?”

>>647504
...she forgot everything. Ask her what day she thinks it is. Also show her the mirror.

Then call Pendel.

>>647504
It's been maybe a day and a half since then, you've been acting odd and been talking to people as if you were someone else. Then there is other weird stuff that it is best to talk about as a group...

Amnesia. Again? You already lost so much of her. Is she fading away?

>"I was… on my way home, I think." She stares at you. "Raven, where am I? Why are you calling me Lily?"
You're at school. You came to me for help?

...what do you think I should be calling you?

>Pendel
The only reason you aren't shouting for the genie to appear and tell you what happened to her is she needs you. And you're not sure if she remembers him either, and if his appearing would make it worse.

Ah, she broke.

Strange... is that what Pendel meant? Because eL's memories should be backed-up by the Metamyriad. Likely a glitch.

Call for Pendel, tell him that some kind of system error reset eL's memory to "Wilton" or something.

While you have the opportunity, get to know Wilton. See how she was when she was a boy and didn't know anything else.

...Ask if you can have "Lilly's" personality stored in your memories or something. You miss her and she's getting further and further away from you, but you have access to a reality warping device.

Priorities:
1) Check on the status of the Metamyriad. If it breaks you all go BOOM.
2) Call for Pendel, tell him what's going on.
3) Get your Lily back.
4) And eL, for the heck of it. She opened your mind, lease you could do is not leave her to die.
5) Ask "Wilton" about his life.

Strange day.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/10(Wed)00:28 No. 647533 ID: 26e769
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>You're at school. You came to me for help?

“You’re at school. You came to me for help. Don’t you remember?”

“No. Why would I? I don’t need any help. I’m fine.”

>Ah, she broke.
>Amnesia. Again? You already lost so much of her. Is she fading away?
>...she forgot everything. Ask her what day she thinks it is.

Please no. Please, please no. You can’t watch her fade away.

“What day do you think it is, baby?”

“Tuesday.”

“Okay, so you can remember a little, that’s good, that’s - that’s great. Just stay with me, Flower. It’s going to be alright. You’re going to be alright.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me! I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something wrong with you, though.” She goes to stand up, then falls to her knees. “Ow! What…? I don’t remember wearing a skirt today.”

>Also show her the mirror.

You pick her up and help her stand. She’s very wobbly. “Come over to the mirror, Lily. Just lean on me, okay?”

“Uh, thanks, but I’m still a bit worried about the whole ‘you calling me Lily’ deal. Hey, when did you get so damn tall?”

>...what do you think I should be calling you?

“What should I be calling you?”

“Are you serious? Raven, look at me. Who do you think-“

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/10(Wed)00:29 No. 647534 ID: 26e769
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“I… am…?” She stares at her face in the mirror, utterly shocked. ”What the fuck?”

>Then call Pendel.
>The only reason you aren't shouting for the genie to appear and tell you what happened to her is she needs you. And you're not sure if she remembers him either, and if his appearing would make it worse.

“Lily… do you remember Pendel?”

“What?” She mumbles, not breaking eye contact with herself. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. What the hell…?” She’s trembling a little bit, and still wobbling around slightly on her legs.

...that's a happy shocked, right?

Cause if it's not, then we got real problems.

...Er. Not that we don't already.

please don't tell me Lily and Wister are alternate personalities... Actually thar would be kind of awesome as a plot device it just would suck for figuring this shit out.

>>647534
Ask her to recount today's events. Heck, the past week's. Try to fill in the blanks for her.

You're absolutely going to have to talk to Pendel, but not with lily present.

Also you might be having your "first" period right now.

>Ow! What…? I don’t remember wearing a skirt today.
That sounds like someone who might wear a skirt. Not someone who just flash backed to being a boy.

>who do you think I...
That's not what you're used to seeing in the mirror, is it.

Could you please tell me who you think you're supposed to be? If you're not Lily then...?

I want to help you, but I need to know. Please.

Gotta get as much information as possible, Raven. Maybe she worded her wish bad and it backfired. Maybe someone else made another wish. But you can't make a wish to help her if you don't know the problem. Too much chance of it backfiring again.

>>647534
If you aren't Lilly, then who are you?

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/10(Wed)17:23 No. 647658 ID: 26e769
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>That sounds like someone who might wear a skirt. Not someone who just flash backed to being a boy.

…what?

>...that's a happy shocked, right? Cause if it's not, then we got real problems.
>That's not what you're used to seeing in the mirror, is it.

“You’re surprised at your own reflection?” You blink, slowly realizing. “Oh my god. That’s not what you’re used to seeing in the mirror, is it?”

“No! No, it isn’t!” Lily turns to you, very scared. “This - this can’t be real. This isn’t real.”

>Could you please tell me who you think you're supposed to be? If you're not Lily then...?
>If you aren't Lilly, then who are you?

“If you’re not Lily… Could you tell me who you think you’re supposed to be?”

“I - I…” She looks at the mirror again, then starts backing away. “I don’t understand. Am I hallucinating? This can't be real. This can’t be real!” She repeats the words, her voice sounding more and more horrified.

>I want to help you, but I need to know. Please.

“Please, Li-“ You stop yourself. “Please. Whoever you are. I want to help, but I need to know, first. Who are you, really?”

“I - I’m Veronica! Aren’t I?” She looks at you with abject terror on her face. “Raven, please, I know this must sound insane, but it’s me! It’s Ronnie! I don’t know what’s happening! What the fuck is going on?!”

PENDEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLL

Try not to panic. We can probably fix this. Probably. PENDEL!

I believe you Ronnie. Okay? I believe you.

You... magically switched bodies with my girlfriend. Somehow.

Um. This is gonna sound like a weird question but... did you make a wish?

Ask Ronnie if she had her cell phone on her when she was walking home. Because you need to call her to see if Lily is currently in her body freaking out, or... you don't want to think where Lily could be if she's not in Ronnie. She can't be dead, or copied over.

After that, we probably need to get Pendel in here. Okay, Ronnie? Secret's out. Magic is real, as you can probably tell. I'm gonna call someone who can help, please don't freak out.

Pendel seemed to have a soft spot for your Lily. He'll help her, right? And if Lily's not Lily anymore, doesn't that break her wish? Maybe there's a warranty? Or maybe he could let you use your wish to fix things.

begin FREAKING THE FUCK OUT
PEEEEEEEEEENDEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!!!

"Okay, that's... not the answer I was expecting.

"PENDEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!"

"PENDEL JACKASS WORMWOOD! SYSTEM ERROR! SYSTEM ERROR!!!"

Would calling Pendel help at this point? Raven is aware of the change and hasn't made any wishes yet, so this can't have been a metamyriad thing.

I vote for calling her cell and going from there.

>>647665
>>647666
>>647667
No freaking out! If we scary Ronnie off, who knows where she'll go, or what she'll do with Lily's body, or what trouble she'll get her in. Panic is bad. Gotta act calm, Raven.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/10(Wed)23:21 No. 647728 ID: 26e769
File 143400366454.png - (279.08KB , 1000x1000 , meta196.png )

>begin FREAKING THE FUCK OUT

What the fuck? What the fuck?!

>No freaking out! If we scare Ronnie off, who knows where she'll go, or what she'll do with Lily's body, or what trouble she'll get her in. Panic is bad. Gotta act calm, Raven.

Okay, okay. Calm. Calm.

>You... magically switched bodies with my girlfriend. Somehow.

“You… magically switched bodies with my girlfriend?”

“I don’t know what happened! But I swear, I swear to you that I’m Ronnie!” She grabs your arm, tears in her eyes. “Please, please, I don’t know how or why or what-!”

>I believe you Ronnie. Okay? I believe you.

“Relax, Ronnie. I believe you, okay? I believe you.”

“Oh god, oh god…” She hiccups. “I thought for sure that you’d think I was nuts.” She starts to breathe more slowly. “What do we do? What is this? Why do I look like Lily?”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/10(Wed)23:22 No. 647730 ID: 26e769
File 143400375235.png - (209.83KB , 1000x1000 , meta197.png )

>Ask Ronnie if she had her cell phone on her when she was walking home. Because you need to call her to see if Lily is currently in her body freaking out

“I think you are Lily. Sort of.” You take out your phone.”You’re in Lily’s body, anyway. Basing this shit off of Freaky Friday, I’m going to assume that if you’re Lily, Lily is you. Did you have your cellphone on you?”

“Huh? Yeah, but it was at really low battery. I haven’t been able to charge it for a while.” Veronica glances at Lily’s hands. She wiggles Lily’s fingers. “Holy shit. They’re so small.”

“Then Lily’s got your phone, now.” You flip your phone open. A text from Mercy pops up on your phone. You read it, close it, and call Veronica’s number. It goes straight to voicemail. “Damn it. Your phone’s dead.”

“Sorry.” Veronica shrugs. “My bad, girlfriend.” She giggles.

“What’s so funny?”

“This is just a weird dream, is all.” She makes a little kissy-face. “Hey, since I’m Lily, do you want to make out?”

“Uh, Ronnie?” You grip her by the shoulders. “This isn’t a dream.”

She just keeps laughing.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/10(Wed)23:23 No. 647731 ID: 26e769
File 143400379664.png - (170.61KB , 1000x1000 , meta198.png )

>PENDEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLL
>PEEEEEEEEEENDEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!!!
>"PENDEL JACKASS WORMWOOD! SYSTEM ERROR! SYSTEM ERROR!!!"
>Try not to panic. We can probably fix this. Probably. PENDEL!
>we probably need to get Pendel in here.
>Would calling Pendel help at this point? Raven is aware of the change and hasn't made any wishes yet, so this can't have been a metamyriad thing.
>Okay, Ronnie? Secret's out. Magic is real, as you can probably tell. I'm gonna call someone who can help, please don't freak out.

“Ronnie, I’m going to be blunt: magic is real. I’m going to call someone who can help. Don’t freak out.”

“Why would I freak out?” She does a fist-pump. “We’re going to Hogwarts, motherfucker!”

“O….kay. Whatever works. PENDEL WORMWOOD!” You call out, then cover your mouth. “Oops, sorry, Ronnie. Didn’t mean to be so loud.”

“Ouch.” Ronnie rubs her ear. “Why are you yelling, ladyfriend? There’s no need to get all worked up. We should just hang out and do, like, lesbian stuff.”

“‘Lesbian…stuff?’” You groan.“God, just be quiet for a while, would you?”

“Ladies!” Pendel grins. “How can I be of assistance?”

>>647731
"WHAT. HAPPENED."

Ask him to read Veronica's mind.

>>647731
Why is Veronica in my girlfriend's body? Did someone wish for it? If someone wished for it, WHO!? Also, who authorized it? If it was him, why!?

"Ronnie bodyswapped with Lily and now she's having anervous breakdown, is this your fault."

>>647731
"Pendel if you had anything to do with this I'm going to wish for you to be pelted with various things in the dick every five minutes for the rest of eternity."

>How can I be of assistance?
*Points* You can tell me what Veronica is doing inside Lily's head. Help me, please.

...is there some kind of wish insurance? I thought Lily was supposed to be wish proof?

Can you fix this? Can I wish this better?

...can you magic to Ronnie's body and see if Lily is there? Is she okay? She was screaming when it happened, Pendel.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/11(Thu)17:55 No. 647891 ID: 26e769
File 143407053350.png - (299.64KB , 1000x1000 , meta199.png )

>"WHAT. HAPPENED."
>Why is Veronica in my girlfriend's body? Did someone wish for it? If someone wished for it, WHO!? Also, who authorized it? If it was him, why!?
>Ronnie bodyswapped with Lily
>"Pendel if you had anything to do with this I'm going to wish for you to be pelted with various things in the dick every five minutes for the rest of eternity.”
>*Points* You can tell me what Veronica is doing inside Lily's head. Help me, please.

“What happened?!”You point at Veronica. “Did someone wish for this? Why the hell is Ronnie inside my girlfriend’s head?”

“Excuse me? Calm down, please. Your thoughts are very rushed.”

>Ask him to read Veronica's mind.

“Get out of my head! If you want to read anyone, read her.”

“Lily, what is she-“ Pendel stares. “You’re not Lily.”

“Nope. I’m Veronica. But I’m Lily.” Veronica laughs. “Fancy blonde aliens, huh? This dream is getting silly!”

>and now she's having a nervous breakdown

“She’s having a nervous breakdown, I think…” You squeeze her hand. “Ronnie, this is not a dream.”

“She knows.” Pendel says, stepping a bit closer towards Veronica. “She just can’t handle it yet. Give her a little time.”

“Don’t say that. It is a dream.” Tears roll down her cheeks. “This is just a dream.”

“Veronica, I need you to think back. Did anyone offer you anything like a wish, or a promise to fulfill a desire?” He places a hand on Lily’s head. “Remember.”

Veronica stands still, like she’s frozen. “There was a boy with black eyes, like you. He was waiting for me in the hallway. He told me he wouldn’t tell anyone about me as long as I told him that the wish I made was real, that I really wanted to -“ She slaps her hands to her mouth, eyes widening.

“…really wanted to be Lily.” Pendel finishes, a grim look on his face. “She was tricked into it.”

>...is there some kind of wish insurance? I thought Lily was supposed to be wish proof?

“I don’t understand. Isn’t Lily supposed to be wish-proof?”

“Only her memories, and he worked around that. Lily’s memories are technically fine; they’ve just been misplaced.”

Veronica lowers her hands after a moment. “Why couldn’t I remember that boy? Why did I think his eyes were normal?”

“He played around with your mind - made you notice some things and forget others.” Pendel grimaces, hissing through his teeth. “Silvio always did have a knack for manipulation.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/11(Thu)17:56 No. 647892 ID: 26e769
File 143407058999.png - (216.09KB , 1000x1000 , meta200.png )

“Silvio?”

“A man who has been dead for decades. His identity and presence here raises a large amount of questions and answers very few.” He narrows his eyes.” I’m not sure how he’s here or what he’s up to, but if this ‘prank’ is any indication, it’s not going to be good. I’ll go find out what I-“

>...can you magic to Ronnie's body and see if Lily is there? Is she okay? She was screaming when it happened, Pendel.

“Hey! Wait! Before you go anywhere, check on Lily. She was screaming when it happened, Pendel.”

“Lily?” He puts a hand to his head. “Oh. Of course, yes, Lily… It must have been very traumatic for her. Give me a moment.”

You blink once, and he’s gone. You blink twice, and he’s still gone. The third time you blink, he’s back. “Is she okay?”

“She’s not in pain.” He gives Veronica a dark look. “You can thank your friend here for that. She must have been chasing the dragon when the change occurred.”

“There are dragons?!”

“It’s a euphemism. She was high. On heroin. So is Lily, now.”

You stare at Veronica. “…what?”

Veronica doesn’t meet your eyes.

>Can you fix this? Can I wish this better?

Before you can speak, he answers. “It would take two wish credits to put them back to normal, which you don’t have. Besides, I’m wary on switching them around too quickly in succession. There could be side-effects.” Pendel sighs. “The best thing would be for the two of them to stay that way for a day or so. That will give me time to find out what Silvio’s up to, as well.”

“…you can’t be serious.”

“Would you rather they have brain damage? I don’t know what the effects of this are, and if Silvio is behind it, we’re going to want to be very, very careful.” Pendel taps his foot. “The faster I get to work, the faster this mess will be resolved. For now, I can bring Lily to you, or I can bring the two of you to Lily. Which would you prefer?”

...do what you have to do to keep Lily safe, Pendel. I'll look after her. And I don't care if I have the points or not, you're switching her back as soon as it's safe. I'll go into wish debt, with interest, if I have to.

Take us to her. We're better off cutting school than to try and get a high and confused Lily to act normal inside of high school.

...could my car be there too? It would be a lot easier to get her somewhere safe, then.

>it's a dream
She's in denial. She knows she did a terrible thing, and she can't face it yet. Don't push it further right now.

If eL is on smack, then your best bet is to keep her away from authorities until this can be fixed. If she gets caught, just remember that she isn't in her original body. Again.

Take the rest of the day to consider how you want to fix this. eL was already freaking out because of her original wish and its consequences, and Veronica likes crack's younger sister. You'll want to solve all these problems in a single wish; try using more than two wish credits.

Also, ask Pendel to tell Orchid that her sister has been misplaced for real this time. Hopefully Orchid can get used to the fact that her sister simply isn't who she was. Again.

>>647906
Orcid texted that she was with someone. We can contact her normally, no need to take risks of further exposure sending Pendel, or wasting time he could be using to help Lily.

...also, given Orchid's reaction before, she's going to blow up at this. We don't need that yet.

Well we don't know where Lily is, so bring her here.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/12(Fri)15:14 No. 648053 ID: 26e769
File 143414729291.png - (291.81KB , 1000x1000 , meta201.png )

>Take us to her. We're better off cutting school than to try and get a high and confused Lily to act normal inside of high school.
>If eL is on smack, then your best bet is to keep her away from authorities until this can be fixed.

“Take us to her.”

He nods, taps you both on the shoulders, and you’re… somewhere else. You feel a burst of vertigo, but you try to shrug it off.

>Well we don't know where Lily is

“Where are we?” You ask, blinking.

“A tool shed, I believe.” Pendel replies. “Your friend could probably tell you more. As for myself, I apparently have a reunion ahead of me. I need to prepare.”

>...do what you have to do to keep Lily safe, Pendel. I'll look after her.

“Do what you have to do.”

"Oh, I certainly will." He vanishes.

You turn and see a girl who looks very much like Veronica slumped against a wall.

Lily looks at you with a dreamy expression. “Birdie?”

“It’s me, Flower. I’m here.”

“I was scared.” She mumbles. “But it’s okay. I’m still a girl. So it’s all okay.”

“How are you feeling, baby?” You feel yourself trembling. “Are you alright?”

“I feel wonderful…” She laughs in a sleepy, disjointed way. “It’s like I’m floating.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/12(Fri)15:15 No. 648055 ID: 26e769
File 143414735049.png - (259.28KB , 1000x1000 , meta202.png )

She tries to stand up, wobbles for a moment, and falls. You manage to catch her and hold her steady.

”Thank you…” She whispers. “I’m glad you don’t hate me anymore.”

“I could never hate you, Lily. Just relax. Everything’s okay.” You want to hug her, kiss her, comfort her. But she’s not herself right now.

“That’s me. That’s me.” Veronica gasps. “This isn’t a dream, is it? I’ve actually traded places with Lily. I’ve stolen her life.” She sobs. “I didn’t want this! I - I just didn’t want to be me anymore. Nobody should have to be me! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

You feel a flash of anger towards her, but you try to keep yourself calm.

>Also, ask Pendel to tell Orchid that her sister has been misplaced for real this time. Hopefully Orchid can get used to the fact that her sister simply isn't who she was. Again.
>Orcid texted that she was with someone. We can contact her normally, no need to take risks of further exposure sending Pendel, or wasting time he could be using to help Lily. ...also, given Orchid's reaction before, she's going to blow up at this. We don't need that yet.

Orchid… what are you going to tell Orchid? What are you going to tell her family?

>...could my car be there too? It would be a lot easier to get her somewhere safe, then.

“Veronica. Do you know how far away the parking lot is from here?”

“Um… Not far, I think.” She’s still crying. “Holy shit, Raven. I stole someone else’s body. I’m a monster!”

"You thought you were dreaming, that this was just a break from your life, if you had known, would you have still made that wish?"

"No, someone else just hijacked your sincere desire to escape the mess of your life to do that. If you have any responsibility there, it's for wanting to escape your life instead of fixing it. Even that might be understandable, apparently your family and friends weren't useful and supportive enough to keep you from becoming homeless.
"Now, you're going to have to tell us an awful lot about how you lived and pretend to be Lily for at least a day. Let's start with where you've been sleeping, what you do outside of school and where the fucking horse Lily is riding comes from."

>>648055
>“Holy shit, Raven. I stole someone else’s body. I’m a monster!”
Mumble about how Lilly knows what that like?
But seriously, calm her down. You're life's only getting better from here. [/sarcasm]

>>648055
No. Silvio forced her into this. He's the monster here.

Get to the car. Drive uh... to... hmm. If we skip school won't going home early cause a ruckus? We'd need some explanation for it... You could hang out wherever Veronica goes after school, until it's a good time to go home.

>Holy shit, Raven. I stole someone else’s body. I’m a monster!
No. The sicko genie who tricked you into it is the monster.

Lily's gonna get her body back, okay? You haven't ruined her life. Then... we can do something to help you. Something better than this. Okay?

Look, I need your help, okay? You know what she's going through, right now. I don't. I need you to help me look after her.

>Orchid… what are you going to tell Orchid? What are you going to tell her family?
You're gonna tell Orchid the truth. There's no way she'd fall for a fake Lily, after yesterday. And you're gonna need her help, probably. You're not gonna be able to wrangle these two all by yourself.

As for her parents. Uh. You might have to hide this, until you can get Lily switched back.

>more immediate concerns
Where can you take Lily-in-Roxie? You can't leave her here. You have to take her somewhere safe. Somewhere where you can look after her.

Cutting class is the easy part- you need place to bring her. Anyone's parents out of town, maybe? Or could you lie you're staying over with someone and bring her to a cheap hotel?

You should probably text Orchid to meet you at your car. Say you've got another brain eating alien ghost situation.

(Code so she knows there's a wish problem, without giving it away to Mercy, so Orc won't bring her).

"That makes two. Now shut up and help me get her somewhere safe; remember, she's in your heroin-saturated body so her getting caught means that you get the track-record."

Hmm, I just realized: Lily now knows what being pulled out of her body feels like. That's what felt so familiar to her.
It really sucks that your situation is such that this is probably useful information for everyone to know.

>Holy shit, Raven. I stole someone else’s body. I’m a monster!
You were/are high as a kite and probably assumed you were hallucinating the magic genie.


How about we take her home, and tell Lily's parents that 'Ronnie' has nowhere to go home to and try to get her cleaned up?

Or Ravens parents. Lily's mom might not be able to handle it, even though I'm sure her dad would help out.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/12(Fri)21:35 No. 648125 ID: 26e769
File 143417015128.png - (292.36KB , 1000x1000 , meta203.png )

>No. Silvio forced her into this. He's the monster here.
>No. The sicko genie who tricked you into it is the monster.
>"No, someone else just hijacked your sincere desire to escape the mess of your life to do that.
>"You thought you were dreaming, that this was just a break from your life, if you had known, would you have still made that wish?"
>You were/are high as a kite and probably assumed you were hallucinating the magic genie.
>But seriously, calm her down.

“No, that evil genie - Silvio - he’s the monster here, if anyone is. He just hijacked your wish. You didn’t do anything wrong. I mean, if you had known what would happen, known that it was real, would you still have done it?”

Veronica hesitates. “I don’t know.” She looks miserable, but she wipes her tears on her sleeve. Lily’s sleeve.

>Then... we can do something to help you. Something better than this. Okay?
>If you have any responsibility there, it's for wanting to escape your life instead of fixing it. Even that might be understandable, apparently your family and friends weren't useful and supportive enough to keep you from becoming homeless.

“Ronnie… There are better ways to fix your life. “ You look her in the eyes. “Why didn’t you talk to me? You know I would have helped.”

“There’s nothing you could have done for me.”

“At least give me the chance to try!” You put a hand on her shoulder. “I mean, holy shit, Ronnie, you do know what heroin does to you, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” She sniffles a little. “But-“

>you're going to have to tell us […] where the fucking horse Lily is riding comes from.

“Ronnie, there’s no ‘but’! Honestly.” You sigh. “Where did you even get it?”

“My uncle. He used to share it with me,” She looks away. “My parents found out a few weeks ago. They called the cops on him and threw me out. I don’t have much left.”

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know. But I am glad you’re running out.”

“Fuck off. You don’t know what it feels like.” She shivers, then stops, looking at her hand. “Sorry. Lily is clean, isn’t she?”

“I certainly hope so. Why?”

“No reason.” She flexes her new fingers, watching the muscles contract. “This is just so crazy, you know? Like… Fuck.”

>You could hang out wherever Veronica goes after school, until it's a good time to go home.
>Now, you're going to have to tell us an awful lot about how you lived and pretend to be Lily for at least a day. Let's start with where you've been sleeping, what you do outside of school
>As for her parents. Uh. You might have to hide this, until you can get Lily switched back.

“It’s pretty crazy, alright.” You hold Lily a bit closer to your chest. “We’ve got to get Lily somewhere safe, okay? I’ll drop you off at her house with Orchid, but their parents are kind of uptight. I don’t think she could stay the night as you. I can look after her, but this doesn’t seem like the best place to do it. What do you usually do after school? Where do you usually sleep?”

“What do you think I do?” She points at Lily. “As for where I sleep…” She gestures around herself. “Welcome to my bedroom.”

“You sleep in the school’s tool shed?”

“Sometimes. I crash over at friends’ houses when I can.” She shrugs. “There’s a few places on campus that people don’t check, though. I’ve been careful - and lucky.”

>How about we take her home, and tell Lily's parents that 'Ronnie' has nowhere to go home to and try to get her cleaned up? Or Ravens parents. Lily's mom might not be able to handle it, even though I'm sure her dad would help out.

“Yeah, no. That’s going to stop.” You give her a hug, cautiously holding Lily off to the side. “From this moment on, you’re living with me.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/12(Fri)21:37 No. 648129 ID: 26e769
File 143417024792.png - (326.40KB , 1000x1000 , meta204.png )

>Look, I need your help, okay? You know what she's going through, right now. I don't. I need you to help me look after her.

“Could you look after Lily? You know better than I do what she’s going through, and I have to check in with Orchid.”

She stares at you with wide eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve never been high on heroin.”

“Before that. Me living with you. Were you kidding?”

“Of course not. When this is all over, I’ll talk to my parents.” She opens her mouth, but you gesture for her to stop. “Before you say anything, I live in a group home. You wouldn’t be the only person with a problem, you wouldn’t have a lot of space to yourself, and you’d have to do chores and stuff. Here, hold yourself for a bit.” You gently place Lily into Veronica’s arms. She gazes at Lily with a strange expression. Lily pokes Veronica’s nose with a giggle.

>You're gonna tell Orchid the truth. There's no way she'd fall for a fake Lily, after yesterday. And you're gonna need her help, probably. You're not gonna be able to wrangle these two all by yourself.
>You should probably text Orchid to meet you at your car. Say you've got another brain eating alien ghost situation.

You shoot Mercy a text, telling her to tell Orchid that you have another ‘brain-eating alien ghost’ situation, and to meet you at the car.

>Get to the car. Drive uh... to... hmm. If we skip school won't going home early cause a ruckus?

Lily’s parents don’t get home until later in the day. That’s probably a good place to start. “Okay, let’s go. Lily, can you walk?”

“Sure thing.” She nods slowly, blinking several times. “My legs are weird.”

“Come on, then.” You give her a hand up, letting her lean on you.

It doesn’t take long to get to the parking lot. Orchid waves. “Hey, guys. I heard that there were alien ghosts.” She glances at Lily. “What’s up with sleeping beauty?”

sleepy here is high as a kite, saw a wishmaster, thought it was a hallucination, wished to be someone else. they are lily now.

Lily got switched for reals this time. Blame Pendel's friend, he's hacking the Metamyriad or something.

Ask Orchid to experiment social interaction with Veronica. Remember, eL isn't "Orchid's Original Lily", so Orchid needs to come to terms with Lily's constant switching. Or whatever.

>>648129
"Accidental body swap."

>>648129
Your sister isn't your sister anymore. Again.
To sum it up; a new mystery genie began existing, took advantage of a high Ronnie and switched her body with Lils here. Any questions?

>>648139
Not "again". Lily was always her sister.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/13(Sat)00:50 No. 648147 ID: 26e769
File 143418183557.png - (229.47KB , 1000x1000 , meta205.png )

>"Accidental body swap."
>sleepy here is high as a kite, saw a wishmaster, thought it was a hallucination, wished to be someone else. they are lily now.
>To sum it up; a new mystery genie began existing, took advantage of a high Ronnie and switched her body with Lils here. Any questions?

“Turns out there’s an evil genie. For whatever reason, he decided to switch Lily and Veronica around. Sleeping beauty is Lily, Lily is sleeping beauty.”

“…What?”

“Hi.” Veronica wears a nervous smile. “I’m Ronnie. Pleased to meet you.”

Orchid just stares at her.

“Hi Orchid!” Lily breaks the silence. “I’m high!”

“What?”

“Heroin!” Lily laughs.

“What?!”

“That’s my fault.” Veronica murmurs. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re a junkie?” She turns to Lily. “There’s a junkie in my sister’s body? Fucking hell, Lily, do you have a revolving door for a brain? Are you going to be a new person every day? How many times is this going to happen? When do I get my sister back?”

“Huh?” Veronica looks from Orchid to you. “This has happened before?”

>Orchid needs to come to terms with Lily's constant switching. Or whatever.
>Lily was always her sister.

“Orchid, Lily is your sister. Do we have to go through this again?”

“Whatever. How long are they going to be switched?”

“At least a day.”

“Fuck that! I’m not sleeping in the same room with an addict I barely know.” She gets very close to Veronica, glaring at her. “Get out of my sister. Now.”

“I would, if I could!” Veronica backs up. ”I didn’t want this to happen!”

“Get out of my sister.” Orchid repeats. “Or I’m not letting you into my house.”

Veronica gives you a pleading look.

>>648147
Tell Orchid about the brain damage thing.

Rent out a motel?

Motels are expensive... on the other hand, we can wish for DOSH.

>>648147
We're tying to figure that part out still.
We already established that wishes work on a token principle in the car, we gotta get up two tokens according to pendel before we can make the swap.

In the meantime they need a place to sleep that isnt the school's toolshed.

I can't fault Orchid for being suspicious of a homeless addict she doesn't know, or even one she does know: They tend to steal stuff, and usually are otherwise involved in crime related to the habit or paying for the habit (I.E. prostitution, dealing, smuggling, fencing goods, et cetera). Recreational drug-user behaviour also tends to be erratic, reckless, asshole, or worse, particularly while high, crashing, and craving. (Include legal stuff like alcohol and even potentially caffeine for this statement, though legal drugs tend to have less crime attached.) Even if Veronica doesn't screw up anything while visiting in Lily's body, you can't trust that someone like that isn't scouting the place for potential future theft while they're visiting.

Is all this taking place in a horrible place like America where basic medical treatment like that is kept out of the reach of poor people? I'm honestly tempted to suggest checking Veronica's body into rehab right now if that's a reasonable, and realistic, option. That's exactly one-half of our problem solved if it works, it takes, and Veronica doesn't throw a fit over it.

>Is Lily clean?
Either she wants to be clean, or she's looking forward to feeling that first high you never quiet recapture again.

>Veronica gives you a pleading look.
*helpless* Orcid, the very first thing I tried was to get the creepy genie to switch them back. He said if we did it now, there'd be brain damage. If you want Lily back, and not as a drooling idiot, we're stuck.

>Or I’m not letting you into my house
*desperate* ...Orcid, I can't look after Lilly trapped in Ronnie and Ronnie trapped in Lily myself. If we want her back, we need body and mind kept safe. *quiet, so Ronnie can't hear* If you don't trust her, do you really trust her alone and unsupervised with Lily's body?

Help me protect your sister.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/13(Sat)19:33 No. 648297 ID: 26e769
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>Is all this taking place in a horrible place like America where basic medical treatment like that is kept out of the reach of poor people?

You live in Seattle.

> I'm honestly tempted to suggest checking Veronica's body into rehab right now if that's a reasonable, and realistic, option. That's exactly one-half of our problem solved if it works, it takes, and Veronica doesn't throw a fit over it.

Your dad is a nurse practitioner. He probably knows a few places Veronica could go to get clean. Checking her body into rehab without her approval feels kind of sketchy, though.

>Tell Orchid about the brain damage thing.
>*helpless* Orcid, the very first thing I tried was to get the creepy genie to switch them back. He said if we did it now, there'd be brain damage. If you want Lily back, and not as a drooling idiot, we're stuck.

“Orchid, they can’t switch back. Not yet, anyway. Pendel says that they might get brain damage if he does it today.” You hold Lily a little tighter to your side. “…I don’t like this either, but what else can we do? If you want Lily back, we’re stuck.”

“Damn it.” Orchid twitches with irritation. “Can’t she just sleep over at your place?”

>*desperate* ...Orcid, I can't look after Lilly trapped in Ronnie and Ronnie trapped in Lily myself. If we want her back, we need body and mind kept safe.

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure your mom would just love that. Besides…” You gesture at Lily. “I’m going to take care of Lily, but I can’t look after both of them.”

“Maybe we could tie her up before bed?”

“…uh.” Veronica looks very uncomfortable. “You know I’m not a rapist or anything like that, right?”

“You might as well be, for all I know.”

“Orchid, can we talk for a second?” You let Lily lean on Veronica, then you pull Orchid aside. “You’re being pretty harsh. Ronnie’s a good person, she’s just been through some bad stuff.”

“Even if she is… She’s still an addict, Raven.”

>*quiet, so Ronnie can't hear* If you don't trust her, do you really trust her alone and unsupervised with Lily's body? Help me protect your sister.

“Fine. If you don’t trust her, what do you expect me to do? Do you want me to leave her alone and unsupervised, running around in Lily’s body?” You give Orchid a hard look. “How will that help anything?”

Orchid is silent, but from her expression alone, you can tell she’s getting it.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/13(Sat)19:36 No. 648300 ID: 26e769
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“Hey!” Lily stumbles over and baps Orchid on the forehead. “Stop being mean.”

“Ow!“ Orchid snaps. “Hey! Don’t do that!”

“Stop it.” Lily pouts. “Let her sleep in my bed.”

“Lily, come on! She’s a heroin addict!”

“I’m the addict right now. She’s just a girl.”

“But-“

“Orc. I’m the older sister.”

“By like ten minutes!”

“Doesn’t matter.” She sticks out her tongue. “I’m older. Do what I say.”

Orchid throws her hands up in the air. “Fine! It’s your life to lend out, apparently. But if I wake up to find my SNES missing and see her shooting up, I’m going to have Peddle turn her into a fucking marmoset.”

“You mean Pendel?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever his name is.”

“Why a marmoset?” Veronica tilts her head. “What is a marmoset?”

“It’s a… thing. I don’t know.” She waves it away. “It doesn’t matter. Just don’t fuck up Lily’s body, or I will fuck you up. Got it?”

“Got it.” Veronica nods. “I’ll be cool.”

“Good.” Orchid sighs. “God, this feels like such a bad idea.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/13(Sat)19:40 No. 648303 ID: 26e769
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“I don’t feel so good.” Lily wavers, swaying on her feet. “Birdie?”

“I’m here, baby.” You kiss her on the cheek. “It’s okay.”

“Mmm.” Lily hums happily, giving you a hug. Then she burps loudly.

Veronica looks away, embarrassed. “See if you can find a trash can.”

“What? Why?”

“Because she’s probably going to throw up.”

“…oh.” You pull Lily along to the closest garbage can you can find. Lily hovers over it, expectantly. She burps a little more.

“Careful.” Veronica holds Lily’s hair back.

Lily throws up. A lot.

“How often does this happen?” You feel queasy watching her.

“Occasionally.” Veronica shrugs. “I don’t usually have much in my stomach, so it’s mostly dry heaving. I had a burger earlier today, though.”

>n the meantime they need a place to sleep that isnt the school's toolshed.
>Rent out a motel?

“Yeah, I can tell.” You turn away. Seeing Lily like this breaks your heart. “We have to get her somewhere more private, or people are going to start asking questions. We can go to Lily and Orchid’s house for a bit, but we’ll need to get her out of there before they get home… I might be able to put her up at my house for tonight, but if worst comes to worst, I’ll rent us a motel room.” You call out to Orchid. “Hey, are you ready to go?”

“Sure. Are we taking Mr. Miserable back home with us again?”

“Mr. Misera… You mean Ikram?” You scratch your neck. “I guess we probably should fill him in on this whole, uh, situation. He doesn’t have a phone, though. I don’t know how we could reach him.”

“I saw him in the cafeteria a little while ago. He was talking to, um, what’s-her-name, the girl with the glasses…”

“Lia? Huh.” You glance back at Lily. You feel like you probably shouldn’t waste any time getting her somewhere safe, but if Ikram was helping out Lia, it might be good to check in with him, to see how many wish credits he has, and whether he's used them. The last thing you need right now is someone making more wishes.

>>648303
Ikram wishing his sister back to life is not something you want to try to convince him to delay. At best you can ask him to make sure that his wish keeps any unintended consequences at bay.

But yeah, go find him.

Someone should probably talk to Ikram. Worst case, the new jerk genie could offer to bring his sister back and do something horrible with it.

Well, we have Veronica right here, we could try asking her if she wants the first day of checking into rehab taken care of for her by someone else suffering the withdrawal, while she gets a day of being used to no addiction in someone else's body. But the question of where and how to have that conversation is... possibly a little delicate.

Tell him that Pendel's friend might make him watch his sister die again just for ^&*(s and giggles. You need to take out Silvio before you can get your lives in order.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/14(Sun)22:23 No. 648563 ID: 26e769
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Guest art by Apollo! Apollo is the greatest person for this and many other reasons.

>Ikram wishing his sister back to life is not something you want to try to convince him to delay. At best you can ask him to make sure that his wish keeps any unintended consequences at bay. But yeah, go find him.
>Someone should probably talk to Ikram. Worst case, the new jerk genie could offer to bring his sister back and do something horrible with it.
>Tell him that Pendel's friend might make him watch his sister die again just for ^&*(s and giggles. You need to take out Silvio before you can get your lives in order.

“I’m going to go find him. I won’t be long.” You start to walk.

“Raven, wait!” Lily staggers forward and throws her arms around your shoulders.

“Huh?” You give her a surprised hug. “What’s up, Flower?” You do your best to wipe the mess off of her face.

“You. You’re a pretty bird.“ She pulls you close and kisses you on the lips.

Though you wince at the slight taste of vomit, the fact that Lily is kissing you for the first time in days makes your heart flutter. You were starting to worry that the new Lily didn’t like you.

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Veronica watching the two of you. She’s wearing an incredibly disconcerted, uncomfortable expression on her face. She quickly looks down at the ground when she notices your gaze.

After a few more kisses, Lily laughs, closes her eyes, and lays her head on your shoulder. She's so warm. If you could, you think you would stay here with her forever.

>Well, we have Veronica right here, we could try asking her if she wants the first day of checking into rehab taken care of for her by someone else suffering the withdrawal, while she gets a day of being used to no addiction in someone else's body. But the question of where and how to have that conversation is... possibly a little delicate.

Veronica looks a little troubled. Before you go look for Ikram, should you talk to her about rehab? Or anything else?

>She’s wearing an incredibly disconcerted, uncomfortable expression on her face
>Veronica looks a little troubled.
That might have something to do with the fact she just watched you kissing herself. Kinda weird for anyone.

...or the fact she made a desperate wish to be someone who had people who cared about her. Only now that she's vacated her body, you're caring for it.

I'm not sure we can afford to stick Ronnie's body in rehab while Lily's acting like this- she's too not Ronnie. That might mean trouble if someone decides she's crazy and not just high.

>talk to Ronnie
Hey, um, you holding up okay?

Sorry, we kind of started making plans and trying to deal with this without really giving you a chance to say anything. Did you have any ideas? Or want to ask about these screwed up wish stuff? (Not that you know much yourself, but).

Also maybe an awkward oh, yeah, I really shouldn't be kissing "you" without your consent, should I. Sorry. This is confusing and weird.

Where we are sucks for discussion, and we have an obviously-high junkie to clean up and keep track of. Priority one is babysitting that problem, cleaning up after that problem and keeping it from turning into a worse problem.

Someone who's high thinking they're someone else or acting strange is... so fucking normal that there's a legal term for it: Non-insane automatism. which means that this person who is normally sane is so drunk/buzzed/zoned that they are legally irresponsible for their own actions. We'll have more trouble pretending that Veronica is Lily than problems with Lily acting like herself in Veronica's sad sack of sick. We also have a golden opportunity to get Veronica to admit that since she just wished to be someone other than herself that her decision making to date has not made her happy, satisfied, or safe. With a bit of rhetorical finesse we can get her to admit that Lily going into rehab is the best course of reaction right now. Who is capable of managing that talk though? If I had to suggest a way to start it, I'd start by saying, "It's your body, so the choice should rest with you. But you hated being in it so much that you wished it away, and now my girlfriend is stuck in it for at least a day. Please let us check her into rehab, she doesn't know what being high is like, she doesn't know what the crash is like, and even if you had more to use I don't want her managing the crash by shooting up more heroin: A methadone clinic is probably the safest place to put her right now, and I don't want either you or her to die when she chokes on puke in her sleep. Please give us permission for that."
It's probably a little low to use guilt on her like that, but we have to use what we have to use.

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/16(Tue)23:14 No. 648996 ID: 26e769
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>That might have something to do with the fact she just watched you kissing herself. Kinda weird for anyone. ...or the fact she made a desperate wish to be someone who had people who cared about her. Only now that she's vacated her body, you're caring for it. Also maybe an awkward oh, yeah, I really shouldn't be kissing "you" without your consent, should I. Sorry. This is confusing and weird.

You let Lily slide out of your arms. Orchid immediately steps in to help her stand. You pull Veronica aside. “Hey, Ronnie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss ‘you’ without your consent. Are you not cool with Lily and I doing that sort of thing?”

“I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “…I think it’s fine. Really strange to watch, though. I just saw myself make out with my best friend. It feels very weird.”

“I’m sorry. We won’t do anything else if you don’t want us to.”

“No, no. Don’t worry about it.” She gives you a slight, sad smile. “This is all my fault anyway. Spend time with your girlfriend. Trust me, Lily’s going to need you once she starts crashing.” Veronica coughs into her hand. “Just try to keep my virginity intact, okay?”

You nod. Your face feels a little hot. “Um… am I really your best friend, Ronnie?”

“Well, yeah, of course you are.”

You give her a big hug. She returns it without hesitation. When you let her go, she’s got a much more genuine smile.

>Hey, um, you holding up okay?

“So… how are you feeling about all of this? I’m sorry that I haven’t asked you until now. It’s been kind of a rush.”

Raven!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/16(Tue)23:17 No. 648997 ID: 26e769
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Apollo continues to be the nicest person! Thank you so much for doing the art for these updates, Apollo!

“No worries. Huh, how do I feel?” She tugs on her shirt, going quiet for a little while. “…I guess I must feel like Lily. I think part of me still doesn’t believe this is real. Every time I look down and see her body, I jump. You know how it feels when you wear clothes that don’t fit? Imagine that, but with your arms and legs and… everything.” She shivers. “Lily’s skin doesn’t feel right.”

“Oh. Shit. Are you holding up okay?”

“I don’t know.” She closes her eyes. “I haven’t really had a chance to think about it.” She runs her hands down her face. “This isn’t my face. This isn’t me.” She opens her eyes just a little, peering down at herself with a frown. “When my brain registers what’s actually going on, when it really hits me, I’m probably going to need a quiet corner to sit in and a stuffed animal to hug. For now, though, I just don’t know. God… what if this is permanent?”

“It won’t be. Ronnie, this is all going to be okay. Trust me.” You ruffle her hair. “In the meantime, I’ve got a big plush walrus you can borrow. You know, if you want.”

“Really?” Her face lights up with joy. “Awesome!”

>Where we are sucks for discussion, and we have an obviously-high junkie to clean up and keep track of. Priority one is babysitting that problem, cleaning up after that problem and keeping it from turning into a worse problem.

“I’ve got some other stuff I want to talk to you about, but it can wait. I’m going to head out. Look after Lily, okay?”

“Yeah.” Orchid and Veronica say it at the same time. They share a look. Ronnie smiles. Orchid doesn’t.

“Hurry it up.” Orchid grumbles, looking a little lopsided under Lily’s weight.

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/16(Tue)23:21 No. 648999 ID: 26e769
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You’re starting to get very irritated with this chick.

The two of you have been sitting together since the beginning of recess, and you haven’t gotten anywhere. Every time you try to turn the topic back to her dad or her OCD, she changes the subject.

“…is definitely Abra, if I had to choose. I spent like an hour trying to catch one, because it kept teleporting away, and then, after I finally caught one, all it knew how to do was teleport. I was so mad.” Lianna laughs. You smile and nod. “Hey, aren’t you hungry?”

“Huh?”

“You haven’t eaten anything.”

You glance down at your untouched plate. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I guess I just spaced.” You take a few bites in an absent, mechanical way. You think about Ayame.

“You don’t have to apologize.” She leans forward slightly. “What’s on your mind?”

“Uh…” You get caught off-guard. “I don’t know. Nothing.”

Lianna sighs, slumping back into her chair. “Ikram, do you not like me?”

“What?”

“It would be okay if you didn’t. I wouldn’t be angry.”

>>648999
I mean, it's less that I dislike you and more that we have incompatable personalities.

Also, you keep changing subjects.

Ikram, it's pretty obvious that what's going on is she doesn't like thinking about it (let alone talking about it) so you have to become someone she is comfortable enough with to talk about it. Might help if you tried to include some topics you find interesting in the mix so that it isn't her rambling and you trying not to scream in frustration: Could even help it go faster if she thinks she knows you better.

Also, you're remarkably choosy about which girls you want flirting with you for someone that didn't have any friends whatsoever a week ago.

>am I really your best friend, Ronnie?
>of course
Aaaand you never noticed just how bad her situation had got. Great, one more thing to be guilty about.

>Every time you try to turn the topic back to her dad or her OCD, she changes the subject.
Well, yeah. Most people don't want to talk through the most messed up parts of their lives. Especially all at once. There's a reason speed therapy races aren't a thing. She's probably just relieved to have someone to talk to she doesn't have to worry about slipping up in front of. You already know her secret and didn't freak out.

>Ikram, do you not like me?
Never outright say yes to this, unless it's in a romantic situation, or someone you do genuinely dislike. It just hurts feelings.

Also, if you make her sad, it probably doesn't count as helping her! You need dem wish credits.

Be sort of honest. You don't really hang with a lot of people, or usually check up people out of the blue. Anything besides moping is a little out of character. Sorry, you might have resorted to form.

>>648999
>Abra talk
Tempted to say something but I think it's best to not say anything.
>Ikram, do you not like me?
Dance around this question.
You're not a bad person, I we just have different personalities and something something...
On second thought, ignore it if she pushes for a yes or no.

We shouldn't press on the sensitive stuff right now. She was a little more willing to talk privately so maybe she feels uncomfortable with anyone else around. For now let's talk about something and lead the conversation. Ask questions like if she was an animal what animal she think she would be, slowly leading up to asking about what she wishes for.

>>649150
Let's not encourage her to say the word "wish". Iks has his own to focus on. And Silvo is out there, even if Ikram doesn't know it yet.

>>649151
>Wishes to be more like Lily
>Swaps places with RonnieLily

I vote against encouraging her to phrase a wish.

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/20(Sat)01:16 No. 649563 ID: 26e769
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>you're remarkably choosy about which girls you want flirting with you for someone that didn't have any friends whatsoever a week ago.

There have been a lot of girls who have flirted with you in the last year or so. (Hell, there have even been a few boys - that’s how you first met Paolo, in fact.) Apparently, you’re attractive. Unfortunately, the people you usually attract tend to lose interest once they actually start talking to you. As for friends… you’ve made a couple in Seattle, like Paolo and Mark. You also have a few gaming buddies online, and some others back in Toronto. For the most part, though, you’ve never felt like getting close to anybody. What’s the point?

>Well, yeah. Most people don't want to talk through the most messed up parts of their lives. Especially all at once. There's a reason speed therapy races aren't a thing. She's probably just relieved to have someone to talk to she doesn't have to worry about slipping up in front of. You already know her secret and didn't freak out.
>Ikram, it's pretty obvious that what's going on is she doesn't like thinking about it (let alone talking about it) so you have to become someone she is comfortable enough with to talk about it.

Yeah, yeah. You’re just sick of waiting. You really want your big sister back.

>Be sort of honest. You don't really hang with a lot of people, or usually check up people out of the blue. Anything besides moping is a little out of character. Sorry, you might have resorted to form.
>I mean, it's less that I dislike you and more that we have incompatible personalities.
>Dance around this question. You're not a bad person, I we just have different personalities and something something...

“I don’t dislike you. You’re not a bad person or anything. We’re just into different stuff, I think. I’ve never been a fan of Pokémon.”

“Oh. Sorry. What do you play? What are you interested in?”

>Might help if you tried to include some topics you find interesting in the mix so that it isn't her rambling and you trying not to scream in frustration: Could even help it go faster if she thinks she knows you better.
>For now let's talk about something and lead the conversation.

“I… play a lot of XCOM and Starcraft, I guess.”

“The original games, or modern releases?”

You blink. That wasn’t the reaction you expected. “Um… Enemy Unknown, Heart of the Swarm.”

“Oh, nice! Have you been trying out the Legacy of the Void beta?”

“No, I’m waiting for the full expansion… You play?”

“Well, yeah!” Lianna smiles. “Those games are like candy to me!” She leans in, lowering her voice slightly. ”I feel like my crazy kind of helps me play. I mean, there are a few things that freak me out, and I get distracted during really long games, but most of the time I’m pretty good. Or at least I’d like to think I am.”

“Really? Huh. Cool. Which race?”

“All of them, but Zerg is probably my favorite. You?”

“Just Protoss.” You feel a little strange. This isn’t how these conversations usually go. “I’ve been trying out Terran, but I can’t figure out how the macro works.”

“What do you mean? Do you forget to build supply, don’t make enough barracks, what? I might be able to help.”

Then, out of nowhere, she reaches over and starts unzipping your jacket.

>>649563
"My lizard beegin to show."

Woah, woah. Slow down there, girl. Starcraft won't get you into the pants THAT easily. But it certainly helps.

>>649563
...that might be an OCD thing. Ask what she's doing with your jacket.

>>649563
Whoa, bad touch!

>OCD starcraft player
>like candy to me
Start wondering to yourself how crazy good her fixation thing might make her. You gotta see her play, at some point. Heck, you gotta play her.

>Then, out of nowhere, she reaches over and starts unzipping your jacket.
Blink and wait a beat. See what she's doing (opening it? Moving the zipper up and down compulsively?). Then maybe "um..."

If this is an OCD thing, you probably shouldn't be too confrontational about it. She's freak out she messed up or made herself terrible and annoying to you again, like when you said you noticed her doing stuff before. Except probably worse this time.

>Yeah, yeah. You’re just sick of waiting. You really want your big sister back.
Have you thought about how you're gonna word your wish, yet?

Obviously, you don't want Ayame to have to deal with actually coming back to life in a world that thought she was dead (no paranormal or miraculous resurrection shit). So the easy wish is that the accident that killed her never happened. And nothing else happened to kill her between now and then.

Then there's the Seattle / Toronto thing. If Ayame doesn't die, does your family not move? You could be looking at Lily's problem, there. Suddenly finding yourself in a life you don't remember, with friends and classes and clubs who remember you, but that you know nothing about. (Worst case, you get your own Raven- a girlfriend / boyfriend you're hurting by not knowing). Although worse, cause at least Lily stayed in one place, and some things stayed the same. Plus, you'd get cut off from your current friends and helping with this whole wish business.

You might want to word it so you still move. Just makes it so much simpler if you don't screw up your life.

Last problem is messing up current events. Like, you only talked to Lianna because you needed a wish. If you retroactively change the past, new-timeline-you would have had no reason to talk to her today. Even if you remember this, she won't. It might be neater to specify in your wish you still approached her today, so you don't retroactively undo giving her someone to talk to, leaving her alone to panic due to her jerk-ass dad. It's really using her if you help her to get a wish, and then the wish undoes your helping her.

Then there are the others. Lily's memories won't change, cause she made a wish. Do you warn the other people in wish club to make a lame wish for candy or something to protect their memories before you change history? Do you care if Orcid's or Raven's memories change?

The unzipping of your jacket: You're indoors wearing a zipped up jacket, stupid. Be thankful that her craziness is manifesting in a way that's making it slightly less likely you die of hyperthermia/dehydration instead of something more pointless and obnoxious. If you feel uncomfortable about that try this joke: "Wait, wait, are you undressing me because you think I'm too warm, because you want to play dress-up using me as your fashion-doll, or you can't contain your lust and you're about to drag me off somewhere private to do filthy things with me? Sorry if asking breaks the mood, but I want to make sure I know where this is heading."
If that embarrasses her silent you say, "That was a joke, sorry. I'm not much of a social butterfly and I've mostly avoided people since moving here from Toronto. I don't know how to handle most of them, and sometimes I have a hard time being patient and understanding with other people as well."
When you're past that, ask what else she does with her time and talk about what else you do with your time. Talking about people you, and she, knows can help her work her way up to... wherever this is leading.
When things look like they're wrapping up (or we're running out of time) ask, "If you wanna hang out after school, do homework and game for a while I have these friends I should check in with in person because I am a cellphone-free luddite. Want to meet them?"

Roll with it, but make sure to let her know she is being weird.

Do her eyes look odd?

>Want to meet them?
Not sure we should invite her to anything, really. There will inevitably be will be wish-talk, and the last thing we need is more people who know.

I take it you have something on your jacket.

As for Ayame, you need to have a good narrative for bringing her back. If you just wish her back, someone could take advantage of that and use their wish to make this go sour fast. You know, from that one game? Be patient about this... or you could set up a pre-programmed wish. Say, you could wish that if you die, then you and Ayame automatically come back to life! If you can't wait, then jump the horn on preparation rather than execution!

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/23(Tue)12:07 No. 650325 ID: 26e769
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>Have you thought about how you're gonna word your wish, yet?

Not really. You’re probably going to go with something like ‘I wish my sister Ayame would come back from the dead’.

>It might be neater to specify in your wish you still approached her today, so you don't retroactively undo giving her someone to talk to, leaving her alone to panic due to her jerk-ass dad. It's really using her if you help her to get a wish, and then the wish undoes your helping her.

Or you could just approach her again afterwards. Still, you’ll keep that in mind.

>Then there's the Seattle / Toronto thing. If Ayame doesn't die, does your family not move? You could be looking at Lily's problem, there. Suddenly finding yourself in a life you don't remember, with friends and classes and clubs who remember you, but that you know nothing about. […] You might want to word it so you still move. Just makes it so much simpler if you don't screw up your life.

Huh. You did move to the States because your mom and dad wanted a fresh start… Yeah. You’ll add ‘and we still moved to Seattle’ to the wish. You don’t want to end up back in Toronto. At least, you don’t think you do. Then again, your family used to be a lot happier. If Ayame had never died, if you could go back to the carefree life you used to have, before… hell, you aren’t sure if you want that or not. You’ll have to think about it.

>Do you warn the other people in wish club to make a lame wish for candy or something to protect their memories before you change history? Do you care if Orcid's or Raven's memories change?

You don’t particularly care. Still, you’d probably feel guilty about it if they did lose their memories because of you, and you can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t let them make a few boring wishes before you make your big one.

>I take it you have something on your jacket.

You look down. There’s nothing wrong with it that you can see.

>Do her eyes look odd?

No.

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/23(Tue)12:08 No. 650328 ID: 26e769
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>Roll with it
>Blink and wait a beat. See what she's doing

You wait. Lia unzips your jacket all the way, zips it back up, then unzips it again. It doesn’t look like she’s going to stop.

>make sure to let her know she is being weird.
>Whoa, bad touch!
>"um..."
>Woah, woah. Slow down there, girl.
>Ask what she's doing with your jacket.

“Um… whoa. Slow down there, Lia. What are you doing?”

“I - I’m sorry.” She briefly looks around the room, probably to see if anyone’s watching, then gets a little closer. She tries to make the zipping and unzipping less obvious. “I’m really, really sorry. I have to be sure.”

>...that might be an OCD thing.
>The unzipping of your jacket: You're indoors wearing a zipped up jacket, stupid. Be thankful that her craziness is manifesting in a way that's making it slightly less likely you die of hyperthermia/dehydration instead of something more pointless and obnoxious.

“Are you afraid that I could get hyperthermal or dehydrated?”

Lia blinks. “Um… Yeah, actually - or that your jacket’s fastened wrong and it might choke you. How did you know?”

>If this is an OCD thing, you probably shouldn't be too confrontational about it.
>ask what else she does with her time and talk about what else you do with your time. Talking about people you, and she, knows can help her work her way up to... wherever this is leading.

“Just a guess.” You try to change the subject, since she looks nervous. “Hey, do you know Paolo? He plays Starcraft from time to time.”

“Maybe… I’m not sure.” She continues fiddling with your zipper. “Does he go to drama club?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, yeah, then I’ve met him. I mean, sort of.” Zip, unzip, zip, unzip… “I help the club out with sound sometimes, so I’ve seen him around. Is he nice?”

>Start wondering to yourself how crazy good her fixation thing might make her. You gotta see her play, at some point. Heck, you gotta play her.

“Sure, he’s cool. A bit of a loudmouth, sometimes, but still cool.” You idly go to scratch your head, but Lia jumps when the motion pulls your zipper away from her, so you gently lower your arm. Lia immediately goes back to her repetition. “Uh… so, do you want to play later? We could do some three-versus-three matches online, if you’d like.”

“Ooh, that sounds fun.” She zips and unzips while wearing a thoughtful expression on her face. “You know, if Paolo plays Terran, we could cover the whole spectrum.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but he usually goes Zerg.” You glance down at her hands. They’re in the middle of another zip-unzip cycle. “Hey, uh… do you really need to keep doing that?”

“…pretty much, yeah.” She seems apologetic. “Is that okay?”

>I wish my sister Ayame would come back from the dead
That's terrible wording! You could end up with a zombie. Or everyone freaking out that your sister is the second coming, or some kind of paranormal miracle freak. And she could be messed up finding herself in the wrong time, or wrong body.

Present day coming back to life is messy. Never having died in the first place is neater.

>Or you could just approach her again afterwards.
Don't pretend you wouldn't be annoyed and bored trying to have the same conversation twice, waiting for her to catch up to the point where what she says isn't a repeat.

>Is that okay?
I suppose it won't really be a problem until one of us has to get up.

Would you not have to worry about my zipper choking me if I took the jacket off?

>>650328
Hmm. Tell her you want to try something. Unzip it fully yourself, leave it open. Does she still want to zip/unzip after that?

"Uhm, yeah, it's a little uncomfortable but at least I think I understand what makes you do that better: It's anxiety, right? There are things to try: Meditation could maybe help, but I'm not an expert in it. A hobby could work, like running, hitting a punching bag, something artistic like playing an instrument, sculpture or writing, or other things where you spend your attention and effort to use up the 'can't stop my own hands' energy. Would it help if you had a stress ball, a grip-exerciser or something else to occupy your hands like that?"

>>650357
It's an anxiety-expression behaviour. At best unzipping or taking off the jacket would change what she fiddles to something else. Notice how she didn't start doing that until after we expressed a bit of disinterest in her rambling about Pokemon? Right now she's anxious about us. She's not likely scared of us at least, or else she probably wouldn't have her hands on us like this. There's lots of things it could be, including concern for Ikram, interest in him as a potential friend, gamer, or romantic prospect, or realizing she doesn't know why we're paying attention to her.
I have no particular, short-term suggestion to recommend for alleviating or redirecting her anxiety in a more positive way. She's probably too stressed and manic for meditation exercises right now, and enrolling in a yoga class or a martial arts class is a longer-term solution if it even would work for her. Things known to work quickly and reliably include the right drugs or, for some people... activities that would require privacy and a consenting partner. Maybe she's a chocolate addict who needs her fix?
...And the double-whammy possibility in the background, is she an undiagnosed bipolar in her manic phase? As far as I know, unless it's minor there is no known, effective management solution to that less than drugs.

rb

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/25(Thu)11:26 No. 650675 ID: 26e769
File 143525676030.png - (160.08KB , 1000x1000 , meta216.png )

>That's terrible wording! You could end up with a zombie. Or everyone freaking out that your sister is the second coming, or some kind of paranormal miracle freak. And she could be messed up finding herself in the wrong time, or wrong body. Present day coming back to life is messy. Never having died in the first place is neater.

Okay, okay. You’ll wish that she’d never died.

>Don't pretend you wouldn't be annoyed and bored trying to have the same conversation twice, waiting for her to catch up to the point where what she says isn't a repeat.

Yeah, you tend to get bored pretty easily… you’ll just keep it so the two of you still met up.

>Notice how she didn't start doing that until after we expressed a bit of disinterest in her rambling about Pokemon? Right now she's anxious about us. She's not likely scared of us at least, or else she probably wouldn't have her hands on us like this. There's lots of things it could be, including concern for Ikram, interest in him as a potential friend, gamer, or romantic prospect, or realizing she doesn't know why we're paying attention to her.

She does seem pretty nervous. You try to put on a more relaxed expression, to help calm her down.

>"Uhm, yeah, it's a little uncomfortable but at least I think I understand what makes you do that better: It's anxiety, right?
>I suppose it won't really be a problem until one of us has to get up.

“It’s fine, though it might be a problem when we have to stand up.”

“Right… I’m sorry. I really don’t want to do this. I just have to.”

“Yeah, I think I’m starting to understand what makes you do that. It’s anxiety, right?”

She nods.

>Hmm. Tell her you want to try something. Unzip it fully yourself, leave it open. Does she still want to zip/unzip after that?

“Can I try something?” You unzip your jacket fully. “Do you still want to zip it up?”

After a few seconds, she zips it up again, then unzips it. “Sorry.”

>Would you not have to worry about my zipper choking me if I took the jacket off?

“No worries. How about this?” You take the jacket off. Lia tenses as you do, but seems to relax a little more once you lay it out on the cafeteria table. “Feel better?”

“A little.” She shrugs, giving you a slight smile. "Thanks for thinking of me, Ikram."

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/25(Thu)11:27 No. 650676 ID: 26e769
File 143525682524.png - (109.02KB , 1000x1000 , meta217.png )

“Excuse me.”

You and Lia both jump in surprise. Neither of you seemed to notice Raven sitting down across from you. “Oh… Hi, Raven. What’s up?”

“You know each other?” Lia’s gaze shifts between the two of you.

“Yeah.” Raven’s expression is strange. “Ikram, we’ve got a situation. Are you busy?”

Nice talk, this is a good opportunity to close the conversation cleanly.

>You know each other?
Through Lily, yeah.

>Ikram, we’ve got a situation. Are you busy?
I, uh, guess not. We were just talking.

Excuse me for a minute, Lia? (Then talk without more people hearing about whatever wish related thing has gone wrong now).

If Raven tells you something that makes you leave, make sure to actually say bye to Lia. Don't just bail.

>>650676
"I wish my sister had never died, but we still moved to Seattle and I have a similar general life and everything." That'll be the wish. Remember, Ikram, you'd have to specify to change your own memory if you want to remember any of the changes. You want the results of the wish to resemble your current situation as much as possible, so you don't wind up trying to play catch-up like Lily did.

Ask Raven if it's super important. Go talk to her in private for a minute then come back and tell Lia if you have to leave or not.

"A... situation. Well, I'm kinda talking with Lia here, is this something weird, stupid or crazy enough that you'd insist on secrecy to explain further?"

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/26(Fri)19:14 No. 650970 ID: 26e769
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>I, uh, guess not. We were just talking.
>Ask Raven if it's super important. Go talk to her in private for a minute then come back and tell Lia if you have to leave or not.
>"A... situation. Well, I'm kinda talking with Lia here, is this something weird, stupid or crazy enough that you'd insist on secrecy to explain further?"

“I guess not. We were just talking. What’s up?” You briefly glance at Lia. “Is it something… private?”

‘Yeah. It is.”

>Excuse me for a minute, Lia?

“Lia, do you mind if Raven and I talk for a minute?”

“Go ahead.” Lia nods, looking a little bemused. “I’d still like to exchange numbers, though. Please don’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“Right. We’ll be back in a bit.” You and Raven get up and head off to a quiet corner.

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/26(Fri)19:14 No. 650971 ID: 26e769
File 143537128724.png - (159.27KB , 1000x1000 , meta219.png )

>(Then talk without more people hearing about whatever wish related thing has gone wrong now).

“What’s up?”

“You know about the Metamyriad and Pendel and stuff, right?”

“Um, yeah? I knew before you did.”

“…I know. Just checking.” Raven leans in closely. “Lily and Veronica exchanged brains.”

“What?” You blink. “What do you mean, ‘exchanged brains’? And who the hell is Veronica?”

“She’s just some addict. Look, we’re not sure what happened, exactly, but tell me: did you make your wish yet?”

“No…?”

“Good.” She sighs in relief. “Well then, Ikram, can you tell me exactly how you’re planning to phrase your wish, when you make it? Pendel wants to know.”

Nonononononononononononono. No. No no no no no. Do NOT say it out loud. That's how Ronnie got tricked.

>Well then, Ikram, can you tell me exactly how you’re planning to phrase your wish, when you make it? Pendel wants to know.
...if he wanted to know, he'd appear and ask me. Dude doesn't worry much about personal space. And I really don't see why making sure I don't leave any loopholes later is a pressing emergency to get done now.

Also, I remember now. Veronica was someone you wanted us to help, this morning. You were worried cause you thought she might have lost her home. You didn't know she was a druggie then, if she even is, and you didn't write her off, either.

I know I haven't know you very long, but you're really not acting like yourself. And you got crazy eyes.

Lily didn't get her brain switched, you did. *cross arms, grumpy* Who are you, not-Raven, and what are you trying to pull?

"I SAW THAT!"

Call for Pendel; seriously, did someone wish for all movie plot twists to be blander than cardboard? If so, you should probably punch them in the face.

>>650976
Don't summon Pendel, Lia can see. No dragging more people into wish club and complicating matters more than necessary.

Waaait a second. Why would Lily swap places with Veronica?
Even if Veronica wanted to, she'd need to build up wish credits first right?

>>650971
This isn't Raven. Her eyes just went wonky. Whoever it is... they know what's going on. Now why would they ask for your phrasing?

Move her hand off you and ask who they are.

>>650971
"...Who are you?"
If you HAVE to say your wish, say you wish your sister never died.

>>651011
Nope. Say nothing, you aren't letting anyone mess you up into wishing wrong, or when you don't have the credits, or anything else.

>>650971
"You're not very good at pretending to be other people."

Who is this? No, really, she just asked a question she would already know the answer to already if this is Raven. So, who is this?

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/27(Sat)11:52 No. 651139 ID: 26e769
File 143543112486.png - (239.81KB , 1000x1000 , meta220.png )

>This isn't Raven. Her eyes just went wonky. Whoever it is... they know what's going on. Now why would they ask for your phrasing?
>I know I haven't know you very long, but you're really not acting like yourself. And you got crazy eyes.

“What the hell? What’s wrong with your eyes?”

“Huh?” She blinks. Her eyes are normal again. “What do you mean?”

>Move her hand off you

“Get off of me.” You pull her hand away.

“But Ikram-“

>Also, I remember now. Veronica was someone you wanted us to help, this morning. You were worried cause you thought she might have lost her home. You didn't know she was a druggie then, if she even is, and you didn't write her off, either.

“But nothing. Get away from me. Veronica - you mean Ronnie, right? You told us about a ‘Ronnie’ earlier. You said she was your friend, that you were worried about her. You wouldn’t write her off like you just did.”

“Ikram, you don’t understand. The situation has changed.”

>Lily didn't get her brain switched, you did. *cross arms, grumpy* Who are you, not-Raven, and what are you trying to pull?
>"...Who are you?"
>"You're not very good at pretending to be other people."
>Who is this? No, really, she just asked a question she would already know the answer to already if this is Raven. So, who is this?

“You’re not very good at pretending to be other people. Who the hell are you?”

“Why, I’m Raven, silly.” Not-Raven grins and lets her tongue hang lazily out of her mouth. “Who else would I be?”

“Um…” Raven walks up, looking shocked. “Hi?”

Ikram!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/27(Sat)11:53 No. 651140 ID: 26e769
File 143543119334.png - (266.41KB , 1000x1000 , meta221.png )

“Oh well. There’s always next time.” Not-Raven giggles. Her eyes go black, and her skin starts flaking away in pieces, like eggshell. “I never was an expert at mimicking the opposite sex. I suppose that honor goes to dear ‘Pendel’.”

You and Raven back away silently.

“Speaking of ‘Pendel’, do give Miss Madeleine my regards, won’t you? It’s been a very long time.” Not-Raven smiles, showing inky, rotted teeth. “As for you two… I’ll be seeing you soon. Bye now.”

You blink, and then it’s just you and Raven standing there, sharing a very unsettled expression.

>You blink, and then it’s just you and Raven standing there, sharing a very unsettled expression
Um, you're you, right? Say something that sounds like you.

Then glance around, see if Lia saw the whole creepy double monster Raven thing and is freaking out.

>>651140
...Well, I guess we know who Pendel got a degree in Applied Jerkass from - this b!+(#.

Make sure that THIS Raven is the correct one.

Okay, that was creepy, among other things.
Raven, what's up?

>>651140
Great. An UNDEAD GENIE.

Who else is around, who saw that, who the heck was that, why were they pretending to be Raven, and are you really Raven?