quietCrisis 2016/05/31(Tue)13:55 No. 726968 ID: c6e626
File 146472810233.png - (1.07MB , 1600x1600 , 30.png )

You take a moment to take stock of your options. Your current inventory contains:

*Smartphone (battery drained)
*Pack of bubblegum
*Wallet with a state-assigned ID, a credit card, and thirty dollars in cash
*Standard issue service pistol and ammo
*Three hair elastics and five bobby pins
*A small bag containing three tampons and a pad

You have neighbors, so it's probably best to make as little fuss as possible. On the other hand, there is a stranger in your apartment, and you did NOT invite them in.

Did you give anyone a key? Anyone who smokes? Does the super smoke? A yes to any of those decreases the odds this is a home invasion.

>inventory
No badge?

>what do
No sure what you can do besides draw your sidearm and go check it out.

Unless you want to just wait them out, if this is the only exit.

Use the pins and bubblegum to make a decoy grenade, throw into the center of the room, and call the police. Ready your gun at a safe distance from the door.

>>726981

The safest option would be to call it in, and wait for backup to arrive. You are tired and mentally stressed. That is not a good combination to go into a potentially lethal situation.

quietCrisis 2016/06/07(Tue)14:49 No. 728341 ID: c6e626
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>The safest option would be to call it in, and wait for backup to arrive. You are tired and mentally stressed. That is not a good combination to go into a potentially lethal situation

That definitely would be the safest option, but your phone is totally drained. You used up all the battery playing that game, you guess. In any case, you won't be calling anything in.

>Did you give anyone a key? Anyone who smokes? Does the super smoke? A yes to any of those decreases the odds this is a home invasion.

Nobody else has a key to your apartment besides your sister and grandmother, and neither smokes. In fact, the only people you've dealt with recently who smoke are Beverly, who just left and was with you all day, and Elliot Keyes, who smoked like a MACHINE. But Elliot Keyes is dead. You were just staring at his body.

>No badge?

Whoops. Your badge is in an inside pocket of your jacket that you forgot you had. You're kind of an idiot, sometimes.

quietCrisis 2016/06/07(Tue)14:50 No. 728342 ID: c6e626
File 146533622334.png - (142.98KB , 500x500 , 32.png )

>No sure what you can do besides draw your sidearm and go check it out.

You draw your weapon and take a deep breath before opening the door and entering. The smell of tobacco is even worse from in here, and you gag a little bit before sliding the door shut behind you.

You think you can make out a shape through the smoke. It's a tall figure, but indistinct other than that.

"Whoever's in here," you warn, tightening your grip on your gun, "You better come out here right now. This is my apartment, I'm a cop, I'm armed, and I had a really, really long day."

"Thanks for the offer, beautiful," says a deep voice. You wouldn't want to assume, but it sounds male. You step closer and the figure becomes more distinct.

quietCrisis 2016/06/07(Tue)14:50 No. 728343 ID: c6e626
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"But I've already died once today."

That's fucking impossible.

>That's fucking impossible.
He has a twin, or a clone, or some kind of advanced fabrication or a super was involved in producing the corpse at the scene.

Or that's a shapeshifter. Or someone with optical disguise tech. Or this isn't just tobacco and you're hallucinating. Or you're already asleep.

Regardless, he needs to be arrested. Train your weapon on him, tell him to put his hands up.

SHIT THROW A ROCK OR SMTH

If he can die multiple times

THEN SHOOT HIM IN THE FACE

quietCrisis 2016/06/18(Sat)15:31 No. 730545 ID: c6e626
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"What's the matter, honey?" asks Elliot fucking Keyes, smirking at you. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

>Regardless, he needs to be arrested. Train your weapon on him, tell him to put his hands up.

You hold up your gun and scowl. It's pretty hard to breathe in here, and now you can see why. Keyes has a cigarette dangling from his left hand, and there's a lighter in his right. Apparently, nobody ever told the bastard not to smoke indoors.

"That's Detective to you, and you're under arrest," you say. Keyes just gives you a nonplussed look. "I mean it, put your fucking hands up."

"Or what?" Keyes raises an eyebrow. "Are you going to shoot me? Good luck with that, sweetheart." He grins at you, and oh my god he's doing this on purpose. He's realized it bothers you and now he's just milking it.

"Call me by another pet name," you say, steadying your grip on the gun. "I fucking dare you."

"Whatever you say, babe," he says in this horrible, flippant tone of voice.

quietCrisis 2016/06/18(Sat)15:31 No. 730546 ID: c6e626
File 146628909557.png - (206.65KB , 500x500 , 35.png )

You punch him in the face with your free hand. Your fist goes right through and it feels fucking horrible. Like sticking your hand in a pile of wet laundry. You recoil and Keyes laughs at you.

"Explain," you spit, and it's not a request. You don't have any force to back it up, but you have exactly ZERO fucks left to give.

"It's what it looks like," Keyes says, shrugging. "I guess I'm a goddamn ghost, aren't I? I got offed, and now I have to hang around the person who gave the most shits about me until they wrap up my unfinished business."

"You can't be serious," you say. "I, the person running the manhunt for you, cannot be the person who cared most about you. Your life cannot seriously be that sad."

He just shrugs at you again.

"Well, I'm not doing your goddamn errands," you tell him. "I have more important things to worry about."

"You're doing it anyway," he points out, "and unless you find the fucker who killed me, you're stuck with me pretty much indefinitely."

Look, let's talk this over in the morning. Unlike you, I still need sleep. And if you want me to actually help you rather than see what happens if I die before solving your last wish or whatever it is, you'll stop smoking up my apartment.

>>730546
You want me to catch the person who killed you?

Let's pretend this is real for a moment and I'm not hallucinating due to lack of sleep, or talking to a hologram.

That means you turn pigeon and tell me everything. What you were doing, with who, and how it got you killed. If you're real, you can give me all the information I need, and there's no one who's going to punish you for squealing.

Wait wait wait.

If he was a real ghost, he wouldn't have needed to break into your apparent. The door wouldn't be open. And the room wouldn't be filled with real smoke.

Something is still going on here- someone opened that door, and filled the room with smoke. Someone who might still be here, despite the illusion / projection / ghost in front of you.

Resuming searching the apartment.

quietCrisis 2016/06/18(Sat)21:14 No. 730619 ID: c6e626
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"Look, Keyes," you say, rubbing your eyes. "I don't have the energy for this. Unlike you, I still need sleep. And if you want me to actually help you rather than see what happens if I die before solving your last wish or whatever it is, you'll stop smoking up my apartment."

You turn to start walking towards your bedroom when you suddenly freeze in place.

"Shit," you mutter, and then turn back to him. "If you're a ghost, how are you filling my apartment with real cigarette smoke? And how come the door was open? A ghost shouldn't need to break in, right? What the hell is going on here?"

"Oh, god," he says, and laughs derisively.

quietCrisis 2016/06/18(Sat)21:15 No. 730620 ID: c6e626
File 146630972104.png - (201.98KB , 500x500 , 37.png )

And then, he doesn't stop.

(blood and horror warning for the image)

quietCrisis 2016/06/18(Sat)21:15 No. 730622 ID: c6e626
File 146630975569.png - (257.45KB , 500x500 , 38.png )

(blood and horror warning for the image)

"You're right," he says, still practically doubling over with laughter. The door behind you slams shut of its own accord. "I'm more than a ghost! Murdered in my own safe house, at the ripe old age of thirty? With nobody left behind to mourn me but the police detective who wanted me behind bars?!"

He wheezes with laughter. You feel horrible and wrong. An impossible wind whips around you, and you realize that the tobacco stench is gone from the air.

"You don't think all those things would leave a spirit just a little restless?" He grins, baring every tooth. "I know, I know, kinda buried the poltergeist lead there, but I wanted to be polite about it! Course, now I'm not fuckin' asking."

He stops laughing and leans in way, way too close.

"FIND THE FUCKER WHO KILLED ME, OR I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL."

>>730622
Fuck you, you piece of shit! Like you deserve to come back and demand vengeance out of all the homicides to hit my desk! All the victims who deserve a second chance, all the innocents, and you have the nerve to come crawling back!

I'm going to solve your case because it's my job, not for you. And you can shut the fuck up and get out, unless you're willing to sit down like any other witness to a crime and tell me what the hell you know.

I want my sleep so I can think clearly instead of just running off in front of a bus!
But solving your murder should be simple enough yes, especially with your first-hand account of how you died, that alongside with my own investigation of the crime scene should at least make finding your killer relatively simple.
Let me make this crystal clear though-we're partners in this case. If it turns out it was someone like Crusader that offed you? Then chances are he can kill me too, and then where would you be? Likewise, you can be sure I'm not ignoring you, but at the same time I'm still alive, so I need to take care of myself so you don't end up with no-one to avenge you.

quietCrisis 2016/06/27(Mon)09:40 No. 732149 ID: c6e626
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You slap Keyes right across the face.

You're met with significantly more success this time. If you were in a mood to speculate, you'd say that maybe he made himself corporeal as a side effect of his spooky scary bullshit. But you're not in that kind of mood. You're tired and fed up, and you want to go to bed.

quietCrisis 2016/06/27(Mon)09:41 No. 732150 ID: c6e626
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"Fuck you," you tell him calmly. "Do you know how many homicides have hit my desk? Do you know how many innocent people have been killed in this city? Hell, do you know how many people you personally have reduced to photographs in my case files?"

He opens his mouth to speak and you interrupt him.

"What makes you, of all people, think you deserve to come back through the veil and demand shit from me?! I'll find out who killed you, and I'll bring them to justice. But not for you. I'll do it because it's my goddamn job, and because that's how justice works. And I'm not going to treat you any different from any other asshole witness I have to drag into the station. So unless you're going to tell me EVERYTHING you know and saw, just...sit down, shut up, and let me do my job.

You rub your head.

"Can I go to sleep now, so I can think clearly instead of just running off in front of a bus?"

"Fine," he mutters, and puts his cigarette out on your curtain. You're too tired to care.

quietCrisis 2016/06/27(Mon)09:41 No. 732151 ID: c6e626
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When you wake up, you almost believe all of last night's nonsense was a dream. Your illusion is rudely shattered, though, when you roll out of bed and find Keyes sitting on your radiator, smoking up your bedroom.

"Keep smoking in my apartment and we'll both find out if poltergeists can double-die," you warn him, practically sleepwalking to the kitchen to make some coffee.

You have about an hour before you need to be at work. How are you going to use that time?

1. Do your morning workout, as per usual. You don't feel right when you don't do it.
2. Talk to Amelia. She should be up and about by now.
3. Talk to Elliot. He might as well make himself useful.
4. Go in early. You could get a head start on the investigation, and the captain would probably appreciate it.

1 pump those irons and get SWOL. I hear minerva has an 8 pack

1. Let's get RRRRRRIIIIPPPPPEDD

1, but make time for 2.

Amelia could see a guy with a ponytail. She knew Keys was there before he showed himself to you. If your guess is right and she really does do ghost stuff, maybe she can help shut him up for you. Or force him to be helpful. There's gotta be ways to banish spooks, or lock them in a box, or something, right?

quietCrisis 2016/07/05(Tue)21:07 No. 733897 ID: c6e626
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You grab a half-assed breakfast, get dressed, and head off to work out. Usually, you do that at the community center down the street from your house. It's kind of a big endeavor for an hour of free time, but it's not far and you can usually make it if you hurry.

Besides. You know Amelia Ito goes there in the mornings too, and you need a word with her. She's a swimmer, so she should be around here somewhere.

quietCrisis 2016/07/05(Tue)21:07 No. 733898 ID: c6e626
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Oh. There she...

quietCrisis 2016/07/05(Tue)21:07 No. 733899 ID: c6e626
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...Is.

quietCrisis 2016/07/05(Tue)21:08 No. 733900 ID: c6e626
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"Oh, hi Minerva! Fancy meeting you here!" she says.

"Fancy that," you echo quietly.

Tried out a slightly different style for this update. I think it looks a little nicer.

Slap Keyes again (when Ito isn't looking).

Ask Ito for assistance on your current case.

Looks like someone has a bit of a crush.

ZOO WEE MAMA HOT DAMN

>>733899
Damn, keep that lady-boner in your pants, girl.

>>733900
Tell her you actually wanted to ask her about something. She... saw you with a man with a ponytail last night. You never had a reason to push her on the consulting she does, but is it, by any chance, because you can deal with, um, people who aren't there?

After the awkwardness, make it clear you aren't trying to pry into what she might have been trying to keep quiet, you just want help dealing with this jerk. There have to be ways to wrangle ghosts, right? Or at least shut them up.

"So, the man in the ponytail made himself a guest in my apartment and wont leave. I need help, this never happened before."
Its subtle, so theres no chance of people overhearing what she obviously wants to keep a secret.

quietCrisis 2016/08/18(Thu)13:10 No. 743097 ID: 77e076
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(Animated)

You shake your head, forcing yourself to focus on the task at hand. Amelia Ito is a woman of above average attractiveness, but now is not the time to be super, super gay.

"I uh...actually I was looking for you. I need to ask you about something," you say, stumbling over your words a little bit. She's being very distracting, and you've never had to approach someone about...well, ghostbusting before.

"Oh?" she replies.

"Yeah," you tell her. "It's...well, it's about last night."

quietCrisis 2016/08/18(Thu)13:10 No. 743098 ID: 77e076
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She freezes.

"The man with the ponytail you saw me with," you continue, trying to talk around the ghost problem, "Might have...made himself at home in my apartment. I need him out, but he doesn't seem...keen on leaving. I don't mean to assume, but...can you help me?"

quietCrisis 2016/08/18(Thu)13:11 No. 743099 ID: 77e076
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Amelia's face shifts, and suddenly it's much, much more serious.

"Did he ask you to do anything for him? Errands, or something like that?" she asks. "Sorry, this is important."

You're not sure how much you should tell her about the case, and about what Keyes wants you to do.

>>743099
"...yeah. There's one thing he wanted. Which amounts to basically doing my job, so it's something I was going to anyways, but yeah, he did."

She knows you're a homicide detective, and she knows he's a ghost, so that makes it pretty clear what he asked you to do, without saying it.

Let's leave out the details of the case for the immediate moment. You're not supposed to share details of ongoing investigations with the public, and even if she does consult with the department sometimes, you don't know the nature of that relationship and what's appropriate for her to know, yet.

If she asks for more information, you'll have the opportunity to reconsider, and we might want to get into the gritty details of murder ghost stuff in a less public discussion?

Not sure how to bring it up, but we might want to ask if this is... what she does for the department, sometimes? Not to pry, but, it might be very important to know how seriously the people you work for take this stuff. It sort of makes the difference between keeping quiet and handling this on your own (can't tell the people above you you're crazy and seeing a ghost) or reporting the supernatural contact (oh, a murder-haunting? Here, fill out form 12-Z and we'll issue you a proton pack).

You guys are still in a pretty public place, dunno how well it would be for unwanted ears to overhear a delicate matter like this. Perhaps you too should arrange a meeting somewhere a bit more private and when she isn't wearing something that keeps distracting your gay brain. Maybe you could even get Elliot to properly introduce himself like a nice ghost would and hopefully that'll speed things up with what must be done.

1/2 quietCrisis 2016/09/16(Fri)18:57 No. 748219 ID: e3074b
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"...Yeah," you admit as Amelia climbs out of the pool. She reaches for a towel. "There's one thing he wanted. He asked me to, uh. Do my job. Which I was going to do anyway, but I'd rather not have him sticking around until I've finished."

She nods. You can't know for sure, but you think she caught your drift.

"Where is he now?" she asks.

"I don't know," you tell her. "I lost track of him after I got up this morning. Maybe he's fucked off somewhere else-"

2/2 quietCrisis 2016/09/16(Fri)18:57 No. 748220 ID: e3074b
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"Oh, HEY, roomie!" says Keyes from directly behind you, and you almost fall into the pool. "Who's the gal pal? Is she single? Because I could totally hit that."

Amelia turns bright red and you scowl at him.

"She can hear you," you hiss under your breath, praying that nobody else overhears. "Can you go five minutes without being...fucking terrible?"

"Nope!" he says cheerfully and floats off to make the pool water unbearably cold.

>You guys are still in a pretty public place, dunno how well it would be for unwanted ears to overhear a delicate matter like this.

"They're right," Amelia says, pulling herself together. "We shouldn't talk here, and I have to open the store in twenty minutes. Are you free tonight?"

"They?" you ask.

"Oh. Nobody, I'm sorry. Seriously, can we talk later?"

>"They?"
Oh hey she can hear us. Hello, Amelia!

>"Oh. Nobody, I'm sorry. Seriously, can we talk later?"
There's probably not a ready made quick fix for this kind of thing, and she's already helping you. No need to push her. You can survive one day ignoring him.

"Yeah, okay.

"...Thank you, seriously."

Haha it must be weird to be aware of a group of disembodied voices that are subconsciously controlling someone right in front of you.

1/2 quietCrisis 2016/11/16(Wed)11:16 No. 759074 ID: f0a8c0
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I'm not dead! Surprise! Quest should be updating more regularly from now on.

"Yeah, okay," you tell Amelia, and she nods at you. You can't exactly blame her for being busy, and you need to get cracking if you want to get in your workout before you need to be at the station.

"Good," she says, giving you a smile. Your knees feel a little weak.

"...Thank you, seriously," you tell her as she heads for the locker room.

"No problem!" she calls over her shoulder. "See you then?"

"See you then," you reply.

After that, working out all sort of blurs together, and before you know it you've finished. Now that there's no easy way to antagonize you, Keyes seems to mostly leave you alone, so it's just you and your thoughts.

You make a quick pitstop at home to change into your work clothes, and head off to work.

2/2 quietCrisis 2016/11/16(Wed)11:16 No. 759075 ID: f0a8c0
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It's still early enough when you leave for work that the streets are relatively empty, filled only with fellow early-risers like you. It isn't until you're about halfway to the station that you begin to get the sinking feeling that you're being followed. You would ordinarily dismiss it as paranoia, but the feeling sticks with you for the next block, and you keep thinking that you see movement out of the corner of your eye.

There's an alley to your right you could turn down, if you wanted to get out of the public eye. There's also a cafe to your left that you can drop into, to discourage any shenanigans. Doing either of these things will take time, and could make you late.

Options:
1. Lose the tail. Duck into the alley.
2. Lose the tail. Duck into the cafe.
3. Keep going. You don't have time to waste.

>>759075
Head down, talk to yourself. "Keys, if you're still there, and want to do something useful, go snoop on the tail I've picked up. If they're following me, maybe they're related to your death, and getting a good look at them without them knowing I made them will help."

Then 3.

You live in a world where superheros are real and the department may have a psychic on call. Is there policy for what you do when the supernatural intrudes on a case? Would it be reasonable to tell anyone, or should we just pretend everything is normal?

quietCrisis 2016/11/18(Fri)13:29 No. 759904 ID: aaa51c
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>You live in a world where superheroes are real and the department may have a psychic on call. Is there policy for what you do when the supernatural intrudes on a case? Would it be reasonable to tell anyone, or should we just pretend everything is normal?

To be honest, you didn't know ghosts were a real thing until last night. There are old wives' tales and urban legends about this sort of thing, but you consider yourself something of a skeptic.

Psychics are easier to explain. Lots of people have powers, not just heroes, of course. Some people have always claimed to be "psychic," but it had always been your opinion that they were overmystifying a perfectly natural phenomenon. With the ability to read minds or see into the past, it wouldn't be hard to pretend to be able to speak to ghosts.

Long story short, no, there's no procedure for "the ghost of this case's victim is haunting my sorry ass." You don't even know if Captain Manikowski would believe you.

Suggestions may now resume.

Wacky theory: you yourself have a power that relates to ghosts somehow, or which produced something resembling a ghost. Make a mental note to narrow the possibilities by checking whether or not the ghost knows anything you couldn't possibly have picked up subconsciously.

Tell the chief that you've finally got Elliot Keys more-or-less cooperating with the investigation. When it is inevitably pointed out that the man is dead, nod and acknowledge, sigh, then say that it's some ridiculous magic bullshit which you'll fully explain in some sort of official report as soon as you figure it out yourself.

Then, order the ghost into an interrogation room and start asking the sort of questions you'd have if he'd somehow survived. What's the last thing he remembers? A glimpse of the attacker is probably too much to hope for, but getting the victim's perspective on known associates and other potential suspects is surely worth something.

Make sure he's manifested in some way the recording equipment can pick up, so you can review the tapes later (and prove you're not just crazy).