C.

I know it's naive but... B.

>>1013972
I’m on team B because well you are both vampires and you are going to die because of the whole soul thing, maybe you can come to an agreement and figure out a way to live? Or at least work together cause two people with time powers is way stronger then one and plus being bros with the non gia people is a win win

Team B as well.

B.
And if the country's economy gets destroyed and a great depression happens because we didn't kill her, who cares. not our country to worry about. It'll solve itself after a few years. The GIA had it coming.

>>1013966
Well at least you'll get paid for the vampire you *did* kill.
B.

tippler 2021/10/31(Sun)15:46 No. 1013980 ID: eedbeb
File 163572041876.png - (169.83KB , 1000x900 , p172.png )

>B
“Thanks for the tip, but I think I’ll try the pacifist approach.” you tell Saul.

“Sure man, no problem.”

You go back to the group and mingle with everyone. Meeting so many people is exciting and helps distract from your nerves.

It feels too soon when Body glances at her phone and gives you instructions on how to get to the café.

“We’ll stay right here and you can come back when you’re done.” she says soothingly.

tippler 2021/10/31(Sun)15:47 No. 1013981 ID: eedbeb
File 163572042723.png - (242.48KB , 1000x900 , p173.png )

You stride out of the park and down the street. It’s strange to be alone in this foreign city, the buildings are too tall and block out the sun.

The café is empty, outside seating packed away. At first you think you’re in the wrong place, until you see Theda waving at you from inside.

The mosquito is wearing a sheer dress and fiddling with a handgun when you come in. The bell on the door jingles merrily but the inside of the building is similarly deserted.

“Hello Derek.” she says. “I’ve rigged the whole building with explosives, take a seat.”

Discuss with her plans about how we can take down the evil GIA once and for all, without hurting any civilians of course. They are the reason why everyone including the monsters are fucked right now.

>>1013981

Shes also a vampire, does she know a way to deal with your werewolf soul problem?

Mention how that's probably for the best, precautions like that with the people you now have misgivings about are prudent.

Share what you know about the soul stuff and listen to any sort of arrangements she's interested in. You're here to negotiate. Also maybe be surprised she already knows about the soul stuff and find out that she's messing with the government and stuff here BECAUSE of that and that's her solution.

> Be offered to join the dark side that's really not that dark compared to the GIA

Be ready for this to take a turn for the worse at any moment, just because we came to negotiate doesn’t mean she will be agreeable.
Sit down and introduce yourself.

>>1013981
"Not the worst opener to a date I've seen, honestly."

>>1013981
>explosives in the walls
Yeah that would work, wouldn't it. The gun is so she can shoot at herself to timefreeze if things go bad, and then once she's clear of the building she'll trigger the explosives, resulting in a trap you can't escape.
Ask her if that really works- firing a gun at yourself. The timefreeze happens quickly enough? It kinda seemed like there was a slight delay.

Anyway, tell her you come in peace, and frankly walking into a deathtrap isn't your idea of a good time. Is there any other way you two can talk?

You certainly know how to get a man fired up!

If you have trouble flirting, just imagine that the real reason she wears a skirt is because no mere pants can conceal her *other* proboscis, and

Everything

Will turn out

Fiiiiine.

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)08:13 No. 1014010 ID: eedbeb
File 163577961573.png - (235.67KB , 1000x900 , p174.png )

“You sure know how to make a guy feel welcome.” you say, pulling a metal chair to the little table. “What’s the gun for?”

“It’s useful for activating my time powers. What weapons do you have?”

You take out Rancid’s knife, a little embarrassed. “So, er, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?”

Theda sighs. “Must we keep pretending this is a date?”

“I just came to talk, I don’t want any trouble.” you say truthfully.

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)08:24 No. 1014012 ID: eedbeb
File 163578025550.png - (209.77KB , 1000x900 , p175.png )

“You were recruited by the GIA and Body Lewis’ band of misfits. You killed Gretchen.”

Gretchen must be the chicken’s name. “Yeah, but we spared Dominic!” you protest. “I don’t even like the GIA, they’re totally evil. I’m more worried about what’s going to happen to me after this is done, when the extra soul floating around runs out.”

Theda considers you with a critical eye. “I can respect an instinct for self-preservation, which is why I’m planning to kill you. Having another vampire in this city is too much to worry about.”

“I understand that, but I haven’t done anything to try to hurt you. I’m turning down the government’s money.” you plead.

The mosquito hesitates. Pick a topic to discuss to increase your chances of being let go (different topics have different probabilities attached):
-The GIA
-Vampire history (and your history)
-Team Nude
-Mortality

>>1014012
Vampire history/ mortality I guess. Talking about your people and the old days is something you know a fair deal about so I feel it’s what you could be the most persuasive with

Talking about your past will make it pretty obvious you've never done this "killing" thing before and you just wanna go back to your humble life.

Hrm. It's hardly enough to talk of only one topic. You could weave a thread.

>-Vampire history (and your history)
>Another vampire staying in this city is too much to worry about.
She doesn't have to worry about you staying. You're not a city boy, for one. Farmer born and raised. Sure, you like to visit, and you headed off to meet [vampire progenitor] when the cancer struck and got a taste for finery in [vampire progenitor's old city], but that was mainly so you didn't have to die painfully.

>-Mortality
Vampire fragility being what it is, you figured your new unlife wouldn't last forever, but definitely longer than the cancer. Then you ended up just doing the things that felt were meaningful to you - farming, flirting, being a bon vivant. Getting stasis'd and buried in mud obviously extended your lifespan by quite a bit beyond the vampire norm, you think. Of course, you never had the opportunity to build up the kind of network she and Dominic did. To grow, well, as jaded as they might be? You're really no callous hired killer, despite what happened to Gretchen. That was a tough choice, but...

>-Team Nude
Body Lewis almost died in a car crash and saving her cost you the tip of your tail. Gretchen's death was if not unavoidable, then... unlikely afterwards, even though she was the first vampire you'd met since waking up. Not for your tail, but because she'd gone and tried to take out the more gently aligned of the group first - Team Nude doesn't seem very opposed to the monsters, just their current crop of tactics - an attitude with which you largely agree. Gretchen gave too little leeway in terms of seeming feasibility in holding her captive. How do you negotiate with someone so willing to strike at the softest targets first?

>-The GIA
It's certainly hard, but you don't exactly have a lot of soft targets left to hit beyond that self-preservation she so feared. Though, to be honest, the GIA can only push you so far and they've reached the end of their reach, considering how they've increasingly come across as cartoonishly bad, or cruelly amoral. You don't owe them, and they don't own you. They already screwed you for the post-soulglut period by feeding you werewolf blood. 'Whoops', as they said.

You think Theda really made them desperate with the whole crippling the economy thing. Mortal governance don't often manage to account well for long-term consequences, so whatever her plan was before you screwed with it, she appears to have done well on that end. Would she mind telling you what that plan was, or at least how far ahead in time it would have stretched?

She had to have known the GIA would pull out all the stops if they got to feeling that she threatened the core of their stability - if not their existence. Getting some country boy vamp from the sticks to do their dirty work is actually one of the less offensive plans you can envision. Sure, taking extreme means to get rid of a vampire could severely damage or shatter their public image, but you do have the impression they could get rid of her if they tried - and not through an uncertain asset like yours truly. You were just convenient, innocent and cheap.

So if she doesn't mind telling, what made opposing them worth the risks? ARE they worth it still, to carry on this whole deal?

Mind you, if it's all sunk cost by now, you'd like to leave and go very far from the eventual consequences of actions taken by either side. You'd honestly rather not join in some Mutually Assured Destruction scenario. If it could reach that level. Which you hope it doesn't? World seems to be having a tough enough time as-is.

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)14:33 No. 1014026 ID: eedbeb
File 163580243609.png - (196.57KB , 1000x900 , p176.png )

>History
“Can I tell you about myself, at least?” you ask. Theda nods. “I’m from Guojia, I’m a farmer, I won’t even stay on this continent after this and I’ve never killed anyone before.”

You continue. “I was born in 494, out in the country. Uh, not sure how old you are but back in those days the last of the ruins were being used to build new cities.”

“Who was your sire?” Theda asks.

“He was a red panda, Albert something.”

“Oh I know that guy.” Theda says brightly. “I sired his sire, I think, when I passed through Oz. Gosh, I can’t even remember what year it was.”

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)14:34 No. 1014027 ID: eedbeb
File 163580244847.png - (241.68KB , 1000x900 , p177.png )

>Vampires
“You’re ancient then.” you say. “Body said you might be the first vampire.”

“That’s me. I was a blood witch for most of my mortal life before I messed up a spell and drained myself. Thought I was dead for sure but somehow I’ve kept kicking for half a millennium.”

“Wow, how did you survive for so long?”
Theda shrugs. “I’ve been dormant more than once. Since I had been a witch I could tell when I needed to feed to sustain my soul and I’m not as fragile as you guys so I made a nice crypt to come back to when I had to rest.”

You and Theda talk about her long life and your relatively short one. Her eyes light up when she recounts her travels across the world with her band of friends. It sounds similar to your experiences of the past few days.

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)14:34 No. 1014028 ID: eedbeb
File 163580245743.png - (259.30KB , 1000x900 , p178.png )

Finally, Theda sighs and checks her phone.

“Need to go?” you ask.

“Yes. It was nice to talk with you, Derek.” Theda says with a small smile. “But it’d be an awful waste to unwire all these explosives.”

The mosquito points the gun at her temple and the bullet buries itself in the opposite wall. You’re alone with the ringing of the gunshot in your ears.

The ceiling tile right above the door explodes outward as a package of nitroglycerine and TNT detonates. You flinch away and cover your head instinctively.

You have 14 TP. You need to escape the café.

-Walking anywhere within 20 meters takes 0.5 TP
-Using a small object takes 1 TP (anything you can pick up easily)
-Using a large object takes 3 TP (example: car, furniture)
-Interacting with a person takes 5 TP (unfreezing part of them, unfreezing all of them)

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)14:34 No. 1014029 ID: eedbeb
File 163580246644.png - (169.59KB , 1000x900 , p179.png )

To start, you look around the room to get an idea of how many explosives there were and where they are. The building is one story, with a wood frame and brick exterior. There’s a door behind the counter that goes to the back of the store and likely another exit. Metal tables and chairs are scattered around. You still have your knife.

There are windows right? survey if any of the windows broke from the explosion in your immediate area because that's a thing that happens.

Also look out the front door you came in at, is it blocked, did it not get blasted open with the explosion itself?

That didn't SOUND malicious, but its quite possible it still was and now you're trapped so it's best to kind of SURVEY your situation proper.

She's probably blocked the doors. Smash a window with a chair, removing as much glass as possible, and *carefully* climb through.

Welp, time to scout possible exits.

I think we now have ample justification to kill her when we find her. Hopefully that message she received wasn't something we should worry about.

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)18:10 No. 1014045 ID: eedbeb
File 163581545622.png - (264.73KB , 1000x900 , p180.png )

>Theda
You’re a bit stunned that Theda still set off the bombs after your civil conversation. She didn’t seem malicious, but maybe years of survival taught her to be ruthless.

>Window
It’ll be difficult, but your best hope is breaking out of the front window. You avert your eyes from the bright focal point of the nearest explosion, pick up the round metal table 3 TP, and slam it into the window 3 TP.

The blow rattles your bones and leaves a small crack in the glass. You strike again and the crack propagates across half the window 3 TP.

You managed to break the window in two tries! You hurriedly swing your leg over the sill, pushing through the floating glass shards 1 TP. With your remaining points you head back to the park.

>>1014045
Alright message your friends that you managed to not die.
Give Theda a negative review on the dating site, saying she tried to kill you. Worst first date ever.

Regroup with the gang, we need to figure out where she’s gone next.

Better Call Saul.

Regroup, probably mention how you're not gonna be with the GIA anymore, and won't have any money, but don't want to just be a gun pointed at magic things because you want to keep living as long as possible.

But then stop being mopey because you're not mopey, see if anyone else has some ideas of what to do, nothing was promised, plus you didnt even find out what she was doing, what was she doing and why did you have to kill her anyway, obvs she has access to a lot of explosives which means she either has MONEY or lots of influence.

Whoever is possibly near the building outside, move them away from the building.

>>1014056
Impossible. We used 10 TP to escape, leaving 4 left. Takes 5 TP to move someone.

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)20:30 No. 1014071 ID: eedbeb
File 163582382693.png - (256.94KB , 1000x900 , p181.png )

There’s a distant boom as you exit the time zone and stagger onto the clover lawns of the park. Hopefully no one was close enough to the café to be hurt. You have a few small cuts across your hands and face from the glass. One of your fingers isn’t working very well but otherwise you’re unharmed.

Everyone is still chatting and it looks like someone ordered sandwiches to share. Body drops her Reuben in alarm and runs to meet you.

“Derek! Are you alright?”

You’re shaking slightly from the adrenaline and you drop into a crouch on the ground.

tippler 2021/11/01(Mon)20:30 No. 1014072 ID: eedbeb
File 163582383652.png - (334.50KB , 1000x900 , p182.png )

“I’m okay, she just tried to kill me.” you say.

“Ah, what a woman.” Saul says wistfully as he jogs to join Body, Kibble and Vlad following after him.

“What should we do now?” you ask. “Should I find her? What’s the GIA going to say?”

“She could be anywhere in the city at the drop of a bullet. I don’t think you’ll be able to track her down.” Saul says.

“Forget about the GIA.” Vlad says.

“But I won’t have the money to start my farm again.” You wipe your eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay, we’ll figure something out.” Body says.

“You don’t have to worry about fighting anymore, which means you can finally try to drain Duck.” Kibble offers.

What do you, if anything, before sucking Duck?

Sing

The song

Of

Your people

>>1014073

**mournfully**
sing the song of your people
important addition

let all who hear it weep, for its notes as haunting as they are tragic

Strip off the tux. Join team naked. The tux was symbol of you working for the GIA, and we want nothing more to do with them.

>>1014072
Tell Vlad he's cute even as a stickman, he can find somebody. Tell Kibble you're sorry you made her kill Gretchen. Tell Body she's cool.
Leave a bad review on the dating site and/or text Theda and tell her she's a jerkass for trying to blow you up.

Then make absolutely sure Duck can't brainwash you (or anyone else that's nearby) during the attempt to suck Duck to death. Can you prevent it from trying to break your fangs? Also, can you like, make sure it won't possess you from the inside? Drinking slowly might work for the latter case.

We will likely still need to go after her at some point but for now, we have time to ourselves.
The GIA will understand that she's more tenacious than the others.

Derek has taught us the value of cooperation, hard work, and second chances.

Let us ask Saul if there is anyway we can send the little angel back home. Or at least make it so it isn't miserable anymore.

>>1014077
Do NOT do this. You look too good in that thing.

Plant a new tree on the farm.

tippler 2021/11/02(Tue)17:03 No. 1014107 ID: eedbeb
File 163589781951.png - (204.00KB , 1000x900 , p183.png )

The tears keep falling and you let them drip down your snout. You're not sad, really, it's just been a long journey.

"Thanks, all of you. For helping me get this far. Vlad, you're a great guy and I know I teased you a lot but I really liked getting to know you. Kibble, I appreciate you being patient with me, and Body, you're just incredibly cool."

Body perks up. "I haven't heard that before."

"Can I have your phone so I can report Theda on the dating site?" you ask. The cat obliges and you type out a scathing review. You don't unmatch though, it might be how you contact the mosquito in the future.

Once you're done, you sit back and undo the buttons on your jacket.

tippler 2021/11/02(Tue)17:03 No. 1014108 ID: eedbeb
File 163589782879.png - (200.82KB , 1000x900 , p184.png )

"I'd like to sing the song of my people, but I don't want to bother Daisy." you say.

"She'll be fine, don't worry about it." Vlad insists.

You sing.

It's a song about planting an orchard, binding the young saplings upright and protecting them from heavy snow. In the spring the flowers are laden with bees and the fruit slowly ripens until they're ready for harvest. It's a song about the seasons, about making a home for something to grow. Everyone's eyes are a bit wet by the end.

Once you're done you turn to Kibble. "How should we do this?"

tippler 2021/11/02(Tue)17:03 No. 1014109 ID: eedbeb
File 163589783892.png - (270.45KB , 1000x900 , p185.png )

"I'll try to get one of its feet out, that way it’s less risky." Kibble says. She furrows her brow and the mental voice of Duck becomes audible.

What is it now? Watch those teeth!

A small white leg pops out of Kibble's side. You hold the end with one hand and position yourself to sink your fangs into the rubbery flesh.

It's difficult to drink, with the consistency of cement, but the moment you manage to consume part of Duck, you feel your soul practically overflow.

You keel over, drunk on energy, leaving a fang embedded in the leg.

"That's some good stuff." you say.

"It should be, those little angels are about 10,000 souls worth." Saul yawns. "Are your teeth okay?"

"They grow back, it’s a defense mechanism." you say, staring up at the blue sky.

tippler 2021/11/02(Tue)17:04 No. 1014110 ID: eedbeb
File 163589784543.png - (230.75KB , 1000x900 , p186.png )

You're not sure what will happen in the future, but at least you'll have a chance to see it.

Thanks for reading.