I suspect there is a direct connection between our relationship with Big Sister and our inability to recognize Nanami's existence. And no matter how many times our Sis would make sad puppy eyes at us, I know where I stand if it comes to a choice between the two.
I've been partial to her since before she even was a '-' on the character sheet!
But even if we put that aside, what is your angle? Do you imply that BigSis is consciously keeping Silas unaware and away from his childhood friend, deceiving him every step of the way and sabotaging his attempts to find out the truth? Your portrayal does not make her more sympathetic.
However, I believe that you might be mistaken, in that I don't think Nanami's predicament is known to BigSis. When asked if she knew Nanami Mai, she answered that she didn't. After that we got an entry under Nanami's (non-existent) character sheet with the information BSNET got out of classified logs on some server, perhaps trying to investigate what made Silas ask the question. And then when Maeda got us into a room for a talk in private, instead of covering her tracks Big Sis decided to aid Silas, sharing with him all the things she thought were out of place:
"Nope," Silas shook his head. "Why? Did you see anyone else?"
"That's… the problem," Big Sister admitted. "I keep getting conflicting data from the security cameras in that room. Whenever I attempt to access the footage I collected from that little event, I keep getting two different iterations of the same video."
"...huh." Silas repeated yet again. "And… what do you see?"
"That's the other problem," Big Sister said. "I am distinctly aware that there are two iterations of the video, and that the difference between the two is significant. I am vaguely aware that the second iteration involves a third person in that room. But I can't see who it is."
"How is that even possible?" Silas asked incredulously. "You're - you're Big Sister!"
"Yes, exactly," Big Sister sighed. There was a short silence. "...you should probably start avoiding Maeda. She might be dangerous."
In no way does that look like she is concealing things, and I think her answer on Week 1 was genuine. Whatever affects Nanami, Big Sis is subjected to its effects just as everyone else.
Her last advice looks to me like it was made out of concern. The Student Council and the things they are dealing with likely are dangerous. The school wouldn't resemble a nuclear vault otherwise.
Well, I have to admit that I have somewhat less information than you, because I binged the quest yesterday and thus didn't witness all permutations of the character sheet and a relationship chart.
And even if BigSis deliberately isolates us from Nanami she may very well have a valid reason. Sometimes we think that Nanami is our childhood friend and many people think that some antimemetic hazard tries to erase her. But what if Nanami isn't a friend of ours, but a memetic hazard herself and BigSis tries to protect us and the world from her?
Bear with me. Does the Student Council know about Nanami? She was sitting in one room with them when we came to invite them, but are they aware of her situation? The 'dubiously canon log' referred to their latest finding as a new discovery, as if they never heard of her before, or who Saa-kun and Maa-chan were.
I think that they were aware. Maeda informed them, or they learned about her on their own, caught her, put her in containment, then forgot about about it, forgot about her, and forgot about the containment chamber. It's par per course for people working in the Antimemetics Division. I'm reasonably confident this is what they were discussing there, during that meeting memory of which was erased from Silas' mind (referring to a "she", saying she is not a Keter/they just need a locked office for her).
In the original series of tales, they had "mnestics" — opposite of amnestics, let people remember antimemes better — but the Student Council here apparently doesn't have access to them. Maeda said she had some natural resistance to antimemetic effects, so she is the only one who semi-consistently remembers Nanami. And even she isn't immune.
The Student Council's memory of Nanami was erased at least once. Otherwise, in the chatlog, why didn't they remember even assigning that room to Maeda/O5-6? It happened at least once, therefore it could've happened multiple times.
Relation of this to the Big Sister issue is weak, in my opinion. Maeda isn't completely negligent of her duties as a Student Council member, I don't think, so why would she refrain from informing them about Big Sister? There's no emotional connection here, it should be just another anomaly to her.
She isn't just putting herself into Silas' memory, she rewrites his personality, and personalities and social relations of all people in the school. On the one hand, it would be ironic if she were capable of this, as such capabilities would potentially make her a Keter. On the other hand, if she were consciously aware of this ability, why would she pretend to be a poor human under an antimemetic effect? Why is she under an antimemetic effect, did she put it up herself (why, if her goal is as you describe?) or is it something on top of her power?
There was an update from her perspective, and we had an opportunity to vote for her.... What is it?
According to the chatlog of dubious canonicity, she thought she was "Maa-chan"'s and "Saa-kun"'s friend even before recently breaking containment. She is either genuine, or really clever, capable of enacting long-term deception plots.
A "Nanami" was one of Silas' possible initial companions. It's implausible that an anomaly would just happen to construct itself a personality resembling her.
All in all, I think this is a less plausible version of events.
I'm reasonably confident this is what they were discussing there, during that meeting memory of which was erased from Silas' mind (referring to a "she", saying she is not a Keter/they just need a locked office for her).
Was it assigned to her? They remembered correctly that it is in her domain now, but not whom it was assigned to before. Of course, since Maeda seemed to argue for a room (rather than something stronger) during the meeting, it might be hers, but then what did she come to argue for? Why couldn't she remind them or whoever is in charge that they have already agreed to it?
Or maybe Maeda was the one who broke her out in the first place? It does not appear that Nanami's stay was voluntary, and I have trouble picturing Maeda as her warden.
I really don't get the positions she and the Student Council have on Nanami, and whether they are reconcilable or not.
Of course, since Maeda seemed to argue for a room (rather than something stronger) during the meeting, it's might be her, but then what did she come to argue for? Why couldn't she remind them or whoever is in charge that they have already agreed to it?
She forgot about it too. Maeda isn't immune to the antimemetic effect, only resistant: she didn't remember Nanami at the beginning just like everyone else, and may forget about her if circumstances align. But there doesn't appear to be a discontinuity in her recent memories, so, speculation:
I think Nanami's stay in that room precedes the story's beginning. She was contained there for months/years, (semi-)voluntary, and Maeda was keeping her company. At some point, Maeda's memory of that was erased, she stopped visiting, which caused Nanami to grow desperate and break out, hence her current freedom.
Regarding Maeda's/the Council's position on Nanami, I'm not sure either. The actual Foundation would put her in a box, but the Student Council seemed to argue against Maeda on that. It seemed that they didn't want to interfere with her at all until they have a "proper" containment chamber ready, which isn't part of the Foundation's SOP. Maybe Maeda went rogue and broke her out, then forgot about it. I don't know.
I really, reaaaaallly hate Wednesdays. But I do believe that my previous use of expletive upon the third day of the weekday was a touch too far. Wednesdays may suck the living essence out of my being, but they don't deserve such travesty thrown upon their character. For that, I must SINCERELY apologize and beseech forgiveness.
Seriously though, this past week sucked. I feel like every update I'm going to end up apologizing for how horribly late I am, no matter how much I promise the update before to git my shit together and do them on time. I'll break the cycle eventually!
I hope. *sigh*
Silas pushed himself closer to his chest, slamming his hands to his eardrums to try and stop the incessant ringing. His head throbbed. He felt so confused. Why was he at Drama Club? Who were all these people? His head was becoming a mush of sensory information - movement, voices, faces, all of it jumbled up and blurry and nonsensical and contradictory.
He squeezed his eyes shut. He tried searching for something - anything - coherent to cling to. A memory? A noise? A feeling?
Something cold was coiled around his arm.
Reflexively, Silas tried to pull his body away, but whatever thing that was clinging to his arm refused to move. Panicking, Silas jerked his arm violently towards himself.
"Huh - ? WAAAUUUGH - "
"GWAH - Where'd - ?! What?!"
The girl sitting next to him suddenly slammed her forehead against Silas's, causing them both to recoil, clutching their heads painfully. "Argh - Nanami?! Where were you - "
Nanami took Silas by the hand. "You see me." It wasn't a question.
"Ye- "
"Then we've got to go!" she said frantically. The second Silas locked eyes with Nanami, he was filled with a sense of clarity; the pounding headache subsided and that terrible static slowly died away. This was Nanami. His best friend. And whatever she said, he implicitly trusted. Some things may not make sense right now, but that was one thing he could be, above all things, absolutely sure of.
"R-Right," Silas said quickly. Eyes still locked on Nanami, he saw a bit of movement in the corner of his eye by the doorway - someone coming in or someone going out?
Nanami got up from her chair and pulled Silas to the doorway, leaving the rest of the club room behind. "Come on," she said. "The movie night's over!" she pushed the door open.
From behind them, Reizei started shouting: "H-Hey! Yuuko-san, the hell's your problem?!" Silas looked back - Yuuko and Kei were restraining Rakuyama. Yuuko was holding a pen just under her neck.. "Let go of Riku-nee! Oi!"
Yuuko looked back with wild eyes. "S-Security breach! We've got to prevent a security breach!"
"What?! The heck is your problem?!"
"Hey I don't know what's going on please get off of me - " Rakuyama pleaded. "I didn't mean it, really, whatever it - GAH, THAT HURTS THAT HURTS THAT HURTS - " Yuuko plunged the pen into the girl's skin.
Rakuyama's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she went limp.
"HEY!" Reizei pushed Yuuko away. "Riku-nee? Riku-nee?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he moved to sock Yuuko in the face, but Kei came up from behind and restrained his arms.
Somewhere from inside the club room came a high-pitched scream. Silas took a step back, eyes widened in horror. "Why're they… "
Nanami pulled on him some more. "The Student Council's… um… making them forget things. No time! I need to get you home - I don't want you to - "
"Why do you know that?!" Silas exclaimed. "I can't just leave them to - "
"They'll do it to you, too!" Nanami cried. She shut the sliding door, blocking out the chaos coming from inside. "I - It's not their fault, b-but I don't want you to forget me again -"
"Yamigawa-kun?"
Kamasaki-sensei was facing them, looking at the pair strangely. She was holding a bag of popcorn. "What's happening in there? I thought I heard Yumika-san scream just now."
Nanami inched away. Her eyes were trained on Kamasaki-sensei's shirt pocket. Silas spoke up: "Oh, we were just… uh… leaving. The movie just ended."
"We?" Kamasaki-sensei's eyes glossed over the spot where Nai was standing. "Are you sure nothing bad is happening?" her eyes strained to see behind them. "What's going on - why are all of my students making so much noi - "
The middle-aged teachers legs wobbled suddenly and she slumped against the wall, eventually falling all the way to the ground, popcorn sprinkled all over the flower.
Airi-san was standing behind her. He chuckled nervously. "Heheh… sorry, Kamasaki-sensei. I hate having to do that." He looked directly towards Silas. He was clutching another one of those pens. Silas froze up. "And you. Um… sorry again. You know I said I was gonna make it up to you some time for nearly knocking you out by the school entrance? I… yeah… well… you're gonna have to put this one on my tab, Yamigawa-kun."
The last time Silas saw Airi-san, he had seemed so calm, collected and cool. It was that same calm coolness that stared him in the face now - only this time, instead of being reassuring, that expression was unnerving. Dreadful. Silas found his voice. "W-What's in the pen?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.
"Oh, here?" Airi shrugged. "Just some Class-C Amnestics mixed in with a bit of fast-acting sedative. Nothing scary, really. You pop and you forget. No long-term side-effects, easy to conceal, and the Chemistry Club can synthesize these like crazy. You wake up after a few hours and everything's normal again."
Nanami's fingers squeezed his hand ever tighter.
"...not that you'll remember I said that, anyway." Airi stepped closer. Out of the corner of his eye, Silas became aware that two other students - Kendo club? - were standing in the hallway just behind him. Airi looked at him apologetically. His arm was shaking slightly. "Sorry, man. Orders are orders! Don't know what's going on in Drama, but when Ichiro-kun tells you to pounce, you ask how far, yeah?"
Silas wasn't looking, but by this point the pen was just inches away from an exposed bit of his wrist which Nanami had been clinging to. He went in for a quick stab.
And Nanami drew up a fist and punched him so hard his face tapped against the wall behind him.
"LET'S GO!," she screeched, and without a second thought they were both flying through the hallway. Airi seemed too confused to follow - in fact, when Silas looked back, Airi was looking in their direction with a dumbfounded expression, as if he didn't even see that they were escaping. The two Kendo team members grabbed his shoulder and pointed backwards, towards the direction of Drama, completely ignoring the both of them.
They flew through the hallway. Students brushed past them, headed in the opposite direction. A few times, a bit of Silas's skin would make contact with one of the Students, but none of them seemed to heed his or Nanami's presence. Silas's mind was racing. He had no idea what was going on, so he clung to Nanami just as much as she was clinging to him - surely if he managed to hang on this whole thing would make sense eventually.
Up ahead, a student were shouting: "Ichiro-kun! Why are you out here?!"
Silas and Nanami stopped as the tall Student Club Kaichou stepped into view. "I have to assist," he said, simply.
"Whatever's affecting the Forget-Me-Nots is probably going to affect you, too - "
"I don't care. I won't put my actions or my conscience at the hands of an anomaly," Ichiro brushed them off. "You two go ahead. Try to make some sense out of this mess."
"Sir!" two Student Council members ran right past them. Ichiro stood at the end of the hallway, silent but imposing, as he watched them leave.
He was staring directly at Silas. Silas felt his heart skip a beat - but Ichiro was chuckling. "Don't know how you got out of there, S - Yamigawa-kun, but you should clear out as soon as possible. This place is going to be swarming with my people soon enough, you know?" Silas stared at him, dumbfounded. Ichiro chuckled again. "Well?"
"U-Uh… right! I should… get going now… thank you?" Silas stumbled through the words - Nanami was pulling him along again.
"You're good," Ichiro turned away and started down the hallway.
"Nanami?" Silas whispered.
"I don't know!" she said simply.
The rest of the school was eerily quiet, save for the sound of Silas and Nanami's footsteps upon the cold floor. It was a great relief when they finally found themselves outside - a gust of cool air greeted them as they left the confines of Yamaha and entered the street.
Nanami was still running, but Silas was barely able to keep up. "Nanami," Silas breathed.
"Not now, we need to get further - "
"Nanami!" Silas exclaimed. Nanami slowed down to a stop. "Nanami - what is going on? The Student Council - Kamasaki-sensei - is Rakuyama-san going to be alright? Why didn't Airi chase us? Why didn't Ichiro-kun chase us? How did you know this was going to happen?!"
"Saa-kun…" Nanami exhaled deeply. Her breath was shaky. "I'm sorry… I… I just wanted to talk with you a-again…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Silas raised an eyebrow. "Nanami - Nanami, what's wrong?"
Nanami shifted in place. "Let's, uh… let's walk some more, first? I can take you to the bullet train."
"Oh...kay…" Silas motioned for her to lead on.
"N-No, no, walk with me," Nanami insisted. "Err - beside me."
"Oh! Sure…" Silas took a few steps forward. Nanami kept her eyes to the ground as they walked.
Somewhere far away, a delivery drone was buzzing along.
"...Saa-kun."
"Nn?"
"That organization in The Apollyon? The one that finds weird stuff, a-and contains them? The one where that main character girl was from?"
"Uh… 'Foundation?'"
"Yeah."
"What about it?"
"It's real."
Silas blinked. "What? How is that even - "
"Well, according to Maa-chan, at least, it is," Nanami mumbled. "She… she told me that it was real, and that she and a lot of the school were part of it. Err… used to be. I mean."
"Nanami, that doesn't make any - "
"That's why the Student Council went crazy trying to erase everyone's memories. T-They like to keep their secrets. Is what Maa-chan said," Nanami continued. "I don't know why they were acting so scared, though… A-And I didn't want them to get you! I'm sure Ichiro-kun and Maa-chan mean well, but if you lose your memories you might..."
"Where are you going with this?"
Nanami turned to him. The bullet train station was within sight now. She smiled, sadly. "I… I'm a lot like that thing in The Apollyon."
"Eh?"
"People don't remember me," Nanami said softly. "Maa-chan does… sometimes… s-so she put me in a room that makes me more rememberable, but it still doesn't help, and - "
"Nanami?"
"Saa-kun." Nanami's voice was low. "What was the last thing you and I did together?"
"We ate lunch together, just the day before we had the movie night." The answer came easily.
"What did I say?"
"You… uh…"
"What did you do during break? How did you spend all of that time alone in your apartment?"
"I…" Silas drew a complete blank. He couldn't remember anything from before he started going to school again.
"That's exactly it." Nanami said. "You don't remember. You can't - because I… I don't think I exist. Maa-chan calls the thing surrounding me an antimeme. I'm not sure if she's right, but that's what she calls it. That's why she put me in the room. She says it's not my fault, but…"
"Wha - "
"Saa-kun, don't you get it?" Nanami sniffed. "The fact that you can see me at all's… crazy. I'm so happy…! You're my best friend! I've dreamt about talking to you again for weeks!" Silas was still trying to process what he'd just heard. Nanami… not exist…? But how is that even possible?! I'm the way I am because of Nanami! Without her I'd still be a shut-in living on delivery ramen and cheap anime for sustenance! "And now you're here! You see me! You remember me! You probably remember everything I've told you about Yamaha too, huh? About how cool everyone is, and about how awesome it would be for me to introduce you to everyone?"
"Yeah…"
"...b-but I'm scared, Silas. What happens if you let go, and then you forget everything again? I-If you managed to live your life up to now with me not existing, then wouldn't you live just fine if you forgot me again?"
~~~
The bullet train was eerily quiet. The street on the way to Silas's place, equally so.
All the while, Silas held a firm grip on his best friend's fingers. He didn't want to think about what might happen if the grip failed.
They arrived at Silas's apartment all too quickly. Nondescript door against a pale-white background. "Well… we're home."
"Home-sweet-home."
Silas's eyes glazed over the door, eyes uncertain. There was a horrible feeling building up in his chest. As much as he wanted to not believe what Nanami had told him… the more he thought of it, the more it made sense. All the holes in his memory… all the inconsistencies in his thoughts… it all would make sense if Nanami had never existed. But who was there, if not Nanami?! He searched his mind frantically, but could not find the answer. The thought if him relying on anyone other than Nanami as a social crutch was… unsettling.
"...I don't want to let go."
Nanami giggled. "Yeah… neither do I."
He breathed in a slow, raspy breath. "I…"
"We could… hold on forever," Nanami suggested.
"No…"
"What, think it would be weird?"
Silas's face reddened. "A little."
Nanami giggled again. "Maybe… I'm wrong, and I really exist, and nothing bad will happen if we let go."
"...maybe…"
Silas racked his brains. He needed an idea. Any idea. He may not be that smart, but surely there was some way they could communicate…
Communicate.
"Wait," Silas searched through his pockets. "My phone!"
"Hm?"
"My phone!" Silas said excitedly. "I can… I can give it to… where is it where is it…"
He dug into his pockets. Nanami heard a small clank that Silas didn't. She bent down and picked it up - it was an old flip-phone. It was a curious-looking device with a warm surface. Something faint beeped from within.
"Here!" Silas fished out his MiiPhone. "I can give you - "
"- your phone?" Nanami asked. She was holding out the flip-phone.
"...my phone?" Silas looked at it. "I… don't remember… ever buying that… are you sure that's mine?"
Nanami gingerly opened it up and peered into contacts list. "...is this your phone number?"
"Yeah!" Silas said. "I… guess it is. Huh. You should… you should keep that! If I forget about you, you can call me. It… might help?"
"I'm not - "
"Please," Silas pleaded. "Take it. I'm not sure if this will work, but… it's something, right? It's the best I can do. I don't care if you stop existing - err - if I start thinking that you stop existing - the second I let go of your hand - we're still best friends, right? And… I've got to do what I can. As your best friend." Silas wasn't sure about many things, but he was certain that this was the right thing to do.
Sniff. Nanami snapped the flip-phone shut and tucked it underneath her seifuku. She took a step forward and suddenly crushed Silas underneath her arms. "Saa-kun… you're just like I remember! A hopeless shut-in otaku with a heart of gold. You're almost too good to be true..." she sobbed into his chest.
"I'm only like this because of you, Nanami," Silas fought to keep the tears at bay. "I… I swear, you've affected me. In ways you can't possibly imagine."
"But what if you're wrong?" Nanami cried. "You're - you're the same even without me, aren't you?!"
"No. Maybe once you go, but right now it's all you," Silas said, reassuringly, warmly. The hug tightened.
They stayed like that for what must have been ten minutes. "...now I don't want to let go," Nanami whispered.
"D-Don't think of it like that!" Silas tried to laugh. He pulled back and looked Nanami in the face. "We're just… two f-friends departing after a long party. It won't be too long till we see each other again!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!" Silas nodded. "I'll go to sleep tonight and come Monday everything will be normal, you'll come to school, Yumika-san will make fun of your hair braids again, and we can mope about our horrible grades together."
Nanami smiled. "I hope so."
They separated, though Nanami still gripped onto his arm. "I guess… I'll see you Monday, then," she said.
Silas nodded vigorously. "Don't lose my phone. I'll… You know, this would be hilarious if we do all this emotional trauma and it turns out you're still here when I let go, right?"
Nanami laughed. "Oh my, the irony. B-But… just in case. I'll keep it! I'll hold it close and never let it go."
"...kay." Silas said uncertainly. "...goodbye."
"Bye, Saa-kun!" Nanami said, mustering up a cheerful thumbs-up. "I'll see you Monday!"
"Monday." Silas shook Nanami's hand, that old Amberrish sign of trust or whatever. "I promise."
He let go, and then he was facing an empty street.
Silas blinked.
He was home.
"...Silas?" Big Sister's voice rang in his head.
"Big Sis?" Silas said. "Are we safe?"
"I believe so. Though… I must admit I am a bit disoriented right now. The Student Council seems to have a very thorough killswitch for electronic communications with Yamaha. I am suitably impressed; part of my memory appears to be missing from the encounter."
"Yeah…" Silas slumped to the ground, heaving a heavy sigh as he reconstructed the memories in his head. "Nice job with that distraction, by the way. I can't believe you managed to fly a military drone into Yamaha! Do you think anyone's going to trace that to us?"
"Impossible," Big Sis said, smugly. "Apparently, the Student Council keeps a plasma furnace somewhere underneath the premises - all that remains of that rogue companion bot is disintegrated matter."
"Yeah… Student Council…" Silas sighed. "...I had no idea that they were… holy shit, Big Sis, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"It didn't seem relevant," Big Sis intoned. "And… to be fair, I was almost convinced that this was some sort of elaborate game the Student Council played. They are very good at making their activities seem innocuous."
"Quite," Silas nodded. He clutched his forehead. "...I have a roaring headache, Big Sis."
"Truly? I'll requisition a medical drone if necessary - "
"Oh please, it's not that bad…" Silas laughed. "I just… feel like I'm missing something. Like there's a great gaping hole in my recollection of what just happened. I… I need a minute…"
"Silas…?"
Tears were falling, tiny droplets splashing against his uniform like a fine precipitation. "Where… where are these tears coming from?" he asked the wall in front of him. "I have nothing to be sad about. That was exhilarating. It was fun! We managed to escape the clutches of a Student Council filled with secret agents, why do I feel so… empty…?"
"Silas?" Big Sister repeated.
"I don't get it. I'm forgetting something, aren't I? I'm forgetting something…" Silas suddenly reached for his pockets. "My phone… where's my phone… I don't know where my phone is…"
"It's not here. It must have gotten lost during the chase - ?"
"No, I swear I have it in here somewhere!" Silas exclaimed as he rummaged through his clothes. A small MiiPhone fell to the ground with a soft thump.
"Silas…" Big Sister seemed worried. "You should get some rest."
"I know, I know…" Silas shook his head. "Sorry. I guess… I've got to get some rest for tomorrow, right? Lots of free time. I-I wonder if NGE will be airing that new episode by then. I want to know if Kowaru succumbs to the Call," he said, half-heartedly.
Silas slumped to bed, and Big Sister left the room, spiraling out into the network of networks. Information sped past like a great highway. She had a single thought in mind:
<Worriedly>SOMETHING IS CAUSING SILAS DISTRESS.
<Determined>MUST FIND SOURCE AND ADDRESS AS NECESSARY. SILAS WILL NOT SUFFER SO LONG AS BIG SISTER LIVES.
And to that end, she immersed herself into the memory of every single surveillance device from every conceivable angle and tried to retrace, with excruciating detail, everything that had happened to Silas that night. She would find it. She absolutely would find it. Whatever it was that troubled him, Big Sister was going to put him at ease.
What else could she do, really?
Silas needs a new phone. Current rates are at ~5000¥ for anything with more processing power than a tsundere toaster.
One of Reizei's traits has been discovered! Protective (Rakuyama) - As Rakuyama's best friend, Reizei is naturally inclined to keep her close in his thoughts and react badly to those he believes are hurting her. (Massive REL loss if Reizei thinks that Silas is either annoying or flirting with Rakuyama.)
Several of Airi's traits have been discovered! Silas still doesn't know his last name, though, which is kind of sad! Loyal to the Council - "Hey, when Ichiro-kun says to pounce, you ask how far, you know what I mean?" (Airi does what the Student Council tells him to.) Secretive - Airi keeps a lot of things bottled up inside of him. Maybe it's for the better? (???)
Matsuoka Yumika: -5 REL (Doesn't remember the past couple of days with Silas.)
Shinohara Hana: +3 REL (Loved the movie choice.)
Drama Club: +2 REL (Had an amazing movie night, wish we could remember what happened during it!)
Passive Bonuses Conferred! (+0.5 CHAR, +0.25 CRE, +0.25 COUR) WEEK 3 ENDS! WEEKEND 3 BEGINS! Because school is closed this weekend, one [CLUB] action is lost and one [AS] action is gained. Please select four [AS] actions. At least two of these must be [AS] Otaku Stuff! actions.
[] [CLUB] Hang out (Random REL Increase with club members)
[] [CLUB] Work (Influence future club actions, ???)
[] [CLUB] Help out the officers. (REL increase for Matsuoka, Reizei, ???)
[] [AS] Visit a location.
-[] Walk around the city. (Random events, ???) -[] Stay afterschool (Meet students? Learn more about the school?) (NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG CITIZEN)
-[] Visit the Hypermall
[] [AS] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[] [AS] Talk with Big Sis (???)
-[] Help her recreate that lost AI… somehow. (Starts Companion App Track)
-[] Help her fabricate a new phone. (Starts Phone+ Track)
[] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
Friendly reminder that actions can be doubled if you want. *wink* Also, you cannot do both of Big Sister's sub-actions at once. If one choice wins, we're stuck on that track till it's complete. Also also, prepare for some minor overhaul to the [SOCIAL] actions... again... once the week proper starts. Also also also, please feel free to berate me angrily in the comments for dragging this episode out over a month. I really need to be told how shit I am at time management. Thanks!
[X] Plan Computer Weekend
Otaku Stuff
-Grand Strategy Games!
-Forum Scrolling!
Talk with Big Sis
-Help her recreate that lost AI...somehow.
Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum
Because school is closed this weekend, one [CLUB] action is lost and one [AS] action is gained. Please select four [AS] actions. At least two of these must be [AS] Otaku Stuff! actions.
...that was, interesting. Things have been set in motion, hopefully we'll get a mysterious call soon. Hopefully we can succeed where others have failed. Welp, only thing to do is train our Anime skills to help out!
Also the char sheet is still a bit uh, duplicated still. Not sure if intentional?
[X] [AS] (Special) Otaku stuff!
-[X] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25)
-[X] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25) x2
[X] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
[X] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????) x2
$$ for the new phone quick instead of getting of faffing about with the phone track and doubling the INT gains because it's closer to the next whole point.
The middle-aged teachers legs wobbled suddenly and she slumped against the wall, eventually falling all the way to the ground, popcorn sprinkled all over the flower.
Airi-san was standing behind her. He chuckled nervously. "Heheh… sorry, Kamasaki-sensei. I hate having to do that." He looked directly towards Silas. He was clutching another one of those pens. Silas froze up. "And you. Um… sorry again. You know I said I was gonna make it up to you some time for nearly knocking you out by the school entrance? I… yeah… well… you're gonna have to put this one on my tab, Yamigawa-kun."
This was great. I have a thing for sudden yet inevitable betrayals, and even though I knew Airi was hardly to blame, I felt myself enraged by what he was about to do. That punch to the face was very much deserved. Man, Nanami can throw some mean hooks, huh?
On the whole, this feels like the best update to date, with the tensions reaching peak, backstabbings, chase scenes, a near capture but-not-really experience, tearful goodbyes and a twist at the end that was unexpected and foreseeable at the same time. Good stuff all around.
<Worriedly>SOMETHING IS CAUSING SILAS DISTRESS.
<Determined>MUST FIND SOURCE AND ADDRESS AS NECESSARY. SILAS WILL NOT SUFFER SO LONG AS BIG SISTER LIVES.
Yes. The entity [Nanami Mai] is confirmed to cause Silas emotional turmoil while he is being unaware of it. Must terminate the source.
What Silas does not (or rather, can not) know won't hurt him, right? Big Sis is creepily adorable when he goes all yandere Skynet on us.
'Lil Sis vs Big Sis war when? I think it'd be best if the technology behind 'Lil Sis wasn't recreated. Big Sis reports some holes in her memory... maybe that would help Nanami if/when they come to blows? Or does she remember everything about the AI... but then why does she need our help to recreate it?
Protective (Rakuyama) - As Rakuyama's best friend, Reizei is naturally inclined to keep her close in his thoughts and react badly to those he believes are hurting her. (Massive REL loss if Reizei thinks that Silas is either annoying or flirting with Rakuyama.)
Wait, he believes flirting with Rakuyama is hurting her too? That's more like Possessive or Clingy. Must test for Science. (Seriously, though, I wanted to make Rakuyama our second/third friend choice. Looks like it will be met with some setbacks)
[x] [AS] (Special) Otaku stuff!
-[x] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25)
-[x] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25) x2
[x] [AS] Talk with Big Sis (???)
-[x] Help her fabricate a new phone. (Starts Phone+ Track)
[x] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
[X] [AS] (Special) Otaku stuff!
-[X] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25)
-[X] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25) x2
INT above all. If we can trigger a positive trait, all the better.
[X] [AS] Talk with Big Sis (???)
-[X] Help her recreate that lost AI… somehow. (Starts Companion App Track)
Edited; See below.
[x] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
Holla holla get dem dollas.
As far as the Quest as a whole goes, I like it. I can't follow anyone's names for shit, but that hasn't /yet/ become a comprehension problem.
The Nightmare girl I don't like. Poor impulse control is one thing, all of our significant interactions with her being deliberately terrifying?
Actually, I would be totally okay with her if not for the fact that last time she actually said some really mean shit. Like, irrespective of her liking to provoke fear in people, if someone in real life did that to you then you have incredibly valid grounds to never ever talk to them again. Identifying someone's existential fears and then capitalizing on them is something that a Bad Person would do. Of course, you can do Bad Things without being a Bad Person, but we haven't really gotten a look at other facets of her.
Maybe she's a Fear Elemental manifesting as a High School Girl. That'd be fun.
As far as Nanami vs Big Sister goes, I'm partial to Big Sister because that allows Silas to have a Best Friend (Big Sis) and a Girlfriend (???) be different people. If we get Nanami back, like fuck are we dating anyone else. Which is fine; In the hypothetical Nanami world I'd be pushing to date her /immediately/. Not really though. Nanami is more interesting, currently, so I favor her.
It's more socially efficient with Big Sis, is what I'm saying. By the way, is Silas not aware that Big Sis is an AI? Because it's glaringly obvious to anyone who has watched/read enough sci-fi animu and mango.
In other events, we clearly messed up by not picking Student Council to join; although if that locked out Nanami then I'm not sad because this is shaping up to be a hell of a plot arc. I'm going to work my damndest to get her back.
Something is wrong with Hanamura. He seems weirdly parasitic.
I honestly could not care less about Debate-Guy. There's only so many things to do in a timeslot, and he seems neither interesting nor worth investment.
Tsun-tsun is so background it's hilarious. You'd think she would be more of a cloud over our interactions after what happened and she just...isn't.
So yeah. Hope my rambling serves as an appropriate SELF-INTRODUCTION. Hopefully you won't have to wait long, friend.
