Thank him for answering our questions then go check out that door.

Pendel is your contact to the Metamyriad. If you lose his trust you might lose everything.

May as well see what he's talking about. You owe him that.

Lily, lily. You gotta get a grip. Remember the ship of Theseus - no matter how many times it's been altered, repaired, and otherwise modified, it's still the ship that carried Theseus in his journey, even if all the parts are replaced, bit by bit. In fact, our bodies are like this, Lily. Dead cells give way to new cells, growth and decay after each other, and still you are Lily. So relax, maybe what the Metamyriad does is natural after all. There's nothing to worry about, really.

"Thank you Pendel, sorry for making you uncomfortable."

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/21(Thu)23:10 No. 642047 ID: 26e769
File 143227501239.png - (203.27KB , 1000x1000 , meta146.png )

>I think that was it.

As you turn to go, one last question pops into your head. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

“Because you didn’t want me to.”

“That’s all?”

“Does there have to be more? You simply looked like you could use a friend.”

>Thank him for answering our questions
>"Thank you Pendel, sorry for making you uncomfortable."
>I... thanks, Pendel. Sorry I've been hard on you, you're not always a jerk. And I really hope you're not crazy.
>Everyone's a little bit crazy.

“…Thanks, Pendel. Sorry for calling you a jackass and stuff. I really hope you’re not crazy.” You smile. “Although, everyone’s a little crazy, I think. Anyway. Sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

He finally shifts completely back to his usual self. “Oh, finally coming around to the idea that I’m not the devil?” He starts laughing. “What a change! Although, I did meet the devil at one point, come to think of it.”

“Wait, what? Are you ‘joking’ again?”

“Hardly.” He grins. “I think I told you before: I had a few encounters with the Spanish Inquisition. Oh, now don’t go worrying about eternal damnation, Lily-pad. It wasn’t actually the devil. But it was quite as close as one could get, I imagine. Hell of a story, that. I’ll have to tell it to you at some point.” He does a little bow. “But for now… toodles!”

And he’s gone.

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/21(Thu)23:11 No. 642048 ID: 26e769
File 143227509164.png - (53.45KB , 1000x1000 , meta147.png )

>Faith. Trust his advice, go where he said.
>May as well see what he's talking about. You owe him that.
>Go check out the door.
> Let's go check out the MYSTERIOUS DOOR.

You follow his directions as best you can remember them.

You arrive at a blue door with scratches on the bottom.

You take a deep breath, then open the door.

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/21(Thu)23:12 No. 642049 ID: 26e769
File 143227513794.png - (242.87KB , 1000x1000 , meta148.png )

Huh? It’s just a broom closet. “Hello?”

You hear a gasp. You turn in its direction. Oh! It’s Veronica. Why is she in a broom closet?

Why does she look so scared?

…what is she doing?

SMACK AWAY THAT SMACK DAWG

>>642049
Oh fuck that's HEROIN. Get in there and tell her to take that needle out of her arm. That shit will FUCK YOU UP. Tell her she should try something less life-destroying like cocaine.

Make sure they don't freak out, we don't want them accidentally killing themselves. Also this school is pretty garbage for not finding out about this. Where did they even get those drugs?

Make sure they know you aren't a narc. Even if you narc out later, it's fine. Lying is your friend. Act cool, try to figure out why they're doing what they're doing, and if they need help.

Tell her that you've also had a rough day. She should consider her options, especially with what you have to offer her.

We don't know for sure it isn't insulin, although the circumstances of it being a darkened broom closet suggest it isn't so innocuous. Try a joke?
"Shit, if this closet's already in use for shooting up it's probably no good for me to bring someone on a fifteen minute date with no clothes. Any suggestions where else I should try?"

Calmly ask what is going on. Don't do anything physical.

Oh. She's shooting up. I hope that's not hard narcotics, but it probably is. I really hope this isn't a suicide or overdose attempt, although Pendel might well send you to intervene in something like that, considering where you've been, and that he did for you.

(...even if it's not a deliberate suicide attempt, there's been a lot of bad heroin on streets, and users dying of it. At least in the northeast. Not sure if that's true where these guys live).

>what do
Just pause in the door, don't freak out, move any closer, or run away. Just ask her "Are you okay?"

How do you know Veronica?

>I had a few encounters with the Spanish Inquisition.
Someone really needs to pop in this joke next time: "Well nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
>>642049
"What are you think you're doing?"

>>642125
*do

Seconding this, good suggestion.

>>642164
What is?

>>642078
This one, whoops

>>642078
Insulin doesn't require a spoon and a lighter.

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/22(Fri)22:34 No. 642261 ID: 26e769
File 143235924442.png - (105.75KB , 1000x1000 , meta149.png )

>How do you know Veronica?

Raven showed you her picture on the way to school.

> I hope that's not hard narcotics, but it probably is.
>Oh fuck that's HEROIN.

What?!

>We don't know for sure it isn't insulin, although the circumstances of it being a darkened broom closet suggest it isn't so innocuous. Try a joke? "Shit, if this closet's already in use for shooting up it's probably no good for me to bring someone on a fifteen minute date with no clothes. Any suggestions where else I should try?"
>Just pause in the door, don't freak out, move any closer, or run away. Just ask her "Are you okay?"
>Calmly ask what is going on. Don't do anything physical.

“Uh, uh, I guess I, uh, can’t have a sex date in here and oh my god are you okay?!”

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/22(Fri)22:34 No. 642262 ID: 26e769
File 143235929460.png - (189.56KB , 1000x1000 , meta150.png )

Before you can do anything, she yanks the needle out of her arm, pulls you inside, closes the door, and grabs you by the shoulders.

“Veronica, is that…”

“It’s - it’s insulin! I’m diabetic. It’s insulin.”

>Insulin doesn't require a spoon and a lighter.

Your keep your voice quiet. “I don’t believe you. Insulin doesn’t require a spoon and a lighter.”

“I locked the door. I always lock the door. Damn it. Damn it!” She sounds scared. Her voice is shaky.“Look, just - you can’t tell anyone. Do you understand, Lily? They’ll kick me out. They’ll send me home. You can’t tell anyone. Not even Raven.”

You’re surprised that she knows your name, until you realize that she’s probably your friend. “Ronnie…”

“Please, Lily!”

>Make sure they know you aren't a narc. Even if you narc out later, it's fine. Lying is your friend. Act cool, try to figure out why they're doing what they're doing, and if they need help.
>Make sure they don't freak out, we don't want them accidentally killing themselves. Also this school is pretty garbage for not finding out about this. Where did they even get those drugs?

“…I won’t tell anyone.” You sigh. “I’m not a narc. Just please tell me why you’re doing this.”

Veronica relaxes a little, but she doesn’t let you go. “…It’s the only thing that makes me feel good anymore.”

“Where did you even get it?”

“…why do you want to know?”

Someone's selling drugs near your school. You need to make sure that they don't step up their game to kidnapping teenage junkies.

Also, you're under a lot of stress and have your own disturbing version of dealing with it. But right now, the words "Only thing that makes me feel good" are a big sign.

Also, you don't want her to become so addicted that she blindly obeys her supplier for drugs.

>I locked the door. I always lock the door. Damn it
I suspect Pendel cheating.

>“…why do you want to know?”
Maybe because I found you doing hard drugs and I'd like to understand what's going on?

I'm worried about you.

You asked me to lie for you.

Please, talk to me?

>…It’s the only thing that makes me feel good anymore.
A possible follow up question, if she needs prompting, might be why she stopped feeling good. Or what's making her feel bad.

>I locked the door. I always lock the door. Damn it
Oh wait. Lock the door behind you, Lily. The last thing you want is someone walking in on you now. You're not screwing up and having this conversation in front of the wrong people!

Plus, you get free trust points. She'll see it as you protecting her, keeping her secret, for the moment.

>>642262
Tell her that even the drugs aren't going to make her feel good anymore, eventually. Not at the dose she's taking now. She'll have to take more, and more, until she overdoses and dies. You won't let that happen. Also heroin will make her feel even WORSE when she's not high.

It's not worth it! You can help her. If she hasn't been addicted for long she might not need to go to rehab, even.

Tell her that eventually even the heroin is going to not feel as good anymore.
She's basically escaping her problems.

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/23(Sat)16:38 No. 642472 ID: 26e769
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“Maybe because I found you doing hard drugs and I'd like to understand what's going on? I'm worried about you. You asked me to lie for you. Please, talk to me? “

Veronica finally lets you go, her arms hovering slightly. It’s like she’s afraid that the only thing keeping you here was her grip. “You wouldn’t understand, Lily.”

> Lock the door behind you, Lily. The last thing you want is someone walking in on you now. You're not screwing up and having this conversation in front of the wrong people!

You take a moment to reach over and lock the door. Veronica blinks, looking like she was ready to grab you again. “Uh, thanks.”

>you're under a lot of stress and have your own disturbing version of dealing with it.

“Hey, I’ve got stress. I’ve got problems. I have ways of dealing.”

“Don’t patronize me.” She looks agitated.

“Give me a chance. Just tell me why you stopped feeling good, or what’s making you feel bad.”

“I’m a fuck-up.” She looks really uncomfortable. “Just… drop it, would you?”

>heroin will make her feel even WORSE when she's not high. It's not worth it! You can help her. If she hasn't been addicted for long she might not need to go to rehab, even.
>Tell her that eventually even the heroin is going to not feel as good anymore. She's basically escaping her problems.

“Ronnie, heroin isn’t a solution. It’s - it’s an escape! It’s just going to make you feel worse and worse. It’s not worth it!” You notice you’re getting a bit panicked, so you try to calm down. “Look… If you haven’t been on it for long, you might not even need to go to rehab, okay?”

“Shut up!” She grabs her things and turns to unlock the door. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

>>642472
Stop her. Tell her you know what it's like to deal with the horrible consequences of the solution to an aching need. You're not judging her. You just want to help.

>>642472
>I knew you wouldn’t understand.
Look, wait, I'm sorry! I'm guessing in the dark, here.

How am I supposed to understand if you won't say anything? I can listen, okay? What's the worst thing that happens- I still don't get it? You don't have much to lose by trying.

Then give us a little help, we could spend endless conversations about what could be the problem. But maybe talking isn't what you want right now. Maybe you want someone to understand and not judge you for once. We don't have to talk but we want to try and be there for you.

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/23(Sat)22:34 No. 642550 ID: 26e769
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>Stop her.

You grab her arm. She shrugs off your grip in seconds. You blink for a moment, surprised. But then you remember that you’re about a foot shorter and a lot thinner, and Veronica’s taller and stronger than Raven.

“Look, wait, I’m sorry! I’m guessing in the dark, here.”

“Yeah! You are! So shut up!”

“Wait, wait, please, I can listen, okay? I can listen!”

“I don’t want you to listen. I don’t want to even talk about it.”

“I can be there for you! I swear, just give me a chance!”

“Stop it, Lily! Just fucking stop it!” She finally stops, door ready to close, and stares you in the eyes. “Stop trying to fix me!”

>Tell her you know what it's like to deal with the horrible consequences of the solution to an aching need. You're not judging her. You just want to help.

“I know what it’s like to-“

“No! No, fuck you! You don’t know what it’s like. You can’t know what it’s like. You think I want to be like this? You think I want to do this? You think I don’t want to go home and just chill out, get clean? I don’t have a home to go back to, Lily. I don’t have people who love me. I wish I was you. I wish I was like you. I wish I had friends, and family, and someone who could care for me like Raven does for you. But I don’t. I never will. And I get that. I’m a waste, a fuck-up, and I’ll probably end up dead in an alley pretty soon. I’m resigned to that. But what I don’t need is you rubbing it in my face, acting like you can just walk into my life and fix everything. You can’t fix me! No one can fix me! I can’t fix me.”

She stands for a moment, breathing rapidly, before slamming the door. You can hear her footsteps as she runs off into the hallway.

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/23(Sat)22:36 No. 642551 ID: 26e769
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...You don’t understand.

You tried your best. You did. You tried to listen, tried to talk.

You just wanted to help her. You did everything right, didn’t you?

You have no idea what went wrong.

We do not TALK about this notion, but teenage runaways are the target of choice for pimps. Get them drug addicted, send them out streetwalking: That's one of the more straightforward stories of how girls become prostitutes. That might be what has already happened to her, and if so it'll take a long time for her to admit it and explain it.

"I can't understand what I don't even know. Is it part of what you have to do to have a place to sleep now that you left home?"

>>642551
What went wrong? Well for one you tried to act like you understand how she feels when your problems are on two entirely different spectrums. I actually have a plan to fix this, though. She has nobody who loves her, and no home. THESE are the problems we can fix for her. We just need to play it smart, and likely only act from the shadows... This'll be a long term project for sure, as it'll need careful planning. We need to get her a home, and hook her up with someone who'll care for her.

>>642551
Yeah I'm pretty sure nothing you could have said would have worked. She is resigned to her fate, and sees all attempts of help as condescending useless bullshit. What you have to do is approach as a group. Make sure she can't get away, and make it clear that she has no choice in the matter. She couldn't do anything alone, maybe you couldn't help her alone, but all four of you have a chance of doing something.

You just need backup.

>You have no idea what went wrong.
She reacted badly when you tried to relate her to you. "I have stress too", "I know what it's like to". Avoid that in the future. She doesn't know just how fucking bad your life was, pre-wish, and you really can't explain it to her. Saying you can relate doesn't sound true to her.

I think that was the biggest mistake. You should have let her say something instead of turning it back on yourself, or trying to give a lecture. Lectures never work. Need to think more like a therapist and less like an authority to figure to help in this kind of situation.

...also, she's kind of jealous and resentful of you. You're normal and sort of popular now. You have everything she wants. You were disadvantaged by your new status here, harder to relate to her. (Maybe she'd react less badly to someone less popular than girl-you?).

And, as I'm sure you understand, she resents the idea of being fixed.

>You did everything right, didn’t you?
Well, you stopped her from shooting up, at least once. That might have saved her life.

...I wonder if we can get our hands on any narcan.

The horrible part is that her issues are a good model of your own predicament: despite having access to an artificial intelligence with control over reality itself, you can't seem to make things go right because you're not the right person for the job, and the one thing you can't seem to change is who you are, which is causing distress for you because you were selfish enough to fix your own problems instead of bringing back the dead.

So, fixing HER problems should be a good start at sorting out your own issues. After all, the whole reason why the Metamyriad is giving people unlimited power is to learn what that unlimited power really is. Maybe you can take a cue from that and fix up someone whose problems are similar to yours.

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/24(Sun)00:43 No. 642593 ID: 26e769
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>"I can't understand what I don't even know. Is it part of what you have to do to have a place to sleep now that you left home?"

Veronica’s gone. There’s no point talking to thin air.

>What went wrong? Well for one you tried to act like you understand how she feels when your problems are on two entirely different spectrums.
>She reacted badly when you tried to relate her to you. "I have stress too", "I know what it's like to". Avoid that in the future. She doesn't know just how fucking bad your life was, pre-wish, and you really can't explain it to her. Saying you can relate doesn't sound true to her.

You start to feel like you’re out of your element, here. How can you help her? Why would Pendel send you to see Ronnie? Shouldn’t someone better take care of her?

> her issues are a good model of your own predicament […] the one thing you can’t seem to change is who you are.
>And, as I'm sure you understand, she resents the idea of being fixed.

It’s true. But then, you’ve never truly wanted to change who you were. Just what. Even if you are a freak, at least you’re happy now, right? You wanted nothing more than to be fixed, and now you are.

>...also, she's kind of jealous and resentful of you. You're normal and sort of popular now. You have everything she wants. You were disadvantaged by your new status here, harder to relate to her. (Maybe she'd react less badly to someone less popular than girl-you?).

Why would anyone be jealous of you? You’re not even sure if you like your girlfriend, you don’t know who your friends are, and you’re nowhere near normal.

…then again, Ronnie doesn’t know about any of that.

>Yeah I'm pretty sure nothing you could have said would have worked. She is resigned to her fate, and sees all attempts of help as condescending useless bullshit. What you have to do is approach as a group. Make sure she can't get away, and make it clear that she has no choice in the matter. She couldn't do anything alone, maybe you couldn't help her alone, but all four of you have a chance of doing something.

Yeah, that might work.

>Well, you stopped her from shooting up, at least once. That might have saved her life.

You did, didn’t you? At least you helped her that much. Then again, she’s probably just going to go off and do it somewhere else.

You suddenly feel kind of nauseous and weird. Your stomach hurts.

>>642593
IT'S TIME FOR FEMALE PROBLEMS!

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/24(Sun)00:53 No. 642596 ID: 26e769
File 143245402114.png - (127.41KB , 1000x1000 , meta155.png )

>IT'S TIME FOR FEMALE PROBLEMS!

W-what?!

Oh god. Oh god!

Is this really happening? But you don't know how - you're not prepared - what do you do?!

>Why would Pendel send you to see Ronnie? Shouldn’t someone better take care of her?
Pendel doesn't have a lot of people to send places. And maybe what you did was right, or good enough.

Or maybe it was about you as much as her. Maybe you needed someone to help, or a real-world problem you can actually address. Or a reminder other people are fucked up worse than you in some ways.

>>642596
Um. Back to the bathroom, I guess?

>what do you do?
Get help, maybe? Be real convenient if you ran into Orchid. She remebers helping you though this once.

You're in a dark room with a sturdy lock.

What do you think, genius?

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/24(Sun)02:03 No. 642605 ID: 26e769
File 143245823587.png - (84.17KB , 1000x1000 , meta156.png )

>You're in a dark room with a sturdy lock. What do you think, genius?

You don’t know what that means!

>Um. Back to the bathroom, I guess?

But what do you do when you get to the bathroom? Oh god, oh god, you didn’t think this would happen today! It’s only been four days since you got this body!

>Get help, maybe? Be real convenient if you ran into Orchid. She remebers helping you though this once.

Yeah! Where would Orchid be? You think it over. Based on what you know of her schedule, she’d probably be in algebra right about n-

…

Uh. Maybe you should look for Raven instead. Yeah. You’ll do that.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/24(Sun)02:05 No. 642611 ID: 26e769
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…

You really, really, really want to have sex with the girl sitting next to you.

Oh, uh, right… Your name is Orchid ‘Orc’ Wilton. You are a 17-year-old badass motherfucker.

You enjoy classic rock, hard rock, punk rock, alternative rock, indie rock, grunge, P!nk, Ween, fighting games, action movies, Powerpuff Girls, and trespassing on really cool private property. Some people call you a ‘music nerd’ and/or a ‘weirdo’. You think that anyone who doesn’t enjoy the same things that you enjoy is not worth your time. Unsurprisingly, you have very few friends.

You’re kind of awesome. However, your mom is a bigoted bitch, your dad’s a boring math geek, and your twin sister is apparently now a trans-dimensional transsexual with psuedo-amnesia.

So your home life is a little complicated.

You are currently engaged in a very familiar activity: covertly ogling Mercy, your incredibly hot crush. You have discovered that she has a boyfriend. This has made you fairly pissed off at the world. However, her boyfriend is not currently here, so you’re enjoying several mildly erotic daydreams starring her while you ignore whatever the teacher's saying.

A. What do you want to wish for?
B. Why is it for everyone in the world to be homosexual?
C. Pay attention in class!

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/24(Sun)02:46 No. 642621 ID: 26e769
File 143246080605.png - (97.25KB , 1000x1000 , meta158.png )

>C. Pay attention in class!

Never!

>A. What do you want to wish for?
>B. Why is it for everyone in the world to be homosexual?

Agh. You wish that your wish was that cool. All-gay world? Hell yeah. Though then you’d miss out on all the hot dudes, so… hmm. You’ll have to think this over later.

Your wish is boring, anyway. It’s a little crazy, too, but not in a really fun way. You wish twelve-year-old Orchid had been a little more creative with her power fantasies.

Seriously, who would even want to rule the world?

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/05/24(Sun)03:02 No. 642625 ID: 26e769
File 143246173779.png - (69.11KB , 1000x1000 , meta159.png )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhQQgU7hfmI

>Uh. Maybe you should look for Raven instead.
Because that won't be incredibly awkward.