2/5 Marn 2018/10/14(Sun)18:18 No. 906928 ID: c1eaac
File 153956628601.png - (22.36KB , 700x600 , 2.png )

The cold steel of a knife blade presses into my throat.

Then farther, biting into the skin.

Then farther.

Then

3/5 Marn 2018/10/14(Sun)18:18 No. 906929 ID: c1eaac
File 153956630047.png - (1.27KB , 700x600 , 3.png )

nothing.

4/5 Marn 2018/10/14(Sun)18:18 No. 906930 ID: c1eaac
File 153956631928.png - (57.50KB , 700x600 , 4.png )

I wake up gasping, clutching at my throat to keep a nonexistent wound shut, expecting to feel blood that isn't there spilling through my fingers. But I'm safe in my room, in my apartment. It only takes a minute before my heart stops racing and I can breathe deeply, repeating the same inner mantra that always lets me come back into myself after becoming too immersed in the Aggregate.

5/5 Marn 2018/10/14(Sun)18:18 No. 906931 ID: c1eaac
File 153956633453.png - (108.53KB , 700x600 , 5.png )

My name is Esme Dupont, I'm twenty-seven years old, and I was born in Lyon, France. I'm a homicide detective. I live alone, in a row house in Virginia. Last year, I became a member of the fledgling, sixty-some member hivemind known as the Aggregate.

And now, apparently, one of those sixty-some members is dead.

Did any of you feel that, too?

I felt it! gotta say esme, not a huge fan of being murdered. did anyone else notice any details or were we all too busy being terrified for our lives?

also, sound off? lets see if we can figure out who's missing

can you talk directly to the others? figure out who’s dead, if you can - and if anyone else is in danger
and can you safely report the death to your department??

>>906931
Nope, everything feels fine here! ...I'm not the dead one, right?

Well that sucked.

The blood splatter didn't seem to match with the victim's position, though. Did they have a fight?

Since the victim lost visual before dying, I'd expect the knife or some other implement went through the brain.

... Also, why do we all have amnesia? I don't remember when we agreed to this agg thing.

Did the victim see the murderer?

>>906931
"Feel" is a strong word. Witness? Observe? But yes. Someone just got killed, and it was one of ours. Should we call the cops?

Would the cops even believe you if you told them? Somehow I kinda doubt it.

Wish the poor dead schmuck had given us a little more to go on, though.

Marn 2018/10/14(Sun)21:40 No. 906970 ID: c1eaac
File 153957845915.png - (116.04KB , 700x600 , 6.png )

I reach over to the bedside table and grab my phone and glasses. If I'm awake, then I might as well stay awake and try and make some headway on this.

>Did the victim see the murderer?

I don't think so. In my dream, it felt like the knife was being pressed to their throat from behind.

>I'm not the dead one, right?

No. None of you are. Maybe it's just me, but I can feel the hole where the dead one used to be, like a single stitch ripped from a delicate piece of embroidery. I'm sure it would be much worse if it was someone I knew intimately - but I'd also know exactly who it was, instead of being hung out to dry like this.

If I focus hard enough, I can feel the sorrow and grief of the other members who knew them radiating outwards from somewhere in the city. I don't take it as an open invitation to dive into their minds - I don't know any of them, and it's impolite to force your way into a stranger's head. Even if the Aggregate has made us all a little less strange to one another, we still have boundaries, and manners.


>Should we call the cops?
>Would the cops even believe you if you told them?

No, I don't think putting in a call to the precinct would help much, considering I don't know who the victim is or where the murder happened. But I do have other options, in and out of the Aggregate. I could probably call someone for an assist, if I want to go out and try to find the scene of the crime on my own. I squint down at the bright screen of my phone, opening up my contacts list.

Marn 2018/10/14(Sun)21:41 No. 906972 ID: c1eaac
File 153957846839.png - (178.77KB , 700x600 , 7.png )

The people with the little green hearts in my contacts are Aggregate, the ones without aren't. Either because they don't want to be assimilated, or because I just haven't bothered to offer. Since most of my contacts within the Aggregate are close friends, they'll let me into their heads, and vice versa - which, for you newbies, means we can do a lot more than just sharing surface-level thoughts. We can share the intent behind those thoughts, and complex emotional experiences, even from across the city.

Of course, there are benefits to working with people outside the Aggregate, too. They can be a little more clear-headed, since the only thoughts they have to sift through are their own. And they might let me assimilate them into the Aggregate if we get close enough, and they see the benefits of it for themselves. That would be nice.

At any rate, here are some of my best bets for information, or just someone I could drag out of bed. Carmine runs a nightclub, so they're probably awake, and they're an information broker for a mob, so they know a lot of the comings and goings when it comes to crime around here. The only downside is...well, I'd have to go to a nightclub after just waking up in a cold sweat. Detective Upchurch usually works the night shift, and has been my partner on a couple investigations. He's a little odd, but I trust his instincts. And Gia is an old friend. He cleans crime scenes. Sometimes for the people who caused them. He's pretty tight-lipped about most of his work around me, but I might be able to find a way to make him talk.

shoot off a text to Gia and ask if he's had a crime scene to clean tonight, and that a member of the aggregate got murdered - tell him how, and say it was recent so that he can keep an eye out. even working for criminals doesn't mean he'd let them kill one of us. we have like, internal loyalty. or a sense of self preservation since we can all feel each other.

carmine could be helpful but they could also be busy at work. i'd call upchurch in for an assist if you need to call anyone. all the grief floating around in here is making me dizzy, and i cant tell where its coming from, so it might be better to have a man on the outside.

I guess I'll second calling in Upchurch. As much as I don't love relying on cops, the last thing you need is to be MORE in your head right now.

talk to carmine definitely. maybe shower if you have time to clear your head

there's a disthread now! https://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/126039.html[/spoiler]

>>906974
ooh def tbis for gia
hes one of us hed know!

Marn 2018/10/15(Mon)09:52 No. 907020 ID: a64fd6
File 153962235483.png - (187.67KB , 700x600 , 8.png )

A shower doesn’t sound half bad, and it should give me the time I need to finish waking up and clearing my head. I text Gia while I wait for the water to heat up - it’s a lot kinder than suddenly popping into his head, especially at this hour. He doesn’t reply right away, and he still hasn’t by the time I get out of the shower, but that’s alright. He’s probably asleep. I would know right away if anything serious had happened to him.

Marn 2018/10/15(Mon)09:52 No. 907021 ID: a64fd6
File 153962237166.png - (93.29KB , 823x578 , 9.png )

At any rate, if you lot think I should partner up with Upchurch, I suppose that’s what I’ll do. Anyone want to help me pick out an outfit to visit the good detective in?

The preset options are examples of what can generally be found in Esme’s closet, and the blank template is a dress-up, if you have an idea of your own!

Suggestion 2018/10/15(Mon)10:53 No. 907038 ID: 3a4f06
File 153962600971.png - (75.13KB , 389x677 , tgchan1.png )

What about something a bit more.........casual? Smooth? A leather jacket with enamel pins?

quietCrisis 2018/10/15(Mon)13:41 No. 907053 ID: ce950c
File 153963609447.png - (463.46KB , 1080x2220 , 2eea48cf-3284-4461-945b-26a39676178b.png )

It's called fashion, look it up

Well, whoever in the hivemind was close to the victim should also know basically exactly where they were. They should call the cops or someone near the scene of the crime, and they should be able to get there in time to at least prevent the criminal from cleaning up evidence.

Seconding >>907038. Comfy yet stylish

fantast 2018/10/15(Mon)22:23 No. 907112 ID: 2af340
File 153966743515.png - (44.05KB , 274x533 , esme doll_suggestion.png )

vests........ good
shiny bits also good

>>907053
Cute

cal 2018/10/16(Tue)16:14 No. 907199 ID: 70df1e
File 153973166121.png - (41.77KB , 275x538 , esmeoutfit.png )

... dress up time

Marn 2018/10/17(Wed)18:26 No. 907336 ID: c1eaac
File 153982597983.png - (135.17KB , 700x600 , 10.png )

Oh good, I was hoping you wouldn’t make me regret asking for fashion advice. Carmine and my boyfriend are the only people I get it from, usually.

Anyway, this should do nicely.

Marn 2018/10/17(Wed)18:26 No. 907337 ID: c1eaac
File 153982599379.png - (120.51KB , 700x600 , 11.png )

I’m almost ready to leave, just putting on my hearing aids, when I feel the mind of someone else within the Aggregate clumsily barrel into mine. Sharp terror and unease roll through my body in waves, like someone’s struck a tuning fork in my chest. It’s harder to breathe, suddenly.

What the hell WAS that? Did someone just DIE? the owner of the horrible wave of anxiety asks. We should call the cops, right? I mean, I don’t exactly trust the cops to do jack shit, but -

I am the cops, I tell him, before he can go on.

Oh. Haha, shit, sorry. Are you, like, investigating, or what?

Sort of. I check my makeup one last time in the mirror by the door. Are you new? It’s rude to connect like this with people you don’t know very well.

I - uh, yeah, he says, sounding sheepish. Sorry. I just got off work and my boyfriend’s asleep and I’m kind of freaking out about, uh, the whole murder thing. So I was kinda looking for anyone close by who knew what was going on.

He does sound new. Really new. And there’s no faking the anxiety he’s feeling. I could offer to let him ride along in my head to the station, I suppose, even though we don’t know each other. The Aggregate is supposed to be familial like that, everyone helping each other. Or, if he really is close by, I could meet up with him in person.

Let him ride along! He's in bed with his sleepy bf don't make him get up. It sounds like he's real anxious anyways and it would be good to have someone to talk to while we investigate.

Besides, it might be safer for him to stay inside. We don't know if this murder is aggregate related or just bad luck yet, and putting him in danger would be bad.

ride along is safer!

Let him ride along, its easier for both of you right now. And ask him about where he is or his boyfriend to help him calm down a bit tho to help him (and us) to be less anxious

>>907340
Yeah. I mean, his boyfriend should probably know how he's feeling, but you can help him until he's ready.

Marn 2018/11/11(Sun)23:23 No. 910386 ID: c1eaac
File 154200742070.png - (148.42KB , 700x600 , 12.png )

You can ride along with me for the time being, if it makes you feel better, I tell him. It's easier than bringing him along in person, and a lot safer for him. There's still a murderer out there, as you've all so helpfully pointed out. I'm on my way to talk to a detective who works the night shift, to see what the two of us can dig up.

Oh, uh - that'd be great, he says, hastily. Thanks, uh...I didn't ask your name or anything.

Esme.

Esme, okay, cool. I'm Lane.

He sends an image with it, a flash of a waving reflection in a darkened shop window. He's tall, with unruly black hair and glasses, and an unshaven face. I look in the mirror by the door again, just long enough to send an image of myself back to him.

Marn 2018/11/11(Sun)23:23 No. 910387 ID: c1eaac
File 154200742764.png - (70.54KB , 700x600 , 13.png )

It's nice to meet you, Lane, I say, though we haven't really met in person - meeting through the Aggregate is just as valid. You are new, aren't you?

Yeah. My boyfriends were all Aggregate ages ago...I didn't like the idea of it at first, but I guess I felt left out. I let my primary - uh, Wyatt, the one who's asleep right now - do the whole assimilation thing last week.

How are you liking it so far? I ask, finally stepping out the door and into the street. It's only a few blocks from my apartment building to the precinct, so there's no use in driving. Even with a murderer on the streets.

It could be worse. Lane's laugh reverberates in my head. It's just weird, I guess. I feel like I don't know a lot of the rules yet.

Your boyfriends aren't helping?

They assumed I'd figure it out, I think. They get sort of wrapped up in their own heads sometimes...I joined the Aggregate so I could break into that a little, I guess. I felt like sometimes they were forgetting to talk to me, since they could think things at each other.

Marn 2018/11/11(Sun)23:24 No. 910388 ID: c1eaac
File 154200744170.png - (52.33KB , 700x600 , 14.png )

I click my tongue against my teeth, disapprovingly. A lot of members of the Aggregate - myself included - do their best to balance relationships inside and outside of the hivemind, spending just as much time as their friends or loved ones who haven't joined the Aggregate. Acting all high and mighty just because you're a member of the Aggregate is sort of frowned upon.

It's not their fault, Lane says hastily, as I set off down the sidewalk. It was just kind of new and cool to them. They weren't ignoring me on purpose...can we talk about something else? I don't think I want to go over my relationship drama with a stranger, if that's cool.

umm, let’s get to know him! more casual questions, normal stuff - we might be sharing a head w him now, but its nice to start from the top; especially since now we know abt smth so intimate

to be fair we arent strangers anymore, and we're going to be spending a lot of time together.

but if he'd rather not focus on that, that's fine. still, just make a little mental note there so that we can look into it later if we want to. maybe tell him more about the detective youre going to see?

I mean, he's in your head. Not exactly a stranger anymore. I guess that's just a newness to the Aggregate thing, though. Not that that means he needs to spill his secrets of course, so try asking something else. Small talk about work.

Also, you've got a badass vibe, Esme, just wanted to say.

I guess tell him how your jobs works and how things are probably going to go down. Maybe tell him to keep calm in case things get graphic.

Has anything else like this happened in the time you've been a member of the Aggregate? Have you heard of anything before that time?