>>629892
It's a big deal because we've had them for a long time and some emotions are very powerful. Sometimes we get addicted to them, like the rush of adrenaline. Most people believe in a direct correlation with causation between love and happiness, and people love being happy, so it's a big deal. You feel important to someone, you have someone important to you, and there's the sex that's also great.

Love's like this HUGE combo of good shit stacked together. So a LOT of people want it, and a lot of people fear it too.

>>629892
1, 2, and 7.
She's unsure of what to do with all these strange emotions, and she's worried that they're more trouble than they're worth. We need to be supportive and show her that she's doing better than she realizes.
>>629893
>>629896
>>629900
These guys say it well.

2, maybe 3, and a little 4. Also, a general response to her concerns: while it may be kinda interfering, I think it's important that she experience that, because EVERYBODY ELSE does. So now she knows what we all feel like. Also, its existence probably colors the relationship in subtle but important ways, if I had to guess.

>>629900
This seems mostly good, too.

>>629902
>Everybody else does
Except the floaters of course...

Possibly try "What kind of answer do you want? Evolutionary? Cultural? Personal?"
...because that's not going to confuse her even more..

Also probably let her know that it's kind of weird and confusing to everyone, not just her.

2, 4, 7.

2 and 7.

Say whatever you're gonna say, but for the record, Earth totally has crags. She should check out Arizona or Norway or any number of other places. Maybe a date? How fast can she fly, top speed?

Enemy 2015/03/19(Thu)10:49 No. 629920 ID: e30e12
File 142678738546.png - (8.70KB , 960x560 , 184.png )

"Um." You think. "I don't really know either. Just because."
"But it's messing me up," protests Meg.
"It feels better once it's reciprocated," you say. "Which it is."
"What?"
"If this is you trying to tell me you like me then you should worry less because I like you too."

She stops and hugs you, very tightly.
She's smooth and cool to the touch. You can hear a quiet hum coming from her thrusters and from the ear things on her head.
She runs her hand along your neck and then holds you even tighter, nestling her head against your chest.

A weirdly long amount of time passes.

1]] Gently detach yourself.
2]] See? Isn't that better?
3]] Kiss her.
4]] Touch her butt.
5]] _______________

2. "Feel better?"

>>629920
3&4

>>629920
2 & 5: Reciprocate. Hug that little lady!

>>629922
Oh, please no.

>>629922
>in the middle of an emotional moment
>time to grope her ass

Jesus fucking christ. Kiss, maybe. Ass, no.

>>629926

>Kiss, maybe.
Hugs and gentle neck and shoulder kisses.

>>629920
Just go for the hug.

I am going to feel super bad when we break three of their hearts.

>>629925
Agreed.

>>629928
Also agreed. For some reason, this moment in particular highlights that particular...awkwardness...about our job.

>>629928
>implying monogamy

No but seriously though, while monogamy is dominant in Western culture, there's a lot of IRL cultures where it's not practiced. Fraternal polyandry exists, religious polygyny is a thing even in America, and so on. There's no way skut are monogamous with their hivemind, and since Meg is new to the whole love deal I doubt she has any preconceived ideas or cultural mores about monogamy. Polyphema and GG are the only possible problems, but they both signed up for the dating pool and Polyphema seems willing to try anything, besides not seeming to take the relationship very seriously so far.

Enemy 2015/03/19(Thu)12:27 No. 629941 ID: e30e12
File 142679325174.png - (8.43KB , 960x560 , 185.png )

You kiss her forehead.
She raises her head and kisses you full on the mouth.
It's kind of a surprise to find out she has lips. They're surprisingly full.
She tastes fresh and clear, like water. She doesn't have any teeth.
Her mouth is a little too wide. You pause for a second, brush her jaw to close it a little, and keep going. "Sorry," she mumbles out of the corner of her mouth. You shake your head in dismissal and kiss her deeper.

Her thrusters sputter and almost give out. You catch her.
Eventually she tilts her head back and away. "Fuck," she gasps.
"Feel better?" you say.
"Yes." She boosts her thrusters back up. "A lot."

Enemy 2015/03/19(Thu)12:27 No. 629942 ID: e30e12
File 142679327220.png - (9.38KB , 960x560 , 186.png )

She gives you a ride home. She plays more music for you.

D'amore al dolce impero
Natura ognor soggiace.
Dov'è quell'alma audace
Che non apprezzi Amor?
Chi, misero, non sente
La fiamma sua possente,
Di Smalto ha il core in petto,
O mai non ebbe un cor.

"WHY OPERA?" you ask.
"CUZ IT'S HARD," she says. "AND I'M BAD AT THINKING OF LYRICS FOR MYSELF."
"IT'S REALLY BEAUTIFUL," you say.
She finds your hand and holds it.

She drops you off outside your apartment. "That was good," she says.
"Yeah?"
"Yea. Usually with paintball there's not as many good dogfights because everyone focuses on picking off the ground people to pad their numbers. That was better."
"I'm glad you didn't get paint on your jacket," you say.
"Me too." Meg unbuckles her harness. "I woulda fucking killed you."
"Really?"
"No. Probably not. That was cool, though."
"It was."
"If you want to go again next week I can take you."
"Are you sure I won't be too much of a handicap?"
"Shut up," she says. She starts to unclip the harness from her hip, then pauses. "Zack?"
"Yeah?"
"I have a question."
"What's up?"
She looks at you. She unclips and reclips her harness.
"Meg?" you ask.
"Can we have sex?" she says.

1]] Yes.
2]] No.
3]] Not yet.
4]] Are you sure?
5]] _______________

>>629942
4. 4 so hard.

>>629942
It's taboo to do that on the first date, and this is her first date EVER, so 3.

4 followed by 3, we think she needs to discover feeling a bit more first.

Smile graciously, but there is such a thing as too much too fast. Not yet. For her sake.

>>629942
4.
She is completely new to this, and what she's experienced so far has left a really good impression on her. She needs to be certain of her decisions. Our reaction should depend on her response.

>>629942
4)I'm up for it, but you need to be sure that you'd be comfortable trying it with me first.
Bad timing can potentially ruin the first time. I mean it's fun still even with bad timing, but it's still a concern. I don't want you to regret it later. Unless this isn't your first time at all, in which case I apologize for making that assumption.

We're also going to have to figure out how it's going to happen. Can your jets burn my sheets or bed? Not that I can't replace it and that actually almost sounds fun to try.

>>629954
Yeah. "Are you sure? You said it yourself, this is your first date. Try clearing your mind and see if it's really something you really want."

>>629969
That sounds a touch...condescending.

Enemy 2015/03/19(Thu)15:19 No. 629972 ID: e30e12
File 142680359733.png - (9.00KB , 960x560 , 187.png )

"Are you sure?" you ask.
"Yeah. No. Yes. I don't know. Yes. I don't know what to do."
"I think for your sake we should wait," you say. "It's kind of taboo on the first date."
"Why?"
"It's too much too fast. Especially if it's your first time."
"Oh. True." Meg finishes undoing her harness.
"Is that OK?"
"That's fine." Meg shakes her head. "I thought I had a handle on it."
"No it's fine," you say. "You just need more time to work your way through it."
"I've had nine fuckin' months," Meg says. She is clearly very embarrassed. "Maybe I should just read the manual. I'm sorry."
"I don't want you to regret it is all."
"Thanks." Meg hovers up and backward. "I'm going to go crawl into a hole. Later, Zack."
"Meg--"

But she's already blasting away at speed.

Shoot.

You check your messages.

Greg: Zak I am moving this weekend can you help and can you bring your frightening GF? Ill pay you

Zack i was at the grocery store and i cant look at those chickens with their legs tied together in the eye anymore not that they have eyes
when can we do it again

Z doll I feel like I should play an earth video game. Whats a good video game?

Enemy 2015/03/19(Thu)15:20 No. 629973 ID: e30e12
File 142680361343.png - (20.20KB , 832x600 , 188.png )

You've gotten everyone in at least once.

Who next?

I vote Bika.

>>629973
Poly.

Go hang out with Bika.

>>629972
FUCK!!! WE TRIPPED AT THE GODDAMN FINISH LINE!!! GODDAMN IT!!!
We must-ABSOLUTELY MUST-find a way to make this up to her. As soon as possible.
UGH.
Anyway.
Greg: We'll help when we can. And stop ogling GG, it's creepy.
GG: Avoid poultry for a while. How about sometime next week?
Poly: What are you in the mood for? Action, adventure, strategy? What are you into?

>>629973
We already had plans with Poly, so her.

Poly.

>>629982
Well, it's too bad she feels...embarrassed? Mortified?...but I think the decision we made was still the most rational one (at least, of the ones that makes sense for Zack to give); I'm not sure whether we could have predicted the outcome. Maybe we're not putting ourselves in her shoes properly? Dunno.

But yeah, I guess meet up with Poly, since she has dibs. Help Greg at some point, sure. OH, looking back, it looks like Alan was the one who was attracted to GG. Speaking of which, that might kinda be ok? GG doesn't have exclusive rights on Zack, it'd be fair to have that go the other way. Plus, matchmaking helps partially solve the problem of "how do I not disappoint at least 3 women" or whatever, maybe.

Aw man, I leave for classes and come back to this. Oh well.

Poly, and yeah, Greg wasn't the one ogling GG. We're going to have to apologize to Meg. Profusely. Admit we made a mistake, should've said "If you're sure", apologize for doubting her, and so on.

Poly
And tell her that if she likes nutty warrior movies, try Metal Gear Solid. Not Ground Zeroes, that's heavy as fuck. Get the HD collection with 2, 3, and Peace Walker. Play 3 first.

Another wacky game might be Sunset Overdrive if she has an Xbox One.

If she wants a serious game, This War is Mine. It represents an example of how human on human war effected civilians. Very deep emotional stuff. It'll flare emotions.

If she has a Wii U, go get Super Metroid or the Metroid Prime Trilogy and download it from the eshop. That's neither wacky or too serious. It's just you, Samus, and good gameplay. Also, maybe we can Smash Bros later.

There's also the Mass Effect series if she wants a sci-fi story heavy game. It's pretty balanced, but heavy on RPG mechanics for the first game, and excellant characterization and third person gameplay throughout the rest.

Grow Home's a pretty good, simple cheap game. No story or combat but it feels good.

IF she wants a good first person shooter, the newest Wolfenstein. Another war game though, so may be off putting. Bulletstorm is a dumb, lovable, fun shooter though.

Sandbox game with good story? Red Dead Redemption.

Highest recommendation still belongs to Super Metroid.

>>629972
You did the right thing. You didn't blow it. Meg said no once.

>>629989
All of this (she was unsure when she's supposed to be all on board, u feel, but idk)
Oh man tell Poly to play mass effect[s]!

>>629987
> Maybe we're not putting ourselves in her shoes properly?
Whatshoes?
And yeah, it wasn't Greg. Oops. I think GG's pretty set on us now. That was some heavy personal stuff she shared with us.
>>629988
>We're going to have to apologize to Meg. Profusely.
Damn straight.
>>629989
>Metroid
>Mass Effect
Y'know, it'd be really interesting to get the actual aliens reactions to the fictional ones. I bet Poly would love either.
>You did the right thing. You didn't blow it. Meg said no once.
Doesn't stop me from feeling like shit. She was probably in tears when she took off. Fuck.

I want to say FTL but I wonder if that hits too close to home in some ways?

Honestly though I have no idea what kind of games Poly would like. Terraria? Hearthstone? Tetris?

>>629989
Eh. Doing things you're unsure of isn't always a bad thing and I don't think sex would have been as huge a deal for her as it would be for a Western human, but... even if he did the right thing he did it clumsily.

>>629999
Yes. Thank you. We are well aware of our failings.
You wanna twist that knife any harder? I think we could writhe a little more.

I think if we said yes she would have gotten up to getting naked but being completely unprepared for the situation, freaking out, and running off.

Poly. Never flake on a date.

We should probably apologize to Meg and let her know that its not because you aren't interested. We hurt her confidence, and she probably wants to feel desirable. Maybe some sexting or something to help talk her through it, not a manual.
Actually next time we should ask to see the manual. That sounds awesome.

Time to go play games with Poly, but don't we have some reports to write to the boss man?

Tell Poly to play Earthbound.

>Z doll I feel like I should play an earth video game. Whats a good video game?
There are some cultural baseline games like Mario 1 or 3, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Tetris, if that is what she is going for. She is big on absorbing the great works, after all. I think these sweet modern games might be better for later.

>>630014
>We should probably apologize to Meg and let her know that its not because you aren't interested. We hurt her confidence, and she probably wants to feel desirable.
Precisely!
>Maybe some sexting or something to help talk her through it, not a manual.
That...does not sound like a great idea, though.

Enemy 2015/03/20(Fri)03:26 No. 630081 ID: e30e12
File 142684718410.png - (11.22KB , 960x560 , 190.png )

You call Polyphema.

"Zack, darling," she says. "What's the story, morning glory?"
"We have a date this weekend, right?"
"We do. I for one am breathless with anticipation."
"Do you have any hints for me as to what it is?"
"You know me, lover boy," she says. "No hints. Just alternating complete obfuscation and straight to business."
"Speaking of which, do you want to tell me your name yet?"
"I want to a great deal. Which is why I can't. What's wrong, Zack?"
"Nothing."
"You sound like you have the world weighing down on you, doll."
"I'm a little down. How can you tell?"
"I haff my vays." She does a pithy little German accent. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't know."
"Then sit on it. Think about something happy."
"Like what?"
"Like puppies," Polyphema says. "Or Tiny Tim lyrics or something. Or better idea: think about this weekend. That's all I've been doing."
"Are you excited?"
"Aren't you?" she says.

"You and I have are going to have a little reunion, Zachary. Make sure you get plenty of rest. You're going to need it."

ENEMY QUEST CH 2 END Enemy 2015/03/20(Fri)03:28 No. 630082 ID: e30e12
File 142684732496.png - (76.21KB , 960x540 , 189.png )

KILLS 20% ITEMS 0% SECRET 66%