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Twilight, Sparks barely even struggles as you smash him to the ground. He looks up from beneath your boot with eyes gone blank with terror. Those are the eyes of a fucker that knows he's gonna die, he just knows. So when you stand him up, and everyone's arguing, and you start asking him questions, he just sort of stammers. "But..." he starts, and then his head shatters, spraying bits of brain across your armor. The body twitches once, and then collapses into a bloody wreck. Guess the poor bastard was right. From somewhere above you rings out a hideous, inhuman laugh. Abel, it's a laugh you know all too well. Meat. He must be up at the top of the makeshift tower of boats! "Drowned Men die!" he roars, his voice made alien and hollow by the mask, that mask... "Weak! Cowards! So they die, and Meat reigns over their corpses!" Lyric, it seems that the turf, so recently freed, has already attracted a claimant. Iris, they've caught you flat-footed -- men with smears of blood across their mouths threaten from all sides, from windows and doors and the cobbled-together parapets of flotsam that are the roofs of Thames. You recognize a few former Drowned Men; musta seen the way the wind was blowing and traded blue paint for red. Twilight, as the only fucker present with a fuckin' head on your shoulders, apparently, you notice all this a hair faster than everyone else. If you want, you can get to cover or out of sight before the others are surrounded. Or just book it, I guess. Lady Monsoon, Lizzie steps out of your way as you board. "Watch yourself," she murmurs, but seems fine with you havin' a chat with the boss, for now at least. First Mate has clearly been brooding darkly about something, and for a moment she doesn't even look at you, even when you stick the hat on her head. She clomps down the gangplank and onto the shifting boards of the wharf while you talk at the back of her head. But once you've finished, she focuses back on you. "Trouble? Oh no, cupcake, I expect that when everybody finds out the cap'n's bit it, it'll be parties and hugs all round," she says, low enough that the crowd can't hear. She looks you in the eyes, like, what the gently caress, has this bikini-wearin' weirdo finally lost it? Only no, you're serious, so: "You... want to be the... figurehead?" She looks at the hat, then back to you, then back to the hat. "You... haven't been drinkin' that apple poo poo, have you?" She'll gladly pay you to Do Violence for her, but if you want the figurehead gig you're gonna have to have some leverage to Manipulate her.
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Dec 6, 2016 09:12
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 Cool -1 | Hard +3 | Hot -2 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 0:00 | Experience: 0/5 | 1-barter Of course it was an ambush. I could smell them coming. Does anyone listen? Of course not. Part of me notes Spark's head exploding, fragments of skull and brain flying past us. Not that kid's day. Not at all. In one fluid motion, I grab Lyric, hoist her over my shoulder, and charge back out of the square. I grin as my feet splash in the shallow water, glad that the world is making sense once more, "Hang on, Lyric, I'm getting you out of here." Bullets are raining down around me, kicking up spray as we run. I fire a few rounds back. Not my best work, but I can hear pained shouts. Hard to miss when the prey are so plentiful. I feel a few bullets slam into my armor. No blood yet. Lyric seems fine. I'm glad. Wouldn't do for her to get killed by these scum. Wouldn't do for her to get killed at all. I kick in a door, riddling the gangster inside with bullets, then put down Lyric. "Alright. You should be fine in here." I check the magazine on my rifle, swap it with a fresh one, and ready myself to rejoin the hunt. quote:[23:19:51] <Tricky> Twilight defends Lyric from attack (SBF) Taking Unnatural Lust Transfixion as my advance. Tricky fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Dec 6, 2016 |
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Dec 6, 2016 09:47
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 Cool +1 | Hard -2 | Hot-1 | Sharp +2 | Weird +2 Harm: 3:00 | XP: 1/5 | Barter: 6 I just watch as Sparks's head explodes. The only thought at that moment is how I can't face his sister again. That gets interrupted by Meat - the man Abel was talking about. I pull out my gun and begin firing into the crowd as I try and dive into an area not currently occupied by any of the former Drowned Men. Twilight is already shooting into them, and my silent additions from a different angle are probably thowing them off a little. I motion to Abel to follow me. Maybe he has his own idea of what to do, but right now I need at least one other person with me if Lyric and Twilight are escaping their own way. [04:06] <Heliotrope> Lay Down Fire [04:06] <Heliotrope> !r 2d6-2 [04:06] <Krysmbot> Heliotrope, 6-2 = 4 Providing supporting fire, which lets Twilight choose another option on her SBF
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Dec 6, 2016 10:10
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 Cool +1 | Hard +0 | Hot +1 | Sharp +3 | Weird -1 Harm: 0:00 | XP: 2/5 | Angel Kit: 6/6 | Barter: 1 Even though I know better, my brain spends time thinking about Twilight's and Lyric's conversation, how they both revealed new facets of themselves, what that means regarding me trying to guide Twilight towards practical usage of her impressive skills, what that means for my collaboration with Lyric. My mind should be focused on sensing that stillness just before an ambush, but instead, all I hear is the rain, loud, and the rasp of Meat's breathing when he was under my knife, before it all went bad. Before it all went bad. The shot cuts through the rain like thunder and I see Sparks' head explode, in impossible slowness. My brain starts dragging up fragments of thoughts, whether I remember correctly that he had a sister, that he can't answer my questions now, that he's a poor bastard that should have been kept out of this. But then it is as if time unfreezes, and I have my 9mm in my hand, pointing it at what I now realize are men surging out of the jumbled mess that is Thames, all the hidden corners - like scorpions out of a mud nest. I hear a laugh, a raspy voice, half-see the giant masked figure in the distance, the bare muscular arms with the same tattoos as mine, hidden under a thousand new ones. I can almost smell the fresh blood on its mask, his mask, and it sends a shiver up my spine. And if I was some fool initiate barely old enough to hold a gun, even some thug who got through some raids on cruelty alone, that would be all I do. I shiver because it is him, it is Meat, back from the dead, maybe trying to make us switch places - but my instincts don't care. They make it very simple. Ambush. Right where they want us. Have to move. "Get to cover!" I bellow, my voice louder than it has been in weeks. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Twilight hoisting Lyric over her shoulder. Good. Iris? Not frozen, already moving, motioning for me to follow, even despite everything. None of us innocent lambs, even though some of our claws are hidden. Good. I start moving, sprinting towards where the cluster of thugs does not seem as thick, after Iris. The door of a ramshackle building falls to my kick - the only entry from the front, other than a small window, that I can see. I dive inside, the crack of gunfire following me. It is dark inside and I just hope nobody is home. No time. Iris is close by. Lyric got taken care off by Twilight. And Twilight? Can take care of herself. Like that, my head checks off points in a list, and I allow myself to act again. The hail of bullets in my direction has stopped, for a second. I use the chance to blind fire my pistol out the door I just kicked in and, predictably, just after I withdraw, I get an answer in kind. Through the debris of the home I've taken cover in, I quickly dash towards the window. Their fire being concentrated on the door will maybe keep me from getting my head blown off, like Sparks. I peer outside, try to see how many we are up against, where they are moving to, where exactly Lyric and Twilight are, what that drat thing Meat is doing. And I see Sparks' remains, no longer even twitching, only still Sparks in my mind because I know that was him. Wouldn't be able to tell any more. If he'd been hit anywhere else, maybe I would have been able to still help him. No time. Eyes forward. Even though everyone else didn't stand around like an idiot, like I've seen so many times from the other side of the scope, we still need a plan. Because there's way more of them than us, and they something way more vicious, deadly than some run-off-the-mill gang boss leading them. <nilPhone> Abel Keep An Eye Out <nil_> !r 2d6+3 <Krysmbot> nil_, 8+3 = 11 Gaining 3 hold. Marking XP from Sharp. The gang members, gathered from what seems to be the remains of the Drowned Men and other foolish or weak enough to follow someone like meat are the most immediate threat. Their weapons are poor, just like the Drowned Men's were, but that doesn't matter when you're close enough. Anyone can pump someone full of holes point-blank, which is what's going to happen to us if we let them overrun us. We're in cover right now, sure, but withdrawing without a clear route is just asking for a bullet in the back. Meat is... hanging back right now. Screaming his taunts. Waiting for there to be blood in the water, or seeing who of his new recruits are worth more than just a warm body that can hold a pistol. Like back then. Blood in the water. I realize what they're going to do, probably even before their animal together-mind does, the one you get when you have a half-trained gang of young idiots with weapons but without leadership. Like hunting animals, they'll go after who weak, but still looks like a threat. And right now, that's me and Iris, separated from what even they can see is the true threat: Twilight. If they find some way to flank us, gang up on us, we're done for. I breathe in. "Twilight!" My voice resounds. "Thin the footsoldiers, make anyone that makes a move pay for it! We need to be able to move and join up!" Spending 1 hold to ask what's coming: megane posted:well, since twilight pulled lyric to safety, meat's gang are gonna try and murder iris nil. fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Dec 6, 2016 |
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Dec 6, 2016 14:43
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 Hard =0 | Cool -2 | Hot +1 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 6:00 | Experience: 4/5 | 3-barter It all happened so fast. I watch as the boy named Spark's head explode, bits of his blood splash onto my apron. My mind goes blank, and before my brain can process the situation, I feel myself being lifted up by Twilight, like a doll, "Ahhhhhh!!!" Twlight... she is saving me. Why? She could have just ran. Left me here to die. She didn't have to do this. All I did was anger her, it's not like she has a reason for doing this. Was I... wrong about her? Is she more than just a violent murderer? She puts me down, and I'm safe from the bullets and the violence, but what about her? She is ready to head out again. She is a warrior, yes, but she is not invincible. What if she gets hurt? What if she... no, no she won't die. She is like me, too stubborn to die. I will not sit around and do nothing. Twilight has risked her life for me, and I must do something for her in return. I will be her second pair of eyes, if need be. I will make sure no harm comes to her. I bring out my shotgun, and take cover beside the door frame. "Go! I will keep watch over you from here! And Twilight," A look of concern appears on my face, "Please, be careful. Don't die." I move in, and give Twilight a kiss on the cheeks. Perhaps as my way of wishing her good luck? Or maybe as a way to say thank you for saving my life? I am not sure. What I am sure, is that we will not die today. There is still so much left to be done, and it would be a shame to leave all those projects unfinished. quote:<Hugzilla> Lyric's keeping an eye out for Twilight Tardzilla fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Dec 6, 2016 |
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Dec 6, 2016 15:49
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Cool -1 | Hard +3 | Hot -2 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 0:00 | Experience: 0/5 | 1-barter Lyric's lips brush my cheeks. A faint blush crosses my pale skin. She is beautiful. I don't know what moves me, perhaps some primal instinct, but I draw her close and firmly kiss her on the lips. The world seems to fade away for a moment, before the staccato bursts of gunfire draw me back into the moment. Wow. That was... that was better than I thought it would be. I smile at the mechanic, despite the chaos surrounding us, "I won't. You either, alright? Keep your head down and your angles clean. And, uh, maybe we can continue our discussion later?" Inwardly I groan. You kiss the girl and then ask her to talk to you? God. It's been so long since I've needed to talk to people. That kiss felt great, though, so at least I had that going for me. quote:[16:15:44] <Tricky> Twilight seduces Lyric
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Dec 7, 2016 02:29
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Hard =0 | Cool -2 | Hot +1 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 6:00 | Experience: 0/5 | 3-barter Life, as I have learned, time and time again, is filled with unexpectedness. I did not expect Twilight to kiss me. I did not expect that someone as pale and as cold as her would be so warm, so gentle. I did not expect to feel- No! I... I love my Songbird! I... I... I stare at her, my eyes wide, and my face a bright red, the sound of my pounding heart drowns out the rain and the bullets outside. I try to form words, but nothing comes out. All I can do is look at her, and admire her pale beauty. I absently put my fingers to my lips, and finally manage to say, "...Okay." I nod at Twilight. "We will... talk." Accepting to talk to Twilight after the fight. Taking Spooky Intense as my advancement. Tardzilla fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Dec 7, 2016 |
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Dec 7, 2016 02:57
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 Cool +3 | Hard -1 | Hot +2 | Sharp =0 | Weird -1 Harm 0:00 | Exp 1/5 | Barter 2 "Not a drop! Today, at least~" I smile back at her, bold as you please - or rather bold as I please. "But only if you need one. Actually running this place sounds like far more trouble than it's worth, but pretending to... well, that's easy. All you have to do is look good and look tough, and I've got both of those on lock." Still, looks like she'd need selling... do I really want to? Eh... maybe. "Might be doing you a favor though, figure most people'll think you bumped off Deigo, first in line to take over, and all that. But if some hotshot killer took him out... they can hardly blame you for trying to make sure things run smooth and we don't go under. Gives you the time you need to make sure you've got your base steady and rivals... out of the picture. You're your ready, you get the hat, I get out of the picture, we both win, yes?" I pluck the hat from my head once again, spinning it casually on a finger. "Or take the hat now, and tell me who you want dead." [22:44:17] <godfish> manipulate first mate - I'm not totally sure this is enough for the move, if not just ignore this roll I guess [22:44:19] * megane1 (~Sam@synIRC-FC1B2DC9.austin.res.rr.com) has joined [22:44:20] <godfish> !r 2d6+2 [22:44:21] <Krysmbot> godfish, 7+2 = 9
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Dec 7, 2016 07:43
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First Mate finally gives you a real, solid look. You can feel her eyes all over you, it's like she's measuring you for a fuckin' suit. Or maybe a coffin. This is how she looks at, like, a rickety plank she's worrying might not hold her weight. "Lady Monsoon, right? Look, you seem like a nice kid and gently caress if I could use the help right now. But you ain't one of my crew, you know? If we're gonna... do business... I gotta have somebody I can trust keepin' an eye on you. No offence or anything." Find somebody trustworthy to vouch for you and you've got the figurehead job. As I mentioned, that list includes Inque, Lyric, and Abel, but not Twilight or Iris 'cause one's an outsider and the other one's a weirdo. First Mate walks as she talks, and soon enough you find she's led you to the Tanned Hide. Why the gently caress is she going here? She clomps in out of the rain without a moment's hesitation, ignores all the eyes on her, and immediately pulls Leatherhead aside for a private chat. What the gently caress. Lizzie and Number Eight settle down at a table and get themselves some drinks. You notice Inque and some chick in a fancy black suit at one of the tables, and Leatherhead's bouncer eyeing you something fierce. Inque, Salt puts on a sweet smile and takes a swig of her drink. "Think it over, babe. There is nothing shameful about needin' some scratch, trust me on it. We're just gonna play happy fun times with this guy, and in the morning we walk away with his jingle in our pretty little pockets." She downs the rest of the booze: "My cousin says his boat's supposed ta get in right around midnight, and we're gonna be there to meet him, right babe?" The sodden crowd stirs a bit as a number of heavy footsteps approach the door, and in comes First Mate like she owns the fuckin' place. Salt snickers: "Uh oh, it's the brute squad, better put on our nice girl hats," she murmurs to you behind her glass. First Mate corners Leatherhead right away, but Lizzie, Number Eight, and Lady Monsoon trickle in through the door behind her. Across town, the sunken square erupts in a blaze of gunfire! Meat howls with laughter at the bloodshed below. With Iris providing covering fire, Twilight drags Lyric into a nearby house, spraying AP rounds in all directions as she goes. For a moment, they're safe. Iris isn't so lucky, though; she's caught in the open, with little cover. And with the gunlugger out of sight, it's open season on brainers. Act under fire! Literal fire, in this case. Abel and Lyric, while the others fight, you spot the grotesque silhouette of the man himself, standing astride the summit of the tower of shattered hulls. Even at this distance, you can see the mask, oh gods, the mask! It's as though those eyes are staring right into your godforsaken soul... and it isn't the man's eyes I'm talkin' about. Meat cricks his neck and flexes his scar-striped arms. "Huntress! Slayer of man and beast, yes, Meat sees you! Meat smells the blood you spill!" He throws his hands wide, and the water makes a halo of mist around his muscular shoulders. "Let us fight together, huntress! Meat is your friend, not your enemy!"
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Dec 13, 2016 09:04
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Cool -1 | Hard +3 | Hot -2 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 0:00 | Experience: 1/5 | 1-barter I step to the doorway, ready to charge back out into the thick of the battle, and then stop. They are weak, undisciplined, and unworthy prey. I could easily send them running. Drive them from the square, maybe even drive them from Thames. Yet... it would take time. Who could say if Lyric would be fine without my protection? She was injured and, no matter how she protested, untested in the hunt. A spray of bullets slam into the floor by my feet and I step back into cover. No. Better to stay by her side. Ensure she survived this ambush. Abel, at least, had experience on his side. He would do fine. And Iris... well, she surely had her own talents when it came to violence. I shout back at Meat, "And what would you have us hunt, Meat? My companions? I think not." quote:[23:15:07] <Tricky> Act Under Fire (to Seize By Force)
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Dec 13, 2016 09:38
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Hard =0 | Cool -2 | Hot +1 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 6:00 | Experience: 0/5 | 3-barter Twilight is... hesitating? Why? With her skills, she could easily overpower Meat and his gang. Why did she stop? Is she worried about my safety? Is she... trying to protect me? "Twilight," I move closer to her, making sure I don't leave myself too exposed to the gun fire outside, "You stopped because of me, didn't you? Are you afraid of what would happen to me if you left me alone? I am touched that you are trying to shield me from danger, but," I gently place my hand on top of hers, "I am not some delicate flower who needs protecting. This is not the first time I had to fend for my life. I will be fine. Do not let me hold you back." I look down at her hand, "I was... wrong about you. I spoke without understanding anything about you, but I think I see it now. There is more to you than the killing, isn't there? If there wasn't, then why else would you go through all this to save me? You could have left me to die, but you chose not to. Those are not the actions of one who has discarded their humanity, like Meat. Twilight," I squeeze her hand a little, "You are just in pain, aren't you? You have been suffering for so long, and this is how you cope with that suffering, isn't it? You drown your emotions with blood and bullets so you wouldn't have to think about what you have lost." I stay silent for a moment, before I lift my head up to look at her again, "...Sorry. This is the wrong time for this. Just do what you must do, and finish this quickly. I... I am," a faint blush appears on my cheeks, and I smile, "I am... really looking forward to talking to you, after all this. Twilight, I..." It was at this point, I noticed I was not in cover anymore, and I was positioned right in front of the open door. quote:Hugzilla> Lyric's helping Twilight
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Dec 13, 2016 15:25
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 Cool+1 Hard-1 Hot+2 Sharp+1 Weird=0 Harm 0:00 xp 2/5 Barter 3 "It just sounds like a waste of my talents." I'm an artist, not an entertainer. I'm not offering private shows to any shlub and certainly none of the sort Salt doesn't have a second thought over separating from their money. Then in comes the first mate. Well I suppose Leatherhead at least got to prepare emotionally. But Monsoon with her is... interesting. I have one question for her regardless. "Hold up Salt, I've been meaning to talk to that one." I nod and quickly excuse myself from the table. I make my way over to Lady Monsoon and flash her a smile. "Hello stranger." I giggle. "What brings you here?"
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Dec 13, 2016 16:14
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Cool +1 | Hard -2 | Hot-1 | Sharp +2 | Weird +2 Harm: 3:00 | XP: 1+1/5 | Barter: 6 As the gunfire goes from Twilight to me I take a look at where Abel went. I start running to the house, trying to move unpredictably so that they can't get me. Definitely time for me and Abel to get out of here - the damage Twilight has done to them should keep them down for a while. [18:15] <Heliotrope> !r 2d6+1 [18:15] <Krysmbot> Heliotrope, 8+1 = 9 Marking XP
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Dec 14, 2016 00:16
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Cool +1 | Hard +0 | Hot +1 | Sharp +3 | Weird -1 Harm: 0:00 | XP: 3/5 | Angel Kit: 6/6 | Barter: 1 The hailstorm of bullets intensifies until it is so continuous it seems to get less louder, like its raindrops falling on the roof for hours. Of course, I know it's not like that at all, that it's just something in my head that allows me to focus on what's important. The bullets are going to be there no matter what I do. Like the rain. A bullet tears through a piece of the wall ext to me, made out of wood, too close for comfort. But it pulls me out of my reverie. I pull myself up, thrust my gun through the window I surveyed the battlefield from earlier, and empty my 9mm in the direction I know Meat still is. Without waiting for the 'click' of an empty gun, I drop back and reload, noticing with some satisfaction that I counted the bullets exactly. In that brief quiet moment - funny what passes for quiet when death and chaos surrounds you - two things strike me: First, I am not hearing Twilight's guns. Or, given that her rifle is suppressed, I am not hearing the results of her gun firing. Screams. Curses. Cries of men breaking down as their toughness gets replaced by the pain of ruptured guts mixing their own blood and poo poo. Second, when I emptied my gun, I was certain Meat still was where I saw him. As if I could still see him, even though I could not. It's not his laughter, so familiar, or his... offer to Twilight, the eloquence something new. Spend 1 Hold to ask what's coming. A shiver runs up my spine, hard against the dirty iron of my shelter. The Maelstrom. I wish I could pretend it doesn't exist, or at least, is meaningless. Just something cooked up by the broken minds this insane world produces, a way to give sense to what makes no sense. But if it was just that, Meat would have died from the dozen times we shot and stabbed him back then, would have died from the fall down that canyon. And sometimes, it 'visits' me too. Hard to keep it apart from just nightmares. Bodies, mangled, bleeding, dying. A battlefield or an infirmary, but always, too much for me to do or face. Overwhelming. And in my hand, sometimes, the gun, sometimes, the scalpel. Because, I suppose, the question always is whether the bodies are work to be done or already finished. And now, I don't know how, but I can sense that thing on Meat too, the Maelstrom. I don't want to listen to it, but I make myself think of it in different terms. Instinct. Like knowing that someone has a sawn off hide under the counter and is planning to blow you away, even though you have no way of knowing that. I breathe in - and frown. Third thing: Where the he'll is Iris? I crawl into the darker parts of the building to peer through the still kicked in door - my outline showing would have me blasted apart in seconds for my foolishness. drat! Iris is still out there! "Iris, move!" Not sure if she even heard me, but she's running at least. I take a risk and scurry back closer to the door to get a better angle at the whole mess. All eyes on Iris, no doubt, any bullet hitting me would be a stray. And she needs cover. No sooner do I think that do I see movement in the corner of my eyes, on top of a roof. I see the dull grey of a gub barrel, the bright red of Meat''s men''s marking. My arm straightens by itself and I let loose several shots, making the marked man take cover, at least for now. "Move!" A bullet impacts next to me, but instead of retreating, I swivel around and fire in the direction the shot came from. Right now, Iris is a far easier target than me. <nilPhone> Abel Help Iris <nil_> !r 2d6+3 <Krysmbot> nil_, 8+3 = 11 +2 to Iris' roll, changing the result to 11. Marking XP from Sharp. "Iris! Meat, he's got more than men and guns. Maelstrom!" I don't like to hear myself say it, but needs must. And besides, that is her battlefield, isn't it? Certainly not mine, but we still need soldiers for it. Using 'what's coming' to warn Iris about an enemy (Meat), Iris takes -1harm from them. "Twilight! Still with us?" Just hope she's not hit, bleeding out, a lucky bullet having torn her throat. Wouldn't be the first one who seemed invincible to go that way. Of course, it'd mean me, Iris and Lyric would be likely to follow in short order too. If we were lucky. I put it out of my mind, drop back into cover, reload.
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Dec 14, 2016 23:39
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Cool +1 | Hard -2 | Hot-1 | Sharp +2 | Weird +2 Harm: 3:00 | XP: 2/5 | Barter: 6 I lunge into the house as Abel fires to keep me covered. "I'm in," I say as I hear the return gunfire. I get down and stay away from the windows. I put my gun away, and take out my pain-wave projector. "The Maelstorm, huh? All right." I take a moment to make sure this spot is safe, even if just for now, and begin talking to it. "Malestorm, how do we get out of this situation? A non-violent solutation would be preferred but, uh" I take a peek outside. "Probably not very likely, huh? So maybe some way of getting an advantage on them. Or on Meat." [01:59] <Heliotrope> Open Your Brain [01:59] <Heliotrope> !r 2d6+2 [01:59] <Krysmbot> Heliotrope, 4+2 = 6
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Dec 15, 2016 08:00
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Lyric, something... something in the back of your mind tells you to look down, and you find there's this funny red light, right over your heart. Wh... oh, oooh! That's a sniper rifle laser sight! Those are hella fuckin' rare nowadays, what a sweet piece of tech! Also, incidentally: somebody's aiming a sniper rifle at you. And they've got your rear end dead to rights, too. What do you do? Iris, you dash across the square, bullets splintering the wood just behind you. But when you open your mind, just a crack, to peek at the chaos beyond... it rams burning fingers into your brain and tears your soul wide open! Before your eyes, the rain turns to lurid, incandescent fire, and the world crumbles into stinking ash beneath its withering corruption! You fall screaming, naked, helpless into the abyss! Take Ψ-harm! (roll it at +0 due to Abel's warning) Meat's terrible mask looms overhead, as big as the sky, staring down at you with eyes of pure midnight, laying bare all that you keep locked away. What deep, dark secret -- something you thought would never see the light of day again -- does it pry from your tortured heart? e: Oh yeah, and Inque -- a few moments after First Mate arrives, you notice one of Leatherhead's boys coming in through the back door with a heavy-rear end-lookin' metal box. He sees First Mate -- she doesn't see him -- he stops dead and ducks back the way he came, all quiet like. Hmmm... megane fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Dec 15, 2016 |
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Dec 15, 2016 09:26
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Cool -1 | Hard +3 | Hot -2 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 0:00 | Experience: 2/5 | 1-barter Lyric's words move me even as her hand covers mine. It is true that she has made her way through this world, that she won't collapse under a stiff breeze. Why should I concern myself with what this rabble might do to her? I could surely eliminate them before they would have the opportunity. The world seems to freeze as I notice the red dot playing across Lyric's chest. My mouth stops, caught midway through a response, as I launch myself at the mechanic and tackle her to the floor. I can feel the impact of the high-caliber round against my back just as I cross between her and the door. The pain is exquisite, despite the armor that surrounds me. I can't even imagine what it would have done to Lyric's chest. We sprawl to the floor in a tangle. Were the situation different, I am sure that I would be experiencing feelings that I had long since considered lost. Instead, I scrabble towards the window and level my rifle at the red glare still visible across the square. The rasp of a single muffled bullet leaving the barrel answers the echoing report of the sniper's shot. quote:[09:26:28] <Tricky> Twilight counter-snipes a sniper (SBF - Defend) Tricky fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Dec 17, 2016 |
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Dec 15, 2016 20:17
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Cool +3 | Hard -1 | Hot +2 | Sharp =0 | Weird -1 Harm 0:00 | Exp 1/5 | Barter 2 "None taken, my dear Mate." It's a reasonable enough thing to want, but who to get to vouch for me? Abel is probably the most trustworthy person here, but I doubt he would. Lyric and Inque are both figures of the town, and at least Lyric would, I'm fairly sure. Inque... maybe. While I consider my options, I just follow First Mate into the Tanned Hide. Ah ha! That certainly is the beautiful Inque there, ignoring the bouncer completely, I start towards her, only for her to come to me instead - that little bit of fun seems to have paid off nicely. I slip an arm around her side, pulling her up against me snugly, and my flirty smile. "Just talking business with our second in command," I tilt my head towards First Mate, lowering my voice to a seductive whisper, "she wants someone to vouch for my trustworthiness, do you think I could persuade you to be that person? You do know me rather... intimately." My finger goes to her chest, running lightly over her tattooed skin in a light circle as my lips move closer to her. "and I'd be ever so grateful..." I throw in a wink for good measure. [13:04:47] <godfish> seduce Inque [13:04:51] <godfish> !r 2d6+2 [13:04:53] <Krysmbot> godfish, 12+2 = 14 [13:04:57] <godfish> :o Tell First Mate she can trust me, offering gratitude and more sex Mark Experience if you do, erase a highlight if you don't.
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Dec 15, 2016 22:06
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Cool+1 Hard-1 Hot+2 Sharp+1 Weird=0 Harm 0:00 xp 3/5 Barter 3 Oh my. One go and she acts like she's a VIP. Typical. This is why I usually don't do such kind of favors. But she certainly knows how to make it fun. And to tease those hungry eyes is even more fun. Besides, I think this suits my interests plenty. It gets me in good with the First Mate, by proxy. However that isn't the only thing on my mind. Monsoon doesn't have my rapt attention because please, I am not one to be enthralled by simple flirting from some fling. I catch a glance of the delivery delaying itself. Now my interest is piqued by two different things. I believe I can have my cake and eat it too. "Hmm. Sure." I pinch her butt. Subtly would likely be wasted on her. "Maybe we should discuss the letter of recommendation in private?" I take her by the hand and start to lead her to the back door. Sure, but Inque wants payment upfront.
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Dec 16, 2016 00:08
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Cool +1 | Hard -2 | Hot-1 | Sharp +2 | Weird +2 Harm: 3:00 | XP: 2/5 | Barter: 6 I think I'm on the ground, maybe yelling. Maybe just being quiet. But everything's gone wrong and underneath the gaze of Meat's mask I suddenly find myself back with Burroughs. She was going after some man for...some reason. She never told me. Sniper was his name I think. I had to keep a gun pointed at his kid, try to make sure he didn't try anything. But things weren't going well naturally, and...I didn't do it on my own. I felt her influence my brain and make my finger pull the trigger. I tried to stop it but I couldn't. I don't think the kid felt anything at least. When he hit the ground, Burroughs looked at me and said "Iris!" As if she was shocked at what I had done. But I could see her grinning. She knew I tried to stop her and wasn't able to. Sniper flew into a rage and attacked me. Burroughs just watched as I tried to explain, but he wasn't listening. She could have disabled him, but clearly wanted me to deal with him on my own. I managed to grab his arm and sent a psychic command for him to stop. Instead he fell over, blood pouring out of his nose and mouth and eyes, only twitching for a bit. "Wow Iris," Burroughs said while laughing. "You didn't need to kill both of them!" [16:50] <Heliotrope> Ψ-harm roll [16:50] <Heliotrope> !r 2d6 [16:50] <Krysmbot> Heliotrope, 5 = 5 I blink, trying to focus...back to the present. Now. The past fades away, and I can see the floor I'm lying down on. Abel is still up, and it seems like the gunfire has faded. "Sorry," I mumble. "Don't think I can help." I can't even tell if I'm saying it loud enough for him to hear.
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Dec 16, 2016 00:36
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Cool +3 | Hard -1 | Hot +2 | Sharp =0 | Weird -1 Harm 0:00 | Exp 1/5 | Barter 2 Looks like it still doesn't fail, once you get someone their first taste of the rain, they keep coming back for more. Jumping, even as an exaggerated response isn't really my style to that sort of thing, so in response to the pinch I just wiggle my butt a bit, and slide my hands down a little lower. "I think we should. I have a lot to discuss..." I give First Mate a wave, though I don't think she's looking, and follow after the tattooed beauty.
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Dec 16, 2016 01:32
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Cool +1 | Hard +0 | Hot +1 | Sharp +3 | Weird -1 Harm: 0:00 | XP: 3/5 | Angel Kit: 6/6 | Barter: 1 Iris finally makes it into cover, and I allow myself to drop back, just take the briefest look at her. "Injured?" Doesn't look like it, there's no telltale red trail, no ragged breathing. She puts away her gun - what is she doing? - and takes out one of her... tools. Don't care for it much, but then again, bet the same goes for a lot of people when they come to me and I pull out the scalpel, the clamps. Something you know just enough about to be anxious about, too little to really understand. Iris keeps talking, until I notice she's not really talking to me anymore, but something else. Something that is not there, at least not here. She wants to do that now? And me the only one to cover her. I suppose like some fisherman seeing off the hardhold''s soldiers, even though he knows nothing of war, I'll have to trust she knows what she's doing. I peer out the window, making sure nobody is sneaking up on us. Still so many - too many. And that when I hear the boom of a high-powered rifle. My head jerks back, into cover, and for a moment I imagine it exploding into bone and gore. But I'm still alive, breathing. Twilight? No, wasn't suppressed. Where the he'll did they get that kind of hardware from anyway. Not from the remnants of the Drowned Men. No matter. Have to take stock. Have to know how the battle is going, whether me and Iris need to make a run for it, no matter the guns pointed at our back. Spending 1 Hold to ask what's coming If we need to run, we'd only need luck for a bit. Could be our last bit, but still. They wouldn't hunt us down, not yet. They want to bunker up, establish themselves in their new turf. Not get picked off in streets that don't belong to them yet. Meat has more than enough cunning for that. So if we want to break them, now might be our best chance. At least before they get to drag Thames down with them. And for that, I need to know what I'm working with. "Twilight, Iris, talk to me!" I bellow. Did I hear a shot, a tumble from their direction earlier? Could mean a number of things, good, bad. For the moment, it seems oddly calm, and I can actually hear the Marked Men through the rain. Nervous? Good. I peer through the door, outside. Iris returns from her... trance. Doesn't look good. Whatever is going on with Meat, it is making my skin crawl just being here, and I suppose she stuck her hands into that jagged, bleeding maw. She mumbles something, and I'm not sure I hear her correctly. But I only need to watch her face. But this isn't the time for doubt. I move over to her, putting my had not holding a gun on her shoulder. "You're still standing, and there work to be done. Focus on that." People need instructions, in a place like this. "Meat's men, they're the weak link here. He's not been their boss for long. Take away the foots soldiers, make them run, and Meat will be just one man." Not a normal man, but still, just one. Giving Iris a suggestion: Break up the gang by going after the foot soldiers. +1 to any roll made in the effort. nil. fucked around with this message at 11:44 on Dec 17, 2016 |
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Dec 16, 2016 12:03
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Hard =0 | Cool -2 | Hot +1 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 6:00 | Experience: 1/5 | 3-barter A second time. A second time she has saved me! This cannot keep happening. What if there is a third time, and what if Twilight is not as lucky? What if she gets seriously injured saving me again, or- No, no I cannot let that happen. There has to be a way to end this, quickly. Perhaps... they know a way? Yes, they should. They have always offered me guidance, even when things were at their most dire, and now, I need their help, more than ever. Not only to save me, but to save the doctor, Iris, and... Twilight. I close my eyes, and clap my hands in prayer. Drown out the noise. Concentrate on their song, and their song alone. Sing. I am the one who gives a voice to those who cannot speak. I am the one who hears their invisible melody. I am the one who gives their songs life. They love me, and I love them. I am Lyric, daughter of the Metal, and I will not die today. quote:<Hugzilla> Lyric is opening her mind Tardzilla fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Dec 16, 2016 |
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Dec 16, 2016 15:19
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Cool +1 | Hard -2 | Hot-1 | Sharp +2 | Weird +2 Harm: 3:00 | XP: 2/5 | Barter: 6 I slowly get up, trying to get the flashback out of my mind. As Abel starts talking, I look at him to make sure I'm hearing him right. "You...want me to go out. And fight all of Meat's men? I'm not Twilight, I can't handle that many of them." Even if I hadn't just been through the abyss created by Meat's mask, I still wouldn't be up for a task like this. "Our best option might be to retreat. Twilight did a number on them, might take them a while to recover. Or we could take them out on our terms instead of theirs."
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Dec 17, 2016 09:11
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Twilight, your act of heroism is rewarded with pain, sharp and heavy: the bullet tears right through your armor and buries itself in the meat of your back. The agony is a jangling shard of glass in your mind, but if they think that's enough to stop you, they've got another fuckin' thing comin'. One burst of your assault rifle elicits a sharply cut-off female scream, and it's lights out for the sniper. The sniper's shot does 3-harm ap, so you take 2. Roll for it! Lyric, the shot comes but then -- silence: the moment slows to a standstill. Raindrops hang motionless in the air. Twilight's face is caught in a twisted mask of pain. The raging noise of battle smears into a single, dull background note, and in replaced by a soft and distant music, barely audible, so familiar, but... you just... can't quite catch the tune... You glance round at the frozen world; looking for a solution. There: in the corner of this patchwork hovel Twilight dragged you into, the boards are weak and splintered. You could easily pry them up, drop into the water, and swim to safety! By the time Meat's men notice, you'll all be long gone. Smiling at your cleverness, you turn back to Twilight, and find yourself staring directly into the eyes of Meat, his face inches from your own. Hot, greasy breath. The dead, black eyes of his mask. He reaches up and touches your face with thick fingers dark with soot and smeared with drying blood. "Little girl," he breathes. You open your mouth to scream and suddenly the world lurches back into motion; you land heavily on the floor beneath Twilight's bulk. gently caress she's heavy in that armor! Ugghh... the memory of Meat's touch is sickening. You rub your face, shuddering. Your fingers come away covered in soot and blood. Abel, your prediction seems to have been correct. Meat gives a deep belly laugh and roars: "Cowards! Let them rot! Meat wins!" You can see that his buddies are getting ready to pull back and fortify their position, leaving their dead where they lay. They're keeping up their fire for now, but if you're hoping to make a move, you don't have long before they've blockaded the square. By the way, you can't keep an eye out twice in the same battle. You're watching out throughout the battle, and you get a certain number of opportunities from it. Lady Monsoon and Inque, you slip out through the back door. There's a few steps down, watch your step. This's where Leatherhead keeps all the supplies and poo poo for the bar, you know, when he's got spare supplies, so there's some crates of booze, dried fish hangin' from the ceiling, and so on. Leatherhead's guy, Tang -- Inque, you've met him once or twice, he tends bar when Leatherhead's asleep and has probably hosed, like, half the girls in this town -- he's here, sitting on that box he was carrying. Shirtless, as usual. Does the guy even own a shirt? He jumps a little when you come in, but then he grins a mile wide. "Hey there, ladies. Have a drink?" He jerks his thumb at the keg in the corner and twitches his eyebrows up and down. "Go on, ol' patchy's got bigger poo poo to worry about a couple of cuties like you sampling the juice." megane fucked around with this message at 10:15 on Dec 17, 2016 |
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Dec 17, 2016 10:02
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Cool -1 | Hard +3 | Hot -2 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 6:00 | Experience: 2/5 | 1-barter For a moment, I could almost see the bullet travel straight through the sniper's scope and explode out through the back of her head. It was a drat good shot. Then the pain came back and I sank back down against the wall under the window. I was bleeding. I could feel the blood beginning to pool in my armor. That rifle must have been using some seriously high-power ammunition. Didn't seem to have punched through a lung or anything, but I'd need Abel to take a look at it for sure. I looked over at Lyric, who seemed to be having troubles of her own, "You okay over there, Lyric?" quote:[06:15:33] <Tricky> Twilight got shot! (Harm roll)
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Dec 17, 2016 17:08
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Hard =0 | Cool -2 | Hot +1 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 6:00 | Experience: 1/5 | 3-barter I can't stop shaking. Those eyes, those cold, dead eyes. It was like he was staring at my very soul. A monster. A tainted beast. That is what he is. A devil disguised as a man. Death. He is death, and he will bring death to us all if we stay any longer. We will die, and he will consume us. We need to leave. We need to escape, before it's too late. "Twilight!" I grab onto her shoulders with my shaky hands, and look at her, my face filled with absolute terror, "We need to go! This is not a we can win!" I point to the weak boards in the corner, "There! We can make our escape from there, but we will have to swim. We need to-" Wait, what is that? Is that... blood? I gasp at the sight of her injury, "Oh, oh no. Twilight. I-I'm so sorry. This... this is my fault. If I... If I wasn't so useless, you wouldn't... you wouldn't..." I bring my arms around her, and bury my head in her chest, barely able to hold back my tears, "...I'm so sorry..."
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Dec 17, 2016 18:53
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Cool +1 | Hard +0 | Hot +1 | Sharp +3 | Weird -1 Harm: 0:00 | XP: 3/5 | Angel Kit: 6/6 | Barter: 1 I breathe out, run my free hand over my face. Iris thinks I want to send her out there, on her own. Not what I was thinking. Would just be a waste, pointless - and betraying any trust she might have in me. "No, Iris. I'm not in the business sending people to die just because I can." Anymore. I tell myself that I didn't lead all of them into this ambush, because I wanted to get at the Drowned Men's stash, which seems a day ago by now. I breathe in. Why did I tell Iris about Meat's men? "You out there with a gun would be a waste anyway. Waste of you. The men out there, they think they have..." I wave my hand, trying to encompass all the madness, weirdness, insanity in this world. Like Meat. "...what people say is the Maelstrom on their side. Or at their back, ready to pounce if they fall out of line. And I think you might be able to prove them wrong. Show them the unknown, the insane is still something to fear, even if they follow that thing in the mask." I shake my head. I am too close to Iris, so close it'd look like something else in other circumstances , but then that's often the way with the people next to you once the bullets start flying. Hmn. "But you didn't sign up for none of this." I finally take my hand off her shoulder, like symbolically releasing her. "Might be safest if you fall back, like you say." I look down and smile at myself despite it all. "I can cover you. But I can't join you, not yet. There's still Twilight and Lyric. Reckon I'm partly the reason they're in this situation, and they need someone to check on them, watch their backs." I shrug. "No response to any of my calls. No idea why." Enough words. Who knows what Meat's men have done while I'm wasting time. Although I have heard his voice, declaring victory, so maybe they'll be falling back for now. Fortify. Make themselves hard to dislodge, like a cancer in the brain. "Get ready. If you wanna go, keep running until you can't hear the guns anymore." She'll make her choice. Maybe this isn't the place for her anyway, though if she won't check up on Twilight and Lyric, I'll have to. That sniper never wouldn't have taken the shot without one of them in their sights. I dart towards the open door, back against the wall. Review the map of the battlefield in my head. Where Meat is, where he still is. Can you blame his men if they keep fighting, with a Warboys at their back that never flinches? Well. Maybe I can change that. I pop out from behind cover, take aim at where Meat is for just half a second, and pull the trigger, again and again. <nil_> Abel Lay Down Fire <nil_> !r 2d6 <Krysmbot> nil_, 6 = 6 +1 from Read A Sitch (Enemy's true position) for a result of 7. Providing covering fire for Iris (move/act freely). Suppressing fire on Meat (cannot move / act freely). nil. fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Dec 18, 2016 |
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Dec 18, 2016 19:36
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Cool +1 | Hard -2 | Hot-1 | Sharp +2 | Weird +2 Harm: 3:00 | XP: 2+1/5 | Barter: 6 I look back out. I don't know about Twilight, but both Abel and Lyric are important - if not to me, then to the people of Thames. And if Abel is keeping Meat's men busy, well...maybe I might have a chance to strike them when they don't expect it. Just have to get far enough so the projector doesn't reach Abel and...hope it works out I think. As Abel begins firing, I crawl out a nearby window. They'll be focused on him, so they might not notice me coming around to get in the midst of them. And the device should hit all of them - doesn't matter how many there are. Even if Meat is a force on his own, not having as many allies should even things out a bit. I head towards them, only going as slow as I need to right now. I flip open the cover of the pain-wave projector with my thumb, and keep it close to the button. [16:22] <Heliotrope> Act Under Fire [16:22] <Heliotrope> !r 2d6+3 [16:22] <Krysmbot> Heliotrope, 8+3 = 11 +1 from Reading the Situation and +1 from Abel's Keep An Eye Out Marking XP
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Dec 18, 2016 22:24
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Cool+1 Hard-1 Hot+2 Sharp+1 Weird=0 Harm 0:00 xp 3/5 Barter 3 "Oh!" I act surprised. "I didn't think anyone would be back here." I shift a bit behind Monsoon to put her between us. "Maybe we should find somewhere else to chat. Though I suppose a drink wouldn't hurt, either." He's on top of that box. Pretty protective of it. It must be something good. Something I'll want to have in my back pocket to cement my good graces with the new regime should it come to it.
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Dec 19, 2016 00:34
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Cool +3 | Hard -1 | Hot +2 | Sharp =0 | Weird -1 Harm 0:00 | Exp 1/5 | Barter 2 I know the guy by sight, and my name, Tang, and that he works for Leatherhead here, but beyond that, couldn't tell you thing about him. Still, I like his attitude. I grin back at him, and take Inque by the hand to pull her further in towards the drink. "Don't mind if I do then~" She seems a bit hesitant, more than I'd expected from her, but its not like we're loving in here in front of him, just going for a drink (so far anyway) so I lead her along over to the keg. There are some clean looking mugs laying around, so I snatch one up, glance in it to make sure it's empty, then pour myself one, drink half of it down, then hand it over to her. Pressing myself against her, I bring my lips back to her ear, and whisper, "So, should we talk back here, give Tang a little show - maybe charge him to watch - or are we moving somewhere else again?" Either one is fine with me, though getting some jingle for my fun sounds lovely.
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Dec 20, 2016 06:19
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Cool +1 | Hard +0 | Hot +1 | Sharp +3 | Weird -1 Harm: 0:00 | XP: 3/5 | Angel Kit: 6/6 | Barter: 1 I can half-see Iris crawling out through the window as I fire my gun, that instinct that tells you what's moving just at the edge of your vision. Safe my life countless times. I reload, keep firing, to keep their heads down, and the ones still looking, for used on me and not Iris. I peer into the plaza for just a second, just enough to make out any movement - and that's when I see Iris moving towards Meat's men. What is she doing? Perhaps just what I wanted her to do. Because in this moment, I was more soldier than healer, dragged back to how things used to be. But it's too late now, calling out to her would just mean she loses any advantage, would be as good as dead. I put it out of my mind as best I can, keep firing. Any doubts, ways I should've lead them differently has to come later. Right now I just have to make sure whatever Iris is planning doesn't get her killed.
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Dec 20, 2016 13:18
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Cool -1 | Hard +3 | Hot -2 | Sharp +1 | Weird +2 Harm 6:00 | Experience: 2/5 | 1-barter I pat Lyric on the back and then hold her close, wincing as I shift and pain shoots across my back, "It's going to be alright, Lyric, we'll be fine. We'll all make it out together." I look over at the boards in the corner. She had a good eye. It wouldn't take much more than a few swings with my machete and we could be gone. No need to fight and die, it would just be the two of us. Together. The nagging thought of my promise to Abel came up. I had given him my word that I'd help keep things together at the clinic. If you thought about it, what use was a clinic without an angel? Just another pile of scrap. No choice then. I push her chin up and make eye contact with the girl, "This is my life, Lyric. This is what I do. I hunt monsters." A wry grin crosses my face. "Haven't met a monster that could take me down yet. Don't plan on making today the day, either. Abel and Iris are still out there, though, and I'm not leaving them behind. If you need to go, that's fine. Find First Mate. Get the Bluecoats. Nobody would think any less of you. You haven't been ruined by the violence... the hate." I kiss her forehead softly. "That's rare, you know? You should treasure it."
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Dec 22, 2016 00:56
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