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jagadaishio posted:Point of correction, Assensing uses Intuition, not Magic, doesn't it? Ah, that's right. It is. Sasha's intuition is only at 3 last time I checked. It'll raise up, but not until year 2. It doesn't make a huge difference as that's just one die. And yeah, her instruction skill is pretty crappy.
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Feb 20, 2018 02:19
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This is Shadowrun, everyone has tattoos. Corporate wageslaves usually even have one or two. At least hasn't gotten into the otherkin wannabes of Shadowrun like Elf Posers or Glamgirls. Tattoos are pretty normal
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Feb 20, 2018 04:26
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Deadmeat5150 posted:This is Shadowrun, everyone has tattoos. Corporate wageslaves usually even have one or two. At least hasn't gotten into the otherkin wannabes of Shadowrun like Elf Posers or Glamgirls. Tattoos are pretty normal Glamgirls?
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Feb 20, 2018 04:34
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Deadmeat5150 posted:. . . Elf Posers or Glamgirls. Tattoos are pretty normal  Ice Phisherman posted:Glamgirls? 
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Feb 20, 2018 05:37
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On the topic of tattoos, I don't know if something like this is a thing in Shadowrun, but active tattoos are cyberpunk as gently caress. It's basically 3D printed circuitry as a glowing tattoo, so I don't think it would be incongruous in Shadowrun. In Fuzzy's case specifically we could get a tattoo that is invisible until she wills it to show. Groetgaffel fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Feb 20, 2018 |
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Feb 20, 2018 05:59
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Groetgaffel posted:On the topic of tattoos, I don't know if something like this is a thing in Shadowrun, but active tattoos are cyberpunk as gently caress. It is, but it costs .1 Essence.
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Feb 20, 2018 13:26
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jagadaishio posted:It is, but it costs .1 Essence. I was under the impression that essence loss was mostly for when you remove fleshy bits and replace them with chrome?
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Feb 20, 2018 13:41
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Groetgaffel posted:Oh wow, that seems like a pretty steep essence cost. It's not that far removed from some people today injecting an RF chip in the hand. Implanting a smart-tattoo like that either requires implanting a subdermal display, or getting a nano-tattoo that requires a nanohive implanted to keep the nanobots replenished and functional. Each cost a fractional point of Essence (and would therefore lose Fuzzy 1 Magic), and both are to high-tech to be realistically enchanted. There's a reason why Fuzzy had to have most of her Spearknife's internals gutted before it could be enchanted. In general, magic prefers lower-tech, naturalistic, more archaic, less refined things. It's harder to enchant alloys than raw wood, harder to Shape glass than earth, and so on.
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Feb 20, 2018 16:52
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Ice Phisherman posted:Glamgirls? Women who get enhancements like cat ears and tails, silver skin, lizard eyes and a forked tongue. There are glamguys too. There's another name but I don't remember what it is. jagadaishio posted:Implanting a smart-tattoo like that either requires implanting a subdermal display, or getting a nano-tattoo that requires a nanohive implanted to keep the nanobots replenished and functional. Each cost a fractional point of Essence (and would therefore lose Fuzzy 1 Magic), and both are to high-tech to be realistically enchanted. There's a reason why Fuzzy had to have most of her Spearknife's internals gutted before it could be enchanted. Yeah, any Qi tattoo that Fuzzy gets is best done the old fashioned way, especially as a shaman. Some of the strongest shamans in the Shadowrun world are actually on New Zealand. The Maori have been doing Qi tattoos since before they were really magical and now they can do amazing things with them. Remember how Maui in Moana can shapeshift really fast? Imagine being able to slap part of your chest, grunting a magic word, and being able to do that. It's pretty awesome. Deadmeat5150 fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Feb 20, 2018 |
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Feb 20, 2018 19:34
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Ice Phisherman posted:
Deadmeat5150 posted:Women who get enhancements like cat ears and tails, silver skin, lizard eyes and a forked tongue. There are glamguys too. Deadmeat5150 posted:Yeah, any Qi tattoo that Fuzzy gets is best done the old fashioned way, especially as a shaman. Some of the strongest shamans in the Shadowrun world are actually on New Zealand. The Maori have been doing Qi tattoos since before they were really magical and now they can do amazing things with them. Remember how Maui in Moana can shapeshift really fast? Imagine being able to slap part of your chest, grunting a magic word, and being able to do that. It's pretty awesome.
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Feb 20, 2018 20:53
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on Sasha's Assensing Aptitude.
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If I was at home with my gaming library I could suss it out. I'm pulling it straight from memory. It might even be noncanon, like the 3rd edition Kender sourcebook for D&D. Ive got a bunch of stuff like that for various games.
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Feb 21, 2018 01:56
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Deadmeat5150 posted:If I was at home with my gaming library I could suss it out. I'm pulling it straight from memory. It might even be noncanon, like the 3rd edition Kender sourcebook for D&D. Ive got a bunch of stuff like that for various games. I like the idea. I just don't have the space left to push it into the narrative. Maybe in year two.
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Feb 21, 2018 03:24
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Deadmeat5150 posted:If I was at home with my gaming library I could suss it out. I'm pulling it straight from memory. It might even be noncanon, like the 3rd edition Kender sourcebook for D&D. Ive got a bunch of stuff like that for various games.
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Feb 21, 2018 17:54
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What is and isn't socially appropriate is, as in real life, extremely dependent on your rank, your organization, and your social groups. That said, haircuts, tattoos, piercings, and other things that are towards the fringe today are largely normalized in Shadowrun. In the same way that it's not unusual to see someone with an acid-resistant poncho and half-face respirator to deal with Seattle's pollution while outdoors, it's not unusual to have them look like this when they hand their stuff up on the coat racks in the break room: Fuzzy getting tattoos - especially on the shoulder or back or something, where a sleeve or shirt can hide it - is pretty unremarkable by Shadowrun standards. As for traditional tattoo techniques, the arguably oldest surviving technique is the Maori Ta Moko, which is done using high-oil-content wood ash pigment, a small hammer tipped with a row of needles, and no anesthesia:  It's extremely hardcore, it's pretty rad, and it'll accept enchantments extremely easily. The downside is that synthetic pigments like white or UV ink is at least a step or two removed from this, as far as Object Resistance (ability to receive magic) is concerned. So, while it can make for very intricate and long-lasting tattoos, some of the colors and patterns available with modern and futuristic techniques just won't be possible. Considering where she is geographically, and the roots that her shamanic tradition derive from, something like an owl totem, representing perception and wisdom, wouldn't be a bad idea: 
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Feb 22, 2018 16:42
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I have been waiting years to get a Samoan tatau from a friend of mine in the American Samoas. It's done very much like the Ta Moko and he has become quite the practitioner, a tufuga ta tatau since we both got out of the Navy. He owes me a shark. But I'm not allowed to get more til my wife gets her first. Fuzzy needs to get hers early.
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Feb 22, 2018 17:31
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jagadaishio posted:What is and isn't socially appropriate is, as in real life, extremely dependent on your rank, your organization, and your social groups. That said, haircuts, tattoos, piercings, and other things that are towards the fringe today are largely normalized in Shadowrun. In the same way that it's not unusual to see someone with an acid-resistant poncho and half-face respirator to deal with Seattle's pollution while outdoors, it's not unusual to have them look like this when they hand their stuff up on the coat racks in the break room: I get all that and it makes perfect sense, but Fuzzy has only been exposed to actual society for a year - and she's been tossed from one extreme to the other with little time to absorb the information. Now, because she's smart and adaptable she catches on quick - plus it helps show character progression which is always good in a novel series. Fuzzy went from being a completely uneducated hunter/trapper on survival mode with absolutely no idea what societal norms are to a secluded island school system full of sheltered rich kids who have no idea what societal norms are. Her outings have mostly been to Ares and some of Seattle, but is that really enough to figure out what is and isn't normal? Hell, a good chunk of Sasha and Fuzzy's banter is built around how alien each of their worlds is to the other. Fuzzy just barely avoided a mental breakdown from being in a supermarket. I'm not really trying to say "Fuzzy doesn't like tats and/or shouldn't get them" because frankly I think it'd be cool if she did get some. Fits her current rebel biker attire and attitude. What I am getting at is that anything that is essentially a given for the rest of society isn't for Fuzzy. I do like the bored punk lady pic, though. 
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Feb 22, 2018 18:37
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cigaw posted:I do like the bored punk lady pic, though. That's Janet, in Customer Service. Janet hates Mondays, Fake People, Light Beer, and Becky in Accounting. You never rinse out the sink when you're doing washing your dishes Becky!! Janet can't wait to start her other arm sleeve tattoo; she'd work in Steve's name if he would only ask, except he won't ask, or mention any form of commitment. Why are you so lame Steve!!! We've been together for years and my Mom won't stop asking me about 'our future'!! Do you know how hard this is for a Jewish girl??!
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Feb 22, 2018 21:44
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A Jewish girl getting tattoos where her mother can see them? Her man's the least of her problems.
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Feb 22, 2018 23:02
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jagadaishio posted:A Jewish girl getting tattoos where her mother can see them? Her man's the least of her problems. Yep. Without getting too biased about it, I think most Asian and Middle Eastern cultures would work as well. Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Persian, Indian, etc. Pretty much any conservative society; somewhere along the way we've lost the connotation as to what tattoos mean and signify. Back in the 'Old Country', you only have tattoos if you're a) criminal b) NCO Military c) 'working girl'. Frankly, I like it better that way, although I'm rather old fashioned and traditional minded like that.
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Feb 22, 2018 23:16
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CourValant posted:Yep. You misunderstand. There's an explicit prohibition in the Torah against body modifications. It's taken more seriously than even kosher in a lot of households.
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Feb 22, 2018 23:19
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jagadaishio posted:You misunderstand. There's an explicit prohibition in the Torah against body modifications. It's taken more seriously than even kosher in a lot of households. Huh, learn something new everyday, thanks! 
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Feb 22, 2018 23:24
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jagadaishio posted:You misunderstand. There's an explicit prohibition in the Torah against body modifications. It's taken more seriously than even kosher in a lot of households. Yeesh, in the world of Shadowrun I thought that would have been one of those things which was quietly forgotten about for the sake of maintaining numbers of adherents. Though in the real world I've never heard about Jews having a problem with organ transplants and dentistry (I am sure that there is some bugfuck insane ultra orthodox sect out there that does) so is it perhaps something more specific?
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Feb 23, 2018 00:18
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So the tattoo idea had a bunch of support, this time and the first time it came up. So does the Blake Island have a magical tattoo artist? If not on staff a teacher that knows one? I'm guessing Mother Bear, Julie's Eco friendly teacher or my favorite Fuzzys PE instructor. Oh poo poo just thought of Julian's shady connections, it'd be a perfect way to change the subject, he is her guardian after all he'd have to approve I'm assuming. He'll allow it but has to be someone he trusts.
Toughy fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Feb 23, 2018 |
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Feb 23, 2018 01:15
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Toughy posted:So the tattoo idea had a bunch of support, this time and the first time it came up. Just to be clear, because silence is acceptance, I do not agree with the tattoo agenda. Get totems or rings or hairbands or whatever else works as foci, just not tattoos.
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Feb 23, 2018 02:17
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CourValant posted:Just to be clear, because silence is acceptance, I do not agree with the tattoo agenda. I know you're opposed but there was still support.
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Feb 23, 2018 02:33
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Toughy posted:So does the Blake Island have a magical tattoo artist? If not on staff a teacher that knows one? There was talk a while back about Kenji picking up tattoo art as his new hobby through the summer and into Year 2. If he does, it's likely Kenji himself who will tattoo Fuzzy, with her following up with Mr. Peterson or the like to get it actually enchanted. This tattoo agenda has been a long time in the making. CourValant posted:Just to be clear, because silence is acceptance, I do not agree with the tattoo agenda. Right, it's not unanimous, just well in the majority.
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Feb 23, 2018 03:16
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The tatoo makes sense from a practical perspective and I am sure that if Fuzzy wanted to gain the ability to assense (which she probably would for a bunch of reasons - not least because it would let her see "Sasha's world" and hey they could go to that neat restaurant again!) that she would choose the 'permanent part of your body' option rather than 'magical wearables'.
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Feb 23, 2018 09:06
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I support a rad tattoo for Fuzzy.
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Feb 23, 2018 13:28
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Of the three protags, Fuzzy seems the most likely to go for a tattoo once initial misgivings re: associating it with gangs are gotten over with. Identifying marks aren't helpful for Kenji's specialty and seems a little bold as a styling choice for his "smooth operator" persona. Meanwhile Julie seems too straight-laced. On Fuzzy it would just be kind of badass. Go for it Fuzzy
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Feb 24, 2018 02:14
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Xarbala posted:Of the three protags, Fuzzy seems the most likely to go for a tattoo once initial misgivings re: associating it with gangs are gotten over with. Identifying marks aren't helpful for Kenji's specialty and seems a little bold as a styling choice for his "smooth operator" persona. Meanwhile Julie seems too straight-laced. On Fuzzy it would just be kind of badass. ITT, the Ex-Con is the straight-laced one. 
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Feb 24, 2018 02:47
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Fuzzy, Sasha, Julie and Chip - Sunday, March 23rd, 2075 - Afternoon - Blake Island With some clever texting and organizing before they reached the matrix dead zone of the island, Sasha distracted Julie just long enough for Marco and Fuzzy to swing by Julie's cabin. Fuzzy grabbed half of the groceries with both hands while Marco held in one hand what she did in two while also covering them both with an umbrella. The rain only got worse and lightning lit the sky. A few students shrieked, some in fear and some in delight as they raced towards their cabins. This wasn't the normal Seattle drizzle. This was a storm. "Which cabin are we going to?!" asked Marco, loudly. "Sasha said that we're going to Julie's cabin!" exclaimed Fuzzy. Fuzzy ran while Marco jogged, and due to their extreme difference in height their gait ate up the same amount of ground. All around them students were dashing up to their cabins, getting inside and flicking on the lights. Some went in alone, though it seemed that some also had ideas of their own and went in in pairs or in groups into one another's cabins. After a minute of the quick pace, Marco and Fuzzy made it to Julie's cabin though Fuzzy made a brief detour to drop off Puppy at her cabin as he was far too wet and interested in people food to keep from doing anything but begging shamefully. After he shook himself dry and she flicked on the lights she kissed him on the head. He licked her face, received a few pets and when she was done he turned around and jumped his wet doggy body onto her bed. She sighed. Upon her return, Fuzzy and Marco put down the pizza and ice cream on the top step to keep it out of the rain. However, all of the food wouldn't stay on the awning with Fuzzy also on it as it only covered the first step out of the cabin. Marco thrust his black, troll sized umbrella into Fuzzy's hands. "You'll get rained on! You take it!" called Fuzzy. Without responding, Marco pulled out his bear hat from his pocket and slipped it snugly over his head. He grinned at her and she giggled. "I'll be fine! I don't want to keep Kenji waiting in case he's already at my cabin. I'll see you later!" he exclaimed. She waved with her free hand as he ran into the storm. The wind picked up and while it caught at the umbrella and briefly buffeted Fuzzy about it didn't trip up Marco at all. He jogged away and was soon out of sight. Now alone, Fuzzy's first instinct was to fidget. She briefly hopped from foot to foot. Another gust of wind put a stop to that, and she had to hold on tight with both hands to the umbrella to keep it from flying away. With a grunt of effort she placed both feet on the ground and angled her umbrella forward to keep the both the rain and runoff from the awning off her head. She briefly thought about going to visit Julian to see if she could get some answers out of him, but thought better of it. She’d go see him later when the weather was better. Lightning flashed once more and she saw Julie and Sasha running hard through the rain to Julie's cabin. Both were seriously out of breath despite the short distance and though Sasha was protected from the rain by her coat, Julie was soaked to the bone. "Watch out for the top step!" called Fuzzy. Julie nodded to Fuzzy, as she was too out of breath to talk. She used her keys to unlock the door and all three went in. Fuzzy came in last, closed the umbrella that was almost as tall as her and gave it a shake before entering with the ice cream and pizza boxes. "You didn't have a coat?!" asked Fuzzy, loudly. Julie took a few seconds to recover her wind before responding. "I was...In...Touristville," she wheezed. "I forgot to check...The weather...No matrix access." Sasha was nearly doubled over as she put her hands on her knees to pant. Fuzzy propped the enormous umbrella up by the door, laid out the pizza and ice cream on the floor as Julie's table was an absolute mess and patted Sasha's stomach. With a push she straightened out her girlfriend until she was upright. "You'll recover faster if you stand up straight," explained Fuzzy. Sasha grinned wryly at her, but eventually she recovered her wind as well. She slipped off her coat and placed it on a chair to dry. Fuzzy did the same, though that chair was troll sized. She paused and frowned ever so slightly. She'd never actually been in Julie's cabin before. The place smelled of salt and earth and she pinpointed why as she checked Julie's table once more. There were dozens of small jars that contained natural objects: Rocks, jars of earth and clay, seashells, plants and small bones for instance. There was a large wooden bookshelf which looked new and it looked as if she'd only just begun to fill it with books. She had to tilt her head to read some titles. "Introduction to Shamanism," she read, slowly. "On Gathering Shamanic Reagents, Shamanic Healing and You, A Botanists' Guide to the Pacific Northwest, Gray's Anatomy: Bicentennial Edition, A Primer to UCAS Magical Law, On Spirits..." Julie laughed nervously and Fuzzy turned around. She found her friend waving her hands. It looked as if she'd recovered her wind enough to speak, though it seemed that she'd momentarily forgotten that she was soaked. "They're just books. It's no big deal," said Julie, quickly. "I've never seen a book before," said Fuzzy. "At least not outside of a classroom." "I gave you that scroll that showed you how to use a stun spell, remember?" asked Sasha. "Yeah, I remember," said Fuzzy. "A scroll isn't a book, right? These are books are big. Are any of these spell books?" Julie pursed her lips briefly before stepping forward. She pointed at a book. "A List of Common Spells and Their Effects," read Julie. "This is more about identifying spells and knowing the nuances of how they interact with the world and what's in it. Actual spell formula are expensive to get your hands on. They go from several hundred at the low end to about two-thousand for common spells. Most ritual spells are out of my price range." "Do you mind if I take this bean bag chair?" asked Sasha. Julie cast a look over towards Sasha while Fuzzy continued to look at the books. Despite the mess on her desk, the rest of her room was mostly clean. Sasha had her eye on a brown canvas bean bag chair. "Yeah, sure," said Julie. Sasha plopped down in the bean bag chair and sighed in relief. "Have you read all of these books?" asked Fuzzy. "Yeah," said Julie. "At least when I'm making myself smarter. Some concepts are too hard to wrap my head around without it. Chip also helps me study. He likes to goof off, but there's something about him that helps me learn. He doesn't make me smarter, just more focused. It's hard to explain." Fuzzy raised an eyebrow. Julie shrugged a little and continued. She was seemingly unaware of the small puddle that was growing around her as the rain water dripped off her. "It's like when you try to reach for something with one eye closed," explained Julie, quickly. "You can do it, but it's hard. That's how I used to feel without Chip. Now I feel like I have both eyes open, but for my mind. It's kind of like having focus depth perception. It's not perfect though. When I try to remember how I learned something when I'm not using my spell or Chip isn't helping me it's harder, like wading through fog. You know, if that makes sense." "It really doesn't," said Sasha. "I'll take your word for it though." "I liked it when you made me smarter," said Fuzzy, happily. "Everything made more sense." Julie smiled, but then winced self-consciously as she touched her drenched hair. "I wish you'd stayed in my class with Mrs. Maureen with me. It would’ve been a lot more fun with a study buddy. I'm learning a lot about spirits this semester. Chip comes in sometimes to talk if he's in the mood," said Julie. "Anyway, I'll be right back. I get so wrapped up in this stuff that I forget myself. I need to dry off. Do you two mind if I take a quick shower? Five minutes? I'm soaked." "No problem," said Sasha. "Okay," said Fuzzy. "Thanks," said Julie, nervously. She turned and Fuzzy noticed that her eyes briefly lingered on the umbrella that was far too large for anyone here. There was an audible sigh from her before she picked out some clothing and headed to the bathroom to change and dry off. Sasha shot Fuzzy a look. "Is that Marco's?" whispered Sasha. "Yeah," whispered Fuzzy. "Oh. Sorry." She looked about for somewhere to put it away. Eventually she just slid it under Julie's bed. Sasha softly sighed, but then her smile brightened. "Thanks for bringing the food. There are a ton of bags though. Well…Better too much than too little," said Sasha. She opened the few nearest to her and paused as an enormous sub sandwich spilled out of one of the larger bags. She frowned. "Marco's?" she asked. Fuzzy groaned and nodded. The sound of the shower being turned on started from the bathroom. Seconds after it did, Sasha shook her head and turned her head towards the troll sized chair. "Hey Chip, can you do me a favor?" asked Sasha. Fuzzy looked towards the chair, still empty. "No need to hide. I see you there," said Sasha, and she continued, now in a sing-song voice. "We've got plenty of pizza and ice cream to share." Just like that, the spirit which looked like a young ork boy with brown skin materialized in the chair. He wore a plain white t-shirt and blue shorts. He was barefoot, had short, black hair and brown eyes. In short, he looked as if he might be Julie's little brother. His feet were unable to touch the ground and so he kicked them excitedly. "Can you do me a favor?" asked Sasha. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly and he stopped kicking his feet. "What kind of favor?" he asked, suspiciously. "I just want you to take two things somewhere close," explained Julie. "Isn't that Julie's pizza? She'd give me some," he countered. "It's my pizza and Fuzzy brought it here to share," explained Sasha. "If you can help me out I'll share a slice with you." He looked over the collected food and stroked his little chin. "I want a slice out of each box and one of those ice cream thingies," he said, his tone shrewd. "If you bring Marco's umbrella and sandwich to him," said Sasha. Chip's face brightened considerably. "Without eating his sandwich," she continued. His face fell and his shoulders slumped. "Aw man," he said, quietly. Fuzzy and Sasha both giggled. "Do you think you can do that for me?" asked Sasha. "Yeah, okay. Pizza and ice cream first though," said Chip. "You little mercenary," she teased. "Can you do it before Julie gets dry?" He pursed his lips and thought about it. "Does it have to be before she’s dry? I'd have to check to be sure, and she doesn't like it when I look at her in the bathroom," he said. Fuzzy and Sasha giggled again, but Sasha managed to stifle it. "Okay, okay. Can you eat your food quick?" she asked. "Maybe...For another slice," he said, smugly. "Fine," sighed Sasha, who then smiled deviously. "You know, if you get Marco's food to him, he might share a little with you." Eyes suddenly bright, Chip leaped to the ground, demolished two slices of pepperoni pizza, one slice of veggie pizza and cracked open a pint of chocolate ice cream. He even ate the ice cream with a spoon which was an improvement over his eating habits from months ago as the mess he made was minimal. With a sigh of content, he quickly grabbed the umbrella that was almost twice his size and carefully held the sandwich close to him. "Bye Chip," said Fuzzy. "Have fun." Sasha merely waved and smiled. "Bye!" he exclaimed. He opened the door and ran out into the rain. The sudden rumble of thunder and cacophony of rain greeted all of them. Fuzzy shut the door behind him. "He's greedy. I bet that he likes food even more than you," complained Sasha. Fuzzy pulled up the folding chair from Julie's desk, turned it around and sat in it. "Not possible," teased Fuzzy. "Hand me a slice?" Sasha extended her arms from her seated position and grunted dramatically. The box of veggie pizza was only a foot away from her reach. "I'm all the way over here though," she whined, playfully. "And it’s all the way over there." "Lazy," said Fuzzy, haughtily. "I got them." "I paid for them" countered Sasha. "Not yet you haven't," corrected Fuzzy. "You get the dishes and cups and I’ll get the food ready?" asked Sasha. "Okay, that's fair," said Fuzzy. Fuzzy raided what passed for a kitchenette while Sasha put the ice cream in the mini fridge. Sasha sat back down with plate of vegetarian pizza, drink and her pint of banana with salted caramel ice cream. Fuzzy grabbed a few slices of pepperoni pizza, a drink for herself and after some deliberation she just went for the molten chocolate. Fuzzy lifted her pizza and opened her mouth to take a bite when Sasha cleared her throat. She lowered the piece of pizza and looked at her girlfriend. "What?" asked Fuzzy. "We should wait for Julie," said Sasha. "Um...Okay. Why though?" asked Fuzzy. "It's polite," said Sasha. "Tonight is about trying to help her feel better. If we start without her she might feel bad." "Is that real? You're not just making that up?" asked Fuzzy, dubiously. "You're just hungry," said Sasha. Fuzzy sighed and nodded. Then she grinned. "Is there any more room on that beanbag chair?" asked Fuzzy, innocently. Sasha looked down at the brown canvas beanbag chair that she sat on. Her smile was a little sad. "Technically, but I don't want to make Julie feel like a third wheel in her own cabin," explained Sasha. "It's about her tonight." "Third wheel?" asked Fuzzy. "Imagine sticking a third wheel on your motorcycle. Where does it go?" asked Sasha. Fuzzy thought about it for a second. "There's nowhere on my motorcycle to put a third wheel," said Fuzzy. Sasha tapped her nose and Fuzzy finally got it. In response, Fuzzy puffed out her cheeks and sighed. Sasha winked at her. "You know, when it rains this hard or there's trouble going on like in Halloween, it's pretty normal for people to sneak into one another's cabins," she said, coyly. "The teachers don't like coming outside in bad weather. There's supposed to be a student in charge of each row. You know, one each for the guys and girls sides that takes care of the little stuff. It comes with some extra privileges and they usually don't have to do much. They don't like coming out in rain like this either and you can turn invisible. You just have to wear some street clothes so they can't track you through the embedded chips inside." Fuzzy's eyes opened wide and her heartbeat sped up. All she could hear was the sound of the rain outside, the shower inside and ever so briefly, the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. "I mean, don't get your hopes up too high," cautioned Sasha, her voice both stern and embarrassed at once, "But we can have some alone time." "Okay," said Fuzzy, shyly. Sasha smiled just a bit too broadly. She mastered herself as best as she could when she cleared her throat once more. Despite that, color tinged her caramel colored cheeks, and a darker flush colored Fuzzy's own paler skin. "Where do you think she got all of the books?" asked Sasha, suddenly. "Uh...What?" asked Fuzzy, dreamily. Sasha made an expansive gesture towards the bookcase. "The books. Do you think they were presents from Marco or something?" asked Sasha. "Maybe..." said Fuzzy, distractedly, "Are books expensive?" "Pretty expensive, yeah," said Sasha, her original color now returning. "Almost all information is digital. In the corporate world, books are a status symbol. Those books are at least five-hundred nuyen and probably more than that. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if it were double or even triple that. I recognize one of those books, the last one whose title you read? On Spirits? That's a second year book and it's expensive even in digital.” "Maybe he gave her the books on healing?" asked Fuzzy. "Maybe," agreed Sasha. "I just wonder where she got the money for this. There's not much money in charity work. I..." Sasha's eyes strayed over to the pile of reagents and she suddenly winced. "Well drat it," sighed Sasha. "I just made myself feel bad." "Why do you feel bad?" asked Fuzzy, her tone confused. Sasha lowered her voice and pointed at the piles of rocks, plant life, seashells and bones in jars. Fuzzy looked them over. Sasha shrugged and looked away. "In our second year, Mr. Peters made us go out hunting for reagents. That's what those are. You use them to cast spells with higher limits so you don't accidentally hurt yourself, bind spirits to you for the long term, help with drain from ritual magic and make a focus, like your weapon," explained Sasha. "My spear knife?" asked Fuzzy. "Sometimes I can't believe you still call it that," complained Sasha. "You're just jealous that you don't have such a cool weapon," said Fuzzy, haughtily. Sasha sighed slightly and rolled her eyes. "Okay, kind of," she admitted. "Anyway, the people who collect reagents normally sell them to other people called talismongers for low wages. They're people who own magic shops. Collecting reagents in the first place is the sort of stuff that awakened do if they don't have any other choice. It's the magical equivalent of working at the Stuffer Shack. She told me that she goes hiking on Saturdays, and I think I know why. If people knew she was doing that, some might make fun of her. The reagents, those little pieces of magic that come up from the land that attach themselves to objects, well they're everywhere on the island because people don't normally bother to pick them up and Mr. Peters keeps the island healthy." Fuzzy frowned deeply at Sasha who looked away. "Work is work," said Fuzzy. "I know. If this were last year I might've made fun of her," she said, and winced. "No. No, that's not right. I definitely would have. I won't now, but most people would judge her for it." "She could've gotten it from her doctor's office," said Fuzzy, defensively. "No, she really couldn't have," explained Sasha. "Most businesses take at least a year before they start making a profit. Even with her skills she'll have a hard time making any money if she just works on the weekend. It's only been a few weeks. They're probably still expanding it. Then she'd need to build up a client base while doing charity work. That takes time and effort, and it may not succeed. Still...If you offer magical healing, people will come. Medical technology can get most people back on their feet even from some of the nastiest injuries in a few weeks if they get good treatment, but with magical healing they can get back to their normal lives the next day even if they were seriously injured. You know, if the healer is any good." The shower shut off and the two young women briefly looked to the bathroom door. "Maybe it's from the money from Horizon for being quiet about Minuet?" asked Fuzzy, quietly. "Maybe," whispered Sasha, who brightened a bit. "Yeah, that's probably it." "Yeah, like how I got my owl egg, my motorcycle and Minuet's teeth..." continued Fuzzy. "Yeah like..." started Sasha. Her eyes bulged. "You did what?!" she exclaimed. Fuzzy panicked and fidgeted nervously with her hands. "Uh...I..." she started, "Don't tell anyone. I'm not supposed to tell anyone." "Why did you want her teeth?!" asked Sasha, horrified. "Um...Um...To power my spear knife," said Fuzzy, her tone wildly nervous. "If you beat an enemy in combat and take something from them, that thing becomes powerful. At least that's how it was explained to me." Sasha looked at Fuzzy, her mouth agape. Then she clutched her belly and laugh and laughed and laughed. Fuzzy, Sasha and Julie - Sunday, March 23rd, 2075 - Afternoon - Blake Island "You told her about it?! Seriously?!" exclaimed Sasha. She'd laughed herself to tears. Both Fuzzy and Julie were pinned down, though Julie felt much less pinned it seemed. "Come on, this isn't funny. Julian said he'd take it away if I bragged about it," said Fuzzy, nervously. Julie had emerged minutes ago from the bathroom. She wore some comfortable clothing and a towel around her head to help dry out her hair. She lay down on her bed, but didn't eat on it. Instead her food was just off the edge on the floor. Fuzzy continued to sit on the folding chair while Sasha lay back on the beanbag chair. "A new topic then. You know what is funny?" asked Julie. Fuzzy and Sasha looked at her and Julie's eyes lit with devious delight. She ate a spoonful of ice cream to draw out the suspense and pointed to her desk with the spoon. "Minuet was my first patient ever, and my business didn't have a matrix account. The credstick containing her payment is inside. I'm going to have it framed," she said, smugly. Sasha clutched her belly and switched between laughing helplessly and groaning from laughing too much. Fuzzy was confused. "I don't get it," said Fuzzy. Julie's wicked smile diminished slightly at the humor not being well understood. "You punched out her teeth, she came to my hospital and I billed her for it. It was just five nuyen. I wanted to make sure I'd get paid, but she couldn't just transfer it to me. She had to actually mail me a credstick," explained Julie. Comprehension dawned on Fuzzy's face and she smiled. "Like a trophy!" she exclaimed. "I get it!" "Yeah!" said Julie. Sasha wiped away the tears of laughter from her eyes, and not for the first time. "You two are evil!" exclaimed Sasha. "I love it!" "Yeah, well, Fuzzy's weapon is high tech. It takes some serious power to enchant something like that. If it was natural or even something refined like steel you could get away with normal reagents, but a weapon that high tech needed something special," explained Julie. "drat...You two are indulging my mean side," complained Sasha. "I'm really trying to be a better person, but it's still there." "Meh. Minuet sucks," said Fuzzy, dismissively. "Don't waste time feeling bad for bad people." "Right?" asked Julie. Julie extended a hand out, palm up from her perch on the end of the bed. Fuzzy reached out and low-fived her. Sasha buried her spoon in her pint of half-finished ice cream and sighed explosively. "No, you you don't understand. I'm trying to be a better person," groused Sasha. "I'm not telling you not to laugh, but I feel bad when I'm like this because I'm laughing too. All I can do is think of horrible poo poo to say." There was a moment's pause as Julie looked to Sasha. "Like what?" asked Julie. Sasha briefly looked to Fuzzy and then back to Julie. "Maybe not," she said, hesitantly. "Come on. It's just us here," wheedled Julie. "Noooo..." whined Sasha. Sasha covered her face with her hands. A few seconds later and with an explosive sigh, she nodded. "All right. One last time to get it all out of my system," said Sasha. She raised both hands and splayed her fingers. "She's the sort of person that people merely tolerate," she said. She dropped one of her fingers and quickly launched into the next insult. "She has an inferiority complex, and not even a very good one," she continued. Another finger dropped as she neatly folded it, leaving eight left standing. "I wanted to ask her why her face and neck were different colors once. Blend your drat foundation, girl," she said, darkly. "If she were any dumber I'd have to water her twice a week. She's not pretty enough to be that much of a bitch..." She went on and on with a string of nasty one and two liners. Each time she ticked off another finger until all she had left were two fists. One of those fists lightly impacted her cheek. "Bad Sasha," said Sasha, sullenly. "Wow," said Julie, "I wish I could get comebacks like those." "They're not comebacks if you use them first," sighed Sasha, "They're just mean spirited insults which work better if you're a mean spirited person. That's why I don't say them anymore, because I like myself a lot more nowadays. I'm trying to be a better person. They're always on the tip of my tongue though, and I'm really good at figuring out what would hurt someone the most." "I only got about half of those," admitted Fuzzy, glumly. Sasha turned her gaze upon Fuzzy, and it was full of complicated emotions which Fuzzy couldn’t rightly identify. "So, Fuzzy. Are you still impressed with me?" asked Sasha, bitterly. "Do you still like me even though there's this total bitch just past the surface?" Julie looked ashamed while Fuzzy thought about it for a few seconds. Without speaking, Fuzzy focused on the formula for an illusion in her mind. Then she placed her two index fingers together and drew a small, red heart in the air which floated upwards before it vanished. Sasha smiled bashfully and flushed far more deeply than before, which she tried and failed to hide behind her cup as she took a drink. This had the effect of prying a sigh out of Julie. An awkward silence dominated for a time as the sound of rain continued and thunder rumbled. "I miss Marco," said Julie. "Aww..." cooed Sasha, "It's okay. We're here for you, remember?" "Yeah, but who's there for him?" asked Julie, fretfully. "I sent Kenji over to go and talk to him," said Fuzzy. "Also I accidentally brought his sandwich so Chip brought it to him. He's probably over there too." Julie didn't catch the urgent finger to Sasha's lips, but Fuzzy did, not that it helped. Instead, Julie turned her attention towards Fuzzy and confusion was written all over her face. "His sandwich?" asked Julie. Fuzzy's eyes tracked between Sasha's increasingly urgent silent shushing and Julie's eyes. Not being dumb, Julie eventually got that something was up. "Just tell me, Fuzzy. It's okay," said Julie. After some waffling, Fuzzy eventually caved. "I asked Marco to get some food with me so I could talk to him. I didn't know it was breakup food. He figured it out when I bought the pizza and ice cream. He left his sandwich," she said, quietly. The feeling of surrounded by all of that food once again began to weigh down on her, but Fuzzy shook her head to clear the thought. "Wait, he bought my comfort food?" asked Julie, horrified. "Fuzzy," said Sasha, reproachfully. "I bought it. He more came along. Sorry," whispered Fuzzy. Not listening at all, Julie was too busy driving the heels of her palms into her eyes. "Aaaaaaah! I wish he would've just yelled at me or something!" exclaimed Julie. "No, I don't want...Well...He's just been so nice and I feel so awful!" Fuzzy and Sasha both suppressed a groan. They'd both felt the coming of Julie's coming tirade. Good friends don't groan at the coming of the tirade. That's normal. Instead, they come anyway to hear you vent. A few seconds before, Julie was propped up by her elbows on her bed. Now she flopped down bonelessly. "He's so nice to people and I don't feel that way, he does amazing stuff and I feel dumb, he's nice to me and I feel like I don't deserve it, he makes time for me and I don't take it and he's awesome and I'm not," complained Julie, loudly. "He's worried about me when he has every right to be yelling at me. I suck." "You don't suck," said Fuzzy. "I suck," groaned Julie. "Minuet sucks," said Fuzzy. "You're not as bad as Minuet. So you don't suck." "I suck as bad as Minuet," sighed Julie. "Uh, no. No you don't," said Sasha. "You didn't bully anyone, you didn’t go out of your way to humiliate anyone, you didn’t sneak into her house to plant drugs and you certainly didn't shoot anyone. She's dumb enough to think that planting drugs would work. If she were even the tiniest bit smarter she would have gotten someone else to do it for her too. It took hours for Knight-Errant to get down there to secure the crime scene and that was with permission. You showed a lot of restraint and it paid off. Even doing what she did her parents were powerful enough that it could have went really wrong for you even after all she did. You managed to thread that needle and get stuff from her corporation. You're not dumb." Unmoved by this, Julie only whined piteously. "If I'm not dumb, why did I break up with Marco?" asked Julie. Fuzzy swallowed the piece of pizza she was eating and gestured at Julie with it. "Do you want him back?" she asked. "Yeah..." whispered Julie. "Then just tell him that," said Fuzzy. "People make mistakes. Tell him you made a mistake." "But I'll have the same problems as before," explained Julie. "We still won’t have enough time for each other, he doesn't know where he'll be after summer and he gets teased about dating me." "Marco is cool. He doesn't get teased about you," said Fuzzy. Julie suddenly propped herself up and stared pointedly at Fuzzy. "Yes, he does," she said, fiercely. "I've seen it happen more than once. He gets picked on by the upperclassmen about me. What are you doing dating that poor, weird girl? I hear she picks up reagents and trash. Can't do any better than dating a freshman? Of course the only ork and the only troll on the island end up dating each other. You know, crap like that. I can tell that it bothers him." Sasha sank deeper and deeper into the bean bag chair as Julie went on. When Fuzzy turned her head, something tore inside of her as she saw her girlfriend and assumed the worst. Reluctantly, Sasha spoke up. “I used to get that too,” she said, carefully. “After Fuzzy took down those gang members in that alley in Tacoma it calmed down a lot, but since she took down Minuet the people that used to talk behind my back have been stepping very carefully around me. I think that people have this weird mix of respect and fear for you.” Fuzzy narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Good,” said Fuzzy, “Reputation is important. It stops problems before they start.” “Is that barrens wisdom or something?” asked Julie, sourly. Fuzzy nodded seriously. “Fear is okay, but respect is best. Fear keeps people away from you. That is both good and bad. Fear also keeps good things away from you, but respect doesn’t. Respect means that people won’t mess with you and will still come to you. That’s what Rat Man told me at least,” said Fuzzy, quietly. “You learn about reputation fast in the barrens.” She ate her pizza crust in silence. Julie scraped at the last of her ice cream. “I’m being a real downer, I’m sorry,” said Julie, glumly. “It’s my fault.” “It’s fine. This isn’t my first time doing this,” said Sasha. “One of my friends from last year couldn’t keep a guy for more than a month. She had terrible taste in men. She still does, actually. Normally the guy breaks up with the girl and this turns into a bitch out party where we talk junk about the guy to make you feel better and listen to you talk junk too. The problem is that we all like Marco. So we’re just here to listen.” “Yeah,” said Fuzzy. “So if you’ve got to vent, then vent,” said Sasha. Fuzzy, Sasha and Julie - Sunday, March 23rd, 2075 - Evening - Blake Island And vent she did. Like good friends, Sasha and Fuzzy listened patiently as Julie talked about the people she didn’t like, bemoaned her decision and kicked herself. Sasha tried to build her back up with Fuzzy’s help. It actually seemed to help. Pizza and ice cream were eaten, soda was drunk and eventually Julie ran out of complaints. This didn’t stop her at first as she repeated herself, but later on there was more silence that commiserating. “It’s getting kind of late,” said Julie. A few muscles audibly popped in Sasha’s back as she stretched and sighed. “Yeah,” said Sasha. “The rain hasn’t let up though.” “The thunder has,” said Fuzzy. “We can stay if you want though,” said Sasha. Fuzzy nodded and Julie managed a smile. “No, I think I’m going to turn in. I’ll see you both tomorrow, okay?” asked Julie. Julie shifted on her bed and Sasha shot Fuzzy a look while Julie wasn’t watching. It made Fuzzy’s stomach do a few flip flops. “Yeah, okay,” said Sasha, her tone normal. “Uh, okay,” squeaked Fuzzy. Sasha giggled as Julie looked suspiciously between the two of them, but that look didn’t last. Instead she got off her bed and went into the bathroom. Sasha stood up and put on her raincoat, then leaned over to whisper into Fuzzy’s ear. “Make sure you change, okay?” whispered Sasha. They briefly kissed, and Sasha played with Fuzzy’s hair in the way that made her unable to think. She was still present when Fuzzy’s thoughts unclouded, and something about the way Sasha’s smile was so nervous made Fuzzy feel less nervous. There was something else that needed to be said though, and Fuzzy gathered her scattered wits to talk. “I’m going to stay here for a while longer,” said Fuzzy. Sasha paused and frowned ever so slightly. “Why?” she asked. “Marco said that she’s not doing well. He said that her problems came from before her breakup,” whispered Fuzzy. “You see her feelings all of the time. How is she doing?” Sasha winced and looked away. “Not good. I don’t really want to press,” whispered Sasha. “I wanted her to talk about it when she’s ready.” “I think I know what the problem is. I’m going to stay a while and talk with her,” whispered Fuzzy. Sasha’s frown disappeared, and she smiled again. She delicately took Fuzzy by the chin and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re not going to tell me why, are you? I can see it in you,” she said, sadly. “I made a promise,” said Fuzzy. Fuzzy twitched ever so slightly at the word promise, and Sasha tilted her head ever so slightly. “Are you okay?” asked Sasha, her tone worried. “Just now…” Fuzzy watched as she saw Sasha’s eyes go out of focus. Fuzzy felt a sudden thrill of panic at Sasha probing her aura in that moment, but then Sasha stopped, closed her eyes and turned her head away. “Sorry. Bad habits,” sighed Sasha. “Should I wait for you?” Fuzzy looked back at the bathroom door before looking back into Sasha’s eyes once more. “I don’t know,” said Fuzzy. “I’m going to be here as long as I’m needed. She may just throw me out.” Sasha nodded and opened her eyes once more. With a gentle touch she cupped Fuzzy’s cheek before she turned away to open Julie’s door. The sound of the rain fell heavily as Sasha looked back one last time before she closed the door. Julie took her time getting out of the bathroom and so this gave Fuzzy time to think about what to say. That extra time didn’t help at all as she fumbled over her words in her mind. She fidgeted with her hands as nervous energy coursed through her and when the door finally opened, she saw Julie with a toothbrush sticking halfway out of her mouth. They noticed each other at the same time, and Julie seemed shocked. She briefly ducked back into her bathroom and Fuzzy could hear the sound of the faucet running before she emerged once more. “I thought you left,” said Julie, nervously. Fuzzy clasped her hands together to keep from fidgeting. Instead she kicked back on her folding chair to rock back and forth on the back legs of the chair with her front leg doing the rocking. “Sasha left,” said Fuzzy. “I wanted to stay for a few minutes.” “Uh…Okay,” said Julie. “What for?” Julie sat back down on her bed as Fuzzy continued to rock back and forth on the back legs of the folding chair. “I’m not really sure how to say this, but I guess I’ll try. I’m not good with words,” admitted Fuzzy. “Marco said that you’ve been pushing him away. He told me that you don’t leave the island anymore on Saturdays and on Sundays Mother Bear or Julian is always with you.” “Not always,” said Julie, her tone defensive. “Okay…They come with you though, right? And leave? Right?” she asked. Julie frowned and hugged herself. Seconds later she looked away. “You told me about how you saw the future on those steps near the music hall. You said you had nightmares, right? That if anyone knew bad things would happen, right?” asked Fuzzy. Julie began to shake and shiver. “I know that I shouldn’t have asked. You told me that it wasn’t worth knowing. I had the choice. You didn’t,” said Fuzzy. “I’ve been taking a while to think about it, and it makes me nervous. It makes you nervous too, right?” Julie squeezed her eyes tightly and nodded once. “Do you have anyone to talk to?” asked Fuzzy, her tone gentle. Julie nodded slightly, but paused. Then she shook her head once and then again far more violently. Fuzzy noticed that Julie looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her friend sniffed suddenly. “Mother Bear said she’d leave me if I told anyone,” whispered Julie, reedily. “She said it’s dangerous for her if I talk about it. Julian tries to understand, but he can’t. If I talk to Chip and try to get any comfort from him I feel his feelings and he feels mine. I make him feel bad, and that makes me feel worse. That makes him feel worse and it doesn’t stop until I send him away.” “You went to the teachers for help?” asked Fuzzy. “Yeah,” whispered Julie. Tears fell freely from her eyes now despite the fact that they were squeezed shut. “I thought about talking to everyone, but after we learned about what happened to Kenji and Edward and how they were experimented on. We didn’t do anything,” said Julie. “I’m not sure what we could have done,” said Fuzzy, softly. “So I went to Mother Bear and Julian, because I thought it would’ve been different,” said Julie, despairingly. “But it wasn’t. They don’t have any ideas either. They just argue about what to do. I can’t talk to either of them. I just get talked at. They don’t understand and I think that they’ve given up trying to. It’s just too big. They talk to me sometimes, but all they do now is watch me so I don’t crack.” There was a soft clunk as the legs of the folding chair touched the floor. Fuzzy crossed the few steps from the chair to the bend and it sank ever so slightly at her weight. The smaller young woman put a hand on the shoulder of the larger. Julie began to weep openly. “I won’t ask you about anything,” began Fuzzy. “You can come and find me if it gets to be too much. We can just talk about stuff. Whatever you want to talk about, whenever you want to talk. Would you like that?” Julie bit her lip for a brief moment as tears fell freely. Then all at once she nodded violently. It took little prompting for Fuzzy to pull her into a hug, and Julie Freeman began to cry and wail like a child. Sasha and Fuzzy - Sunday, March 23rd, 2075 – Late evening - Blake Island Some hours later, Sasha watched old movies on her trideo, but didn’t really pay attention. Mirrors and water, like in the trideo tank weren’t affected by her vision and so she could watch movies and trid shows with no problem. It reminded her of times before she’d both awoken to her magic and her disability at once. Originally she’d changed into something she’d hoped was fetching, but after the end of the first movie she changed into her night clothes as they weren’t really comfortable. Now well into the second movie she thought about going to bed. Then she thought she heard something at her door. Suddenly excited, she sprang to her feet, thoughts of sleep instantly forgotten. She opened the door and there was Fuzzy. Though she could easily see her girlfriend’s aura, she could also see the telltale signs of magic around her. It blurred her aura and made her hard to read. Belatedly Sasha remembered that Fuzzy was invisible which was why she wasn’t speaking. Instead Sasha pretended to check her mailbox as Fuzzy strode inside. Sasha closed the door and her heart thumped wildly. Sasha could tell that Fuzzy dropped her spell of invisibility when her aura became visible once more. She’d expected her girlfriend to be abuzz with the red of love and desire, but that wasn’t the case. Instead she saw a blue…No…Turquoise. Yes. Turquoise and black pulsed strongly in Fuzzy’s aura. She wracked her brain for answers, and came up with protection not just of the physical kind, but of an emotional or spiritual kind as well. At the same time, there was a white of goodness which pulsed through both colors without disturbing them, like ripples across a pond. “Hey,” said Sasha. “Are you okay?” “I think so,” said Fuzzy. “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it,” said Sasha, nervously. “Sorry,” said Fuzzy. Fuzzy hung up her wet coat and looked at Sasha. Sasha could read the complex emotions running through her as everything shifted. A sickly blue of fear as well as an equally sickly silver of indecision colored her all of a sudden. Sasha swallowed hard. “You know we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, right?” asked Sasha, nervously. “What?” asked Fuzzy, distractedly. Colors of confusion bloomed in Fuzzy’s aura and Sasha sighed. “How is Julie?” asked Sasha, tiredly. “Um…Bad, but better,” said Fuzzy. “She cried on my shoulder for a long time.” Colors of protectiveness spread out through Fuzzy’s aura once again and Sasha slowly began to understand. Sasha sat down on her bed. “What’s a long time?” asked Sasha. Fuzzy hesitated before answering, but she sat down on Sasha’s bed as well. “From about five minutes after you left until about twenty minutes ago,” said Fuzzy. “She cried until she fell asleep. How long has it been?” Sasha made a lazy hand command and the menu screen of the trideo tank popped up. “It’s eleven thirty. We left around eight,” she said. “She cried for three hours?” “I guess so. She didn’t make much sense after she started crying,” said Fuzzy, tiredly. “I lost track of time.” Sasha gazed at her girlfriend as Fuzzy rubbed at her eyes. A mix of grey and dull orange overtook her aura as exhaustion began to creep in. “You’re tired,” cooed Sasha. “You didn’t have to come by.” “I wanted to,” said Fuzzy. A pulse of bright yellow happiness thrummed through her which made Sasha feel happy. Then Fuzzy reached into her pocket and produced a pint of ice cream. It had no aura as it wasn’t a living thing and was behind neither glass nor water, so Sasha wouldn’t be able to read it without putting on her glasses. “I thought we could share,” said Fuzzy. “It’s chocolate.” “That molten chocolate?” asked Sasha, her interest piqued. “Yep. Do you have two spoons?” asked Fuzzy. “Cuddles and ice cream sound okay? We can share.” Sasha giggled and grinned. “Two spoons? What, do I look like I’m made out of money? I think we’ll just have to share,” said Sasha, dramatically. “But wait, what makes you think you deserve any cuddles?” Fuzzy’s answer was lazily tossed into the air and caught with a flourish. CYOA Time The questions laid out here for your ease are as follows: 1. Does Fuzzy encourage Julie to change her current behavior in any way? 2. Fuzzy doesn’t have enough time for everything that’s about to happen. Which of her priorities (mentioned below) slips? The stage for the ending is set. We're back to tons of choices. Apologies for the drought of choices, I just didn't want to derail the setting this close to the ending. My priority at this point is to give an excellent ending. That said, choices. First, does Fuzzy encourage Julie to change at all or does she merely listen? Also... Fuzzy has about two and a half months of time to study for finals, train her owl (that's about to hatch), help Julie with her stress and sleeping. Out of these four things, what slips through the cracks? Originally it was five, but Fuzzy values Sasha (and so does the thread) and and so she's going to spend just as much time with her as is normal. Sasha's loyalty is locked in at six and is going to stay there. In any case, Fuzzy is overloaded. She is used to long periods of work and stress, but even she has her limits. There's just too much on her plate with the addition of needing to be there for Julie at the drop of a hat and staying up late on the weekends to socialize and train her owl so it doesn't end up totally wild on top of schoolwork and sleep. Everything here will have external costs save for sleep which will bring her edge down to zero for the finale. This means she will have more difficulty overcoming the trials at the end. - It looks like Julie is going to be okay. She's able to talk to Fuzzy now and therefor decompress from all of this stress and anxiety she's feeling. In fact the very knowledge that she has Fuzzy to lean on means her stress falls. We're going to be doing a time skip as everyone rushes towards finals. All of the students from Blake Island are going to have a few months of relative peace. We'll be picking back up in June a few weeks out from summer break.
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Feb 25, 2018 07:06
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So I managed to lose the rolls, but here's how it shook out. Marco previously assensed Mother Bear and Julian, found out they were worried about something. He noticed that Julie always canceled on Saturdays and there was always a teacher around Julie on Sundays which is strange. Fuzzy won out on an etiquette test against Marco and he shared his fears with her. The etiquette test required to pull Julie out of her despair was 5 net hits above her own. Not 5 total, 5 above. Sasha got 4 even by rolling edge, but Fuzzy was able to pull it off with 8 hits (edge spent to go past her limit of 6) versus Julie's 2. This was aided by high loyalty, her Touristville reputation (as Julie is a resident now), her street cred, decent charisma score, etiquette, rerolled edge and fantastic rolls. Otherwise Julie would have had a mental breakdown which would have effected the ending negatively. It turns out that her teachers were inadequate in the task of supporting her emotionally. So Julie is going to make a recovery and not crumble under the strain of knowing what she knows. Etiquette supremacy. Apologies for how long this took. I wanted to get to the next impactful choice and that was going to take a while. I decided to power through so I basically compressed three updates into one.
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Feb 25, 2018 07:17
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1. Fuzzy encourages Julie to be more assertive around Julian/Mother Bear. They don't want to listen to her? Well too drat bad, they're gonna have to, whatever bullshit she's in is way too big to not let her have a say. 2. Studying is what slips through the cracks. Maybe we can try and offset this at least somewhat by calling in favors, having Julie use the smart spell on us, whatever we can come up with. But overall, helping Julie out is obviously required, as is having our edge for the finale seeing as we play pretty edge-heavy. So between school and the owl, I prioritize the owl because it'll be with us for a long time and has to be properly taken care of in its early days. We can salvage a bad GPA next year, we can't un-gently caress the owl's socialization.
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Feb 25, 2018 07:31
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Crazycryodude posted:1. Fuzzy encourages Julie to be more assertive around Julian/Mother Bear. They don't want to listen to her? Well too drat bad, they're gonna have to, whatever bullshit she's in is way too big to not let her have a say. I more or less agree with this. Mechanically, she'll probably be better off just taking the knowledge she's already gained from normal lectures and testing throughout the year and being well-rested for the test than killing her sleep schedule with studying (speeding Edge on the testing roll). This is true of real-life test taking too, by and large. However, sleep-deprivation is extremely in-theme for a highschool student, all the way up through college. Is there any way that Fuzzy could get a single dose of Long Haul for a three day cram session culminating in the finals and then a hard crash? If not, then I'm on Plan Cryo.
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Feb 25, 2018 09:58
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Im too tired to think harder but Plan Cryo is close enough.
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Feb 25, 2018 10:41
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Crazycryodude posted:1. Fuzzy encourages Julie to be more assertive around Julian/Mother Bear. They don't want to listen to her? Well too drat bad, they're gonna have to, whatever bullshit she's in is way too big to not let her have a say. Exactly my thoughts!
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Feb 25, 2018 15:33
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I like Plan Cryo.
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Feb 25, 2018 17:19
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1. Fuzzy encourages Julie to be more assertive. After all, the outcome of the coming storm may very well depend on taking some form of action. 2. School slips. Sure, nobody is more aware of the benefits of education than Fuzzy, but her well honed survival instincts is telling her than an exhausted hunter is a dead hunter. While she didn't make an explicit promise to be there for Julie, she just got her to open up, and loyalty is everything to Fuzzy. Reneging on that makes no sense. The owl is a rare and potentially dangerous beast, and neglecting it is a bad idea. And so, school ends up the lowest priority. Still, get Julie to cast magical smarts on us to mitigate the damage to our education as best as possible.
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Feb 25, 2018 18:52
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1. Fuzzy just listens. I don't think she can really advise Julie on how to act with Julian and Mother Bear, and this situation is so strange that I think she'd be trying to make sense of it too much than to be able to constructively help. 2. Sleeping slips. Although sleep deprivation might affect everything poorly, I'm not sure Fuzzy's experienced something like that before. So there's a first time for everything! Schooling has become very important for Fuzzy, she's very studious and appreciates the value of education, moreso than any other character I think.
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Feb 26, 2018 01:55
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Ice Phisherman posted:CYOA Time After the day she's had, Fuzzy encourages Julie to 'grow up' through a little tough love. Fuzzy just reconnected with her 'Barrens roots', and hearing Julie moaning about what is essentially her adolscent angst and hormones would most likely be grating. A lot of people are putting a lot at risk for Julie, and its time she shoulders the responsibility in a meaningful way, beyond just being stressed and not knowing that to do. Yes, I realize she's an adolescent; I would also propose that the situation maketh the woman. Ice Phisherman posted:2. Fuzzy doesn’t have enough time for everything that’s about to happen. Which of her priorities (mentioned below) slips? School slips. I feel this to be the most interesting and organic choice; Fuzzy would place everything else over her grades, since everything else is probably more interesting than studying. Also, this will set-up another confrontation with Julian, wherein he reminds her that its her grades which keeps her on the Island. I still feel that Julian doesn't deserve the rift with Fuzzy the thread imposed on him; I'd like to see him be at least a good teacher to her.
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Feb 26, 2018 05:52
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