|
 Cool-1 | Hard=0 | Hot+2 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 | 1-armor | 1-barter | 0:00 harm | XP ●○○○○» | 1-hold (Rally) Interesting. I hadn't thought that August Grandmother tied our fortunes so closely together. That she does is good. IN the times that are coming, I will require all the help that I can get. However, that opens up another question. August Grandmother suggests that we stand someone else in front of the Church. For that matter, I thought I had heard talk that the 4-Way Stoppers... "August Grandmother, I appreciate your advice and your support. I always treasure the bonds between the Markets and Gull Hill. I have some snooping to do, but I will convene with you again when I have something new." I bow, even though August Grandmother is too sharp for common flatteries, I know that she still appreciates it on some level. Then I head into the crowd. Going to find the Zomwell, the Stopper supporter that got 86d if they're still near.
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2017 01:21
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 14:34 |
|
|
 SeaDee See, Shigusa meets you at the door as you hear the deadbolts unlock. Pistol's in her hand. "Good to see you, boss," she says quickly, before expertly loading Vault onto one of the free beds you've got. "Haven't seen Mox since before you left." The Mayor, you can put the 'verter down on the floor here, if you like. Partridge piles in after you, and all of a sudden the front of the infirmary is rather crowded. Anything to discuss, or are y'all going to get to work? Red, Amanlu thanks you, almost confusedly, and then runs as fast as she can off to the south. So now you're heading up to Magpie's territory, looking for a sniper's post, waiting for her to come out and make a mistake. From what you know of her, she's unlikely to do so on her own volition. She's sharp like that. But if you had something that you could use to bait her...that wasn't the prisoner you just set free...you could maybe figure out an advantage. Whatcha gonna do? [i]If you can figure out good bait, roll When You are The Cat.[/b] Magnificent Max, Kro did her job well and Zomwell is nowhere to be seen, not even after you bid August Grandmother farewell and she goes back to her business of the day. Still, the sight of you poking around the Markets attracts some attention. Eventually, a large man with a grey shirt that says "YES but also NO" on it answers a question for you, gruffly: "Yeah, I fuckin' know Zomwell. What's it to you?" How do you respond?
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2017 19:33
|
|
|
 Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 | 2-armor | 0-barter | 10:00 harm | XP ○○○○○» 1-advance As the doc walks me in, I pull some of my gear out of my pockets and push it into my pack. I'm about to put it down when I spot The Mayor. Shouldn't be surprised to see her there. I wait until I'm sure she's looking at me, pat my pack, and tell her, "Don't touch." Then I'm lying down, which feels too good. Wonder how long I'll be down. "Can't be out too long. Got people need killing." It takes me a second to realize I said that out loud. Might be a while after all.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2017 19:44
|
|
|
 Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=1 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=5 | XP ●●●●○» poo poo, Mox should be back by now. Hopefully she just decided to pick up some takeaway on the way back. I extract a small black object from my mask/helmet and plug it into a matching slot in the Infirmary’s control panel, causing a short tone to come from hidden speakers. I point to The’s man. “Partridge… was it? Please take the position in the doorwell, it will be out of the way and you’ll be able to watch over both The and the external approach. Please sing out if you see anything odd.” A few practiced prods and my containment suit falls to the floor, the mask quickly following. Everyone present gets a glimpse of the three Oath-marks on my face before they’re covered by a surgical mask. ”Assistant Shigusa will be attending Patient Mayor in the Outpatient Facilities.” I motion to the reclining chair just forwards of the OR. “Antimicrobial prophylaxis followed by wound suturing. Moderate sedation if requested by the Patient. Practitioner See will attend Patient Jack in the OR. Plasma replacement, wound examination followed by lavage and sutures. Serious sedation. Continue the Record until notified by the Practitioner.” A few more beeps sound from the hidden speakers. While dictating, I’ve donned my surgical gown and gloves. Standing over Vault, I roll my eyes at her request. “Don’t worry, there will be plenty left to kill after I’ve patched you up. Sedating Patient and beginning wound examination.” (I speed The Mayor’s healing. The Mayor, you can choose to spend the next week blissed out on chillstabs (I use 1-stock for this, and I’m cool with that) or awake but in serious pain. Spending 2-stock on the roll to stabilize Vault: Healing Vault: 2d6+2 10. Vault is healed to 6:00. I can also speed her healing from there, but we may want to wait and see once the surgery is done. I take Hx+2 with Vault from healing two segments, and the following results from the healing move: -They owe you for your time, attention, and supplies, and you’re going to hold them to it. -They respond very well to treatment. Recover 1 of the stock you spent, if you spent any.)
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2017 00:52
|
|
|
Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 | 2-armor | 0-barter | 6:00 harm | XP ○○○○○» 1-advance "Name's Vault. Not Jack." The drugs start to loosen my tongue. Loosens my mind. "I am a steeplejack. But it's a job. Like that Practical thing you keep calling yourself. So it's not Patient Jack, it's uh. Steeplejack Vault." I say something else but I lose track of it as the sedation takes hold. Open Your Brain (+Weird): 2d6+0 10 Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 02:25 on Aug 25, 2017 |
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2017 02:18
|
|
|
 Cool+3 | Hard-2 | Hot+1 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 1-armor | 3-barter | 0:00 harm | XP ●●○○○» Red you loving idiot how many times am I gonna remember not to do stupid poo poo while coming down. My bait's gone, and Maggie's place ain't quite what I remember. Not gonna be able to get up high and take potshots at her, so I'll have to do something a bit ballsier. This is a terrible idea and I know it, but it's still not the dumbest thing I've done today what with letting 'Lu go just like that. Here goes. I put Ballbuster back on my back, then reach down and pull two Bootsies and hold 'em in each hand. Deep breath. Wish I had an upper. Check my pockets. Nope. Deep breath again. Start strolling up to Magpie's. It's an old warehouse still disguised as an old warehouse. Magpie's smart, knows that to build a fortress is to invite others. Lots of folks might still know where she is, but her competition won't see her as quite as big a threat. Perfect for me, not like I ain't been there before. Walk right in, knives in hand. "Magpie the Bitch!" I shout, loud as I possibly can. Gotta make sure she hears it, and gotta make sure she recognizes the voice from wherever in there she is right now. Gotta make sure she knows it's me, gotta think I'm blitzed off my rear end on some chem or somesuch. "Magpie the Whore, Magpie the Ugly, Magpie the Weak! Deal's off, I'm not your whore any more! You got an issue with that you best show your ugly loving face out here and we can hash this out like civilized folk, you hear me? Else you can gently caress right off forever, gently caress you Maggie!" Don't like making myself bait but gotta do what I gotta do. Time to wait for her move. When you're the bait (+Cool): 2d6+3 8 Choosing "You draw your prey all the way into the trap. Otherwise, they only approach." Highlighted stat, marking XP.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2017 15:47
|
|
|
Cool-1 | Hard=0 | Hot+2 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 | 1-armor | 1-barter | 0:00 harm | XP ●○○○○» | 1-hold (Rally) "Why, you're a big fellow, aren't you!" I say with cheer that I hope is not too obviously forced. Still being in the Markets proper, I'm not in any terrible peril (compared to the rest of the City, I suppose), but I was correct in my statement: he is a big fellow. A big bastard, even, huge. "My name is Magnificent Max, my good friend, and if you know about me, and you must, you know that I like to talk to people! Our Zomwell is affiliated with the 4-Way Stoppers, and I thought that I might speak with him about some recent City events!" Read a Person: 2d6+1 4 welp Vulpes Vulpes fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Aug 27, 2017 |
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2017 21:09
|
|
|
Vault, Vault, vaulting high, diving low, whither an enemy, forever a foe. What if you have no plan; what if your plan was accomplished without you. Not even your plan, no, your entire goal, what if you just weren’t needed? Where do you go, what do you turn to, who do you turn to, why do you breathe. Eliminate evil but you know quite well there exists a point of view in which you are the evil and you would not eliminate yourself; absurdities have no currency here. But what if absurdity is all there is, what then? Your body has not betrayed you yet though you’re doing your best, and your mind is intact as well, as well. But when you return to the world-as-it-is, just know: you may have been made redundant. What would you do then? The Mayor, Shigusha wants to know if you’ll be needing a bed or want to grit it out. SeaDee See, any further thoughts? It is a bit crowded, but you’ve been working efficiently anyway. You got a job in mind for Vault? “Magnificent Max, huh. Well, I’m Yahtzee, and you sound like you think I’m a fuckin’ idiot. You also sound like you don’t give two shits about Zomwell. You know just as well as I do that the 4-Way Stoppers’ turf is mid-upper west-side. Go talk to them yourself.” He looks you up and down. “They probably won’t like you much.” Well, then. What do you do now? Red, you hit that nerve dead on. She strides out from an outbuilding that she was...working in, fury in her eyes. “Red, the strung out loving IDIOT,” she spits; literally, spittle flies from her lips and hits you right in the face, she’s suddenly that close. Her .45 is ready, her jewelry is perfect - ostentatious but not inhibiting. “Where the gently caress is my prisoner and what the hell are you doing here, you fuckup,” she continues to shout. You can see her gang scrambling, but if you act fast and decisively, you might be able to take her down. You’re gonna pay for it, though. What do you do?
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2017 19:23
|
|
|
Cool+3 | Hard-2 | Hot+1 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 1-armor | 3-barter | 9:00 harm | XP ●●●○○» For a very brief moment I think about running, but the moment passes. I want this bitch dead, I'm not sure I even give a gently caress any more whether her goons get me after she's gone or not. She's here, I'm here, and I feel a familiar sensation of my brain opening to see the violence that's about to unfold. Visions of Death (+Weird): 2d6+1 9. Highlighted stat, marking XP. I see Maggie's death in front of me, her hot blood running down my arms. It's time for me to take a life I should've taken a long time ago, my own well-being be damned. gently caress you Magpie. Seize by Force (+Hard): 2d6-2 4. Selecting "you inflict terrible harm (+1 harm)", so in the harm exchange I take Maggie's 2 plus the 1 from When You're the Bait minus my 1 armor to put me at 6:00, while I deal 2+1 harm minus her 1 armor for a total of 2-harm to her. I've marked my harm here. Edit: marking additional 1-harm from the gang members (sorry Foo) quiggy fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Aug 29, 2017 |
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2017 21:18
|
|
|
Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=1 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=5 | XP ●●●●○» I pause for a moment while I’m finishing up on Vault and smile under my mask. The bullet was intact and caused very little shrapnel damage. An easy patch job and saline top-up, not nearly as bad as it could have been. She’ll be up and about in no time. Which is good, because I have need of her services. I’ve been operating here cut off from any supply line for too long. I’ve been lucky so far that the recyclers and synths in the lab have kept up with demand, but if The or Vault had been more seriously injured I could have easily exhausted my stock. So my friend here on the table is going to find me a supplier. I suppose I could go through Max, but I have the feeling he would be quite happy to call in the favor and get me involved in some sort of political tizzy. I’ve pulled together a few leads and rumors, and Vault will be a useful adjunct to do the legwork for me.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2017 00:48
|
|
|
6:00 harm | Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 | 2-armor | 0-barter | 2-stock | XP ○○○○○» I come to as See is cleaning up. There's a bullet on a tray that I guess came out of me. Feel lovely, but not like I'm dying anymore. Half remember some weird dream, something to do with a battle, one I was supposed to be in. But someone else was fighting it. I shake it off and focus on the doc. "Thanks," I tell her. "Don't got any jingle. Can work though, if you need things done." I pause, then add, "Mostly I'm good at killing people." Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Aug 30, 2017 |
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2017 03:26
|
|
|
Cool-1 | Hard=0 | Hot+2 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 | 1-armor | 1-barter | 0:00 harm | XP 2/5 » | 1-hold (Rally) They probably won't like you much. "But," I say, "everyone likes me!" Nothing for it, then. I control the news in this City, and August Grandmother controls trade. But that's not enough. And if your enemy is already fighting someone, then the wise move is to offer that someone a hand. Back to the markets, to talk to August Grandmother and see if she wants to send a representative with me, and then back to Gull Hill to pick up a couple of the Number One Fan Club Boys. And then to the mid-upper west side, to see if the 4-Way Stoppers are interested in a chat.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2017 13:36
|
|
|
Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=1 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=5 | XP ●●●●○» “Let the Record show that Patient Vault’s offer was unprovoked and not the result of a prior quid pro quo arrangement. Patient has responded well to surgery and is currently conscious and lucid. Discontinue continuous Record-ing.” There’s another tone from the speakers and I chuckle. “Sorry about that, but receiving direct payment for my services is a bit of an ethical minefield. But since you were kind enough to offer without any prompting, I do have a project I could use a hand with. I’d recommend staying off your feet for at least another week to make sure you’re in the clear, but that’s at your discretion.” I help her back into her shirt, giving some tips on how to avoid straining her shoulder in the process. “Anyways, I’m… cut off from my traditional supply lines so currently restocking is a bit of an issue. And with this new Stoppers/Church thing happening on top of the usual fun and games, I need to locate a local supplier. I’ve picked up some scraps of info: Leary’s Own Fool Guo Lin has access to treatment-grade pharmaceuticals given what he’s dosed himself with, and at least two of the hospitals here have been cleared out all neat like. So I need someone with a local touch to put in the legwork on this. Sound good?”
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2017 01:15
|
|
|
6:00 harm | Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 | 2-armor | 0-barter | 2-stock | XP ○○○○○» "That works," I tell the dock, working my shoulder a bit to see just how much movement I have. "Can start with August Grandmother. And Magnificent Max. He's an rear end in a top hat, but he know's people." "Can't be sitting around though. Got troubles, and got to make trouble. For Magpie, if you know her." Be a bit embarrassing if the doc is working with slavers. "Might need to patch myself up on the way, if you can spare some things."
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2017 03:51
|
|
|
You’re looking at Magpie, Red, and at her face, and jaw. Straight back from everyone’s chin, about half an inch to an inch back, there’s a soft gap. That medic might refer to it as the gap between the mandible and the hyoid bone. For you it’s a target, and with a quick, extremely violent motion, you impale Magpie’s mouth with one of your knives. The blood streams down your arm, just as you foresaw. What you didn’t foresee, however, is that her body would jerk and shoot you right in the chest. Sure, you drat near pin her hand to the pistol grip with another knife afterwards, but she still drilled you. Magpie drops in a heap, and then the fighting begins in earnest. And while you are sure you recognized Trubbs before putting a blade through his ribs, you don’t know who hit you with that fuckin’ hammer, and you don’t know who left you with half a left ear. You do know that the slavers will never quite be the same again, and neither will you. You’re pretty hosed up, to be sure, but you’re alive, and the slavers have let you slip through their grasp in order to figure out just what the gently caress they’re going to do. Same question for you, lady. SeaDee See and Vault: while you two patch things up and cut deals, there’s still the matter of metal surgery: that of the ‘verter. It seems like The Mayor is in a bit of a daze right now - no big surprise there, really. But what are you going to do with it? And Vault, are you going to hang out for a bit? Or get moving, even as banged up as you are? Magnificent Max, who’re you taking with you? Why them? And what are you worried about happening while you’re away?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2017 19:45
|
|
|
Cool+3 | Hard-2 | Hot+1 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 1-armor | 3-barter | 9:00 harm | XP ●●●○○» blood everywhere, on my arms on my shirt on my pants on my legs in my hair i don't even know whose blood it is any more, gotta find a doc, gotta Inhale. Maggie's dead. Me too, I think. Wait, no. Still moving. Somehow. Gotta find a doc. Gotta find the doc, whats her name, CDC or some poo poo like that. The slavers seem to have lost me, I gotta get out now or I'm definitely dead. I run down a back alley, fast as I can, my whole body screaming. Maggie shot me, that bitch, I can feel myself losing blood fast, gotta remember the route Vault told me all those years back. Left, right, straight, right, right, 'nother left, right. Gotta find the good doc, things going black, gotta find the doc. I see the door, gotta make it, everything's lurching, gotta make it inside gotta live through this gotta I hit the ground hard just outside the doc's place, and everything goes black.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2017 14:58
|
|
|
Cool-1 | Hard=0 | Hot+2 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 | 1-armor | 1-barter | 0:00 harm | XP 2/5 » | 1-hold (Rally) "It's about heroes and villains." I'm talking to Three AC in a 4-Way Stopper bunk, in 4-Way Stopper turf. It stinks like cordite, wounds and cheap smoke, the latter of which I'm trying to drown out with one of my Kriegsgrad cigars, the mate to the one Three AC has jammed in his unsmiling face. I have a couple of the #1 Fan Club Boys with me, enough to make me look like less of a fool than had I come alone, but not enough to be a threat. It should be common knowledge that I don't dabble in gang wars and border squabbles, at least not up until now. Three AC's not the boss, I'd never get an audience with the boss, but Three AC is as high a soldier as I'm going to be able to speak with. I impress him, and I've done what I've set out to do. "To the Church, they're the heroes, and the Stoppers are the villains. No one sees themselves as the man in the black hat in the drama that is their life, now do they? However, you see yourselves as the heroes in this conflict, with the Church as the antagonists, white clothing notwithstanding." I pause to drag on my cigar dramatically. "But this conflict with the Church isn't something that concerns only the 4-Way Stoppers. I think it's something that could be bigger, not a brushfire but a bonfire. And I also think this City, our poor, black, dead City, has burned enough by now. So I want to stamp out this fire. I want to stamp it dead. "And I think you want the same. And I want to help you." I lean back, put both hands through my hair, the very picture of a serious man about serious business. It is serious business, of course. But my mind is still back at Gull Hill. Ever since the broadcast, I've been dreading the emissary. Because the Church was going to send an emissary, because they're the Church. They deal in ultimatums. "It's about heroes and villains. You see yourselves as heroes. But what if I helped the rest of the City see you the same way? What if I could make it so that everyone who listens to my station, and that is a wide demographic, heard about the valiant battle that the 4-Way Stoppers, defenders of the City, were fighting with the craven, grasping, evil empire of the Church?" Vulpes Vulpes fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Sep 6, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2017 02:17
|
|
|
Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=1 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=4 | XP ●●●●○» “I’ve… tended to Magpie’s people before. Not exactly my kind of folks, but they were a reservoir for The Gasps.” My mask covers the disgusted expression the memory causes. “So no, she’s no friend of mine. And in the interest of you surviving long enough to find my supplier, I think I can spare Shigusa’s old training kit. Its just the basics, but it will help keep your guts on the insides.” I hear Partridge’s warning yelp just before the clatter of the scrap-piles outside being knocked over. A quick look out one of the Infirmary’s view-slots reveals the source of the commotion. With a quick curse, I’m out the door with only the briefest pause to make sure Partridge is covering me. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s tried to honeypot us. But I needn't have worried, its just another walk-in. My nose wrinkles under my mask, I have only the vaguest awareness of this woman but I recognize her aspect. The same as Guo Lin, and of near-forgotten Oh SheAh. Tempting, oh so tempting to just take a fourth Oath-mark on my cheek and let the junkie bleed out. Probably be better for everyone she’s ever dealt with. Tempting, but I’ve only violated the Oath out of necessity. “Incoming non-responsive, multiple serious wound categories, complicated by drug addiction. Cannot Consent-So-Informed, lifesaving measures only.” More orders are shouted, and the patient is transferred to the other bed. I’m back in Record-mode, setting up the instruments and IV. I’ve added a little something extra to her fluids, it might not be technically considered life-saving but flushing the drugs and by-products out of her system will aid in recovery. (spending 2-stock on Stabilizing Red: 2d6+2 7. She’s at 6-harm and stabile. I get +1 Hx with Red. Taking ‘They respond very well to treatment. Recover 1 of the stock you spent, if you spent any’ As my result. Boring, but people keep getting hurt  )
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2017 03:13
|
|
|
6:00 harm | Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 | 2-armor | 0-barter | 2-stock | XP ○○○○○» I nod my thanks, collecting the kit and starting to sort my gear. The doc clearly wants me off my feet, but there's too much poo poo going down. When one of the assistants calls out, I put my hand on my rifle, but it's another patient. Except I know her. Red. Bloody as I was. I trail after for a moment as they wheel her in. As the doc gets to work, I speak up. "Her name's Red." When SeaDee See looks up, I meet her eye. "You asked if I was bringing Hell with me," I continue, then indicate Red with my chin. "Sure as gently caress it's coming now." I raise the HK and slap the bolt closed, then turn and walk out. I hook my pack up as I exit the clinic, already getting in the headspace for a fight. Just me or just Red would have slipped pursuit. But there's too many people looking and too many trails to find now. Best to meet what's coming head on.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2017 13:53
|
|
|
Three AC taps on his goggles, making a tink-tink-tink noise. After a moment, you realize it’s a thinking tic, like stroking a beard. “You got some big honkin’ words, Max-man,” he eventually drawls. “Big words.” Tink. Tink. “I like what you’re saying, but I got one big problem. Can’t go to the boss with no deal. You’re offering something, but you ain’t buying. Just sellin’. Sellin’ your, uh, uh, narrative.” He shifts a little, and one of the other 4-Way Stoppers flanking Three AC taps her pistol on her dirty, faded (but still red-plated) thigh armor. “Magnificent Max’s stories are real good,” she comments, but Three AC reiterates “sure, but there’s no deal to present.” How do you respond? The rest of you, we’re about to close the first session. Any final thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2017 15:41
|
|
|
Cool+3 | Hard-2 | Hot+1 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 1-armor | 3-barter | 6:00 harm | XP ●●●●○» All I see is blackness. Every so often I hear a sound or feel a jostle--a plastic tube coming out of my arm, a doctor ordering her staff, the door opening and closing. I think I hear Vault for a moment, but the moment passes. Darkness envelops me, and I lean into it. Let the darkness bring me through the night. Open Your Brain (+Weird): 2d6+1 11. Highlighted stat, marking XP. quiggy fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Sep 8, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2017 18:44
|
|
|
Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 || Red+3 | See=0 | Max-1 || 6:00 harm | 2-armor | 0-barter | 2-stock | XP ○○○○○» I find a good spot to cover the approaches to the clinic, and settle in to watch, at least until dark. Red must have tangled with Magpie. Only thing that makes sense. Have to find out why when she wakes up. Figured this crazy plan would bring trouble. But now it looks more like bringing war. Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Sep 15, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2017 19:11
|
|
|
Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=1 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=4 | XP ●●●●○» Today… today started reasonably well. A quick trip to pick up a package from a quiet part of town. And now I’ve seen the beginnings of some sort of turf war, treated three sets of serious injuries, and possibly involved myself in some sort of vendetta. That wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary, but Mox is no-where to be seen. Paying the bills, even getting distracted by some shopping shouldn’t take this long. Shigusa is a good kid and coming along nicely, but Mox has better skills and most importantly she’s a native. If Hell is truly coming, I’m gonna need her by my side. At least The, Vault, and this… Red are on the mend. Might have need for some friendly heavies, and tech support is a thing I thought I left behind in the Tombs.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2017 00:54
|
|
|
Cool-1 | Hard=0 | Hot+2 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 | 1-armor | 1-barter | 0:00 harm | XP 2/5 » | 1-hold (Rally) I draw on my cigar contemplatively. "You are correct, spot on. There is no deal to present. That is because I didn't come here to deal. I'm not trying to make some kind of transaction. This thing with the Church, it isn't a business opportunity for me. It's a war, and as I, and my people, am on the Church's poo poo list, I want their side to lose. And as you are at the front line of that war, I've come to offer my support in order to make that happen." I lean forward, put my gumboots on the ground (incongruous with the air of desperate refinement I try to cultivate, but we live, nowadays, in what is effectively a crater) and rest my elbows on my knees. "I'm not here to deal. I'm here to offer my support, and I want to make sure that your boss knows that. I'm here to show you that Gull Hill, the Markets and the 4-Way Stop stand together against the Church. I'm here not with a deal for profit but with a proposal for mutual benefit-" thin, Max, thin I think to myself, "and, I'm assured, mutual victory." I lean back, and attend the cigar. It's almost done. "They say that it's the winners of the war who tell the story. I say, the telling of the story? That's what makes the winners." Vulpes Vulpes fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Sep 11, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2017 20:53
|
|
|
Red: It is silent, but for a soft chorus of voices: “You do not know - Silence like a cancer grows.” An indefinite pause. Neon fills the world spelling everything there is to know. And yet, there is nothing there to read. Perhaps it is your role to fill? Perhaps the words are truly someone else’s but words without action can do nothing? There is too much silence to hear, but another chorus harmonizes in your brainstem. “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls.” And then there is nothing at all. It is the end of Session 1.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2017 17:25
|
|
|
Answer these now: Vault: Where are you holed up now and who are you staying with (it ain’t Yakov any more, that’s for sure)? Who’d you kill on your way there? Who’d you leave alive? SeaDee See: Who’s paid you a visit that you were happy to see? Who did you have to refuse treatment to (for your reasons, not theirs)? Magnificent Max: What did Mox have to tell you? Do you think the 4-Way Stoppers are stalling, or just disorganized? Red: Did you stay down, or go searching for another hit right away? Were you friendly with the Ombudsman when you two crossed paths, or was it messy? Don’t respond, just think: Vault: Your reputation has been up in the air lately, rumors going round that you hosed up a job. Rumors also going around that you’re dead, or that you faked your own death, or that you made it look like you hosed up a big job and faked your death only to pull it off in grand style and that you’re more dangerous than ever. SeaDee See: August Grandmother’s been in and out. Market could get real unstable if she croaks. What else does the Market buttress? Magnificent Max: Consider, many people think you’re weak and just hide behind a microphone and transmitter. Could you prove them wrong if you had to? Red: To some, you’re a hero, to others, a cipher. Which do you prefer, and enjoy the fact you’ve got little control here.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2017 19:57
|
|
|
Cool-1 | Hard=0 | Hot+2 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 | 1-armor | 1-barter | 0:00 harm | XP 2/5 » | 1-hold (Rally) "What did Mox tell you?" Dear Susan's not here, not where I am right now, away from my beloved Gull Hill, away from the Markets, where I so love to loiter and bathe in humanity. Away from the people I love and the people who care for me. A wracking cough shakes through me, and I spit something that doesn't bear looking at into the greasy ash under my gumboots. I light one of those excellent matches off a thumbnail and kindle another black cigar and puff out rings of smoke over the city I see before me. Carcinogen halos for an ashen angel. "What did Mox tell you?" Susan's voice won't go away, echoing through my mind as if she were right there. She's not, of course. She's back at Gull Hill, keeping the tubes hot, making sure that the story goes on, ushering guests in and out and keeping the radio waves running through the city. But I can still hear her. Because it wasn't what Mox told me that stays with me. It's Dear Susan asking about it. "What did Mox tell you?" "She told me she was sorry," I tell Susan. "She told me that there was nothing SeaDee See could do. "She told me I was dying."
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2017 03:49
|
|
|
Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=4 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=4 | XP ●●●●○» There’s something relaxing about inventory. Well, at least it is when we are in decent shape. It gives the mind time to reflect on events. The very busy surgery day that capped with Mox finally returning. She won’t say where she went and she’s been quieter than usual since, but at least she’s back. And then there was the unfortunate incident with Cordite. Works security at one of the more reputable watering holes close to the Statuary. Took some glass in a barfight, nothing too bad but needed stitches. But he kept trying to have a go at Mox, yelling about ‘Blood Must!’ So he got the boot, you don’t mess with my people. At least working in The Tower is fairly smoothly, aside from the heights. The Towerfolk recognize the importance of proper preventative care, and little Jenny Tower-5 even recognized her symptoms of the Shakes in stage one. Might have to talk to her supervisor-parent about an internship in a few years. On the flip side, Smith Tower-6 nearly broke my nose when I was giving him his shots. Started screaming about harps and chemtrails and such, at least it was a good lesson for Shigusa about keeping an eye on your Patients.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2017 15:17
|
|
|
Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 || Red+3 | See=0 | Max-1 || 6:00 harm | 2-armor | 3-barter | 2-stock | XP ○○○○○» I peer through the old scope, trying to get an angle to observe Magpie's place. What used to be Magpie's place. Scope never had much power anyways, and now its cracked and fogged, mounting brackets broke off. Can't see anything worth seeing. poo poo angle anyways, and probably too far. I put the scope aside and back away from the edge of the roof, head back downstairs. Nod to Crowbar, who's got his auto-shotgun spread out on the coffee table, cleaning it again. Can hear Sickle banging around downstairs, singing something off key. Making breakfast. The Pent is neutral ground, safehouse for steeplejacks to hole up on their way to and from deeper in the city. Place's only real selling points is it's secure - solid roof, hard to get into, easy to get out of. If you're a steeplejack anyways. I keep an eye on those two and they keep theirs on me, all the same. Neutral ground's a notion, not a rule. More to the looks coming my way too. Word gets around. Part of the reason I took that job for the Tower. Haven't done a teardown in a while. Usually blood jobs and guffins these days, not bulk hauling. But Ash Super-Tower-1 pays well, and needs all. Tower has its own salvage crew, sure, not bad for amateurs. But if you want to loot a scraper the Greenhousers laid claim on, you need a steeplejack running point. That job went well clean enough. Didn't have to kill more than five or six before the rest bailed. Think Briarthorn was with them, that ugly old gently caress. That was him, he'll lose the hand for sure, if he lives. After though. Saw Makepiece watching from another roof. Thought she was dead, in the poo poo with Wartooth. She was the first one to take up with the witch too. Gone before I had a chance to go after her. Maybe I should have tried to find the trail. Worries me. If she's still running with Wartooth, then that means even more trouble is coming. I got my pay from Tower and got clear. Needed to get ready. Got to clear up some things before that storm rolls in. Magpie and Jackie are dead, but their crews aren't. Someone's taking over their turf, the trade. Figure I should finish that job.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2017 17:29
|
|
|
Cool+3 | Hard-2 | Hot+1 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 1-armor | 0-barter | 6:00 harm | XP ●●●●○» I ain't the same as I used to be. Doc patched me up good, but a gun pointed right at you will never leave you the same no matter how good your doc is. Thanked the doc for their help, but didn't pay for the services with my jingle. Got more important poo poo I gotta buy, offered to lend a hand when the doc needs it instead. Maggie's dead but Maggie's goons sure ain't. Maybe they'll thank me for what I did, but I doubt it. Spent that jingle on a new gun instead, named her Six-or-Five from some barely-remembered dream from the past. Moved homes too, found a new mattress in a new flat. One that doesn't have Amanlu's blood all over it or Vault's fingerprints. Safety. Whole body hurts, every day. Only one thing to do for it, the one thing I always know I can do. I shoot up, again and again. Hit up an old dealer, folks call them Tanner, good poo poo and fair prices. Didn't seem too pleased to see me, probably thinks I'm trouble. Probably right. Ran into the Ombudsman there too, been a while since I seen him. Wasn't buying anything from Tanner, think his drug days are behind him. Seemed to be running some odd job for someone, wouldn't go into details. Friendly though, bought me a drink. Told me to be careful, some poo poo's brewing, but wouldn't spill the details. Always a bit tight-lipped, but I guess I would be too if I was him. For right now though, no reason to worry. Don't think no one followed me, got more poo poo than I know what to do with, just gotta make this pain go away. Spent 1-barter on lifestyle and 2-barter on my new gun quiggy fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Sep 15, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2017 17:39
|
|
|
Session 2 begins. It has been a few days. A light rain has passed through the Dead City, generally muting it and washing away some of the blood. Today the sun seems like it will break through the cloud cover and burn off the morning fog. Warm and steamy, there is a minimal breeze flitting through the buildings and concrete, welcome when it brushes the skin. And then, as always, it is gone. Red, funnily enough, you ran across the Ombudsman again. Word was sent round via runners n’ poo poo, you know how it goes, but the Ombudsman is taking a package from the Infirmary to the Proscenium. He’s got one of those Fan Club Boys with him, Mr. Lilton, but for some reason you got pulled into this job too. Of course, you haven’t got the details, the Ombudsman is tight-lipped as always. But he’s clearly expecting trouble, or else you wouldn’t be part of this. And then, about halfway through the trip, on a wide boulevard with broken cars strewn around, you see exactly why. Churchgoers, in their long dresses and automatic rifles. You can recognize Timothy Dragnuts as the leader of this party, but not the other two with him. They definitely seem like they’re hunting for something, or someone, but they haven’t noticed you just yet. What do you do? Vault, why are you sleeping late this morning? Someone there with you? Bottled up? Something else? Regardless, you’re going to have to figure your poo poo out fast, because you’re real sure you hear Makepiece and some other fuckers. Neutral ground goes out the window when enough people are pissed, it seems. You knew that, though. Guess Makepiece didn’t bail on the sitch after all. What do you do? Seadee See, you have a visitor! It’s Nati Tower-2, and she’s actually quite friendly, especially compared to your latest visitors it seems. Of course, she’s got a holster and pistol on her hip, but then again, who wouldn’t? Assuming you’re not too busy right now, she’s got a little something for you, she says, and her smile seems very genuine. It’s in her pack, but it can wait until you’ve got some downtime. Are you free now? How do you react? Magnificent Max, the tubes are hot, but you’re not there. Dear Susan is doing her best, you’ve heard some of the older stories revisited, and you’ve also heard pieces and commentaries from the likes of Buccha. You are, however, out at Preacher Mark’s. The medic said he couldn’t help you, but Preacher Mark’s no medic. Preacher Mark says not to believe the stylings of the Church (which seems like you’re inclined to disbelieve anyway), that they are sacrilegious and profane. They know only the Regalia but none of the Gospel, and the Gospel is what has real power. He offers a bottle of wine and tells you need to open your heart to the Lord, who saves all who believe. What do you think about this?
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2017 19:52
|
|
|
Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 || Red+3 | See=0 | Max-1 || 6:00 harm | 2-armor | 3-barter | 2-stock | XP ○○○○○» I snap awake and roll off the bed onto the floor, grabbing the HK as I drop. Lay on the floor, trying to wake up and figure out what it was that woke me up. Not Crowbar and Sickle moving around. Something outside. Late morning. Normally up before this, but Crowbar had the watch and I let Sickle talk me into finishing off that bottle he'd found. Fell asleep with my boots on at least. I reach over and pull my vest over, couple of grenades still on the loops. As I do, I hear the sound again. A clatter, slide, clatter, slide, silence. Grapple. On the roof above me. I sit up and haul the vest on fast as I can. Gotta be someone below too. I pull the zipper just as I hear boots hit the roof. poo poo. Has to be steeplejacks. Makepeace. At least two above, at least one below, probably more below. I wonder, Where the gently caress are Crowbar and Sickle? as I get up into a crouch, rifle up, and ease open the door. Sold me out? Or about to be in the poo poo with me? Either way, someone's about to die. Read a Situation [+Sharp]: 2d6+1 12 • Where’s my best escape route? • What should I be on the lookout for? • What’s my enemy’s true position?
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2017 22:45
|
|
|
Cool+3 | Hard-2 | Hot+1 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 1-armor | 0-barter | 6:00 harm | XP ●●●●○» The second I see them, I signal to my group for silence. I reach my hand down and, quiet as I can, unholster Six-or-Five. Feel that cold metal in my hands. I don't want to get in another fight, not so soon after Maggie almost spilled my guts all over the street, but here we are. Haven't seen these folks before but I've heard on the radio and in whispers that they're gaining strength, and somehow I suspect they're not gonna want a gently caress-up like me around. The three of us duck behind various cars, making sure we're close enough to help each other out but far enough that if push comes to shove we can flank 'em. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Gotta wait and see them make a move first, I wager. Read a Sitch (+Sharp): 2d6+1 10
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2017 00:42
|
|
|
Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=3 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=4 | XP ●●●●○» When Nati pokes her head into Reception I’m mostly naked, covered in grime, and enjoying a jar of medicinal spirits with Mox. Just finished a few hours of crawling under the Infirmary figuring out the best way to swap out the converter and cataloging what else we’d need to replace to get our operation mobile again. I’m not drunk, I’m technically on duty, but I’m far enough along to not care about my unprofessional dress or the fact that I’m not wearing a mask. “Msh. Tower-2! Is everything ok at the Tower? You’re welcome to join us, its Ashman’s rotgut, but I’ve run it through a purifier so it won’t turn you blind. Still taste horrible though.” Mox and I get up and make room for her. I can tell that Mox is a little anxious about Nati’s intentions, but I’ve never had serious issues with the Towerfolk. I mean, my revolver is within arm’s reach, I’m not an idiot. But I’m a Practioner, and have to believe folks come to me in good faith. Otherwise, Mox would be tattooing one last Oath-mark on my corpse. Paying 1-barter for lifestyle
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2017 03:26
|
|
|
Cool-1 | Hard=0 | Hot+2 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 | 1-armor | 1-barter | 0:00 harm | XP 2/5 » | 1-hold (Rally) If you live long enough, you will see yourself grow into an old man. I've lived that long, though I'm not that old a man. I've grown grey, an accomplishment in this City. I've made friends, watched them die, and made something. But I've taken comfort so far in believing that I've not grown into a stupid old man, despite popular opinion. Until today, I suppose as I sit in Preacher Mark's hovel, smoking my cigars and listening to his claptrap. The problem is, I'm not treating it like claptrap. I'm treating it like it might save my life. "The Lord saves all who believe, you say." This is normally when I do the 'interview', regardless of the presence of a microphone. But I'm off my game here, because my broadcaster's skepticism has been rattled by my own mortality, and despite myself, I'm halfway to believing in Preacher Mark's Lord. More than halfway, if I'm being honest. So I try. I try and believe, like I believe in life, and friends, and people being people and stories. And I open up. Two stupid old men. OPEN YOUR BRAIN TO THE LORD: 2d6+1 10
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2017 01:38
|
|
|
Red, you peep out through the broken-out windows of an old hatchback. There’s a dirty skull on the passenger’s seat. If you can successfully bounce from car to car, you should be able to make it past them without notice. There’s plenty of detritus around so hopefully you’ll find enough to hide behind. Right now, you want to make sure you’re not spotted since you can see a few grenades hanging off of one of the Churchgoers’ that you don’t recognize belts. Even if you’re bunkering down they’ll be able to nail you, assuming he can throw worth a drat. However, what would be really dangerous is if a White Warrior shows up; that’d indicate a serious escalation from a basic search (and destroy?) group, though. What do you do? Nati looks slightly embarrassed, SeaDee See, almost like she was expecting you to be, y’know, wearing clothes when she arrived. “Oh, everything’s doing okay,” she reassures you, before going into how she figured out you weren’t from the City while you were working. Something about your style was really intriguing. Anyway, she accepts your offer of some booze, and offers something in return. From her pack, she retrieves a small case, which unfolds into a board of sorts. It’s really quite nice. “Sheshbesh,” she explains, and it’s her most prized possession, and she feels like it originates from somewhere outside the city. As Nati describes the game, Mox catches her eye. Shortly after, Mox excuses herself, saying something about looking for a certain kind of connector for the ‘verter; Nati mostly fails to hide a smile at this. How do you react? Vault, a wave of nausea hits you as you zip up the side of the building. Steeplejacking itself isn’t really the problem, doing it with a serious hangover is. If you were to dip out, your best shot would be up and around the very spire, and then a risky landing on the old L Mart roof below. It’s a pretty decent drop, but it has the twin advantages of being right in the direction Makepiece probably came from (which they wouldn’t expect) and going right into 4-Way Stopper territory (which would make a nice wildcard). Speaking of wildcards, you really need to be looking out for Crowbar and Sickle. If they’re gonna defend the tower, that’s a serious swing in firepower compared to the other option, you’re forced to grimly conclude. That being said, the real gun you gotta look out for is Makepiece, and you hear the mild thunking of a grapple landing on the side of the Tower...what do you do? At Preacher Mark’s urging, Magnificent Max, you drink a small glass of his wine as he speaks, and as he speaks of the glory of King James and as he continues to speak it is almost as if Preacher Mark becomes the distant preacher mark and then there is only you and King James and a feeling of contentment and truth and true knowledge that while your time on this earth is limited there is something after all of this and then, and then, and then you hear a blast of static, extremely familiar static, that of your own broadcast going awry, and you are stone cold in a chair listening to a rather charismatic man that is not you talk and tell stories. And you know when you’re dead you’ll be cold bones in the ground, just like everyone else, just like Mox said. What do you do?
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2017 16:05
|
|
|
Cool+3 | Hard-2 | Hot+1 | Sharp+1 | Weird+1 1-armor | 0-barter | 6:00 harm | XP ○○○○○» | 1-advance Guns and grenades, gently caress. Both dangerous in anyone's hands, but worse in Dragnuts's. Can't quite tell how many there are, but I know this poo poo is gonna get real bad if they spot us. I look at the Ombudsman and see the same look in his eyes. Fear. We won't win this fight, especially not with my body still busted from Magpie's gun. Alternate approach, I guess. I keep my gun out, just in case, but quietly signal to my two compatriots that we're going around, as quickly and quietly as we can. I have no idea what the Church wants here or why they're armed to the teeth, but I do know that I don't particularly want to find out. Not like this, anyway. Best keep hidden behind all these busted cars and poo poo. Act Under Fire (+Cool, +1 Forward): 2d6+3+1 11 Highlighted stat, marking XP which gives me 1-advance.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2017 19:22
|
|
|
Cool+1 | Hard+2 | Hot-1 | Sharp+1 | Weird=0 || Red+3 | See=0 | Max-1 || 6:00 harm | 2-armor | 3-barter | 2-stock | XP ○○○○○» Could get out. Probably have enough time grab all my stuff, make the drop, get clear. Probably. gently caress it. Tired of running. First thing, need to find Crowbar and Sickle. If they've betrayed me, need to deal with them. If they haven't, better to take this on together. They were set up below me, might not have heard the grapples. I keep the rifle up and move, checking corners as I make for the floor below. Probably someone using the stair well but if I'm quick I might beat them to it, or at least get a shot on them before they get one on me. Speed is more important than stealth now. They know I'm here, after all. Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Sep 20, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2017 19:49
|
|
|
Hard =0 | Cool +2 | Hot -1 | Sharp +2 | Weird -1 Barter=3 | Harm=0:00 | Stock=4 | XP ●●●●○» I’m confused by Mox’s departure, but my brain is too busy trying to figure out how to play this. I’ve made no secret that I’m not a native of the City, but most here don’t care much about Outside. But Nat’s interest in this game might trigger a shibboleth that could betray my origins, and I don’t want to make the Review Board’s job any easier. But sending her away could also be suspicious… I buy myself some time by stating I don’t want to accidentally get her treasure dirty and jumping to the nearby sink. After a quick scrub and a pause to toss on my labcoat (nudity taboos keep catching me off-guard when I’m not in Practioner mode), I favor Nati with what I hope is a charming smile. “Oh yes, I have indeed come across Sheshbesh outside the City, although this set is the nicest I’ve seen that’s not in a Luxorite gambling parlour. Have you had it long?” poo poo, do folks know about the Luxorites here? Why am I so bad at this? (SeaDee will be making awkward small-talk while trying not to reveal too much about her actual past)
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2017 23:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 14:34 |
|
|
Fear response. Fight or flight. Funnily enough, you can’t do either to the response. But you can master your response, Red, and you do. Flight. And yet you keep a cool head, halting your companions, then directing them onwards, with a collection of improvised hand signals and gritted whispers. And then Mr. Lilton sneezes. Too much grime in the air. Nothing comes of it. Timothy Dragnuts and his posse continue hunting. Either they didn’t hear it or they didn’t care. The three of you slink away from the open streets after a little while longer, and into a maze of busted-up old buildings and collapsed structures. Half-extant staircases and oddly-angled rebar make for slow going, and the Ombudsman grouses something about not being a steeplejack. Mr. Lilton asks you, Red, if you’ve heard anything about the weirdness with the steeplejacks lately? “I’m pretty sure Vault was set up top,” Sickle says to Crowbar. They’re ready for combat. You can’t tell if they’re hunting you or trying to team up. Their backs are to you, though, and they are searching in a different direction. What do you do? “I found it in a bundle when I arrived at the Tower a few years ago, SeaDee Sea,” Nati replies. “Seemed like someone knew it was valuable but didn’t know what exactly it was.” She smiles at you again. “I haven’t really bothered to try to play much since I found it, y’know? But there was something about you that made me think you’d appreciate it…” The mention of the Luxorites goes uncommented on. What does go commented on, though, is your change of clothes. “Do you always wear those long coats?” Nati asks “at least, when you’re wearing clothes?” Her smile turns slightly sly. “Like when you go out to have fun?” How do you react?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2017 20:00
|
|