<~Teller|GM> Teller The balcony on the backside of the PRT HQ is large enough to almost be a deck. The slowly flowing river lies two stories below, a wide expanse of water that winds to the ocean on one side and into the forest on the other. All in all, it's a very scenic location. It feels like a lifetime ago that he planned to drown his parents here.
17:20 "-and the substance was designed to cause pain more than anything else. The doctor told me that scarring shouldn't be too bad," Pioneer says. She sounds a lot better than she did the last time Cowl was with her, but then it is hard not to sound better than ragged screaming. "Thanks for asking."
17:20 Wicht just nods. He sits across the circular table from Pioneer; the latter is one chair to Cowl's right, while Wicht is to his left. He seems grouchy and more subdued than usual. Cowl is pretty sure he only agreed to come in order to check up on Pioneer.
17:20 Playpen sits in the fourth seat at the table directly across from him. At least, Pioneer says it is Playpen - she looks like a completely different person. She seems about fifteen or sixteen, with long black hair and intensely blue eyes. Her costume is red jumpsuit with a pattern of crisscrossing white lines. The lines follow the sides of her costume, for the most part, but veer off at sharp right angles at certain points to form small
17:20 diamond patterns on her hips and shoulders, and one large one on her chest. She kicks her feet rhythmically against the underside of her chair and pulls at the fabric of the costume every few minutes. ||
17:23 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "O-Okay." Cowl nods. Looking absent-minded towards the river. Once, he thought he could drown all his sorrows in it. Funny.
17:24 He never planned to drown himself with his parents, but the thought sneaks inside his mind when he's feeling particularly low.
17:24 "And Muh-melange?"
17:24 It was a nice spot.
17:25 It was a shame that Wicht looked quite so morose. And Playpen quite so... not wanting to be there.
17:27 Pioneer had a helmet that completely obscured her face, so it was really hard to tell what was up with her. At least she wasn't screaming anymore. And she seemed to be awfully willing to continue with the whole cape business.
17:27 Cowl almost wanted her to resent him.
17:27 Some castigation felt due.||
17:36 <~Teller|GM> Teller "We haven't heard from her," Pioneer says, then adds, "Yet."
17:36 "But it's a secret," Playpen chimes up. She puts a finger to her lips. "Shh."
17:36 "What Playpen means," Pioneer says, "is that the PRT wants us to keep that quiet for now. So would you mind not spreading it around?"
17:36 "That's what I /said/, babes," Playpen says.
17:36 "...stop calling everyone 'baby' and 'babes'." ||
17:36 ↔ Stoic popped in
17:41 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Oh, I duh-don't really do much t-talking." Cowl says shrugging. Not yet? So she was fine? Cowl is able to let go of a breath he had been holding for far too long.
17:41 He looks at Playpen with interest. Was she imitating someone?
17:41 "Cuh-can you c-change your eyes to, uh, y-yellow? Or black?"||
17:48 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Yeah, I won't say anything," Wicht agrees.
17:48 Playpen stops kicking her chair for a minute. "Hmmmmm...maybe." She looks at Pioneer. "Do people have yellow eyes? Or just dogs and cats?"
17:48 "Yes," Pioneer says. "I think it's really rare, though, and it's not as yellow as you're probably imagining."
17:48 "Then yes," Playpen says. She takes a long sip of her dink. "Wanna see?" ||
17:50 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Sure." Cowl shrugs. What even -was- her power? Powers?
17:51 For a moment, Cowl makes an inventory of his body. Including the parts of his body that are not strictly there. The pulsating sensation beneath the skin. That thread of thought, now dormant, which connected him to something at the edge of his thoughts.
17:51 Not quite his power?
17:52 But undeniably related.
17:52 If Playpen could change her eyes, could change her appearance like such. What secrets had he, himself, yet to reveal from his own power? He had spent so much time trying to... pretend it was something else.
17:52 But did he even understand it?
17:54 It was control, yes. But... bah!
17:55 To become the very thing he hated the most. Quite unlike his parents, quite like so.
17:55 ||
18:00 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Be right back!" Playpen announces. All at once, the lighting in the area shifts to a stark violet hue and Playpen slides backwards, vanishing through a slit in space. Wicht squints until the area returns to normal.
18:00 "So weird," he mutters. ||
18:01 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "I luh-like it. Don't ruh-really have to be yourself all the t-time. Suh-sounds nice." Cowl answers.
18:01 "Isn't t-that why we wuh-wear this?" He says, pulling at his Cowl.||
18:04 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social roll, please, Teruzi|Caul.))
18:04 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Social
18:04 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Social" [5] -1 = 4
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18:12 <~Teller|GM> Teller "I thought it was so crazy people didn't show up to your house and murder your family," Wicht says, shrugging. He then seems to consider who he's talking to, and Cowl watches him ever so slightly cringe before pushing forward. "Anyway...I appreciate the food and drinks, but I keep waiting for the part where you and Playpen try to sell us on the Wards."
18:12 "Sorry if that's rude. It just comes up every time I talk to one of you guys, so it feels like it's been hanging over my head this whole afternoon and I'd rather just get it over with."
18:12 "I wasn't actually going to bring it up," Pioneer says. "But now that you mention it, I was wondering what you're both planning to do now."
18:12 Now that Zenith was coming apart at the seams, she doesn't say. ||
18:13 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Oh, y-you know. Guh-get in trouble out of my cuh-costume." Cowl says dryly.
18:14 "So suh-someone goes to m-my parents puh-place and cuh-kills them." He finishes, staring at Wicht.||
18:17 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Another social roll please, Teruzi|Caul.))
18:17 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Social
18:17 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Social" [6] -1 = 5
18:19 <~Teller|GM> Teller Wicht stares back at him. Then, just as dryly, he says, "Yeah, because you were too much of a punk to manage it yourself."
18:19 He's trying to make light of it, but Cowl can tell the subject makes him a little uncomfortable. ||
18:23 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Honestly, I t-think he s-should be the one in tuh-trouble with the law." Cowl says, clicking his tongue.
18:24 "W-what option do I even have?" he adds, turning towards Pioneer.
18:24 ||
18:36 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Well, legally, you're not in any trouble," Pioneer says. "Most capes in your situation get a plea deal or something like that, but the director pushed for the DA to not even try your case."
18:36 "What?" Wicht says. He looks at Pioneer, then Cowl. "Why?"
18:36 "I'm not sure," Pioneer says. "I think it had something to do with him joining the Keepers or Zenith instead of the PRT. But he never got prosecuted for it, and Plower didn't press any charges-" Wicht frowns at the mention of this "-so you're as free as anyone else."
18:36 Pioneer pauses. "Except you're at the group home for a few more months, right? Since they're responsible for you...I don't know if they'd let you go out patrolling or anything, if it wasn't with the Wards." ||
18:39 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "L-last time I puh-patrolled I got a broken ruh-rib." Cowl says, annoyed. Stupid Plower. Cowl had absolutely subdued Titz.
18:40 "S-so I guess it's fuh-final now? Zenith is d-done for?"||
18:40 → inkaway joined  ⇐ pinkmobile quit  •  Side|GM → Sidezero
18:50 <~Teller|GM> Teller Wicht scowls. "Basically. 'cuz Plower can't be fucked to lift a finger for anyone who's not Crest...and he did /such/ a good job with her, too."
18:50 The lighting in the area shifts again, and Playpen slowly slides back into existence. Over the course of a few moments the purple hue drains away and the world returns to normal - except for Playpen's eyes, which remain purple and decidedly not yellow. The color of her costume has shifted from red to yellow, however. She leans over the table towards Cowl and Wicht, opening her eyes wide to make sure they can see. "Look!" ||
18:51 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Oh, N-nice." Cowl says, somewhat amused. It did look very cool.
18:53 "B-better than before." He nods, sagely.||
18:54 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social roll, please.))
18:55 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Purgatory
18:55 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Purgatory" [5] -1 = 4
18:58 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Better?" Playpen makes a face. It seems like his compliment has only annoyed her. "What was wrong with it before?" ||
19:00 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "It w-was only puh-pretty before. N-now it's, uh, entrancing." Cowl says. He could have used a shorter word.
19:00 ||
19:07 <~Teller|GM> Teller "I liked the blue," Wicht comments. Playpen smiles at him before sitting back in her seat.
19:07 "Don't encourage her," Pioneer says. She then turn her helemt to look between Cowl and Wicht. "I know you both were really against join the Wards, and-"
19:07 "And I still am," Wicht interrupts. "Sorry."
19:07 "You don't have to apologize," Pioneer says. "I'm not trying to sell you on the program - you brought it up in the first place. I just wanted you to know it was still an option, if you wanted in."||
19:13 ((*joining))
19:13 ((*turns *helmet))
19:18 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Well, I luh-like purple more."
19:19 "We m-match." He says, while thinking what else to say. He lets out a sight. "My power duh-doesn't really l-lends itself for Wuh-ward work."
19:20 "And I f-feel like I'm nuh-not Ward material. I'm n-not a boy scout like him." Cowl grumbles, nodding towards Wicht.
19:21 "A-and the b-bad guys cuh-keep winning."
19:21 It was tiring.
19:22 But then again, what had worked before in his life? Maybe a life of heroics was in the cards after all. A truly Sisyphean endeavor.||
19:33 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Rosa says that purple is overdone so I'm not allowed to use it," Playpen says sadly. "But my power is already purple and I can't change that. Only me and Ravel should get to be purple, and Parrot and your teammates should have to pick new colors."
19:33 "Our teammates?" Wicht asks.
19:33 "The ones who were here when Ember was here and they left with your other teammate," Playpen explains unhelpfully. "The twins! With the dust."
19:33 "Ohh, them," Wicht says. "I don't know if they're really part of Zenith. I never even met them, officially."
19:33 Pioneer, however, remains undistracted by Playep and Wicht. She remains focused on Cowl. "Ward work? Or hero work? They're pretty much the same thing unless you follow Hoagie's philosophy." ||
19:38 ((*Playpen and Wicht))
19:38 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres The... twins? Wait, what? There were more zenith heroes? What? What!?
19:39 Cowl gives Wicht a glance. It promises retribution. And gossip. Mostly gossip. But that's for later.
19:39 "Seachange is free." He mumbles bitterly.
19:40 He had been part of that. And it had felt good! It really had felt like something that -mattered-.
19:40 Something that could make him worth a damn.
19:40 Was it always going to be that way?
19:40 His parents were free too.
19:42 Cowl turns towards the river. Marbas walked away, after killing a good woman. Maybe killing a good woman.
19:46 Alex himself was almost a murderer. And he was glad he wasn't going to jail but-
19:47 Wasn't that wrong? Wasn't that as stupid as anything he had ever done? Why was justice so inefficient?||
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19:56 <~Teller|GM> Teller Wicht returns Cowl's glance and shrugs. "Yeah. I should've broken his leg when I had the chance."
19:56 "So what?" Playpen says brazenly. "There's no point in crying about it like a baby. We'll just beat him up and arrest him again."
19:56 "It's not that simple," Wicht says. "Did you hear about the new capes who are with the Brotherhood?"
19:56 "You're right, it's not that simple," Pioneer says slowly. "But it also kind of is? There's no point in getting upset about something we can't change. We'll just do our best, because what alternative is there?"
19:56 "Maybe Hoagie /does/ have the right idea," Wicht mutters darkly. ||
20:02 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Now t-there's an idea." Cowl says, amused. "I've b-been t-trying to turn him to the d-dark side for so long. All I had to d-do was to luh-let the heroes talk."
20:02 He lets out a sigh.
20:02 He waves his hand dismissively, after a moment.
20:03 "Y-you're both s-strong. I'm j-just gonna get muh-myself killed." He says. "Hoagie is s-strong. That's about t-the only thing t-that seems to muh-matter."
20:03 "I cuh-can always retire." He shrugs. "N-not like I guh-got fans."||
20:14 <~Teller|GM> Teller Playpen sighs. "You're all so /mopey/." She turns to Pioneer. "You said this would be fun."
20:14 "I guess I'm a liar," Pioneer says patiently. "Sorry. You can go inside if you want."
20:14 Playpen sighs again heavily and reaches a hand across the table to pat Cowl's arm. "There, there, baby. It'll be okay. Cheer up." ||
20:20 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Cowl gives Playpen a toothy smile.
20:21 "W-what do you d-do for fun anyhow? Cuh-catch bad guys?"
20:22 "G-get drunk?"||
20:32 <~Teller|GM> Teller Playpen perks up. "I can make wine with my power! Also /chocolate/. I could also make you a better costume...but I already made a /million/ costumes today so I don't feel like it right now."
20:32 Pioneer shakes her head a little. "No wine. Ian would have a fit."
20:32 "Like he can stop me," Playpen mutters. Then louder, she says, "We also have a giant TV in the break room. Plus every video game...but I'd just beat you and you'd be even sadder." ||
20:43 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Oh, I've nuh-never actually luh-lost a single match" Cowl says, casually. This wasn't strictly a lie.
20:43 Of course, Coy would disagree.
20:45 "You nuh-know, there are s-some chocolates with l-liquor inside." Cowl says, smiling. "My mother w-was a fan of t-them."
20:45 LRD → LRD-sleep
20:47 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Cowl looks at Pioneer. It's not like she's wrong. Moping never helped.
20:49 Maybe doing something would help. Something, ah, heroic.
20:50 Or perhaps not too heroic.
20:50 ⇐ inkaway quit (uid324427@brockwell.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
20:50 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres What could Cowl do?
20:51 Or rather, what could his power do? It had changed, almost imperceptibly.
20:53 Cowl looks at Wicht, before kicking him under the table.
20:54 "You're j-just p-playing hard to guh-get"
20:55 ||
20:56 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Who is that last line directed at?))
20:57 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ((Wicht!))
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21:09 <~Teller|GM> Teller Wicht kicks him back, sharply. "I'm actually pretty easy, when I'm interested. Just ask Cassette."
21:09 He stands up and rubs the top of his head. "That, uh, reminds me. I'm going to go see if Purple Parrot knows when we'll be able to go visit her yet."
21:09 "Don't get too wasted on liquor chocolates while I'm gone...and I call next after Playpen beats Cowl in whatever game you guys pick." ||
21:09 ((Final post for this section.))
21:11 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Hmph." No faith at all!
21:12 "N-no need to cuh-call them uninteresting." Cowl mutters, rubbing his calf.
21:14 He looks at Playpen and Pioneer. He lets out another sigh.
21:14 "I g-guess I'll t-think about it, again."
21:15 There are things unsaid. He wants to say sorry, but what good would that do? Maybe he could be a ward. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. It's not like he was a fan of his power, right?
21:15 But that wasn't entirely true.
21:16 And he was no hero. He was never going to be one.
21:16 His parents, Seachange and Marbas. How many more would he see getting away?
21:17 What alternative did he have? To risk life and limb in a pointless crusade? To foolishly throw himself in harm's way for his own satisfaction?
21:17 Yes, actually.
21:17 He could do just that.
21:18 And perhaps he ought to.||
21:19 <~Teller|GM> Teller |||
21:19 ...
21:31 ⇐ iridium248 quit  ↔ Dolyn nipped out
22:00 <~Teller|GM> Teller The sun is little more than an orange speck now. The heat of the day is fading along with the light, a welcome boon inside of his stifling costume.
22:00 He's been in this part of the city before. His first outing, a lifetime ago. Coy had left him with gnarly scars and Hoagie had nearly killed him with a shipping container. He's farther from the docks this time, waiting in the narrow alleyway between two warehouses. There are some needles on the ground nearby and what looks like an old pair of underwear. It's a very sketchy place. Nobody in their right mind would be here after dark.
22:00 And yet, here he is.
22:00 And here /she/ is. Selma, the Rabble girl with the giant eyes who'd given him her number. The girl he'd called here to...the thing on the edge of his mind is pleased. A small, unbidden thrill of excitement runs thorugh him.
22:00 Selma looks excited too. She waves to him as she approaches. There's nobody here with her, as far as Cowl can tell. She barely even questioned it when he said he wanted to meet.
22:00 Then again, that's hardly surprising. Nobody ever accused the Rabble of being intelligent and discerning people.
22:00 "Cowl!" Selma calls out, way too loud. She covers her mouth and then drops her voice to barely above a whisper. "Sorry! Hi."
22:00 As she gets closer, he notes that she's still wearing the metal gauntlet and the boot that she had on at Alex's house. The latter makes a soft clunking noise with each lopsided step. ||
22:02 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Hey" Cowl answers back, altering his voice slightly. To feel like less of himself. What a sweet naive girl.
22:02 Why catch this weakling, when there could be better prey just around the corner? That's what he tries to reason.
22:02 "Hey Selma. How a-are you duh-doing?"
22:02 ||
22:09 <~Teller|GM> Teller "I'm fantastic!" she says. She slings a pack off of her back and begins to unzip it, making a point to show off the dexterity of her gauntlet in the process. She seems quite pleased with it. "Alex said I could keep this stuff until I was better! I'm practically all healed, though. Just a day or two more."
22:09 She pulls a container out of her backpack. "You called me /just/ after we got done with dinner. I don't know if you ate already, but there's some blueberry pie here. If you want it."
22:09 She holds it out to him cautiously. "I made it myself." ||
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22:12 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Oh. That's w-way too n-nice of you. T-thanks." Cowl says, receiving the pie from the overly enthusiastic girl. Where did Ravel find these people?
22:13 "Y-you still talk w-with the rest of t-the ruh-rabble?" He asks, casually, while inspecting the pie. Score!||
22:18 <~Teller|GM> Teller Selma makes a small noise. "We're not a rabble! We're Ravelers! Or Ravelation, which is the name I liked but nobody uses..."
22:18 Then she brightens up. "And of course! Why wouldn't I talk to them?"
22:18 It seems like decent enough slice of pie. Flaky crusty, moist without being mushy, probably not poisoned. ||
22:22 ((*crust))
22:26 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres If it was poisoned, that would be a hilarious end. His parents would hate it. Cowl bites into it, pleased.
22:26 "Oh, good." He says, before actually tasting it.
22:26 "J-just wuh-wondering why the, uh, Ravelation has b-been s-so active lately."
22:26 Was this immoral?
22:26 Maybe.
22:27 This pie was laced with immorality.||
22:31 <~Teller|GM> Teller Selma leans forward, getting way too close with her way too wide eyes. "It's 'cause people are angry, Cowl. Angry at villains like Dark Reprise and Allele, and angry at the PRT for not doing nothing about 'em. Just like you were sayin' on the phone."
22:31 "We had a /bunch/ of local people join up lately. They wanna do something about all the stuff happening in their city." ||
22:33 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Angry. And tired." Cowl says, slowly. "I c-can understand t-that."
22:34 "Wuh-wait, how m-many people are w-we talking?"
22:34 There was no way anything that convenient could ever happen, right?
22:34 Surely he couldn't rile random and very foolish people into his cause?
22:34 ||
22:39 <~Teller|GM> Teller "I don't know, we don't keep a count," Selma says. She adjust her backpack and sits, resting most of her weight on top of it. "But I see /tons/ of new faces all the time."
22:39 "Are you..." She hesitates, like this is too good to be true. "...looking to join up with us? You'd be the second cape to ever join us! Ravel's the first, o' course." ||
22:40 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Cowl shrugs, amused.
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22:40 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "M-Maybe I'm just t-tired too, hm?" He's slowly thinking about it. They want to help, don't they? Not that he needs justification.
22:41 He had already made up his mind when he took the first bite of that sinful pie.
22:41 "Duh-don't you guys m-meet up anywhere? Suh-some order is important t-to change things."||
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22:46 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Sometimes we have big rallies, but mostly we just post to the different boards or mail lists and see who all wants to do things," Selma explains. Cowl can feel his hands starting to "sweat", a thin layer of goop forming on the palms. ||
22:50 ⇐ LRD-sleep quit (uid178344@brockwell.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
22:56 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ...
22:57 "T-that sounds guh-great, actually." Cowl nods, understanding. It could be this easy. Or hard. It really depends on how much they struggle.
22:57 "S-say, do y-you want to do suh-something tonight? Actually muh-make a difference? Because I c-can help. I'm t-tired. I wuh-want to do good." Cowl says, giving her half the truth.
22:58 The nicer side of it.
22:58 ||
22:59 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social roll, please, Teruzi|Caul.))
23:00 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres (May deception apply?))
23:00 ((Er, subterfuge))
23:01 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Sure. Give me Subterfuge.))
23:03 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 2h6-1 Subterfuge
23:03 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Subterfuge" (1) [6] -1 = 5
23:04 iridium248 → iridium248
23:06 <~Teller|GM> Teller It's too easy. Selma inhales sharply, then bobbles her head quickly. "Yes. Yes! Of course."
23:06 "What are we doing?" ||
23:08 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "L-lets set things ruh-right. D-did you hear about Ruh-Red eye? Robbed a buh-bank. G-got away clean." Cowl says, doing his level best to sell the idea.
23:08 "PRT is n-not r-really cutting it. It's nuh-not enough."
23:09 "M-maybe it's time suh-someone showed t-them t-that we duh-don't need l-laws to enact juh-justice."
23:09 Huh.
23:09 That... actually doesn't sound like bullshit.
23:09 It's like something just coalesced in his brain, in this dingy alley. Justice was not defined by laws. Or by the PRT.
23:10 That feels right.
23:10 ||
23:12 → JustLurking joined  •  iridium248 → iri|Oberon, soulpelt| → soulpelt|sleep
23:15 <~Teller|GM> Teller Her fingers dig into the canvas of the backpack. "Exactly!"
23:15 She jumps to her feet. "Right is right and wrong is wrong, no matter who says otherwise. Ravel taught me that."
23:15 She hesitates. "Just you and me?" She then grabs him shoulders. "Because...I'm ready right now, if that's what you want to do!" ||
23:25 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Cowl shakes his head.
23:25 "S-strength in numbers, right?" He says. "And I duh-don't w-want this to g-go wrong."
23:26 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((*his shoulders. Jeez.))
23:27 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "I t-think it's time the Ruh-Ravelation showed w-what it's guh-good for." Cowl was keenly aware of how close she was. And it was really uncomfortable for a number of reasons.
23:27 He was also keenly aware why villains in movies used so many figures of speech. It was because of people like Selma.
23:27 Did-
23:27 Did that make him a bad guy?
23:27 That depended entirely on whether or not he was capable of actually achieving something, he supposed.||
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23:38 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres -||
23:39 "I c-can make this." Cowl says as his hands begin to seep some of his goo. "It's ruh-really sticky. I c-can use it t-to glue things or puh-people together."
23:39 "B-but it's also hard t-to cut. Or harm. I t-think I c-could make suh-something like an armor. I t-think."
23:39 "So n-no one guh-gets hurt."
23:39 He could do that, right?
23:40 "B-but the PRT and Zenith d-don't wuh-want me to use my puh-power on people." That part was true, at least.
23:41 "I t-think maybe I s-should guh-give people the chance t-to choose." He finishes saying. Oh man. It sounds real bad when he says it aloud.||
23:43 <~Teller|GM> Teller She bobs her head again. Either she just trusts him, or she's too crazy to care. Has she blinked at all the entire time they were standing here? "Why don't they want you to use your power on people?" ||
23:44 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres He shrugs.
23:45 "W-why don't they wuh-want you to help Ravel?" He answers her question with a different one.
23:45 And she still has him by the shoulders. By the gods. If he did use his power now, it would count as self-defense. Maybe.
23:45 ||
23:47 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Another Deception roll, please.))
23:49 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 2h6-1 Lying'
23:49 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Lying'" [1] (1) -1 = 0
23:57 ⇐ Turncoat quit (uid185268@ealing.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
23:58 <~Teller|GM> Teller Selma releases his shoulders. Finally, she blinks. "...I don't think most of the others would want to do it. No offense! It's just, it's not like you're Ravel."
23:58 Maybe his nervousness is showing. Or maybe her latent and underdeveloped self-preservation instincts have kicked in. Either way, she seems slightly more cautious about this whole endeavor. "Maybe...we can test it out first?" ||
Sunday, December 16th, 2018
00:01 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "It's fuh-fine. I understand." Cowl sighs to himself. He feel terribly dejected about all this. It was going too smoothly, he supposed.
00:02 ((*feels))
00:02 For a moment, his will wavers.
00:02 "I usually j-just try to g-glue people up. You s-sure it's fuh-fine?" He asks, skeptic. "It's q-quite sticky."
00:03 ||
00:07 ⇐ Mallmann quit (uid292283@hathersage.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
00:09 <~Teller|GM> Teller Selma inhales, then nods bravely. "It's fine!"
00:09 She moves her backpack to the side and leans it against the wall. "Should I do anything special, or stand a certain way?"
00:09 "Oh, and does it wash off easy? I'm not wearing anything special or nothing-" she gestures to her T-shirt and shorts "-but Alex might be mad at me if his stuff gets all gummed up!" ||
00:13 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Oh Selma. What a terrible judge of character you are.
00:14 "Uh, b-before we try it out..." Cowl starts, then tries to control his stammering. Why is his heart beating so fast? He's done this before. To his mom.
00:14 No! Enough!
00:14 Stupid brain.
00:15 "C-can ask w-where do y-you check the puh-posts? It s-sounds puh-pretty good." He says.
00:16 "And d-don't wuh-worry. It fuh-fades away after a w-while. I t-think it evaporates?" Maybe? He didn't actually know.||
00:21 <~Teller|GM> Teller "There are a ton of different places," Selma explains. "I mostly just get the texts or emails on my phone, but my dad is on pretty much /all/ sites." She laughs a little. "It take him three hours a day to check for updates. It's crazy!"
00:21 "I can show you right after." She rolls her shoulders, flexes her undamaged hand, then plants herself solidly in front of Cowl. There's an mix of excitement and trepidation in her voice when she next speaks. "So how does this work?" ||
00:22 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Hmmmm." Cowl thinks for a bit. How -does- it work? He's not sure she's going to be so eager to try it after all is said and done. That said!
00:22 There was always the chance tonight was a night of activity.
00:22 No wonder the poor girl was... like she was. Her father was into it too. Damn it, Ravel.
00:22 And damn himself for doing this.
00:23 He can practically feel the thing at the edge of his thoughts celebrating.
00:24 "W-well" Cowl says, slowly, feeling a heat climb up his neck and all over his face. Blushing. "T-take my hand. And duh-don't panic. It m-might feel weird, but I w-would never hurt you."
00:24 Just trick you. Use you.
00:24 Damn him.
00:24 He holds out his hand. Something wriggles underneath. Something vile and yearning to be used.
00:24 To control. To encapsulate.
00:25 He can feel his ears pounding. He could justify any other time, but this? This was just himself, being an ass.
00:26 He holds out his hand. Slick with goo, ready to climb. He has made a number of bad decisions in his life. And so has she. Why was she so trusting?
00:26 ||
00:26 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((*all the sites))
00:26 ⇐ pinkmobile quit (uid208117@brockwell.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
00:26 <~Teller|GM> Teller ...
00:28 Selma places her hand into his own. So trusting. So dumb.
00:28 She laughs shakily. "You're right. It feels so weird." ||
00:30 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres He holds her hand for a moment. "Uh, I've n-never held hands luh-like t-this before. Suh-sorry."
00:31 And it seeps. Slowly, inexorably. It climbs. It covers. Something like awareness begins to form in his mind. Awareness of her heartbeat. Her warmth. Her breathing.
00:31 "It's w-weird."
00:32 Her arm is covered now. He would only need to hold her down for a bit longer. The thing cheers and Caul winces.
00:32 "Y-you okay?"||
00:35 <~Teller|GM> Teller Her breathing is faster. Her heart is beating like a hummingbird's, but he can't be entirely sure it's not always just like that.
00:35 It's been too long since he's felt another person like this. The goop flows across her torso, down her legs, up her neck. She shivers slightly at the sensation of it crawling across her skin.
00:35 "I-I'm okay." She squeezes her eyes shut. ||
00:39 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "I'm n-not sure about that." He says, as he lets go of her hand. He can feel her react. Underneath.
00:40 "Um. Suh-sorry." Oh god. It got awkward.
00:40 Now!
00:41 How the fuck is he gonna get her cellphone?||
00:44 <~Teller|GM> Teller |||
00:47 Teller|GM → ~Teller
00:47 Teruzi|Caul → Teruzi
00:48 ⇐ You disconnected: Sleepy
Monday, December 17th, 2018
10:41 → Teruzi, Inksword, Flitter and LRD (was LRD-sleep) joined  ↔ ColdGold nipped out  •  Telloff → ~Teller  •  Channel mode: +nrt
19:27 ⇐ You disconnected: errand boy
Tuesday, December 18th, 2018
13:28 → Teruzi joined  ⇐ LRD quit  •  Teller → ~Teller|GM  •  Channel mode: +nrt
15:19 Teruzi → Teruzi|Caul
15:52 <~Teller|GM> Teller Selma doesn't react like the others that he's gooped.
15:52 He feels her trying to move, at first. Before she fully understands what he's done to her. She tries to take a step. Tries to flex her fingers. Turn her head. He feels her heart beat faster, as she realizes that she cannot.
15:52 This realization doesn't cause her to struggle, however. She seems to be a weird mix of panicked and...excited?
15:52 The thing on the edge of his thoughts is excited too, as he looks at the goo-covered person in front of him. He can still feel his hands dripping with anticipation, as if his power as unsated. As if this is just the first sweet, sweet bite at the beginning of a feast. ||
16:01 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ...
16:03 "Duh-duh-duh-damn it." Caul says as he lets go of her hand. Foolish girl. Foolish foolish girl. What is she excited about? That only serves to somehow make it worse. Or better. Both. Neither. Damn it.
16:04 "Are y-you okay?" He asks, futilely. Knowing she can't answer. But he still asks. The facade of normalcy. He feels worse than she does. He knows, because he's finally fully attuned to her. In a way that was more... aware than before.
16:05 It's not just the lack of struggling. He can almost feel the exhilaration. It's off-putting.
16:06 "Um, uh, n-nod once for okay. Tuh-twice fuh-for not okay?"||
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16:10 <~Teller|GM> Teller She nods once, then once more. Or at least Caul feels her try to nod; the goo dampens the movement so much it's imperceptible to his unpowered senses. ||
16:36 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ...
16:37 "Uh, t-that doesn't t-tell me much."
16:38 "R-raise your luh-left arm for n-not okay, ruh-right arm for okay?" He asks again. She will at least -try-. And the movement will be more easily discernible.
16:38 It's strange. To be aware of another body.
16:39 He can feel her heartbeat and her breathing. The vague sensation of sinking. Trepidation. She should be more scared.
16:39 Caul clicks his tongue softly, as he makes a mental check of her current condition. Can he feel her phone within the fleshy encasing of his power?||
16:52 ⇐ Everyperson quit (Mibbit@net-7nupv1.NATPOOL.NYU.EDU) Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client
16:58 <~Teller|GM> Teller It is hard for Caul to put a finger on it. He can feel /her/ beneath the goo, her heartbeat, her breathing. Objects...he does not feel them as much as he is aware of how they cause him to feel Selma less. The goo clings to the skin of her face, her arms, her hands, her legs, but her t-shirt separates his goo and her torso by the smallest fraction of an inch. Her denim shorts are thicker and cause more separation. Alex's gauntlet and boot
16:58 thicker still.
16:58 He can feel one such separation approximately where the back pocket of her shorts should be, roughly the right size and shape for a phone...
16:58 Instead of raising her right or left arm, Selma gives him a laborious shrug of her shoulders. ||
17:06 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ...
17:07 "Okay." Well, that's complicated. And annoying.
17:08 Girls. Who could understand them?
17:09 "I, uh, um, can tuh-tell you shrugged. It's wuh-weird." Caul says, talking outloud. Did he ever have any ideas that weren't terrible?
17:09 Haha. No.
17:09 Instead he goes towards her backpack.
17:10 "I s-should puh-probably call fuh-for some help or suh-something." He mumbles. Right. Help.
17:10 Absolutely not more minions.||
17:19 <~Teller|GM> Teller Caul roots through Selma's backpack. In one compartment, a bunch of different colored pens. Tampons. A hospital gown, mashed down at the bottom of the pack. Mace. Three containers of food - peas, sliced potatoes, ham, all still warm. A notebook with doodles and absurdly neat cursive handwriting. No phone, but he already knew that. ||
17:20 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Oh hey. He can use that mace. He's probably gonna go to jail after tonight, so he might as well do something worth it. Or something.
17:21 If she was terrified he wouldn't have to feel quite so awkward about it.
17:21 "Um, S-Selma? Can you c-come over here?" He says, as he wills his power to make her obey. It's not like she has any options, really. But at least he's asking nicely.
17:21 "Alright. Uh." Damn. Could she see underneath the goo?
17:22 "Here's y-your backpack j-just help me- Ah y-yeah." He mumbles to himself as he makes her go through the motions. Now she has her backpack, at least.
17:22 "Okay." Shit.
17:23 "Hang on fuh-for a bit." He says, as he pulls up his own phone, making a cursory search for 'Sicol Bend Dynasty' and 'Ravelation meet up'.||
17:25 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((I don't think you have any particularly relevant skills, so Knowledge roll, please, Teruzi|Caul.))
17:26 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6+1 Know
17:26 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Know" [5] +1 = 6
17:35 <~Teller|GM> Teller 'Sicol Bend Dynasty' turns up a handful of results. It looks like after the Tigers lost all of their capes, they reemerged as Dynasty under the new parahuman Furor. Instead of holding most of western Sicol like the Tigers did, this new iteration seem to only be active in Aveston and - very recently - Hume.
17:35 'Ravelation meet up' turns up nothing. He then remembers that Selma said that nobody uses that name, and searches for 'Ravelers meet up'. He's only finding old events, however, many of them in the nearby city of Gresham. He /does/ find some Ravel fansites that are still active (one has a very prominent page background of the heroine smiling out at him), but it will take some time for him to dig through. ||
17:38 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Time, time, time. He probably has time. But not after mucking it up with Selma. What was his plan again? Ah, yeah. He didn't actually have one.
17:38 'Alright, bastard. I suppose we're going hunting.'
17:38 Not that there was any point talking to the thing at the edge of his thoughts. It communicated by sensation and elation. Or disappointment.
17:39 It felt like trying to communicate with a fairly dismissive... panther. Or something feline. A predator that didn't move unless it had to.
17:44 → LRD joined (uid178344@brockwell.irccloud.com)
17:44 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Hume then Aveston?
17:44 Heading towards home. He supposed. He didn't really plan to go back there, did he?
17:44 Or maybe he did.
17:44 Or maybe he didn't.
17:44 Hume, Aveston then Kensington. Clean up degenerates? Lose his nerve and run off to hide?
17:45 Why does he feel so disconnected? It's like he's watching himself from above, from outside.
17:45 Poor Melange. All he had ever done was fuck up, time and time again.
17:46 Hume first, then.
17:47 He stares at his hands for a moment, almost expecting them to shake. But no such thing. Just something wriggling and twisting underneath his skin. Eagerness personified in the moving of his power. He's practically dripping. Except he's not.
17:47 It's more like a glove. Ready to spring forth at a moment's notice.
17:48 Always hungry for more. Like his parents. No measure of control seemed to suffice. But unlike his parents, his power was patient.
17:48 Maybe. Maybe it was Caul who was so like his parents. And his power merely reflected that. It made his gut twist with disgust. And anticipation. Hume, first.
17:49 He's not sure if it's the thing at the edge of his thoughts or himself. But he can almost see himself commanding a great deal of people. The foreign sensation of being someone else.
17:49 He starts walking.
17:49 "Selma? K-keep up with me, p-please. If you w-want to go on a puh-patrol, that is." He lies to her. Just to keep her calm. Keep himself calm.
17:50 ||
17:51 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((How sneaky is he hoping to be about this?))
17:56 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ((Well, he does have sneak. Might as well use it. He shoulda learned -something- about patrolling on his stint on Zenith too))
17:57 ((At least until he gets a bead on Furor))
17:58 → JustLurking joined (uid195947@hathersage.irccloud.com)
17:58 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((A sneak roll then, please. And another sneak roll at a -1 penalty.))
17:59 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 2h6+1 Sneak
17:59 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Sneak" (4) [5] +1 = 6
17:59 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 2h6-1 Sneak
17:59 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Sneak" [6] (2) -1 = 5
18:00 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((That would be a 6 if he has a +1.))
18:05 → Everyperson joined (Mibbit@net-nt9cdd.NATPOOL.NYU.EDU)
18:06 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ((Oh yeah. Go team!))
18:19 <~Teller|GM> Teller Selma follows, of course.
18:19 Caul has almost forgotten how unwieldy his minions can be. She walks unsteadily along behind him, gooped feet sticking and unsticking with every step. He has to take extra care to keep her out of sight as they head towards Hume, sticking to the quieter streets and steering his shambling goo puppet out of the way of the streetlights once they come on.
18:19 It is almost fully dark by the time they reach Hume, but considering how slow Selma is they've made good time. There are still a handful of shops in the area still open and enough pedestrian traffic that he has to keep Selma crouched out of sight around the corner of a building. He can feel her heart beating faster now. He can feel his own heartbeat as well, a steady pulse that throbs all from his chest and down his arms into the palms of
18:19 his hands.
18:19 There's no overt sign of Dynasty or Furor here. He will either need to confront them directly in Aveston - he thinks he remembers reading about a building they operated out of, a local community center - or he will need to do something to get their attention. ||
18:23 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Or he could do both, really.
18:24 But first, he scans for police officers in the area. He, technically, still is known as a Zenith hero.
18:24 And frankly, that had some perks. For example: People willing to offer information otherwise not given to some random punk cape looking for trouble.
18:25 He just had to phrase his question correctly.
18:25 If he found any law enforcement officers, that is.
18:25 He also keeps an eye out for flaming hands in the sky. Last time he went out solo he almost got squished by Hoagie.||
18:26 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Wits roll, please, Teruzi|Caul.))
18:27 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6 Wits
18:27 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Wits" [2]  = 2
18:30 ⇐ Megafire quit (Megafire@net-133s0g.dynamic.ziggo.nl) Ping timeout: 181 seconds
18:35 <~Teller|GM> Teller Caul can't see any giant hands in the sky, flaming or otherwise. Maybe Hoagie is off squishing someone who isn't him?
18:35 He does, however, spy a police cruiser parked on the side of the road after a few long minutes of searching. The officer in the driver's seat is typing on a laptop, while the one in the passenger's seat is slowly sipping from a cup of coffee. ||
18:36 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Ideal. Kind of!
18:36 Now comes the actual hardest part. Talking to them.
18:37 "Um. I'm guh-gonna go talk to some cops, Selma. Hang in t-there, okay?" He says, while he gives her some reassuring pats in the back. And taking the opportunity to apply a new coating of goop on her.
18:38 He straightens up and clears his throat, before heading towards the officers. If only he knew how to strut, the illusion would be easier to sell. He only knew how to change his voice some.
18:38 'Hello, officer. It is I, Caul of Zenith. Autographs after the heroics.'
18:38 Should be... easy enough.||
18:40 → Flitter and iridium248 joined
18:52 <~Teller|GM> Teller The officer in the passenger, a heavyset and balding white man, taps the driver and points to Caul as he approaches. The driver, a smaller Chinese woman with short hair, twists away from the laptop and rolls down the window a few inches.
18:52 "Hey there," she says. "Er, Cowl, right? Zenith?"
18:52 She seems a bit tense, but not specifically because of his presence. Probably worrying about what he's about to tell them. "Everything okay?" ||
18:53 ⇐ iridium248 quit (iridium248@net-dka.csa.156.175.IP) Quit: http://www.kiwiirc.com/ - A hand crafted IRC client
18:54 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Hello officers. Um, uh, y-yeah." Caul says, standing there for a fraction longer than he ought to. Right. Modulate the voice.
18:55 It's just like lying to his parents. Or any relevant authority figure. Let them fill in the blanks. Cassette did something like that, but on the other side. Leverage the goodwill of people.
18:55 Do both.
18:56 He wasn't Alex nor Cowl right now. He was Caul. Both and neither. He was the lowest, trying to climb. He didn't need to be like his parents, although they defined him. He didn't need to pretend to be like Cassette, although he admired her.
18:56 He lets a breath go, before thinking of what to say. Usually, the simplest lie was the hardest one to see through. And sometimes, half-truths are better than any lie.
18:58 "I'm p-patrolling tonight. T-trying to make Sicol a b-better place. I think it's wuh-what Cassette would be doing, had I b-been out of cuh-commission." He starts, making sure to share eye contact with both officers as he speaks. He can feel himself fidgeting with Selma's fingers. Oops.
18:59 "This is Duh-Dynasty's territory, r-right? I just wuh-wondered you would nuh-know what places were, uuh, hotspots." He shrugs.
18:59 "I'm n-not really trying t-to guh-get into trouble."
18:59 He was looking to cause it.
18:59 ||
19:00 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social roll, please. Deception applies.))
19:01 → ColdGold joined (uid147536@SanRaul.GM)
19:04 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 2h6-1 Deception
19:04 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Deception" (1) [3] -1 = 2
19:20 <~Teller|GM> Teller The woman looks over to the man, than back at Caul. "That's why we're here, believe it or not. Our department has us all following up on some tips that suggest the tong is expanding back into Hume."
19:20 "Aveston's the real hotspot, of course," the man adds. "Hume is still quiet enough, so you'll be pretty safe as long as you stick to this neighborhood."
19:20 "I always did like Cassette," the woman muses. "It's a shame what happened with her."
19:20 She shuts her laptop and twists to look more fully at Caul. "If you do decide to patrol here...well, we're here all night and you're welcome to swing back around whenever you'd like." ||
19:21 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Oh, hey. Convenient.
19:22 "That's... puh-pretty much why I'm here too." Caul nods, thinking. It stands to reason they wouldn't just fork over the important information. That said...
19:23 "Well, I cuh-can climb pretty guh-good if you need s-some eyes in... hard to reach puh-places." He adds, as he wriggles his fingers, a small drop of goop on the tip of each one.
19:24 "I t-think it wuh-would be best for everyone if w-we all nuh-knew where are t-they hanging around." He says, letting the sentence hang in the air for a moment.
19:25 ||
19:25 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social roll, please. No Deception.))
19:26 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Social
19:26 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Social" [5] -1 = 4
19:28 <~Teller|GM> Teller The man blows some air out of his nose. "Let me guess - you must have only patrolled in Wolf territory before now, haven't you?" ||
19:30 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Caul opts to look sheepish.
19:30 Almost as sheepish as he feels.
19:32 Camtist|GM → Camtist
19:32 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "M-more like I've n-never patrolled by muh-myself." He shrugs. Then he is quiet for a moment.
19:33 "It's n-not a nice thing, fuh-feeling useless while Cassette is at t-the hospital."
19:33 He scratches the back of his neck before continuing.
19:33 "Alright, thank you officers. I'll m-make sure to luh-let you know if I fuh-find anything n-noteworthy."||
19:42 → Thaydean joined (uid129619@hathersage.irccloud.com)
19:47 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Nah, it's-" the man stops and then starts again. "You're fine, kid. It's just that the Wolves are the only type of people you're going to find just 'hanging out'. Probably why your group would have you patrol there, too."
19:47 "The tong..." the man sighs and shakes his head, as if remembering unpleasant memories. "They move cargo. Drugs, stolen electronics, people. It's the sort of stuff that happens in the shadows. You can spend months or years digging into just to get a small bead on the scope operation."
19:47 "So it would make sense you wouldn't know about it. Last time they got into a fight out in the open was..." the man looks to his partner. "Aveston? Brotherhood and the one chick?"
19:47 "/Chic/?" the woman says. She rolls her eyes slightly. "You mean Ravel."
19:47 The man nods. "Her. Right." ||
19:47 ((*Chick))
19:49 ((*digging into it))
19:50 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Drugs, alright. Electronics? Okay. People? Uuuh. Caul supposed he had always known about that. Still...
19:51 "Huh." Caul says, pensive. "That ruh-reminds me, I had a run in with a ruh-rabble member tuh-tonight."
19:52 "Hope t-they're not s-stirring trouble anywhere." He adds, almost coy. Coy!
19:52 She used to be with them, right?
19:52 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((*scope of the))
19:52 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres But no, poor Alex had enough stress in his life. 'Hey I found this lost Rabble in the docks, by the way, do you know where I can pick up a fight with Dynasty?'
19:53 Would make the kid raise an eyebrow. Smarmy little shit.
19:54 "I should guh-get back on p-patrol." He says, giving the officers a thumbs up. "I'll m-make sure to b-bring any bad guys I cuh-catch." He add, jovially.||
19:57 <~Teller|GM> Teller "The Rabble. Ugh. Insane circus people," the woman says. She hesitates before returning his thumbs up, then opens back up her laptop. "Be careful out there." ||
19:58 |||
19:59 Teruzi|Caul → Teruzi
19:59 Teller|GM → ~Teller
20:00 ⇐ You disconnected: gotta go
23:08 → Teruzi joined  •  soulpelt| → soulpelt|sleep  •  Channel mode: +nrt
Wednesday, December 19th, 2018
00:01 → Ryneron and LRD joined  ⇐ Thaydean, Flitter and JustLurking quit  ↔ Megafire and Enneagon popped in  ↔ Inksword, Dolyn, Mallmann and Nonagon nipped out  •  ColdGold|GM → ColdGold, Pink|OLED → Pink, Thalia → Thaliaway, soulpelt|sleep → soulpelt|, Teller → ~Teller|GM
14:27 Teruzi → Teruzi|GM
14:28 Teruzi|GM → Teruzi|Caul
14:28 <~Teller|GM> Teller |||
14:29 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Caul continues moving carefully. If Dynasty is under police surveillance, then he would be quickly found out. That would be bad, wouldn't it?
14:29 At the very least, it would be inconvenient.
14:30 But something the cop said sticks to him. If he can't find the Dynasty people hanging around and choreographing songs, what about the Brotherhood? They certainly have no lack of... membership?
14:30 Dealers and the like.
14:32 ((*Wolf))
14:36 The wolves. Assholes. Circling some of the older kids of the group home, waiting.
14:37 Caul clicks his tongue. Why did he never did a thing? Rules? Laws? The rabble were insane circus people, but they had something right at least.
14:38 Right was right and wrong was wrong. And he never saw anyone but the people working at mister Dartman's place give a damn about the kids.
14:38 That... made a bit of sense.||
14:45 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Street Smarts, please.))
14:45 ((Just Knowledge, I think.))
14:46 ((Yeah, Caul has no street smarts.))
14:47 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ((He does not))
14:47 $roll 1d6+1 Know
14:47 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Know" [5] +1 = 6
14:48 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ((He's been learnin' tho))
14:54 ⇐ LRD quit (uid178344@brockwell.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
15:01 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social roll too, please, Teruzi|Caul.))
15:01 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Social
15:01 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Social" [4] -1 = 3
15:01 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ((Aw, almost had it))
15:13 <~Teller|GM> Teller Caul heads southeast, away from Dynasty territory and towards more familar ground. Selma glops after him.
15:13 The Wolf territory in this part of the city is on the nicer side, standing head and shoulders above Olney. Cleaner sidewalks, nicer buildings. Bench that aren't rusted and rotting.
15:13 Yet he still sees the telltale signs of gang activity, things he's learned to look for during his patrols with Plower. Tags on the walls of the alleys he hides Selma in. Teenagers on corners after sundown. Suspicious groups of people loitering near stores.
15:13 It is still hard for Caul to determine just exactly /when/, however, a group of black people are Wolves and when they're just regular people going about their lives. Plower said he'd get a feel for it eventually, but there were other things he could look for in the meanwhile. Certain tattoos or unusual ways of dressing that would indicate their ties to a certain "pack" within the Wolves.
15:13 Like that group over there: two guys with unbuttoned shirts and undone silver ties draped over their shoulders, talking to the girl with a bright silver bangle around her wrist. They're definitely Wolves. They aren't doing anything illegal, however, just standing around a red convertible and laughing about something. ||
15:25 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ...
15:34 'Hellooo, fellow kids.'
15:35 Caul makes a quick check on his current situation. How many others are around, the .sort of thing that Zenith would have leveraged for 'visibility'.
15:37 ((I do not know where that dot came from))
15:38 Fighting all of them at the same time seems annoying. At the same time, he is not necessarily looking to -fight- them.
15:38 He applies a new coating to Selma. It's unlikely that she'll stay -sticky-, but he can dream.
15:40 He positions her to be always relatively close to him, but out of sight. Then he just calmly starts walking in view of all three teens. A small hand wave should be enough to call their attention, he guesses.||
15:40 <~Teller|GM> Teller ...
15:47 At least one of the guys is decidedly not a teen, and the other two are borderline at least. All three turn towards him, the oldest one with a frown on his face. Zenith heroes is not an unfamiliar sight in this area, but it's not often they'd stop and chat with the gang members.
15:47 Caul feels Selma's breathing quicken.
15:47 "'sup," the younger guy says. ||
15:47 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Ah shit. He was going to have to talk to them, wasn't he?
15:47 Ugh.
15:48 He gently prods the thing at the edge of his thoughts. It was already aware, of course. But he could use the encouragement.
15:48 Wasn't that the same thing as psyching himself up? Uh. Somewhat. It always felt alien to him. Not of his own brain.
15:49 "Yo" Caul says, without stuttering. That's how other people talk, right? He almost wishes he spent more time practicing in front of the mirror. But the other kids at the home always needed to use the bathroom. Bah.
15:50 "Relax. I'm n-not here to arrest y-you or anything." He says, his intonation somewhat different. He holds up his hands for a moment, as if that would set people at ease.
15:50 "Just, uh, wuh-wondering if you cuh-could point me in t-the right direction."||
15:52 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social, please.))
15:52 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Social
15:52 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Social" [6] -1 = 5
15:57 <~Teller|GM> Teller In response to the prod, Caul feels tiny pinpricks on his palm as his power prepares to swells. The excitement from Selma and the anticipation from the thing on the edge of his thoughts blends into his nervousness, to the point where he can't quite tell them apart. Is this nerve-wracking or thrilling?
15:57 The two younger Wolves relax some. The older one just squints. "Probably." ||
16:03 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Cool" Caul says, posturing as he would imagine Wicht would do. Bravado? Easy confidence? Not a lot of things are scary to the kind of dude that can get punched in the face by Plower and walk away -fine-.
16:03 But Caul had always fought uneven battles.
16:03 Goddamn, his father had been a monster.
16:06 Hrm. Caul almost wants to go for round two, but it really was more hassle than not. Is he forgetting something? Oh yeah, the wolves.
16:06 "So..." Caul begins to speak before stopping himself. How should he even address them? He had lived a pretty... sheltered life. He was unsure about slang. He only knew what he knew from television. Which he supposed was as good as anything else?
16:07 He did imagine himself telling one liners to his father, but was never really able to throw much of a constructed sentence when the man was around. Fuck. Focus.
16:08 "Suh-some, uh, um-" Talking is so hard. Caul lets out a breath before trying again.
16:09 "You know the Wreston G-group home? Not t-too fuh-far away from here." He starts, slow, before finding a good intonation. Something that works.
16:10 "Ran by t-this Dartman person? Cool d-dude. Bunch of cuh-kids live there." Caul goes on, slowly setting up his lie. Or truth. Or lie. Or truth.
16:11 "Kids that have guh-gotten harassed by suh-some..." What would a hard boiled detective say?
16:11 "Some fucking asshole." He ends up saying. Oh hey. That's pretty good. He likes that.
16:12 "Maybe m-more than one. Wolves. I'm s-sure you're familiar." He always did watch police dramas and the like. Such bold people, those detectives.
16:13 He takes the time to look at each of the three wolves in front of him. His posture is relaxed, but he's poised beneath his skin. It feels like he's fit to burst from under his palms.
16:13 "I d-don't appreciate that." He adds.||
16:15 <~Teller|GM> Teller The younger one starts to speak, but the older one cuts him off. "Dunno know what you're talking about. You want directions or not?" ||
16:16 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres Caul looks at the older one in silence for a moment. He double checks on Selma. Was she fine with this? Possibly.
16:17 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((*younger guy))
16:17 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Point me to someone that knows." Caul says, speaking slowly. Carefully avoiding to stutter.||
16:24 <~Teller|GM> Teller The older one stares at Caul, sizing him up. "This is a big city. I dunno every little thing that goes on. I don't even know who would know. But the capes run things, right? You wanna speak to one of them?"
16:24 He pulls out his phone without waiting for an answer. "Where's Wreston? Kennedy? Alameda?" ||
16:25 → Megafire joined (Megafire@net-133s0g.dynamic.ziggo.nl)
16:25 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres This... punk!
16:25 That's how you use it, right?
16:26 "Alameda." Cowl says, not particularly testy, but not particularly jovial either. "I could t-talk with one of the c-capes. Sure."
16:27 He holds up his left hand, as if he's checking something in his palm. Then he cracks his index finger.
16:27 It almost itched. Ready, prepared, desperate to be used. His power almost had an appetite.||
16:37 <~Teller|GM> Teller The older one taps on his phone briefly then flips it behind him to the girl. She nearly fumbles it, but manages to palm it.
16:37 "Yes," the girl says stiffly into the phone. "It's just some hero. Cowl from Zenith." A pause. Her eyes flicker to Caul briefly, then away. "Maybe."
16:37 "Might be a minute," the man informs him. ||
16:38 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Caul." Cowl corrects. Does Selma have senses? They better be working over time right now.||
16:38 ((*Caul))
16:40 -||
16:40 "N-not a hero." He adds, annoyed.||
16:41 → LRD joined (uid178344@brockwell.irccloud.com)
16:45 <~Teller|GM> Teller It's a good question. Nobody who's ever been covered in his goop has ever been in the mood to describe what it was like to him later. Even so, some level of intution (from thething on the edge of his thoughts?) tells him that his minions are going to have poor vision but their other senses are probably unhampered.
16:45 "Not a hero?" The man blinks at him. His cool demeanor wavers slightly before he regains his composure.  "Aight. What are you then?" ||
16:48 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Not very fuh-fucking patient." He says, before clicking his tongue. "It's a p-personal thing. N-not some Zenith b-bullshit."||
16:53 <~Teller|GM> Teller The man holds up his hands. The revelation that he's not here as a hero seems to have inspired some degree of urgency in the Wolves. "Come on, be chill."
16:53 "Ember's nearby," the girl adds. "He'll be here in...a minute or two. Three tops." ||
16:54 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "Oh, sorry. B-been a long day. First the PRT, then duh-dynasty, now you guys." Ember? That's, ah, that's entirely more destructive than he cares to haggle with.
16:54 "No need to be s-scared." Caul adds, smirking.
16:55 "I'm not r-really a strong cuh-kind of cape. That's Plower."||
17:03 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Right, right," the man says. He then falls into an uncomfortable silence. The girl alternates between looking at Caul and looking at the rooftops, presumably scanning for signs of Ember. ||
17:03 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres "How old are y-you two?" Cowl asks, to the younger wolves.||
17:05 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Just got out of school," the girl says warily. "Why? How old're you?"
17:05 The younger guy just shrugs doesn't respond. ||
17:06 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres ((*Caul))
17:07 "Old enough." He answers. Then he points to the end of the street away from sweet Selma.
17:07 "Scram."
17:08 "We c-can w-wait alone, can't we?" He says, looking at the older one. It's hard to tell under the hood, but he's smiling.||
17:08 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Social, please.))
17:09 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Social
17:09 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Social" [6] -1 = 5
17:17 <~Teller|GM> Teller "Yeah, uh-" the girl straightens up and makes to obey, but the older man slams his hand down angrily on the hood of the car. The younger guy jumps.
17:17 "No!" He sounds angry and a little scared now. It's pretty obvious that he expects something to happen if he 'waits alone' with Caul...but at least he's still talking instead of running or fighting him. "The fuck you wanna be alone for? We all good right here."
17:17 He glares at the girl and the younger man, daring them to leave him alone.
17:17 "And I didn't do SHIT wrong. Fucking...harassment. God damn." ||
17:19 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres It's almost a natural feeling. Except it's not.
17:19 It was a bit like accelerating in the car. He had the talent for it, maybe. He just never dug into himself to try it out.
17:19 He doesn't need the goop to tell how scared they are. And Caul is simply talking to them.
17:20 He clicks his tongue again, as he aims his left palm at the older man. To where he slammed the hood of the car.
17:21 "Don't be rude." He says, before the pinprick sensation grows in urgency. He always lobbed his 'attacks'. Not this time.
17:21 Something feels different. Perhaps himself. He almost can see himself winking at the thing at the edge of his thoughts. It's fine if he misses.
17:21 He must know.
17:21 Like that time with Seachange. He must know.
17:21 What he can do. What he can -truly- do.
17:22 He shoots, this time.
17:22 "Kids s-shouldn't hang around at t-this time of the n-night."||
17:23 <~Teller|GM> Teller ((Give me a 2h6+1 attack roll, please.))
17:23 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 2h6+1 Attack
17:23 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Attack" [2] (2) +1 = 3
17:28 <~Teller|GM> Teller $roll 1d6 WD
17:28 <+[ATM]> ATM Teller|GM "WD" [5]  = 5
17:32 <Teruzi|Caul> Andres $roll 1d6-1 Social
17:32 <+[ATM]> ATM Teruzi|Caul "Social" [3] -1 = 2
17:32 <~Teller|GM> Teller $roll 1d6 WS
17:32 <+[ATM]> ATM Teller|GM "WS" [1]  = 1