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[DEAD] Stand Against The Darkness: A Magical Girl Quest

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Oh. I thought that we haven't reached OC6 yet...
Kadmus said:
LSC down.

END COMBAT

Shadows 10/18 4/0/1
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...but Shadows must have healed one more time here:
Kadmus said:
Shadows' hands finally move away from her throat, and the injury is gone, replaced by slowly-roiling shadow that turns from darkness to flesh as you watch.
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It's been two days, though. How long do 'temporary effects' last? It's pretty hard to keep families from finding out.

We should get out before the Fury ones trigger in the vicinity of civillians. Magical girls can handle each other, civvies can't.

[x] Get everyone out of there and somewhere private.

There must be no lack of abandoned facilities in the city. Better find a place with no one around.
 
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Oh god what the fuck I don't know the system so I have no idea what is happening but damn I just wanted some chill time at the cafe but damn that was pretty well written well done.
 
Avalanche said:
Oh god what the fuck I don't know the system so I have no idea what is happening but damn I just wanted some chill time at the cafe but damn that was pretty well written well done.
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This is running on Magical Burst RPG system. Basically the magical girls pick up various types of overcharge from stressors or overusing their magic.

Low levels of overcharge can be vented mostly harmlessly, they make you do something impulsive, or cause brief weird effects. All of these are random in nature but fixed in magnitude
Medium levels of overcharge we've seen already, rains of blood, temporary mutations(like happened here) or mental changes.
High levels of overcharge can cause permanent mutations or permanent derangements.

These are flavored along Fury(blood, violence, etc, like the blood rain, random explosions of violence), Heart(emotions, impulsive romantic behavior[like Shadows being super clingy after healing] pink stuff) and Magic(wild magic, like crystals, eyes where there shouldn't be eyes, etc)

Critical levels of overcharge is when you max out the bar
-Magic produces a Magical Burst, a blast of rampaging magic emanating from you that disintegrates anything that isn't magical(and ) in a radius spanning from "one large house" to "one city"...then you turn into a monster if all your friends are dead.
-Heart spawns a strong monster that tries to kill your loved ones, or turns YOU into a monster if you have nobody.
-Fury triggers a berserker rage. It's mercifully short before it burns out, but it's a rampaging magical girl with a bossmode upgrade(double actions, regeneration etc).

As you can see, the effects of high levels of overcharge often will incur MORE overcharge from the team trying to cope with, or conceal the effects.

Based on what we've seen of the fight, we rolled pretty well so we probably won't be Bursting. For now.
 
There is a threadmark in the thread talking about possible consequenses, but veekie's summary is pretty much it. A minor nitpick, though - Shadows' crystalls seem to be a Heart effect, since it's much easier for her to overdose on healing magic.
Kadmus said:
- Temporary Changes are at 6 Overcharge. These are physical or magical changes to the magical girl's body, and they are blatantly and completely unnatural. These include things like 'eyes appear and disappear on random parts of your body; they'd be quite beautiful if they were in the right place', 'every now and then your reflection will drag you through a mirror and deposit you in a random part of the city' and 'every now and then it looks and feels like furious faces are pressing against you skin from the inside'. These only last a couple of hours.
- Permanent Changes are at 8 Overcharge. These are the same as Temporary Changes, but do not fade after time has passed.
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The problem is that it's been two days since our fight with a Sin Chosen, and Connie experienced the Fallout while sleeping... but these effects are not supposed to last more than two hours! Did she eat a permanent change (why? how?), or is it a house rule or something (a couple hours of looking weird might actually be better than setting something on fire, so maybe it was an adjustment to the rules to make high OC more punishing)? Or maybe there is something she isn't telling us about how she got that bruise.

Perhaps we should talk with our familliar about those things so that Jen would know this information IC.

I kinda like how our girl is coming along, though. Her crisis is having to act on insufficient information, yet she never lets not knowing what's going on keep her from taking charge of the situation. Maybe some of it is a PC fiat, but she is displaying qualities of a born leader. Good, they need one too.
 
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Episode 3: The Offensive: Part 16
  • Threadmarks
    • Vote results:
    [X] Get everyone out of there and somewhere private. - 4 votes.

    Part 16
    Saturday, Week 2

    "We need to go," you say, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

    "You three go ahead, I'll take care of the bill," Lala says. "Get these two out of here."

    You wrap an arm around Connie's waist and heave her to her feet, while she keeps clawing over her shoulders at her back and whimpering in pain. Inoue gets her other side, and you're treated to the sensation of a slick eyeball pressing against your forearm where it's grown on Inoue's own arm. You shudder and swallow, hard, holding back the reflexive urge to vomit, and the two of you stagger out of the shop, hauling a miserable Connie between you.

    All the other customers were staring at where the table shattered against the wall, but most of them turn to look at you as you make your hasty exit, one of them even getting up and approaching you to try and stop you. All the good intentions in the world do her no good when Inoue simply puts a panicky hand on her sternum and shoves, sending her tottering backwards to sprawl on the floor.

    "Shit! Shit!" Inoue growls, eyes wide, but you keep moving and she follows.

    You're outside before anyone else has a chance to react, and between you and Inoue you lift Connie clear off her feet and begin to move faster, making for the nearest alleyway so you can get some cover. Through the windows of the shop, you catch a glimpse of Lala...

    Lala just kicked the woman in the head. You don't get a chance to see more than that, other than the look of vicious glee on Lala's face, but it makes you hurry all the more.

    "What the fuck?" you say. "What the actual fuck? Did you see that? Did you... Lala just kicked that lady in the head! What the fuck!"

    "Must- must be the- the thing," Connie groans. "Must- must be."

    The three of you rush past the distracted pedestrians – between their phones all going off and the scene in the coffee shop, none of them are looking at you any longer, thank goodness for small mercies – and duck into an alleyway, quickly turning as many corners as you can to put some distance between you and that chaotic nightmare.

    "Think this is far enough," Inoue says, slowing down as she speaks. "What the fuck was all that?"

    "You two are the ones who know about this shit!" you say, feeling slightly hysterical. "I don't fucking know! I've been doing this like two weeks now, I've never started growing eyes or sprouting crystals or whatever the fuck's happened to Connie now-"

    Connie finally manages to twist out of your grip enough to get her top off, sighing in relief once she's freed her new additions from the cramped confines of her shirt. She's grown a pair of actual wings, probably half the length of her arms, covered in black, glossy feathers. Glossy with blood, and there's some still dripping into her bandages from where the wings tore through her skin, but it seems like the pain has passed.

    "Oh god, oh god, how am I going to hide these," she says, looking over her shoulder. "Oh my god, I'm dead, I'm dead."

    "Hey," you say, glad that she's swathed in enough bandages that she's still more clothed than Inoue. "It's gonna be fine, Connie, we can fix this."

    "H-how?" she whispers, shoulders hunched in on themselves in a way that only makes the wings stand out even more.

    You reach out and run a hand along the fresh pinions, absently enjoying how the blood feels on your fingers. Wouldn't it be so much better if there was more? It's not like this fat bitch deserves anything beautiful. It's not like she deserves your respect or your attention or even your contempt. She should just suffer, and let you enjoy life. Connie screams as your fingers wrap around the lower wing bone and wrench, snapping it with less effort than it would take to break a twig. You smile. That's more like it.

    You stare at the now-limp appendage, your guilty hand still clutching it, disbelieving.

    Why did you do that?

    Why the fuck did you do that?

    "Why the fuck did I do tha-"

    Inoue's punch would have been a beautiful thing, if you'd been anywhere other than on the receiving end. It catches you square on the nose, and you feel the familiar crack of cartilage as it breaks, and the less-familiar thump of your head bouncing off the wall behind you, before you slump to the floor. The follow-up knee is, in your considered opinion, slightly unnecessary, but equally well-executed, smashing into your nose again and sending your skull ricocheting off the wall once more.

    The pain hits, then, and you just sit there and groan, dizzy and confused and with blood dripping down across your lips from the thoroughly-broken nose. You look up to see a furious Inoue, who blinks and looks down at her bloodied fist.

    "You- you deserved that!" she snaps, hands shaking.

    "Th- the pu-punch, sure," you slur, staring blearily at the other girls. "I- I din't- I din't mean it-"

    Connie's scream finally ends, and she draws in a deep, shuddering breath. She transforms, in a flash of un-light, and shadows dance around her broken wing, straightening it and flowing into it, while she shakes and whimpers, looking away from the two of you. Once it's done, she turns back, and there's a hurt look in her eyes; not physical hurt, but emotional. You could probably have broken all the wings you wanted, but the betrayal was what hurt her, you think slowly.

    She still runs a shadowy hand over your nose, and you feel it grind back into place, your head starting to clear as her magic goes to work on your head. She changes back once she's done, and Inoue draws her into a tight hug, stroking her hair comfortingly.

    You blink once, twice, and then slowly push yourself to your feet on adrenaline-twitchy limbs. This- you have to make this right.

    "I- I don't- I don't know why I did that," you say, trying to look the two of them in the eyes at the same time. Inoue's own affliction is not helping things, in this regard. "I didn't- you know I'd never do that on purpose, right? Right?"

    "Yeah," Inoue says, her voice a little shaky. "The, the punch, that- I'd do that, in a fuckin' heartbeat. But the knee? That was outta line. Coulda killed you."

    "I-" Connie whispers, head resting on Inoue's shoulder. "I just wanted to get coffee. Why- why does everything have to go wrong?"

    "Look, Connie, I- I'm so sorry. You- I can't say how sorry I am, okay? I'll- whatever you want, I'll make it up to you," you say, raising a twitchy hand to try to wipe away the blood all over your lips and chin. You end up just smearing it across your face.

    "Well, looks like I took far too long to find you all," Lala says as she comes around the corner, looking worried. "This is, without exaggeration, the third most fucked up day I've ever had. Wait, the fourth, yeah. I just kicked some chick in the skull, and she didn't even do anything to deserve it."

    "We- um, I, um, like, um, um, I-" Connie stammers, growing paler than she already was. "Oh god. Um. I need somewhere to hide. The- the wings, um, I can't cover them."

    "Hey, Jen can put you up," Lala says, not noticing how Connie's face grows even paler with that sentence. "She did it for me, for a couple of nights. That's fine, right, Jen?"

    Inoue looks pained, but she can't meet Connie's eyes as she speaks. "I can't. Got too many nosy little brothers around, it's gonna be hard enough hidin' the eyes thing."

    "And I live on the streets," Lala adds cheerfully, her facade of peppy apathy back up. "So I can't help. Well, I could have, before the whole 'city rioting every night' thing, but they've, you know, destroyed or taken over all my usual spots. The rest of my day is going to be spent scoping out the best places in the red light district to hole up in."

    "Um, I, um..."

    What do you do?

    [] Offer her a place to stay. She can crash in your room and you can use the sofa or something.
    [] Offer to see if one of your friends can help her out. You'd have to be there too, but she should feel safer that way, right?
    [] Tell her you can't help her.
    [] Oh god abort abort run away.
    [] Write in.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Offer her a place to stay. She can crash in your room and you can use the sofa or something.

    We should try this coffee thing again sometime.
     
    Damn. We and Angel can dish out and take (and probably Miz as well, she is tough as nails), but I forgot Shadows is softer. And probably doesn't know how it feels since Fury isn't even remotely her element.

    Truth be told, I thought about introducing Shadows to Ems before. Both girls are bookish, and Shadows does not seem to have any friends besides her magical teammates... that's not quite the same. And Emily might feel better knowing we are not doing this alone.

    But in the current circumstances it would feel like running away and passing the ball to someone else. We promised to make up for what we did, too. And we still have not cleared the air about what happened with Olivia. It would be a start if she stopped being afraid of us.

    [X] Offer her a place to stay. She can crash in your room and you can use the sofa or something.
     
    Episode 3: The Offensive: Part 17
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    • Vote results:
    [X] Offer her a place to stay. She can crash in your room and you can use the sofa or something. - 5 votes.

    Part 17
    Saturday, Week 2

    Connie stammers to a stop, and looks nervously at you. You can't tell if she wants you to offer or not, but you owe her, and she can always just say no.

    "You can crash at mine, sure," you say. "If you want to. It's up to you, Connie."

    She flinches a little as you speak, and you struggle to hold back your own flinch in response. You open your mouth to say more, but she cuts you off.

    "I- um, please?" she says, voice shaky but determined. "Yeah. Um, like, if, um, if it's alright?"

    Lala disappears around the corner at that, vanishing away into the network of alleyways, obviously done with the conversation – and with dealing with all of you for the day. Inoue give Connie another reassuring squeeze, still not letting her out of the hug, and looks at you over the redhead's frizzy hair.

    "You gonna be safe?" she asks, eyes darting from your face down to your blood-slicked hand and back up again. "Or we need to kick the shit out of each other some more?"

    You look away, distracting yourself with picking up Connie's shirts off the floor where she dropped them earlier. You shake them out and leave them dangling from your clean hand, thinking.

    "I don't – I don't feel weird, Inoue," you say, still not looking her in the eyes. Any of them. "But how the fuck am I supposed to know? Did you know you were gonna try to smash my skull open?"

    Inoue grimaces, and looks away, too. Connie sighs, and gently pries herself free of Inoue's hug.

    "Look, um, like- I know you- you didn't mean to do it," she says, holding out a shaking hand for her shirts. You hand them over, unable to meet her eyes, either. "I don't- like, I don't, um, hold it against you. It just, it just- you know?"

    "Yeah," you say, voice low. "I get it. Hard to trust someone who'd do that to you."

    Her mouth twists up into a wavery little smile. "I, um, I trust you," she says. "And you, Inoue. I even, um, I trust Lala. You all- I'd be dead without you. Some- like, something like this is- I can deal with it, okay?"

    "Yeah, but you shouldn't fuckin' have to," Inoue growls, and you nod your agreement. "None of us should."

    Connie shrugs one bandaged shoulder, still smiling. "Yeah, well, um, like, we have to, um, deal with what we've got. That's, like, that's why we're doing this- um, I mean, that is why we're doing this, right?"

    "It is," you say, the feeling of the blood drying on your fingers filling your senses. "You, uh, are you gonna be okay putting the shirts on again? It's not gonna be too painful?"

    "I, um, I'll be fine," Connie says, while her new wings twitch and flutter. "Um. I can live with a little, like, pain."

    You hunt desperately for a change of subject, and the new eye staring at you from Inoue's cheek provides an excellent distraction.

    "How about you, Inoue? You gonna be able to get home without, uh, the eye thing being an issue?"

    She shrugs, but you can tell she's nervous and uncomfortable about the situation. "Yeah. I'll just wait 'til late, stay in my room. Ain't like I spend much time at home anyways."

    A thought hits you, and you have to make the offer, even if it's in vain. "Light owes me a favour," you say. "If the... stuff doesn't go away on its own, I could talk to her about doing something about it? For both of you, I mean."

    Both Inoue and Connie wince briefly at the mention of your fellow Chosen, a girl even more abrasive than you are, but they at least seem to give it some thought.

    "Maybe," Inoue says. "I ain't eager to talk to her again, but if this sticks around, I ain't gonna have a choice."

    Connie's put her t-shirt on, and her wings are an occasionally-twitching hump across her shoulders, now. It's obvious there's something under there, and it looks extremely uncomfortable, but at least it isn't blatantly obvious she has a magical deformity any more. She pulls her button-up shirt on over the top of that, concealing it further, and starts buttoning it before she speaks again.

    "Um, like, if the- if the changes don't go away, we're- like, I could maybe fix it? But, um, I don't want to make it worse," she says, staring down at where her hands are fumbling with the buttons. "So Light might be needed."

    "Sleep on it and decide what to do tomorrow?" you offer, flexing your fingers and shuddering at the feeling of blood flaking off them.

    "Yeah," Inoue says. "Gives us time to cool off a little, too."

    "That- that sounds good," Connie adds. "I- the crystals were the first thing, right? So, um, if they're gone, like, tomorrow- that, that lets us know what, um, what sort of time we're looking at? Maybe?"

    You nod, and Inoue shrugs again. "Sure. I better be goin', ain't like we're bein' sneaky in this alley here. Never know who's gonna show."

    She transforms, the alleyway briefly filling with a soft silver glow, and stretches out her wings. Eyes peer down at you from the pinions for a brief, nauseating moment, like some enormous, gruesome peacock, and then they close and disappear, leaving only feathers behind. You and Connie both take a step back from the sight, and Inoue's face twists briefly into a frustrated snarl.

    "It shouldn't fuckin' be like this," she says.

    She flaps her wings once, and shoots into the sky, soaring away from you all and, from what little you can spy of her, off towards the desert. Probably off to ruin the landscape a little to let off stress, you guess. It's what you'd do, in her position. But you have a responsibility, here, and you don't run from your responsibilities.

    "You, uh, want to go in costume, or like this?" you say, flexing your fingers again. "I don't live too close."

    "Costume," Connie says. "I think, um, I know, the wings aren't, like, such a nuisance when I'm, um, transformed? And, um, it'll be faster. You, like, you probably want to wash up?"

    You look down at your hand, red-black with your friend's blood, and clench it into a fist. You feel sick.

    "Yeah, I do," you whisper.

    The two of you transform, and you notice that the blood all over your hand and all over your lips didn't go away with the transformation. It feels even worse inside the gauntlet, but the faster you get somewhere with a sink, the faster you can resolve the issue. Shadows looks... better, transformed. The wings match her outfit, grant her a certain air of authority, even, though it's counteracted by her hunched shoulders and nervous expression.

    "Follow me," you say, and jump up to the rooftops to head home.

    The journey doesn't take too long, all things considered; Shadows is even clumsier than normal, her new wings throwing off her sense of balance, but she keeps up with you well enough. You slow down to make sure she can follow, a courtesy you've never bothered with before, and her thankful smile is like a nail in your chest.

    You land in your usual spot and change back, and lead Connie the short remaining distance to your house. You unlock the front door with your clean hand, step inside, and immediately freeze.

    Your grandmother stares at you, your face and hand covered in blood, and her eyes go wide with shock.

    "Jennifer Sykes," she says slowly. "What happened to you?"

    What do you do?

    [] Lie your ass off.
    - [] What do you say?
    [] Tell her the whole truth.
    - [] What do you say?
    [] Tell her a partial truth.
    - [] What do you say?

    And I will need 1 roll of 2d6, please.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • I'm leaning towards the while truth. But I'm not sure how to explain it.
    Khona Moshr threw 2 6-faced dice. Total: 9
    6 6 3 3
     
    We could perhaps confess here. Let Shadows in - she probably should be spared the drama - and have a talk about the events of the last three weeks. Better than giving not-quite-goodbyes and cryptic hugs whenever we go off to kill a Sin. Come to think of it, it was only this morning that we gave her one, wasn't it? Feels like it was long ago.

    The question is, how do we tell it.

    She won't like it, surely, but she knows us better than we ourselves do, and knows that we won't abandon the decision.

    Coming back to our conversation...
    Kadmus said:
    "Mm. Don't fuss about this old lady if it's a choice between me and her, you hear?" she says, looking sternly at you. "I've survived seventy-odd years. I can look after myself for a while if you need to sleep over at hers."

    "Grandma, I don't-"

    "No, you listen here, Jennifer," she says firmly. "I am old. I'm not going to live much longer, no matter how you look at it. You know it, I know you do. I love you, and I've done my best to raise you right, and every day I get to see you is a day I treasure. But this? This city's worse than it's ever been. I might die today. It doesn't bother me too much. You're old enough to look after yourself, and you'll get the house. I'll get to see my son again. But you're young, and you've got your whole, bright future ahead of you." She sighs. "I don't want you worrying about me."
    Click to expand...
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    [x] Tell her the whole truth.
    -[x] The world has gone mad, and you are trying to make things right. It's how you were brought up.
    -[x] You are not alone. You have your companions to help you out, your friends... and now that you've told her you hope that she, too, understands.

    Two things. We are a magical girl and are risking life and limb to save the world (city? ourselves?), and we have people to share this burden with. Now she is one of them. Uh, welcome to the club?

    She talked about our bright future - but if we didn't fight, there wouldn't be a future to look forward to.

    (The murder - which we probably won't mention - weighs the heaviest on Jen, but, if you think about it, even that was done in the pursuit of that goal and out of the sense of duty)
     
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    [x] Tell her the whole truth.
    -[x] The world has gone mad, and you are trying to make things right. It's how you were brought up.
    -[x] You are not alone. You have your companions to help you out, your friends... and now that you've told her you hope that she, too, understands.
     
    [x] Tell her the whole truth.
    -[x] The world has gone mad, and you are trying to make things right. It's how you were brought up.
    -[x] You are not alone. You have your companions to help you out, your friends... and now that you've told her you hope that she, too, understands.
     
    Episode 3: The Offensive: Part 18
  • Threadmarks
    • Vote results:
    [X] Tell her the whole truth. - 3 votes.
    - [X] The world has gone mad, and you're trying to make things right. It's how you were brought up. - 3 votes.
    - [X] You are not alone. You have your companions to help you out, your friends... and now that you've told her you hope that she, too, understands. - 3 votes.

    Roll result: 9 + 6 (Stat) = 15. Good success.

    Part 18
    Saturday, Week 2

    Your mind races, trying to figure out how to make this situation work. You've been lying to your grandmother for weeks, now, and you – you can't keep doing it. She deserves to know the truth, even if she can't understand it.

    "Look, it's- it's been a long day," you say, walking further into your tiny living room. Connie creeps in behind you, trying to hide behind your body, and your grandmother looks at her briefly, then back to you. "Connie, uh, can you- can you go upstairs? My room's on the left, and you can have a shower if you need one."

    She looks between you and your grandmother and then, very nervously and very slowly, heads for the stairs. You match your grandmother's stare, the two of you waiting until you hear the door upstairs shut.

    "An explanation, please," she says. "I want to know why you're covered in blood."

    You wince at that, and roll your shoulders uncomfortably. "I had a, uh, well... look, it's really complicated. Can I wash up real quick before I explain? It's- it's really uncomfortable."

    "You can wash and talk, I'm sure," she says, gesturing one bony hand towards the kitchen. "I'm worried, Jen, not angry. Not with you."

    You duck into the kitchen with a nervous smile on your lips and head to the sink. You begin to scrub the dried blood off your hand and face, more forcefully than is probably absolutely necessary, and try to put together a good sentence to begin your explanation with.

    "Okay," you say, between scrubs. "You know how the city has decided to go insane?"

    You're fairly certain you can hear your grandmother's eyes roll. "No, Jen, I've been struck blind and deaf for the past three weeks."

    You snort a laugh through the lather, sending little soap bubbles floating out over the sink. "Sorry, that was a stupid question," you say. "What I mean is, doesn't it seem way too fast? Unnaturally fast?"

    "You could certainly say that. You're talking around your point, Jen."

    "It's just- my point is gonna sound kind of insane when I get to it," you say. "Right. The city has gone insane, and it's done it far too quickly to be normal. There's a reason for that, and it's- you've got to hear me out, okay?"

    "I'm listening."

    "There's these monsters that are causing it all," you say, speaking quickly to give your grandmother no time to interrupt. "Seven of them. They're called the Sins, and they cause the emotion they're named after – Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Pride, Sloth. Lust. We- wait, okay. They aren't here alone, there's people who have been Chosen to fight against them."

    You take a deep breath, and risk a look over your shoulder. Your grandmother is still sat on the sofa, looking more worried than before.

    "Jennifer-"

    "Seven Chosen to fight the Seven Sins," you continue. "There were seven, anyway. Two of them died a while back, so there's only five of us left. Us meaning I'm one of them- the Chosen, that is, not the Sins. But, uh, there's consequences to fighting against the Sins, and we had a nasty run-in with them – the consequences, not the Sins- well, yeah, we had a nasty run-in with one of the Sins but that was planned and we actually won-"

    "Jennifer, did you… hit your head? Take any drugs?" your grandmother says, slowly getting to her feet and making her way over to where you're stood at the sink. She puts a paper-skinned hand on your face and looks into your eyes, frowning. "Pupils look alright, at least," she murmurs.

    "I- okay, I can prove it to you," you say. "Just- don't freak out, okay? Don't panic? Please?"

    She looks at you. "Jennifer Sykes, I doubt that whatever you are about to do could make me panic more."

    You feel a stab of guilt, the knowledge that you've upset your grandmother hammering on some ingrained part of your psyche to let you know that This Is Not Right.

    "So before I do the thing," you say. "I have to tell you what I'm called as a Chosen. I am Radiant Dawn Champion."

    You take a small step back, so that your grandmother isn't caught in the burst of light, and transform, your armour settling around you like a clanking second skin. She stares at you, taking in the costume, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at the billowing white cape.

    "Hmm. The name seems a little... extravagant," she says slowly, her voice faint.

    "Wasn't my idea," you protest. "Uh. So, surprise?"

    You spread your arms and give her a tiny, nervous smile. You're entirely unsurprised when she jabs you in the breastplate with a single bony finger.

    "And how long has this been going on?"

    "...about three weeks?" you say, feeling the smile drop off your face.

    "You're sure that this is all true? I know you can... call up some armour and a fancy impractical cape. But are you sure this isn't all some big misunderstanding?" she says, the note of faint hope in her voice heartbreaking.

    "I'm- I'm sure, grandma," you say. "I fought Lust earlier today, and now it's dead. When it was alive, you could feel it... inside your head. Changing you."

    "You fought Lust? Just you? I thought you said-"

    "It's not just me, though! There's four others who can do the same thing, and three of them are working with me to help finish this whole thing. They were there too," you say, interrupting her. "We're working together."

    "You can't just leave it up to them, can you?" she says, her face creased with worry. "No, of course you can't. It's a family flaw, not being able to leave well enough alone."

    "If something's wrong, and I have the power to make it right, isn't it my job to do just that?" you say, planting your fists on your hips. "That's what you always told me, isn't it?"

    She hisses a sigh out between her teeth, glaring at you. "It is! I just wish-" She pauses, lips clamped together in a thin line. "No, I don't wish you didn't have the power to change things. I am not happy about all of this-" She jabs you in the breastplate again. "-this. But you're too much like me to pay me any mind if I tell you to stop, aren't you. God knows I'd have done the same damned thing when I was your age."

    "Yeah, well, guess I took after you too well," you murmur. "Uh, so the blood was... well, there's... downsides to using our powers. It can make us do strange things and, well, things got a little violent? Everyone's okay, and everyone- everyone will be good to keep going, once we've all had a chance to calm down a bit. No-one's hurt or anything."

    "If it was just a bit of a fight," your grandmother says, a smile creeping onto her face. "Well, I can't blame you for that. I could tell you stories, my girl. That's how your grandfather and I met, in fact."

    You groan and cover your face with your gauntleted hands. All the magical power in the world wouldn't stop your grandmother from being your grandmother, and you wouldn't have it any other way.

    "I take it the strays you've been bringing home are some of these new friends of yours?" she says.

    You lower your hands and shrug sheepishly. "Lala has been living on the streets for a while and she needed somewhere safe to get some sleep. Connie, uh, she's suffering from some of the worse downsides to the powers, and she doesn't want to go home? And, well, none of he others could help, and I could..."

    Your grandmother sighs again and wraps her spindly arms around you in a hug. You can't feel it properly through the armour, and her miniscule weight is unnoticeable with your enhanced strength, but you carefully return it nonetheless.

    "Never change, my girl," she whispers. "You nearly gave me a damned heart attack, but never change."

    You rest your head against hers and enjoy the hug for a few moments, before she thumps you on the pauldron and releases you.

    "But the outfit could be better. Very uncomfortable," she says, smiling again. "Do you hug your enemies into submission?"

    "I, uh, I have a big axe and fire?"

    "Of course you do," she says, holding back a laugh. "Subtle you are not, Jennifer."

    You shrug helplessly, and the two of you share a short chuckle.

    Connie is here for the evening. What's the schedule look like for the rest of the day?

    [] Hang out with Connie and read books in your room.
    [] Hang out with Connie and watch television with your grandma.
    [] Hang out with Connie and make dinner.
    [] Write in.
     
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