Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Let's go ahead and call this one, shall we?
Hmmmmmmmmm…
Hmmmmmmmmm…
Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
- Thread starter Silently Watches
- Start date
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
I sure hope we don't come across another dark-haired, blue-eyed bookworm in Paris. If she's wearing white and blue and has a rather biting sense of humor? Then we've got a problem.
LancerisDead
Definitely not a cat
- Location
- Buenos Aires
What's that reference?
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite.
Inverness
The Foxiest Wife
Vista seems like someone who might jump ship over to the TSAB, because they would actually accept her at her age.
With them she'd probably get a sense of purpose the Wards can't offer her and the Protectorate won't be able to offer for many years.
- Location
- Ural, Russia, Earth
SFW Onsen episode.Those can be perfectly SFW and you know it.
Sam moaned with pleasure, letting the hot water to wash away all her tiredness and muscle aches.
"This is Heaven." she declared. "I don't want to leave ever."
Teana chuckled. "After hard training there could be nothing better than relaxation in hot springs. That was one of the most important lessons I learned from Takamachi-san."
"I don't know anything about her, but I'm already sure she's wonderful person." Missy sighed contentedly.
"Yes, she is." Teana smiled.
"What do you think, Taylor?" Sam turned to her Master, and her radiant smile became a bit less bright.
Her Master was wonderful girl and Sam was proud to be her protector and aide, but there was one thing Taylor was almost incapable to do. She was incapable to just let everything go and allow herself to relax.
Even in this heavenly hot water she managed to look tense and uncomfortable.
"I would prefer to spend more time training." Taylor mumbled and looked at Teana. "I came up with one trick I almost sure will let us to pass your last test. If Sam and Laura distract them, Missy can shrink the distance between me and their Full Back, so I can destroy them with Blitz Action and Flare Blade, and still have enough time to charge Solar Wrath and wipe out the Center Guard."
"That... can work." Missy nodded thoughtfully. "They'll not expect a melee attack from a bombardment mage... Still, too risky, I think. If you fail to deal with them fast enough, we're all screwed."
"Yeah, you're right, but I don't see any other way we didn't try already." Taylor sighed. "If only Crescendo was unlocked already, everything would be so much simpler."
"Do you think it can be unlocked with an omake?" Missy asked.
"No, it works like this only for Tim." Sam shook her head.
"Too bad." Missy frowned, thoughtfully. "How about this: Cailleach block that central passage with her ice and under this cover you..."
Teana shook her head. After a day of hard trainings these girls continue to discuss tactic...
They, Taylor especially, reminded her of herself several years ago.
The same talent, the same drive, the same tactical acumen... The same stubborn desire to work themselves to the bone.
To abandon such self-destructive tendencies Teana was needed to go through nervous breakdown and quite painful lesson from Takamachi-san. And Takamachi-san herself was needed to go through near-death experience and year-long recovery.
Was there a way to snap them out of it without such extremities?
At least they had Samantha to look after them. Hopefully, that would be enough.
"I'm back!" Laura declared, joining other girls. "And I bring ice cream!"
"Oh! Is there strawberry one?" Sam perked up.
"Yep." Laura answered, passing the ice cream.
"Ice cream and hot springs? Strange combination." Teana commented, accepting her portion from blunette's hand.
"The main advantage of having ice powers." Laura smirked. "My ice cream never melts, hot springs or not."
Sam and Missy laughed, Taylor meanwhile looked around, frowning.
"You are alone?" she asked. "Kayleigh-"
"Will not come." Laura sighed with sadness. "She said the onsen episode without any fanservice and lewds is just a waste of time and shouldn't exist."
"Oh." Taylor sighed. "I should have expected this."
After some hesitation Laura continued. "She also insisted that I absolutely must kinda accidentally slip, fall on you and kinda accidentally grope your everything - that was her words, not mine! She said, maybe then we finally get something important."
"Something important?" Taylor repeated with confusion. "What so important we can get out of it, except embarassment?"
"I have no idea!" Laura shrugged helplessly, while Missy and Sam snickered for some reason. "Seriously, I love that girl dearly, but, goddammit, some of her ideas... I don't want to be banished to QQ!"
All the girls winced in sympathy, except Teana.
"QQ?" she asked.
"A dark place full of terrors." Missy explained. "Even Dragon dare not to moderate it."
"Ladies, I would like to propose a toast." Sam raised her ice cream as it was a glass. "To SFW Onsen episodes! They're definitely exist and they're not just a waste of time. And may we never find ourselves on QQ!"
"Cheers!"
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
rofl:rofl::lolFantastic! The metahumor really adds that extra punch. Where do you want your point?
- Location
- Ural, Russia, Earth
Thanks!
Fantastic! The metahumor really adds that extra punch. Where do you want your point?
Bind Mine, please.
*elsewhere, in a darkened room lit only by a computer screen*
"Soon, my masterpiece will be complete! *unsettling giggling can be heard*"
Heatwave 9.9
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[] Social – Vista
-[] Slumberdome
Heatwave 9.9
Saturday, June 11
You float above the city in the afternoon sun, only a short distance away from the Protectorate base. It is probably strange for a fifteen-year-old girl to want to spend time with a thirteen-year-old, but despite the age gap you wouldn't hesitate to call Vista a friend. She's fun, with an admittedly wicked sense of humor sometimes, and she knows what she's doing as a hero.
Missy, her civilian alter ego, you're not so close to, but that's what today is for. You won't be running around in Barrier Jacket and costume. Your street clothes are in the dimensional pocket where Perfect Storm always stuffs your outfit when you transform, and as soon as she shows up you'll switch out. Like she said a few days ago, you will just be two regular girls enjoying the sights the world has to offer.
The fact that it gets you out of the house is a nice benefit. Staying at Kurt and Lacey's apartment has gotten a little awkward, thanks in no small part to the venting the man of the house has been doing whenever the topic of the Privateers comes up. You stopped asking pretty quickly when it became clear that doing so would uncork what sounds like an ever-deepening well of aggression. From what he said to you and Samantha added on to what you've overheard between him and Lacey, it sounds like the Privateers are pulling apart even further and consolidating into two factions, the first led by Alexander and focused on fighting crime with clean hands and the second rallying behind Ramirez to crush criminals no matter the consequences. Kurt, to your regret, has not officially chosen a side yet but has made it clear that he is leaning more and more towards siding with Martinez.
It makes you feel especially bad for Lacey, whose suggestions that everyone try to reconcile have gone largely ignored even by her husband.
A young teen girl appears around a corner, and you drop down to meet her. Despite most of her face being visible in costume, that visor really changes her features. She looks at you in your Barrier Jacket, then herself in shorts and a T-shirt that covers the metal ring of her arm, and asks, "Did I misunderstand the dress code?"
"Nope." Your costume scatters into orange sparks when your heels hit the pavement, and now you are dressed just as casually. "See? Ready to go. Where are we going, for that matter?"
"I figured we could try something a little closer to home to start," Vista says, holding up her phone to show a photo of a recognizable American landmark. "You ever been to the Grand Canyon?"
No, but that is a mistake easily rectified. A wave of light, and you arrive on the edge of the canyon. You chance a glance to your left and swallow. Even with your Barrier Jacket a thought away, even with a space-warper at your side, even with flight…
That's a long way down.
"I'm starting to rethink this idea," she agrees with your unspoken comment. A twist of reality, and the two of you take a step of several dozen feet and wind up behind the protective fence. "No offense, but I don't want to be in the position where you need to catch me before I go splat."
"None taken."
A couple of hours to tour your home country's greatest geological marvel, and by the time the sun is going down you're getting bored. "Where next?" you ask the girl as you guide her out of sight.
Next turns out to be another famous locale, though this one a significant distance farther away. "Did you know I looked up how long it would take to get here by plane?" the girl asks, hoping on top of the fence of a nearby pier as though that would offer her a better vantage point of the famous peaks of the Sydney Opera House. "Cause I can't warp space that far; I have to be able to see where I'm going. Twenty-four hours. An entire day and two thousand dollars to get here from home." She flashes you a grin. "Calamity Airways is a much better deal."
"…Did you just call me cheap?"
The younger girl rolls her eyes, and you tap her shoulder and gesture for her to follow. "Why are we just standing around? It's the middle of the morning here. Let's go on a tour."
«Hey, Storm? Do you have access to our bank account back home?» The gem around your neck chimes once, and you step into line for tickets. «Hack the card reader and take the money for the tour out of our account.»
«Why Mistress desires to spend her own money? Other funds available.»
You flick your hand when it's almost your turn, and a holographic screen shaped like a black credit card appears in your hand. You give your Device a quick glance for its cheek and swipe it through the machine. Sure enough, the bored-looking boy at the desk hands you a couple of tickets, the true nature of your credit card going unnoticed.
«Access of known bank account of villain Coil successful. Transfer in progress.»
Grabbing Vista's right arm, you tug her to the side once the tour is complete. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say all the destinations on today's itinerary are famous places you want to tour?" She blushes and nods. "Then we're making a short detour." A screen shows up on in your palm out of sight of any unsuspecting bystander, and you show her the view of the seaside. "Apparently this is the best time to see both whale sharks and minke whales at the Great Barrier Reef."
"…Okay, but I don't have a swimsuit. And you're not buying me one. That's going a little beyond what I'm comfortable with." She gives your clothes a suspicious eye. "Are you hiding a bikini under that or something?"
"Nope! Transforming costume. One outfit for any occasion."
Vista blinks at you. "I really don't like you right now."
A couple of hours with the whales, and her opinion has changed. You wait for Missy to change out of her one-piece back into her regular clothes, and then you whisk her away to the next spot on your list: Paris. Unfortunately, it's still dark when you arrive, so the pair of you are left with wandering the city and looking at the sights from a distance.
On the plus side? When a cafe opens up, you are the first customers to enjoy their freshly baked croissants.
Missy waits for you to finish chatting with the young waitress who delivers your food and coffee. "Maybe it's a good thing we came here instead of Rome. I didn't think about the fact that neither of us know Italian. I'm just lucky you're fluent in French."
How would she react if you told her you don't speak a lick of it and this is all Perfect Storm doing the heavy lifting, you wonder as you spread butter on the hot crescent. Probably gape and grumble good-naturedly. "Mm-hmm. Lucky's one word for it, that's for sure. What's next on your bucket list turned world tour?"
"I was…" She clacks her teeth shut and squeezes her eyes closed, but still you can hear the yawn she's doing her absolute best to keep in. She shakes her head. "I was going to suggest heading to Mexico to see some of the ruins, but I don't know that I'd be able to make it. I'm just so tired right now."
"Well, no wonder." You show her a screen with Philly time on it. "It's four in the morning back home."
"…Yeah, that'd be why I'm tired."
Time to go home. You swallow what's left of the croissant, and while you choke that down because in hindsight that was way too big a bite, a thought crosses your mind. Probably the lack of oxygen to your brain, but with your lack of sleep you still think it a fine idea. "Do you want to go back to the base now? If not… I was wondering if you wanted to finish the day off with a sleepover?"
It's a risk, and not just because it invites somebody into your home. The first, last, and only other person you ever had a sleepover with was, well, Emma. You don't need to do much to remember how that turned out. You don't think that Missy would abandon you and turn on you the way Emma did, but a few years ago you wouldn't have thought Emma would do that to you, either.
But that's the thing. She did abandon you, she did turn on you, and you suffered for it. All that is left for you now is to decide if you're willing to make decisions based on how Emma abused your trust and keep yourself distant from everyone who you want to trust, or if you'll start looking at the scars she left as old wounds best ignored and try to let someone else in again.
Even with the fatigue filling her face, her eyes gleam with what little excitement she has left. "Yeah. That sounds great. When do we leave?"
The last gulp of coffee vanishes down your throat, and you grab her hand to lead her outside and around the corner into an empty alley. "Right now."
The familiar orange light fades away, and this time instead of foreign delights your surroundings are more homely. A couple of lamps are still on, allowing the pair of you to navigate through the living room towards your bedroom. Along the way Missy stops to coo at the raccoon lying curled up in the middle of a dog bed with her eyes closed. You, on the other hand, give Samantha a second look; when did she buy herself a dog bed, and since when does she sleep there instead of nestling up on top of your pillow?
Flicking the lights off, you close the door to your bedroom and wave at the four walls sheepishly. "Well, this is my room, and… yeah." Missy tries to hide her sniggers behind her hand. A lightbulb goes off in your brain. "Hold up. I think I have something for you."
"Wait, you do?"
"That I do. Where did I stash it…? Aha!"
A white metal case comes out from under your bed, and you drop it on top of the mattress and open it to reveal what at first glance looks like a severed arm. "Tim made it a little bit ago. Remember how he said he was working on sensory upgrades to give you a wider range of touch and temperature? He figured out—"
A click, a whir, and you turn around to find the girl struggling with her now-stiff prosthetic. She gives you a sheepish grin. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but could I get a little help here?"
It takes you a minute, but eventually the pair of you twist it just right to remove it and hook the new arm into place. As it goes through its startup sequence, Missy moves her shoulder around. "It this lighter than the other one?"
"Yep. Shipwright said he used a different alloy for the skeleton. It's lighter, but it's also much less durable. Between that and the sensory upgrades, this is purely a civilian arm. The original probably wouldn't be able to stand up to hits from anybody with superstrength, but this one definitely won't."
"But I can treat it like my right arm though, right? Then that's fine. No doing anything stupid, got it." You move the old prosthetic to the case, and that is when she adds in a much less certain voice, "Shipwright isn't planning on getting rid of that one, is he? It's just, I mean, he did say that this was a modular arm, and he said something about being able to give it armor plating and maybe some weapons of some kind…"
The last is said in a mumble, but you catch it nonetheless. Giving her a look, you close the case and move it under the bed. "Are you interested in a combat arm?"
"…Yeah. A little. More than a little."
"Okay. That's definitely possible." She perks up at that, and you sit on the bed and motion for her to join you. She's quick to take you up on the offer. "If you had a combat prosthetic, what would you want on it?"
"Armor. Definitely armor." Considering she did not choose to lose her original biological left arm, you can understand the reasoning for that. "For weaponry… I don't know. I don't know what all he can build and what he could stuff into the arm and what my reactor would be able to power." She shrugs. "I'd need to talk to him about it before I made any final decisions."
That jogs your memory, and you watch her out of the corner of your eye. "Speaking of the reactor, I know Shipwright went to Boston to give Armsmaster and some Tinkertech scientists or review board or something a rundown of the reactor and how it worked. He didn't want to talk about it when he got back. What happened up there?"
"Not much." She nods at your frown of doubt. "Seriously. The thing you have to understand about Armsmaster is that he has a bit of an attitude. We used to joke sometimes that he always carried two halberds around, one in his hand and the other shoved up his butt. That goes double when he deals with other Tinkers. Shipwright offered to explain the details, but Armsmaster really didn't seem interested. I guess he thought the whole thing was a waste of time or something. He offered to build something similar but 'more efficient' for me, but…" Missy shrugs again. "The way he said it, it sounded like he saw it as more of an obligation to offer because I used to be one of his Wards? I don't really know. Anyway, once I told him no that was the end of that. It really was a big waste of time, but nobody told me I had to get rid of the arm, so that's a win in my books."
You stare at the younger girl for a moment. "Weird," you finally say. "I know Dragon is friends with him, but she's nothing like that. It's strange that they can still be friends when she's nice as can be and he sounds like a major jerk."
"I know, right— Wait a minute." She blinks at you. "You talk to Dragon? Since when?"
"She emailed me shortly after I moved here. My power's a complicated mess, but she was interested in the Tinker aspect of it." Do you want to go into more detail, about Perfect Storm and magic and all the rest of the revelations that entails? You watch her stifle another yawn. No, not right now. Neither of you is awake enough to have that conversation. Maybe some other time, or maybe once you've had a good night's sleep you'll decide that is a terrible idea. Either way, not a decision to make tonight. "Anyway, she's really nice, and Shipwright and I have talked to her on a few occasions."
"Huh— Uhhhhhhhh." The yawn escapes at long last, and you laugh at her embarrassed reaction. "Hey, it's not my fault it's so late. Early. Whatever."
"Not your fault, but still funny." You dig around in your dresser for a minute. "I think I have some of my old things if you want to borrow them for the night."
Not long after that you've both plopped down on the bed, and you flip the lights off. "This is nice," Missy says out of the blue. "I was already a Ward when sleepovers became a big thing, and Brockton Bay being Brockton Bay, I didn't have any time to do stuff like this. Even if I had, there was no one to do it with. It's not like I could talk to the other girls in my grade about my work. All the boys on the team were boys, enough said. Shadow Stalker was just ugh. Not a whole lotta choice there."
"What about New Wave?" you ask. Sure, the capes of New Wave lived their lives unmasked, but their names being publicly known was a very different thing from sharing everything about themselves in open sight. The fact that Glory Girl had assaulted and almost killed people and Panacea had worked to keep it all a secret was proof enough of that.
"Well, no one would have a slumber party with Panacea. She wasn't a bad person, at least not what I knew about her at the time, but she wasn't what you'd call a 'people person'. Kind of funny considering she spent all her free time at the hospital. Vicky, Glory Girl…" She trails off. "I had issues with her that weren't her fault. Not really, and I don't think she ever knew I didn't like her.
"It's funny, but if I had known I'd be making friends with college girls, I might have tried getting to know Laserdream and Shielder instead."
You can't help it. You snort, choke, and then break out into laughter. "College girls?" you ask once your voice decides to cooperate again. "Who have you been hanging out with that you're spending time with college kids?"
"You!" You hear her shift around on her half of the bed. "You're eighteen or nineteen, right? So you'd be the same age as Laserdream."
Eighteen or nineteen. Someone's been listening to Miss Militia. You know the gun-toting heroine thinks you're old enough to be in the Protectorate, and that uncorrected assumption has served you well, but this time you'll have to break your silence. "Missy, I'm not eighteen. I'm not in college. I just finished my sophomore year of high school. I'm only a couple of years older than you."
"What?!"
You keep laughing long after her huff of frustration, and a smile still adorns your face when you shift around to find the most comfortable position on the bed. "Good night, Missy."
"…Good night, Taylor."
Gained Key Item "Partial-sensory prosthetic left arm".
Removed Key Item "Upgraded full-sensory prosthetic left arm".
Added Vista character sheet.
Let the dawwws flow through you. Once you've taken insulin for your new-found diabetes, it's time to discuss next week's activities. Pick two main activities…
-[] Slumberdome
Heatwave 9.9
Saturday, June 11
You float above the city in the afternoon sun, only a short distance away from the Protectorate base. It is probably strange for a fifteen-year-old girl to want to spend time with a thirteen-year-old, but despite the age gap you wouldn't hesitate to call Vista a friend. She's fun, with an admittedly wicked sense of humor sometimes, and she knows what she's doing as a hero.
Missy, her civilian alter ego, you're not so close to, but that's what today is for. You won't be running around in Barrier Jacket and costume. Your street clothes are in the dimensional pocket where Perfect Storm always stuffs your outfit when you transform, and as soon as she shows up you'll switch out. Like she said a few days ago, you will just be two regular girls enjoying the sights the world has to offer.
The fact that it gets you out of the house is a nice benefit. Staying at Kurt and Lacey's apartment has gotten a little awkward, thanks in no small part to the venting the man of the house has been doing whenever the topic of the Privateers comes up. You stopped asking pretty quickly when it became clear that doing so would uncork what sounds like an ever-deepening well of aggression. From what he said to you and Samantha added on to what you've overheard between him and Lacey, it sounds like the Privateers are pulling apart even further and consolidating into two factions, the first led by Alexander and focused on fighting crime with clean hands and the second rallying behind Ramirez to crush criminals no matter the consequences. Kurt, to your regret, has not officially chosen a side yet but has made it clear that he is leaning more and more towards siding with Martinez.
It makes you feel especially bad for Lacey, whose suggestions that everyone try to reconcile have gone largely ignored even by her husband.
A young teen girl appears around a corner, and you drop down to meet her. Despite most of her face being visible in costume, that visor really changes her features. She looks at you in your Barrier Jacket, then herself in shorts and a T-shirt that covers the metal ring of her arm, and asks, "Did I misunderstand the dress code?"
"Nope." Your costume scatters into orange sparks when your heels hit the pavement, and now you are dressed just as casually. "See? Ready to go. Where are we going, for that matter?"
"I figured we could try something a little closer to home to start," Vista says, holding up her phone to show a photo of a recognizable American landmark. "You ever been to the Grand Canyon?"
No, but that is a mistake easily rectified. A wave of light, and you arrive on the edge of the canyon. You chance a glance to your left and swallow. Even with your Barrier Jacket a thought away, even with a space-warper at your side, even with flight…
That's a long way down.
"I'm starting to rethink this idea," she agrees with your unspoken comment. A twist of reality, and the two of you take a step of several dozen feet and wind up behind the protective fence. "No offense, but I don't want to be in the position where you need to catch me before I go splat."
"None taken."
A couple of hours to tour your home country's greatest geological marvel, and by the time the sun is going down you're getting bored. "Where next?" you ask the girl as you guide her out of sight.
Next turns out to be another famous locale, though this one a significant distance farther away. "Did you know I looked up how long it would take to get here by plane?" the girl asks, hoping on top of the fence of a nearby pier as though that would offer her a better vantage point of the famous peaks of the Sydney Opera House. "Cause I can't warp space that far; I have to be able to see where I'm going. Twenty-four hours. An entire day and two thousand dollars to get here from home." She flashes you a grin. "Calamity Airways is a much better deal."
"…Did you just call me cheap?"
The younger girl rolls her eyes, and you tap her shoulder and gesture for her to follow. "Why are we just standing around? It's the middle of the morning here. Let's go on a tour."
«Hey, Storm? Do you have access to our bank account back home?» The gem around your neck chimes once, and you step into line for tickets. «Hack the card reader and take the money for the tour out of our account.»
«Why Mistress desires to spend her own money? Other funds available.»
You flick your hand when it's almost your turn, and a holographic screen shaped like a black credit card appears in your hand. You give your Device a quick glance for its cheek and swipe it through the machine. Sure enough, the bored-looking boy at the desk hands you a couple of tickets, the true nature of your credit card going unnoticed.
«Access of known bank account of villain Coil successful. Transfer in progress.»
Grabbing Vista's right arm, you tug her to the side once the tour is complete. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say all the destinations on today's itinerary are famous places you want to tour?" She blushes and nods. "Then we're making a short detour." A screen shows up on in your palm out of sight of any unsuspecting bystander, and you show her the view of the seaside. "Apparently this is the best time to see both whale sharks and minke whales at the Great Barrier Reef."
"…Okay, but I don't have a swimsuit. And you're not buying me one. That's going a little beyond what I'm comfortable with." She gives your clothes a suspicious eye. "Are you hiding a bikini under that or something?"
"Nope! Transforming costume. One outfit for any occasion."
Vista blinks at you. "I really don't like you right now."
A couple of hours with the whales, and her opinion has changed. You wait for Missy to change out of her one-piece back into her regular clothes, and then you whisk her away to the next spot on your list: Paris. Unfortunately, it's still dark when you arrive, so the pair of you are left with wandering the city and looking at the sights from a distance.
On the plus side? When a cafe opens up, you are the first customers to enjoy their freshly baked croissants.
Missy waits for you to finish chatting with the young waitress who delivers your food and coffee. "Maybe it's a good thing we came here instead of Rome. I didn't think about the fact that neither of us know Italian. I'm just lucky you're fluent in French."
How would she react if you told her you don't speak a lick of it and this is all Perfect Storm doing the heavy lifting, you wonder as you spread butter on the hot crescent. Probably gape and grumble good-naturedly. "Mm-hmm. Lucky's one word for it, that's for sure. What's next on your bucket list turned world tour?"
"I was…" She clacks her teeth shut and squeezes her eyes closed, but still you can hear the yawn she's doing her absolute best to keep in. She shakes her head. "I was going to suggest heading to Mexico to see some of the ruins, but I don't know that I'd be able to make it. I'm just so tired right now."
"Well, no wonder." You show her a screen with Philly time on it. "It's four in the morning back home."
"…Yeah, that'd be why I'm tired."
Time to go home. You swallow what's left of the croissant, and while you choke that down because in hindsight that was way too big a bite, a thought crosses your mind. Probably the lack of oxygen to your brain, but with your lack of sleep you still think it a fine idea. "Do you want to go back to the base now? If not… I was wondering if you wanted to finish the day off with a sleepover?"
It's a risk, and not just because it invites somebody into your home. The first, last, and only other person you ever had a sleepover with was, well, Emma. You don't need to do much to remember how that turned out. You don't think that Missy would abandon you and turn on you the way Emma did, but a few years ago you wouldn't have thought Emma would do that to you, either.
But that's the thing. She did abandon you, she did turn on you, and you suffered for it. All that is left for you now is to decide if you're willing to make decisions based on how Emma abused your trust and keep yourself distant from everyone who you want to trust, or if you'll start looking at the scars she left as old wounds best ignored and try to let someone else in again.
Even with the fatigue filling her face, her eyes gleam with what little excitement she has left. "Yeah. That sounds great. When do we leave?"
The last gulp of coffee vanishes down your throat, and you grab her hand to lead her outside and around the corner into an empty alley. "Right now."
The familiar orange light fades away, and this time instead of foreign delights your surroundings are more homely. A couple of lamps are still on, allowing the pair of you to navigate through the living room towards your bedroom. Along the way Missy stops to coo at the raccoon lying curled up in the middle of a dog bed with her eyes closed. You, on the other hand, give Samantha a second look; when did she buy herself a dog bed, and since when does she sleep there instead of nestling up on top of your pillow?
Flicking the lights off, you close the door to your bedroom and wave at the four walls sheepishly. "Well, this is my room, and… yeah." Missy tries to hide her sniggers behind her hand. A lightbulb goes off in your brain. "Hold up. I think I have something for you."
"Wait, you do?"
"That I do. Where did I stash it…? Aha!"
A white metal case comes out from under your bed, and you drop it on top of the mattress and open it to reveal what at first glance looks like a severed arm. "Tim made it a little bit ago. Remember how he said he was working on sensory upgrades to give you a wider range of touch and temperature? He figured out—"
A click, a whir, and you turn around to find the girl struggling with her now-stiff prosthetic. She gives you a sheepish grin. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but could I get a little help here?"
It takes you a minute, but eventually the pair of you twist it just right to remove it and hook the new arm into place. As it goes through its startup sequence, Missy moves her shoulder around. "It this lighter than the other one?"
"Yep. Shipwright said he used a different alloy for the skeleton. It's lighter, but it's also much less durable. Between that and the sensory upgrades, this is purely a civilian arm. The original probably wouldn't be able to stand up to hits from anybody with superstrength, but this one definitely won't."
"But I can treat it like my right arm though, right? Then that's fine. No doing anything stupid, got it." You move the old prosthetic to the case, and that is when she adds in a much less certain voice, "Shipwright isn't planning on getting rid of that one, is he? It's just, I mean, he did say that this was a modular arm, and he said something about being able to give it armor plating and maybe some weapons of some kind…"
The last is said in a mumble, but you catch it nonetheless. Giving her a look, you close the case and move it under the bed. "Are you interested in a combat arm?"
"…Yeah. A little. More than a little."
"Okay. That's definitely possible." She perks up at that, and you sit on the bed and motion for her to join you. She's quick to take you up on the offer. "If you had a combat prosthetic, what would you want on it?"
"Armor. Definitely armor." Considering she did not choose to lose her original biological left arm, you can understand the reasoning for that. "For weaponry… I don't know. I don't know what all he can build and what he could stuff into the arm and what my reactor would be able to power." She shrugs. "I'd need to talk to him about it before I made any final decisions."
That jogs your memory, and you watch her out of the corner of your eye. "Speaking of the reactor, I know Shipwright went to Boston to give Armsmaster and some Tinkertech scientists or review board or something a rundown of the reactor and how it worked. He didn't want to talk about it when he got back. What happened up there?"
"Not much." She nods at your frown of doubt. "Seriously. The thing you have to understand about Armsmaster is that he has a bit of an attitude. We used to joke sometimes that he always carried two halberds around, one in his hand and the other shoved up his butt. That goes double when he deals with other Tinkers. Shipwright offered to explain the details, but Armsmaster really didn't seem interested. I guess he thought the whole thing was a waste of time or something. He offered to build something similar but 'more efficient' for me, but…" Missy shrugs again. "The way he said it, it sounded like he saw it as more of an obligation to offer because I used to be one of his Wards? I don't really know. Anyway, once I told him no that was the end of that. It really was a big waste of time, but nobody told me I had to get rid of the arm, so that's a win in my books."
You stare at the younger girl for a moment. "Weird," you finally say. "I know Dragon is friends with him, but she's nothing like that. It's strange that they can still be friends when she's nice as can be and he sounds like a major jerk."
"I know, right— Wait a minute." She blinks at you. "You talk to Dragon? Since when?"
"She emailed me shortly after I moved here. My power's a complicated mess, but she was interested in the Tinker aspect of it." Do you want to go into more detail, about Perfect Storm and magic and all the rest of the revelations that entails? You watch her stifle another yawn. No, not right now. Neither of you is awake enough to have that conversation. Maybe some other time, or maybe once you've had a good night's sleep you'll decide that is a terrible idea. Either way, not a decision to make tonight. "Anyway, she's really nice, and Shipwright and I have talked to her on a few occasions."
"Huh— Uhhhhhhhh." The yawn escapes at long last, and you laugh at her embarrassed reaction. "Hey, it's not my fault it's so late. Early. Whatever."
"Not your fault, but still funny." You dig around in your dresser for a minute. "I think I have some of my old things if you want to borrow them for the night."
Not long after that you've both plopped down on the bed, and you flip the lights off. "This is nice," Missy says out of the blue. "I was already a Ward when sleepovers became a big thing, and Brockton Bay being Brockton Bay, I didn't have any time to do stuff like this. Even if I had, there was no one to do it with. It's not like I could talk to the other girls in my grade about my work. All the boys on the team were boys, enough said. Shadow Stalker was just ugh. Not a whole lotta choice there."
"What about New Wave?" you ask. Sure, the capes of New Wave lived their lives unmasked, but their names being publicly known was a very different thing from sharing everything about themselves in open sight. The fact that Glory Girl had assaulted and almost killed people and Panacea had worked to keep it all a secret was proof enough of that.
"Well, no one would have a slumber party with Panacea. She wasn't a bad person, at least not what I knew about her at the time, but she wasn't what you'd call a 'people person'. Kind of funny considering she spent all her free time at the hospital. Vicky, Glory Girl…" She trails off. "I had issues with her that weren't her fault. Not really, and I don't think she ever knew I didn't like her.
"It's funny, but if I had known I'd be making friends with college girls, I might have tried getting to know Laserdream and Shielder instead."
You can't help it. You snort, choke, and then break out into laughter. "College girls?" you ask once your voice decides to cooperate again. "Who have you been hanging out with that you're spending time with college kids?"
"You!" You hear her shift around on her half of the bed. "You're eighteen or nineteen, right? So you'd be the same age as Laserdream."
Eighteen or nineteen. Someone's been listening to Miss Militia. You know the gun-toting heroine thinks you're old enough to be in the Protectorate, and that uncorrected assumption has served you well, but this time you'll have to break your silence. "Missy, I'm not eighteen. I'm not in college. I just finished my sophomore year of high school. I'm only a couple of years older than you."
"What?!"
You keep laughing long after her huff of frustration, and a smile still adorns your face when you shift around to find the most comfortable position on the bed. "Good night, Missy."
"…Good night, Taylor."
Gained Key Item "Partial-sensory prosthetic left arm".
Removed Key Item "Upgraded full-sensory prosthetic left arm".
Added Vista character sheet.
Let the dawwws flow through you. Once you've taken insulin for your new-found diabetes, it's time to discuss next week's activities. Pick two main activities…
- Tickets to Gangland, Part 3 – The Protectorate dared the invaders to respond when they called in reinforcements. The new villains are more than happy to take them up on that. Another fight breaks out, and it's your duty to lend a hand.
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Part 2 – Dragon was mollified by the Admiral's explanations, and considering the circumstances, you can understand where they're coming from. Now it's time to get more information straight from the horse's mouth. Teleport to the ship with a list of questions for the Enforcers.
- Long Live the King, Part 3 – After a week of increasing tension, Kurt has started calming down about the Privateers' problems. But is this a sign of resolution or just the calm before the storm? Stick your nose in and try to find out what's really going on.
- Looking for Trouble – Go on patrol and maybe befriend someone. Or Befriend someone. Same thing, right? Maybe you'll even see someone familiar.
- Social – This can be hanging out, exploring other worlds, training, whatever.
- Social – This can be hanging out, exploring other worlds, training, whatever.
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Mother Nyx
Mother of Elpis
- Location
- The Kei Klub
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Awwww! So cute!
Demojay
Yes, let's put an end to this
- Location
- UK
We're not supposed to vote yet.
EDIT:
Thinking of doing Gangland, Close Encounters and Perfect Storm for choices atm. Not sure about the last social choice yet.
- Location
- All around you
We're discussing. Not voting yet.
Edit:
Imp'd
Edit2:
We could always hit up one of the potential mages.
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Hoyden
Hugbot v0.28
- Location
- UK
Long Live the King looks like it might need dealing with sooner rather than later.
Maybe we should also move towards wrapping up Tickets to Gangland as well.
Close Encounters should.keep, at least for a little longer now. Maybe spend the social on School friends, find a party to crash or something maybe?
Maybe we should also move towards wrapping up Tickets to Gangland as well.
Close Encounters should.keep, at least for a little longer now. Maybe spend the social on School friends, find a party to crash or something maybe?
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Ha.
All three main quests have internal countdowns. Close Encounters' may be the least visible, but it's still there.
There will be a bonus, mandatory social event week after next dealing with school contacts.
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- Location
- Oregon
I would like to propose
[] Tickets to Gangland: Part 3
[] Looking for Trouble
Let's be honest, this wouldn't keep popping up unless something interesting was going to happen. I'm hoping for party member get, but I'm willing to settle for making Gangland's resolution easier, which seems like the least that could happen.
[] Social: Local Wards
We've hung out with Missy, now let's hang out with Vista! Getting to know our age group allies also seems like a good idea.
[] Social: Tim
If nothing else, we need to make sure he's going to be okay regardless of what happens with the Privateers. We can also hand off the arm for upgrading, and get Tim's opinion on possible Long Live the King resolutions, should we decide that's a thing worth trying for.
[] Tickets to Gangland: Part 3
[] Looking for Trouble
Let's be honest, this wouldn't keep popping up unless something interesting was going to happen. I'm hoping for party member get, but I'm willing to settle for making Gangland's resolution easier, which seems like the least that could happen.
[] Social: Local Wards
We've hung out with Missy, now let's hang out with Vista! Getting to know our age group allies also seems like a good idea.
[] Social: Tim
If nothing else, we need to make sure he's going to be okay regardless of what happens with the Privateers. We can also hand off the arm for upgrading, and get Tim's opinion on possible Long Live the King resolutions, should we decide that's a thing worth trying for.
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Hoyden
Hugbot v0.28
- Location
- UK
... I have a horrible feeling that someone is going to end up doing something monumentally stupid, sooner rather than later....
- Location
- Canada
Lets wait on the privateers, at some point theyll do something bad and then we can blast all the ones we dont like and hand them off to the police.
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Do you remember the rules I posted after the mess that was the LAST activity vote? It's in the Information section, but short version: NO PLANS.
Looking for Trouble, along with all the other patrol options thus far in the quest, is a mystery box. You don't know what you're going to get. Sometimes I don't know what you're going to get. About the only thing you can count on is that you have a high chance of getting into a fight and being able to learn a new spell.
Did you not read the chapter I just put up? Vista wants to talk to Tim about the options for creating her a combat arm. Giving the arm to Tim by yourself would just be a waste of a social activity.
It's not surprising to me that Kurt is leaning towards Martinez' militant faction, but it is saddening all the same for multiple reasons. I am half-wondering if Kurt and Lacey's marriage will survive this.
No no no, Taylor, it is called being economical and thrifty. Being the daughter of a union member, this should be a good thing in your eyes. XD
Oh well, Paris is good too I suppose. Also, I think I spotted a stealth reference to the origins of Taylor's family name.
Heh. Underneath her visible frustration, I think Missy is pleased to be connecting with someone a little closer to her in age.
Hm. I'm thinking Gangland Part 3 for one activity, since these new villains need to be disabused of their notions that they can move in and hold on in Philly. As for the other...not sure. Leaning towards Close Encounters, though. Social activities, I'll wait and see what suggestions are put forward.
- Location
- Oregon
Sorry, was confused about the differences between Tim votes and normal votes, again. I did in fact forget.
Tim I wanted to talk to because we never see him, and he's the part of the Privateers that no one really wants to lose regardless of other outcomes. Handing over the arm was an afterthought, a good way to broach the topic of talking to Vista about it, but I knew the build itself wasn't going to happen until then.
Mother Nyx
Mother of Elpis
- Location
- The Kei Klub
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Part 2 – Dragon was mollified by the Admiral's explanations, and considering the circumstances, you can understand where they're coming from. Now it's time to get more information straight from the horse's mouth. Teleport to the ship with a list of questions for the Enforcers.
Long Live the King, Part 3 – After a week of increasing tension, Kurt has started calming down about the Privateers' problems. But is this a sign of resolution or just the calm before the storm? Stick your nose in and try to find out what's really going on.
These are what I think we would do, honestly. Both should be followed up for different reasons.
The first, because we should be dealing with the literal alien invaders for a lot of reasons, beyond the fact that it might mitigate whatever plans Cauldron has going.
The second, because we shouldn't let the whole storyline with Kurt keep going crazy in the background. Keep an eye and a foot on it. None of the other routes are actually ones that are as time sensitive as these.
Long Live the King, Part 3 – After a week of increasing tension, Kurt has started calming down about the Privateers' problems. But is this a sign of resolution or just the calm before the storm? Stick your nose in and try to find out what's really going on.
These are what I think we would do, honestly. Both should be followed up for different reasons.
The first, because we should be dealing with the literal alien invaders for a lot of reasons, beyond the fact that it might mitigate whatever plans Cauldron has going.
The second, because we shouldn't let the whole storyline with Kurt keep going crazy in the background. Keep an eye and a foot on it. None of the other routes are actually ones that are as time sensitive as these.
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Oh, I want you to talk to Tim, too. I planned on putting him into the start of one of the activities this week, though which one that would be would depend on what was chosen.
That said, if you want a scene with Tim and dealing with upgrading the arm, why not make that one of your social votes? Tim and Vista, designing her a combat arm. It isn't like he'd say no; he's the one who offered it in the first place.
If you want a particular scene, ASK FOR IT. Don't beat around the bush saying "Oh, but we have to set it up beforehand…". That's a good way to waste your very limited time, and wasting time like this was how everybody lost their chance at taking down Coil back in Arc 2.
I'll tell you if I won't allow a scene because it needs build-up. Trust me on that one.
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