You walk up to the DOORS, deliberating over it for a few seconds before deciding to open the DOOR ON THE LEFT.
You reach out, take a hold of the doorknob, and pull the door open...
Only to be met with a familiar face. A RED-HAIRED GIRL of ABOUT YOUR AGE stands in a SMALL BEDROOM, eyes widening in shock for a few seconds before she crosses her arms and tilts her head to one side. She is wearing a PRIVATE SCHOOL UNIFORM and an UNPLEASANT SNEER. Her hair is tied up with BLUE RIBBONS, and on the front of her JACKET a NAMETAG has been stuck, bearing a SYMBOL: ♃, JUPITER.
"Who the hell are you?" The RED-HAIRED GIRL snaps.
You stare back for a few seconds, before quickly COLLECTING YOUR WITS ABOUT YOU. Taking a breath, you proceed to:
[] INTRODUCE YOURSELF
[] Ask her the SAME QUESTION
[] (Write-in)
And do it
[] POLITELY [The success of this will depend on a MOXIE CHECK]
[] FORCEFULLY [The success of this will depend on a MOXIE CHECK]
[] (Write-in)
[X] INTRODUCE YOURSELF
- [X] POLITELY [The success of this will depend on a MOXIE CHECK]
Lucy Calloway, Junior Sleuth extraordinarie never loses her wits, gentlemanly demeanor, and detective charm, no sirree! Even with very punchable individuals.
> causticAccolade: get sufficiently confused by the forum's built-in dice roller to give up on it completely and just conduct rolls externally
Despite the rudeness of the girl's question, you manage to keep your civility on hand and flash your CHARMING SMILE, a must-have in the diplomatic arsenal of any JUNIOR SLEUTH.
[MOXIE CHECK: SUCCEEDED]
"Lucy Calloway, junior sleuth extraordinaire, at your service! Nice ribbons, by the way." you announce, extending a friendly hand to shake, which the RED-HAIRED GIRL grudgingly accepts, still scowling at you as if you just crawled out of a gutter. "I'd give you a business card for my detective agency, but I don't seem to have any on me right now. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss..." You leave the silence hanging in the hope that she'll give you her name.
"Marinette Brighton." Everything about her, from the dismissive tone of her voice to the natural sense of superiority in her posture, screams arrogance. "My friends call me Mari, but you shan't, because we're not friends." She looks you up and down, examining your clothes and raising an eyebrow. "So you're one of..." she begins, before stopping all of a sudden as if she'd said something she shouldn't have. "Hmmph. Well, if you're a detective, Calloway, you should be able to help me, at least." The scowl remains, but mellows a little, as if she's scowling at you more out of principle than any genuine personal dislike. "I'm looking for my father. I can't find him. He's a red-haired man with glasses, he's very important, and I can't imagine he's not in this very building. If you're any sort of detective, you'll help me find him." She takes a deep breath. "Please."
And with that, she tilts her head to one side with the casually regal air of someone who is used to having every order attended to. After thinking for a few seconds, you tell her that...
[] You'll help her look for HER FATHER [MARI BRIGHTON will JOIN YOUR PARTY]
- [] But you want to know something, first... [Write-in questions! Anything that Lucy would be willing to ask will be asked]
[] She and HER FATHER can GO TO HECK
- [] Unless... [Write-in demands ! If this option is taken, Lucy will only make the most-voted-for demand] [This action requires a MOXIE CHECK. If successful, MARI BRIGHTON will JOIN YOUR PARTY]
- [] And THAT'S THAT [MARI BRIGHTON will NOT JOIN YOUR PARTY]
[X] You'll help her look for HER FATHER [MARI BRIGHTON will JOIN YOUR PARTY]
- [X] But you want to know something, first... What is this place and why are you here?
YES! We must gather our party before venturing forth!
[X] You'll help her look for HER FATHER [MARI BRIGHTON will JOIN YOUR PARTY]
-[X] But you want to know something, first...
--[X] Where has Mari seen him last?
--[X] Where is this building?
--[X] Is there anything to eat around here? One should not launch a search without a proper preparation!
[X] Carefully yet imperturbably hide the PORTRAIT OF THE RED-HAIRED MAN WITH THE MOUSTACHE behind another one in the stack. No one needs to know...
Would have worked better with BLONDE HAIR. But maybe they are dyed.
[X] You'll help her look for HER FATHER [MARI BRIGHTON will JOIN YOUR PARTY]
-[X] Does the acronym GSC mean anything to you?
-[X] Have you run across the person with the red marker? They must have been in the room behind me just a few moments ago.
Can I just say that the name Marinette is really cute? Because it is
Did you get it from Miraculous Ladybug?
Marinette sounds like Marionette, to be honest. I'm wondering if the girl's sick with a terminal illness, or maybe a robot or something, and maybe Dr. Brighton is performing morally questionable experiments in order to find a way to cure her/make her a real girl...
But that's probably just my paranoia acting up. Maybe Marinette is just a snooty little girl, and her dad is a mysterious jerkface.
Mary was... fine, if a bit crazy. Rather, I hope it's not one of those 'four people get in, less are allowed to get out' experiments.
We are aware of MOON, SATURN and JUPITER, and they are all kids. There is also Dr. Brighton, that is implied to be MERCURY. Perhaps we have met the whole cast by now?
Well, not met per se. I still want to find RED MARKER and give her a hug, because boy, does she need one. Perhaps we should take a habit of leaving her messages until she is comfortable enough to stop lurking?
Makes me wonder about the choice of celestial bodies assigned as our nametags. There could be more people around. If there is Mercury, why would there not be Venus, Earth and Mars? Is there a system to it? If Dr. Brighton is Mercury, is it because he is in charge and thus 'the first'? But what about the Sun, then?
> Lucy & Mari: Level up! (causticAccolade: reel at dizzying length of update and struggle with page formatting)
You've made up your mind: you're going to help her. After all, she might be KIND OF A RUDE JERK, but you're a JUNIOR SLEUTH, and you never TURN DOWN A CASE, especially when there's SOMEONE IN NEED. That's just how JUNIOR SLEUTHS operate. But you can't go into this case BLIND - plus, she seems to know at least a LITTLE more about the situation than you do. She responds to your flurry questions with a renewed and irritated scowl, refusing to meet your eyes as she speaks in a somewhat more muted way than before.
"We're at the Institute. It's in... Australia, I think, or some place like that, anyway. Someplace with a big desert. I'm not quite sure what floor or wing of the Institute we're in, though. I was never allowed to see most of it. And I came here with my Father, naturally. I wasn't supposed to be here, of course, I'm much too important for..." She pauses. "Anyway. I'm not entirely sure how I got myself trapped here. You're a detective, aren't you? Isn't it your job to work out things like that? Honestly, you can't really be very good at it, can you?" You GRACEFULLY IGNORE the RUDE COMMENTS.
"Of course. Those are the people Father works for. It stands for... well... the words are awfully long and there isn't much point in knowing the specifics, anyway. It would only bore you." You get the distinct impression that she can't remember.
"Doesn't ring a bell at all." She furrows her brow, leaning around you to look at the open door. "What's behind there?"
You give her a CONDENSED DESCRIPTION of your adventure so far, LEAVING OUT a few CERTAIN INCIDENTS involving PORTRAIT DEFACEMENT.
"Hmmm." She sits, deep in thought for a few seconds. "So then, you're definitely... and they're... I see. Bah. Nonsense, all of it. I haven't seen any such person and I can't imagine I will."
"The last time I remember seeing him, he was having an argument with Dr. Paris and Mr. Stockholm. It was about... me, I think. Something of some sort has gone horribly wrong here, and they wanted... something or other, from me. He refused. I wasn't supposed to be listening, but I did anyway. The next thing I knew, I was here. I suppose if anything's happened to him, it's my fault." For a moment, the way she seems to cave in a little with those last words makes you want to GIVE HER A HUG, but then she returns to sneering dismissively at you and you feel a little less sympathetic.
"There was canned food in the bedroom." She gestures at the room behind her. "Mostly spaghetti, for some reason. If you want some, you'll have to make it yourself. I'm not going to cook for you, because I'm not a personal chef for grubby little urchins, no matter what sort of grown-up thing they claim to be, Detective." Despite her rudeness, she seems visibly relieved that you're willing to help her.
The answers aren't entirely satisfactory, no, but you're pretty sure they're the only ones you're going to get, at least for now. After pacing around the room a few times, you come back to her. "Okay, Mari." You flash her a winning smile even as she interrupts you.
"Don't call me 'Mari', Calloway."
"Okay. Marinette. We're going to find your father. Because I'm a junior sleuth, and a good sleuth never lets a client down." Seeing the hope in her eyes when you give her that promise makes you feel like a real, proper detective.
You remember the look on your classmate's faces when you returned the mysteriously vanished class pet safe and alive. You remember your mother's tears of relief when you found her wedding ring. You remember your father smiling and patting you on the head as your cunning investigations led him back to the car that he'd managed to lose in the parking lot for the third time in a week.
That's the real reward of being a JUNIOR SLEUTH, in your opinion. Not the adoration, or getting FILTHY CRIMINALS GROUNDED and PUT IN DETENTION, or even the cool outfits. (And you do wear some really cool outfits, you think to yourself. No, the real reward of being a JUNIOR SLEUTH is is the knowledge that you're doing GOOD IN THE WORLD.
[MARI BRIGHTON has JOINED YOUR PARTY!]
[You may now VIEW MARI'S CHARACTER SHEET!]
LUCY CALLOWAY has GAINED A LEVEL!
You have ascended from [CRIME-FIGHTING KINDERGARTENER] to [WATSONIAN WHIPPERSNAPPER]
Select ONE STAT INCREASE:
[] +5 NIMBLENESS
[] +5 ACUMEN
[] +5 MOXIE
Select ONE CLASS MACHINATION:
[] ROCK IT FOR ME: Your winning smile and way with words let you instill courage and faith into the hearts of even the most hopeless of pessimists, even if putting on a brave face for other people can be taxing for you. This CLASS MACHINATION allows you to sacrifice 10 ÉLAN to give a member of your PARTY a BONUS TO A ROLL equal to HALF YOUR MOXIE STAT, or to restore 20 ÉLAN to every member of your PARTY other than YOURSELF.
[] INTERROGATION FOR IMBECILES: Your sharp eye and deep empathy mean that you're a wizard when it comes to reading people. Although you can't rely on it to be 100% ACCURATE, this CLASS MACHINATION makes it easier to tell when someone is LYING or HIDING THEIR TRUE FEELINGS.
MARI BRIGHTON has GAINED A LEVEL!
She has ascended from [INTREPID INGENUE] to [RISK-TAKING RASCAL]
Select ONE CLASS MACHINATION:
[] HOLD MY JUICE BOX: You're an unusually reckless child, prone to doing incredibly dangerous things, either ignorant or, more worryingly, with complete and utter awareness of the peril involved. This CLASS MACHINATION halves the ÉLAN DAMAGE taken from being in DANGEROUS SITUATIONS.
[] PACK RAT: You're the sort of person who is always working on a project of some sort and invariably carrying almost a dozen random screws, sprockets and other ridiculous nonsense, to the point where people around you wonder where you keep it all. This CLASS MACHINATION expands your INVENTORY SIZE from FIVE SPACES to TEN SPACES.
I was honestly just trying to think of a 'posh' sort of name, but now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever heard the name Marinette before watching that show, so subconsciously, almost certainly.
>causticAccolade: regret only making one reservation post
Also! This should be obvious from the update, but I've added MARI's character sheet to the game mechanic post if you want to check it out.
[X] +5 MOXIE
[X] INTERROGATION FOR IMBECILES: Your sharp eye and deep empathy mean that you're a wizard when it comes to reading people. Although you can't rely on it to be 100% ACCURATE, this CLASS MACHINATION makes it easier to tell when someone is LYING or HIDING THEIR TRUE FEELINGS.
[X] PACK RAT: You're the sort of person who is always working on a project of some sort and invariably carrying almost a dozen random screws, sprockets and other ridiculous nonsense, to the point where people around you wonder where you keep it all. This CLASS MACHINATION expands your INVENTORY SIZE from FIVE SPACES to TEN SPACES.
[] ROCK IT FOR ME: Your winning smile and way with words let you instill courage and faith into the hearts of even the most hopeless of pessimists, even if putting on a brave face for other people can be taxing for you. This CLASS MACHINATION allows you to sacrifice 10 ÉLAN to give a member of your PARTY a BONUS TO A ROLL equal to HALF YOUR MOXIE STAT, or to restore 20 ÉLAN to every member of your PARTY.
