Results 331 to 360 of 1473
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2012-08-01, 05:12 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
On one hand, Stephanie could totally believe that a government agency like that existed. On the other hand, she was already designing her superhero costume in her head, complete with mask to keep her Secret Identity safe.
"And nobody's ever been caught by the government before? Or tried reasoning with any of them?" she was briefly irked. "Qian lied to me. She said that the government wasn't out to get us."
"He said going fast was his thing," Stephanie said defensively.
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2012-08-01, 06:20 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Location
- San Francisco
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Running fast, not speaking fast" Swifthoof corrects you.
"But in this case, perhaps, mistaken understanding. Government is not out to get us, specifically. Government would get anyone with strange powers. Liable to draw attention, want to be studied, maybe want to do work for government?" *he shrugs* "Best to keep a low profile, real life not like superhero comics."
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2012-08-01, 08:15 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Stephanie gave Swifthoof a "Wow, you're naive" look.
Ironic, considering.
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2012-08-02, 06:17 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Imladris
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Marchande stares off past Timothy's shoulder, thinking of possibilities. Fortune, by itself, wouldn't be enough to give her a stable future, one in which she could help the other three. Luck only gets one so far, after all. However, when allied to some form of real job, perhaps as one of those people who bought and sold things on the behalf of companies, perhaps as a secretary or such, she could wield fortune like a knife.
Or maybe she could deal with wee men from the glen, out in a San Francisco park, out on the waterfront. But she'd have to grab that opportunity with both hands.
"The government isn't out to get us, Stephanie," she says. "It just lashes out when something bites it. So we have to play the game- although we're no longer regular players, and we can cheat. What did you do before you were taken, anyway? If you don't mind me asking."
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2012-08-02, 08:53 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"I, uh," Stephanie looked embarrassed. "Mopped floors at a KFC," she said awkwardly.
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2012-08-02, 11:49 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Somewhere south of Hell
- Gender
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2012-08-02, 11:53 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
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2012-08-03, 12:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Somewhere south of Hell
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
There she sat, Stephanie of the easy confidence and winning smile. Charlotte had that terrifying sensation of perspective wash over her. Was this what talking to her seemed like to everyone else?
"Stephanie, America doesn't have any royals. So there are no royal museums.
"..."
Charlotte exchanges a glance with Marchande. "Or did you work at a KFC in a museum?"Last edited by SiuiS; 2012-08-03 at 12:11 AM.
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2012-08-03, 12:23 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Yeah, I know that. He flew in from Britain. This is the year two thousand and... uh," the math suddenly, finally clicked from when she was told the date the previous night. "Two thousand and twelve? I'm twenty years old?" Stephanie looked stunned at that realisation. That long?
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2012-08-03, 12:38 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Somewhere south of Hell
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"You spent time in that other place, flying to Britain and then doing what?"
Charlotte leans forward, her shoulders raised high by her planted hands and locked arms. The posture is universal; Story time!
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2012-08-03, 01:04 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Oh, I didn't go to Britain. My first assignment was Brazil," Stephanie said, smiling a little at the memory.
"The Royal Museum had deciphered a manuscript from the Spanish Conquistadores who had plundered the Incas. One of the legends that had been recorded spoke about a cursed meteor that had fallen from the sky. The meteor was made out of strange metal that caused any who came into contact with it to sicken and die. The Incas had carved the statue into the shape of their evil god Supay, and locked it away in a great underground temple so that he might be placated and not bring further destruction on the Incas. The Museum had found the location of Supay's tomb, and we were going there to find the statue.
"Unfortunately, a criminal organisation called the Red Sons had attacked the museum and kidnapped the translator. The Red Sons were ex-Soviet crooks, and they'd figured out what the museum had - that the 'sickness' of the statue was actually radiation poisoning, and the meteor was made out of fissionable material. The Sons were out to grab the statue and sell it to whoever wanted their very own nuclear program. The Museum didn't have any evidence or any manuscript to convince M16 to invade Brazil and blow up a cultural heritage site, so it was down to us in the Museum's Extreme Archaeology wing.
"We arrived on the ground in Brazil, fourteen of us to begin with. We had a translator deciphering what bits of the document we still had as we went and we were racing the Sons to get to the temple first. The first clue was 'Following the Path of Death' - throughout the rainforest were hidden stone carvings of great panthers. We had to find the statues, and follow the direction of their tails to the next statue. Thing was, half the statues were fake - if they had a certain sign inscribed on them, they were liars to be ignored.
"When we were finally nearing the temple, after months in the rainforest - and don't even ask about the bugs, muck and leeches that make up a rainforest - we finally reached the temple. It was sunk into a massive natural crater, half submerged by a lake infested with crocodiles, and we had got there just in time to see five helicopters land on the roof. The Red Sons had got there first, and they'd brought a small army..."
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2012-08-03, 09:33 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"We all took a moment to look at each other, and we all had the same thought. We hadn't slogged our way through the rainforest for two months to turn back just because a couple hundred guys with assault rifles were between us and our objective.
"Our manuscript told us that there was another access point to the temple on ground level. That level was now underwater. The only way in for us was to brave the crocodiles and swim. If it sounds like suicide, it kinda was. Only four of us decided to go, the rest would run support and see if they could steal a hovercraft when time came for fleeing in terror.
"We wanted to be kicking around in the water for as short a time as possible, so we emptied out some of the barrels we'd carried with us and crawled inside. Then the others threw us into the water upstream, as hard as they could, in the hopes that we'd make our way all across the water and reach the side of the temple. Then it'd be a simple dive straight down.
"This doesn't do justice to the idea of being caught in a cramped barrel rolling across the surface of the water and praying that the crocodiles decide not to give you a test bite. Oh, and that the Red Sons don't notice us and fill us with bullets. It was kind of a suicidal plan, but marginally less suicidal than trying to swim through the croc lake directly.
"After what felt like a year in the barrel, I felt a bump. I thought - this is it! I've reached the other side! But then there was a cracking sound and I saw teeth tear through the barrel above and below me. A crocodile had bitten the entire barrel in his teeth and was trying to break it in half! If he'd flexed his jaw just a little bit more I'd have been cut in half that very second. I don't know how lucky I am that he decided that wood wasn't to his taste and let me go.
"Even so, that little test bite had punched a lot of holes in my barrel and thrown me off course. I was sinking fast and my barrel was filling up with water. I took a last gasp of air and then I was completely underwater. And I came to the sodding realisation that I was going to have to swim through the crocodiles anyway.
"And at about this point, there was the sound of breaking wood and someone screaming. So I wasn't enthusiastic about my chances.
"I waited until I hit the bottom, then kicked the lid off the barrel and crawled out. I stayed low, keeping along the bottom of the river. Above me, the sun flickered on and off, blotted out by the huge and monstrous forms of crocodiles swimming above me. I could see from below the expanding pool of blood from one of my friends, and see the splashing as the crocodiles fought for a piece.
"My heart froze when I put my hand on a rock and the rock opened it's eye and I stared directly into the face of a crocodile. It blinked, sideways, lazily and closed it's eyes. I kept moving, somehow, because I was running low on air.
"Finally, I reached the stone wall of the temple, followed it along to it's entrance, and burst up into the partially submerged great hall gasping for air. Then I got out of the water as fast as I damn well could. Soon I was joined by two others. I felt like celebrating from the sheer relief, but Drake reminded me "We just crossed a river, Khoy". I sobered up and we started to walk into the temple proper."
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2012-08-03, 09:56 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Imladris
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Fast food: the lowest common denominator in all employment. Marchande wasn't surprised, really - although she struggled to resist the urge to feel superior. The only reason she'd never had to resort to such menial work before she was abducted was her father's wealth.
Was he even still alive? Was he proud of his 'daughter'?
Regardless. Dwelling on that was... not constructive. And they had need of construction if they wanted a future.
"I'm surprised," she says, when Stephanie's story comes to a lull. "I would have thought they would have cast you as the girl who screams a lot and gets tied up by cultists. They do so love being the hero of the story, after all."
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2012-08-03, 10:05 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
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2012-08-03, 10:16 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Imladris
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Oh? You escaped, the end?" Marchande could stand to be a little bit nicer about it. "Then I suppose you've got the statue now. Or had, I suppose, if it's still up in that tree back there."
She sits back, and adds, as an afterthought, "They do, you know. They're the center of the universe and they're..." A thought strikes her, and she breathes in sharply. "...maybe it was the adventure? That way, it's still the most important thing, and you were just glorifying it... can they even do that?"
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2012-08-03, 10:20 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Do I look dumb enough to carry around the cursed radioactive statue of an evil deity with me for five years?" Stephanie said.
She sits back, and adds, as an afterthought, "They do, you know. They're the center of the universe and they're..." A thought strikes her, and she breathes in sharply. "...maybe it was the adventure? That way, it's still the most important thing, and you were just glorifying it... can they even do that?"
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2012-08-03, 10:41 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Imladris
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Generally speaking, dropping five-year gaps in the middle of a sentence is frowned upon. 'I got the statue, and five years later I escaped,' is marginally better," Marchande says, with forced cheer.
"Listen to yourself!" Stephanie snapped. "You're saying that a 'fairy' somehow took the form of an 'adventure'! How does that make sense on any level? You're paranoid! Maybe the universe is a bit bigger than what happened to you!"
Thankfully for Marchande, before she can dig herself any deeper, she barks loudly. It's a rather feral sound, not anything a human would make, and it's enough to drive her to a sudden, embarrassed silence.
And all she'd wanted was to figure out why they would let Stephanie have the spotlight she'd watched her master and his guests fight over, with their tangled, zany schemes, and convoluted love lives that were so profoundly selfish, and their rages being so much more deadly when they felt they were being ignored...
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2012-08-03, 10:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
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2012-08-03, 11:06 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Somewhere south of Hell
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Stephanie, ma belle, does none of that seem... Contrived, to you?"
And then she made it through the doorway. Bother!Last edited by SiuiS; 2012-08-03 at 11:15 PM.
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2012-08-03, 11:08 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
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2012-08-03, 11:33 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Location
- San Francisco
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Swifthoof bustled in and out of the living room during the exchange. He listened to some of Stephanie's story and quietly shook his head when she wasn't looking, moving about to put out some new sheets in the 2nd floor bedrooms, cleaning up part of the kitchen, and then going upstairs after a bit. When he hears shouting he comes downstairs in time to see Stephanie slam the closet door.
"Perspective, difficult to maintain." He shakes his head sadly.
[I am of the opinion that the day's events of being taken to the members of the freehold, swearing a powerful oath, and then having her whole worldview confronted by someone she thought of as a friend requires a clarity roll from Stephanie for a serious unexpected life change. 4 dice.]
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2012-08-03, 11:41 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Somewhere south of Hell
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Well.
Rising, Charlotte steps lightly to the closet and, smoothing her skirt, sits down, back rigid, possibly not even leaning against it.
Marchande, Timothy - Swifthoof, she supposed. We've all chosen names for ourselves. Marchande, Swifthoof, and Kalina. What had they all seen? Charlotte looks up carving her thoughts from the grain of the ceiling. Only projecting her voice gives any clue that she isn't talking to herself alone. "I... Never really noticed I had gone anywhere. Not until I came back.
"I went exploring a parlor, and it was dark. I remember it very clearly, the dark chocolate silhouettes against a glazed yellow. I stood in the doorway lookin at my shadow. And I turned to leave, and was in a new room, like the one I had left. The furniture was all glass and metal, not the wood it was before... So I turned and left. And I was in another parlor... And another. And then a hallway and soon a house, the House. Maison. And I knew if I could find the drawing room, or the Master's chambers, then something important would happen.
Charlotte's eyes close, and she seems to struggle with the memories, the details. "I never did. I never got far enough to truly meet my... Keeper. But I found instructions? 'find the glass key', or 'Help Dartangion', or sometimes even 'pretend to help Hercules but put mushrooms in his soup'. An I followed them, quietly, and sometimes when I needed things I would make them, or make thigs and trade them away for food or things I needed. It... Truthfully, all hazy. So hazy. Like I am dreaming, except I know I am awake, because I can hurt. And it's still hazy, sometimes, but I must be free because freedom wasn't even something I had sought before, and nothing was ever this clever before. Nothing but me."
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2012-08-03, 11:46 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
[Good call. *Rolls* Failure! *Rolls for derangements* Nothing, thankfully.
5xp, using it to buy Elemental Darkness 1. I am now completely, permanently immune to any environmental penalties imposed by darkness so long as I have my scarf/cape with me.]
The darkness was a refuge. It helped her make sense of things.
"You know, I never really thanked you?" Stephanie whispered aloud to the darkness.
"You never asked me for anything. You never stopped me from doing anything. You never hurt me. You never let me down.
"Even when things... didn't make sense. Even when I messed up. Even when -" don't think about those parts, Stephanie, "- even then. You don't judge. You don't think I'm stupid. You don't think I'm a bad person.
"I don't know why you decided to be so nice to me. Why you decided to give me all this. Why you help me so much. But I know I'd be dead without you. So many times over.
"You're my best friend.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," said the darkness.
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2012-08-04, 12:39 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Somewhere south of Hell
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte opens her eyes. "That is a good idea, miss."
From her position as the opposite hypotenuse from Stephanie, Charlotte waves down Swifthoof. "Excuse me, Timothy sir? Does anyone ever swear themselves to a group? Like, with the courts but just, say, the four of us?"Last edited by SiuiS; 2012-08-04 at 12:47 AM.
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2012-08-04, 12:42 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Location
- San Francisco
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Oh, not already...suppose no reason you would be, assumptions, always dangerous. Yes, Charlotte. Quite frequent practice, many Motleys swear oath, become allies. Power in oaths, strength, good friends."
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2012-08-04, 06:41 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
They were talking right outside. And her reflexes were far too sensitive to pass out while people were that close to her.
So she offered a despairing prayer and one of the last precious pieces of her stored glamour and fell into a deep, deep sleep. She plunged down into the recesses of her mind and nothing would wake her.
Dangerous, sure, but she did not care. She just needed sleep.
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2012-08-04, 06:52 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Somewhere south of Hell
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"What do you think, miss? Would that help at all?"
Charlotte can feel more than hear the sliding as Stephanie lies down from her position slumped against the door. She sighs.
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2012-08-05, 08:47 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Location
- San Francisco
- Gender
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Swifthoof shakes his head again. "Was too optimistic, thought that group waiting meant more rational." He sighs.
"Several remaining items about court. Can communicate to darkling when she awakens. May not be for some time, given past experience with darklings."
Swifthoof then explains two other points. First, there is a passphrase and token associated with the court. The token appears to be a San Francisco library card, although to your fae sight it appears to shimmer and reflect with glamour, casting a series of rainbows along the surface. It doesn't actually do anything, but can be presented to various changelings throughout the city as a token of your allegiance and a sign that you may receive services. The passphrase is "New family."
Stephanie's dream
SpoilerIntensity 3. The dream is not prophetic.
Despite, or perhaps because of the stress of the day, Stephanie has a very intense dream though it's no nightmare. Rather, she experiences one of her adventures with great intensity. Though it's not exactly any one that she can put her finger on. It starts with a battle aboard an airplane, as some burly villain whose name is just on the tip of Stephanie's tongue begins tearing the plane asunder mid-flight in order to get the relic Stephanie already recovered. Then she has to parachute out, but it turns out that the parachutes have been sabotaged, which doesn't matter at all because of Stephanie's darkling skills. This is followed by a harrowing car chase as Stephanie lands atop a speeding truck and the bad guys parachute into several other vehicles and attempt to run her off the road. Stephanie has to get behind the wheel and with her extreme driving skills manages to avoid all gunfire and drive her opponents off the road, escaping the last car as she takes a sharp left turn on a clifftop and leaving the other car haning half on and half off the cliff side as the occupants scramble out before it goes over.
[You can take it from there if you want to go further]
[Fixed my abuse of the apostrophe. It's like my brain basically flips a coin when I add s to the end of a word to decide whether it gets an apostrophe or not.]
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2012-08-05, 09:36 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
[Stephanie has no dots in drive, let alone extreme driving skills.
I think she learns some in this dream though! 3xp for Drive 1. Dex+Drive pool of 6 isn't half shabby.]
And all that with a broken hand. Ftagen that hurt. Fingers were broken. Every time she changed one of the gears she had to do it with an awkward palm-cupping motion. Slow down, clutch in, around the corner and out into second.
How did she know that? It was like the car was talking to her.
She'd had a really long day. A really good, long, day. Except for the hand. That could have stood to be better.
Hoenzollern. Leader of the Red Sons. He'd had her in his sights ever since she'd stolen the Statue of Supay from under his nose in Brazil. He hadn't even tried going after the relic this time. It had been personal.
And, now that she thought about it, him making it personal had made his entire plan suck. He hadn't gone after the relic at all. He hadn't finished her off when he'd got the chance. He'd captured her and ranted incoherently for a few minutes and then had a frothing panic attack. He'd put her on a plane while he recovered, and the burning wreckage strewn across the savannah told a clear tale of how good an idea that had been.
A little distance could be good. A little distance could stop you from freaking out and botching a mission. A little distance could stop a straightforward snatch-and-grab from turning into a complicated emotional roller-coaster. No need to show everyone your heart. No reason to listen to your heart.
The thought was strange, chilling, and it changed the entire dream. The air became crisper, cooler. The burning savannah turned into a gleaming skyline. The light became blue and cold. A whole new world had opened up, a layer below the one above, a lower level of the dream.
Stephanie set off to explore it.
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2012-08-06, 04:24 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Imladris
- Gender
I thought I posted this hours ago whoops
Marchande wasn't jealous. Why should she be jealous? Why should she care that apparently, Charlotte had just wandered through Wonderland and that Stephanie had gotten to go have her daring adventures while she was being kicked and starved and forced to perform for her Master?
So, maybe her hypothesis was wrong. Maybe it wasn't universal, it was just her, and everyone else who'd served those cruel lords and ladies. Maybe she'd been making a faulty assumption.
Maybe telling Stephanie that she'd run away from her sister was too much.
But she wasn't jealous. There was no reason for her to be jealous at all. Even if Stephanie had spent her entire time learning how to run up walls, even if Stephanie'd never been beaten for not being quick enough to perform a trick, even if the only thing Marchande could do wasn't unique, wasn't a special skill she'd learned from the crackling of the hearth, there was no reason for her to be jealous. No reason at all.
She listened to Timothy without saying a word, effortlessly memorizing the signs of the Court. All you needed to rise from nothing, her father had once said, was determination. And knowledge didn't hurt, either. And neither did being able to admit you were wrong.