alderwitch
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Volcanic saved her breath and adjusted her course simply to let the man drop down onto the deck. Her chest burned; it was harder to be underwater that long when her body actually needed air to breathe but it was well worth the price. The flames around her feet cut out as she gently deposited the man on the deck with his comrades. Like the captain, she eyed the white clad throng with clear, growing discomfort at their effusive praise. "The hell wrong with 'em?" She muttered, mostly to herself before taking to the skies once more to catch up with Kimo. She waved at the captain once in acknowledgement before turning her attention to Kimo and his erstwhile protege. "You want I should call the League or someone?" She asked her nephew, her voice pitched low but it certainly would carry to the newly empowered's hearing. Kimo would certainly be able to realize that the worship of supers-as-gods had started to rattle his aunt, and from there it was a short line to her temper, most certainly. Before Kimo could even answer her question, Leilani made a tetchy noise. "Fffft. We're not gods."
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No way I think Nighthawk can beat that but I figured she'd probably not manage to. Nighthawk's grapple check: 25 Darn you Orokos!
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Volcanic gave a short shake of her head, not exactly disbelieving but in the manner of finding the particulars of modern life vexing. "I'm pretty sure I can frighten the pants off of a few thugs, yeah," Leilani agreed, shifting awkwardly as she tried to slide her hands into pockets that no longer existed. Really, she was going to have to see if they made the fancy fabric that her costume was made out of into other forms. She was getting really tired of losing clothing to her particular power set. When Pax was close enough, Leilani also offered her a gentle pat on the arm. "And Dimitri's been doing this sort of thing a very long time." She offered the reassurance to the girl as she went to follow along with their odd procession. She turned to Bonfire in commiseration, "Yeah, everything's crazy expensive. I thought the prices were bad on the island - imagine they're even worse now. You any good at swimming?" She added absently, although she wasn't sure lifeguarding would suit the flame controller all that well. Still, it was steady work!
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Talya waved the offer off with exactly the right degree of faint smile for the offer to cover any personal emotions about the passing of their friend's father. "No, no. But thank you. Please, I'm sure you want to be with your family. We'll be fine." Talya murmured with the polish upper-class manners she had so painstakingly acquired. At this point they were as ingrained as if she'd grown up with them herself. As Rachel was coaxed away to family business, she turned to the two men who'd seen her through this rather long and arduous errand. "Thank you," she said simply to Dimitri and Erik, not elaborating further. She had, however, noticed the swordsman's distraction and uncharacteristically taciturn behavior since they'd gotten out of the midst of things. His actual name was on the tip of her tongue but Talya had been at this too many years to make so simple a mistake, "Dearest," she said, the touch on his arm making it clear which man she was trying to get the attention of. Talya wasn't entirely certain whether it was the recent magic or the current situation that had stolen Jack of all Blades' tongue. "Everything alright?" Talya asked, her other hand dropping down to rest on her stomach.
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Phantom eyed the man with grave dislike, the little boy still in her arms as she fixed the man with a gimlet stare. "I suggest you put it up for sale, Smilac, I am sure that someone more reputable than you will purchase the property in short order." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how apartment buildings get owned by the vampires of Freedom City. Dismissing the man with a single cutting glance, Phantom's gaze gentled as she turned her attention back to the boy. "Its alright. No one's going to hurt you. Now... did something happen to your mother?" Her voice was very gentle as she asked the question but Phantom had... concerns. In general, little boys did not wander out of their parent's eye sight to be made use of in a fell ritual if all was right and well with the world.
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I guess Nighthawk is going to wrestle the Alkahest again. Robin hates when it comes to this. She always feels like the man in black trying to choke hold andre the giant Attack Roll to initiate a grapple: 26
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"I got the panel but none of my 'distraction' is going to be subtle like. Might just wanna book it." Sofía replied to Aaron as she hustled through the door he opened, blessedly free of questions about the key as she focused on the task at hand. The laughing demeanor fell away as they crossed into 'officially working' and her sneakers were silent as she ghosted along the stairs. Leaning over a little she glanced down to try and gauge the distance to the guards from where they were. "Actually." She thought for a moment before pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I can trigger a false alarm in a different part of the building, pull some folks away but I dunno the layout here." She looked at Aaron expectantly. "Got a place we could focus attention that is not likely to be somewhere we gotta go?"
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"I know what you mean," Robin agreed, her voice quiet but clear to his ears. She'd long ago mastered how to talk without letting her voice carry too far. The muscles in her back as she leaned against him were relaxed, although not quite soft. Robin somewhat lacked the requisite body fat percentage to ever feel really 'soft'. "I used to dance, sort of. I mean, not like, actual dance-dance. But back when I used to do gymnastics, we had rhythm sections. They were fun to work on but I always liked flipping and tumbling better; almost as good as flying." Her smile flashed for a moment then before she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "This was a good idea." She told him.
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"He certainly seems to think so from what little I've gathered. We don't exactly move in the same circles," Ray commented with clear affection Heyzel's father, "Of course, its been a few decades since I've been in anyone's circle, after all." It was more resigned than wistful and perhaps a little disgruntled. Ray cleared his throat and moved on, "Never too young for Hamlet. D'you know, I got to catch the first performance; the one on the ship... oh, what was it called..." Ray trailed off for a long moment, clearly sifting through his memories for the name. "Oh, no matter. I've seen better versions of it, but there's something special about the first moment when an idea becomes realized." He frowned his disagreement with Ellis and replied, "Everyone with taste likes roller derby, Ellis. Its a dying art." The angel announced with grave certainty. "As to secrets and identities, I feel comfortable assuming that anyone that considers themselves Stesha's big brother is in the know. She absorbs sunlight through her hair and is the caretaker of a small but thriving dimension. I feel it is safe to assume that your new coffee companion is comfortable with such matters." He shrugged at Carson, "And if he knows Heyzel well enough to have met his parents, he's enough in the know for me. He is probably at least less likely to assume the worst of me than you are." Ray grinned at Ellis, still not content to let Ellis early misassumption about his nature lie. "If I thought you could banish me, though, I'd be entirely game for the attempt."
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Reflex save: 20
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"I merely try to communicate in the ways of your people, Ellis. I have given it rigorous study and I'm aware that the time-honored interactions of a WASP in his native environment are very scone-dominance based," Ray replied flippantly, leaning back in his char with an easy going smile. There was real affection for the doctor under his banter in equal parts with his enjoyment of pushing Ellis' buttons. Ray's bemusement continued as he filled in the blanks that Ellis was hesitant to, "He wanted to see if Heyzel should check my papers." Ray shrugged then and rubbed his wrist absently, fingers tip rubbing along one of the lines of hidden script that had caught Ellis' interest as if it itched, "Sweet kid - nice as can be, really. Just not eager for that particular reunion." Ray offered. This was exactly how the dratted angel got mistaken for demons as he didn't pay near enough attention to his turn of phrase. Disinterested with his own origins, Ray turned the topic back towards a much more favored one; Ellis' wooing habits. "You should take her out somewhere that doesn't involve kids; something more exciting than quiet dinners and coffee; like roller derby. Everyone likes roller derby." Everyone did not like roller derby. "I could even watch the kiddos for you, if you ask nice. They like me."
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I like The Lighthouse: Catchphrase! Its tongue in cheek and doesn't take itself too seriously
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"Mmm," Robin agreed, settling in with the sort of comfort that came of familiarity with precarious perches. She leaned her shoulder against Riley's chest absently, one strong arm looped around her knee. "I forgot the city did stuff like this," she admitted, her expression softening as she took in the people and families, "My mom and dad used to take me out when... well, before and all." She cleared her throat and moved on with barely a hiccup. Shaking her head slightly, she continued on with only a minor hiccup; a testament to how well both her therapy had gotten her over the last year and, more significantly, her comfort with Riley. Her parents were no longer entirely off limits as a topic. "When I was a little kid, we used to go out to free 'night in the park' stuff in the better parts of town. It was... fun. I remember riding on my mom's shoulders a lot, actually, and watching whatever was, you know, free." She laughed a little, the sound light hearted. "Those were good nights."
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Ray drug the chair over and dropped into it with a casual wave of greeting, "Nice to meet you, Carson," he agreed amicably, meeting Carson's penetrating stare head on even as he draped one long arm across the back of Ellis' chair. Really, the angel should have been stuffed into the body of a cat rather than a person. It probably would have suited him better. Ray's words were faintly accented, although not with any easy to place accent. It certainly wasn't Jersey, but it was hard to say exactly where he'd learned the language from his inflection. "I like Stesha. She's nicer than you," he commented idly to Ellis before leaning over to steal a piece of the man's scone. Despite the theft, his manners were impeccable and he swallowed before adding easily, "Ellis reset my shoulder for me; and then called in his romantic interest to make sure I didn't need to be 'dealt with'." He added, the quotations audible in his speech. "So what are the two of you up to, besides mediocre coffee and interminable small talk?"
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"Generally, you'll want to see whether its slight of hand or a bit of subterfuge that you'll need. One can only plan so far when it comes to theft, after that its skill and improvisation," came the ex-thief's laconic response to Bonfire's question. "But I imagine we'll end up having to cross Baldwin. Never underestimate the resolve of the Russians when it comes to conflict." Amusement flickered through her tone as Talya took in the plans with an easy calm. This didn't even fall in a particularly grey area for the former spy; which was partially why she'd come in the first place. Her partners might not be pleased with this particular side-job but they'd understand her reasoning. It might make Erik a tetch cranky though. Her blonde curl fell over one eye as she examined the leylines and runes that Crow was elaborating on before she finally turned to Terrifica as if curious to hear her answers about where the acceptable lines were.
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"Heh, it used to get terrible tangled until I made friends with Nan and her salon ladies," Robin admitted, reaching up to run one hand over the curls. Hair care had taken a distinct back seat to survival until she'd helped out one of the small Fens businesses and ensured a place to get her hair done despite lack of funding for such. She trailed after Riley, one hand in his as her grey eyes scanned the crowd to absently take in any potential threats or moments of interest. Robin was mentally off-duty but it wasn't a habit she could manage to fully turn off. "Big crowd, so they must be pretty decent. What didja want to get? Split a soda or something if you want?"
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Natalya Browning had been more than a little curious when her network of information had kicked up this particular job. It wasn't as if she didn't have enough on her plate but there were certain expectations the infamous Bombshell had to fill, and on a personal note, Talya couldn't resist seeing heroes play criminals. After all, she'd walked both sides of that particular line. Her heels clicked on the floor as she entered the warehouse during Terriffica's short speech and she took in the assembled crew of super heroes. She wasn't dressed in the superhero costume she wore with the Interceptors, nor was she in her old black catsuit. The femme fatale looked almost out of place amidst the others in her narrow black skirt and jacket, and high, high heels. "I'm all ears," she said simply, her clipped British tones faintly bemused.
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Sure, I can do that.
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The Pact In Short: The Pact is a mystical agreement forged to prevent the manifestation of powerful extra-planar entities within the dimension colloquially known as 'Earth Prime'. It is vaguely mentioned in the Freedom City 2E sourcebook under information about Adrian Eldritch and gone into greater depth in The Books of Magic (p. 94). The specifics are specifically left ephemeral and largely up to the Game Master to enforce. In a shared world setting, such as Freedom City Play By Post, the nuances of the Pact have been influenced by characters over the years of the site's operation. History The Pact is, in fact, an ancient spell wrought by the Master Magus for Earth Prime intended to bar the gods and demons of other dimensions from treating this dimension as their playground. The power and potency of this particular spell is all but unparalleled in the time since The Pact's forging. Simon Magus was able to fundamentally alter the fabric of the dimensions to thicken the barriers between Earth Prime, and other dimensions. The intent was to bar entry to any entity that was not specifically invited; requiring a human spell worker to summon extra planar entities and for those entities to be bound by the tenants of that summoning. In practice, The Pact is a more flexible creature. There have been many heroes, and villains, of extra planar origins over the ensuing centuries in Freedom City. Some of those have snuck their way in on technicalities, or through weak spots in the spell while others have surrendered certain powers or abilities to walk among humanity. There has been no actual sundering of The Pact, but it has been tested and manipulated; as any spell ought to be. For Players What does this mean for players and storytellers? Largely, The Pact is used on our site as justification for why PLX entities very rarely show up save for large scale events. The Pact is something to take into account, especially for magic-based characters or those of divine origins, but it by no means bars character concepts from play. We have had former angels and demons as player characters, among many, many others, but The Pact provides an excellent reason for your demigod to be limited in the scope and scale of the abilities. It is often a theme that too much power risks their place in Earth Prime. Enforcing those boundaries, or skirting them, can also make for interesting character motivations. Of the setting's NPCs, the Master Magus and Gatekeeper both take on certain duties for keeping the barrier strong, while some PC's have also taken some of that work as their bailiwick such as Phantom and the Sandman, and there is certainly room for more. It's a very large multiverse out there, after all!
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So, its gone commented on in chat that there are green names popping in among the red and purple and black that we already had. A post is forthcoming from the Ref team with the full details of exactly what the demarcations mean but, in short, the green named folk are here to help facilitate story and guidebook entries, that sort of thing. We're not Refs and don't have so much the Ref abilities or responsibilities but we are here to help answer questions. It was discussed in chat that it might be helpful to start a conversation thread for people to chime in as to what they'd like to see us doing. How can we help you guys tell the stories you want to tell?
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Robin blinked, taking another hasty step back, her hands coming up defensively as she dropped into a coiled stance at the sudden light. Her gaze shot from the desk to the doctor, back and forth, as she clearly weighed how much she was willing to trust him and take him at as word. The silence grew for a long moment before her jaw firmed. "I'm not sure I believe you," she said bluntly but she rose out of her tight, tense posture; shoulders straight and carriage proud, "But if you can help me figure out why I can do what I do and know what that's going to mean, I'm willing to give it a shot, yes." Robin forced her shoulders to relax at least a little. It was clear that the tense teen was struggling between a desire to hear more of a mother lost too soon and the distrust of a teenager who had been misled before. Her grey eyed gaze cut away, towards the door to the office, "But I don't think Mom misled me. If she didn't tell me things, it was because she didn't think I was old enough or ready or whatever. If what you're saying is true, she'd have told me; she just wasn't given the time..." Pausing then, her thoughts collected, Robin gave a short, sharp shake of her head, "No, it's not possible she had abilities. She'd have had no problems with a mugger if she was strong or fast like me. They wouldn't have been shot."
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Although she often passed as a tough scrapper, there were moments certainly where the fact that Nighthawk was somehow more than human became obvious. Her sudden movement from Woodsman's side into the open air was one of those as rather than slow her descent with acrobatics, she merely dove towards the cement floor stories below to land with a surprisingly soundless 'whumph' directly on her feet between the gunslinger and Nevermore. Rather than convey that she had this particular target vocally, she did so with her actions. Rising from her crouch, Nighthawk pivoted and brought the flat of her hand into the gunslinger's throat; a move that Woodsman hadn't seen executed by his girlfriend since that awful day in the Goodman tower. That day, though, it had been accompanied by the sound of bones breaking. This time, Nighthawk executed the move with only the amount of force to stagger their hologram opponent, causing him to choke and sputter in shock.
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Ray was tall, over six feet, and wearing a tank top, the sleeves of tattoos were easily visible in their whirls of flame and intricate chain motif that wrapped up and around from wrist to shoulder and up his neck. Hidden in the brighter colors, deliberately so, were the actual Enochian marks of the spells marked on the angel's all too human skin. He was noticeable just in looks and even more so when he stopped in the doorframe, blocking it for the patrons as he scanned the coffee shop. Ellis was generally a predictable creature and his gaze landed on the doctor and his companion. He frowned at Ellis's none-too-subtle attempts to warn him off. They were far, after all, from Ray's stomping grounds. The grumpy angel didn't often leave his tattoo parlor and surrounding environs unless it was for work - or, sometimes Ellis suspected - to just nettle his friend. When Ellis frowned and shook his head, Ray's gaze narrowed. Ray nodded and then, with deliberate paces, went to order the drink he'd had no intention of buying. It was not unlike having a cat stare at you just as they went to knock things off of the table. Coffee ordered, Ray snagged a chair and began to drag it towards their table with clear purpose.
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Sofía gave Red Rat a somewhat intrigued look at the odd explanation. Still, focus on the task at hand first and catalog information later. "Service elevator," Sofía agreed, rocking on her heels as she cracked her gum once more before tossing it in the nearby trash can. "Service elevator's got less security on it to mess with - though there's still probably some - and there's probably an access hatch in a pinch. Don't need to swipe a key card or anything. If its electronic, I can pop it; no problem." Reaching up she straightened her hat on her head, "I'd rather not scuttle up the outside of the building on suction cups if we can avoid it."
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I'll spend my turn clearing my daze since I'm pretty sure that I can't spend another HP this round. If I can get up an IC post, I will but don't hold back on moving on just in case I can't come up with enough of a reaction post to be worth posting.
