Fox

"Please," countered Natalia, wrinkling her nose. "I assure you that I spend as little time as possible thinking about law enforcement." She was, despite conversation and manners, halfway through her first burger; she took a moment to grab some pickles and tuck them into the yet-untouched second. "You're all very attractive and I'm certain that helps," she said, seemingly entertained by the conversation, "but we'll have to disagree on the average goodness of the human heart. Even then, if Ryder was..." She paused partway through picking up her water, trying to search for useful words. The words she got back weren't good ones, and she used them anyway. "....if Ryder was playing diplomat at people, I would get that. I can do that. I've just never gotten that impression - he just seems to Ryder at people and is instantly their good friend and I fundamentally do not understand how that works."

Natalia's table manners were, in a word, clean: back straight, elbows off the table, no unsightly mess. It wasn't formal or awkward so much as ingrained, and apparently unconscious. "It hasn't," she admitted, though only after finishing her bite of burger. "That may be why it's horrifying. It's a bit like watching someone flip 'heads' on a coin over and over - an amusing mystery that gets more and more concerning when you see it done with any random coin." She punctuated the thought by wiggling an upright finger in a circle as she took a drink of water. "At some point, Cricket, one starts to assume it's some kind of actual super power. Is it? Does it run in your family? You have to tell me if it does."

Tarrant sighed, running a hand back through his hair. He'd taken the chance to clean up a bit himself, clean clothes and a pair of shoes that wouldn't track farm-and-garden dirt through the dorm house. "I think we pretty much have to," he said, turning his coffee cup in his hands. "What an awful position he's found himself in. I don't know what my choice would be, but then...well, it would be my choice." He was quiet for a moment as he mulled that one over; as good a time as any to take a sip of coffee that probably should have burned him. "There's an argument for everything. He's already missing from his timeline, so staying is definitely safer, and probably a better opportunity for him if he doesn't have a lot of ties back home. If he does, he may want to go back to preserve those, even knowing it's all going to end. And if he wants to try to change things...well, I don't much like his odds, but even a new timeline would preserve a version of his past and its people, and I can at least see the appeal of that." Tarrant shook his head, taking another sip. "Honestly," he said, somberly, "I think we treat him like any refugee. We give him the information he needs to make the choice he thinks is best, unless that choice is obviously destructive."

Natalia had turned her eyes toward the stage, sliding her sunglasses down long enough to peer over them at the staff assembled there. She took the water without looking at it, and immediately handed it off to Ryder. "....I would hope," she said, pushing her glasses back up, "that roadies at a concert would know their own equipment, and would think better than to hand control of it over to members of the crowd that they don't know from Adam. Or Eve, as the case may be." She arched an eyebrow, looking sidelong at their less-organic classmate. "We know that you're a technological marvel wunderkind who falsifies garments and bends science for fun. They know that you're some teenage metal-head, and there are a hundred more just like you in the crowd who would all say anything to get on that stage. How much would you trust some stranger to wander into your lab and play with your toys?" The eyebrow came back down, and she went back to watching the stage. "I've seen Ryder convince strangers to do stranger things, I suppose. It's worth keeping an eye on, regardless."

"The kids are definitely being a bit enthusiastic," agreed the Gaian Knight, with all the patience that came from a decade of freshmen taking 'the rocks class' for an easy A. "Don't let it get to you, your arrival is the kind of thing that's bound to cause a lot of, ah, buzz." He grinned and gestured, off-hand, at Beeanca. "We should definitely catch you up a bit, though, and that's probably a discussion that's better with tea. Or coffee, if you prefer, I'm sure we can dig up some coffee somewhere - worst case I have a good friend who always has some stashed, if I can wrestle it from her." He gestured, inviting poor Professor Marcus away from the crowd. "Let's get you a chance to clean up first, that can't be comfortable."

Grim Only Doing Good When I'm Having Fun (1) Nocturne Future Freedom, Today! (1) Heavy Mettle (1) Monkeys on Parade: Second Banana (4) Ref point to Nocturne, please.

"A shower is definitely in order," agreed the Gaian Knight, rubbing his chin. He'd had an awful time not cracking up at 'man-honey', and survived mostly by remembering to set an example. "Or at least a quick dip in the nearest lake. It's a good thing he doesn't have any serious pollen allergies, or he might not have survived the trip over!" "You don't look native, if you'll pardon the assumption," he added, tucking his bandana into one pocket as he reached out a hand to gently pull the man free from his chitinous prison. "The bees are our friends, but you're pretty brave to have gone wandering around in their home. Do you have a name? How in the world did you end up here?"

APPROVED!

Nocturne's not so much the information-gatherer, but let's see here: Knowledge (Pop Culture): 24 Notice: 21 Gather Information: 17

"That must be a pretty brave interloper," said the Gaian Knight. He had his jacket and armor off and his outer shirt partly unbuttoned for the summer heat. He'd always offered to help plough fields and gardens, since it was so much easier to do with magic than by hand - but that didn't make it effortless and heat resistance didn't quite beat the early summer sun. Nor did it save his eyes from the same, for which he continued to be glad for his goggles. "I wouldn't struggle too much, if I'm being honest," he advised, wiping off his hands with a cloth that was probably supposed to be his mask. "You're pretty safe where you are, and there's really not a lot of places to run to at this point. If you settle down and talk, we promise you'll be alright."

Double-check that final Totals line; looks like it has some old values (and says you're over-budget, which I think you aren't anymore).

Nocturne had expected the fight to be brutally short once so many people jumped in on it; the creature was impressive. Person? Creature, until it talked. "Strong, fast," she mused, setting her cup down on the railing. "Durable?" The broken shards of ice from the Aliengator's would-be cage didn't quite make it to the floor; they slowed, stopped, resting in mid-air on a faint collection of dust-like particles...and then reversed direction to slam into the reptilian menace from all sides. Not to much effect, unfortunately, and Nocturne made a sharp tch sound as she watched. "Sheared the ice," she admonished; too much of it had lost force falling apart. "Sloppy. Tough, though, aren't you? I don't suppose you'd consider just not, would you?" She was calling down now, leaning over the railing. "They're going to close the mall early at this rate. Some of us had plans."

Took the liberty of eating those empty boxes at the bottom of your DC section. They were delicious. With that done, let's see here; mostly the little math things that get lost in the shuffle of creating a new sheet: You've bought 11 points of saves, but noted 10 in the final point tally at the bottom of the sheet. Unfortunately, this puts you 1 point over-budget. You've bought 25 points of powers, but your Powers line says 26 (and also says you've bought 11pp of Speed!). You'll want a descriptor of some kind on that Leaping. I'm assuming it's just training, which is perfectly fine, but you never know when a GM might want to know. An 18-point array would be Array 9, not 6.5; probably a lingering number from an older version of the sword? Reaction-speed Damage is...interesting. We generally don't allow that because the game is balanced (in as much as the game is balanced) around action economy, and the ability to attack at less than a standard action is a non-starter; only being able to attack someone who misses you is a nice and flavorful limitation, but you also have that Concealment. I've brought it up with the larger ref team, since it's a balance thing. We'll hopefully have a formal stance on it by the time you've had a chance to edit for the little math stuff mentioned above. As an aside, even if it is allowed, do keep in mind that the riposte is less useful than one might think at first glance (though still kind of broken). You can only change 'slots' in an array once per round, as a free action - so if Corsair starts his turn in 'riposte' mode, he's going to have to choose between attacking (and not being able to riposte until next round) or not attacking (and hoping someone attacks him, and misses). If you spend your time attacking, you'll only have it up half the time at absolute best - and if you don't spend your time attacking, you'll probably just get to stand there twiddling your thumbs like your enemies beat up your friends. EDIT: Unfortunately, the ref team has come down on the side of not allowing reaction-speed damage like the riposte - both because it's a little off as built given that the Concealment takes the edge completely off that Flaw, and because the system is not balanced around attacks like this - the closest one would normally come is an Aura, which has its own limitations and oddities. If you want a riposte-style attack, we suggest doing it with flavor more than mechanics - describe a normal attack after an enemy miss as a riposte, or surge an extra attack if you want to be able to attack twice in one combat round, that kind of thing.

Natalia's face was as impassive and unmoved as ever, but after a beat she did raise one hand to return the thumbs-up with confident conviction. "I'll have to check it out," she said, voice flat but not uninterested. "I'm not much for pins but some of the patches going by have impressive needlework." Which brought up the question of timelines, which had to wait a moment before only four people were part of the conversation. "If anyone has anything they want to say or plan," she said, turning her mask of a face back to the others, "they should probably do it now before one or more of us goes deaf listening to someone murder a guitar."

A little strong for the grapple! Brute force it is, then, using the +Damaging on her Move Object. Ranged attack roll: 18 That's a DC23 Toughness save vs. damage for Mr. A. Gator.

Natalia blinked for a moment, caught for a moment between the unusual culinary creations and a family dynamic that was so deeply alien that she barked an uncharacteristic laugh - but only the one before she squashed it, covering her mouth with the back of one hand while the other managed her burger. She immediately pretended it never happened. "I think I make you sound more philosophical than you think you are," she countered, collecting a far more conventional array of burger toppings - cheese, tomato, jalapeño. Lettuce to protect her bun from a concerning mix of otherwise conventional condiments. "I've known you long enough to get at least a small, horrifying glimpse into how you approach the world, Cricket, and I get the impression your family's not so different. If you think that you aren't philosophical, you lack introspection, not philosophy."

Once Ryder's outfit had been sorted, Natalia had turned to her own. She'd painted on a pair of dark leather pants, framed neatly by soft buckled motorcycle boots below and a studded belt above. A loose and low-necked tank top bore the name 'MECHA-APE' and an appropriately illegible, faded picture of the same, flashing just a bit of the skin of her shoulders and sides before they disappeared into a short black leather jacket with short studs along the wrists and shoulders. She'd done her makeup dark and her hair long and straight, pouring down her head and back like black silk. When she moved her head, the sun caught earrings to match the silver cross that hung low on her chest from a looped metal chain. "Like any animal, Cricket, the metal-head can smell fear," she said, walking up behind him and surveying the crowd from behind large, round-lensed sunglasses that glinted red in the sun. She adjusted the black, metal-studded purse that hung over one shoulder, conscious of its weight. "If you feel like you own your space here, then you do. If you don't, you don't."

"Water," said Natalia, "thank you. A full glass without cocktail." She'd very deliberately not met Ryder's look, instead pondering the array of burger accessories available to her. Not that she'd pick first, but some of those cheeses held promise. "I suppose cooking for your family dictates the audience," she observed, looking back at the worryingly disarming patriarch, "but I appreciate the point. Sometimes making something is worth it for the making. If someone else can appreciate it, so much the better; if they can't, they may not have been worth it in the first place."

Five, said Natalia's stomach. "Just one," said Natalia, busying herself with staying out of the way of a well-oiled family dinner machine. They hadn't known she was coming, this couldn't be a special occasion. Was dinner always like this? "Eira and Pan are cute enough, I suppose, depending on how much time you have to spend talking to them. Perhaps that's just me." That was probably too mean for a guest. "Speaking of which, this -" - she paused to gesture vaguely at Ryder - "- isn't just me, apparently? He really is like this, all the time? Always honest compliments for people who aren't there? It must be exhausting."

APPROVED!

Combat You've bought 14pp of stuff in the Combat section, but the final power point tally lists it at 16. This is a good thing, since the tally as-written would actually add up to 182pp, and be over-budget. At 14pp, you should hit 180pp exactly. Powers The formatting on the arrays has gone a little off - looks like the base powers have escaped! Some of the powers appear to have their bolding bleeding out across the power, too, which makes them hard to read at a glance; may want to clean that up while you're in the neighborhood, for the sake of your GMs. What does "Dimensional" mean as a variable descriptor? What kinds of descriptors would you draw on there? The base Blast power in the big array tallies to 42pp, as I read it; please double-check and let me know if I've done the math wrong there. I'm not familiar with the 'Reflect' power, and couldn't find it in the core book or Ultimate Power; there's Deflect, which has a reflection option, and there are green chapter powers like Reflection Field, but it's not clear what you've built here. Or I just missed it! Which happens. I believe the Snare power would cost 43pp, not 40; still within budget, but the true price should be tracked. Makes life easier for future edits. It's a little nit-picky, but while you're in the powers section, "Linked" is not a power. That should be three powers, all in the same slot, which each have the +0 Linked power feat. Concealment should note that it does not cover Tactile senses (as Concealment never covers Tactile).

As ever, thank you for another month of stories & storytelling. If your counts aren't seen below, you probably missed putting them up on the Active Threads list for April - in which case, we have a Late Thread Counting thread just for you! And of course, if you believe something's off about your counts please reach out to me and I'll be happy to take a look. Without further ado.... angrydurf Kensei: 1 post = 1pp Cubismo Arrow IV: 2 posts = 1pp Ultra Girl: 1 post = 1pp Ms. Thursday: 0 posts = 0pp + 1 (vignette) = 1pp Dr Archeville Protectron: 0 posts = 0pp + 1 (ref) = 1pp Exaccus Facsimile: 2 posts = 1pp Fox Gaian Knight: 8 posts = 1pp Grim: 1 post = 1pp Nocturne: 10 posts = 2pp + 1 (ref) = 3pp Gizmo Jill O'Cure: 4 posts = 1pp Midnight II: 1 post = 1pp + 1 (vignette) = 2pp Wail: 0 posts = 0pp + 1 (vignette) = 1pp Ghost Girl: 0 posts = 0pp + 2 (vignette) = 2pp Set: 0 posts = 0pp + 1 (vignette) = 1pp Rock: 0 posts = 0pp + 1 (vignette) = 1pp Reagent: 1 post = 1pp + 1 (vignette) = 2pp Lou Lubrano: 0 posts = 0pp + 1 (vignette) = 1pp Chitin: 9 posts + 6 (rollover) = 15 posts = 2pp + 1 (vignette) + 6 (rollover) + 1 (ref) = 10pp Kaede Kimura Shadowborne: 4 posts = 1pp Shooting Star: 3 posts + 8 (GM) = 11 posts = 2pp The Dreamer: 6 posts = 1pp GM: 4 posts * 2 = 8 KnightDisciple Cobalt Templar: 1 post = 1pp Gabriel: 7 posts = 1pp Raven III: 2 posts = 1pp Thunderbird: 3 posts + 7 (rollover) = 10 posts = 2pp + 1 (guide) = 3pp Judex: 0 posts + 3 (rollover) = 3 posts = 1pp Lone_Star Outrider: 5 posts = 1pp Nerdzul Nightscale: 17 posts = 2pp RocketLord Archer II: 3 posts + 3 (rollover) + 4 (GM) = 10 posts = 2pp Freedom Eagle ∞: 1 post = 1pp + 1 (vignette) = 2pp Ghost: 9 posts + 3 (GM) = 12 posts = 2pp Justice: 1 post + 24 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Little Mermaid II: 6 posts + 19 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp + 1 (guide) = 4pp Nevermore II: 8 posts + 2 (GM) = 10 posts = 2pp Rocket: 2 posts = 1pp Forever Boy: 2 posts = 1pp Rebellion: 1 post = 1pp GM: 26 posts * 2 = 52 Spacefurry Paper: 4 posts = 1pp Blackstaff: 3 posts + 7 (GM) = 10 posts = 2pp Chimera: 8 posts + 5 (GM) = 13 posts = 2pp GM: 6 posts * 2 = 12 Tiffany Korta Bee: 1 post = 1pp Blodeuwedd: 1 post = 1pp + 1 (ref) + 2 (vignette) = 4pp Madame Raven: 2 posts = 1pp Merge Trois: 1 post = 1pp Scarab III: 0 posts + 1 (rollover) = 1 post = 1pp The Immutable Betsy Brooks: 1 post = 1pp Zhenshchina-voin: 4 posts = 1pp Guest Starring, Frostbyte: 1 post

Well, that wasn't quite the entertainment Natalia had expected at the mall, but she wasn't going to turn down a show. When the monster had appeared she'd leaned over the second-floor balcony, coffee cup dangling from one hand...but when it looked like there would be a proper fight she'd frowned, pulling the hood of her long cardigan up over her head - a terrible substitute for a proper costume, to be sure, but with her sunglasses it was better than nothing. If she was going to draw attention from feral creatures, it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. Speaking of which.... "Temper, temper," she admonished from the walkway, gesturing lightly with one hand; something like black and gold dust swirled lightly around the ice-stymied creature, gravity pulling it in and down to try to bind it in place. "Let's test just how strong you are, hmm?"

Millennium Mall is a three-story affair; For narrative convenience I'll have Nocturne be on one of the upper walkways. She could just wall-walk her way up to line-of-sight anyway! She'll try a Move Object grapple on the gator man. Ranged Attack Roll: 24 Assuming that hits, time for a grapple check. Grapple Check: 25 Not her best, but we'll see where it gets us.

That seemed to surprise Natalia, eyebrows rising up into her bangs. "Then it pleases me to be the first," she said, and meant it, "and how wonderful to have my reputation precede me. It's nice to meet you, Shawn." She did not attempt to hug him or kiss his cheek. She did try to make her way to the kitchen door without looking like she was entering or avoiding his personal space. "I'm not convinced Ryder feels shame or embarrassment," she said. "More and more I worry he just doesn't know how. To be on the safe side, you and Jenny may have to tell me as many of his most mortifying stories as possible so that I can find out for sure." Her eyebrows had long since dropped back down out of her hairline, but one of them arched back up as she looked sideways at Ryder's dad. "For science, and all that."