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It was a pain in the ass to get Ellis to sign up for dating. After things with Stesha had fizzled, Ray was more than a little concerned that his friend may have given up entirely and that couldn't be healthy. This whole 'Eros Unlimited' nonsense sounded like a pile of hoodoo but he'd watched Ellis bounce from work to superhero to home to be 'Dad' without ever taking a break and that just seemed downright unhealthy. Humans needed other humans. Ray had learned that if he'd learned nothing else from his centuries upon centuries of recording humanity for the celestial heavens. So Ray fretted... and meddled. Once he'd slipped his jeans back on after a shower, Ray towel dried his hair before he glanced down to his phone. A cheery little alert announced 'new profiles' and resolutely, Ray flipped his thumb over to open the screen. He absently swiped across the first few until a very large eye filled his screen. Ray snorted with amusement as he swiped down to check out the rest of the profile. He didn't remember every client but a Deep One was hard to forget. How the 'MatchMaker' was going to help that one, Ray had no clue. He rather doubted that there were any other heroic deep ones looking for love at all, let alone on a website. Still chuckling, he continued flicking through until a painting caught his eye. It was good, surprisingly so. When he flicked down, he recognized Aquaria's companion. Good for her, working on her art. The profile, however, made Ray laugh out loud when he got to the 'about me': I am looking for a man. This man must be like a normal human male, with a regular-sized mouth with normal human teeth, and limbs that all point the right way. Still snickering, Ray went to flip through until he found the 'message' option: Well, I don't like to eat dogs but I'm not sure what you consider 'good smell'. I don't wear Ax body products. Does that count?

At first glance, the tall man leaning against the exterior of the imposing Freedom League headquarters, looked like he might be smoking far too close to the building's entrance. A closer look, however, would reveal that the ember dancing along his tattooed knuckles wasn't connected to anything at all, and certainly not a cigarette. Bowing to the winter weather, Ray wore his leather jacket over the tank top and BDU's that he worked in. Immortality did not, sadly, provide an immunity to cold and while the spark of light in his hands kept his fingertips warm, he'd have to summon something far larger and far more eye catching to heat anything more than his fingertips. Technically, he was finished offering his 'consultation', although Ray didn't think that he'd provided anything unknown to the magic-users attached to the Freedom League, but Ray was trying to be a bit more environmentally conscious and take advantage of the city's public transportation system. His good intentions, however, were going straight out the window if the damn bus took another ten minutes.

The IC! Notice or sense motive say DC 15 for the robbers gettin ready to rob. Ace'll get an HP for his distraction.

Thursday, June 1st 2017 10:00AM Riverside Community Savings and Loan Sunny and Humid The blustery spring thaw had long since gave way to the balmy heat of the season and with it the accompanying "good cheer". Of course none of this was helped by a pace that could only be called glacial, in some final and cruel irony, with which the line moved. The line to the business window was little better given the number of business owners and managers grabbing extra change for the weekend ahead of the rush and the highly cash dependant nature of the artisanal shops that dotted the tree lined boulevards of riverside made it all the more necessary. Ray was reminded not for the first time why he usually made this busywork for an apprentice. Behind the almost angelic being, Ace Danger stood nonchalantly in his disguise as he waited to empty a safe deposit box left over from his brief semi disowned period in the late eighties. He wasn't even entirely sure what he had left in the riverside stash but clearly it had seemed important enough to go above and beyond the usual bus station locker that was the norm for that less than exemplary period of his long life. Idly examining the man in front of him he was much distracted by the twisting runes hidden by the more vibrant inks of the painted man lest he might have taken note of the unseasonably heavy coats of the men who slowly filtered into the busy bank and arrayed themselves around the lobby with practiced precision.

Skaw, Unst, The Ice Maiden December 30, 3:00 PM With nowhere to go for the holidays Phaedra visited with Cathy and her family in the Shetlands. The visit wasn't unpleasant, time spent with Cathy was never unpleasant for the young half-angel, but it did leave her questioning her place in the world. Now she was sitting by herself in a pub halfway around the world, gazing down into her untouched drink and hoping her uncle--of sorts--got her message. And until--or if--he showed up Ms. Morningstar was left alone with her thoughts, in the dead of winter, halfway around the world she doesn't belong in.

April 30, 2016 It had started small - a hemokinetic terrorist attacking Ocean Heights Amusement Park one day, a strange Deep One migration in New England. Then the situation had seemed to grow more serious - a misguided fly monster in Nuevo Laredo who spoke of a day of vengeance and a divine appointment, followed by a diseased specter in the West End bearing horrific diseases where she went. By the time a shambling monster in Sicily had come bringing boils and pain wherever he went, followed by flaming thunderstorms in Washington - the heroes of Earth knew the crisis they faced. By the time locusts blotted out the skies over London, and darkness did the same over Claremont Academy the very next day, they knew who was behind it - August Roman, the once-Emperor of Crime, infused with the powers of the Devil. But where would he strike? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom City Port Regal Fast-Forward was doing magic in the backyard. World-ending threats were one thing to Richard Cline but the idea of something happening, something targeting Freedom City and probably the world, that targeted first-born sons, was his little boy in his arms, spinning him around so fast that they tunneled through the earth was something that he needed to do everything in his power to prevent. The first time Will had tripped and fallen, holding his bloody knees and crying inconsolably. The broken bodies of the victims of the Terminus Invasion, scattered at his feet. Outside in the yard, Richard ran faster and faster, tracing out the patterns of the stars at his feet, trying to find the unholy disturbance in the starry patterns that would mean a fallen angel come to Earth. Across the world, others were watching too, and waiting - ready to defend it.

Renegade Power Level: 10/12 (185/193PP) (Gold Reward) Trade-Offs: None Unspent Power Points: 8 In Brief: Surly exiled angel channeling celestial power through tattoos Residence: Riverside Base of Operations: Eternal Ink, lives above the shop that he owns Catchphrase: "Look, I don't even want to BE here." Alternate Identity: Araeriel / 'Ray Haskell' Identity: Secret Birthplace: Heaven Occupation: Tattoo Artist Affiliations: Heaven (currently out of favor) Family: Estranged but plentiful Description: Age: Circa 2500 BCE Apparent Age: Mid thirties Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 6'3" Weight: 195 lbs Eyes: Green Hair: Blonde Ray is a tall, fit blonde man of ambiguous Western European ancestry that seems somehow perpetually scruffy. He usually favors tank tops and battered black BDUs. The most noteworthy feature Ray has are the prodigious amount of tattoos he's accumulated which all appear almost fresh with how bright the ink remains on his skin. The tattoos are mystic in origin with Enochian sigils hidden within the more evocative images and the bulk of Ray's tattoos shift based on what he needs to materialize at any given point. There are a few fixed points that do not change; the Enochian markings remain in place and although the wings might change position along his shoulders and back, they are always there. With the nature of his powers, Renegade's super hero costume is generally 'whatever Ray was wearing' right before there was a need for his super hero alter-ego, sometimes with his shirt abandoned if he's needing more than what he can pull from his arms for a conflict. Power Descriptions: Ray's picked up a few things over his time in the mortal realm. His place in the choir was a scholarly one, charged with observation and recording. He was never charged with a flaming sword or divine shield and so comes across more as a brawler and bar fighter than any sort of divine soldier as he's had the last few decades of getting into scrapes to draw on. The lingering divine grace locked within Ray gives his mortal body more natural potency and tenacity than it ought to have. When Ray utilizes his divine birthright through the medium of his tattoos, the ink on his flesh changes and reforms to represent his desires and he draws them from his flesh into reality. The sleeves on his arms most typically feature flames and chains which tend to be his go-to for manifestations but the images can ripple and change depending on his needs and whims. History: Araeriel was created during the Bronze Age and tasked with observing and recording. His was a silent, scholarly duty and it suited him, unsurprisingly, as if he were made for that purpose. It's important to note that his duty was not to understand or empathize, to heal or to fight, but simply to be a set of eyes and ears for those of higher rank and greater importance. Araeriel was a messenger, a scholar and an artist, low ranking but content in his use and purpose within the divine dimension he occupied. His focus remained on tracking the art and artists of the eras, documenting them and in his spare time, dabbling with creation himself. As time marched forward and art become more closely intwined with social and political commentary, it began to slowly alter Araeriel's own nature. He grew more recalcitrant in his duties, spending more time focusing on his personal work and less on his duties to the choir. It was clearly, entirely unacceptable behavior but nothing truly worthy of exile or damnation. At the close of the 1970's, Araeriel was exiled from Heaven to Earth, locked in a mortal body designed to blend in with his surroundings. The official party line on the matter was that Araeriel was to be given time to focus on this new and clearly overwhelming calling of his with less divine distraction. To Ray, however, it is clearly a punishment and, perhaps, a lesson. The tenants of that particular lesson, however, escape him. With his divine nature locked in a mortal shell, the difference was jarring. Ray has never longed for humanity and the longing he felt for home was keen in the first few years. Eventually, he put his not inconsiderable skills to use in attempting to shake off the restrictions of this mortal form. Through tattoos of Enochian inscriptions, he's managed to crack some of the shell and tap into some fragment of his true nature but he remains firmly land-locked, unable to go home until his sentence has been lifted. After bouncing around for the last few decades, Ray is no longer the fish out of water that he was originally. He has even come to enjoy some aspects of the human condition although it has only increased the rebellious streak just starting to crop up in Heaven. Adopting the moniker 'Renegade', Ray has taken on the occasional supernatural menaces that spill into his path. It might be in part that he hopes death in the line of protecting innocents might just be enough to send him home but mostly, even with his occasionally poor attitude, Ray's still an angel. Personality & Motivation: Ray is somewhat perpetually cranky. His outrage and homesickness have faded enough that it merely keeps him in a surly mindset. He does genuinely take a great amount of pleasure in his art and while he has a rather wide skill set of craft that he's perfected, his current love is in tattooing and he's very protective of his shop in Riverside. Despite his acerbic exterior, Ray has a good heart and maintains his angelic instincts to protect humanity. They are much harder to ignore down here than they were in Heaven, which may in fact have been the actual point of his current time-out. Powers & Tactics: Even after a few decades, Ray is not a subtle sort of fighter. He tends to take on threats head long and tossing everything and the kitchen sink at the most dangerous threat available. Its not that he's not capable of different tactics or stupid, Ray has no martial background to draw on and comes at the fight from a brawler's mindset. He has to work to remember that he can do more than hurt something as much as possible, as quickly as possible. For all of that, Ray has no desire to do more than is necessary to end the battle as he is neither overly violent nor cruel. He is more susceptible than many to various social deceptions as humans remain much less clear to him in their motivations than he might like. Functionally, he's a street level sorcerer with some firepower at his disposal. Complication Oi Polloi: Since Ray needs to channel his powers through his tattoos, he can be tripped up or limited by dress codes. Generally, to use most of his Enochian tattoo array, he needs at least his hands and forearms bare. Black tie events can really crimp his style more than most folks. Abrasive Wheels: Ray's cranky, surly and abrasive. Somehow this does not regularly endear him to the people around him. Further, he dresses like the tattoo artist he is and has things like neck and knuckle tattoos. This sometimes means that he is looked at askance. Dead Man's Shadow: It's not that Ray really wants to die but he misses his home and he misses his family, even if he's mad at them. Being on Prime is a gift but sometimes he'll take too much risk or danger because the idea of getting to be free from his fleshy prison is not the barrier it is for regular humans. Angelic Upstarts: Ray might be on an enforced sabbatical but he's part of the Abrahamic heavenly host and is sometimes constrained by that nature. It also sometimes means that demons try to eat his face. The Lurkers: Ray's not human, has never been human and they are sometimes still an enigma to him in their wants and needs. Abilities: 10 + 0 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 50PP Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 20 (+5) Intelligence: 20 (+0) Wisdom: 20 (+0) Charisma: 20 (+0) Combat: 20 + 20 = 40PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +10 Melee, +10 Ranged Grapple: +15 Defense: +10 (+10 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +5 Flat-Footed Knockback: -5 Saving Throws: 5 + 10 + 5 = 20PP Toughness: +10 (+5 Con, +5 Protection) Fortitude: +10 (+5 Con, +5) Reflex: +10 (+0 Dex, +10) Will: +10 (+5 Wis, +5) Skills: 40R = 10PP Knowledge (History) 10 (+15)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Arcane) 10 (+15)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Cosmology) 5 (+10)Skill Mastery Craft (Artistic) 15 (+20)Skill Mastery Feats: 5PP Artificer Ritualist Jack of All Trades Luck Skill Mastery (Knowledge: History, Arcane, Cosmology, and Craft: Artistic) Powers: 6 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 4 + 37 = 60PP Descriptors: All of Ray's powers are holy and celestial in nature. Variable descriptors have been added to powers to demonstrate the difference in what is summoned but those descriptors are additive and for flavor. All of his powers still come from the same source, its merely to represent the variability in the physical manifestations that he can draw forth. Comprehend 3 (Tower of Babel) (Speak/Understand/Read All Languages) (Holy, Celestial) [6PP] Protection 5 (Divine Grace) (Holy, Celestial) [5PP] Immunity 2 (Mortality's Embrace) (Disease, Aging) (Holy, Celestial) [2PP] Damage 5 (Divine Might) (Power Feat: Mighty) (Holy, Celestial) [6PP] Flight 4 (Angelic Wings) (100 MPH, Drawbacks: Forward Only, Power Loss [Wing Movement], Wide Turns, Reduced Load) [4PP] Enochian Tattoo Array 16 (Breaking the Chains) (32PP; Power Feat: Alternate Power 5) (Holy, Celestial) [37PP] Base Power: Damage 10 (Wrath) (Extra: Range, Autofire Power Feat: Variable Descriptor 2 [any elemental or kinetic]) [32PP] Alternate Power: Healing 10 (Benediction) (Extra: Total, Restoration, Flaws: Limited to Others, Power Feats: Persistant, Regrowth) [32 PP] Alternate Power: Move Object 10 (Chains and Bonds) (Lift Strength 50 / 4 tons light load; Extra: Damaging, Power Feats: Variable Descriptor 2 [any elemental or kinetic]) [32PP] Alternate Power: Create Object 10 (Creation) (Extra: Duration: Continuous, Power Feats: Precise, Innate) [32PP] Alternate Power: Environmental Control 10 (Castigation) (1 Mile Radius, Mix and Match: Cold [ice and snow], Distraction [DC 10, sleet and rain], Hamper Movement [frost], Heat [flames], Light [divine radiance], Visibility [fog]) (Extra: Independent, Power Feats: Slow Fade, Reversible) [32PP] Alternate Power: Dazzle 10 (The Glory) (Visual, Extra: Area [Cone], Power Feat: Incurable, Reversible) [32PP] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed (Includes Divine Might) Touch DC 25 Toughness Damage (Physical/Holy) Blast (Wrath) Ranged DC 25 Toughness (Autofire) Damage (Holy) Move Object (Chains and Bonds) Ranged DC 25 Toughness Damage (Holy) Dazzle (The Glory) Area: Cone DC 20 Reflex/Fort Dazzled (Staged) Totals: Abilities (50) + Combat (40) + Saving Throws (20) + Skills (10) + Feats (5) + Powers (60) - Drawbacks (0) = 185/193 Power Points

Okay, here we go. Fast-Forward: 45 Angel of Death: 39

Ellis sat in a khaki shorts and a sage polo sipping his iced coffee on the warm summer afternoon. The call for this 'friendly coffee' hadn't been exactly a surprise but Ellis none the less was uncertain what exactly to expect of Carson. He supposed there was always the chance that it would be some sitcom overprotective male act but he somehow didn't see Stesha standing for that kind of posturing on her behalf as well intentioned as it might be. Most likely it was another in a long list of friends that had seen her hurt before and was worried their exceptionally nascent romance might do so again. He had resolved however to meet the man regardless of purpose it couldn't be worse than the dismissive sneers the dragon woman aimed his direction most times.

March 1, 2016 "Do you do non-humans?" The voice on the shop's phone was like none Rae had heard before - a booming croak that nonetheless was clearly speaking words. "For tattoos." - Outside, Aquaria was largely concealed beneath a gigantic hoodie and sweatpants, ducked low behind Jessie as she spoke into the latter's phone (a replacement they'd gotten upon their return to Terra), just a few doors down from the place that did inking - the tattoo parlor in English. They'd looked the place up on Jessie's computer, but if there was anything they'd learned from their trip to space, you couldn't be too careful! It was late in Riverside, the streets beginning to darken as late afternoon began to shed into evening, and the streets mostly empty in the wake of the hard rain that afternoon. Which made it perfect.

3.25AM, January 27th, Wednesday, 2016 Matheston House, 428 Kurtzberg Rd., Freedom City, U.S.A., the border of life and Hell. Her fingers shivering, Faye felt the knife slip through them, heard it clatter and clang on the tiled floor of the cavernous manor house. The steady beat of rain on the roof and the whistle of wind through the window that had shattered from his wild punch was all so much white noise. What had her frozen in place was the sight of her fianceé lying facedown in a slowly growing pool of blood gone black in the stark twilight. Sinking down, clutching her knees to her chest, Faye ignored the bloody smears she was leaving on her party clothes. She couldn't seem to shut her eyes or look away, no matter how much she wanted to. She wanted to cry, scream, stab herself, call the police, run for help, hug Matthias' body and beg its forgiveness. Torn in so many different directions, Faye remained where she was, dry-eyed and silent. How had this happened? Only last month they'd been so happy, Matty had come for Christmas and her parents had swallowed every hateful word they'd said about him. When had he started drinking, refusing to talk except to accuse her of things she couldn't have done, trying to control her every move and... ...why had he tried to kill her? "Wasn't a reason" she mumbled, starting a little at the croak of her voice "guess this is just how he really was, all along. Should have seen this, god help me...this is all my fault..." Self-recrimination had one benefit: it made crying easier. Watching from the stairway above the sobbing woman and the dying man, the demon Chorus sighed in relief and opened the Way of her kin. Unfurling black wings that would have spanned universes if they were pinions and muscle, she darted across the shadowy physical plane to where a tattooed man was sleeping. She slid down through the roof like it was so much vapour, which to her higher form it might as well have been. Kneeling beside the sleeping man she whispered into his ear "Ray, awaken. A sinner is in need."

Freedom City, Riverside Saturday, November 14, 2015 Noontime Asli Saddik didn’t know how people who drove through the city knew anything. On the train or the bus all the buildings and storefronts were a blur; it’s only when she walked through the neighborhood that she could look into the windows and walk through the store, touch and smell things, talk to the shopkeepers and the other pedestrians. Someone else might choose a store based on the name or a Facebook review, but Asli knew she needed to get down there and peel back the mask. She wasn’t just browsing, though. Today Asli was looking for a very specific gift and she wasn’t at all certain in her judgement regarding it. That’s why she had dragged her roommate along on this walk; Sam could walk her into the ground, after all, and two eyes looking for a tattoo were better than one. They had already passed a few tattoo parlors, but one had been shuttered and skeevy-looking, another one had been manned by stoners who seemed to mostly be working on each other, one had ran her out when she asked for samples… it wasn’t a promising experience. Still, Asli insisted that they press on, check out “a couple more places, Sam. There’s got to be a good one in the city, and damn if I’m going to miss it.” The woman’s eyes were drawn towards a shop that claimed itself to be “IMMORTAL TATTOOS” in all capital letters. The building was clean and there weren’t any bars on the windows. The front was filled with large boards, showing photographs of happy, inked customers and drawn designs. All of the samples were clear and well-done, and the variety on display was staggering. There were so many on display, in fact, that she couldn’t see past them, and Asli found herself seriously tempted. She turned to Sam, gesturing to the window display. “What do you think? Do the look any good?”

OOC for this thread. Her name is Chorus She helps Ray By making messes Which he can fix. Sometimes messes kill But that's okay Because they're mortals So whatever, really. NEXT.

Rolls and suchlike for this thread. Go wild with those Perform checks, Renegade!