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Hendrick Hendrick notes Minnie's unease and looks around to see if he can spot anything out of the ordinary. He imagines himself wiggling the antenna of a TV trying to get a signal. It doesn't go especially well. The signal is close to making sense but isn't in clear enough focus to be useful. He tries to nudge the signal like he had before and... this time it doesn't help. It's still proving impossible to make sense of what exactly is bothering Minnie. He sighs. This is going to get rough, just like last time. But there's nothing for it, all he can do at this point is make the best guesses possible and work with them until whatever the danger is manifests fully. He calls out to the jogger as he walks out in plainer view, "Hi, yeah, I'm with a few people investigating the strange death the other day and I got inspired to go on a stroll. My friend thinks something's up and I kinda want to jog with you just in case if you don't mind." Rolled a 6 twice; +1 experience!
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Apr 15, 2024 10:57
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| # ? May 6, 2024 02:32 |
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To Hendrick A lot of things seem to happen in an extremely fast sucession. Before the jogger can answer, her light goes off, leaving you slightly blinded. You hear what's clearly a woman's scream, followed by the most blood-curling screech you've heard in a good time. Minnie, in turn, starts loudly barking. You feel a strong push and a searing pain in your shoulder, and tumble a bit forwards against a tree. Minnie springs forward, and you hear her howling madly somewhere close. Then, it ends. The dog still barks once or twice in the dark before going back to your side; then, an eerie silence fills the entire area. You can't see any lights around now. Slightly stunned still, you notice Minnie licking your right hand, and instinctively check yourself to notice the long, bleeding gash on the back of your shoulder, merely some inches away from your neck. 2 harm. Shellception fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Apr 15, 2024 |
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Apr 15, 2024 15:39
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Shellception posted:To Ray and Maeby Maeby Performance anxiety strikes Maeby in whatever part of her body causes her to break out in cold sweats. "Is this a test? Oh no I'm being tested aren't I." she spends a few minutes pretending to be busy whilst formulating a plan as to what to actually do. And then it occurs to her, the thing that brought her here: vibes. Maeby extends her index finger, utters a manifestation to herself, and begins to sweep over the items in the box saying "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe..." Rolled a 12 to investigate a mystery, canonically proving Maeby's luck.
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Apr 15, 2024 22:21
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To Maeby You close your eyes and quickly sweep through the papers, trying to avoid all possible questioning looks from Ray. You don't know if he is questioning your methods, mind you, but you won't risk it either! Your finger lays on a particular page on the report. It's a transcript of timestamped texts found on the victim's phone. It does look like whoever did the dump was really thorough - probably not the guy down at the precinct. You start skimming over it. There is a particular set of... raunchy texts, to put it mildly. Texts and answers; it seems like the contact came from a dating app. The contact seems to be identified as Elise but she doesn't seem to have given personal data. You follow the thread up to the end, and find a date; it seems he arranged to met her in person on the afternoon of the day before he disappeared, on the park you're currently standing in. A detail catches your attention: she seemed weirdly insistent on him bringing a light to find his path up the forest. You're not thinking too hard about this, but it strikes you as odd - what does the forest up there have to do with the park...?
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Apr 15, 2024 22:45
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Maeby "Ray!" Maeby shoves the paper with the kind of excitement one would give a winning lottery ticket. "Look at this, I think the victim was totally heading out here to hook up!" She pulls the paper back into her own vision, and her eyes dance back and forth as she processes together a story. When it all comes together, she theatrically spreads her hands and says "Cat Fished By A Cyber Vampire."
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Apr 16, 2024 01:34
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Ray (w. Maeby) Ray finds himself first amused at Maeby's enthusiasm, then surprising himself with a laugh at her joke; said laugh quickly turns into a choked cough, the last leathery-scented wisps of a vape cloud exiting his lungs as they round the corner toward the crime scene. "See, this is why I never use those things - that old chestnut about "the odds are good but the goods are odd" really undersells the type 'a weirdos you might meet off the internet." The lopsided grin at the end of his sentence implies that Ray understands at least a tiny portion of the irony in his statement, or so one would hope. The Datenshi Hime is pulled as far off road and as close to the crime scene tape as possible, with Ray pressing a couple of buttons on the dash to turn on a set of flood lamps at the front of the van, illuminating the area as best as possible. Ray puts the vehicle in park, and turns to his passenger with an approving nod and smile. "Good find." "Data dumps should be done by now," he says swiftly after, moving out of his seat and toward the small workbench where the victim's laptop and cellphone both sit. "Even if the paper records are more thorough than I'd expected, it's good to have a digital backup." He pulls out a small, travel-sized keyboard and logs into his own system, disconnecting the phone and laptop after signing in. "Did the report say what the name of the dating app was? Or any phone number for the person our vic was getting all hand-holdy with? I wanna know if this 'Elise' is a local or not. Also maybe we can cross reference some browsing history with the dates & times he was active on the app, see if there's anything that stands out. Maybe he found a "Top 12 Reasons To Let an Internet Stranger Exsanguinate You" list on Buzzfeed or something." Looking for interesting browser activity: 2d6+2 12 After typing a few commands into the keyboard Ray reaches down and busies himself underneath the workbench, opening a set of assorted drawers and pulling out some various items. "Here," he says, placing a set down on the workbench for Maeby - another pair of latex gloves, a few thick, ziptop plastic bags, and a small, handheld flashlight. "Top button cycles through regular light, UV black light, infrared, and a flashing distress beacon. We're probably going t--" Ray is interrupted by a small sound from the side pocket on his jeans. "Gomen nei! Gomen nei!" He pulls out the phone, and checks the group text with a slight look of bemusement; Hendrick's first message, about leaving the house in a hurry. "Well, sounds like everybody else might already be getting into trouble. Let's go ahead and get our Scooby Doo on while we can, just in case they end up calling for backup." Ray is hoping to find either bodily fluids or strips of clothing with said fluids using the UV/infrared light and collect them for testing. Searching the crime scene: 2d6+2 12 My Second Re-Reg fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Apr 16, 2024 |
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Apr 16, 2024 05:15
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To Simon and Leo Getting the drunk man to understand what you're trying to say takes way longer than you expected, and you notice your phones beeping in the meantime. Thankfully, the man doesn't seem to be inclined to fight, and in fact seems to find Simon's gesturing inherently funny. After a while, he seems to give up on getting you to leave and makes his way to the entrance, wobbling uncertainly, and starts to fight with the door. You take the opportunity to go back to the main road and the square where Leo and Simon's vans are parked, just as a second beep indicates a new text. A quick look at the group text tells you both that Hendrick seems to have gotten out of the house somehow, and headed up to the hotel where you all were supposed to stay. An arrow-shaped signal by the side of the square seems to indicate that there is a straight road to the hotel from the main square. Where to? Shellception fucked around with this message at 14:56 on Apr 16, 2024 |
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Apr 16, 2024 09:22
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Hendrick Yep. Painful, just like last time. Hendrick reacts mostly on instinct rather than full situational awareness and starts out trying to reach the jogger before the screeching creature can. quote:You are a 40-something middle manager who likes jogging in the forest. You're not a very interesting person, but you generally like people and want them to like you, and so you try and mostly succeed to do a decent job managing people. It's a bit dark this night, but you have jogged in this forest for years, and you know every inch of the trail by heart, so you're not worried about anything as you go along. He can feel that he's a bit off kilter as he runs. Gotta be the wound, but there's nothing for it. He finally realizes he's caught up to her, and moves into the next phase of his plan: distracting the creature. He creates a ball of bright white light above a mirage of a partial (upper) human silhouette in a nearby tree. The channeling of power feels like it goes well, and he hopes that it'll be good enough to keep the creature distracted while he makes sure he and the jogger can reach safety. Rolled a 9 for running after the jogger and an 11 to use magic to create a distracting light for the critter!
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Apr 16, 2024 09:32
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To Ray (and Maeby) You set out to work and comb through the information on the victim's devices. He clearly wasn't too versed in cybersecurity. A quick hacking to get his full browser history from his laptop tells you a lot about him. But sadly, you really really didn't need to know any of it. Pulling the Elise thread returns some more promising information. A quick glance at what seems to be, from the browsing history, her dating profile immediately strikes you as stinky - and sure enough, a cursory google search returns a stock photo of "Elise". "Her" phone number, in turn, shows up as being on the range of a prepaid card provider. You sigh. Clearly not dealing with the brightest lightbulb here. At least the card could be a lead, if you could find out who bought it. --- You both hop off the van and make your way to the crime scene, now brightly illuminated by the headlights. As you inspect the taped area with the ultraviolet light, something catches your attention. Two somethings, in fact. One, there seem to be just trace amounts of blood here. Even if the body was exsanguinated - especially if it was, you'd expect a whole mess of a blood pool. But... there isn't. Two, the muddy mess around the area can only partially be attributed to a dumb cop stomping around. There are some linear markings on the ground extending further away, like someone had been dragging something. On a flash of inspiration, you remember the missing shirt, and do a bit of a sweep around with the light. Bingo. Way over to your right, near the treeline that marks the start of the ascent uphill, tangled in one of the spiky bushes, there is what looks like a long, tattered strip of blue cloth.
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Apr 16, 2024 15:22
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To Hendrick You really feel a bit dizzy now, and vaguely wonder if it's due to the blood loss. But that's not important right now. As you dart in the direction the jogger came from, followed by Minnie, you hear a woman's yell, not unlike the one from earlier. Putting yourself between the woman and where you imagine the monster to be, you mumble a quick wish. "Madre de Dios!" you hear her scream. You look for the source of the exclamation, and for the first time on a long, long time, you fully freeze in place. The light show flashes intensely, melting the darkness in front of your eyes and revealing a very tall skeletal figure clad on what resembles a loose-fitting tunic, with a slight and unsettling look of dried skin. It shrieks loudly at the light, causing the dog to unleash a barrage of barks back. Then, it disappears. You aren't sure where it's gone, but you can clearly see it is. The light illuminates a small area all around you both. You turn to the woman, who is, in turn, staring at you and Minnie. "Minnie? What are you doing...?" she starts, before turning to you. "Who are you and what did you just do? And what are you doing with Minnie?" She looks pale even under the magical light, but you clearly recognize the woman you saw at the precinct earlier. "... are you bleeding?" she finishes, sounded more confused than angry.
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Apr 16, 2024 15:53
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Hendrick Hendrick thinks about as fast as he can under the circumstances. He responds: "My name is Hendrick. I was attempting to give that thing something else to go after but it looks like I drove it off instead. Good thing too, it must have cut me and with how bad that is we'd both have been in a lot of trouble otherwise even being able to see it." He sees her still questioning gaze and continues: "Right, uh... before that, I was looking for you since my friends and I are helping investigate that strange death of the guy from out-of-town. We got to your house and neither you nor your husband were there, so I entered in the hopes of being able to find out where you, your husband, or both of you went, when I ran into your dog. I heard your husband shouting at my friends a second later, so I made a good impression on Minnie and tried to leave everything the way I found it as I left. I wasn't expecting her to have a way past the door and follow me, either, she must be smart and she's clearly very sweet too. This meeting is kinda the best way I could think of to return her afterwards so it's all worked out." He smiles at her as he finishes. It's weird, but it's the truth, and hopefully that satisfies her. Rolled a 9 for charming/convincing Ann that Hendrick means well and isn't lying. Not a perfect job, but uhh at least she believes he's crazy more than lying maybe? Ignatius M. Meen fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Apr 16, 2024 |
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Apr 16, 2024 18:36
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Simon As the drunk man picks a fight with his front door, Simon beckons hurriedly for Leo to move away, then motions toward the road sign. Let's go, he indicates, pointing at their parked vehicles. No need to stay here. The hummingbird untangles herself from Simon's hair, hovering in front of Leo as if to boss him around. It seems almost as if she is instructing them both to drive slowly, in case anything out of the ordinary appears along the road, but birds can't speak, right? Eventually, she flits back to Simon to keep watch from the safety of her nest.
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Apr 16, 2024 21:58
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To Hendrick You see her arch an eyebrow at your mention of well-intended home invasion, but she says nothing. "So Ted is alive and well. And drunk. Ryan was right, he is a dumbass. He's going to hear me tomorrow" she eventually processes. "And so is Minnie" The dog raises her ears at the mention of her name and wags her tail at her. Ann pats her in the head. "She is a good dog. Smarter than her owner, at least" She looks a bit around and sighs. "We should get to the hotel before that... demon returns. What even is it, anyway? And what is that light thing, what's even going on here" she finishes, in a very tired-sounding voice. She pointedly turns on the lantern on her phone and gestures at you to do the same. "It doesn't like light, right? Let's go. I need to sit down" The walk is uneventful and, with her help, also way shorter than it looked. The hotel itself is very clearly an old industrial building, but the inside is refurbished to give it a modern look. The man at the reception, whose nametag reads Brian, salutes you with professional courtesy, but turns genuinely helpful once he notices your state; he brings you a couple chairs to sit on, and listens intently while you both try to get the main points across. "Attacked in the forest? Again?" he crosses himself over, and you wonder if that's an instinctive gesture. "Can't go out at night anymore. I wonder what we're going to do. Come on, Ann, rest a bit" "No need" she answers. "Just... call me a taxi home. It's been a long day. And it's going to be an even longer morning" she groans. Minnie puts her head on Anna's knees. "Sure. And you have a room, right?" he asks you. "Please give me your name, I'll make sure everything is alright" He gets on the pc and phone for a little bit. Shortly afterwards, you hear a taxi arriving outside, and Ann gets up. "Thanks, Brian. And... thank you, too, I guess" she says to you. "I'm still not sure about what you did... but we are alive, I guess that's a plus" She disappears out of the hall, Minnie following her happily. Brian watches her go, and then lowers his voice and changes his professional tone. "You... are with the hunters, right? Ryan said they had called someone from outside" he half says, half mumbles. "We... have a small problem here at the hotel..." He stops, as if thinking he has overstepped, and goes back to the professional tone. "Alright, you better rest. We can talk tomorrow". He hands you a card key with the number 112 attached. "First floor. If you need anything, just phone up" He stares at your bloodied arm for a second, as if realizing the futility of that comment. "Do you want me to call a doctor?"
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Apr 16, 2024 22:11
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To Simon and Leo The warm lights of the hotel reception are a change of pace from the chill wind outside. There is an ample parking lot up front, at least, and you both are able to leave your vehicles safe and sound. On entering, you see Hendrick sitting down on a chair, back turned to you, talking with the receptionist, and quickly notice something is wrong. The entire right shoulder of his coat is bloody, and a gash of a few centimeters is clearly visible. The receptionist notices you entering and turns back to you, in a tone that wouldn't be out of place at a high-end hotel. "Oh, welcome. You are hunters, too, right? If you'd give me your names, please..."
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Apr 16, 2024 22:16
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My Second Re-Reg posted:"Top button cycles through regular light, UV black light, infrared, and a flashing distress beacon. We're probably going t--" Maeby Maeby, alerted by the unfamiliar voice emitting somewhere in her periphery, jumps into an undisciplined martial pose. She relaxes upon hearing Ray's explanation and the alarm on her face shifts to concern. "Hendrick is like, creepy aware of things," she says before catching herself, "In a good way. I don't think he'd put up the bat signal if it wasn't serious." She waves her open palms 'wax on' style over the crime scene "I feel like we've made some good progress, but we can get all forensic files when we're sure our friends are okay." On her way to the van she takes what she feels is a well deserved pull from her pen. It was made painfully clear by the suits that recruited her that if this mission didn't pan out, it was her rear end, and something about 'being miles away while the rest of the team got hurt' seemed like something they would not take at all lightly. Especially if she came back with her shirt and jacket smelling of Super Lemon Haze.
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Apr 16, 2024 22:35
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Ray (w. Maeby) Ray is being his usual careful, thorough self at the crime scene, making sure to bag & tag the found fabric and taking plenty of pictures as he goes. Hendrick's second text message, requesting backup, comes in; nodding, Ray agrees with Maeby, wasting little time in hurrying to the driver's seat of the Datenshi Hime. "No, we did good - we got what wanted to get here tonight anyway, so if the team needs us, let's ride." I figure at this point we can probably be auto-piloted to meet up with everyone else at the hotel
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Apr 16, 2024 22:56
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Hendrick Hendrick thinks for half a second before responding. "Thanks, but no; I'll clean it up and it'll be fine soon enough. As for your problem, yes I'm with the hunters, and I don't mind hearing you out as long as you let me and my friends get some rest until the morning before looking into it." He hears Simon and Leo enter and nods at them while pulling out a small bottle of antiseptic from his coat. "Good to see you both, I probably look like a bit of a mess but considering what I ran into I think I got off pretty lightly and this plus a bandage and some rest should fix me up fast."
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Apr 17, 2024 06:02
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To everyone It's a bit later on; you've all been given your rooms and carried your stuff inside. The rooms you have been given are single occupancy and pretty small, but definitely cozy and good for the night, should you chose to spend it in there. You are all currently sitting together on a small public space by the first floor's corridor, consisting of a couple designer sofas and a low table to match, with a few rather old looking local magazines scattered around. A couple natural plants tucked in the corner complete the scene. Time to decide what to do. I'll let you all space to catch up with each other and decide, and if everyone goes off to sleep, I'll move the scene to day. A rest of this length will heal 1HP in general, though this is only relevant to Hendrick right now.
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Apr 17, 2024 09:43
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??? One of the magazines moves sluggishly, inching closer to the edge of the table
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Apr 17, 2024 12:25
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Simon Simon is zoned out, staring at one of the plants in the corner while the others engage in idle chitchat. But the wiggling magazine doesn't escape Miu's notice. Fluttering over to the table, she alights near the questionable source of movement and tilts her head. With tiny, careful steps, the bird sneaks closer to the magazine and pecks inquisitively at the cover page.
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Apr 17, 2024 15:24
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??? The magazine pages flip carefully until stopping: 
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Apr 17, 2024 16:35
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Hendrick While talking with everyone and catching up on current findings along with catching everyone else up on his encounter with the creature, Hendrick makes sure to clean his wound and apply some spare gauze to cover it. Applying first aid to the shoulder wound. He also makes an effort to draw a picture of the monster from memory. At first, his memory is weirdly hazy and his hands are uncoordinated. He stops, rips the sheet of paper off his notebook, holds his head in his hands, and starts again. This time he can feel his memory working perfectly and his hands don't shake as he sketches the figure. He smiles as he passes it around, and says, "This should help with identifying whatever this monster is." He then thinks a second and gets a serious look on his face. "We're gonna need a buddy system at the very least to take this one down. It doesn't like a lot of light, but I'm not sure I'd be in talking shape if I hadn't had Minnie with me." Rolled a 5, rerolled that into a 10 for drawing a sketch of the monster.
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Apr 18, 2024 07:08
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Current stage: Shadows // Next Stage: Wednesday 24th April, 3 pm US Central/10 pm EU
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Apr 18, 2024 13:14
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Simon Suddenly jolting upright, Simon scrambles out of his seat as his phone slips out of his pocket and clatters disgracefully across the floor. He grins sheepishly at the group, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a bleary yawn as he retrieves his phone. Miu zips back over to him, her interest in the magazine page satisfied for now. She chides him lightly before settling atop his head once more. Bedtime? Simon motions, holding up his room key.
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Apr 18, 2024 14:24
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Ignatius M. Meen posted:Hendrick Maeby "I'm so glad you made it out okay," Maeby says, perhaps for an unconsciously selfish reason. Always the touchy type she grasps his hand tightly without respect to her new divinely attributed strength, and says "You and I are messengers for the universe and mother gaia though, so we're not going anywhere before that message is delivered," sealing it with a wink and a pat. "Also, if you need pain relief..." she holds up her vape pen and wiggles it. "I agree about the buddy system. Not because y'all aren't strong, smart and beautiful, but everything turns out better when strong independent people work as a community," at the end of this point she interlocks her fingers and beams a smile at everyone. WindwardAway posted:Simon Maeby nods. "Yeah I've got a case of the sleepies myself," she says and starts to shuffle off to her room, "Goodnight everybody, we got this." After settling in, and having a few puffs, Maeby finds the illustration of the monster swirling in her head. Before it felt easier when it was just her on the line, especially with the licks that she's been able to bounce back from, but now there are other people who could get hurt. She wants to do more, apply herself in some way only she can. If only she could get some more direction... As she has multiple times, she sets about trying to reconnect with her mysterious divine benefactor. Tonight's method: the liminal dreaming method she saw on tiktok. She writes out a list of desires and questions, setting her intentions, and then lights a candle and watches it from her bed until drowsiness pulls her into half sleep. Destiny's Plaything: I rolled to get a glimpse into my fate, and it appears that it's going to be nothing good.
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Apr 18, 2024 18:51
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To Simon You set down for the night after doing your set of nightly exercise routines. They may not be too intense, but they let you set down to sleep relatively easy. Winding down is important, after all. The image Hendrick drew and Ray's descriptions of the killer stick around on your head. You aren't sure you are making heads or tails of it, but you don't really care. There is something out there that is killing people. Attacking your friends. And you won't let it stand. Sharp or not, you've never known a monster you can't beat, and this one is not going to be any exception. Your eyes move towards the window on the wall of your room. You're used to sleeping with them open, and an inviting night breeze is coming right in. For a moment, an idea crosses your mind. You sit on your bed, back to the wall, cross your legs, and try to fall asleep. On your head, Miu coccoons herself for the night in her nest. You're impulsive. Roll me Act under Pressure (cool) to see if Simon manages to keep his bad ideas under control. To Ray You nod to the others as they retire to their rooms. Still sitting on the cushy sofa outside, you take out your gaming laptop, and start cross-referencing Hendrick's description of the monster's behaviour and appearance with the data you have been able to gather. Although you do have an inordinate amount of information now, it still seems like something, somewhere, is still missing, and you can't fully make sense of all of it. Disappointed, you let out a low sigh, cozy up a bit on the sofa, and open Crunchyroll. Maybe a new episode or two will help you doze off. I'll take an Investigate (sharp) roll here if you want to try and use this time to find out a bit more. Otherwise, assuming Ray is setting off for a chill night. To Hendrick Heal 1 Harm from First Aid. You've taken good care of the cut; you've not got formal first aid training, but you definitely have learned something from past experiences. Field medicine, if you will. You take your time exchanging information with the others, while feeling secretly proud of your artistic ability. But you are feeling more than a little doozy still, and after a bit, you excuse yourself, go to your room, turn off the lights, and lie down. Your head feels like it's buzzing with information and connections, and at first, you feel like you won't be able to fall asleep. But this is something you've perfected. You mumble a short, generic prayer under your breath and clear your mind, letting it connect to the vast universe outside, far from your human worries... You're pretty sure you are asleep now. Or, at least, the world has stopped making sense. This tends to mean you are dreaming. On your mind, a sucession of images pass by. Some are yours: past memories, buried regrets, long-forgotten joys. Some feel like they haven't happened still - but as soon as you try to look at them, try to make sense of them, they morph away onto something else completely. Some, you are pretty sure, don't belong to you at all, but it's hard to tell which ones. Not when you are in this state. You feel a deep sense of uneasyness inside yourself. But you can't pinpoint the source, no more than you can pinpoint a specific leaf on a tree being shaken by a strong wind. If you could reach out, just a bit more... You get a choice. If you do try to concentrate on your dreams, you may get a hint for the whole mystery, but at the cost of using up some energy and not getting enough rest to heal the 1 HP you've lost. If you choose to disconnect, you'll wake up fully healed.
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Apr 19, 2024 10:40
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Simon Although Simon is tired, he feels increasingly tempted to... take care of the problem himself. The night breeze makes him feel more alert, and he's convinced himself he can handle whatever comes his way. After all, he hasn't died yet, right?! Roll on Cool, 2d6+1, Result: 10 Stealthily, he climbs back out of bed and approaches the window of temptation. But before he can fully open it, a flurry of furious pecks on the back of his neck stops him dead in his tracks. With a bewildered yelp, Simon whirls around to find his very displeased familiar drilling into him. Miu admonishes him with a series of angry tweets — presumably hummingbird expletives — and herds him away from the window. With a sulking pout, Simon grumbles at the bird and shuffles back to the bed with a frustrated sigh. Miu lands with a soft plop next to his head, and settles cozily atop the pillow for a well-deserved rest. There will be no crazy shenanigans tonight, at least not on her watch. --- And Simon thought he could get away with it, too... Heh.
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Apr 19, 2024 11:16
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To Maeby The cozy light of the candle and the movements of the flame quickly doze you off to sleep. You welcome sleep. It lets you be yourself. quote:You're hunting. It's dark, but you don't need eyes to see. You know where your prey is. You've always known. You jump and scream as you wake up from the nightmare, and you return to reality just in time to blow the candle you slapped down before it starts a fire. You sit down dazed for a second as reality comes back to you. You definitely need a smoke now. And maybe a hug. But definitely a smoke. Mark 1 experience for the failed roll.
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Apr 19, 2024 11:17
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Ray "Heh heh. Oh, Megumin-chan - your explosions never fail to impress or amuse." Ray takes some time to watch anime. Ray takes some time to think. A shower in the room provided, a quick change of clothes - The luxury of being able to stretch his legs outside of the van and enjoy the cold, fresh air of an open balcony. Ray puts in his earbuds; the soundtrack to Nier: Replicant on shuffle. Staring out at the parking lot, Ray watches white wisps of vapor turn to a cold, vibrant orange underneath the glowing street lights nearby. Ray considers the day's learned information. Ray takes some time to think. 'Not a vamp; too wild, doesn't fit the drawing,' Ray's face scrunches in thought as he speaks to himself, the relative silence of the small town night interrupted only by the sound his knuckles rappping idly against the cold metal railing ahead of him. 'Maybe a were? But doesn't seem intelligent enough. Too cold for chupacabras? Climate change is a real bitch, maybe a migration... but then why the dating app connection?' He takes a drag from his e-cigarette, a thick-tasting mixture of tobacco and blueberry filling his lungs. 'And getting a DNA test is going to take too long, no matter how many favors I call in.' Ray's expression shifts suddenly; the look of someone who's just had the metaphorical lightbulb go off next to their head. 'Yeah... yeah, that could work. Long as one of 'em is game, at least. I'll go ahead and get it ready anyway, just in case.' Ray stands from the railing, and nods firmly to himself, before heading down the walkway staircase and toward the parking lot below. Ray slips into the van he calls home and, after finding a few odds and ends from around the workspace, prepares to bunker down for a night's sleep. No rolls yet, we'll wait until tomorrow when Ray shows off what's up his sleeve.
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Apr 19, 2024 15:03
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??? As Ray prepares to sleep, "Fleeting Words" just beginning to crescendo, he feels a slight tug on one of his earbuds.
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Apr 19, 2024 15:40
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Ray Despite being on the verge of sleep - or perhaps because of it - Ray feels the sensation of his earbuds being tugged and has what can best be described as an "oh hell no" moment. Being at least slightly seasoned at this point, one arm moves swiftly upward to try to trap whatever might be nearby (or worse, reaching for him), while the other jerks up to reach for a small combat knife he keeps tucked above the bunk in his van. Before proceeding further his eyes flick open to see... whatever there might be to see. My Second Re-Reg fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Apr 19, 2024 |
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Apr 19, 2024 15:54
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Hendrick Hendrick felt the two paths tugging at him, a little extra resilience that was as ever fleeting versus information to get to the heart of the matter faster. He hadn't forgotten the woman who almost died and the others who did because he hadn't been there in time on his last job; as a result, the choice was easy. He tuned in more thoroughly to his dreams.
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Apr 19, 2024 16:56
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??? To Ray: Your arm darts up to where you think the tugging sensation is coming from, but you just slap your hand into the side of the van. You open your eyes and see nothing, but before you can pull your arm away you feel a chill as though you had plunged your hand in icy cold water. When you recoil your arm in shock, the feeling subsides.
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Apr 19, 2024 19:58
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To Hendrick You reach out. It's a weird sensation, not unlike physically stretching yourself to grab something that's slightly out of your reach. Somehow, your dreamscape turns itself inside out - you're no longer seeing images, or indeed anything at all. Your mind fills up with darkness. You take it all in, because it's the only way you can make any sense of it. Slowly, like a caleidoscope image popping into place, small light dots of different sizes and colors pop up here and there. You know those well. They're energies. Living beings. Not just humans - every living being has some amount of energy. From trees to bacteria. Perceiving all of them at the same time would overload anyone's brain very quickly. But you've got some practice; you can do this, at least for small amounts of time. You stare at the small universe of lights as they move around, trying to avoid fixating on one. It takes all your conscious effort to do so, like unfocusing your eyes to trigger a 3d image effect, but you do manage. You're looking for patterns. And sure enough, one emerges up, and you feel an unexpected chill down your spine. There's an unusual amount of void space here - for you, it manifests as negative space that sucks out the energy around it. It's not uncommon to see it whenever a supernatural effect takes place - a lot of beings thrive on the darkness. But there is too much. Way, way too much. Way more than a single monster could ever generate. You don't feel like you can hold down for much longer. Better to be safe. You cut the connection, and let yourself slowly fall down and out of the dreamspace. --- You slowly wake up. It's still dark outside, and you feel a sticky sensation on your shoulder. Sleepily, you reach up, and notice the bleeding hasn't fully stopped - the bandage is soaked, and part of it has seeped through your shirt and down to the sheet, leaving a small dark spot. As your brain slowly turns itself back on, you start realizing why you felt compelled to come here.
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Apr 19, 2024 20:16
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Ray After jerking back Ray freezes in place. His eyes dart over to a small console in the wall beside his bunk; a familiar orange light is missing. "Frell," he curses softly to himself, before looking swiftly back to where the cold sensation had been. With a frown on his face - and other hand still quite ready to grab his knife if need be - he eases his fingers back toward the low-temperature area to see if... whatever it was, is still there.
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Apr 20, 2024 08:35
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??? To Ray: Ray reaches out to the area where he felt that overwhelmingly cold sensation, but this time he feels nothing.
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Apr 20, 2024 23:54
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Ray Ray frowns, poking and prodding at the air in multiple directions but feeling nothing further. "Gotta get your head in the drat game, Ray," he mutters to himself, before grabbing his keys from a small nearby shelf. Even in the dim light of the van's interior, he knows which button on his fob to press - number three.  There are then a series of incredibly analog-sounding 'clunks' from around several points in the van; the orange light Ray had been looking for earlier appears on the console. With a deep breath Ray then relaxes, setting the keys down once more and doing what he can to sink back into his bunk and toward sleep. "Gonna have to redo the sage rubbings again, goddammit...." My Second Re-Reg fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Apr 21, 2024 |
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Apr 21, 2024 01:06
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To Maeby You go out into the balcony for a quick smoke to calm your nerves... and you manage to do it, all things said. It was just a bad dream, nothing more. You stare at the stars as you take deep puffs off the vaper. You know, this life quest stuff is fun, but sometimes you kind of wish you had a bit more guidance. You slightly envy Hendrick in that regard - whatver else is going, he seems to have it all together with whatever his calling is. Sometimes you feel like you are bumbling it a bit. Down by the parking lot, the light coming out of Ray's van catches your eye. But not as much as it quickly flicking in and out of your vision. You aren't sure why, but it now looks a bit more... mundane, waifu and all. It's boring now. You take a look at the vaper, but it's just tobacco. Huh. Time to go sleep for real, clearly. To Ray Weird happening gone, you turn around on your bed and finally enjoy some reparing sleep, safe on your protected home. Tomorrow's going to be a long day, and you're going to enjoy it. --- An alarm going off on your phone wakes you up. Sunlight is coming in through the windows of the van. You stretch out, sit down on the bed, and get ready to start the day. To Hendrick You take a bit of time to change the bandaging on the cut. You've dealt with wounds enough by now to notice this isn't normal - it isn't a deep cut, and it should be dry by now, but it just doesn't seem to finish closing. It's a question for tomorrow, probably. And tomorrow seems to come really fast - next thing you know, you're awakened by the sound of people coming and going outside. You must have dozed off for real this time. To Simon You dream of running outside and fighting monsters, and wake up really disappointed that it isn't real. Up in your head, you feel Miu moving around a bit, then taking off and buzzing laps around the room. Some day you'll teach her to not wake you up so early. Sleepily, you get up, stretch a bit in some half-remembered exercise or another, and take a look out of the window. Sun's not even out all the way! There is a big tree just by the window of your room, in the perfect place for a jump, and... but it's clearly too late now, and you begrudginly concede that you better use the stairs like a civilized person. Then, when you're about to leave, something moving catches your attention. Up on a branch of the tree, there seems to be a small kid of all things. You can't clearly see their face right now, but they're holding onto the branch with legs and arms, apparently trying to get closer to your window. If they have noticed you at all, it doesn't seem to dissuade them.
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Apr 21, 2024 09:55
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Ray Ray steps out of the van, stretches in the morning sun, and hits the vape. Sunlight is good, sunlight is warm; the fresh mountain air was still a bit too crisp for his favorite pair of jorts, but at least his leather longcoat would be getting some good use. Ray tilts down the brim of his hat as he pulls out his phone, swiping past his login screen and hitting up the group chat. To the group text: "If anybody else is awake and wants to get started with the day I'm going to go enjoy the continental breakfast, free waffles are good waffles. 🧇 😇" My Second Re-Reg fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Apr 21, 2024 |
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Apr 21, 2024 12:30
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| # ? May 6, 2024 02:32 |
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Simon Instead of shutting the window and running to alert someone as a normal person would likely do, Simon's reaction is to squeak it all the way open and stick his head out in perplexion. What the heck is a kid doing up in a tree so early? Miu chitters nervously at him, and just as Simon gets a good view of the clambering child, he ducks his head back in with a puzzled frown. Very strange, indeed. Gonna investigate the treechild, +1 from Miu. Roll on Sharp, 2d6+2, Result: 11
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Apr 21, 2024 15:02
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