Blizz

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Drake and Sully

Kari's house

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Another fucking recollection?

This one made Stormy’s jaw clench a little. 8th Street had been here, they had come and desecrated a kind girl’s home. They came and took notes that Kari had, but what did those notes hold? Stormy never knew Emily to be the academic type, or most of her “friends” for that matter… It seemed like someone was paying them. Or they were going to use the notes to their advantage somehow. Maybe they had a buyer. He wasn’t sure, but Drake knew more about them.

Once it ended, he looked around at everyone. Luna wasn’t in much of a position to fight. Drake just got his soul damn near knocked loose. It was almost funny how quickly things like these got out of hand. But now that they had some more information, maybe it would be more in hand.

Stormy walked over to Drake and Sully. ”Listen, I’m not actually angry with you. Sorry if it sounded like it- We can talk about that later,” he said, sincerely. ”But for now… You saw that too, right? Is it possible that Kari could be doing that to us? Showing us that recollection? Maybe a spell that transferred information when someone went investigating?”

He looked up at the house. ”Ken isn’t going to like this.”

Interactions: The Coven

Kari's House

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When Sloane pulled a knife on him, he didn’t flinch. He was like a statue, just leveling that dead-eyed stare at her until she put the weapon away. It was a habit of his to always arrive in such a poor fashion, one that gave him quite the experience with a certain federal agent. But he was dramatic like that. And besides, the coven could stand to stay on their toes a little more often with this serial killer business.

”I see you’re ready for anyth-“ He was cut off by Lynn jumping back to the land of the living. She began ranting and raving about the possibilities that surrounded Kari. It was always worth listening to her, so he did just that. Lynn’s predictions were incredibly narrow in this case, and that was a surprise.

”Those odds are rare for you,” he acknowledged. It wasn’t a guarantee, but whenever there was a considerable chance, one had to consider it. So of course, Jack took the warning to heart. He looked at Sloane, who obviously didn’t care much for the predictions. ”I’ll help search, in case Lynn’s prediction doesn’t come to pass. But first, I’ll inform everyone else. If this is a false alarm, I’ll be back shortly.”

Jack walked out of the room, and used his magic to get around the place in the span of seconds. The basement first, then the ground by the door, then the woods with that mafia bitch. Everyone was given the same quick message: ”Lynn is almost certain we are about to be attacked by the 8th Street Coven. Be prepared, in case she is right.”

And then once everyone here today had that warning, he teleported himself into a tree overlooking the house. Obscured from sight between the leaves, he knelt on a thick branch. He could see everything from here, and quickly maneuver around attackers if they did decide to strike.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Tsukino and Drake

Kari's house

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Stormy did as Drake asked, dropping the shields and letting the whole thing slide. Ten years hadn't left him lacking the memories of the things they had to face as children, not at all. But Stormy was thinking of the big picture here. Yes, they were being picked off, and yes, Tsukino was a problem they had to deal with back then. But they didn't have much to go off of now, and jumping the gun like this worried Stormy. And when Stormy began to worry about people, he worried a lot.

Tayla stepping in seemed justifiable, when she pointed out that she could feel the hostility on the woman. But... Didn't she sever a long time ago?

Odd.

”It could be that Wolf Bastard for all we know! That would make sense, wouldn't it? A lot of sense. And even if she isn't working with or for Father Wolf, you haven't been in St. Portwel in over ten years, Stormy. Some of the groups that call St. Portwell home...?"

”... Yeah, you can't play softball with them.”

"I think we would've caught Father Wolf sooner if it was this easy to capture her," he responded, and was going to respond to Drake again before Sully came in like a freight train and tackled the man.... Ouch. Sully could probably fix that. Probably. He let Tsukino down when she started writing around in his arms. Only for her to fall to the ground limb as a stick.

“This isn't fucking fair. I'm just trying to help you. Don't you know I have friends that can help with your little problem?”

"If that were the case, why didn't you approach us openly? You could have done so sooner, or waited until we were done investigating the house. You could've even done it while we were here. I'd be lying if I didn't understand why Drake felt the need to attack you," he said patiently, keeping close to her in case she tried anything funny.

"You were one of us, Tsukino. I'm almost positive Auri tried to reach out to you. And if she did, you had to have known stalking us would've been a bad decision, when all of us are very capable of defending ourselves. So why? Talk us through that."

Interactions: The Coven

The Shadowzone > Kari's House

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By the time Jack even thought to check the time again, he had sped through the rest of his books in a frenzy to find something they could work with. His books on the Pit mentioned ways one could break out in theory, but he had no proof that Raven or Sunshine actually left the Pit. He had nothing of real substance here. Pieces of knowledge that could help the others to approximate an answer two, yes. Maybe even another lead to pursue, but not an answer in sight. Jack enjoyed being in the dark, but not in this meaning of the word. It frustrated him to not know something about the paranormal world, but he could manage. The answers would come in time, and time was a place he needed to return to.

Shadows lifted books from the desk to their resting places on the shelves, and Jack marked one with his Blackout Shift spell. He grabbed his channeler off of the desk and made a portal into Shimmer. Hopefully there hadn't been anything particularly eventful...

A black, swirling disc of energy appeared in Kari's bedroom, without a sound to be heard. Jack could hear a void through the other side, growing more clear by the second starting at the sound of being underwater. His boots touched the floor in equal silence, and found himself standing behind Sloane and Lynn, who was clearly exploring the future.

“You set a bad example. We’re supposed to be searching the house, not sitting around doing nothing. Really, I can’t believe how unhelpful you’re being. This is a group effort. You think you’d at the very least tolerate being in the same room with them. Can’t even make it through a single meeting without starting a fight. You’re such an embarrassment. Why would they even invite you? If we accomplish nothing again it’s all your fault.”

Was she talking about herself?

"You aren't responsible for everything, my friend," he said, breaking the illusion that she was alone at last. He was terrible about announcing his presence this way.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Tsukino, Drake and Sully

Kari's house

---

God. Fucking. Damn.

Luna was only getting more agitated, and Drake was the one to light the powder keg. Sully just happened to follow them right in time to see Drake blast Luna off her perch. Was he out of his mind? Sure, they were getting heated, but attacking her was going from a three to a ten immediately. He made a mental note to get on Drake’s ass about that. First Sloane, now Luna, he didn't like that pattern.

Sure enough, Luna tipped and fell over as she displayed her magic. The Stoic Shell evaporated and Stormy booked it over to her point of impact. When Luna was close to the ground, Stormy caught her in his arms. A moment later, multiple circular shields formed in the air to put a wall between Drake and Stormy. Just in case he had the bright idea to throw a lightning bolt at her or something.

”Drake! That’s enough!” He shouted, loud enough for Drake to hear from in the air. ”I’ve got her! Drop your weapon! This isn’t getting us anywhere!”

He motioned for Sully to come over, that shock looked painful. ”You and I are going to have a long and thorough discussion about escalating later, Drake.” he said, before turning his attention to Luna.

”Can you stand?”

Avengers Academy 💥

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Location: Who the Fuck is Baldur
Skills:
WHAT. THE. FUCK.

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From Leah’s point of view, it seemed like Ed has struck her down for her hubris. In a moment’s notice, Leah was no longer in the sky, soaring across everything below her as she did years ago. Now, she was in some fleshy, wretched pit without an ounce of geological material in sight. It was abrupt, and she wasn’t the only one here. And… Her skin was green. Why the fuck was she green?

Leah was suddenly in some weird mix of leather and fur. Like armor made from a dead animal, which showed off her stomach… Was Ed doing that one purpose? He better not have been. Others were with him, the Murdertwink that Dorian was dating, along with Danni and Diana. They were all some sort of fantasy thing like her. Leah looked down and realized a big fuck-off axe was in her hands. Light as a feather for someone with her strength, but it looked mean.

Leah noticed they were being attacked. A bunch of tiny infantile demons were clambering towards them. Somewhere out in the universe, there was a wizard laughing at the thought of this.

”You have got to be fucking kidding me. Alright, whack-a-baby. Why not!” This was fucked.

Leah didn’t know what a “Nautiloid” was, or what a Baldur’s Gate lead to. But what she did know is that this was just a video game, so killing the imps wasn’t that big of a deal. After Mads set one on fire, Leah took a swing. She raised the axe up high over her head and the devil fetuses were unharmed- She missed!

Fuck!

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Tsukino and Drake

Kari's house

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Accusing Stormy of being that bad guy here was like throwing dead wood onto a bonfire. Not the best way to de-escalate a situation. Tsukino surely had tricks up her sleeves, literally and figuratively if his memory served him well. She was an Aberrant, and Stormy loved facing Aberrants. "If you know about that business," he started. "Then you understand that instigating anything against us means entangling yourself in things that aren't worth your time or energy." His face was stone cold, stoicism drowning out the annoyance he felt at her threats.

“Maybe I should really teach you how to be someone's friend, huh?”

"Maybe you should stop and ask yourself if you want that," he retorted, bluntly. "We have enough to worry about as it is, you have a poor reputation in this coven. If you start this, neither of us will be responsible for what the rest of the coven decides they want to do with you."

Stormy tightened his grip on his shield, and his free hand twitched slightly. She was too far up for him to scare off with Consecration, but maybe he could knock her off the branch. Or throw a rock up there with the aura imbued. Whatever happened, he had a feeling he couldn't make the first move.

"But if you back down, I'm sure we can do this without violence."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Fucking everyone, it seems.

Kari's house

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The recollection happened and… Left Stormy confused. Thus far, they were only having these in their dreams. It was akin to Anya’s magic, insofar as there was information to be shared. But this one was waking. Kari had some sort of dealing with 8th Street, something she wanted no part in apparently. Honestly it was hard to blame her. Stormy could guess that they wanted her for her knowledge gathering Lux, assuming she hadn’t done anything crazy like severing. But that was put out of Stormy’s mind when he hear Sully shouting about Drake running down a stalker. He noticed Tayla and Sully talking, after Tayla had put on those headphones.

Odd. Stormy waited a moment, and then made his mind up once Sully started passing out shots from the Chalice. ”I’m going to go and back him up. Too many cooks in that kitchen as it is,” he nodded to the house. ”Mind yourselves.”

---

Stormy followed the voices in the distance, one he could easily recognize as Drake. He could pinpoint them by the glow of his friend’s electrical weapon brandished in the open. He managed to catch the very end of their conversation, hearing Drake mentioning someone coming back to the coven- Who the hell could that be? For Drake to be chewing them out like that, it must’ve been someone shitty. Whoever they were, both they and Drake were treated to the sight of Stormy stepping forward with a shield hanging off of his arm, the Stoic Shell. A glowing green tower shield of magic energy that stood at 4 and a half feet tall, and 20 inches wide.

Stormy fixed a calm, yet firm gaze on their stalker… Yeah, that tracked.

”Whatever you’re about to do, I’d suggest thinking heavily on your options. You aren’t welcome around here, Tsukino.” Just like Britney, he advocated for her getting removed when they were young.

”We have no interest in dealing with your mafia.” If it really came down to it, Stormy could always hurl a shield up at Drake to deflect a projectile like some shit from a bad movie.

Interactions: The Coalition of Cunts

Kari's House

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Amara gleaned absolutely nothing from the recollection.

The unfortunate truth was that Amara couldn’t remember Kari Wilson from Shimmer. The Army replaced that memory with one from another world, probably Glint or Flare, where Kari was relatively useless. She had cool magic, but didn’t do much. And Amara sure as hell didn’t know which phantom to ask, since that was like finding one grain of sand in particular on a beach.

So she put it in the back of her mind, and didn’t even try to think on it. Ken cracked a joke and Sully started running a shot line. Amara wasn’t entire disappointed, but she didn’t think now was the time. Rather, Amara just followed Ken and the others down into the basement. It felt weird being here, she had this nagging feeling that she should’ve remembered this stuff. Maybe if she went through the books she wrote, she could find some memory of her and Kari being familiar.

Maybe.

All this stuff told Amara that whoever Kari was, she must’ve been talented. Capably. It was a whole workshop, so why weren’t her memories strong enough? Amara appreciated people who were crafty enough to have workshops, and Kari was one of them… Yet she was a blank.

Amara didn’t want to say that out loud, it wouldn’t be right. It would be admitting she wasn’t going to be useful around the coven, admitting that the Army was adjoined to more than just her soul. Instead, she paid attention to Ken sliding in a coin between the seams of a wall, and opening up a pocket dimension. He always was a damn good Adept.

She found her hand resting near her gun under her jacket when it opened, but it dropped back down in disappointment when Ken started tearing through everything inside. Ken was unstable now, and that meant he’d need a minute to recenter. Quickly, Amara jumped on that.

”Ken, listen to me, man. We need you collected, okay?” She asked, stern but gentle like she was taking to someone on the edge of a cliff. ”Wherever her things went, this tells us the culprit can possibly get into pocket dimensions on their own. Silver linings.”

Focus. Focus. Focus. Complete the mission.

”Maybe we can use what got left behind. I’m going upstairs to look around, see if there’s anything telling that way. In the meantime, get your thoughts in order. Put that ninja discipline to use,” Amara offered before turning to the stairs. ”And think about why someone would go for her notes and not the rest of the things in there. Anyone coming with me, come with.”

Someone had been here, this house had been compromised. It could’ve been weeks ago, or it could’ve been an hour ago. Knowing that, Amara crept up to the main floor of the house, gun drawn, and slowly crept up the stairs to the top floor. If there was a fight, she’d be ready.

SPIRITUM

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Somehow, the robot survived getting that sword buried through its skull. Morden noted that even when blind, it still had the potential to hurt someone. He dropped low and hooked his arm around the machine’s neck, and was just about to “strangle” the damn thing when Silje pointed something out. There was a volatile pocket of mist behind them, fuming and growing violent. Silje was as unhinged as he was convicted, but she had practical ideas when it came to wrecking things. He understood her plan in a loner, and that was why Barghest was not to be trifled with. They were a well-oiled machine. So Morden rested his other hand on the blade in its head, and started to spin.

It was too heavy to pick up and throw like a person, but Morden’s brand of magic allowed him to leverage physics in the ways both power armor and infantry could without making a compromise. He had no trouble dragging the robot horizontally, so whirling it in a circle became easier as he picked up momentum. Morden’s feet closed together as he began whirling in a circle like a tornado for all of one second. Then, hearing metal tear around the robot’s face, Morden let go with one hand. The blade was rippled clean out as the robot caught just enough air to skid into the mist pocket, skidding across the ground right where Silje wanted.

The momentum caused Morden to stumble backwards, but he managed to stay on his feet. He could’ve just dragged it into the mist pocket the easy way, but that would’ve put him there in it. And explosions weren’t very comfortable.

Boom.

Silje took care of the rest.

They’re too strong for brute force, he said, telepathically. I recommend aiming for weak points. The head, the arms, disable them first and worry about neutralizing after.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Fucking everyone, it seems.

Kari's house

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Oh, so this was going to be a day.

Stormy took a moment to tune the conversation out and mentally prepare himself for the things they were about to do, right as Sully wrapped an arm over him. It was great to see that he was in good spirits. Kari was a pretty respectable person in life, and digging through her things like this didn't sit right with him. But this was all they had, so he figured they could at least be respectful. Lyss was killed last night, and the stoic expression on Stormy's face betrayed the pang of grief he felt. His thoughts took a turn to what he might've done to change that outcome, if he were there. Maybe he could've scared Father Wolf off at the very least, or even gotten Lyss to safety as she bled to death. Stormy could've-

BANG!

That train of thought was entirely derailed when Sloane let herself in. Britney and Linqian jumped on her ass in a heartbeat, which was understandable. Ken literally said he could get a key, it costed them nothing to wait just a moment for that. But Stormy was lagging behind, trying to get mentally caught up. So instead of step in, he let everyone else deal with that. If he spoke up for one side or the other- as if there even needed to be any- it would get worse. All they had done in the last week since their reunion consisted of infighting, and running into dead ends. This was the first real lead they had, and they were about to get torn to shreds by their own actions. He couldn't protect them from their own fuckups.

"Nothing's changed a day, has it?" He said, staying with Drake and Sully for a moment. He'd go up there to the house when he was mentally ready for that mess.

It was at this moment that he spotted a kid injecting himself into their conversation, and the others seemed less than exasperated at his presence. But Stormy distinctly remembered that same kid getting shot in the face, so Stormy was alarmed. He knew something was up with that kid, because why would an ordinary kid be at that fight? Hell, Stormy might not have threatened the Wolfpack if Clancy didn't get a bullet in his face. "...That kid was shot. He shouldn't be alive. I had a feeling there was something off about him," he said, a bit concerned that he stuck around. "Was he at the church before it burned down? Did anyone happen to ask him what he's doing here?"

Interactions: The Coalition of Cunts

Kari's House

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The reactions to her presence were mixed, except for Sully. She could work with that, but what Amara couldn't work with was everyone devolving into a shitfit. Sloane barging in like that was crude, sure, but they had work to do. If they stopped and clamored over one another to bitch about every single thing, they'd all lose sight of the goal and it would be just like a decade ago. Amara's face scrunched up in a scowl for a moment as she heard the conversation going back and forth. Linqian said something about Jinhai, and that was then Amara decided to get involved. herself. "I'm going up there and defusing that shit. Don't get anyone drunker than you can fix out here, big man." She gave Sully a friendly pat across the shoulder as she broke off from that group and saw... A fucking kid. Did they pick up a fucking stray?

She had some pleasant memories of Linqian, which conveniently involved Bianca. And she didn't want anything to do with Britney, but this was the time to step up and shut them both down politely.

"Alright, alright everyone. Dogpile Sloane Hour was a decade ago, remember?" She was referring to the stuck up attitude Sloane had 24/7. Surprisingly, Amara could remember personally telling Sloane she shouldn't let others tell her how to act, since they were all under a lot of stress. "We can afford to talk about how we're executing this after we're done, this is gonna be a long day. We can make it shorter if we don't get caught up on every little thing," She said, trying to appeal to everyone's sense of reason... As much as they had one.

For coming to Sloane's defense Amara was rewarded with a quiet huff and a roll of the eyes, followed by Sloane sharply turning her head away as if she were searching for the stairs when Amara looked towards her. Amara raised her hands in polite surrender.

"Okay, I tried. Ken-" She might as well try to distract the guy whose dead girlfriend they just offended by intruding on this place. "If there was something off about Kari, where would she have evidence of that sort of thing?" That was mostly a nonsensical question, meant to sound thoughtful just to get him to think with the logical side of his brain, not the emotional side.

Avengers Academy 💥

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Location: The Framework
Skills:
FUCK YOU ED!!!

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---

Everyone seemed to be on the same page more or less, and that was dangerous. Ed had no idea what kind of shitstorm he just unleashed. Vicky seemed to be thinking the exact same thing as Leah, who was already coming up with a strategy herself. "Yeah, I know just how to distract him. Make sure everyone else does the best they can, and don't let anyone freak the hell out. Ed couldn't kill us if he tried, not with the tech in here." Unless the teachers were that negligent that he managed to do something crazy to the Framework, that is. Leah walked behind the group, so there was space between them and her, and slammed her foot into the dirt. The entire world seemed to shake and tremble for a moment, right before their eyes. Then came the sound of rocks cracking and grind against one another, as a platform of stone rose up above her classmates' heads. If it was good enough to get her through a desert, it was good enough to get Leah over all the obstacles.

"I'm going to buy all of you some time, do what you have to do!" With that, Leah's stone platform raised higher up, and then took off like a rocket, far over the goombas, the green pipes, and every other flavor of bullshit Ed decided to subject them to. The sound of her voice cracked out over the music, for all to hear as she flew off into the distance.

"HEY! ARCADE!!! SURPRISE, SUR-FUCKING-PRISE, MOTHERFUCKER!!! THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF YOUR FUCKING VILLAINOUS BACKSTORY!!!" She shouted, deliberately egging the technotwink on. "IS THIS THE BEST YOU'VE GOT?! THIS MAKES USAGI'S EXCUSE FOR TRAINING LOOK COMPETENT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AN EXPERT ON THIS SORT OF THING!!!"

If he let Leah continue on unabated, she'd get ahead and literally keep flying through each level. She'd get free, and then she'd give Ed's chakras a high impact realignment with her fists. But if he focused her attention on the Leah, that gave the others free reign to continue without Ed watching over them, letting them use their powers to cheat. It seemed foolproof in Leah's mind. Genius, even.

INSULT the user above you

Your jordans are fake

is that how this works