fluorescent

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

Who the fuck spends that much money on an outfit like that? It was the only thing going through Graffiti's head as she pulled on her gas mask. A metal armored suit and a metal mask to go with it? And those gauntlets? Graffiti's gut screamed for an immediate fight or flight response. She held it in check, however, keeping her mind as clear as she could in order to calculate her options and make the right call. Graffiti lowered herself into a ready stance, grateful that Lily had overreacted in such a way. At first, Graffiti hadn't thought twice about the man approaching from the direction her most recent artwork was. But as Lily dropped into her own self-defense position and backed herself into a wall, Graffiti realized that the man was masked and menacing in his own right.

Without moving any closer to Lily, Graffiti slowly placed herself between the other two vigilantes. She kept her back to Lily, hopefully indicating that at the very least, she wasn't here to corner anyone. "You've got it wrong, Black Widow." Graffiti's voice was a low growl as her adrenaline began to kick in more and more. She placed emphasis on using Lily's alias, hoping she took the hint; if this guy really was trouble, real names were exactly what they didn't want to be using. In hindsight, it was a mistake to get too friendly with Lily, in the first place.

"I'm here to help you. Really. This guy, though, doesn't seem like that kind of gentleman. Actually..." Graffiti trailed off, studying the mask and the outfit of the newest member to the party once more. Everything clicked together, and she turned her head back to Lily with a renewed sense of urgency. "Look, I have a gut feeling that I've heard of this guy. And if I'm right, I need you to trust me, and we need to leave."

There weren't many viable escape routes, unless Lily was able to move as freely as Graffiti. There was the obvious "turn and run right down the street" option, but that was always begging for a bullet in the back. Two options remained: use Arthur's dumpster to get onto the fire escape and to the roof, or break back into Arthur's and run through the building. The dumpster only worked if Lily was agile and strong enough to springboard off the dumpster and pull herself onto the fire escape. If not, breaking back into the diner was effective enough, if loud and messy.

And if nothing else, there was one other possibility: leaving Lily behind to fend for herself. It was shitty, but Lily was armed, and didn't seem too ready to trust Graffiti. If Lily continued with her paranoia, Graffiti wouldn't have to worry about her and would be able to run away however she saw fit. For the moment, however, Graffiti needed to determine how much danger they were in. She took a moment to once again lament her lack of her own Oracle. Batman was so goddamned lucky to have that woman at his back.

Turning to face the woman at her own back, Graffiti tossed an inappropriately friendly smile. "You with me?"

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

Oh. That was a surprise. Guess you're more well-known than you thought, Graffiti reflected. And here you were thinking you were only known in the Blocks. Knowing now that she had more of a reputation than she was aware of, Graffiti determined she'd have to make it further around the city more often, if only to really understand what public opinion of her was. That Lily already liked the persona of Graffiti was promising, though Graffiti hoped she could live up to her image.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. My style gets me more attention than I like," Graffiti shrugged, picking up the gas mask and pulling it over her head, letting it hang loosely from her neck. "You got me. And I've heard a little bit of you, too. You're more popular in this area than I think you know." She grinned knowingly at Lily; Black Widow was a name Graffiti had heard some residents of the Blood Blocks tossing around.

Securing her backpack, Arlene began to walk to the back of the diner. "We'll go out the way I came, through the back window. And I'll probably lock it for Arthur." She threw a grin back over her shoulder at Lily before unlatching the window. "Oh, and you don't have to call me Graffiti all the time. Honestly, that's fucking weird," she pulled the window open, struggling a little with the weight. "My name is Arlene. And I'd tell you not to tell nobody, but I think you know that." Arlene hopped through the window, holding it open for Lily to follow. "Well, Lily, let's see about getting you home, yeah?"

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

"Well... not an employee, no. Arthur tends to forget to lock up properly, so I help myself to some food when I'm working at night. I'm a painter, do buildings and stuff," Graffiti motioned towards her gas mask resting on the table. It wasn't particularly a lie, and it had gotten her by well enough before. Nobody really doubted the black woman with the gas mask claiming to be a laborer. She double-checked the door to make sure it was locked, and retook her place at the table. "And trust me, I know all too well what this neighborhood is like. I'm just glad you're okay. Normally girls like us end up a lot worse."

Graffiti tilted her head slightly, examining the wound on the other woman's head. "I'm no doctor, but the wound doesn't look too deep. And you're walking and talking straight, so I think you can rule out a concussion." She looked down at the table, finding a sandwich with but a few bites of it left. It was gone quickly. She wiped her mouth, disposing of whatever crumbs might have decided to stick around on her face.

"You've got a friend in the graveyard, too, huh? I'm sorry," Graffiti said solemnly. She knew far too many people in that graveyard, and did her best not to think about it. "I can walk you home, if you want. I'm just about done here, but you can take as much time as you need to get yourself settled."

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

@BCTheEntity Given what's on the CS, it doesn't seem like he would outright kill other vigilantes without good reason, but at the same time, it doesn't seem like it would take much for him to determine a good reason to go after a vigilante. Graffiti just murdered a dude and displayed his body in an alley, even though he was sexually assaulting someone. Most people find that pretty despicable. So it's up to you, really, since I can see it going both ways, though I'm leaning more towards not immediately killing, just because talking and then fighting after is so much more fun.

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

Graffiti had watched the woman emerge from the graveyard and approach the diner as she munched on her sandwich. The woman didn't seem like a threat, and Graffiti had a semi-biased personal rule that women always got the benefit of the doubt, even in Ankora. If anything, Graffiti admired the woman's bravery, walking alone in this neighborhood with what Graffiti guessed was a dead phone, from the looks of it. And, hell, she was her type. Graffiti closed her eyes, simultaneously blessing and cursing whatever god made her gay in a world with such few women to reciprocate. This was a song and dance she was all too familiar with; there had been enough women in the past for her to know that her chances of striking out early were high. She did the quick math - Graffiti was maybe batting just under 0.100. She'd keep herself low-key; besides, nobody appreciated any kind of romantic advance at this kind of night. That shit was just rude.

It took Graffiti a few seconds to realize her little dive into her relationship history had distracted her; the woman was knocking on the door of the diner. That was a first. Usually people steered well clear of others in the area around the Blocks. She looked a little shaken, too, now that Graffiti had a closer look at her. She jumped up from her seat, grabbing the key to the door from behind the counter and rushing to open the door.

"Honey, are you alright? Can I help you?" Graffiti questioned, concern in her voice as she gave the woman a once-over. "Is that blood in your hair? Come inside and take a seat, let's get you put back together, yeah?" Graffiti stepped back, holding the door open and her arm out in an offer inside. By no means did Graffiti have the right to invite guests into Arthur's Diner, but Arthur would understand, she was sure. Well, he'd never know, and that was just about the same thing.

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

@BCTheEntity I'm cool with the Red Claw getting involved. Similar to Lily though, Graffiti doesn't have much of a traditional costume - she kinda just roams around in street clothes with her gas mask the only thing really giving her away. But given how high profile she is/can be, I'd buy the idea that just about anybody - particularly the Red Claw, given the resources he has - would know about her and more or less how to find her, should they want to.

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Arlene. This is truly a work of art."

Taking a step back from the spray painted mural, Graffiti took a deep breath of the lingering fumes as she appreciated her own work. Using some duct tape she had found in a dumpster, she had posed Maskless on the alley wall in Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man pose, completely naked and showcasing the wounds she had left on his body. Surrounding the corpse was a painting of deformed birds gnawing away at the body set to a backdrop of stars and nebulas. She made a mental note: Color palette was midnight black, steel gray, and solar yellow on brick. It was a little bit of a departure from her normal works, but Graffiti was of the belief that the best artists learned to diversify eventually.

She emerged from the alleyway, taking in her surroundings. In her adrenaline fueled rush to the crime, Graffiti had paid no attention to where in Ankora she had ended up. Laundromat, hardware store, park in the distance, bank to her right - wait, if that was the bank, then that was not a park. Graveyard! She was by the graveyard. That meant Arthur's Diner was nearby, and that meant she was getting a free meal to reward herself with for her good deeds.

--

The back window into the diner's main room was open, as always. Arthur Rose was always as careless a manager as he was good a cook. She crept in, making her way to the kitchen and taking the ingredients she needed for a sub sandwich. She prepared the same sub as always: six-inch with ham, pepperoni, mozzarella, and olives, all doused in a red wine vinaigrette. It might as well have been a pizza. After checking to make sure she closed - and locked - the back window she snuck in through, Graffiti sat down at the window seat. Sure, she was visible to the street, but Arthur didn't get himself the corner location for his customers to not appreciate the view of the graveyard across the street. Not that Graffiti was ever really a formal customer at his diner, but he didn't need to know that. She took her first bite of the sub, delighting in the wonder that was the pizza sub.

Dragon Age: Seas Of Thedas

Evelyn found Vat-Katari's demeanor amusing, if a little headache-inducing. Damn it all, she groaned internally, I really am getting old. She relaxed her posture slightly, though she remained as formal as ever. Her mother had gone through great pains to carefully refine Evelyn's poise and presentation, and Evelyn was not about to disrespect the old Comtesse in such a way. She took the seat at the table Vat-Katari had motioned to.

With a smile and a slow nod, Evelyn replied, "I am Evelyn, adopted daughter of Comtesse Lémieux in Orlais. I was once a bard, and assassin, though as you can see I am older and no longer able to keep up with some of my... younger associates."

She hated to admit it, but there it was. It became immediately apparent to Evelyn that she was no longer the masterful bard of years past during her most recent tenure in Val Royeaux with the Red Jennies, when Evelyn began to be repeatedly outperformed by a snarky young elf with an addiction to bees and stealing breeches. Painful as it was to accept, Evelyn recognized when it was time to move on.

"However, I am still fully capable for duty, and am eager to take advantage of the opportunity you have presented. I am more than skilled with a bow, and have found ways to compensate for my aging body, so you needn't have any concerns regarding my usefulness in a fight. And besides, I have decades of experience in deceit and murder, much more than you will likely get from any other crew member you may take aboard," Evelyn motioned knowingly at the queue of various rogues and mercenaries that had begun to form behind her. It was a rag-tag bunch, for sure, but that was the cliché with pirate ships, wasn't it? Evelyn noted Vat-Katari had ever so slightly tensed up while examining the ever-growing collection of vagabonds. She had no clue what could unnerve a man of Vat's stature, even if only to the slightest degree, and prepared to react should this meeting go south.

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

@Xandrya Cool! Should I pick up where your last post left off, or did you have something in mind?

The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

@Xandrya I haven't heard back from Nevix in a while, and I'm itching to pair up with somebody.