GingerBobOh

Z-Team: Operatives of the SDN

Tripwire

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TIME: Still too early in the morning.
LOCATION: SDN Office and Meeting Room
INTERACTIONS: @Oso @Tae @Princess @Infinite Cosmos @FunnyGuy @DClassified

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Sipping his coffee while he playfully waved his feet back and forth from their propped up position on the table, Murph watched the motliest of crews trickle in. First up, an honest to god monkey man. Murph thought they only made those for the movies but given the things he’s seen here in Cascadia, he guesses it’s not the most surprising “Alright so I take it, Nukong Lee and Mr. Serious know each other, less introductions required I guess. Whenever we get to that point…”

He turns his attention back to the black brew warming his hands and nostrils, indulging himself on a loud slurping sip that he draws out for far longer than practical as the door opens and the broodiest man he’s ever seen walks in silently, ignoring the people gathered in the broodiest way possible. Finally he ends the sip with a loud lip smack of satisfaction as Azaela walks in.

He watches her as she slinks around, doing her rounds like a cat that’s fattening up her prey. A cat that smells like a Bath and Body Works, Murph realized suddenly, quite to his satisfaction. I’m gonna have to save that one, it’s good. Finally, she makes her way to him, leaning against the table. “I’ll continue you make things interesting just to watch you sweat in particular, my sleep paralysis demon.”

When tall, dark and handsome finally deems it the time to address Murph, he scoffs at the dismissive remark that is made. “Aye aye Captain Mysterio, prepare to be ignored so hard.” Murph then pointedly turns his attention away from the man, acknowledging Roxanne’s greeting, returning the gesture, “And a good morning to my favorite strawberry candy.” He offers a wink and a lift of the coffee cup to her.

Like a mosquito buzzing in his ear, Murph can hear Quinn prattling on about his “special drugs”. He chuckles as Poe calls him out specifically for it before responding in his own turn; “Sorry Quinnston, my boy, no one can beat Jim’s coffee, its the pisswater that makes it so special.” He states as he pointedly swirls the cup under his nose, making sure to roll his eyes effectively in pleased satisfaction.

Turning to Poe he groans, “Eew, people actually have souls? I thought those were fake. However, if the esteemed Chaddifer thinks the buttcrack of the day, cus eight is shaped like a butt” he snickers into the back of his hand, “is prime time for bonding then he’s missed that sweet spot. Pretty soon here I’m using college rules and taking the day off class.”

Poe mentions the glass and Murph is appalled that Limpwick is creepin through a mirror, decides to suggest, “I say we stare at him until he decides he’s uncomfortable.”

Z-Team: Operatives of the SDN

Tripwire

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TIME: Way too early in the morning.
LOCATION: SDN Office and Meeting Room
INTERACTIONS: @Oso @Tae @Princess [@InfiniteCosmos] @FunnyGuy @DClassified

---

Murph yawned as he rode his long board down the sidewalk in front of the SDN Branch building, being sure to dodge the trash gravel and cracks. Seeing an opportunity in the form of Gordon having just scanned his badge in for entrance, decided to break security law #1, and tailed Gordon through the front door. Skating through the lobby, he took a final drag on his nearly expended cigarette and tossed it into Cheryl's overfilling ashtray. I swear to god, whoever’s idea this early meeting was, is going to have hell to pay.

Sniffing, he caught a scent on the dank ass wind of fried HVAC and took a little detour for a pick me up. One final push brought him across the extra low pile carpet of corporate malaise and into the break room. He tossed his long board up onto the cabinet and rubbed his hands together as he stalked the coffee maker. "Oh baby I hope it was Jim's day to make the joe." Grabbing a disposable cup, he poured himself the sacred brew; he could immediately tell this was a Jim day.

With great distress and many minutes past the meeting time, he dragged himself through the conference room door. With a huge inhale and a roll of the shoulders and neck he greeted the current attendees, "I guess you all are wondering why I called you here today."

He took a sip of the coffee and couldn't help but sigh as its perfect taste bud shriveling, bitter caffeine sends a shiver down his spine. "First order of business for the day," he continues as he makes his way to the head of the table, sitting down and throwing his legs up on the edge, "ignore whatever the fuck has brought us here this early."

Finally he notices that firstly, he's facing someone he's never met who happens to look stern as hell and here on business and secondly, that he unfortunately was not as fashionably late as he would have like to be. "Hey boss lady?" He asks Poe as he gives a head nod toward the new face with the mask. "Is he the reason I'm drinking Jim's ambrosia this fine ass morning?"

Z-Team: Operatives of the SDN

Tripwire

S D N A S S E T D O S S I E R

Active Liability Status

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ASSET PORTRAIT & ID NAME: Murphy "Murph” Graves CODENAME: Tripwire AGE: 32 HEIGHT: 5'10" BIRTHPLACE: Cascadia VIBE: Mouthy Punk, Stick it to the Man. DETAIL: Murphy looks like he walked out of a mosh pit in 2005 and never went home. He sports a messy, black and purple undercut with a shaved side showing off many tattoos. He is pretty much always wearing studded leather, ripped band tees, and chains. He’s rarely seen without a cigarette hanging from his lip or a smirk that says he knows something you don’t. He carries himself with a casual, leaning slouch—like he’s waiting for a bus, even in the middle of a firefight. CONTRACT: Citizen Protection Program and Monitored LIability | STATUS: Active Liability POWER & LIABILITY P O W E R S E T ABILITIES: RIOT - Control over others’ luck. Able to inflict bad luck upon others he can see, like a walking bad luck charm. Effects range from minor, (eg. tripping over a shoelace, or a lit cigarette lands in a pocket, catching fire.) to major (collapsing a whole building on an individual because of an errant powerful attack). He survives, not by taking hits but making sure they never hit in the first place. Though he possesses no other known abilities, his proficiency in RIOT makes him quite the difficult opponent. C O R P O R A T E F L A W LIABILITY: His general anarchic attitude paired with the varying effects of his ability tend to leave chaos in his wake. From harmless office pranks to “unintentional” assaults of supervising personnel, a watchful eye is needed to remain in control. In the field, he is known to disregard orders and improvise, often causing property damages.

ASSET CAPACITY STAT | VALUE | RATIONALE Combat | 2 | Knows his way around a scrap or bar fight but without any real enhancing powers, not much of a threat with his fists. Vigor | 3 | Often got caught up in his own bad luck events plus developed durability from learning how to take a hit. Mobility | 4 | Frequent practitioner of parkour and very skilled at avoiding the bad luck effects around him. His strongest trait due to his will to live. Charisma | 1 | Walking dumpster fire. Very mouthy and not many like it. Especially when directed towards any authority. Intellect | 3 | Clever in the use of his ability. Is able to inflict bad luck in ways that are creative, using the least of his power for the maximum effect. MECHANICS & STATUS DESIGNATED ROLE: The Chaos Engine SIGNATURE TACTIC/MANEUVER: Often humiliates his adversaries, finding it to be extremely effective in disorienting or enraging. When the moment requires force or a large effect, he often resorts to proprty damage (inflicted by the adversaries, of course). "Nothing like dropping a parking garage on the guy that can punch through concrete." EMOTIONAL STABILITY RATING (1-5): 4 - Very much possesses a "Devil May Care” attitude. Is not phased by much and remains carefree even in the middle of fights or when mouthing off. HISTORY & DESCRIPTION PERSONALITY: Mouthy and anarchic. He dislikes authority and makes sure they know it. He's going to say the first thing that comes to mind whether it's a dirty joke or a string of 18 filthy swear words and insults. Most of the time however, it's just harmless banter, almost how he shows affection. The carefree attitude acts as a bit of an insulator to the atrocities of the world, better to not care than care too much. BIO: Murphy Graves never wanted to rule the world; he just wanted to rig it. For years, he was a small-time hustler in the city's underbelly, using his subtle "bad luck" abilities to humiliate others, tilt underground fights, and generally profit from other people's worst days. He was the guy you hired to make sure the security camera "glitched" or the guard "accidentally" dropped his keys. It was easy money, low risk, and zero responsibility. That changed the night he got greedy. Hired to sabotage a weapons demo for a notoriously volatile crime lord, Murphy did his job too well. The prototype didn’t just fail; it spectacularly backfired, humiliating the boss in front of his international buyers. With a seven-figure bounty on his head and hitmen closing in, Murphy realized his luck had finally run out. Out of options, he crawled to the SDN. He traded his freedom for protection, signing on as a grunt for the Z-Team. Now, he’s the squad's designated chaotic element—the guy they send in to annoy the heroes, trip up the guards, and cause enough confusion for the heavy hitters to do the real work. He talks a big game and disrespects authority at every turn, but deep down, he knows the SDN is the only thing keeping him from a pair of concrete shoes. CRIMES: He is a career criminal with a rap sheet dating back to his mid-teens. His history shows a progression from petty vandalism to high-stakes industrial sabotage. He rarely engages in direct violent confrontation; his record is defined by "accidents," equipment failures, and improbable getaways.

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: River Port
Interactions: Malachi @princess Zion @Helo Jun @jj doe Kenia @Tae
Mentions:
Equipment: Magical Grimoire

"Yes, however much to my dismay, these are onions. Horribly overcooked too, I might add. The slimy texture is making it hard to pull them out." Enstille remarked as he focused intently on the onions, not noticing Zion offering him his fork. These gross, icky onions were going to leave their slimy remnants and ruin these eggs at this rate."

Suddenly, he realized that he had spoken to someone and paused. Who was that? Why are they speaking to him? Oh no, what did he say? Was he rude? Were they rude? Why can't he remember what just happened? Too focused on the onions it seemed. These slimy criminal onions that are conspiring to ruin his meal. He must remove them. If only he had a fork to do so, it would be so much easier when using the proper tools for the job. Fork. Fe needs a fork. FORK! He has one! Where was it? Enstille looked around him for his fork and eventually raised his eyes to see if he left it elsewhere, just to nearly loose one of said eyes to the very utensil he pursued.

"Ahhh!!" The curt scream escaped his lips from the surprise proximity of what he now considered to be far more lethal than he had ever imagined. "I'm sorry, that was rude. Were you the one that talked to me earlier? What did I say? I wasn't rude was I? Unless you were rude, then I find myself not caring too much about it. Do you like onions? I have an abundance on my plate that I wish to dispose of."

Finally, Enstille's mind caught up with his mouth as he realized he was rambling to this man..... Blood drained from his face, blanching his already pale features. In an attempt to reconcile the atrocity he had just committed, he took the hand that offered the fork in both his hands and retrieved the fork with his mouth. That's what forks were used for right? This isn't weird, right? RIGHT? Oh no, this is weird, sooooooo weird. He needs to salvage this, make things less weird.

Enstille let go of Zion's hand and grabbed the fork, clearing his throat, before continuing to speak, ignoring the voice inside him screaming at all of it.

"Hi," He addressed the woman that has inserted herself into their breakfast. "Are we supposed to know you? Considering our "Special Circumstances."" He pointedly turned his gaze first to Zion for confirmation, before redirecting it pointedly at the human currently locked in low conversation with Malachi.

Avalia

Time:Morning

Location: By the river.

Interactions: Barrock @Conscripts

Mentions: Aurora @Mole Zora @13org

Equipment: Shortswords, Fairy Warbow, Transmission Bracelet

"Idiots that take pride in a war one without any." Rowan remarked as he stretched a bit, preparing his muscles for more sparing and training to come. "Say friend, I see a blade there at your side, yet you speak of observing. Care to warm those muscles up a bit while we wait for my companions instead?"

Rowan reached down and grabbed the two fair sized sticks that they had been using earlier so as to not risk injury before he deemed Zora fit for the blades. After some slight flourishes and twirls of the sticks, he offered one to the Orc, who was currently reeling in a fish.

"The name is Rowan, Rowan Dyewynn. Veteran of the Dark Elf war, trainer and mildly disgruntled babysitter. Pleased to meet you, sir...?" He stood straight as he introduced himself until the end of his minor speech where a weary sag befell his shoulders.

Stickling the stick into the ground of the soft bank for the Orc if he decided to participate in his warm-up, he retreated farther into the clearing. He settled his bow securely onto his back so it would stay in place but be readily available if needed and began the sow, deliberate motions of the basic elven sword forms. Like an elegant ballet of twists, bends, thrusts and occasional leaps, he moved with absolute determination and focus. As usual it did not take long for him to begin to feel the warmth of the exercise seep into his body, garnering a thin sheen of sweat, nagging at him to remove his shirt and practice as he normally would. Alas, in the presence of such a stranger and the impending arrival of his sister, he refrained and continued as he had begun.

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: River Port
Interactions: Malachi @princess Zion @Helo Jun @jj doe Kenia @Tae
Mentions:
Equipment: Magical Grimoire

Enstille's skin crawled as attention was on him for a moment. No, no, no, he's not interesting, don't look at him. Luckily, the woman at the door seems to be more interesting at the moment. He turns and exits into the kitchen, scooping up some meat and eggs as Malachi so eloquently put it. Finding a corner with a small stool, he took a seat, resting the plate on his knees before realizing that he did not grab a fork. Hanging his head he stands and goes over, grabbing a fork. Who is this woman that has suddenly appeared and maybe knows Malachi? Either way, she is being way too friendly for someone he's never met. Upon seating himself once again, he realizes he doesn't have his plate.

Around this time, the Human enters with panic in his eyes. Enstille knows that look. He reaches in his pocket and grabs a ginger candy. Walking to the table, he makes sure not to get too close. Better to not spook the Human. He places the candy on the table an unstartling distance away from the human. After a moment, he realizes it is not close enough to be in his area of attention so he pokes it to push it. Alas, still not close enough. He pokes it again and it rattles closer.

"This helps." He barely croaks out. First words he's spoken today and they barely escape. He clears his throat and tries again, "THIS HELPS"

Oh no. Enstille's face goes pale. Too loud this time. Quickly, he returns to his stool in the corner suddenly becoming aware of the fork in his hand. Why was he holding a fork? The noise of the others entering the kitchen now snaps him out of his thoughts as he looks up. BREAKFAST! Thats why he has the fork! He looks around his stool and does not see the plate but is sure it was somewhere here. Standing, he begins to search. Eventually he finds it but is startled by the woman who has for some reason entered the house. She greets him kindly but all he can manage is "Hhhngh amma eeee" Horrified, he grabs his plate and sprints to his seat once more.

Time to eat. Eeew there's onions in the eggs, he better pick them out before eating. After the 3rd or 4th onion he's grabbed with his fingers, cringing at the slimy feeling of each, he recalls forks are better suited for this task. He looks up and to his chagrin, his fork is on the table.... Now surrounded by the loud ones and the new lady.......

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: By the River
Interactions: Barrock @Conscripts
Mentions: Aurora @Mole Zora @13org
Equipment: Shortswords, Fairy Warbow, Transmission Bracelet

As Rowan sat, he pushed his legs out in front of himself, nearly reaching the rushing water beyond. He leaned back and turned his face to the sky above them before turning back to the Orc.

"My sister and I have taken on a charge that requires training. She is like a pup free of their mother's watch for the first time. Wistful, overconfident and absolutely infuriating at times. We've been using this clearing to avoid the eyes and attention of others. If this place is yours then, we will find another so as not to bother you and your... fishing."

He watched the Orc for some time, considering his docile countenance along with his odd choice of hobby. Fishing would never have been in the skillset of any of the Orcs he had met in the past. On top of that, he was quite curious why the Orc was here alone, without a tribe. The brief memory of seeing the Orc in the city sprung back into his mind and he was unable to keep that question to himself.

"I saw you in the city. You surprised me by not ripping the head off that ignorant fool of a Dark Elf. Can't say I've known of one of yours that wasn't jumping at the chance for a fight."

As Rowan paused for the Orc's response, he mindlessly picked up a handful of stones and started skipping them across the river. Suddenly, he realized the possible rudeness of disturbing the fish that could be this Orc's next meal and returned the stones to the bank.

Avalia

Time: Mid-morning
Location: Riverbloom along the bank of the river.
Interactions: Aroura @mole Zora @13org Barrock @conscripts
Mentions: None
Equipment: Shortswords, Transmission Bracelet, Fairy warbow.

Jaw set firmly and tired of being turned into a manipulative cur, Rowan stands and prepares to leave.

"I will not sit idly by and be treated as the villain for trying to give you the best chance at survival. If you cannot see me for anything other than someone trying to "use" you just because the word came from my mouth, then you shall be left to your own devices and freedoms. Now, I will return to our place by the river and give you some time. If you wish to continue your training, you are welcome to come."

Stiffly, he bows to Zora before offering a soft kiss to Aurora's head knowing he need not say that he will find her regardless of Zora's decision. He then turned on his heel and left the bakery frustrated, glaring at anyone who turned their attention onto him.

Some time later, he finds himself trudging along the riverbank, lost in his thoughts and musings when he finds a new resident of the clearing they had been using for practice. It was none other than the orc that they had observed in the city proper. He was fishing. Proper fishing with the little stool and everything. In order to not startle the orc, Rowan stepped on a twig, snapping it to announce his entrance into the clearing.

"Peace friend" He speaks out as the orc turns his attention his way. "I was not expecting fellow company. See, we had been using this clearing for some training and practice, but if it is taken, allow me to wait for my companions and we shall find another space."

While saying this, Rowan walks over to where his gear had been stashed, first retrieving his bow. The fairy made bow felt free in his hands here, it could sense its home and was content. Oddly enough though, he felt no hostility from it towards the orc. Deciding to trust the instinct, he returned to the riverbank as he strung the bow across his back and adjusted his shortswords on his hips as he settled to sit near the orc.

Avalia

Time: Mid snack break
Location: Riverbloom, Books and Cookies
Interactions: Aroura @mole Zora @13org
Mentions: Barrock @conscripts
Equipment: Shorswords, Transmission bracelet

Rowan frowned at Zora's comments about being used.

"I assure you, Lady Zora, while there is malicious use of a person to achieve personal ends. We all have a part to play in this life and if we are to make it a better one to live, there is a use for all of us. Whether you like it or not, you were brought here for a purpose. Opposition to that purpose will be far more malicious use than you fear from me."

Scooping the final bite of the cake into his mouth, he responds to her comment of the transmission bracelet.

"Yes well, such is the might of magic. Magic, mind you, that you now possess beyond the ilk of your kin. While my training may be intense, rest assured that it shall not lessen until I deem you worthy of protecting yourself." A quick glint in his eye belies his thoughts of additional exercises. He already is concocting plans to increase Zora's reaction ability with her magic, finding that lacking in the moment. A splash from a cup of water here or a bucket there, convenient loss of footing over a river, all harmless methods that will tap into the reflex areas of the mind to draw out speed in her control.

"Now dear sister, do you see a whip in my hand? A flog? While my methods may be strenuous, they are by no means ruinous." A small hint of a bite in his tone says that he does not like to be compared to the monsters the dark elves can be. "Though you do have a point about the necessity of rest....."

His voice trails off as a scene outside catches his attention. A green Dark Elf enforcer was picking a fight with an orc. Nearly preparing to stand and rush to the orc's defense, out of hatred for the dark elf more than defense of the orc, he was held in his chair for a moment as the orc paused. Never before had Rowan seen an orc not immediately fly into a rage after such disrespect. After a short staring match, the orc shouldered his way past and paid no mind to the attention of the citizens.

Attention returning to the table, he caught the last of his sisters words, something about "wonderful work" making Rowan groan somewhat. The training he had received and continued to follow had left no room for praise and back pats. Yet, Zora was not him, nor was she even an elf. Maybe they had different needs as humans and that's why his sister tagged along.

"Now that we have had our cake, and ate it too, shall we return to the river and train some more?"

Avalia

Time: Early Morning
Location: River Port
Interactions: @princess Malachi @JJ Doe Jun @Helo Zion
Mentions:
Equipment: Magical grimoire.

It was early, before the dawn, in fact. Enstille sat at the table scribing notes in his grimoire as he did lately. He didn't sleep much, how could he right now? He was travelling with a Human. A real, freshly summoned Human. This is what he had been waiting for, what he dreamed about. Except, he didn't dream, insomnia and all that. But he was so tired, sooooooooo very tired. Malachi had set a grueling pace, refusing to ever let up or seek alterative transportation. Who does that? Just torture poor souls with constant assault on the body. He was starting to think Malachi was just a sadist that did not care about the Human. Maybe, in fact, he wanted the Human dead and him with him. It made sense, he was such a fancy person after all. Enstille was sure he had an agenda and he was going to figure out what it was.

Wait, that wasn't where this started. Enstille is tired, already awake and studying away. Well, not studying actually, that's the tired brain talking. So much walking..... Stop. Study. Wait, no, not study. Research. Yes that's what's happening. Enstille redoubled his focus on his notes. Malachi, as evil as he may be, entrusted Enstille with protecting the Human. He is going to make sure the Human is the safest thing in the entire world right now. The world is pretty rough, after all. Dark elves rule everything, they're super mean and always utilizing violence. Enstille's shields would prove useful, he was sure of it. He never had to defend against a Dark Elf yet but when that day comes, he would be ready. Provided that day comes some time in the future, he still needed to make sure he was prepared.

Shields. Right? Why does that seem important? Before Enstille could regather his thoughts, he heard the viciously commanding voice of Malachi calling them downstairs. Suddenly dawn had passed and there was commotion in the house. Breakfast scents wafted through the air and his stomach grumbled. Before he could react though, Zion the unbearably optimistic demihuman came barreling down, shouting about the food. For a moment, Enstille flinches and ducks his head. Too much activity all at once.

Trying to settle himself and prepare for whatever punishment Malachi had in mind for the day, he heard a creak and some motion towards the back door as the Human tried his absolute best once again to make an escape. Figuring this was the best opportunity for him to test his new shielding magic he had been working on, Enstille reached out a hand and pushed the light in the room. A sphere of light began to form around the Human, enveloping him as it began to harden. In that moment, a thought came back to Enstille's mind. That was what he had been working on this morning! He hadn't yet finished the formulae for the shield! There was an itsy bitsy problem that had slipped his mind. The large orb had an interesting side effect of over solidifying and in that moment, with a clunk, a complete sphere of near impenetrable glass hit the floor. Suspended within, sat a startled Human as the ball began to roll across the room due to the uneven floorboards.

Unable to fully process the absurd scene he had just created, Enstille watched as the ball slowly rolled across the floor. Suddenly though, there was a knock at the door that shattered his concentration of calculating what went wrong. With the pop of a bubble, the shield construct broke apart, promptly depositing the Human onto the floor once again.