Iron Station Savage Masks IC III

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
John sees a lot of whispering and side glances in his short five minute walk to the quad through the well-maintained campus.

The magician spots Emi sitting in one of the metal benches underneath a large oak tree. She’s wearing a long sleeve light brown sweater and jeans with short ankle boots.

She looks up and smiles gently at John as he rounds the Abington Building at the top of the quad. You’ve made quite the stir.

I, um, he projected with a little embarrassment, I may have let my goal of providing a well organized picnic override my sense of discretion. I’d try and claim I was doing thee hiding in plain sight thing, but I guess all I did was draw more attention to you than usual.

He mentally shrugged. “It seemed like such a good idea at the time.”

I suppose eccentric millionaire is as good a secret identity as any. Given the eccentric billionaires out there being reported on by the press will keep me relatively unnoticed.

John walked up to Emi, set the basket down, and sat next to her on the bench.

He turned and looked into her eyes and faltered.

“Hi,” he managed to get out as her eyes caught him again.

He smiled sheepishly and looked down. “I’m doing it again,” he noted. “Did you want me to break out lunch here or was there another part of campus you would prefer?”

He nodded down at the out of place picnic basket. “I brought a charcuterie platter with some cheese and fruit and a half bottle of Montepulciano the woman at the cheese counter recommended. Water, too, of course. The basket, as out of place as it may look here, serves as a table so in between it and the cheese board, we should have enough surfaces to work with.”

He looked up at her again. “I hope it sounds good.”

[PK-Leon]

Halloween Night, October 31st

“You don’t have to believe, nor do I have to prove it to you,” Cassandra retorts. “You’ve probably already been dominated by Rothmyer anyway. Why else would you be so stubborn? Vampires. Are. Real. But you can choose to remain ignorant, if you want.”

She finishes looking at the equipment, finding nothing of note. “Vander!” she calls over her shoulder.

A young man in leather armor pokes his head through the hole the Dark Watch had blown open. “Yes ma’am?”

Cassandra gestures at the work bench as she makes her way over to the cages. “Make sure there’s nothing there we need to dispose of and take notes on anything you find.”

Vander nods and walks by Redline, pulling a journal out of a leather satchel as he makes his way over to the equipment.

"Dominated?" Redline asks defensively. "I think you've got the wrong idea lady. He's my best friend but I don't swing that way." He huffs in amusement. "And just in case you forgot, this is America. Stubborn's our thing."

Redline casts a glance around the room once more, avoiding what remains of the doctor, then moves towards the stairs. "If you're actually trying to save lives then I want some real answers the next time we meet. If you keep hunting down metas like you're just gonna paint a target on your backs. Every hero in the city will be looking for you and I'd rather things not turn out the way they did back at the square if it can be avoided." He says looking from Vander back to Cassandra. "It's your call."

"I'm gonna get my car. Need a lift?" He offers Stella.

Morning, November 1st

Eureka!

Louis tinkers away at the prototype occupying the central table of the lab as he listens to the proceedings of this morning's meeting, only looking up at the projection of the living room at the mention of two new additions to West Side's active roster.

"Mimi, Seraph isn't being serious about this is he?" He pauses. "Wait... Don't answer that. It's Seraph, of course he's serious." He sighs, resigned to his role in what seemed to be a perpetual onboarding process. "You mind pulling up their files for me? I know I've seen Augur somewhere before but I'm in the dark about Halo."

The Protégé continues his work on the reconnaissance unit as he reviews both files together with Mimi. His AI companion takes the opportunity to remind him that his first class is scheduled to begin within the next hour just as the meeting reaches its conclusion and everyone heads their separate ways.

"School... Right." Louis exhales as he sets down the pair of pliers in his hand. "But there's still so much left to do here!" He waves his hand dramatically at the lab and myriad of projected images and text littering the whiteboard, as he attempts to plead his case to Mimi. "There's only so much one man can do on his own." Then realization suddenly dawns on him. "However, I'm no ordinary man."

Louis smirks before disappearing in a flash of white light.

"Sometimes it's hard being so talented ya know?"

"Yeah I feel ya, but someone's gotta carry that burden. Might as well be us right?"

"Damn, we're so selfless." He remarks, nodding to himself in agreement. "You mind taking things over from here? I'll get the analysis started while you work on the bot."

"No problem. It's about time we made progress on this thing anyway." The double replies as picks up the pair of pliers and resumes work on the recon unit.


Louis disappears momentarily through the doors of the laboratory before returning with a foil packet filled with an unknown liquid. He empties the liquid into a beaker, then divides its contents across three test tubes and stages a different workstation for an experiment. "Mimi, could you start an analysis of whatever this is? I want to know what it's predominately comprised of and how it's produced if possible. Thanks, I'll see you later!"

The original vanishes in a flash of light and makes his way to Briarwood on the back of his motorcycle.

Spoiler: Breakthrough?!

Show

Knowledge (Engineering): 11!

Louis attempts to make progress on the recon unit applying knowledge and insight gained from studying Sidney's designs.

CCM (Who's Halo): 5

Trigger a Flag

Armed with his comrade's location, Raphael saunters through HQ until he busts into Louis' current location.

"Louis. Buddy, Pal, I'm just exhausted from last night." Raphael makes a big show of stretching and yawning. "I could really go for some coffee, you want some coffee? You look like you need some coffee."

Louis continues working on wiring for few seconds before finally looking up from his project with a smirk. "Took you long enough. Genius like this needs to be fueled around the clock to run at peak efficiency."

Raphael walks over to Louis and takes him by the arm, making to drag him back toward the door. "You know what sounds great with coffee? Sweets. You know where we can get Coffee, Sweets, and something sweet?" Raphael winks at Louis. "Sidney's dad's place, Ashford's right? C'mon, you haven't even taken the Monte Carlo out yet, let's grab Stella and go for a drive."

"Wait, Ashford's? Like right now?" Louis asks as he's dragged from the workbench. "Sure... I could use a break." He says as his eyes move over to the set of test tubes just before the lab doors close behind the duo.

[big teej]

Earlier:

Morning Meeting...

"Ooooh motivated." Raphael says, regarding Terrance's vigilante antics.

He nods along as Terrence explains the total absence of magic, well 'real magic' anyway, in his immediate bloodline.

His eyes shift from side to side, like he's trying to make sense of a difficult textbook.

"Well." He says haltingly. "I hope you fit in around here and end up being a good match for the team." He says with a queasy mixture of confusion, awkwardness, and sincerity.

He shrugs. "If you need help with anything, feel free to ask Mimi, Louis and I are both good for a nickel tour if you haven't got one already. I'd recommend you stay outta the basement for your own..."

Raphael trails off, looking at the floor. He brings his eyes back up to Terrence's "There's a whole lotta mess down there, like John's workshop, and the leftover office furniture from like 6 other provisional teams. So unless you're eager to stub your toes on something or get buried under decade old paperwork, I wouldn't worry about it."

[Kvard51]

Earlier:

Morning Meeting...

"Ooooh motivated." Raphael says, regarding Terrance's vigilante antics.

He nods along as Terrence explains the total absence of magic, well 'real magic' anyway, in his immediate bloodline.

His eyes shift from side to side, like he's trying to make sense of a difficult textbook.

"Well." He says haltingly. "I hope you fit in around here and end up being a good match for the team." He says with a queasy mixture of confusion, awkwardness, and sincerity.

He shrugs. "If you need help with anything, feel free to ask Mimi, Louis and I are both good for a nickel tour if you haven't got one already. I'd recommend you stay outta the basement for your own..."

Raphael trails off, looking at the floor. He brings his eyes back up to Terrence's "There's a whole lotta mess down there, like John's workshop, and the leftover office furniture from like 6 other provisional teams. So unless you're eager to stub your toes on something or get buried under decade old paperwork, I wouldn't worry about it."

Terrence looks a little confused at Raphael's awkwardness, then even a little moreso at his avoidance and redirection on why the new hero should stay out of the basement. But he didn't want to make things weirder than they already were. "Thanks. I hope I can fit, too. Just need some time to find my place, I guess." He smiles slightly and avoids asking the obvious question, **Why do you want me to stay out of the basement**, "Drake and Mimi gave me the 'official' tour. But I might hit you up on the nickel version," he says as he turns to respond to Drake's statement about the bus. "Anyway, catch you later. After school, I guess"

November 1st

Terrence
Jacob’s face falls a little. “Ain’t the same without you,” he says quietly. “Sure, Maddison’s cool and all, but he doesn’t understand the flow of the game like you do.”

He wallows a little before perking up again, returning to his usual abundant enthusiasm. “You shoulda seen that party last night, man,” he starts before he notices Yuki milling about nearby while she waits for Drake to finish talking to Sophia.

“You hangin’ out with her now? I saw you get off the bus with her and a couple other people. Don’t you… live on campus?”

Terrence sighs, "I miss you guys too. But you got to have Mad's back, you know? He needs all the support he can get to keep this season on the rails." With a slight grimace, he continues, "And I don't even know for sure if they are going to release me. I'm still having some headaches and weird, double-vision stuff, you know?"

Terrence looks back at Yuki as Jacob nods toward her. "Yeah, just some folks I met over the weekend. Cool folks. And I'm out of the dorm for the moment. The docs are keeping me close until they figure this out" He claps Jake on the shoulder, "I'll catch you soon, man. Tell the guys I said to keep their heads on a swivel and don't get blindsided."

[JoyWonderLove]

Sophia blinked incredulously at the girl sitting next to her, silently swearing she had met goldfish more worldly. But why the story about being a world traveller then? Did she only hop from one five star resort to another, maybe sprinkling in a few business meetings for flavour? Had the CEO’s daughter just been trying to impress her yesterday? The only thing that was unquestionable about Koyuki was that she had to have been honest about the Akido and Judo, because she was near impossible to pin down. Looking down at the half-eaten apple in her hand, Sophia noticed for the first time its exposed core. As stupid as it was to reveal her messy anxieties to anyone she just met, it was harder to ignore them when that same person was starting to chauffeur them around.

“Only...that I really wish I knew how to manoeuvrer around this kinda thing,” she admitted to the piece of fruit, sadly, starting to think it would understand her a lot better than her immediate company. She righted herself with a sigh, and a cracked version of the Hilton smile returned.

“I’m good at striking, blocks. You’ve got throwing, pins. Things get dangerous for me if I can’t rely on my wings. Wanna train later?” she asked, not overly enthused.


++++____


Sophia perked up in the face of the sudden enthusiasm. “If you love Utada, I’m sure I will, too. I’ll listen as soon as I can.”



++++____


“So, should I flirt more softly then? Maybe whisper sweet nothings? ASMR?” she offered sweetly, batting her eyelids churlishly at him.


++++____

Sophia tensed at the nerve of this idiot that didn’t even qualify as an army brat. Letting Yuki have the friends she wants – do I swoon now? Which faith canonizes him first? she wondered irritably. But letting her sarcasm free wasn’t about to help anyone, and it was a bad look besides. Her mother had been clear that her private life was no excuse to let their legacy flounder. The moments we have the least scrutiny are the exact same we should hold ourselves to higher standards. She clamped down on her lip hard, keeping childish taunts stuck in her throat, and deciding against hitting at the soft spots every friend had ever voiced when talking about their dating life. She wanted to believe her parents might have been proud in that exact moment.

Not that they didn’t screw me over with their stupid no-dating-until-uni rule.

Her failure to flaunt the rule aside.

“Drake – I really, honestly feel you’re a great guy. Trusted team leader, great chiselled jaw, really good degree…I bet it’s a slow week if only one cute girl offers her number to you out of nowhere.” She smiled up at him, a small and dainty thing. But it was as sincere as sunlight. “So don’t you think it’s a bit weird, that I can chat with Yuki the whole night, and we have a bunch in common, and she’s really happy to give me her number – and somehow, you barely even got mentioned once? And only because of something I asked?” Sophia paused, guessing she should delete the details about his birthday later from her phone. She would never get invited to any of them anyway, the way it was going. But it was a small price for being authentic with her feelings.

“I had no clue you two were dating. You said it yourself – she’s new. I’m still exploring, too. But if you know so much, then you get why I’m confused I didn’t see so much as a cutesy glance your way.” Sophia frowned, and mirrored his folded arms. Her tone became as gentle as any mother.

“So just who here should back off?”

Spoiler: Pierce the Mask (Drake)

Show

https://orokos.com/roll/971915


How could I get you to back off?

[InTheMachine]

October 31st
Louis
The sorceress shakes her head. “Non, I’ll head back to base on Shrike. Thank you though.”

Smoke flows out of her hat and coalesces into the golden griffin. She hops on, using Shrike’s wing to help her up. The two of them take off into the night.

November 1st
Keith
“It does look interesting,” Aeryn agrees. “I don’t know anything about mythology,” he says, saying the word slowly to repeat it, “but the demon designs are cool.”

He shakes his head when Keith asks if he wants to play. “I’m fine with watching.”

About an hour into their playtime, Keith’s phone buzzes again.

Spoiler: Text from Maeve

Show

Haven’t heard of either of those two. Hope they fit in with your team well.

John
It’s fine, John, Emi says with another smile. I’m used to the looks. They don’t bother me.

“Hi,” she replies softly as the magician sits on the bench next to her. “I think this was a great idea, and it sounds delicious. We can eat here. It’s just the right temperature, and the breeze isn’t too bad.”

Spoiler: Notice TN 6

Show

The people around them suddenly stop seeming to notice the two of them. Their gazes skip right over Emi and John, like they don’t exist.

As he lists the components of their lunch, the psychic looks up at John. “Thank you for coming to see me. I needed this.”

Sophia
Drake’s eyes narrow at Sophia’s final question. He seems to take a moment to get control of his emotions before he replies to her. “You’re new in town. I get that you’re trying to make connections, but Yuki’s just trying to be nice. Like I said, she doesn’t have a lot of friends, so she was really excited that you were immediately friendly with her. I wouldn’t read into it much more than that.”

“You think that I don’t want to hold her hand, or kiss her out in public?” he asks after a moment. “She asked me not to do that stuff, because it embarrasses her— a Japanese thing, I guess— so I’m trying to respect her by giving her the space that she wants while we’re not alone. We’ve only been dating for a week. She’s still getting used to me being her boyfriend and not just her Team Lead.”

“I don’t think what I’m asking you is unreasonable,” he continues, looking Sophia in the eye. “‘Stop hitting on my girlfriend’ seems like a pretty normal thing to ask, doesn’t it?”

Spoiler: Pierce Drake’s Mask

Show

The easiest, most simple answer is that you can’t

Terrence
“I know, I know,” Jacob replies. “He’s got our support. We all wanna win too, ya know? I’m sorry you’re still not feeling good,” he says with a slight grimace.

“Well, see ya in History class. You did finish that homework, right?” he says with a wink before continuing on his way down the sidewalk to the classroom buildings.

[mmdeforrest]

John
It’s fine, John, Emi says with another smile. I’m used to the looks. They don’t bother me.

“Hi,” she replies softly as the magician sits on the bench next to her. “I think this was a great idea, and it sounds delicious. We can eat here. It’s just the right temperature, and the breeze isn’t too bad.”

Spoiler: Notice TN 6

Show

The people around them suddenly stop seeming to notice the two of them. Their gazes skip right over Emi and John, like they don’t exist.

As he lists the components of their lunch, the psychic looks up at John. “Thank you for coming to see me. I needed this.”

Spoiler: He may have eyes only for Emi but his peripheral vision still works

Show

John Noticing everyone else not noticing: 1d10o10+4 12 1d6o6+4 6

At least they could speak relatively freely, John thought as he sensed them fade from others’ view. While their telepathic conversation would have been secret enough, he wasn’t sure he could keep a placid mask fixed in place as they talked about things.

“I’ve been worried about you,” John observed as he handed her a plate and brought out the food for her to choose from. “You were pretty upset last night—understandably and justifiably so. And given what you had to hear this morning, I didn’t think things would get easier.

“Somewhat selfishly,” he confessed as he drew out the wine and offered her a small glass, “I am glad you permitted me to come by. I wasn’t sure if you would need some time alone to process things. It’s a lot to take in.”

He looked up and, finding her eyes, faltered a little again. “I, um. Well, I guess I always feel better when I see you but seeing you and knowing for certain that you are doing okay makes me feel better.”

His brow furrowed. “Betterer?”

John shook his head, trying to get his mind back on track as he brought out the meat, crackers, and cheese. “Whatever it is, I am relieved to see you here, looking as stunningly beautiful as always and more composed than I am. I although I suspect that you are still wrestling with it all, even if the famed Shaw Family Composure is keeping you outwardly calm. But I wanted to make sure.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” he said as he got the grapes, apple, and pear out of the basket. “There are some chocolate truffles in here that you can either have with lunch or carry off with you after. Kate always likes something a little sweet when she is upset. She prefers ice cream but they were out of the single serving size where I picked this up. Plus, they tend to be less than good quality ice cream—even if they will do in a pinch.”

John sat up and rested his arm across the back of the bench, gently caressing Emi’s shoulder. He attempted to keep his face composed but could feel his look of concern. “You are okay, aren’t you? At least as okay as can be expected?”

[Kvard51]

November 1st

Terrence
“I know, I know,” Jacob replies. “He’s got our support. We all wanna win too, ya know? I’m sorry you’re still not feeling good,” he says with a slight grimace.

“Well, see ya in History class. You did finish that homework, right?” he says with a wink before continuing on his way down the sidewalk to the classroom buildings.

Terrence waves at his friend as he starts to walk away. saying hurriedly, "See you in History, dawg!" He spins around to check on his teammates, as he feels the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. Seeing Drake and Sophia standing almost nose-to-nose, with stubborn-looking scowls on their faces, he decides it might be time to try and cool things down. "Hey Yuki, to answer your question, Sophie and I aren't dating. Pretty sure she likes girls, and besides, she's way too cool for me," he says, loudly. "Sophie, we are going to be late for class, so let's move along. Drake can walk his GIRLFRIEND to her first class."

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
“It does look interesting,” Aeryn agrees. “I don’t know anything about mythology,” he says, saying the word slowly to repeat it, “but the demon designs are cool.”

He shakes his head when Keith asks if he wants to play. “I’m fine with watching.”

About an hour into their playtime, Keith’s phone buzzes again.

Spoiler: Text from Maeve

Show

Haven’t heard of either of those two. Hope they fit in with your team well.

Keith nods and grins, tilting his head as Aeryn mentions not knowing much of mythology. He figured it may be something different on Thrax, and got a bit curious.

“They do look pretty cool. Mythology is pretty much stories that we pass down that teach us some lessons and about a culture. Usually it comes about by a civilization’s gods and goddesses. So how this character just brought out Orpheus, he’s a character from Greek myth that dove into the underworld to try and bring his wife back to life.”

Keith smiles softly a bit. “It’s a bit romantic and tragic really. They’re usually really neat stories.”

As Aeryn shakes his head, Keith nods. “Decisions can always be voted on then!” He says with a grin.

As he starts more combat stuff down the line, Keith jumps a bit when his phone buzzes as a demon sneaks up behind him to start a battle.

“Maeve has some good timing.” He says with a nervous chuckle reading the text she had sent. He typed up a quick response as the senior character explained things.

Spoiler: Text to Maeve

Show

“Same, seems like Augur is brand new. Like, two weeks now or so. Halo I have no idea but seems like she knows Seraph in any case.”

“How are classes so far?”

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
John
Emi’s gaze darts down and she lets out a small sigh before looking back up at her boyfriend. “I think it’s mostly the Shaw Family Composure,” she admits. “I barely slept last night, thinking about Grayson, and now, knowing that he/Valèdeir might just… fly back into town to come ‘challenge’ you to a fight to the death… It is a lot to take in. And on top of that, Enzo arrives tomorrow.”

She takes the glass of wine and takes a quick drink while a cracker with meat and cheese assembles itself on top of the picnic basket. “I’m worried about you too, John. How are you taking all this? It can’t be easy for you either.”

Keith
Aeryn perks up when Keith explains about Orpheus. “We have a story like that.” He says a lot of nonsensical words that Keith can assume are names before he explains a story very similar to the one of Orpheus rescuing his wife.

“We have a lot of those,” Aeryn says. “They’re very old though. Mostly before we figured out space travel. I’ve always liked them, I just didn’t know the English word for them.”

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
Emi’s gaze darts down and she lets out a small sigh before looking back up at her boyfriend. “I think it’s mostly the Shaw Family Composure,” she admits. “I barely slept last night, thinking about Grayson, and now, knowing that he/Valèdeir might just… fly back into town to come ‘challenge’ you to a fight to the death… It is a lot to take in. And on top of that, Enzo arrives tomorrow.”

She takes the glass of wine and takes a quick drink while a cracker with meat and cheese assembles itself on top of the picnic basket. “I’m worried about you too, John. How are you taking all this? It can’t be easy for you either.”

“Tomorrow, you say?” John replied with a wry smile. “Thanks for that update. I’ll try to schedule my bout of insecurity for early in the day so as to not trouble you overmuch. Maybe at 7 AM. I don’t think I have anything scheduled for then. Do you think people would notice if I tried to schedule time with you the entire rest of the week?”

John reached up and caressed her hair as he grew more serious. “It is a bit to take in, I have to admit. The Amulet helps, of course, and things are moving fast enough that I am keeping busy with some alchemical work, some cryptography, and thinking through how to defeat Valèdeir without harming anyone significantly. I’ll be picking up a couple of things on my way back to aid in that. Those activities are taking up what time I have that is not focused on thinking about you—whether it is overplanning a picnic lunch or trying not to overthink our trip to Providence.

“I’ve gotten a lot of support as I have investigated things, which helps.”

He studied her face as he spoke, as much out of adoration as out of watching her react to his words. He was surprised how much his statement to Sidney rang true here—that the threat of having to face a dragon in combat over her provided a level of certainty about what he felt for her. Her looks were sufficiently overwhelming that it would be easy for an infatuation to feel like more than it was.

He smiled at her, recognizing that he was wearing the smile he saw in the picture he had sent to his family, letting them know of his good fortune—the smile his mother had seen when she decided he was the happiest she had ever seen him.

John knew it was a strange juxtaposition to be so happy when he was going to go where literal angels feared to tread and where a dragon assumed he would die. And Sidney would probably slap him into next week—or have Ryker do it for her—if she knew that the certainty of his love for Emi was what drove it.

One week or not, this trial and this moment made him sure.

“I’ll get us all out of this, Emi,” he pledged. “I promise. As the wonderful a woman who is the most important person in the world to me, I will make sure that I do not disappoint you in this.”

Spoiler: I know, I know. We are trying to use these more on PCs but, come on! None of you expected John to NOT use this Move, did you?

Show

John Comforts and Supports Emi: 2d6+3 11
John clears Guilty.

The detached part of his mind registered that being delighted to face death for her was utterly irrational while conceding that it also felt like the most natural thing in the world.

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
Aeryn perks up when Keith explains about Orpheus. “We have a story like that.” He says a lot of nonsensical words that Keith can assume are names before he explains a story very similar to the one of Orpheus rescuing his wife.

“We have a lot of those,” Aeryn says. “They’re very old though. Mostly before we figured out space travel. I’ve always liked them, I just didn’t know the English word for them.”

Keith smiles as his friend perks up and seems a bit more excited to talk about his home world. It was always interesting when Aeryn would talk about Thrax. He learned so much in so little time.

"That's really neat how similar they are!" He says with a wide grin. "Would love hearing more of the stories too. Uncle got me into reading by giving me homework on most of these myths. Didn't realize it was him teaching me magic at the time."

Keith thinks for a moment. "Come to think of it, nearly all our cultures here have a myth about someone diving into the underworld to save their wife."

His smile softens a bit as he looks at the ground. "Honestly, I learn a lot whenever you talk about Thrax. Never really thought I'd get to hear about another world entirely. Especially with our space knowledge being so limited here."

Keith needed to figure out something nice to do for Aeryn. He didn't know what yet but something.

"Come to think of it, when does South Side celebrate your birthday? Wish I had the gift for language Stolas does so I could learn y'all's."

[JoyWonderLove]

A pang of guilt hit her in the gut when Drake repeated his request, and Sophia looked off and away stubbornly. The massive redbrick university building in the distance from boasted domed tops and archways and she longed to be with the throng of students flowing straight into its main entryway. Instead she was staring down potentially wrecking a newfound love, ignoring a heartfelt request, and causing pain for her own selfish curiosity – a disgrace to her legacy. And if Yuki really is stuck in the closet, and he’s secretly possessive, and I’m backing away purely because it’s easy? The problem was that Sophia didn’t know. Was Koyuki some naive princess waltzing from lavish home to expensive resorts to AEGIS all-star accommodation, with no clue a girl could ever really like her? Or was she some stonewall queen on the rise, guided by the stars, that could someday lead industries into the next era of global medicine and healing, but needed help right now? The song. If I could just hear she hates it, or really seriously doesn’t get the appeal… She chewed her lip before letting out a frustrated sigh, finally glaring up at the guy trying to make her feel like some delusional villain.

“Okay...we’re kinda at an institution for higher learning, so let’s try reading above a third grade level. I’m nice to the mail man, but he’ll never have my number. I’m nice to the barista, but she’ll barely get my name. And right now I’m being nice – to you – by letting you air all your jealous insecurities, because they’re actually worth hearing out, alright? But that doesn’t mean I’ll put them above learning to heal whole communities.” Her frown deepened on that point. Classes would be starting soon. “So maybe we should skip to the Cliff Notes version of all this.”

Sophia unfolded her arms, eyes now pinned to his with a kind of dauntless infinity behind them. All of South Side could be in her ear at that exact moment, and her words wouldn’t waver one octave. Her right hand’s index finger pressed firmly down on the tip of her left one. “If you’re so sure Yuki only desires another friend, why do you feel threatened enough to chat in the first place?” Her right index found her left’s middle. “If you’re being ignored on something that important, why doesn’t she care to leave you more than guessing?” She pressed next on her ring finger. “If you’re the reasonable one in all this, why are we discussing what ultimately comes down to her feelings?” She demanded, and splayed her pointing hand to make an open-palmed gesture to the Japanese girl milling nearby to Terrence and some other guy. Another athlete, from his build.

“She’s right there, Drake! But – one of us – isn’t ready to hear that she’s not that interested after all.”

Sophia grasped a backpack strap in each hand then, hiking it up on her back a little. It was clear the conversation was done on her side. “So share all you want about respecting her space. I’m completely here for it. But it’s a pretty normal thing to mean she’s only creating distance.”

Spoiler: successful Provoke (12!)

Show

https://orokos.com/roll/971990

I would be happier if I could put enough doubt in his head that he’ll start naturally giving her distance….but we kinda established he won’t back off with Pierce the Mask. So instead I’m Provoking Drake into trying to force a conversation with her that neither of them are really ready to have yet (…..maybe? idk that they’re not really ready, or why their relationship is that way, but I’m 1000% gambling that Mr Intensity is worse than most ppl when feeling insecure).

++++____

Terrence started shouting about them being late, his timing perfect. Sophia felt on the cusp of an uneasy smile, until the ex-quarterback proclaimed Drake should walk his girlfriend to class, and she winched. Yeah...pretty sure he will, she thought, still unclear she had been pushing for the right reasons. The couple would walk to class, but that didn’t mean a leisurely stroll.

[InTheMachine]

This thread has continued onto THREAD IV!