Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Retribution (ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ …(^_^)…)

>get your shit together

 

> Pull it together. Don't let go. Focus!

Pull it together. Don't let go. Focus!

You can't let them get away with what they did to you. You need to take them down.

can't breathe

It's a lie to say that nothing makes sense in a dream. Dreams are ciphers, the shadowy legacies of a pretend life, written in ancient code to reveal the truths you dare not face. There's no flow of time in dreams. They flit between past and future with nothing but the scent of decay to give a hint of which is which. Do your dreams give you answers to questions you asked yourself years ago, or are they shades of what is yet to come? What do you want to become?

What if you became undone?

Breathe.

You're seven and standing on the boardwalk.

It's a lie because you were never seven. Never a child. Fake dreams. Fake childhood stolen from someone lucky to have one. Venice Beach was a ruin long before your time, the remnants home to gangs and drug lords. Did someone add this to the chipped memories you were equipped with before decanting? Why?

There are no answers here, pastel memories from the wrong angle, the skinless sky far too white, and the ashy haze making the sun's shine coin-like and unpleasant. So you flee inside the shadows of the maze of mirrors, resurrected amusement on display. For who?

There's a fee. You never paid.

Is this why you're paying now?

　‣ I keep running, but from what?
　‣ Am I dying?
　‣ It's finally here. This moment.
　‣ I've been here before, haven't I?

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

Their sense of style is androgynous, secondhand streetwear, with many piercings in their ears, nose, and tongue. They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy
Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate. They are a known killer.
Infamy: 51% / Obscurity: 49%
██████████▒█████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status
Need Repair: 5% / Fine: 95%
████████████████████

Leadership: 63%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 28% / Anonymity: 72%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 36% / Empathy: 64%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 58% / Caution: 42%
███████████▒████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 78%
███████████████▒████

Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Eternally flirting. Josie is using Barbara as a spy.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 52%
██████████▒█████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 66%
█████████████▒██████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████

Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 60%
████████████████████

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Friendly.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 72%
██████████████▒█████

Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Friends.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 67%
█████████████▒██████

Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

>finally here
totally not picking this bc I have never been able to unlock it on my own

 

> It's finally here. This moment.

You're not afraid. You've seen this before. You know the steps.

you wish you didn't/they'll regret this

You're alone and yet surrounded. Stretched up and out of shape, compressed within cramped frames, and mirrored back and forth until the reflection has lost all sense of belonging.

like you

Your body moves, and your reflections dance along, out of tune with each other and yourself. You're a grade-school chorus line, each dancer a fraction off. It feels like an omen of the future, a memory of a past that never was. Will you ever catch up with yourself? Are you doomed to always be one step behind? You twirl, graceless and awkward, not quite fitting in your own body.

Voices echo from the entrance, and you flee, unwilling to subject your reflections to other people's eyes. You never run toward things in your dreams. Just away. Escape. Maybe one day, you'll get the courage to turn around. Lose your teeth and grow your fangs.

Farther back, mirrors marked by dust and grubby hands. Palm prints cover the surfaces like hieroglyphs of desire. You feel as dirty as if all those hands had been touching you. Your skin. Naked skin. Every touch steals something you don't want to lose, there's so little left, and you stumble faster, then break into a run.

You awoke the ghost, and now it's chasing you. Where are you? Where is your body? You need to go back.

But do you want to get lost? Or lose yourself? Your face is the face of a masked stranger, and all the mirrors are reaching out to grab. You. To catch. You. To take you and dress you up and turn you into what they want.

Never what you want.

They make you tall, back bent, hands like claws. They make you short, reaching up, claws scratching to be noticed. You have no control. All you can do is pass from frame to frame, pawed by unseen fingers until you realize there is only one way out. Break it. Break the chains that bind you. Break and smash and tear away at the face of your enemy. The face that's in the mirror.

Masks are long discarded.

You clench your fist.

　‣ The face in the mirror is Josie.
　‣ The face in the mirror is Barbara.
　‣ The mirror is black, with something moving in the depths.

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

Their sense of style is androgynous, secondhand streetwear, with many piercings in their ears, nose, and tongue. They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy
Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate. They are a known killer.
Infamy: 51% / Obscurity: 49%
██████████▒█████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status
Need Repair: 5% / Fine: 95%
████████████████████

Leadership: 63%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 28% / Anonymity: 72%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 36% / Empathy: 64%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 58% / Caution: 42%
███████████▒████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 78%
███████████████▒████

Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Eternally flirting. Josie is using Barbara as a spy.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 52%
██████████▒█████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 66%
█████████████▒██████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████

Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 60%
████████████████████

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Friendly.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 72%
██████████████▒█████

Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Friends.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 67%
█████████████▒██████

Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

I want to see what happens with option 3!

 

Touched too many mirrors lost too much now there's nothing(???) to reflect

 

Spoiler: content warning

vomiting blood

​

> The mirror is black, with something moving in the depths.

The mirror is black and empty, or so it would have you think. You know that's not true. Not at all. Something is moving in the depths, sometimes you can almost see what. But then you look away. Not today. Certainly not right now. You're staring at the abyss through the fractured glass. Your knuckles are bleeding. Were you the one that smashed the mirror? It doesn't matter. There are so many left, so many ways it can get to you.

You can't stop now.

You can't stop.

Period.

Even if…

no

You. Just. Can't.

Fuck.

"Ah!"

You're ripped back into full consciousness, the shreds of whatever nightmare that consumed you still clinging to the edges of your mind. The nausea is strong. Too strong. You barely have time to roll over before throwing up all over the floor.

"Guh…hk…," you cough, trying to clear your throat, but your body is too busy turning itself inside out. Get it out. Get it all out. Involuntary reaction, voiding your stomach of all contents, continuing to convulse until there's nothing left but bile and spit, and yet you're not able to stop cramping.

get it out. get it all out.

Another cough, and you blink away the tears, taking note of the floor. The bed you're still on. Home. Your apartment. Dressed. Of course. Not as much vomit as you had thought. You were prepared for something like this and didn't eat much today. Missed the bucket though.

Blood? There's blood there. Not much; your mind had made up the visuals of great black sticky gobs of half-digested blood, even intestines. As if you were trying to hollow yourself out in prep—

Hollow.

Hollow Ground.

Reality snaps back like a rubber band, a pale imitation of much-needed pain.

Fuck.

　‣ This is why I used the puppet.
　‣ Ortega. I did not see that one coming.
　‣ What was that dream?

And we're back.​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

Their sense of style is androgynous, secondhand streetwear, with many piercings in their ears, nose, and tongue. They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel tired.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy
Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate. They are a known killer.
Infamy: 51% / Obscurity: 49%
██████████▒█████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status
Need Repair: 5% / Fine: 95%
████████████████████

Leadership: 63%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 28% / Anonymity: 72%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 36% / Empathy: 64%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 58% / Caution: 42%
███████████▒████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is badly hurt, and with severe injuries.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 78%
███████████████▒████

Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Eternally flirting. Josie is using Barbara as a spy.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 52%
██████████▒█████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 66%
█████████████▒██████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████

Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 60%
████████████████████

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Friendly.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 72%
██████████████▒█████

Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Friends.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 67%
█████████████▒██████

Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Spoiler

Having seen that spoiler tag about Hollow Ground matching our pronouns...? Suspicious and intrigued by this train of thought at the end.

I'm leaning towards "didn't see Ortega there," but not strongly

 

1 or 3 for me, putting us at a very noncommittal tie lmao

 

They all sound good... also I see we lost Barbara's no injuries status.