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

Think I'm leaning 'blurred' so far?

 

Pokes thread for other's thoughts

 

—oh, crap, I'm sorry. Uh. Can you tell the Adderall shortage caught up to me last month?

(Others' thoughts definitely welcome! But I didn't mean to ignore the thread this long.)

 

Thank you for your patience, and apologies for the downtime! Those responsible have been sacked.

We now return from neglecting this thread to neglecting our IC/OOC divide:​

> The wall between Josie and Barbara has become increasingly blurred.

The wall between Josie and Barbara has become increasingly blurred. You used to come here to get some distance, but maybe you've been overdoing it. There's no distance here, just the same mess with a different face.

Introducing the new Depression Barbie. :(​

"Just a word of warning." Joe lowers his voice as he pours you another drink. "Don't make trouble tonight. I can't back you if you do. I like you, but I've got to think about the bar. Play it cool."

"What?" you ask, confused. "I'm not about to do anything? What are you…?" But Joe has already turned away. What was that? He sounded scared. That's not something you've heard before. He used to be a villain; he doesn't scare easily.

You're about to call him over when two men lean down on each side of you, too close for comfort, boxing you in.

"Look who the cat dragged in. Not trying your luck with the roulette tonight?" Jake's grin is wide and predatory, and he places a hand on your shoulder in a far-too-friendly way. No warmth there; he wants to discourage running. "Good for me, that means we have time for a friendly chat."

　‣ "Doesn't look too friendly to me," I growl.
　‣ "Buy me a drink, and maybe I'll think about it."
　‣ "What do you want?" I ask, all business.
　‣ "Sorry, not interested," I say and move to leave.

Uh.

Do we have time for a friendly chat with Hollow Ground's right-hand man…?​

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: 34% / Anonymity: 66%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 40% / Empathy: 60%
████████████████████
Daring: 63% / Caution: 37%
████████████▒███████

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: 63%
████████████▒███████

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

 

Hm. Well part of the point of Barbie is to have these kinds of conversations, right? Also I don't like her odds fighting or running away, so we may as well keep her at the bar. Maybe Mortum will wander by. So, option c?

 

Two men, who's the other one? Generic muscle?

 

Fortunately, Barbie is optimized for friendly chats.​

> "What do you want?" I ask, all business.

"What do you want?" you ask, staring Jake down in the mirror until he removes his hand. That felt good.

"Just here with an invitation." Jake reaches into his suit jacket, pulling out a small envelope, placing it on the bar in front of you. "Not for you, for your boss."

"My boss," you say grimly.

"From mine." Jake leans closer, whispering in your ear. "Hollow Ground would like a meeting."

"Hollow Ground." You sip your drink with a steady hand. It's not a surprise, not really. You've been expecting this ever since you started stepping up in the world. At least it speaks well of your reputation that you're getting an invitation instead of threats.

"Make sure your boss gets it. Hollow Ground does not like being stood up." Jake gives you a hard clap on your shoulder, just a little too rough to be friendly. "Things can get unpleasant."

"I can imagine," you say calmly, not moving to pick up the envelope. "And I can do my job. Speaking of which…I assume yours is done now?"

"Sure is," Jake says with a big grin. "Just gonna have ourselves a game of pool before we leave. It's a nice place. Most agreeable."

And with that, he and his friend step back, leaving you room to breathe once more.

Your hands are steady as you empty the drink, then grab the envelope to get out of here.

No quiet brooding tonight.

 

> Later, In Your Own Body

With a sigh, you reach into the jury-rigged refrigerator to grab a cold drink. It's a luxury, like many of the things you have assembled. Your temporary hideout is starting to feel too permanent. Not good. You've been telling yourself you need to move for months, but it's hard to find a suitable location.

Have you become spoiled? Probably. In the past, you wouldn't have worried about running water or electricity. A diesel generator would have been enough, and servicing your armor was always more important than your body. Not to mention things like the fridge, the stacks of emergency food, the improvised couch…it's almost like a life.

No two ways about it. You need to move. No putting it off, not now, not with Hollow Ground taking an interest.

You sink down on the couch, looking at the envelope in front of you with suspicion. Just paper, you scanned it well before bringing it here.

　‣ I open it carefully, gloves and a letter opener.
　‣ I will just open it. I've checked for trackers, it's fine.

​

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: 34% / Anonymity: 66%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 40% / Empathy: 60%
████████████████████
Daring: 63% / Caution: 37%
████████████▒███████

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: 63%
████████████▒███████

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

 

It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.

(option 1)