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)

 

We didn't get this far by taking needless risks.^{[citation needed]}​

> I open it carefully, gloves and a letter opener.

A pair of plastic gloves and a letter opener gives you some measure of safety, even if it's mostly psychological. It would make no sense to poison you; there are better ways to take you out if that's what this is about.

Still, might as well be careful, so you shake the contents out on the table, giving them a poke with the knife.

There are two things in there. An elegant, embossed business card and a folded note.

The business card is for a club called Parkfield; you recognize the address immediately. It's an upscale place in one of the areas that were hardest hit by the quakes. New buildings. Shiny lives. Rotten old foundations.

You unfold the note, which is written in an elegant, cursive script that takes you a moment to decipher.

Anathema,

It's time we talked face-to-face. Be at the cellar bar in Parkfield, Monday evening at nine. Come alone, no armor.

Hollow Ground

PS. There's a dress code. Play nice.

Fuck. Tomorrow evening. At least it's somewhat polite, as far as ultimatums go.

No armor. That removes one of your weapons. It's a safe assumption that there might be dampeners, the Boulevard Casino was riddled with them. Without the helmet, your secret identity would be on display, which you assume is one of the reasons for the demand. Get something on you. Bring you in line.

Maybe it's just Ortega's paranoia rubbing off on you. You know that Steel believes there's no single face behind that name, just a figurehead for a sprawling underground network. Looks like you might be finding out the truth soon.

If you go.

For a moment, you're tempted to tell Ortega. Just to have some backup. But that would be an even greater risk, just mentioning the name Hollow Ground would mean she'd be hyperfocused on you from now on. And what excuse would you use? It is Anathema who is invited, not you. You might as well tell her the whole truth. And you'd rather not.

Too many things would come crashing down.

You could always have your crew as backup, but the club is deep in Hollow Ground territory, and you were told to come alone. Chances are they'd be in more trouble than you would be.

You rub your face, suddenly tired. Can you outrun this? Maybe. But it would be war. They've already proven that they know where your puppet spends her time. Do they know her address too? There might be collateral damage if you don't show up.

Too dangerous. This is the person that killed Marshal Hood, by all accounts one of the more powerful boosts that has ever made Los Diablos their home. Of course, half of that might be Rangers' propaganda, but a geokinetic in a city prone to earthquakes is a big deal. Like Hollow Ground. You know Ortega thinks that's one reason Hood was killed, eliminating the competition.

It wouldn't be hard killing Barbara to send a message. Or one of your crew.

But maybe you could mitigate the danger. Have a talk. Explain your circumstances. It's not the right time to start a war; you're not ready for that yet. The question is how much to risk.

You know the time and the place, but you have the option of two bodies.

　‣ I will go as my puppet, she is expendable.
　‣ I will go as Barbara, I'm more confident in that body.
　‣ I will go as Josie, no need to antagonize anyone.
　‣ I will go as myself. It's worth the risk.

This is what we in the business call "an offer you can't refuse".

Complying is the "safe" choice in terms of not pissing Hollow Ground off. It's also the far more dangerous choice, given that we'd be unmasked and unarmored in enemy territory—though maybe we're willing to risk that if it gets us an in with our most powerful rival.

Sending Barbie in our stead would be safer, at least in the short term, but we don't know how Hollow Ground will take being disobeyed. Maybe this is a job better suited to Ms. Charisma Stat anyway; and if not, at least we'd only be risking our puppet.

What's our best option? Or at least, the best of the worst?​

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 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: 51% / Caution: 49% (+12)
██████████▒█████████

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

 

Drat, I was hoping for a "go in a normal mask" option. Technically, not armor! I'm not sure what to do in this case. Should we assume the bar also has psychic dampeners?

I don't really want to risk Barbie, especially since that'd probably wreck our relationship with Mortum, who we still need for the regenerator.

 

having already played once, I'm vibrating between "want to see how a dramatically different choice plays out" and "want to see what happens if we make the same choice here but with Josie's backstory"
extremely unhelpful :p
if the rest of the thread wants to be Not Barbie, I will throw my hat in for >no need to antagonize ig

 

I'm also concerned that someone could ID Josie in some way, especially as the former Sidestep. We don't really know what information Hollow Ground can access.

 

Yeah, I suspect this choice is a top contender for "most options cut to prevent infinitely complex branching". The author's mentioned cutting "don't go" and "go in armor" branches because they added so much work for comparatively little benefit; I wouldn't be surprised if someone requested "go in a mask" at some point.

Good question!

intensifies

intensifies

 

I'm confused by the first two options - don't "my puppet" and "Barbara" mean the same body? Is the implication of going with different personas in that body?

 

having played and done both: they're the same thing, I think the phrasing is just about attitude--"my puppet" being impersonal and more uncaring, thus expendable, vs. calling the puppet by the chosen name, sort of treating her more like a person than just an expendable thing

 

What cA said. The first two choices are both "go in Barbie's body" and the latter two are both "go in Josie's body", but there's some room for nuance in why we'd choose either approach. Do we send Barbie because we can more afford to endanger a puppet than our own body, or because we feel better handling this as her than as Josie? Do we go as Josie simply to avoid antagonizing Hollow Ground, or because we're moving up in the world and ready to face new challenges head-on?

 

I'm kinda leaning towards using Barbara and brazening it out - going along with whatever Hollow Groumd wants sends a bad signal, imo, and I don't think the game would make that choice an unavoidable permakill for the puppet. So, option 2?

 

I do like the idea of going as Barbara and pretending to have been the one in charge after all - and as Barbara.

That said, I'm concerned that our time at the museum (our debut?) might have left Evidence TM around about that not being the case, evidence that our buddies here have... or, maybe, evidence of Barbara's real past.

I would rather lie than go as our orig flavor body, though. I don't know whether our mind can survive in a different body without it as a root somewhere.

 

I've always wished this (going as the puppet and saying we are the boss) were an option. That said, if we go as Barbara then however else we may try to spin things, we will be presenting ourself as Anathema's employee.

Provided you guys are on board with that, though, we'll go ahead with that option.