[Day: Wednsday, Oct. 10th. Time: 12:00 a.m.] [You're all gathered in a 13-sided stone room next to the clock tower of the Jensen castle. I probably neglected to mention this last session, but that average middle-class house of Herman's father's is less average than it seems. Seems there's a castle behind it. Or something.] (... Can it be seen from the front?) [There's no windows anywhere in the castle, anywhere! But there's lots of plants and lights that burn like candles, without there actually being candles present.] ( No. ) [Anyway, you're all there socializing or not while Mr. Jensen kindly prepares to clock tower for the soul-swapping ceremony possibly to be followed by ritual sacrifice. It could happen.] [Session Start!] * Alys stares curiously at the plants. ( Sacrifice Khalil! He's the most likely virgin! ) (...) (;_;) [None of the plants are interested in eating you. Yay!] ( Unless Justinius works REALLY quick. ) * Ashley is in a chair if there is one, or on the floor if not. His head droops forward periodically, only to jerk back when Dante prods him like an asshole. Every so often, Ashley punches Dante's body in the thigh as hard as he can manage. (Actually, wouldn't Ten be the most likely virgin? :P) * Herman is there. She looks defeated and listless, and has since she's ordered you all to follow her to the clock tower. Hasn't said much, either. ( Dunno. We don't know how big a perv Lukas is. ) [The merit of having a clock tower when you can't actually see the clock face outside is anyone's guess.] (Hate you, Togo. c.c;) ( ^_^ ) * Alys pokes a plant. They've got to be magical plants, dammit, and she's going to prod the weirdness out of them whether they like it or not! * Khalil sits with his eyes closed in quiet contemplation, clearing his mind. He's probably giving forth a silent prayer to Allah or something like a good little Muslim. * Ten stands in the room with the thirteen sides and looks around at all the plants and candles and things. "This's awesome! I wanna castle behind our apartment or in or something!" * Togo is sitting on one of the walls, soaking in the scene. "13 sides to this room... s'freaking me out a bit." * Lukas continues being damaged, last he remembered, but at least he got to clean up. He looks up at Ten. "No, we aren't getting a castle. Or another box fort. There's no more room." But it could be a magic one and that'd make it fit like this one! * Herman sighs and turns to one of the plants spilling out of its pot. She taps it with her staff and twirls the end in the air. The plant mimics the motion, curling itself back into said pot. * Alys looks at Togo. "It could be worse. There could be thirteen undead piranhas." * Lukas rubs his side. "Yeah, sure, you work on that." Yay! * Khalil opens one eye slowly. "Why would there be undead piranhas? The rotting flesh would most likely dissolve in the water." * Herman looks around at all of the people assembled, rubs at her eyes, then says, "Sarah, I gotta talk to you for a sec." Nah. Piranhas are small, don't fare well on land, and wouldn't really freak me out. *pauses* The fact that I'm discussing undead piranhas is, however. But they'd be undead, and therefore not subject to your strange logic! * Ashley swats irritatedly as Dante's cane makes another prod. "Go 'way!" * Lukas looks around, glances to not-Himself, then actually makes for going back outside. No, I am fairly certain the logic still applies. [Sarah looks at Herman curiously. But just then, CombOverHerman appears in the clock tower doorway. "It's time. Which of you wants to go first?"] * Herman looks over. "Somebody else." * Khalil stands up slowly as he finishes his prayer. Me! I'll go! * Herman waves Sarah over and reaches into her cleavage, pulling out a small pouch of sand. [Liadan beeps. "Yes please."] * Ten then purses her lips and blows, but doesn't make any noise. * Ten blinks. * Lukas stops before he gets too far and sighs to himself, turning back around. [Sarah walks on over, nodding at Herman.] [Mitsuji is, by the way, typing away again.] * Ten walks over to Herman's dad. [Apparently the castle gets good satellite reception.] [Ten walks with her! ... It takes a bit for her to cross the room.] * Herman shakes some sand into her hand and turns, tossing it in a full circle around them. This is accompanied by a short Latin chant, and the sand sparkles in the air. [Hermandad ushers them in, closing the door behind him.] * Herman sighs and turns to Sarah. She starts to speak, but whatever she's saying isn't heard. At all. * Lukas glances over to Herman and Sarah, pauses a second, then chuckles a bit to himself, murmuring, "Useful." * Ashley finally manages to fall asleep. They'd be in trouble if I could read lips. Be a bit of a strange skill for me to have, I admit... * Khalil glances over at them and then at Togo. "Only you?" * Lukas looks over to Togo and shakes his head. "Man, just forget it." A faint smirk. "The doomed need their privacy." * Togo shrugs at Lukas, then turns back to Khalil. "Only me what?" He would only be in trouble if it were you? * Alys looks around for interesting things to do. Stupid boring plants. While she looks around the room, she pulls out a marker and doodles plants on her arm. Which is really Xuan's, but oh well. * Lukas 's smirk fades and he sighs, looking about and affixing his eyes to Alys. With a chuckle he says, "Well, there goes the sibling relationship, huh?" Ah. No, not particularly me. * Alys looks up, startled. "True! You're going to be taller- hell, everyone's going to be taller than me again." * Ashley falls over and begins snoring. Yeah, that won't bother me one bit. [Sarah stares at Herman a minute, before saying something back.] [And Justinius oogles the women. Yes, this includes you, Togo.] * Lukas rubs his side again. "Can think of a few things that will, but on the whole... yeah." And I already have a big brother. Hm.... * Khalil then eyes Justinius. "Could you please refrain from doing that until you are in your own body? Then you may oogle all you please." That's it. I charge you with the job of finding a new position to me as a relative! A long-lost uncle, or something. ... what? * Lukas smirks faintly. "Alys, you want no part of my family tree." You probably don't want mine either, 'cause my parents are really lousy parents, but I'm pretty cool! And so's Alex! And you'd have access to a bookshop! Booooooks. (And ha. I just realized that Justinius and Khalil are EXACTLY the same height and weight.) * Ashley drools all over Dante's cloak. [Justinius grins at Khalil. "Ahh, I getcha. Okay, I'll try not to be so obvious."] * Lukas nods slightly towards the closed door Ten went in. "If it were a clothes shop it'd be better. Although you could feed her box habit." Is that possible for you? [Dante pokes Ashley with his cane. Hard.] * Herman rubs at her eyes again, looking as tired and miserable as ever. She starts to reply to Sarah, taking a moment to wince, then keeps talking. She really doesn't look thrilled. * Alys glares at Justinius. "Quiet, you, or I'll sic my long-lost uncle on you." [He winks. "I bet it is for you."] ...I do not know what you are implying. [Justinius grins. "Suuuuuure you don't."] [And Sarah nods and responds to Herman.] * Ashley snorts softly and rolls over. * Togo moves up to the ceiling, and just kind looks around the room, back and forth. [Sarah blinks and suddenly seems taken aback.] * Herman shrugs. * Khalil just stares blankly at Justinius. Really. * Lukas glances to Alys, then to Justinus. "Hey, I could stand up for your honor, but I'd end up in traction. Try not to sic me on people that can kick my ass, huh?" You could, um... float him really high. And drop him. Oh, but it's not his body... this is a problem... Yes. Please do not damage my body. When I get my body back, I'm going to have the possession of a great number of grenades. So please don't stare at my boobs. * Lukas hovers himself off the ground slightly and begins... hoverpacing in an idle fashion. * Ashley giggles in his sleep. * Togo salutes down to Khalil. "Will do, cap'n." [Sarah is silent for a long time, then responds to Herman, finally.] * Togo resumes his stationary browsing around the room. * Herman nods and replies. [She shakes her head.] ( ... die, Cham. ) (Wot?) [The door bursts open, and Liadan bounds out. "Hey guys! I'm me again!"] * Lukas hovers to a stop, turning to face the door. * Ten waves. "And I'm me! It's awesome!" * Herman sighs and says something in reply. She doesn't even seem to notice Liadan. [Liadan nods. "Yes!" She gives Ten a big hug.] Hooray for being yourself again! [Sarah holds up a finger.] * Ten hugs Liadan's arm because the rest of her's just too big. * Lukas chuckles a little. "You're certainly enthusiastic. No wonder you two got matched up." [Dante nods at Liadan. "Congratulations."] * Herman looks vaguely amused at that. [Justinius grins. "Yeah, lookin' good!" He probably means in more ways than one.] * Ashley bolts upright. "Hide the hookers under the bed! Stash the blow in the toilet! Out the win.... dow?" He shakes his head. "Oh, Christs." [Sarah grins.] Heheheheh! You can go next! Or maybe Khalil should go! Or... Ashley kinda needs something. [Xuan eyes Ashley.] * Lukas's head whips back to Ashley, staring at him for a second, then he shakes his head. "Ashley needs a drink." * Ashley rubs at his eyes. "Bloody startled me, that's all." * Herman holds her hand out to Sarah and says something else, smiling a bit. I volunteer for going next, if no one else cares. [Sarah smiles and nods.] I'm in no huge hurry for the moment. *leans back against the ceiling* [Dante pokes Ashley with the cane again. "I need my body back as soon as possible."] (So he can GO ON A DATE.) * Lukas chuckles as he looks up at Togo. "Really? Thinking about making the female bits permanent?" [They shake hands.] [Mariah looks unfazed by the comments. She's probably heard worse.] * Ashley struggles to his feet. "Right, right. Such a hurry to get laid." He yawns, and stretches. "Which way do we go, again?" * Herman grins and says a few more words. [Liadan points at the door. "That way!"] Nah. Just enjoying the view, I guess. * Ashley stumbles forwards into the doorway! [Sarah shakes her head.] [Dante goes after, shutting the door behind them.] * Lukas chuckles and hovers over to Ten, reaching as if to scoop her up. "Feeling more digital?" * Ten grins and grins. "One hundred percent me!" * Herman drops Sarah's - her own? - hand and waves. The sand explodes in tiny pops. * Alys's right arm is covered in a large plant drawing that is threatening to eat several stick people and an Ashby. * Herman turns and looks at the others, seeming to reorient herself. * Lukas does scoop her up! "Better than most other percentages." * Khalil glances at Alys for a moment. "You do realize that that is not your body, yes? It may not be best to add such graffiti." [Liadan goes over to Xuan, and the two began conversing rapidly in Japanese. Liadan is moving around a lot, as if testing her mobility.] But it's so pretty. Yes. It is still not your body. Like, you can draw a new one when you switch back! * Khalil suddenly EYES Ten. * Alys nods. "Good idea!" Just keep your ink to yourself, huh? * Ten blinks at Khalil. "Like, she didn't draw on me when I wasn't looking did she? Is it a cool drawing? Is it?" Then she starts rolling up her sleeves to check. No... Do you want one? I only have permanent marker, though. * Khalil rubs the bridge of his nose. "By Mohammed, this will take some getting used to." * Lukas taps Ten on the head lightly. "I think he's trying to get over 'She walks, she talks, she does complex calculations, and she's only as large as your head.'" * Ten pushes her sleeves back down then. "Like, not with this outfit, but I can think of one that'd be awesome with!" * Herman shakes her head. "It makes sense." Some AI project, huh Volt? * Ten looks up at Lukas. I knew it would be back this way once we switched back. It just is hard to envision until you, well, vision it. * Lukas glances to Herman with a faint smirk. "Yeah. She's some AI, alright." Didja actually make her? Hey, Volt. I know a guy that can build Ten functioning weapons to scale. Interested? *grins* * Ten looks at Khalil. "I'm awesome like that!" * Lukas waves a hand slightly in the air in protest, "Hey, hey, tone back the 20 questions, huh?" * Herman shrugs and leans against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. "Just curious." * Lukas looks over to Togo. "And no, Ten does not need weapons. It'd cut into her clothes budget." It does not truly matter to me. Ten is Ten. Irregardless... * Togo shrugs. "Rocket launchers can be accessories." * Ten nodnods. "Besides! You've totally got enough of them for everybody!" Mmm, rocket launchers... * Herman adjusts her dress/robe and lays her staff across her lap. She closes her eyes. * Togo nods at Ten. "Point." * Lukas glances to Herman and then rubs his forehead. * Herman starts and looks at Lukas. * Ten looks down at her sleeves and starts brushing off the left one, and then rotates it a bit to get the seam where she wants it. * Alys sighs and starts stretching. Like, did I take this long? Yeah. What'd he do in there, anyway? Magic. * Khalil rolls his eyes at Togo. Like, he had us lie down on this big alter thing and there was this big purple pentagram, and then he chanted, and after some confusion I was me again! It was awesome! * Herman sighs lightly and leans back, closing her eyes again. If anyone knows, she does, but she doesn't even look like she's paying attention. * Alys sticks her tongue out at Togo. There may be a problem with what Ashley actually is. * Lukas pats Ten on the head very idly. That or we are overly paranoid. I would not be surprised with either. ( Then Herman's dad had us stare into each other's eyes... ... uh oh. ) [Mitsuji sits up, typing on his lap top with BOTH hands. Woooo.... Something interesting has caught his attention.] * Ashley opens the door and strides in, in his own body again! "Cheerio, lads and lasses." * Herman opens her eyes and looks at Ashley. "I see you're doing better." Welcome back. [Dante follows him out, yawning.] * Ten tugs on Luka's shirt. "Two more! And I wanna see what Mitsuji's doing!" Like a breath of fresh air, even despite the wacky picture show in the middle. What? And what? * Ten points Lukas's body and its mad typing action. [Dante eyes Ashley. "Don't. Whatever you saw, don't. Unless you want me to mention what I saw, too. And trust me, you don't."] * Lukas turns towards Mitsuji. "You mean besides Playing Ride of the Valkyries on his keyboard?" I wanna go next, come on Xuan! * Ashley colors, ever so slightly. "Gentlemen don't kiss and tell, I suppose." [Xuan hops to her feet. "Haiiiii!" She skips over.] No he's not! I bet he's totally doing something awesome! * Khalil glances at Alys and starts to raise a finger in protest. "Uh..." * Alys walks through the door. "See you guys in a few minutes!" * Lukas floats over near Mitsuji. * Herman looks up at Sarah and smiles weakly. "It's working." * Khalil drops his shoulders dejectedly. "I wonder if I will even remember what it is like to be myself again by now." [Xuan follows eagerly.] [Mitsuji gives a triumphant cry! In Japanese. But it causes the heads of all his companions to fall off. Erm, I mean to turn towards him.] See! See! * Togo walks over to above Khalil. "Relax. It's only been a few days. It'll be like riding a bike. With legs." *turns to Mitsuji* "Whowhatnow?" [The others gather around, asking questions! Also in Japanese.] * Lukas chuckles and murmurs to Ten, "Guess they're having a party without you, Ten." * Khalil looks at Togo. "Easy for you to say. You do not have two bodies to get used to in the first place." * Ten nods. * Herman looks confused, probably because she doesn't know Japanese. What'd you find? Huh? Huh? Is it awesome? * Togo eyes Khalil. "My one body is hard enough getting used to. Keep forgetting to explain all that to you guys." * Ashley spins around. "Glorious." He looks down, and realizes he's still in Dante's clothing. With a wave of his hand he's in a double-breasted black pinstripe suit, with a cravat, no less. He beams. * Herman rolls her eyes at Ashley's display. Fae, really. Yes yes. Of course, we all forget that you are the only one with a hard life. * Ten glances over at Ashley. "You need a cane." Then she looks back at Mitsugi. "What'dya fiiiiiiiiiind?" Never said I was the only one, Khalil. But my road's had nastier potholes than most. * Ashley thrusts out his hand, and a silver-topped cane appears in it. "What you had in mind?" He twirls it, with surprising grace, and blinks. "Interesting." * Herman looks at Ashley's cane. "What's so interesting about it?" * Ten looks back. "Yep!" * Khalil is pretty much ignoring Togo at this time, casting his eyes at the clock tower's direction. * Ashley wiggles fingers, and the cane becomes a coin, which he deftly weaves through his fingers. "Just old tricks coming back to me, is all." He wiggles his nose, and it's a cane again. * Herman nods once. She closes her eyes again. [Mitsuji looks up at Ten, grinning. "I finally located what we came to England for in the first place."] You can play around at another time, Ashley.' Coooool! What is it? * Ashley gestures, and a flowerpot appears on Khalil's head. "Now seems like the perfect time to me." * Togo wanders over to above Mitsuji. "Asahara related, right?" If you wish. Just leave me out of your experiments. * Ten giggles. * Ashley shrugs. So does the flowerpot. (... How exactly does a flowerpot shrug?) (Very carefully.) (Ahh) (It does a little hop.) * Togo glances back at the pot, and chuckles with a sigh. "Gonna miss stuff like that." [Mitsuji shakes his head. "No. Something else. About a week ago, the Rosetta stone was stolen from the British Museum."] * Herman opens her eyes and looks at Mitsuji. "Yeah?" * Lukas rubs his forehead and mutters, "Oy." Yeah. We were there. Buncha chicks in a group called the Covenant working with Asahara. Damn shame, too. The racks on those pigeons were stellar. * Ten nods. "The helicopter was totally cheating!" [Mariah nods. "We've come to track it down. That artifact could be dangerous in the wrong hands."] * Alys walks back in with a forced smile on her face. "Heya! Ashley, very snazzy." [And Justinius turns to Togo. "Yeah? You know something about it?"] [Xuan emerges too, shortly. She waves.] (Now we have to fucking remember the plot from 3 months ago.) * Ashley grins to Alys, clearly missing the forced part of the smile. "Thanks!" We were in the museum to exorcise a possessed mask. The stone got stolen while we were there. ( Yeah, man. I use stuff in this game <.< ) Tried to stop it, but... * Herman shrugs. * Khalil puts a hand on Justinius's shoulder. "He can tell you about it later." He starts to direct/push him towards the other room. (No, I mean more that we haven't touched anything relevant for 3 months. ^_~) [Justinius is pushed! "Wha-? Hey! Aw, man!"] Hah, I remember that. That's where I got Syla! What's going on? Well, it's in Asahara's hands. Covenant traded it to them. * Lukas gestures idly into the air. "Ah, painful memories.' Then he pats Ten's head. "Everyone cheats, and you know it." * Ten nods. "But it's not fair when they cheat and I can't!" * Alys blinks. "Asahara has Syla? Why would they want her?" [Mitsuji shakes his head. "No... You're wrong. Asahara doesn't have it."] Not the doll. The stone. What, did they trade it off? [Mitsuji nods. "It's much worse than that."] 'Course. It's always worse. Fill us in? * Lukas murmurs, "Yeah, yeah..." as he hovers. So, like, who does have it then? "It's in Ireland, in the hands of a very powerful vampire named Darcy O'Riley."] ( Gimme Occult rolls and business rolls. ) 2 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ten (2 2d8) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 12 8. 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8-2) and gets a natural 11 for a result of 9. 2d8-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Lukas (2d8-1) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 5. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Lukas (2d8) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 9. 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Alys (2d8-3) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 3. 2d8-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Alys (2d8-1) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 6. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 10. 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ashley (2d8-2) and gets a natural 13 for a result of 11. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ashley (2d8) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. ( Actually, I don't think Occult applies. ) ( It's street sense ) (... Uh. Really?) (Street sense/Area Knowledge of where? ._.) ( Yes. Street sense (Dublin)... any spec., basically. ) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8) and gets 2, a CRITICAL SUCCESS!!! "I'm down with that. You know me." 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 9. (... Herman wins) (... Okay! So, I owned that street sense thing.) (Woo, go Herman!) Don't know the name. Should I? [Well, everyone knows that Dublin has been under martial law recently due to frequent terrorist attacks. Since the terrorists only attack at night, there's a curfew in place.] [Those who made the street sense make the obvious connection that the terrorists are actually vampires. :P] (I'm clueless!) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 9. ( Now just go blond and you can have your own bad TV show! ) [Those who made the business roll realize Darcy O'Riley is the CEO of a large Irish soap company.] (My TV show would be full of Awesome!) Darcy O'Riley, the soap person? * Lukas mmms, then says, "Wow. Soap and vampires. Never figured those two would be linked." ( If you're gonna be immortal, you gotta be darn sure you're fresh. ) * Ten headtilts. "So, they're going to make Egyptian, Greek, and demotic soap? " * Herman shrugs. "I'm sure vamps want to be clean, too. She's behind those attacks in Dublin, right?" [Mitsuji nods. "Yeah... She's a powerful vampire, too. She possess an item, the blood orb, that makes her practically invincible. She used to be relatively harmless, but about twenty years ago she made some pacts with demons and received a lot of power."] ... oh. Right. Ireland's overrun with vampires. *blinks* How the hell did I forget that? So what's she want the stone for? * Lukas mutters, "Why do I never like where anything is going when I'm around this crew?" [Mariah speaks, "If she's working with demons, they would have reason to want it."] ... Okay, what do *they* want the stone for? [Mitsuji shrugs. "Dunno. Can't be anything good. A Rosetta stone can be used as a beacon for summoning souls, so...."] (She wants to be Lar.) (LAR.) And the list of enemies bent on apocalypse just keeps piling up. I don't get the whole apocalypse thing. It seems like a bad deal for everyone. So, like, is it a race? Does the first group to blow up the world get a prize? [Dante shakes his head. "Many demons would have much to gain in a world torn by war."] (ZEG YOUR SHAPECHANGE ATTR SUCKS MOLE BALLS AND ASS) [Liadan nods, "And the humans who help them would be rewarded for betraying their own kind."] (... That was random.) * Ashley is listening, kind of, but idly amusing himself with a 3d-map of Ireland floating in the air. The flowerpot looks on. So're you guys gonna run off to Ireland? Except it never works like that! The humans are all like "Reward now please," and the demon says, "Hahahah, you FOOL!" and smushes them, and then the heroes have to save the day, but the book ends up in a cliffhanger! * Herman eyes Alys. * Alys accompanies this rant with many wild gestures. (It's not really all that random. The attribute needs revision.) * Ten nodnods. "Like, you think they'd figure it out an stuff!" Down, love, down. No more caffeine today. I haven't had any- * Alys eyes Xuan. "Well, I guess I might have without knowing." * Ashley moves the flowerpot to Xuan's head. "Grand Flowerpot Inquisitor demands an answer!" Probably best if each group continues after the leads they have, and if either finds something particularly apocalyptic, or just needs backup... * Alys grins. "All hail the Grand Flowerpot Investigator!" Yeah, Ward Girl's back. The flowerpots will come for us all! In our sleep! * Lukas grins and side glances to Herman. "And may god help us all." * Ten tries to hid behind one of Lukas's arms, but her wings stick out. * Herman looks back at Lukas. "Y'know, after the past few days, I'm not sure if God's paying any attention." I think even God's gonna sit this one out. [Xuan eyes the pot.] God is dead, don't you watch MTV12? [Sarah, meanwhile, nods. "We're going. We have to."] [Mariah seconds the nod. "The only question is how we can combat an all- powerful, nearly invincible vampire.] But they keep showing the same seventeen videos and that one show about the three guys who plant gardens over and over and over! (God's not paying attention. Allah is. That's why the world is so screwed up. You got it all wrong.) ... I guess sunlight doesn't hurt her. Like I said. If you find anything really important, or suddenly find yourself needing backup, call. I vote atomic bomb. I object!! * Togo eyes Alys. "As would the Irish. Plus, that's my line." Maybe I have your script? [Dante, meanwhile, pulls out his own computer, and starts typing.] [Sarah smiles at Togo. "Thanks, but... you're civilians. We can't involve you."] * Lukas looks down at Ten. "Ten, darling, a little less?" * Ten looks up. "Kaaay." Like hell I'm a civilian. I've got security clearance up my ass and out the top of my head. We are not merely civilians! We are... um... who do we work for, anyway? 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 9. * Herman shrugs. "Beats me, but we keep getting nearly killed, so I guess we're not 'just civilians'." * Lukas chuckles. "I work for the people who pay me and have no regard for my wellbeing" Plus, seriously, if sunlight hurts her then I'd better go. ( Wow. Three 9s and and 2 11s. I rock. ) * Ashley has grown the flowerpot into a bust of James Dean. "If I ever saw a check, I could tell you." [Mariah looks at Herman. "It doesn't."] [Mitsuji nods. "Part of the problem, that."] * Herman folds her hands behind her head. "Bloody well figures." [Justinius bursts out of the door. "Ladies! The stud is back!" He flexes his impressive muscles. Liadan, Xuan and Sarah stare at him speechlessly for a second, then go back to what they were doing.] * Herman snorts. Does this mean I can kick you harder now since I don't have to be worried about poor Khalil's body? * Ten ignores him completely. I give my Uncle-y blessing. ["....... No."] * Khalil walks out of the room, just a tad slightly more humbly than Justinius. He nods to the first person he sees. "He is ready for the next." * Lukas looks over to Mitsuji. "Are you ever going to be not busy? Because if not, let's just do it and get it over with." * Ashley waves his fingers, and Justinius is clad in bunny ears. [He nods, setting the laptop aside. "Let's go."] (... Augh, the first thought into my mind is. "You did leave him the rest of his clothes, right?") (Yes. Sadly.) ]* Lukas puts down the backpack and offers Ten to Alys before heading in to the burger from the 70's. [Xuan laughs. Justinius pouts. "Hey, that isn't cool."] * Ashley bats his eyes at Justinius. "Absolutely darling." * Ten giggles again. ... Doesn't do a thing for me. * Khalil looks at Justinius for a long while. "...alright. My opinion of you, Ashley, has just increased twenty-fold." * Alys takes Ten carefully. * Ashley waves his hand and Justinius is shirtless! ... with bunny ears. And a nipple ring. "Better, or worse?" He giggles. "Just like the optometrist's." ( But 20*0... ) You're looking amazingly fashionable again. Good to be back in your normal, non-fleshy body? * Herman snickers. "Better." * Ten is held by Alys! "Like, I vote either worse or more!" Oh, quite. For all you read about the mortal coil, it's awfully drab. [Justinius takes a step towards Ahsley. "You know, these muscles are real. I bench 350. Just saying."] * Alys looks up at Justinius critically. "Yeah, but Ashley has illusiony coolness, so he ranks ten points higher." * Ashley moves his finger in the air, and what looks like finger paint appears on Justinius' chest. "What makes you think I'm not behind you staring at your ass, precious?" * Khalil watches Justinius. He is not impressed. * Herman can't help it. She starts laughing. I agree that he does deserve some of this, but the pettiness has to draw the line somewhere. I think you are overdoing it. * Ten giggles some more. "Like, he just needs an axe and he'll take on the world! So fierce!" * Ashley laughs, then waves his hand and the illusions disappear. "Fine, fine." Oh, but he looked better like that! * Ten pouts in Alys's arms. "Awww." We can only hope he'll benefit from the fashion lesson, dears. * Herman keeps chuckling. "I thought the finger paint was a nice touch." * Khalil rolls his shoulder and tries to stretch slightly. "Well, I can get used to this easily enough. I must confess, while that body has it's uses, it is good to be back." * Ashley looks to Herman. "You should see that for real. Oh, there's this delightful place in Singapore..." Maybe I'll go with you sometime. Just remind me to whip up a new face for you. [The other group converses in Japanese. Woo.] * Ten looks up at Alys. "So, like, whatcha gonna do when we get back to London?" * Khalil looks over at the group. "It is like it is an exclusive club." * Ashley hovers the James Dean bust over, and makes it look like Herman. Then he begins poking and prodding at the air in front of it, sculpting a new face. He's humming something decidedly jaunty. Apologize to my brother a lot, for being gone so much. Um... do what I usually do, I guess. Run the shop. Buy some comics. How about you? * Herman watches Ashley do that. "You're in a good mood," he comments. "Missed the illusions that much?" * Ashley nods. "As much as one misses one's manhood, really," he says, matter- of-factly. Yeah, I think I get it. * Herman looks at the door. It is very disturbing that you compare your abilities to your manhood. Gonna go back to the apartment an check up on all the games I've missed, an like see if anybody wrote a translator for that other language Herman an his dad cast in! One of em's Latin, but, like I don't have a clue on the other! (It's amazing the kinds of run-ons your chars can say when they don't have to breathe.) (Please see: Rei.) * Khalil blinks and then looks at Ten. "What kind of games?" I can't actually reproduce, you know. Fae coalesce around ideas. So, actually, this is about as close as I can get to trying to make a wee bairn, as it were. 'S Anglo-Saxon, Ten. Old English. * Ashley pokes the nose in a little. I've got chars in nearly all the MMO's that are still running! * Ten looks at Herman. "Thanks!" [Mitsuji comes out. He doesn't look happy. He wordlessly walks over to his laptop and starts a-typing.] * Herman watches the unhappy Mitsuji leave and says, "What, it didn't work?" * Khalil thinks for a moment, standing wordlessly for a second. "How about Eff Pee Esses?" [Xuan and Mitsuji start talking in Japanese, in hushed voices.] They kept kicking me off because my aim was too good! Hey Mitsuji, how hard is it to learn Japanese? D'you think Xuan might want to keep in touch with me? * Lukas comes out too! He doesn't look super-happy, but he doesn't look like he's in a bad mood either. "No, we're back to SNAFU, Herman. Next pair through the tilt-o-whirl." [Xuan blinks. "Nihongo?"] (* Elsewhere, an older Rei Ueda slams her hand against the desk. "Dammit, t3N shot me again! I bet she went through the trouble of scripting her own program, or maybe she *is* her own program, and YES I'M GETTING TO WORK STOP BUGGING ME!") [Mitsuji doesn't really seem to have even heard Alys.] Er. If that means, "Do you really want to keep in touch with me?" then, yes. (XD) Figures. Togo, you guys wanna go? * Togo hops down from the ceiling next to Mariah. "Ready?" ["Hai! I try bestest!"] [Mariah nods.] * Lukas walks over to Alys and reaches out slightly, offering Ten a place to sit in. "Alys?" * Alys hands Ten over, only slightly reluctantly. * Togo holds out a hand. "Ladies first. Kinda." [Mariah smirks. "Oh? Go ahead, then."] * Ten sits on Lukas's arm. "Whee!" ... point. *heads on in* * Ashley teases out the eyelashes. "I'm thinking Russian, Herman. Do you concur?" Huh? Oh. Don't know Russian, but if I don't have to fake a stupid accent, it sounds fine with me. All done for you. * Khalil ponders for a little while then blurts out. "Did you have an account on Raze: Ee oh tee Pee?" He really needs to work on those acronyms. * Herman snickers. "Yeah, I forgot that. How'd you pull that off, anyway? Masking someone else's voice without knowing what they're gonna say before they say it." * Alys gives Khalil an amused look. ( /poke Togo ) (/panic) * Ashley reddens the face, and thickens the neck slightly. He shrugs, and the bust shrugs with him. "Couldn't tell you. I learned how before I was actually sentient." He makes the ears a little droopier. * Herman nods, still watching with interest. * Khalil doesn't notice Alys's looks. He's too busy being a gaming geek. * Ashley pokes out one of the teeth, then frowns. "No, they'll never go for that." He coaxes with his finger, and the tooth draws down, just slightly shorter than the rest. "There." He wipes the face to reveal a salt-and-pepper stubble field, then turns the bust to Herman. "Dimitri Alanovich Tantovel. Looks good, da?" he says, in a thick Russian accent. * Lukas smirks slightly to himself. * Herman looks at the face, and she chuckles. Looks nothing like me. No offense, but that's rather the bloody point. Rather is. Gotta wonder why you started with me, then. * Ten nods. "For, like, a couple of hours! I beat the single person mode an' then got booted off the servers. I even stopped making all headshots! It's not fair!" Still, that's damn good. Well, it is somewhat less fun when you are analyzing every move. * Ashley shrugs. "It'd be worth more if I could do it to stone, but alas, these fair hands lack the talent with the chisel." He bats his eyes dramatically, and waves. The bust disappears. I dunno. Give it a few hundred years... * Lukas pats Ten with his now much larger hands. "As you'd expect, Ten has a thing for detail." Although Em em ohs do have their own appeal. Although... * Ten pouts. "It's not like I can play any other way. I'd haveta switch back with Liadan or somethin' an I like being me so I won't!" * Herman blinks and finally catches the other conversation that's happening. She looks at Khalil. "You play computer games?" * Lukas snickers. "Yeah, that caught me for a sec too." He then rubs his neck and sighs slightly. We could party up! That'd be awesome! * Khalil thinks for a moment and breathes a sigh of relief. "Good. The test is still... augh, wait. I did not have a chance to study!" * Khalil then turns to Herman. "Mmm?" He looks at her confused, as if noticing her for the first time. * Herman looks a little confused at Khalil's look, but she gets over it. "Computer games." Can I not play computer games? No. I just figured you didn't, 'cause of the blood and whatever. It's not real blood! That's so totally the entire point! It is not reality. Besides, there is a far difference between violence incorporated into sprites and violence committed as a sin. Besides... you get gold for it. * Alys looks seriously amused, now. She giggles a little. * Herman grins. "Sure. Gold." Well. And sometimes a rare drop. Like? * Ten is nearly bouncing on Lukas's arm. "Sososososo! What games? What servers? What levels are you? Like, if I don't have char on yours I'll power level one 'till you can play!" Christ, Ten, calm down. (Add what classes in there too. ^^;) Well. I am still searching for the Demon Sword of Herafin. Although those Banshee badger like creatures are a pain to fight. * Ashley is working on some illusory abstract sculpture. Nullsun! Ecks Dee! Tell me you're on Triv server, please tell me you're on Triv! I believe the last time I was there though, some fool managed to train a group of ice ogres. That was not pleasant. I really wish that the server would not let on such a newbie. * Khalil then rubs his chin and looks at Ten. "I have been considering it. That is the roleplay server, is it not?" * Herman just watches, amused. ( "Allah should damn all newbs to hell!" ) Uhuh! And has deeHunter main! He's got the awesomest bow ever! I spent weeks farming for it! * Lukas looks sheepish and exasperated. But like it wasn't farming, it was all hunting the vicious invaders from the nether planes for revenge an stuff. Revenge? * Alys draws a dragon on her arm, since it is magically clean again, or possibly just a different arm than the one she was drawing on last time, now that she has her body back. [Dante yawns as he works.] Uhhuh! It's an arepee server, so, like, the demons wiped out his village an now he's gonna try ta close all the gates an stuff. Only he can't 'cause it's just a game, but, like, he tries anyway and it's cool 'cause there's lots of other people who want them gone too so he can usually find parties, 'cept when everybody else is off tryin' for elementals or the gods or something, then all his nifty talents don't work on them and he can't get in. [Togo and Mariah emerge shortly.] * Herman sees them come back into the thirteen-sided room, sighs, and gets to her feet. Looks like we're up, Sarah. [Liadan slides up to Herman. "What's with the sighing? You going to miss the boobs?"] Hm? * Herman looks over to Liadan. She smiles a little. "Naw. Actually, I'm lookin' forward to being the right height again." [Sarah goes red. "Liadan!"] And peeing standing up. * Togo is looking a bit disquieted as he comes out. He's significantly less quieted when he whacks his leg on a table leg. "Ow. Sonovabitch!" *rubs his shin* I just don't like oweing my old man anything, even if I already bargained for this. [Sarah gets up and grabs Herman's arms, pulling him to the room, past Mariah.] That sounds like an interesting take on it. Have they changed the Sunken Castle of Nephyr-dim yet? I heard they were going to upgrade the servers... * Herman is pulled mostly willingly. ... Crap. Need to recalibrate my glasses. You are now annoyingly tall again! How's that going for you? * Ten shakes her head. "They hadn't done it yet when we left!" Then she looks up. [Mariah comes up behind Togo. "Sorry about that."] * Ten raises a hand. "Gimmie a sec, I'll check." [When all is said and done, Mariah really just looks like a FemTogo.] Oh, hey, can I borrow a mobile from someone? Should call again. (Only without the horrible scarring around the eyes thing?) * Togo finds a seat, walking gingerly and brushing a bit close up against various stationary objects. "Not your fault. Needs to be done every morning, but you had no way of knowing that, or how to do it." * Khalil watches Ten and waits for her answer. * Ashley is over in the corner, sculpting still. * Ten lowers her arm. "Nope! Still on the test servers! .... but they've fixed the pathing problem that made the sub bosses all run into the front room after the second key!" * Togo fiddles with the frames of his glasses, near his ears. A soft whirring sound emits from the glases, and he removes them, setting them down in his lap and connecting them to a cord he's just pulled out of his coat. Which leaves his empty sockets rather uncovered for the moment. ( Yeah, FemTogo is hawt. ) Hey, Togo, got a mobile in your coat? [Togo looks like something from a horror flick.] [Very not a pretty site. VERY] * Lukas isn't looking. He's smart. * Khalil lets out a breath. "It is about time. That bug was getting annoying." * Alys looks grossed out, but is still determined to get a damn phone from someone. * Togo reaches into his coat and tosses his cell phone underhand to Alys with fairly impressive accuracy. "Here." [Mariah is, but isn't quite as freaked out by it. The others are finding ample opportunity to look anywhere else.] Er, thanks. * Ashley looks over at Togo, then quickly glances away. His sculpture wavers a little. * Ten nods. "Maybe people will finally be able to beat the place without being twenty levels over or having a hundred players!" * Alys dials home, then goes into the closest thing she can find to a corner to talk. You do not even get experience if you are that high. It is ridiculous. * Togo turns his head towards where he hears Khalil and Ten's voices coming from. "You guys talking about a video game?" * Ten nodnods. "But the movies they post of actually taking that fight are awesome!" * Khalil starts at Togo, and turns towards him, looking at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Eh?" * Lukas mutters, "Oh god." Video Game. Talking about. Are you? Yep! * Khalil just blinks at Togo. Speaking Yoda-speak with a non-native speaker. Very smart. Figured. Used to play a lot, back when I was in the Army and had some time. Play less lately. For obvious reasons. *manages a small grin* Like, could you get it so the video output from the computer feeds to your glasses? Then you could play with us! * Khalil gives a meek nod for a moment, then turns away. Glasses ain't quite that advanced. It works like a bat's radar... I get shapes and some depth, but no texture, no color, nothing like that. Makes reading a bit... well, impossible, aside from Braille. Aww, that sucks. Somebody should build a better interface for you, then you could play! ( Poor Togo. He needs an upgrade. ;_;) s'top of the line technology just to get it this far, Ten. But yeah, that'd be pretty great. * Togo unplugs the cord from his shades, and puts them back on his head, that same whirring sound coming from them as he does. "... right. Much better." ( Lukas can give him an upgrade! Lukas Lukas Lukas Lukas Lukas I wanna play with Togo make it happen!) * Khalil sighs. "I suspect that kind of procedure would be expensive." ( It only costs your mind and soul.)* Ten nods. There're people working on upgrading the technology to that level, but it's a ways off. For the time being, though, this works. I can see well enough to move around and shoot what I wanna shoot. Everything else comes second. That's kinda cool in a not really sort of way. * Lukas smirks a little at that. That is an... interesting way of putting it. * Togo shrugs. "My social life's a fucking black hole, but I've got a job to do. I'm a soldier, first'n last." These shades weren't designed so I could have a normal life. They were designed so I could function as a soldier. And I can. If I can figure out a way to do the other stuff, that's just gravy. * Lukas snorts a little and continues playing the quiet game. * Ten nodnods. "But, like, if you can read maps and notes, and computers and stuff you'd be able to be a better soldier so they should make better ones for you!" * Ashley stops working on the sculpture, which has been completely reformed at least three different times. Now it looks like some kind of strange black-winged hippogryph. "He's better off than he would be as a Celt. They'd have left him to die on the field." * Alys has run out of room to do any more detailing on her dragon drawing, and pulls up her pants leg so she can draw on her lower leg. * Lukas eyes Alys and has to ask, "... Alys? Do you seriously just not have the money for paper?" You're right. S'why they're working on that stuff now. s'beyond the tech level right now, though. Do we have paper here? * Ten grins. "Just wait six months! It'll all be twice as good!" (Beett, in a minute Ashley is going to quote the entirety of Pulp Fiction in full Gaelic iambic pentameter.) (Sweet.) (Awesome!) * Khalil blinks at Alys for a moment and stares at her. "Is that normal?" * Lukas sighs. "You can buy paper with money and carry it around. In a bag, possibly." * Togo looks over at Ashley. "Fuck that. I woulda dragged my blind ass back to my hut and asked my wife what was for dinner." *grins* She'd probably have stabbed you for a demon, then. Not too bright, the Celts. But my body is easier to carry around. Is what normal? Drawing anywhere yourself and exposing your flesh such as that. * Togo pauses at that. "That would've sucked. You're right. I'm glad I'm not a Celt." * Alys looks at her leg oddly. "Dunno. You wanna draw on me too? You can have my other leg." * Ashley spins the statue to face Togo. "So, you see, the present is always better." The statue neighs, then disappears. [End-o!]