Occular (Worm x SWTOR)

[Exorsus]

Definitely enjoying the inclusion of Cherish as an Undersider

 

[RiP]

Look like Taylor offer a deal to Amy. They fake their relationship and get some freedom from Vicki.

Such cunning, such sin.

 

[Sitxar]

Look like Taylor offer a deal to Amy. They fake their relationship and get some freedom from Vicki.

Such cunning, such sin.

Click to shrink...

Truly, the insidiousness of the Sith knows no bounds!

 

[RiP]

Emma, Emma, you grow up a monster. And now come to her lair and offer a friendsip? Level of smartness - cannon.
I hope Taylor repay with the same favor.

Why Tay didn't feel influence from Cherish??

 

[Aldsan]

Emma, Emma, you grow up a monster. And now come to her lair and offer a friendsip? Level of smartness - cannon.
I hope Taylor repay with the same favor.

Why Tay didn't feel influence from Cherish??

Click to shrink...

Taylor knows about Vicky's aura and can anticipate and correct for it. Meanwhile, Cherish is a lot more subtle with her power usage than Vicky, and Taylor isn't expecting it from her. Also, Taylor rolled a 2 on her perception check.

 

[RiP]

1. Lottery ticket it's an option??? (money)
2. Can Seeker do a fortune teling?? No need to be super accurate just psychology and common phrases. (Like all fortune teller do) (money+diplomacy practice)
3. Can Seeker do a telekinetik juggling? If she will perform with this it's 3 target with 1 arrow. 1. Practice. 2. Money. 3. Chance get along with Parian and ask about discount for costume.

Also i fix Seekers problem with money.

Spoiler: Here

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Topic: Seeker personal thread
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay

Seeker (Original Poster) (Verifed Cape)
Posted on March 11, 2011:
Hello folks i'm Seeker. New independent hero. There is a couple of my photos. link. I'm kind of newbie and did not so much. After action photos link. But i promise to do the best to this town. Because it's my town.

Also i have some money difficulties. Gears and heroic stuff pretty expensive. And I ask you for help. Please support new hero of Brocton Bay. link
And keep in mind highest donation would be awarded by nudes from curved redhead Seeker Sidekick. photo link
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Taylor, What The Fuck?!"
"I happy to see you too Emma. What the problem?"
"This!"
"Emma, couple weeks ago you offered me friendship. It's mean we are friends. Right?"
"Yes."
"When you find out about my powers you offered me full support. Right?"
"Yes."
" I need money for gears and heroic stuff."
"But you even didn't talk about it."
"Emma, we are friends. Friends know what the best for each other without asking. You know it better than anyone isn't it."

 

[Aldsan]

1. Lottery ticket it's an option??? (money)
2. Can Seeker do a fortune teling?? No need to be super accurate just psychology and common phrases. (Like all fortune teller do) (money+diplomacy practice)
3. Can Seeker do a telekinetik juggling? If she will perform with this it's 3 target with 1 arrow. 1. Practice. 2. Money. 3. Chance get along with Parian and ask about discount for costume.

Click to shrink...

1. Sure. The chances of success might be pretty low unless you invest more in future sight abilities. (It's also illegal for a Thinker to gamble, so don't get caught).
2. Theoretically. Feel free to write it in.
3. Theoretically. Feel free to write it in. Though, the money isn't likely to be all that great.

 

[RiP]

Feel free to write it in

Click to shrink...

Ok. But what about last part? Yeah selling Emma's photo in Sidekick mask only it's a bit out of character. Taylor not deep enough at the Dark side yet. Even if Emma deserve a small lesson. But what about idea in general? Uber and Leet do their show. Taylor can do the same. Can you just roll the dice for this. Success - some money, failure - nothing or bad rep of beggar.

Spoiler: conversation with Vicki

"VIcki i want to talk with you."
"Sure."
"You know, i have a friend and she is a cape."
"Hm Taylor, do you..."
"No it's not about you or Amy."
"Wow Taylor, you really a box of surprises."
"Her name - Seeker."
"I hear about her. She try to sell on the PHO photo's of her's sideckick."
Taylor blush a bit but then feed all embarrassment and uncertainty to the spark of the hate in her chest and continue confidently.
"Yeah. Look likes heroing - expencive hobby. And i think can you meet her for small photo shoot or friendly spar, maybe."

 

[Aldsan]

A fist flew towards my face and I twisted my body, bringing my arms up to guard against it. I returned with a quick jab, but my opponent danced away, letting my punch fly past them. I followed up with another punch, aiming for their gut this time, only for them to dodge again. Only this time, I overextended and they grabbed hold of my wrist, pulling me along through the angle of the punch. I had all of a second to see the floor rushing towards me and then the breath was driven from my lungs.

I spent a moment blinking the stars from my eyes. I'd been faster than her. I had the advantage of knowing her punches were coming before she even threw them. And yet, I'd still lost.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just my pride is hurt." I grinned and took Rune's hand, letting her help me to my feet. We'd wound up meeting in some abandoned warehouse off of the docks. Rune had been the one to propose we spar -- apparently someone had taken a video of our fight with the ABB and posted it online, and she wanted to see how trained I was. The answer obviously, was not very. "I thought you were supposed to be a long-range fighter."

Rune shrugged, but I should see the hints of a smile playing about her mouth. "Hookwolf was pretty insistent that I know how to defend myself even without my powers available. Just in case."

Hookwolf. The man had the power to change his body into an ever-shifting mass of blades and was well-known for his propensity to use it violently. Most people who fought him came away with severe, if not lethal injuries. It was rumored online that he had a Birdcage sentence waiting for him if the Protectorate ever managed to catch him.

I was learning indirectly from one of the worst criminals in Brockton Bay. I tried to hide my grimace, but from how Rune's face dropped, I'm pretty sure she caught it. I sighed and wandered over to where I'd left my bag and dug out a water bottle. "So I hope you don't mind my asking, but… I heard Victor's take on the Empire the other day, but I was curious what yours was."

Rune frowned and looked away. "Does it matter? It won't affect anything."

"It matters."

"It sucks." That caught me by surprise. "It's filled with disgusting hypocrites who go out and beat up people weaker than themselves to feel better about how shitty their life is. It's still better than the ABB or the Merchants though."

"How do you figure?"

"The Merchants are a bunch of drugged out losers, which would be fine if they kept it to themselves. They don't though. Anywhere they go, they force their trash on other people. On good people. The ABB is worse. They might as well be animals walking around in human skin."

I took a slow sip of my water, reaching out to try and examine Rune's feelings. She was being genuine, I'm pretty sure. The anger, the indignation wasn't faked. And it figures, even if the E88 had shown some of their darker dealings to her, she was still new. They'd want to keep her thinking well of them and hating the other gangs until she was too deep in the organization for it to matter.

It was also closer to the same arguments that Victor had used than I'd like. A common line for the E88, I guess. It didn't help that it was true, by and large, even if it served primarily to dehumanize the other gangs. The best propaganda always had at least a shred of truth in it.

"Why not join the Wards then?"

Rune snorted in contempt. "Because the Wards are useless? They go on just enough patrols through Downtown to make all the soccer moms feel good and are benched the rest of the time. At least this way, I have backup when I decide to take the fight to the fucking chinks. Besides, my Uncle's in the E88. Victor and Othala are my cousins. They knew who I was the moment I triggered." She sat down on a piece of rubble. "Like I said, it doesn't matter what I think. It won't actually affect anything."

"You think the Empire would come after you if you tried to quit?"

"Maybe. They're not big on 'traitors to the cause.' Even if they didn't though, it'd still mean fighting my family."

I leaned back, frowning slightly as I turned her situation about in my head. If I found out tomorrow that Dad was actually some big name villain in the Bay, would I still do the right thing and fight against him? Would I try to see my Dad arrested?

I wanted to say yes, that I would hold to my moral conviction over family ties, but I wasn't sure that was the truth.

"So why hang out with me then? It's not like I plan to hold back if I see people in the Empire out committing crimes."

Rune hesitated a moment before answering. "You're an independent with no major strikes against Empire holdings. I can pretend that I'm just trying to recruit you."

I raised an eyebrow. "How long is something like that going to hold up?"

"Dunno. Depends how much they want you or how much trouble you make for them, I guess." Rune scrubbed a hand through her hair. "But… you nearly died trying to save my life when you didn't have to. The least I can do is try to keep you alive until you find some actual teammates."

I frowned and glanced down, not voicing my guilt that she'd only come so close to dying herself because I had hesitated to step in at all. "Alright. I'd prefer if you could leave the Empire and join up with me full time, but I guess I'll work with what you're willing to give me. That said, I'm already going to have problems with people thinking I'm an Empire sympathizer if I run around with you, so let's try to reduce that as much as possible."

Rune tilted her head curiously. "What did you have in mind?"

"A new costume and name, for one thing. People will still probably figure out it's you from your powers, but if we can build you another identity, we can at least try to maintain a polite fiction that you're someone different. It'd help if you also used your power in different ways than you typically rely on in your Rune persona."

"Uh, pretty much all I've got is telekinesis. I don't think there's changing that."

"Sure. But most of the videos on you that PHO has show you lifting larger objects. Cars, dumpsters, chunks of concrete, that sort of thing, right?" She nodded and I reached into my bag to pull out a baseball. "So we focus on smaller stuff. Baseballs, ball bearings, that sort of thing. Trade off weight and power for precision."

I tossed the baseball, only to stop it in midair and instead sent it flying in a circle and then a figure eight. Rune stared up at it, her curiosity brushing along the edge of my mind. "I'd forgotten you were a telekinetic too. It's not really all that obvious from how you fought when you rescued me."

I shrugged. "I can't throw big chunks of concrete like you can. I've mostly been using it to trip people."

"Getting to ignore the Manton Limit is impressive enough on it's own." She rolled her eyes before reaching up to slap the baseball out of the air. "I guess I'll talk to E-- to Othala and see if she had any ideas for a new costume."

"Sure. In the meantime, I'm up for another round of sparring if you are."

Rune shrugged before grinning at me. "Why not? I could use the practice, and you must enjoy getting thrashed."

I laughed in response. "Please, I'm going to make you eat dirt before we're done."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━​

In the end, we'd had another four matches and Rune had won all of them.

I tried not to groan as I walked along the street, returned to my usual hoodie and jeans. My whole body felt sore. I'd found that Rune didn't really hold back much, and had a competitive streak a mile wide. Once we'd gotten into things, she'd started using a number of kicks, throws, and gut punches to bring me down.

I suppose it made sense when I took into account who trained her.

I sighed and double checked the address I'd been given. This was the place. I stepped inside and headed up the stairwell towards the third floor. I strode past rows of apartment doors and fought back a yawn, instead forcing a smile on my face. I was meeting a prospective employer -- even if I was tired and sore, I had to at least act a bit more put together.

Right. I could do this. It was just babysitting. How hard could it be?

I knocked on the door. About a minute later, a tall black guy answered. He was well-built, clearly worked out, and had a strong jaw that left him looking rather handsome. A week ago I might have pegged him as being my type and moved on. Now, I suddenly wasn't sure what my type was, as I found myself comparing him to Cherie and not finding the same sort of burning attraction churning in my gut that I'd had during my short conversation with her.

Ugh. I could think about that later. "Hi. I'm Taylor. You messaged me about needing a babysitter?"

He smiled and extended his hand. "Brian. Thanks for coming by on such short notice. I was supposed to watch over my sister tonight, but I got a last minute message from my boss asking me to come in to work."

"No problem, really," I said, following him inside. It was a pretty nice place for a guy as young as Brian was. "Is there anything I need to know?"

"I've got a list of emergency contacts written down on the kitchen table. Otherwise, Aisha's old enough to look after herself, for the most part. I just want someone else here that can call if anything goes wrong."

"What he means, is he wants evidence that he didn't just leave me by myself if a social worker asks." A girl's head suddenly popped up from behind the couch and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"I just want to make sure you're safe."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Go and have fun at your job, Bro."

Aisha waved Brian off and I took a moment to study her. She was beautiful in much the same way her brother was handsome, and though I could tell she was younger than me, she also was clearly the type to mature early. Unfortunately, that didn't lend itself to good decisions, as her clothes, which I could only charitably describe as 'trashy,' attested. Dressed in a tube top with denim shorts and fishnet stockings of all things, she looked like a parody of what a kid thought people wore to clubs. Not that I'd ever been to a club myself.

"Right, well I've got to get going." Brian's voice shook me out of my reflection. "Try to keep her out of trouble, if you can."

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do." I smiled my assent and watched Brian hug his sister before heading out the door. I waited for the door to click behind him, before turning back to Aisha. "So, was there anything you wanted to do tonight?"

"Meh." Aisha flopped back down onto the couch and out of view. "Stick a movie in, I guess."

"Sure. Do you know where Brian keeps his movies?"

Aisha pushed herself back up and looked at me. I looked back at her. After a long moment she said, "Shit."

My smile turned crooked.

Aisha and I spent the next twenty minutes seeing what we could find, only to come up with nothing. After that, I checked Brian's fridge to see about making dinner for Aisha only to discover that, while not bare, it had most definitely been filled by a teenage boy. I eyed the stacks of frozen pizza, Aisha's head poking over my shoulder, before slowly shutting the freezer.

"Well… it's a better option than the ramen we found in the pantry at least," Aisha offered.

"Don't remind me."

The other options seemed to consist of peanut butter and jelly, protein shake, and cereal. The culinarian in my soul slowly withered and died. In the end, we went with the pizza and spent the next hour playing card games with a pack we'd found. Aisha looked as glad as I was when Brian finally came back home.

I was thirty bucks richer, which wasn't bad for an hour and a half of work, but the whole experience just left me feeling drained.

---

It is the week of March the 7th. It is currently Spring Break.

Rune needs a new identity. Please suggest names and costumes for her to use.
[][Name] (Write-In)
[][Costume] (Write-In)

Note, that this isn't a vote, I'll be choosing whatever option I like most for this one. So please feel free to write in whatever ideas appeal most to you, and don't worry about garnering popular opinion.

Spoiler: Dice Rolls

Rune Conversation (DC12) = 8 (+2 Diplomacy, +2 Relationship); Success, if barely |

Babysitting = 3; Aisha

Spoiler: Ability Gains

+2 to [Martial Training]
+1 to [Push]

+1 Expense

Spoiler: Author's Note

Hello again, everyone. Sorry for the somewhat shorter update this time. I had originally planned to include the Dallons' BBQ in this update, but I decided in the end to split it off onto its own. Next update will likely be shorter, but might be out faster.

As an aside, the dice really wanted you to meet the Undersiders this week, huh?

 

[globalwarmth]

[x][Name] Kinetic
[x][Costume] Dark blue jumpsuit and bike helmet

 

[Its_a_cauldron_plot!]

[x][Name] Kinetic
[x][Costume] Dark blue jumpsuit and bike helmet

 

[Aldsan]

Why does Aisha need a babysitter? She's more than old enough to spend a few hours on her own.

For that matter, Taylor is barely any older than Aisha.


This plotline makes absolutely zero sense.

Click to shrink...

"What he means, is he wants evidence that he didn't just leave me by myself if a social worker asks." A girl's head suddenly popped up from behind the couch and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Click to shrink...

It's not about Aisha not being able to take care of himself. It's about being able to show receipts showing that he was responsible with her when she was under his care.

Click to shrink...

Aisha is 14. No reasonable social worker will expect that she requires a babysitter for an hour or two. At her age, she's expected to be capable of taking care of herself unsupervised for a couple hours.

The entire thrust of Brian's argument for adoption is that Aisha has been forced to do so for longer in a more adverse enviroment at a younger age. She's clearly capable.


edit: thinking back, my sister did the occasional (paid) babysitting job for our neighbors at Aisha's age.
Please reconsider this plotline. It just seems hopelessly contrived.

Click to shrink...

As an aside, Aisha is 13 at this point in time, not 14, though I imagine that doesn't change that thrust of your argument. That said, I'll leave it up to readers to decide. I'd originally planned Aisha (along with a handful of others) as possible people to roll on the babysitting table to help make up for the poor money gain with potential connections. Personally, I agree, I don't think a babysitter is needed at 13; but a 17 year old trying to show he's responsible enough to take care of his little sister might still want to hire one, if only to show he's taking things seriously.

Anyways, here's a poll, please vote.

https://strawpoll.com/cp2ywh65

 

[Exorsus]

I haven't voted on the Aisha poll because I feel deserves a more in depth discussion.
In a city like Brockton Bay it certainly isn't unreasonable for Brian to want someone to be there with Aisha while he is out, even if it is just to stop her from going out somewhere on her own, personally I expected it to be Aster that was being babysat because Theo was unavailable for whatever reason.
If this is to open up another choice for how the Undersiders get introduced then I would prefer the Lisa/ Cherish option over Brian/Aisha as it's a lot more original.
That being said having multiple connections through unrelated avenues is always entertaining when it all comes to light.

Edit: I have no ideas for a new name for Rune beyond Lorem (Latin for Launch which I feel dosen't quite fit) but Kinetic seems uninspired

Also I see this story is also posted on spacebattles. Which do you consider the more important place for commenting/voting?

 

[Aldsan]

I haven't voted on the Aisha poll because I feel deserves a more in depth discussion.
In a city like Brockton Bay it certainly isn't unreasonable for Brian to want someone to be there with Aisha while he is out, even if it is just to stop her from going out somewhere on her own, personally I expected it to be Aster that was being babysat because Theo was unavailable for whatever reason.
If this is to open up another choice for how the Undersiders get introduced then I would prefer the Lisa/ Cherish option over Brian/Aisha as it's a lot more original.
That being said having multiple connections through unrelated avenues is always entertaining when it all comes to light.

Edit: I have no ideas for a new name for Rune beyond Lorem (Latin for Launch which I feel dosen't quite fit) but Kinetic seems uninspired

Also I see this story is also posted on spacebattles. Which do you consider the more important place for commenting/voting?

Click to shrink...

Aster was a possibility. I had a couple of options available on a table.

In terms of commenting, the story gets the most discussion on Sufficient Velocity, actually. That said, feel free to vote on any of the three sites, as I count all of them.

 

[Prince Charon]

[X][Name] Kinetic
[X][Costume] Dark blue jumpsuit and bike helmet

 

[RiP]

For example, Emma alpha bitch and queen bee of Winslow. She know how to run social campaign. If she spend a bit of time promoting Seeker in Winslow and Taylor help and do some patrols around. Ta-Dam. Seeker has a group of fans.

UPD. Just i look at the prices and feel sadness. Babysitting and other part-time *********it it's for teenagers candys. Not for hero who wish to be effective.
Good money T. can get from goverment, Wards program. Not an option As trophy from gangs. Not an option too. Or sell sheself. Her name, i mean.

 

[Aldsan]

"And here we are!"

Victoria set me down onto the lawn in front of the house. I'd been thinking of this as being the Dallons' barbeque, but it turned out that it was actually the Pelhams, Victoria's Aunt and Uncle, who were hosting it. The house itself was modest. Larger than the one that Dad and I lived in, sure, but smaller than I expected from the family of a Hero team. I guess somehow, I expected it to be larger than life. Instead, it was… normal. A house large enough for a small family, a lawn, a picket fence even.

If there was anything that stood out to me, it was how neat everything was. That's not to say that it was a bastion of order. A water hose strewn over the lawn instead of being rolled up. Cars were parked out in the driveway instead of the garage. On the other hand, the lawn was trimmed. The paint wasn't flaking off. I didn't have to watch for a broken step walking up to the front door. All of it pointed to a house that was taken care of, but still lived in, with all the little bits of chaos that came with life.

I thought back to my own house, which had slowly lost all of that since Mom had died. Dad had spent more and more time at work, and I'd largely kept increasingly to my own room. There was a desolation, an emptiness there that I didn't feel here. We still had a house, yes, but the Pelhams had a home.

"Taylor, you coming?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed back the emotions that had overcome me, before forcing a smile onto my face for Victoria. "Yeah, I was just, taking a look around, you know?"

"What's there to look at? I know we're known Heroes and all, but it's still just a house."

I shook my head. "It's not that. Anyways, don't mind me, I was just thinking."

"It's alright to admit that you just spaced out, you know." Victoria laughed before grabbing my arm and tugging me along. "Now come on."

I allowed myself to be pulled inside, where a brunette girl sat next to a boy who had spiked his hair up and dyed it blue. There was a football game playing on the TV, but the pair seemed a lot less interested in watching it than they were in exploring each others' mouths.

Victoria cleared her throat and the two sprang apart, their faces turning red. The boy was the first one to get his nerve back to speak. "Oh uh. Hey Vicky. Good to see you."

"Yeah, you too, Eric." Victoria rolled her eyes, while I took a moment to remember what I could about New Wave. Eric Pelham went by Shielder in his cape identity. Like most of his family, he was known to be able to fly, shoot beams, and project shields around himself, though he was apparently slower and weaker offensively than his Mom or Sister, and instead had stronger defensive capabilities to make up for it.

"So who's this?"

The girl spoke up, in the sort of peppy voice I associated with the sort of vapid lackeys who liked to hang around Emma back at Winslow. "Hi! I'm Mandy. It's good to finally meet you."

"Yeah, good to meet you too, Mandy." Victoria answered while shooting a questioning look at Eric.

"We started going out about two weeks ago," he offered. "No Dean today?"

"No Dean. I need to not be around him for a little while."

Eric let out a low whistle. "Must have been a bad one this time. Anyways, everyone else is either in the kitchen or out back."

"Right. We'll head that way then. Have fun you two." With that, Victoria led me through the room towards the back door. I glanced back and caught Mandy blushing, but Eric had apparently written us off already and was already coaxing her back into kissing him. Not that it took much in the way of encouragement.

I turned back to Victoria only to spot her giving me a knowing grin. I shouldn't ask. I shouldn't encourage her. I did it anyway. "What?"

"Nothing~" She sing-songed in response. "I'm pretty sure Amy is here already if you're so interested in smooching though."

Heat flooded my cheeks. "It's not like that. Besides, we're not dating or anything."

"But you want to, right?" She gave me a gentle smile. "It's fine, I know you're both awkward about that sort of thing. I'll help nudge you along."

"I don't need nudging, Vicky. I'm--" Straight, I was about to say. But I wasn't, was I? Memories of a kiss shared in a coffee shop came to mind, as if to denounce me. A giggle floated from the other room and I tried to ignore how my face burned. Victoria seemed to take my silence as acquiescence.

"Really, you're both so stubborn. Both of you need to learn to accept help once in a while." She pushed the door open and stepped outside. "C'mon, I can at least introduce you to everyone else."

I shrugged and followed, letting her lead me around. Manpower and Flashbang were first. Victoria's Uncle and Father were in charge of the grill and were chatting while flipping hamburger patties. Meanwhile, Lady Photon and Brandish were sitting on the patio. Neil and Mark, Sarah and Carol, I mentally replaced.

We kept introductions brief, before wandering away towards where Laserdream and Amy were sitting beneath a tree. Victoria waved as we approached. "Hey~ We're here! Did you miss me?" There was a brief surge in her aura as well, but at this point, I was so used to identifying it and warding it off that I hardly even had to think to push it away.

Amy looked up and smiled at the two of us. I gave a smile of my own in return and sat next to her, mentally tuning out Victoria and Laserdream's conversation. Victoria and Crystal's conversation, I corrected. "Hey. How've you been?"

"Oh, same as usual. I hope Vicky hasn't been giving you too hard of a time on the way here."

"Well, you know how it is. The two of us are destined to be together and she's graciously offered to be my wingman."

Amy let out a snort and rolled her eyes. "Well, that's more or less what she's like when she gets an idea in your head. You learn to put up with it."

"I guess. How was the book, by the way?"

"What book?"

"Y'know, the one you bought last time." On our sort-of not date. "Shades of Love, I think it was called?"

Amy turned pink. "Don't just mention it like that!" She squeaked out in a strangled voice, darting a glance over towards her sister. Victoria didn't turn from her conversation with Crystal, but judging from the faint embarrassment rolling off of her as well, I'd say she probably heard and was just polite enough not to mention it.

"Oh, uh. Sorry. I didn't know it was a secret or anything."

"It's fine. The book was great."

I smiled a bit. "Great, huh? I guess I should look into getting a copy for myself then?"

Amy's eyes went wide at that. "I'm… not sure it would be the sort of thing that would be your taste… and you're just teasing me, aren't you."

"No… Well, maybe a little. All the blushing you're doing over it is pretty cute. But I'd still be interested in reading it if you thought it was good."

Amy huffed but smiled despite herself. "Fine, I'll let you borrow my copy then, if you're that curious."

"Thanks." I shot a glance over at Victoria and Crystal, who had put their heads together to whisper back and forth. The occasional glance they sent towards Amy and me sent a shiver down my spine. Those two colluding didn't bode well. "So, how've you been spending your Spring Break?"

The conversation continued like that until the call went out that dinner was ready. The food itself was nothing spectacular, but all the same, it was… nice. There were no frozen silences like when I ate with my Dad these days. Even when the conversation dropped off, the quiet was companionable rather than awkward.

If there was anything that was awkward, it was how Crystal and Victoria kept arranging for Amy and I to sit together, both during dinner and afterwards, when we all piled back into the living room to watch a movie. I guess it didn't bother me that much, but they were being pretty obvious. I'm pretty sure Victoria and Amy's Mom had picked up on it, if the weird looks she kept shooting me were any indication.

As the lights dimmed however, I had trouble holding back a yawn. It'd been a long day and I'd been getting a lot less sleep lately with how I'd been patrolling at night. The movie they'd chosen was a classic. It had everything, from fencing to fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, and even miracles. I'd seen it at least a dozen times. So maybe it wouldn't hurt if I just closed my eyes for a little while.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I dreamed.

I hadn't ever been the sort to really remember my dreams before I got my powers. Most of the time I went to sleep and then I woke up. Sometimes I'd remember having a dream, but not what it was. Since I'd gotten my powers though, I had dreamt every night.

The details escaped me. I remembered flashes. An icy manor. A dusty desert. A torrid jungle. Fear. Pain. Amusement. Lust. But there was something more. As though something were watching me from just out of sight.

Perhaps if I turned, if I looked quickly enough, I'd see it. I spun--

I was shaken awake.

I groaned for a moment, disorientated, wondering where I was. A hand brushed through my hair and I stared upwards into Amy's face. It took me a moment to register that I was laying in her lap.

I froze. Amy's hand was on my cheek. I was reminded suddenly of a coffee shop, and my mind flooded with Victoria's recent insinuations. Would it be so bad? If I leaned up and kissed her, would it feel as amazing as when Cherie had leaned down to kiss me?

My face heated for a moment and I shook myself free of the sudden delusion. Even if I'd recently discovered that I was gay, I knew Amy wasn't actually interested in me. I forced myself to sit up. "Sorry about that, I guess I must have fallen asleep."

"It's fine. Vicky will be insufferable for a while, but it's not a big deal. Could I talk to you about something? Upstairs?"

I shot her a questioning look but nodded after a moment. "Alright, I suppose."

Amy got up and I followed her. When we got up to what I assumed was Crystal's bedroom, Amy closed the door and took a deep breath. After a minute passed without her saying anything, I finally asked, "Amy? What's this about?"

She looked up. "I know you're a parahuman."

---

It is the weekend of March the 11th. It is currently Spring Break.

Panacea has confronted you about being a Parahuman.
[][Unmask] Try to act confused and lie your way out.
[][Unmask] Reveal that you are a Parahuman but not the details.
[][Unmask] Reveal your powers and your identity as Seeker, but ask her to keep your secret.
[][Unmask] Secret's out, tell Amy that we're Seeker, but allow her to tell Vicky too.

Where does Taylor patrol?
[] Trainyard
[] North Docks
[] South Docks
[] Commercial District
[] Downtown
[] Southern Coast

You have 2 Training Actions.
[] (Write-In)

You have 2 Major Actions.
[] Spend extra time patrolling
-[][Patrol] Investigate something (Search for local drug dens, find out what Shadow Stalker has been up to, Write-In)
-[][Patrol] Keep your ear to the ground by asking local hobos for information
-[][Patrol] Try to scout around without being seen
-[][Patrol] Hunt for a specific cape (Write-In) (Attempt to gain connections by meeting a friendly cape, or reputation by taking down an enemy cape)
[] Hang out with someone
-[][Hang Out] Who? (Victoria, Amy, Rune, Write-In)
-[][Hang Out] Doing what? (Write-In)
[] Spend extra time studying
[] Surf PHO
-[][PHO] Talk with Vista
-[][PHO] Maybe try and find a new online friend
-[][PHO] Research local capes more
[] Scavenge the junkyard for Components
[] Experiment with your powers (Gain a bonus to a random power)
[] (Write-In)

Job Options
[][Employment] Keep up with babysitting (2 expenses per week, 5% chance of interrupt)
-It doesn't pay well, but it's easy to do on the side.
[][Employment] Search for a new job
-[][New Job] Movie Theaters (4 expenses per week, 15% chance of interrupt)
-[][New Job] Retail (7 expenses per week, 35% chance of interrupt)
-[][New Job] Volunteer at the Hospital (No expenses, but increase your healing abilities on the sly while spending time with Panacea in your civilian identity)
-[][New Job] Sell your services to the Hospital as Seeker (10 expenses per week, 50% chance of interrupt. You'd be under heavy scrutiny, and would likely have to work at a different hospital than Panacea).

Fighting Style
Taylor's been getting closer to starting her training with weapons. While she isn't there yet, it doesn't hurt to look to the future.
[][Fighting] Single Weapon
-A balanced style. +1 Attack, +1 Defense
[][Fighting] Dual Weapons
-An aggressive style, good at rushing enemies down. +2 attack
[][Fighting] Staff
-A defensive style, good at protecting yourself from groups. +2 Defense

Quite a bit of housekeeping in the Author's Note, please give it a look.

Spoiler: Dice Rolls

Force Valor check= 20 (+3 Force Bonus - 2 Half trained); Yeah, okay. Think you got that one.
Empathy =15 (+3 Force Bonus); Yes

Spoiler: Ability Gains

+2 to [Valor]
+1 to [Empathy]

Spoiler: Author's Note

Writing casual conversation and trying to keep it interesting is hard. On a side note, Vicky has converted Crystal to her Amy/Taylor ship. Their plans are many and nefarious.

Anyways, as you might have noticed, I have reevaluated how much jobs pay and their potential to interrupt. In general, they are much more lucrative now. If you have a suggestion for a job, please write it in and I'll assign it stats. Your income for this week has retroactively increased to reflect this.

I've also adjusted the ability tree a little bit. [Force Aura] is now a branch off of [Martial Training]. [Weapon Training] costs more now, but has been merged with it's follow up, and so will cost less overall. [Negate Energy] has had it's costs reduced. [Kinetic Combat]'s secondary requirement has been switched from [Weapon Training] to [Redirect Shot]

[Empathy] has been completed and new abilities are visible.

As you might notice from the character sheet, I've also been working on standardizing combat a bit, using 5e rules. Taylor now has set stats I shall be rolling against. For reference for her HP: A standard thug punching her will deal about 1 HP of damage. Someone like Hookwolf would do quite a bit more.

I don't have it ready just yet, but you can expect a list of things to build using Components for Artifice and Artistry in the near future. Again, if there's anything in particular you're interested in, please mention it and I'll see about getting it added in.

Another thing I don't have ready just yet is an update to the Characters and Reputations page. Expect the rest of New Wave to pop up when I do that.

 

[RiP]

[X][Unmask] Reveal that you are a Parahuman but not the details.
Step 1. Not deny obvious. Yeah you are parahuman. Shit happens.
Step 2. After couple days tell that you are Seeker.
Step 3. After couple days allow her to tell Vicky.
In this way Taylor made a pattern. And show sheself like fair and truthful person. Phsychology 101
(adept of Dark side fair and truthful LOL)

[X] Spend extra time patrolling
-[X][Patrol] Keep your ear to the ground by asking local hobos for information
[X] Surf PHO
-[X][PHO] Research local capes more
Know your enemy.


[X] (Training) Rage
Feel your rage. Feel your hatred. Embrace your hate like mother embrace a child. Feel the balance of deadly whirlpool. Accept it and you will see the Truth, maybe.

Also, rage give Seeker power spike. This way Thinkers couldn't predict her true power.
Don't underestimate the power of the Dark Side (Darth Vader)

[X] (Training) Valor

[X][Employment] Search for a new job
-[X][New Job] Movie Theaters (4 expenses per week, 15% chance of interrupt)
At really i prefer something like make the video, integrate advertising, upload, get money from each viewer.
[X][Fighting] Staff

 

[Its_a_cauldron_plot!]

[X][Unmask] Reveal that you are a Parahuman but not the details.

[X] Spend extra time patrolling
-[X][Patrol] Keep your ear to the ground by asking local hobos for information

[X] Surf PHO
-[X][PHO] Research local capes more
[X] (Training) Rage
[X] (Training) Valor
[X][Employment] Search for a new job
-[X][New Job] Movie Theaters (4 expenses per week, 15% chance of interrupt)

[X][Fighting] Staff

Good thing we won't freak out, but I think we should keep some things secret. She can know we are a parahuman since she blurted it out to us, but only that. Even if she did recommend a good book

 

[globalwarmth]

[x][Unmask] Reveal your powers and your identity as Seeker, but ask her to keep your secret.

least problems in the short and long term


[x][Fighting] Staff
-A defensive style, good at protecting yourself from groups. +2 Defense

 

[Oathsblood]

[x][Unmask] Reveal your powers and your identity as Seeker, but ask her to keep your secret.

[X] (Training) Surge
[X] (Training) Valor

I really think we should not be training rage or the others of that particular branch. Taylor seems to be rather susceptible to those and she probably shouldn't work on things that will make it more likely she will do something completely reckless.

[x][Fighting] Staff
-A defensive style, good at protecting yourself from groups. +2 Defense

 

[Prince Charon]

[X][Unmask] Reveal that you are a Parahuman but not the details.

[X] Spend extra time patrolling
-[X][Patrol] Keep your ear to the ground by asking local hobos for information

[X] Surf PHO
-[X][PHO] Research local capes more

[X] (Training) Surge
[X] (Training) Valor

[X][Employment] Keep up with babysitting (2 expenses per week, 5% chance of interrupt)

[X][Fighting] Staff

 

[WhyCantWeAllJustBeGuests]

[x][Unmask] Reveal your powers and your identity as Seeker, but ask her to keep your secret.

[X] (Training) Surge
[X] (Training) Valor

[X][Fighting] Single Weapon

 

[Exorsus]

[X][Unmask] Reveal that you are a Parahuman but not the details.
Step 1. Not deny obvious. Yeah you are parahuman. Shit happens.
Step 2. After couple days tell that you are Seeker.
Step 3. After couple days allow her to tell Vicky.

[X][Hang out]
- Spend more time with Rune to work on getting her to become a hero
- Try to find Cherish and Lisa again (cause that was some great fun to read)

[X][New Job] Volunteer at the Hospital (No expenses, but increase your healing abilities on the sly while spending time with Panacea in your civilian identity)

Or

[X][Employment] Keep up with babysitting (2 expenses per week, 5% chance of interrupt)

[X][Fighting] Single Weapon
- keeps the off hand free to use powers or react to changes in the combat more freely

 

[Anacronism]

In Mauling Snarks, there were task requests specific to parahumans, e.g. requesting Vista's time to help move things through doors or down twisty roads. Granted, that was a PRT thing, but I imagine there could be a sort of unofficial craigslist type site too. Trying to think what kind of jobs Taylor could pick up at this point might be difficult though, with just telekinesis and a bit of healing as ways of affecting the world. Maybe something like helping with animal control.

 

[Aldsan]

Spoiler: Choices

[x][Unmask] Secret's out, tell Amy that we're Seeker, but allow her to tell Vicky too.

The room went silent in the wake of Amy's accusation. She stared at me, waiting for my answer, and I… What did I say? Did I try and pretend I didn't know what she was talking about? No, that wouldn't work. She clearly had a reason to believe I was a parahuman or she wouldn't have confronted me like this.

Letting out a long sigh, I stepped back to sit on the edge of the bed. "I am. How did you find out?"

"All Parahumans have a growth in their brain called the Corona Gemma. And I can see a person's biology when I touch them."

I put the dots together and smiled ruefully. "I guess it was always going to come out eventually if that's the case."

Amy folded her arms and gave me a flat stare. "Yeah. It was. So who are you? What were you hoping to gain by cozying up to me and Vicky?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Please, a parahuman transfers in and is suddenly doing her best to become buddy-buddy with Glory Girl and Panacea? So what was it? Were you hoping to find out our patrol times for one of the gangs? Or maybe you just wanted your own personal healer on call."

What? "Amy, I wasn't looking to gain anything--"

"Stop lying to me!"

Amy was panting for breath, her emotions a sudden tempest. I wanted to yell at her in turn. To scream at her that I'd just wanted a friend. Someone who wouldn't abandon me the first chance they got. Instead, I met her glare evenly and held out my hand. "Here."

"What are you--?"

"You said you could sense a person's biology at a touch, right? So you can act as a polygraph and see if I'm lying."

Amy went still. I kept my hand extended as the silence stretched. I could feel her emotions churning, but I had no idea what was going through her head, what was keeping her from taking my hand. Whatever it was, I couldn't help the sense of relief when she stepped forward and wrapped her fingers around mine.

"So?" She asked.

"So, I'm a four hundred foot tall purple bear with pink horns and silver wings."

"If you're just going to make fun of me--"

"I'm just establishing a baseline. Now you know what it looks like when I lie." Amy furrowed her brow and opened her mouth, so I kept talking before she could say anything. "I didn't become friends with you or Vicky to use you, Amy. I wouldn't care if you didn't have any powers at all. Hell, Vicky's powers make it a lot harder to be friends with her than it would be otherwise."

I could immediately feel Amy bristling at the perceived insult to her sister so I quickly clarified, "Her aura, specifically. I have issues with being manipulated and whenever I'm around her, I always have to double-check to see if my emotions are my own or something she forced on me."

"It's not-- she's not forcing anything on people," Amy muttered.

"She is. I'm not saying she does it on purpose, but her aura is… Well, that's not really the point of this conversation. The point is that when I transferred into Arcadia I was in a bad place. There was a part of me that was angry, that wanted to just lash out, and finding out that I'd gotten powers was a poor consolation for what had gotten me there. Vicky basically had to force me to accept her as a friend, and I'm glad that she did, Amy."

And for all that having Victoria and Amy as friends had helped soften those edges, that part of me was still there. There were times that I still wanted to just hit something. It was part of why I was so eager to become a hero. It was an opportunity to fight back against injustice myself.

Amy's fingers tightened around mine. I wonder if she felt some of my emotions just now. "And me? I wasn't forcing my friendship on you, Taylor. Why did you want to spend time with me?"

I… why had I wanted to become friends with Amy? I think, on some level, I recognized how similar we were. We both had a tendency to shut the world out and close ourselves away. Was that all there was to it?

My thoughts drifted back to Victoria's suggestion that I'd like to kiss Amy, and I found myself tracing the curve of her jaw, the small freckles scattered through her face, the way her lips pursed. Had I simply been subconsciously attracted to her this entire time without realizing it? Surely that wasn't it, right?

I started to open my mouth, still mentally analyzing my prior interactions with her, when a knock on the door silenced me. I wasn't really sure what I would have said if it hadn't. A moment later, Victoria poked her head inside the room. Her eyes immediately trained on our joined hands and a wide grin split across her face. "Hey there~ Am I interrupting something?"

Amy turned a brilliant shade of red. She looked from Victoria to our hands and then back to Victoria, before suddenly letting go of me and squeaking out, "No! Nothing!"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on in, Vicky."

Victoria laughed and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "Hand holding already, huh? Wild."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Amy was just performing a diagnostic."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Victoria waggled her eyebrows. "So Ames, what's the verdict?"

As fun as it was to see Amy's impression of a sunset -- if I didn't know better, I would say steam was coming out of her ears -- it was probably better to cut this off early. I wrapped my power around a pen lying on Crystal's desk and threw it at Victoria's forehead. "The verdict was that I'm a parahuman."

The pen bounced to the floor, as Victoria didn't even think to dodge it. Instead, she just stood there with her mouth gaping open. "Since when?"

"January," I answered blithely.

"This whole time then? Jeez, why didn't you say something?"

"Oh sure, 'Hi Glory Girl, I just transferred here, but I have powers too, want to be friends?' That wouldn't be weird at all, right?" I bit out sarcastically. "Besides I… kind of wanted to keep my civilian life separate from my cape life." Victoria had been willing to be friends with me even though she didn't know I was a cape. She had wanted to be friends with Taylor rather than Seeker. More than anything, I had wanted to reply in kind.

"You really tend to overthink things, don't you?" Victoria smirked before suddenly sweeping forward to wrap me in a hug. "So, give me the deets -- You're a cape right? What's your name? What sort of powers do you have? Some sort of telekinesis, right?"

Victoria's aura washed over the room and I reflexively pushed it away, the reaction having practically become a habit at this point. However, that didn't help how my ribs were starting to creak under the force of Victoria's hug. I glanced over at Amy, who looked confused for a second as the effects of the aura faded, and silently mouthed for her to help free me from Victoria's grasp. She only gave a grin and quiet amusement in return.

Traitor.

"So uh, name. I've been going by Seeker--" Victoria pulled a face at how uninspired my name was. I ignored her. "I haven't really done much yet though. Stopped a mugging, helped a car crash victim. Kept the ABB from killing Rune, I guess."

"Wait, that was you?" Victoria cut in.

I blinked. "You heard?"

"Yeah, a video got posted up on PHO!" Victoria finally let me go to instead fish her phone out of her pocket.

"There's a video?" Amy said at the same time as me. We shared a look and then Amy stole the phone out of Victoria's hand to start looking it up herself.

"Uh huh. You seriously kicked some ass. Er. Up until the end, at least. Wait, you totally got shot, how are you okay?"

Amy jerked and looked up. "You got shot?" She asked in a strangled voice.

I winced. "Yeah. From what I can tell, Victor decided I was helping Rune and hauled me off to Othala while I was unconscious. I'm pretty sure they were trying to sell me on joining the Empire. He talked up how the Empire wasn't as bad as people say and Independents tend to last only a few months without help."

"Sounds like you got lucky. If it had been someone like Hookwolf, he'd probably just have left you to bleed out -- or killed you himself when you refused to join up." Amy paused and then narrowed her eyes. "You did refuse to join up, right?"

"Of course I did!" I snapped in reply.

"Chill Taylor, Amy was just asking." Victoria put her hand on my shoulder. "Anyways, whatever he told you, he was right about Independents needing someone to watch their back. So call me and tell me when you're going on patrol from now on, and I'll come help out, alright?"

I hesitated.

"Promise me, Taylor."

"Fine, Vicky, I'll let you know when I'm going out in costume," I huffed, but couldn't help the smile tugging at my face.

Of course, that turned sour a moment later when I realized that meant I'd have to buy a cellphone.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━​

We'd talked a bit after that. A sticking point came up when I mentioned Rune's offer to moonlight as a hero.

"It's a trick of some kind. You can't trust her," Vicky said.

"She's a villain," Amy added, as though that was all the reason needed.

"I get that it's probably a trick, but… She basically said that she wants to be a hero, but can't because the Empire knows her identity. If we can help her get free of them, shouldn't we try to help?"

"Taylor, she's taking advantage of you. At best, she's going to keep directing you at targets the Empire wants hit so that you're helping them out without even realizing it."

"I'm not stupid enough to let her choose our targets, Vicky. Besides, you'll be there too, right?"

Victoria frowned and after a long moment said, "Fine. I'll give her one chance. One."

"That's all I'm asking for."

"In exchange, you're going to come with me to the Protectorate to get you registered."

My brow furrowed. "I didn't think there was any sort of formal registration process for Independents."

"There isn't really. You're still technically a vigilante. You can clear up a lot of potential misunderstandings out in the field by going and introducing yourself though. Plus, if you give them a number to contact you with, they can call you up in an emergency."

"Okay. That makes sense, I guess." I brushed a hand back through my hair before falling back into the bed. "You realize my Dad's going to kill me when he finds out I bought a cell phone right?"

"I'll help talk him into it if you need me to."

"No," I sighed, "It's fine. I'll just try not to let him know."

Victoria just shrugged in response. "Your funeral."

"It'll be fine. I just have to keep that and my cape identity both a secret for the rest of my natural life. No big deal."

"Which is the worse secret?"

"Oh, the cell phone, definitely. Let's just hope I don't end up dating anyone anytime soon, or I'll have the trifecta to give my Dad a heart attack."

"Oh no, does that mean you're breaking up with Amy already?"

I felt my face heat up and I slugged Victoria in the shoulder. I'm not sure she even felt it though, as she just fell over laughing. I glanced over at Amy who… didn't look like she'd even heard, as she was staring intently at Victoria's phone. I frowned. She was practically radiating concern. Why…?

Victoria's finger poked into my cheek and interrupted my thoughts. I turned to look at the blonde's grinning face. "What's so funny now?"

The blonde leaned in to whisper, "Oh, just amused at how you keep denying any sort of relationship with my sister, but the moment I take my eyes off of you, you're staring at her like she's the only thing in the world."

"Oh leave it alone already, would you? I already told you it wasn't like that."

"I'll leave it alone when you ask my sister out properly instead of doing this weird game of footsie where the two of you compete to see who can be the shyest wallflower."

I scowled in response, but any reply I could come up with was interrupted by Amy speaking up. "I can hear the two of you, you know." I heard a small 'oops' from Victoria, but Amy pointed at me before I could address it. "You. You're supposed to be a telekinetic, right? Why the hell are you getting into fist fights with these thugs?"

So that's what she'd been watching on Victoria's phone. Somehow, I don't think Amy would appreciate the answer that it seemed like a good idea at the time. "My telekinesis isn't all that strong, honestly. I can use it to supplement what I'm doing, but I can't really rely on it. Plus, they had weapons and I saw Rune get shot, so I needed to take them down as quickly as I could."

"And she kicked total ass, Ames. What's the problem?"

"The problem is she got shot, Vicky! She isn't a Brute! She isn't invulnerable like you! She shouldn't be up on the front line!"

Victoria shrunk back, chastened by Amy's yelling. I needed to step in and calm her down. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself off the bed. Amy was short enough that I felt like I was looming over her, but it made her hesitate, so I took the opportunity to wrap my fingers around hers once again.

"It's okay, Amy. Really. I only got hit because I was distracted trying to keep Rune from bleeding out, and I've already promised to let Vicky watch my back from now on. Besides, I'm not a telekinetic really; or at least, not just a telekinetic. I've a couple of other minor powers that work best in hand-to-hand."

I felt a wave of amusement rolling off of Victoria from behind me. Had I said something funny?

Whatever it was, Amy didn't seem to notice as she simply tilted her head back and frowned at me. The moment stretched and I began to shift nervously. Wasn't she going to say anything? Finally, she turned away and looked at Victoria. "Fine. Vicky is with you. You had better not wind up in the hospital waiting for me to treat you though."

"I'll do my best to keep you from having to play Doctor, Amy."

Victoria's amusement suddenly spiked and I glanced back at her -- what was so funny that had her biting down on her fist trying not to laugh? I sighed and shook my head. "What'd you even come up here for anyways, Vicky?"

Victoria blinked, her amusement dimming. "Oh shit. Uh. Your Dad called, I was going to check to see about flying you home." I glanced at the clock. That had been half an hour ago. I looked back to Victoria and met her eyes. She offered a weak smile in response. "We'd probably best get going, huh?"

---

It is the weekend of March the 11th. It is currently Spring Break.

Spoiler: Dice Rolls

Talk with Amy: Advantage due to openess and honesty = 2/16 (+2 Diplomacy); Definitely could have gone worse
Will Save = 11 (+5); Yes
Disclose Rune: 9 (+2 Diplomacy); Hearing you out

Spoiler: Ability Gains

+2 to [Valor]

Spoiler: Author's Note

So, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out. It's actually sort of been sitting at like, 95% complete for at least a week, but I had some trouble squeezing out the last bit. In other news, I really need to learn that it's okay to cut things down a bit more in a quest to keep things moving and not dedicate an entire update to a single conversation.

We'll get to the actual choices next time.

In other news, I've been working on another fic. I've got a few chapters started on it, so far but haven't started posting yet. I'm still looking for someone to help me Beta it. To be clear however, when I'm asking for a Beta, I'm not asking for a glorified spellchecker -- I want someone who I can bounce ideas off of, or who can tell me that a scene needs more detail, that it isn't clear enough, etc. That sort of thing. Please send me a DM if you're interested

 

[RiP]

Good. Very good. Indeed! Now silly girl start believe that she really can feel when Taylor lying. Such cunning move. True Sith demeanor.

 

[Disgruntled Dragon]

I'm still somehow surprised at how high the quality is in this fic.

I'm also digging the whole 'Amy has issues but they're closer to fucked up kid than nascent evil overlord.' I feel like she is a character that is often corrected too far either way and you have hit the important points for who Amy is before life really took a shit on her.

Vicky continues to have the tact of a sledgehammer, the overbearing nature of her mother, and a mind-bending power out of nightmares, all wrapped up in a heartwarming desire to actually do good for the people around her that, even with its issues in expression, is incredibly rare in Worm.

Taylor is getting pretty fun to read as well, cluelessness, self-sacrificing nature, and genuine affect all in play. She is totally going to have some nasty thrown at her eventually though and it will be interesting to see if her response will be fiery rage or cold, calculated wrath.

 

[Negation]

And then you read Ward and realise Amy is all kinds of messed up.

 

[Prince Charon]

And then you read Ward and realise Amy is all kinds of messed up.

Click to shrink...

... or decide to just completely ignore Ward, or ignore some aspects of Ward.