(Plot) Masks, Props, and More

[Forn Clakes]

"HahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

His voice rose to such a sudden, high-pitched squeal, it was shocking. His mouth, which was grinning in the face of Coco, was so wide, it threatened to cut his features in two, stretching the mouth to a distended, unnerving angle.

"Hehehe,ohyou'refunny,Ilikeyou,ohyes,Ireally,reall ydo...." His multi-coloured eyes suddenly focused on the sword Coco was holding and the love that shone there was absolute. "Ohmy,my,my,mine.That'smine,ohyes,mybabymytoyohyes ohyes.Hehehe."

As if he had only just heard Ramona's voice, he dragged his eyes from the katana and over to the Ogre, the manic grin fading to something akin to recognition.

"Janusismyname,Mr.Luna'snotathome.Pleaseleaveamess ageafterthebeep.Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!"

[Coco]

Coco had warned the madman once, she would not warn him again!

And so the Wasp made a cut, though not one with the magnificent blade in her hand. No, rather she let Spring itself pierce Janus like a thorn, passing inside him and finding that piece of his heart bent on obscuring the truth and overgrowing it with the lush bounty of Desire: a Desire to lay his plans bare!

  3 successes to Fleeting Spring 2: Growth of Ivy before -Resolve

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-06-12 04:59:39		Coco rolls 10 to Fleeting Spring 2: (manip2+pers4+mantle3+1 temporary) (10 Again)		4, 3, 2, 4, 2, 10, 8, 8, 4, 3, 4		3 successes

Coco is trying to change Janus' Desire to "wanting to tell them about his plans" rather than hiding them. I assumed this would be a temporary Desire, and so added a +1. Janus' Resolve is subtracted, and resistance is reflexive (I'm guessing res+wyrd, book doesn't say vOv). Also, -2 Glamour, -1WP.

[InvertedMonkey]

Coming into the lair of a being who uses props to make victims believe they are the character who's costume they are wearing while wielding a prop katana and dressed as Beatrix Kiddo seemed like a bad idea back on the street. Now, with the madman revealed, it seems like a terrible idea. And here's Coco brandishing the fucking thing. Nothing to be done for it at the moment, though Ramona is briefly reminded of Ava's warning against the Wasp encountering the law.

"Well then, Janus," she addresses the... being in front of her. Most likely a mad Changeling. Her kenning had failed to sense him, but that could mean any number of things. A simple Hardened Mask. There is a remote possibility that Janus is something far worse. "We know what you did. You left out these tokens, so that their wielders would embody the roles they'd assumed. What we don't know is why."

[Forn Clakes]

"Why?Thewhyissimple,see?"

His eyes turned towards Coco, gleefully, the touch of desire of her own making not requiring much pressure to blossom.

"Justlookathowbeautifulitmakesher.Sheisfree,unboun dbyconstrictionsorconvention.Shecanbeonewithhersel f,unrestrained."

For a second, it looks like Janus was about to move towards the Wasp but stops himself.

"Icanshowyoumore," he whispers, eyes turning slowly in their sockets across the workshop, travelling over all three in succession.

[Tally Benoit]

A chill moves down her spine at Janus' words along with a glance towards the prop sword in Coco's hands. Tally glances towards Ramona then back at Janus as she keeps her hands from her pockets, pretty much ready to make a move against the Changeling before them. "Not really interested." She murmurs softly in reply to Janus' whisper concerning showing them more.

[Coco]

The Katana sank down from it's bold arc before the dashing hero, Coco's brows creasing in confusion.

"My looks aside," she snapped, for of course she was beautiful, "was that truly the only reason that you crafted such enchanted contraptions? You didn't make them at something else's behest?"

How disappointing that would be, if he said 'no'. A hero such as her deserved to uncover nothing less than a conspiracy, her foe no less than one of the Gentry in full, not just a poor, demented little craftsman pursuing his own unfathomable urgings.

[InvertedMonkey]

And you didn't think of the harm it might cause them? Ramona doesn't voice that question. It doesn't matter. If he did think of it, he didn't care. If he didn't think of it, he's criminally negligent. Either way, he seems too mad for his motives to matter much. What matters is neutralizing the threat. Making sure that there isn't a threat in the future. How to do that?

Well, there's at least one guarenteed way to make him stop: Murder. Not a particularly appealing option. Though Janus did almost hurt people, severely, it's not his fault he's insane. Besides, Ramona hadn't sensed a nearby Hedge Gate when she kenned, which means disposing of the body would take some doing. Not to mention the shop staff.

The alternative Ramona usually thinks of is oath-binding. A pledge that would force Janus to cease his dangerous work or suffer the consequences. And those consequences could be brutal. But would Janus keep his oath? If he doesn't, he could hurt someone else, the sanction wouldn't prevent that from happening, only punish him if it happened. Is Janus sane enough to even understand a pledge like that? And there could be loopholes. They can't bar Janus from doing anything remotely dangerous ever again.

If this were a mortal crime, they'd throw him in prison. But... Every Changeling has been a prisoner before. Ramona can't imagine wanting to inflict it on another Lost. He couldn't do harm from a cell, sure, but... it would be unspeakably inhumane, and Ramona's not sure she could live with herself. Besides which, the Freehold doesn't have the logistics to keep prisoners.

... Is there a way to make Janus... more sane? Ramona doesn't know it. But there has to be some other option, some way to fix this...

Coco has asked an interesting question. For the moment, Ramona awaits a reply.

[Forn Clakes]

Janus appeared momentarily confused at Coco's question. The inane grin remained but his eyes...they were certainly befuddled.

"Nononono,allmyowncreations,allonmyown,tounleashth etruthintheheartsoftheconstrained."

[Coco]

So it was just to be an anecdote, then?

Not even a lay?

Ah, very well, then, a very short tale she would make it be.

"If that is the case," the Champion declared, "then allow me to show you just how well made your works truly are!"

And with that she brought the blade up with a flourish, preparing to bring it flashing back down upon the mad enchanter.

   Init 15

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-06-22 02:43:00		Coco rolls 1 die for initiative		7

Sorry for the delay!

[InvertedMonkey]

  Initiative 14

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-06-24 16:52:48		Ramona Bohannon rolls 1 die for initiative		8