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  1. #1
    Star's Avatar
    Status
    (Entertainment)
    Status
    (News Media)
    New Identity
    (Jack Hoyle)
    Nimbus

    The Mirage: Star appears translucent with overlapping and slightly offset images of himself in different identities/disguises.
    Supernal

    1
    OCC
    2
    PRE

    Hope has all but been massacred in the alley, distrust ruts around with solipsism in broad daylight. The houses are run down, graying, with more blasted patches of dirt and weeds, then parched and thirsty patches of grass. Old sneakers hang from power lines. Carrion Birds sit in parliaments, waiting. It's more than just this. Sneaking in, the feeling of void steals into the soul. Realization then hits as one gets nearer, that the house, a three family home with two beaten and run-down doors, and security bars on the windows, is supernally dead.

    Ronaldo House is (currently) a Level 3 Dead Zone. Any spell with lesser Potency is stripped and a -3 penalty is levied upon any new spellcasting.


    The inside isn't much better than the outside. It's not like the theatre, where a run down building gives way to a quirky, expansive interior. Second hand furniture an attempts to regularly dust are the only signs of creature comforts. But it's safe. It's why he had kept it.

    "You okay?"


    Bluish eyes studied the Acanthus after passing her Crimson Veil and killing the two Seers. There was more --so much more-- to talk about, but the angel was most concerned with the fragility of his friend's Soul at the moment.
    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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  3. #2
    Tuesday's Avatar
    Robin Lewis, Prudence Miller
    (Current ID, Reality War Name)
    Presence
    (Plucky)
    Distinctive Voice
    (Raspy)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Allies
    (Criminals, Street)
    Tuesday

    Acanthus

    Trained Observer ●
    Trained Memory ●
    Quick Draw ●

    Nimbus

    Stained glass butterflies surround Tuesday, each pane on their tiny wings glows a verity of iridescent hues, while showing glimpses of what was, what is, and what will be. When vulgar magic is cast, the fluttering cascade doesn't last, they shatter. Falling into dull, colorless dust before vanishing completely.
    Stats/Bismark

    Oct Rits

    Health:
    Backlash:
    Mana: |
    WP: |
    Armor 1/0
    Defense 5

    Vulgar
    Active Spells: 2 / 6
    Personal Spells: 2

    [4] 2E Fate Shied (Rit)
    [3] 2E Fate Sight (Rit)

    +1
    DV
    3
    PRE

    This place was creepy.

    It made her skin crawl, because. Obvi.

    But it was out of the way, and no one in their right mind would come here. So safe.

    (...yay?)

    Hazels flick upward.

    "Not really. But it had to be done. This is my choice right?" she rakes a hand through her hair.

    She sighs.

    "It's what we - " that we felt weird. It was a Star and Tuesday just for lulz we, or a Big Ess Stuff We. But a Different We that was strange and new and no going back from. "Do. Right? We do. So someone like Margie or Faye doesn't have too."

    Tuesday knew there was more about this Guardian thing then policing and being the man.

    Another sigh, arms loop around her midsection, "I'll deal. I always deal." The unicorn hid a lot behind the cliched box of acanthus-ness she wrapped herself in.
    Health: | Mana: | Willpower:

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  5. #3
    Star's Avatar
    Status
    (Entertainment)
    Status
    (News Media)
    New Identity
    (Jack Hoyle)
    Nimbus

    The Mirage: Star appears translucent with overlapping and slightly offset images of himself in different identities/disguises.
    Supernal

    1
    OCC
    2
    PRE

    "Mmmmm-hmmmmm. Sins for just ends grant Wisdom to the Awakened."

    You either got it or you didn't. All the Orders were kind of like that, about who a person was, as much as what they believed. At least he thought so. But Tuesday was scrappy enough to know that some people were delicate. It wasn't a weakness.

    "Maybe their Souls will spin out of the Wheel again the better for it,"
    he said. "Because what we do, what we really do, is guard the Souls of the Awakened, not the Veil." He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her, resting his cheek on her hair. "And you don't have to deal alone. You can. Just saying you don't have to. If you need to throw things or cry or even be left alone, it's okay."

    Here's the thing. The really, really messed up thing. For all that they had reputations as secret police and Abyssal finger-shakers, a real Guardian is come from the seeds of someone who can care. Deeply, passionately, without reserve; take a leap of faith, sometimes fall, and do it all over again. Over and over.

    "There are things you don't learn until you're one of us,"
    the Angel continued quietly. "We are the Order that believes in Wisdom over power, rather than power being Wisdom. We tear down the Consilium because all thrones are false, and sabotage the Silver Dream until the Hieromagus comes to lead the way."

    He'd torn down the most revered Thyrsus Arrow, Animus, without anyone realizing it. Undermined a Hierarch and Mystagogue Curator, secretly and hidden behind his own Masque.

    "Because nothing matters but the Souls that touch the Wheel. And I think you have a beautiful Soul."


    Some Guardians were the worst of them, sacrificing their imperfect Souls for the Awakened. But some, so very few, could be the best of them, and a beacon.

    "Ask me anything."
    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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  7. #4
    Tuesday's Avatar
    Robin Lewis, Prudence Miller
    (Current ID, Reality War Name)
    Presence
    (Plucky)
    Distinctive Voice
    (Raspy)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Allies
    (Criminals, Street)
    Tuesday

    Acanthus

    Trained Observer ●
    Trained Memory ●
    Quick Draw ●

    Nimbus

    Stained glass butterflies surround Tuesday, each pane on their tiny wings glows a verity of iridescent hues, while showing glimpses of what was, what is, and what will be. When vulgar magic is cast, the fluttering cascade doesn't last, they shatter. Falling into dull, colorless dust before vanishing completely.
    Stats/Bismark

    Oct Rits

    Health:
    Backlash:
    Mana: |
    WP: |
    Armor 1/0
    Defense 5

    Vulgar
    Active Spells: 2 / 6
    Personal Spells: 2

    [4] 2E Fate Shied (Rit)
    [3] 2E Fate Sight (Rit)

    +1
    DV
    3
    PRE

    Words wash over the droopy unicorn.

    Star's arms circle around her, and she presses her face into his chest, and wraps her arms around him. They hadn't been the first people she'd killed, but it was the first time it'd happened without adrenaline thrumming through her veins. She hiccups, because she'd been trying to swallow...everything. Because. Stoic. Right?

    it's okay to cry

    Teeth leave her lip, as heat that had been building behind her eyes spills over.

    "They were people. Real live, people. Sparked. Awakened. And..I-I...just." Star was there, he saw. He knew. But he knew. Understood. "They were Seers. But they were people. It could have all been different. But." she knew he'd already knew what she was going to say. She shudders out a breath, there's more hiccups, and tears. But hope because words. "Wheels, and souls. That-means that they could..." Watery hazels look up, "They have another chance right?"

    When she pulls away (minutes or more later), her eyes are red, and her cheeks are blotchy.

    "Secrets, and secrets. Big and little. I get it. Kinda. Well more then kinda." she shakes her head. Thoughts were tumbling all over, running into each other and crashing. Exploding as everything since the random sleeper-dude handed them the thumb drive came into focus. "Wisdom over power." Tuesday echos, so no Fate'ing people into the Pentacle. she thinks, on the edge of something, worn out in a way she'd never known before.

    A firm, resolute nod. Protecting Souls, that sounded right. And good and better then what she, and everyone automatically thought of when they thought of Guardians. Then a startled sound, something like a laugh paired with a hiccup. "My's soul's beautiful?" she always thought that it couldn't be. Maybe there was something Star could see that she couldn't, but years and years of the smell of beer and jeers, and meaty fists, made her think she was...less. She'd put distance between then and now. Going back to '97 might have been great for Avis to lay things to rest, or for Avistar, but it dig up a lot of old, pushed away-never dealt with feelings for the unicorn.

    "Those. Those words. All thrones are false. Silver Dream, and H-Hieromagus?" Because this was it. We. Secrets with answers she now gets to know. "Question mark."
    Health: | Mana: | Willpower:

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  9. #5
    Star's Avatar
    Status
    (Entertainment)
    Status
    (News Media)
    New Identity
    (Jack Hoyle)
    Nimbus

    The Mirage: Star appears translucent with overlapping and slightly offset images of himself in different identities/disguises.
    Supernal

    1
    OCC
    2
    PRE

    "They made their choices."

    Everyone did. Every choice was like a chip on a Soul that began as a perfect orb, until the chips formed edges and it took shape. He felt the hot dampness on his shirt, and rubbed her hair with his cheek.

    "And, yeah, I think it is."
    It had to be, to put up with his and Avis' mess, right? But it was more. Nobody, not Zodiac, not Smiley's People, had touched him the way she had except Avis. "Your tears say it is."

    "All thrones are false, because all Souls are flawed,"
    he continued. "But we want to believe in people, we want to aspire to our better selves. But we let that belief mistake charisma, power, leadership for divinity and, and... grace. And it's not. When we expose these flaws in the Soul, we teach people and show them to really look and see things. We teach those we bring down to have humility. Power and pride are the first Sins of the Awakened."

    She probably had no clue how strong of a Mage he was, or how many times he'd backed down from taking the path of power to (falsely) prove Wisdom. He'd yielded to Tyria Primoria rather than confronting her in the name of his own Pride.

    "The Wheel tests the worth of our Souls in the hierarchy, because there is one and we are all connected." His breath caught for a moment, something hot welling up in it. He'd wanted to tell Avis, explain it to her. Tried, and failed. To twine her Soul with lesser ones, even jeopardize their own connection... "When... when you killed those Seers, you protected the Wheel. Cast them out, or back down, before they could taint it more."

    This was why Guardians weren't supposed to get involved with others. Stuff, muddying waters. But love.

    "Because we will purify the Wheel, and it will spin out the perfect Awakening. The Hieromagus will be able to touch the Supernal without the threat of the Abyss, and she will show all of us the way. It's why things like Atlantis or the Silver Dream can't happen until the Hieromagus arrives, because it will be flawed without her. And we'll be putting our faith and belief in the wrong things."

    It wasn't a savior ideology, but an Idea. A dream. A dream that Mankind could finally reach it's potential and touch the heavens without Sin.

    "And that is how we will cast out the Exarchs. With wisdom and purity, not power."


    He leaned back, looking down at her, seeing if she understood. The other Orders might fight for their place among the heavens, but Guardians fought for their collective Souls. Not for knowledge, or honor, or imperium, or even birthright.

    For a state of grace.

    "It's why everything we do, every Soul we touch, every impression we leave behind, every Sin we commit, has to be for Truth and not Lies. Even if we have to lie about why we do it, or what we're doing."
    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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  11. #6
    Tuesday's Avatar
    Robin Lewis, Prudence Miller
    (Current ID, Reality War Name)
    Presence
    (Plucky)
    Distinctive Voice
    (Raspy)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Allies
    (Criminals, Street)
    Tuesday

    Acanthus

    Trained Observer ●
    Trained Memory ●
    Quick Draw ●

    Nimbus

    Stained glass butterflies surround Tuesday, each pane on their tiny wings glows a verity of iridescent hues, while showing glimpses of what was, what is, and what will be. When vulgar magic is cast, the fluttering cascade doesn't last, they shatter. Falling into dull, colorless dust before vanishing completely.
    Stats/Bismark

    Oct Rits

    Health:
    Backlash:
    Mana: |
    WP: |
    Armor 1/0
    Defense 5

    Vulgar
    Active Spells: 2 / 6
    Personal Spells: 2

    [4] 2E Fate Shied (Rit)
    [3] 2E Fate Sight (Rit)

    +1
    DV
    3
    PRE

    they made their choice

    you protected the Wheel. Cast them out, or back down, before they could taint it more.

    "Oh." they were gone-gone. "Oh." she swallows. "Okay."

    She's made her choice too.

    "Is this one of those things-cliches-that if I feel bad. Or keep crying over all the horrible stuff I'm going to do now...it means I'm okay?" her rasp made raspier by her sobs, and the hiccups that had just wracked her body.

    She scrubs at her eyes, but she listens, really listens.

    She didn't expect any of Star says.

    "Hope and perseverance, versus Power and Pride?" she clears her throat, and sniffles a little. She wasn't a pretty crier. She'd probably gotten snot on Star's shirt. "Wisdom and purity." the words are soft, barely leaving her lips.

    She shakes her head, an idea in the mess of tangled thoughts and feels springs forth, "Fate." her voice cracks. "We're just waiting for Fate to Fate. To Come around." that actually helped. A lot. Because Fate. "We're pawns to be moved, and sacrificed, and hurt so the other pieces - the other Souls, get to where they need to be. So Fate can Fate."

    Star looks down at her and she looks up, hazels seeking, was she wrong? Did she miss the point?
    Health: | Mana: | Willpower:

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  13. #7
    Star's Avatar
    Status
    (Entertainment)
    Status
    (News Media)
    New Identity
    (Jack Hoyle)
    Nimbus

    The Mirage: Star appears translucent with overlapping and slightly offset images of himself in different identities/disguises.
    Supernal

    1
    OCC
    2
    PRE

    Gross, yo.

    Not Tuesday. Maybe just a little. His shirt.

    "I believe...,"
    he started singing softly.

    " I believe in the Kingdom come, then all the colors will bleed into one. Bleeeeed into oooone... "

    He kissed the top of her head.

    "There's noting cliche about being sad, or grief. And Fate? Maybe. I think the Towers exist to teach us Truths, and they all exist together." All the colors. "Some people see them as just... power... but that power exists for understanding. Understand three, four, is okay. Sure. But don't think because you don't understand the others that they don't exist. That they aren't True. You say it's Fate, a Thyrsus might say it's the evolution of Life, et cetera. Not saying you're wrong, just saying... keep your Eyes open."

    Lips parted, tempted to share a secret only Avis knew. But this was about the Guardians, not ascension.

    "But these, everything I've said, is what I see in you. Why I thought you'd be a good Guardian. You've never... talked about it. But you're running from something. Hiding. Something bad happened, but you still know how to love. You're still willing to love."


    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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  15. #8
    Tuesday's Avatar
    Robin Lewis, Prudence Miller
    (Current ID, Reality War Name)
    Presence
    (Plucky)
    Distinctive Voice
    (Raspy)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Allies
    (Criminals, Street)
    Tuesday

    Acanthus

    Trained Observer ●
    Trained Memory ●
    Quick Draw ●

    Nimbus

    Stained glass butterflies surround Tuesday, each pane on their tiny wings glows a verity of iridescent hues, while showing glimpses of what was, what is, and what will be. When vulgar magic is cast, the fluttering cascade doesn't last, they shatter. Falling into dull, colorless dust before vanishing completely.
    Stats/Bismark

    Oct Rits

    Health:
    Backlash:
    Mana: |
    WP: |
    Armor 1/0
    Defense 5

    Vulgar
    Active Spells: 2 / 6
    Personal Spells: 2

    [4] 2E Fate Shied (Rit)
    [3] 2E Fate Sight (Rit)

    +1
    DV
    3
    PRE

    The song sparks a laugh out of the unicorn. She starts humming along.

    "But I still haven't found what I'm lookin' for~" She smiles, soft and real. "I get it." Looking up at the mop headed angel, "Versus Power and Pride. So learning, looking. Truths. My Truth is true, but so is a Thrysus'. Everything is blended, and perfict, or it will be. I'll learn to learn. To understand. Not to be a badass."

    A beat.

    "...was that a pun? Eyes." lopsided smiley face. Then a snort. "I'd make a good Guardian because I don't match a stereotype?" the quip leaves her lips even as hazels get shadowed, and the unicorn nods.

    "Bad. Yeah. Running. Also yeah. But. I...I don't what that Bad Stuff to chain me down. If I let it. I'll be a whining angsty little bitch, crying out against the world and hating Fate. I wouldn't like myself. Sometime I feel like that. S'why Acanthus-y cliches. The stereotype is happy...in the beginning I was pretending it made me feel better. Now. Now, I am better. I didn't like not liking me, or life or anything. So I decided that I'd...risk it. Try to be happy instead of pretending all the time. It hurts sometimes. Things get confusing, but...it's worth it."
    Health: | Mana: | Willpower:

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  17. #9
    Star's Avatar
    Status
    (Entertainment)
    Status
    (News Media)
    New Identity
    (Jack Hoyle)
    Nimbus

    The Mirage: Star appears translucent with overlapping and slightly offset images of himself in different identities/disguises.
    Supernal

    1
    OCC
    2
    PRE

    "Totally a pun."

    He grinned. He liked seeing the smiles coming back. Of course it wasn't over. She might even have nightmares. But it was a beginning.

    "What you understand is important. Not just for yourself, but because we don't write anything down. Oral tradition. Some day you may pass it on, and it'll be filtered by your understanding. What you say first, how you say it. It's called the Law of the Mask. It's... one of the other reasons. Why you."
    He wasn't ignoring what she'd said, just getting there in a roundabout way. "You sing, so you've got a good memory. But Guardians also embrace Masks as Masques." A subtle difference in tone. "Ours is one of the few traditions acclaimed by Gold Law, by Artifact, the Mask of the Interfector. Maybe the only true Gold Law left. But we can also use Masques for other roles. It's something you can learn, but it's not... hrrrmmm. You do it like I do it. With your cliches. Me... with everything."

    She'd seen it a couple of times. Republican Jack. Lance. Even... Star. Maybe she'd even noticed the cadence and delivery of his speech had changed since walking into this house, for this conversation. She and Avis were the only ones to ever really see behind his mask.

    "I know you're full of shit, because I'm full of shit. But I know I've seen the real you, and real happiness."
    Lips parted, tongue suddenly thick and heavy. "And... and. I'm sorry, so sorry, for the confusing Stuff that's been my fault." Big Ess. "But you've learned the mask without Masques. And that means something."

    It's impossible to change yourself without truly seeing yourself. And once you can be honest about that? You can see the world.

    "But it's also like crying. You know? If you ever need to be... someone else... you can. With me. Always. Not Guardian Star, or Vee Tee Last Starfighter, but... Chris. Your really good friend who thinks you're amazing even if you need to be a whiny angsty little bitch or whatever."
    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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  19. #10
    Tuesday's Avatar
    Robin Lewis, Prudence Miller
    (Current ID, Reality War Name)
    Presence
    (Plucky)
    Distinctive Voice
    (Raspy)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Allies
    (Criminals, Street)
    Tuesday

    Acanthus

    Trained Observer ●
    Trained Memory ●
    Quick Draw ●

    Nimbus

    Stained glass butterflies surround Tuesday, each pane on their tiny wings glows a verity of iridescent hues, while showing glimpses of what was, what is, and what will be. When vulgar magic is cast, the fluttering cascade doesn't last, they shatter. Falling into dull, colorless dust before vanishing completely.
    Stats/Bismark

    Oct Rits

    Health:
    Backlash:
    Mana: |
    WP: |
    Armor 1/0
    Defense 5

    Vulgar
    Active Spells: 2 / 6
    Personal Spells: 2

    [4] 2E Fate Shied (Rit)
    [3] 2E Fate Sight (Rit)

    +1
    DV
    3
    PRE

    See. This is why, after a good - and totally not attractive - cry she's able to push away the blood she'd shed to focus on the Star-words. Sure she's wasn't okay, she'd cried once, but she'd probably cry again. Over the Seers at the bar, or over whatever else she'll do. She'll probably throw stuff, and scream. But that makes her human, and that was okay.

    "Opposite-Skalds?" she questions, words and rhythms, sounds and memories. "I'll remember, I don't remember everything, but yeah. Set it to music, or keep it to a nice rhythmic cadences...and yeah. I'll remember." Star's cadence had changed, and yes, the unicorn noticed. She had an ear for sound, but so had her's. Softer, uncertain. But certain at the same time. She'd made her choice, there wasn't regret, but just a tentative uncertainty.

    "So...I Guardian'd without knowing I did?" she was confused. Masks were just sort of what she did. Before Tuesday, she'd had Home-Willow, School-Willow, Willow-with-friends. No one could know, no one would believe. So She just, adapted. But to hear that it was a thing She shakes her head. Hazels squinting at the change in Masks. No. Masques.

    Masks /mask/ noun. A covering for all or part of the face, worn as a disguise, or to amuse or terrify other people. synonyms: disguise, false face.

    Masque /mask/ noun. A form of amateur dramatic entertainment, popular among the nobility in 16th- and 17th-century England, which consisted of dancing and acting performed by masked players.

    "Roles? To live and breathe, so we can do. Whatever we need to do?" that makes all the sense. How'd he'd Jack'd and Lance'd. Republican and Doctor. Goth kid, and...Star. Tuesday wasn't her. But sometimes it was. So she thinks it's safe to assume the same of Star. Also he'd just admitted it. "Interfector. Them I only know as. You know. Scary. Law-dudes. Do not mess with. Do not draw attention. Etcetera. So. Uh-guessing there's more? Also Golden Law? And Mask of?"

    The floor. It falls. Vertigo. Not just for timelines and possibles.

    "Chris." she tries out, tasting it on her tongue. It was weird, but not at the same time. She looks at those greenish blueish eyes, and remembers the playing card still in her swanky guitar case.

    This was a capital em Moment. Tuesday might have never seen Star without a mask or a barrier between them, but the Unicorn trusted him. "I think you're awesome too. It's why Stuff. I think you and Avis is best. But Stuff. And thing and feelings and everything. So." a giant breath, and a hand through her hair. "Yeah. This Willow...will need your shoulder, or thoughts to sounding board off of, or just to be around someone who wont judge a moody uni..no. A moody me."
    Health: | Mana: | Willpower:

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