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  1. #1
    Avis's Avatar
    Avis
    Avis

    Vulgar: Color drains from the immediate area and depth perception becomes temporarily skewed, everything seeming to draw in uncomfortably close, making rooms smaller and all but distant objects seem in reach.
    Vice: Color drains from Avis and her facial features seem indistinct and grainy, as though her identity is growing less defined.
    Virtue: Colors appear more vibrant and everything seems to become grander in scale.
    Merits

    2
    PRE

    The view from the top of Ziggurat was spectacular. Even just being able to peak down over the edge of the roof at the glowing expanse of the building was something few would ever forget, but the sight of the Sacramento skyline lit up against the dark of night, with Tower Bridge in full view across the dark, wending ribbon of the Sacramento river, was the true treasure. In fact, it was entirely exclusive. There was a reason the Ziggurat, that glorified temple to capitalism, had been built there, and why the offices at the top were so fucking expensive. Although, they wouldn't be paying anything, nor would they be inside any office. They would be on the roof itself, exposed to gentle spring breeze and able to bask in the fading heat of the day.

    Sure, there were *some* downsides to being on the roof. The noise of the massive HVAC system being one of them, though Avis knew that Star could take care of that for them easily enough. She'd taken care of everything else, after all.

    All of the trappings of a romantic evening had been transported out onto the roof, courtesy of a portal, of course. Not that she'd portaled from the theatre directly, though. She wasn't an idiot. No, instead, she'd loaded everything up in the van, driven out to Fulton, and then done it from there. So it was that there was one of the theater's elevated tables with too chairs, a table cloth, and lit candles, flames dancing in the wind. There were table settings for two, and a cooler full of chilled drinks. And, most importantly, was the small table set up with a camp stove, and all of the fixings for their meal. There was a covered pan atop the little stove, set to keep it warm, the delicious smell of cooked meat wafting into the air...

    She'd asked Star to meet her out in Fulton, where the van was parked. Then, she'd lead him through the portal in the van to the actual destination of their date. She was wearing a dress and heels and everything.
    Attached Images
    "Aw-Vee". Pres 2 (Moody). Mastigos, Adamantine Arrow. Trace of a Cajun accent.
    Defense: 8. 3 cloaked spells. Phone (pot 6), Belt (pot 5), Self (pot 2 +3) Spell tolerance: 1/3, Accumulation: 3/7

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  3. #2
    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

    Decisions, decisions. On the one hand: nice stretch of road for a ride. On the other: most likely leaving the bike for a bit. In the end, the ride won. Old Raggedy Reliable stayed put and New Hotness that he totally only bought to more efficiently chase those well traveled bad guys with got let off the chain.

    Side note? Those Matrix Eyes put Avoid the Po-Po on Easy Mode. The only thing missing was theme music.

    At least he'd ditched the khakis -- no small thing for anything that wasn't business. There are two constants in life: hoodies and khakis. There's a reason one comes before the other, so check the box next to 'Suprised' for one angel. That makes.... three times. Maybe. Depended on whether or not the first time counted. Whichever it was, it was rare enough to make eyebrows soar and eyes widen. Even the Ziggurat couldn't compare, breathtaking as the view was. Portals like this were like stepping through into Christmas morning -- the TV show kind.

    He can't resist turning an invisible knob as the ambient noise fades away and leaves just the soft rush of wind like waves crashing in the distance.

    "That smells... as good as you look."
    Blame the objectification on the heels. Blame the cheesiness on... the night. Fingers fished a pair of drinks out and he gestured at the sprawl of golden lights and glittering black ribbon of river. "Toast to being back?"

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

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  5. #3
    Avis's Avatar
    Avis
    Avis

    Vulgar: Color drains from the immediate area and depth perception becomes temporarily skewed, everything seeming to draw in uncomfortably close, making rooms smaller and all but distant objects seem in reach.
    Vice: Color drains from Avis and her facial features seem indistinct and grainy, as though her identity is growing less defined.
    Virtue: Colors appear more vibrant and everything seems to become grander in scale.
    Merits

    2
    PRE



    She'd looked a little silly, stepping out of the van in a back alley of Folsom* to greet him, teetering in those heels, but her eyes had lit up when she'd seen him step off the bike, looking so suave in that dark suit next to that sleek beast of a ride. Her mind's eye flashed back to the first time she'd ridden with him, on the back of a much less powerful bike, how she'd practically tried to squeeze the life out of him as the wind whipped around them and the pavement flashed by, so close to their feet, and a smile bloomed on her lips. It felt as if an overwhelming gulf of years stretched between that moment in time, and this one, though some things hadn't changed. Her stomach was still filled fluttering wings, and her heart beat ever so noticeably faster as she took his hand and led him up through the portal, and then it was just them, standing atop the temple, with only the wind and the lights of the city for company.

    "No, I don't want to toast," she replied, blushing in the darkness, pausing for a moment as the wings beat in a frenzy inside her stomach, though she pushed through the feeling and stepped forward, her free hand rising to gently grasp the back of his head, the fuzz of his hair so soft beneath her fingertips, and pulled him in for a kiss. Soft, and gentle, and lingering, unless he made it more. Though, eventually, she pulled back, a little breathless, but with the smile dying on her lips.

    "I didn't, uh, do this to celebrate," she began, fen water eyes dropping, then rising to find his blues. "I mean, I did, but not to celebrate me. I wanted to celebrate you. To..."

    She trailed off again, the words inadequate for what she meant. It would have been so easy to reach out and touch her mind to his, to let him feel what she felt, the experience the same swirling tempest of thoughts, though fear stopped her. Once, that sort of intimacy had been common amongst them, and hopefully it would be again, but they'd spent too much time apart. She'd spent too much time apart. Too much time pulling away.

    "I wanted to apologize," she said, finally. "I, um, I haven't been a good partner to you, and I wanted tonight to be about showing you that I'm going to try and change that."

    *Meant Folsom, not Fulton, eep
    "Aw-Vee". Pres 2 (Moody). Mastigos, Adamantine Arrow. Trace of a Cajun accent.
    Defense: 8. 3 cloaked spells. Phone (pot 6), Belt (pot 5), Self (pot 2 +3) Spell tolerance: 1/3, Accumulation: 3/7

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  7. #4
    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

    You know what they say about loving things and letting them go. She hadn't been wrong at Half Dome, either. In their extremes? He pulled and she pushed. Sure, the cards didn't always turn up boats and houses, but it was still a winning bet. There's still that same overwhelming-ness when their lips meet that it must be terror. It isn't. It's just the only thing that comes close.

    This is why everyone needs Illusions.

    They weren't the two strangers fumbling towards the beginning of a whole anymore. Things had been lost. Things done. Little lies told to one another and themselves. But that's the Truth, isn't it? Both sides of the same coin. We are not alone. A tongue dipped out lick his lips were hers had been and a smile cracked.

    "Do you,"
    he began, pianist's hands coming up to frame each side of her face, "Think that I ever thought you would be... easy?"

    Yeah, okay. Some things he'd expected to be easy hadn't. Some things he'd expected to be hard hadn't either. Which was just his own hubris in having those. It'd be so easy to leave it on a light note, but that wouldn't honor her effort and admission. But doing that? It opening that box of hurts hidden away and examining each one until they stung at his eyes and made the back of his throat ache.

    That's when he hugged her. Tight. After he'd pulled off all of those masks and let her See.

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

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  9. #5
    Avis's Avatar
    Avis
    Avis

    Vulgar: Color drains from the immediate area and depth perception becomes temporarily skewed, everything seeming to draw in uncomfortably close, making rooms smaller and all but distant objects seem in reach.
    Vice: Color drains from Avis and her facial features seem indistinct and grainy, as though her identity is growing less defined.
    Virtue: Colors appear more vibrant and everything seems to become grander in scale.
    Merits

    2
    PRE

    The Warlock returned the embrace, just as tight, nuzzling her face into the space where neck and shoulder met, breathing in his sent, taking comfort in the solid warmth pressed against her and the memory of what he'd just said only moments before. Something that had sounded like forgiveness, though the glimpse of pain she'd seen on his face kept surfacing and mingling with the reassurance. Yet, oddly enough, it didn't spawn another twisted abomination of guilt. Instead, it only confirmed what she'd known, that she'd caused pain, and that it would take time, and effort, for those hurts to heal.

    So she held on tight, and whispered into his ear, "I love you."

    It was a simple spell that she spoke, at times wholly inadequate, but always wholly essential, and in that moment, it felt like enough. Not to heal all, but rather to mark the beginning.

    When, finally, they pulled away from each other, those fen water eyes were glistening, but she was smiling again as she pulled away.

    "Have a seat. The food should be ready. There's grilled bok choi, mashed sweet potatoes, and heart steak. It was free range. And local."


    She met his eyes as she said this, and then moved back over to the stove to check on their meal, decide it was ready, and begin to plate it. First came the vegetables, then the potatoes, and lastly, those half inch cuts of wine braised, pan-grilled meat. Steam wafted up from those pieces of cooked muscle as it was laid out on the cool white of the ceramic, and before long, they each had a plate of food before them on the table, with the view of the city stretching out before them.
    "Aw-Vee". Pres 2 (Moody). Mastigos, Adamantine Arrow. Trace of a Cajun accent.
    Defense: 8. 3 cloaked spells. Phone (pot 6), Belt (pot 5), Self (pot 2 +3) Spell tolerance: 1/3, Accumulation: 3/7

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  11. #6
    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

    Of all the things, Florida wasn't something that bothered him anymore. Knowing why holding her felt right, why the texture of her hair and arms around him was something he'd been chasing since long after he'd forgotten and before he could remember? It didn't change anything. And people thought destiny was only for Acanthus'. Sometimes, things are written, even if the edges are a little jagged.

    "I know."
    Thanks for the greatest line ever, Han Solo. But he did. And maybe all the push, push, pushing made the times she pulled mean all that much more. Contrast. It is a thing. It keeps the divine from becoming banal. "I love you, too." There was a pause and the pressure of an indrawn breath while he tried to distill a divine Truth into the banality of simple words. "We're going to change, because... neither of us are finished. With who we are. But we're doing it together and... still do." Love each other. Change. It was a constant. Anchors in seas of change. They'd both flirt with change by choice. They'd both be shaped by crucibles. Sometimes those would be the same thing like the one they were coming out of.

    He'd told her once that she was the only person that could make him cry. There was a weight to his eyes; a quickening that glistened, and matched hers when they separated. Maybe that went both ways.

    "Look who gets funny when she wears a dress,"
    he snickered as he retrieved the bottles and opened them. And what a dress. That daring slit made him feel all kinds of ways. Oh, yeah. He'd caught that. Just because it was an easy lob didn't make it less funny. Even if. You know. It's not funny. "And domestic. Cooking. So domestic." He's teasing. It's really not, is it? "Is doing laundry next?"

    He didn't sit right away. For a moment blue-ish eyes are looking at something in the distance and the pinnacle of downtown. There's other things, too. Can't see the Circle, but they're only two block from from 4W. No, he's never ever tried to drive golf balls from there to up here. Mostly because golf just isn't his thing. Somewhere out there was also Firehouse. Sitting down trades the regular blocks and lines formed by streetlights for the random jags and whorls of silver-smooth keloid. Each movement of her arms made them shift and crawl under the faint reflected light.

    The girl he first met always kept them hidden. Because We're Changing.
    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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  13. #7
    Avis's Avatar
    Avis
    Avis

    Vulgar: Color drains from the immediate area and depth perception becomes temporarily skewed, everything seeming to draw in uncomfortably close, making rooms smaller and all but distant objects seem in reach.
    Vice: Color drains from Avis and her facial features seem indistinct and grainy, as though her identity is growing less defined.
    Virtue: Colors appear more vibrant and everything seems to become grander in scale.
    Merits

    2
    PRE

    Avis laughed as she slid up into her seat, legs crossing so as not to advertise everything that was underneath. It was obviously a practiced gesture. Practiced as in studied, performed, repeated, repeated, repeated, studied, repeated, repeated, repeated until it had become a rote performance. She wasn't anywhere near the social chameleon that Cut could be, but she knew the value of social camouflage, and she was sure that was part of why he was attracted to her. Maybe a small part, but she was definitely looking to see if he noticed the effort.

    "I don't think most wives wear dresses like this when they cook dinner," she teased, finally opening her drink, a simple citrus bubble water, and pouring it into a glass, another affectation.

    "And I don't really like cooking, but I like the result a lot better than anything frozen. Besides, I think sharing a meal is one of the most intimate things anyone can do. You know, sharing the sustenance, taking it in, absorbing it, but doing it with someone else? That was one of the things I missed most growing up. The dinners, I mean."

    There was always a touch of sadness when she spoke about her parents, but she was smiling as she met Star's eyes. Tentatively, softly, but smiling nonetheless, the simple companionship held within their banter easing the guilt and the shame away like chill before the hearth.

    "Things have definitely changed a lot since then, but like you said, part of that is because we're changing together. Did you know that I hadn't had a meal that made me happy until our first date? Not in that same way, at least. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. I still think about that, when you asked me out in the Circle. I just thought that, maybe, I could do the same for you, too. Create moments for us to enjoy food together. So, I've been learning to cook. Breakfast was a dry run, but go on, try some of my heart, and see what you think."

    A mischievous edge crept into the smile as she picked up her own fork and knife and set it to that piece cooked meat in front of her.
    "Aw-Vee". Pres 2 (Moody). Mastigos, Adamantine Arrow. Trace of a Cajun accent.
    Defense: 8. 3 cloaked spells. Phone (pot 6), Belt (pot 5), Self (pot 2 +3) Spell tolerance: 1/3, Accumulation: 3/7

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  15. #8
    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

    He noticed. He was always watching those little tell-tale cues that spoke of something done while thought about versus muscle memory. The way high society knew where the salad fork was in an array of silverware and could pluck it up without looking, or a touch typist, or even and landscaper working the throttle of a leaf blower so expertly there wasn't a single stray. In every Illusion, there's a glimmer of Truth. Maybe it's understanding someone else's Truth just for a moment.

    Admittedly? He was also just pretty fond of watching her legs.

    If she was looking for an indication? He didn't give one. That's the thing. Do it so well it's not noticeable. Be the starling. Except he did. He matched her in subtle ways with a posture that straightened, a slowing of skittering eyes, and a quarter tip of his own drink rather than the full up-tilt he was wont to do when murdering little bottles of Gatorade.

    He enjoyed it -- like joining in with a karaoke performance to create a duet.

    "Well I always knew I was lucky. But. You'll have to tell me what wives do when they wear dresses like that."
    It's probably a little odd that flirting between spouses is unusual. They'd gone backwards, hadn't they? Starting with the openness that took others years, so that this felt... new. "It is," he added the answer. "It is. We've just... forgotten. We as in the average first world county. It's become too easy. People, they don't..."

    They don't know. They don't know what it's like to be hungry. They eat out of boredom. They've never had every waking thought driven by the hollow ache or sniffed at garbage to see if it was edible. They've never seen, or been, someone assaulted for food. That's how far someone has to go to understand sharing a meal.

    "It's corny, but. Did you know the actual origin of Thanksgiving is based on sharing food? Except not the whole Pilgrims and Native American thing, or even a harvest festival. It's from the Eighty Years War. Spain sieged the Dutch city of Leiden. When it ended and they got to eat, they began an annual celebration. They still do -- it's just called Oktober Fest now. Ummm. But. Yeah. Sorry. I kind of got carried away there."

    Color touched his cheeks, but it was the memories and not embarrassment.

    "No, I... didn't know. But I'm glad you told me."
    Long fingers picked up his own silverware. "A little mastigosling heart? Sure." He found her green eyes with his own as a slice was cut and lifted like a toast. "But I want all of yours."
    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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  17. #9
    Avis's Avatar
    Avis
    Avis

    Vulgar: Color drains from the immediate area and depth perception becomes temporarily skewed, everything seeming to draw in uncomfortably close, making rooms smaller and all but distant objects seem in reach.
    Vice: Color drains from Avis and her facial features seem indistinct and grainy, as though her identity is growing less defined.
    Virtue: Colors appear more vibrant and everything seems to become grander in scale.
    Merits

    2
    PRE

    "Then eat it," Avis replied, reaching across the table with her own bite of heart speared on her fork, proffering it to her lover in the candlelight. A symbolic gesture, an offering of another's heart in place of her own, an offering of death to sustain life. If she could have, she would have cooked her own heart, or perhaps a piece of each of theirs, and had them eat it as a symbol for their bond, for their hearts to literally become one with the other as their essence was digested and used to nourish the other, but that was beyond her, and so they had to make do with the heart of another being. A sacrifice made for them.

    It was also fitting, she thought, to go along with his story of food and war. For what was war if not finding life in death? And what was that celebration, if not doing the same? Though perhaps it was more than that. Perhaps it was more than just a celebration of survival, but as Star had suggested, a celebration of love, and thankfulness for that love, of love found in life.
    "Aw-Vee". Pres 2 (Moody). Mastigos, Adamantine Arrow. Trace of a Cajun accent.
    Defense: 8. 3 cloaked spells. Phone (pot 6), Belt (pot 5), Self (pot 2 +3) Spell tolerance: 1/3, Accumulation: 3/7

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  19. #10
    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

    All of this has happened before... and it will all happen again.

    He leaned in to meet the offering and communed with it slowly; jaws rhythmically working, tearing into the sinew and hot stain of blood hinted at in the earthy vichyssoise. He chewed slow enough to explore the flavor and texture, giving the source and the chef their due before finally swallowing it to become part of himself. Of course there's an even more widely, well-known and practiced eating tradition: the Eucharist.

    Take, eat.

    He returned the gesture, wheeling the piece he'd sliced up and around to offer it to her. Sure, maybe it was a little 'Lady & the Tramp'-ish, but it's an exchange.

    I believe in the Kingdom come
    Then all the colors will bleed into one


    We were already bleeding into one. And he'd found what he was looking for.
    Nimbus in MiniSheet 2. Cloaked spells, no overt magical res. Scrut for deets.
    '...Watch With Glittering Eyes...'
    - Roald Dahl

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