[Game Thread] Scene 4: Take me out to the ball game

[Acathala]

Tommy sighed, as this wasn’t getting him anywhere. He changes clothes into a casual t-shirt, jeans and trainers combo. Decides to give Heidi extra treats, then after that, slips on a military style greatcoat, and heads out. Taking the car to the game, as much as Tommy dislikes sports, baseball might take his mind off the whole stranger danger in his house thing. Besides he kinda owed Quinn an apology and explanation.

[HexCursed]

Baseball game The catcher took a swift throw from the short stop, scoops the ball into her oversized mitt, and turned towards the runner. Quinn was barreling down on her at top speed. Only one girl was between Quinn and home plate, and the winning run.* No time to stop; no desire to stop. It was Quinn or the Catcher. Who would come out on top? OOC: Please roll with Volatile to Lash Out Physically and find out what happens!

[Acathala]

Tommy arrives. Hopefully it’s in time for the last innings, or whatever the terminology was. He really doesn’t care. He heads in, aware the Cynthetics are abound somewhere. Still he’s looking for Quinn.

[HexCursed]

Quinn's Run By the time Quinn stopped, she was up against the fence. Behind her was the catcher, splayed out on the ground like a fish on a platter. The ball lay on the ground. The crowd was watching, stunned. The catcher wasn't moving and wouldn't for some while. Finally, the opposing coach came forward to check on their wounded player. Her worried parents looked on in horror.

[NoizePollution]

Quinn Hot -1 Cold +1 Volatile +2 Dark -1 Exp 0/5; Harm 0/4; BullyQuinn, the Ghoul Quinn hits the fence hard enough to make the chain links rattle. Her turn back to the field is slow and her eyes settle on the catcher. She'll get up, right? She has to get up. Quinns legs refuse to hold her so she sinks down along the fence, the metal snagging her uniform and making little *plink* sounds as the cloth pulls free. She sits there, back to the crowd, and pulls her legs up to her chest as people from the dugouts begin to move. When her own coach approaches her she can only form canned responses. "She was crowding the plate." "I couldn't stop." "It happened too fast." But that's not it. One moment she was in her head with a promise dangled before her. The next she was back on the field and the catcher had the ball. What is her name? Patricia? Pamela? P-something. That voice...she can still hear it so clearly. Anything is possible. It hadn't named a price but it made one thing clear. It could be done. She could have her brother back. And in that moment, when she was back in her body and home plate was coming up fast...she could have stopped. She could have slid. She could have sacrificed the point. But she didn't. God, what has she done? You did what you always do. You hurt someone. Her voice, back in her head after such a brief reprieve. She wants to argue but she can't, cause it's right. She wraps her arms around her legs, pulling them tight against her chest as more bodies appear on the field. Medics, off-duty EMTs who moonlight at games. Quinn can't stop shivering. She hurts people. And most of the time she doesn't care. Most of the time they deserve it. But what about when they don't? What about...when they're people she loves? Welcome back, Quinn. You little monster.

[Acathala]

Tommy sees the carnage. Thankfully the catcher is still alive and being attended to. The same can’t be said for Quinn. He rushes over to her, not knowing exactly what happened, his own trouble forgotten for now. At her side, he says. "Up and at them. I’m getting you out of here before the villagers bring flaming torches and pitchforks." Tommy offers his hand to help lift her up.

[Starflier]

Ash Hot -1 Cold +2 Volatile -1 Dark +1 Exp 4/5, Harm 0/5, Take 1 Forward, Conditions: Foolish, Morbid, TraumatizedAsh, the Ghost Watching the collision with a morbid fascination, Ash couldn't help but be a little impressed by the sheer power of it. Either player could have moved, but both stood their ground, a decision that went poorly for the catcher. Even as Ash turned her head, pulling her eyes away from the prone girl, she saw Quinn dropping to the ground and started moving to a break in the fence to check on her friend. Before she got there, Tommy had arrived out of nowhere to offer a hand. ”Quinn, are you okay?” she asked as she dropped down beside her. Quinn looked like she was in shock from the impact, shivering despite the warm weather. Ash looked up at Tommy, telling more than asking, ”Give her your coat. Let's get her back to the dugout so she's not in the way.” Before they even got Quinn moving, she looked way up at Tommy again. Ash was used to this sort of disparity, not intimidated by taller people by people towering over her. ”Where did you come from? I didn’t see you in the stands before.”   The Ghost Skin: The Ghost Look: Pained eyes Origin: Murdered in hot passion Stats: Hot -1, Cold 2, Volatile -1, Dark 1 Exp: 4 / 5 (Accepted temptations from Morgan x2, Unresolved Trauma x1, Accepted temptation from DP) Harm: 0 / 4 Conditions: Foolish, Morbid, Traumatized Take 1 forward (Shutdown on Balvinder) Strings on others: Tommy - 1 Luke - 1 Morgan - 1 You become invisible, unnoticeable. No one can see you, feel you, or hear your voice. You can still affect inanimate objects, but this is your only avenue of communication. You escape your Darkest Self when someone acknowledges your presence, and demonstrates how much they want you around.Darkest Self When you have sex with someone, you both get to ask a question of one another. This can be asked in character or player-to-player. They must answer honestly and directly.Sex Move Moves Whenever something brings to mind your death, you choke up and gain the Condition traumatized if you don’t have it already. Whenever someone helps you resolve this Condition, you both mark experience.Unresolved Trauma When you help someone resolve a Condition, gain a String on them.Helpful Spirit You can walk through walls and fly.Limitless

[NoizePollution]

Quinn Hot -1 Cold +1 Volatile +2 Dark -1 Exp 0/5; Harm 0/4; BullyQuinn, the Ghoul "What?" Quinns eyes snap up to the source of the words she'd just missed. Too focused on the turmoil inside herself to see the approach, the words coming slow and muted like they're underwater. She blinks, confusion etched across her face in the squint of her eyes and the set of her jaw. Had he been here the whole time? She would have seen him, right? So did he just appear? Like magic? Her eyes widen a bit and her brows lift with the presumption. Is it magic? "Tommy? What are you doing here?" She would have put money on him not being here after this afternoon. The way he'd iced her out with a handful of bills and a total lack of information lingers in the back of her mind. "What about your 'emergency'?" She wants to be mad. Her initial reaction in most situations, really. But just seeing a friendly face in this moment is enough to crack that shell and her face softens on him as he offers his hand. Then Ash is beside her and she turns her head that way, and she can't tell if the soft wave of dizziness that accompanies the motion is from the hit or from the proximity. "Ash." It's just her name, but there is a softness in the way Quinn says it. A lilt in it that she hasn't used before. She takes the offered hand and pulls herself up to her feet, turning to offer her own down to Ash. Then Quinn goes rigid again, the shivering held back for a few seconds by the taut stance. Tommys quip about torches and pitchforks hits way too hard given where the mind is at as he says it. "Wait. No. This was an accident." She takes a step away from them, shifting her stance as she motions to the activity by home plate. Despite the protests, her eyes are desperate and her voice wavers. "People know that was an accident, right? I wouldn't..." For the first time since the hit, her eyes turn the stands. To the silent faces. To the terrified parents. Rarely is Quinn faced with the consequences of violence in such a sudden way. A bloody nose or busted lip, sure, but not the way it ripples outward to others. Her shoulders dip and her head lowers, arms wrapping around her stomach again. She looks to Ash before starting toward the dugout with the two of them. "I didn't want this. I made a mistake." That the mistake was reaching into herself and opening that very darkness Tommy had warned her against goes unsaid. She replays the moment again in her head, how it must have looked from the outside. It could go either way in an umpires eyes. Out or safe. But the girl wasn't getting up and the medics were busy, so maybe that isn't the most important thing. Quinn follows where she is lead, but she is keenly aware of all the eyes on her as she moves. Her arms unwrap from around herself to reach out to both Tommy and Ash, grabbing for their hands. Their arms. Wherever she can make purchase. "Don't go, okay?"

[Acathala]

Tommy glares at Ashraqat when she makes her presence felt. "Did you really think I wouldn’t find out it was you, Ashraqat?" His voice filled with melliferous poison, delivered not in loud angry tones, but in calm cold tranquil tones, that somehow made the underlying fury worse. Tommy looks back to Quinn. "I’m sorry about before, as for my emergency, you need my attention more." He intends on making an explanation to her later, but looks to Ashraqat. "We’re going to have a discussion about what you did later. Right now Quinn is the priority." He tries to get his greatcoat on Quinn and tries to guide her to the dugout with the ironical help of Ashraqat. He really wants to hex the blond bitch but Tommy has the self control not to. What happened to Piper was still on his mind.

[Starflier]

Ash Hot -1 Cold +2 Volatile -1 Dark +1 Exp 4/5, Harm 0/5, Take 1 Forward, Conditions: Foolish, Morbid, TraumatizedAsh, the Ghost Raising an eyebrow at Tommy's venom, Ash offered only a shrug before turning her focus on Quinn as they moved back to the dugout where she could sit. She understood the kind of panic that Quinn felt, panic that came with hurting someone you didn't mean to. Then again, if the blond witch made this a ‘thing’, she’d entirely mean it. ”It’s not your fault Quinn. Just a baseball play that ended badly,” she said as she squeezed Quinn's hand. That it was the truth wouldn't help with her guilt in the moment, but the truth was always important. ”We're not going anywhere, Quinn. Just sit, okay, and take some deep breaths.”   The Ghost Skin: The Ghost Look: Pained eyes Origin: Murdered in hot passion Stats: Hot -1, Cold 2, Volatile -1, Dark 1 Exp: 4 / 5 (Accepted temptations from Morgan x2, Unresolved Trauma x1, Accepted temptation from DP) Harm: 0 / 4 Conditions: Foolish, Morbid, Traumatized Take 1 forward (Shutdown on Balvinder) Strings on others: Tommy - 1 Luke - 1 Morgan - 1 You become invisible, unnoticeable. No one can see you, feel you, or hear your voice. You can still affect inanimate objects, but this is your only avenue of communication. You escape your Darkest Self when someone acknowledges your presence, and demonstrates how much they want you around.Darkest Self When you have sex with someone, you both get to ask a question of one another. This can be asked in character or player-to-player. They must answer honestly and directly.Sex Move Moves Whenever something brings to mind your death, you choke up and gain the Condition traumatized if you don’t have it already. Whenever someone helps you resolve this Condition, you both mark experience.Unresolved Trauma When you help someone resolve a Condition, gain a String on them.Helpful Spirit You can walk through walls and fly.Limitless

[NoizePollution]

Quinn Hot -1 Cold +1 Volatile +2 Dark -1 Exp 0/5; Harm 0/4; BullyQuinn, the Ghoul Quinn blinks away confusion at the sudden shift in the mood. There is a palpable tension and it came on so quickly. Someone in her teams uniform offers her a cup of water but she doesn't catch the face. Her eyes are on Tommy and she is doing a pretty good job of not letting her confusion turn to anger. There is definitely something big not being said, and she feels like she is the reason it is going unspoken. She tries the deep breaths thing, and that lasts about ten seconds before she has to start digging. "Hey, come on. You can't do sinister voice around me and think I'll miss it. I invented sinister voice." Maybe not invented, exactly, but she'd definitely refined the concept. It was one of the first things she learned when she came back different. Before she knew how to throw a punch or where to land a kick, she only had her attitude to protect her. Threats in a low, calm tone are better than shouted ones. Shouting, agitation, that kicks in peoples fight or flight and sometimes they choose fight. Sinister voice leaves them questioning. It disarms. "I feel like I walked in halfway through a movie." She looks between her two friends, shrugging into the coat as Tommy offers it. It's a nice fit, weighty and rugged. She kind of wants to take it. Taking a seat where the others direct her, she doesn't let them lapse into silence. She loves the idea of being someones priority, and the attention of Tommy and Ash in this moment is impossibly comforting, but she can't let this kind of repressed emotion linger. "Seriously, I'll be okay. What the hell is going on? Why are you talking around me?" Maybe she wouldn't be as concerned about this if it were yesterday. Before she knew what Tommy was holding back, what his anger might be able to do. Before she'd opened up to Ash, taken that big swing and met with reciprocity. Now both friendships feel fragile. Like one move, one choice, could turn them into something else. For the better, or maybe for the worse. Heat crawls under her skin as her anxiety finds a new place to focus. "Wait...is this a weird thing?" She says it before she really considers. Tommy wasn't with them in the woods that night. Could he know about Ash some other way? Or could Ash know about him? Or is she the only one that knows and now she's about to really step into something? Nononono...not now. Not tonight. Things were going so well! She feels Ashs hand tighten on her own as the other girl offers reassurances, and she tightens her grip to match. "Orrrrrr...I guess it could be none of my business." She concedes that point, but doing it agitates something in her. Nobody likes being out of the loop and Quinn is as bothered by it as anyone. Or maybe she just has a concussion or something. She can bleed, she can feel pain. But can she have a brain injury? There is so much she just doesn't know.

[Acathala]

"Fine. Since you asked. I’m sorry about earlier, as I kinda freaked out because I found out someone had broken into my house, and destroyed those objects we discussed. One of which was meant for a dangerous werewolf, to bind him form hurting people. That person is Ashraqat, who’s broken into my house at least once, probably twice, maybe more." He takes a breath. "She’s been in my home, Quinn. Been through everything I have that’s private and intimate. I no longer feel safe in my own home thanks to her." He just death glares at Ashraqat. "This is your one warning. I find out you’ve been in my home again, or you harm my cat, there will be consequences. You’re only getting that warning as I acknowledge you might have had reason to think I was up to no good. I have no ill intent to you, as long as you stay out of my house. I mean it."

OoC I get a forward for acting on the information in the GitA on a full success and this feels like a shutdown on Ashraqat. Also feels like piling pressure onto Ash, so that ain’t good for trauma. So using traumatised condition. Dice Cold: 2d6+1 (5, 1)+1 Total = 7

[Starflier]

Ash Hot -1 Cold +2 Volatile -1 Dark +1 Exp 4/5, Harm 0/5, Take 1 Forward, Conditions: Foolish, Morbid, TraumatizedAsh, the Ghost ”Oh yes, look upon me and despair, ye mortals, for this is the face of true evil,” Ash deadpanned while rolling her eyes. ”Your cat? What? You're so weird.” Taking a moment to consider the implications of everything Tommy was saying, Ash changed her approach. That Quinn knew about this too was concerning, but that wasn't something she felt like digging into now, fired up as she was. ”Werewolf? So Luke. Obviously Morgan too, given…” she trailed off thinking about which of the tokens belonged to which classmates. ”Who was lucky number three, Tommy? Who else did you steal from? Which one of our classmates deserved to be cursed with some black magic? Some girl who turned you down? Said no? That what happened with Piper, you creep?” OOC Ash will give Tommy the condition: Creep.   The Ghost Skin: The Ghost Look: Pained eyes Origin: Murdered in hot passion Stats: Hot -1, Cold 2, Volatile -1, Dark 1 Exp: 4 / 5 (Accepted temptations from Morgan x2, Unresolved Trauma x1, Accepted temptation from DP) Harm: 0 / 4 Conditions: Foolish, Morbid, Traumatized Take 1 forward (Shutdown on Balvinder) Strings on others: Luke - 1 Morgan - 1 You become invisible, unnoticeable. No one can see you, feel you, or hear your voice. You can still affect inanimate objects, but this is your only avenue of communication. You escape your Darkest Self when someone acknowledges your presence, and demonstrates how much they want you around.Darkest Self When you have sex with someone, you both get to ask a question of one another. This can be asked in character or player-to-player. They must answer honestly and directly.Sex Move Moves Whenever something brings to mind your death, you choke up and gain the Condition traumatized if you don’t have it already. Whenever someone helps you resolve this Condition, you both mark experience.Unresolved Trauma When you help someone resolve a Condition, gain a String on them.Helpful Spirit You can walk through walls and fly.Limitless

[Acathala]

"Well you do have that Ghostbusters villain look going on, Gozar." Tommy snarked back

What she says next, is just so ridiculous coming from her, Tommy outright laughs at her. "You of all people calling me creep. That’s what we like to call projection. I’m not the one sneaking into the private parts of people’s homes. I’ll indulge your curiosity just this once. Number three knows I had it, and I was trying to help this person. That’s all you’re getting. Oh and if I was as petty and bad as you seem to think I am, you’d gotten a dose of it by now, sweet pea. These powers are not something you want to use for petty reasons." Tommy returns to glaring at her. The confirmation that Morgan was something that mildly irked him, soon it would be quicker to count classmates that weren’t supernatural in some way. Also it appears he missed some kind of event in which people were outed. How many more?
"Sorry kiddo, but you did ask." Tommy said ruefully to Quinn.

[NoizePollution]

Quinn Hot -1 Cold +1 Volatile +2 Dark -1 Exp 0/5; Harm 0/4; BullyQuinn, the Ghoul Quinn watches everything go from 0 to 100 in moments. Tommy unloads with both barrels, the venom in his voice and the intensity of his glare drawing rigidity into her muscles. Tense, taut, ready. Tommy never struck her as a fighter but he is certainly throwing around fighting words. She looks to Ash, about to express her disbelief that she could do what he's accusing her of, only to have her all but confess her part in it. Seriously? Ash broke into Tommys place and destroyed his little hoodoo doodads? Quinn can't help but be impressed by that. The talk of Luke brings her hand to her shoulder out of instinct, the punctures under the bandages there no longer painful but still somehow deeply so. It is only when Tommy addresses her directly that she lifts her head and stares at the both of them. "You're right. I asked. Neither of you did, though, and if I'm the voice of reason here we are well and truly ****ed." Quinn stands again and the way the frown pulls at her lips only adds to her tired expression. "Come on, guys. You're both running at this with bad assumptions and nobody's actually listening. It's like nobody trusts each other and all these damn secrets are poison." She shifts her stance to turn toward Ash, moving to position herself between the two of them. "I asked Tommy about this stuff today. I thought we could help each other. Maybe he could help me find Hawke's killer bimbo and I could figure something out about...me." She keeps her eyes on Ashs as she says it, but it takes effort to do so. While most people wouldn't associated Quinn with shame in any regard, there is more openness between her and Ash. Quiet things have been expressed and she can't hide as easily with her. "I asked him and he explained it to me. He actually has some compelling reasons for what he's doing. Maybe if you'd asked him about it he would have told you." She can't commit to that idea. Tommy definitely competes with Hawke for the gold in the caginess Olympics. But she is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. She turns again, facing Tommy directly. "Of course, keeping your secrets means people are gonna assume the worst. I understand why you're pissed but you just came rolling in here assuming the worst yourself. To the point that you're gonna threaten her?" She bristles visibly then, her shoulders squaring as she levels her her eyes on him and the muted anger in them gleams. The relationship between her and Tommy goes back long enough that she feels like he can read her honesty. "Never again, okay? We have to be the good people, remember?" She steps aside so she can look at the both of them again, pulling the now-scattered braid out of the cap as she tosses it aside. A glance given down the dugout to make sure the others were still giving her a wide berth. "I get that this is a messed up situation but we don't have to let it get more messed up." She fidgets with the braid, pulling strands out from the bindings. "Ash, think about what you said when I told you what Luke did to me. It's not his intention, right? It's what he did that matters. If Tommy can stop that from happening again isn't that a good thing?" She isn't just thinking about Luke as she says it. The taste of blood on her tongue is still such a fresh memory. The desire for more. Werewolves aren't the only monsters people should fear. Would she be the next thing Tommy would need to bind? "Let's just talk this through. I trust you both, I know you're not out to hurt anyone. We've all made mistakes, right?"