Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (HIATUSl)

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-20-2012, 09:47 PM

>Chester: Don't go into that hand blind.

You feel that not-quite-vibration that tells you that someone is attempting to message you through the game's chat system, but somehow doubt you could get away with opening your menu in the middle of the game.

Suddenly you remember the menu. No, not the game's one, the one you ordered food from (which you did end up eating, and oddly enough did in fact taste like chicken). You look at it, and it's gibberish to you. But if you print it on the menu, the people must read it. And if they read this, then maybe...

You ask the waitress to get you a pencil. She responds with surprising promptness, given that a few moments ago she was watching the game with enough attention to make her forget she was still on the job. But regardless.

You write a short simple message. "Can't open menu. Can detect when you message. Can you read this? One message=yes, Two=no."

You recieve a single vibration in confirmation, but more importantly as you scan the faces of the growing crowd, you find confusion in the eyes of those reading over your shoulder. It would appear that your writing is just as incomprehensible to them as theirs is to you.

>Chester: Cheat well.

You smile. You are limited to simple binary questions, but it is amazing what an intelligent mind can garner from such limited resources.

Can you see his cards? Yes.

Does he have any Trumps numberless cards? Yes.

What about Shields? Yes.

Higher than a four? Yes.

And that's really all the information you need. If he plays that Shield, then you are obliged by the rules of the game to play yours. Then he plays his Trump, which regardless of what it is will beat your Rogue. Which would really be a token gesture, as the trumps themselves are valueless in terms of points, but there is your pride to consider.

However, if you can get him to play his trump first...

Dialog:

Well there it is. You've goaded him as best you can, now you just have to sit back and discover if this guy is the sort of player that you pegged him as.

**Malrone** · 08-20-2012, 10:07 PM

I can add nothing but
>Future!Jon: Observe

**trulyElse** · 08-20-2012, 10:36 PM

> Jarring segue.

**simon.clarkstone** · 08-21-2012, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by trulyElse

> Jarring segway.

((ITYM "segue", though you might not.))

> Kaylyn: arrive, furious.

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-25-2012, 12:27 AM

>Future!Jon: Observe.

You can't believe it. He's here. He's actually here, a few feet from where you are sitting right now. It is taking every fiber of self control that you possess not to jump up and hug him right here. Right now you're surprised that you are actually keeping a straight face.

You're not going to cry. Really. You're actually trying not to laugh. This is Chester in his element. Using observation, intelligence, and a few choice words he's about to destroy this jerk. You don't have to be a time traveller to know that.

The entire crowd holds its breath. The man in the suit, smug bastard that he is, plays his trump card first, certain of his victory. The Broken Man goes down, quickly followed by Chester's Four of Shields. There is an eyebrow raised in surprise, but he keeps going. He doesn't know when to give up.

Down comes the Ten of Shields. And for a moment all is still. The Maenad waitress who seems to have taken something of a shine to Chester (which, Nine bless him, he remains completely unaware of) grips his arm nervously. Complete silence falls over the room as all eyes turn to Chester. For a moment he is impassive, his face completely blank. And then the grin comes out. He allows the Rogue to drop from his hand on to the table. After a second, all the money- one thousand three hundred and fifty pips- flies towards him.

The silence last for a second longer before the entire room erupts into shouts of disbelief. Those who had been rooting for him clap Chester on the back, and those who hadn't show their disappointment and make good on the bets they had placed amongst themselves. The Maenad, using every bit of influence she can muster you are sure, grabs Chester in an excited embrace, laughing. Even the man who had been beaten, after a moment of surprise, rises from his seat and begins to applaud in a manner which you are pretty sure is only about 40% sarcastic.

And over all this racket a single voice carries over. Those who take notice all turn towards the girl now standing in the doorway. Breathless, furious, and by the Lady is she beautiful because she's Kaylyn and she's alive.

Alright, now you might just be crying. But only a little.

"WHAT THE HEEELL, CHESTER! WE DOOON'T HAVE TIME TO BE PLAYING GAAAMES!"

>Jarring segue.

"Damm17, we don7 have 71me for 7hese s7up1d games."

You are now Lindsay, and you really wish that things could stay nice and simple in your life for ten damn minutes. You only left the room for about that long to go check on Vicky in the kitchen. You know, make sure that she hadn't fallen or opened up another wound (she had, but it wasn't a serious one and only took about five minutes to bandage up). You certainly hadn't left so that you didn't have to watch that floozy throw herself at Chester like he was-

Ahem. Anyway.

You hadn't thought anything of leaving Goeffry alone; after all, he was still mostly non functional. Sure, he'd started responding to your voice, but it was mostly "yes" and "no", and a few weird ones like "please stop" or "I'm sorry Mom". You certainly hadn't expected him to disappear, or that there would be a note in his place.

HEY THERE LADIES.

I FEEL LIKE PLAYING A GAME, HOW ABOUT YOU? JUST TO PASS THE TIME OF COURSE. THE NAME OF THE GAME IS HIDE AND SEEK, AND I SHOULD WARN YOU THAT I AM SIMPLY THE BEST THERE IS AT IT. ME AND GEOFF ARE GOING TO HIDE SOMEWHERE IN THE HOUSE, AND YOU TWO GET TO LOOK FOR US. JUST DON'T KEEP US WAITING FOR TWO LONG. I MEAN I KNOW I'M AWESOME, AND I'LL BE HELPING GEOFF OUT SO HE WON'T BE ANY EASIER TO FIND, BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MANY PLACES IN A HOUSE TO HIDE. YOU TAKE TO LONG AND WHO KNOWS WHAT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DO TO KEEP MYSELF OCCUPIED.

ERIC.

Great. Just great. You've never met the guy, but you've heard stories about this Erik. He hasn't exactly garnered the most stunning reputation.

So, let's sum up: several of your friends are trapped inside a video game, one is injured and refusing to go to a hospital, another is currently residing in La La Land, and a guy of questionable sanity has broken into your house, effectively kidnapped him, and made what could be construed as a veiled threat.

And now that tramp on the screen is hugging Chester.

This day keeps getting better and better.

**simon.clarkstone** · 08-26-2012, 08:00 AM

((Odd; no-one else has responded yet.))
> Henrick: treat Hershel like you would Geoffrey if he freaked out.
> Take him to a nice library; there is probably a pile of mythology to learn and no NPC party members to remember it for you.
((TBH I can't precisely remember how these people are related.))
> Liz, HB: Arrive in FoSaM.

> Or yeah, Chester and Kaylyn could head off again.
> But go shopping first.

**Malrone** · 08-26-2012, 01:23 PM

>Look in the best/worst hiding places in the house. Are you familiar enough with what brand of crazy this guy is? Because he may be somewhere hilariously inane(i.e. dangerous) or somewhere childishly obvious, depending.

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-26-2012, 03:27 PM

>Lindsey: Look in the best/worst hiding places in the house.

Well this is your house, and you sure as hell aren't letting a nut job like Eric wander around in it. This will be just like playing hide and seek with Mom or Dad. Sure, it's been a couple of years and a few limbs since you last played, but the principal's still the same. Look through the finite number of hiding spots in the house, discover which one he's hiding in, and then attempt to kick the ever loving hell out of him.

So yeah, almost exactly like playing with Dad.

You check all the spots in the main room. You wouldn't put it past this guy to hide two feet from where you started, it's just the sort of trick you're Dad always pulled. You look around and hold on a sec who turned the tv off? You switch it back on, because you want to be able to notice immediately if something happens to go wrong.

You then set out towards the kitchen, which your Mom always warned you not to play around or or you might get hurt, which meant it was always a feature in a game of hide and seek. You wonder for a moment if Vicky might have noticed something, but then remember that the girl has once again blindfolded herself. Seriously, what is up with that? Anyway, so long as he's able to be quiet Erik could very well have slipped right by her.

You rummage about for a few moments, checking under the sink and in a few cupboards (you'd be surprised how flexible one can be when the penalty for being found is a severe butt kicking) before she finally asks what you are doing.

Dialog:

--------

**Malrone** · 08-26-2012, 04:18 PM

>Victoria: Initiate blindsight.

**trulyElse** · 08-26-2012, 08:41 PM

> Lindsay: Spell your name consistently.

> Be Erik

**Xindaris** · 08-26-2012, 09:01 PM

>Quick, somebody warn Victoria about stairs!
>Better yet, let it be someone completely disconnected from the context of this situation, perhaps even someone who she doesn't even know exists yet.

**simon.clarkstone** · 08-27-2012, 02:08 PM

> Make sure all possible exits are locked. That couldn't possibly come back to bite you at any point.

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-28-2012, 11:37 PM

>Lindsay: Make sure all the exits are blocked.

You suppose that would be best. You don't like having him in your house, but the idea of Erik coming and going as he pleases feels a little disconcerting. You first lock the front and back doors, then move a medium size piece of furnature in front of them (a table for the back door and a comfortable reclining chair for the front). You also make a mental note to close and lock all windows that you see during your search.

You leave the remainder of the ground floor to Victoria, and decide to tackle the upstairs rooms. A quick search through your room (which seems untouched since you last left it, thank God) yields nothing, and the only thing you discover in your parent's bedroom is that your father has started a new book, which is just as unreadable to you as the last one. The top floor is scoured in great detail, until the only places which haven't been looked at are your mother's studio and the attic, which is always a hassle to get into. Nevertheless, you are leaning towards struggling up into the attic first, as you have no intention of entering the studio unless completely necessary.

That's where the Demon resides, after all.

>Victoria: Initiate blindsight.

You begin your search of the ground floor, hindered only slightly by the blindfold you wear. And even then, it has more to do with lack of familiarity of your surroundings than lack of eyesight. Despite your diligence, however, you have no luck in discovering where Erik has gone. You suppose you could take the blindfold off to make use of your eyes, but they are still quite irritated and you'd rather not put them through anything else. And in any case, you have no more desire to actually look at Erik than you did when he kidnapped you this morning.

The though occurs to you that should Lindsay discover Erik she would not have the benefit of a blindfold. So there might be some serious explaining to do. But you'll tackle that problem when it comes up.

Your phone vibrates, and the lack of a voice eminating from it when you investigate indicates that someone is contacting you using pesterchum. Oh well, so much for the blindfold.

Pesterlog:

>Be Erik.

You are now Erik. You are hanging out on the roof of Lindsay's house, seated in a reclining position with your back against the chimney. It wasn't easy getting up hear, you actually had to do a quick lap around the house to find the best way to climb up, but you already had to get out to pick up a few things so that was alright. You consider once again the insane luckiness that with all the spots that you hide stuff around town, one of them just so happens to be in the back yard of one of the neighboring houses. You consider the even greater luckiness that one of your favourite outfits (a pristine white suit with red tie, no only a little scuffed up from your climb) and weapon of choice (the Defender) were hidden there.

You consider your good fortune overall. With the possible exception of Geoffry getting all freaked out and shutting down like that somewhere he could have gotten hurt, this has really been a great day. You are really glad you have such great luck, because you are going to need it.

The most important part of the plan is going to start soon, after all.

**Malrone** · 08-29-2012, 12:35 AM

>Erik: Realized you lied, and are not actually inside the house as advertised in your note.
>Erik: Adjust tie obsessively.
>Lindsay: We warned you sis, we told you girl.

**trulyElse** · 08-29-2012, 12:35 AM

> Erik: Elaborate on the plan to yourself. Do it loudly.
or
> Lindsay: Ascend

**simon.clarkstone** · 08-30-2012, 01:47 PM

> Lindsay: Go to attic. Listen for breathing.
> Phone Erik and see if you hear his phone.
> AN: Spread warnings around other times and places.

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-30-2012, 10:36 PM

>AN: Spread warnings around other times and places.

Unfortunately, you are not in a situation that allows for this. Yes, you have visions of what you would call the future, and yes, certain convoluted temporal pathways have caused you to know someone with firsthand experience in the events of this other session, but despite this you are restricted to the linear flow of time. Though not necessarily parallel, you have come to understand. For example, ID managed to piece together during his pesterlogs with SQ that time was progressing slower for those "outside" the game to you. What were minutes to him were hours or even days of waiting. It has been at least a month since last contact has been established, when HH sent them the Tectrix (which Thomas is still throwing fits over).

But you don't exactly feel like contemplating the oddness of the flow of time over parallel worlds and timelines, because the second reason you cannot proceed with the above course of action is that you have been discovered and are currently being shouted at by ID, which does break your concentration somewhat.

>Erik: Realized you lied, and are not actually inside the house as advertised in your note.

You suppose that this is true, but then again you did add that bit in the end, so you sort of have an out for that. When someone like you commits to being "honest", they learn to twist their words fairly easily without outright lying. You said that you had no idea what you'd do if you got bored.

And man, did you try and avoid that. You thought, sure, it won't take them too long to find you, and there's bound to be a bunch of neat stuff in the attic to mess around with until then, right? Wrong on both counts. Not only was it taking them forever to get up there, but the contents of the attic itself were very disappointing. A bunch of uninteresting family pictures sorted by date (though it was mildly diverting for a few minutes to use the process of elimination to figure out when the lopsided wonder downstairs had her accident). A violin you can't play without giving away your hiding spot. You'd actually gotten desperate enough to read some of the books kept up there, knowing Geoff would chide you for reading in such low light. But it was a hopeless effort there as well, as there didn't seem to be a single word written on a page of any of them.

So you decided to get some fresh air, grab some of your stuff, and then hop up on the roof on a whim. As an added bonus, you got a great view of the neighborhood, which allowed you to keep an eye out for the guy who's suppose to be here in a bit. Of course, he's still not here...

But you suppose you should get back in the house, huh? Lindsay, even if she is searching alone, should have at least covered the ground floor by now. It's only a matter of time until she moves on to the attic, which you have designated as yours and Geoff's hiding spot. You clamber back through the attic window, which you had the forethought to leave open, and then smooth out your suit to the best of your ability.

>Erik: Elaborate on plan to yourself.

What are you, some saturday morning cartoon villain? Doing that would be stupid, not to mention might give away your position to Lindsay and/or Victoria.

...Eh, what the hell.

Monologue:

Of course, Geoff doesn't respond to any of this. The poor guy is still out of it, only coming to so that he can worry about a bastard that stopped being a problem years ago. You feel bad for him. Usual when he gets like this you're there within moments to take care of him, but you had been actively avoiding him in this particular instance, all because you thought he might be on to the Secret, which was stupid. Anyway, you're here now and you're going to make sure that he's okay. It's been that way for as long as you've known him, which is pretty much forever for you. Ever since he first met you, you've been taking care of his problems.

Not that you mind, by the way. You suppose some people might resent having to follow after someone like Geoff, making sure he's safe and looked after. But not you. In fact, you can safely say that this is pretty much the reason for your continued existence right now.

**Malrone** · 08-30-2012, 11:24 PM

>Lindsay: Just get into the attic already.
>Victoria: Actually, we warned you. Ha.

**trulyElse** · 08-30-2012, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Malrone

>Lindsay: Just get into the attic already.
>Victoria: Actually, we warned you. Ha.

Seconding the former; the latter was kind of mean.

**Malrone** · 08-31-2012, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by trulyElse

Seconding the former; the latter was kind of mean.

I WAS ADMITTING A MISTAKE! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PROUD OF ME

**simon.clarkstone** · 09-01-2012, 02:25 PM

> Erik: Was that violin Lindsay's? It might be a useful thing to know about her past if you have to distract her.
> Lindsay: Wield a sculpting tool of some kind.
> Lindsay: Wish that your father was here to help, even though you ought to be able to take this guy on your own. (Where did he get to anyway? Chasing that assassin still?)

**mysticCharlatan** · 09-03-2012, 02:25 PM

>Lindsay: Just get to the attic already.

You look away from the Demon's room. If anyone was hiding in there, you would have found out, and they most likely would be in no physical shape to make an escape in any case. You decide to make your way up to the attic. A quick pull of a rather conspicuous cord and a ladder drops, beckoning you into the poorly lit topmost level of the house.

You climb up with aboslutely no difficulty and look around. Nothing much seems out of place, but then again you haven't been up here in forever, so you probably wouldn't know if something has been moved.

Wait a second. There. On the top of one of the boxes nearest the window, there is a gap in the layer of dust. Almost as if something had been sitting there until a little while ago. Something violin shaped. Which is weird, because you're pretty sure your mother hasn't brought down her violin in ages. And over there. A single book lies open in a poorly lit corner of the room, on top of an otherwise undisturbed pile (it's something that drives your mom nuts, that dad just throw books up here when he's done reading them).

>Lindsay: Wish that your father was here to help.

While it's not that you are worried at all, you do wish that your father was around to do lend a ha- offer assistance. It may simply be because he is your father, but you've always felt like Saul Lovhaug is in control of any situation he finds himself in. He wouldn't be scrambling around in the dark up here. He'd have already found Erik and kicked that sorry jerk's butt into next month.

But in all likelihood your dad is still down the street at the pharmacy, completely unaware that his daughter is up to anything more than hanging out with her (completely platonic, as far as he knows) friend. Same with mom, who had left for the flower shop long before either you or your father had woken up (somehow she is always the early riser of the family).

You think of the other adults, Mr. Ellis and Officer Dougan. Those two are likely worried sick, still chasing around in circles after that assassin. Because really, he shows up at Henrick's house and neither of them are in sight? They aren't exactly doing a great job of keeping track of that guy.

The sound of something heavy falling snaps you out of your thoughts. You recall that you are currently sharing the attic with a mentally unbalanced individual, and it is likely a bad idea to get caught up in wishful thinking.

>Lindsay: Wield a sculpting tool of some kind.

You look around. You are fairly comfortable with your fist in a fight, but sometimes it helps to pack a little something extra. Where did you end up putting that...

Aha! You find a small box marked "Lindsay's stuff" lying open (not a good sign) and within a small sculpting kit. You have since moved on to higher quality tools, and you believe that this has resulted in a marked increase in quality of your creations, but you aren't exactly looking for this stuff to make the next David or Thinking Man or something.

You pull out a bladed instrument that should function as a knife (it should say something of your skills that you cannot name a single tool in the kit) and clench the handle in your fist. Weapon in hand, you go to inspect the source of the noise you heard.

As it turns out, it was a fairly large wooden crate, which you noticed coming up was standing upright almost as tall as you and is now lying on its side. You have no idea why this is up here, or even how it got here, because the damn thing is heavy. With all your might you cannot get the thing to budge, which is a major problem as it has fallen over right on top of the hole you would use to descend from the attic. Looks like your stuck up here.

"damn 17 geoff, why do you have 7o be fr1ends w17h a freak?"
"1 swear, 1m go1ng 7o knock your block off when 1 f1nd you"

As you finish muttering you empty threat, you feel a slight breeze as something rushes by your head. Half a second later, one of the sculpting tools you had left in the kit embeds itself in the wall that you are facing. You hear a voice coming from behind you, from the area you were just in a moment ago.

"THAT WAS A WARNING."
"YOU SAY SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THAT AGAIN AND I CAN'T GUARANTEE I'LL MISS NEXT TIME."

**Xindaris** · 09-03-2012, 04:39 PM

>"Oh, hey, there you are, I found you, yay, now GET OUT"

**trulyElse** · 09-03-2012, 09:07 PM

> STRIFE.

**Malrone** · 09-03-2012, 10:12 PM

>Has anyone ever snuck up on you before?

Thread: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (HIATUSl)

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Re: Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Situational Irony)

Posting Permissions