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Post by Krakenbox on Apr 7, 2022 14:48:16 GMT -8
Freeholders streamed from the industrial rave, heading the Whisperwisp's announcement and minimizing the crowd crush as Winters and level headed volunteers shut down panicked fights and drug-induced arguments. As word rippled through the crowd that the gun shot had been the Fool of the First Frost putting down a copy of himself, heads started turning and cornering the Masked attendees. Some were Lost who were hiding once they heard the trouble, some were human-like and could see through the Mask. Attempts to make more of the neutralizing medication was shut down when a riot broke out over limited supplies and slow speed, and everyone was told to be patient. Within the first half-hour mark, those of Summer and Winter Mantle passed on an official announcement to fearful courtiers still coming down from the potent ritual chemicals,Most Freeholders were beginning to scatter to get better cell reception, hauling motleymates together or crowding around officers for direction. Some slipped into the night, disturbed with the task at hand and needing to process before they came to any sort of decision. Injured were being treated, with prominent cases being a concussed Knight of Chaos having to deal with a world-class boxer of a clone, and a blood-covered Dormarch hauling a Spring medic from a gaggle of shell-shocked partygoers to attend to a sliced up Knight of the Dying Light. The Knight of Coin was shouting something in Russian over a phone while Zhi had already pulled out a laptop, waving away other needy Emeralds with gusts of shadow. The Knight of Thorns was fielding Autumn questions with a swollen black eye and missing tooth, and letting the more occult-focused She-Wolf tend to her motleymate before he was rolled by questions from being First Contact. The Toll Takers Henley had commissioned were nowhere in sight — likely on the trail if the Wyrd had anything to say about it. The clones who did not get away in time were sequestered off by Onyx courtiers rather than being questioned in the streets, while the more street-savvy and lucky had sensed the way the wind was blowing and bailed as quickly as possible. It wasn't a quiet task.
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Post by Croupier on Apr 7, 2022 19:07:53 GMT -8
Sure picked a hell of a time to let loose.
Dan was still with Yuan and Cinderella when the notification came out. Phone still in hand, Dan stared at the message and wondered how much of it was a sign that he was still intoxicated from the drinking came. But the shots had been real. The shouts had been real. And even if the Fetches had not been real, there was now another Dan Miller running around Las Vegas, doing who the fuck knew what out there.
And this town already can't handle one of me.
With a hard blink to focus his thoughts, Dan put the phone back in his pocket and loosened his tie and top button. Not that he had trouble breathing, but one party was over, and another was about to begin. He turned to his fellow party-goers and asserted, "I think I'm going to find the strongest pot of black coffee I can find, and then think about where my double might be. Either of you feel like coming?"
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Post by Jack Ratchet on Apr 7, 2022 23:27:15 GMT -8
"Sit down, sport, let's have a look at ya," Jack said as he pressed his jacket to the head of one of the many people that had suddenly started to stream from the building. Blood marked the side of the guy's head and a panicked look was painted in his eyes. The Ogre gently pulled away the jacket just enough to give him a good look at the wound. A gash that would require a couple of stitches had opened across his forehead, sitting just under the hairline but like most head injuries, had bled profusely. Jack gave the guy his most reassuring smile. "Well, it ain't all that bad, buddy. Gonna need to get you to a hospital though just to get it sewn up. Now, don't panic, look at me, I got ya."
First aid rule number one: keep the casualty calm. Goes a long way.
Jack continued to press the jacket to the injured man's head, squatting down next to him. Looking around, he tried to get the attention of someone in charge, someone who could take the lead in this clusterfu-
Four night shifts on the bounce could sometimes scramble an officer's mind but...had he just seen himself rushing away from the building?
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Lotus Eater
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Presence (4) Capable |Rigid Mask | Winter Mantle | Status (Licensed Security) | Autumn Goodwill (1)
Posts: 74
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Post by Lotus Eater on Apr 9, 2022 12:06:03 GMT -8
With Imbolc emptied, people moved on to safety. Lotus Eater turned her attention to the current issue at hand. Opening her phone she quickly texted Mordecai.
"My services will be available shortly. I need to handle my doppelganger first, so I will be unimpeded"
Once the text message was away she took a long deep breath. The intoxication from the festivities lingered in her mind. She took a deep breath and ran her hand to her temple as she considered her doppelgangers options.
Her mind however was addled by the chaos and the drugs. She couldn't comprehend at the moment what she would do if she was a doppelganger. She let out a small growl of frustration.
There was a simpler solution.
Glancing around herself she took a moment to consider who was near by. Given herself she than described herself to the world, letting the glamour flow from her as she activated the contract of the sword and called upon The Relentless pursuit
Where was not-her going?
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Post by Blaze on Apr 9, 2022 12:56:39 GMT -8
Blaze still had some lingering frustration that she had to be told what is going on rather than being able to discern that herself, but she wasn't going to let the irritation get in the way of the task at hand, or even show at all. When the message is received, she already knows she is not going to cede the burden of hunting down her clone on other people, and will in fact offer others to take care of their own. She feels the heavy absence of a solid weapon in her hand - and so, seeing how both Summer and her own Court sanctioned this hunt, she will request a firearm from the first officer she sees. Hopefully the Elemental will come off as sober enough that she won't raise the concern of shooting random passers-by, and her skill with guns is not something she made a secret out of.
As she bobbed and weaved through the crowd, the Torrent went through possible scenarios of her clone's behaviour. You'd think there's no easier person to find than yourself, but when you have to fight off the heavy alcohol intake and the possibility that the clone has agency divergent from yours, things get complicated.
Realizing that there's only so much ground you can cover alone, Blaze seeks out Lotus Eater, another changeling familiar with security protocols and a member of Winter to boot.
"Hey. Need help?" she starts off
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Post by Bosko on Apr 9, 2022 17:56:31 GMT -8
A recent addition to the city looking to make himself useful (and having just gotten off his shift at the Food Truck), Bosko had arrived to try and assist the local freehold in this... Strange event.
"Bosko. I am here to help as needed- I hope I have not arrived too late?" Of course, he had little idea what madness borne of the Far Country was at work- he was quite out of the loop.
So, he would simply take a turn to try to form a picture. Figure out just what was going on.
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Post by Croupier on Apr 10, 2022 18:49:36 GMT -8
Stumbling his way through the scrambling crowd, Dan looked for a place to get some breathing space. An enticing scent caught on the breeze and hooked into Dan's nostrils, making his mouth water with the familiar aroma. A vague hint of an idea popped into Dan's mind and he began swimming in its direction. When the crowd parted, he found himself close to the familiar behemoth of a food truck, and could hear the stalled engine and grinding gears of its owner's voice.
Dan smiled when he found the Lost, "Bosko!" his arms shot up into the air as he closed the distance between them. His cheeks were swollen red and his grin was perhaps too wide. Too happy. "Ya old scoundrel! You missed a hell of a party! Hey - do you have any coffee? I need to clear my head."
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Post by Wayland on Apr 13, 2022 10:44:15 GMT -8
It helped to have something to focus on. Working alongside lotus Eater to secure the space. To make sure that no more gunshots ring out, that there is no immediate threat present, and to keep any such threat from arising. Her head is still swimming from whatever Winter’s alchemists put in those drinks, adrenaline hasn’t burned away the buzz. It takes effort to concentrate, to keep her mind on task. So it’s understandable that it takes her some time to process exactly what is going on. It’s not even her first priority. Details about the situation start filtering through the more pressing issues in her mind. Mirror realities? Dopplegangers? Mimics? That sounds like something out of scifi, or a fantasy novel. The thought makes Wayland snort-laugh. Isn’t her life, all their lives, something out of a fantasy novel now? Magical and inconsistent and traumatic. Wait… does that mean there’s another her out there? ‘They will hunt talismans of your life,’ Uriel’s message said. The Ogre’s blood goes cold as memories swim up to her conscious mind. The most important talismans to her life. The faces she can’t look at too long, the memories that still ache in her chest. The ones she left behind. Left behind, and never looked back. Her doppelganger is going to reach out to them. Of course she would! She’s alone and scared in a city she’s never been in before, and Kate… Kate would know what to do. Kate would help. Oh god, oh god! Wayland is seized by the sudden, overwhelming dread that her clone will make contact with Kate before she herself can. Panic sends the Ogre digging in her pocket to produce her phone. Kate’s not saved in her contacts, but Wayland remembers the number. The number she had in 2017. What if it’s changed? Kate’s moved on, she moved out of their apartment, what if she got a new phone number? These thoughts plague Wayland as she listens to the phone ring and ring and ring, breath bated, teeth bared in a grimace. The line connects, “Kate!” the name comes like an explosive burst out from between Wayland’s lips. “Kate, are you-” “The voicemail box for this account has not been set up yet. If you’d like to leave a-” Plastic creaks in protest as Wayland’s grip on her phone tightens. She hadn’t answered. Is that a relief, or a worry? Kate had never bothered to set up her voicemails, but that doesn’t mean this is still her number. “Shit!” Wayland curses, pacing back and forth now as she holds the phone to her ear. At the sound of the beep, she freezes, breath stolen. There’s a pause now at the beginning of this message, and realizing that, she rushes to fill it. “Kate! Kate it’s-” Who? The woman who left you without a word years ago? Or were their words? Does Wayland have a Fetch out there who Kate remembers? Did they fall apart? Or does a Fetch sleep where Wayland once slept, next to Kate, breathing in the scent of her favorite shampoo? “-It’s me,” she finally chokes out. “Listen, you might get a- a weird call tonight. Just don’t pick up...” ‘Call me back at this number, please call me back, I miss you, oh god I miss you I’m sorry I-’ Wayland disconnects before those words can make it out from between her grit teeth. Swallowing back down as she stands and shakes with loneliness and anguish and guilt. Her stomach churns. The Ogre bolts for the bathroom before she can be sick on the floor of the club.
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Post by Henley on Apr 13, 2022 18:58:06 GMT -8
The Nymph made his way out to the street, tucking his Wyrd-summoned handgun into his jacket with a frown as he looked around for his duplicate. The Tolltakers were gone, off doing their job. Good shit. He thought about what he'd do next, and through his haze, he had some ideas.
"Gavin! Yuan!"
He waved to his motleymates.
"We need to get this shit locked down, and quick! Where would yours go?"
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Post by Gavin Graves on Apr 13, 2022 19:41:49 GMT -8
Gavin was still buzzing from the scintillating beverages he had consumed and operated a little loosely within his frame. His upper body flowing a little further than his lower with his movements. Not quite stumbling, but clearly inebriated.
The Beast rubbed his head with the palms of his hands and closed his eyes tightly at Henley's prompt, lolling his head numbly back and forth on his shoulders. His mind had been cleared earlier, so it wasn't too difficult to tune out the world a moment and get inside his own head.
"If he doesn't know about copies of you two, there's really only my apartment. I don't have a lot of tiess around here and almost no money to speak of. I didn't drive here for obvious reasons. So he'd need a way to get there. If I figured I was being hunted by me, I'd, uhhhh ... prepare for a variety of ways to go to ground: survival kit, hunting knife, sslash my tiress and then pick a direction with street level obstacles or lots nature to hide my tracks." He slurred his words some, but remained calm in the extraordinary circumstances.
The thought of a man knowing the depths of insanity Gavin knew to be true would have unsettled him if he had not taken special care to handle all the drugs he had taken.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Apr 13, 2022 20:05:52 GMT -8
Yuan looked every part the feral cat. His pupils were dilated, his claws were out. His clothes were clinking to him in glistening dampness. The shades had been lost in the crowd, along with the platter. The Ogre’s voice helped him ground his coursing thoughts. He tried closing his eyes and steady his breath.
“I think I know. I would like run to the triads, or Shen. I can’t lose this life I’ve built, Henley. I need a gun.”
It didn’t sound like a joke. It didn’t even sound like a bad joke. Instincts were screaming to eliminate this thread to his territory. To himself.
What if people likes normal Yuan better? What if he could be everything the Playmate couldn’t? Would Shen even see the difference?
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Post by Henley on Apr 14, 2022 10:25:24 GMT -8
"I've got you. One sec."
Henley stepped off the street into an alleyway, reached into his pocket and pulled on Glamour. The first time, it didn't work; the attempt to snatch a gun into reality simply fell apart on him because being high as balls sometimes made imagination run a little wild. He took a long, deep breath and tried a second time. This time, it worked; he produced a silenced Colt .45 from nowhere.
The heavy pistol was offered to Yuan.
"Good luck. Know that if either of you get burned, I've got you with Talos."
The Winter forger's work was well within Henley's price range.
"I've got Tolltakers out on mine who I need to go help. A ton rides on my accounts. I'll join you as soon as I can. You two going to split up and chase yours individually, or pair up?"
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Post by Bosko on Apr 15, 2022 11:50:25 GMT -8
"Yes... it... Seems I have." He watched the flood of indivduals leaving the area, some looking rather confused. Bosko's expression changed to one of confusion and mild worry, but only temporarily. He perked right back up when Dan asked for a coffee. "Coffee?. Ehh..... I will see what I can make." He dipped back into his truck, gathering the ingredients. He was out of coffee cups- needed to snag more of those. With what he HAD though? The sound of a food processor, of grainy things being poured in, a strong scent of coffee, and a few moments later... A small paper bowl of beige-colored balls was presented, smelling STRONGLY of coffee "Here- coffee orbs. I used leftover fruits, honey and some peanut butter to sweeten them, but it is mostly straight coffee beans. And the grinds. It will be VERY bitter. Plug your nose if you have to. Or do not- that will wake you up quicker." A small shake of his hand, causing the caffeinated circles to roll around in their paper prison, waiting for release. The recipe wasn't intended to be delicious necessarily (Though he did feel as if he'd done a good job with this batch), rather it was meant to be a caffeinated kick to the mouth. "So, what have I missed? And how can I help?"
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Lotus Eater
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Presence (4) Capable |Rigid Mask | Winter Mantle | Status (Licensed Security) | Autumn Goodwill (1)
Posts: 74
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Post by Lotus Eater on Apr 15, 2022 14:45:12 GMT -8
"The help would be appreciated"
Lotus said with a soft smile, breaking her severe, thoughtful,visage. The blaze was a welcome sight and The wizened was more than happy to have the support of a fighter and winter courtier.
"If my double is left to her devices, the mess it could cause is...undesirable. " she took a breath still trying to sober up.
"Besides I imagine we should handle both of our doubles quickly, i expect our services will be needed"
She glanced towards the city for a moment before moving to business. Smelling the air for a moment, as they let the contract she had activate locate her double.
"Any idea where your clone may go? "
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Post by Krakenbox on Apr 19, 2022 18:19:27 GMT -8
Lotus' senses ignited with the bells of the Golden Hoard tolled in her mind, vibrating her bones and teeth as they tuned to...herself. Reality cracked, vibrating and parting atoms into two different frequencies. She was gazing back at her and somewhere else at once, with two universes converging. Her Mask was a thick coat of wax running through her being, woven by the True Name shared by another. For all intents and purposes, this shouldn't make sense. It takes her another minute as she navigates her senses being split, like trying to walk while drunk. Wait, she was drunk. Not-her was herself. Maybe another metaphor? Whatever, herself was moving quickly towards the Strip.
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