Encounterlogs
Luciens Odd Encounter Sr Sarah
In a realm of tantalizing fantasies, Lucien Arkwright is ensnared in an illusory world teeming with extravagance. He faces the siren's call of Miss Inigo, who skillfully seeks to keep him intoxicated with visions of power and pleasure, urging him to sit upon a tempting throne. Though initially lulled into a false sense of sovereignty, Lucien is swept deeper into the opulent trap, his essence being drained away by the dream stalker's manipulative embrace. Despite sensing that something awry tugs at the edges of his awareness, he is unable to resist the allure, and the tale of his 'rise to power' serves as the enchanting lullaby that holds him captive. The throne’s sinister magic wraps around him, a love fierce enough to snare his heart and soul, while the subtle smile of Miss Inigo foreshadows the peril he is yet to fully comprehend.
Meanwhile, in the gritty and playful setting of an arcade, Autumn is approached by a desperate ghostly presence seeking her help from beyond the grave. After several unassuming events and the assistance of a youngster, she is drawn to an aged 'Street Fighter 2' arcade machine that peculiarly signals her with distorted messages like 'INSERT HELP', 'SMASH MACHINE', and 'BREAK MACHINE'. Autumn's attempts to heed these desperate injunctions result in a fierce altercation with the machine, which concludes with her delivering a punishing blow that cracks its screen. Despite her violent means to fulfill the ghost's request, the crowd's scrutiny and a confrontational manager force her to step away, leaving the apparition's fate hanging in the air. As Autumn exits the chaotic arcade, a serene voice whispers a grateful 'thank you' in the wind, signifying the ghost's release and concluding her strange but ultimately successful intervention.
(Lucien's odd encounter(SRSarah):SRSarah)
[Fri Nov 24 2023]
In a splendidly sumptuous parlor
The parlor, a grand chamber of evening's embrace, is a tableau vivant of opulence shadowed by twilight's touch. The walls, adorned in the deepest midnight blue, seem to absorb the light, giving the room a sense of infinite depth, as if one were stepping into the velvet of a starless sky.
Heavy drapes, the color of a moonlit ocean, frame the tall windows, the fabric parting just enough to hint at the enigmatic world beyond the glass. The air is a blend of polished wood and the lingering note of a perfume that spoke of old books and whispered secrets.
This parlor, with its tapestry of darkness and regal comfort, is not merely a space to inhabit; it is an invitation to linger within the embrace of the evening, to converse with the past, and to unwind the skeins of the day into the soft, hushing comfort of the night.
It is afternoon, about 55F(12C) degrees, and the sky is covered by grey clouds.
(Your target is attacked by a dream stalker who subjects them to their greatest fantasies in the dream world in order to keep their body passive while it's energies are fed upon. They need to, possibly with the help of allies entering their dreams, resist the temptation long enough for other allies to find them or for them to wake up.
)
Perhaps, Lucien was awake in his bed. Perhaps, he was sleeping in comfort. Either way, he finds himself somewhere rather peculiar. A palace made in gothic style, great marble floors of dark patterns and decorated stone walls lined with gold. The light is dim, perhaps too dim for a human, but right at home for one known to the world of night. In-front of him he finds endless tables, filled with foods most divine, aside of him, incredible women wearing outfits of all sorts, some risque, classy, their allure plain as they beckon to him. He finds himself spoken to by one in particular - wearing a most expensive dress. "Lord Arkwright?" she calls to him, "You were distracted. What would you like to experience today, my lord?"
With a shake of his head, the well-coiffed man casts his eyes around him, letting that gaze slip from woman to woman, and then to the decor of his newfound surroundings. That dim light is easily pierced, but that doesn't explain his sudden appearance in the opulent palace. A slow breath is drawn, the Arkwright isn't a man typically caught off-guard. In fact, he's made a living of gathering all the knowledge he can, so as to stay ahead of anything that might come out. Distracted isn't his style, but here he is. Maybe it was a longer night of substances than he expected. In either case, the dark-haired man shakes his head, turning to face the expensively dressed woman before him, "Yes, I suppose I was... caught in a moment of reverie." Languidly, he takes a step towards the woman, "Should I be burying the lede here, Miss.." Lucien doesn't have a name for her, and allows the sentence to trail.
The woman cocks her head at Lucien with an expression of confusion. "Miss Inigo, my Lord. Oh dear. I must work harder if my name has become so irrelevant to you. After you seized control of the Arkwright Family, we received the honor of serving you." she reminds the man, then gesturing, aiming to lead him further in. "Won't you sit down on the throne for now, Lord Arkwright?" she suggests, rather seductively, trying to lead the man to a massive golden throne. Was it there before? Surely it must have been.
On closer observation, parts of the room seem to ripple and shift whenever not being stared at. The atmosphere cloying and oppressive, yet strangely pleasant, like a hot kiss drawing the man into loving embrace.
"Ah, of... course, Miss Inigo. Thank you." If he's bewildered by the information so suddenly dropped in his lap, the man doesn't show it. "As is our right," is this a name pun? The man takes several steps forward at the Inigo's suggestion, turning to study the opulence as he's lead to the large throne. If there are alarms ringing in Lucien's head, he doesn't seem to be paying attention to them. Not yet, at least, and when he finally stands before that golden throne, Lucien turns to look back at the grandiose spread he's just left behind, locking eyes with the Inigo woman.
"Regale me with the tale of how I seized control, Miss Inigo. It is, of course, one of my favourites." He delivers this line while seating himself on that throne, looking quite at ease.
As Lucien sits down on the throne, something strange starts to happen. An odd, unnatural comfort washing over the man. Waves of addictive embrace, wrapping his body as if in warm hands, unseen, dragging him deeper into the cushioned seat of the throne. It longs for him, pulling not on his body but his very heart, as a love most powerful luring him into a trap most sweet. At the back of his mind, he may sense it. Sense that it is wrong. Feel something amiss with his power, fading, leaving him with every passing moment and - as if in response - the tiniest quirk of a smile appears on the Inigo's lips.
It fades quickly as she begins to tell. "But of course, Lord Arkwright. It was a most spectacular tale of course, we tell it frequently to each other, in tale of your might," she sucks up to the man a flirtatious croon, "It began, naturally, with James. It was amazing - how you outwitted him, lured him into your trap and brought him to his knees. It was magnificent. Of course, great things were expected ever since you managed to take control both, of the City Council and the Hand, but it was still most impressive..." she trails off in an expression of longing, "Ah. The way you got him to the basement of Howl..."
She talks on and on, the throne's influence dragging onto the dark haired man's very soul. She seems to have no intention to stop.
(Your target has been approached by a desperate ghost, unable to pass on due to some unresolved business on Earth. The ghost is unable to communicate directly, but can influence the world in small ways to give the target clues about what needs to be done.)
Autumn is looking around the Alley, pondering on the place. "Maybe I should leave this place as it is and do job serving drinks," she murmurs to herself as she heads for the arcade. The gaming machines catches her eyes, and she examines each one of them with curiosity and awe.
As Autumn steps into the nearby arcade, a panoply of multi-colored lights and various discordant sounds immediately reach Autumn's eyes and ears. Perhaps surprising for a small corner of Haven, there are multitude of games ranging from what is likely an era of gaming nostalgia all the way to the modern day. At a cursory glance, one can spy dated, yet classic entries like Ms. Pac-Man, yet also see along the walls various modern games like Time Crisis 5 and even a gigantic one like Halo: Fireteam Raven. At the center of the room, unassuming yet purposefully placed, is a silver and gray machine that bears the words 'CHANGE' smack dab on its surface.
"Woah," Autumn comments while she walks down the arcade. "I don't think I seen these before. Earth is strange." She then bumps into the silver and gray machine and with a few steps back, she examines it up and down.
The arcade is busy this evening, perhaps typical for a weekend, and a bunch of children seem to be with their families and playing an assortment of games. Most of them seem to be preoccupied with a game that involves rolling a small brown ball into a number of multi-sized holes, each with a different number upon them. The machine that Autumn is occupied with, however, seems rather mundane given that it is surrounded by an utter riotous display of color and sound from the various arcade games. Upon its surface, it seems to accept dollar bills and even a modern fixture of accepting credit cards, from which it then deposits a small number of tokens into a metal bowl at the bottom of the machine. "Excuse me, ma'am, are you using the machine?" a small voice inquires, coming from behind Autumn.
"Not really," Autumn shakes her head in reply to the voice. "I'm just looking around place." She attempts to examine the 'CHANGE' machine more before she steps aside for whoever is behind her. "Do you know what this machine is?"
As Autumn turns Autumn's attention to the voice behind them, it is revealed to have come from a small red-headed boy, likely no older than six or seven, with a large twenty-dollar bill in his hands. Looking for any reason to explain, likely in the child's mind, something that he knows that the inquiring adult might not, the child says, "It's for, um, putting your money in and then it gives you tokens to go play games." The boy seems rather proud of his answer altogether, and he demonstrates his knowledge by reaching high upon the tips of his toes and depositing the bill into the machine. The 'CHANGE' machine whirrs and gives an almost ominous thunk as it accepts the bill before it unceremoniously dumps a bunch of tokens into the bowl, from which the child scoops most eagerly and then shows Autumn. "See, miss?"
With a look between the machine and the boy, Autumn nods her head. "I see," she says to the boy. "I never seen these before back home." Turning around, the dusky person continues to browse the arcade.
It is as Autumn peruses the arcade that one of the dated arcade games with the words 'Street Fighter 2: Turbo' crosses Autumn's eye. No one seems to be playing the game, and it has been relegated to a rather obscure corner of the arcade. Periodically, in between a series of low-bit action between a variety of two-dimensional wacky characters fighting each other, an orange 'INSERT COINS' marquee flashes repeatedly on the center of the screen. Strangely enough, the arcade machine briefly distorts, changing into the words 'INSERT HELP' before crackling back to its original words.
Drawn by the game, Autumn examines the screen of the arcade machine before she looks down at her side-purse. She zips it open and fishes inside to find a couple coins in her hand. Once she zips the purse closed, she looks around for the slot on the machine and it takes a while until she finds it and inserts one of the coins.
Lighting up with no small amount of vivid color and sound despite its age, the 'Street Fighter 2: Turbo' arcade machine resoundedly beckons Autumn to choose a fighter upon a map of Earth. There are seemingly sixteen to choose from, each with their own portrait. Oddly, however, there is another portrait that hangs on the upper right of the screen, completely adrift from the others, whose portrait is an utterly jarring distortion and amalgamation of the other characters.
Standing up to watch the screen, Autumn glances at the buttons and looks at the character roster. "Hmm. So that is what Earth looks like," she comments as she slowly presses the buttons with her right hand. "I guess those represent each part of Earth." Her curiosity then falls upon the amalgamation and presses the buttons to select the strange portrait.
As Autumn presses one of the buttons to select her fighter, there is a brief moment where the power in the arcade flickers. A gasp of worry seems to grip some of the arcade's patrons as the power flickers, but once it seems that everything is fine, the normal chaotic sounds of the arcade return. For some reason, Autumn's character selection seems to have defaulted on Ryu, a white-garbed fighter from Japan, and for the first round of that game, Autumn is put against a red-garbed fighter named Ken who is apparently from the USA. As the first round lights up the screen, the arcade machine flickers again as text flickers across the screen and under what is Ryu's health are the words 'SMASH' instead of what is likely supposed to be Ryu's name.
Turning away from the screen upon the power flickering, Autumn glances around before she looks back at the game. "Smash," she reads the word under the health bar and proceeds to play. Mashing the buttons randomly with just one hand, she keeps her eyes on the screen to watch the pixelated action of kicks and punches.
Every chaotic button mash from Autumn seems to elicit a reaction from the game as Ryu propels himself with a series of kicks and punches towards the unfortunate Ken, with Autumn even managing to unintentionally elicit a blue blast of energy from Ryu's hands. 'HADOKEN!' the white-garbed fighter shouts as the blue orb flies from his palms and erupts into the red-garbed fighter. As Ken's health declines on the machine, another glitch seems to distort the screen as Ken's health is suddenly changed to vastly exceed what it is likely capable of. Even more strange, where once there were the words 'Ken', now there are the words 'MACHINE'.
"Smash that guy!" Autumn says to the screen as she gets her fighter to beat up her opponent. When she sees that the opponent's health change after decreasing, one of her eyes twitch and she scowls. "No fair! Get smashed!" Her button mashing intensifies to the point that she's basically smashing the buttons.
Even as Ken's abnormally large health goes down, a number of constant glitches occur that cause his impossible amounts of health to be restored. Perhaps even more frustrating, Autumn's character finds itself increasingly on the back foot by the computer-controlled Ken that is unleashing combo after combo. Before long, it doesn't take much before the dread words of 'KEN WINS!' flare up on the screen and Autumn finds herself greeting a reset screen with the announcer yelling out the words 'ROUND 2!'. The names beneath both fighters have changed now, with the left side saying 'BREAK' and the right side still saying 'MACHINE' under the respective health bars for each fighter.
While Ken's abnormally large health goes down, a number of constant glitches occur that cause his impossible amounts of health to be restored. Perhaps even more frustrating, Autumn's character finds itself increasingly on the back foot by the computer-controlled Ken that is unleashing combo after combo. Before long, it doesn't take much before the dread words of 'KEN WINS!' flare up on the screen and Autumn finds herself greeting a reset screen with the announcer yelling out the words 'ROUND 2!'. The names beneath both fighters have changed now, with the left side saying 'BREAK' and the right side still saying 'MACHINE' under the respective health bars for each fighter. (fixed)
Upon seeing Ken win the round, Autumn lets her mouth drop and stares at the screen in disbelief. "I'm going to win this time," she clenches her hand before she smashes the buttons even more. "Take that! And that!" She hollers with narrowing eyes.
Autumn's actions seem to have the desired effect, as a number of kicks, punches, and the occasional blue blast of energy come from Ryu's hands to collide into the red-garbed Ken. Little by little, Ken's health falls under the onslaught of Autumn's button mashing. Strangely, the glitches that were plaguing the game have all but otherwise faded, but as soon as the final blow comes from Ryu to knock out Ken, the entire arcade machine rumbles and roars with a sound that is likely not originating from the game itself.
"I... won. I won!" Just as Autumn is about to celebrate her victory, she jumps at the sound and steps back from the machine. "Umm, maybe I get prize for victory?" She begins to wonder and continues to watch the screen.
The roaring abates from the machine just as quickly as it came and Autumn is rewarded for Autumn's efforts in the game with a few prize tickets, albeit not that many by comparison to how many other patrons have. 'CONTINUE?' then flashes across the screen, prompting Autumn for input. Each of the letters making up the 'CONTINUE?' on the screen flicker and distort each time they appear on the screen, eventually reconstructing themselves to form the words 'BREAK MACHINE'.
"You... want me to break machine?" Autumn takes a look around the rest of the arcade before she looks back to the game. "I can't do it with one hand, and I don't want to get in trouble. But maybe." She then looks at her bandaged arm and as she removes the sling, she moves it around. "I think bones are fixed and healed enough."
Finally, the glitches seem to die down as Autumn indicates that the woman is willing to break the machine. As the display on the monitor shifts to the next fighter that Ryu is set to fight, the words 'PLEASE' flash across the screen in the same orange-hued font as before. The arcade's power begins to flicker again, as if the very place itself was writhing in anticipation of what Autumn might do.
With a nod of her head, Autumn readies her hands, glancing at her left arm and taking a deep breath. "Here I go." Slowly approaching the machine, she raises her right fist throws a punch in an attempt to smash the screen.
With a clenched fist, SREthan lets Autumn's fist fly right towards the thick monitor of the Street Fighter 2 arcade machine -- but is met only with a painful shooting sensation that runs up in a shock up Autumn's arm with little to no damage done to the arcade machine at all. The arcade machine, however, is insistent as the word 'PLEASE' flashes in greater intensity. The word continues to glitch and multiply across the screen and the machine itself seems to shudder and quake. Fortunately, this noise doesn't seem to break past the loud ambiance of the arcade with many patrons lost to their own devices.
With a clenched fist, Autumn lets Autumn's fist fly right towards the thick monitor of the Street Fighter 2 arcade machine -- but is met only with a painful shooting sensation that runs up in a shock up Autumn's arm with little to no damage done to the arcade machine at all. The arcade machine, however, is insistent as the word 'PLEASE' flashes in greater intensity. The word continues to glitch and multiply across the screen and the machine itself seems to shudder and quake. Fortunately, this noise doesn't seem to break past the loud ambiance of the arcade with many patrons lost to their own devices. (fixed)
"Damn," Autumn mutters, rubbing her right hand with a small wince. Facing the machine, she grits her teeth and prepares to strike once more. "Please let my left arm be healed," she quietly says to herself as she raises both fists this time. "Concentrate. Unleash full power. Go berserk." And then she proceeds another attempt to smash the screen with fury.
Channeling the full extent of Autumn's power, with anger and wroth at the forefront of the blow, Autumn's fist flies again towards the screen and at least manages to put a large crack right smack dab in the center of it. A series of dead pixels block a large portion of the screen and whatever is on it is utterly damaged. Unfortunately, Autumn's display does attract some attention as the machine is cracked. There are various patrons and their children, including the one red-haired child, now staring in Autumn's direction.
Catching her breath, Autumn notices something and turns to find the patrons, an 'oh shit' look on her face. "Umm, I found problem with power," Autumn says while she attempts to compose herself like nothing happened. "So I'm going to take machine elsewhere to prevent more problems." She then moves to push the arcade machine, or at least pretends to.
Some of the patrons are convinced, but many seem like they are not. There are hushed murmurs and even the perceptible mutterings of, '... maybe get the manager?' audible through the din of the arcade. The large crack on the screen and the distorted monitor created by Autumn's fury-filled jab is likely speaking louder than Autumn's attempts at placating the crowd. If the arcade machine is offering any indication of being sated through its once-glitchy requests, it's showing no signs of life in that regard.
Turning her gaze away from the crowd, Autumn examines the machine for a moment. "Are you completely broken yet?" she whispers, quiet enough for anyone else to not hear. "Everyone is watching, and I'm not sure if you are free, but I will have to get you out if there is need." She continues to push the machine, attempting to move it.
The machine offers no indication that it has, in fact, been placated in its once fervent demands. Rather, as Autumn continues to shake it rather furiously much to the consternation and horror of all those assembled, the arcade machine itself dies entirely. Finally, a man in a uniform that suggests authority over the arcade moves over to Autumn and begins to yell, "Hey! Hey! Stop it! What are you doing!?" His voice is furious, looking as if were about to go red in the face in his efforts to try to convince Autumn to cease Autumn's hostility towards the machine.
Autumn freezes and stops pushing the deceased machine, slowly turning her head at the man. "Sorry," she says as she backs away from the machine. "I must have mashed buttons too hard and it broke. And I tried to fix it but it got worse." While she speaks, she slips her left arm back into the sling, despite it being mostly healed by now.
"You need to leave. Now," the manager says to Autumn, his tone severe as more and more onlookers seem to be gathering around to see what is going on.
"...Okay," Autumn then turns to leave the arcade and head outside of the Alley. "Looks like I won't be getting job here anytime soon," she murmurs as she looks up at the night sky. "I should leave it as it is. But I guess arm seems healed."
As Autumn begins her departure from the arcade, the arcade machine flickers to life as the manager begins to do much the same as Autumn did -- but likely in an effort to try to save it. The air tonight is chilly and there are a vast amount of lights and even distant cheering coming from the direction of the college campus. A slight breeze is carried on the air, likely making the temperature even worse but it seems otherwise tempered against Autumn's ensemble. Faint, but barely perceptible, a voice rings out from the wind itself. "Thank... you," the voice says, little more than passing whisper before dispelled by the distant sound of a cheer from the nearby football game.
Meanwhile, in the gritty and playful setting of an arcade, Autumn is approached by a desperate ghostly presence seeking her help from beyond the grave. After several unassuming events and the assistance of a youngster, she is drawn to an aged 'Street Fighter 2' arcade machine that peculiarly signals her with distorted messages like 'INSERT HELP', 'SMASH MACHINE', and 'BREAK MACHINE'. Autumn's attempts to heed these desperate injunctions result in a fierce altercation with the machine, which concludes with her delivering a punishing blow that cracks its screen. Despite her violent means to fulfill the ghost's request, the crowd's scrutiny and a confrontational manager force her to step away, leaving the apparition's fate hanging in the air. As Autumn exits the chaotic arcade, a serene voice whispers a grateful 'thank you' in the wind, signifying the ghost's release and concluding her strange but ultimately successful intervention.
(Lucien's odd encounter(SRSarah):SRSarah)
[Fri Nov 24 2023]
In a splendidly sumptuous parlor
The parlor, a grand chamber of evening's embrace, is a tableau vivant of opulence shadowed by twilight's touch. The walls, adorned in the deepest midnight blue, seem to absorb the light, giving the room a sense of infinite depth, as if one were stepping into the velvet of a starless sky.
Heavy drapes, the color of a moonlit ocean, frame the tall windows, the fabric parting just enough to hint at the enigmatic world beyond the glass. The air is a blend of polished wood and the lingering note of a perfume that spoke of old books and whispered secrets.
This parlor, with its tapestry of darkness and regal comfort, is not merely a space to inhabit; it is an invitation to linger within the embrace of the evening, to converse with the past, and to unwind the skeins of the day into the soft, hushing comfort of the night.
It is afternoon, about 55F(12C) degrees, and the sky is covered by grey clouds.
(Your target is attacked by a dream stalker who subjects them to their greatest fantasies in the dream world in order to keep their body passive while it's energies are fed upon. They need to, possibly with the help of allies entering their dreams, resist the temptation long enough for other allies to find them or for them to wake up.
)
Perhaps, Lucien was awake in his bed. Perhaps, he was sleeping in comfort. Either way, he finds himself somewhere rather peculiar. A palace made in gothic style, great marble floors of dark patterns and decorated stone walls lined with gold. The light is dim, perhaps too dim for a human, but right at home for one known to the world of night. In-front of him he finds endless tables, filled with foods most divine, aside of him, incredible women wearing outfits of all sorts, some risque, classy, their allure plain as they beckon to him. He finds himself spoken to by one in particular - wearing a most expensive dress. "Lord Arkwright?" she calls to him, "You were distracted. What would you like to experience today, my lord?"
With a shake of his head, the well-coiffed man casts his eyes around him, letting that gaze slip from woman to woman, and then to the decor of his newfound surroundings. That dim light is easily pierced, but that doesn't explain his sudden appearance in the opulent palace. A slow breath is drawn, the Arkwright isn't a man typically caught off-guard. In fact, he's made a living of gathering all the knowledge he can, so as to stay ahead of anything that might come out. Distracted isn't his style, but here he is. Maybe it was a longer night of substances than he expected. In either case, the dark-haired man shakes his head, turning to face the expensively dressed woman before him, "Yes, I suppose I was... caught in a moment of reverie." Languidly, he takes a step towards the woman, "Should I be burying the lede here, Miss.." Lucien doesn't have a name for her, and allows the sentence to trail.
The woman cocks her head at Lucien with an expression of confusion. "Miss Inigo, my Lord. Oh dear. I must work harder if my name has become so irrelevant to you. After you seized control of the Arkwright Family, we received the honor of serving you." she reminds the man, then gesturing, aiming to lead him further in. "Won't you sit down on the throne for now, Lord Arkwright?" she suggests, rather seductively, trying to lead the man to a massive golden throne. Was it there before? Surely it must have been.
On closer observation, parts of the room seem to ripple and shift whenever not being stared at. The atmosphere cloying and oppressive, yet strangely pleasant, like a hot kiss drawing the man into loving embrace.
"Ah, of... course, Miss Inigo. Thank you." If he's bewildered by the information so suddenly dropped in his lap, the man doesn't show it. "As is our right," is this a name pun? The man takes several steps forward at the Inigo's suggestion, turning to study the opulence as he's lead to the large throne. If there are alarms ringing in Lucien's head, he doesn't seem to be paying attention to them. Not yet, at least, and when he finally stands before that golden throne, Lucien turns to look back at the grandiose spread he's just left behind, locking eyes with the Inigo woman.
"Regale me with the tale of how I seized control, Miss Inigo. It is, of course, one of my favourites." He delivers this line while seating himself on that throne, looking quite at ease.
As Lucien sits down on the throne, something strange starts to happen. An odd, unnatural comfort washing over the man. Waves of addictive embrace, wrapping his body as if in warm hands, unseen, dragging him deeper into the cushioned seat of the throne. It longs for him, pulling not on his body but his very heart, as a love most powerful luring him into a trap most sweet. At the back of his mind, he may sense it. Sense that it is wrong. Feel something amiss with his power, fading, leaving him with every passing moment and - as if in response - the tiniest quirk of a smile appears on the Inigo's lips.
It fades quickly as she begins to tell. "But of course, Lord Arkwright. It was a most spectacular tale of course, we tell it frequently to each other, in tale of your might," she sucks up to the man a flirtatious croon, "It began, naturally, with James. It was amazing - how you outwitted him, lured him into your trap and brought him to his knees. It was magnificent. Of course, great things were expected ever since you managed to take control both, of the City Council and the Hand, but it was still most impressive..." she trails off in an expression of longing, "Ah. The way you got him to the basement of Howl..."
She talks on and on, the throne's influence dragging onto the dark haired man's very soul. She seems to have no intention to stop.
(Your target has been approached by a desperate ghost, unable to pass on due to some unresolved business on Earth. The ghost is unable to communicate directly, but can influence the world in small ways to give the target clues about what needs to be done.)
Autumn is looking around the Alley, pondering on the place. "Maybe I should leave this place as it is and do job serving drinks," she murmurs to herself as she heads for the arcade. The gaming machines catches her eyes, and she examines each one of them with curiosity and awe.
As Autumn steps into the nearby arcade, a panoply of multi-colored lights and various discordant sounds immediately reach Autumn's eyes and ears. Perhaps surprising for a small corner of Haven, there are multitude of games ranging from what is likely an era of gaming nostalgia all the way to the modern day. At a cursory glance, one can spy dated, yet classic entries like Ms. Pac-Man, yet also see along the walls various modern games like Time Crisis 5 and even a gigantic one like Halo: Fireteam Raven. At the center of the room, unassuming yet purposefully placed, is a silver and gray machine that bears the words 'CHANGE' smack dab on its surface.
"Woah," Autumn comments while she walks down the arcade. "I don't think I seen these before. Earth is strange." She then bumps into the silver and gray machine and with a few steps back, she examines it up and down.
The arcade is busy this evening, perhaps typical for a weekend, and a bunch of children seem to be with their families and playing an assortment of games. Most of them seem to be preoccupied with a game that involves rolling a small brown ball into a number of multi-sized holes, each with a different number upon them. The machine that Autumn is occupied with, however, seems rather mundane given that it is surrounded by an utter riotous display of color and sound from the various arcade games. Upon its surface, it seems to accept dollar bills and even a modern fixture of accepting credit cards, from which it then deposits a small number of tokens into a metal bowl at the bottom of the machine. "Excuse me, ma'am, are you using the machine?" a small voice inquires, coming from behind Autumn.
"Not really," Autumn shakes her head in reply to the voice. "I'm just looking around place." She attempts to examine the 'CHANGE' machine more before she steps aside for whoever is behind her. "Do you know what this machine is?"
As Autumn turns Autumn's attention to the voice behind them, it is revealed to have come from a small red-headed boy, likely no older than six or seven, with a large twenty-dollar bill in his hands. Looking for any reason to explain, likely in the child's mind, something that he knows that the inquiring adult might not, the child says, "It's for, um, putting your money in and then it gives you tokens to go play games." The boy seems rather proud of his answer altogether, and he demonstrates his knowledge by reaching high upon the tips of his toes and depositing the bill into the machine. The 'CHANGE' machine whirrs and gives an almost ominous thunk as it accepts the bill before it unceremoniously dumps a bunch of tokens into the bowl, from which the child scoops most eagerly and then shows Autumn. "See, miss?"
With a look between the machine and the boy, Autumn nods her head. "I see," she says to the boy. "I never seen these before back home." Turning around, the dusky person continues to browse the arcade.
It is as Autumn peruses the arcade that one of the dated arcade games with the words 'Street Fighter 2: Turbo' crosses Autumn's eye. No one seems to be playing the game, and it has been relegated to a rather obscure corner of the arcade. Periodically, in between a series of low-bit action between a variety of two-dimensional wacky characters fighting each other, an orange 'INSERT COINS' marquee flashes repeatedly on the center of the screen. Strangely enough, the arcade machine briefly distorts, changing into the words 'INSERT HELP' before crackling back to its original words.
Drawn by the game, Autumn examines the screen of the arcade machine before she looks down at her side-purse. She zips it open and fishes inside to find a couple coins in her hand. Once she zips the purse closed, she looks around for the slot on the machine and it takes a while until she finds it and inserts one of the coins.
Lighting up with no small amount of vivid color and sound despite its age, the 'Street Fighter 2: Turbo' arcade machine resoundedly beckons Autumn to choose a fighter upon a map of Earth. There are seemingly sixteen to choose from, each with their own portrait. Oddly, however, there is another portrait that hangs on the upper right of the screen, completely adrift from the others, whose portrait is an utterly jarring distortion and amalgamation of the other characters.
Standing up to watch the screen, Autumn glances at the buttons and looks at the character roster. "Hmm. So that is what Earth looks like," she comments as she slowly presses the buttons with her right hand. "I guess those represent each part of Earth." Her curiosity then falls upon the amalgamation and presses the buttons to select the strange portrait.
As Autumn presses one of the buttons to select her fighter, there is a brief moment where the power in the arcade flickers. A gasp of worry seems to grip some of the arcade's patrons as the power flickers, but once it seems that everything is fine, the normal chaotic sounds of the arcade return. For some reason, Autumn's character selection seems to have defaulted on Ryu, a white-garbed fighter from Japan, and for the first round of that game, Autumn is put against a red-garbed fighter named Ken who is apparently from the USA. As the first round lights up the screen, the arcade machine flickers again as text flickers across the screen and under what is Ryu's health are the words 'SMASH' instead of what is likely supposed to be Ryu's name.
Turning away from the screen upon the power flickering, Autumn glances around before she looks back at the game. "Smash," she reads the word under the health bar and proceeds to play. Mashing the buttons randomly with just one hand, she keeps her eyes on the screen to watch the pixelated action of kicks and punches.
Every chaotic button mash from Autumn seems to elicit a reaction from the game as Ryu propels himself with a series of kicks and punches towards the unfortunate Ken, with Autumn even managing to unintentionally elicit a blue blast of energy from Ryu's hands. 'HADOKEN!' the white-garbed fighter shouts as the blue orb flies from his palms and erupts into the red-garbed fighter. As Ken's health declines on the machine, another glitch seems to distort the screen as Ken's health is suddenly changed to vastly exceed what it is likely capable of. Even more strange, where once there were the words 'Ken', now there are the words 'MACHINE'.
"Smash that guy!" Autumn says to the screen as she gets her fighter to beat up her opponent. When she sees that the opponent's health change after decreasing, one of her eyes twitch and she scowls. "No fair! Get smashed!" Her button mashing intensifies to the point that she's basically smashing the buttons.
Even as Ken's abnormally large health goes down, a number of constant glitches occur that cause his impossible amounts of health to be restored. Perhaps even more frustrating, Autumn's character finds itself increasingly on the back foot by the computer-controlled Ken that is unleashing combo after combo. Before long, it doesn't take much before the dread words of 'KEN WINS!' flare up on the screen and Autumn finds herself greeting a reset screen with the announcer yelling out the words 'ROUND 2!'. The names beneath both fighters have changed now, with the left side saying 'BREAK' and the right side still saying 'MACHINE' under the respective health bars for each fighter.
While Ken's abnormally large health goes down, a number of constant glitches occur that cause his impossible amounts of health to be restored. Perhaps even more frustrating, Autumn's character finds itself increasingly on the back foot by the computer-controlled Ken that is unleashing combo after combo. Before long, it doesn't take much before the dread words of 'KEN WINS!' flare up on the screen and Autumn finds herself greeting a reset screen with the announcer yelling out the words 'ROUND 2!'. The names beneath both fighters have changed now, with the left side saying 'BREAK' and the right side still saying 'MACHINE' under the respective health bars for each fighter. (fixed)
Upon seeing Ken win the round, Autumn lets her mouth drop and stares at the screen in disbelief. "I'm going to win this time," she clenches her hand before she smashes the buttons even more. "Take that! And that!" She hollers with narrowing eyes.
Autumn's actions seem to have the desired effect, as a number of kicks, punches, and the occasional blue blast of energy come from Ryu's hands to collide into the red-garbed Ken. Little by little, Ken's health falls under the onslaught of Autumn's button mashing. Strangely, the glitches that were plaguing the game have all but otherwise faded, but as soon as the final blow comes from Ryu to knock out Ken, the entire arcade machine rumbles and roars with a sound that is likely not originating from the game itself.
"I... won. I won!" Just as Autumn is about to celebrate her victory, she jumps at the sound and steps back from the machine. "Umm, maybe I get prize for victory?" She begins to wonder and continues to watch the screen.
The roaring abates from the machine just as quickly as it came and Autumn is rewarded for Autumn's efforts in the game with a few prize tickets, albeit not that many by comparison to how many other patrons have. 'CONTINUE?' then flashes across the screen, prompting Autumn for input. Each of the letters making up the 'CONTINUE?' on the screen flicker and distort each time they appear on the screen, eventually reconstructing themselves to form the words 'BREAK MACHINE'.
"You... want me to break machine?" Autumn takes a look around the rest of the arcade before she looks back to the game. "I can't do it with one hand, and I don't want to get in trouble. But maybe." She then looks at her bandaged arm and as she removes the sling, she moves it around. "I think bones are fixed and healed enough."
Finally, the glitches seem to die down as Autumn indicates that the woman is willing to break the machine. As the display on the monitor shifts to the next fighter that Ryu is set to fight, the words 'PLEASE' flash across the screen in the same orange-hued font as before. The arcade's power begins to flicker again, as if the very place itself was writhing in anticipation of what Autumn might do.
With a nod of her head, Autumn readies her hands, glancing at her left arm and taking a deep breath. "Here I go." Slowly approaching the machine, she raises her right fist throws a punch in an attempt to smash the screen.
With a clenched fist, SREthan lets Autumn's fist fly right towards the thick monitor of the Street Fighter 2 arcade machine -- but is met only with a painful shooting sensation that runs up in a shock up Autumn's arm with little to no damage done to the arcade machine at all. The arcade machine, however, is insistent as the word 'PLEASE' flashes in greater intensity. The word continues to glitch and multiply across the screen and the machine itself seems to shudder and quake. Fortunately, this noise doesn't seem to break past the loud ambiance of the arcade with many patrons lost to their own devices.
With a clenched fist, Autumn lets Autumn's fist fly right towards the thick monitor of the Street Fighter 2 arcade machine -- but is met only with a painful shooting sensation that runs up in a shock up Autumn's arm with little to no damage done to the arcade machine at all. The arcade machine, however, is insistent as the word 'PLEASE' flashes in greater intensity. The word continues to glitch and multiply across the screen and the machine itself seems to shudder and quake. Fortunately, this noise doesn't seem to break past the loud ambiance of the arcade with many patrons lost to their own devices. (fixed)
"Damn," Autumn mutters, rubbing her right hand with a small wince. Facing the machine, she grits her teeth and prepares to strike once more. "Please let my left arm be healed," she quietly says to herself as she raises both fists this time. "Concentrate. Unleash full power. Go berserk." And then she proceeds another attempt to smash the screen with fury.
Channeling the full extent of Autumn's power, with anger and wroth at the forefront of the blow, Autumn's fist flies again towards the screen and at least manages to put a large crack right smack dab in the center of it. A series of dead pixels block a large portion of the screen and whatever is on it is utterly damaged. Unfortunately, Autumn's display does attract some attention as the machine is cracked. There are various patrons and their children, including the one red-haired child, now staring in Autumn's direction.
Catching her breath, Autumn notices something and turns to find the patrons, an 'oh shit' look on her face. "Umm, I found problem with power," Autumn says while she attempts to compose herself like nothing happened. "So I'm going to take machine elsewhere to prevent more problems." She then moves to push the arcade machine, or at least pretends to.
Some of the patrons are convinced, but many seem like they are not. There are hushed murmurs and even the perceptible mutterings of, '... maybe get the manager?' audible through the din of the arcade. The large crack on the screen and the distorted monitor created by Autumn's fury-filled jab is likely speaking louder than Autumn's attempts at placating the crowd. If the arcade machine is offering any indication of being sated through its once-glitchy requests, it's showing no signs of life in that regard.
Turning her gaze away from the crowd, Autumn examines the machine for a moment. "Are you completely broken yet?" she whispers, quiet enough for anyone else to not hear. "Everyone is watching, and I'm not sure if you are free, but I will have to get you out if there is need." She continues to push the machine, attempting to move it.
The machine offers no indication that it has, in fact, been placated in its once fervent demands. Rather, as Autumn continues to shake it rather furiously much to the consternation and horror of all those assembled, the arcade machine itself dies entirely. Finally, a man in a uniform that suggests authority over the arcade moves over to Autumn and begins to yell, "Hey! Hey! Stop it! What are you doing!?" His voice is furious, looking as if were about to go red in the face in his efforts to try to convince Autumn to cease Autumn's hostility towards the machine.
Autumn freezes and stops pushing the deceased machine, slowly turning her head at the man. "Sorry," she says as she backs away from the machine. "I must have mashed buttons too hard and it broke. And I tried to fix it but it got worse." While she speaks, she slips her left arm back into the sling, despite it being mostly healed by now.
"You need to leave. Now," the manager says to Autumn, his tone severe as more and more onlookers seem to be gathering around to see what is going on.
"...Okay," Autumn then turns to leave the arcade and head outside of the Alley. "Looks like I won't be getting job here anytime soon," she murmurs as she looks up at the night sky. "I should leave it as it is. But I guess arm seems healed."
As Autumn begins her departure from the arcade, the arcade machine flickers to life as the manager begins to do much the same as Autumn did -- but likely in an effort to try to save it. The air tonight is chilly and there are a vast amount of lights and even distant cheering coming from the direction of the college campus. A slight breeze is carried on the air, likely making the temperature even worse but it seems otherwise tempered against Autumn's ensemble. Faint, but barely perceptible, a voice rings out from the wind itself. "Thank... you," the voice says, little more than passing whisper before dispelled by the distant sound of a cheer from the nearby football game.