>>30121627
>"Tracy, do you know who that is?" Subtly signal in her direction.
I don't even care that much if she sees us, to be honest. Should clear this up.

>>30121627
>"Tracy, do you know who that is?" Subtly signal in her direction.

woah this is up early!

>>30121627
Oh, this is on again.
>"Tracy, do you know who that is?" Subtly signal in her direction.
If she doesn't, we can try the aggressive approach.

"Tracy, do you know who that is?" You subtly signal in the direction of the woman, and Tracy glances back, obviously looking for someone. "Guileless" is the word that comes to mind.

She apparently does, since after a couple seconds, she catches sight of the woman and turns back to you. "Um... maybe? She looks familiar." She stands there, trying to think. "Why, do you know her?"

"It's not a big deal," you say, quietly. "She just was at the theatre where we went on our date last week and followed us around some there."

Tracy glances back at the woman, a tiny bit of panic on her face. "Why didn't you say something then?"

"I didn't think it was that important. I could've just been being paranoid."

"Okay. Okay." Tracy sports a worried look, and taps her foot impatiently. "I think I've seen her before a couple times, but I don't know where. It's on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite pin it down... ugh!" She stomps her foot.

>"Calm down, it's not that big a deal. She's not causing problems, just following us. Just ignore her."
>"I'll go deal with her, you buy the tickets, alright?"
>"We can just lose her in the zoo."
>Write-in.

>>30121930
> "Well, it's not a big deal at the moment, how do yu want to approach this? Confront her or just get on with our date?"

>>30121930
>"Calm down, it's not that big a deal. She's not causing problems, just following us. Just ignore her."
We can look for her afterwards maybe

>>30121986
I'll support this, let's allow Tracy a say here.

>>30121930
this >>30121986

"Well, it's not a big deal at the moment. What do you want to do? Confront her, or just get on with our date?"

"Um," Tracy manages, biting her lip, then putting her thumb in her mouth and biting that. She glances from you to the woman, who is apparently checking her cell phone now. "I-I don't know. I mean, I'd rather she wasn't around, but I don't want to start a fight either..." Tracy is positively twitching from nervousness, and putting her on the spot like this isn't helping.

"It's okay, Tracy," you say, soothingly.

>Confront the woman.
>Ignore the woman.
>Evade the woman.
>Write-in.

>>30122132
>Confront

>>30122132
>Confront the woman.
"She'd be pretty damn crazy to start a fight somewhere like this. It'll be fine."

>>30122132
>Confront the woman.
Tell her it won't be that bad. You don't have to be too confrontational after all.

"I'll go handle it," you say, finishing your thought. "I'm sure she won't start a fight. I'll just have a nice, normal conversation with her. You just buy our tickets, okay?"

Tracy nods meekly, and you walk over to the woman. She looks up from her cell phone at you, a bored expression on her face. "You want something?" She asks.

>Intimidating/confrontational. "Yeah, for you to fuck off."
>Curious. "Look, why are you following us around?"
>Tired. "Please, I don't really care why you're doing it, just stop following us around. It's distracting and it's bothering Tracy."
>Write-in.

>>30122265
>Curious. "Look, why are you following us around?"

>>30122265
>Curious. "Look, why are you following us around?"
Let's be friendly for now.

>>30122265
>Curious. "Look, why are you following us around?"

Probably just Jim.

"Look, why are you following us around?"

The woman feigns ignorance. "Following you around...?"

"Yeah. You followed us around last week too, don't pretend you weren't."

"What, last week?" The woman scrunches up her face as if in thought. "I don't remember that."

"Last Saturday, I saw you watching us at the movie theatre. Didn't say anything then because I didn't want to start a scene."

"Oh!" She says, as if you've reminded her of it. "No, no, I was just trying to figure out whether you and her were a couple or just friends. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable," she says, scratching her neck and averting her gaze. "Um, it really is just a coincidence that we went to the same places. Hand to God." She raises her right hand as though swearing an oath.

<You can make her talk,> the guttural voice of your Cambion suggests.

>You've made your point as well as you can. If she does keep following you around, she'll have to be more subtle about it, at least.
>Keep pressing. Tell her you know she's lying and that she had better knock it off.
>You know she's lying to you. The Cambion's right. You're strong, tough, and fast. You can make her talk. Grab her shoulder, start applying pressure until she tells the truth.
>Write-in.

>>30122417
>"And why would you want to know that, exactly?"

>>30122417
>Laugh off her attempts at lying. Seriously, she just coincidentally happened to be here as well? C'mon, you're not that dumb, but you don't particularly care that much either. Just curious what made you a target for such stalking.

>>30122417
Coincidence that you've been following our path exactly through the zoo? Tell the truth, Jim sent you, didn't he?

>>30122496
>Coincidence that you've been following our path exactly through the zoo?
You're still buying tickets, you haven't actually gone into the zoo yet.

>>30122512
Well, coincidence that she happened to be at the zoo then.

"You really expect me to believe that you not only just so happened to follow me around at the movie theatre, but you also just so happened to come to the zoo as well?"

She shrugs. "You can believe whatever you want. I think I've got better things to do with my time than follow a couple teenage girls around. Christ, paranoid much? What, do you think you're so hot that every straight woman who sees you feels compelled to start stalking you?"

"All I think is that you're following me. I don't even care that much, I just wanted to know why I'm a target for stalking."

"Well," she says, mockingly, "since I'm not stalking you, I can't tell you why someone would stalk you. Perhaps you can ask an actual stalker if you ever get one. They'd know more." She glances over at the ticket booth. "Looks like your girlfriend's done. For whichever sense of girlfriend is more appropriate," she quickly adds. "If we're quite finished with this pointless, egocentric conversation, could you kindly fuck off?"

>"Fine. But I've got my eye on you."
>"No, we're not finished here. You're lying to me."
>"Fuck you too, bitch."
>Write-in.

>>30122669
Just laugh at her and leave with a 'see ya!'

>>30122669
>"No need to get so defensive lady, someone could almost think you're guilty of something. You're right that it's time for me to go though, but I'll see you again I'm sure!"

>>30122669
Fine, but I'm watching you.

You just laugh her off with a shake of your head. You give a tiny, mocking salute before saying anything. "See you again soon, I'm sure!"

The woman grits her teeth in response to that, but you leave before she says anything else, rejoining Tracy. The two of you take your tickets and head inside.

>You decide to go look at the...

>Binturongs
>Black Bears
>Rhesus Macaques
>Komodo Dragon
>African Grey Parrots (indoor exhibit, large)
>Poison Dart Frogs, Galapagos Tortoise, and other reptiles and amphibians and shit (indoor exhibit)
>Goats, pigs, sheep, and cows (petting zoo area)
>Write-in?

>>30123013
Petting zoo area

>>30123013
>The Spiders

>>30123013
>African Grey Parrots (indoor exhibit, large)
Motherfucking Parrots!

>>30123013
> Ask Tracy if there's any animals she dislikes/has a phobia towards.
Basic date stuff!

Rolled 2

Whatever.

1 - >>30123066
2 - >>30123071
3 - >>30123171

All will incorporate >>30123199

"You don't have any particular dislikes or phobias, right, Tracy?"

"No..." she says, eying you curiously. "Why?"

"Just making sure. I wanted to go see the spiders first, if that's alright with you?"

She shrugs and follows you. It's an indoor exhibit, each species of spider in a separate, small environment. Black widows, trapdoors, ant mimics, and more besides. You have difficulty seeing some of them, the spiders apparently lurking beneath or inside things or using their natural camouflage to hide.

After you spend a few minutes looking around, Tracy speaks up. "Not a lot of people at this exhibit," she says, giving you a sidelong glance. It's true; the building is pretty much empty, at least this part, right now.

"Oh?" You reply in a deadpan.

"No. It's just you, me and the spiders."

"Are you suggesting something?"

"No," she says, smiling and shaking her head before turning to look at the trapdoor spider exhibit, apparently completely focused in on it. "Just making a statement."

>That's means she wants you to kiss her, right? Kiss her.
>If she's gonna dance around it, you're not joining in. Just look at the spiders.
>Sounds like somebody is pricklin' for a ticklin'. Tickle her.
>Write-in.

>>30123633
>Sounds like somebody is pricklin' for a ticklin'. Tickle her. Then kiss her.
Let's not play coy too much here.

>>30123633
>That's means she wants you to kiss her, right? Kiss her.
Wonder if anon planned this...

>>30123695
Backing this one.

>>30123633
Definitely picklin for a ticklin

"Because it sounded to me," you say, coming up behind her and grabbing her around her waist, prompting a small intake of breath, "like you were suggesting this was a great place... for a TICKLE FIGHT!" Your fingers start to wriggle around her belly.

"No!" She cries out, giggling and gasping for air. "Stop it, Abby!"

You stop suddenly, but keep your fingers in position to resume at a moment's notice. "Do you admit defeat, then?"

"Never," Tracy says, and you resume tickling. She desperately tries to wrangle her arms in order to protect herself or tickle you in retaliation, but with your vastly superior strength and reflexes, there's not much she can do. After a minute, she's gasping in between the laughter. "Okay, okay, I give!" She spends a few long seconds gasping for breath, hiccuping as she does.

As she stands there, her hand on your shoulder to try to balance as she recovers from your relentless assault, you can't help but stare at her. She's just so cute. You move your hands to wrap around her, leaning down. She looks up at you, still recovering her breath, but clearly aware and interested of what you're about to do.

Your movement is tentative, at first, but when she pushes herself into you, you let yourself go. Your hands trace their way across her backside, one finding its spot between her shoulder blades, the other in the small of her back. Her arms wrap around your neck while your tongues toy with one another. After a few seconds, her tongue reaches deep into your mouth, running along the back of your gums and prompting a shudder of pleasure to run through your body.

There's a pointed cough from nearby, and you regretfully your mouth from Tracy's, looking towards the source, Tracy's arms still around you. It's the woman from earlier.

"Get a room, you two."

>"We had a room."
>"Seriously, fuck off."
>"You still going to pretend like you're not following us?"
>Write-in.

>>30124124
>"We had a room. What do you want?"
Jesus this chick is a cockblock (well, you know) too?

>>30124124
>"You sure know how to kill the mood. Why can't you be more like these spiders? They don't bother anyone."

>>30124176
This. Nothing too angry in front of Tracy.

>>30124124
>we're fine, thanks
>continue

>>30124124
> "Oh, don't mind us." Continue if Tracy's willing, but try to keep track of her.
While her demeanor so far has hardly indicated she's likely to try and attack, we can't be TOO careful.

"We had a room," you say, irritation clear in your voice. "What do you want?"

Tracy extricates herself from your grasp, untangling her arms from around your neck and stepping back a little. You stand up straight and reposition yourself to look at the woman. The mood is definitely dead.

"All I want is to look at the exhibits without having to listen to a couple teenagers going all 'mwa mwa' on each other's faces. Is that too much to ask?" She glances at the exhibits, then turns back to you. "And in the spider exhibit? Really? That's what grinds your gears? These eight-legged furry little monsters?"

<She's an obstacle. Get rid of her.>

>"Don't look at me, she started it."
>"Just... go away."
>"Yeah, I'm really into spiders. Scorpions too. When you get down to it, it's pretty much all arthropods. Centipedes, crustaceans, insects, the whole lot."
>Write-in.

>>30124503
>Just go away

>>30124503
>"And all I want is to go on a date without having to deal with stalkers. Life's a bitch sometimes"

>>30124503
> "And you proooooomise not to follow us where we're going next?"
FFFFFFFFF

>>30124503
>"Sounds like you're not very fond of spiders. Makes me wonder what you'd be doing in the spider exhibit"

>>30124616
This one sounds pretty good

"You make it sound like you're not very fond of spiders, which makes me wonder why you're in the spider exhibit."

"I like spiders just fine," she says, "I just don't like look at them before I start a hot and heavy make-out session. Kind of a mood killer."

"Just go away," you hiss.

"Oh," she says, in exaggerated offense, "so *I* have to leave just because *you* have a spider fetish? Yeah, that's not happening, sister."

You grit your teeth. "If we go, do you promise not to follow us to the next exhibit?"

"I won't follow you," she agrees. "But I'm not going to just cut off large chunks of the zoo because you happen to be within fifteen meters of them. I want to see all the animals."

>That's fucking it. Put the fear of God into this bitch.
>You're not going to let her ruin your enjoyment of these spiders! Take your time looking at them.
>Leave with Tracy to go to another exhibit. [same list as before]
>Write-in.

>>30124859
> "Ah, well we'll give you the same courtesy then." Continue making out with Tracy.
Assuming Tracy doesn't refuse because mood=dead.

>>30124859
>take Tracy to the petting zoo

>>30125006
she'll refuse, don't even try
who wants to make out in front of weird people

>>30125014
People who are willing to make out for petty reasons.
I don't even care about the kissing, just gotta get back at this chick.

>>30124859
>Leave with Tracy to go to the Petting Zoo.

You take a deep breath, calming yourself down. You take Tracy's hand in yours. "C'mon, let's go," you say, tugging at her lightly.

"Where are we going?" She asks as she walks with you.

You glance over your shoulder, and the woman is apparently dutifully inspecting the plaque next to one of the spider habitats. "Not in front of stalker lady," you reply, trying to be as gentle as possible.

She blushes in embarrassment and stares at the ground. "Yeah, right, of course."

Once you're safely out of earshot, you talk to Tracy. "You want to go to the petting zoo? They've got, like, goats and sheep and stuff."

"Sure," she says, smiling and nodding.

The two of you head over there, you occasionally glancing over your shoulder in case you haven't quite given stalker bitch the slip.

When you arrive, the petting zoo is primarily populated by the families of small children, making you feel rather awkward and out of place, but Tracy doesn't seem to mind. She rushes over to the pigs when she sees them, crouching down face to face with one and pulling up her nose while simulating oinking noises.

>Just watch her.
>"Very mature, Tracy."
>"...any particular reason you're doing that?"
>Do the same thing.
>Write-in.

>>30125385
>Just watch her.

>>30125385
>Do the same thing.
Clearly the best place to release your inner child.

>>30125385
>pet the pigs without being so silly

>>30125464
Yeah, let's go with this one.

>>30125385
>Do the same thing.
A bit less silly sounds fine.

You find your own pig, petting its back and side a bit. After a few seconds of that, it flops onto the ground to allow you better access to its belly, and you barely manage to keep your self from squealing in delight because it is just so cute. You do find yourself talking in baby talk to it.

"Who's a good little piggy? Is it you? Yes it is! Oh yes it is!"

Tracy moves a bit closer to you, and pouts while crossing her arms. "You never rub my belly like that."

You blink in confusion, and seeing the expression on your face, she laughs.

"Got you," she says, before returning to her previous position and doing a very poor impression of a pig.

Eventually, though, that loses in luster for her, and she taps you on the shoulder. "Can we go to some other exhibit?"

>"Sure."
>"No, I want to keep petting this pig."
>Write-in.

>>30125803
>Sure, any preference?
Go to whichever she picks.

>>30125803
>"Sure." Ask if she had one in mind, otherwise suggest Parrots.
Okay, we're not that into the pig.

>>30125803
>"Sure."
Let her decide yeah.

"Sure," you say, standing up. "Anywhere you want to go in particular?"

"The black bears, I guess," Tracy says, and you leave, hand-in-hand. When you arrive, the bears are just sort of lounging around in their pit.

You spot Ned and that girl he's been dating a bit - Veronica? - looking at the enclosure from the other side, and choose to not draw attention to yourself and Tracy. Better to give him some privacy, you figure. This isn't a double date.

Tracy, for her part, does not feel the same way. "Hey, Ned!" She yells, waving at him.

After a brief discussion with his date, Ned comes over with her, a sheepish look on his face.

"So," he says, signaling to the two of you, "uh, this is Abby and Tracy. I think I already mentioned them, but Abby's my best friend since forever, and Tracy is her girlfriend. Crazy coincidence meeting them here."

Wait a second. Wasn't Ned there when you set this thing up with Tracy? He was. He totally was.

>"You stole my idea for a date."
>"You're right, it sure is a STRANGE coincidence that we both had the SAME idea for a date, isn't it, Ned?" [you will have to roll to make sure that Ned gets it and Veronica doesn't; DC 16, +0 from Charm]
>Offer your hand. "Nice to meet you, Veronica."
>Flub it. "Nice to meet you, Victoria."
>Write-in.

>>30126052
>Offer your hand. "Nice to meet you, Veronica."
Not that I'm against fucking with Ned, but this doesn't seem like the time.

>>30126052
>Offer your hand. "Nice to meet you, Veronica."

We can tease Ned about it later, not in front of his gf

>>30126052
>Offer your hand. "Nice to meet you, Veronica."
Fine, but he deserves the sarcasm.

You offer Veronica your hand. "Nice to meet you, Veronica."

She takes your hand and shakes it, firmly. "Nice to meet you, too. Ned's told me so much about you." You get the vague impression she's trying to do some kind of intimidation squeeze, but since you're basically made of solid rock or the like at this point, it doesn't really have the effect she was hoping for. When she finally releases you, she wriggles her fingers around a bit, apparently trying to work out whatever damage she inflicted on herself. "You got, uh, muscular hands," she notes.

"I do."

Tracy interrupts by thrusting her hand out. "I'm Tracy! Hi!"

Veronica takes Tracy's hand, and as far as you can tell just shakes it normally. "And I'm Veronica. I hope we can get on well." She glances out of the corner of her eye at you.

Does she have some problem with you? Can't be that you're gay, or it would be a problem with Tracy too. Does she think you're competition or something?

"So," she begins, flattening out her skirt with her hands, "how are the two of you this fine afternoon?"

"Great!" Tracy replies. "We just got done playing with the pigs at the petting zoo."

You're interrupted from this joyous moment by the sound of your phone buzzing in your right pocket. You pull it out, glancing at the caller ID.

Richard.

>Take it.
>Don't.
>Write-in.

>>30126493
>Excuse yourself to take it, tell him it better be important
Fuck, this is like Date;Interrupted.

>>30126584
seconded

>>30126584
Yeah.

"Sorry, I have to take this," you say, excusing yourself and walking a short distance away before answering. "This had better be important. I'm in the middle of a date."

"It is," he replies. "Manifestation, Daniel caught it, I confirmed. Where are you?"

"The zoo," you say, "on a date. With my girlfriend."

"Well, if you want, the two of us can risk getting murdered by the Monarch Cambion in order to protect people without you..." he says, voice laden with sarcasm.

>"Fine, fine, I'll make my excuses and go."
>"Maybe you will!" Hang up, don't go.
>"God, aren't you just a sweet talker? Fine."
>Write-in.

>>30126908
>"Fine, fine, I'll make my excuses and go." Tell Tracy that an emergency popped up, apologize profusely, and ask if she wants to go for a dinner date to make up for it, then leave.
Fucking manifesting assholes.

>>30126908
>>"God, aren't you just a sweet talker? Fine."

>>30126908
>"God, aren't you just a sweet talker? Fine."

>>30126934
Sounds like a good plan

>>30126908
>"Fine, fine, I'll make my excuses and go."
"Sorry, Tracy. One of the neighbors is worried about mom. More than usual, I mean."

"Fine, fine, I'll make my excuses and go," you say, a bit defensive.

He gives you an address and confirms you know how to get there. With your ability to run fast as fuck, you should be able to get there in a few minutes. You hang up and head over to Tracy.

"I'm really sorry, babe, but I have to go. Family emergency." You bite your lower lip awkwardly. "You want to hit a dinner date, maybe let me make up for it?"

"I-" Tracy sighs and shakes her head, "I was planning on spending tonight with Jim. Sorry."

"Oh... okay," you say, in a tone of voice that strongly suggests it is not okay, but you leave it at that, turning and running out of the zoo, first at a human pace, then, once you're out of sight, at a superhuman pace.

You arrive, not at all out of breath, to see the... thing in the center of the street. It's tall, freakishly so; a distorted mockery of the human form, everything artificially stretched, like someone had simply grabbed the feet and head and pulled them apart, leaving one with a seven-foot tall monstrosity as the result. The long, spiderlike fingers carry trailing wires several meters long, stretching behind it as it walks. The face is blank, a cold nothing that doesn't move or look.

One wire has looped around a normal human's leg, who thrashes ineffectually against it, random jerks going through his body as she starts to cry from the panic and danger.

Richard isn't here quite yet. Daniel is higher up, taking pot shots at it with his gun.

>Write-in.

>>30127434
If there are cars on either side of the street, throw one at it. Otherwise tackle time.

>>30127434
I didn't really mean to ask for a dinner date TONIGHT, since I assume from previous manifestations there's a decent chance we'll be passed out in the tub tonight...
>Try to distract it; with our physique we should be able to dodge pretty good.

>>30127434
>pull up a street light
>keep distance
>smash

>>30127434
>his body as she starts to cry
...

Should be:
>her body, as she starts to cry

>>30127521
>>30127514
Plan: throw shit at it is a go.

Roll 2d20 (first for you, second for Daniel)

Rolled 4, 1 = 5

>>30127665

Rolled 10, 3 = 13

>>30127665
We're amazing!

Rolled 3, 14 = 17

>>30127665
thank you almighty tartarus no critfails

Rolled 8, 2 = 10

>>30127665

Rolled 5, 17 = 22

>>30127665
This is when one of the 50 BMG handguns would come in handy.

Rolled 13, 12 = 25

>>30127665
Um, I hope we can do good.

We suck so bad.

>>30127683
>>30127721
>>30127733
Miss and miss. No lucky, no unlucky.

>writing

Rolled 7, 6 = 13

>>30127748
I think we can hit/throw harder than a gun easily. We just rolled like suck.

>>30127826
A Knight Incubator deals as much damage in hand-to-hand as a firearm. They are balanced so that, while unarmed, they are roughly equivalent in overall power (the cohesive interaction of HP, damage, dodge, and accuracy) to an Incubator who is armed.

(To a non-Incubator they're a straight up murder machine.)

>>30127826
Than a man-portable gun, you mean.

>>30127930
So yeah, we wouldn't deal any more damage if we had a gun.

Maybe we should get a sord.

Daniel fires down, but from his vantage point, the Cambion seems a bit too difficult to hit. There's also a slight jerk to its motions that you can't quite place your finger on. A perceptive ability, providing information, maybe? Did Richard mention something like that?

In any case, you're not going to let it finish its job on that poor civilian woman, so you find a nearby car and throw it at the Cambion...

Only for the Cambion to move forward a few quick steps, the car striking the pavement and bouncing twice before coming to a halt on its roof. The Cambion turns its attention to you, flicking its wrists so that some of its wiry tendrils lashes out towards you...

>Write-in.

Also, roll 2d20 for dodge (you and the civvie).

Rolled 1, 10 = 11

>>30128072
Go with the other anons streetlamp weapon idea. If no streetlamps are close enough or we aren't strong enough to pull one out, we can use a streetsign and channel our shizuo heiwajima.

>>30127986
What we need is to build composite body armor out of steel plates and fibreglass. Loose clothing could hide an inch of armor on most of our body and a few hundred extra kilos wouldn't slow us down much.

Rolled 17, 7 = 24

>>30128072

Rolled 8, 1 = 9

>>30128183
Yeah, this sounds reasonable.

Rolled 13, 20 = 33

>>30128072
supporting the streetlamp idea

>>30128249
well, we're tough too, enough to shake off small caliber bullets

>>30128183
>>30128319
>>30128338
Okay, then, roll 2d20 for you and Daniel's attacks.

I would also like to note that from now on I'll be giving small bonuses for "stunting," i.e. trying to do something interesting/creative with your turn rather than just saying "and then I plink away." I was kinda sorta doing this before, but from now on, it's a a straight bonus. This goes for both you and your teammates.

>>30128338
With an extra inch of armor, we could survive anti material rounds. If it makes us three times as heavy, that also means we can hit harder and we get more traction when grappling.

Rolled 15, 18 = 33

>>30128413

Rolled 14, 1 = 15

>>30128413
Swing for its midsection so it can't dodge easily.

Rolled 6, 15 = 21

>>30128413
STRONK!

>>30128450
>>30128465
>>30128540
No lucky, no unlucky, you miss, Daniel hits.

>writing

>>30128569
That AC :(

>>30128569
You didn't tell us that changing Incubator meant failing all our rolls!

>>30128620
Yeah, I was surprised to see Monarchs had such high AC. Thought I'd copied something down wrong. But I checked, the numbers all work out. An armed Monarch up with one unarmed goon, against an unarmed Knight is a roughly even fight.

That was a really good shot Daniel got in, though.

>>30128743
>An armed Monarch up with one unarmed goon
Er... with one *armed* goon.

My bad.

>>30128743
Does that mean we can improve our odds if we splatter the civilian?

>>30128790
Civvie is more of a benefit than a liability to you at the moment, actually. Wasting the Cambion's second action. If the Cambion takes her over, then possibly wasting her would be a good idea.

>>30128790
uuuh I don't think the civilian is the goon anon

The tendrils lash out towards you, but you leap up and out of their way, dodging backwards before landing on the ground in a combat crouch outside of their range. The poor woman is clawing at the wire keeping her in check in between her intermittent spasms, but can't quite find her way out of them.

You run over to a nearby street lamp, tearing it out from its roots, and swinging it like a club towards the Cambion. The Cambion simply ducks underneath it, elegantly avoiding your attack.

Unfortunately (for it), the time it spent dodging your attack is time it didn't spend dodging Daniel's, and when he fires, three nickel-sized holes open up in its exaggeratedly abdomen, a spray of blood and meat splattering out of them. It rests its body against the floor for just a moment, one hand splaying out, even as the other is held out, reaching towards the woman.

You hear the sound of an automobile pulling up behind you, and glance backwards to see Richard in his car.

>Write-in.

Roll 2d20 for dodge.

Rolled 15, 7 = 22

>>30129009
ugh this thing
swing at the arm reaching for the woman after we dodge, sideways, as if we want to swing through the arm and into it's body.
Let's see it dodge that.

Rolled 14, 5 = 19

>>30129009
Richard take the wheel!

Rolled 7, 4 = 11

>>30129009
Second roll looking quite shit so far.

>>30129097
>>30129147
>>30129317
Both rolls are failures, no lucky, no unlucky.

You're not going to be able to act this turn, so roll 2d20 for Daniel and Richard's actions.

Rolled 11, 9 = 20

>>30129389
Time to find out if Knight stole our rolls.

Rolled 9, 6 = 15

>>30129389

Rolled 3, 5 = 8

>>30129389
They better succeed...

>>30129435
Some minor disorientation is to be expected after resleeving. It should pass in a few days.

Monarch's MC attacks attacks currently work like this, for those curious:
- Monarch chooses to use its MC attack (3/-), rather than a traditional attack.
- If successful, the target takes a point of "damage" along a separate "track" (currently, 4 points total) and cannot act that turn.
- When this track is full, the target is controlled by the Monarch until such time as external events stop it.

>>30129435
>>30129464
>>30129479
Those rolls. Wow.

All odds on Daniel, too. Unlucky for you.

>>30129537
That's horrifying.

That glance backwards costs you a precious second you could've spent watching the Monarch rake its tendrils towards you. One wraps around your neck, prompting you to collapse and start spasming. "Hit it, gkk, with car," is all you manage to get out while desperately scraping at the wire currently wrapped around your throat.

From your position on the ground, you watch the woman scream, cry, and then vomit all over herself, as she desperately tries and fails to escape the Cambion's death-grip on your leg. You think you see faint traces of blood pooling around where it has her leg.

Daniel fires down at the Cambion's main body, but it dodges and weaves with a supernatural awareness. There's the faint sound of clicking and a muttered curse as Daniel runs out of ammunition.

Richard, on the other hand, obediently follows your orders and slams on the gas, but the Cambion simply casually sidesteps the vehicle, ignoring it as it drives over the wiry extremities that stretch past the car and towards and around you.

>Write-in.

Roll 2d20 for dodge.

Rolled 8, 5 = 13

>>30129799
Swing the streetlamp at the shoulder of the arm it's using to hold the woman.

>>30129799
Stop trying to unfuck ourselves for the moment - it's not going to let go so easy. Grab it by the tendril and start swinging it into things until it lets go.

Rolled 14, 17 = 31

>>30129799
This >>30130120 sounds good.

Rolled 15, 15 = 30

>>30129799
C'mon, double 20s.

>>30129926
>>30130170
>>30130246
With the bonus from >>30130120, this is enough for Abby to successfully dodge the MC strike.

The woman's screwed, though. Just got lost her last pip before total control.

Anyway, any strategies/ideas? Roll 3d20 for you/Daniel/Richard.

>>30130289
I don't think the woman is a threat, just keep swinging the streetlamp at the monarch. Try aiming in a way that makes it difficult to dodge, even at the expense of damage.

Rolled 19, 10, 3 = 32

>>30130345 (You)
Forgot my dice

Rolled 6, 16, 20 = 42

>>30130289
Drop the streetlamp - we have it, and it has us. After we're doing swinging it around like a rag doll, reel it and and start hammering it into the concrete.

Rolled 9, 4, 16 = 29

>>30130289

>>30130388
>>30130471
>>30130586
Abby hits, Richard misses, Daniel hits, lucky streak on Richard.

>runs the numbers

Oh. Well.

That was lucky.

>>30130636
Okay, I read this as you/Richard/Daniel, not you/Daniel/Richard. Also I miscalculated, Richard should hit too. Well, whatever.

>>30130636
No such thing, all skill.

Rather than fiddling with the bit around your neck, you grab onto the wire a good ways up, yanking on it, hard, and causing the Cambion to tip unceremoniously to one side. It reflexively loosens up its grip around your neck, and you quickly slip out of it, keeping your grip around the wire.

The woman, on the other hand, is not so lucky. There's a final jerk, and she stands, zombielike, and turns to face you, face contorted in silent horror, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

You take your hold on the wire and yank as hard as you can, ripping it out of the skin and peeling it back up to the shoulderblade, prompting the Cambion to hiss in pain. Richard aims out the car window with a quick three shots, but only manages to hit with one. Daniel, for his part, flies down and body slams the Cambion right in the torso, prompting a horrific ripping sound as the thing just comes apart, split in two.

You feel a strange relief inside yourself, like pulling off a pair of socks after a hard day's work, but without any clear cause, and recognize it as your quiet reward for killing the thing.

The woman is now crying and sobbing. She fell over at some point, but when the Cambion died, it lost its hold on her, and she scuttled away, and is now just bawling her eyes out, nose running, vomit still staining her shirt.

>Check on the woman.
>Check on Daniel. He may have been injured before you arrived.
>It's time to get gone.
>Write-in.

>>30130812
>Check on the woman.
>Check on Daniel. He may have been injured before you arrived.

>>30130812
>Check on Daniel
>Check on the woman.

>>30130812
>Check on the woman.
>Get Richard to check on Daniel

"You alright, Daniel?" You ask, still rubbing your neck where the Cambion gripped it. You may be super tough, but that shit still hurt. Probably because it was like... a direct attack on your nervous system? Or some shit like that?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thing couldn't really reach me, and was distracted grabbing people it could."

You head over to the woman. The area where the Cambion grabbed her has sharp, red indentations, and faint lines of blood. She's gibbering through her tears. "G-grabbed me," she mumbles, trying to wipe away some of the snot with the back of her hand, "f-fuck."

You just kneel down awkwardly in front of the woman. "It's dead now," you offer.

The woman responds by leaping forward, grabbing around you, and sobbing into your shoulder. You can feel some of the vomit transfer from her shirt to yours. Awesome.

>"There, there." Pat her on the back. Try to comfort her.
>Extricate yourself. Go home, change.
>Write-in.

>>30131179
>Extricate yourself. Go home, change.

If this isn't an "I've had enough of this shit" situation, nothing is.

>>30131179
>"There, there." Pat her on the back. Try to comfort her.
Clothes are already ruined, and Abby fell asleep in a literal blood-bath, I don't think she'll have a problem tolerating vomit for a few extra minutes.

>>30131179
Extricate self

You gently pull the woman off of you and place her on the sidewalk. She tries to cling to you, but you have superhuman strength, so it's not very effective.

"Let's go home," you say as the woman collapses back into a puddle on the ground. Well, she's on the sidewalk now, so it should be fine.

"You want a ride?" Richard offers, and you decide to take him up on it. "Try not to get vomit on the inside of my car. Uh, hold on a second, actually," he says, going into the trunk and pulling out a towel. "Yeah, wrap this around you first."

"Why do you have a towel in your trunk?"

"Eh, I go to the pool sometimes, I find it easier to just leave a towel in there. Let's get gone, yeah?"

You wrap the towel around your torso, trying to make sure it prevents you from splattering crusty vomit all over the inside of Richard's car.

>Talk about anything on the way?

>>30131705
How'd you find this guy, just run into him mid-rampage?

>>30131824
Sure, go with this. Not exactly small-talk time.
Also we need to figure out a way of apologizing to Tracy, plus I bet her brother found out we ditched her and is trying to spin it as Abby being an asshole.

"How did you find this guy? Just... happen upon him in the middle of a rampage?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Richard says as he drives. "Daniel did, technically. He was flying around - he likes it, apparently - and happened to spot something. Called me up, described the scene, then I called you."

"Okay," you say.

"Lucky for us," he notes.

"Lucky?" You rub your neck. You don't really feel very lucky.

"Yeah. We're waiting on that Exile Incubator for another week. You need about a kill a week. I mean, you keep your ear to the ground and your eye out, you'll probably find something or somebody, but..."

"Probably isn't the same as definitely."

"Yeah. Still, you're the boss, and I'm not too worried about dying this week, especially after that. How long does that Healer Incubator have in her, incidentally?"

"I don't know. I don't think I have the information needed to judge that."

"Uh-huh," he says.

The rest of the ride passes in silence, and you walk into your own home to change into less stained clothes, without snot, tears, and vomit on them.

>THREAD END

My sleep cycle is now approximating decent, so I will be up for a while. If you have any comments, criticism, questions, etc, you can post them here.

>>30132235
On a scale from one to ten, how far do we have to go to make up for ditching the date to Tracy?
Does mom even know about Abby's friends? Doesn't exactly seem like she brings them home much.
Why couldn't we see the parrots before leaving? Why...

>>30132235
Thanks for running! I'm glad to hear your sleep schedule has been straightened out.
Hurray for melatonin?

>>30132235
Thanks for the thread.

>>30132367
>Does mom even know about Abby's friends? Doesn't exactly seem like she brings them home much.
She knows about Ned because Ned predates your father dying and her going full hikki. Otherwise, no. She doesn't even know you're gay.

>Why couldn't we see the parrots before leaving? Why...
Because life is cruel and there is no justice in the universe.

>>30132370
>I'm glad to hear your sleep schedule has been straightened out.
I said approximating. I fell asleep in the middle of the day yesterday, and I keep waking up around three-ish in the middle of the night before falling back asleep.

>>30132493
This is me, in case it isn't clear.

>>30132493
There goes my gladness.

oh shit just realized I didn't archive this

>>30136865
that would have been tragic!
I'd be more than happy to archive it sometimes, I just assume someone else gets it because someone else has normally done it before I remember to.

>>30136927
It was on page 10 and I didn't want to risk it.

I just forget sometimes. I went on a walk to go check on my car and remembered on the way there, but forgot before I got back.

>>30136946
lol