(IC) Friday the 17th, Scene 7

[Mister-Kent]

At the hospital, Kate tells the docs that Victoria tried to harm herself and needs to be restrained. She also speaks with her dad...

"Dad...I'm concerned too. It's just not a good day for Celeste to be ignoring me. Could you try calling, and if she doesn't answer, go to the school office and tell them you have to see her and it's an emergency because, well, it is--her sister's in the frickin' hospital. If the school can't locate her they know what deep shit they're in, so you know they'll do whatever they can..."

"Keep me posted, Dad. Love you." Kate pecks her Dad on the cheek and winces because of her bruised face, then limps to the care of the nurses.

[Rukellian]

Here is something quick before I leave for work...

Once Clark is back at school, he will look around the halls to see if he can either Pavo or Celeste. If on the likely chance he encounters Pavo first, he will ask: "What happened to the girl?" [2d6] = 5

Pavo shrugs, and says, "Maybes we don't need the girl... but she says it is worths it to have back-up planning, yes? Do not be troubled. If she is not needed, she will... not come back. You need not worry, amigo."

Pavo clenches his fists, and looks towards Mrs. Meecher's class. "I am also hearing that something happened to mi madre. I am hoping to discuss this with Seth today, and I think also Kate. I could use your help with this, Clark."

MC Voice: Okay, I got a hard move out of that... but I'll just do some foreshadowing & setting things up.

Out of the corner of his eye, Clark sees Seth talking to the school nurse (to be sent to the office to get some presentable clothes out of the Lost & Found...)

.
.
.

Seth nods as Kate makes the calls, limping slightly towards the classroom, already knowing he will be late.

Once he gets there he stops for a moment behind the classroom door, his pants torn and ripped from the fights and his own transformation, leaving him with a torn and ragged jean shorts now. His shirt ripped as well, barely even resembling anything a shirt should, instead more tattered rags hanging from his shoulders and neck.

MC Voice: Okay, stopping you at this point to get us sort of in sync.
Seth is stopped by the school nurse in the hall.

(Have we described the school nurse? I don't think so. You get to name her (I think we've said her), give her a description, and then identify why she hates Mrs. Meecher (as a leading question).)

The Nurse takes one look at Seth, and asks nervously, "Did your father do this to you? Why don't we go to the office, okay? I'll have a little chat with the Principal, if she's in, and you can pick out some clean clothes from the Lost and Found, okay?"

Okay, so she isn't dead yet... that's good. I still have time. Knowing her, she will probably use Celeste as a tool to get her way if things go bad, perhaps when dealing with Kate. I need to prove that I am serious though, threaten the location out of Pavo, or perhaps trick?

Clark's face looks pained as he thinks of the possible situation Celeste is currently in, concern clearly drawn all over his face. "Pavo, I really did believe she was going to join our family, but now that I know she isn't going to, she's someone that now knows too much. She saw all of our faces that night. I can't take any chances with her! If you won't tell me where she is..." Clark ends it there as he clenches his own fists and teeth, anger quickly replacing concern. He really doesn't want to have to start the bloodshed here, but if Pavo doesn't listen to persuasion, Clark may just have to resort to violence again. Manipulate NPC roll [2d6] = 3 Dang it, Clark is just not good at this lying business

Noticing Seth talking to the nurse and preparing to enter the office, Clark motions his head towards that location, making sure Pavo can see the hint.

"Fine, I've got some words to share with Seth as well. After you." Clark ends with a wave of the arm, allowing Pavo to lead the action. He will follow close behind and feign sickness while heading towards the nurse's office.

[Metal Fatigue]

For the second time in what passed for her life, Summer prayed. Prayed for guidance. Prayed that she would be equal to this challenge.

She didn't know what she was praying to, but she prayed.

Gazing into the Abyss:

(InvisibleCastle is dead)
Visions show her what she must be (swapping Dark with Volatile) and show her what she must do (carry 1 forward). Note that they are not lucid.

[Q.Q Elf]

Gazing into the Abyss:

(InvisibleCastle is dead)
Visions show her what she must be (swapping Dark with Volatile) and show her what she must do (carry 1 forward). Note that they are not lucid.

MC Voice: Damned if I know what Summer needs to do next!

So Clark Defray is looking to roll things back, now that he's plunged over the edge.
Ultimately, that's one step. With Kate laid up in the hospital (and I have to figure out something there), Clark's the only other pillar for Summer to lean on. How that's going to work... dunno. It's all I have at the moment.

(Julie & Cassidy will probably end up as antagonists. Mrs. Meecher, I'm definitely flipping the script for her. Mr. Finney is still out there.)

Step 1 seems to be Pavo, though. So carrying 1 forward to do something to Pavo and/or help Clark, I guess. I think that's generally valid to put a frame around the forward.

Summer's mind pushes through the blur of Lucinda's messed up choices. People she's screwed over, sometimes literally. Things she's done to others, and failed to do for those in need of help. There's precious little left for Summer to find solace in, within the tangled mess of Lucinda's soul. It's one big vortex of emptiness and selfishness.

Clarence... or is it Clark Defray. His face comes up in Summer's mind's eye. There's a strange look of concern on his face, as he sees Summer/Lucinda, within the dream-like state of Summer's spiritual wandering. Clark's expression turns to anger and dismay when the vision of Pavo Flenchez appears. Pavo, his mother, the architect of so much despair in Summer's mind's eye.

Summer emerges from her reverie with some understanding of where she needs to focus next, to take the next steps in order to make it through the day. Exactly what to do, and how to do it... Summer is far less certain.

[Q.Q Elf]

At the hospital, Kate tells the docs that Victoria tried to harm herself and needs to be restrained. She also speaks with her dad...

MC Voice: Okay, this is the trickiest one for me since Kate is stuck in the hospital now.

Let me just point out your options at 3 Harm.

• Allow time to heal 1 Harm as Kate rests during the scene.
• Allow someone else to heal her wounds - delicately & intimately (and perhaps with certain, ahem, other subtexts). This also heals 1 Harm. The point of this rule is: teenagers tend to go off & isolate themselves, feeling as if they are big people now, and they don't need anyone's help to get over their sh.t. In order to cure Harm, they need to let down their barriers and let someone in, to touch them inside in an emotional way... but, in the realm of Monsterhearts, this often has potentially screwed up aftereffects & consequences because teenagers are screwed up not-yet-adults who choose the most painful and f***ed up ways to go through life.
• I'd point out the Chosen One's Sex Move, which is an insta-heal of everything, but also potentially disastrous in other ways (as all of those moves are, at heart).

If you're content to play out a restful period in the hospital for 1 Harm, that's cool.
I'll come up with something screwed up to throw at Kate, however. And then we can figure it out from there, I guess... but if that's not what you're after, I don't want to make up something too screwed up at this point.

[Q.Q Elf]

Pavo presses something cold and metalic into Clark's hand. A switchblade. "Not here, amigo. Not yet. But soon. Let us follow him to a quiet place, first. And then... he's muy grande. Big guy. We need to be very quick, yes?"

As Seth is being led away by the school nurse, Pavo smiles and says, "Vamanos." Pavo nods to others over Clark's shoulder, and then he turns to keep a steady pace after Seth.

Clark feels the presence of Marcus and Haro just a few steps behind him, also following Seth down the hall, away from the classrooms and towards the nurse's station.

MC Voice: Any last words before we have a big confrontation in the nurse's office? If not, I'll move it along to there with the next post for Clark & Seth.

[Rukellian]

Go for it! Clark will need to figure out what to do when they all enter the nurse's office anyways. It's a... tense situation to put it lightly. With a weapon in hand, and my enemies gathering all in one spot, things could go south real quickly. Gotta make sure what I post in that situation counts!

[Mister-Kent]

I think I'll take the restful scene to remove 1 Harm, and Kate can work on removing the rest of her harm in other ways later

[MonkeyWrench]

Seth nods as Kate makes the calls, limping slightly towards the classroom, already knowing he will be late.

Once he gets there he stops for a moment behind the classroom door, his pants torn and ripped from the fights and his own transformation, leaving him with a torn and ragged jean shorts now. His shirt ripped as well, barely even resembling anything a shirt should, instead more tattered rags hanging from his shoulders and neck.

MC Voice: Okay, stopping you at this point to get us sort of in sync.
Seth is stopped by the school nurse in the hall.

(Have we described the school nurse? I don't think so. You get to name her (I think we've said her), give her a description, and then identify why she hates Mrs. Meecher (as a leading question).)

The Nurse takes one look at Seth, and asks nervously, "Did your father do this to you? Why don't we go to the office, okay? I'll have a little chat with the Principal, if she's in, and you can pick out some clean clothes from the Lost and Found, okay?"

Fine with me Q.Q

Seth stands still, simply giving the nurse a sidelong glance, "No, My father didn't do this to me." He then thinks for a moment, "I was in a car accident on the way to school, the police were handling it and the school was within walking distance, so I walked. Any chance you can help me get cleaned up without alerting the office?" He looks her up and down appreciatively.

Rolling to manipulate and/or seduce the nurse!: Seth Hot Roll: [2d6+2] = 5+2 = 7

Alrighty! The nurse... Mary Gettle!
She is around 5'6" with shoulder length brown hair and a curvy form. She can be a bit flirtatious and funny with the kids but as far as anyone knows it's never led anywhere. She hates Mrs. Meecher because they went to highschool together as kids, and her current husband was Mary's first love, which she believes Mrs. Meecher stole from her.

[Metal Fatigue]

Skipping Summer forward an hour or so to school.

As Summer entered the building, she was already aware of a difference. Where before people had looked at Lucinda with envy, deference and fear, now most of them, the ones hooked into the grapevine, looked at Summer/Lucinda with scorn, if not outright hatred. Acrewood was now a minefield. Cutting words were the very least of what Summer could expect now that Julie and Cassidy had destroyed Lucinda's blackmail files; physical attacks were likely, girls and boys alike looking to corner her and extract bloody vengeance.

Fortunately Summer was ready to give as good as she got—and if it meant she was expelled, well, Lucinda's mother was about to be fired, and Summer only had two weeks left anyway.

She walked into Mrs. Meecher's classroom and nearly sat down at her own desk by mistake before switching to Lucinda's.

[Q.Q Elf]

mc voice: Seth, take 1 string on Mary Gettle, the nurse. I don't know if you'll get a chance to cash it in.

Clark has the switchblade. It's good for 2 Harm on a standard Lash Out Move.

Let's say Seth makes it to the nurse's office/station. He's followed by Clark, Pavo, Marcus, and Haro.

...

Miss Gettle still has a concerned look on her face. She knows it's her responsibility to inform her boss about Seth, but she thinks she has all the time in the world. Oh... my, he's cute. Let's get him into my office first... and maybe out of those clothes. Mmmmhmmmmmm.

With four more students trailing her and Seth (at least three having very bad intentions), her thinking may be wishful at best.

The door closes softly behind Seth and Nurse Gettle, closing shut firmly behind her. She ushers Seth into one of the curtained off alcoves where sick students can rest quietly and privately. She gestures to the cot in the dark, shady alcove. She smiles awkwardly, and says, "Why don't you begin at the beginning? Tell me what happened to you... what's going on with you. I can't promise that I won't tell the Principal about this, but I can promise that you won't get in trouble over this. Whatever happened, it's not your fault..."

Behind her in the nurse's office, Pavo says, "Señora Gettle. I can promise you that it is his fault. It is all his fault, and he must be punished."

Pavo just smiles when the school nurse turns to look at him. Marcus and Haro quickly move towards the nurse, leaving Seth to Pavo and Clark.

Pavo looks over at Clark and says, "Another chance to prove your worth, Defray. You know what needs to be done." However, instead of pointing at Seth, Pavo gestures towards the Nurse. "It is time for Seth to pay for the things he has done."

...

MC Voice: Okay, at this point, I'm stepping out of the way and leaving the situation to you.
A little tired right now, so hopefully that all made sense.

[Q.Q Elf]

I think I'll take the restful scene to remove 1 Harm, and Kate can work on removing the rest of her harm in other ways later

Okay... it's light duty for Kate at the moment. Doctors and nurses come in and out of the room, treating Kate's various injuries. Nothing truly exciting happens during this time. I'm not going to force any action in order to fulfill the expectations of curing 1 Harm.

[Q.Q Elf]

Skipping Summer forward an hour or so to school.

As Summer entered the building, she was already aware of a difference. Where before people had looked at Lucinda with envy, deference and fear, now most of them, the ones hooked into the grapevine, looked at Summer/Lucinda with scorn, if not outright hatred. Acrewood was now a minefield. Cutting words were the very least of what Summer could expect now that Julie and Cassidy had destroyed Lucinda's blackmail files; physical attacks were likely, girls and boys alike looking to corner her and extract bloody vengeance.

Fortunately Summer was ready to give as good as she got—and if it meant she was expelled, well, Lucinda's mother was about to be fired, and Summer only had two weeks left anyway.

She walked into Mrs. Meecher's classroom and nearly sat down at her own desk by mistake before switching to Lucinda's.

There are quite a few empty seats in Mrs. Meecher's classroom. Seth, Clark, Kate, Marcus, Pavo, Haro, Summer, Vanessa, Victoria, Duke... well over half the class is simply not there. Ordinarily, something like this would instantly throw Mrs. Meecher into a state of uncertainty and self-doubt, but she doesn't care. Not today. Not with so much lifted off her shoulders.

Julie Chen leans over, brushing a stray lock of black hair out of her eyes, and says (with a smug look on her face), "Time for a new sheriff in town, Lucinda. Maybe when you're finally left with nothing, I can let you use the lake house... you know, so you can sit around and remember what it was like to have a life, you stupid whore."

Settling back into her chair, Julie raises her hand to get Mrs. Meecher's attention. "Oh teacher... Lucinda isn't wearing the right shoes again. Those pink boots are against the school dress code." Julie points to the pink cowgirl boots on Summer/Lucinda's feet, which had never been a problem before. At least until now.

Mrs. Meecher, however, remembering her earlier promise to Summer/Lucinda, simply shrugs. The teacher says with a sweet smile, "Julie... I think we can let it go this time. We all know how much difference a day can make. If Lucinda does it again, however, she will have to be punished."

...

MC Voice: Heh. I was going to make it a worse thing, but then I remembered Summer was compliant earlier, and Mrs. Meecher promised not to help destroy her right away. The classroom is a little too empty right now as well... but we'll figure it out.

[Metal Fatigue]

That doesn't leave me with much of an opportunity for a move, so I'll have to screw myself over instead.

What is it with the pink boots, anyway? Summer asks Lucinda internally. So ridiculous. They clash with everything, they're totally impractical—and they are cosmic-grade slutwear. Nothing about having your body will make me as happy as throwing those boots in the trash.

Shutting down Lucinda, including the "impractical" Condition that's been hanging around lo, these many scenes:

ugh.

[Rukellian]

mc voice: Seth, take 1 string on Mary Gettle, the nurse. I don't know if you'll get a chance to cash it in.

Clark has the switchblade. It's good for 2 Harm on a standard Lash Out Move.

Let's say Seth makes it to the nurse's office/station. He's followed by Clark, Pavo, Marcus, and Haro.

...

Miss Gettle still has a concerned look on her face. She knows it's her responsibility to inform her boss about Seth, but she thinks she has all the time in the world. Oh... my, he's cute. Let's get him into my office first... and maybe out of those clothes. Mmmmhmmmmmm.

With four more students trailing her and Seth (at least three having very bad intentions), her thinking may be wishful at best.

The door closes softly behind Seth and Nurse Gettle, closing shut firmly behind her. She ushers Seth into one of the curtained off alcoves where sick students can rest quietly and privately. She gestures to the cot in the dark, shady alcove. She smiles awkwardly, and says, "Why don't you begin at the beginning? Tell me what happened to you... what's going on with you. I can't promise that I won't tell the Principal about this, but I can promise that you won't get in trouble over this. Whatever happened, it's not your fault..."

Behind her in the nurse's office, Pavo says, "Señora Gettle. I can promise you that it is his fault. It is all his fault, and he must be punished."

Pavo just smiles when the school nurse turns to look at him. Marcus and Haro quickly move towards the nurse, leaving Seth to Pavo and Clark.

Pavo looks over at Clark and says, "Another chance to prove your worth, Defray. You know what needs to be done." However, instead of pointing at Seth, Pavo gestures towards the Nurse. "It is time for Seth to pay for the things he has done."

...

MC Voice: Okay, at this point, I'm stepping out of the way and leaving the situation to you.
A little tired right now, so hopefully that all made sense.

[2d6+1] = 8+1 = 9
With switchblade in hand, Clark Defray makes a rapid 180 turn and slashes at Pavo. (I choose for Pavo to get a string on me, that is if I get to choose.) With his other hand, Clark pulls out a handgun from a hidden holster and aims it at Marcus and Haro, moving back and forth between them as he speaks.

"You two, don't try ANYTHING with the nurse! Just back away from her nice and slowly. If you try anything, I won't hesitate to put a bullet or two into each of you!" Clark's voice is harsh but not too loud. He means business. This qualifies as a manipulate npc threat, but I already rolled for a volatile attack action. If you want to include another roll for this I will supply one via edit, otherwise this will just be dialogue.

Clark then turns to Pavo and says in a calm voice. "Miss Gettle, it looks like Pavo will need some treatment. Can you please help him out?" All the while glaring down at him with a switchblade pointed straight towards him.

I realize that a lot could happen in this post, potentially interrupting Clark's dialogue or even actions. If this is the case, I will react to what ever happens accordingly in another post.

[MonkeyWrench]

Seth remains where he is near the clothes rack, Once the others started making their move he began to tense up, ready to fight for his life for what is probably the third time today. Once Clarke made his move though Seth simply watched, waiting for everything to unfold, content to let the attention go towards Clarke instead of him. With the knife pointed towards Pavo, his blood still wetting the blade and a gun pointed towards Marcus and Haro, Seth simply says in a casual tone, "Didn't see that one coming." He has a slight smile as he watches the action.

[Q.Q Elf]

That doesn't leave me with much of an opportunity for a move, so I'll have to screw myself over instead.

MC Voice: Yeah, I need to get you more opportunities to do something. We've kind of blown through the whole "teenage" thing, and figuring out how to get that back again is another challenge for me... without breaking all previous things that have come up in the game so far. The classroom is seriously low on students, and breaking Summer out of the classroom makes Mrs. Meecher's promise to help kind of an empty one. Maybe it's time for the cell phone trick again...

Inside, Lucinda just whimpers meekly. The entire messed up situation isn't getting much better for her in her head with Summer shaming her in addition to everything else. But I like my boots... And I got them in Argentina... You set all of this up, didn't you, Summer? Why would you ever do anything so cruel?

There's a vibration in Summer's hand. Except this time, it's not the phone Lucinda gave her... it's Lucinda's phone, the awkwardly shaped BlackBerry. All the data on the device has been erased, but it doesn't prevent Lucinda's old contacts from getting in touch with her.

The text message simply reads:

Code: Select all

Stay whr you at. Coming for you.

[Q.Q Elf]

MC Voice:
Okay... Seth & Clark.
Back into fight mode.

Pavo takes 2 Harm.
Pavo gets 1 String on Clark, although I'm not sure how long that is going to last.

This is going to be a tough one to play out & not have things go completely bad/wrong, but it was headed in this direction nevertheless...
Gotta figure out how to dial it back to teenager monster angst when this is all done. Maybe Summer can get the 5th advancement & reset the season for us

...

Marcus and Haro shove the school nurse towards Clark, and immediately bolt from the nurse's office and into the hallway. They know a losing situation when they see it, and there's no honor amongst thieves... nor devil-worshippers, it seems.

Pavo is bleeding profusely from a deep cut to the fleshy part of his upper right arm. Bright red arterial blood comes out in pulses.

Nurse Gettle is screaming now. Shrieking. She's never seen anything like this in the school. Bloody injuries? Yes. But violence and weaponry, in the place where she works? Her breathless shrieking stops as she slumps to the floor in a faint.

Pavo bleeding, angry about being attacked, and seeing the person he associates with the death of his mother in Hell.... he has no choice now. He has no time to consider anything else but revenge. It's the revenge that he wants most, now. It's all that he has to look forward to. The knife snaps open in his hand, and he does his best to step around Clark and plant the knife in Seth's neck.

...

MC Voice: Ok. Flashing back to Beth freaking out & going all kamikaze with a pair of scissors in Walking Dead...

[Metal Fatigue]

Summer's old phone is presumably wherever Summer's old body went?

Oh, Lucinda, sweetie, this is not what I wanted at all, Summer coos mentally. I didn't want your body, I just wanted your soul. Wanted to know what it was like to have a soul. Wanted you to feel what it was like not to have one. And I would have taken care of it for you; I always took good care of your things when I borrowed them, didn't I? Because you would have punished me otherwise. No, I would have taken better care of your soul than you ever did, right up until the end. Now, do you recognize this number?

That could be read as a Shut Down or a Manipulate NPC, I guess, but if it's a Manipulate NPC I don't know what Summer's trying to manipulate Lucinda to do. Let's call it another Shut Down, because there's more chance of another Hard Move that way.

Lucinda loses her String on Summer.

[Rukellian]

The whole teenage angst thing kind of went out the window for me when Clark committed murder. I just followed down the path that was then set. Clark is pretty much acting on the moment, not really thinking his actions through now (digging his hole deeper and deeper after each mistake that he makes). I guess that still fits in with the whole 'teenagers do stupid things when they are angry and can't think straight' sort of theme. Tell me though, does this still all work? Is this something that could realistically happen in a supernatural themed show revolving around f'd up teens? My memory is a bit hazy at best when it comes to remembering those kind of shows, and I'm not sure whether my character's actions are appropriate or not.

-----

F---! Those two are going to scream to everyone they pass that I have a gun now. Those f---in little s--ts! And s--t, did I just seriously cut one of his arteries!? Oh great, the nurse just fainted too! Can I just die, right now... please?

Clark is frustrated about his current situation, to say the least. Everything is falling apart around him and it feels like he won't be able to save anyone at this rate. (Should have gone with Chosen One from the beginning ) Quickly putting away his gun and kicking the switchblade underneath one of the beds nearby, he tries to stop Pavo from hurting anyone, including himself through heavy blood loss.

This action will be an attempted grapple from behind and pin to the floor. [2d6+1] = 12+1 = 13 Well, I guess I do all that AND force Pavo to hold steady to retaliate, if he can. Also, my Unknowable move kicks in and he loses a string on me.

"Stay down if you know what's good for you! Believe me when I say that I don't want to kill anyone else." Clark hisses this through clenched teeth as he looks up at Seth looking for help.

I wanted to do more in this post, but I will have to stop here I think.