TwiLyghtSansSparkles

Nighthound does, and everyone knows you shouldn't listen to him.

Go ahead and judge them. I certainly am.

Aaaahhhhhh! Could someone upvote this quoted post? I have stupid fingers.

Right. Astoria is where the OP Epics are; The Dalles has less-powerful to mid-range Epcs; and it's looking like Corvallis will have a mix.

Welcome to the madness! We take either vanillas or Epics. If you play with an Epic, the thread you join will probably depend on their power set and level (an Epic on Obliteration's level, for example, wouldn't fit well in The Dalles as things currently are). Just go ahead and post your character bio on this thread for feedback, and either PM me Epic weaknesses or make them public here.

Comatose: I have an Epic who thinks she's Taylor Swift! Everyone else: THAT IS AMAZING! Answer: it isn't bad.

You capitalized "everything" on purpose, didn't you?

An Epic that powerful would definitely know right away. Plus her Rending would be quite the spectacle, so it wouldn't be a secret for long at all. Autumn might begin to wish the Epic who fell for her had the power to pull parachutes out of thin air.

Unless Comatose doesn't want it, he'll be the GM for Corvallis. Since the city was his idea, he'll be best prepared to answer questions about the setting--similar to the way Edge does with Astoria and Kobold does/ did with The Dalles and Calamityville. Also, I can't think of a better Epic for Voidus to be than Pugtosis.

I did indeed.

I think so.

Thank you guys! I'm not sure. Depends on what Nighthound told her to do, I think.

It is done. Funtimes flashback posted.

A cloud of smoke managed to wrap itself around Nighthound's head, but it wasn't enough to prevent his pursuit, or even to slow it. Nighthound was already racing toward him. Calamity's cupcake, that guy was fast. The Unicyclist turned and ran. He raised his bagpipes and tried to play, but a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Nighthound was gaining. He put on another burst of speed. Sparking Nighthound destroying his sparking unicycle and now running for him when all he wanted was to destroy the entire museum and dance on its ashes. What a killjoy. Just as he began to consider whether the trees or the clearing would be a better choice, he crashed to the grassy earth as Nighthound successfully lunged for him. Remington wasn't there yet. Doctor Funtimes knew he'd be a while, but this was almost too long. He wasn't supposed to stay all night; just offer them his help and tell them Lightwards needed to die. Maybe he'd gone to the wrong meeting place? She briefly considered teleporting into a different shop, but she already knew nobody was in this one and there was no point in going somewhere else if there was the chance someone might see her. If she landed in a shop with people in it, they'd know she was in CorpseMaker's territory; and if they knew she was in CorpseMaker's territory, she'd have to kill them; and if she had to kill them, there was no guarantee she'd be able to hide the bodies before Remington arrived. It wouldn't take long, but still. Maybe he wasn't coming back? No. No no no no no. He was coming back. He wanted Lightwards dead and she would help make that happen. She'd even let him go off on his own. He would come back. People don't always come back. The thought came alongside a stab of fear cut through with despair, the same mix she'd felt on the day— —​no no no don't think— —on the day— ​—pug puppies little black smushy faces and buggy eyes— No matter how much she tried to push it down, the feeling came back up again, and Doctor Funtimes did the last thing she wanted to do. She remembered. Wasilla, Alaska Six months before Annexation The McDonald’s on Parks Highway was never crowded on weekdays. So long as Jade Delancey paid for a milkshake or a sundae or anything else on the menu, she was welcome to hold her quiet phone calls in a corner booth. That was where she sat on a cold March day when snow still clung to the earth in patches, and the wind had tried to tear through her coat on the walk over. Her phone lay on the table as she took a bite of her chocolate sundae, pink coat draped over her shoulders like a blanket to ward off the chill seeping in around the window. She answered her sister’s call with her usual question. “Where are you right now?” “One of the study areas,” Courtney said, and Jade imagined the room as her sister had described it—a wide carpeted space with plenty of sofas and armchairs, her sister seated in a blue one near the door. It made her feel like she was in the Ravenclaw common room, she said. “It’s not super crowded right now, but there’s a few others here. Mostly doing homework, but there’s one guy who’s….um….lying on one of the sofas.” “Sleeping?” “No, he’s doing that ‘draw me like one of your French girls’ thing.” She broke off with a laugh. “Okay, his friend just said ‘no’ and pushed him onto the floor.” “Seriously? How strong is he?” “Looks like he just lost his balance. He was posing pretty close to the edge, so one little push was all it took. I think he’s okay. So,” she said after a short pause, “where are you?” “McDonald’s again. There’s an old guy glaring at me like I’m gonna steal his fries, and a couple stoners doing the same thing.” Jade gave a thoughtful pause. “Maybe I shouldn’t’ve asked if I could have some.” Jade could hear the smile in her sister’s tone. “From the old guy or the stoners?” “Those ones. I mean, it’s not like they didn’t have a ton already anyway. They got, like, three ginormous orders.” Courtney laughed. “With all the crap you pull there, I’m surprised the staff hasn’t kicked you out yet.” “Hey, I share, too!” She kept the phone raised as she turned to the group of older teens clustered around their fries, waving her sundae. “You guys want a bite of my sundae?” The four of them stared, frowned, and nudged each other in the ribs before a young man in a too-big sports coat and jeans stood and grabbed a spoon from the nearby counter. He eyed the chocolate sundae warily. “You sure?” “Yup. You shared your fries.” He dug the spoon into the sundae, taking a good bit of chocolate sauce, and ate it, eyeing her the whole while as if she would toss the rest of the ice cream in his face. “Thanks.” “No problem,” she said with a grin, Courtney laughing in her ear. “Man, I miss you,” Courtney said. “I wish I could just have you shipped down here and take you to all my classes. And everything else.” Jade felt that familiar pang, the one that seemed to come every time the distance between herself and her sister was mentioned. “Mom’d never let me skip that far ahead.” She wasn’t certain she was ready for college, but she didn’t say that. “Where is she, by the way?” “At home. Guess what she’s doing.” “Watching the news?” “Yep.” She gave out a long groan. “And they’re talking about that Cardinal guy again.” “Did they learn anything else? Last I heard, they were freaking out because they’d found a different Epic who could actually resurrect, not just heal.” Jade wished she hadn’t mentioned Thomas Cardinal. He always started conversations she didn’t want to finish. “They haven’t said anything else about him.” Courtney saw through the lie to the worry underneath. “None of my profs are that unbalanced, Jadey.” Unbalanced. The single most common descriptor applied to Professor Thomas Cardinal by his former colleagues at UC Davis. Unbalanced. Unstable. Uncooperative with school authorities when referring him to a counselor he refused to see. No one was certain why he had murdered and mind-wiped so many of his former students before his death, but they assumed it had something to do with the medication he was almost certainly not taking at the time. Jade had never seen the man, as UC Davis hadn’t released his picture to the press, but if she ever did meet him, she was certain he’d have crazy eyes she could spot from a mile away. “I know. They all sound really nice, from what you’ve said.” “They are. Even if they did get powers, I doubt they’d pull a Cardinal and shoot up the school.” “Yeah.” Jade heard enough about Thomas Cardinal whenever her mother’s favorite news analysts ran out of new Epics to talk about. Now he had found his way into the conversation with her sister, and she had no idea how to drag him out again. “Can we play the song?” “Oh! Sure. Hang on….let me get it ready….” Jade took out her iPod and plugged in her headphones, finding the song in seconds. “I’ve got it. You’ve got it?” “Got it. One….” “Two….” “Three.” Music poured through her earbud, filling her head with the song she and Courtney had chosen as their own years before. Hello there, the angel from my nightmare The shadow in the background of the morgue “Is it playing?” Jade asked. “Yep.” Courtney sang along softly: The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley We can live like Jack and Sally if we want Jade closed her eyes and let her sister sing to her. It had been years since they’d had to do this, sit miles apart and sing to each other, but Courtney’s voice still sounded the same as it had back then. Back when she lived in Wasilla and their father had taken Courtney with him to Kodiak. Back when the divorce was still chugging along toward its conclusion, and Jade didn’t know who would stay where. Back when there was still a chance Jade would stay in Wasilla while Courtney lived in Kodiak. Then Nome. Then Coldfoot, or Bethel, or wherever their father’s job took him. Where you can always find me We’ll have Halloween on Christmas She blinked a few stinging tears away. Vancouver was quite a bit further than Kodiak, but there was no court forcing her to stay. She would finish her degree and return to Alaska, or Jade would move to Vancouver, or they would find an apartment in Seattle. In a few years, they would be free to go where they pleased. And in the night we’ll wish this never ends Provided Courtney lived that long. We’ll wish this never ends Jade shook the thought away as the violins swelled in earnest, blending with the singer’s muttered “I miss you, I miss you." Courtney would be fine. Her professors were all too nice to pull a Cardinal. She would finish out her degree and come home. Jade would help her unpack and Courtney would help her pick which university to attend, and they would laugh about the days when they thought an Epic would shoot up the school. The next two verses belonged to Jade, and she sang softly. Where are you? And I’m so sorry I cannot sleep, I cannot dream tonight I need somebody and— “Oh. Oh my god.” Jade stopped as a shaft of fear went right through her middle. “What?” There was a clatter on Courtney’s end of the line—the sound of furniture tipping as several voices screamed. “It—it’s an Epic.” Courtney’s voice wavered; she was running. “He just sent someone through the floor—I’ve got to go. I love you, Jadey.” There were more screams, more furniture tipping over, more running. Jade thought she heard a voice shout “C’mon, what’re you running for?”—and then the line was silent. There was only the music, still playing through her earbud. Will you come home and stop this pain tonight? Stop this pain tonight Don’t waste your time on me, you’re already The voice inside my head (I miss you, miss you) Don’t waste your time on me, you’re already The voice inside my head

Quick poll: Should I post Funtimes' flashback post alongside the Unicyclist post, or should I wait?

It could, but now that they know there are two new Epics in Game's clinic, I'd assume the City Guard would send more soldiers and whichever loyal Epics they could spare to ensure things don't get out of hand. Worst case scenario, they could always send Autumn and Shiny Sparkle back to the clinic.

Leaving Backtrack surrounded by Epics, with Baxter as the only one sympathetic to his plight….which might make him even more terrified.

Hurt you? Whatever made you think I would hurt you? Pugalia only hurts people who seem to think lip-smacking is essential to the experience of chewing gum. I'll just leave you with this: Edit: Yes, she was planning on a "don't wait for a response" exit, unless Shiny Sparkle wants to say something to Reader.

The Financier would be a pretty poor choice, considering he wields very little political power. He's basically Astoria's Conflux, but corrupted and crazy. New Autumn post up.

Before coming to The Dalles, Autumn had assumed there was no order to chaos. No recipe for disaster. Bad things happened in no particular order, and that was the beginning of the end. But now, standing in Game's office, Autumn knew that the worst disasters had a definite order to them. Like a recipe, a proper disaster required its components to be added in a precise order, stirred, and set over heat. First, Reader shot the most cowardly Epic in the Fractured States. Next, the panda invasion. It took them by surprise, sent the city into crisis mode. Then, Shiny Sparkle took hold of her hand and refused to let go. Following that was the trip to Game's office. There was nothing wrong with that, to be sure—until Reader arrived. Reader, who thought it prudent to tell the nervous-looking vanilla that the Epic holding Autumn's hand was an angry lesbian. Reader, who thought it better to ask him how someone named Taylor was doing, rather than ask if she was a threat to the city. Reader, who had apparently Read Edgerunner's secret. The Ty secret. The one she'd only spilled once, during a tearful visit to Autumn's office. Then Edgerunner dropped Reader's pants, which though funny, was taken as nothing more than an excuse for one of the new Epics to launch a speech about earning respect. Coming from anyone else, it might have been inspiring. From an Epic, who no doubt spent his spare time doing precisely what he accused Reader of doing, it grated on her nerves. Autumn didn't want to stand and clap, as this Epic clearly wanted her to do. She wanted to roll her eyes and call him a hypocrite. She didn't call him a hypocrite. But she did roll her eyes—just as Doctor Game stepped through the door. Making an obvious attempt at forced calm, he asked, "What are all of you doing and why are you doing it here, when there are still wounded civilians around?" "I could ask them all the same question, because I doubt Reader did." She turned to the Epic with a propensity toward smug speeches. "I don't know who you are," she said, resisting the urge to drop Shiny Sparkle's hand, march over, and grab this new Epic by the collar, "but I do know that you're not doing anyone any favors. You think we want to see Reader wandering town with no pants on?" She felt a small stab of pity—but only a small one—as Reader tried and failed to button the ruined pants around his waist. "Fix them, or find him a new pair. And if he doesn't have pants, or shorts, or even a skirt by the time I get back, I will personally ensure you never set foot in this town again." Dead or alive, she almost added, but Shiny Sparkle's hand over hers reminded her to show what remained of her restraint. "Now," she said, turning to Shiny Sparkle, "is there any way you can get us to the nearest command station? I'm sure Commander Vondra will want to hear about Reader insulting you."

Speaking of, Voidus, still waiting on the psychic Epic who can "feel the knowledge."

Only if by "you guys" you mean "Voidus."

Tell me I'm not the only one who thought of this.

Nor should they.