My name is Cecile, and I'm sixteen years old. I already thought my life was odd, what with my parents having moved halfway across the country for their new job and leaving me in the care of my older sister... but then my best friend went and had a book shipped to my house that ended up giving me superpowers.
After a mostly fun day at a not-quite-amusement park, our good times have been shot right to hell by Irene's informing us of Faceless's latest move. Because of course I can't have a single day pass without SOMETHING bad happening.
At least it looks like we were able to keep my father from doing anything stupid. I hope.
Charlotte's in less-than-nice mode and Irene is too... if I let this continue, it's likely to end up as a fight and that's something that I -really- don't want to have to deal with on top of everything else that's going on.
Time to get to business.
"So," I clear my throat, "about that Faceless guy..." "Oh yeah," Irene nods. "Him."
>let us discuss the latest moves of the faceless >let us discuss last night's extracurricular activities that resulted in his maiming >let us discuss countermeasures to take against the faceless >[OTHER]
Christopher Gray
>>let us discuss countermeasures to take against the faceless
Christopher Miller
>let us discuss countermeasures to take against the faceless
new artwork? nice.
Oliver Smith
>>let us discuss countermeasures to take against the faceless
Oliver Adams
>let us discuss countermeasures to take against the faceless
Hudson Butler
>writing
Samuel Perry
Thanks to Irene, we already know what Faceless's latest moves are... and thanks to Theresa, she knows about how I messed him up last night. So that only really leaves one more thing concerning him.
"I guess we should figure out what to do about him," I say. "I thought he would've at least kept his head down for a little while after what happened to him last night, but..."
Before I even get the chance to feel sorry for myself, Charlotte takes my hand in hers.
"It's okay," Charlotte shakes her head, "if it was anyone else we were dealing with, I'm sure that it would have at least bought us a month of not having to worry..."
>[1/?]
Jordan Flores
>[2/2]
"That which knows no boundaries," Irene mutters under her breath, "there's no way that it would be able to heal from such an injury on its own." "Eh?"
In addition to her tense expression, Irene's eyes are also kind of, umm... creepy. Creepy is the only word I can use to describe it.
"This is either a case of it acting in concert with another Branch holder," Irene continues, "or it's simply acting on pure stubbornness." "Wait, what?" I gasp. "He's working with someone!?"
Oh man, dealing with just this one asshole is bad enough...
"Unlikely," Charlotte replies. "Faceless's MO up until now is that he's always worked alone. And someone as blatantly prideful as him would only double down on his ways after suffering a defeat, not change them." "Then what exactly are you suggesting?" Irene asks.
>keep to myself for now She asked Charlotte not us
Joseph Powell
>interject
He seemed to care about the mafia, thus why he targeted CC in the first place. The mafia was also close with the Qliphoth, so there's plenty of places he could be drawing bullshit from.
Lincoln Turner
Yeah, someone linked that in the IRC channel a while back and it was definitely great.
>writing
Caleb Phillips
"Well the whole reason why he targeted me was because of that Mafia guy who... y'know..."
I really don't want to confess to murder while my father's in the house.
"Leonardo Riselli? What about him?" Irene asks, having mostly returned to normal. "Well Faceless knowing him means that there's a decent enough chance of him having connections with the rest of the mafia, right?" I ask. "And they were connected to the klee..." I bite my tongue. "...with whatever the hell those guys who're after me are called, so that means that there's also a decent chance of him having access to weird Branch BS stuff." "Like someone with a Branch that can heal injuries," Charlotte says. "Nice thinking, Cecile."
Charlotte turns to me and flashes a warm smile that makes my heart skip.
>[1/?]
Colton Roberts
"While I hadn't considered the Mafia angle," Charlotte says, "Cecile pretty much said what I was thinking. And with everything that that bastard's stolen over the years, I doubt that he'd have much of an issue paying someone to fix him up." "Hmm..." Irene sighs, "...that does make sense. I mean, even that which shares pain could heal his injuries as long as there was a target to switch them over to." "Shares... what?" Charlotte squints. "Nothing," she shakes her head. "it's not relevant to this discussion."
>[2/?]
Ethan Hall
>[3/3[
"So basically, everything that I did yesterday was for nothing," I mumble. "Hey," Charlotte says, "you thwarted at least one theft that night." "By putting yourselves directly in harm's way," Irene grumbles. "I wish you would have at least told me beforehand, I could have helped."
>how do I respond?
Ryder Nelson
Wasn't exactly my place, and you're busy with your whole tree thing.
Hunter Gonzalez
Can’t come up with anything better at the moment… second. Maybe add that more firepower wouldn’t really have helped in that situation?
Luis Cook
Mention something along the lines that we were trying to go unseen so he wouldn't strike back at us, so having her punch him would kind of go against that?
Camden Mitchell
>writing
Lincoln Ross
"Sorry," I mumble, avoiding eye contact. "All that was Theresa's plan to begin with and I was only tagging along. I mean, it wasn't really my place to bring anyone else into it."
It doesn't seem like she's buying it.
"Not to mention that we were just sneaking around and having more muscle wouldn't have really helped a lot?" I say, laughing nervously. "She has a point," Charlotte joins in. "...though I can't sat that I was all that thrilled about her running off like that either."
Wow, they actually agree about something. I just wish it wasn't in complaining about stuff that -I- did.
>[1/?]
Luis Ortiz
Been a while since I've caught one of these threads live
Jayden Jones
>[2/2]
"Well I want to be actively involved this time around," Irene says, crossing her arms. "You mean you're not already?" I shrug. "I mean we're going over information with you and everything." "That's not what I mean," Irene shakes her head. "You still think that Faceless is going to hit your place in that hotel you're staying at, right?" she asks, pointing to Charlotte.
It takes a few seconds before she finally speaks up.
"Yes, I do," Charlotte replies in an even colder tone of voice than before. "And that concern kept me up all night and I'm sure that I won't be able to truly relax again until he's dealt with permanently." "Hm," Irene nods. "Well I want to help with that."
>I object >I approve
Christopher Adams
>I approve
Jaxson Perez
>>I approve
Grayson Murphy
>I approve Already explored lesser options, time to be serious.
Julian Brooks
>writing
David Thompson
I turned that man into a pincushion and even removed one of his fingers, yet somehow that doesn't even set him back for a single freaking DAY. Even if outright murder isn't an option here, it's clear that we can't rule out any possible ideas if it might result in things actually turning out well for once.
Also I'm still kind of pissed off about our date being ruined. And my father potentially getting dragged into all this.
And my cactus.
"I'm not about to object," I say to both Charlotte and Irene. "Personally, I think we need all the help we can get." "Cecile..." Charlotte sighs. "I know that you two don't really get along but Irene is still my friend," I reply. "And I don't think that she's the type of person to just throw you under the bus over a grudge." "There -is- no grudge on my end," Irene chimes in. "While I -definitely- don't appreciate the way that Charlotte acts towards me, I know all too well that I deserve a lot worse."
>[1/?]
Isaiah Miller
Still alive?
Kayden Murphy
>[2/2]
"And some hurt feelings aren't about to stop me from doing what I know is the right thing to do," Irene says. "Hmph," Charlotte says, rolling her eyes and smacking her teeth like some of my less pleasant classmates like to do. "And how exactly do you plan on 'helping?'"
good question
this vine is useless before that which knows on boundaries
its abilities are of no help in this situation
>I have an idea... >let the irene speak of her plan
Matthew Robinson
>let the irene speak of her plan I've got nothing
Xavier Green
She could… act as a distraction
>let the irene speak of her plan
Owen Lopez
>let the irene speak of her plan
Luke Gonzalez
>writing
Dominic Brown
>this vine is useless before that which knows on boundaries
Excuse me, %branchname%, but if we planted enough teeth we could completely fill a 10 mile radius with Irene. So long as Irene does not contain a flat surface, we could prevent That Which Knows No Boundary's transportation.
Lincoln Hernandez
"We ambush him," Irene says. "What."
Charlotte glares at her like she just said the absolute dumbest thing ever.
"You're planning on -ambushing- him," Charlotte repeats. "A man who PRIDES himself on escaping from any and all attempts to capture him."
Irene crosses her arms under her chest.
"Yes, that's right," she nods. "And why exactly would this amazing plan necessitate you coming into what is essentially my HOME," Charlotte growls. "Cecile and I could easily do the exact same thing without you getting involved at all." "Maybe," Irene smirks, "but would you be able to -catch- him?" "Of course we could!" she says, throwing her hands in the air. "What are you, stupid?" "I mean without killing him outright," Irene says.
why would it not want to remove the threat entirely
it cannot be contained
such information is even in its branch's title
borders and boundaries are meaningless to that vine
>[1/?]
Jack Adams
>[2/2]
"And why would I want to keep that thing -alive-?" Charlotte growls. "He invaded the house of someone I love as she slept, stole something important to her, and has promised to attempt to do the same thing to me. Where I come from, trespassers get a bullet to the face."
>calm down, charlotte >charlotte has a point
Sebastian Price
>[REMOVE]
Colton Lee
>calm down, charlotte We may want to maim him, but we don't want to kill him
Jaxon Jackson
>calm down, charlotte
Brody Sullivan
>writing
Ryder Carter
We shouldn't kill him. All he did to me is sneak into my room and steal a cactus. My cactus that I've been super careful to take care of and replant when it got bigger and check to make sure it was getting enough sunlight and not too much water and nothing would make me happier than to catch the sun and let it loose on his wretched worthless masked face. Just take off the entire top half of his body like I did with that Mafia guy-
No, not the top half of his body. The entire thing. Not a single trace left, I want to remove him from this world entirely. That's what he deserves.
>[1/?]
Nicholas Butler
"Nngh-"
I clutch my forehead and take a couple of deep breaths. Yes I'm a two-time... no, THREE-time murderer, but that's still not the kind of person I am. I'm a good person.
"Calm down, Charlotte," I say, closing my eyes in hopes that this gross feeling will go away. "I know how you feel but we're supposed to be better than that." "You mean to tell me that YOU of all people-" "Right now, nothing would make me happier," I reply, "but I'm sure I'd end up regretting it later. This isn't like the other times where someone was actively trying to -kill- us, you know?" "......"
Shut up, evil murder voice. You might be bloodthirsty but that doesn't mean that -I- have to be that way too.
you are a fool >[2/?]
Easton Ortiz
>you are a fool You underestimate the character of man
Logan Flores
>[3/3]
The room is silent for way too long, as Charlotte glares at Irene and at me while gritting her teeth. But after a while, she finally lets the tension that's visible over her entire body go.
"Fine," Charlotte mutters. "You can have it your way." "Eh!?" Irene gasps. "You mean that you're actually going to let me-" "Don't push it," she says. "This is only to keep Cecile happy... and also because I don't like the idea of my sister seeing any more violence than she already has." "Thanks," I say, squeezing her hand.
Somehow hearing her actually agree to that makes that queasy feeling ease up a little bit.
"SO how exactly do you plan on pulling this off," Charlotte asks, turning to Irene. "Because it's not like your Branch is good for anything more than brute strength." "Oh," Irene shrugs, "that's where Theresa comes in."
>the more the merrier >no, I've already dragged her deep enough into all this
John Miller
>Are you sure she's up for this?
Connor Lewis
>>the more the merrier
Alexander Richardson
>writing
Brody Stewart
Jesus christ you might as well have Mina summon her armor on top of the guy as well.
Gabriel Wilson
"...are you sure that she's up for this?" I ask. "Hm?" Irene turns to me. "Oh, this subject came up before while we were discussing her 'hobby,'" she says. "And while I'm still not happy about it, this is one of those situations where involving her would actually make things safer than leaving her out entirely." "If you're sure," I mumble.
As expected in a situation where just about every5thing that Irene suggested was agreed to, Charlotte seems less than happy about all of this. Still though, I do feel kind of relieved that we'll actually be doing something about this.
Though that doesn't mean that this is actually going to work.
>plans have been made, time to head back to the hotel >there's something else I wanted to do before we leave
Eli Cook
>plans have been made, time to head back to the hotel
Isaiah Gomez
>>plans have been made, time to head back to the hotel
Mason Flores
That's it for tonight's thread, folks. Sorry that I head wasn't completely in it for one.
Assuming that I'm feeling back into the writing mood, the next thread will be on Thursday night. If not, it'll be on Friday night.
