Samantha had quickly arranged for a meeting with the University of Washington Police.    The building was a modern two-storey building that was fairly dwarfed by the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health across the street.

When Marie and Virginia arrived, they were met in the front lobby by the desk sergeant who had relevant files and all the appropriate paperwork ready for them.  He had them wait a couple of moments, then a pair of officers came out to meet them.

The first was a young man, polished and upright, dark hair and dark eyes, with cheekbones so high they might've cut glass.  He wore dress pants and a pale blue shirt, with the sleeves rolled up precisely to the elbow.  His partner was a shorter, older indigenous woman who wore jeans and a t-shirt with a windbreaker over-top.

The tall man offered a hand, with a confident smile, "Nigel Finley."  he said, "Community Protection.   My coworker, Joanna Alphonse, Investigations.   We're glad you guys reached out.     Unfortunately, our Meta liason is in the hospital.  She, ah..."

Alphonse shook her head, "She forgot that cooking oil is really really hot."  Her expression was absolute deadpan.

Finley led them beyond the desk and down a short hallway to an unadorned conference room.  "We've had a meta-division for almost a decade, with response options adapted from STAR policies, but with a more community and integration-oriented focus.   We've established a strong bond of trust with our community here, and what we're facing now...  well, with Vanessa out of commission at the moment, we're scrambling."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:08, Tue 10 May 2022.

Alphonse took a seat, motioned for the girls to do so.  "So, the news that's caught the most attention is Victoria Van Voigt.  She's a psychology doctoral student doing behavioral research out of Guthrie Hall.   She's got a clean record, no priors, not even a parking ticket.  Other than a drunk & disorderly five years ago in her undergrad, she never crossed our desks. She's still at Montlake until accommodations can be arranged for her injuries."

"CP has put together names, contact information and briefs of events of note where the issues seem dramatically at odds with the people involved." Finley remained standing the entire time.

Alphonse laid both hands on the table, looked Virginia straight in the eye.  "We don't know that this is metahuman in nature.  These days, the distinction between super-powers and meta-tech is almost pointless.   But if there is a correlation and there's someone actually doing this on purpose... that comes under a number of legal possibilities.  And we've got a very strict policy of community engagement and trust."

Finley crossed his arms and nodded.  "It's why having a outside party is a good thing.  Different eyes.... So,  what do you need from us?"

--
Montlake - University of Washington Medical Center)

So... How do you wanna approach this?  I've got plans, but wanna have Nigel and Joanne give you whatever you might want or need before whatever happens happens and you can go do the hero thing!
This message was last edited by the player at 05:44, Tue 10 May 2022.

Marie considered for a moment as she listened to the pair speak before she herself finally spoke up. "I might be able to see if they were coerced somehow if I can look into their minds. It's a bit more difficult looking that way, and not something I'd do without their permission, but is something that might be possible." She said with a small nod. Her tone typical, and showing it's usual lack of emotion.

Then she considered for a moment again. "Is there any links between the people that this stuff was happening to? Same class? Friends? Bullied the same kid? Attended the same party recently before all this started? Anything."

She then looked towards Virginia. "Finding a tie, any tie, would make locating potential victims better. Would further make using my sense to determine when and if a power is being used more accurate." It seems that she purposely left out that she could sense the use of mental powers in the presence of the two college personnel on purpose.

"We do not need much really." Virginia responded. "This is simply an investigation. For all parties involved, I think it is beneficial to be as low key as possible. As you said yourself, this may be neither a tech or meta influence problem at all. Let's start with their class schedules, addresses, parking permits, known friends and associates. Marie is looking for links between them. That information would help us in retracing their steps and finding those links. Also if you could provide us with some student I.D.s, we may could blend in as part of the student body while are out and about."

Virginia paused for a moment with more words on her lips. She took a look around the office for personal items related to the people they were speaking to. Were there any family pictures, personal awards, but more specifically were there any items in sight that dealt specifically with their involvement with meta peoples?

"Of course we may run into people with powers who are not involved in any way. To maintain community trust we will be discrete and not draw attention to anyone without due diligence. Marie and I simply thought it would be good for you to see our faces and know who we are in the event something went sideways."

Joanne nodded her approval.   "I'll get your information together.   Come on by again a little later.  We've also got UWMAD (she pronounced it like "You Mad"), which gives us what we know about our metahuman population, both staff and student.  We've got a telepath on staff, but he's trusted and alibi'd.  You can touch base with him in Astronomy, if it would help."


Finley pushes over the folder with Victoria Van Voigt's information.   "If anything else germane to the case comes up, we'll be in contact...."

--
OOC: So, I'm assuming off to the hospital to interview Victoria?  Or did you wanna do anything else, first?

Marie tapped her chin a moment, then in her usual emotionless manner. "Was this telepath near any of the scenes as they occurred?"

"No." Finley said. "He's not a suspect.  He was teaching during the red court event, and was in Portland when Miss Van Voigt took her giant leap.  My money's on a newly erupted meta.  Someone who doesn't know what they've got.  But we just don't have the equipment to track this kind of thing down.  Not before something truly tragic goes down."

--
Added the astronomy prof simply so that Marie has another possible contact (he's nowhere near as strong as she!) and there's someone not police they can go to for help and insight.  If it's wanted.

She considered a moment then nodded, stating in her usual emotionless manner. "The idea was not to see him as a suspect, but to see if he sensed something. Sometimes those with abilities like that can feel when similar abilities are being used near them. Even down to the type." She explained. "Sometimes said sense is strong enough, that it can work as far as you or I can hear or see. Thus further giving the person a rough direction and distance." She then added.

"Oh, like triangulation. Finley said. "Gotcha..."

--
OOC: I'm always a little worried about giving too many options and too many potential paths to go down as I've seen players go into option-paralysis.   Since we're going pretty episodic, pretty much any path you choose will lead to the story I've got in mind.

Next engagement will likely just be a "hey, go do this, willya?" without the leadup...

"Pretty much, yes. We could have used that information to figure out who was in that area at that time, and narrowed down actual suspects." She said with a single nod. "That being said, it might be worth inquiring if he has such a sense, and if he does to inform him to keep a feel out just in case."

Alphonse gave a short nod and Finley offered a genial shrug. "His contact info's in the dossier.   He knows you're here.  But we're not advertising things.  The database we've got is strictly under FOI and it is a voluntary disclosure thing."

Alphonse stood up. "Is there anything else you need?  If you'd like, Finley or I could go with you.    Some places many need special authorization.  If any staff gives you any trouble, have them contact us."

So, obviously question...  where to next?  I wanna know whether to write up the astronomy faculty offices or the hospital or... well, wherever else you'd like t ogo.

quote:

"CP has put together names, contact information and briefs of events of note where the issues seem dramatically at odds with the people involved."


She's a psychology doctoral student doing behavioral research out of Guthrie Hall.

Actually I think I would like to "see the information" CP has put together. Maybe not literally but work out a "map" with push pins and string to localize the area the events are happening.
And simply go see what is going on in the Psychology Department, undercover of course.

Okay.  The information Community Protection (CP) Division has put together is varied and likely has incidents that aren't directly related--but they, nor you, wouldn't know for certain.

Ultimately, this is rather boring to roleplay out.  This puts this activity--the mapping out and searching for ties and trends--squarely in the province of mechanical rolls to further the story.

This calls for an Investigate skill roll. However, neither Virginia nor Marie have ranks in this trained skill, so you're defaulting to a straight Intelligence roll with a +5 target modifier for the lack of training. So... roll Intelligence vs +20 to discern any patterns, notes of interest.

I'm not looking to run the sort of game where you--the player--have to figure out what's going on, despite how it may look.  The scene won't stop dead if you don't "figure it out"....

Now, if you're heading to Guthrie Hall (Psych department), you'll want to consider taking with Doctor Jonathan Quinn, Victoria's doctoral advisor.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:32, Sat 28 May 2022.

OOC: Would they be able to call on Stitches or send him the information for him to try and put the pieces together? He has +15 with skill mastery for a base 25

Do they know Stitches well enough to know he's that good at Investigations?  Does it make sense in the context of the game for them to relay everything to this NPC?  Do they have that kind of relationship that this would make sense?

OOC: Perhaps not yet.

If I interpreted correctly

09:56, Today: Virginia rolled 20 using 1d20+5.  map investigation.

And yeah, I did not think you wanted to literally actually write out reports for us to pick through. Nevertheless, Virginia is looking for a centralized area where things are occurring. Narrowing it down physically. What lies at the center? That is what she is trying to glean from the info.

As for Miss Van Voigt, I kind of presume if she had something significant to tell us the professional investigators would have caught it. For Virginia, speaking to her might take second place to simply being on the scene to see what turns up. However she does not have the mind powers Marie has. A visit might be integral for her. So I will wait and see what she decides.

Okay.

There have been three "clusters" of "outbreaks of stupidity".

Right Across The Street
A smaller radius of buildings, just across 15th Avenue from the Police building they were currently in:
Guthrie Hall (Psychology), Bagley Hall (chemistry), Physics/Astronomy Building
Several chemical accidents, The Lady Icarus incident.  An enormous number of vehicle incidents.  Those involved appear like they're high on marijuanna, but most tested negative.  All involved tended to display a sort of docile bemusement at their plight, regardless of how dangerous it was.   Incidents in this area are still being reported.

Across Campus
The Intramural Activities (IMA) Building (& Dawg Bites cafe)
The original outbreak that led Meta Division to request the data collation.  The freezer incident at Dawg Bites.  Seventeen arrests for intoxication (that tested negative) and drunk & disorderly behavior.  Events here tapered off and nothing has manifested in the past two weeks.

Red Square (Quad with an Administration building, two libraries and Meany Theater).
Several different incidents.  Still ongoing.
Of particular note was that one of the earliest potential incidents took place during a student-led protest.  Acclaimed clinical psychologist & author Alfred Neuman had given a talk in Kane Hall, expounding on the role of myth and folklore in the foundations of human psyche.  The protestors were outspoken given Neuman's very publicized history of misogyny and the recent results of his very messy divorce settlement.

f you wanna do something with this... I'll run with it, but either way, I'm going to trigger something in a day or two.

Virginia worked out the info on the locations of the incidents but saw no clear connection. However, she was curious about elevations points. Like maybe there was a taller building one could see all of these locations from, much like a sniper would use. She considered that the astronomy department may have an observatory on top of a campus building. The only way to know for sure would be to go look. She decided to take a stroll onto campus to look for a common line of sight between these locations from any point in the area. (with Marie presumably as well)

Marie will accompany Virginia on the quest to find a vantage point. "While on campus would could likely talk to the instructor too to see if he has a sense like my. Another looker could be useful."

Here's a heat-map of the locations (the three sites are red, two other sites that might--or might not--be related--are in yellow.   The red star is where you were at the police station.
https://imgur.com/a/6ILQos0

A reminder that this is a map I'm using on the regular:
https://www.washington.edu/maps/#!/sca
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:24, Thu 16 June 2022.

For the most part, the campus didn't seem to be in the throes of a major epidemic of stupidity.  It was just another summer day, with a cool breeze coming in from Portage Bay.

It being a mere ten days or so before the university semester began, the campus was filling up with a lot of students and staff, returning.  The summer session had wrapped up and exam results were posted.  It seemed idyllic.

Marie and Virginia were given directions to Physics/Astronomy building to find Dr Roman Cortez.  His office was on the third floor, in the tower overlooking Mark McDermitt Plaza.
.  The whole building was well within one of the primary incident heat-maps.  Which means that Dr Cortez likely would have insight on things, even if he wasn't actually present for the events directly.

The UW Police had called ahead and Doctor Cortez was waiting for them. His office-door was even open!

Cortez was a short, stocky man with a wild fringe of frizzy sttel-gray hair surrounding a startlingly shiny pate.   He'd a heavily seamed visage that showed lots of worry and lots of laughter.  For a man in his late fifties, though, he seemed in pretty good shape.   He wore a crisp french-collared blue shirt with impeccable creases that must have been starched in.  He was sitting at his desk, playing--of all things--sudoku.

As they walked in, Cortez pointed to a sign on the door, placed a little below eye-level.

"Emotional Outbursts hurt everyone.  Keep it civil or keep out.

"It's mostly theater." He said.  "But it's not a secret that if I Lose my temper, really bad things can happen.  Better just to not escalate it.  Most of my more volatile students prefer to video-chat or send email."
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:07, Thu 16 June 2022.

Her tone was her usual emotionless self as she read the sign. "With a sign like that one would think you and I are related." She said in that flat tone. "I am Marie, this is Virginia. Do you mind if we talk for a moment?"

Cortez stood, and nodded.  He came out from behind his desk.

The office was pretty spartan.  It had had dark wood paneling put in on one side, possibly because there was a kitchenette on the other and the wood paneling would act as sound-buffering.  There was a couple of chairs and a standing lamp.  The carpet was a rich chocolate brown and Cortez had the other wall lined with a short bookcase.  There was a pair of bonsai trees on top of the shelf, and what appeared to be a small sunlamp beside them--turned off.

Cortez motioned to the two chairs, comfortable red-winged chairs that looked more like they'd be in-place in a vintage gentleman's club than a university professor's office.

"Please. Do come in." He said with a broad smile. It wasn't forced or fake.  "Whatever you'd said to Nigel, you seemed to have impressed him. I've been asked to accommodate you and I'm inclined to appreciate stability. So, what can I do for you?"

"Perhaps after what we are here to investigate is done and over with you and I can talk about what you just said a moment ago, about your temper and bad things happening." She said with a small nod. "Anyway, as for what you can do for us he said you are a telepath, yes? I am wishing to inquire if you have a certain ability in the same vein as one I myself have." Another pause, and a soft consideration. "As a fellow telepath, mentalist, I can also sense when someone is using mental powers near me. We have a theory that whatever is happening might be mental in nature, and were curious if you had such an ability?"

Virgina too was put at ease by the professor's demeanor. She sat respectfully waiting for Dr.Cortez to respond to Marie. She took perspective of things though, such as looking how the windows in this particular building did/or did not open. Upon arrive she noticed the facility had a tower building that was much taller than anything else in the vicinity. She intended on asking for them to be escorted to the top of that later. It appeared to have unique line-of-sight potentiality. Something someone could have potentially exploited.

"If you listen to some of my students, I am  the terror that flaps in the night, attuned to their every shameful thought.  It's amusing, actually, just how narcissistic the young are. "

Yes.  I am a telepath.  Though, I suppose, I'm probably more an empath.  My abilities in that jurisdiction seemed linked to extreme emotion.  And, unfortunately, we are on a university campus.  Nigel said something about a statistically significant upswings in buffoonery.  But they're college kids. They're all buffoons."

"Actually..."  he stopped for a moment, the warmth touching his tone, showing that he wasn't really that bitter, "That's really the purview of the freshmen and sophomores.  Once they get hit with the tuition fees, most of them start taking it a little more serious."

I can point out some of the most unstable people I've come into contact with.  I presume you're not limiting your search to the student body?

--
Marie succeeded with ease on sensing Cortez' mental shields coming up.

And, oh, I think I'm going to enjoy playing him....
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:03, Sun 19 June 2022.

Marie cocked her head to one side as she listened to him, taking in his change and the change in the room. Her own expression remains emotionless, as does her tone. "If you listen to the news, I am a mindless beast that can melt minds in an emotional blaze. People in general can come to conclusions towards things they do not understand that are sometimes, wrong."

"It would seem we are closely related. My abilities are directly tied to my emotions, and are mental in  nature as I am sure you have seen. You have no need to worry though, I will not do anything to you, look into your mind, or anything else without your permission." She said with a small nod.

"We're not limiting our search at all at the moment. If you wish to give some ideas that would be helpful." She said with a nod. "We also would like to ask, I have the ability to sense when abilities like ours are being used around me. Such as when you put your mental shields up. Do you have a similar ability?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:50, Thu 23 June 2022.

Virginia sat languid as the two telepaths "talked shop". She kept her distress hidden. Her gifts were nothing like that. Hers for the most part were physical or mechanical in nature. Powers of the mind were insidious! InPsydneyious even! You could be affected in so many ways and never see it coming. The professor, he sounded a bit nutty but the snippets of self reflection seemed to indicate he was sane. If Psydney were directly involved here, she would eventually bubble up. Her love of adoration was simply too much. Virginia had to play it cool as long as she could and wait for her to show herself. She looked out the window to see exactly what view the professor had from here.

Virginia gazed out the window, seeing the tiled walkways of Mark McDermitt Plaza, nestled overtop the underground parking that served the local buildings, it was a wide green space.  He could almost see West Stevens Way, one of the internal streets on campus, but the foliage was too high.  There were people out there, moving back forth, busy little worker-bees engaged in the minutia of every-day life.


"If you look through history, you'll find that most pioneers were feared or eschewed in their time.  I would be..."  He pursed his lips, obviously weighing things. "amenable to talk more. I've only ever met two others with a similar power.  And I married one of them."  he said with a bit of a grin.  For a moment, he seemed almost like a little boy admitting to having stolen a cookie.

It probably wasn't lost on Marie that he didn't comment on her  promise not to do anything untoward.  "I'm afraid I am not in a position to sense when others use such abilities.  If you truly can... well."  He leaned back in his chair and reached over to his desk for a pair of reading glasses.  He balanced them precariously on the tip of his nose and peered at Marie over the top.  "well, well, well.   That would change everything."

"There is fear in being alone."  Cortez said. "More so when you are stuck in your own head.  I don't know how they do it."  But I can tell you that no telepath ever wants to be alone.  He--or she, I suppose--will seek out others like them.  If they're new, they'll seek solace in crowds.  But the wash of emotion, the press of so many thoughts would be like standing beside a speaker turned up to eleven."

"Montlake hospital does have a psychiatric wing.  But I imagine that getting FOI records for such a generalized search isn't going to be easy.  So.  What have you got? What are you looking for?"

So, the big question--and I can't railroad you on this...  Do you share your insights and information with him?

Virginia squirmed in her seat as the two discussed telepathic and empathic powers. She understood what they were talking about but could not help but be a little paranoid that they were reading her mind.

"Don't think about sex! Don't think about sex! Don't think about sex! Think about... food! Yes, Ginger Snaps! Lemon Merangue! Baklava, Lady Fingers, Moon Pies, Boston Cream Pie, Honey Buns, Pig in a Blanket, Kumquat, Cockolate Cookies....awww". She dropped her head and thought about sex.

Doctor Cortez levelled Virginia with a rather inscrutable look.  "Whatever you do, don't think about an elephant in a tutu." he said with what appeared to be complete seriousness.

"It's how I knew you raised your mental shields. I didn't have to use an ability on you to know they went up, I simply, knew they did." She said after he mentioned her ability to sense when others use mental abilities. "The downside is though, it is always on, so I have to always wear these." She said tapping her sunglasses.

"Yes, there is fear in being alone, but there is even more fear in hurting those close to you as well." She said with a nod.

"Alright, so Virginia, do you care to share what we have so far with him? I know we both have our own theories." She said with a nod. "My theory is that we might have someone controlling the students into doing these acts. Which is why I was hoping you had a sense like mine. A second person even catching the activation of something in passing would have helped considerably."

Then she managed a small smile at what he said to Virginia, the first show of emotion she's demonstrated since their visit.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Tue 28 June 2022.

For the record, I don't need a recap of what you've got.  You can high-concept it, tell me if you're leaving anything out, or if you're skewing it in any way.

Virginia pulled out a campus map with their scribbling on it and briefly explained the big picture of what they knew.

"Now I have to agree with Marie, I believe someone is to blame for these incidents. I do not think it is swamp gas in the air. However controlling might be a strong word. I might would say affecting instead. Over here where cars are being dinged, everyone acted like they had a passive drug high and lack of self preservation. Over here they were behaving as if they were drunk. And over here they were charged up to belligerence. These are more like states of mind or temperament. Maybe something affecting the mental id of a person. Or a psychology department experiment if I could be so blunt. Now if someone were intentionally targeting people, and I bring that up because it is perfectly possible the presumed source is innocent, we have kept that in mind. But if they were doing it intentionally, they might go looking for a high point to broadcast from. This building has a tower. Has anyone been up there lately?"   

"Self-preservation is a pretty instinctual drive." he said, "but there are enough drugs that can short-circuit that drive." He raised a hand to forestall any argument.  "I'm saying that to indicate my train of thought, only.   Because such a thing can manifest with drugs, there are mechanisms in the brain that facilitate that activity.  So, it's not impossible.</DarkBlue>

<DarkBlue>The University has a pretty strong ethics committee.  I am confident--but cannot guarantee--that there is no such project.  But someone taking results of an experiment and turning it to their own devices?  Now that I'd believe in a heartbeat.  Humans are petty and jealous and selfish as all get-out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  He's long-winded.

"The only access to the rooftop that I'm aware of was the young lady who tried to fly.  Psychology student, in fact." Cortez chewed on his lip for a moment. "But your reasoning is sound.  There are several towers around this campus that are affixed with RainyDawg repeaters.  That's the local university radio station  Maintenance and Radio technician would have unfettered access.  I... I think it's key-fobbed.  Let me place a call.  I'll have Maintenance  give me access and..."

Cortez reached for his desk phone and held the receiver in his hand.  He cocked his head to one side, and starred blankly at the telephone.  "I... uh...  I seem to have forgotten how to make a telephone call. "

And with that, I'll need you both to make a DC22 Will check to fight off the effects.  I'll give you details if you fail.  If you succeed, I'll give you descriptions, instead.

And yes, Marie, this definitely triggers your psychic-power sense.

This message was last updated by the GM at 02:54, Mon 18 July 2022.

Today: Virginia rolled 14 using 1d20+10.  for Will check
I think I did that right?

"Someone's using mental powers nearby." Marie said with a whisper to Virginia.


11:43, Today: Marie rolled 13 using 1d20+9.  Will Check.

They watched Dr Cortez, who sat down suddenly, a bemused expression on his face.  He held the telephone receiver vaguely as if he were holding a spatula.

Virginia had this very brief flash of him wearing a bright orange "Kiss the Cook" apron with a chef's hat and a cheesy grin as hamburgers burned merrily on a barbecue before him.   All of a sudden she was really hungry...

For Marie, it was like the sudden on-set of brain-freeze: the cold clawing of ice-cream across her scalp, itching numbness and a curious stillness and quiet.  She was immediately put in mind of ice-cream....  Italian ice-cream, apparently.  Gelato.   She really wanted Gelato, now...


The power at play here is a progressive cloud-area affliction with the following degrees:

1. AWE & INT -2
   
2. AWE & INT -5
   
3. Asleep

Resisted by: Will, DC 22; Cloud Area 8: 1800 feet radius sphere, DC 22
Subtle 1, Insidious, Progressive, Instant Recovery

Marie rolled 13 using 1d20+9.  Will Check
Virginia rolled 14 using 1d20+10.  for Will check

You both failed the attack defence by two degrees.  You're still active (not Asleep), but you're now both working at Awareness & Intellect -5.  Neither of you are Debilitated in these Abilities, but you are definitely impaired.

Marie:    Intelligence -5, Awareness 4
Virginia: Intelligence -5, Awareness -1

This message was last edited by the GM at 02:35, Wed 20 July 2022.

Marie
As this qualifies as a Mental Effect and is definitely in your power-profile's purview, you can try to see if you can find the source.  It's got the Subtle  extra, but it's really only in place because it's detectable by an "exotic sense", so we're not going to do the DC10.  Let's just go with the straight regular sensory power.

According to the Sense Awareness write-up, it'd be DC10 +1DC for every 10 feet....  And I'll remind you that you're inside a building.  So, you're not likely to get a purely accurate bead on the source.  But you are real likely to get a general direction of the source of the pulse that did this...  (

I also don't want to give you a distance measure. So, the DC on this is obfuscated.  Well, really, I'm just gonna push it along one way or the other...
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:48, Tue 26 July 2022.

Virginia did not have a watch on but she looked about the room for a clock. "What time is it? Is anyone else hungry? It must be after lunch, I am starving! I suggest we continue this at Just Burgers over a bacon cheeseburger." She immediately got up and stood in the doorway trying to subconsciously motivate them in going with her. She could smell the cooking meat already!

Virginia gave a slow nod to Maire to indicate that she heard her, then she said "But I still gotta have a bacon burger. Like right now. "Bong"." Imitating the taco bell commercial.

"Oh."  Cortez said.  He dropped the receiver on the desk. "Bacon."  The resemblance to Homer Simpson was eerie.

Cortez stood up.  "Right.  We need hamburgers."  He turned around once, looking vaguely perplexed, then nodded and came around from behind the desk.  He stepped behind Marie, and took a light windbreaker from a hook on the back of the office door.  It had a UW logo on it.  "With Bacon.  definitely bacon.  Come with me.  We're off to Dawg Bites!"


Marie:
Today: Control, on behalf of Marie, rolled 27 using 1d20+8 ((19)).

The source of the mental effect was real nearby... in fact, it was perhaps only a few floors up from where they were right now...

If you go with Cortez to Dawg Bites, you'll be moving away from the source of the mental effect.  You can certainly try to convince him to do otherwise...  Thankfully persuasion< is not Awareness or Intelligence based.

"No. We're not going to go eat." She said her voice a low growl. "The person doing this is upstairs, a few floors..." She said, obviously she was very upset and angry that someone was inside her head. The shere anger of it all starting to override the desire for food that she had. So much so that she could be on the verge... Her dimly glowly eyes hidden by her sunglasses begin flickering, glowing brighter then returning to normal, again and again. "...fuck. Not now..."

"Dang alright." She said not understanding Marie was talking to herself. "I will live without food for a little while. Professor can we go look about upstairs?"

"Right." Cortez shook his head. "I just....  Um.  I don't know the code.  And I don't remember how to call building maintenance." He looked up and there was unabashed fear in his eyes.

"This is extra-ordinary." he said.  "Is this what your guy does?  He removes memories?"

You're a couple of floors down.  Do you want to call maintenance, go get food, go upstairs?  If only you had a way to get up to the roof!

"Our guy? We do not know who this is, but we will find out." She said coldly, as she looked towards the window. Moving to it she looked to see how it opened. "Virginia, can you?" She then makes a flying motion with her hands.

"Right." She gave Marie a nod. Her head spun to the professor, which she seemed to consider for a moment. Then 'poof', with a small spray of glittery dust, Virginia turned to miniature fairy size.

"Going up?" She threw her arm like a baseball pitcher and Marie was covered with beautiful sticky glitter. Marie immediately felt the burden of weight evaporate. Her feet lifted gently off the floor and with nothing more than instinctual thought she was free to fly according to her own will.

Virginia then swung her left arm across her body and doused the professor as well.

"Your discretion in these matters is advised." Virginia spoke to Cortez spinning a sharp four inch spike, which she then pointed at him. "You never saw this."

Feeling like she should lead, Virginia zipped over and yanked the window open. She poked her head out as if she were being a scout then looked back. "But we will do bacon burgers after this, right??"

She did not wait for an answer but stepped out immediately into the air, wings aflutter. She delayed there waiting to make sure Marie, and the professor too if he wished to come along, got started off alright.

"Wait I can..  I mean..!" She held her hands up to try and stop Virginia from wasting her dust on her but it was to little to late and she sighed in resigned indignation.

Marie would fly out of the window as if she was an accomplished flyer, because she clearly was. "We will do your bacon burgers after this, yes." She said as she flew past Virginia with ease.

Virginia was pleased with how naturally Marie seemed to take up flying........

As the professor had no presented himself to join in, she shot up behind Marie to go investigate.

Professor Cortez raised his hands in stunned amazement as he slowly lifted off the floor of his office.

While Marie took off like she was born to flight, Cortez was already tilting forty degrees forward and to the side.  He flailed, knocked his coffee-cup from his desk, uttered an eep of discomfort.  But he was grinning the entire time, utterly elated and transfixed by this newfound experience.


He followed out the door, nervousness written on his visage.  Virginia had done this enough times that she knew the rules...  Happy thoughts were the key to levitation...

From their perspective outside of the building, both Marie and Virginia could see that a window in the very top of the tower was wide open, and there appeared to be two people struggling in the room inside...

"No!" a woman's voice, high and nasal but rife with the sound of choked tears.  "Love doesn't work that way!  You don't force people to love you!"

--
OOC: Amused as hell that Marie got fairy-dusted erven though she didn't really need it...

If these two were not their target, it certainly seemed to be a bit of a situation. Virginia ascended in a loose spiral and came to light on the open window sill.

The top floor of the tower was even stories up, which meant flying four storeys up to get there.  The upper floors were all enclosed and the rooftop had a handful of air-conditioning units and ventilation conduits.  And, of all things, a couple of lawn-chairs and a table with a sun-umbrella.   There appeared to be a bottle of wine on the table and a couple of white carboard containers from some sort of take-out delivery place.

A blonde-haired woman wearing jeans and a loose sweatshirt sat on the rooftop, huddled in the shade of one of the roof-top AC units.  She had a blanket over her legs and clutched herself as if she were cold or--perhaps more likely--in fear.

Standing above her, a pudgy man with frizzy black hair, and three-days growth paced back and forth.  He wore a tuxedo that was just a little too large, and white running shoes.   He walked with an uneven gait and the fingers in his free hand clenched and unclenched as he talked.


--

Our NPCs
The Girl - fmc693	The Guy mmc853

Roll Insight:15 if you want clearer details, but really... you're both women.  You've seen this before Far too often.
Roll Notice:20 to tell what it is the guy's holding.

This message was last edited by the player at 03:48, Sun 04 Sept 2022.

"You don't have to pretend!" The guy said.  His voice was high and vaguely whiny, like he knew he was fighting a losing battle.  "There's nobody here.  I just want to talk to you.  You're so smart and pretty and we like all the same things.  You make me hard to breathe.  I... I wish there was a way for you to see inside of me.  Tell me, what do I have to do?"

And now, I'm gonna ask for it again...  Will Check DC22.

It's still a progressive cloud-area affliction, only, this time, the degrees are as follows:

1. AWE & INT: your base +2
   
2. AWE & INT: your base +5

Resisted by: Will, DC 22; Cloud Area 8: 1800 feet radius sphere, DC 22
Subtle 1, Insidious, Progressive, Instant Recovery

You don't actually have a choice to accept since your character doesn't know this is happening.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:03, Sun 04 Sept 2022.

Klara failed the will roll, takes AWE & INT + 5...

"Oh, Glen."  she said.  "This...  this is very sweet.  And I know you're just trying to be nice and--"

"I am a nice guy!"  Glen spun on his heels.  "But that's just it, isn't it?  You don't want a nice guy.  You want a... you want a Chad!"

Virginia rose to the top of the tower where the bustle seemed to be. As she crested the ledge she saw the man and the woman in the embarrassing scenario. She also smelled the take out food! She lighted on the table and semi-inspected that as she took in exactly what was going on with the couple.

"This smells delicious!" she blurted out, "What is it?! I am starving!"


07:08, Today: Virginia rolled 8 using 1d20+6.  for Insight.    But the situation is still kind of obvious...she does not want what is for lunch
07:09, Today: Virginia rolled 19 using 1d20+8.  for Perception. for what he is holding, a cork screw I am guessing.
07:19, Today: Virginia rolled 26 using 1d20+12.  Will Check

Just checking in.  Will do more, later...

However... both Insight & Notice skills are under the previous progressive affliction... so you've got a -5 circumstance modifier, making the results:

• 1d20+12 rolled 26 vs DC22 Will Check - successfully resisted!
• 1d20+8 rolled 19 -5 Awareness Affliction == 14 vs DC20 Perception
• 1d20+6 rolled 8 -5 Awareness Affliction == 3 vs DC15 Insight

So:

Insight:
There is a heavy bulk underneath the blanket.  She's hiding something under there.  Is she doing something to him?  She seems wide-eyed.

There is an odd misshapenness to his face, though.  Looks sort of like a sad puppy or a half-melted wax portrait.

Notice:
Hard to tell what he's holding... It's thick enough that he's holding it open-handed.  Like a baseball, or a grenade.

Will:
You successfully resisted.
Your lowered Intelligence & Awareness now return to it's regular level.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:47, Sun 04 Sept 2022.

"Stop this now." Came a growl from Marie as she crested the ledge and looked squarely at the man. "Stop this now or I will make you see horrors no human should ever see." It was clear she was angry, and having issues maintaining control and could lose it at any moment. The was evident by the fact that her normally dimly glowing eyes, were flashing brighter and back to dim again.

[OOC: I played catch-up on the rolls.

21:22, Today: Marie rolled 23 using 1d20+15.  Insight.
21:25, Today: Marie rolled 27 using 1d20+13 with rolls of 14.  Perception.
21:26, Today: Marie rolled 29 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 20.  Will Check.

I love a natural 20 on a Will save. :)

Also I have a feeling that her Emotionally Unbound complication might be coming into play here.]
This message was last edited by the player at 02:36, Wed 07 Sept 2022.

Marie:
1d20+9 rolled 29 vs DC22 Will Check - Critical Success!
1d20+13 rolled 27 -5 Awareness Affliction == 22 vs DC20 Perception
1d20+25 rolled 23 -5 Awareness Affliction == 18 vs DC15 Insight

Insight:
If it wasn't absolutely honest this was most definitely not a date.  Though, apparently, the pudgy guy wanted it to be.   The girl is sitting because she can't move.  There's a blanket there, but her legs are too closely together.  So, she's either tied or something else is restricting her movement below the waist.

Perception:
Of all things, the pudgy guy appears to be holding... a potato.  He's clutching it with white-knuckled determination.

If you recall some of my bitching about work-woes, this might actually make sense from a metagame standpoint.

Either way, you've made the Will resist, and that also serves to break free from the current affliction.   So, your Awareness & Intelligence return to normal.

Glen froze when Virginia spoke up.   Comically, he spun one way, then the other, but didn't actually see Virginia right off.  He frowned and squinted and shook his head.

Then the pudgy guy looked down at his hand at the rock--grenade?--he was holding.  And his eyes went wide like saucers.  "Oh. My. God."  he whispered with reverential awe. "I'm the fucking smartest god-damn thing ever!"


Then Marie made her appearance.

"Stop this now or I will make you see horrors no human should ever see." Marie's eyes flashed brightly.

"No!" The pudgy guy yelped, and he actually stumbled back three steps, lifting the potato up as if it would be a ward against Marie and Virginia--who he still hadn't seen yet, being so small in her fairy form. "No, no, no!  You can't take this away from me!  She Loves me!  She has to!  She just hasn't seen it yet!"

Klara, however, had seen Virginia pretty much right off the bat, and had watched with fascination as the little fairy had taken a position over the Dawg Bites take-out food boxes.  She cocked her head to one side and shook her own head, bizarrely mirroring Glen's own head-shake for entirely different reasons.

When Marie made her appearance, Klara's eyes also went wide though more tinged with confusion than anything else.

When Glen made his protestations that she just had to love him, her attention snapped back and clarity came back into her expression.  Her mouth set in a cold hard line.

"No, actually."  She said, slowly, coldly. "I don't.  I don't even know you! You were some guy I TA's for, like, a year ago! I tried to tell you nicely, but you didn't get the hint.  I don't love you.  "

The pudgy guy fairly crumpled as if he'd been run through the center of his chest.

"No!" he screamed and the echoes of it bounced off some of the Auditorium and the Chem Lab, possibly even the Life Sciences building.

Glen took three quick steps to stand over Klara...

And.... now's the time to roll for initiative...

Glen rolled 19
Klara rolled 18
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:11, Thu 08 Sept 2022.

23:24, Today: Virginia rolled 21 using 1d20+4 Initiative

"Virginia, that one is our target." Marie said as she pointed to Glen. Marie's voice was cold, but it lost it's emotionless tone. She was full of fury and anger now. Which if everything that is said about her is true, is bad. Very bad for everyone. "Also, she's either tied down, or cannot move because of something below the waist from what I can tell."

Then she looked towards Glen. "You are not as smart as you think Glen. You might think that is a grenade, but I am a fucking nuclear bomb. If you have ever heard of the Mind Dagger, you should be reconsidering your answer right now. I. Am. Her." She was hoping that her bad reputation would play out here. She didn't want things to escalate because she was not sure how much longer she could maintain control.

[OOC:23:10, Today: Marie rolled 6 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 2.  Initiative.

Welp, guess I'm last. But that could work to my benefit!]

Okay, so here's how combat works in RPOL.

I have pre-defined the NPCs moves in a GM-only private-line.

Tell me what you wanna do.

You can do conditionals (if-then-else) only on folks who are lower on the initiative ranking, but doing so moves you to their position in the initiative for that round.

If your action is made unavailable by the actions of those higher-up the initiative roster (like trying to punch the speedster who's moved way out of range earlier in the round)... well, the story defines what happens.  That's still the action you took.  Mind you, the same thing happens for the bad guys--which is why I predefine their actions each round.

I will build an action-list and eventually fill it all out with the actions & numbers as we go, to support the narrative that we build.

Our initiative roster is:

And, in case it wasn't obvious PC Allies are Blue, Enemies are Red, NPC allies are Purple, NPC unknowns are Gray.


Ooops.  I suppose I coulda put the To-Hit defenses up, since they're not rolled.

Glen's DCs:
Dodge DC13 (for ranged attacks)
Parry DC12 (for close combat attacks)
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:15, Fri 09 Sept 2022.

Virginia was embarrassed for the young man. He was making a terrible scene. Nevertheless, she needed to get his attention.
"Stop!" she shouted!
Wasting no time she leapt from the table into the air, grabbing the top of a chair as she went. Using her disproportionate strength she brought it up, around, and over her head, hurling it at him for all she was worth!

17:34, Today: Virginia rolled 26 using 1d20+6.  To throw chair at pudgy guy.
Booyah! Natural 20! Fairy celebration!
I think I did that right?? It has been a minute.
Plus I thought to dust and then cause an effect would take too long.

@Virginia

Yup, you did it right!
You rolled 1d20(20) + Dexterity:0 + Ranged Combat:6 = Thrown Chair Attack (+26).
A Natural 20 is an automatic success and generates a threat!

As a critical hit, you get to pick one:

1. Add +5 to the effect (damage) resistance DC he's got to roll against
   
2. Add an additional effect at DC15 (for damage) or DC10 (for some other effect that's not damage), but it must make narrative sense (like "Dazzle" to represent momentary dizziness, etc)
   
3. Choose to do an alternate effect (that isn't listed on your character sheet) instead of the straight thrown-chair damage, but unlike normal alternate effects, this wouldn't cost you any fatigue.

--
Only other side note here is that in my build for her, I hadn't defined the nature of the ranged attack.  If you use it this way here, then this will be defined specifically for THROW attacks--no other ranged attacks.  The Ranged attack skill doesn't apply to all ranged attacks.  So, Shooting a gun, bow, blow-dart, ranged dusting, etc... that won't get the bonus.

So, your call.
What kind of attack gets the ranged combat skill +6 bonus?

It's either:

• Thrown chair(+26) with Ranged Combat(Throw):+6 OR
• Thrown chair(+20) without it.

Both of them will be a success vs Glen's Dodge DC13.  Both of them are critical hits.   The first will get you a maximum of 3 degrees of the resulting effect.  The second will get you a maximum of 2 degrees of resulting effects.

@Marie
I agree that this situation is likely well aligned with her complication...

I'm kinda walking the line because I don't want to go all iron-age dark gritty grimdark in tone for the game...

So... how would it come into play to actually be a complication in this scene?  I'm kinda having some difficulty seeing it...  Well, I have some ideas, but not right at this immediate juncture.    Any thoughts?

The ranged combat +6 bonus should definitely be for hitting people with fairy dust!
The Natural 20 effect... let's do the Dazzle. That just makes the most sense. Being hit by a chair sounds like it would disorient you for a moment.

Side note I had thought about just throwing the food at him. But the tone thing, I was not certain of how deadly the threat was. Would the food throw have been a wasted move? Would going medieval on him be too much? Throwing the chair seemed like a good medium.
But the food, that would have been so funny with the natural 20! :-D

I'm of the opinion that I set the general tone of the game through narrative and NPC interactions.  You guys... well, you can do whatever you want--and that will also set the tone.   I just don't want to spend a lot of time deep-diving into the horror.  It doesn't mean the horror doesn't exist... just that we aren't focusing on it.

So, yeah, the food woulda been funny.  But both serve.

Virginia hefted the chair and, even in her diminutive form, she flung it at Glen.

Glen, entirely oblivious and confused as to why the chair had been moving in the first place, couldn't comprehend what was happening, and so he couldn't dodge it.  The chair hit him, knocking him back a step or two.

He looked horrified and his eyes darted left and right.

The thing in his hand seemed to glow with a greenish light, as Glen set his jaw in stubborn determination.

He took several steps to the table and grabbed the first thing that came to hand--one of the take-out boxes--and flung it with a short, strangled scream, at Marie who was still floating above him menace unadultered in her eyes.

The take-out box missed, of course, but the contents of the box, a cheeseburger and fries, with lots of ketchup, splattered across Marie's front.

Glen dove behind the girl grabbing her by the shoulders.  She looked utterly terrified as Glen loomed closer.

"Klara Morten!" Cortez called out, his voice oddly displaced.  "We're here to save you!"

"It's the Potato!"  She screamed.

The ketchup was the last straw.   Marie reached a hand out almost lazily, and touched Glen's mind...

--
OOC:  Marie I'm sorry if I wasn't clear on the process.  I was looking for an action from you so that I could build the entire scene.  It wasn't a post in initiative order thing because RPOL is asynchronous and it'd make us wait even longer that just waiting on me...   I chose an action that seemed in line with what you had described.

That being said... Can you describe what Marie's putting into Glens mind as the illusion?

Also... of course this whole situation fits with her complication.  So of course you get the hero-point for that!

This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

And, here's the mechanical breakdown...

I won't be doing this all the time, but I really need to refresh myself on the mechanics.

• Virginia - threw one of the picnic chairs at Glen
  
  • rolled 1d20(20) + Dexterity:0 = Attack (+20)
    
    • Glen rolled Toughness(+14) vs Damage(18) and takes 1 degree of damage
    • Glen also takes on the Impaired (Visual) condition because of the critical hit "Dazzle" effect.
      He's now at -2 for visual senses.
• Glen throws a take-out box at Marie:
  
  • rolled 1d20(+5) - Dazzled(-2) - Dexterity(-1) = Attack(+2) - FAILED to HIT
  • Glen dives beside Klara, partially hiding behind her.
• Klara screams - immobile, cannot get away from Glen
• Marie (via GM Fiat) - Cast Illusions on Glen at full power
  
  • GM rolled 1d20(+18) + Illusion(+10) = DC28
    
    • Glen rolled Will(+11) vs DC28 - Glen FAILED the WILL check
• Cortez lands on the roof on the far side - passed STEALTH check
  
  • Rolled Calm(+15) effect vs Klara's WILL resistance(+24) - Cortez Failed to calm Klara
  • Attempted to Resist Glen's mental affliction - FAILED the WILL check, he's still with the INT/AWE decrease

This message was last edited by the GM at 17:46, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

Next Round:


Glen's DCs:
Dodge DC13 (for ranged attacks)
Parry DC12 (for close combat attacks)
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:46, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

Virginia did not know what "It's the Potato!" meant but the shriek alarmed her. It was go time!
She flew right into his face and took a swing with her fist. If he had not seen her already, he would now!

20:42, Today: Virginia rolled 22 using 1d20+2.  to punch Glenn.
Booyah!

It's always Frustrating when a Player goes dark during combat.  I mean, we could all see it coming and I hope to hell Marie's player gets through the darkness, no pun intended.   I'll call it a lesson and shorten the ramp-up substantially in the next chapter.  I dragged our heels for way too long on this one.

• Virginia punched Glen - Straight Strength-based damage roll.
  
  • Virginia rolled 1d20(20)+2 for a ToHit(22) vs (Glen's Dodge(12) + Impaired/Dizzy(-2) - Definitely a SUCCESS
  • Virginia has a Raw Attack of 15 + Strength(6) or Attack(21)
    
    • Glen rolled (Toughness(+14) + Bruised(-1)) vs Virginia's Attack(21) for 8-points of Damage or two degrees of failure
    • Therefore, Glen now takes:
      
      • An additional rank of bruised - All his Toughness checks are now at -2
      • He also takes on the Dazed condition (limited to Free actions and a single Standard action)
• Glen tries to use Klara as a human shield, seemingly more worried about whatever Marie had done to him than Virginia's obvious presence.
  
  • Glen now has partial cover
• Klara was having none of that and though she was still immobile--both legs in a full-leg cast--she too started hitting Glen.  (Shje's right thyere, so Glen is not partially covered from her)
  
  • Glen  takes another Bruised level (-3 now) and since Dazed is already on the board, he's now also Staggered (moving at half normal speed)
• Marie Telekinetically hit the potato out of Glen'd hand
  
  • She drops the mental illusion
  • Disarm Attack using Move Object is a Ranged Attack, so 1d20(+16) + Dexterity(+4) + Ranged Attack Advantage(+5) + Disarm Action(-2) + Partial Cover(-2) = Attack(21) vs DC13 - Easily a success
  • Glen rolls 1d20(+5) + Toughness(+2) + Bruised(-3) for Resistance(+4) vs Move Object(12) for 2 degrees of failure.
  • The potato  goes flying from <Red>Glen's hand</Red>

This message was last edited by the GM at 04:14, Wed 05 Oct 2022.

Virginia whalloped Glen right in the face, but his eyes were wide and horrified and his mouth was twisted in a rictus scream of silent torment.  Whatever he was facing, feeling, he was consumed by it.  Hitting him was almost too easy!

The force of Virginia's blow forced Glen' to rock back and, for a moment, there seemed to be a moment of clarity, a semblance of awareness.  His eyes shifted to the girl, still sitting against the roof-top HVAC unit, and his lips contorted into a snarl of rage.

He fairly dove behind her, sending the remaining take-out carton scrambling in a spray of ketchup and french-fries.

The girl screamed and slapped Glen across the cheek, sending him staggering to one side, almost into the RTU.

He crouched down, but even as he did so, his wrist snapped back as a bright glowing blue hand seemed to come out of nowhere and slap him.  The thing he'd clutched in his hand went flying to the ground at the far end of the rooftop, against the raised lip, where it spun for a moment.

It was exactly as Klara had said.  It was a lumpy, misshapen potato. But it was green potato.  Almost glowing with some sort of insidious energy.

"Woah." Cortez said as he stepped around the corner to scoop it up.  "That's rather unsettling."

In Cortez hand, the potato did... nothing.   He looked at Glen, who cowered behind Klara and glowered at him, and then glanced again at Virginia and Marie.  "And it's suddenly a lot quieter."  He said.  I hadn't been aware of the background noise.  I just assumed it was the usual inane chatter of the student body..."

Marie:
True enough, there had been a low-level of background noise, not unlike a hissing on an old record stuck at the end of a track with the needle endlessly playing over the same vinyl  end-point.  With what mastery and training she'd learned to keep her powers in check, she'd built up the psychic defense and automatically filtered it out.  But with it gone she could sense it by it's absence.  The potato?  Or Glen?

Glen is still cowering and glowering, but he's not really in much of a fighting condition...  What do you want to do now?  With Marie MIA and dealing with real-life stuff, it's your lead, Virginia.

We can RP it or talk about it... how do you wanna wrap up the scene?

I'mma gonna start on the introduction of Gezri, so will be starting a new thread for Punching Bag and Virginia with options for the others to step in when ready...

So to end the scene. With Glen sort of cowered I would have dusted and gravity pinned him while we freed Klara. Let's say I sent her down with Marie to meet EMT's to take her to the hospital for an evaluation to make sure she was ok.

I would have called in the mutant cop division we were talking to at the start to deal with and assess Glen.

Then I would confer with the professor over exactly what the green potato actually was. And decide if that was something I felt I should take for safe keeping or hand over to....?

Jesus, I let time slip by me again.  I'm sorry.

Okay.  To wrap up.   The potato Glen had been clutching is indeed a weird and wonderful thing.  And Glen will whine when it is taken into custody...

Eventual research shows that Glen is a biology major.  He's not a particularly good one.  But he has a work-study job tending the garden in the Life-Sciences greenhouse, where, apparently, this potato--and others--were cultivated.  This had to do with one of his directed-studies courses.

The three hot-spots on campus correspond with various incidents of Glen's emotional abuses... from his point of view, of course.

• Dawg Bites - where Glen had had a part-time job.  He was recently fired for wasting time and accusations of tampering with the food...  particularly interested in the french fried.
• Guthrie Hall (Psychology) - Glen apparently approached Klara, who had been a TA in one of Glen's electives.  She turned down his advances but has zero memory of such.  He made that much of an impression.  It was only with Cortez help that she was able to dredge up the memory.
• Red Square - Glen approached Klara again and was turned down in a rather public manner that  had a couple of people laughing at him--well he thought so, anyway.  And that caused another meltdown.

One of the possible clusters coincides with Glen's off-campus residence.   The other... unknown.

But.  bottom line.  The potatoes do appear to be related, somehow to Exalt.

Jeez, that really did take a long time to get there, didn't it?  I'll try to make the next scenarios short and uncomplicated!