MASKS 14 Love Letters [Prep]

Love Letters are like going to the gym. Seems like so much work but I feel SO GOOD afterwards. We'll roll and resolve these at the start of the next session, but feel free to read and prepare. :) (PS: If you hate these in a bad way, please let me know and we'll do something different. If you hate these in a good way, I have done my job.)

Link, The press conference at AEGIS headquarters was (as Waters once said, when he didn't know you were listening) ten pounds of horseshit in a five pound bag, but you got through it, and so did your friends. Mostly. Roll +Savior. On a 10+, pick 2. On a 7-9, pick 1. One of the reporters asked about the capabilities of the power suit that AEGIS pulled from their van just outside. It was an older model Rossum special, and you rattled off a list of stock capabilities, weaknesses, and ways the suit could be misused in various unsafe ways to make it much more dangerous. Did your answer Impress the Press but Worry AEGIS, or Bore the Press and fly largely under AEGIS radar? Pneuma wasn't visible at the last press conference, but that's not how it went this time. There were more than a few questions about her presence on the stage with the rest of the team, especially since Ghost Girl wasn't around. What question did you shut down that Pneuma especially appreciated? It seems like a lot of the "getting credit" and "social" parts of this gig are staged in places Otto can't fit - how did you make the press conference accessible to him, and how was he recognized for everything he's been doing for you and the team? On a miss, pick 1, but you pulled AEGIS-aggro. Editorial will tell you what urgent need Waters shares with you to get you off AEGIS's radar, but which involves exposing Pneuma or Otto; pick one. Hugs and kisses, Editorial

Dear Jason, The hardest thing about a press conference like that one is not channeling your Dad OR Rusty; you can't pull off the tech-speak as well, and battlefield barking really doesn't work for you either. Plus, you have a few other things on your mind... Roll +Freak. On a 10+, pick 2. On a 7-9, pick 1. Rook Industries has a shark's "swim or die" approach to acquiring tech; who knows what their engineers might have learned or done in the time they had Pneuma - that immobilization net could just as easily been running full-body scans the whole time as well. You're already running theoretical models, taking Link's protective nature into account - in what way might Pneuma's "defenses" have had unforeseen consequences for Rook, and in what way might their analysis be dangerous to Leo, Otto, and Pneuma if you aren't prepared? Agent Waters took you aside after the press conference, with some advice you **really** didn't expect. What piece of advice or clue about one of the team's myriad concerns did Waters secretly share, and what if anything did he ask in return? One of your "personalized" A.I.s was waiting for you when you got back home. Which one was it, what did they have to share concerning Alycia's unexpected arrival back in Halcyon City? What about the news unsettled you (above and beyond how ANY news about Alycia unsettles you.) On a miss, pick 1, but you had a hell of a time during the press conference. There was a little girl out in the crowd who kept poking her head around various reporters and pulling faces at you and the rest of the team. It looked EXACTLY like Alycia - the Alycia you first met during your earliest adventures with your Dad. No one else seems to have noticed her. Love, Editorial

Dear Concord, Worst. Day. Ever. And it's not over yet. Roll +Danger. On a 10+, pick 2. On a 7-9, pick 1. After the AEGIS guy kind of lost control of the reporters, one of them asked about the fight with Sablestar; of COURSE they noticed how she kind of looked like you, and wanted to know about the gravity stuff, the wormholes, and if that was something you could do. You didn't put AEGIS at ease, but the reporters liked the answer. What did you say? There's no way Sablestar is completely out of the picture, which is both bad and good. Bad because she'll be back, but good because it seems like she's the only person who can really help you learn more about your powers. Maybe. That seems like a bad idea, but so does everything else right now. What's one weakness you've encountered with the Concordance powers that imitating Sablestar will let you ignore? Something about the fight with Sablestar (or how you talked about it in the interview) upset your parents more, but made you a lot of fans in the City. What was it? On a miss, pick 1, but either the intensity of the press conference or scanning Pneuma (pick one) provided enough emotional inoculation/shock for your Concordance shard to come out of its coma. It has taken the measure of humanity, seen its own failure in not guiding you "properly", and must Take Steps. Shift Danger up, Mundane down, and buckle up. Love and kisses, Editorial

Dear Mercury, Uncle Chase wants you to step up and be some kind of analytical super-tactician. Has he met you? It's always been easier to be Harry than what everybody expects Mercury to be. Roll +Mundane. On a 10+, pick 2. On a 7-9, pick 1. Your frank honesty put the reporters off balance and even got a few laughs. This is going to go over especially well with either your family or the kids at school, but definitely not both: which was it? Either Hyena, Uncle Chase, or the retired Armiger (the coffee shop guy with the sword) reaches out to you once things quiet down, with unexpected information about either Rook Industries (Hyena), the Sepiaverse (Chase), or Pandemonium (Armiger). Pick one and reveal what new clue/information they have (or ask Editorial). Someone at school finally works up the courage to ask you out, and it's kind of out of the blue. Who is it and, on a scale from Awkward to Awesome, how did it go? On a miss, pick 1, but your easy manner in front of all the flashing cameras and microphones showed the Gale Family Rogues' Gallery that you are either "ready," "weak," or "too dangerous to ignore any more." Tell us where you are when the hammer comes down. High-speed hugs and kisses, Editorial

Dear Ghost Girl, You take one afternoon to do some more research into Pandemonium and the Boys get themselves in so much trouble. You have to hope it was worth it, for both them and you. The paranormal section of the Halcyon City library (whose librarian seemed to expect you) is both impressive and slightly terrifying. Roll +Superior. On a 10+, pick 2. On a 7-9, pick 1. You may not be able to destroy Pandemonium any more than you could destroy "hurricanes" as a concept, but you believe you can contain it, or block it from this world, but this will have repercussions for you and either the living or the dead within the city... Choose which and work with editorial on what the repercussions may be. Your research (well, really, your curiosity) led you to the genealogy and history wings as well. At some point during the day, you pieced together something troubling either about your paranormal origins or the history of your family. Helpful, either way, but troubling. Which was it about? What clue did you learn? Your investigations lead to a surprising connection between your origins/history and the "Sepiaverse" / Vyortovia. What in the blue blazes could that be? On a miss, pick 1, but your research unnerves you and you all but flee the stacks; mark Afraid. Hugs and kisses, Editorial

Doyce, you diabolical genius.  These are great.  I also appreciate that you picked a different attribute for everyone to highlight and (with the exception of maybe Jason, since the Doomed doesn't cleave to any particular one over the others) they don't play to our playbook's preferred Labels. Is it wrong that I want to roll a miss to make things more interesting?

Mike said: Doyce, you diabolical genius.  These are great.  I also appreciate that you picked a different attribute for everyone to highlight and (with the exception of maybe Jason, since the Doomed doesn't cleave to any particular one over the others) they don't play to our playbook's preferred Labels. I actually hit all five Labels last time, COMPLETELY by accident (I noticed a week later when I wrote GGs), so I thought it would be cool to do the same thing again, if I could make it work. Turned out it worked just fine. :) Is it wrong that I want to roll a miss to make things more interesting? Man I hoped at least one person would feel that way. :)

Dude, I want to do the "Pick all three and  that Miss thing happens." Complications galore!

I know one line that would get AEGIS' attention in a bad way, and could come from two of the three questions and phrased as a technical answer. "Well, this neatly bypasses the square-cube law, which is a limit on building larger robots. But I've recently been reminded that with enough power, you can ignore the law."

*huge grin*

... Alycia's unexpected arrival back in Halcyon City Was editorial referring to Alycia's general return to HC over the course of the game, her recent employ at Quill Enterprises, her popping up in the Quill computer, or some other specific arrival I'm not thinking of at the moment?

*** Dave H. said: ... Alycia's unexpected arrival back in Halcyon City Was editorial referring to Alycia's general return to HC over the course of the game, her recent employ at Quill Enterprises, her popping up in the Quill computer, or some other specific arrival I'm not thinking of at the moment? No, this is "We just found out Alycia's back in Halcyon. She's not in Pennsylvania or wherever she was anymore. Do you want to cancel your reservations?"

Doyce T. said: No, this is "We just found out Alycia's back in Halcyon. She's not in Pennsylvania or wherever she was anymore. Do you want to cancel your reservations?"

Bill G. said: Doyce T. said: No, this is "We just found out Alycia's back in Halcyon. She's not in Pennsylvania or wherever she was anymore. Do you want to cancel your reservations?" Jalycious. 

HA!

Also, being asked by the Quill Foundation AI if I want to change my travel reservations because Alycia's back in town would be ... deeply troubling.

*** Dave H. said: Also, being asked by the Quill Foundation AI if I want to change my travel reservations because Alycia's back in town would be ... deeply troubling. "The real Alycia Chin is in Halcyon. I am cancelling your airline reservation." "79..." "Would you like to book a hotel room?" "79!"

All the lol. :)

"The real Alycia Chin is in Halcyon. I am cancelling your airline reservation." "79..." "Would you like to book a hotel room?" "79!" Again, HA!

... and so is Runaways  dropping on Hulu (speaking of youthful super-teams).

When is that happening? Because Kaylee is EXCITED.

I don't have a time, but I was  just reading that 3 of the 10 eps drop tomorrow.

So I've written up stuff for all  the Love Letter material for Jason, even though at most I can only pick two of them on a good roll. I have them force ranked, but I may change my mind.

*** Dave H. said: So I've written up stuff for all  the Love Letter material for Jason, even though at most I can only pick two of them on a good roll. I have them force ranked, but I may change my mind. Same.  It was highly difficult ranking them (especially when you're rooting for a miss and might only get one). I look forward to all the different outcomes.  Everyone has such interesting choices to choose from and I'm interested in hearing what everyone found most interesting.

Leo's toughest challenge will be finding a fax machine where he can send a copy of Pneuma's citizenship paperwork to Rosa Rook's office, vs. hiring a courier to do it.

Bill G. said: Leo's toughest challenge will be finding a fax machine where he can send a copy of Pneuma's citizenship paperwork to Rosa Rook's office, vs. hiring a courier to do it. Dude. The Foundation has a FedEx account. Hell, I'll send it by drone.