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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jun 9, 2015 22:57:22 GMT
An old abandoned amusement park from the early 2010s of roughly 42 ha. It's rides may look rusty and broken, but their skeleton was built to last, and even after decades of (supposed) emptiness, their structures still stand strong. In the underground, out of sight of the peering eyes of the public, the whole park area is covered by a system of tunnels and bunker like sites.
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Post by The Astronomer on Jun 10, 2015 3:14:34 GMT
Bernie King was building his sculptures. He had no formal training, but his ability to manipulate the elements of the earth had given him a finer control than ant classical artist. Today, it was a depiction of a mother grasping her child, shielding him against what seemed to be the sun. Nikola had seen this one before, and understood it to be one of Bernie's earliest memories from the Reign. The facial features had grown more detailed with time. Before, what had looked like fear now seemed more distinctly like... awe.
Natalie believed this was a reflection of Bernie's impressions being altered with time, not a true representation of his family's demise. Bernie's sculptures had grown more... disturbing in time, and now he enjoyed the notion of using as stone puppets. Nikola's other companion, the dream walker, had confided in him that she feared for their friend's emotional stability. Regularly, these private conversations took place in their minds, a world where fantasy and brutal honesty intermingled. His work is beautiful, though... In his head, she was wearing more expensive clothes that showed off a physique unaffected by the difficulties of her real life.
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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jun 10, 2015 4:03:53 GMT
You shouldn't worry too much, Nat, Bernie will be fine... We'll take care of him. Niko had been underground while his friends were out enjoying the day's warmth; he was, as always, working. His eyes fixed on his computer's dozens of screens, each of them giving different information; Niko liked to keep track of everytime the word Starborn, or the like, was used all around the country; most times it gave him an insight of what should their next mission be.
Things are slow today down here. He had near him a green apple flavored slushie that he now and then sipped from a straw. How are things up there? You're keeping Mach away from the lake, right? You surely remember the last time he fell in it, took me three weeks to reprogramme his AI. Mach was just a bit smarter than a a golden retriever, but doubly as goofy; Niko liked to let him go upstairs and stretch his legs, but only when Bernie and Nat went too, the cheetah was prone to accidents.
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Post by The Astronomer on Jun 10, 2015 4:22:33 GMT
He's been chasing raccoons all morning, trying to climb trees. False Nat was subconsciously combing her hair with her fingers like the real one above. You should come up. You're already so pale. He felt an impession of her warmth hand on his cheek. A little heat won't hurt you, O great fire-bringer.
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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jun 10, 2015 11:35:55 GMT
Just don't start it, alright?... Niko hated when she did that, in his head their aliases were important, nothing to be taken with levity; although he sometimes felt a bit ridiculous about them. And you know I can't just leave the computer, I have the sensation that the very moment that I turn my back a red alert will pop up and we'll miss a great opportunity.
Nat, we talked this before... But don't you think it's time to expand? His chair turning to Fake Natalie, for the first time taking his eye from the monitors. She looked beautiful in such fine clothes, that skin, those eyes... Stop. No, he couldn't, they couldn't. There's a limit to what a group of three people can do. We've been breaking into banks , distributing money to the poor in Starcrown and blowing up trains for five years, but to get this revolution we need to start getting recognition for those acts, stop letting vultures take advantage out of our deeds.
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Post by The Astronomer on Jun 11, 2015 22:32:47 GMT
The news was filled with reports of an apartment complex being devastated with seversl dozen lives, a nightclub shooting that claimed three, violent crime on the rise.
What we need is an nemesis, someone we can rescue the people from. They need to understand we're trying to save them, not hurt them. The plot needs a villain, Niko. She traced his ear while he thought.
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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jun 12, 2015 0:47:53 GMT
Yes... I thought of this earlier. Niko finished his slushie and threw the cup into the trash can near him.
Should we hang around Starcrown for some time? Wait to see if something pops up?
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Post by The Astronomer on Jun 16, 2015 1:45:02 GMT
Maybe... Hey, why don't we go to the big lecture? We can pretend we're college students and mingle with all the big wigs. I can wear my best dress and Bernie can brood in the corner and you can chat with the angry American youth... He felt her fingers on the back of his neck. It was difficult to know what part of the illusion was her own will, or his own desires. Fantasy was unreliable like that.
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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jun 16, 2015 12:29:06 GMT
Niko nonchallantly shook the hands off, it was stronger than him, he wanted it so bad but he had too much work to focus on, he could not allow himself to drift.
What's this lecture all about? It pops up now and then in my monitors but I still have no idea what will be talked.
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Post by The Astronomer on Jun 21, 2015 22:46:41 GMT
Well, I'm more of a liberal arts girl myself, but the special guest speaker is Hans Willingham, the man who helped create wormhole tech and thus lured the Vriskae to Earth. This is his first visit to America since the war, and since Yorick Vaughan died without ever really talking to the press about his work, people going gaga over the photo opportunity. Maybe he'll reveal the scientific formula for true love or something... maybe he's cracked the afterlife... It sounds ridiculous, but that's the sort of stuff people imagine about him.
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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jun 21, 2015 23:03:24 GMT
Human or not, Dr. Willingham was one of Niko's inspirational figures... How had he not known that the famous scientist would make an appearence?
Get your things packed, Nat. And tell Bernie to get the Jeep® ready... I'll get us a place to stay while we are on the city.
He booted a chat page on his computer, hopefully he could contact one of his mates from the gangs of Starcrown.
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Post by The Astronomer on Jun 28, 2015 0:04:55 GMT
WhoNose? and HarbingerOfYourInstruction were both on. WhoNose? was a local street level informant name Nicky the Nose Santangelo. Niko knew him to be a supporter of their cause, and a Starborn to boot, but he tended to stay on the sidelines. HarbingerOfYourInstruction, on the other hand, was a bit of an enigma. He had a personality like a teenager, and constantly referenced sci-fi and fantasy materials, but also always seemed to be in the know. There was no indication he was anything other than a very talented hacker looking to stick it to The Man... but he was certainly always willing to help out the Fraternity with a few oddjobs on the net, unlocking databases and making sure Niko was well-informed.
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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jun 28, 2015 1:25:04 GMT
HeWhoBringstheFire: Hey, boys!
HeWhoBringstheFire: How iz it going?
HeWhoBringstheFire: nEd 2 stA som tym n Starcrown; knO of NE frE roof?
Niko, or HeWhoBringstheFire as was his chat name, typed three quick consecutive messages; he hated writing like this, made him feel like a retard... But when in Rome do like a roman.
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Post by The Astronomer on Jul 3, 2015 17:50:21 GMT
HarbingerOfYourInstruction: Hey, br0!
HarbingerOfYourInstruction: Central Heights is pretty discreet right now. The landlady doesn't ask questions, and tells you when other people do ask questions.
WhoNose: A little late today on the news, Harry. Central Heights just got slightly nuked by some psycho. No idea why yet.
HarbingerOfYourInstruction: Oh man! Not another Euphoria Point..?
WhoNose: Looks like it. Someone's not a fan of the local architecture.
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Post by Apollo Hammond on Jul 6, 2015 14:56:05 GMT
HeWhoBringstheFire: Things seem be really be getting out of hand there. Maybe I cna do something to help.
HeWhoBringstheFire: Any other leads of where to stay? Or at least a parking lot? We can sleep in the car.
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