olopi

"Thank you. Trust me, I fully understand your feelings on this and do not like the fact that this is the best option we have either, but as it stands, doing this now means we can hopefully shut down whoever is behind this, and avoid however many deaths that may come in the future. " She got up and took a tablet from the desk next to her armour. "Let's figure this out, then…" She walked back into her hideout's main room and waited for August to follow her. Once he was there, she pulled up a big map of Switzerland on the screen, which she controlled from her tablet. "I'm thinking we strike while the iron's hot, so to say. Give our would-be assassin some time to recover, and then have something flashy enough to surely attract his attention. So I'm thinking we do it later tonight, in as public a place as possible. Make some big waves." She turned to August, while highlighting some points on the map, all of them in major cities. "I'm not sure just what the event could be, though. The flashier, the better. We need something that takes long enough for whoever the attacker would be to arrive, so it can't just be a fight. Any ideas? "

Monica followed along with the others, exchanging a few words that didn't really affect anything with some of them as they walked towards the Greenhouse, doing her best to not get involved in the situation that was developing between Corinne and Leroy. Dealing with expectations and all that was something Monica really didn't want to talk about right now, and she made that somewhat obvious by clearly distancing herself from the others as they were talking about this. She still hadn't figured out how she felt about all of this, and this definitely wasn't the situation in which she'd figure out all of it at once. Instead, she walked over to one of the trays that had plants in them. She'd been in the Greenhouse a few times so far – while plants weren't really her main interest or focus, she still liked them. And the Greenhouse was quite a relaxing place, too. She exclaimed to the rest of the group, doing her best to interrupt whatever they were talking about before the entire situation turned ugly. Maybe a simple distraction would be enough. "Speaking of, check this out." She moved her hand over the tray, a small plant that was almost completely buried in the dirt in particular, and started to channel her power into her hand, which made it grow quite brightly. Immediately, the plant shot up vines from the dirt, which quickly bridged the distance between the tray and her hand, and then began to tangle around it. "Glowtrappers. They're pretty cool, I heard a rumour we may have an assignment on them soon. "

Monica didn't really know how to respond to what Corinne was talking about at this point. For all their situations were alike, there were also some serious differences. Like the fact that Monica had somebody that could teach her directly, and a fair few resources on what her powers historically were able to do. So, she just continued on her drink. She could tell how Corinne was feeling about this just based off of her expressions, but this wasn't a situation where there was much she could do. And using her powers for this would've just been a kick in the face, that much Monica knew. Fortunately for her, Corinne seemed to not dwell on the subject for too long. At least on the surface. "It's all training, I guess. Just something I can't really speed up. Sure, there's people trying to help but … I don't know. I guess I can just accept it and keep practicing to not focus on others…"

Miracle Girl Getting to the bar wasn't too difficult at the moment, but it was very obvious to Casey that the moment that this place filled up (which it most likely would considering the party had only just officially started), moving around the room would become more and more complicated. The heels didn't help with that part, either. The bar was an actual, built-in bar that was part of how this Mansion was furnished, separating the kitchen area from the living room that the party was taking place in. A few other people stood at the bar and chatted amongst one another as the two sisters approached. The barman was bald, probably in his early 30s, and sporting a sculpted brown beard, his red-and-black t-shirt being quite a contrast to the fancier outfits of just about everybody else in the room. He looked at Casey's face for a moment, perhaps trying to figure out something, then replied with a quite upbeat tone, that still had something slightly sinister about it. And it probably wasn't the accent, which sounded similar to that of the doorman. "Welcome, ladies! I can offer you just about anything you would expect from a party like this. We've got some gin, whiskey, rum, various mixers and a fair selection of vodka. I can also offer you the usual non-alcoholic drinks and snacks." As he was talking, a woman walked towards the two sisters, having broken off from a small group that had been talking amongst themselves previously. She was quite tall, with her hair in a long blonde ponytail. Her outfit was fairly similar to that of Darlene, just perhaps slightly more revealing, and her eyes were accented by what either was a makeup-accident or a deliberately large amount of black highlighting around her eyes. "So, what brings to girls like you to a place like this?" Before either sister had a chance to respond, the woman quickly addressed the bartender. "Their first order's on me." Dead Head "Oh, you're clearly heading to the same party, right? Follow us then. " The group didn't seem to mind to much, before Burt had even said a word. And judging by the volume of their speaking, their movement and so on, they hadn't been sober for a while now. As the group waited in the queue for the groups in front of them to get let into the mansion, they talked amongst themselves about the party (cool, a bit weird, hopefully fun) and one of them, a woman who probably was in her early 20s, turned towards Burt. "Your makeup is really cool, you're gonna have to tell me how you managed all of that. I'm Jenny, by the way." She held out her hand – and probably did her best to keep it steady, which seemed to work somewhat. At the same point, everybody began to take a few steps forward, as the Doorman now began to speak with the rest of the group. He spoke with a deep and slow voice, before waving the group inside.

Miracle Girl As the two Pis made their way up the driveway, they didn't receive much attention. One or two of the people who were out here chatting and, in most cases, smoking, may have given them a short glance, but that seemed to be the most of it. The doorman didn't seem to notice them at first, still staring off into the distance with what could only be described as a thousand-yard stare. He was dressed in all black – a dress shirt, well-fitting slacks and long black hair to match. The corpse-paint on his face made him look like a third-rate metal act. It was only when Darlene snapped her fingers that the doorman snapped out of his …well, almost trance, and actually looked at the two women. Almost immediately, he had a huge grin on his face, as he spoke slowly. "Ah yes, you are here for the party I take it. The invitations arrived then, … good." He opened the door, still with a huge grin on his face. Casey could notice an accent in what he was saying – European probably, but she wasn't entirely sure where from. As the door opened, some smoke streamed out along the floor. The smoke machines were clearly working at full blast. The room looked about as Casey had expected. Everywhere, people dressed in black, sometimes more simple, sometimes very extravagantly, were dancing to the music - a heavy dance beat. An impromptu bar was set up towards one side. As the two Pis stepped into the room, and the atmosphere and the sound rolled over them, the doorman closed the door behind them. Dead Head Burt managed to find a pretty nice spot to observe the driveway from. It was far enough away that he wasn't immediately visible and could blend into the darkness between streetlights, but still close enough that he could keep an eye out on what was happening. Not that a lot was, for that matter. Every few minutes a small group of people – sometimes three, sometimes five, occasionally just a single person – walked up to the doorman, who seemed to be in some sort of trance he had to be snapped out of every time and entered the building. The solid wall (this was a mansion after all), which surrounded the lot seemed to be quite well maintained, only a few places looking like they're crumbling slightly. It reached to about elbows, although some bushes and trees were close to it in the garden, which made it hard to observe over it.

"It's an option – but only if you do feel up for it. If not, I am sure there are other ways we can get a tangible thread of this web." If she knew who the Zoss were, she did not give any visible indication of it. Instead, she just responded to August's second question. "I decided to spend my time doing something good. Just 'cause there's no supervillains doesn't mean that the people couldn't use somebody who does some actual good. Had time to spare, the necessary know-how, and began to work on my gear over there. Not on my own, but that's a long story. Started doing things publicly last year – the landslide, some flooding, some criminal activity – and got a fair bit of attention with it. " "Pretty soon after that I got a letter telling me to stop, with a lot of personal details on it, not that my name was at all associated with all of the hero-ing I was doing. We actually lost a business deal or two, but I could never tie it down to anything. They couldn't find any traces of DNA or technical information on the letter and it disappeared in the postal system when they tried to return it to me." "Then, somebody tried to break into my house at night. I was working overtime spontaneously, but the apartment was pretty much entirely ruined. Some more stuff happened -including a short hospital stay that ended with me having to leave …prematurely - but that sniper from before was the most direct attempt at killing me so far." "So, Mister Zoss, what do you suggest we do now?"

"That's the issue. I have no solid leads on who actually is behind this. This isn't the first time they've tried to attack me, and up until now they always managed to escape before I could interrogate them. I don't know how closely you looked at the sniper from before, but did you notice his tech? It's not stuff you can buy, it's not even military issue. It's breaking-edge equipment, which means there's a lot of money involved in taking me out." "I was so focused on you I didn't pay enough attention to the other guy and judging from what I heard on police radio he got away. Straight up disappeared, apparently. " "Still, this gives us an opportunity. You made your public appearance. You foiled a hit attempt. So I'm pretty sure they're after you too. So I'm thinking if we do it right we might be able to bait them out and then figure out what's going on by actually getting the info from the people in the know." The woman looked as if she'd just realized something somewhat embarrassing, as she quickly added on another thing before Auguste had any real chance of responding. "Now that we're face to face, who do I have the pleasure of dealing with? I … well, this piece of metal here… "she pointed towards her armour, standing some distance away " is known as Helvetia. No, not the insurance provider, we figured out a deal some time back."

I'm not sure how much combat, and balance-wise I think he'd do fine either way, but if you feel like giving the PL10 a test run we can do that, as it might be slightly easier to balance around. Up to you in the end though. I think bringing her costume along is fine, chances are most people have some sort of bag with them.

Aaaand it's up. IC: https://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/12219-ic-dance-macabre/ OOC: https://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/12220-ooc-dance-macabre/ Sorry to those that didn't make the cut, I'll try to give you extra priority the next time I run a thread!

OOC for this @Heritage @Dr Archeville there we go. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask here or on Discord!

Saturday, May 18, 2019 Bayview Heights 9:53 PM Miracle Girl It was quite a warm evening, considering it still was the middle of May. Which was a good thing, because the outfit that Casey was wearing wasn't exactly winterwear. Sure, her powers meant that even if it came down to it, the cold wouldn't be too bad, but the warmth was appreciated nevertheless. It wasn't her own outfit. One of the other girls in her sorority had gotten an invitation to an "exclusive party" up at Bayview Heights, and had decided to bring-slash-force Casey along with her. The invitation, quite a fancy letter, specified goth outfits, but fortunately, her housemate could provide one of those. And so the two of them made their way up Bayview, having been dropped off by a friend who was visiting her boyfriend who lived nearby. The party was held in one of the mansions that dotted the area. As Casey and her friend approached, it was quite apparent which mansion. Although officially the party only started at 10, it seemed that quite a few people had arrived earlier, as faint music could be heard (even with just human hearing), and through the windows, one could spot the changing colours of lights, synced with the music. The gate to the driveway stood open, and on it, a few people were chatting amongst themselves – all dressed in goth style clothes as the invitation had specified. Up by the door, the doorman stood, staring into the distance blankly. Dead Head Burt had been tracking this particular case for a few weeks now. It was quite a peculiar one – he'd essentially stumbled across it on accident, it was different from what he'd seen in his long career, yet most of its individual aspects seemed familiar. The latent magical energy that was just part of living in Freedom nowadays – especially ever since the last Invasion – showed more disturbances than usual. And the fact that cemeteries were involved in a lot of them meant that this was firmly in Burt's domain. But finally, he'd found a solid lead. It was more of a hunch, really. But it was a hunch that seemed about right, because energy was gathering in one place, streaming in from all over Freedom and even beyond. It was subtle, and Burt probably wouldn't have noticed it had he not visited a few cemeteries right after one-another on a patrol, but something was here. Inside this manor, which seemed to be hosting some kind of party. Was it related to what he was investigating? Perhaps.

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm talking about. There's coincidence, but at some point a pattern becomes the sign for something larger looming underneath. And I think it's pretty obvious that point's been reached." "As for the conspirators … I don't know. That's what I'm working on at the moment. Actually…" Not too far away from where Auguste stood right now, a door opened in the wall, previously hidden. Once more, the woman talked over the intercoms. "I think you've proven you're not here to kill me, or at least not immediately, so step on through. Let's talk about this face to face." Once Auguste stepped through, he entered a smaller room which seemed to be more of a living quarters-slash-workshop. A bed, sink and mini-fridge were located in one corner, while in the other, the armour that Auguste has seen previously took up most of the space, with some tools scattered on a workbench next to it. A woman – almost definitely who August had been talking to so far, turned around her chair, sitting at a desk with a running PC. She was wearing a white tanktop and brown cargo pants, held up by suspenders. Her black hair was tied into a bun, as she motioned for Auguste to take a seat on the bed. "So, conspirators. I have a few theories, but nothing concrete. First of all, this has been going long enough that we can safely assume it isn't a single person. Beyond that, who knows. I have a suspicion, and it ties into what you said before. Namely, banking. It would fit a motivation. The more stable the country is, and the less heroes there are sniffing around, the less likely people will look into shady dealings going on. And as much as it's a stereotype, we all know how us swiss like to make their money."

Monica gave Corinne a slight appreciative smirk at her comments about height. It was something she could sympathize with. Different, sure, but Corinne was trying, and that meant something. She didn't want to interrupt her though, as she seemed to be about to pick up some speed. Monica nodded as she held onto her cup, seemingly unbothered by the heat that managed to radiate off of the drink itself. Immediately, she had to think back to that day she met the different versions of herself. Monica had enough time to string together some thoughts, so when Corinne was done she could answer almost immediately. "I've come to terms with the fact I have mine for now … I suppose. That's all thanks to Beth – the previous Liberty – though. She taught me how to control them, no idea where I'd be without them." A short pause, although Monica clearly had more to say. "Well, I do. That day with all of our alternate selves? Yeah, my experience wasn't pretty. Turns out …I … they … knew almost nothing about our powers. " "Anyways, I'm getting off track, sorry. I … honestly have no idea what Claremont and Summers in particular want of us. I have all of these expectations heaped on me – from the public as a whole, Beth, Summers and all the other staff, even some of the other students – and I feel like Summers is deliberately pushing me … somewhere I'm not sure I want to go. " "Two years ago I was just trying to make it through school without any attention and helping my sister. Last year, yeah, I was also fighting the literal end of the world, and I was stabilizing people who got nearly killed right in front of my eyes. As in, I saw the blast miss me and hit them instead. And I'm pretty sure that Summers wants to keep that pace up for the next two years. So who knows what I'll have to deal with this year…"

GM As the people in front of the group – somewhat older, probably university students – moved into the room properly, the group was approached by a relatively small man, who appeared out of seemingly nowhere (but was probably just standing at the doorway in a way that made him difficult to see from the outside. His eyes didn't quite reach those of Selena when looking forwards, so he had to move his head upwards to address all of the party, something he probably had to do quite often. He spoke with a somewhat noticeable accent, although none of the teens were immediately able to place it. "Ah, I see you have your tickets out already, good good." He took a quick look at each of them, ripping off a corner, before letting his hand wander theatrically, pointing into the room. "Welcome to Ectoplasm. We have many things, from classics to the most cutting-edge in arcade gaming. You have come early, so few machines are occupied, a sign that shows you are quite interested in what we have to offer. So, what will it be? Skee-Ball? Pacman? Terminus Invaders?" Before letting the teens wander on, the man added on one last thing. "My personal suggestion would be the Basilisk." He pointed to what appeared to be quite a large machine, at the far edge of the room. "It was developed especially on the order of our owner, you will not find it anywhere outside of the Ectoplasm!" He seemingly disappeared again as the teens walked on so the people in the short line behind them could walk into the room. From the looks of it, not a lot of people were in here so far, although the few that were seemed quite invested in whatever they were playing.

PC Monica didn't really believe the pamphlet she got in the mail. It sounded too much like some weirdo's attempt to get her somewhere on her own, because that was the sort of thing she had to think about ever since she'd become the internet's …well, sourheart? Was that a term? But with the invitation that Aja had gotten, and the fact that this was clearly at least somewhat legit, that disbelief turned into some excitement instead. Monica did enjoy videogames, after all. And push come to shove, with her roommate along her, any encounters like the one she was wary of wouldn't be as scary. Still, part of her didn't quite trust this entire thing. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe it was precognition. She'd just have to find out once she was there. It wouldn't be the first time a seemingly normal event turned out to be more than that. Getting there was easy enough, Aja's new car was quite comfortable all things considered. The line in front of the arcade wasn't something Monica was keen to deal with, but fortunately, they had a way to get in easily. Once inside, she marvelled at the sights. Whoever actually owned this place (Monica checked but could not find any info), clearly wasn't cutting any costs. "Never been to one of these, let'..." She stopped as she heard a familiar voice infront of them, one she hadn't expected to hear here of all places. She nodded her head towards them so Aja could see, then tapped Leroy on the shoulder, realizing that Selena, another Claremonter, was also here. "Hey there –" Before she could get out anything more, there was another interruption, because apparently today was one of those days.

Monica carefully got out of the car, took a moment to flatten out her oversize hoodie, and then followed Corinne towards the shop. She didn't say anything for now, especially as it seemed as Corinne wasn't finished yet. She listened to Corinne explain her situation. "Yeah, I feel like that all the time, especially here at Claremont. At least the whole out of my depth part, I haven't really managed the other half yet." She began to walk towards the counter, eyeing up the menu. "Don't get me wrong, I love all the opportunities we get here. I'm just … not used to it all. At all." She, too, went for an iced coffee. "Never thought I'd be able to follow my goal before all of .. well, this .. happened. That's actually why I need to pick up some books later on." "Of course, medicine's gonna involve the whole confidence thing too…" She took the coffee and then looked into the room, nudging her head towards one of the empty tables. And then, as a final addition to what she was saying, rambling maybe (she wasn't sure anymore), she included one more thing. "Still kinda wish it had been less all at once though, going from nobody to national tv talking about me, and all that."

Saturday, May 5, 2019 It was not exactly an invitation anybody would expect to receive in 2019. An invitation for the opening of an arcade, "Ectoplasm", in Riverside. Delivered in a letter, which also included a special deal for "those specifically invited". All of that strongly hinted at this being some kind of scam, by somebody who had clearly lived under a rock for the past 20 years. The layout and quality of the invitation, as well as the fact that, judging by the online buzz this "Ectoplasm" was receiving – by legitimate websites and blogs, too, suggested otherwise. And with nothing else going on that weekend, there was little reason not to attend. Whether it was out of genuine interest, out of curiosity, or out of wanting to see just how scammy this actually was. The location was quite nice, not far away from Riverside Park, with the waterfront of the district just about visible down the street. From the looks of the building, the Arcade was built into what previously was a restaurant, something the other restaurants along the street further suggested. Quite a line had formed outside, with everything from teenagers to hipsters to what probably were a few arcade enthusiasts of the first generation, lined up and waiting. Off to the side, not indicated too well but noticeable to anybody with that bit of Claremont-brand perception training, was a second entrance, labelled "invited guests". And about there, the Claremont students also realized that some of their classmates were here…

Alright, so I'm in a thread-running mood again. Now, for one of the ideas I've got whirring around in my brain I really don't have any go-to PCs, so I'm doing this as an open recruitment. As you can probably tell from the title, it'll be a somewhat occult-themed thread, although that doesn't affect the character so much as you as a player, if you'd rather not go for that. The thread will be set in Freedom, so characters from other cities would have a bit of a harder time making the cut (although I'm not gonna say it can't happen) I'm looking for 2 PCs (possibly a third if I'm convinced that one of yours would work), namely: -one character in their early-to-mid 20s, who would be, at least in the beginning of the thread, in their civilian identity. -a magic/occult/that kind of supernatural themed character, an investigator, or preferrably somebody who combines both aspects. As I said above, I may consider 2 characters for either of those roles should I see a few that fit well. If you're interested, just post a reply to this thread, and specify which character (I like to think I know them all well enough , considering how many of them I've approved )

"Okay, let's go with "has no idea" then, for now." The two turrets which had up until now been pointed at August, while not powering down, did seemingly go into standby, no longer targeting him directly. Some whirring in the background suggested that some other technology inside this base had just been activated, although there wasn't any immediately visible effect. "Ever wonder why Switzerland is so quiet when it comes to powered activity? Both historically and currently. Almost nothing. " "Considering the amount of money that changes hands here, and so on, there should be way more activity, just based on what we see just about everywhere else globally. But it isn't there. Now, there's been some heroes across the years. But, and that's the big thing, never for long. As soon as they received some amount of attention, they disappeared. Never to be seen again." By now a relatively large LED-screen had appeared at the far wall of the base, showing a bunch of newspaper clippings and photographs, some modern, some fairly old. "And, well, considering what just happened – and the few other times things like this have happened . I think it's pretty obvious that these aren't coincidences. " "I've got you, them, it, whatever, all figured out. "

With all that out, Monica was just awaiting a response. She didn't really know what to expect, but from the few things she knew about Corinne, she wasn't too concerned. Which meant she was still concerned, obviously, because judging by her first reactions, there was some information disparity here. Then, the response. Oh yeah. That was one aspect that she'd somewhat forgotten about in her previous … whatever one wanted to call it. And, in hindsight, probably what Corinne was really interested in hearing. "I … don't know, really? I guess? You manage to carry yourself so well, with a great body and all that confidence, and … well, I don't have any of that? I think that's it? It's not rational, I know…"

Monica, somewhat instinctively, looked away from Corinne's face. She tried to piece together a more genuine answer that didn't sound as pre-planned, but was totally alright with her dropping the subject for now. Just for a moment, but good enough, because those few seconds probably were enough. "Awesome, thanks." She was actually excited about this, as much as she liked walking this sped the entire thing up a fair bit. More time for coffee, then. "After you, then." As the two of them got into Corinne's car, Monica finally got herself to overcome that mental blockade, something that sounded right. "To actually answer that thing from before, well, my body. Sure, it got a bit better since I've started therapy, but it's not what it should be. It's an attempt, as much as I want it to be real, well…" her voice changed slightly, it sounded deeper for just a moment "… even when I say things I have to fake it." She took a short breather to readjust herself, then continued on "Who I am, and that's something I knew long before The Spirit decided to reinforce it, and who I … am right now, just isn't the same. I can do my best do deal with it, but my best is baggy clothing and slowly ####ing up my vocal chords while I wait for hormones to do something. Meanwhile there's Davyd who can just be whoever he wants, and feel comfortable no matter what because hey, he can just change whenever." She took a deep breath, then added one final thing. "Sorry."

Monica didn't quite expect the greeting she got upon her return. Leroy was quite … well, maybe not cheerful but positive in a way she couldn't entirely put into words. Lightbearer, she liked that title. For now, she mainly listened in without adding much to the conversation, she didn't have much to add, really, after all. Nicole was being her usual self, so when Davyd also indicated he wanted to push on Monica was eager to oblige. She didn't really have to lead anybody, a group like this moved on its own just fine, but she did make a basic attempt at showing some kind of leading the others, if only just to live up to what Leroy had asked of her. "The rooms are pretty great." She turned to address the newcomer a bit more directly. "No idea what your background is, but these are way nicer than what I had before Claremont." A bit more quietly, she added on something, probably mainly for herself. "Turns out there's some nice stuff associated with these powers, too." Noticing that Davyd's reaction to what Leroy said (another end of the world? There had been one just a few months ago), she nudged him slightly. "If you need help with bio, let me know, I've gone through most things between here and graduation already."

All around Monica, people were feeling. All of them were running towards the entrance – if one could call it that – and she did her best to keep an eye out, to make sure that none of them got attacked. It gave her a good opportunity to catch a breath, too, she could already feel the gas' effects getting weaker. She just about heard Salvo's warning, and when, immediately afterwards, the room cleared, she could see why. Right now the gunman was busy, but who knew how long that lasted. Sure, she could wait around here to make sure everybody got out safely. Or she could seize the moment and actually get rid of the threat, not just wait for it to happen. That seemed like the much better opportunity. "On it!" Empowered by the Spirit, her voice could really carry itself across a room. Her body could too, as she soared through the air, her entire body shining with the Light of Liberty. She landed only a few feet away from Six-Shooter, sizing up her opponent. This was the guy that had just unloaded, the one who had caused most of the destruction here. Something, buried somewhere in Monica's brain, told her that she'd enjoy this. "Idiots!" And with that, she brought her knee upwards, aiming for the held down villain's side.

Alright, so: Nauseate is cleared up from last round thanks to the HP I spent: Move Action: Jump towards Six-Shooter with Leaping Standard Action: Unarmed Attack, shifting +2 Damage : Unarmed Attack: 1d20+11 25 I imagine that hits, so that'd be a DC24 Toughness Save

"Hm." Monica didn't have much of a reaction towards that correction. Semantics weren't her strength, and her intent had gotten across either way. At least this made it fairly obvious that the awkwardness was not one-sided, at all. Was that a good thing? Probably not. But it was better than it being one-sided, if nothing else. Maybe she could diffuse the situation a bit by adding some humour. Her therapist had suggested it, and Monica did feel like it maybe wasn't the worst thing. And with that kind of question, that really was the best answer Monica could give. What could she really answer to something like that? She knew what people thought was wrong about her, and she had her own list, but … that really wasn't what Corinne was asking for, here. Or at least, that was the feeling Monica got. "In what sense? Because it might just be easier to tell you what isn't, truth be told." Her tone didn't really reveal anything about whether or not this was a serious statement or not. Because well, she was still speaking the truth. "Hey, uh, I was about to head into town to buy some books the library didn't have. There's a pretty good café right next to the shop, wanna walk there and talk instead of just standing around here?" …maybe it'd work.