Monsterhearts: The Finale

Today (moments ago, in fact) we finished up our Monsterhearts game. It's been running since August 2013, monthly, making this our 24th session (so I think we missed a couple here and there).

I've waxed poetic about this game before, so I'm not gonna do it too much now. I'll only say that this is a really fantastic game, and I really thank +Avery Mcdaldno for making it.

Anyway! Last time, the characters were kinda split up around Cassi's house. Miguel was in Cassi's mom's bedroom, and mirror-Skylar had just come through the door with a glass shard. Romy, Rook, Skylar, Austin, and Mikaela (who had a body!) were in the mirror-verse, down by the front door. Briar had been out in the pool house where she'd destroyed her mirror self. Cassi had elected to stay behind with her brothers (her player left the game after last session).

Briar was wandering back to the main house, but between the poolhouse and the main house was a long, gray slog. She held steady to keep going, and gained terrified but carried one forward to keep going. Meanwhile, Mikaela pointed out there was a shape out in the distance, and Rook and Skylar headed out to find out if it was Briar (Austin, Romy, and Mikaela stayed behind).

Briar heard a howling noise on the wind, held steady again to head toward it. She saw figures in the distance and ran toward them, and ran into Rook and Romy. They said that the house was "this way" and started heading off into the distance with her...

...but actual Rook and Skylar saw this and held steady to catch up with them. They did and claimed to be the real Rook and Skylar (which they were, but Briar didn't know that). Mirror-Rook and mirror-Romy claimed to be real, too, and they kind of went round and round (and noted that no one had silvered eyes, but this might be because they were in the mirror) until Skylar turned Briar on and gave her the morbid condition (uses his ending move). This convinced Briar, and the mirror folks got all silver-eyed. They got in the way, but Briar shut them down, taking Strings on them. Briar started heading back toward the house, and Rook and Skylar followed.

Meanwhile, up in the bedroom, mirror-Skylar was looking pretty menacing. Miguel shut her down, taking the scared condition while the mirrorskin got confused. Mirror-Skylar complained that their Briar had been shattered and they didn't have a Miguel, so if Miguel would come into the mirror-verse, she would let Cassi's mom go back to her body (though the others would have to get out on their own). Miguel agreed.

Downstairs, Briar, Rook, and Skylar joined the rest of the folks. They talked about going through the mirror and whether that would grant Mikaela a body or put her in Romy's mind again or vice versa. Rook ranted a bit - Skylar was a ghost, Rook had died and come back, they were all in a mirror, who really knew anymore? Skylar took that opportunity to use hungry ghost and strip Rook's conditions away.

Briar suggested they go back upstairs and check on Cassi's mom (lighting the way). They went up just as mirror-Skylar and Miguel came out of the room (though the others didn't notice Miguel). There were some harsh words; mirror-Skylar pointed out that they'd destroyed mirror-Briar, and actual Skylar responded flippantly, to which mirror-Skylar tried to shove actual Skylar over the banister.

Briar intervened against an act of violence and blocked mirror-Skylar, at which point she kind of deflated. She told the others where Cassi's mom was (up in the attic), and then went and got her. They led her downstairs and everyone started to file out of the mirror-verse. When Cassi's mom left, she vanished, and the mirrored eyes on actual-Cassi's mom returned to normal (and she passed out). When Mikaela left, holding hands with Romy, she vanished, and returned to Romy's head. Miguel was the last one, and mirror-Skylar reminded him that he'd said he'd stay. She also said that here, in the mirror-verse, everyone could see him and talk to him. Miguel considered it, and gazed into the abyss to see how that would pan out, but failed and instead saw the mirror-verse fading. Miguel then thought "screw that" and ran away, smashing through the mirror and landing on the floor.

The characters figured maybe now they could have a seance for Emmett, but Austin suggested maybe not here. They decided to hit Briar's house and decide what to do. Rook went to find Cassi and found her asleep in her brother's room. He woke up her to tell her they were leaving, and Cassi stayed behind with her family. She'd had a hard day, after all.

Everyone else went to Briar's house, and then to the books. Briar realized that trying to contact Emmett with the hexmutes and the quietkin still in the way might be difficult, but since she blocked the mirrorskin from violence, it faded - might there be a way to accomplish this with the others? Calling up the hexmutes was easy; Briar just lashed out physically and punched Rook in the nose. Hexmutes appeared, and Rook approached two and started making out with them, using horny reward. Problem as, all that did was call up more of them, and give them they happy condition.

Watching all this (because Rook was blissed out), Briar went to the books real quick, and realized that for the hexmutes, pain was just something they wanted - they needed it put in some kind of context to learn anything. Skylar, therefore, called them on their shit, and explained that pain without any understanding of what caused it and why was useless, just sensation. The hexmutes faded away, one by one, and the last one reached out and tenderly wiped the blood from Rook's lip.

Briar went to the books again to learn about the quietkin, and the characters realized that the quietkin weren't just after physical warmth, but also belonging. They figured they could help the quietkin with that, but many of the characters were dealing with unpleasant conditions.

Rook had a solution for that: he turned everyone on. Everyone retreated to a bedroom together, and I'd like to think that we got some loving, lingering shots of Rook and Austin making out (since Austin has, I think, gone this whole series without making out with a guy). Anyway, of course Rook used horny reward, so Skylar ditched his conditions and everyone else took a String on Rook. And then the Sex Moves, oh lordy. (I think this is the song that plays, by the way.)

(In retrospect, while I'm sorry that Cassi's player wasn't present, it's probably just as well Cassi wasn't present for this bit, because it would have triggered everyone's Darkest Self. But anyway.)

So: Briar lost all her conditions and felt better. She felt a little uncomfortable getting with Romy (Briar thinks of herself as straight and she's never been with a cis woman, though she did get with Skylar at one point), so Romy got a String on her. Romy's Sex Move meant everyone got shadowed, and Skylar, who already was, got drained. Miguel's meant everyone can see him and gained three Strings on him.

And then Skylar's freaking Sex Move means everyone gets asked questions. Rook asked what gender Skylar considers herself (Skylar is genderfluid, hence the alternating pronouns). Briar asked Skylar who she loves (Skylar says that she's not in love with anyone, but loves herself). Austin asked why Skylar is still here (Skylar simply says that she wants to be). Miguel asked if he wants to have dinner on Saturday (yes). Romy asked if being with two people in one body wigs Skylar out (Skylar answers with an immediate and emphatic no).

Skylar asked Rook what it feels like to have so much physical love all the time (Rook answers that helps him fill the need for the emotional love that isn't there). Skylar asked Briar what she'll do
when high school is over (she says she'll go to college). Skylar asked Austin if he's always wanted to bang Rook (Austin says he was surprised to find he was sad he'd missed his window back when he split with Cassi and got with Briar). Skylar asked Mikaela if she's happy (she says she's happy enough). Skylar asked Romy what would make her happy (she says she doesn't know, maybe find a way to give Mikaela a bit more freedom). Finally, Skylar asked Miguel if he'd want everyone to see him again (he says he doesn't think so).

Whew. Cut to commercial.

Back, with Austin tying his shoe with a sheepish glance at Rook, and Briar coming in with bags of burgers from In n' Out (product placement!). They decided to build a bonfire out at the old house where Emmett died, and call the quietkin there.

They headed out there and built the fire as the sun was rising. The quietkin appeared, staring into the fire, and the characters walked around, lifted their hoods, and greeted them. Skylar made them feel beautiful, and they sat, silently, warming themselves by the fire. The characters sat around as well, and Miguel gazed into the abyss to call Emmett (which marked the first time ever that Miguel has managed to do that).

Emmett appeared, and they talked, and Briar shared her pain. They all talked, and they discussed their lives and what it was like kinda being them. Briar said that hunting monsters was lonely work, but that with her friends she'd found a way to make it work. Skylar, likewise, talked about the pain she'd felt in being so depressed she'd tried to commit suicide, and then coping with changing her mind and dying anyway. Emmett said that his last thought as the smoke overtook him as wishing he had someone to miss, since he really didn't. He asked about Cassi, since she wasn't there, but Rook said she was hurt and tired and needed to rest. They were all together, even if they weren't literally together.

Emmett asked them what they would do next. Rook said they would probably go get pizza. Emmett said he meant, like, next, after graduation, but they weren't sure. College, maybe, but Skylar mentioned going to Europe, and the other folks thought that sounded fun. They talked about that, about the possibility of going to a hostel and having sex on the Eiffel Tower and whether they could afford to chip in and get a vacation home, and the fire slowly died out. Emmett put his head down on Miguel's shoulder, and faded away, surrounded by friends.

They sat there a while longer, and then got up and headed for Pi. There was a new breakfast pizza, which Rook regarded as an abomination, but Austin pointed out that pizza for breakfast is a long and glorious tradition. So they walked off in to the sunrise, another day in Perdido.

Closing credits:

Monsterhearts: Broken

Today was Monsterhearts! In the interest of not forgetting everything that happened, since next week is Thanksgiving and tomorrow I want to spend the day working on Dark Eras, let's do this now.

Last time, you'll recall, the characters were at Cassi's house. Cassi's mom had seen something terrible in the mirror, and Cassi herself had reached her Darkest Self. Briar had research Emmett, the ghost who'd been talking to them, but Emmett had apparently researched them right back.

The characters talked about what to do. They brought up the notion of a wake or a party, and Rook noted that Cassi could plan parties like whoa, but Cassi wanted no part of it. Briar brought up that the wake should perhaps happen in Oregon, where Emmett was from, but Cassi wanted no part of that, either (Darkest Self Cassi is difficult). Cassi said she was done with parties; people were over tonight and it had endangered her family and smashed her pool house door.

Miguel, who had faded again, gazed into the abyss to learn more about Emmett, but failed. He appeared, cut and bleeding. Cassi took him to the bathroom to get him some supplies, and pulled the cover off the mirror. Miguel tried to put it back, and she shut him down, putting her hand up to the glass, where it disappeared into the mirror. Cassi wasn't willing to let go, but Miguel shut her down, pull her hand back. He gained the chilled condition, she gained loved. She therefore calmed down a bit and got out the first aid stuff and bandages. Skyalr and Romy went upstairs to get PopTarts.

Meanwhile, Briar gazed into the abyss and saw everything around her fade away, until only Emmett was left. She said that they just wanted to help him, and he said he was fucking everything up. He said that they needed to find some way to speak to him other than this (where "this" is gazing into the abyss, it seems). Briar shared this information, with a renewed sense of purpose.

Cassi went to check on her mother. Her mother was dazed, but unhurt, and asked Cassi to help her to bed. After she did, she asked Cassi to look in on her brothers. Cassi did, and saw that they were gone. And then she realized, with a horrified feeling, that the hand that had gripped hers in the mirror was small...

She approached the mirror in their room (which she'd deliberately left uncovered, remember) and stared down her reflection, which obligingly talked back to her. It said that her brothers were gone. She told mirror-Cassi to give them back; it refused. It said that she didn't care about them anyway. She lashed out physically and shattered the mirror (taking Harm in the process).

The others came running, and helped Cassi bandage her hand. She haltingly told the others what had happened, between sobs. Briar shut Cassi down to get her calm; she failed, but Miguel spent a String on Briar to boost the roll and so Cassi wound up with the annoyed condition, while Briar got done. Briar asked if mirror-Cassi had the silvered eyes, and Cassi said no. Briar said, "So, again, it's all about you, huh?" Cassi stormed off, upset. Rook followed.

Briar vented to Skylar, and Skylar used hungry ghost and took away her conditions. Rook, meanwhile, found Cassi and talked her down. Cassi said that she wished the mirrorskins had taken her instead of her brothers, and Rook said, "I'd die again if it took you." Cassi collapsed in tears, her Darkest Self resolved.

Skylar went to find them, and creeped on them, and then revealed herself. They went back into the room to figure this out. Miguel gazed into the abyss, and missed; he felt himself fading and realized that getting information meant fading out again. He chose to do it anyway; all the attention was weird for him, he found. He saw himself in the boys' room, the brothers on their beds, terrified, Elijah's hand bleeding.

Cassi picked up a shard of the mirror and gazed into the abyss, too (since she couldn't see Miguel anymore anyway). She saw much what he had, but the room was weird and kaleidoscopic - probably because the mirror was broken. She came back to herself and talked with the others.

They figured they needed to get into the mirror-room and get the boys. Cassi noted that there was an armoire with a big mirror in the attic. Briar told Rook and Austin to go and get it (light the way, which gave them 1 forward), and they went to the attic pull-down staircase to find it was already pulled down.

They ascended and found Cassi's mother sitting on the armoire, very much solid, but with silvered eyes. She made overtures to them, but Rook declined ("I can't sex my way out of this one") and texted the others. He also shut her down, gaining the tempted condition and giving her regretful. The others came up, and her mother smashed the mirror with her elbow. Cassi arrived and told her to give her family back, but she refused. Cassi manipulated an NPC to try and figure out how to get them back, and realized that it would require going into the mirror-verse.

Rook, meanwhile, looked at the bit of the mirror still hanging on the armoire and gazed into the abyss, hoping to contact the Fairy King. He succeeded; the King climbed out of the mirror and talked with Rook. He told him that the mirrorskins were nothing to do with him - to the Fairy King, mirrors were just a door. The mirrorskins lived in unvoiced desire, impulsive spite, trauma, the broken parts of a person.

They decided Briar should knock out Cassi's mom so they could incapacitate her. Briar approached and lashed out physically. She failed, but Miguel and Rook spent Strings. Cassi's mom grabbed a shared of glass and went to jam it into her throat, but Miguel grabbed the shard and Rook yelled a distraction, and Briar sucker-punched her. They took her downstairs and tied her up on the bed, and then brought the big mirror from the hallway into the boys' room.

They decided that Romy, Austin, and Briar would wait (they weren't sure how Mikaela would react to the mirror-verse). The others entered and all held steady. Cassi gained the terrified condition and 1 forward, but everyone else just stayed cool. Briar played "Happy" by Pharrell Williams on her phone, to guide them back. They found the boys and helped them back out of the room slowly, but mirror-Cassi appeared and looked at Rook, asking him if they planned to get Cassi's mother, too. They exited the mirror, but Miguel (unseen) ran into the hallway in the mirror-verse, trying to find Cassi's mother. He found mirror versions of Skylar and Rook lurking there.

Back in the real world, the others covered the mirror. Rook shared with them what mirror-Cassi had said, and they realized that just as Cassi's mom was bodily here but possessed, some part of her was still in the mirror-verse.

Meanwhile, Miguel found everything get darker. The mirrorskins saw him. "He's the one without a reflection," said mirror-Cassi. Mirror-Rook whacked his hand against the wall, shattering his fingers into sharp shards, and lunged. Miguel lashed out physically and punched mirror-Rook, but took Harm in the process. He tried to run away, but missed, and mirror-Skylar shoved him back, cutting him up further. Finally, he reached out, using the voyeur move. He spent a String on Romy and Mikaela realized he was in trouble (he still had the shadowed condition). Mikaela told Romy she could help him, and Romy agreed. Miguel appeared, bleeding, and Mikaela was...gone.

The characters patched up Miguel and he told them what he'd seen. They decided they'd need to go back in, and this time, Miguel would stay out and keep an eye on Cassi's mom. They all walked into the mirror, and Romy and Briar held steady. Romy succeeded, but Briar did not, and found herself wondering if the others could handle a mirror-Briar. She found herself in the pool house, with mirror-Briar pulling herself out of the pool. She smiled with a mouthful of broken-mirror teeth, and attacked. Briar lashed out physically three times, shattering her double. She wasn't sure, though, how to get back without wandering through the mirror-verse.

Meanwhile, the others heard Mikaela call out from downstairs. They found her by the door, with a body (that looked much like Romy's). She said she was afraid she'd fucked everything up. "They're out there, now," she said.

In the bedroom, Cassi's mom called out for help. Miguel identified himself, and she asked him to untie her. He refused, telling her that she was possessed by a mirror-demon, and manipulated an NPC to try and get her to accept it and calm down. He realized this would require him going over and sitting down with her, which he did, and patted her on the shoulder. She smiled, her mirror-eyes returning, and Miguel felt a weird, spiritual reverberation. Mirror-Skylar stepped into the room, holding a knife...

Monsterhearts!

Dammit. Been meaning to do this all week and it got away from me. Anyway, last time is here.

So, last time, we wound up at Briar's, and then Rook texted that he was back in town, so everyone decided to head to Pi and get some food. They talked a bit about plans for the weekend (party at the pool house!) and about what was going on, and Miguel gazed into the abyss. He failed, and saw everyone around him fading away...his own flesh, in fact, disappearing into the void.

With that rather sobering thought, the characters broke for the day, and reconvened at Cassi's the next night. They swam in the pool, ate pizza, and put a big projector up to show a movie on the side of the house. During that, Mikayla kept pressuring Romy to do something about Skylar. People finally paired off - Cassi snuggled up with Rook, Briar with Austin, Miguel was by himself but no one noticed anyway. Romy turned Skylar on, and they started kissing, much to the delight of Mikayla. Skylar notice Romy's...not discomfort, but odd expressions, and asked her about, but she assured Skylar she was fine and they moved into the pool house for sex.

This activates sex moves, of course. Skylar gained the shadowed condition, and could hear faint echos of Mikayla. Skylar asked Romy who she's been talking to, and Mikayla answered, explaining who she was to Skylar. Romy asked Skylar how she could tell the others about Mikayla (since it tends to make people think she's crazy); Skylar said it would ultimately be better if she did, and this crowd could handle it.

Miguel, during all this, listened in, and gained the shadowed condition as well.

Meanwhile, on the lawn, Briar saw a man's silhouette in one of the upstairs windows of the house. Knowing that Cassi's dad was out of town (as he often his), she and Austin when in to check it out. They didn't find anything, but decided to take advantage of the alone time. (Briar's sex move doesn't apply, however, since she had no Harm or conditions.)

Miguel, still alone, sends a sext to Dora (trying to turn her on), but fails, and gets a "don't contact me again, whoever this is" back.

Cassi and Rook, meanwhile, realize they're the only ones left on the lawn, and decide to take a walk around the property, just to make sure. Rook gazes into the abyss, and the experience leaves him drained, but he sees everything fading into the void, and endless nothing around him. Cassi yanks him back as they walk.

Miguel...at this point began a conversation with the weird stranger than had been texting Cassi and so on, but I'm buggered if I remember how that started. I do know, though, he wound up seeing everything fade out, and the voice told him its name was Emmett. But as they conversed, Miguel realized everything was fading...the house, the grounds, his own body. He held steady, and wound up terrified, but realized he needed to get out of this, immediately. He ran away, and smashed through the plate glass door of the pool house.

The others (well, except for Briar and Austin, who hadn't heard), came running. Miguel was in the pool, miraculously not cut up. Cassi's mom wasn't thrilled, but she told them all to take the party downstairs into the rec room so that no one got hurt. Briar and Austin came down and joined them (with some knowing winks), and they all reconvened. Miguel told them about Emmett, and they figure he must be in some way related to the quietkin and the hexmutes, but they weren't sure how. Briar gazed into the abyss, but failed, and saw everyone fall into the void, everything fading and vanishing.

And then Cassi's two little brothers came barreling downstairs: "Something's wrong with Mom!"

The characters ran upstairs, and found Cassi's mother crouched on the floor in the bathroom staring straight ahead, rocking. Skylar manipulated an NPC to snap her out of it, and got her out of the room. She said that she'd seen something in the mirror....

Rook glanced into the mirror, and his reflection moved independently. Miguel reached out and touched the glass, and the glass grabbed him back. He held steady (successfully) and removed the terrified condition. Rook grabbed Miguel and pulled him back, shutting down the mirror-Miguel. Miguel was annoyed (he felt he could handle it), but the others were pretty sure that going into the mirror was a bad idea.

Skylar, meanwhile, uses hungry ghost on Cassi's mom and eats her conditions, waking her up. Skylar gazed into the abyss and wound up talking to Mikayla. She told Skylar that the hexmutes, the quietkin, and the mirrorskins were (respectively) numb, cold, and broken, called up through extreme loneliness. She also asked him to Homecoming, if Romy was OK with it, of course.

Cassi, meanwhile, took Briar around the house to start covering mirrors. They found her brothers in the bathroom, staring at the mirror. Maybe doing some kind of Bloody Mary thing? Who knows. She lashed out physically to grab them, and in the process, triggered her Darkest Self. She sent her brothers to bed (kind of roughly) and didn't bother covering the big mirror in their room. Let them deal with it.

The characters went back down to the basement and tried to figure this out. They looked into recent records and learned that the dude who died in the house was named Emmett Dyson - that's be Emmett, then. He was only 18 when he died, and was from McIver, OR, but had no family or kin listed there. He died alone. Briar and the others went to the books to try and figure out how to put him to rest, and decided that having a wake might be a good idea - he was lonely, and being acknowledged might help.

As she was looking, though, a window opened - her arrest record. And then another - Skylar's obit. And another - Cassi in the paper on the decorating committee. They were researching Emmett, but evidently he was researching them.

Monsterhearts: Lonesome Doves

No doves, really. Not sure what that means.

Anyway, last time, the characters realized that they were seeing three different ephemeral, silent beings - hooded people with white eyes staring at fire, bald people with black eyes getting off to people in pain, and sentient reflections in mirrors with silvered eyes.

This time, they all got together after school to see a movie (they picked The Imitation Game). Rook wasn't there; he had a family thing he couldn't get out of (IRL, his player was tending to a babby). Miguel used she's not there to become visible and thus share his snacks. They watched the movie, and as the credits rolled, the lights in the theater went out.

The emergency lights came on and people started moving toward the exists. The characters noticed some of those weird people with the black eyes, staring at an older man moving slowly down the stairs. He lost his footing, but Briar sprang into action and took the blow, catching him before he fell but wrenching her shoulder in the process.

The characters went out to the parking lot. Briar's sex move, of course, is that she heals, so she told Austin it was time to turn in for the night. Cassi got Skylar and Romy into her car to give them a lift, and Miguel decided to walk.

Back at Briar's house, though, the things were still there, and still watching creepily. Briar gazed into the abyss to talk to them and tell them to go away, but they said they just wanted to watch (and told her to flex her shoulder, which she refused). She tried to shut them down, and they just faded into the background, but were still visible. She had Austin blindfold her for sex, but she knew they were still there and failed to hold steady, so had to stop. She talked with Austin a bit and tried to turn him on, but failed, and they finally gave up and went to sleep (she lost the drained condition she'd pick up, but kept the Harm).

Meanwhile, Miguel saw a backyard bonfire. He wandered over and saw some of the figures with white eyes staring at the fire. He waited around until folks put out the fire (not like anyone notices him anyway), and then gazed into the abyss while the robed figures faded away. He failed...so he faded with them.

He found himself someplace cold and completely white. He could hear them talking around him, and he learned that they were called quietkin. He asked how to get out, and they said someone had to light a fire. Then they could get warm. Miguel tried to manipulate an NPC to get more information out of them, and gained the cold condition, but there wasn't much else he could do.

Cassi decided to invite Skylar to stay; Romy tried to get herself invited, too, since Mikaela still wants to bang Skylar, but Cassi decided to throw a party at the pool house this weekend instead. Mikaela let slip that it was the creatures with black eyes that were called hexmutes. She also said that the ones near the fire weren't necessarily dangerous, but wouldn't say any more until Romy got Skylar naked.

She dropped Romy off at home, and went back to the house with Skylar to watch The Little Mermaid. They talked about Rook a bit, and how Skylar didn't want to go back to Rook's house without Rook there. Skylar wound up turning Cassi on, and they had sex. Cassi asked Skylar if she knew where Rook went when he was "dead"; Skylar said she wasn't sure, but since his life was in the lighthouse he probably didn't go where most people go. Skylar asked Cassi which creature that they'd seen creeped her out the most; she responded "Dora."

Of course, sex with Cassi triggered Skylar's Darkest Self, so when Cassi got back from the bathroom, Skylar was gone. From Skylar's perspective, he was just asleep, but Cassi went to sleep "alone," feeling sad.

Next morning, Cassi's mom woke her up to tell her that school was cancelled due to a power outage. Cassi got up and had breakfast, and discovered a photo on her phone, from an unknown number (the same number that had called her at the pool house!)...of her, asleep. It said, "Don't worry. You're not alone."

Skylar woke up and realized he'd faded, and took the opportunity to creep on Cassi as she texted Rook. He then manipulated things in the kitchen until Cassi acknowledged him and he reappeared. She showed him the picture, and they wondered who the mysterious person in the burning house was.

Austin and Briar woke up, and Briar turned him on (successfully, this time) and healed her Harm. She discovered that school was cancelled, and everyone met up for breakfast and talked about this strangeness. The news was reporting rolling blackouts, but they all suspected something else was going on. They decided to head to Briar's and hit the books. They felt like someone was missing, but then Cassi reminded them that Rook was away (of course they completely forgot about Miguel).

At Briar's, they learned that hexmutes soaked up pain, and placed a secret weakness on them. At that point the lights went out. Miguel, stuck in limbo, spent a String on Cassi using his voyeur move, and she thought of lighting a candle. They did, and Miguel appeared, but silent and intangible, like a quietkin. Skylar used dissipate to grab him, and then held steady and pulled him out of limbo, and he related what he'd learned.

The characters figured that the hexmutes and quietkin, while creepy, weren't actually dangerous - they didn't actually hurt people or light fires, they just hung around, and most people couldn't even see them. The reflections, though...those might be more dangerous (and were, according to Mikaela).

At this point, Rook texted Cassi that he was on his way, so we'll pick it up next time, when he arrives.

End credits: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," Johnny Cash.

Last Shout Before GenCon: Monsterhearts

Had hoped to do a chargen post, but I don't think it's happening. Instead, the Monsterhearts session from the other day.

Recall that last time, we started off Season Four with a class schedule, and at the end of the day, everyone decided to go and see The Book of Life. After the movie, they decided to head out to Scoop, this little ice cream place. They sat there eating their ice cream and chatting; Miguel used she's not there to be able to order and interact a little. And then they saw smoke from across the street - something big was on fire.

Briar, being Briar, started heading over and asked the others if they were coming. Rook called 911 and got the fire department on the way. When the students got across the street, they found that it was an abandoned house in flames, but there were people standing around watching it burn. They were hairless - no eyebrows, even - and pale and utterly silent. Their eyes were pure white. ("See," said Rook to Romy, "this is what you get into if you hang out with us.")

Skylar decided to check the house, and used dissipate to walk through the fire. She found a corpse in the middle of the house, singed but not burned, surrounded by some bottles that smelled of gasoline. Had this person started the fire? Skylar saw something move out of the corner of her eye and followed it - and found clothes matching the ones the corpse was wearing, walking around like someone invisible was inside. It reached out for her, and she tried to run away, but failed. The creature touched her, and she became her Darkest Self.

Meanwhile, outside, Briar tried to talk with the strange, silent people. They looked over her shoulder and "spoke" to each other, but made no sound. She manipulated an NPC to figure out how to communicate, and touched one - and everything went white, like a photo negative. She could see them more clearly, and hear them. It told her that they didn't start the fire (go ahead, make the joke, we did), they were just watching it. She asked why, and it said she'd know soon. She realized her hair was starting to fall out, and she let go, popping back into visibility.

The fire department arrived and, apparently not able to see the strange beings, hosed the building. When the firelight died, the beings vanished. Skylar was invisible and unable to communicate, so she wrote her name in the grass in soot, revealing to Romy what she really was. She reappeared, and told Romy how she died (giving her the morbid condition). She also tried to turn her on, but failed...Mikaela, Romy's head-voice, was immediately smitten and pressed Romy to get with Skylar.

Cassi invited everyone back to the pool house to talk about this. When they arrived, Cassi's mom was waiting for them and told her to have everyone out by 11:45; this was new, but after the year that Cassi had last year, it wasn't unexpected. They talked, and Miguel used she's not there to whisper to Romy (who successfully holds steady). No one was sure exactly what they'd seen - was the invisible person a ghost? What were the hairless things? All they knew for sure was that something was going on and Romy seemed to be taking it more in stride than would be expected.

The phone in the pool house rang, and a voice asked for Skylar. It said it wanted to be with her, and that it had seen her at the house. Why Skylar, they wondered? And how did it get the number?

Next day, Romy, Rook, and Cassi went out to the ecology class field trip. They did their worksheets, and Cassi and Rook laid down on the dunes to snog a bit. One of their classmates, Becky Thompson, saw them, turned to leave, and fell and broke her leg. Rook went down to help her, and Cassi went back to get the teacher. Becky pointed out people standing around her, also hairless, but with black eyes. They watched as Becky cried in pain, held hands and breathed heavy. Rook called Cassi and told her to hurry.

Cassi brought Mr. Patrick out, and he called for help. Rook manipulated an NPC and convinced him to get a Life-Flight; he was convinced Becky was going to die without help. Worth nothing; Mr. Patrick couldn't see the strange, mute people, and walked right through them.

Back at school, Briar went into the bathroom between classes and heard a fight between two girls. She exited and saw that their reflections were watching them, and the reflections eyes were silver. Briar shut them down (giving them the cowed condition) and they left; the reflections stared at Briar a bit, and then reached out for her reflection. Briar ran away.

Romy went to the bathroom, and Skylar followed to creep. She said Romy's reflection with the silvered eyes, and it looked at Skylar and said, "kiss her." Skylar, creeped out, left.

The characters regrouped in drama class, where Mrs. Law told them to get audition pieces ready for Monday. At lunch, they went to the library to hit the books, and learned that these creatures were lonesome spirits from the Void. Miguel used she's not there to talk them, but always managed to get distracted before he could answer any questions about why he was normally unnoticed. They could see them because they'd touched death in some way, or were otherwise apart from the world. This, again, left the question of Romy - and Mikaela wouldn't shut up about banging Skylar. She said that if Romy had sex with Skylar, she'd tell Romy all about those creatures - some of which she called "hexmutes."

When told about the incident in the bathroom, Romy asked Mikaela, but Mikaela (who also insists that the others not know the truth about her) said that she'd kind of lost some time, there. So was it really Mikaela who'd stared back Skylar? Something riding Mikaela's mind? And how many different lonesome spirits are there, anyway?

End credits: "Country Death Song," Violent Femmes.

Monsterhearts: Season Four

So, right off, we had to do a little retconning; we pretty much forgot that last season was senior year, but we never really addressed that at all, so we did the simplest retcon we could, and said that it was actually junior year (meaning season one was freshman, not sophomore).

With that in mind, some changes since last season.

Erika is dead, of course. Genesis went home to the ocean. Ash returned to the land of the dead. So, starting senior year, we get this lineup:

• Briar remains the Chosen. She and Austin spent some time in Europe this summer.
• Rook is back from his sojourn being dead, and is celebrating life like whoa; he's now the Nymph (with thanks to +Jeremy Kostiew). 
• Cassi is overjoyed to have Rook back, and has attached herself to him as the Mortal. 
• Skylar is still the Ghost. Still dead.
• Miguel, whom we've seen a bit before, joins us as a PC - the Unseen. Turns out that the Unseen's sex move allows his lover to see him, and Miguel's lover for a while was Dora. But now that Dora is gone (off at college somewhere), Miguel is just...easy to miss. 
• Romy Barnett is a transfer student. He previous high school kicked her out when she flipped out and broke a desk. She's the Shadow, and the little voice in her head is Mikaela, her twin who died at birth. 

We start off in Mrs. Law's home room class. Cassi and Rook are sickeningly sweet, Romy is confused by the inside jokes and references, and Austin and Briar are sweet but kind of low-key. Miguel sits on the radiator, since he only gets a chair when someone's absent. 

Mrs. Law is also the drama teacher, and the students talk about what play the drama club is going to put on this year. They talk about classes, and Romy gets drawn into the group. Miguel uses his she's not there move to be noticed, and joins the conversation briefly.

Austin says that they should give Romy a "Perdido 101." He tells her about Pi. Briar tells her never to go to the basement. Her Shadow, of course, immediately urges her to do exactly that. The others offer their little tidbits, mostly useful stuff about the school mixed with supernatural weirdness. 

The students go about their day. Rook, Cassi, and Romy are in an Ecology class that does field trips most of the time, so they're looking forward to that. Mr. Glick, in Drawing and Drafting (which they're all in except Briar), asks after Genesis, and Skylar sheds a tear as he says she's "gone home." 

They wind up back in Mrs. Law's class for drama, and she tells them they should be doing a musical, but they don't have the money. Rook suggests raising funds, and Cassi calls her mom and manipulates an NPC to get her to pay the rights fees. Her mom agrees, provided Cassi check in with her at night - she worries about Cassi doing too much. The students look over the list of shows that the board has already approved, and they decide on Into the Woods.

After drama, it's lunchtime. Cassi and Rook slip off to a closet near the drama room to have sex. Rook uses horny reward, giving Cassi a String on him, but then since Cassi is the Mortal, it triggers his Darkest Self...which means he wants nothing but more sex, and Cassi acquiesces (this relationship is going to doom everyone). They hear footsteps outside the room, and Rook tells Cassi to go invite whomever it is; she declines, but kisses him and distracts him. 

Miguel, meanwhile, goes into the teacher's lounge and listens to Mr. Squires (history teacher brought in from the local community college) and Mrs. Law talking about students. Mrs. Law mentions that Cassi probably wants to play Cinderella, but she has someone else in mind for that (provided her choice can sing). Miguel takes a String on Mrs. Law. 

Meanwhile, Skylar, Briar, Austin, and Romy go to lunch at Pi. They talk some more about their town and the weirdness therein. Romy finds these people friendly, but odd. Skylar and Briar get up to use the bathroom, and Romy follows, listening in. She hears them talking about her, and about someone who died. Mikaela suggests that they must have killed someone - maybe this "Genesis" person they've mentioned - and put her in the basement. She also suggests Romy his on Austin, but Romy feels it's too early for that kind of thing. 

They notice her in the bathroom and leave, but Skylar slips back in and hears her talking to Mikaela (but of course, can't hear the Shadow). He zips out and talks with the others, saying that Romy was talking to someone in there, but used plural first person pronouns ("we"). Austin points out this isn't the weirdest thing they've ever seen. When Romy gets back, Austin suggests they should all go catch a movie that night, Romy's choice. She decides on Book of Life. 

The students regroup, and Cassi and Rook make out in the hall in full view of everyone, resolving Rook's Darkest Self. They have study hall last period, and ask to go outside. Mrs. Law agrees, and they sit under a tree and chat. Miguel tries to use she's not there again, but fails, and becomes his Darkest Self. He sets one of the branches on fire, and though it is quickly extinguished, Mrs. Law gives him a detention. 

The school day ends, and the students head home before the movie. It's senior year, they're happy, Cassi is back to being her bubbly self, Rook is alive, and all is well. 

Don't listen to the whispers. 

End credits: "Everybody Talks," Neon Trees.

Monsterhearts: End of Season Three

Yesterday we ended the third season of Monsterhearts: Perdido. Some thoughts:

The game was so much more sexual in the first season. Three-ways were common. But then the characters got to know each other, and there were deals with demons and lack of trust. Next season we're going to introduce at least two new characters (well, one's been an NPC before), and changing Skins for a couple more, so it'll be interesting to see if some new blood gets the pants off again.

This group remains the perfect group for Monsterhearts. I can make call-outs to the first season and they remember them. Remember that we've been playing this game since August of 2013, so that's pretty impressive.

Using Strings in this game is pretty crucial. I didn't bother much during the first season, but being able to come out of nowhere with a hard move is awesome. I'm gonna miss the Infernal. :)

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, last time, the characters nearly caught fire a couple of times and Briar wound up promising something to Mr. Baron in exchange for Austin's life. This time, we open on Erika, in her room surrounded by mirrors, summoning Chantico.

Erika asked Chantico to, like, quit trying to kill her friends. Chantico said she couldn't have been that concerned; she was prepared to put letting one of her friends die to a vote. Erika retorted that Chantico was the one who had made that necessary in the first place, which Chantico didn't really dispute. Finally, Chantico said she'd think about it and vanished, cracking all of the mirrors. Erika, exhausted, went to sleep.

Back at Briar's house, Briar confessed how she'd saved Austin and talked with the others about what the implications were of owing Baron "a life." Genesis, in particular, was concerned, not least because she blamed Baron for her brother's death. They talked about Erika and in what capacity they needed to deal with her; Austin, in particular, wondered if it had reached "torches and pitchforks" yet. Ash pointed out that blaming Erika for her proclivities while Briar had just indebted herself to another supernatural power was, perhaps, a little hypocritical.

Skylar, into all this, decided to bike over to Erika's and check on her. He peeked in her window to creep, and saw she was dreaming. At that point, I spent a String on Erika to put characters together and put her and Skylar together...in her dream.

They were on a beach, but the sand was finely crushed glass and it sliced her feet (she tried to hold steady and failed, taking Harm). She tried to get to the grass, out of the razor-beach, but she failed in her attempt to run away and took more Harm...that makes four. Again, she nearly died, and again, she used numbing it out, summoning Chantico to help her.

And Chantico appeared, resplendent and beautiful. She told Erika that she'd thought about it, and she'd lay off her friends...if Erika sacrificed one of them. Heck, she'd even take one of the dead ones (Ash or Skylar). She opened a black, swirling vortex, and nodded to Skylar. Skylar told Chantico, in detail, how she died, using her ending move. She turned Chantico on, and Chantico listened, rapt. Skylar then tried to shut her down, ending the dream, but failed, and Chantico took a String on both of them.

Erika, though, had had enough. Furious at Chantico for threatening her friends and finally understanding that she would never be free, she threw herself into the pit. Chantico screamed, and Skylar woke up. Nothing was left in Erika's bed but a scorch mark.

Meanwhile, the other characters continued their discussion. Briar and Cassi left to go get supplies to clean up the house (which had flooded, remember). They contact Baron, and tell him that they'd like to discuss terms. They arrange to meet him at a park, and then return to the others.

Skylar returns, and tells them what she learned and saw. The group discusses whether Erika is really gone, and Austin asks Ash if he can tell (since it's been established that Ash can see people's deaths). He says he'd have to be directly asked, and Austin balks, but Skylar doesn't. Ash gazes into the abyss but fails, and sees a monster wearing Erika's body, burning with wrath. He decides her soul might not be entirely gone, but it's getting there.

Briar and Cassi talk with the group about Baron and what they might be able to do. No one's keen on Briar owing anyone a life, especially with such ill-defined terms. Cassi, overwhelmed by carrying this key, walks off, and Ash follows, hoping to comfort her. He casts the bones to help her, and resolves her terrified condition. She also learns that Rook is in stasis - he's dead, but he wants to come back. With that knowledge, she feels better about dealing with Baron, but tries to get Ash to take the key (spending a String to get him to do it). He refuses - it's hers, Rook gave it to her. If they want to finish this, they should go do it.

They come back and the group goes to the park. Baron appears, and they talk. He reveals that Rook's life is in an egg, and the lighthouse contains many such lives ("that's the light," says Ash). Cassi has the key because Rook gave it to her, so Baron can't just take it, and he can't promise to restore Rook if Cassi gives up the key. Briar theorizes this is because that would be bargaining for something that has to be given freely, but the truth is more disquieting. Baron says he'll reveal that, but knowing the truth might have consequences. Cassi and Genesis agree, and learn that Baron isn't the only one with a key.

Finally, the characters agree to go to the lighthouse and get Rook's life back. They head to the seaside, and Cassi jumps in to swim. She holds steady and makes it across. Ash and Skylar get across with no problem (they're dead), and Genesis initially refuses, but Ash spends a String and offers her experience to come along, and she agrees. Austin and Briar swim it, and Briar fails to hold steady and takes Harm from the freezing water, but Genesis swims out to get her.

Cassi unlocks the lighthouse, and everyone except Genesis goes in.

Inside, they find a room made of flowing silver. A great hound appears, but Cassi shows the key and it demurs. The hound indicates the stairs going up, and they start climbing. The windows on each floor show them the past - the vineyard, the dance where Rook died, Pi, the school, the basement.

Outside, Genesis sees the waters go black. Erika - but not Erika, Chantico wearing her form, eyes on fire - walks out across the water and tells Genesis to stand aside. But Genesis isn't having it. She lashes out physically, knocking Chantico into the water (and taking a String on her), and then uses ocean's breath to take her away.

The ocean drags her down, and in the depths, Genesis sees all manner of sea life - jellyfish, sharks, octopi - and her father, Tobias, waiting with a coral-tipped spear. Bastion would be avenged.

Inside, the group makes it to the top, and sees the light - a mass of life, hovering in a locked glass case. Cassi opens it, and then turns Rook on to find his life. She fails, but Briar, Skylar, and Ash all spend a String on her to pump up her roll (seriously, don't you love it when the mechanics work with you?). Rook's life-egg floats toward her, and she stores it in her bosom for the swim back.

Baron is waiting on the shore, and asks what they'd like to do. They huddle up, and note that Rook has been dead for a year - if he just comes back, that'll be traumatic for a lot of people. They raise this concern to Baron, who says there's a way a around it. Rook has to return in a way that is as reminiscent of the scene of his death as possible.

"Which means we have to go to Prom," says Briar, curling her lip.

So they do. A couple of weeks later, at junior prom, they watch as the principal opens an envelope and reads, "And the Prom King is..."

Time stops. Cassi hands Baron the egg, and he cracks it. Time starts.

"...Rook Carmichael!" Rook steps forward, confused but happy, and accepts the crown.

"And the Prom Queen is...Erika Perez."

The room goes quiet. The principal beckons Cassi up. "Would you accept this on her behalf?"

Cassi nods, and dances with Rook. On her way to the dance floor, Baron steps out of the crowd, and Cassi puts the key around his neck. "Who's that?" Rook asks.

Later, at the after-prom on the beach, everyone eats pizza and has a grand old time. And then in the wee hours, Genesis tells her friends it's time to go. "Y'all are just weird," she says. "I've learned what I came to learn."

They exchange hugs, and Genesis goes into the water, taking on her seal form, heading home forever. Ash, likewise, walks back into his crypt, lays down, and goes to sleep.

End credits.

Season four starts at the end of June.

Monsterhearts: Debts and Smoke

So it's been a while, but we finally managed to play Monsterhearts yesterday, and kept our brutal mojo going.

Last time, recall, Genesis' brother Bastion had died due to smoke-jaguar thing that Erika had called up. We fast-forward a couple of hours. Most of the characters are at the Midnite Diner, having food and coping, while Genesis is down the beach, brooding. Skylar goes after Genesis, and talks with her, trying to get her mind off her brother...and off revenge. Skylar turns her on, and they go into the water for sex (Skylar's dead, the cold doesn't bother him). Genesis gets a String on Briar through her sex move, and asks Skylar why he's being so nice now, as opposed to when she first came up on land. Skylar says Genesis is more human now. Skylar asks Genesis how her died; Genesis doesn't know.

At the diner, the characters discuss what happened. Erika goes into the bathroom, rips up the book that she found, lights a match and calls up Chantico. She berates the "goddess," yelling, and a waitress comes in. She inhales the smoke and Chantico possesses her, causes her eyes to burn like fire. Chantico says that Erika was the one that asked for a way to find a thief; she merely provided what was asked of her. Erika indicates that she's through with this relationship; Chantico warns against it. The waitress coughs up the smoke, but Chantico leaves her blind. Ambulances are called, and the characters leave the diner.

Cassi agrees to drive Erika home. En route, Cassi gazes into the abyss to find out who Erika's "friend" is. She sees Erika standing before a mirror, with the beautiful and resplendent Chantico in the reflection, but behind that form is a blackened, burnt thing with its hands inside the goddess' back, controlling her. Cassi realizes to free Erika, she needs to break the mirror and expose "Chantico."

They talk on the way, and Cassi tells her that she needs to stop, to not draw on Chantico's gifts anymore. And then she smells smoke. The car is on fire! Erika holds steady but fails; the car door opens and Erika is yanked out, the door slamming behind her. Cassi holds steady and fails, suffering Harm as the smoke gets thicker. Chantico talks to Erika, saying that she's not ready to "break up" yet, and make Erika promise not to try and get rid of her. Erika agrees, the door opens, and the two of them start walking to Erika's house.

Briar and Austin go back to Austin's house. Briar sleeps, and gazes into the abyss, trying to figure how to "get the smoke off their fingers," as Baron said last time. She sees herself with Erika, and smoke rising up. Briar inhales it and keeps it away from Erika. This leaves Briar drained.

Erika drives Cassi home, and then leaves. She gazes into the abyss to try and find Dora, and sees herself wandering in smoke. She fans it away and can see Dora (and others), but it rushes back to her.

Skylar walks Genesis home, and Genesis gazes into the abyss to find how to take revenge on Baron and Erika. She sees Erika drowning in a whirlpool - simple enough. She sees her storm destroy the lighthouse, but realizes that although that would harm Baron, it would also destroy Rook's soul as well.

Skylar, walking away from Genesis' house, also gazes into the abyss and asks who knows how she died. She realizes that Ash knows so she heads for the graveyard. Sure enough, Ash is there (isn't like he sleeps). Skylar spends a String on Ash and offers XP to learn how she died. Ash tells her - Skylar was about to commit suicide by jumping off the pier into the ocean, but changed her mind at the last minute. But then a great big wave came and washed her in anyway. Skylar, now remembering this, realizes that Genesis walked ashore following that wave, too. Skylar takes Ash back to Rook's house, and they stay up playing Xbox.

The next morning, Briar decides it's time for an intervention for Erika. She rounds everyone up, and they drive out to get Erika. They take her to a park, and tell her that her actions are dangerous, and she needs to get rid of "Chantico." They go to Briar's house and hit the books, and Briar realizes that this thing isn't Chantico - it's a dark power using the goddess' name. She puts the secret weakness condition on it...but then everyone smells smoke.

The doorknob is hot, but Ash, being a skeleton, can grab it (he succeeds to hold steady). Everyone leaves, but the door slams shut at the end, trapping Genesis and Erika in the library (I spent a String on Erika). Skylar dissipates and walks through the door.

Erika talks with Chantico, and Genesis, furious, tries to use ocean's breath, but fails. She and Erika take Harm from the smoke. Genesis goes to try again, and Skylar spends a String to make her hold steady. She does, though, and uses ocean's breath to have the ocean take something away.

Meanwhile, outside, Austin shudders and his eyes become flames. Briar kisses him (and spends a String to help her manipulate an NPC) and sucks out the smoke. Austin collapses.

Inside, Erika lashes out physically to smash the window. She does, but takes a point of Harm. The ocean rushes in, and knocks her back. Skylar grabs Erika to hold her down, trying to get the demon out. Erika holds steady and fails, taking her fourth Harm and drowning.

But Erika isn't ready to die. She uses numbing it out and recovers. The door explodes outward. Briar holds steady and coughs the smoke into the water, where it swirls away.

But Austin isn't breathing.

Briar starts CPR while Cassi calls for an ambulance. Ash realizes that death is here for Austin...unless some magical method is employed, he's dead. Erika realizes she could save him, but it would involve giving Chantico more leverage. She tries to put it to a vote, but Briar calls her a coward and tells her not to do it. Genesis tells her that this is on her - and so is Bastion. Erika leaves, storming away.

Briar, not knowing what else to do, calls Baron. Time stops. Baron agrees to revive Austin, but makes it clear that someone owes him a life. But he also makes it clear that if Briar does what he wants in return, they can get Rook back.

Austin revives, and holds on to Briar.

Elsewhere, Erika goes into a drugstore and comes out with two mirrors.

Monsterhearts: Brief and Brutal

That's more like it. :)

Last time, you might recall, Genesis had just zipped out of class following her brother enrolling at the same school. Her brother, Bastion, went and sat down next to Briar. Briar introduced him to the other PCs (and Austin), and he revealed he was Genesis' brother. Erika went to find Genesis (she was in the bathroom) and talked her down a bit.

Genesis, for her part, was happy to see Bastion, but afraid for him - the surface world was dangerous. She came back to class and everyone chatted a bit. Bastion was just as naive and clueless as Genesis had been during season one (Genesis: "Was this what it was like with me?" Briar: "Yes."). He'd left his pelt in his locker, and revealed to the others that if someone takes a selkie's pelt, they can make the selkie do things (which the other PCs hadn't really known).

They talked a bit out the family; Bastion mentioned that their father had been to the surface in his younger days and thus couldn't return, but that their mother never had. Genesis paused a bit, wondering what kind of shenanigans her father had gotten up to on his "semester at land."

Classes progressed. During choir, Bastion sang scales and the whole school stopped to listen. Genesis told him he'd probably need to fend people off with a stick. He seemed confused.

Psych class rolled around, and Genesis warned Bastion about Mr. Baron - he was trouble and he had her pelt. And then he walked in and greeted Bastion; apparently he'd helped Bastion get classes set up and so forth (which explained how it had happened so easily).

Cassi gazed into the abyss looking for information on the lighthouse. She saw Baron sending Genesis to the lighthouse, with a being of smoke with glowing eyes standing behind him, watching. But when Genesis got there, she couldn't get in - the door was locked.

The lesson in class that day was on split-brain surgery, and Cassi went up and asked Baron some inane question about seeing a lighthouse out of one eye and what part of the brain would perceive it. Baron said, "Oh, the lighthouse. I didn't think of that. Thanks. Extra credit." Cassi sat down, realizing that she might have fucked up.

Bastion left during class to get his pelt, but didn't come back. After class, Skylar and Genesis went to look for him. Skylar found him in the pool - in sea lion form. She told him that changing forms at school might be unwise, and he changed back and went to dry off. Skylar attempted to turn him on, but failed, and Genesis arrived to get everyone to lunch.

Meanwhile, Erika went to Dora's old sanctum, and contacted Chantico, using her strings attached move to find a way to get Genesis' pelt back. The goddess said that it would give her the means to summon Balam, a servant of hers, that night. Erika found a slim, leather book in her locker with instructions.

At the lunch table, the characters discussed their predicament. They knew that Baron had Genesis' pelt, and they knew that this lighthouse contained...something related to Rook. Cassi wanted to get it back, and drew a picture of the lighthouse from her visions. They all went to the library to go to the books, and learned where the lighthouse was - not far off the coast, and at low tide it was possible to walk there (though it was difficult). They decided to go out to the beach; Ash, Briar, and Cassi would go check out the lighthouse, while Erika would perform her spell and Austin, Genesis, Bastion, and Skylar stayed with her.

At the lighthouse, Ash used casting the bones for Cassi. They saw the key open the lighthouse door, and a blast of frigid air hit them. Inside were shelves made from ice, holding dozens of crystal eggs. Each one, as Cassi reached for it, revealed Rook trapped inside...but which one was the real Rook?

Further down the beach, Erika built a fire and cast her spells. A jaguar made of smoke appeared. She told it that someone had Genesis' pelt, and they wanted it to retrieve it. The cat pounced on Bastion and bit into his skull.

Erika tried to shut it down, but failed. The cat crushed the back of Bastion's head, mortally wounding him. Genesis used ocean's breath, and the ocean responded, exploding up from behind them and smashing a wave down on the beach. It took Balam and the fire out to sea, but Bastion was dying. Genesis tried to hold steady and failed; another wave crashed on the beach, inflicting more Harm. Erika tried to hold steady, too, but failed and was swept out to sea.

Down the beach, Briar saw the wave and ran, realizing that Austin was with them. She got there and called for him, but found him down the beach, nearly drowned. She held steady and helped him up and get back to the others.

Skylar, having seen Erika get pulled out to sea, used dissipate to fly through the water to find her. Skylar held steady, and carried Erika back to shore (and got to mark Experience for saving her, since she's the infernal).

On the way back, Briar heard someone call her name. Mr. Baron stood there on the edge of the beach, and held Bastion's backpack out to Briar. She lashed out physically and knocked him down.

On the beach, Genesis tried to comfort her dying brother. He had a pelt clasped in his hand - hers. "Traded," he gasped, before dying. Genesis knelt there on the beach, weeping over Bastion, and Ash came to comfort her.

Baron picked himself up and handed Briar the backpack. In it was Bastion's pelt. "I brought this out of respect for him," said Baron. "He traded it to me for Genesis' pelt."

"If you hadn't taken her pelt, this wouldn't have happened," Briar spat back.

"How far back shall we go?" said Baron. "If Rook hadn't stolen my key, this wouldn't have happened." Briar didn't have a good answer for that. "Before you go trying to open that lighthouse, you need to get the smoke off your fingers. That thing - you know her as 'Chantico' - has her hooks in you all." And with that, he turned and walked off.

(Fun fact: Briar bought Unholy Allies this session.)

Back on the beach, the characters stripped off Bastion's clothes and wrapped him in his pelt. A woman, clad only in a pelt, walked up out of the water - their mother. She knelt down and looked at Genesis, who said she had some things to take care of here, but then she'd be home. And then their mother picked Bastion up and carried him back into the water.

End Credits: "Time," Tori Amos (originally by Tom Waits)

Monsterhearts: The Lighthouse

Last time, you may recall, the characters all went to Psychology class following the news that their teacher had died of a stroke, and met the new teacher, Mr. Baron. But Mr. Baron was...Rook, aged 20 years.

Everyone held steady (except Ash, since he never met Rook). Erica failed and started hyperventilating, and ran out. Mr. Baron asked after her, and Skylar left to go check on her. Cassi, for her part, saw recognition in Mr. Baron's eyes - he apparently knew them. Cassi and Genesis both wound up with terrified condition.

Briar questioned Mr. Baron a bit, but he didn't betray any knowledge of her or the other characters. He talked with some of the other students, all of whom, except perhaps Ash, were suitably creeped out.

Speaking of creeping, Skyler followed Erica into the bathroom to creep on her. She sat there and gazed into the abyss, looking for information on Rook. (I'm completely blanking on the vision she had, but it left her drained.) Skylar talked with her and comforted her, and used hungry ghost to eat her drained condition.

Back in the classroom, Cassi confronted Baron, but if he knew anything, he wasn't admitting it. She shut him down, and gave him the shaken condition...but he gave her hopeful.

Baron gave the class the period free to use as study hall, since, y'know, their teacher for this class had just died. Ash asked him if the syllabus would change, and he gave a reasonable and lucid answer. Class ended, and Baron caught Genesis on the way out and asked if she'd found what she was looking for in the lost and found. She said she hadn't...but that, of course, raised her suspicion (she's missing her pelt, after all).

Lunchtime! The characters talked about this strangeness, and caught Ash up on what had happened over the last couple of years. Ash said that who or whatever Baron really was, he'd never died (Ash can, apparently, recognize death - Skylar asked if he could tell her how she'd died; he said he could, but it would require some effort). The characters talked a bit about previous years, and Austin mentioned that they'd already faced one creature that could wear the faces of people they knew - the Black Tanamous. Briar gazed into the abyss to see if the Black Tamanous was still dead, but she saw the vineyard, with water filling up the holes, and the bodies of her friends around her, and felt a premonition that she would soon be standing next to the body of a dead friend. She left and went for a run.

The characters headed back to class (Lit), where they were discussing A Separate Peace. Cassi, during class, got upset and left, and went back to Baron's room and started poking through his stuff, but didn't find anything. She gazed into the abyss to learn about Baron, but saw nothing (and Baron gained a String on her, though she didn't know it). Erica called Dora and left a message for her; the group hadn't heard from her of late.

Lit class ended, and the characters split; Cassi, Erica, and Genesis went to Anatomy & Physiology, while the rest should have gone to study hall. Briar, though, caught Austin and turned him on, taking him into the girls' locker room for sex. Mr. Patrick, the A&P teacher, chatted with Genesis about the origins of the phrase "catgut" (they were dissecting cats). Mr. Patrick tried to get Cassi to name some organs, and she flipped out a bit, manipulating an NPC and getting sent to the nurse.

Meanwhile, Briar and Austin were coming (heh) out of the locker room, and who should catch them but...Mr. Baron. He was all set to write them up, but Briar manipulated an NPC to get him to let her off the hook. He agreed, but said she owed him one (and took a String on her).

Cassi, meanwhile, headed to the nurse's office, and recalled that Dora's sanctum was in the supply closet. When the nurse left to take a call, Cassi snuck in and found a few votive candles, all that remained of the sanctum. She heard a voice on her left whisper "light one", and she did, gazing into the abyss to see if Rook was still alive. She sees Rook standing in front of a mirror, and his reflection whispered that he could make it so Rook never died. Rook (real Rook) agreed, and the reflection reached into his chest and pulled out a silver/blue ball of light - his life. Cassi felt the presence to her left offer help, but she refused. The presence, by the way, called itself Chantico.

Meanwhile, Genesis had learned that Bryan Munch, one of the basketball players, had stolen the janitor's keys on a bet. She asked him, and he revealed that he and some of the basketball players had opened a few lockers looking for drugs and had seen her pelt, but hadn't moved it. During Phys Ed class, Genesis asked to use the pool (the gym teacher let her; it's a weird day), and she gazed into the abyss to see what happened, and saw Mr. Clark catch the boys and leave the keys on his desk before leaving for the night...the night he died. Mr. Baron, it seemed, had her pelt.

After school ended, Genesis tracked down Mr. Baron and found him in the nurse's office. She entered the office, and found the nurse frozen in place. Baron, dropped at least a little pretense, talked with her and admitted he had the pelt, but said he wouldn't make her do anything worse that anything she'd already done ("That's not comforting."). Genesis shut him down, and he lost a String on her (but he still has one).

Erica, Skylar, Ash, and Cassi went to Rook's house to get something belonging to Rook. Cassi, it seems, was feeling better about things - there's hope. Skylar went inside and grabbed one of Rook's hats. Erica called on her dark power and mimicked the watching hex to look at Rook. She saw from his eyes, floating submerged in cold, dark water, but alive(?). She also got the feeling that something had noticed her.

From there, the four of them headed to Cassi's house - for the first time in a while, Cassi was OK being around people. Ash used his casting the bones Move to help Cassi (gazing into the abyss to advise her). They saw a lighthouse on the water, locked, and surrounded by sharp rocks and frigid waters.

The four of them talked about the weirdness, and Erica asked if Ash was a ghost. He said he wasn't; he was more like a skeleton. He demonstrated by using his skin and bones Move to take the flesh off his hand. Erica held steady and stayed cool, but Cassi held steady and failed. She threw up, and then realized that her mother was standing outside the window.

Her mother walked in, horrified, and Ash manipulated an NPC and claimed it's a clever magic trick. She seemed to accept that, but asked for a home number for him so maybe she can verify who he is. Ash pitched a fit, got offended, and moved to leave. Cassi tried to manipulate an NPC (her mom) and failed, and she sent her to the house. Erica manipulated an NPC (mom again) and showed her a draft of the yearbook with Ash's picture, which calmed her down, but Ash was already leaving. Cassi attempted to turn him on, but only managed to get a String on him. He left, and Erica left with Skylar .

Briar and Austin, meanwhile, decided they should do a little digging on Baron. They couldn't find any record of him at Berkley (his supposed alma mater), so Briar called the others to meet up and research. Skylar, Erica, and Genesis met her, and they went to the books. They wound up finding the name Oberon, and they knew Rook had dealings with the Fae. They put the secret weakness on Baron, and Briar found some cold iron nails for them to carry (Skylar, meanwhile, used mimicry to copy to the books).

Ash got "home" to his cemetery, and found Mr. Baron waiting for him. They talked a bit - Ash pointed out that this was perhaps a bit threatening, and Baron clarified that he didn't mean to threaten; he was just curious. He asked how invested Ash is in all of this, and also Erica, since they didn't know Rook well. Ash said that the others might not want play his game; Baron seemed pleased that Ash regards it as a game at all.

Meanwhile, at home, Cassi took a call from Briar and thanked her for the invite, but she wasn't not able to leave (mom wants her to stay home). She gazed into the abyss and used her newly acquired metamorphosis Move. She saw the lighthouse again, and realized that it was too far away to reach, too dark and cold for the way she was now. But she could change herself.

Back at Briar's house, a storm had started. They stared at the lightning, and talked about what they were seeing - they didn't know if Baron was evil, if he meant them harm, or indeed, what they could do about any of this. "I wish Rook was here," Briar said. Genesis heard a haunting song on the rain, but couldn't place it.

Genesis went to the beach and sat there, staring out at the water, and used ocean's breath.

Next day, at school, the custodian brought in a desk. "Well, we have a new student," said Ms. Freese, "middle of the year, I know, it's weird."

A young man walked in, with a backpack that looked like he'd stuffed a blanket into it. Genesis gasped. "Hi," said Genesis' brother. "I'm Bastion."

End credits music: "Down By the Water," The Decemberists.

Monsterhearts: Season Three

Woof. After the tragedy that was the finale of season two, we picked up to being season three. We just made characters and firmed up the class schedule, with a bit of light roleplaying.

Made characters? Well, yes.

Season three picks up in late April, senior year. The students from the first two seasons have...undergone some changes.

• Briar is still the Chosen. She's been dating Austin after Austin and Cassi split, and she spent the summer in Copenhagen. She's been monster hunting with Austin and Skylar since she's been back. 
• Cassi...oh, dear. After Rook's death, she grew more and more withdrawn and depressed, eventually even withdrawing from Austin, but obsessively trying to use her telepathic link on him. Finally, the link broke...and so did she. She's changed from the Queen to the Hollow. 
• Genesis focused more on her art over the summer. Her class track is strange; she wants to go to college and keep painting, but she isn't sure she can, since she has no legal identity. She also lost her skin again; she heard it was in the lost and found at school, but then she went to get it and its gone.
• Skylar is still "living" at Rook's house, haunting it, you might say. She's also thrown herself into the "life" that she's made - since she can apparently be part of the living world, even as a ghost, she's trying to get prepared for the future and for college. Maybe he can be a real person?
• Dora has dropped out of school, and is working towards her GED. The other students don't see much of her anymore, even her friends (Miguel, Julia, etc.). 
• Rook is, of course, dead. He gave his key to Cassi with his dying breath, and she's never taken it of. 

Now, into the mix, we add a couple of new folks:

• Ash Morton, the Calaca. Ash awoke in the cemetery the same day Rook died, pulled on a skin, and came to school. He seems to know a lot about the other students and tries to cover for them when necessary. He's happy, but kind of clueless about live-people things. 
• Erica Perez, the Infernal. Erica was a member of Dora's coven, and is Cassi's cousin (on Cassi's mother's side). Erica is an overachiever - 2nd chair alto sax, straight As, college bound. So when she joined the coven and just couldn't do the magic like the others could, she kind of snapped, and made a deal with a dark power. She knows it as Chantico, the Aztec goddess of the hearth fire. It...might not actually be that. 

We start off on a Monday in April. The students are in Ms. Freese's homeroom. Austin and Briar chat about the upcoming prom, and Briar has the idea of having their own event that night, since bad things tend to happen at Perdido High dances. Austin agrees, and asks the others what they think; Genesis coins the term "un-Prom." Ash enthusiastically agrees, and suggests the amusement park as the venue. It isn't open yet, of course. Briar, Ash, and Austin decide to go out there after school and check it out. 

The announcements reveal that there's an assembly today before lunch. At the front of the room. Damon Richter (another overachiever) turns to Erica and says that the assembly was added last-minute, but he doesn't know what it's about. They lament losing the review time in AP Calc, but agree to get together after school to study. 

During Programming class, Austin approaches Cassi and tells her about the "un-Prom," and asks her to go. She says she'll think about it, which Austin reasonably figures is a polite way to say "no," but he asks her to consider it. 

The assembly happens. The teachers are all dour, and the principal announces that one of the teachers (Mr. Clark, who teaches Psychology to the seniors, including all the PCs), died of a stroke over the weekend. The students are appropriately shocked, and there's some talk about counseling and so forth...and then the characters head to Psych.

Their new teacher walks in and up to the board, his back to the students. He writes his name on the board - "MR. BARON" - and then turns around.

It's Rook. He's aged 20 years or so, but it's him. 

Next time, I suspect we'll be doing a lot of holding steady. :)

End credits song: "I'm Going Slightly Mad," by Queen. A slower cover would be good.

Monsterhearts: End of Season Two

The second "story" in games I run always tends to be shorter than the first. Partly, that's because much of the first story is taken up with establishing the characters and laying the groundwork for further stories, but some of it is because I'm still, even after a good solid decade of gaming in Cleveland with some solid folks, paranoid that I'll get a repeat of shit that happened in Atlanta and people will suddenly decide that no, they don't like my games (or me personally) and don't want to play anymore. One of the hardest moments in my life was when a player told me (months after I could have done anything about) that coming to the weekly Mage game was a chore and he hadn't had any fun for the last few weeks or months.

(That player turned out to have some deep-seated issues, and is now a Tea Party blogger and therefore is of suspect outlooks anyway, but still, it stung.)

I say that because this story in Monsterhearts lasted four sessions. The first one lasted eight. I rather suspect that the third season is going to have some scheduling hiccups, but it's also only a monthly game, so I'm hopeful that we'll muddle through without losing players. I hope that's what happens; I really like this game.

With all of that out of the way: Here's the finale of the second season of Monsterhearts: Perdido.

Last time, the characters found out their titles, Briar asked Rook to the dance, Cassi got stabbed (by Briar!), good times. This time, we pick up the morning of the Sadie Hawkins dance. It's been a few days, people have healed up from their wounds...at least physically. Rook is angry with Cassi for abandoning the group after she found her One True Love with Austin, the looming specter of death remains a constant niggle, and Genesis increasingly wonders what she has in common with these people.

As school begins, Dora goes to her sanctum and gazes into the abyss, looking for a way to control the Winter-Heart. She fails, and just feels a sensation of looking up into a snowstorm at night - endless black and cold. In home room, Dora approaches Skylar and asks if he could steal the Winter-Heart from Rook (who carries it around in an insulated bag in his backpack. Skylar agrees.

Cassi, meanwhile, talks with Briar and Austin about plans for tonight; Rook is cold and distant from Cassi. She gazes into the abyss to see if Rook is OK. She fails, so I give her the choice: She can see what's coming, but she'll be powerless to change it. She agrees, and sees Rook at the dance, the whole place covered in ice. Rook forgives Cassi, but he is immediately impaled by a falling icicle.

Homeroom ends, and Skylar gives Rook a String to be able to steal the Heart. Skylar sneaks off and texts Dora, but has second thoughts about giving it up to her (particularly after Dora's texts, which talk about controlling the Heart). Skylar gazes into the abyss to learn if giving the Heart to Dora is wise, and sees Dora covered in ice, facing off against a sword-wielding Rook. Skylar decides this isn't a great idea, steals a teacher's keys and tries to head for the parking lot. Dora uses the watching hex to find Skylar, and pursues her. Skylar tries to run away, but fails, and drops the Heart. Dora picks it up, and heads back into school.

Dora finds Julia (one of her coven) and they go to the sanctum. Skylar watches, and texts Briar for help (but doesn't say with what). Dora attempts a binding hex on the Heart, which succeeds, but we unexpected side effects - the Heart melts over the fire.

Briar arrives and manipulates the nurse to get in to see Dora. Dora is there, but her eyes have gone completely white and she is cold to the touch. The nurse notices, but Briar covers ("Wow, those contacts look amazing!") and they head out into the hall. Dora is unconcerned - she's had weird effects from magic before. This will fade. Skylar isn't so sure.

Rook, meanwhile, realizes the Heart is missing and gazes into the abyss to find out what happened. He sees Dora as a wooden doll with a hollow in her chest, and Skylar putting the Heart into it. They wind up in Chemistry class next period, and Rook confronts her about the theft and her melting the Heart - Rook feels that he had it under control. Dora shuts him down (and he loses a String on her).

Next period, Cassi talks with Julia and manipulates an NPC into getting information out of her. She tells Cassi what happened with the Heart, and Cassi informs Austin and the others. Genesis skips class and goes to the pool to relax. She gazes into the abyss, but fails, and so I put her together with Rook (Rook was trying to leave school, but got rerouted by a security guard and wound up at the pool; Cassi follows him).

Rook and Cassi talk, and Cassi calls Rook on his secretive would-be martyrdom. She leaves, and Genesis surfaces, and effectively says the same thing; Rook might think he had it under control, but he wasn't sharing what he knew, if anything, and that made everyone uncomfortable and edgy.

Briar, meanwhile, gazes into the abyss to ask what to do about Dora. She fails, and sees Dora slipping into magic and becoming the enemy (which, for Briar, is a big deal). Cassi, leaving the pool, looks at her reflection in the window and gazes into the abyss to see what Rook knows, and sees him at the dance, dressed in a tuxedo made of ice, eyes mirrored.

Programming class, just before lunch, sees Austin talking with Cassi. She expresses concern, because Rook won't talk to her. Austin gets up and talks to Rook, saying that he knows that Cassi tends to be, well, focused, and that if you were her favorite you might not be when she changes again. Rook acknowledges this, and turns Austin on, not in a sexual way, but just to say that he's a good guy (and takes a String on him).

Skylar, meanwhile, wonders if there's anything about this Winter-Heart thing that he can find online, and recruits Cassi and Austin to help him go to the books (which he picked up from Briar using mimicry). The roll fails, though, and Ms. Blaise, the Programming teacher, sees them not working and gives Austin and Skylar detention.

Everyone goes to lunch. Genesis and Skylar decide to go to the dance together. Dora sits with her Mexican friends, rather than the other characters. Rook talks with her again, and she repeats that she has this under control. Rook says that that's what he used to say, and it didn't seem to be the case - maybe she really doesn't know what she's doing? Lunch ends, and as the students filter out, I spent a String on Dora to trigger her Darkest Self.

After school, Genesis, Rook, and Cassi go to see the Proprietor at the thrift shop. He sells Genesis a dress, but isn't able to tell them much about the Heart - they've gone off the rails since Dora melted it. But then again, the story always goes off the rails; that's how this works. They ask if anyone's ever come through this before, and he says one of their teachers, with a "name like fire," has. Genesis figures it out - Ms. Blaise.

Skylar and Austin are in detention with her. Cassi texts them, and Skylar asks her. Turns out Ms. Blaise, when she was a student here, had an encounter with the Heart that left a boat burning and her and her friends swimming to shore...except the one who'd found the Heart. He went down with the ship. Not especially heartened by this, the characters went to prep, and eventually arrived at the dance.

Cassi works the punch table, trying to keep busy. Rook dances with Briar, and Briar tries to convince him that maybe there will be a tomorrow, maybe this story doesn't have to end badly. Rook just shakes his head.

Austin dances with Briar ("Titanium"), and they laugh together and talk about the absurdity of all this. Cassi, at the punch bowl, and notices this happening. Cassi finally gets out from behind said table, and dances with Austin...as a Spanish version of "Let It Go" starts out. Dora and her friends have arrived.

She walks up to Skylar and attempts to use the illusions hex, but fails, and it starts to snow indoors. Genesis, realizing something is wrong, tries to hug Dora. She lashes out physically to push her away, and fails; Miguel grabs Genesis and pulls her back, inflicting Harm. Dora, continuing on with her Darkest Self, fires off a wither hex at Cassi, but Briar takes the blow and collapses. Cassi gazes into the abyss to try and see how to stop Dora, but sees an icy plain, and Dora alone on it, in command of the winter.

Rook confronts Dora, and demands that she return the Winter-Heart. Dora responds with a wither hex, and Rook shuts her down. They each put a Condition on each other (Dora gets surrendered, Rook gets guilty), but the hex freezes the ceiling, and the ice shards fall, impaling Rook. Skylar attempts to take the blow (again using mimicry) but fails. Rook collapses, dying.

Cassi runs to Rook, trying to do something to save him. Rook gives her the silver key around his neck, and smiles at her. Dora collapses, weeping, free of her Darkest Self. Austin runs to Briar and wakes her with a kiss. Cassi sees this, but is too overwhelmed to process it.

Flash forward to Rook's service. Everyone recounts Rook and his confidence, his passion, and his quirks. Genesis tries to speak, but can't, and as she walks away it starts to rain. The characters drift off to face the remainder of their junior year...

...and from behind a headstone steps a man who looks like Rook, but with mirrored eyes. He looks down at his hands as though seeing how they fit, and smiles.

Monsterhearts (rar)

Third session in our second season! Let's go!

Last time, Briar, Genesis, and Skylar were at Briar's house when they heard the growl from outside. The others (Cassi, Austin, Rook, and Dora) were approaching from outside and saw the paw prints. Briar gave Genesis a big club, gave Skylar a hairspray can and lighter, and grabbed some fire pots and headed out to battle.

But outside, the Shade Tiger had attacked! Rook shut it down, and gave it the tamed condition, so it kind of flopped over and waited. But then the others rounded the corner and Skylar yelled, "Look out!" The tiger jumped up and ran to attack Skylar. Briar tried to take the blow, but failed, and it just wound up clawing both of them (Skylar did use mimicry, though).

Dora ran over and tried to use a binding hex on the tiger, but failed. The hex inverted itself and Dora sat there shivering. Genesis lashed out physically with the club, but failed, and the tiger clawed her. Skylar tried to use the hairspray can to burn it (lashing out physically), but failed, and the can exploded, doing a bit of Harm to almost everyone.

Briar lashed out physically with her fire pots, and did some Harm to the tiger, but also triggered her Darkest Self. Rook, again, shut it down, and gave the tiger the passive condition, but picked up feral for himself.

Briar told everyone to leave, and stormed back to her armory to gear up for a hunt. Rook refused, and stayed with the cat (as did Dora, who was treating it more like a pet at this point; she held steady to clip a bit of the cat's fur). Cassi followed Briar, hoping to talk her down, and Austin followed Cassi.

Briar, in her armory, heard a noise behind her and saw a spectral, icy woman - the White Lady. She flung a knife at it...

Cassi arrived at the armory and saw the door ajar. She opened it, and saw the White Lady there. She gazed into the abyss but failed, and the White Lady reached up and stroked her cheek. And then she looked down and saw a knife sticking out of her chest - Briar had successfully lashed out physically.

Austin, a second behind Cassi, saw her fall, caught her, and berated Briar. He called out for help and the others loaded Cassi into her car. There was some talk about taking Genesis to the hospital as well (she was pretty badly injured, too), but they talked too long and Austin left.

Skylar took Briar's car (Briar tossed him the keys) to get Genesis to the hospital. Genesis held steady, but wound up with the terrified condition and didn't want to go - she was afraid she'd dry out or be dissected. Skylar instead took her to the beach.

Meanwhile, at the house, Rook, still feral, turned Briar on. Briar, in the throes of her Darkest Self and ready to go after anything - the Emissary, the White Lady - gave in, and the two of them went back to the armory. Dora, meanwhile, called Miguel for a ride.

Post-sex, Rook asked Briar to promise that she'd never go running off by herself after danger again. Briar promised, which is awesome, because she's one Darkest Self away from breaking that promise.

Dora, waiting for a ride, was approached by the White Lady. Keeping her cool, Dora asked to have the tiger remain, pet-like. She manipulated an NPC, and the White Lady agreed, if she got to mark Dora. Dora agreesd, and the White Lady stroked her face, much like she did to Cassi.

Skylar took Genesis to the beach. Genesis soaked in the water, and gazed into the abyss, wondering how they can get out of this alive. She realized that she could just swim home, but she didn't want to do that yet. She saw the book that they found, the one that keeps adding pages, and saw sketches of her and her friends. But only Rook's was finished; everyone else was just rough sketches. She got out of the water and talked with Skylar, and they decided that going to the hospital was unwise - Genesis didn't have a legal ID, and they weren't sure if they could make all this work. They decided to head back to Briar's.

Rook left Briar's house and walked through the woods. He gazed into the abyss, looking for answers about what was going on, and saw Dora with the chilled mark on her face. He got the sense, though, that someone else was happening, something larger and more important than the White Lady and her mark. He emerged from the woods at a 7-11, and went in to buy an Icy, as police cars zoomed by.

At the hospital, Cassi was taken into surgery and the knife removed from her chest. After it was out, the police - in the personage of Detective MacKenzie - came in to talk to her. She told MacKenzie that they'd been at Briar's, they'd heard something outside, gone to investigate, and she'd gotten stabbed by accident. The detective thanked her and left, and when the door opened she saw Austin talking to the cops. She used her gaze into the abyss (of Austin's mind) and saw that he was still angry and scared, and worried what he might be saying.

The cops arrived at Briar's. She'd remained behind, knowing that the cops were probably on the way. The arrived and arrested her, and took her in to Perdido jail. She told them more or less what happened, omitting the bit about the ghost. Her father's lawyer, Jonathan Schmaltz, arrived and told her to stay quiet; he was doing what he could.

Skylar and Genesis, seeing cops at Briar's, turned around and saw Rook walking down the street. They picked him up and headed back to his place, and Rook, still feral, wound up having sex with both Genesis and Skylar. Rook asked Skylar for a promise never to fade away, and from Genesis to take him to the ocean someday.

Next day, the only one in school was Dora. She gathered her coven and tried to explain what was happening, but just managed to sound crazier and crazier.

Cassi's father arrived at the hospital and was clearly angry about what had happened, but Cassi manipulated an NPC to get him to let Briar off. He agreed, and left. Cassi gazed into Austin again, and saw him at the police station.

Austin was there visiting Briar, as it happened. They talked - Austin, recall, was one of Briar's fellow monster-hunters, but he said that she wasn't thinking clearly and had nearly killed someone. Briar claimed that these folks shouldn't be following her, but Austin said after Homecoming, we were all in this together. And she needed to check her backdrop. Briar agreed, and Austin forgave her, and Briar got released.

The characters got together at Briar's house again after school to talk this through. Briar had an epiphany talking to Austin - she'd been looking for a fight, and she found one. Maybe they needed to not look for fights, but to try and swing the story in some more positive way? Genesis figured this was all down to semantics, then. Dora gazed into the abyss, trying to find her title, and saw her picture in the book, with a blank spot - could she write her own title, then? Genesis grabbed the book to look; Cassi tried to shut her down, but failed. They found Rook's entry - helpfully titled "The Rook" (well, in German), and it said that the Rook was one of "the Chosen Seven," the people who could put the Winter-Heart back to sleep and prevent the onset of Endless Winter. The Rook, though, was easily distracted and wasn't to be trusted - and it warned against making promises to him.

They flipped through and found the rest of their titles. Briar was The Rose, Skylar was the Lost, Genesis was the Stranger, Dora was the Witch, Cassi was the Chosen, and Austin was the Blind. Their descriptions made it clear that the Heart could start beating, and they could prevent it, but the Rook would die, the Chosen ran the risk of being subsumed, the Stranger might vanish forever, and the Witch might be seduced by its power. And so on.

They decided to go out to visit the Emissary. He talked to them, as usual, and was just as enigmatic as he generally was. Briar repeated her theory that they could write their own story - could they write in the book? Suppose they just burned it, or the Heart? Wouldn't that be easier? Genesis asked, "Who says the story can't be easy?"

The Emissary responded, "if you ask that again, I'll have to tell you."

Rook tried to ask, but Briar shut him down but failed (and the Emissary took a String on him). Cassi actually did shut him down; he took the unsure condition, while she took quiet. They talked with the Emissary a bit more, and decided to close the book for a bit. There was a dance coming, after all. Briar asked Rook to go, and he accepted.