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Interacting: Angelica!

A pair of oversized, chrome-and-white headphones reflected brightly in the dim ambient light of the auditorium. Many of the older heroes shot glares in the headphone-wearer's direction; she shrunk down in her seat and did the best she could to just ignore them.

In Eliza’s defense, it was loud in here. She studiously focused on the hem of her skirt, picking loose threads out of the fabric and doing her best to ignore the neck-prickling looks the people around her gave her. She could hear actual talking just fine through the headphones, thank you very much – it just helped to not have the loud breathing and noisy shuffling and ambient tapping of feet and indistinct murmuring all trying to catch her attention at once, too.

She checked her phone, mentally counting minutes and planning the bus ride back to school. It was going to be close… this thing was probably going to go for twenty or thirty minutes, and she had to be back at the school by 12:45, assuming she didn’t grab one of the supervisors for a doctors’ note. The “doctor’s appointment” she’d claimed she had wasn’t technically a lie; there were plenty of doctors present in the HERO facilities, probably even at this assembly, so surely by a way of thinking she was at an appointment with doctors, and therefore, at a doctor’s appointment. Besides, all of the medical orderlies here were well used to her asking for notes – they wrote plenty for the other part-time heroes with actual desk jobs, and for the few other high schoolers, too.

The organization’s director stepped up behind the podium, looking uncomfortably formal, and Eliza braced herself for the most-definitely-too-loud speech, fumbling for her phone automatically and starting music with a custom-programmed gesture. Angie, seated behind her, poked her firmly between the shoulder blades, doubtlessly saying something about respect and so on. Eliza firmly ignored her. Soft synth orchestra music slowly faded in to fill her ears (though the volume was as low as it could be) and took the edge off of the man’s sharp, over-amplified speech.

He spoke at length about a recent mission, one that filled Eliza’s mouth with bitterness – of course everyone else had gotten to go on a fun mission, while she’d been stuck at school. She couldn’t really pay attention to any of the information, not until Powers spoke of damage. Seven billion dollars? She shivered involuntarily, fidgeting with her headphone cable rather than continuing to look at the pictures that flashed across the fancy display screen. She was unable to avoid the images completely, however, catching reflections of them in the corners of her eyes. A vague panic built up in her throat and she looked around helplessly for a moment, eyes glazing over slightly as she realized there was no easy way out.

She tapped her music up a few clicks to drown out the speech.

As abruptly as the presentation had started, it was over. She only realized this because the people around her started scrambling to their feet, the room rapidly clearing. With a shaking breath, she stood, too, stifling the revulsion and flighty panic that came from being boxed in by other people. She focused on breathing through her mouth, eyes on the floor, until the crowd funneled out into the corridor. As soon as she had a bit of space, with most people forming a ragged line for the elevators, she ducked into the stairwell. The air was welcomingly cool, and she leaned against the wall for a second, her whole body trembling as she grounded herself, breathing deeply.

After what felt like a few seconds, but was probably closer to several minutes, she glanced down at her phone again to check the time, and cursed. She was more than likely going to be late. And she decidedly did not have the energy to go pester one of the doctors, not now.

A frantic descent of the stairs and arrival at the bus station across the street later, and another string of expletives flew from her mouth.

At some point in the last hour, her bus pass had fallen out of her pocket. She figured she maybe had time to run back upstairs and look for it… but no, no. The bus was already arriving. And she couldn’t afford to be any later.

Mumbling to herself, she closed her eyes, feeling the wave of tingles pass from toes-to-head that meant she was becoming invisible. When the last of them had subsided, and the static from her headphones, she glanced around.

Good. No one had seen her, she thought. Though a few people were gathered, they weren’t staring, as people often tended to do if she forgot and turned in front of them.

As they boarded the bus, she shuffled along after them, careful to make sure that she didn’t inadvertently bump anyone. Nothing would give her away faster than that.

She perched on the edge of an unoccupied seat, praying no one particularly exuberant tried to sit beside her. And also that the bus-driver didn’t happen to have x-ray vision. That would be a good one to avoid, too.

Someone would turn in her bus pass to the desk, surely, and she could pick it up after school. That was how this usually happened, the twenty-odd other times she’d managed to lose it. And she’d just catch a ride home tonight with her dad, if it didn’t.
It was going to be a long rest of the school day, that was for certain.




Observing: Brie @Danvers, William @Infinite Cosmos, Thomas @KaijuBaragon

The meeting was uneventful, as they always were, though Angelica found herself eyeing the suit-and-tie folks warily. She had grown used to being the best-dressed one in the room at any time and found this change…mildly disconcerting.

Powers had to be daft, thinking that publicly calling someone out for a meeting wasn’t going to raise questions. Angelica was never one to nose in something that wasn’t her business, of course.

Well, no. That one was bullshit. Nosing around in stuff that she wasn’t supposed to be was literally her entire job here.
It had to be not-that-high-of-security of a matter if he was going to be that careless, though. As everyone filed out of the auditorium, Angelica trailed near the back of the crowd. Upon re-entering the hallway, she caught a brief glimpse of her baby sister diving for the stairwell. No matter; Eliza would do what Eliza would do. Angelica found herself a perch in the hallway, one of the few benches that dotted the open spaces. She pulled her phone and a day planner from her pocket – though she’d had it silenced during the meeting, of course, no fewer than seven reminders and invitations had gone off. She set about filling in the planner, meticulously adding detail bubbles to the events of the coming days and setting about constructing her spread for the following week. Angelica was nothing if not organized.

Several others hovered in the hallway, though far less discreetly. Out of habit, she switched on her powers, heat blooming through her scalp and then down her face and chest, across every bit of exposed skin. Anyone who looked at her now would see precisely what they wanted, be it a beautiful woman to flirt with, a near-faceless bystander to be observed by, or the kindly old grandmotherly type that they happened to be missing terribly.

Someday, Angelica was going to learn how to pinpoint emotions and desires and capitalize on them, though she wasn’t entirely certain how that would work. Her abilities were slippery, even for the HERO scientists, and further work and training on them had proved rather difficult at best.

She continued to thumb through her journal, in no hurry to move on – though it appeared her focus was intently on her books, she watched the antics that Spacewalker – that was his code name, right? – and the one known as Will were getting up to. As if they thought they were hiding. When Brianna emerged from the auditorium, appearing shaken and clutching a manila folder, Will immediately cornered her.
Typical. She lightly shook her head, turning a page in her journal and filling in an event for the next week, listening intently to what was being said at the door.
@VampireOracle I LOVE HER. I’m absolutely good with the power. :D feel free to move her over!













Alrighty, my two kids are here! Can't wait to hear what you guys think! :D


@Eclipse Tyrant hey! Great question! So it’s not something I’d initially accounted for, but, yknow - I’m not about to infringe on someone’s creativity with backstories! Show me a sheet and we’ll go from there, but I’m not immediately opposed to the idea. :D
Hey!! So I know this is marked as “full” but Canary’s been gushing about it for days in one of my discord servers, and it looks super interesting! Would it be possible for me to join still?
oooooh! Mark me down as interested pls. I'm drowning in schoolwork this week but I'll work on a sheet as soon as I can!
@ItMeGritty sweet! Welcome aboard. Let me know if you’ve got any questions!
Hi friends! After way, way too much radio silence from my depressed ass, hi, I'm finally here and back with another gifrickinormous post. :D If anyone's interacting and wants to continue their interaction, that's totally fine, I just don't want anyone to feel stuck! If you want to keep playing the interaction out or timeskip or whatever that's entirely okay, don't feel too constrained by the "Time" listing in each post.

(also, there needed to be a bit more chaos going on. Just saying.)

Time: 5:19 PM -> 5:26 PM
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Naomi Johnson @canaryrose, mentions Alice Gray @Blizz

Echo grinned at their incredibly tall best-friend as she crossed the gathering of people to sit by them. As she spoke, they nodded along, popping a bite of melon into their mouth exactly as Naomi mentioned this being her first prank. With wide eyes, they chewed intently for a moment, holding up a finger in pause until they quickly swallowed, clearing their mouth enough to talk. “your first prank? I mean, makes sense. You know they’re gonna say I’m corrupting –" they cut themself off for a moment, cringing slightly at the other implications the word had for Star kids in particular. “That I’m a bad influence on you.” They finished the thought rather lamely, nibbling on a bite of cookie now and not touching the actually-nutritive bits that they had gotten (mostly just to throw off the campus nutritionist – the high schoolers were somewhat more supervised on that front than the college students were, to keep them healthy and their brains developing to their maximal capacity. Or something. The health teacher was always on them, even at events such as this, about their health, wellbeing, and development.)

“I know, this is gonna be so good. I’m so excited. I don’t think anyone saw us, so we… should be good. Hopefully.” Their storm-trooper-helmet-wearing classmate flitted by, making a hand-sign that was attempted to be discreet (and failed spectacularly.) Echo rolled their eyes, giving a thumbs up and a wave.

Theater kids. Most people would give the theater kids a pass.

A particularly orange-haired welcome leader was wandering up towards the stage, and Echo groaned to themself, visibly rolling their eyes. Of course Phoenix got to do the student welcome speech this year, before the faculty came out on the field and spewed a boatload of propaganda and other unpleasantries.

He seemed particularly nervous, just slightly too well put together for the situation. Echo had always found it particularly – to use an internet word with not-great connotations – cringey. But adults and other responsible sorts seemed to just lap it up. He stepped up to the microphone, tapping on it to make sure it was on. It wasn’t; there was a muffled curse from the storm-trooper-helmet-wearing classmate, who bolted towards the soundboard and frantically started pressing buttons, fading out the generic-pop-music that filtered through the speakers scattered around the common grounds and turning on the mics on-stage. The classmate then gave a theatrical thumbs-up, before dramatically ninja-rolling away and making more of a scene than if they had just walked.

Echo rolled their eyes again. Theater kids, everyone.

They didn’t particularly want to pay attention to the goings-on on stage, their gaze flitting around the crowds of people. “So many new students this year,” they stage-whispered to Naomi. “I wonder if there’s any in our classes?” There had been all of one transfer student in their year that they’d noticed so far, but she had seemed a snarky, reclusive sort – though Echo could empathize with that, there was no obvious common ground, and the girl – Alice, they vaguely remembered, from the awkward icebreaker introductions during English seminar - seemed quite unwilling to make the acquaintance of anyone else. That was fine, Echo had been there and done that too… but… still.

They kicked their heels against the retaining wall absently, swaying from side to side and fidgeting with their phone, anxiously counting down the time until the clocks would begin. "I'm so nervous," they quietly whispered, glancing to Naomi.



GM Post

Please take your time at finishing up your interactions in the next couple posts! This is just so that those who are stuck / at a dead end in interactions can.

Time: 5:20 PM -> 5:26 PM
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Everyone!

Phoenix adjusted his blazer once again as he checked his watch. It was precisely 5:20. After a final scan for straggling or struggling young students, he started over towards the stage, making sure his hair was properly arrayed (he bit back his internal annoyances at the wind and other such constructs of the environment) and that his speech cards and other such belongings were exactly as they were supposed to be, though it was purely mechanical.

Of course they were; he was far, far too meticulous to ever lose something so important as that. It wasn’t like he would need them, anyway; he’d had his speech learned since the start of the summer, when Professor Edwards had approached him and asked him to give it. It was a sort of tradition that one of the graduating students, especially one who’d attended for at least the entire duration of their high school and college, give the welcome speech on the first day of classes, and Phoenix (with his upstanding GPA and disciplinary records, his familiarity on campus as a resident assistant, and his very particular aesthetic) had been a quickly suggested choice.

He adjusted the sleeves of his jacket one final time, stepping up to approach the microphone. The stage techs were nowhere to be seen, but that was fine; he bit back his annoyance as he tapped on the dead microphone, clearing his throat and staring pointedly back to the empty soundbooth.

A high schooler quickly leapt into action, pressing buttons and ending the music after far, far too long of a pause. Phoenix rolled his eyes, stepping away from the microphone and pressing two fingertips lightly to the underside of his jaw, swelling the air that formed his words and projecting his (already theatrical voice) out over the entire field. The microphone tech did not take the hint, but that was fine; he angled the shape of the waves to avoid the microphone lest he cause feedback or other unpleasantries.

“My fellow students, welcome to another great year at the Nova Excelsis Institute of Higher Education. My name, as many of you know, is Phoenix Gallagher; I am a student senate member, resident assistant in Carter Hall, and the principal clarinetist of our student orchestra. But beneath all my other titles, I am a student just like you, and I am so proud to have the honor of saying that.” He shifted in place, lightly altering how the air currents flowed and yet again adjusting his suit jacket, shifting to stand as tall as he possibly could.

“Ten years ago today, I arrived on a bus just up the road at the Academy, and my life forever changed. Since that fateful day, I have been able to blossom into a role that I never could have even dreamed of filling with a conventional education. I have been privileged to work alongside the very greatest musical artists, both those gifted with Stars and those without; I have been pushed to the extreme limits of my ability and set up for a world-spanning career in that which is both my passion and my gift. Truly, the limits of one’s potential here are realized only by their wildest imagination.

"I am here to congratulate you all on making the choice to be here today; those of you who are returning students, to thank you for returning to this bastion of learning, and those of you who are new, to welcome you to the greatest place you will ever find. Here, and only here, Starred students are enabled and empowered to explore every facet of their ability, to hone it and grow into more gifted and accomplished individuals than they ever could have been in the conventional world. The world does not understand us, but the Institute does. Our faculty – world-renowned, incredible individuals who have singlehandedly made leaps and bounds in each of their wonderfully diverse social and academic roles – understand us, and are here to help us become all that we can be.”


He absently fidgeted with his suit jacket, reaching into the pocked where he kept his cue cards – more for the familiarity of having them than anything, of course – and managing to pull a perfectly blank face when he realized he didn’t, in fact, have them. No matter. He had his speech memorized. Perfectly, perfectly memorized.

Everything was going fine. He cleared his throat, adjusted his posture again, and put a smile on his face, making eye contact with some of the new students as he continued.

“We sit today at the beginning of what is sure to be the greatest year the Academy has ever known; as for the last fourteen years running, the Academy boasts higher enrollment than ever. In response to this, our faculty has added even more diverse degree programs at the collegiate level, while featuring the nation’s best selection of AP and IB courses -and even more specialized classes specifically taught to the higher achievement of Starred students – at the high school level. Truly, we are on the cusp of an era of greatness, and we will be the future of it.”

After a strategic length of pause, he smiled and opened his mouth to speak again, but found himself distracted by a rhythmic, droning beeping that quickly swelled in volume – an alarm. “Is – Is someone’s phone going off?” he asked distractedly. It was quite far away, at one of the picnic tables near the middle of the field, he thought. He tried to ignore it, hoping someone would make it stop beeping soon. “As I was saying, the future is now; the future is us. Remember this, if you become discouraged. The future of our world can hang in your hands, should you – should you choose to rise to that – occasion.”

A second beeping had joined the first, just a half-second out of phase with it and from a different part of the field. He growled to himself, turning a strainedly bright smile to the gathered students. “Friends, if you could please silence your phones. Please.”

He finally paused in his speech, clasping his hands in front of himself and waiting annoyedly for the sounds to be resolved. He didn’t dare present the professors, not with this cacophony.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a bright teal flash. His sibling. They didn’t seem at all perturbed by the noise…

He shook his head irritably. Surely they didn't actually know anything. They wouldn’t be trying to – sabotage this event?
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