Tonya
Well, that's cool.

Taking a swig from a bottle of beer, Margarita laid her phone on her outstretched belly, putting the beer down for a moment as well. Since nobody was looking, Margarita took the liberty to put her powers to use and stretched herself out between two sturdy tree branches to resemble a hammock. She tied her arms on one end and her legs on the other, her arms elongated way more than her legs so that she could do things with them like, well, grab her beer, chat with Margo, etc.. The light swaying motion was quite relaxing; sure, anyone else who'd seen this would be worried, but for Margarita? This objectively had to be one of the best uses of her newfound abilties.

The relaxed elastic tensed up when she heard a set of footsteps trodding along the green grass and dirt of the forest, and in response, she stretched out her neck towards the noise to see whatever it was. Her neck effortlessly elongated as she moved her head forward, swaying left and right to avoid trees.

And it was Margo.

"Oh, uh, ciao!" She greeted, her neck at least twelve metres away from the rest of her body. "Here for the drinks, right? Cool, uh, come with me then; there's s few bottles in the ice box over there, so... Yeah, help yourself." She smiled warmly, odd for someone whose body was twisted, bent, and stretched in ways unimaginable, even to parahumans like herself.
Maurice
[12:30am... Sweden.]

◆ "Fuck, why am I still up?"

□ Seemingly, Margo had dun fucked up. *Bad.* Whether it was the deep-fried burrito she ate half an hour before she fell asleep, or the cup of black tea she'd had at eight PM in a bid to stay awake, she'd doomed herself to a night of tossing and turning, sleep always just out of grasp, ripping all of her mental clarity away from her the next day. Now she was paying the price, and she was up *Late* By her standards, so when the offer for, of all things, a drinking party landed on her doorstep, she took it up without a second thought. Chucking on some tan corduroy pants alongside the Spongebob Evangelion shirt she had on, she decided to also chuck her jacket on before dipping out and into the brisk May air.

▪︎ It took her about fifteen minutes to get out to the site, but once she got there she witnessed a rather *Odd* Sight.

◆ "What the fuck?" Admittedly, despite talking before, Margo had actually never met Margarita in the flesh, so seeing her stretched out like bubblegum in a hot car was rather surprising. Of course, though, she didn't gawk long, and quickly took a seat on the damp soil. "Gotta admit, that took me off-guard. Anyways, man... What's up?"
Tonya
"I know, I know, I look weird, but I mean... Hey, it's why my intranet username is ' stretch'; I'm, in every sense of the word, elastic." She replied, quickly trapping Margo by looping around her, her neck loosely tied around her new acquaintance *Twice*. "It's pretty neat though, so uh.. Yeah."

"Yeah a lot of people have told me that; I mean... They're right to say that, though; I've a what, a twelve or thirteen-metre neck? And my body's hanging onto two trees like a hammock back there, so no offence taken."

Even she knew she was weird.

"Aaaanyways, all is well so far; I hope your day's been going fine too?" She asked in return. Margo would spot her hammock body in the corner of her eye, but who would notice? Her neck was wrapped around a person.

"I'm Margarita, by the way, but do call me 'stretch'. And I'd shake hands, but uh... Would you mind if it's a bit delayed?"
Maurice
◆ "Guess so." Margo waved it aside, deciding it would be better for her mental if she didn't overthink the elastic human sitting about ten feet from her. "It is weird. But... It's kinda sick. I dunno."

□ Jumping slughtly as the other gal's rubbery neck wrapped itself around her, the primal section of her brain fired into fight or flight mode. After all, she barely knew Margarita, so there wasn't any real trust, and only a fool let any random schmuck around their neck. Lifting up the tubular neck, she quickly worked it off, and dropped it to the ground hastily. With that out of the way she dusted her neck off, and looked back down at the disembodied head on the ground.

▪︎ Weird.

◆ "Don't do that again, if you would." Margo spoke, clearly a bit weirded out by the whole snaking around her neck thing. "Anyways I can't sleep. That's why I'm here. Also, don't bother with shaking hands, no need for formalities here, man."
Tonya
"Oh."

Then her noodle neck was thrown into the ground, and it took quite a bit of effort to prevent her limp, elongated neck from dropping onto the ground completely, along the same sensation as suddenly jerking one's arm up after letting it rest ona desk. Slightly rude, but to Margo's defence, Margarita forgot about the concept of personal space.

"Aaanyways, erm- oh, uh, yeah, noted. My bad. Sorry." She hastily replied. Margo's reaction in mind, Margarita decided to cease her hammock party trick for now and let the rest of her body slowly drop down to the ground feet first, eventually returning to its normal proportions (except her neck of course) and leaning against a tree, beer bottle in hand.

"Oh, okay." No handshakes too. Bumpy start, but it's workable. Guranteed? No. Impossible? No. "Anyways, uh... Beer bottles are over there by the campfire, so... Other than this whole rubbernecking uh, thing, how's your day?" She asked, still with the same 12-metre neck she had as before. Maybe the quiet night and odd company would help. *Maybe*.
Maurice
◇ Rather than say anything, though, Margo simply listened.

□ Well, listened and observed. Paying attention to how the other gal reacted to being somewhat manhandled, her head dropped to the ground because Margo still didn't feel totally safe at Newton's Cradle and it showed in the way she refused to let anyone too close to her. Adjusting slightly, she bent her knees upwards, leaning forward and letting the tension of her skin and the muscle underneath act as a hinge to keep her from folding to the point of damage.

▪︎ A bit weird of a stance, but...

◆ "Beer's by the campfire? Alright. Lemme just..." Groaning, she rose to her feet, strolling to the campfire and quickly grabbing a bottle. Managing to pop the top off easily, she took a seat again, pretty much exactly where she'd been before. "It'd be better if I could sleep. I drank some tea around eight, and... It's keeping me up something fierce. You...?"
Tonya
"Yeah, it's one of the mediocre ones. Oh, and the bottle opener is there too." Margo still feeling uncomfortable around her whole 'elasticity' party trick, Margarita decided to cut the shit out and let her body walk towards the campfire, her neck slowly retract with each step until it parked itself a metre or two beside Margo. Her neck still wasn't quite completely retracted, but it was definitely shorter by 3/4ths. The remaining length of her neck she kept wrapped around her body, her head landing comfortably on her laps.

"I don't know, I've got a fucked-up sleep schedule." She remarked, taking a swig out of her half-emptied bottle. "I sleep at... What, one or two in the morning? Still pretty early for me, so I just... Yeah, chill here or at home."

"Also," She unwrapped her neck from her body and moved her head closer to Margo, observing one of her eyes. "Is your eye just like that or is it your power? Still pretty neat-looking though."

Either way, Margarita was too used to the whole rubber body thing she didn't even realize she was stretching too close to Margo again.
Maurice
◆ "Isn't all beer kinda dogshit?" Margo remarked, taking a sip of the so-described bottle of said dogshit as if she hadn't just slandered it. "Like... My older sister gave me a beer on my fifteen birthday, and I spit that shit out so fast. But, hey... You're offering, and you got a fake, so. Thanks."

□ Sipping her drink, she found it to be almost as bad as her first experience with the stuff, the bottle hanging loosely in her bandaged grasp. However, any distaste she felt for it was quashed by the fact that it was way past her regular bedtime, and maybe a few drinks would be all she'd need to get to bed proper, so she leaned the small of her back against a fallen log with a hum. Silent, she listened to the other gal talk, backing up slightly once Margarita's face was more or less directly in her staring into her eyes. Quickly looking away, her fingers curled around her beer bottle, eyes averted towards the ground as her body crawled with the discomfort that seemed to follow any eye contact she made.

▪︎ However, she didn't think much of it. She'd been this way for as long as she could remember, it was probably just a natural thing, nothing to worry about.

◆ "Yeah, it's... My power. My left eye was actually fully covered in cataracts when I was born, but once my powers developed the fog kinda just... Dissipated." She blinked, her lips tightening slightly in thought. "Also, if two in the morning is fucked for you, then just imagine me. I usually go to bed at nine thirty, so being up now, at midnight, just... Feels awful. But, I tried, and my body hates me, so I'm gonna poison the fucker back to teach it a lesson. Whatever. Anyways, how the hell'd you find out about that... Stretching thing you've got going on?"
Tonya
"Oh, this?" She mentioned at her stretched out neck. "I got it two weeks before I landed my ass here in Newton's. I got in a knife fight and well... I tried jabbing my knife at the opponent but I opened my eyes and poof, there was my arm, five metres long. Some more testing showed that my entire body is elastic, so that's pog. Things went... Not necessarily downhill since then, but I'm here. Could be better, but this is fine. I do miss my parents though; wondering how they're doing."

"Speaking of parents," She turned her attention back to Margo, her head moving towards her until her face was once again a bit too close to hers. Her neck unwrapped itself from her body as it became taut as the extended appendage was pulled towards Margo by her disembodied head. "Why'd you beat up your dad? I'm sure you could've done things differently than... You know... Almost killing your own parent? *Mio Dio*..."
Maurice
◆ "Still tastes like a wheat silo's asshole." She coughed as another mouthful went down the hatch. "Fuck, that's rough..."

□ Perhaps it was rude to insult free liquor, but it was late, she was tired, and thus she was a bit predisposed towards crankiness. Unfortunately, that meant Margarita was in the crossfire as her own person war played out in her head, the beer bottle swaying lightly as her hand hung off of her knee by the wrist. Then again, part of this whole night being one of annoyance was the fact that, well, this other chick was really letting her powers show, in low-key yet proud ways, and for someone whose powers had always marked her as different or *Weird* It was almost offensive. Almost.

▪︎ Instead, she just exhaled through her nostrils, slow and steady, letting her emotions seep out that way.

◆ "Shit, your powers just... Developed? Mid-brawl? Awkward timing, sounds like." She plainly spoke. "Also, the fact that he's still living means he's still going to be the Antichrist of our household. He's an abusive controlling manipulative rich fuckface, and i've half a mind to finish the job once I'm out of here; prick fucking deserves it." She grumbled, frowning and looking off into the midnight pitch of the woods. "And I'm sure the Italian is gonna lecture me about family. My family is dysfunctional and that's that; leave it the fuck alone."
Tonya
"Well, you're free to put the bottle down to go back to the cradle and get something to mix it with. I suggest lime soda." She commented, digging dirt out of the space underneath her fingernails.

"Yup, and *Sí*, exactly how you said it. Very awkward for everyone involved and I got caught by the *Policia* The same day. Didn't even get to deliver that day's third shipment of cocaine." She threw a speck of dirt into the fire and drank another sip, the bottle nearing emptiness at a fast rate.

"I know. I *Am* Gonna lecture you, kid, because," She drank the last few drops of beer and set the bottle near the other unopened ones, lengths of arm slowly flowing out of her jacket sleeve past Margo's knees. Both of them could hear the rubbery creaking of her muscles extending and her bones deforming much more clearly now.

"Because while yes, your *Papa* Is against you and you're against your *Papa*, you still have to leave him a bit of respect because whether you like it or not, he's still your parent no matter what and he put in a straight half of the effort to bring you here. Without him, I wouldn't even be talking to you right here. Dysfunctionalism sucks, I know. I've seen it. But you're still obligated to respect your father evem if nne of you even have a crumb of love to share."
Maurice
◆ "Fuck that." Margo retorted, the pulsing of a specific vein in her forehead the first warning sign that she was starting to grow angry. "I came all this way, I'm not goin' back, man. No sense. I'd be better off just loading a few into my coat and goin' back."

□ Still somewhat domestic, this façade of level-headedness began to shift as Margarita continued to talk. So, she had been arrested for cocaine smuggling. It was something her older sister Holly had done, and now she was rotting in a prison in upstate New York; something, something, the law always prevails. Hands beginning to tense up, she couldn't help but scoff at multiple things that the other gal had said. After all, how *Dare* She lecture about family when she'd had a healthy one? She had no *Idea* The hell that a dysfunctional family put one through, so who was she to talk?

▪︎ Safe to say, she was pissed.

◆ "All he did was stealth my mom while fucking her. I wasn't planned, my father just doesn't know how to not be a sex offender." Margo coldly replied, her jaw clenched and her body beginning to limber up on its own. "You don't know a goddamn *Thing* About dysfunctional families, the strain it puts on everyone, trauma from day one. You know *Nothing,* You coke mule, and you're looking for a punch in the mouth talkin' like that."

• "And if you think I'm nothing but bark, I just received word earlier that my father is permanently blind from the beating I gave him. Good riddance; he gave up his right to sight the moment he laid it on stocks instead of two by fours."
Tonya
"Alright, alright, enjoy the beer as it is then." She could hear the difference in tone, but that sounded more like they were annoyed at the suggestion of walking than... The *Entire* Situation as a whole.

That sentence didn't even register. "What, you think I had a perfect family?" Margarita's body began to tense up as well, retracting every single stretched appendage she had as she felt her blood began to heat up. "Do you think my parents had time for me when they were out there working day and night for whatever the hell the minimum wage was? Do you think I liked all my cousins? Did you really think I didn't have an asshole aunt with entitled little shits for children? What kind of fucking utopia are you living in? You think you're the only one in this *Entire world* With the daddy issues?"

"I'm a coke mule, *Si*, but I worked for it you lazy fucker. I *Worked* While you sat in your what I presume to be a fancy American home for *Dio* Knows how long while I walked, fought, dodged, and made my way though an entire town with nothing but my own two feet or a bike."

"Oh we're talking achievements then? So let's see: he's blind? What, in one eye? That's it? Fuck, wow, I'm impressed." She ironically responded, even letting out a short chuckle, placing her hand on Margo's for a second, her tone switching immediately to a more serious and ominous tone. "No I'm just kidding; I've beaten shits above my age and sent them home crying to their *Madri* And sent them to dentists, orthopaedic doctors, and whatever else the fuck they have. *You* On the other hand," She interrupted herself for a second. "Are nothing but bark to me."
Maurice
◆ "Now you're putting words in my mouth." Margo retorted, clearly annoyed. "I just said you don't know a goddamn thing about dysfunctional families. You clearly don't."

□ Her accent peeked through stronger than usual, her voice sinking into a growl as it did so. The topic of family was a touchy one, and given how the other girl was pushing it she was almost certain that she was looking for a fight of some sort. Maybe she was already drunk and hiding it well, but couldn't resist the urge to fight. Whatever the case Margo's body limbered up around her as her own rage built up, and it was all released at once as Margarita put her hand over hers. At this point Margo quickly pulled her hand back, also smacking the back of it as she did so.

▪︎ At this point, a brawl was inevitable.

◆ "Outright, you fuck." She snarled. "He's totally blind. And that's nothing. Oh, you rode around on a bike with an unmarked package in your bag. So dangerous. You're fucking delusional, you know that? Thinking you know a thing about my home life, or what struggle means. Your parents actually gave a shit about you. As a matter of fact..."

"Fuck you!" Frustrations, sleep deprivation, and family trauma all boiled over in one yell as, without warning, Margo swung her beer bottle directly at Margarita's head, aiming to smash it off of her skull. Regardless of if it worked or not, she'd drop the remainder that hung out in her hand and stance up, somewhere between a boxing stance and a Muay Thai stance. It was *On.*

[I think that means the bottle breaks, unless you roll better and manage to defend?]
Tonya
"Delusional? Margo, listen to whatever you just said: you blinded your own fa-

*Crack*

Margarita was abruptly cut off by the bottle, landing squarely on her head. She yelled out in shock and pain as she felt the bottle smash on her head, leaving a few cuts on her scalp that let blood trickle out of her hazelnut hair and slowly make their way down her face. 

Standing up, Margarita touched the throbbing pain on her head and saw a generous amount stick to the three fingers she rubbed on her forehead. Her powers *Did* Save her, as her body accepted the blow to a degree that the damage wasn't too bad. Still, rubber can be cut, and a hit like that was bound to make an injury regardless.

Just like that, Margarita fell silent, rubbing away the rest of the blood on her face. She no longer looked like the Margarita everyone in Newton knew; no, this was the *Old* Margarita, the one that fought and clawed her way out of poverty, one whose hands were stained with white powder and dorty money, one whose damaged knuckles could tell endless stories about the faces that they met.

With a deadpan expression and stoic resolve, Margarita knew that this fire in front of her was blazing, and she had to put it out. Putting some distance between her and the adversary, she quietly mouthed a prayer to God asking for nothing but strength and resolve.

She thought she could leave her old life behind, but she regrettably had to understand that she couldn't leave it behind.

And so Margarita threw a punch from three metres away, her arm elongating at a rapid speed until it hopefully landed on Margo's face. That blow had to hurt, it just had to; That punch was both a combination of her raw strength and her arm elongating, doubling if not a little less the power of her punch. If not, well, she could restrain Margo with it, but she still had to see.

*Margarita has used bonus* `Aggressive`*, +3 Damage*
Maurice
◇ A bolt from the black...

□ Only having about ten minutes or prior experience with Margarita's elasticity, there existed many gaps in her knowledge. How long did it take for her arms to stretch out far beyond their natural range? What was the loss ratio of force in comparison to reach? So many what-ifs bounced around her skull that she only had a moment to process the fist before it made contact, a jet of blood squirting out of her nose as the all too familiar crack told her that her nose was broken. It stung, it burned, and the sheer swiftness of the punch stunned her for just a moment. Of course, though, she had no time to worry about it; she could always set it back in place after she was done beating the other girl's ass.

▪︎ Speaking of which...

• She put her head down, raised her fists to block as if she were in a boxing match, and hopped forward. Time to close the gap.
Tonya
"Hah!"

Margarita let out a short laugh of triumph as she watched Margo get knocked back, the punch landing square on her nose.

What's worrying is that Margarita...

Margarita liked it. She reveled in the feeling of watching blood spray out of her adversary's nose. She grinned as she watched Margo gat up while her arm quickly returned to herself, reeling its entire elongated self back to herself in more or less half a second.

Then the stubborn Margo stood back up, readying herself while moving forward to close the distance she made.

With a gargantuan effort, Margarita almost yelled as she threw her left arm to the left a few degrees away from the bleeding bag of shit, and as it stretched forward, audibly strained as she curveballed her arm back towards Margo. It was the same punch with a little twist added to it. She needed to put this dog down fast before it could get back at her.

*Margarita has used bonus* `Aggressive`*, +3 Damage*
Maurice
♠︎ Margo stances up, and her Defensive bonus activates, effectively nullifying the +3 from Aggressive...

Rolling for Toughness.

◇ Fooled once, but not fooled again.

□ Hopping forward, she was attempting to close the gap between herself and the Italian, but her plans suddenly found themselves challenged as a fist whipped *Past* Her head. Well aware that it was a misdirection, she figured she had about three seconds before the punch came back, and so she had to think, and she had to think *Fast.* A plan forming in her head she hopped forward again, and just as she figured the punch was about to land she ducked.

▪︎ It didn't entirely work; she got clocked in the shoulder rather hard. But, as soon as she knelt down she rocketed back up, aiming an angled uppercut directly at the girl's stomach coming in from the right.
Tonya
>wait is that a success?
Anna
You rolled 3. Since the roll is Force, and not a power, it's not a success
Tonya
So, i get to write margarita successfully dodging?
Maurice
Jeez, so what's a success with a skill? A 4?
Anna
You still have too roll better than 0.
Maurice
And also, better than zero? So, what, it's a guaranteed dodge?
Tonya
The above roll is 3d6 and uhhh, is that a fail in blocking?
Anna
Well you failed at rolling 3d6 because you rolled 1d6

The command is /roll rpg-dice:3d6
Maurice
Weird. The bot is literally making this way more difficult
Tonya
THERE WE GO GOOD LORD

Is that good enough for defense
Anna
You got 1 success against Margo's 1 success
Maurice
For four damage, right?
Anna
Margo isn't using a power on account of not having one. So.
Maurice
Yeah, that's her big disadvantage: no real combat powers
Tonya
So the health now is Margo = 4, Margarita = 14
Anna
Margo picked a fistfight with a literally tough skinned career criminal there was no way that would go WELL
Tonya
Well shit.

Margarita's punch *Did* Land albeit on the wrong place, but just after she reeled in her arm like a fishing line, Margo still managed to come close and gut Margarita in the stomach.

A shoulder punch wouldn't finish the job anyways.

But she knew herself. She relaxed her body for just a second and let her body absorb the punch. Yes, it landed with its entire force, but it landed not on a solid ribcage and delicate organs, but a squishy, hyperelastic body that seemed to be boneless; it hurt, it pushed Margarita's body inwards, but other than that, there wasn't any *Real* Damage at all. Helm, her body quickly returned to shape just after.

Rebounding, Margarita attempted to wrap her left arm around Margo's neck and pulled it with her right arm as hard as she can, effectively using her own arm as a rope to choke Margo with, almost exactly like a noose made of rope. If this went well for Margarita, then God help this Brooklyn kid.
Anna
You're looking for this number

Margo does not block properly, takes 4 damage, and is out of the fight
Maurice
What the fuck do you mean

My brother in Christ, a 6 and a 5 is not a tie, you ain't telling me that I keep on getting the low roll

I roll a 6, a 1, and another 1

Not that 1 at the end that's the exact same

Then what's the damn point of the number in the []?
Anna
A 6, a 4, and a 5 count for exactly the same. The number 1 at the end is your actual result. I have no control over what the bot decides to output.
Maurice
Man. This place's combat system makes no sense imo
Anna
I'm fucking trying.
Maurice
Yeah, and it's bouncing off me because it makes no sense

◇ Whoops.

□ As her fist collided with the other girl's side, it felt as if she were striking ballistics gel. Grumbling, visions of extreme violence flashed through her head, thoughts too graphic for her to even detail to anyone, but soon enough it didn't matter. She was wrapped up, an arm around her neck, and the pressure grew with every second. Struggling back against it, she at least managed to work her fingers in-between the rope, but...

▪︎ Needless to say, though, this would being a grudge-former, and there'd be hell to pay eventually.

[Not rolling for anything else.]
Tonya
Margarita kept the choke up, waiting until the other person was knocked out before she left the person in the hands of the forest to come to their own senses, injured, beaten up, helpless.

Was this who she really was?

Can she not change anymore?

She could, right? Right?

Once Margarita felt Margo's resistance to her arm subside __substantially__, she let go, refusing to slip back into the old ways. No. She was better than that. She was better than old Margarita. She *Should* Be a better person.

"Get up." She emotionlessly called out after having waited for Margo to catch her breath and energy. "Don't be a bitch about it; grab my hand and get the fuck up."

An arm was held out towards the defeated bag of sh-

An arm was held out towards the defeated Margo. She only stood there, waiting.

[not rolling as well.]
Maurice
◆ "Fuck you..." She sputtered, hocking a loogie in the other gal's direction. "Chew on my cock for all I care, you filthy cheater. Get the... *Fuck* Out of my sight."

□ Refusing the help with an utterly immense amount of defiant hatred, Margo laid there on her back, slumped over, her nose still very much broken and her neck likely bruised with strangulation burns. In the moment, there was nothing going through her brain except for violence. Horrific, brutal violence filled her every thought, only held back by the fact that she had no gun, no blade, and no other way to turn the other girl into nothing but a pile of flesh and bones at the bottom of the river.

▪︎ Needless to say, she wasn't going anywhere.
Tonya
"Well fuck you too you bag of shit, but get up."

"And for the record, I'm not a cocksucker like you."

Against both of their wills, Margarita forced the tired assailant to sit up, and once she *Did* Sit up, she wrapped the woman up by the torso more than enough times with both of her tired arms and began the long journey of hauling a kicking, screaming, biting, mess of a person back to Newton's cradle.

The fire still burnt, but it was close to becoming nothing but ashes, charcoal, and embers. One beer bottle had its contents splilled on the ground, the other was broken, and one remained in room temperature. Blood littered the ground, while marks of a body being dragged was present if one looked closely.

What a fucking shitshow of a night. It was cathartic, but Margo didn't really deserve this beating; she just had to be put down before she herself was put down.