Project Infinity: Kitty Pryde Logs: July 2002

July 2002: When the Cynics Start Believing

These are logs of roleplay on Project Infinity, a text-based online RPG. I play Kitty Pryde there, a young woman sometimes better known as Shadowcat. Kitty is not by any means my original creation; she belongs to Marvel Comics. The take on her is original, though, as this Kitty's timeline diverges from mainstream continuity close to twenty RL years' worth of comics ago.

Previous Month: June 2002 page: Guns on the Roof.

Next Month: August 2002 page: Knives Out.

July 2002

July 2: "Gracie?" John Constantine and Kitty run across someone bent on a mission of vengeance. That the someone happens to be a terrier doesn't make the vengeance less effective, though it does make the evening significantly more surreal. Language, violence, drug abuse, property damage.
Interlude: "You guys are nuts." A minor incident while Kitty is exercising her hacker-fu for John...
"If /you're/ happy you missed the story, I'm likely ecstatic." Pete gets an explanation of just what the dog was doing even briefly in their apartment. Well, a partial explanation. Observe Pete not even asking about the 'healing up' bit. Language.

July 4: "I pity the claims investigators." Kitty's hunted down Whisper's home address, and come by with the latest news ... except that Whisper isn't home; her roommate Erik is. On the one hand: wariness. On the other hand: ... Junkyard insurance?

July 5: "I love you. Run away with me." (First part) Pete and Kitty fetch Seishi ice cream and news. Really amazingly mild language.
"How did we not know about this?" (Second part) ... and then the news part hits. Ray. Ballantine. Worst of all, Melanie. One person can't be everywhere, but neither can eight. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Mild language.
"I mostly just do as I'm told." (Third part) The three of them don't quite come up with a plan of action - but a better-constructed defense, to hold the line till Holmes can be consulted? That they can manage. And do. It's all about managing, sometimes. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Mild language.

July 6: "Humidity is bad for books." (First part.) Biting the bullet: Pete and Kitty talk about marriage. And religion. And why one really should not hide books underwater, plastic bags or no. Mild language.
Just don't ever let anyone tell John. (Second part) Doubts and fears (is this place they've found among Seishi and Holmes and their friends going to last?) and a somewhat surprising suggestion from Wisdom. Did he just say 'morning?' Mild sexual overtones.

July 7: "Is this where you tell me it's too dangerous and I gotta stay inside for a while?" "No. I'm telling you, don't go without backup." Kitty checks in on Ray, who's recovering from the concussion. For a police officer and a college student - the conversation gets fairly blunt on the subject of Ballantine. But then, it's looking less and less likely that the accident was an accident - or at least that the next accident will be. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Language.
"Everyone, sit. Because you're all making me bloody nervous." (First part.) The thing about McDonald's? Sooner or later, you can find anyone there. Anyone. No, really. A ridiculous chunk of the League discuss the whole Ballantine situation. Partly in terms of detergent. Blame Pete and Timothy. (Pete insists indignantly that the detergent is Whisper's fault. Personally, I don't believe him.) This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Mild language.
"Birds in their little nests agree..." (Second part.) Cut short by timing factors. In which Whisper learns why it's a bad idea ever to ask a programmer 'so what exactly are we going to do?' But hey. It's a plan. Of sorts. If Seishi doesn't lose it at Constantine first. Heck, if anyone doesn't lose it first. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Mild language. Bizarrely, it's from Seishi.

July 8: "The *only* thing that separates us from the people who are sending this city to hell..." Whisper and Seishi run into each other in Chinatown. That tension that's been present since May? Yeah. it snaps. Jack, Erik, and Kitty get the lucky roles of witnesses. Fortunately, Erik has amazing powers of common sense. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Mild language.
"We are dealing with two persons. One is Doctor Elijah Ballantine. And there is another..." At Holmes' instruction, everyone - with the addition of Seravina and Constantine - has been gathered into Holmes and Seishi's flat. The Great Detective has examined the data ... and deduced. And now, to a suitable audience, he holds forth. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Mild language.
"Frankly, I'd rather seethe with company than seethe on my own." In progress; updated July 9. After the disclosure of Holmes' conclusions and plan, Erik and Kitty have a bit more of a talk. Language.

July 13: "You stab your wife in the gut and throw her out the window, neighbours get kinda weird." Kitty meets up with Lindsey again - right after he's put his hand through the window of a pickup. While they're cleaning up the mess, she finds out some of what's been going on with him in the last month. And she also finds that, disconcertingly, Lindsey puts her in mind of her world's Pete Wisdom - which prompts her to push some things a little harder than is really wise. Violence, language.
"You don't happen to have about a million dollars to spare, do you?" Later that evening, Pete stops by to follow up with Lindsey - and with lo mein. Lessons in displacement. And hints that things are just going to get worse. Language, and Pete eating on-screen, which really kind of deserves a warning all its own.
"I'd half decided you were some kind of cat-burglar. Or a ninja." Kitty's personal method of dealing with ongoing stress involves risk-taking. Risk-taking when tired, at great heights, after a rainstorm: not such a good plan. Fortunately, there's another League member who favors rooftop jaunts... Not for the acrophobic.
"Pete Wisdom has found religion! Pete bloody *Wisdom* has *found religion*!" Kitty and Seishi head back to the flat, where Pete is in residence; John Constantine shows up a few minutes later. Ever tried keeping something a secret from John Constantine? Hint: don't bother trying. Plus ninjas, Vanilla Coke, whether or not it's open season on Englishmen, and Holmes' grocery shopping. "Quail, for god's sake." Language.

July 14: "Look, we don't even /have/ a bust of Pallas." Kitty takes some of her steadily accumulating paperwork to Beacon Park. This brings her into contact with one of the park's denizens. He's got wings. He's got brains. He's got ... designs on her sandwich?
"We don't call that 'worrying,' we call that 'developing contingency plans.'" Another stop by Holmes' flat, as Kitty promised, to see Seishi. Seishi fills Kitty in on recent events in Chinatown - and then the discussion gets less immediate, touching on issues medical, moral, and mortal. And The Princess Bride.

July 15: "What do you think goes best with surprises?" Careful what you wish for: Sera invites Seishi and Kitty over for ice cream and chick flicks. Oh, yes, and she has some news to share with them, and Jack Celliers, and John Constantine...
Interlude: It may not be too surprising that after this scene (and after movie-watching), Kitty went home and got - much to Pete's slightly disturbed amusement - moderately drunk. Someday I may write up the results.

July 16: "Do you even /remember/ last night?" Kitty with a hangover. Pete, still amused, drat him. Mild language, mild sexual overtones.

July 17: "Don't make me summon Cthulu..." "It's been a while since anyone's called me /that/. I got rid of the tentacles, see." More guests for Sera: only this time, Pete accompanies Kitty, for the first time since they woke from the coma in May. And Sera has a gift for him.
"And where may I expect the rifle-shot to ring out this time?" Kitty catches Piotr on his way home from work. After all, Piotr lives in Chinatown, and matters in Chinatown are rapidly growing more and more unsettled; she wants to be sure he's forewarned. Slowly, things seem to be getting better between the two of them - or at least manageable.

July 18: "Why do I feel like the Light Brigade?" Holmes summons Kitty and Seishi: he has a Plan. Of course, this Plan ... really, Seishi is going to kill him one of these days. Don't ask what it involves. Just read it. Don't ask about the purse, either. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus.
"Lavender's blue, dilly dilly..." Under Holmes' directions, Seishi and Kitty infiltrate the hospital in order to force Ballantine to give away the location of Melanie and Claire. They succeed. This might not be entirely a good thing. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus.
"Promise not to burn you if you don't eat holes in the formica." It's an eventful night all around: John Constantine shows up at the door. Bleeding. Apparently someone tried to shoot him in the head, but missed - well, more or less missed ... oh, yeah, and he's having his usual luck with women, too. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Language.
""Why does talking to your friends always seem to involve someone or other bleeding at some point?" "What d'you mean /my/ friends?" Ah, domesticity. After John leaves, Pete and Kitty get back to normal life: that is, arguing, catching up on information, and ... cleaning up demon-tainted blood. Okay, so that last part's not normal. Language.
Congratulations to Seishi's and Pete's players, who joined the ranks of Project Infinity staffers on this date! Seishi has successfully infiltrated RP staff, whereas Pete now has the chance to torch applications as a character staffer. Ninja burgers and drinks all around!

July 19: "There are strange people out, you know." Kitty meets up with Jack Celliers and Whisper in Blue Notes. Poor Jack. Having to discuss pregnancy with women. This century just isn't any good for his nerves.
"You seem a decent sort. Piracy excluded." While Kitty is out at Blue Notes, Pete visits Feng's, and runs into a mad Samaritan.Language.
"Echoes." Kitty's reaction to the changes isn't, initially, all Pete might've hoped for. Beacon Harbor allows for some immensely disturbing cases of mistaken identity. Language, angst, giddiness, mild sexual overtones.

July 20: "Smog, ozone, earthquakes, traffic ... demon undead ..." Even in Beacon Harbor, people have neighbors. Kitty and Pete's happen to include a place by the name of Angel Investigations. As if life weren't interesting enough. Violence.

July 21: "My diction is unforgivably ornate at times." Log currently missing first half due to a crash. Holmes asks Ray for assistance in dealing with Blithe and Ballantine. That is, er, Holmes tells Ray what to do. Seishi and Kitty ... look pained. A lot. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Language.
"Welcome to Angel Investigations! We save losers!" (First part.) Pete and Kitty stop by to check out the new neighbors a little more closely. Mild language.
"You don't look stupid. I mean, I'd tell you if you did." After Pete and Angel are gone, Cordelia and Kitty ... girl-talk. There's something oddly disturbing about the mere idea of these two getting along. Maybe it's just because there are men handy to complain about. Or vampires. Or ... (Second part.)

July 22: "There's a fine line between love and public humiliation." Pete is enjoying the discovery that this Kitty will actually have more than one drink. One of the explorations of this new and interesting trait brings the couple into contact with another new immigrant - and an unexpected benefit of singing drunkenly in public. Welcome to the Host.

July 23: "Who was it up on the roof, Barbara? Someone we knew?" Whisper and Jack come visiting. Whisper is still decidedly shaky over Ballantine's rather unpleasant death. Jack, however, has a new toy - and my, it's a distraction. This log is follow-up to In the Arms of Morpheus. Language.

July 24: "There's merit in every kind of music. Except the so-called tunes of Celine Dion." Lorne comes back to the apartment at an absurd hour of the morning - and Pete is still awake. Angels, music, karaoke bars, future plans, L.A. winters. Odd what people can have in common.

July 25: Interlude: Notes between friends. It's nice to know what the people you know have been up to.
"Fear the egg rolls." Still in the wake of Blithe's arrest and Ballantine's demise, Celliers returns to the flat (the Scotch isn't his, really!), Seishi updates Jack and Kitty on some of the recent goings-on, and Pete ... goes for Chinese food. Some things just don't change. Mild language.
"No rest for the just." After Celliers' departure, Seishi halfway admits how much the strain is starting to tell on her. Then Wisdom gets back with the Chinese food. It's never that easy, is it? Language.
"I'm kind of in favor of solutions that leave you a little less, oh, bleeding." A little private chat after Seishi's gone. Language.

July 26: "And eventually, I'm thinking a plan will drop out of the sky and land in my lap." Kitty chats with the houseguest: dragons, futures, portals. The usual. Mild language.

July 27: "Can't take her to the hospital." (First part.) Erik calls first Pete Wisdom, then John Constantine, looking for a little help for a friend. Language.
"I don't know what happened. But the thing had her face." (Second part.) Kess is badly injured, and Wisdom is the closest thing available to a doctor. Poor Kess. At least Erik and Kitty and Constantine are on hand to lend assistance in their various ways - and Erik gives the rather disturbing story of how the bird-girl wound up bleeding... Language; the players are not medical professionals, please be kind.

July 28: "I couldn't hurt her." On the heels of a scene with Pete and Lindsey and Kess: the men go off for food (and for Pete to confirm the bad news for Lindsey), leaving Kitty to take care of the wounded and winged. Of course, Lindsey comes back. He doesn't stay. But that doesn't mean he isn't watched by the two women, as they talk.

July 29: "Kessie, I'm getting scared of picking up the phone." Tulio! - and that's all I'm saying about that. Mild language.
"And then giant robots came and beat the crap out of us." Kitty checks in with Erik, doing a little information-sharing and a little just plain talking. At a comedy club. Perhaps the locale set a bad precedent for the chat? Language.

July 31: "The fight at the museum lasted 15 minutes. Top. Everything else came after." The clipping Piotr sent underlined that Spider-Man is at least aware - and unfortunately, probably much more - of the creature that attacked Kess. When she tracks him down, though, Kitty finds out a little more about Xander's situation than she'd been prepared for.
"I can't kill her. Even if I thought I had to." Kitty passes the accumulated information on to Pete, Kess's and Erik's and Xander's, and Pete tells Kitty a little about the times he met Marley in return. Pete actually manages to get Lockheed to leave his cigarettes alone for a bit, at the low price of Kitty's regard for his sanity. But mostly, there's a review of people and options and... just how much Wisdom's changed in the last six years.

Next month: August 2002: Knives Out.