Gizmo

"Well, yeah," Ryder admitted, running a hand awkwardly through his messy hair. "I mean, you said 'parents'. Like, plural. So." He focused his attention on what he was doing and finished capping off where a wireless card would have attached to the board if he hadn't been building something meant to be secure. "I'm not sure what part of what I said was wrong but I'm sorry. I should have been more careful, I just got excited talking about the design process." He cleared his throat loudly. "Speaking of which! This'll be ready in a minute, if you want to check it over and make sure it's what you wanted."

Ryder laughed brightly. "See? You don't want anything bad to happen to me~!" he singsonged, sticking out his tongue at Nocturne. "But that's what I'm talking about! They've got all those people and what does that get them? Worried about who's going to sell them out or betray them. Sounds like a nightmare! Me? I've got friends and dreams." He put the rest of the brownie in his mouth and shrugged with his palms turned upward. "Friends are better! And you've got a new friend now, too. Deal with it!"

Ryder's grin returned with an added note of something else, something a little sharper and reckless. "Well, they're not going to let me see her, sure." He broke one of the brownies off from the pre-cut square of them. "You'd be surprised how few security firms plan for an invisible robot orchid mantis. Or I guess maybe you wouldn't be." He took a bite and continued to talk with his mouth full. "I like people a lot but c'mon. Our whole prison system has some major issues. Otherwise May would have gotten the help she super obviously needs the first time she was arrested." He swallowed and made a waving motion with the hand still holding most of a brownie. "And it's not like I break my arm a lot! That was just an example. If you know ahead of time that you didn't make any mistakes it's not an experiment it's just... following a recipe. Boring."

"That'd be great! We mostly rely on word of mouth to get new customers in. I didn't even think about running current through a magnetically reactive fluid medium! My designs tend to be, y'know, chunkier." He extended a fist and Yellow bumped her head into it in agreement. "It's cool you were able to ask your folks for feedback on your designs. My dad's super supportive but he's not really a mechanical engineer so he's usually like, 'Lookin' good, I trust you know what you're doin'!'" He adopted a deep voice that Eira strongly suspected sounded nothing like his father. "Oh, ah... five weeks, now? Although it hasn't actually been training so much as retroactively giving me permission to use what I learned from studying one of her damaged drones. And she put in a good word for me here!"

Ryder's grin faltered a bit and he looked down while sliding the indicated smoothie in her direction. "I'm being weird and making you uncomfortable. Sorry. People tell me I'm sort of 'a lot'." He let out a heavy breath and took a sip from the remaining drink. "It's not like nobody's been crappy to me my whole life or something. I have to make an actual effort not to let thinking about those times make me be crappy to other people, if that makes sense? Like, I've already decided I'm going to try to give May another chance and that's probably going to be, like, frustrating at best. Didn't tell her my real name, if you didn't notice. But it's like building stuff." He reached up to pet Black's carapace, the robug leaning into like a cat. "You have to go in knowing that you're going to set some stuff on fire and break an arm and whatever else before you make something really special. I guess that's just worth it to me."

"Oh, super easy, yeah. It's my family's restaurant, so there's a time saver!" He gave a short laugh but cleared his throat ruefully when Black gave him a reproachful series of mandible clicks. "Anyway, you wouldn't want to mess with my sister, believe me. But also maybe it'd actually be a really good thing for you to know where I am if I was in trouble, yeah? I just think treating people like they're bad is the fastest way to get them to act like they're bad." He paused to consider for a second and blinked in mild alarm. "Oh! Is this putting you in like a weird, awkward position? 'Cause you totally don't have to tell me any of that stuff, I wasn't trying to make you feel obligated or anything. You've obviously got a certain comfort zone and I respect that. Although I guess there can't be that many pretty girls with gold eyes running around the city." He shrugged again. "Maybe I just need to make sure I stay useful to you. You want mango-pineapple-chocolate or the super food berry blaster?"

"Sure, I figured it was like 50/50 with you knowing a lot about villain lairs and repeatedly threatening people with massive blunt force trauma," Ryder agreed with a breezy nod, depositing a pair of tall to-go cups onto the newspaper rack. "But you were worried about me getting hurt and have a cool style and I'd rather take a chance to make a friend and deal with whatever later if I have to. I mean, I've been told I'm, what was it, 'distressingly, possibly terminally bad at risk assessment' but I gotta be me, yeah? So I go with my gut!" He finished emptying the bag of two wrapped sandwiches, a heaping fruit salad and a container of vegan brownies before crumpling it up. "Dietary restrictions?"

"Oh, right. You probably don't have a change of clothes after the whole kidnapping thing, huh? Do you want to borrow my hoodie?" The garment in question was a grey-blue with the mostly faded logo of a gym in the centre, obscured by the myriad of paint colours splattered across it. Ryder tugged at the fabric in demonstration, his fingernails also painted in a mix of matte black, lime green and glittering lavender. "And I'm actually Ryder, but you can keep using Cricket if you want. Nobody's ever given me a cool nickname before!" Black made a few clicking sounds on his shoulder, skeptical of his definition of 'cool'. The energetic pace Ryder set quickly took them the block or so to the front of the building Mechanica had been using, the unmarked vans still parked outside. "There we go!" He retrieved the takeout bag from the sidewalk and brought it over to a row of empty newspaper racks, unloading the contents onto the makeshift table. "I was the delivery guy she wanted to test," he explained. "Big oops, right?"

"Good point. I should have asked first. As for finding you..." Chitin spun the robot's head between his index fingers. "I'm pretty good at doing things people don't think I should be able to do. I think you probably get how that is." Tucking it under one arm he added more quietly. "And I don't think she was ever going to actually hurt you. Just don't tell her I said that!" He straightened up and gave a wave to the brightly coloured hero. "Thanks for keeping an eye on things! I better go after Nocturne. Cool costume by the way!" He jogged off, his top heavy armour making it a little comical in motion. Catching up to his new friend he slipped past and turned around to face her while continuing to walk backwards. "C'mon, I just remembered something!" He spun around on his heel again and ran ahead to the end of the alley, ducking his head out and looking up and down the street before ducking back in. He toggled the chambers on his belt, producing a series of descending tones and in a flash of light and displaced air that tossed litter and detritus about the space his armour vanished, leaving a ginning teenager with slight dimples and loose waves of strawberry blonde hair with an oversized robotic beetle on his shoulder. "This way!" Ryder gestured for Nocturne to follow and started off in the direction he'd left his bike.

"Hnnh..." Chitin made a quiet noise of distress as he tried to figure out the proper response to Mechanica's blasé resignation. "Okay, well, I'll just put the arms here, then." He set them down as delicately as the oversized hands of the Kabuto Instar allowed. "I'm going to put the gorilla head somewhere safe though, like I said. I'd like to be able to give it back to you at some point." He paused to turn so that his back was to Nocturne's irritated expression. "I know you didn't have a lot of choice but thank you for opening the exit for everyone, May. Would it be okay if I checked on you later? Or asked somebody to?"

"Neat!" Ryder replied, brushing past the slightly aggressive preemptive litany of clarifications. "So then how did you get around the need for compressive strength and micro-actuators while maintaining elasticity for stuff like facial expressions? 'Cause you're still stuck with the general skull structure just for shape and then it's like, there's never enough space for everything!" He slotted a solid state drive onto a flex cable and experimented with different orientations within the casing. "Man, and designing your own look from scratch, that's gotta take so much, like, self-assurance. I feel like I'd be all just, woah, decision paralysis! You should meet my sister, she's confident like that." He looked up as Yellow buzzed overhead and dropped a stick of memory onto the grounded mat on the table. "Wait, so did you just drink the smoothie to be nice? Aw, thank you!"

Ryder looked over his shoulder to follow Eira's gaze. "I mean, we're a lot taller than them, so there's that." The joke didn't really land so he set about gathering components from around the lab. He ended up with an unwieldy pile that made keeping his balance difficult before he dumped them onto the adjacent table. "So..." He cracked open an appropriate casing and twirled a hexagonal screwdriver between his fingers while taking stock of the mounting points inside. "If this is a private thing totally don't worry about it but like, the thing with the big magnet kinda suggested you've got a lot of metal and I think I picked up on some strong feelings about ethics in artificial intelligence? And you're writing that code just impressively quickly." He bobbed his head back and forth in an implied question, looking for any reaction that told him he needed to rapidly backpedal from a sensitive topic.

"He was pretty bummed out, too." Chitin shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "People sometimes tell themselves that they have to hurt people to succeed but when you beat them without being a jerk about it, then they didn't get what they wanted and they hurt people for literally no reason, which is pretty demoralizing." He sighed heavily. "Sucks. Hey May, wait up!" As he jogged after her he scooped up the robotic gorilla head and added it to the pile of prosthetic limbs. "I'll put this somewhere safe in case you want it later. So I'm going to text to somebody about, uh, this. Okay?" He paused and looked down at everything he was carrying then tilted his head to one side. "Send message to Dragonfly." There was a brief pause. "Drag-on-fly." Another pause. "Hey! So, met a really good roboticist who made some not as good choices and did some kidnapping? She makes her own arms! Angelic should totally talk to her. Can you help maybe? Send message!" He turned to Mechanica, giving the distinct impression that he was grinning encouragingly behind his mask. "Oh, wait. Send message to Dragonfly. It's Chitin! We're in Southside! Thanks! Send message!"

Make a note in the day planner you picked up from the registrar's office, it's time for a new school year! In preparation, each player with a new or returning student who will be attending Claremont this year should post below with appropriate survey for their character: RETURNING STUDENTS Name: Codename: Year: Sophomore, Junior or Senior Pronouns: Current Intramural Team: Current Roommate: If both roommates from last year are still active characters they'll most likely be paired together again! If you have an in-character or out-of-character reason to want to switch things up you can send a Ref a private message on the Discord server. Reflection: What goals does the character have after last year? What did they think they did well and what were they disappointed with? Community Cause: How would the character like to get more involved in worthy causes this year? Organizing inclusive community events? Planting trees? Raising money for bail funds? Mentoring younger children? NEW STUDENTS Name: Codename: Year: Sophomore, Junior or Senior Pronouns: Prospective Roommate: If two players want their characters to be rooming together in the dormitories let us know here! You can also say if you'd prefer an NPC roommate or if your character won't be staying in the dormitories during the school year. Otherwise we'll match up unassigned PCs! Goal: Where does your character see themselves upon graduating from Claremont? Do they have a role model they want to live up to or a situation they'd like to change for the better? First Impression: They say you only get one chance! How does your character plan to introduce themselves to their new classmates? Choosing the perfect outfit? Handwritten formal letters of introduction? Finding the toughest looking student and punching them in the face?

2020 - 2021 Claremont Academy School Year begins September 7th! Dear Parent, Guardian or Mentor Figure, Congratulations to your child or ward on being admitted to the upcoming school year at Claremont Academy! We couldn't be more excited to welcome them into our proud legacy of academic excellence, practical experience and community service. The semester will begin on Monday, September 9th. Dormitory move-in dates begin one week prior on Monday, August 31st. Below you will find a list of supplies each student will be expected to bring with them, along with a list of those provided by the Academy including toiletries, dormitory furniture and active wear to be used during our award winning physical fitness programs. Financial aid is of course available to students attending on scholarship and we offer meal plans to suit all needs. Our administrative offices will have been in touch by now regarding any dietary restrictions, allergies, atmospheric requirements, etc. See the enclosed contact information for any further inquiries. Claremont Academy has long been home to students of both exceptional ability and exceptional circumstances. While students should be prepared to work hard developing their talents and learning invaluable real world skills they can also look forward to a welcoming community of peers with their own unique perspectives and experiences. Orientation will cover movie nights, extracurricular clubs, our expanded intramural league and other activities. These are the friendships which will last a lifetime. Welcome to Claremont Academy! Beneath of the Headmistress' signature in glitter gel pen someone has jotted down a list: - order new fall jacket - mini fridge? hotplate? - make improved antigravity belt cuter - Dad's nanaimo bars to make friends!

Chitin 10 + 17 = 27 Kids Table - 10 posts Field Test - 17posts Ref point can also got to Chitin!

"I actually do know how hard it is to make something non-lethal on a budget!" Chitin retracted his proffered hand a little awkwardly now that it was clear she wasn't in any position to shake it. "And I know you were hoping to do the wall thing, Nocturne. I'll make it up to you! Ideally in a way that doesn't end in blunt force trauma?" He hesitated for a moment before stooping down to pick up the discarded prosthetics, not wanting just leave them lying around. "I have a friend you should really meet; she makes her own arms, too! Uh, do you feel like telling us your name? Nocturne could give you a nickname but I feel like you probably wouldn't like it very much. At this point it'd probably be pretty mean."

Chitin Diplomacy Check: 1d20+5 20 Friendshiiiiip!

Chitin rose slowly to his feet, one clenched fist practically vibrating with emotion. "There's plenty of 'data', right there! Look at them!" He pointed to the ragged group of hostages, silenced behind the reinforced glass. "You hurt them. Not just physically, you made them feel afraid and helpless! You hurt everyone who cares about them and doesn't know where they've gone, you hurt everyone who relies on them for support! And for what?!" He gestured around the space with both hands raised above he head. "Some third-rate androids and a middle school science fair flamethrower? I can tell you have skills but your output is garbage because your heart's not in it. This can't be your dream." He shook his head in frustration as he got closer to look her right in the face. "You could be making amazing things, things that help people, things that make the world better! But you never will until you understand that people's lives aren't proof of concept, it's always the production model." He extended a hand toward her. "That goes for your life, too."

Chitin caught the backhand in both hands, sliding back several feet under the force but staying upright as he took the force of the blow and stopped it in its tracks. "Your dream isn't worth hurting other people," he called to their host over the grinding of straining motors and slipping gears. He didn't sound angry exactly, just disappointed that it had come to blows after all. "You need to wake up." Suddenly shifting his weight he left the robotic gorilla's arm crash into the concrete floor next to his while using it's bulk like a gymnastic vault, launching himself up into the air over its barely-attached head. At the apex of his arc he toggled the chambers of his belt again with one hand and the panels around his other arm and fist began to glow with charging power. The belt's electronic voice announced "CYMKudgel!” as he threw a massive punch straight downward, crashing all the way from the automaton's empty neck to its toes is a cacophony of tearing metal and exploding fuel cells, punctuated by a final resounding impact. While the robot's head rolled about like a loose hubcap Chitin held a three point crouch in the centre of a scorched crater, surrounded by ruined scrap and guttering fires.

Chitin Toughness Save vs DC 25: 1d20+10 13 Jeez. Toughness Save vs DC 25; HP Reroll: 1d20+10 16 After the +10 that's a 26, thankfully. Unarmed Attack vs Robot Gorilla; All-Out Attack 5, Power Attack 5: 1d20+6 14 Another DC 30 Toughness Save!

Chitin sidestepped the robot's punch and braced his back foot against the floor. "Sorry, guy. I know this isn't your fault." He crouched slightly and brought his elbows close to his hips. With a hiss of pneumatics his oversized armoured fists slid slightly backward before shooting forward again as he extended his arms in a double punch that hit the gorilla under the chin like a battering ram with a mighty crash. Sliding slightly out of the way as his opponent staggered backward, Chitin pointed to his suit's black elements and yellow eyepieces. "Oh! Hey, Nocturne! We match now!"

Chitin Move Action: Acrobatic Bluff vs Robot Gorilla: 1d20+5 7 Included the -5 penalty to speed it up to a Move Action. Standard Action: Unarmed Attack vs Robot Gorilla; All-Out Attack 5, Power Attack 5: 1d20+6 18 That's a DC 30 Toughness Save and Chitin's Defense drops to just 11.

Chitin was silent for a beat as he took in the scene. Then a raucous, lighthearted laugh escaped through his helmet's sound system. "Okay, I kinda have to respect making it look like a big monkey." He reached up and let his robotic companion crawl from the top of his head and onto his hand. "Don't worry about me, Nocturne. This isn't the good armour." She could practically hear the confident grin in his tone. "Today's beetle day!" He placed Black against the faceplate of his helmet where the robug's body unfolded and incorporated into the armour distinctive horn extending from the forehead while legs formed a sort of cage over the large eyepieces and the shell moved to either side, creating a shape evocative of a samurai helmet. Chitin's belt enthusiastically announced, "Kabuto Beetle Instar! Can't beat this!" as those eyes glowed yellow and lines of light appeared across his frame, the displaced air sending Nocturne's outfit flapping while the spatial warping nudged her particles into small eddies. From the dimensional pocket glossy, slightly pearlescent black armour pieces appeared, attaching to the base suit with loud ratcheting sounds. Industrial looking pistons ran down his arms toward massive metal fists, giving him a similar silhouette to their simian foe. Overlapping black plates studded with gunmetal grey bolts attached to his chest, around his hips and over his boots, turning his acrobatic figure into an imposing bipedal tank. Chitin rolled his shoulders experimentally then tapped his chest twice with a huge fist, the clang echoing in the room, before pointing to the observation deck. "You could still let those people go and call it a day, y'know! 'Cause you're not gonna like this data at all!" With a shout and stomping footfalls he met the charging robot head-on and unloaded a haymaker punch directly into its face.

Chitin Move Action: Switch to Kabuto Instar in his armour array. Standard Action: Charge Robot Gorilla: 1d20+8 23 That's a DC 25 Toughness Save and Chitin's Defense takes a -2 Penalty until his next turn.