Gizmo
-
Posts
11,085 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Freedom City Guidebook
Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Gizmo
-
"Hey, I've fought off multiple alien invasions while you've been making time with Amazons!" Erik exclaimed, setting down his mug on the brick wall long enough to gesture dramatically with both arms. Strictly speaking it was even true, though the amount of credit he could honestly claim for any of those victories was debatable. "I've got some pretty good new tricks! Decapitated zombie robot armor from space in one shot! Beat up a whole forest full of ninjas! Even saved the day with the power of love one time, no joke! Like to see Ace Danger try that one!" Toning it down a bit but still grinning her added, "Seriously, though, it'll be good to have you on board for however long you feel like it. Some of the self-defense courses don't really work right with a guy leading the class, y'know? Plus there's the teenage boys would get all surly after I toss them around a couple of times. For you I could see them sticking around!" Picking up his mug again he took a sip and took on a forlorn expression. "Man, I don't even like tea. She's doing good. Likes having all the kids around, I think. Not sure what she's going to do whenever mi hermanita decides to move out but that's a ways off, probably."
-
Sekhmet frowned at Edge, less in anger and more in confusion, failing to follow the line of reasoning the blue and white clad hero was laying out for them. "He impersonated a god," she explained in a slow, over-enunciated manner that suggested she wasn't sure if he was having trouble understanding her speech or if he was merely a simpleton. "Tis but one possible punishment for such blasphemy." "Nay, Lady of Slaughter," Set disagreed reluctantly, taking a deep breath even as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. "The fountain of raw magic sees the puppet strings behind the scene. Tis a petty god who smites the slave for the crimes of the master." Looking skyward with a clenched jaw he added, "The Avenger would not be so petty, nor have us act so basely in his name."
-
Methinks ~I'M~ meant to be the bad influence here, handsome . . . Set had gotten halfway through writing something to the affect of asking how hard Huang had been suggesting they try when Sekhmet intoned an emphatic, "Nay." The godling frowned, pausing from his typing to tilt his head backward and look up at the taller Heliopolian looming over him. "Eh? Sekhmet, I'm only--" "I like the Chosen of Heshem, liesmith," the warrior goddess interrupted sternly, glaring down at Set's upside down face. "What would she think to see thee leading her heir to wanton acts? I would not see strife brought against her house." "I hardly think I'm doing all the leading here," Set countered, grinning in his uniquely infuriating manner. "Come, do not attempt to canopic block a player." Sekhmet made a feline sound of disgust and rubbed both eyes with the heels of her palms as though trying to grind that particular image away and Set too the opportunity to type: I'm glad my blood was not too much for you to handle after all You were so good at handling other things... ; )
-
Avro kept his balance easily enough as Jessie started at the thunder, shifting his weight from one side to the other atop her lap then pressing a paw lightly to the blonde's stomach with little sounds of query. "Rrrow? Yowrrr?" The manticore's quills stiffened slightly in apprehensive concern, though they didn't stand on end just yet. Floating over to the table while Aquaria and Indira watched the weather outside the window, Kimber kept her hands clasped behind her back and approached Jessie. "Um, did you still want any waffles?" she asked hopefully, a plate loaded with a half dozen of the disks in question levitating from the counter through the air to set itself down nearby, a set of cutlery and a bottle of syrup following suit in an airborne parade. "We made more than one person can probably eat but some of them, ah, didn't really turn out." She offered a small smile before biting her lower lip. "Are you... still upset about the shapeshifting and all? We sort of forget that its weird for most people! I'm really sorry for startling you."
-
Winifred drew herself up a bit at Riley's glare; his attitude might have been exceedingly poor as a norm but she didn't see what she'd said to have that demeanor aimed at her. "That hardly seems to excuse failing to try," she muttered quietly, sensing that the topic was closed but unconvinced by the arguments that had been made even if the monkey had made some cogent points. Raina hadn't really been able to explain the vector for Merlin's communication to the alchemist's satisfaction - magic answered the 'why' more than the 'how' - but there was no point trying to deny the familiar's intelligence, nor that his grasp of both the subject matter and modern convention was superior to her own. And wasn't that humiliating. Still, she stepped through the portal with her shoulders squared and her back straight, no hesitation in her movements. Where Riley had produced a pair of binoculars Winifred pulled out her notepad and began hurriedly taking down notes and making sketches of everything she saw, keeping one eye on their instructor.
-
Jack of all Blades / Jill O'Cure (11) Mystery at Bedside Manor (2) Freedom's Finest #3: Corrupt to No Good (1) So Great A Cause (2) Seven is the Number (3) Back in Black (3) Midnight II (8) That's Rough, Buddy (4) Where They Have to Take You In (4) Ghost Girl (17) A Picture of Sophisticated Grace (4) How to Build a Better Scythe (2) Family Planning (11) Set / Sekhmet (37) Community Gatekeeper (8) No Fortress is So Strong (4) Autumn in the Park (25) Reagent / Alkahest (15) Unstill Life (11) Hazard Pay (4) GM (16) How to Build a Better Scythe (8) Leave a Mark (4) Unstill Life (4) Rollover and Ref Point can go to Reagent to get her up to 100, with the rest to Rock. Veteran Progress: 226 / ∞ Basic Character Slots: PL10 / 150PP: Jack of all Blades [Maxed]PL10 / 150PP: RockPL7 / 105PP: Midnight II [Maxed]Veteran Rewards: 6 / 7 Spent Ranked Feats for Jack of all Blades: Equipment 4, Sidekick 11Ranked Feats for Midnight II: Equipment 4, Sidekick 11PL 12 / 180PP: Wail [Maxed]PL 10 / 150PP: Ghost Girl [Maxed]PL 12 / 180PP: Set [Maxed]PL 10 / 150PP: Reagent / AlkahestUnspentRetired Characters: None
-
Erik led them back out of the apartment to the stairwell then onward upward. "Aw, drink you hot leaf water," he admonished as they reached yet another door and exited out onto the rooftop. The sun was still high enough in the sky and and weather hadn't turned enough toward the cooler seasons yet to make it uncomfortably cool and the lattices covered with greenery were a sight to behold. Flowering plants that certainly should have lost their blooms by that point in the year wove lush tapestries along with all sort of other plants in an impressive garden. Looking outward the West End street stretched out in either direction, high enough up to give perspective without losing sight of the people moving from storefront to storefront. "Frankly I think we both know the idea that any place that let you in for an interview wouldn't hire you on the spot is a little ridiculous," Erik continued, leaning against the brick half-wall that circled the rooftop. "But forget that. The burglary stuff is what you're the best at, sure, but it's not the only thing you can do, Talya, come on. Like you can keep up with me hand-to-hand and despite what my usually humble attitude might suggest that's not nothing. And hey, if you knew somebody who could really use an instructor for women's self-defense, you'd be set, right?" The fencer waggled his eyebrows with his usual amount of subtlety.
-
"In a minute," Kimber insisted uncooperatively, tightening her arms around Tarva's waist and running the tip of her always slightly chilled nose along the line of the taller woman's clavicle. Even if nobody had actually gotten hurt she could fool herself into thinking she wouldn't have had anyone else in the back of a transport on the way to Blackstone for the sort of antics her lover had apparently been getting into. Was her judgement that compromised, was she just being selfish or did she honestly believe she could help the excommunicated priestess learn to live on Earth-Prime without tossing her in a black hole to rot away? With the way that idea caused her throat to tighten and stomach to flip she wasn't sure it mattered. Tilting her chin up she caught Tarva's grin in a kiss that demonstrated that she was a highly motivated learner herself. "Have it your way. If you can get through the day being good and not breaking any rules, though, maybe we can work out some sort of reward system. Hmm?" The way she pressed forward against the sorceress and mirrored her devilish smile confirmed that she'd definitely been paying close attention so far.
-
"There, positive enough, surely," Sekhmet observed, looking over Set's shoulder despite her stated lack of interest, having returned from their kitchen alcove with a hot mug of something dark red with a suspiciously coppery odour. The godling made a harrumphing noise and pulled his bare shoulders tighter together as he looked down at his phone. "You cannot expect him to lead with 'apart from the hallucinations and lack of fine motor skills quite well!' Now let me concentrate, would you?" Pursing his lips he typed: Aw, what a smoothie I hope our ~conversation~ did not land you in too much trouble 0:3
-
"Well hell, Talya, you're only talking to the world's leading expert on keeping occupied," Erik exclaimed, ratcheting the amount of energy he was projecting up in proportion to hos guest's somber explanation. "First off you're staying for dinner, obviously. I was serious about you and Min getting along and Eden loves meeting new people once she gets over her little bouts of shyness." He finally tracked down the tea bags he's been looking for and draped one over the edge of each mug just as the kettle began to whistle. "You can wow me with you 1930s culinary skills. Here, take this." Pouring in the steaming water he handed the largely former cat burglar one mug and picked up the other for himself. "C'mon, we're going to the roof. Have you thought about getting a job? Something part-time?"
-
"Hey, I'm made of abs and poor self-preservation instincts, not money," Erik objected as he flipped on one of the stove top's elements and plunked a filled kettle on top of it to start boiling. "We had a bunch of bubblewrap left over from when they delivered the parallel bars, so. Sounds like you know more about child-proofing than I would have expected, though!" That line of banter was abandoned as he set down a pair of mugs and turned back around to frown at Talya. "Alright, when I do the self-deprecation thing it's broody and alluring, on you it's just worrying," he interjected, folding his arms and giving the British woman a searching look. "Obviously everything's not alright. Talk to me. What's going on?"
-
"Oof, one of those, huh?" Erik commiserated as he held open the door to the second floor for Talya. The short hallway on the other side itself split off into two doors on the right and one on the left, which the stairwell continued up to the rooftop. A couple of children's toys sat discarded by their feet and Erik's stooped to scoop them up with a chagrined look, evidently not having expected to be entertaining company. "..we did try tracking you down, you know. Vince and everybody, I mean, but things got... well, they got real bad there for a bit right after you disappeared and by the time we had our feet back under us we kinda figured you were doing some spy stuff and could take care of yourself." He grimaced as he fished a key out of his pocket and opened the door on the left. "Should have kept trying." The apartment itself was warm, almost greenhouse-like with the number of pots and planters Talya could see just from the entrance. It was just barely big enough to be comfortable for two adults and two children while still being cozy, one room clearly the nursery while the kitchen opened up directly to one side of the door to the hallway. "But yeah! I did! Jeeze, I guess you never actually met Min, did you? You'll like her for sure. She's immortal, too, just in more of a 'predates recorded history' sort of way." He gestured Talya to one of the chairs around the kitchen table while he went rifling through the cabinets, trying to remember where he'd last seen the mentioned teabags. The sharper corners of the furniture all had towels or bubblewrap taped firmly around them and anything remotely dangerous was kept pointedly on the higher shelves. "Ha, yeah, Eden's in a 'run at full speed in random directions' phase."
-
"Well, I don't know from the 1930s," Erik admitted with a soft snort, rolling one shoulder and pushing it backward with his opposite palm until there was a quiet popping sound, "I just figured you were usually too busy for social calls." He repeated the motion on his other should, using the time to study Talya's face a little more closely. She wasn't in her full 'stage' persona which was fine but something seemed a little off beyond that. "Anyway, I'm being a crap host. Min took the girls to the park but I think I remember where we put the box of tea bags and there's not another class until the evening. C'mon up." Waving with one hand he headed for the door on the left side of the room that led to the stairwell.
-
"Ha, I have a tough time imagining you in a supermarket period," the fencer laughed, tossing a duffel bag full of equipment into over corner of the room and bending over to scoop up a pair of practice foils from the mats that covered the floor as the last of his students filtered outside. Almost the entire first floor, aside from the initial area the blonde woman had entered through, was taken up by the single room they were standing in, with racks of free weights sitting side by side with practice weapon stands along the far wall and what looked to be a collapsible set of gymnastic bars stored in the opposite corner. The wall that divided the entrance from the main room was lined with mirrors not unlike a dance studio, making the already sizable space feel even roomier. "I mostly assume you eat exclusively at fancy Parisian cafes and from hotel room service. Probably while ignoring a conspicuous nearby explosion." Erik finished putting away the foils safely and turned his attention back to his guest with a lopsided grin. "What brings you to the West End?"
-
Wiping his hands on a short white towel, Erik at least had the good grace to look like he'd just finished a workout even if he was only a fraction as fatigued as any of his students and the sweat seemed to glisten on the toned arms exposed by his sleeveless top more than gather in unsightly splotches. "Donnie, you've got a ride home worked out? Alright, I'll see you guys next week. Good work today." At the voice behind him he turned around with the welcoming smile of a business' proprietor which wavered for a second in confusion before breaking into a redoubled grin, easier and more genuine. "Talya! Hey, look at you! Give me a minute, we're just packing up."
-
September 12, 2015 Cline Building, Freedom League Special Circumstances Housing "I do not care what thy do," Sekhmet growled irritably, pacing to the far end of the small apartment she shared with her ofttimes irritating charge and rubbing either side of her head. "Merely cease wringing they hands as though a smitten scribe initiate!" Perched with his feet on the armrest of their couch, Set sniffed the air with a frown. "I'm hardly wringing my hands, Sekhmet, I merely wish to observe to correct etiquette. Our previous encounter ended... less well than I might have hoped. I'm unsure of the proper waiting period before tis proper to reopen communications!" The lioness goddess snorted. "Praise Ra should today be that day. I cannot stand to sit through another week of thy pouting over the boy not contacting thee first." "Set does not pout, Mistress of Dread," the godling protested, looking back down to his phone with a glower. "Nor does he sit idly! I shall message Huang forthwith!" Sekhmet waved a hand over her head in sarcastic celebration while the redheaded Heliopolian typed. Heeeeeey handsome ;p How fare you??? >
-
"I'll call Joe." Trevor rose from his seat and moved over to the far corner of the kitchen to use his phone. He was content to let the others hash out what sort of food to order; he didn't have a particularly strong preference to begin with and Erin would make sure nothing genuinely objectionable made it onto the ballot. Scrolling to the civilian number he had for Joe rather than the emergency contact protocols they used for actual League business he brought the phone to his ear as it started to ring. "Hey," he greeted as the steelworker picked up. Even without caller ID there didn't seem much need to clarify who was calling. "Social thing at manor. Available?"
-
Kimber deflated a bit at Tarva's touch, leaning forward to rest her forehead against the other woman's shoulder. "Uuugh, I think you're probably learning the wrong lesson here but thank you. I don't want to tell you what to do I just... you can't get in trouble." Since the ritual that had created her scythe and helped her move past her semi-frozen youth the poltergeist had become a little more aware of how precarious their position might be if certain groups got it into their heads that Tarva couldn't be trusted to walk around more or less free or even on Earth-Prime. She had no intention of letting anyone send the Terminus expatriate away but Tarva didn't have to make it difficult for her. Sighing, she mumbled into her lover's shoulder, "You're exhausting, I hope you realize." Any reproach was severely undercut by the way she moved to wrap her arms around Tarva's waist and snuggle closer.
-
Set made an unpleasant noise and gestured as though he was hoping wring Monsoon's neck through the power of his ire alone. "Rrrgh, as though the bearded egotist would have let one of his spawn marry on of the People!" the godling scoffed, more than willing to get a heated argument underway in earnest before the one with the cape interrupted. He blinked and looked at Edge the way snarling predator might look at someone who had just booped it on the nose. Eventually he managed to push past it and draw himself up, snapping, "Of course I am! ...and aye. He does." The second half was more subdued accompanied by a blistering glare at the unconscious White Knight's back. "Thy be brave champions indeed to stand against one who might even pretend at godly might," Sekhmet interjected, somewhat out of her element as she attempted to be the more diplomatic of the pair with Set so incensed. "Be there a customary method of execution in mind for the impostor or might thy be open to suggestions? As a matter of righteous retribution such falls under my sphere of responsibility and I would be well pleased to assist!" She smiled toothily at the mortals.
-
Jotun Skeleton Toughness Save vs DC 27: 1d20+13 17 AA, feel free to have Dimitri help clean up then we'll move into the dénouement. 33 - Blue Fox - Uninjured, 4HP [SOUTH] Telekinetic Barrier +13 Toughness [SOUTH + EAST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x2 [NORTH] 23 - Papercut - Bruised x1, 3HP [NORTH] 15 - Ghost Girl - Uninjured, 3HP [SOUTH] 13 - Citizen - Injured x1, 0HP [WEST] 12 - Wraith - Uninjured, 2HP [SOUTH] 12 - Temperance - Bruised x1, 2HP [NORTH] 11 - Jotun Skeletons - Uninjured x1 [WEST] 11 - Jotun Skeletons - Uninjured x2 [SOUTH] 9 - Revenant - Uninjured, 1HP [WEST] > 3 - Comrade Frost - Uninjured, 1HP [BLUFF] ? - Nick Cimitiere - Uninjured, 4HP [BLUFF] ? - Equinox - Uninjured, 4HP [BLUFF]
-
"Oh, don't give me that look," Kimber groused, having gotten reasonably good at differentiating between Tarva's affected smiles and the genuine article. She folded her arms, almost wishing the shadow witch would just come out and argue with her if she disagreed that strongly. "I know you weren't ever going to hurt the baby or the parents, that's not the point." That was also a little optimistic, admittedly, but given the more promising start to the morning she still had an inflated sense of Tarva's tenderness. She floated back and forth across the room, her version of pacing, fiddling distractedly with her pendent. "Like, imagine if somebody broke in and took your hounds just because they had better magic and they could! Even if they gave them back safe and sound that would still be horrible, right? It wouldn't matter if they tricked you so that you didn't know, it still wouldn't be okay!" Throwing her hands up in the air as she got herself more and more worked up, the phantom turned to face Tarva head on. "Or imagine if they came in her and took you away from me and I couldn't stop them because you'd been kidnapping babies!" She hissed the last words, seized by a sudden fear of being overheard. "For jam's sake, Tarva, our landlord reads minds and her personal assistant comes from a culture completely dedicated to fighting the people you learned your sneakiest stuff from! It's a question of when, not if! They'll take you away and I-- haaa-- I'll-- augh, I don't even breathe, how am I hyperventilating?!" Kimber waved her hands on either side of herself in distress, having promised herself she'd handle things like a calm, collected adult and finding that promise difficult to keep.
-
"Well, no accounting for taste," Becky allowed, failing to keep her pleasure at the compliment and the kiss from her expression. She'd been a little sensitive about her height since the latter years of grade school and now that she periodically turned into a literal hulking monster those doubts hadn't exactly gone away but if Eve said she was stunning, who was she to argue? She was the one walking around downtown Freedom City with the lovely Martel heiress holding her hand and that did wonders for a girl's self-esteem. "What do you think about between the shoulder blades?" she suggested, picking up their conversation from earlier. "For the tattoos? Easy to hide or show off depending on the outfit and room to add onto them if we want to later? Or is that too obvious a place?"
-
"Ah, family," Winifred surmised quietly from the back-and-forth between Huang and their instructor, keeping her voice low. "Poor woman." If she was still speaking loudly enough for Riley to hear her clearly, well, she could hardly be blamed for the practiced hunter's honed senses. She frowned as Raina gave a number of examples of possible alternate worlds, catching onto the premise quickly enough. Robin had explained where Riley had come from in very broad strokes and it wasn't so terribly difficult for the alchemist to wrap her head around, not when the present day seemed very much like a completely different world from her own time. The warning against unnecessary travel and the discussion of a world ruled by massive lizards made much less sense, however. Taking her queue from Raina she raised her hand. "Surely if there are such lost worlds, primitive or otherwise dangerous to the inhabitants, then those more advanced worlds have a moral obligation to travel there and offer protection, aid in their development?" She didn't wish to single Riley out in the classroom setting but she had to assume everyone present would recognize him as the perfect example of what she was suggesting. Or Cathy, for that matter.
-
The plurality was not lost on Kimber, who covered her eyes with one palm. "Sweet fruit preserves, I'm really going to have to do a better job of keeping you entertained, eh?" she commented in a tight voice, trying to make the situation somehow less terrifying with a bit of humour but with a shaky smile that looked more like her spectral stomach was trying to figure out how closely it could approximate making a mess all over the floor of Tarva's room. It was almost too much to believe except that of course she could see exactly how the sorceress would have come into her philosophy of 'no harm, no foul'. "First thing's first, we need to get her back home, then I'll explain. Try to, anyway. Ooh..."
-
Timberwolf Toughness Save vs DC 26: 1d20+10 18 Jotun Skeletons Citizen is out of range now so two of them will go after Revenant and two will try to follow Ghost Girl. Unarmed Attack vs Revenant; Combined Attack: 2#1d20+6 17 17 33 - Blue Fox - Uninjured, 4HP [SOUTH] Telekinetic Barrier +13 Toughness [SOUTH + EAST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x2 [NORTH] 23 - Papercut - Bruised x1, 3HP [NORTH] 15 - Ghost Girl - Uninjured, 3HP [SOUTH] 13 - Citizen - Injured x1, 0HP [WEST] 12 - Wraith - Uninjured, 2HP [SOUTH] 12 - Temperance - Bruised x1, 2HP [NORTH] 11 - Jotun Skeletons - Uninjured x2 [WEST] 11 - Jotun Skeletons - Uninjured x2 [SOUTH] > 9 - Revenant - Uninjured, 1HP [WEST] 3 - Comrade Frost - Uninjured, 1HP [BLUFF] ? - Nick Cimitiere - Uninjured, 4HP [BLUFF] ? - Equinox - Uninjured, 4HP [BLUFF]
