Raveled

Robin had made several trips, mostly emptying the package of its contents, when she turned back and saw a customer peering into the glass at the front counter and studying the three-foot bird skull there. It threw her for a loop, and while she managed to keep from attacking the man, it was a close-run thing. She’d made enemies on both side of her epically long life, and paranoia meant she’d live even longer – but not if she went around incinerating innocents. Because it was entirely possible that this was simply an early-morning customer, patiently waiting for the shop-keeper to be ready to serve them. Balanced against that were the silver bells strung on rods throughout the store, enchanted to ring when something passed the threshold. Robin hadn’t heard them, which meant either the magic involved had been disrupted or suppressed, or the bells had been silenced. And it had all been done neatly and quickly enough not to alert the sorceress’ own arcane senses. Which didn’t bode well for the intruder’s intentions.

Robin Cross hurried down the few stairs to her basement shop, the package in her arms making her steps heavy. At the bottom she juggled the package and her keys for a moment as she unlocked the door. She opened it wide and dashed into the store, letting the door slam shut behind her. She hauled the box onto the counter and stood for a moment, rubbing her arms and looking over the shop. It was as wide as the building above it and even deeper, giving the shop plenty of footprint. Robin had several displays of bookcases arranged in a U-shape. Mostly those held the various tomes any self-respecting practitioner needed: the cubbyholes opposite had the spell ingredients that were her stock-in-trade. The carpet was a gray Berber and the walls were plain vanilla, so Robin had put down vibrantly colored rugs to relieve the dullness. The ache was fading from her muscles so the sorceress turned back to the box. She opened it with an X-acto knife from behind the counter and started pulling out books – or rather, the same book over and over again. “The Great From the Simple,†she read off the cover, “a history of Divination.†She bounced it in her hand for a minute before coming to a decision and gathered an armful of books to start shelving.

Jessica blinked and stepped away from the ride attendant, her quick mind working over the implications of what just happened. She sat with Blake in the small car, slipping the bag onto the seat opposite her and snapping a few specially added carbiner-clips into her belt loops. She snuggled closer to him and returned the peck, but after a second she gave Blake a serious look. "Did... You just didn't do anything bad to that guy, did you?" The car lurched suddenly as the ride started up and Jessica was forced to throw out her arms to brace herself, but she kept her gaze on her boyfriend as well as she could.

Aaaaand the latest version, muchly scaled back. Rolled Datalink and Comprehend into an AP of Communication. Gave her Enhanced intelligence, and fixed up the formatting. It's actually down to a workable number of PP at this point.

Jessica laughed, moving a few paces away so that Blake's excited flailing didn't connect with her, keeping pace with him as they walked up to the gigantic machine. "Okay, okay," she said, her voice deliberately slow. She grabbed Blake's arm and forced him to choose between remaining on the ground or losing the limb. "Tilt-a-whirl sounds like a great idea," she agreed. "On top of a big slice of pizza and a Coke. Why not?" She smiled to take the edge off her statement and held her boyfriend close as they walked up to the entrance gate. The man there carefully checked their passes for the day, but when they tried to go through he grabbed Jessica's backpack. "Can't let you take that on," he said. "No bags or purses." Jessica stopped just inside the gate, looking between the carnie and Blake. It was obvious that she didn't want to leave the suit behind, but at the same time she didn't want to disappoint Blake. She was torn, and just didn't know what to do.

Jessica's heart hammered in her chest, and it was readily apparent what her body wanted to do. But she gripped his wrist gently and moved his hand back to her waist. "I... I want to, Blake. And I want to with you. But just... not now. I'm not quite ready to, yet." She smiled at him, but it was a little shaky around the edges. She glanced at the food remaining, but all of a sudden she wasn't very hungry. "Um. Do you want to hit some of the rides?"

Jessica made small noises of pleasure as her lips and tongue moved against Blake's, her hunger and the lunch in front of them forgotten for the moment in the bliss of physical contact. After a time they drew apart and she sat there, trembling in the aftershock of the kiss. Before long her brain started to work again and she spoke. "Apartments cost money," she pointed out. "You'd have to get a job, Blake. And I don't think there's much call for Great Old One impersonators as kiddy parties. At least, not nearly as much as clowns and the like." She shuffled a bit closer on the seat, pressing her body against his until there was no open space between them. "Of course, I could just be your sugar momma," she deadpanned. After a moment she frowned, her forehead creasing. "Or is the other person, the one who doesn't have the money, the 'sugar' in the relationship?"

Jessica swallowed quickly, giggling to herself even as she leaned into Blake. "A motorcycle needs to go forward at a certain rate to remain upright," she said. "Makes snuggling kind of hard." She twisted to face him and kissed him briefly on the lips. "Besides, if I was sitting behind you, how would I do that?" She put her arms around Blake's shoulders, interlacing her fingers on his other side so he wouldn't be able to pull away. "You don't want to lose out on that, do you?"

Robin used her free hand to draw Wesley's arm tighter around her shoulders, enjoying the big man's warmth and his presence. She took the steps slowly and turned towards Liberty Park. Her strides were shorter than her boyfriend's and she kept her pace casual, forcing him to a slow saunter. She couldn't see any lights from the park -- or at least, any more than normal -- but the skies were empty and the air was clear. "Over in the park," she echoed. "Are you sure you don't just want to be wandering through the city with a pretty skeleton lady?" She smiled and pressed against his side for a moment. "We better not be walking too far, or a hero is going to swoop out of the sky and pick us up."

An opportunity has arisen, and I'm not sure how to proceed with it. It appears that a faerie barrow is up for -- well, not lease exactly, but I've been made aware that it's open for occupation. I could move my lab there, and in fact I'm quite tempted to. It would be well away from any populated region,m and the fey magics would ward to from any sort of detection or divination. Despite being literally a hole in the ground, I've no doubt that it would be very habitable. I would have to craft a permanent opening to it, but if I place that within my apartment, it would be two layers of defenses. The entire situation is very tempting.

Jessica rolled her eyes and swallowed her bite of pizza. "Eating tastes good. Those philosophy classes are really sinking in, aren't they?" She ate a few more bites and washed it down with a long pull on her Coke. "It's interesting, though," she said. "When you think of magic, you typically think of getting something for nothing. That your transformation, your powers, burn your body's resources at such a fast rate seems off." she went back to her pizza, chewing slowly, her eyes fixed in the middle distance. After a moment she started, swallowing fast and half-turning to look at Blake. "Wait. So, did you fly all the way out here from Claremont?"

Jessica raised an eyebrow at Blake's order. "I'll confess if you will," she said, rubbing her knee against his. "What kind of furnace is in your stomach? You don't have to keep up with me, I'm usually a meal or so behind." She leaned over and planted a firm kiss on his lips, then before he could react she folded one of her slices in half and took a big bite. She smiled with just her lips, taking her time in chewing the pizza. If Blake wanted smoochies, he'd have to wait until after lunch."

Jessica stuck out her tongue at Blake, keeping pace with him easily. "New rule," she said. "I don't have to watch your... other you, eat. I'm not sure I'd be able to take that, Blake." Any questions he might've had over that remark would have to be held, though, as they came up to the ordering window. Jessica looked over the menu carefully, keeping her eyes on it as she ordered. "Uh, two New Yorker slices of peperoni, sausage, and mushrooms. With an order of cheese bread. And a large Coke." She slid her hand off her boyfriend's back and into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling out her wallet. She rifled through it, inadvertently showing Blake and the pimply-faced attendant several high-denomination bills. "What'll you have -- honey?"

Jessica felt a blush start spreading at Blake's innocent peck, but she hugged him tighter with her arm anyway. She quickened her pace as they came nearer the vendors, regretfully steering away from the eat-as-you-walk foods to the ones selling some more substantial fare. "Can't say I ever met anyone called Nick... Simatear? But yeah, I can just imagine what watching, uh, Kid Cthulhu scarf down a hot dog looks like." She stopped abruptly, half-turning to face her boyfriend and putting a hand o his chest. "Oh, God. Tell me you use your hands? And didn't just, like, slurp it all up with the, uh, face tentacles?"

Jessica felt her heart beat faster through the hug, and she was reluctant to let him go, but as they walked along she draped her arm behind Blake's back and kept him close. It took a moment for the thought of ride to penetrate the warm, happy fog she was in, but when it did she rolled her shoulders, thinking of the weight back there. "I don't know how many rides I can go on with the pack," she said, her voice slow as she thought it through. "Why don't we just get some lunch first?" The smells of fresh popcorn, roasting hot dogs, and various sticky candies was inescapable in the park, and as usual the inventor was a few meals behind.

The Boardwalk was a popular tourist destination, and the crowds were thick when Jessica arrived and started threading through the place. She was careful to move past people only when there was plenty of room -- the pack on her back was carrying her power armor, and the last thing she wanted was to turn suddenly and brain an innocent civilian with the best part of a hundred pounds of para-military hardware. So it took her longer than expected to reach the rendezvous spot, and she winced internally when she saw that Blake had beat her there. Still, just the thought of spending the afternoon with her boyfriend was enough to make her want to skip as she closed the last dozen feet. "Hey there," she greeted him, mouth curving into a wide smile. "Hope you haven't been waiting long. Do you like?" Jessica posed, showing off her new haircut. It had finally come time to get her locks chopped off again, and she had settled on something of a pixie bob: short on the sides and just enough in the back to gather into a bunch, and long bangs that curved over her forehead. She knew that, traditionally, she was supposed to wait for her boyfriend to notice and remark on it, but it wasn't like their relationship had been traditional up to this point, anyway.

Building the perfect S-Sense array. Seeing just how expensive this would be... BE: Super-Senses 13 (Radius & analytical [all Vision], extended [1000 ft] & counter all obscure [normal Vision]; Danger Sense; Normal vision, Infravision; Alternate Power 2) [15 PP] AP: Super-Senses 6 (Analytical & acute & extended [1000 ft] [normal Olfactory]; Danger Sense) [5 PP] AP: Super-Senses 12 (Analytical & acute & accurate & extended [1000 ft] [all Hearing]; Danger Sense, Ultra-Hearing) [12 PP]

Part of the idea of this is for other people to comment as well, as they might not want to do that in another character's news thread.

So I've decided to start a new little topic, where I can preview each new level of Ironclad's battlesuit. This is partly to fool around with the math and available options, partly so that others can comment on the proposed build, and lastly so that aspiring Battlesuit users can see exactly how it evolves month to month. The current version of the suit looks like: Device 13 (Battlesuit; Technology; Hard to Lose; Feat: Accurate 2; 65 PP) [54 PP] BE: Blast 9 (Particle beams; Feats: Ranged Disarm, Alternate Power 2) [21 PP] -- Wrist Blasters AP: Strike 9 (Feat: Improved Critical; Extra: Penetrating) [19 PP] -- Monoblade AP: Super-Strength 9 (Effective Str 55; 8 tons/16 tons/24 tons/48 tons; Feat: Counter Punch) [19 PP] -- Servos Feature 4 (Computer; Library, communications, computers, holo-projector) [4 PP] Flight 5 (Magnetic; 250 MPH / 2,500 feet per Move action; Feats: Subtle) [11 PP] + Super-Movement 1 (Magnetic; Slow fall) [2 PP] Immunity 11 (Armor; Life Support, Critical Hits) [11 PP] Protection 9 (Armor) [9 PP] Super-Senses 3 (Satellite link; Communication link [with Malcolm Dawes], time sense, direction sense) [3 PP] Super-Senses 2 (Radius, darkvision) [2 PP] Next upgrade will be: Device 14 (Battlesuit; Technology; Hard to Lose; Feat: Accurate 3; 70 PP) [59 PP] BE: Blast 9 (Particle beams; Feats: Ranged Disarm, Split Target [x2]. Alternate Power 3) [23 PP] -- Wrist Blasters AP: Strike 9 (Feat: Improved Critical 2; Extra: Penetrating) [19 PP] -- Monoblade AP: Super-Strength 9 (8 tons/16 tons/24 tons/48 tons; Feat: Counter Punch, Groundstrike) [19 PP] -- Servos AP: Blast 6 (Explosive; Feat: Accurate Extra: Area/Burst [General]) [19 PP] -- Cluster Munitions Enhanced Feat 4 (Accurate Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Change) [3 PP] Feature 4 (Computer; Library, communications, computers, holo-projector) [4 PP] Flight 5 (Magnetic; 250 MPH; Feats: Subtle) [11 PP] + Super-Movement 1 (Magnetic; Slow fall) [2 PP] -- Etheric Flight System Immunity 11 (Armor; Life Support, Critical Hits) [11 PP] Protection 9 (Armor) [9 PP] Super-Senses 3 (Satellite link; Time sense, direction sense, distance sense) [3 PP] Super-Senses 4 (Radius, analytical, darkvision [Normal vision]) [4 PP] Besides putting another rank of Accurate on it to hit caps, the big change here is putting another AP on Blast to get an AoE attack for the suit. It misses caps by 1 point, but I'm okay with that. It's mostly for mooks rather than equal-PL vills, anyway. Adding Analytical to Vision S-Sense, to get ever closer to my ideal build; added Direction Sense to the other S-Sense group, pretty much finishing that out. Added 3 feats to the suit as Enhanced Feats, allowing Clad to get in and out of her suit as a free action, making the biggest headache of this build evaporate. Will also free up 2 regular feat slots that I can fill with, well, whatever. Oh yeah, and got rid of Communication Link w/ Malcolm Dawes. Gee, wonder why I'd do that? ETA: PL 9. Whenever that is.

Robin laughed and stood, pushing Wesley's head and body up and back. Their height difference left him bent over and forward oddly though, so she planted a lingering kiss on his lips before slipping away from him. She didn't take a key with her -- her costume didn't have pants, an obvious drawback -- but she locked the front door of the unit with a muttered, guttural word once they were outside. She hooked her arm around his waist and swayed her hips a bit as they walked towards the front door of her apartment building. "So where is this concert taking place," she asked, drawing a bit closer to him once they were outside. "All you told me is that it's outdoors. Is it outside the city limits?"

Robin grinned as she spun for her boyfriend, enjoying being appreciated. "You're a professional," she reminded him. "Your designs are perfect, Wesley." She leaned in suddenly and kissed him briefly on the lips. "Mine are just better," she added, baring her teeth in a smile to show she was just teasing him. As Wesley started on his face, she moved to the kitchen table and picked up the top hat there, playing with the stiff material and winding it up like a discus, before perching it on her head at a jaunty angle. "If I like these folks," she said, "I might buy you one of those canes tap dancers use, with the white on either end." She settled in, enjoying a chance to study Wesley's body while he was concentrating on the makeup.

Robin was tempted to watch Wesley as he dressed -- he had such a beautiful body, and the tattoos made him seem like a work of art -- but she retained herself. Instead she started dressing her own self, tossing her shorts and tee-shirt on the bed, to deal with later. She left on her black bra and panties and slipped into a pair of tight, black lycra pants and a tight tee-shirt. She took out some glow-in-the-dark paint sticks, already half used; she'd already painted the major bones onto her outfit, and the vaguely-green spine, ribs, arms and legs, and pelvic bone all roughly lined up. She wandered into her bathroom and turned on all the lights are her vanity, carefully applying more glow-in-the-dark paint on her cheekbones, her eyebrows, and outlining her chin and jaw. The last touch was white lipstick, a purchase that took awhile to find, and dark eyeshadow, which she already had. The last touch was a pair of glasses with round, smoked lenses that she perched on the end of her nose, and a cylinder of glow sticks. The entire get-up took the better part of an hour to get on, and when Robin finally emerged from her bedroom she posed dramatically, hands in the air and glasses perched just so. "Well," she asked Wesley. "Do I look appropriately voodoo-raver-goth?" She smiled at her own portmanteau, white teeth bright against her dark skin.

(16:49:25) rpgronin: I noticed. I was posting and I got the "Hold on, cowboy! There's a new post thar fer yew to re'd!" message (16:49:43) Carces: (16:49:47) Raveled: (16:49:57) Carces: Sorry 'bout that. Thought I'd move forward with introductions (16:50:03) Raveled: You have the Cowboy style? (16:50:34) rpgronin: I... don't really know why I added a vaguely south-western twist to that, but there you go. (16:50:36) Carces: On a steel forum post he rides.

Robin was putting the last touches on a spirit, charm, letting the ash-dye dry on the bones, when she heard the knock at her door. She wiped the paintbrush off and left the charm in the C-clamp on her kitchen table. A quick spell sent her senses outside and she smiled to see it was Wesley. She opened the door and invited him inside, eying the bag in his hand warily. "Hello, you," she greeted him, pulling the tall man close and stretching to give his chin a peck. "Make yourself comfortable. I was just working on a commission," she said, waving at the bracelet. To a casual glance, it just looked like white beads on frayed thread. On closer inspection, the beads were hollow bones, painted with weird symbols. It would take someone skilled in the mystical arts to identify its real purpose. "I still have to change," she added, walking towards her bedroom. She paused at the door, turning to face Wesley. "Ah, maybe you should change out here? If we both change in the same room, we'll never make the concert on time." She gave him a wide smile and slipped into the other room.

Jessica's blush spread when Blake kissed her, but when he pulled away she planted another kiss on his cheek. "Th... thanks, Blake. Um, I'll see you in a bit, okay?" She carefully pulled the drawing out of the notebook and placed it on the passenger seat. She pulled the truck out of its spot and got it pointed towards the exit. She checked her mirrors and waved at Blake again, before pulling out and heading home.