Log:Sanitize It With Fire
From C2Wiki
| Sanitize It With Fire | |
|---|---|
| Emitter | Clank |
| Players | Fast Forward, Eldritch, Dreamweaver, Julian, Dynama, Pazuzu, Strobe, Clank |
| NPCs | Myron Tell |
| Place | MOTION Gallery, Edgerton Hills |
| Time (IC) | 6-7 PM EDT, May 6, 2013 |
| Time (OOC) | 7-10 PM CDT, May 6, 2008 |
Disclaimer: Most of the OOC stuff has been edited out, but a few things were left in for clarity.
+- Edgerton Hills - MOTION --------------------------------------------------+
"MOTION" (the owner insists on the capitalization) is one of many galleries in the bohemian Edgerton Hills neighborhood, and it has a theme: motion. Okay, so they went with the obvious. All exhibits need to embody motion in some way...kinetic art is the most common, but animation is sometimes seen here as well, especially holographic animation of the style you've probably seen in a science museum, but which has enjoyed a resurgence with the development of superior materials and laser technology.
The current display, however, is a lot more retro than 70s-style holograms. The gallery is dominated by "steampunk" works, that cross between Victorian artistic sensibilities and steam-era engineering. Some of the pieces clank and hiss on their own, others are "merely" kinetic sculptures without a power source. Outside the gallery can be seen several larger pieces, including a 2 foot tall mechanical man perpetually climbing a "Ladder of Progress" that's actually a wheel. +- Players ------------------------------------------------------------------+
Julian Marcus Rose Troy Shannon Tina Toby
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +- Short Descriptions -------------------------------------------------------+
Toby (5m): Slender teenager with blond hair and casual clothing, almost always with a laptop case in tow. Troy (0s): Tall, dark-haired, wearing stained denim coveralls, a t-shirt, heavy boots, and possibly welding goggles. Marcus (12m): A dark-eyed, brown-haired and somewhat tall young man. Rose (22m): A young beauty in an eccentric mix of colors. Julian (1m): A tall woman with bright red hair and a direct gaze. Tina (2m): Brown Hair and Brown Eyes. Attractive young lady with partial Asian features. Shannon (3m): An ordinary young blonde.
+------------------------------------------------------------- End: +glance -+
It's a pleasant mid-spring evening, about 6 P.M. or so, and the usual dinner crowd is busily moving about the bohemian neighborhood of Edgerton Hills. It's also about the time galleries get down to serious business, although many have been open all day for sedate visiting and transactions. There's a bit more excitement around the relatively new gallery, "MOTION", as its owner Myron Tell is officially kicking off a brand new show!
"Good evening, one and all," Myron greets anyone within earshot. Some are standing around looking at the art, one or two seem to be there on business, and many more are just passing by, stopping for a moment to look. Myron certainly attracts some attention himself, dressed as he is in a Victorian gentleman's suit, complete with top hat and monocle. "It gives me great pleasure to open up a display of local talent in the area of 'steampunk' and 'clockwork' art, motion of the most basic kind, powered by those wonders of a bygone day, springs and steam!"
Myron gestures to Troy and Julian. "These are but two of the several artists on display here, others may come and go as the evening progresses. First, I would like to introduce Troy Bergmann, clockwork roboticist! Troy, could you say a few words?"
Troy nods, and gestures to a small clockwork man perpetually climbing a "ladder" that's really a wheel. "My main work here tonight is Ladder of Progress, a fairly simple work in terms of programming, but run entirely by steam. Inside, you'll also find a mechanical pigeon atop a bust of Edison, a bowling robot, and a steam-powered Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theater 3000. The last two are on loan from their owners, having been made on commission."
Myron smiles, then gestures to Julian. "And now for our other resident artist?"
This piece of 'steampunk' artwork has a sleek, stylized art nouveau look to it that might stand out against the other pieces shown in the gallery. It is fantastically and carefully detailed, giving a sense that its creator must have spent an enormous amount of time in crafting it.
The "sculpture" is a large rectangular box, four feet long and two and a half feet tall, open in the front like a diorama, that has been crafted to look like a stage, complete with drawn metal curtains. The box is intricately tooled in the organic yet balanced art nouveau style, and there is a gorgeous, stylized key on one side.
When the key is turned until the winding mechanism clicks into place, and a catch beside it is released, tinkling music, as from a music box or a player piano starts to play, the curtains part with the soft whirring and clicking of gears, and the drama on the miniature stage begins. The 'actors' are metal puppets, with arms that move to make dramatic gestures, each of them works of art in their own right. They move across the stage in time with the music, acting out the plot of a stereotypical silent movie melodrama. Over the course of about ten minutes, the lovers meet, the mustache twirling villain is introduced, there is the kidnapping, the daring rescue which includes a chase simulated by set pieces scrolling by in the background, and the joyous reunion.
The entire work of art stands on a tall metal and glass case through which can be viewed the gleaming clockwork gears that make the device run. Like the diorama, the stand has been etched with intricate art nouveau designs. A small placard labels the piece:
Untitled Melodrama
Julian Irwitch
From the private collection of Benjamin Wentworth
Julian stands near said diorama. "This is a commissioned piece for Mr. Benjamin Wentworth," she nods towards an old man in very nice clothing with an old lady in very nice clothing on his arm who both look proud as all getout. "Its title is 'Untitled Melodrama', and it's a commentary on the role of women both in cinema, and in society. The woman's state of distress throughout the story highlights the unattainable and damaging standards forced on women by media sources, and by preconcieved ideas bred into us by our mothers, our fathers, and our peers. Though the hero of the story 'rescues' the lady, he nevertheless continues her bondage. The last scene shows him holding her in the same way that the villain imprisoned her with ropes. The only difference is that she submits to this prison willingly."
<OOC> Julian says, "Anyone who wants to can go ahead and make sense
motive rolls, as Julian is BSing this. ;)"
Toby is here mostly to support Julian. They're not precisely close friends, but the people at her shop are a family of a sort, and likewise, one of them is related to his sort-of family, so it turned into a sort of obligation. Not to mention some of this stuff is really fascinating, though he imagines it might sort of gain something if he could perceive it moving in normal time. Slow moving metal pieces are harder to pretend to concentrate on than very slow moving people. But the intricacy and amount of work are at least staggering. He moves amidst the crowd, taking a few pictures where allowed, nodding or giving a small wave in the direction of a person here or there as he meanders. Catching Julian
Camera set so that the flash need not be on... after all with the newfangled tech upgrades, there's enough light already for it to light up the shot... Tina is taking photographs of various portions of this display. She usually blends in, not being particularly super-gorgeous, and not dressing up much, but at an art gallery, her -lack- of dressing up is likely what makes her stand out... that and the soft tan bomber jacket she's wearing that has seen plenty of use. She even has a bag slung over her shoulder where her laptop is set to automatically download pictures from her camera to keep the memory card empty.
Myron throws his arms wide. "And let the mechanical feast for the senses begin!"
Toby catches Julian's description, and smirks... only barely not making a snide comment.
Shannon is one of those in attendance. In part, from interest, in part....well, she's out and looking to get to know the local crowd. This is why she's at least a bit dressed up now, though not entirely formal, dark skirt and dark rusty-colored blouse. She's looking at Julian's work there, though of course she looks up curiously to the other woman as she explains...she doesn't add comment though.
Troy gamely keeps a straight face at Julian's proclamations.
To (Tina, Troy, Marcus), Julian pages: Julian is SO BSing the whole 'and
this stands for...' thing, and she's not even trying that hard to hide
that she's BSing it, or so it would seem. Not only that, but there's a
hint of sarcasm in her voice, as if she were inwardly laughing at the
entire proceedings.
[GRPComm] Troy says, "Note, the front of the gallery can open up almost
all the way on shutters and sliding walls so that there's not a lot of
distinction between inside and outside. However, it's possible to get
far enough inside to be invisible from the street, should it become
relevant."
Troy steps over to the pigeon, which starts to move about along a track partly hidden in Edison's sculpted hair. Tiny puffs of steam emanate from Edison's collar. "Edison symbolizes the electrical age, and the pigeon symbolizes Nikola Tesla," he grins.
Julian's first priority, before greeting anyone, before starting up her clockwork diorama, before anything is to make her way over to where there is alcohol and get herself a glass of wine.
Rose is late, but she doesn't seem terribly bothered by the fact. She's dressed up, though, at least, looking around with a curious eye as she circles the fringe of the gathering. She holds her hands behind herself, and then starts to weave in through the crowd gathering with a light hum.
Tina doesn't really care what symbolizes whom or when. She just knows that Julian's making things up as she goes along, but really doesn't care about that. She's here to tell a human interest story, and she's snapping shots here and there. "Hey Toby." she remarks as she steps up behind the guy, snapping a shot of that pigeon from an alternative angle. "Haven't seen you 'round in a while.. I know you were working on a large project... finally get it finished?" she asks.
For his part, Marcus Blaine doesn't particularly stand out amongst the crowd. Sure, he's a little tall, and perhaps the tattoos on his arms, visible under his T-shirt, might be enough to draw a look or two, but for the most part he remains relatively inconspicuous. He listens to the speeches on the displays attentively, arms folded across his chest, keeping quiet for the moment.
Shannon clearly does seem impressed by the artwork, however transparent the explanation might be: she's been around enough artists to be used to uncertainly honest symbolism. She's taking in first sights, though, and soon enough moves along to the little climbing man...only then spotting Toby and waving. "Oh, hey there!"
Toby nods to Tina. "Yeah, got it done, then had to fly out to LA with my mother. Given the stuff going on, she had to settle down some of her clients, and deal with some of the legal risks involved with the swarm of disaster movies suddenly due out next summer. Gave me a chance to talk to my editor... apparently they're giving me the cover, so it ought to get quite a lot of coverage if the world lasts 4 more weeks." he replies with surprising cheer for the subject matter, before he meanders towards Julian and the booze, asking quietly, "Lovely social commentary there. Make that up last second, or was it a coin flip between the 'role of women in cinema' and 'why I love bondage, by Julian'?" he asks, before being distracted by Shannon, waving her way with a smile.
Julian retrieves said wine, a medium grade white. The long stemmed glass of wine dangles precariously in her long, thin fingers. She gives Toby a razor-sharp smile. "Woman artists are expected to do stuff about either feminist theory of vaginas, and it's gonna take a fuc -- a lot of money before someone talks me into making a clockwork vagina."
"My bet is that this whole super AI thing is all a smoke screen.. " says Tina to Toby, "But hey, who knows if the force behind it really has the ability to do what the threats claim?" She grins a bit and shakes her head as she heads to the drink table herself, "Wonder if they got any domestic beers available." Yes, the half-asian reporter wants american beer, not wine.
Hope has arrived.
Troy winces as he hears talk of a clockwork vagina. "What's the Latin for 'geared' that would replace 'dentata'?" he asks of no one in particular.
Myron Tell is loving it. The opening is clearly a success so far, and the artists are being appropriately...artist-like. Perfect ambience. Sure, the big money buyers won't be showing up tonight, but you can bet their People are in the crowd, taking notes. The gallery owner hams up the Victorian gentleman act as he moves from prospective patron to prospective patron.
Toby grins at Julian. "That's honestly just as well, that's one of those things that just shouldn't be clockworked. Since when did you become one of the feminist artistes who does what's expected anyway?" he continues, before glancing back at Tina. "Whether he can or can't is obviously a big deal, but is almost secondary to the panic. The original list read like a who's who of the entertainment industry, which directly impacts the family business."
"I can feel for that, I guess. Or at least if you want to hit it off with the right influential gallery crowd." Shannon gives a faint smile to Julian there, understandingly. "It's great work though, and that's outside of any explanation you can give me." She isn't going for any wine at the moment herself."
The door opens to admit a tall, gorgeous blonde in an evening dress that she makes look good. Taking a few steps into the room, having arrived fashionably late (of course), Hope overhears something... odd... and stops in her tracks, a confused look on her face. "Ooookay...", she says, quietly and to herself.
Rose looks around for a moment, and then steps beside Shannon with a polite, "'Evening.", raising an eyebrow before looking over towards Julian. "My. Biological clocks are one thing, I suppose...", she muses, and then looks over to Toby for a moment. She then raises a hand to scratch a cheek lightly. "... it's all quite impressive, though it's almost belaboring the point to say it."
<OOC> Hope says, "oaky... so Troy just told me there's no door... so I
just stepped in off the sidewalk. sorry."
Julian shrugs to Toby. "Since being on the top of the local scene gets the best commissions," she replies. She's keeping her voice low enough to keep her blasphemys from carrying very far. She gives Shannon a little wave as she approaches. "Thanks. I'm glad Mr. Wentworth agreed to donate it for the occasion. It's one of my better pieces."
A little red fireplug of a steambot chugs around underfoot, deftly avoiding actually being stepped on, emitting steam from the top of its gumball machine head. Every so often it waggles its useless little arms and says something off an internal wax cylinder. "Rock climbing, Joel (hiss crackle)..."
[GRPComm] Troy says, "I've EE'ed Subtle on my Animate Object to make Tom
Servo a little more intelligent in his object-avoidance than the actual
programming is capable of. ;)"
Toby nods amusedly to Julian. "Sure, makes sense. Oh, Julian, this is Shannon, the sculptor I told you about that I volunteered to do some work for, once I figure out how... speaking of which, sorry I haven't been around a lot, Shannon. Got roped into a trip to the west coast. Shannon, Julian... uhm, friend of the family." Finally, Hope gets a wave, once he notices her arrival.
Tina just shakes her head a bit. "Can't a girl get a Bud Light?" she mutters to whomever is serving the drinks. Then she laughs and plants her palm on her forehead as she remarks, "Just what I needed a mental image of, clockwork, steampunk biological clocks." Then she turns towards the entrance and spies Hope making her way inside, "Hubba..." she mutters with a grin.
[GRPComm] Troy says, "BTW, there's plenty of stuff in here not made by
me or Julian, feel free to invent anything you want that would seem to
fit the theme. Any really big pieces (man-sized or larger) would be out
on the street."
"That's the hard part. It's like any other business, I guess. If you want to make money you have to learn to sell to your audience, and that means telling them things they like to hear. This is part of the work that I've come to dread." Shannon nods to Toby. "Good trip, I hope? And good to meet you, Julian."
Snagging a glass of champagne from a passing server's tray, Hope smiles her thanks to the girl before taking a sip. Spying Toby's wave, she lifts a hand in response and starts that way. "Heya, Tobes", she says, when she's close enough to not have to call out loudly." She nods, also, to the others who're with the teen-boy, by way of greeting.
Julian makes a greeting/waving gesture with the hand holding her glass of wine. The liquid sloshes in the glass, but never quite goes over the edge. "Nice to meet you. I think I might have seen you around before, somewhere. That clay pants show three months back, maybe?"
Toby shrugs at Shannon's question. "About 50/50. On one hand, all of Mom's clients are either ina blind panic, or want to know how far they can go in the disaster pic genre without getting sued or panicking audiences with their advertising. But on the up side, my editor loved the project... I got the cover, and if I should happen to want to do something similar again, I have access to a working budget this time, with a wink and a nudge, so apparently I need a couple consultants to help me get creative again soon."
The clockwork pigeon drops a brass hex nut on Edison's head. It bounces off and lands in a small ring of similar nuts on the tabletop. Troy notices this and excuses himself for a moment, scooping up most of the nuts and pouring them into a small hatch on the bird's back. "Still working on an automatic recycling system," he smiles. "Having it eat them is probably too disgusting, though."
Marcus steps aside as the steambot nearly runs underfoot, brows perking in surprise at the thing. "Now, that's pretty neat," he says as he turns to start trailing the steambot. Unfortunately, the 6'4" musician isn't quite as maneuverable as Tom Servo, and with his eyes on the floor, his course nearly causes him to bowl into the group surrounding Julian's exhibit. Catching himself, he says, "Oh, hi, guys," he says.
Rose blinks as Shannon wanders off, her greeting seemingly unnoticed. Her attention, however, is brought away by the little robot at her feet. Lifting a leg to let the little robot pass for the moment, she then steps away. Walking over to the central pieces, she takes a moment to look at them - as close as she's allowed, really. She rubs the bridge of her nose as she leans towards the small pirgeon, and then rocks back on her heels, her attention turning to wandering about once more.
"Clay pa....oh! Right, that one. That was right about when I'd just moved back into the state. I do remember you from then, but we never met, I think?" Shannon gives Julian a curious look again, but smiles, and belatedly gives Rose a wave on recognizing her. A bit distracted by that, she almost misses the end of Toby's answer. "Oh! It came out that well? That's great, hopefully you can give it a second go...it should be a lot better not having to bankroll it all yourself."
Julian absently reaches over and winds up her exhibit with one hand. The mechanism clicks, and she hits the little release. The tinkling music starts up once again, and the melodrama begins. She glances down at the passing gumball robot with a smile. "I don't think we were introduced," she agrees with Shannon. "I cut out of that one early." Rumor has it that she got drunk and "left with" a local painter of dadaist cityscapes. In the biblical sense. "Don't worry about BSing your stuff. Even if people see through you, they won't care, because everyone does it. I can promise you, no one sets out to make a monument to antidisestablishmentarianism. They make whatever they feel like making, and call it that afterward."
"That's for sure." Toby agrees with Shannon's assessment. "Just means that I need to find the right situation or game, and find some willing victims again. But that part couldn't have gone over better. They're anticipating a huge release." Then he pauses, glancing at Julian. "And, uhm, clay pants? Dare I ask how that went over?"
"You talking about that shoot you did, Toby?", Hope asks, after another sip at her champagne. "How'd it come out? You said you got the cover? Is it in print yet? I wanna see it!", she says, the questions tumbling out of her rapid-fire as she smiles.
With rich brown hair and striking blue eyes, Rose comes across as down-to-earth despite her beauty. Delicate in form if not in nature, she has a slender, hourglass shape to her, with an otherwise willowy build. Her hair is a deep brown, straight until it waves just after her cheeks and drifting just past her shoulder and contrasting against her fair complexion. Her lips and nails are a traditional red, though she seems slight on accessories. Gorgeous and svelte, she often as a slightly sly look to her, as if generally bemused with the world.
Tonight she's dressed to go out, with a dark blue baby doll dress that gradiates up to white towards the traps. Down where it's deepest blue, there's the edge of white, thorny roses creeping up from the hem. It falls to just about the knee, but dips low in back. She has casual silver sandals, and a simple black fitted jacket to add outdoors. Simple, but dressy.
Tina just shakes her head. Seeing Hope, she kinda blushes just a touch. "Okay, now I feel -hideously- underdressed." she remarks, reaching for a glass of... well, whatever alcoholic drink is being served. She'd prefer a cold beer, but that's not likely to show up here. So champagne it is. She sips at it to try to avoid having to speak again right away, and kinda ambles away from the crowds, eyes scanning over the place as she does so... trying to find something to focus her attention on other than her overly casual outfit.
Shannon answers Julian dubiously, "I guess. But you're right, it's worth trying." She nods readily and adds, "And if you need help again with it, let me know and we can work it out. Oh, and I can use your help at the studio too if you're still up for that. I'm about to do the full-sized model and then that's when the heavier parts of things comee into play."
Toby grins at Hope. "First, yes, talking about the shoot I did. Second, it came out great. Third, yes, I got the cover. Fourth, its not out yet. It won't be out until the first weekend in June, but you'll have a copy delivered to you day of release, and so will all the other actresses. And it came out well enough that I have a working budget for another project, if one comes up."
Hope keeps smiling. "Yay!", she says. "I can't wait to see how it all came out!", she admits, after throwing back the rest of her champagne all in one go. Reaching to put her glass on a passing tray, taking another one to replace it, she asks, "Who're your friends, Tobes?"
You paged Toby with 'You notice a pickpocket working the crowd. A VERY
good one, no one else seems to have noticed him about to cut the strap
on Rose's purse and make off with it, Rose included.'
Julian nods to Toby. "Really well. It was a critique of advertising as targeted at men, I think. There was this whole article that you were supposed to read." A pause. "Truth is, I've forgotten most of it, other than the pants." She's more or less listening to the other conversations around her, but is mostly scanning the crowd for a hint of the well-known faces of art critics and buyers who need to be chatted up.
Troy finishes refilling his pigeon, which obligingly drops several nuts all at once on Edison's bronze pate, and then notices Hope. "Hey, good to see you could make it," he greets her, weaving through the crowd towards the woman.
"Well, whatever else you say about the exhibit, the pants were the most notable part, I have to admit." Shannon grins and asks, "June, though? I'll have to pick up a copy when it's out to see how it all turned out."
Rose winds her way around towards Shannon again, picking up a drink on her way and cupping it in both hands. She looks to Julian curiously for a moment, and then asides to Shannon. "My, this sort of work always makes me feel a bit lazy...", she says, looking over to one of the sculptures again. "... not that I really mind that sort of feeling. It's a bit too natural for me to really feel guilty about it."
Toby starts to respond to Julian and Hope, when he catches sight of Rose, or, perhaps more of note, the guy with a palmed blade snaking very, very, very slowly towards the purse strap. He nods to the others, "You'll get a copy too Shannon, don't worry. You help..." he turns, suddenly, as Rose approaches the lot, reaching a hand towards the man's wrist. "That really is much too nice of a purse to cut. Though I'm sure you were just going to offer your services as a bottle opener, maybe?" he asks the man behind her curiously.
Oh wow, is that a kinda asian themed piece? Tina finds herself curiously approaching a vase that may or may not contain some Chinese historical pictograms or whatnot on it, and she crouches to take a picture of it. "Mom'll love this one.." she murmurs to herself, her back basically to the rest of the room.
Hope totally hadn't noticed the would-be purse-snather. She turns, eyes wide in surprise when she hears Toby's words, looking down at the hand, then up at the man to whom the hand belongs. Then her look of surprise turns into one of anger as she puts her hands to her hips, her own little purse (that matches her dress), held in one of her hands. She doesn't say anything, but clearly isn't happy with the guy.
The little robotic Tom Servo proclaims, "I'm the god, I'M (crackle) GOD!" As if to emphasize this point, a bit of flame belches out of the top of his head! Fortunately, no one's directly overhead when this happens.
"Um...bye!" the would-be purse-snatcher mumbles, trying to flee into the crowd!
Shannon nods to Rose. "You and me both. I mean, I mostly do more traditional work, so I don't have to worry about mine also being working machines," That's when the purse snatcher is called attention to and her eyes widen. "Hey!" She isn't immediately giving chase on a man with a knife like this, all the same.
Julian waves Rose off. "There's no reason to feel guilty. This is -- " And then Toby pwns the would-be purse snatcher, and this cuts her off. And then Tom Servo belches flame at the exact same moment, and something about this dichotomy of events seems to strike her as hilarious. She laughs.
Tina has her bag over one shoulder, but generally has an arm on the strap, and she snaps a picture as she hears the commotion behind her, turning to look over her shoulder as her free hand comes up to move her dark hair out of her eyes, "What the heck?" she asks, raising the camera to snap a shot reflexively of whatever may be going on.
One thing one has to give Toby - he isn't big, he isn't particularly muscular, but he is quick. He was already reaching for the man's hand, and manages to snatch the wrist faster than the pickpocket can withdraw it. He steps into the motion, hooking the would-be fleeing criminal's ankle with his own, ending up with the man lying on his stomach, arm twisted up behind his back, knife still in it, with Toby's knee pressed hard into the small of his back - just in time for Tina's camera shot.
Myron steps over to the little tableau, popping his monocle out in shock and outrage. "What ho, a scoundrel? What's all this, then?" He has acquired a crystal-headed cane at some point and gestures at both Toby and the cutpurse with it.
Rose looks over to the man, looking only mildly surprised. "Oh my.", she says, only making a token grab to tug her purse slightly closer. She watches the man flee with widened eyes. "Well. Considering what else he may have done with that knife, I suppose it's almost comfortingly mundane...", she says softly, looking remarkably unoffended as she walks after Toby. "My! Well done, there."
Hope steps forward, snathing a napkin out of the hand of someone who's visited the snack table, then crouches and uses the napkin to pull the knife out of the man's hand. Stepping back and away, she keeps the knife held in the napkin -- as if trying to make sure the guy's prints, if they're on the knife, don't get mangled with anyone else's. Looking over at Julian, she asks, "Got a cell phone? Wanna call the cops?"
Shannon scarcely would have time to chase after that far if she'd even tried there, and she's instead blinking dumbly at Toby's easy catch of the departing man. "Wow. You made that look easy." She fumbles out her phone. "Err....I'll call the police." Even if she may well not be the first on that, these days.
When Shannon speaks up, Hope says, "Nevermind", to Julian.
All-but-unnoticed now, the steam-driven Tom Servo emits an even bigger belch of flame. "Hm, I didn't design it to do THAT," Troy observes, momentarily distracted from the little crime drama.
Tina isn't exactly focused on anything at the moment, she's just taking pictures. She catches one with that big gout of flame from the robot. "Um, that's not normal, is it?" she asks aloud, but not really talking to anyone in particular.
Julian seems largely, even inappropriately unconcerned by this turn of events. "It's your just deserts for those damn windows. You've got us on display like a bunch of fat birds, ripe for the picking." She nods casually towards the pidgeon and Edison display, and this may draw her attention towards flame-belching Servo.
Toby glances about. "Uhm, seriously lucky. Any other day, I'd have gotten my hand cut open for the effort. "Can, uhm, someone give me a hand here... he's kinda like every other dude in the world over six years old, and thus bigger than me... dunno how long this wrist lock is gonna work." he adds, even if he's well aware he can shift it without a problem for as long as needed, reading the guy's reactions. Of course, this is when things get worse. He wrinkles his nose, trying to pick up on... something or other to figure out what it is in the time he has to think it over before anyone else even has a chance to react.
Myron pulls out a decidedly non-theme cellphone and calls the police. While he dials, he asks, "I don't suppose anyone here has a pair of handcuffs or other restraints? What? I know my audience...."
"Here", Hope says, stepping forward. She puts the stiletto-heel of one of her shoes against the side of the man's neck and presses down the arch over the back of his neck. "Don't try and get up... I'll just lean forward, hard", she says to the man, before glancing at Toby and nodding that he can get up, now.
Shannon does not notice very much right now, seeing as she's on the phone at the moment, giving her location and the situation while Hope moves in to assist. "A man with a knife. He was trying to steal a purse."
Marcus steps up to where Toby has the purse-snatcher held, unfolding his arms from across his chest. "Hey... need me to help? I know some self-defense..." He looms over the pinned snatcher, tilting his head a little to one side as he eyes the would-be thief curiously. "I mean, I wouldn't want you to get your shoes dirty if worse came to worse, ma'am," he says, addressing Hope.
"Nice trick," Julian remarks to Troy, noticing Servo's pyrotechnics. Apparently assuming it's part of the show. She quirks an eyebrow at Hope. "You'd better get his hands." She, in her dress, is not going to be doing any wrestling tonight.
The cutpurse, for his part, seems torn between utter terror and simply being stunned by the number of beautiful women paying attention to him. Sure, they're paying attention for all the wrong reasons, but still.
Rose leans over the man. "Well, I... could step on his head, or something? I'm no good at this, I'm afrai-" She blinks at the appearance of the heel, and looks up to Hope. "That's a bit much, I think. He's not trying to hurt anybody, and... well. It's going to be hard to work out self-defense in that case." She looks over at the flicker of the light, turning towards the flame as it distracts him. "... is that safe?", she asks clearly, but of nobody in particular.
"Oh, if he tries anything, just kick 'im in the ribs", Hope says to Marcus, grinning. Holding her purse in one hand and the napkin-shrouded knife in the other, she then asks, "Oh hell... what'd I do with my drink?", having set it down on the nearest surface without thinking when she stepped up to take the knife away. Looking over at Rose when the girl speaks, then down at her foot on the man's neck, she says, "Well, I'm just holding him down, really. Not like I'm squishing him or nothing -- YET." She adds the last word, giving it stress, and directing it to the man on the floor. "Don't make me squish ya! I don't wanna ruin my shoes and dress, and I'd be pretty ticked off if you force me to do that!"
Tina just shakes her head, returning her attention to the cutpurse who was so unlucky. Of course, she snaps a few more shots. "Whattayaknow.. Ed might get me to write up a crime piece on this human interest story too." she mutters aside amusedly. She's maybe ten to fifteen feet off to one side of the gathering, wanting no part in it really.
Toby nods to Hope and Marcus, patting the man on the back as he stands. "Tomorrow, you're gonna be famous when that picture gets out. Owned by a teenage video game geek, geez. Kinda sad. I wouldn't try anything. Even if this guy wouldn't totally kick your ass, she's way tougher than I am." he says, meandering away from the scene and towards Tom Servo. "Hey, do any of these devices use rubbing alcohol or anything for lubricant? Something is leaking... and this little guy is going to blow something up if we're not careful." he adds, wrinkling his nose again and trying to both be in a spot to move the robot if the smell gets stronger as he moves, and trying to close in on the source of the smell.
Shannon covers over the phone, asked to stay on it until the police arrive, though when the robot is pointed out she looks over that way carefully. "Blow something up?"
Troy is fiddling with Tom Servo. "Not sure why the little guy's backfiring. I mean, I built in the function, but I decided not to load the tanks tonight, since I didn't want to freak out the crowds."
Julian shakes her head to Toby. "Rubbing alcohol would make a pretty crappy lubricant, but a couple of these things might use some kind of bio fuel."
Hope looks about, keeping her foot (and just a /little/ of her weight) on the back of the man's neck to keep him pinned down. "Huh?", she asks, oh-so-eloquently, of the new situation in the offing, with the flame-belching robot and such.
"He's already humiliated and disarmed. And if you crush his neck, I'll be personally offended." Rose then looks to Toby. "Thank you, though. I'll contact the police.", she says, pulling her cellphone out of her purse and dialing three quick numbers as she waits for a moment for the connection to go through.
Toby frowns, shaking his head. "Something is leaking rubbing alcohol or something." he explains, meandering without much purpose, sniffing a little closer to ground level. "Something is wrong, and if you can shut down the flamethrower til we find it, I'd be grateful."
Troy turns Tom Servo off, nodding.
"Rubbing huh?" asks Tina, lowering the camera and letting her eyes flicker towards wherever the attention happens to be at. She sniffs as if trying to figure out what Toby's talking about. Shrugging her shoulders, she shakes her head and says, "I don't smell anything."
"I don't either. Are you sure?" Shannon gives a concerned look Toby's way, then glances around the rest of the room.
A bit of flame shoots out of the Ladder of Progress!
"I don't actually /plan/ on squishing him", Hope says, directing her words at Rose. "But if he... EEK!" She gives a cry of surprise as she spots, having been facing just the right way, the flame spitting out of the Ladder thingie. "Is that supposed to do that?", she asks, pointing her purse at that display.
Julian quirks an eyebrow at Troy. "You did the math on the friction on those things, right?"
Toby nods to the others. "It shouldn't be a big deal, and with all the other booze..." he pauses, glancing at the ladder. "Uhm, was it supposed to do that? Cause I'm still smelling something flammable... someone want to take a look at that, or is something else going to go flamethrower on us now? I'm positive I smell non-drinking alcohol though, yes."
Marcus starts stepping back from the purse snatcher. "Well, it looks like this guy's pretty well under control, right? I think I need to step outside for a second, get some fresh air. It smells kinda funny in here, you know?" With that, he starts to slink off toward the open air, looking around for somewhere inconspicuous.
Troy is now shutting down everything he can get at, shoving through increasingly worried guests. "Okay, the Ladder's not even designed for pyro in the first place."
From afar, Marcus is gonna head toward the outside and look for a place
where he can hide, like an alley or something, if there is one?
You paged Marcus with 'Plenty of alley space. And the sun is starting to
go down, so long shadows as well.'
Julian sets down her drink and lazily goes about helping Troy with the turning off of anything moving. She doesn't seem particularly alarmed, though she's careful around the devices as she reaches out to turn them off.
Shannon takes in a sharper breath at the next gout of flame, staring toward the newly flaming sculpture, and taking a few steps back from it. From any of the active exhibits, as a matter of fact. "I think I'm starting to see why I keep to non-mechanized work."
Myron seems concerned, and is talking to the bartender in hushed tones. The bartender has a look of confused innocence.
Well, she's in auto-rapid fire camera mode now. Tina's snapping shots of everyone and everything. If something goes ga-ga here, investigators might want images of -everything-. So she's pressing that button quite fast while her eyes flit about from face to face, from exhibit to exhibit. She notes Marcus's departure, and snaps a shot of it, but then she shakes her head, "Fire is bad around art, or am I mistaken?" she asks.
Rose looks over to the devices. "... sabotage?", she muses simply, walking towards them. She looks in either direction for a moment, and bites her lip for a moment. "There isn't any electronics in these things, I presume? I guess it's heresy to even suggest, but my paranoia is a bit deep at the moment."
Troy steps over to Tina. "Well, most of this is metal, with only a little wood or leather. It's pretty fireproof, especially my stuff...has to be, what with the coal-fired powerplants in some of them. There's also the occasional electrical arc, but I can't figure out what's actually causing flame. I'm not seeing any leaks of fuel on the kerosene-burners."
Julian looks up from studying a giant mechanized steam beetle, in search of its equivlant of an off switch. She glances back at Tina. "Usually, but all this stuff is metal, so it's gonna hold up pretty well if this whole place goes up. Better than we will, anyway." She flashes a quick, ironic grin.
Myron starts gesturing to the milling crowd. "Could everyone please step outside for some fresh air? I think some of the exhibits need to be checked over...no worry, none of them are dangerous, but something may have been damaged, and I'd rather not exacerbate the situation." Grumbling and nervous, most of the people acquiesce, heading out into the street. Streetlights are starting to flicker on down the block, moving slowly towards the ones out front.
Toby nods, still looking around fruitlessly. "Does one of the science types want to give me a hand here? If you were trying to sabotage this, for no readily apparent reason, what would be the absolute worst place to put some kind of alcohol fired pyro? This really isn't my strong point, and the smell is just kinda lingering.... the sculpture may be fireproof. Pretty sure I'm... oh, uhm... I suppose." he responds to Myron, taking his time, trying to solve the mystery before he's shooed out.
Marcus mentions just before stepping out the door aloud, "I think that whatever it is is coming from above, 'cause it's not really windy in here... anyway, I'll be back in in a second." That said, he steps out into the dusk, and starts circling toward one of the alleys outside of the building, trying to remain inconspicuous as he can manage.
You paged Marcus with 'There's a guy on the roof with what looks like an
industrial fogger/sprayer.'
Julian seems to feel that Myron's words apply to Other People. She ambles over to where Troy studies his work. "You mind if I take a look?"
Hope remains where she is, keeping the would-be thief pinned down with her foot.
Troy nods to Julian. "Go for it. You know, I think I can smell that rubbing alcohol everyone's talking about...might just be the power of suggestion, though."
A yelp can be heard from the rooftop, even over the general crowd noise.
Toby shrugs. "No one was talking about it but me. I could be delusional, but I tend to notice these things. Maybe just being the only one not drinking or messing with mechanical stuff..." He pauses, starting outside. "Please tell me I'm not also the only one who heard that?"
Shannon makes her way out as the others are guided too. Though all the same, she's listening around, and as she reaches the doorway hears that yelp. "It....wasn't just you."
Hope looks up. "Uhm... I heard that, too", she confirms.
Rose looks rather unworried, as close as she is, but one might have gotten a general impression of unfazeability at this point. She does step away, though, and then slowly follows the others out. "This is all very strange. You're sure you shouldn't involve the police?", she asks of Myron, lingering for a moment. She then looks up, and adds, "Absolutely sure?"
Myron hrms at Rose. "Oh, the police are already on their way, from the pickpocket...say, what's that?
From the rooftop, a man shouts, "Get away from me, demon! I'm trying to protect the public!"
Julian glances up at the sound of the yelp. And the screaming. 'Demon?' she mouths.
Toby presses his hand to his face in exhasperation. "That... can't be good." he adds, stepping outside and waiting to see if anyone else is going to handle this, as often happens with shouting, before he tries to disappear, which would be hard with all the attention he's drawn to himself already, or else draws more attention to himself, potentially also bad. Just in case, he also keeps an eye out for the pickpocket, should he try to escape in the confusion. Can't have that.
Tina shakes her head, "Hey, I've no idea where I'd do anything to cause any problems with any of this.." she shakes her head and stands up fully to tuck her camera away and back away from most everyone.
Those looking up (which is by now most everyone) see a man on the roof, leaning back as if trying to keep away from someone. The setting sun makes him VERY visible. He's wearing one of those anti-infection masks people wear whenever there's a disease outbreak.
"Demon?" Now that gets Shannon's full attention there, and she, at least by the show she makes, edges right back from the doorway again, not so much liking the sound of that. Though does she really need to head all the way over there toward the ladies' room instead? Then again, that is some sort of cover.
Something long and dark violet snakes past the man on the roof, just missing him, casting a long shadow down on the ground below.
<OOC> Julian says, "Okay, gotta go. Julian will hang out on the
sidelines."
Julian has disconnected.
Rose walks outside, and looks up. "Why. Hello, I- oh my.", she says, starting to raise a hand to wave to the man and then quickly halting with the sight before her. She then adds. "- I should go.", she adds, starting to march away with haste.
Another streetlight comes on, maybe a block away. A brief halo of fire surrounds it, and it goes dark!
Hope crouches, pulling her foot away as she grabs a handful of the back of the purse-thief's shirt. "Come on outside with me... don't wantcha to get burnt if this place goes up or something", she says. "Nuh-uh!", she says, as he tries to stand, shoving down between his shoulderblades. "Crawl on all fours, or I'm gonna kick ya so hard I hafta drag you out!", she says. Obligingly, the man crawls. Once theyr'e outside, Hope shoves him down flat onto his belly on the sidewalk and resumes her 'foot pin' on him to wait for the cops... she eventually leaves, too, after handing over the knife she took form the thief and after giving her statement to the cops.
<OOC> Hope poofs out. thanks for the RP, y'all.
Hope has disconnected.
Toby glances about, noticing the odd spectacles, and looking for an opportunity to disappear into an alley or the like himself, not having noticed any super heroes on the scene just yet.
Eyes flickering upwards, Tina raises a single brow, "Now there's something y'don't see every... well... right." that said, she steps aside, using one of the larger art displays for a bit of minimal cover as she rolls her neck. Making sure nobody's looking her way... which is rather easy with everyone looking up that is.. she crackles with energy, clothes, flesh, even -measurements- changing into a form she feels prettier in. Her hair flashes to blonde, and her brown eyes become emerald green. The costume rather than the jacket, and all that. Granted, she left her laptop bag and camera tucked back there, but she's ready for whatever now... and with that, she's lifting off the ground towards the ceiling to get a better look. Last demon she ran into gave her a cut on the tummy. It's healed and there's really no scar to speak of, but she's not fond of magic cutting bladey thingees.
Shannon doesn't need much time alone from there, just -some- time. Into the restroom, and fortunately most attention isn't there. Then a moment to change, and a slice of a portal in the air: soon it's the great demon Pazuzu, as she has identified herself, streaking out of a violet-edged rip in the sky and down toward the rooftop from above.
There's another cry from the roof, as indigo limbs wrap around the man on edge. "Don't you understand!? Plan B's going to unleashe plague, I'm SANITIZING the city!"
Toby doesn't need but a moment. As soon as he has cover from prying eyes, there's a flicker of movement, and suddenly a black and white streak is racing up the nearest wall, across the building tops, down, then up onto the rooftop in question to try and get a better idea what's going on as Fast Forward. "Uhm, not such a good idea there, pal."
Rose steps into a small, enclosed bus stop, and... into another world, shifting into her heroic persona. And then, atop the rooftop, Dreamweaver walks out, looking at her nails. "Stop.", she says simply. "Please." There's an irritated, insincere note to the plea. "That uppity calculator will manage nothing of the sort."
Those on the roof see what appears to be an industrial fogger, and the smell of rubbing alcohol is unmistakable up there. Clearly, it's what the fogger is full of.
"Sanitize the city?" Pazuzu comes to a halt to the side of, and floating a bit above, the edge of the roof, and gives the fogger a dubious look. "It smells horrible. Wouldn't something to kill all the disease in the city also work to kill all of the humans here anyway?"
"Plan B's nothing but a smokescreen anyway.." mutters Dynama as she shakes her head. She zips around and up onto the roof where she eyes the fogger machine. "That thing's dangerous to anyone who needs to breathe.. anyone object if I turn it off?" she asks, heading over towards the machine... drifting more like.
Fast Forward shakes his head. "I don't think he wanted to kill everyone... just kill the germs... with rubbing alcohol. Only problem is anyone with open flame. Anyway, can see I'm not needed here." he adds, stepping back. "Wait, smokescreen?"
Standing on the roof is a hulking purple monstrosity, holding an outstretched clawed hand toward the man with the fogger. From its palm a large, violet tentacle is stretched across the rooftop toward the man, wrapped around his torso tightly. The creature remains wordless, but turns its gaze slowly around as the others arrive.
Dynama jerks a thumb towards the purple thing as she eyes the machine and then reaches to press the off switch. "So, anyone know who large and tentacly is?" she asks before looking towards Toby with a shrug, "Tactically speaking, the most likely scenario with Plan B is that it's all a Con job designed to make all us heroes look one way, while the real criminals are doing things in the other direction. A large scale feint is what it seems to be."
"Turn it off.", Dreamweaver states simply, looking up to Pazuzu for a moment curiously before returning her attention to the man. "Really. You'd think-" She looks to the purple monster. "Do let him go. I don't think he can really hurt us. Offend our sense of smell, maybe." She rubs her cheek and sighs. "Rubbing alcohol. Really now."
The "mastermind" squirms. "That's just what Plan B WANTS you to think, so we'll all be caught with our pants down when the plagues come! Turn my machine back on, I'm not done cleaning the neighborhood!" Then his mask works loose a bit and he starts to panic, trying to get it back over his mouth and nose while his arms are pinned.
"It looks like a demon." Pazuzu, it might be noted, does not seem to match her own standards for demonic appearance. All the same, she gives a curious look toward the creature, her staff swept slowly out toward her side. "I think he would need more alcohol to affect the city, but this is enough to do some damage."
Fortunately, even vaporized, rubbing alcohol isn't THAT volatile, and the little bursts of flame quickly die down. The evening breeze off the ocean is finally kicking up as well, which helps.
Fast Forward looks dubious. "No idea, but since he just grabbed the guy instead of biting his head off, and hasn't attacked you and tried to climb to the top of the local skyscrapers, I figured he was some manifestation of someone's powers. You never know in this city. As for Plan B, I've come to understand he's a pretty significant threat all on his own, and they're using some pretty huge resources for a feint."
Dynama shrugs, "It just seems to straightforward to be -real- is all I'm saying FF." she remarks, looking towards Fast Forward. "I mean... which is more of a stretch, that an AI is planning to erradicate all life? Or that someone wants us to think that so they can do whatever they like?"
+- Short Descriptions -------------------------------------------------------+
Fast Forward (1m): A teen hero in mostly form fitting black and white Troy (0s): Tall, dark-haired, wearing stained denim coveralls, a t-shirt, heavy boots, and possibly welding goggles. Eldritch (2m): A nightmarish violet humanoid sporting tentacles and claws. Dreamweaver (4m): A young, beautiful woman in eccentric shades of black and silver. Dynama (21s): Strawberry Blonde Caped Superhero Pazuzu (1m): White-clad self-called demon.
+------------------------------------------------------------- End: +glance -+
The purple creature turns its gaze to Dreamweaver, then to Pazuzu and finally Fast Forward. Then, suddenly it snaps forward until it's standing right over the masked man, as if reeled in by a line, and retracts the tentacle wrapped around his throat, though he remain looming silently over the man.
Meanwhile, down below, Myron, Troy and Julian work at calming the crowd down, now that the immediate danger seems to have passed. The police have arrived at this point, but are distracted by Hope's delivery of the cutpurse.
Dreamweaver says, "Really, now. What gives you such insight into Plan B's workings?", she says, rolling her eyes. "I know you want to be a great savior, but there's simpler things you can do to help people." She looks over to Fast Forward. "It is quite the threat. But. There are plans."
Meanwhile, the man behind the alcohol fogger finds that his legs can't really keep him standing anymore. Bemused at this revelation, he collapses like a sack of flour, passing out.
Fast Forward nods as the creature releases the guy, once the device is turned off. "See? Not so bad. Geez... I'm getting seriously jaded here... but anyway, if I didn't know Spectrum so well, I might think so too." A nod to Dreamweaver. "Yeah, I'm in on some of the plans and helping out. Just stopping in briefly before heading to the next destination in my little tour as part of said plan. Would love to know what else is going on, but maybe some other time."
"I suppose his ability for harm is small, but it is greater than his sense. Dangerous in a time when someone can easily come upon the means for destruction." Pazuzu seems calm enough. "If I knew so many others would respond here, I would not have bothered."
The police have put the cutpurse in the back of the squad car by now, and some of the bystanders are pointing them up to the roof. At the moment, no one is visible from the ground, though.
Dynama rolls her green eyes as Pazuzu says that last part, "Tell me about it." she mutters, off like a shot then as she works to get back inside to where she can change back and snap some pictures of various metahumans who did respond.
There's a clanking sound audible on the rooftop, it sounds like someone's coming up the fire escape. Someone police-like.
Dreamweaver nods to Fast Forward. "Here's hoping. I find myself with more of a personal stake in all this than I might have imagined..." She then looks up to Pazuzu. "Mm. Quite. Well, best to have the company in moments like this." She adds to Dynama. "A bit embarassing to deal with this nonsense on one's own, yes? Best to share it." She smiles a little, and then looks to the man. "Should be turn him over to the police, then?"
Fast Forward gestures to the passed out man. "Someone want to take him down to the cops, or shall I try and figure out how to carry him? Don't know how everyone here is with the cops and all, and don't want to take credit where it isn't due." A glance at Dreamweaver. "Yeah, know the feeling. Anyway, yeah... who wants to deal with the questions?"
"I suppose better too many than too few." Pazuzu gives a look aside toward the arriving police. "I would rather not speak on it, as I had no real part in this."
"...I dunno, someone said something about a demon. Better keep the guns out..." can be heard from the figures coming up the fire escape.
The creature begins to slink back away from the man previously armed with the fogger as the sounds of sirens start to reach the rooftop. It shakes its head somewhat at the mention of the police as its clawed feet click along the rooftop. Then, it turns a hand toward another nearby rooftop, which suddenly stretches immensely to reach for a ledge to latch onto.
Tina has retrieved her gear... and made her way out to the street, making sure her computer and phone are fully charged up along the way. Then she aims upwards to try to get a shot or two of the 'demon' and the other metahumans if she can. "Excuse me... any idea what happened up there?" she asks one of the officers if she can find any.
Fast Forward sighs. "Right, I got it." he responds, doing his best to scoop the man up so he can carry him down to the cops, yelling down, "No demons, that was just a rumor. The perp and I are coming down. He seems to have breathed too many of his own fumes, ought to be an easy ride back to the station with this one."
At ground level, another squad car has arrived, answering calls about the strange flames, and people are being dispersed. "Not sure, miss," one tells Tina. "We aim to find out."
"Very well. Thank you." Pazuzu nods to Fast Forward, and then she's off in a flash again, shooting off across the sky.
Dreamweaver smiles. "Thank you. Quite courteous of you. As for myself, well... I'm trying to keep my public exposure to a minimum at the moment. Good day, officers." With that, Dreamweaver steps back - and vanishes entirely, slipping into thin air rather suddenly.
The police seem relieved that it's just a kid in costume, not a demon, although one seems unwilling to discount the possibility that Fast Forward can turn into a demon. The unconscious Sanitizer is helped down the fire escape and taken into the back of the second squad car.
[GRPComm] Troy says, "For the record...last week as a hazard of water
and earth (sinkhole), this week is fire and air. ;) Themes!"
Just shaking her head, Tina is snapping shots and asking reporter-ish questions. She was here for the other story, but this one might just get a few more readers. She makes certain to get a good shot of Fast Forward of course.
Fast Forward is well enough known in town for anyone into baseball. The park has been playing that video on the big board now and then, so hopefully one of the officers is a fan. He brings the guy down as non-awkwardly as he can manage, dropping the guy and his gear directly down the wall to them, happy enough to be the one to take the attention. "He was shouting incoherently, the gear is full of rubbing alcohol... trying to sanitize the city. Then he passed out."
Pazuzu is off and out of sight by then, rushing off in her flight.
The purple demonoid by this point has travelled hundreds or thousands of feet away, stretching and snapping to like a demonic... uhh... slinky, for lack of a better comparison. It's fleeing the scene at a pretty quick rate, looking for a place to drop down out of sight completely.
The squad cars eventually drive off, and slowly the evening returns to normal. Or as normal as Edgerton Hills ever gets....
LOG ENDS
