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  1. - Top - End - #361
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Arkhosia's Avatar

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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Five Six Seven Oh Nine

    Caelynn picks up as usual, and there's an almost audible blink. "well, uh, that's quite the way to open things," she jokes a tad nervously, "but, uh, yeah, I'm all done for the day. What's bothering you?" Depending on how good Magtok's audio is, he might be able to tell that she may have just flipped the open/closed sign as she said that. Probably not though, I doubt analyzing every aspect of what he's hearing is his main focus at the moment.
    "Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not, we never are. But that's not the right question. The question is: are we living a life that is worth the harm?"
    ~Welcome to Night Vale

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    Quote Originally Posted by SliiArhem
    Arkh I may be slightly delirious but I don't think that would make sense even if I was coherent.

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  2. - Top - End - #362
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Lord Magtok's Avatar

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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Living Room

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    Quote Originally Posted by Murkus View Post
    [Living Room]

    "Pfft, dude, you're losing it. Didn't you almost get murdered earlier or something? Maybe the shock is messing with your brain. Love the way you talk, but for real," Fettina folds her arms over her belly. She's too busy looking at the TV to catch any looks, but she seems amused. "Besides, your revenge sounds pretty weak, if that's all you've got to hold me back. I've been joined in less than legal matrimony with less savory inanimate objects than that, if you catch my drift," she gives him a sidelong wink, still too busy vegging out to glance at him.


    "Okay firstly, I've been actually murdered before. Almost murdered is a joke," he answers, before making a face at her matrimony remarks. Degeneracy, harlotry, thotastic nymphomania. He's briefly reminded of the cat's female clone(s), but worse. Angels are always like this in the Nexus, aren't they? Every single one of them runs the local department store's curtain exchange and returns department. Ithuriel, Tina, that one person whose name we forgot, Haruki...no wait, Haruki is happily married now or something, isn't he? Shoot, there goes our entire theory.

    "Secondly, what the heck is a Baby Weno? Is it like a tiny clone of Wenomir? His weird, cursed child? Who would clone or have a kid with Wenomir anyway, and why were all those mercs dedicated to protecting it with their lives?" Maybe if you just shut up and watch the show you'll find out, Magtok.


    Five Six Seven Oh Nine

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkhosia View Post
    Five Six Seven Oh Nine

    Caelynn picks up as usual, and there's an almost audible blink. "well, uh, that's quite the way to open things," she jokes a tad nervously, "but, uh, yeah, I'm all done for the day. What's bothering you?" Depending on how good Magtok's audio is, he might be able to tell that she may have just flipped the open/closed sign as she said that. Probably not though, I doubt analyzing every aspect of what he's hearing is his main focus at the moment.


    "I went to the Thanksmas party. Y'know, just to get it over with, right? A quick two-second public appearance and then back home before Dipsnig's wolves find me," Magtok begins his story, wiping one abandoned cloning vat with his hand as he passes by. The amount of dust that comes off is absolutely terrifying, and he hastily steps away before he inhales any of that and goes into a miserable coughing fit.

    "A purple-haired catgirl named Marin comes up to me to say hi, and to thank me for keeping her employed and alive all these years. I didn't know the Magbot-owned Riverside MagMart even had a catgirl on the payroll, and before I can even begin to try to say anything, the databanks in my head helpfully dig up and play back a bunch of old memories from the Catpeople War. Marin and Elly stranded in the MagMart as the war rages outside, recorded on the store's security footage. The woman I'd eventually fall in love with and carve my proposal into the face of the moon for, her body intertwined with this stranger. It was...I still don't know how to feel about that, since I didn't even really know her back then. Also means I saw Marin naked before she even finished introducing herself to me, which isn't really how first impressions are supposed to go," Magtok shakes his head. Honestly, it's nothing short of a miracle that he got through that entire conversation with most of his dignity intact. Speaking of miracles, holy crap, is that a live MagClone still sitting in that vat he just dusted off? Has there really been a clone in stasis this whole time?! He hurries back over for a closer look, to-

    ...oh, never mind, it's a ReinClone. A dead one at that. Eww. We'll have to flush that vat out later, and make a promise to ourselves to stop cloning non-Magtoks. It's never ended well for us, not even once.

    "So long story short, she's a talented, self-taught mechanic in a bad place financially right now, she probably has a thing for me, and I offered her an interview this Saturday. I think you'd like her, it would help a lot if I could delegate some of the MagCave repairs to someone else, and I've seen her in the throes of passion with another catgirl. I've gotten myself into a horrible dramatic mess again, and I don't even know where to begin with resolving it in a way that doesn't make everyone hate me."
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  3. - Top - End - #363
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    [Living Room]

    "Actually murdered? What's that like?" Fettina asks him. She eyes the TV. "...I don't even know who Wenomir is. I'm not catching half of these references. Is there like, another series or a prequel movie I'm missing out on?" Seems they're both bad about talking during the programme.
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  4. - Top - End - #364
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Living Room

    Magtok shrugs. "It's usually pretty unpleasant. It really all depends on how thorough the person killing you is, which is usually not very. People who want others dead badly enough to murder them typically don't care about ethically minimizing the pain and suffering involved. Even being shot in the head is super inconsistent; sometimes you'll get lucky and lose consciousness instantly and never feel a thing until you're uploaded into a new body, but other times you'll lapse in and out of consciousness and nobody will know until you stagger up off the floor hours later, complaining about a terrible headache and all the weird, dried up tomato sauce all over your face."

    Imagine how awful and macabre most action movies would be, if all the villain's seemingly dead henchmen just woke up in the hospital a few weeks later in the epilogue, some of them permanently handicapped by their wounds, others managing to get by with little more than a few surgical scars to show for it.


    "Getting set on fire is the worst, though. You see this mercenary guy getting roasted onscreen? Nobody's dying a more painful death than him. There's a reason Hell is all fire and brimstone, and that's because burns hurt. You never want to get burned to death, and if you're using fire to fight people and it's not like, instant disintegration lasers or magical holy flames of justice or something, you really need to stop and think about why you're doing that because you're probably committing a war crime."
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  5. - Top - End - #365
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    Arkhosia's Avatar

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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Five Six Seven Oh Nine

    There's a long, tense, one or two-second pause before Magtok receives a reply. Plenty of time for him to fret over how badly he just screwed up, to brace for a scathing rebuke, to start devising another apology or harebrained solution - only to be met with an amused little giggle.

    "Jeez dear, you can never just meet a new person, can you?" She teases. "Sorry, uh, that must have been horribly awkward. But, er, I don't think I see what's got you so worried? I mean, it sounds like you think she's qualified, and it's not like you're hiring her to try and get another glance of her, right?" Caelynn pauses for a second as a thought occurs.

    "Hold on a second, er, how much of what you see gets backed up to those databanks of yours?"
    "Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not, we never are. But that's not the right question. The question is: are we living a life that is worth the harm?"
    ~Welcome to Night Vale

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    Quote Originally Posted by SliiArhem
    Arkh I may be slightly delirious but I don't think that would make sense even if I was coherent.

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  6. - Top - End - #366
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Lord Magtok's Avatar

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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Five Six Seven Oh Nine

    Magtok has to stop to clear his throat. This is going to take some careful word selection, a lot of care and precision and caution to avoid saying something absolutely stupid and/or open to misinterpretation. Okay...are we ready? Alright, let's do this thing.

    "Well, the primary data center is up in space. I've been unplugged from the other clones since I came back to the Nexus, and because not everything or everyone I've done has met with official MagFleet approval, I probably won't be getting plugged back in to add my share of life experiences and personal history and stuff to the big super memory computer later. But usually, yes, everything would be saved and every Magtok would have access to everything all the other Magtoks know. If I were a MagClone in good standing obeying all of the rules, all another clone would have to do is look at you and instantly remember that time you got called in for a trauma at three am and had to get dressed in the backseat while I broke every speed limit rushing to your clinic, trying my damnedest not to take my eyes off the road and check you out in the rearview mirror," Magtok explains, before pausing to stare at his own reflection in one of the cloning tanks. That's right, take a good look at yourself, you rotten creature. You deplorable little tin man, you miserable little wretch. Is this the face of the guy who's going to try to betray all of those memories, all that fun and happiness and love found in Caelynn's arms, who's going to jeopardize everything just to try to set up some stupid catgirl harem situation with some purple-haired engineer we barely even know, who's not really any prettier than the catgirl we already have? Magtok sighs and shakes his head.

    "...Caelynn, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm pretty sure Marin is attracted to me. Also, an incredibly stupid part of my brain keeps shouting 'Catgirl harem!' and I can't seem to figure out how to shut it up. It's a stupid adolescent fantasy, it'd damage what is easily the healthiest relationship I think I've ever had, and we still haven't figured out how we're going to make things work with the funerary goddess, but my brain just won't shut up about it. I went down to the cloning vats, to see if it'd be possible to clone up another Magtok just so he could do the job interview in my place, because I don't trust myself at all, and yes, believe it or not, somehow this seemed like the smartest solution until I got on the phone with you and explained myself. I am so ****ing stupid, Caelynn."
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  7. - Top - End - #367
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    [Living Room]

    "I can confidently say I've never set anybody on fire, and I hope to keep it that way. I'm more of a pacifist myself. I did shoot a couple people with a raygun once though. That was... kinda messed up. They were trying to kill me, but... I dunno." Fettina shrugs. She really never knew how to felt about that. They died 'cleanly' via disintegration, just 'poof', turned to dust. Fettina knows she's supposed to feel bad about that kind of thing, should probably have been pretty shell-shocked at the time, but... It just never hit her like it hits some people. Was there something wrong with her? Is she just a damaged person? Maybe it's just not worth guessing at.

    "So you've got an electronic brain too, huh? You get transferred to a new body if this one goes kaput?" Fettina stares at the screen. "It's kind of funny, guy like that needing bodyguards. I used to be like that too. But now with this whole angel thing, I don't know if it would even work any more. I'm bulletproof but I'm actually worse off! How's that for irony?"
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    "If you meet a spirit walking,
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  8. - Top - End - #368
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    [Courtyard Visitation]

    Despite the unnaturally wintry weather, a glossy gray automobile rises up the hill, black smoke spewing just behind. The vintage vehicle is elegantly designed, its curvaceous form complete with a polished silver sheen which causes its chrome panelings to sparkle in the light. The designer car swerves slightly, tossing dirt about, its engine purring, before coming to a stop about sixty feet away from the ruined cave. The engine runs for a moment or so before finally dying, bright headlights dimming. The driverside door opens wide, and a man, easily six or seven feet tall, exits the automobile.

    His body is massive, with broad shoulders which seem to stretch on eternally in either direction. A barrel chest is hidden beneath a comfortable black turtleneck, and the rest of his figure is accentuated by an exquisitely tailored pinstriped suit. A platinum-colored pocket square adds a dash of color to the dark gray material he has draped himself in, while metallic buttons and cuff links flash and sparkle in the light of day. The man's broad back is obscured entirely by a massive fur overcoat worn as a cloak. The black fur is dark as night, with gray tufts serving to accentuate the sleeves.

    A number of platinum pins depicting all manner of mythological creature rest upon the overcoat's oversized lapel. A cane is held by its middle in one massive hand, its glossy ebonwood shimmering. The head of the cane is crafted entirely of the finest platinum and appears to depict a trio of snarling wolf heads. A thick, black mustache obscures the man's upper lip, and his graying hair has been clipped short and styled back so as to proudly display a somewhat aged, but masculine face. Angular cheekbones descend down into a chiseled chin, and thick brows rest over darkened, slightly sunken eyes.

    After shutting the car door behind him and ensuring it was locked, he strides closer to the Magcave, entirely relaxed.

    "..."

    --

    Spoiler: Man/Car
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  9. - Top - End - #369
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Living Room

    Quote Originally Posted by Tina View Post
    "So you've got an electronic brain too, huh? You get transferred to a new body if this one goes kaput?" Fettina stares at the screen. "It's kind of funny, guy like that needing bodyguards. I used to be like that too. But now with this whole angel thing, I don't know if it would even work any more. I'm bulletproof but I'm actually worse off! How's that for irony?"
    "I was being transferred to a new body. That whole system fell apart for reasons I probably shouldn't go into, though," Mag frowns. It's not that Fettina seems like someone who would deliberately blab about this weakness to his enemies. Magtok doesn't think that little of her. She just...I mean, she'll probably say something to Dena, right? And what's stopping Dena from telling the whole world, huh? Better to just not mention the whole MagClone civil war business or any of our other dirty laundry, if we can avoid it.

    "That's actually why I'm back in the Nexus, it's my official MagCorp mission. I've got to dig through all the deathtraps and doom and abandoned lab experiments below us, the stuff I abandoned here a few years ago. I've got to fight all the way to the very core of this place, reactivate the cloning vats, and copy-paste the designs back to the other clones waiting in orbit. It's a very prestigious mission and I'm honored to have received it. Nobody else gets to risk their life like that, just me. That's why I'm running around downstairs right now, losing a fight to a three-headed triceratops, instead of taking it easy and watching TV." Magtok explains, even though he's very obviously not having his chest gouged by a late Cretaceous animal's massive horns, and in fact is facing no mortal peril at all.


    Courtyard Visitation

    Something smells outside.

    Smells like money.

    Andrew Carnegie money. JD Rockefeller money. Maybe even Henry Ford, that kind of money.

    A security camera zooms in. Someone within the cavern squints at that vintage automobile, at the vintage man who stepped out of it. The cyborg feels a pang of self-consciousness just from looking at the guy. We were wealthy once, powerful, perhaps even the most wealthy and powerful man in the entire Nexus, but even at our peak, we didn't ooze the kind of invincibility that this terrifyingly confident animal does. This...this thing, it sets off almost all of the tin man's neuroses at once. Who is he, why is he here, why didn't he call ahead so we'd at least have time to sweep the foyer first?! How ****ing dare he convey such strength and power in our realm, make us feel a lesser being with his chiseled chin and his absurd height and stupidly large hands? We used to kill gods for things like that, you know.

    We still could, if we wanted to.

    "Hey. You have business with me?" asks the cyborg curtly, with unease and distaste knitting his brows together. It might be hard to tell it's him when he steps out from behind the front door; he's buried somewhere beneath several layers of undershirts, robes, coats, and a blanket, shivering hands clinging desperately to a steaming mug of hot cocoa. Trouble with the MagCave's heating system, you see. Usually the inclement weather would've died down by now. The Nexus is usually pretty good about jumping headfirst into a springtime aesthetic the very second the Thanksmas thread is over, so Mag believed he had much, much more time to get everything operational before the snowflakes started piling up outside his lair.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  10. - Top - End - #370
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Hattish Thing's Avatar

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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    [Courtyard Visitation]

    The large, well-dressed man wades forward through the ruined courtyard with ease, his exquisite fur overcoat dragging across the snow which blankets the cobblestones below. Rather than walk with the assistance of his ebonwood cane, the man carries it within a gloved hand as one would a baton. He does not falter in his graceful march across the grounds, though he does offer a fatherly half-wave as well as a warm but painfully professional smile. He nods in acknowledge as he grins, his bright white teeth sparkling in the light as perfect white rows. As he draws closer, his expensive cologne is caught upon the cold wind.

    Once he's within arm's reach of the cyborg, the man will set his cane down upon the snowy ground. Miraculously, the cane remains upright of its own accord. Now free to clasp his gloved hands together, the man proceeds to remove one of his cashmere-lined leather gloves, placing it comfortably within the confines of his pin-striped suitcoat. Though he's focused upon his gloves, his eyes flash towards the cyborg every few seconds. He breathes in as he pulls at each individual finger, speaking as he exhales. His low voice sounds as the earth itself would, his rumbling tones filling all space available. "That I do, young man."

    Still smiling, the enormous man now offers his bare, outstretched hand. "Allow me to introduce myself." Should Magtok shake his hand, the towering man will retract it afterwards and casually set it within his pant's pocket, his arm angled in as aesthetic a way as possible. He offers a good-natured chuckle as he does so. "Got quite the handshake, there." As he continues, the man's tone becomes a little more serious. "I own a number of enterprises which all fall under the Olympian Extractions title, and of late, I've been concerned about the possibility of falling behind technologically, security-wise."

    "In my eyes, it's clear that modernization has become a necessity, and from what I've heard, you're the guy when it comes to that sort of thing."
    The well-dressed man chuckles once again, dragging upon his fine cigarette. "Let's just say I was mighty impressed with what my people dug up 'bout you, son." Dark, sparkling smoke gushes forth from between the man's full lips, slowly dissipating as he continues. "I'm a big fan! Big fan."
    Last edited by Hattish Thing; 2020-03-12 at 04:24 AM.

  11. - Top - End - #371
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    [Living Room]

    Tina doesn't go pushing him on it. It doesn't seem like she's overly concerned about his system. "Well, shoot," she says, "How close are 'you' to getting back in there? Kinda messed up, leaving yourself to die, ey? Maybe we should go help." She shrugs. "I'm here. And I'm like, mostly immune to things like angry triceratops." She wrinkles her nose. "I think. I mean, I've had lasers bounce off me."

    "For real, you should go looking for an assist. You oughta have some powerful friends."
    My avatar was done by Gullara. Thanks again!

    "If you meet a spirit walking,
    Incline your head.
    Do not meet their gaze.
    Do not follow after."

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  12. - Top - End - #372
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Courtyard Visitation

    Quote Originally Posted by Raubritter View Post
    "Let's just say I was mighty impressed with what my people dug up 'bout you, son. I'm a big fan! Big fan."
    "That's...good to hear, I suppose," Magtok frowns, unsure exactly what that means, and how much of his old PR machinations and propaganda still remains. Is he known for his messy and stupid deathmatch with Zeus? For MagMart and the entire MagCorp system's economical impact upon the Nexus? For being a lunatic terrorist in a dirty cave, building death machines and godless abominations of science for his own amusement? All of the above? What do people see when they look up the name Magtok, and how much of it is positive? How much of the positive press is for stuff we've not become ashamed of in our eye-opening time away from this world?

    "Security, then. I imagine I'd have to have a look at the enterprises, identify your problem areas, determine what you need and where."


    Living Rom

    Magtok shrugs. There's a flicker of something dark in his eyes when she says

    Quote Originally Posted by Tina View Post
    "You oughta have some powerful friends."
    -but it passes quickly enough. The war with Excelsior was a long time ago, and it wasn't as though no one came to his aid. Just...just a whole lot less than he'd been expecting. You can't count on heroes to risk their lives protecting the lesser evil; not when it's so much easier to stand back and wait for a winner to limp out of the arena.

    "Well, MERC's keeping anything from down below from wandering up here, and I sorted out a deal with some rogue clones so they'd do weekly expeditions into the danger zones."

    There's a moment's pause, as Magtok realizes he's disclosed yet another important clone secret he's supposed to be keeping under wraps. Dammit, we really are the worst in the world at keeping secrets, aren't we?

    "Oh right, there's rogue clones, that's a thing. I don't really want to get into that, it's a big mess. Maybe even a bigger mess than the one downstairs. Anyway, my point is, I do have some people, and the labs can wait. Being back in the Nexus is nice, and I'm in no big hurry to get that situation resolved and be put on another death-defying mission of doom."
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  13. - Top - End - #373
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Courtyard Visitation

    The tall, well-dressed man nods in a satisfied sort of way as the cyborg responds. He appeared at least somewhat open to the possibility of a commission, which was excellent news. Pleased as he is by this, he does, however, notice the smaller figure's frown. With pursed lips and a slightly raised brow, he speaks in a comforting tone. "Why the frown, young man? I've nothing but admiration for what you've done with this world." He chuckles a little before gesturing in a most enthusiastic way with his hands. "You've accomplished more than most of my own brothers and sisters, and trust me, that's saying something!" He wags a large finger. "Ya got drive. Vision!"

    "Moxie, and all that. Yeah, I'd say you're the real McCoy, son."
    After that bit of encouragement, he exhales and clasps his hands together again. "Anyhow, I can arrange a tour of one my topside refineries at your leisure."

    "Afterwards, perhaps we can discuss terms over good food and drink? I've a private dining car I've been yearning to try out, and I reckon you'd appreciate its charms."
    Last edited by Hattish Thing; 2020-08-01 at 02:18 AM.

  14. - Top - End - #374
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Courtyard Visitation

    That gets Magtok's attention. It's been a while since he's eaten anywhere especially extravagant, and with the Magbots all gone, his options have been limited to what he can cook on his own. Or what Caelynn can cook, when she's around. That means there's been a lot more instant ramen and sandwiches prepared than the cyborg is comfortable admitting. Being temporarily cash-poor sucks when you've been living the high life for almost all of recorded Nexus history.

    "That sounds good to me, sure," he answers, trying to avoid looking too excited at the prospect of someone else paying for his next filet mignon and bottle of overpriced wine. Hell, this guy looks like he could pay for our next five hundred fancy dinners, if we can convince him to go for a really expensive security plan.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  15. - Top - End - #375
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    [Living Room]

    "Hey, that's cool, man. Sometimes you just gotta relax. Being larger than life has gotta be pretty damn exhausting," Fettina comments idly. "So, speaking of... what do you, like, do for fun? Aside from this, I mean. I'm as good with vegetating as anybody, but it isn't always my scene." She grins, showing those silver-white teeth.
    My avatar was done by Gullara. Thanks again!

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  16. - Top - End - #376
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Courtyard Visitation

    "Good, good. Glad to hear it!" With a confident and sensible smile, the finely-dressed man begins to pull his fur-lined glove back over his large hand. As he adjusts the extravagant overcoat which he wears over his shoulders as a cloak, he continues. "You've great things in store for you, son! Provided you do right by me, of course. But, 'course you will! You seem like the sort of man who knows what's good for him, after all." His words are muffled by the cigarette braced between his white teeth. "You wouldn't disappoint me." He grits his teeth against it before his grey eyes flash towards the cyborg. "Gods know, I hate disappointments." He reaches for his ebonwood cane.

    The large man's eyes slant as he makes eye contact with Magtok. It's intense, but over soon. As it fades, he chuckles darkly, and a warm smile appears once more on his face. "You'll want to schedule a tour with my people. Here." With a flourish, he produces a glossy gray business card from within a pocket, passing it along to the cyborg. Vibrant gold lettering laid out in an elegant, modern font upon the card offers a selection of methods in which one might reach the offices of Olympian Extractions. "You'll have to be patient, of course." He chuckles a little here, dragging on his fine cigarette once again. "We're one big, busy family up Skyside." Dark, sparkling smoke gushes forth from between the man's full lips, slowly dissipating as he continues. "Expect a response within or around forty-eight hours, yeah?"

    "Anyhow, see you 'round, son." At that, he'll wave goodbye and return to the vintage automobile parked just outside. Unless called to, the vehicle will vanish down the road.
    Last edited by Hattish Thing; 2020-04-09 at 04:11 AM.

  17. - Top - End - #377
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Quote Originally Posted by Murkus View Post
    [Living Room]

    "Hey, that's cool, man. Sometimes you just gotta relax. Being larger than life has gotta be pretty damn exhausting," Fettina comments idly. "So, speaking of... what do you, like, do for fun? Aside from this, I mean. I'm as good with vegetating as anybody, but it isn't always my scene." She grins, showing those silver-white teeth.
    "Mad science, mostly," the cyborg answers honestly. "Someone's going to make another serious attempt at killing me some day, and I know from experience that I can't count on anyone else to be there to stop them. So...best counter to that is just to have a bunch of ridiculously improbable weapons, dinosaurs, mechs, holograms...just a little bit of everything up my sleeve so I'm ready for anything. I've had some limited success in the field of uploading my brain into expendable robot drones lately," he claims, apparently failing to learn any sort of lesson from the floors of forgotten horrors and crazed scientific abominations below. Well, aside from how to make more of them, maybe.
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    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Magtok View Post
    "Mad science, mostly," the cyborg answers honestly. "Someone's going to make another serious attempt at killing me some day, and I know from experience that I can't count on anyone else to be there to stop them. So...best counter to that is just to have a bunch of ridiculously improbable weapons, dinosaurs, mechs, holograms...just a little bit of everything up my sleeve so I'm ready for anything. I've had some limited success in the field of uploading my brain into expendable robot drones lately," he claims, apparently failing to learn any sort of lesson from the floors of forgotten horrors and crazed scientific abominations below. Well, aside from how to make more of them, maybe.
    "You strike me as somebody who likes music. And you rocked it at the party," Tina says out of the blue. "I mean, the mad science thing too, sure. That was pretty much a given. " She gestures around at the cave. "Were you doing the organ thing at the party with some preprogrammed stuff in your hands and brain, or do you actually play?" She perks up suddenly. "Oh my gosh, do you have another organ here? You gotta, right? This is your villain lair."
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Magglevania: Symphony of the Byte

    Mag shrugs. Most of what he did at that party just involved letting the instrument do all the work on its own, but he can't just admit that to anyone, right? Honesty is only the best policy insofar as it makes it easier to hide your lies later; there's nothing smart about actually telling people the truth ever. Nobody needs to see that behind the curtain, The Great and Terrible Oz is just an old man with a smoke machine.

    "Well I mean, almost everything to do with my brain is pre-programmed, sorta. But yeah, I could play without downloading sheet music for my fingers. Give me one second, and-" Telewarp! Provided Tina has no innate resistance to that sort of thing, the two of them are suddenly in a completely different room, and Tina might have to catch herself or else she's going to fall on the cold tile floor because Magtok didn't bother to account for gravity when he hopped across time and space to relocate them to the Giant Spooky Evil Church Room. You can tell it was designed to be the setpiece for some dramatic action scene, maybe a shootout with that awful talking cat, because real churches don't have ceramic plating on the pews, the baptismal waters typically aren't full of hungry piranhas, and the pipe organ usually is off to the side somewhere instead of front and center at the end of the hall. Also, churches usually are above ground, and don't need large spotlights strategically positioned behind the stained glass windows to create the illusion of sunlight pouring in.

    "I'm assuming you've played more keytars than these sort of gigantic monsters, but footpedals aside, it's basically the same thing. You want to give it a shot? Maybe desecrate these ancient, unhallowed halls and spoil the atmosphere with your best Despacito cover?" he asks, as if he's never done equally horrid covers just for kicks and giggles. I mean, just look at the sheet music he left out from the last time he was down here.
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    [Magglevania: Symphony of the Byte]

    Zoop! Fettina finds herself floating in a sitting position above the tile in the MagCathedral. She promptly plummets, posterior popping the pumice stone. She's made of metal, after all. Property damage tends to be a given if she's falling somewhere.

    She gets up, rubbing her butt. Well this was sure a place. She doesn't get an inkling that it might be for Rein though. She probably just assumes it's yet another corner of the vast complex that serves Magtok's eccentric whims.

    The sight of the organ, at any rate, makes her sigh with delight. "Oh, honey, the keytar is a relatively new thing for me. I got most of my practice on a good old baby grand, and I got a hardlight replica made for it that I usually carry around with me. Almost can't beat the keytar for style points, but nothing beats a grand... or this lovely monster."

    She sticks her fire-hued tongue out at him when he remarks about Despacito. "How about you listen to this, babe."

    She sits down with all the flourish of the masters and plays something suitably cheesy for Magtok instead.
    Last edited by Murkus; 2020-06-05 at 03:32 PM.
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    [At Some Point, Somewhere]

    Magtok gets a call! Caller I.D. says it's from his daughter, Kathy, who's calling in the middle of the day.
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    Default Re: What's Left of the MagCave II: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

    Magglevania II: Aria of Tina

    Magtok finds himself wishing he had a spare Queen costume lying around. Then he could join Tina and sing along and...actually no, never mind. This is fine as is, really. I mean, we can allow someone to play a song without making everything about us, can't we? It would be rude to hijack a performance she's putting on for our personal entertainment. Better to just shut up and let her play.

    "Bravo! Probably the first time in years I've heard Queen from anyone I didn't have to teach it to," Magtok cheers after the performance, throwing in some applause for good measure. That's the worst thing about fantasy bards. Half of them do know Queen, but they play it wrong with dumb fantasy world lyrics, or they insist it was meant to be played on a goddamn lute, rather than Brian May's Red Special guitar. Gods help you if you're trying to find bards who can do all that and replicate Freddie Mercury's vocal performance as well. Eventually Magtok just got frustrated and bored of kidnapping them and forcing them to perform atop a trapdoor suspended over pits of hungry tigerfish, and that's why the performance hall eventually got turned into this faux-church instead.

    At Some Point, Somewhere

    The call gets forwarded to one of Magtok's drone bodies, which is currently in the middle of a very important and unethical science experiment. Of course, given that there's only one Magtok controlling the drones, all this really means is he shoved the call to the first body he could find who wasn't already in a room talking to someone. The one talking to Caelynn can't talk to her and be on the phone right now, the one over there in the Tina scene is busy too, and the one dictating his latest autobiography to a magical quill pen can't stop either, because that pen charges by the hour and we haven't even gotten to the Feiadyne chapter yet!

    "Hey Kathy, what's up?" he asks, currently elbow-deep in the underbelly of a furious, man-sized giant lobster. Sedatives and restraints could only do so much to mollify the gargantuan crustacean, so every now and then he has to jab the thing with another needle to get its ugly scuttling legs to stop swinging at him. He probably wouldn't even dare do this kind of thing if his own human body was at risk, but fortunately we have drones for this sort of thing now! We can stick our hands in all the thoraxes we want without delegating it to an incompetent Magbot or putting a clone in jeopardy, yay!
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
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    [A call over lobster]

    "Oh, well I... uh..." Kathy is uncharacteristically quiet for a moment, and the sound of something like a blender makes noise in the background, "You remember when I asked you not to be the kind of dad that threatens boyfriends with a shotgun or something? I'm kinda calling again to make sure you still don't do that, 'cause I kinda found a guy. I don't know how far it's gonna go, buuuuut..."
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    Father Lobster Knows Best

    "But you want to let me know now, so I don't freak out and do something embarrassing later. Hrm," Magtok frowns, turning his head to peer at the various monitors and readings attached to the massive decapod's nervous system. Everything seems to be going more or less as predicted. He'll probably need to dump another bucket of seawater on this thing in a few moments, but other than that, things seem to be going smoothly. We can begin testing for sapience, and then the CRUSTASTUN phase shortly thereafter.

    "Can I ask how fragile he is? Obviously I shouldn't be making any overt threats, but do I need to tone down my normal behavior to avoid spooking him? Play at being a normal human being, instead of a-Ebirah! Settle down or so help me, I'll fill the bucket with tap water next time!" Magtok yells at his captive, swatting another spindly lobster leg away from his face.

    "Sorry about that, lab work trying to kill me again. But anyway, yeah, eccentric dad nonsense, am I going to need to tone that down a bunch? Does he have experience with the weirder parts of the Nexus, or is the MagCave by itself going to be an issue for him?" the cyborg asks, once he's managed to tighten the restraints and grab another bucket of salt water to splash over the massive monster's gills.
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    [Enjoying Morning Clawfee]

    Kathy doesn't seem fazed in the least by the odd happenings, "No no, you should be completely fine, as far as your normal eccentricity levels go. Maybe you've heard of the guy; he's a pyromancer named Fayyaad. Tan skin, horns, tail, likes to dance, admittedly a bit of a lady's man but he respected my boundaries, and I'm looking forward to seeing him again. And no, telling you about him isn't license to track him down and learn every bit of his history in an effort to make a dominance play. I'll sanction low-level retribution if he screws me over somehow, though."
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    Lobstruction of Justice

    Oh no, a bard. Or at least, something close enough to a bard to count. Bet he has a real smug smile on his face most of the time, too. Magtok takes a deep breath before his mouth can say something incredibly stupid or judgmental, and then lashes out with all his fears and uncertainty and prejudice on the gigantic crustacean, jabbing another electrode into its chest cavity. Poor Ebirah, what did it ever do to deserve all this?

    "Fayyaad. I don't think I've heard of him, but my intel network doesn't go half as far as it used to, so that's not saying much," he admits, idly wondering if it'd be worth the risk to launch another spy satellite over the Nexus and check up on whatever the hell the cat is up to these days. Probably just treasure-hunting with girls half his age, as usual. Then again, he hasn't heard from Harley for a while, so maybe those two are still chasing each other around. Here's hoping neither tries inviting him to the wedding or baby shower or whatever.

    "A-anyways," Magtok coughs, shooing away that useless intrusive thought to focus on more important matters, like operating on a colossal crustacean his daughter's future. "I hope things go well for you and your exotic dancer, but all of my terrible and wicked and petty machinations are here for you if they don't." He's kidding. He's pretty sure Fayyaad isn't that kind of dancer. I mean, Kathy would've mentioned it if he was, right? She would've said 'Hey Dad I'm dating a male stripper' because she definitely wouldn't have been too afraid of what Magtok might think to admit to something like that, right?
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
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    [Truth, Justice, and the Crustacean Way]

    "I said he likes to dance, dad. You know, like tango? Maybe flamenco? He's not a stripper. Even if I did meet him at a bar..." Wait, he's not, right? That seems unlikely, but now that her father has mentioned it, she didn't actually ask what Fayyaad does for a living. It's gotta be a mercenary or something right? Maybe a freelance hero? Yeah, gotta be. And if she's wrong, Magtok must never find out.

    "Anyways, yeah, that's all I really wanted to say. How's the reconstruction effort going?"
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    Crabby Doodle Dandy

    "He's probably some flavor of adventurer or mercenary. Everyone's some flavor of adventurer or mercenary, y'know?" He's not wrong. It's easily the most popular profession in the Nexus for PCs, and this Fayyaad clearly has waaaay too much character to be anything else. A dancing tiefling pyromancer who's also a lady's man? No way is that one of the faceless peasants who fade in and out of the world every third minute of the day.

    "Anyway, it's been going great, actually. With that last major apocalypse I was trying to cancel caught in an indefinite chronophage stasis, I've had an abundance of free time. Wait, did I ever mention I was working on stopping an apocalypse? Well whatever, it doesn't matter now. The world is saved until that timeline reactivates and I have no idea when that'll be. In the meantime, I haven't quite finished setting up a safe route to the cloning labs. There's been a few unexpected obstacles in my path, but I'm sure I'll sort them out in due time. The other Magtoks are starting to suspect I'm wasting their time on purpose, though. That I'm not completing my project on purpose, to retain my status as the Nexus's one and only Magtok indefinitely," Magtok scoffs, as if that isn't exactly what he's been doing this whole time. It's not the most convincing of scoffs either, so I wouldn't be surprised if Kathy sees right through it.
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    Heard Throughout The Halls/Renee's Room

    Deep below, for a long time, darkness and silence. But suddenly...


    "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!


    The voice of panic, fear, and utter confusion. There's even a hint of "Oh my god, what have I done? I'm so going to die now." ...probably awfully familiar to those of the Godlark line honestly. Even before anyone is heading to her room, Renee is already rushing her way to the front, looking stressed, embarrassed, and muttering. "I should never have given that damned grub any damned free agency."

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    [Surprise Crabs, the worst kind of Crabs]

    Kathy sounds like she's about to say something when the cry of a girl who messed up echoes throughout the MagCave, prompting a moment of silence followed by, "... Uh, is someone yelling for help on your side? She's got a solid set of lungs."
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