I'll be enjoying that "catchup" on Monday.
Happy New Year all!
I just got an idea for an M&M character: a person who controls earth/stone who uses their powers to rebuild cities after other supers wreck the place.
Is there a character in Freedom City who is like the city embodied? I feel like maybe that was part of his schtick. A quick google search couldn't turn up a name.
Happy New Year all - re: the character that is cities embodied, not sure if you're collectively familiar with - Jack Hawksmoor of probably my fave ever team book - The Authority?
Jack is effectively the God of Cities. Awesome character from an brutally awesome book.
I just flipped through Freedom City and didn't see anyone like that, but I might've been looking in the wrong place. I did note they have a villain named Doc Otaku which I find more funny than I should.
I've not read the Authority though I've heard good things.
I like the "city god" idea but I was thinking more like a building super who gets superpowers and just feels like since he always cleans up after other people's crap, may as well keep doing it on a larger scale.
I'm ready to move on from the shelter soon--you, BD? Good source of contacts, though.
Maybe check out the bodega?
On another subject, what comics are y'all reading?
Ready to move on indeed DQ :)
Comics: Immortal Hulk is my perfect wheelhouse right now - horror and super brute throw downs, mixed in with old school Gamma mythos and a tip of the nod to the TV show.
Am also re-reading a bunch of 2000AD graphic novels too (from my halcyon days as a kid) - plan (at some point in 2019) to launch a PBP set in Mega-City One using the new Judge Dredd game i supported on Kickstarter.
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I'm reading Domino, which is GREAT. Looking forward to its follow-up, Hotshots. I was very unfamiliar with Domino, but I'm enjoying getting to know her. And Diamondback is a supporting character, so I'm getting to know Frank's old girlfriend. :)
Also reading Ms. Marvel which is always great--good all-ages read. Just started picking up Wonder Woman (Ms. Marvel's writer is taking her on, and I always love Wondy when written well). And I'm reading Exiles for reasons you'll never guess. ;)
I remember the old Hulk TV show, I loved it when I was a kid. I just looked up the Lonely Man theme the other day--weird that some of the most beautiful theme music comes from that campy old show.
Need to get back into reading Exiles - was always an interesting read.
Just struck me that an Exiles setting would be a very cool game concept - rolling cast and alternate versions/mash ups of familiar faces.
I think the current run of Exiles is going to end with the story arc it's wrapping up now. You'll hopefully be able to get the run in trade paperback, if you're interested.
It started off good, started to drag in the middle, and then the last few issues have been very good. Current lineup is Blink from the original, Wolvie from Marvel Babies (you read that correctly), Valkyrie from a future/alt verse where Thor is dead and she looks like Tessa Thompson (but acts very classic Asgardian), "King" (a Wild West take on Black Panther), and Captain Carter with her sidekick Becky Barnes (from a world that uses the British-Hayley-Atwell Peggy rather than 616's blonde from Virginia, but she took the serum when Steve Rogers got assassinated; I presume Becky is Bucky's sister, but she looks and acts like a more confident/fighty version of Angie from Agent Carter). Some of the others from the original series have cameoed or helped the team at some point.
Exiles would be a good game concept--people can play their "what if" fantasies of established characters and go wild with it--but it would be hard to run, with managing hopping to the different realities and all. You'd need a very well-prepared and flexible GM. Would be cool though.
Sounds like a great game concept.
As for reading comics, I am only allowed to read comics in the occasional trade and via piracy. I've dabbled in some of the unlimited services. A while back I had a serious comic buying problem. I'm not sure if it was quite an addiction, but I wasn't making good financial decisions. Since then, I haven't walked into a comics store.
I do love comics though. I've been reading some things for research that I wouldn't want to reveal. I have managed to read Ms. Marvel via a friend who still collects.
Generally, I'm happy to read anything I can get cheaply or at the library.
As for moving on, I think the only two specific hooks you have are the bodega or the ice house. I have another thing I could drop if that would be better.
@Tumbler: It's interesting you mention your past issues with comics - I too only really read them in trade paperbacks or online. Did have an extensive collection (going back to 70s/80s) and bought a bunch of titles every month - but it ended up being more habitual than for actual enjoyment... (many of the books ended up having lackluster art and writing after the creators that had drawn me in had moved on).
When me and the missus decided to downsize gave my entire collection away to a local animal sanctuary (whose owner was a comics fan who'd lost his collection in a house fire) - saw it as both cathartic and poetic lol.
That was 7 years ago, never been into my local comic store since...
Bodega sounds a plan. If only because I like saying the word lol.
Frank you're the one who got the information on the bodega, so you need to lead the way on that. I'm waiting on you.
Oh, I loved the comics. Loved buying them. Loved spending Wednesdays reading my haul. I'm not overly picky about quality. I can appreciate great comics, but I read all manner of drek, too. I just wasn't making good financial choices.
I try to buy the "floppies" to help support the weird titles I like and the store I buy them from, BUT I do have to work hard to keep my pull list fairly small. I only buy the stuff I really want to read (as BD says it can be easy to start buying a book out of habit and not read it--if I'm not excited by a book when I pick it up, I drop it from my pull list). One day I may make the switch to TPBs, if not for financial reasons (though that's good reason), then for easier storage! Maybe when I fill my last longbox (which I am on right now)...
I was gonna post more, but suddenly with my last post at the top of the new page, I felt like suddenly that was the moment I should pause for the opening/ending credits to run. ;)
All this talk of a Cuban (yum) makes me really want one, but my favorite local sandwich joint only makes them sometimes... (I think they're in reuben mode at the moment). (Ooh, but free soup day is tomorrow...)
SuperT, how much a week are they roughly making? I was thinking around $2-300+room? I'm assuming Dot has been working for Dukes about a month or so. Even after paying the Bratva, she should have a few hundred bucks? Not a lot, but.
Am thinking about getting her some gear (and she still needs an ID, which I think is @$500? I was thinking she'd go see Jessica Jones' super for that, unless you have someone else in mind. Not that she would know of him as Jessica Jones' super of course.)
I am happy to handwave exact amounts, but just need a sense of generally, what can she afford. On one hand, I assume not a whole lot in the long run; on the other, she's living out of about two-three outfits and doesn't have a whole lot of expenses. I'm assuming room is part of her "salary" and she might pay her share of gas and electric. She has no phone, no internet, no services. She probably eats leftovers from the kitchen for the most part. In other words whatever she is earning, she is just storing away.
That was a nice moment. Freeze frame, iris down, or fade to black.
Dukes covers all of the utilities and rent, keeping you two off the grid. I'd go to $500 a week. Even with room and board provided that isn't much money in NYC. As long as you aren't getting too much narrative bang for your buck, I'm not worried much about money.
Jessica's super sounds good, and gives me a nice point of reference.
Found this fun blog about mapping the MCU New York.
I think I can whip something up around that trip if you guys want to make it a thing.
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That's a great article. I also found this one that specifically tries to find real world equivalents to Agent Carter's locations. (It's also reassuring to see there are people even more obsessive over Agent Carter than I am.)
Yeah, I realize at the end of the day, her income is $plot. It's just a matter of getting a sense of what is reasonable for her to be able to acquire or would think she's capable of seeking out (or shelling out in an emergency).
Speaking of, I was looking up military surplus stores in NYC (because I'm a weirdo who does that kind of character research), and there's one on 42nd Street not far from Hell's Kitchen that has been open since 1938 called Kaufman's. So I figure Dot might stop there to get a few supplies (binoculars, utility belt or a MOLLE vest, a new knife, durable black clothing). (I also fell into the rabbit hole of reading their inventory; they have a few WWII era Soviet doodads. She could get all nostalgic. :) )
ANYWAY, she could run down there and then over to Hell's Kitchen for the ID. If Frank doesn't want to play that out I am willing to handwave some or all of that, since it's mainly shopping--but it is also OTOH opportunity for shenanigans as well. She could also head on her own and Frank could follow her, or something. BD, ideas?
Kaufman's is legendary. Always take my theater students there when we take trips to New York.
@Dottie: At the moment it'll likely be you stepping out and Frank following suit (literally) - have a nice hook for us to play out when we get back to Duke's that'll hopefully set the scene for Frank whipping out the coils again ;)
As for playing out the ID/shopping trip, am cool with that - all character development and (though mundane on the face of it) useful flavour/setting work.
Cool. We gotta check out "the icehouse" too. But she's thinking they're more likely to run into mooks there, and wants to prepare first. So maybe Hell's Kitchen next? (She has to stop at Duke's and actually get money. She really walked out of the building without any.)
On shopping, I suppose she should also eventually get herself a phone. But she a) likes not being easily found b) is 93 and just can't with millennial tech. Sure Dottie's smart enough to eventually catch on but I like playing up her old ladyness in ways that I can. Maybe Frank will help her. :)
Kaufman's looks very cool (and yeah I saw they have the costumery). Makes me want to check out a similar place near where I am.
Hell's Kitchen it is then (via Duke's for some cash... and Frank's wee scene).
As for Frank being down/up with millennial-tech... See him as a Nokia holdout:S We can get here one of those oldster big button phones lol.
LOL! Dottie totally needs a Jitterbug.
That's awesome.
BTW I didn't ask you two earlier because IIRC you're fairly busy, but I'm trying to recruit 1-2 new players for my Skull and Shackles game I've been running. I do have a few submissions, but I'd like a few options for the group to choose from, just to give us the best chance of having a well rounded party. The campaign is much more heroic swashbuckly than grimdark, and the group's in an impromptu sandbox between books 2 and 3 so it'll be easy to work someone in. We lost our sorcerer and could use another arcane caster OR we are also short on tanks and ranged support. Current party is arcane duelist bard, rogue, and cleric/horizon walker. If you happen to be interested, drop me a PM.
Hey DQ - as tempting as that is my dance card is well and truly maxed out (I'm currently in a recruitment batch for a Shadowrun 5E game which, if selected would be me at my limit). Appreciate the offer tho' :)
Roughly speaking, where is Duke's?
Something like Avenue U and Coney Island Ave. Definitely in Sheepshead bay.
*looks it up, thinks to self* Huh, there's an odd mix of Russian and Korean and other Asian places in that area... OOOOOOoooooh. :)
(There's also a police station, a public library for Dottie's Old Lady Internet needs, and most important, a Russian-English Karaoke bar. Excellent.)
I'm asking because at some point Dottie's going to make a crazy-person pin-board of stuff that's happened in the area to look for patterns/keep track of connections, and because I'm a nerd, if I find the time, I may try to actually make the pinboard in GoogleDrive.
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In my head, the building you live in looks something like this.
In my head, the building you live in looks something like this.
BD, this is your scene. Come rescue Dottie from pontificating (or otherwise make sufficient noise) when you are done--having taken all the time you need first! :)
I'm flexible as regards timing. Dottie's plans are to go to Kaufman's and the artist to get her ID made. She wouldn't wait on Frank if he appears busy (or hears him crying in his room; she's not going to involve herself in that, fortunately or unfortunately)---but if you don't want to go with her, she can always be back by the time you're ready to come out of your room (hearing her come back up the stairs), and we can rejoin then. If you DO want to go with her, maybe Duke can delay her departure. I'm assuming it's mid-afternoon so only issue is going before shops close.
Shopping list, in order of priority: new knife, utility belt or utility vest, black shirt and trousers of the sturdy-to-fight-in-but-allows-movement variety. Red Bandana. First aid kit. Good shoes. (Although she could keep the sneakers she stole. :) ) Oh, and winter coat (the reason she says she's going.) Little sewing kit.
Pepper spray. Maybe multitool and some paracord. Maaybe night vision goggles if they have them and she can afford them.
She isn't going to get all of this stuff in one go I expect. But it's assembling the starting "costume" and gear.
Listen to preppers to overhear where they get their "special" gear--flashbangs, etc.
Then to the artist. If he's there, she'd get her picture taken, he'd take her details, and then be told when to return to pick up the finished product.
SuperT I'll leave it to you how much you wanna handwave and how much you wanna play out, especially if Dot ends up solo.
Let's keep people together. It's easy enough for me to make up something to keep Dottie in for a while.
Everything ok, BD? Dot was delayed and you can approach her if that was your plan.
Yup - all good... Super Bowl weekend ate up my time lol.
Working on a post as we speak
Having a crazy week personally and professionally this week. I'll post when I can.
Sorry to hear it! Hope all is well.
Meanwhile, I'm off work due to a snowstorm that hasn't happened yet.
Apologies - am tardy too, been battling flu that my missus graciously gifted me for Valentines.
Stay safe and be well all :)
In other news (as sacrilegious as this will sound from a Marvel Zombie) - just finished watching Titans on Netflix - loved it... far more than any of the MCU based shows... (which I honestly no longer have the stamina or patience for).
(deep breath)
However just started watching Umbrella Academy which was one of my fave books a decade ago... and think its the apex super show thus far. Engaging, great characters with an almost Tarantino vibe (in a good way).
With another of my fave books The Boys incoming its a good time for indie-titles being adapted that potentially outshine the big boys!
Titans is on Netflix? I thought it was on DC Universe exclusively. I'll have to check it out once I finish One Day At a Time (hey I watch stuff other than superheroes). I've heard good things.
I really wasn't sure about Umbrella Academy based on the trailer. I'll also have to give that a try.
I love the Netflix Marvel shows but they were definitely flawed in the consistency and pacing departments. While I'm bummed to some degree about the cancellation, it means the characters will become free to Marvel to use in a couple years, and Marvel has repeatedly said they have plans for them.
(And speaking of pacing of our "Netflix-esque" adventure: I promise this is the only shopping trip I ask for. :) Well, we'll have to meet Turk at some point too, but that's different. As it is I like the sense of place we are getting.)
Feel better, BD.
Yeah Titans is on Netflix here in UK, Doom Patrol coming soon also :)
Defo give UA a watch DQ - well worth it. Wacky and weird at times, but damn engaging and soundtrack is stellar.
Dunno where Marvel is going with their MCU - will there be a hard or soft reboot? I'm praying to see a Fantastic Four series - as, other than a fledging (Original) X-Men, think this would suit an ongoing series waaaaay more than a movie (surely the repeated failures have shown that?).
Am actually hoping that with the success of Into The Spiderverse animated (which was superb) that Marvel/Disney start doing more MCU high end animated series/movies.
My wish list (that'll likely never happen) for Marvel:
Excalibur Movie/Series (Based on the Warren Ellis run - basically Authority-lite but was some great stories with Pete Wisdom, Cap Britain and a swashbuckling Nightcrawler).
Fantastic Four: Series/Animated - a superpowered family drama/sit-com charting their origin and becoming the FF...
Superior Spiderman: Doc Ock as Spidey was a better read than any of the Peter Parker stories (in my evil opinion lol).
Immortal Hulk: Gamma irradiated horror... best comic of 2018 (again in my evil opinion) and would be a great reboot to the Hulk (whilst tipping the nod to old origins and inspirations).
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Wow, so much to weigh in on.
I have only watched 4 episodes of Umbrella Academy, but I'm loving it. Some people complain that it is too slow, but there is a fair amount of weirdness, and I feel like the slow beginning helps me to soak up all of the things I need to understand.
I watched the new season of Punisher a couple weeks ago and liked it a lot. I've like all of the Netflix MCU stuff. Honestly, there is stuff to complain about there, but I'm just so happy to have these things being made into quality movies and tv that I'm probably less demanding than I should be.
I think they may do some soft rebooting after Endgame/as a result of Endgame, but I think that Endgame will for the most part be about finishing what has come so far and not about launching the next phase.
Absolutely agree about Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four shouldn't be these heavy or silly movies. The best format for it is a series that focuses on the family sit com element. How do these weirdos deal with their powers and adventures while dealing with their lives. I've actually mapped out a whole 7 year plan for this series as a traditional tv series. First two seasons are a will they/won't they getting together for Reed and Susan. There is a theory of comedy called the 8 characters of comedy. I'd make Reed the lives-in-his-own-world, Susan the logical-smart-one, Ben the lovable loser and the dumb one (a bit of a stretch if he is an astronaut, but compared to Reed), Johnny is the womanizer.
Excalibur would be awesome as an Into the Spiderverse style thing, but it would be best as a series I think. That would let you show off the different concepts.
Agreed that generally there has been more quality than less in the Netflix shows. Although I'm ticked off how lousy the 2nd half of JJ S2 was. I really hope S3 is good. I haven't watched the Punisher. Just not interested in Frank Castle (even though his subplot wasn't bad in DD S2). But I am trust for those who enjoy the character it is as excellent as people say.
I am not sure how they are going to do the reboot for Endgame--will people remember/not? It bugs me because I feel like once you introduce reset buttons, nothing's sacred. Anything could change at any time, and any character development that happens prior doesn't matter any more because it won't stick. But I know the Russos/Markus & McFeely tell good stories so hope it will resolve well. Agreed that it will likely be more about closing things out than setting up (though there will probably be a little of that, especially introducing Captain Marvel to the rest of the superheroes).
I like the idea of Fantastic Four as a TV series/family dramedy. And as much as I love the F4 (it was one of few Marvel comics I read as a kid; I was mainly a DC girl), I feel like we don't need yet another origin movie for them. I'd also as either a follow up or as an alternative, like to see a movie or TV series based on the Future Foundation (raising super/enhanced/alien genius kids). I really liked the FF comic that was around several years ago---Scott Lang, She-Hulk, Medusa, and Johnny's pop star girlfriend who was given the Thing-suit, and thus named "Ms. Thing"; looking after the Foundation while the Fantastic Four were off on a mission and disappeared. Heck, that could even be an interesting way to bring the FF into the MCU--start off the story that they exist, but have gone missing, and someone else is looking after their work and hoping to find them.
--
In other news, a couple weeks ago, some lady stopped me in the middle of the street asking for money for a bus pass. She said her husband had kicked her out at 4 a.m. without her wallet and ID, and she was too afraid to try to go back home, and was trying to get to her sister's. There had just been a horrible incident in the area where someone got stabbed by a panhandler, so no one was giving her the time of day. Noting there was a police officer half a block from me, in sight, I stopped to listen. I gave her my bus card which she was very happy to have (which suggests to me she really needed it). But I think her story's been stuck in my head.
Realized way after posting what I had Dot say might seem too much of a stretch but the gist is--kicked out, no ID, deciding to go the illegal route for an ID than risk alerting crazy husband. She figures for a guy with a nice kid, appealing to his sympathies might work better than seeming hard bitten.
You pair aware of this recruitment?
PL8 game set in the death throes of Marvel's world (pre Old Man Logan)... have dotted for interest...
I'm aware of it, but I am not really a very good PbP player and I already have a irons in several fires.
Getting the gist that the GM knows little of the Marvel setting or canon, so won't likely pitch anything now (especially based on below)...
Just a heads up that I'm under the hammer at work with a bunch of ongoing offshore operations (I'm in O&G here in Scotland) - couple that with the additional headache of an internal audit this week means my posting may be intermittent/on the fly/limited.
In short please bot me as necessary until normal service resumes towards the end of the week :)
Yeah, thanks for the heads up, but the GM seemed in general (not just setting wise) a little too... winging it? I've seen so many M&M games fall apart on this board, I know it needs a somewhat focused GM to run.
Good luck with the workload, BD.
Not that anyone asked, but [url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-tsuchiyama-oriental-insult-20160601-snap-story.html[url]] this is an opinion piece I've used in class to discuss the terminology. Teaching "American Born Chinese" right now and will be using this and a few other articles.
I was going to write a lengthy response, but all I'll say is that article is flawed and does not address the origins of why the word was phased out (Euro-centricity---the phrase specifically implies "East of Europe," not "East Asian"; I find it fascinating the article is indeed written by an author who, from where she is located, would go west to visit the region) and uses a "I haven't heard it this way, so.." sort of logic that overlooks experiences of people of different ages, regions, and experiences (Mind, I was only able to read so far in the article before I was walled off, so perhaps there was nuance I missed.). I /have/ heard the word denounced by Asians, and that's the rule of thumb I go by--if you tell me that a word that describes you is hurtful to you, I don't use it. (As for my character's mention, she's an old person proud of remembering a rule that changed publication language in the 1990s.)
More to the main point, I was referencing the board's rules. I have seen posts using that word deleted. Ignorant use of language aside, I do not want posts from this game deleted or this thread locked. That issue isn't for discussion or debate between us--none of us are mods--and I don't suggest drawing their attention.