Hey guys, after discussing it with DM-Salsa via PM I've decided to bow out of the game at this point. As I said to him, this isn't any reflection on him, the game itself, or you as players - I've just realized that this style of game is harder to me to get into and maintain interest in. So rather than let my slowness to post affect the game, I'll step aside and watch the rest of you have at it, hehe.
I've given Salsa permission to go ahead and write Noreen out here as well as use her as an NPC if he sees fit, so who knows, you guys might see or hear from her again at some point. I've enjoyed playing with everyone and I hope to see you around on the forums. Good luck! :)
To be honest, I've always felt the same way about thongs which is why I picked it for the new underwear :P
As Noreen steps out on stage, she can't help but smirk a little at Val's stunned expression. Though she notes that Anton and Sirus aren't at the group's table anymore, she doesn't give it too much thought.
Probably went to the bathroom or something.
She takes the microphone and calls out, "This one's dedicated to a friend who unfortunately couldn't be here tonight. 'Rora, this one's for you!" Nodding at the DJ to start the song, she takes a deep breath...
Noreen has a low, slightly gravelly voice and might be classified as uh...probably a mezzo-soprano for singing purposes. Might be why she had some trouble with the earlier song.
Gee, wander off for awhile and Gameplay blows up O.o
DM:
No worries!
"Yeah actually, though make it ex-military...long storyyyyy!" Noreen shrieks as she's encompassed by the whirlwind of technology. And then as suddenly as it started, it's over.
"Oh wow...that's amazing," she gasps as she looks down at her new outfit. "Hey, wa-" she begins, but too late as 'Cruella' disappears and Tim pops the door to the contraption open.
"Really? Didn't seem like it took that long to me, but you two are the ones in charge," she replies, still feeling a bit dazed from the strange experience she just had.
At least I've still got underwear...
She fidgets.
A thong!? She could've at least given me some bikini briefs or something!
"Um...right, makeup. Okay."
As she carefully steps out of the machine, she has to resist the urge to 'adjust' her underwear...
I'm having fun but I'm also not sure where everyone else is in regards to spoilers and the action; I'm okay to move on if you need to get us all back to the same place :)
Naaah, not at all! I've seen bits and pieces of the movie in question so I get the characterization of 'Cruella' hehe.
Noreen's grumbling stops and she actually looks a little surprised when 'Cruella' observes that her bra is actually a poor fit for her. "Really? My sister Jamie always told me that these should fit like uh...what was it? Oh yeah, 'like your boobs are nestled in a cozy country cottage'."
She sighs. "Should've known it was her idea of a joke." Then, she straightens and nods at the hologram. "Okay. Let's do this then."
"Hey hey hey..." Noreen begins, sounding defensive. "There's nothing wrong with being a little pear-shaped! Erixa Dexton's pear-shaped and she was crowned Miss Universe!"
She frowns and crosses her arms over her chest grumpily. "And the underwear is comfy. I like being comfy," she grumbles.
Firmly ignoring the part of her mind that's whispering that she really could have weaseled her way out of this situation if she'd wanted to, Noreen cautiously steps into the strange-looking contraption and shuts the door behind her.
This has nothing to do with me. They just seem like nice enough guys and I'd hate to disappoint everyone, that's all.
"Well...let's get down to business," she says aloud to no one in particular as she strips down to her skivies and drops her clothes into the open compartment, wondering what happens next.
As Noreen finds herself only herself led backstage, Noreen facepalms as she suddenly realizes that she's gotten herself into a bit of a mess. Of course she didn't think that parading around a dive bar in a ridiculous costume would jeopardize their mission, but who knew how long it would be until she'd be able to slip away now?
Besides, the Captain or Val would've already done or said something to get me out of this mess if they thought it'd cost us our money, she grumbles to herself.
Though she's not sure that she's ever actually seen someone that was as wide as they are tall, Noreen thankfully doesn't get a sense of danger from either Jericho or Tritium Tim as they introduce themselves. However, something tells her that it might be best not to ask how either one of them got into the costume-making business.
"Howdy, name's..."
Should I give them my real name? Hell, may as well...
"Noreen. And uh...well, I've never tried cosplay though I always like seeing what other people do. How about..." she scans the rack, "that one?"
At least it's one of the slightly-less-revealing ones...
RE: Concerns:
I think there's generally an unspoken agreement among the large majority of players/DMs on the boards that rape is one place where you don't go, at least not where PCs are concerned. I've been in a game or two where it's been implied to have happened to NPCs at some point in their past but that's as far as it went. In addition to that unspoken agreement, I've been playing in another game with DM Salsa for over a year now and while this is the first time I've been a player in one of his games, I trust his judgement so I wasn't particularly worried. Thanks for the concern though! :)
"Holy Rackafratz!" Noreen groans. "If I'd known we have a captain that doesn't recognize calling 'not it'...ugh." She sighs, resigned to her fate. "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll all be deaf and blind. Let's get to it," she grumbles as she makes her way over the nonexistent waiting line.
"Look, uh...it's gonna be 'Rock Lobster', okay? Don't look at me like that. I uh...oh, yeah, that's right. A lost bet, you know how that goes..." she whispers to the DJ. When the signal is given, she pulls Val onto the stage behind and faces the audience and the rest of their crew as the music begins...
@Anton - The bit about the haircut and the single nostril are actually references to a Weird Al Yankovic song, hehe. Since I'm not always the best at just pulling completely made-up comedy out of my backside, I occasionally will lightly reference or borrow from other things. This sort of campaign and campaign system seems like it's the sort where that sort of thing is okay, thankfully.
Also I needed to get a post up since it was my cue :P
I think I might wait to see what Val's reaction to being assigned as Noreen's backup singer is before I continue onward, hehe.
As they all walk into the bar, Noreen pulls out a piece of paper and begins reading it. "Okay, according to Mr. Zuckerman's instructions we're looking for a man with uh...a 'flock of seagulls' haircut, whatever that is, and only...only one nostril?" Her expression grows more and more incredulous as she continues to read the instructions on the paper. "He's supposed to be dressed in a camo fatigues (but Zuckerman notes that he's not affiliated with any sort of military in any way) and banana-yellow boots. And so he knows for sure that we're the ones he's looking for, someone needs to uh..." her voices trails off as her expression looks rather pained. "Someone needs to get up and sing karaoke...specifically Rock Lobster."
She looks up from the paper at the others. "Either our employer or our contact have a very strange sense of humor...or both. But either way, not it on the singing!"
If it's the Railway Rifle please tell me it makes the whistle sound when you fire it!
"Good call on leaving the grenades at home; shrapnel is a pain in the ass to remove, believe me..." Noreen comments with a sigh of relief as she rises and heads to her quarters to arm herself. Though she'd had a little training in hand-to-hand combat, she preferred to stay back and let ranged weaponry do the bulk of the work whenever possible. After all, trying to operate on oneself was also a big pain in the ass.
Deciding that smaller and easier to conceal would be best for this she grabs Pew Pew, her slightly battered but trusty laser pistol, and a small knife that she conceals in her boot. Once she's satisfied that everything is in place, she heads back out of her room to meet with the others.
Since we're taking inspiration from Fallout and I have been playing New Vegas lately... ;)
Yeah, I'll second Anton's idea on a communal kitchen but private quarters. I'm sure at least one person among the seven of us snores like a buzzsaw, for starters...
As the Angel makes its way to Garaxia without any incident other than having to occasionally step over wherever Aurora happened to be sprawled out at, Noreen can't help but find herself in pretty high spirits.
So far so good. I wish every job went like this one is!
She whistles a jaunty tune as they prepare to dock, only pausing to glance in the direction of the medical bay. "Think it's a good idea to bring Aurora along for the pickup? Not that I expect she'll get into much trouble in her current state, but it might not make for the best first impression either. Just food for thought."
Noreen's not actually going to put up a fuss if Aurora comes along, she's just trying to be practical is all ;)
As the next day dawns bright and early, Noreen remembers that the Captain had tasked her with keeping an eye on the shields as well as assisting Tavid with the internal security of the Angel. Though she hopes that they won't have any need of them, she figures she'd best make sure they're at least operational before worrying about making breakfast.
Passing through the galley, she waves absently at Val and the Captain, either not noticing or pointedly ignoring the pantsless state of the latter. As she slides into her station and powers it up, she tries to remember what she's learned of managing shields - after all, she hadn't had a similar job since her brief stint on the merchant-class Unstoppable Force. But she quickly realizes that just like the Unstoppable Force, the Angel was also using the GKI* for their computer systems.
At least I can work with this...
Thankfully, the shields all seem to be completely operational and she even figures out how to calibrate the power output to be a tad more efficient. With what she hopes is the hard part done for the day, she decides to head back to the galley and see what she can whip up for breakfast before they're ready to depart.
Huh...least this guy seems a good sport. Glad that things didn't go south there at the end.
She wasn't too terribly worried about what the Captain or Val might have to say about the additional 'negotiations' later. It had been pretty risky of Sirius and herself to speak up like that, but it had all worked out in the end, which was the important thing. Though if they ever ended up doing more business with this Zuckerman guy in the future, she did have a feeling that the Captain would make it a point to handle all negotiations himself or assign Val to it.
During the rest of the dinner, she amuses herself by listening to Val's somewhat-tall-tales and enjoying the variety of dishes available. Considering the job he'd hired them to do it had been pretty obvious that Zuckerman enjoyed his food, but the dinner confirmed it - which suited Noreen just fine. There were far worse appetites out there that could be indulged.
Noreen gives Sirius a surprised look as he attempts to finagle a little more cash from their employer.
If that pays off he's a genius...and if Zuckerman slaps it down, it could ruin the whole deal. Val and the Captain will be *pissed*.
"I know it sounds like quite a bit, but you also have to consider the number of crew and our varying areas of expertise. It's actually a pretty good deal," she casually adds.
Attempting to add to Sirius' Rapport check, if I understand the rules right.
Noreen keeps a pretty straight face through Val's wild tale, thanks in part to her generally calm demeanor. And having her mouth too full of soup and salad to laugh certainly didn't hurt either.
As they enjoy dinner and conversation with their employer, Noreen listens with interest but otherwise stays quiet. It always seemed to unnerve the more extroverted people she met, but she'd never been one to do a large amount of talking during bigger gatherings. Most of the time, just enjoying the company of others was enough. Of course it was also easier to pick up on things that others might overlook, which sometimes came in handy.
However she can't help but find her gaze drawn in Aurora's direction once again. The telltale flush on her cheeks was proof enough that the drinks were having quiet the effect.
Well she's enjoying her drinks, that's for sure. But still, so far so good...
Noreen looks up in surprise as the Captain seems to just materialize out of thin air, with a charming smile and a gentle suggestion that ultimately ends up netting her a fairly sizable discount on the outfit she'd settled on.
How in the world does he manage that? Wait, no, I don't want to know. It'd ruin the magic, she chuckles to herself. All they needed now was Val and it wouldn't surprise her if they ended up with the salesclerk giving them the whole store for free.
"Thanks Captain," she manages to whisper before he zips off again.
As the group settled in, Noreen eyed both the Captain and Aurora somewhat nervously as they accepted their host's offer of alcohol. The Captain was pretty good about holding his liquor, but Aurora, well...
Nah, last time was just a fluke. It'll be fine.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Zuckerman," she says politely, offering her hand for a shake. "Just water for me right now, but uh...I wouldn't mind a deviled egg or two if you have any," she asks hopefully. She'd always had a taste for deviled eggs of every sort, but they weren't always easy to find. It really depended on what sort of egg you wanted.
Resources:4d3 - 8 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 1) - 8 = -2Is it possible to make a fashion statement in the complete opposite direction?
Noreen sighed to herself as they were dismissed, presumably to go round up proper dinner attire. "Don't see why our regular clothes won't do as long as we're all clean and presentable," she grumbled to herself as she absently picked through the different wares available. Unfortunately, fashion never had been one of her strong points; that realm belonged to her brother Allen, who had somehow been gifted with an uncanny understanding of cut and color and which ones would look the best on a person.
Wish you were here now, Al. I have no idea where to begin...
Notice Attempt:
Left to more or less fend for herself among the endless racks and displays, one outfit finally does catch Noreen's eye. Although she has no idea if it would actually constitute fashionable, the color doesn't seem too offensive and it looks like it would fit her well enough.
But that *price*! Hey, wait...
Squinting a little bit closer, she notices that despite the outfit supposedly being brand new, there are minor flaws here and there. An odd stitch here, a missing button there.
Maybe if I point out the flaws, they'll take a little off the price?
She spins around until she finally spots a salesperson and hustles over. "Excuse me? Yes, I was interested in the outfit over there, but I couldn't help but notice it has a few issues..."
If that works, maybe Noreen will manage to avoid looking like a clown. If it doesn't, well...enjoy the clownsuit, my friends! :3
"Well, that all sounds pretty good..." Noreen begins, then quickly stops and shoots an embarrassed look at the others. "But it's down to what the others think, especially the Captain." She wasn't really much of a businesswoman - that's why they had Val along - but triple the usual pay with most of the other potential wrinkles already smoothed out? It seemed pretty good to her. Not to mention the offer of a (hopefully free) meal would spare her at least one evening of listening to the others grumble about her cooking.
Noreen casually leaned against a nearby wall, arms folded across her chest as they listened to the job proposal. "Garaxian Ghost Chilies?" she shuddered. "Once saw a guy try a little of the ground form in his soup on a dare. Trust me, if you think bloody snots for a month is bad, you don't wanna know what the other end looked like." She shakes her head. "What sort of payment are we looking at for doing this?"
I'm also digging the Slightly Radioactive concept and I agree that something like that and Battle-Scarred seem more appropriate than being extremely obvious!
You probably don't want Noreen to drive, though. Something about the character tells me that although she's picked up minor skill in various areas, she couldn't drive her way out of a paper bag.
Danger Sense - You have an almost preternatural capacity for detecting danger. Your Notice skill works unimpeded by conditions like total concealment, darkness, or other sensory impairments in situations where someone or something intends to harm you.
Shield of Reason - You can use Lore as a defense against Provoke attempts, provided you can justify your ability to overcome your fear through rational thought and reason.
Strength from Determination - Use Will instead of Physique on any overcome rolls representing feats of strength.
That sounds good to me; I admit I've been struggling a little with being creative here but I think it's only partially to do with the unfamiliar format and largely to due with having my focus being pulled in other directions for most of this week. I'm still here though and still interested in playing :)
Still here, still enjoying the reading. I'll wait just a little longer before jumping in since I think Noreen probably would've been one of the last to join the crew, hehe.
Still here by the way, has just been a bit of a busy/tiring weekend but I'll try and weigh in again a little later on some of the additional ideas that people are coming up with :)
Re: medic - Although I'd kinda envisioned Noreen as being a medic of sorts, it's not a big problem to shift her focus to more of the jill-of-all-trades thing either. Part of the humor for her character is supposed to be that she's never actually trained as a medic, but hey she's worked on animals so surely some of the same stuff will work for people right? But the other side works just as well, that thanks to being jerked around by <insert military/government here> she's done a little of just about everything else except get that medic training she'd wanted ;)
Noreen would definitely not want to be Captain. Based on general character concepts, I'd say that Aurora, Tavid, or Anton would make the most sense as Captain.
Okay, been a busy day but here are my thoughts on what's been discussed so far:
Aliens: I'm perfectly fine with an all-human setting, but also wouldn't mind maybe one or two other alien races at the most. Though since I think most of us are new to the Fate system, it'd probably just be easier to stick with all humans to keep it simpler to start with.
AI: Sounds good to me!
Governments: I agree with the idea of having primarily larger, fairly strong governments with a few smaller ones scattered about. Other options are things similar to the Quarian Migrant Fleet as well as a couple of confederacies who may or may not be allied for purposes of trade and mutual protection.
Ship: Building the ship ourselves sounds fun to me. I like Dax's suggestion about each character being tied to in some way, which I think would make sense given what we're doing - the ship itself really is our livelihood, after all.
Checking in; thanks for having me here! I'll mull over your questions DM and hopefully have some things to contribute to the discussion tomorrow :)
Also, did you know that you can make a 'dot' post in gameplay and then immediately delete it? Keeps things looking cleaner and the campaign will still show up on your list :)
