Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 3, 2022 13:53:39 GMT -5
Training had been slow going and the work had surprisingly dried up recently to boot. The accords were putting a damper on finding those openly flaunting any power they had to train, and the few that might have were now looking to volunteer for this defense force of Earth and had their own training sessions. This defense force was quite frankly putting a massive dent in his attention as getting paid to do what overeager others were willing to do for free.
It had come down to what he never expected to have to do; passing out flyers in busy sections of the largest nearby city. Anyone that as much as gave him eye contact was handed a flyer with a picture of one of his more famous poses, big letters with his name and motto, and info on how to reach him with price info. Some replied with scoffs, most didn't bother to take the flyers, and the few that did walked far enough way before tossing the flyers in a bin thinking they were being polite.
Speaking out loud to no one in particular, he ended up giving up on passing out his flyers and sticking them onto the sides of buildings and shop windows instead.
"Seriously, you'd think with all the violence spreading around and the increasing threats from off-worlders, someone would need help with something. Maybe I'm not being flashy enough..."
Jesse Watts PL 10 With active Antisense
Minion PL 19,990 Powerlevel feels as if it's coming from Jesse and is not normally visible as it's physically attached under the clothing.
Last Edit: Dec 3, 2022 14:57:32 GMT -5 by Jessie Watts
Well, at least there was some activity in Earthling Cities she had a fond memory of. Striker would be just passing the time, looking for any fun arcades or extracurriculars East City had to offer when her eyes caught a man throwing away what looked to be an advertisement. And not just any simple business kind either, but one that dabbled in the market of manpower. Mercenary work wasn't all that uncommon back in Lux, and it was often times promoted in a similar manner.
She'd pluck this one and read it over while walking. She'd eventually start seeing these nearby streets in particular covered with these same adverts. His details and the like were what stood out as interesting though. 'Mercenary Hero'? What was wrong with being more honest about a job like that? She'd hardly ever call taking money for jobs in any capacity heroic even if it was for some better cause. This would spark another question in her head as she looked at it all. Mostly disposed of or ignored, was there really a business for it if the nicer ones were even dissuaded?
"Now, here's your problem." Jessie would hear this small voice come approach him off to the side while he was putting up yet another flyer. Small creatures held one of these said flyers in her gloved hands. Those big eyes give him a cursory look before they closed and she nodded. Predetermining things based on looks alone.
"You offer something at a price people aren't confident in nowadays! Have you seen some of those guys in the news? Total pieces of work! It would probably take a few 'Mes' to deal with just one! I don't think they'd see a small guy like yourself and bite." She waved the flyer around, acting like she was educating the young man with her own know-how that probably didn't translate 100% over to Earthling culture. But she knew money and that dirty work well enough.
Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 4, 2022 19:27:41 GMT -5
Given even the people refusing to take his flyers or looking at him with pure annoyance weren't speaking up much at all, the voice actually startled him, causing a brow to raise and his head to turn. At first he wasn't even sure it was someone talking to him, likely someone on a phone call looking for him to move out of the way as they walked by, but as he caught a glimpse he saw enough to actually look. His flyer gripped on their hand and clearly looking right at him, it was almost so surprising he didn't know how to react at first but to just stare.
"Huh, so you actually looked at the flyer? Starting to think I wasted money at the print shop."
There was a longer stare as he was internalizing what was said, but instead of some witty comeback or a boisterous retort, his shoulders slumped as his good posture turned to half bent, head bonking the window.
"Yeah I know. What the hell am I gonna do against some giant ass green guy trying to blow up a city? It's not like I'm not trying to get stronger, but no one even wants to train with a small guy like me as you put it."
Holding up the few flyers still in his hands and he stood back up straight, he waved them a bit before slapping at them with his other hand.
"This is what I do. It's what my family did before they came to Earth. It's what my entire species does. Or at least it's what we did."
This very human-looking guy was a bit startled by the sudden appearance of a 3' something alien mammal, no surprises there. She was assuming he was native after just a glance anyways. Apparently, that had to be suddenly clarified though. Those big eyes blink at him and narrow in on his entire look again before shaking a hand at even mentioning it. She honestly came from an opposite circumstance, doing something wholly different from most of her species.
"Yeah, shame about that print work. At least you didn't try going digital with the adverts. I assume most of these Earthling Businesses also charge a premium for even just a second of ad space!" She'd step up and give him a slight nudge at the arm of the now-slouched Jessie though. Staring back up at him and showing off a nice row of sharp teeth in her patented grin. Striker was brewing something malicious. Or maybe just scummy was a better word for it.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it! Not everyone can be a super strong bad guy or hero. That sort of power takes a lot of work - and some luck - with dedication!" She'd roll the flyer up in her other hand and give him some light taps on the chest with it, poking and prodding to get him to straighten himself back up. Striker was about to pull a complete 180 on this as smoothly as an alien could.
"If you really got talent, Mister Watts, I might be able to help you. You see, I just came into town not too long ago. I'm pretty strong myself. If it's training you're looking for I can offer a good partner. Heck, I can even teach you some street techniques if that suits your specific style. We can set that all up at a lower cost too if you could believe it!" Of course she'd want money out of it still. But honestly, it would help either of them most likely. She never really could get the same determined guys and gals back on Lux to take the bait like here. They had a similarly strong martial culture, but a much stronger socioeconomic issue back home that made most wannabes sticklers.
Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 4, 2022 22:32:45 GMT -5
"Me and my friend here like doing things the hands on way"
Pointing his thumb at his chest made it look as if he was pointing to his shirt, that or he had gone a bit crazy, it was hard to tell given the creature was covered by his clothes. The small talking thing of whatever species it belonged to didn't necessarily bother him all that much given the amount of different aliens he had been exposed to as a young child. He was raised not to discriminate and to work with whoever was willing to pay the right price, so it was more the fact that anyone at all was talking to him at this point that surprised him the most.
"Hey, I am plenty dedicated, and I train and work as much as I can. I wouldn't be walking around with this flyers down the street if business was worth a damn though. I don't have some fancy place to train since I live out of an RV, no master to go bow to that's going to train me in secret martial arts. They are the muscle in this pairing truth be told, but I'm trying to pull my weight."
Again he pointed at his chest referring to whoever this other person or being was, but moved just a bit defensively as she poked at his chest.
"I'm fine I'm fine."
Standing back up straight he was still a bit slumped but not to the same sad puppy dog degree he was before. He even managed to stand up like a normal person with a spine at the offer of training, and strangely it almost looked like parts of his clothing moved as excitedly as he looked. That all faded however as soon as she mentioned cost, even narrowing his eyes as he slapped one of the flyers on the window, gave a heavy sigh, and nearly turned and walked away.
"I barely have gas money for the week, I can't afford to pay someone for training. Did you miss the whole passing out flyers to make money thing here?"
Some of the movement he was making when she was being a bit upfront and prodding him was odd. Not like, anxious odd, but like he was hiding something illegal. A couple of words spoke more to something else entirely... but she took no chances. She was no snitch. So those eyes were quick to pull themselves back up. Not wanting to assume things, she figured to be upfront with her goal here. It wasn't uncommon to be living so close to poverty paycheck to paycheck. Lux had its fair share of that, it was just rude to assume someone was poor as hell.
She assumed the same here.
"I was just being honest there. Understandable, not everyone has that money on hand. I used to hang with peeps who came from that part of the city I grew up in. Believe me, I know." Her hands went up defensively as he turned and almost gave up on her on the spot. Striker wasn't out to break someone's entire career or anything, but she had to get something out of it herself. Then it came to her. Leniency was a privilege, perhaps there was another way this could go down without an upfront cost. As soon as she got this second idea she snapped a finger.
"Got it! I can understand a brother in trouble when I see one. How's about this; No upfront costs. I can train you, spar with you, or whatever other way we can find you to tone you up even more. Once we feel confident you've improved by a good margin, the next bit of work you do with improved 'customer service', and appeal, I get a cut until I pay off the costs of my time. I'm not trying to wring every last coin out of ya, bud, just gotta live too. Figured it'd help us both out." She had people back home she did similar with. Though it was more gig jobs revolving around the band than her merc work. Difference in time and place she supposed. Watts seemed reasonable enough to consider, she hoped.
Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 7, 2022 20:52:11 GMT -5
"I don't have the money on hand, foot, face or any other body part for that matter. My family are very strict about making it on your on and doing it with your own two hands and feet. They are just lucky to have made their money years ago so they don't quite get the struggle of trying to do this job here on Earth when it ain't exactly needed. But, I'm not gonna give up that easy."
His head turned back to the wall as he gave his forehead a loud smack against the glass one more time, realizing he was over here whining just like he had always given his cousins grief about. He wasn't the type to "oh poor me" to some stranger, and yet here he was in this pouty moment, doing just that. Leaning up as he gave the window a gentle kick that perhaps should have broken it, but it was perhaps a sign he wasn't near as strong as what he seemed. In truth he was barely above average for a typical Earthling, but that was partially because of that very thing attached to his body which not only limited his potential but also directly raised it in a strange way.
Out of no where his disposition seemed to change, as he leaned up, with a somewhat red forehead from the repeated smacked into the window, and pointed. His hand was now on his hips and his face lit up, eyes wide.
"Hell yeah, now that's what I'm talking about. And yeah yeah, that's fine"
Giving a bit of a dismissive wave, as he was far more interested in the training part, not thinking twice about the fact that he liked just agreed to something really stupid, or perfectly reasonable, he wasn't paying near enough attention to know.
"Well what are we waiting for, let's do it, find a place, get warmed up, let's do it right now."
Immediately he started bouncing on his feet giving a loud clap and rubbing his hands together excitedly. Where did this person even come from compared to the sad sack they had walked up to just moments before.
Striker was glad to have caught the guy before he gave himself a concussion against Earthling Glass. She had no sense for strength herself, so the best she could guess is that he also hid his true strength. Cause no way one made those marks if they were trying to hurt themselves and not break anything else. On the other hand, he suddenly got TOO excited about this. Her suggestion animated him, like she just gave away the lottery to him or something.
She didn't even have stuff ready for her to make a deal official. Maybe she could fudge something real quick, like an electronic signature, then it'd be galactically binding!... In Konats. Oh well, she wasn't afraid to hunt down schmucks that would use her so liberally like that. A pair a hands come up to halt him in place, a tiny little gasp sucked through her teeth.
"Alright, alright, no need to celebrate a Birthday or anything on me. I'm sure it must be exciting getting to work with me, but the first thing you need to know? I don't work with people who start acting like fans. I make sure to keep those two things separate. Capiche?" Who she was referring to from the fame angle wasn't made clear out of the gate, but she did bring both index fingers side by side like they were glued together before spreading them apart. Only to further illustrate her meaning. As for where they'd go, immediately? She hadn't the slightest clue. Another thing she wasn't expecting an answer for on the spot.
"And... Well, if you don't have a favorite spot I was going to suggest those rolling hills far outside town. It'd make the detour real easy for me. You need a ride there or can you fly?"
Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 8, 2022 20:41:26 GMT -5
"Fan of what? This is the first time I've met you. Did you miss the part where I have been having trouble finding someone to train with? It's relief and excitement. Nothing wrong with you having a bit of an ego though, I guess."
The longer this conversation went on it was becoming harder to tell if this was someone so full of themselves they believed they could manifest gold with a clap, or if they were trying their best to swindle him out of what he didn't have anyways. Neither really mattered all that much if he got to train, quite frankly. He would have accepted the help of an exceptionally well spoken bucket of paint if they were able to help him, so the who and the what didn't really factor into it too much.
"I don't have a favorite spot for much of anything but sleeping. Usually my friend here points us in a direction until we get somewhere and we stop. I might have suggested a trip to that fight Island, Battle Island, whatever it's, er was called, but seems it got blown up real good."
Giving a heavy shrug, he made a motioning gesture as if he was ready to go right that second, but as if he was about to take off that direction he moved then stopped with his leg raised in the air and slowly dropping down.
"Oh right, no, we can't fly. Never had much of a need. If you have a way to get there and you are offering, who am I to say no. Easier than running there, and without my friends help here, I have to admit, I'm not exactly a sprinter."
Ego? Her? Naaaah. She waves away the suggestion and only gives him a chuckle. This was going to take some work she felt... He can't fly, nor seemed to have anything equivalent to her own talents. It didn't bother her, but there was a couple more pertinent questions she had before she could just pack him around. She tries poking at his chest again.
"Alright, I've got a FastPass over there, but now you've done that thing at least twice now. 'My friend'? Am I missing something? I only see you. You got like, a little guy hiding in a pocket I'm unaware of? Am I training two people?" It wasn't hard to mistake her ignorance as irritation, it was just how she generally came off when she didn't understand things. Funny, considering a lot of questions could be asked about her own origins. Cartoonishly so. That first question wasn't as weighted a question towards her method of travel as the next though.
"And if that is the case, do either of you get motion sick? Have you ever gone real fast, relative to your normal speed? Because I'm carrying you there. Won't be but a couple of minutes at my pace!" Striker boasts with another grin. All fighters had a certain speed to them, and plenty outpaced her in a fight, but she doubts many without instant movement had the speed relative to their strength she had. She might be looking at another speed demon, but that was wishful thinking. She's had time to adapt to her far above-average speed.
Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 12, 2022 1:31:43 GMT -5
"I mean, if I really had to I could run there, but whatever is gonna be easiest."
His torso squired as he was poked, looking down with a looking someone might give when you reached your hand into a lion's mouth. All the same, it wasn't much of an unusual question, and it was so natural to him to refer to him and the create as us that he forgot others couldn't see them most of the time.
"Right, my friend. They are more than that, but they like the word friend now, so that's what I call them. Guess you can't really tell they are there right now. One sec."
Grabbing and lifting his shirt it was immediately obvious there was something there, but what it was likely stayed hard to tell even staring at it. It looked like a blue near the exact same color as the clothes Jessie was wearing, and it barely moved as if breathing, taking on the look of cloth itself. It covered a large portion of his body under the clothes and it didn't take much inspecting to realizing it was fully attached, and not simply worn.
"This would take a lot of explaining. Best if...hm...let me step back a bit first."
Doing just that, he took two steps, looked for a second, then fully jumped back a few more, then one more before taking a breath and waving her arms as if he was preparing for something strenuous. Bending his knees to angle his body to his right side his arms angled up to the left, then body legs bent and came up straight as he stood back up and posed his arms in a V-shape before what was under his clothing shot out and began to wrap around him once more, but from head to toe. In a matter of seconds he looked to have on a rather dramatic costume that made him look more like a super hero than the completely lost and confused guy that was standing there moments before.
"I can probably run there like this, but if you still want to carry us, be my guest."
Striker would watch with enthusiastic curiosity. Almost poking at this second entity again to see if it had anything like teeth or a nasty temper. It was safe to say she saw anything like it. Impressive, given where she hails from and interacts near. Lux is probably the closest melting pot to Earth, with even strangers murking around. So living, breathing symbiont clothing. She didn't get to see it in full glory until Jessie offered to show it off and what it actually could do.
"Yeah, a bit. Go ahead, I wanna see what they do." Striker folds her arms and waits on him, watching with that same curiosity. She doesn't know how much she should be talking to the shirt thing or him, but she was going to be at least respectful of its personhood. Watching the humanoid pose at first was funny, but it seemed to trigger whoever this clothing being was into springing out over his form. Wrapping him up in a skin-tight suit like he was part of Super Sentai. Super Hero was definitely the word to use, so maybe he wasn't kidding about that part. bad guys usually wouldn't be caught dead in things that flashy.
"Whoa, you can just do that? If you hadn't even brought up that this was another guy I would have assumed it was some cool tech! Does everyone where you are from have something like this?" Forget just packing this guy around. if this gave him any sort of ability at all she'd want to test it. She tapped her chin and took a look at the road next to them. A grin pulled onto her face.
"Forget that, actually. I got a better idea. Consider it a 'test' of sorts. Your friend gives you power, right? Think you could beat me in a race out to the East, towards the hills flanking the city?" Yeah she had her own way of doing things. She wasn't one to be orthodox, only feel what was right. Impulsive is what most call her though.
WC: 343 TWC: 1960
Last Edit: Dec 12, 2022 15:20:20 GMT -5 by Striker
Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 15, 2022 0:26:53 GMT -5
His dramatic posing lasted a bit longer with his arms still posed into a V shape over his head, finally relaxing some and dropping them to his side. It wasn't as if he needed to be dramatic, or pose at all, but it was just part of it. His parents did it, their parents did it, it was what they did.
Lifting and dismissively shaking his arms, he was suddenly more animated than he was previously.
"I can't do anything really. Truth be told, without them, I'm not any stronger than your average Earthling, it's all my friend. The strength, the suit, all of it. Unfortunately they couldn't do this without a host, which is where my people come in, so while we are two separate species, if you removed them from me or me from them, it's very likely we'd both die."
Throwing his body back and standing on just one leg, he threw another unnecessary pose.
"It's still very cool though, huh? Not every one on my planet bonded with one of this species, but I would say everyone had the ability. A lot of people did however, and where my people come from, we were pretty well known for it. That was long before my time however."
Finally dropping back onto both feet, he dusted off his clothes, not that they had what looked to be a spec of dust or dirt on them, but everyone has their nervous twitches. It continued for a bit until it was as if someone had yelled at him to stop, though there was nothing that signaled it aside from the way he jerked surprised and leaned up.
"They don't exactly give me power as much as they are the power. It would take a while to explain. I'll just go with, sure. If you are talking about a race as in running there, I could definitely try, never seen you run, but we aren't slow by any means."
Leaning down as if he was getting into a position to start sprinting before they even explained or asked further, he simply looked to them and gave a nod.
That was probably just as unique a way for a species to come about and prosper, second probably only to her own. She watched him parade around in the sentient tights with a few poses, a brow perking before the guy eventually let up. It was cool, she supposed. Not the kind of cool she would openly shout about, but cool would be the word she'd use first. Maybe followed by 'tacky'. She's never been the one for doing much with her outfit, so THIS was a little much.
Regardless, it didn't take much for him to be convinced of a race. Semantics aside, he figured he was faster with than without. Striker could only get into her own lowered pose to start, gloves on the ground ready to launch her at a moment's notice. She'd tilt her head back up at him and give a little smirk.
"After a couple of left turns there is a highway leading out of town. We will take that to our goal! On the count of three we'll have a go. Sound good?" She bounced in place a few times before throwing a thumbs up at him, regardless if he was actually super prepared or not for what was about to happen.
"One! Two! THREE!" Her body shifts into a dash at blinding speeds almost immediately, her lower body becoming a blur of motion as she darts around hovercars and pedestrians with ease. The wind she kicks up, of course, sends a few people stumbling away but she's awfully precise with her movement. And efficient, throwing a hand to the ground and drifting between turns to quickly get into the next stretch. Of course, to an average earthling, all of this would feel instant. Power notwithstanding, she'd e quick even without the multiplication of strength setting it.
Post by Jessie Watts on Dec 22, 2022 8:17:25 GMT -5
The moment she took off sprinting there was barely a moment that lasted a second that he was trying to remember the directions, and right after her he went. It was meant to be a race, but he wasn't exactly familiar enough to where they were headed to get any speed until they were out of the city. Her seemingly precise movements were not exactly paralleled by his own, mostly jumping over obstacles rather than smoothly moving around or over them. Anyone watching might have taken a bit of time to realize he was actually showing off anytime he moved past even a single person, causing him to fall behind just that bit more until they reached the highway and there was no one in sight but the two of them.
By this point she had a bit of a lead, but without the pointless dramatics he was able to sprint enough to catch up, though still just behind enough that she would have had to turn to see him fully. He wasn't quite catching up anymore as much as trying to keep pace, clearly not much of a runner, and the way he ran looked more like someone simply taking fast long strides than a proper sprinting posture, body bent back just a little, looking a bit ridiculous quite frankly.
Opening his mouth to ask how much further they were running he found himself making a mixture of a choking sound and spitting noises as he was greeted with a mouth full of flying bugs, nearly tripping over as he did. First lesson was already being taught before the training even started; don't open your mouth at full speed.
Apr 6, 2024 1:21:15 GMT -5
Lottus: Friendly reminder for new folks to check the rules regarding art claims - AI Art is not accepted on Sparking for character sheets.
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:28 GMT -5
Lottus: Hey folks, got a new phone, but verification is preventing me from downloading Discord for now
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:57 GMT -5
Lottus: I won't be available until I get home from work!
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Lottus: Feel free to dm me if needed!
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Dingo: I'll post what you've said here up in the discord so it doesn't get missed!
Apr 18, 2024 19:19:20 GMT -5
Yakito: I am the #1 Tenrec hater (Striker will be struck)