From the outside, this little downtown shop looks like nothing special. The concrete exterior is decorated with a gaudy neon sign stylized like a record with the shop name swirling around it. The interior is occupied by walls filled with vintage records while tables stacked high with boxes create walkways throughout the floor. The counter is occupied by a register that hasn't been changed since the 80s. The only customer peruses the shelves while making idol conversation with the attendant.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:04, Wed 26 Oct 2022.

In reply to GM (msg # 1):

Vesper was, first and foremost, colorful. A prismatic mishmash of hues and iridescence; a polychromatic splatter of vibrance in an otherwise tediously dull and irksome world. Vesper Nova was a sight to behold no matter where she was, even in a place as peculiar and diverse as Beacon City. She rifled through an open box on the linoleum floor, dust filtering out from between the plastic covered vinyl records. The stale, unoriginal hard rock cover band names flashed by as she perused the box’s wears. Blind Lion, Slow Victory, Knives and Lillies, Slap!

“Ugh. All the same shit. Why does no one ever carry the obscure stuff?” Vesper mumbled under her breath.

She stood up with a sigh, brushing the dust off her pleated black uniform-style skirt. A pale hand moved to adjust the bubblegum pink and cotton candy blue, cat-eared headphones that were a constant fixture upon her head. She fished her phone out from the strap on her upper thigh, and pressed pause on a true testament to art in the modern music industry - CPR by cupcakKe.  The holographic crescent moons on her purple nail polish flickered in the sporadic flashing light from the neon sign that hung outside the shop.

She picked her bag up off the permanently stained black and white checkered linoleum floor and turned to face the shop attendant.

“Hey, do you guys have anything less derivative? Like Tough Iron, the 80s hard rock cover band?”
This message was lightly edited by the player at 20:03, Wed 21 June 2023.

In reply to GM (msg # 1):

The funny thing about working the cash register at the Spin-to-Win record shop is that Will feels like he does more debating than actual selling. It's not a big deal to him, he enjoys the conversation, it's just that he feels that he's having the same one over and over again. "X band is sooo much better than Y band," "Vinyl is overrated, and, his personal favorite, "They just don`t make music like they used to."

The thing about Will is that he's really into the classics. If he's not talking decade rock, he's usually talking about old muscle cars or vintage technology. To him, a Walkman will always be better than a music streaming app. Less "bullshit" you have to deal with.

His attitude is mirrored in the way he dresses. Denim jeans that aren't too fitting or too loose, chucks that look like they've seen better days, and a jacket that was out of style 30 years ago. No matter how much his few friends make fun of him for it, he won't throw it away. After all, it was his fathers.

Will was entertaining a regular, Paul, with the same conversation about "Twisted Sisters" set for their last show. "The fact that they ended with their hit set the tone for the entire year, I tell you what," Paul said. All Will could do is nod and repeat the same "Wow, that's crazy" for the 4th time until the most colorful and vibrant outfit he's ever seen walked through the door.

Paul watched the newcomer, stopping in the middle of his next sentence. He furrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused and amazed by the presence of someone else in the shop. He looked from Will to Vesper. The chipmunk that powered his thought process by running in its wheel was clearly taking a break.

As Vesper called over to Will, Paul scoffed.

"Derivative? There's some good stuff over there!" He let out a strangely chuckle, looking to Will for support.

In reply to Paul Johnson (msg # 4):

Will looked at the section that Paul pointed to. It was all bubblegum pop/edm and, while Will appreciated Paul trying to do his work for him, he had missed the mark. "Yeah, just one second," Will said to the new customer. He stood up from his stool behind the counter and gave Paul a look that was anything but supportive. On the way over, Will tried to size up the newcomer. It's uncommon to get new customers at this hole-in-the-wall but what's even more uncommon is someone name dropping one of his favorite bands. Tough Iron was never really popular in their day but, to Will, their covers aged like fine wine.

He looked at the box that the newcomer was refiling through. From his angle, he could see the label, "Clearance." Will let out a little chuckle and said, "Not in that box, sadly. This is just all the garbage people just won't buy." The other surrounding tables contained the same nonsense that the newcomer wouldn't find interesting. Will suddenly remembers a new shipment of records that came in the other day and, after peaking through it after its arrival, he thinks there might be something there that she'll like. "Let me run to the back really fast, I might have something more your taste there."

Will turns and heads for the door behind the counter.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:49, Wed 26 Oct 2022.

In reply to William Hurst (msg # 5):

Vesper huffed a deep sigh of relief, at least someone knew that current pop and EDM - while entertaining - were still entirely too derivative. She nodded her thanks with an appreciative smile as the clerk ran into the back, noticing his well-worn converse on his way past the counter.

She looked towards the customer who had tried to steer her to the cookie-cutter, autotuned pop section, and took in his appearance.

"Ah," she thought, "a modern hipster who probably thinks Twisted Sisters is the end all be all of this centuries' music selection."

She repeated a desperate mantra of "Please don't try to make small talk. Please don't try to make small talk. Please don't try to make small talk." while clinging to the hope that whatever the clerk was looking for would be easy to find.
This message was last updated by the player at 20:04, Wed 21 June 2023.

Will gets behind the counter and, before he goes through the door, he turns to Paul and says "Don't be weird." He then exits the shop floor into the backroom. The backroom of the Spin-to-Win record shop is as big as the shop floor but wide open with piles of boxes and other merchandise scattered throughout the room with a stationary sink and mirror in one corner. Will and his boss like to think they have it all in an "organized mess" but in reality it's just a mess. He begins searching through some of the ones that he thinks might have the newest shipment of records. Will didn't remember exactly what records they were but he knows that they were a similar sound to "Tough Iron." After the newcomer mentioned one of his favorite bands, Will began to work with renewed energy. The day to day at the shop is incredibly dull and this little bit of excitement is the most he's had in a few weeks. Will goes from box to box but still hasn't found what he's looking for. He's left with only a few boxes now and, at this point, he's beginning to think he's out of luck. He huffs to himself and that's when he see's what he's looking for. Sticking out of a crate in the far corner of the room on a folding table is a set of records labeled "Must Haves." When Will went through the inventory, he grouped all of this together to make a display thinking "the ones with good taste will appreciate this." Excitedly, he walked over to the far corner table, reached into the box and, with a small yelp, immediately yanked his hand back out.

Something sharp had cut the palm of his hand and, as he looks down into the box, he notices there's shards of porcelain all over the inside. Will looks further and notices the special edition statue of Jimmy Porter, one of the cities most famous guitarists, has shattered. "Shit, shit, shit," Will said to himself. "I put that on top for a reason, how'd it fall over? Ugh, one thing at a time." He looked at his hand and saw the wound itself wasn't that deep, he'd just have to wrap it. However, upon looking down, he noticed that he had gotten some of his blood on the record he intended to give the new customer. "Shiiiiiiit," Will said to himself, once again. He tries to wipe it with his shirt but it won't come off. Finally Will tells himself, "At least she won'tthink it's blood." He then goes over to backroom sink. Will never understood why it was back here but, in this instance, he's glad it was. He starts washing off his hand and, as he does, he looks in the mirror and smiles. "Not only is your blood purple, you look like a freak too," he laughs to himself. Looking in the mirror, Will can see that his birthmarks are showing. Nobody has been able to tell him why but, in times of high stress or really anytime he feels anxious, an almost brail-like pattern appears beneath his eyes. He can see them fading as he calms down but that, along with his blood, are two mysteries that he hopes to one day solve. After cleaning up and grabbing the record, he walks back through the door and into the shop.

As he returns, Paul turns towards him and says "Took ya long enough!" Will gives him a friendly push and walks over to the vibrant customer. "Here you go, it took a second to find. Tough Iron's lead singer did a solo project and made this. I think you'll like it."

In reply to William Hurst (msg # 7):

As the clerk rounded the corner saying that the Paul "Baloney" Mahoney did a solo project, Vesper's jaw dropped.

"Woah, woah, woah. Are you saying that Paul "Baloney" Mahoney did a solo album, that I've somehow never knew about?"

Vesper continued on without giving the clerk a chance to respond.

"You are officially my favorite person," she looked up as if speaking to the universe, "sorry Jolly Dip ice cream parlor clerk, I appreciate the extra scoop of Triple Caramel Apple Cider ice cream, but this is just soooooo much better."

Vesper looks up from the album to the clerk, and flashes him a brilliant smile, extending her hand as she does so.

She looks over the album in awe and notices a few bright purple splotches in the top left corner, "Looks like someone spilled grape juice or something on it. Oh well, gives it character, I guess."

"Vesper, nice to meet ya. I'm new in town and you just made this my newest favorite shop," Vesper laughs out. "How much do I owe you for this?"
This message was last updated by the player at 20:04, Wed 21 June 2023.

Will tried getting a few words in but the newcomer seemed way too excited for that to happen. "Yeah he...oh it's not big de- Jolly dip....? Uh....." was about the total of what he got out. When she mentioned the purple splotches on the cover, all Will could do from panicking was laugh.

"Haha yeah that was my fault, I had a grape soda I spilled in the back and it must have gotten on some stuff. The boss will kill me if he sees it so I really need to get it out of here. I'll tell ya what, I'll take half off if you want it, you'd really be saving my skin." He manages a nervous smile and says, "I'm Will, nice to meet you Vesper."

Will begins to walk behind the cash register when he gives Paul the time out sign. "We'll finish this later. Just try not to break your cd player again, okay? I can only fix it for free so many times."

He then turns his attention back over to Vesper. "So what brings you to town? Not often we see anybody new around here."

In reply to William Hurst (msg # 9):

"Oh! Yeah, probably not the best idea to drink grape soda in here," Vesper said while eyeing the precariously piled stacks of records.

"I just moved in yesterday, I'll be attending BCU for their fall semester this year." Vesper extended her hand for Will to shake, "Thanks for offering the discount, but there's really no need, a bit of grape soda gives it more character, and it'll be a fun story to tell."

Vesper takes another glance at Will, taking in his appearance.

"Hey, did you hurt your hand? It looks like some of the grape soda got on your bandage, here, I have a band-aid you can have."

Vesper digs around in her bag for a moment before producing a small plastic container in the shape of a cassette tape. Pulling the two sides open she removes a sanitary wipe and offers three band-aids for Will to choose from.

"So, which do you want, I've got Stars, Kittens, or Aliens riding Firetrucks?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:04, Wed 21 June 2023.

As Vesper offered up her bandaids a pounding began in the distance. For a moment it sounds like quiet thunder, but it continues to grow in intensity. The windows of the shop shake lightly as hundreds of people dressed in BCU colors storm down the street in a panic. Many look over their shoulders as they sprint. The appearance of the crowd is that of a herd of deer being run down by a bear. It is unclear what they are fleeing, but it's clear that they are in fear for their lives.

"Holy shit, did you just say aliens riding firetrucks? I'll take -" Will was beginning to say until he saw the horde of people streaming outside. "What the.....?"

He kicked into gear, running over to the windows and pulling down the security barriers to protect the store. "Weird," Will though to himself. "If it was one of the post game riots, they'd be breaking things. They look like they're running for their lives." He then runs over to the cash register, grabs the key, and locks it.

"Sorry for the shitty introduction to our awesome city, Vesper, but it looks like it might have been a bad day to move in. Oh and Paul, we're closing early." Will goes about completing his closing tasks and, as he does, he can feel his markings returning. "Must be all the excitement," Will thought.

Not turning to face them, Will says "Feel free to hangout here until the crowd leaves, just don't steal anything please?" He then leaves the shop floor for the backroom. He heads right for the backdoor which leads to a side alley between the record shop and the café. Will closes the door and checks to make sure nobody is looking his direction, everyone is too distracted running for their lives.

Will spends 2 points of int to Hover to the record shop roof

In reply to William Hurst (msg # 12):

Vesper is caught in a momentary state of shock as Will runs through to the stock room, and hordes of screaming civilians rush past the windows outside.

She turns to the other patron with a comically painted look of astonishment on her face and says, "Did he just high tail it out of here and ask us not to steal anything?"

Vesper doesn't wait for Paul-the-pick-me-hipster-with-comically-and-incredibly-predictable-atrocious-music-taste to respond, before rushing to the back room to try and follow Will before he (or someone else) gets killed.

She cautiously avoids the mountains of vinyl records and navigates her way to the door at the far end of the room, throwing it open and stepping out into the alley. she swiftly makes her way to the entrance to the street and tries to flag someone down to find out what's going on.
This message was last updated by the player at 20:04, Wed 21 June 2023.

As the two make their way outside they witness the horde of panicked people fleeing with little care for their safety or the safety of others. Behind them, the sight of charred skeletons seems like it must be fake. As they grapple with the fact that the dead are attacking these people, William notices something from his vantage point. A figure encased in transparent purple armor slams into the ground towards the front of the crowd, crushing a few people. As they turn, a giant purple wall manifests out from them, blocking the crowd from fleeing.

When he lands on the roof, Will was a little impressed he had that much control over his abilities. He's been practicing his hovering but he usually just ends up with more bruises than good results. "No time to pat myself on the back," he thought. The first thing he noticed, besides the screaming people, was the smell. The air was thick with the scent of something burning and it wasn't until he saw the charred corpses that he could make out the source. Besides that, it looks like some of the vegetation that lined the street had also caught and was starting it's own urban forest fire.

Will was in shock. In all of his 21 years, there hasn't been a single attack from some super-psycho like this. "This is the home of some of the toughest hero's you'll find, this guy got a death wish?" Will started looking in the sky. "Speaking of, where the hell are they?" It was then that he noticed the figure in purple armor.

Horrified, Will could only watch as part of the crowd gets crushed and a large purple wall cuts off the rests escape. The thing is, Will hates superheroes. Hate might be too strong of a word but they drive him nuts. Even when he realized he had powers, Will told himself he'd never be one of those spandex-wearing, self-important dorks. Which is why he was surprised when he found himself running for the access ladder, climbing down, and heading right for the man in purple armor. "This isn't like you at all," Will told himself. As he was running through the crowd, he glanced in the sky to see if any of the "heroes" had arrived yet. Still not seeing any sign of them, he lets out a frustrated huff. "Guess we're not important enough for 'em." Setting his sights on the source of the commotion, he hurried on with his fists clenched.

"I'm no hero. But I am someone who gets shit done."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:54, Mon 21 Nov 2022.

In reply to William Hurst (msg # 15):

Vesper makes it out of the dingy alley to the street and sees a large figure cloaked in purple crushing a horde of civilians.

Oh, fuck.

She quickly racks her brain for any power and can't seem to remember any, unfortunately her feet act before she can stop them and she sprints towards the villain.

Her voice rigs out loud and strong, "Hey, fuckface! I've got something for you!"

As the terrifying figure turns toward her, she pauses a moment - just one - and pulls her left hand out from behind her back, fist raised to the sky, as one long finger pops out from her hand.

"I'm not sure you know what this means, but it's very insulting."

Please let this be enough to distrtact him and let th civs get away. Also, please don't die, please don't die. Please don't-
This message was last updated by the player at 20:04, Wed 21 June 2023.

The hulking figure looked over at Vesper as she yelled at him. His form under the armor is visible but obscured but his attention is clearly on Vesper. The wall behind him reaches the length of the street, forming into the sides of building to block off the retreat of the mob. Many people throw themselves at the wall to no avail. The skeletons set about the group with violence.

The armored man sets himself and yells out over the sound of the crowd, "back off, no need for you to hurt yourself. Leavening is the best thing you could do here." His body language showed his indifferent confidence in his statement and how little he feared Vesper.

Will starts making his way through the crowd. He braces himself as people stream past him, shouldering him roughly while they try to escape the armored figure. Will can't quite see him yet through all the people and he takes the moments before he reaches him to think of an attack strategy.

"He's pretty bulky in that armor. I don't think the usual gimmick is gonna work but maybe if I can sneak up on him..." Will thinks to himself. As he approaches where he saw the figure, he hears a familiar voice. "Wait, is that...IS SHE FLIPPING HIM OFF?"

At this point, Will see's his new friend Vesper giving the finger to the towns latest super-psycho and can't help but laugh to himself. What a wild day.

Taking advantage of him being distracted, Will attempts to sneak behind the armored man for a flanking attack.

William Hurst rolled 5 using 1d20 with rolls of 5
This message was last edited by the player at 00:40, Thu 08 Dec 2022.

In reply to William Hurst (msg # 18):

"No need for you to hurt yourself," Vesper mocked the armored figure, "like, really, are we doing the whole 'away with ye mere mortal' thing. that's so cliche my dude."

Vesper quickly squatted down and picked up a decent sized chunk of debris tossing it in her hand while glowering at the armored asshole.

"So, am I going to get overzealous villainous monologue, or are we just going to stand here while those innocent people claw at that freaky purple wind wall thing you have going on?"

Vesper could feel her hands beginning to shake. A frigid bead of sweat dripped down her spine as she rapidly glanced around her looking for help of some kind. Where were those self-proclaimed heroes now?

"Also, what is the wall thingy?"
This message was last updated by the player at 20:05, Wed 21 June 2023.

Bulwark watched Vesper with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. As she picked up the rock he shook his head and turned away back towards the wall just in time to see Will rush at him. As his punch connected with the armor a small shockwave rang out. Bulwark looked down at Will, "I guess that makes sense." The fist he swung into Will's stomach was enhanced by the armor surrounding it.

Might defense task at level 4 (dc12)

As Wills dinky punch rang out on Bulwarks armor, he lets out a singular "Oh shit." Will looks up at Bulwark and expected to see either an evil sneer or a look of contempt that is the usual for power-crazed villians. Instead, he can clearly see Bulwarks indifference about the events happening around him and, to Will, that's worse than some cliché maniacal laughter. And it pissed him off.

It's because of this that Will believes he was able to stop Bulwarks punch. As the fist was about to make contact with his stomach, Will takes both hands and catches it.
William Hurst rolled 15 using 1d20

He was as shocked as Bulwark, especially when he sees the energy radiating off of the armor. Not letting the momentum slip, Will pushes Bulwarks massive arm aside and goes for a punch right in his face.
William Hurst rolled 20 using 1d20 ((20))
William Hurst did 7 dmg with 1 level of effort
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Thu 08 Dec 2022.

Bulwark tumbles backward through the air, impacting the energy wall. The barrier wavers for a moment, spiderweb cracks shoot outward from the point. He hits the ground hard before pushing back to his feet. The transparent helm appears cracked as well before repairing itself. Bulwark shakes his head, "it was a decent attempt, but I have a task to complete and you are up for yours." Bulwark charges forward, his armored footsteps shaking the ground slightly. He swings a hard right in Will's direction, a fist made of purple hardlight the size of a VW Bug hurdling towards his side.

Level 4 (dc12) defense task, might or speed

Will see's the car sized fist coming his way and he braces for impact.
William Hurst rolled 5 using 1d20

In an attempt to block the fist again, Will throws up his arms in the direction of the punch but doesn't react in time. Bulwarks fist slams into Wills side and sends him flying a few feet. With the wind knocked out of him, Will struggles to get up in between gasps for air.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:40, Fri 09 Dec 2022.