The Awesomeporium is Open for Business! [Open]

[thewunderkind]

Lash couldn't complain about her life on the ship. In fact, if asked, she might have regarded it as 'pretty good'. In the time she had been there, she had become a Power Ranger (in the brightest of yellow colors), become friends with a rather colorful cast (not that she'd admit it out loud) and even really, really liked a guy (not that she'd admit that out loud either).

During the attack on Galilee, Lash and Zetta had used the distraction to go around and steal--er prolong borrowed some of the items in the nearby shopping mall. It was only fair, considering what they had been put through! Not that neither really cared about morals anyway.

After taking their share, they found themselves with a rather large amount of items and strange knicknacks that might interest the rest of of the ship's fine citizens. Maybe not enough clothing to dress everyone up or to give them a pair of fitting shoes, but she was sure someone could appreciate a new shirt or two, or use them for rags or other creative uses they could find. Therefore their next part of the plan came into motion; if they built it, the others would come.

One of the city's many abandon buildings had been getting fixed and patched up the last few days since their arrival, an old store getting a second lease on life. Only, you know, this one involved demons and afro girls and stolen merchandise. But it was okay! This wasn't going to be a purchasing store, but a bartering one. In between their talks, meets and crashing a prom in the best of ways, they'd managed to get a very crude and badly painted "THE AWESOMEMPORIUM" in dripping red paint over the building front. One of the windows also had the rules, also painted with the same brushstrokes;

1) Find stuff you like
2) Exchange it to us for stuff and service you have
3) We have the right to refuse any deals
4) No Zedds allowed

Truthfully, both Wunderkind and Overlord had very little use of extra materials they might get in return, being people of simple needs. However, just giving items away would label them as being too nice. Turning stolen goods into a store and hiding behind a bartering system? Now that was much more devious. Besides, maybe they'd end up with some pretty cool items and tools in exchange, or having half of the ship owe them favors. Both were prospects interesting enough to follow.

Inside, the store was brightly lit thanks to Lash's repairing skills and Zetta's Merchant Minions (which Lash fondly liked to call Sonja Jr's) walked around the shop, tending to to the shelves and making sure everything looked presentable. Everything was in sections, with the same red paint just put on the shelves (lacking proper materials for labeling) so people would know what they were exchanging for.

Most of the time, Dog, Lash's alien green caterpillar dog was in the store, being lazy behind the counter. Dog was looking abnormally fat lately, barely moving around. The counter sometimes had Lash standing there working on fixing an item, a book lazying around, sometimes the both of them, or sometimes just a merchant minion standing there when neither of them where available. Rest assured, they'd find out what you traded when they were gone.

And just to make sure it could easily be found, one of Galilee's fabulous floating fountains now stood in front, hovering for no real reason that it was built that way. Sometimes you could find Lash was riding in it on a good day or early in the morning.

[[OOC info - this is the list of things that Lash and Zetta have available (one item is slightly unsafe for work). The list will be constantly updated depending on what your characters want and what they exchange for it. Sometimes the bartered stuff might end up on the list if neither of them have use for it.]]

Comments

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

"Wait, you think that I need to be conceited MORE than I already am?" Hit girl said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm pretty amazing, but I'm trying to improve, get stronger so I can kick ass and take names without an effort. And you think I'm just lacking confidence?"

The thought had honestly never occurred to her.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Duh. You spend all the time trying to prove yourself!" Zetta said. "How many times have you told me, 'Oh, Ruffnut's your favorite,' as if I was supposed to be wasting my time on you for no reason in my own head. Or showing off how badass you can be for other people 'cuz you're sure they're gonna look down on you for being a kid. And you're always trying to get stronger, you're barely ever relaxing, because you think you're not strong enough.

"You spend all this time trying to get the respect and approval of other people because you don't have any for yourself."

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

Hit girl sighed. He had a point, but she had her own reasons too. "Look. Since we've trained, I've heard lots of praise for Ruffnut, and barely none for me. Now I don't need you to moon over my ass, God knows I usually do well on my own. It just helps to know I'm headed in the right direction. And as for that, yeah, there's a reason I stay in the suit and not in my civvies. I want to be strong that I worry less about that: by then, it won't matter how young I am, I'll be the fucking strongest."

She crossed her arms. "The more focused I am, the more I improve, the better I'll get, the more confidence I'll have. Oh, and it also helps to have something to actually fight too. It's kinda why I'm on the ship."

It would also help if people would stop bitching at her about killing.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"I'm not mooning over your ass. Frankly, it has a few years before it's gonna be worth it," Zetta said, completely misunderstanding that comment. "When it comes to Ruffnut, I understand her better. She's more like me than you are. But if I had to pick just one of you to put in charge of an army, it'd be you and you know it."

The book cracked a smug smile, then. "You can't be the strongest. That spot's mine and it's never not gonna be. But frankly, I think it'd help for you to have a real goal."

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

Hit was about to burst forth with an angry retort at the perversion, but laughed in spite of herself. Maybe it was her, but she was actually getting used to those kinds of replies. "Look at it this way: the praise from you helps, because no one is going to be harder on me than me, since the guy that trained me can't do it anymore."

The praise did help though. "We'll see about that. I'm not doing this training for my health...well, I am, but not alone. I also wants to be one fucking kick ass Overlord, one that gets strong enough to challenge you when I know I'm at that point."

She gave him a smug look. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I don't know I'm kinda awesome. But I have a long way to go before I meet my own expectations."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Then set that as your goal. You'll feel better about crap if you've got an achievable goal, not just 'be the strongest'." Sure, that had been HIS goal, but for demons that sort of thing was objectively measurable in mana power.

Also, how cute that she thought she could EVER stand against him. Well, good on her for having ambition!

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

"I figured getting strong WAS a goal: do you know how many fucking disciplines are out there? Like, the moment you think you know something, somebody's going and showing you some other amazing shit that shouldn't be possible. So I'm gonna get as strong as I have to, believe me."

Fine Zetta, assume she would never try to reach your position! It would be your own fault if you lost!

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Not really. It's more of a journey. You can't set it as a goal just because of what you said. Every time you reach a new level, you just end up thinking about all the people who are stronger than you, instead of how much stronger you became. So it's like you never achieve the goal, so you're never happy. Stick to an achievable goal."

Not that he was sure HOW she could become an Overlord out here in the middle of someplace that was more nowhere than nowhere, but someday, right?

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

Hit Girl grumbled to herself, grumbling no doubt containing a few choice swears. "Fine, I guess there's a point to what you just said. I guess I can try learning that bullet catching martial arts stuff that Morgan guy is trying to show me, and stop being a bitch about him changing my style a little bit. That's gonna be rough anyway."

Better that she not know that then. It would just piss her off, and right now, goal oriented Hit girl was better than bleak feeling Hit Girl.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Besides, want to know something useful?" Of course she did, so he didn't even wait for her response. "Once you get up all the way into the big leagues, what form your power takes doesn't really matter. There are badasses who use magic, who fight, who even use freakin' bazookas and tanks and whatnot. All that matters is that you can kick ass, not how you do it. And you never had a problem kicking ass."

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

Hit Girl actually did rub her hands together a little bit here. She had been doing a LOT of looking into the kinds of strength she had at her disposal, and truthfully? She was learning the more she learned a little bit of this and a little bit of that, the more useful they were going to be in a fight.

"Trust me, I plan ti know a little bit of everything," she replied. "That way none of those demons get the drop on us."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Well, there's no limit to what you CAN know, but I'd advise you to specialize in something," he said. "Having backup tricks is all right, but nothing beats the raw fury of one ultimate attack."

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

Hit Girl, at this point, met him with pretty furious, eager eyes. "I'll tell you what, Overlord Zetta. Just because I like to defy expectations, I'm going to make one up myself, ok? I'll show you how awesome I am."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Oh good! Now you're catching on to how this works!" Zetta said, proudly.

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

"I always intended to get my own finishing move!" Hit Girl said. "It's one of the best things about learning all of those fighting styles: your finisher gets to look real bad ass."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"You probably want to pick up about three," Zetta said thoughtfully. "One of the first ones should be a powerful single-target attack, the next one should hit a bunch of people. The third one is the instant-win one, of course."

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

"Wait, you can pick three different finishing moves?" This naturally piqued her interest. "How did you even learn how to do it, and when?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"It works that way for all story characters," Zetta saidl, unhelpfully. "You get them as you level up or story events unlock them."

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

"So you're saying I'm going to have to progress more," Hit Girl said. Well, she knew she could manage that much, although it was still weird to hear it in term that made it sound like a video game. "I dunno what story events would make that happen though."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"You won't till they just happen. Something that brings out a measure of your true power or something. Hell, if nothing else, I got these sweet eyebeams out of becoming a book."

Zetta almost demonstrated, then remembered just in time that he was part-owner and -proprietor of this establishment and it would behoove him not to destroy it.

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

Well that was just frustrating. What the hell would bring her to go all out and lose it like that in a fight? That wasn't like her at all: usually she tried to be very collective and calm in a fight. It was Ruffnut who was more likely to fly off the handle and beat someone down.

"Well then I hope I find one," she said. "Because I don't see what situation would force that outta me."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"If you knew it, you'd have done it and gotten your inner power unlocked already," he said, as if that was completely obvious. "So if you don't unlock it by leveling and designing it, just be patient and you'll get it."

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

More lessons, lessons she wished she would get to go and actually learn for herself soon. She could train and study and learn, but she knew, as clearly as he was saying it now, that she wouldn't be able to learn what she needed to inactive.

"This sucks," she said. "The last mission we have and I'm stuck being all careful. The situation just sucked, and we weren't even fighting the damn Ohm. I feel cooped up."

Never mind what happened to Ruffnut: that still bothered the hell out of her, facing all the clones by herself. Who prepared you for that?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Yeah, that whole thing sucked," Zetta agreed wholeheartedly. "Seriously, though. Don't get too worked up. Even I didn't become an Overlord overnight."

PRAM had, but she didn't count.

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

"I won't then," Hit Girl said, "but I'm not gonna take it too easy either. I want to be able to do my best, and I know that I'm not there yet. When I am, trust em, I won't be doubting what I can do."