first episode; video

[paintsthetownred]

Sheesh!

[ there's a young girl in a poofy, old-fashioned dress with her feet up on the table in what is, presumably, her assigned apartment. Having minors in the City is probably not that uncommon.

What is uncommon is that this girl appears to be some sort of cyborg, and also that she has the impression of having just walked out of an old-timey cartoon. The whole effect - giant, oversized gloves and shoes, the outfit, even the black dot eyes - is mildly surreal.

She also has a cigar clamped in her (incredibly sharp and shiny) teeth, and she takes a pull and blows the smoke out, fogging up the room somewhat. ]

I can't say I ain't had worse, but that's everythin' good I got to say about the accommodations in this place. Seems to me if there's a malfunctioning machine, you gotta either fix it or scrap it, 'less there's some sorta third option.

[ she leans back even further, an oversized glove clamping onto her top hat to keep it from falling off, and blows smoke at the ceiling. ]

But if I gotta be stuck here, might as well make the most of it! See the sights and all that. Right, Avery?

[ A small, robotic peacock sticks its head out from where it's sitting on the arm of the chair to reply. ]

Right, boss!

Great! So, now that I've finished that establishin' stuff and all...

[ She sits back up again, grinning at the camera with a mouth full of shiny, steel teeth. ]

The name's Peacock, see? An' if I'm gonna hafta be some sorta hero, I'm gonna give you a heads up - if you pick any fights with me, I'm not gonna be holdin' back.

[ she cracks her comically oversized 'knuckles', and switches the feed off. ]

Comments

permavid

[centurybaby]

[ there's a curious eight-year-old peering through the comm. ]

Is that a cigar?

[paintsthetownred]

[ puff ]

Yeah, 'course!

What, you ain't ever seen a cigar before?

[ just kind of puffing smoke :| peacock is kind of rude, just sayin. ]

[centurybaby]

[ THAT'S OKAY not a lot phases jenny q! ]

Not up close. My dads would never let me smoke. It kinda looks cool though.

[paintsthetownred]

[ excellent, if you can handle peacock being abrasive you've basically gotten used to her normal manner of interaction. ]

The Doc says it'd give anyone else lung cancer and make 'em sick and all, but I'm allowed to 'cos I ain't got human lungs any more.

Looks cool, though, I'll agree with that! [ another puff of smoke. ]

[centurybaby]

[ jenny tilts her head. ]

You mean, you were human before, but you're not anymore?

voice;

[baddaboom]

Whoa, there, toots! You wanna lay off the industrial grade toothpaste, I think! What'd you used to be, before you was human, huh? Some kinda construction vehicle?

voice

[paintsthetownred]

[ She kind of laughs, teeth clashing together. ]

You kiddin' me?

The Doc fixed me up with all this stuff. Used ta be human, but I ain't now.

'sides, no construction vehicle I know likes cartoons as much as I do!

voice;

[baddaboom]

A doctor? Okay, now I know you ain't talkin' 'bout that echochamber excuse for a computer program what brought us here. No way in heck she got herself a degree!

[he may or may not sound as though he perked up slightly at this bit of information. DOES SHE WATCH DIGIMON????] Cartoons? Like what, eh?

voice;

[paintsthetownred]

No computer I know woulda been good enough to qualify for a degree. The Doc rescued me and fixed me up and all, see?

[ IF DIGIMON EXISTED IN THE CANOPY KINGDOM SHE'D WATCH THE SHIT OUT OF IT, MAN. MONSTERS AND COOL FIGHTING WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ] You know, the classics! The real old pioneers of animation! An' Annie, Girl of the Stars, of course!

[ she doesn't expect anybody to know about Annie, but it was worth mentioning anyway. it's got violence and explosions and annie being a hero! clearly the best cartoon she's ever seen. ]

permavoice;

[beatstheclock]

[Robot parts? Oldtimey gangster slang? A cool hat? Is this... is this a little girl jacking his swag? Slick's ego feels like someone just played hockey, and it was the puck.]

That a threat, or an invitation?

[paintsthetownred]

[ THIS IS INDEED A LITTLE GIRL JACKING YOUR SWAG not that she knew you had any swag to jack, but still. ]

Depends on which way you want to take it.

[ she can be heard taking another puff of her cigar. ]

Who's askin'?

[beatstheclock]

[There is in actuality very little swag present on this end. Peacock probably has the lion's swag share here.]

Spades Slick. I take things the way that lets me slit throats.

[paintsthetownred]

[ it's a sad day when a little girl has more swag than a grown man. but probably not that surprising considering this is spades slick we're talking about here. HE HAS MANY THINGS, BUT SWAG IS SOMETHING HE DOES NOT ENTIRELY HAVE MUCH OF
she outright cackles, teeth clashing together. ]

You'd have a hard time findin' anythin' to slit, but you're welcome ta try!

[ she really loves fighting. what have you done, Slick. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ]

peramvid

[futureleader]

What's with the gettup?

[paintsthetownred]

Getup? Lady, this is my normal outfit!

And you don't look so flash yourself, if we're gonna talk about getups.

[ cigar puff >T ]

[futureleader]

I'm not a lady, pal! And pink hair is totally normal where I'm from!

[paintsthetownred]

Well, I guess you can't blame me for mistakin' you for a lady, huh, if pink hair's totally normal!

[ SURE IS ASSHOLEY IN HERE ps it's all peacock ]

Voice!

[yelloweyesdarksomething]

Woooooow, what are you? Oh my gosh, that was totally rude of me to ask, wasn't it? Um...

Oh oh, I know! You're new, right? So you must have a ton of questions. I know like, loads about this place by now, so you can ask me all about it, miss!

voice

[paintsthetownred]

Naw, ain't weird at all! I'm one'a the Doc's creations, see? I was made ta hunt down and kill the Skullgirl.

Ain't got all that many questions, though. Everyone who gets dropped in here is some kinda superhero and there's a whole sandbox ta run around in, an' that's all I really need ta know.

[yelloweyesdarksomething]

Oh yeah, it's kinda like that. I mean, not everybody's a hero and some of them are kinda Evil, 'cause the Porter Lady doesn't seem to understand alignments. But you can be one if you want! So um, who's the Skullgirl?

[paintsthetownred]

Well, guess there'll be baddies to fight too! This place seems all kindsa fun!

The Skullgirl?

See, there's a macguffin called the Skull Heart floatin' around somewhere! And any female can go wish on it, if they can find it. Thing is, if your heart ain't pure when you make that wish, bam! The Skull Heart twists your wish up and makes you the Skullgirl! The last one was Queen Renoir - she wanted ta stop the war, but for whatever reason the Skull Heart thought she was impure.

She got her wish, though, in a weird way. She was so destructive and powerful the war was stopped to stop her instead.

video;

[sanguinosi]

I didn't think kids were supposed to smoke. What's your mother going to say when she realizes you ain't abiding by the law?

video;

[paintsthetownred]

[ she takes another pull of her cigar, blowing smoke with a dismissive snort. ]

Ain't got a mother anymore, and the Doc lets me smoke anyhow. S'not like it hurts me.

[sanguinosi]

Ah, I never listen to those blowhards they got around here talking 'bout how it's supposed to rot your lungs. I've been smoking for years, and I haven't hacked up my windpipe yet!

[paintsthetownred]

Sheesh, you should see the number of people back home that gimme a hard time for smokin'! Seems like they should just mind their own business - wasn't even as if I was goin' up to them and blowin' smoke in their face!

[ bonding over a shared love of smoking, gooooo. peacock is making so many new friends lately ]