_Essex_

Thanks to Terminus, now that there's a music hosting site, I can actually share with y'all the slightly less popular themes that nobody's ever heard of that remind me of everyone. XD I've got a list...I'll just post a few now and more later.

Center of Attention by Guster - OMG EXPERIMENT AND HAL. XD XD
Advancing Towards 12 O'Clock from Tales of Legendia - Reminds me of the Malta buckling down for a big ol' fight. <.<
Ailes Grises from Haibane Renmei - It's my "Hi, I'm Essex and I'm hella angsty!" song. <.<

Nessie kept the hose squarely on Reikoff, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. As Curtis and Marcus approached, she flashed a rare smirk, putting her finger on the stream of water to intensify it, varying fire from one to the other.

Rosalind raised an eyebrow at this.

"Backup!" she cried out, and ran to Nessie's aid, grabbing whoever was near and gathering up buckets to douse the attackers.

Essex, in the meantime, was looking out the kitchen window.

"Oh, my..." she said under her breath.

Essex laughed pleasantly, and began to gently dry off Virelai.

"Well, how about this - I'll make a salad for you for dinner and we'll all have strawberry shortcake for dessert. Is that all right?"

Nevertheless, she kept her eye on the open doorway into the backyard. Rosalind and Ghoul always play-fought, but Essex could always keep it from getting out of hand. With all these new children, though, it could get chaotic very quickly.

Nessie glanced over to Stell.

"...I'm goin' ta show them..." she said quietly, "That there's nae one or the other t' call each other stupid."

With that, she picked up the hose...aiming it squarely for Reikoff.

"Hm?" Essex said as she wrung out a washcloth to clean up Burning. "Well, Virelai...I'm not sure what most of you like or don't like yet, so I was thinking of ordering pizza for our first day. I know you don't like hot food, though, so if you like I'll make something special for you. What do you want for dinner?"

Essex reached down to take Burning's hand with a calming smile.

"Come on, then...let's go and get you cleaned up." she said.

Anyone who observed Penny would likely see the hint of a wry smirk on her face. Every word she had transcribed thus far was pregnant with political struggle, and it was clear that Tharomar had the upper hand.

This amused her to no end. She didn't have a thought one way or another for Tharomar, but to see Thomas under the gun like this - well, it was the stuff of her dreams.

Quietly, she listened to the upcoming projects. She'd known about the delays in the Z-chip, having friends in the programming department. Percy wasn't one of them, as he never got out - one of those 'devoted' types who ate at his desk, she thought with an internal roll of her eyes - but she was good friends with the I.T. guy. For how often he's in the office because of Stan's ineptitude with that outdated printer, I'm surprised he doesn't work on my floor. she thought, continuing her transcription.

((Also, any spells/abilities used at the Bright Star will be equally flashy, but toned down to about the hurt-factor of a smack in the face. XP))

"What in the world is going on out here?" Essex called out as she carried Hallucinogen outside, only to be assailed by the crying Burning and the sand-covered Toy.

She sighed.

"Rosalind, are you and Ghoul feuding again?"

"Boys are stupid!!" Rosalind's voice cried from the tree fort. "Girls rule!! Right, Miss Essex?"

Essex shook her head. "Remember, it's only fun until someone gets hurt. So be careful of one another - and I want a truce by dinnertime, all right?"

Nessie looked over to Cobalt and to the strange poofy white girl, having shuffled behind her when she'd gone to the toolbox. "...If ye ask me..." she murmured quietly, "They're both s-s-stupid."

With that, she eyed the two fronts...and suddenly an idea occurred to her. Quietly, the bespectacled girl began to make her way back over to the house.

((OOC: ....*twitch* ...

...Okay, I can't resist. I apologize in advance.

Tharomar: Guards! Make sure the CEO doesn't leave this room until I come and get him.
Garage Guard: Not to leave the room even if you come and get him.
Khell: Hic!
Tharomar: No, no. Until I come and get him.
Garage Guard: Until you come and get him, we're not to enter the room.
Tharomar: No, no. No. You stay in the room and make sure he doesn't leave.
Garage Guard: And you'll come and get him.
Khell: Hic!
Tharomar: Right.
Garage Guard: We don't need to do anything apart from just stop him entering the room.
Tharomar: No, no. Leaving the room.
Garage Guard: Leaving the room. Yes. [sniff]
Tharomar: All right?
Garage Guard: Right.
Khell: Hic!
Tharomar: Right.
Garage Guard: Oh, if-- if-- if, uhh-- if-- if-- w-- ehh-- i-- if-- if we--
Tharomar: Yes? What is it?
Garage Guard: Oh, i-- if-- i-- oh--
Tharomar: Look, it's quite simple.
Garage Guard: Uh...
Tharomar: You just stay here and make sure 'e doesn't leave the room. All right?
Khell: Hic!
Tharomar: Right.
Garage Guard: Oh, I remember. Uhh, can he leave the room with us?
Tharomar: N-- no, no. No. You just keep him in here and make sure he--
Garage Guard: Oh, yes. We'll keep him in here, obviously, but if he had to leave and we were with him--
Tharomar: No, no, no, no. Just keep him in here--
Garage Guard: Until you or anyone else--
Tharomar: No, not anyone else. Just me.
Garage Guard: Just you.
Khell: Hic!
Tharomar: Get back.
Garage Guard: Get back.
Tharomar: All right?
Garage Guard: Right. We'll stay here until you get back.
Khell: Hic!
Tharomar: And, uh, make sure he doesn't leave.
Garage Guard: What?
Tharomar: Make sure 'e doesn't leave.
Garage Guard: The CEO?
Tharomar: Yes. Make sure 'e doesn't leave.
Garage Guard: Oh, yes, of course.
Khell: Hic!
Garage Guard: Ah. I thought you meant him. You know, it seemed a bit daft me havin' to guard him when he's a guard.
Tharomar: Is that clear?
Khell: Hic!
Garage Guard: Oh, quite clear. No problems.
Tharomar: Right. Where are you going?
Garage Guard: We're coming with you.
Tharomar: No, no. I want you to stay here and make sure 'e doesn't leave.
Garage Guard: Oh, I see. Right. ))

((This is what I was afraid of. =/ Please feel free to come back anytime! I'm trying to keep it to the point where people can pop in and pop out when they feel inclined.))

Essex smiled and nodded to the Carnival woman. "Lili's a joy. Please feel free to bring her back anytime, as Rosalind will be a little lonely without her friend..." With that, she picked up Hal, shaking her head at him. "Nobody hates you, Hallucinogen! Now why would you think that?"

----------------------------------------

"WHAT IS THE MEANIN' OF THIS!?" Rosalind roared as she opened the window of the treehouse. "This is the GIRLS fort, and we're not gonna let any crummy boys beat us!"

Noticing Virelai's control over the water, she quirked a little eyebrow. "Okay, girls, I have a plan. All we need to do is --"

Her voice cut off when she saw Anna and Kathode siding with the boys.

"HEY! What are you guys doing?! We need you!" Rosie pouted.

YAAAAY!

And Terminus, music-hosting site am my hero. @_@

A couple more I had listened to on the way home yesterday that reminded me of you guys -

Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth - General Schwarzherz
Aka to Kuro from Noir - Crown of Thorns
SHINE, which is the ending theme from Hellsing - Reminds me of Dr. West and Essex. D:

"...But all I want is for you to shine,
Shine down on me,
Shine on this light that's burning out..."

((What's wrong with snow in Thanksgiving? You crazy hot-weather people! XD

And no problem, Ninjin. :P I can't resist the drama. If I get posting too fast, though, please feel free to send me a PM and let me know and I'll tone it down. *holding self back*))

The soft tapping of Penny's laptop interrupted the absolute silence of the room. It wasn't an annoying tapping, just a soft and subtle rustle of keys to create a background music.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard expertly as she began listing the attendants of the meeting at the top of her transcript. It was something she liked to finish right away.

...That and the silence was getting to her. Penny got fidgety when nothing was happening.

Penny warmed up her laptop, remaining in the corner, silent.

I freakin' wish I were sleeping. she mentally complained. I'm not important enough for this meeting anyway. I just type hella fast.

People she recognized were beginning to turn up. She did vaguely recognize Percy. She'd been in the elevator with him once or twice. And Clarence Thomas - that [censored] - was the guy that her bosses were always snivelling up to.

Quietly she shifted her legs as she rested the laptop down. Her fingers twitched expertly as she got ready to go to work.

As Essex led them outside, she gestured around.

"This is the backyard, kids. Now, I'll leave you to play out here - it's getting near lunch time."

It was awesome.

There was a tree fort on one side and a small playgroundish construct on the other, so there were effectively two forts. The playset also had five swings and a small slide. A sandbox was near the middle, and there was a large box full of outdoor toys.

Rosalind immediately sprinted towards the treehouse.

Nessie, on the other hand, stayed with Cobalt. The little girl didn't say much...but she seemed to be scowling less around the green-haired girl.

(( OOC: *point*

[ QUOTE ]
Looking over at Naga and Kreigg, she straightened with a smile and a sigh. "Though we may have some special eaters on our hands."

[/ QUOTE ]

I was watchin'....D: ))

"Now now." Essex said to Io with a little smile. "Nobody's stupid. There's just a lot that all of us have to learn, including me."

Setting Schizo down, she reached down to take Kathode's hand in one hand and Snikker's in the other.

"Now who wants to see the backyard?"

"What're you talking about?" Rosalind said, crossing her arms. "I don't even understand you, stupid." The were-human stuck her tongue out at Prikker.

"Now now..." Essex said, resting a hand on Rosie's head. "Just because someone talks differently doesn't mean they're stupid. Say you're sorry."

"...Sorry green boy." Rosie muttered reluctantly.

Just then the radiation blast crackled towards Essex, striking her full in the back --

-- and dissapating. She turned, and blinked at Radeator while still holding Schizo. "Now now. Archlich's wards on the house will keep your abilities from doing too much damage. You don't want to hurt anyone, do you?"

((BAHAHAHAHA!

I knew you'd bring a gun. ))

"Okay..." Essex said, sitting down on the floor among the kids. "Now the kitchen downstairs is off-limits, okay? If you need something just ask me or Archlich."

Lowering her voice to a mischevious murmur, she leaned close into the crowd of kids.

"I have to learn everyone's favorite foods, right? That's something I like to do - everyone takes turns helping me pick out meals. And..." her voice went down to a whisper, "Mister Archlich isn't a very good cook."

Looking over at Naga and Kreigg, she straightened with a smile and a sigh. "Though we may have some special eaters on our hands."

Upon seeing Schizophrenias throwing burrs, she carefully pulled the boy into her lap and began to gently pick the spiky seed-pods off him.

"Goodness!" she laughed. "It's like you rolled around in a bush or something!"

"Yeah, a stupid bush." Rosalind murmured under her breath to Io, Virelai, Ani, and Lili under her breath. The girls' side looked like it was getting some good new blood...just what they needed...

((OOC: Gah. I always feel like I have to brush my teeth after posting as Essex in this thread. XD;; ))

The short figure of Penny Nicholson sprinted into the building, shown on a few of the monitors. She wore her 'angry' scowl, her hair tied back in a brown ponytail and her green glasses a bit crooked on her nose. She'd found her green suit jacket just in time and her purse flailed out from behind her.

As she sprinted by, the camera noticed that she left a shoe behind. Moments later, she hobbled back, her face livid with silent curses, and tossed it back on.

Penny was an odd case to be sure. She had a blazing temper some days and was sweet as cotton candy on others. Other peoples' stupidity made her furious, but she had one distinct quality. She had an unshakable loyalty and respect for those in service professions. Penny always had a smile and a nod for Khell and Fred, she tipped well at the restaurant in the building, and she was careful not to upset the pervert working at the convenience store. After all, she had worked in Customer Service - she knew what the world was like when faced with waves of moronic humanity day after day.

"Finally, you're here! Call Hannigan back NOW, he's breathin' down my neck!" was Penny's greeting as she rushed into the office on one of the upper floors.

"Wouldja give me a moment to hang up my purse, Tad?" she muttered angrily.

"No time for that." the receptionist, Mary, said, turning towards her. "You're needed in a meeting up top."

"What?" Penny said, turning towards the receptionist with an air of exasperation. "Who the hell could possibly be important enough to yank me offa vacation?"

Mary handed her a memo.

"...Oh."

----------------------------

Taking a moment to freshen up, Penny quietly scurried into the meeting room, laptop tucked under her arm. She may have just been an assistant, but the 23-year old could type an astonishing 93 words per minute, after adjusting for accuracy. She was the best transcriptionist in the building, and her transcripts were always absolutely flawless.

Penny took a seat in the corner of the room, meekly nodding her head to Mr. Tharomar in silent, respectful greeting.

She'd never met him, and was unsure of whether she was supposed to greet him or wait to be spoken to, so she played it safe and remained silent.

OOC: I'anno, the same people who paint little pink circles on dolls' cheeks. <.<

"I wish I'd have brought the tablecloth." Essex grumbled as she whizzed along through the air, blush generators coloring her face a hot, embarassed red. "I have small thrusters. I can't quite--"

"YEEHAW!!" Ginstar repeated as he and Toy fell into her from behind. "Time to hurry the hell up, sis!"

"Aaaagh!" Essex cried out, her eyes wide. "Too fast! Too fast!!!" she wailed, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Oh, get over it." Ginstar teased as they shot forward.

"Well, nobody's assassinating or blasting anybody here, okay?" Essex said with a little smile. "Let's be nice to each other."

Waiting a few more minutes to allow for the other children to introduce themselves, ((AKA, retroactively insert here)) the robotic teenager stood.

"Now that we're all friends, let's go over the rules of the house, okay? Rule Number One is to listen to what Sir Archlich and I say. Sometimes you might not want to, but he and I want to keep you safe and help you have fun.

Rule Number Two is to be nice to the others in the house. Remember that we all are sharing the house and the playground, so let's all share and be respectful of one another.

Rule Number Three is to let me or Sir Archlich know immediately if a stranger tries to speak with you or offers you anything. Remember that you're all very important to us and we don't want anything to happen to any of you.

Rule Number Four is to watch out for each other. Sir Archlich and I can't be everywhere at once, so we're counting on you all to be our helpers, okay?"

The last sentence was said with a little smile at the tiny robot, Helper.

"Now let's show you all around the house."

With that, she stood, and began to lead the children out of the room and towards the upstairs.

"Up here is where you'll all be sleeping...the boys' room on one side, and the girls' room on the other. There are two bathrooms for each side, so everyone take turns, all right?"

"I'm the boss of th' girl side...." Rosie mumbled under her breath with a glare at Ghoul. "We could beat up the boy's side any day. Right Lili?"

Rosalind was a fiesty kid, but Lili had her respect. After all, she threw a mean ball, and there was nothing the young were-child liked more than a good game of fetch.

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

"What the hell?" Penny muttered as she rolled over and squinted at the clock. "Who in their right mind is calling me at 8:30?"

Grabbing her cell phone, she sat up, letting the long wavy locks of her brown hair spill down to the middle of her back.

"Hello." she answered the phone in the you-just-woke-me-the-hell-up,-you-[censored] voice.

"What?"

She gripped the phone. "I told you I was taking Friday off!"

"I don't care if Bazelcorp's having another crisis! There are six sales representatives to handle that, do you think they can live without their assistant for ONE--"

"...No, I'm at home."

"Yeah."

"Fine."

Click.

"[censored] you too." she said, glowering at the phone and forcing herself out of bed and towards the shower, taking a glance at the huge goldfish she kept in her room. "Cavi, I don't understand why they have such an aversion to talking to their own damn customers. Why don't they clean up their own damn messes? And another thing..."

Ranting in and out of the shower, she pulled on her grey dress pants and a light green shirt before dashing out the door.

The sound of her car screeching out of the apartment complex's parking lot shredded through the air.

((OOC: There are a lot of people in the thread. O_o Since this RP is just for fun, don't worry: Come and go as you please. If you lose track, just send me a PM, or just re-enter however you'd like.))

Rosie stood up next, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ah'm Rosalind!" she cheered. "But y'all can call me Rosie. If you pull my tail, I'll bite you, though." Sitting back down, she nudged Nessie from behind.

"My Papa made it...." Vanessa whispered to Cobalt quietly, before she was nudged by Rosie. "I...I...I'm....Van...vanessa." she stammered quietly to the gathered group, seemingly very timid behind her glasses. Her giant metal claw rested in her lap. "E-ever'one...calls me... Ne-nessie."

A note was being passed around. Not everyone could read, so it was more of a drawing than a note. It had a small picture of a group of children sitting, and then an arrow pointing to a treehouse. At the bottom was clumsily scribbled, "meat up otsyd aftr words"

((I just know I'm going to regret this. XD))

"Penny, hurry! I need those samples to go out TODAY, and the mail guy's gonna be here any minute!"

"Gawd, why didn't you tell me an hour ago?"

"Whatever. Bottom line, if they don't go out NOW, I'm gonna have an upset customer tomorrow morning and I'm gonna forward him straight to your extension!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Penny Nichols hurriedly pulled on the electrostatic glove and grounded herself, adjusting her thin green-rimmed glasses as she carelessly scooped a handful of components into a small pink bag. Scribbling out the label, she trotted over to her computer to print out the shipping paperwork, cursing in her mind all the while.

It's not like YOU ever do any work, Mr. Samuel-Checks-His-Stocks. she inwardly grumbled.

Then a beeping from the front of the office caught her attention. [censored]!

"Wait, wait!!" she called out, sprinting to the front desk and jamming the samples into a shipping envelope. She slipped the label into the outer jacket and sealed it, shoving it in the shipper's face just as he was walking out the door.

"I'm sorry...for the late one..." she gasped, winded. Jeez, I gotta work out more.

The shipper just eyed her, took the package, and left. Penny sighed and walked back to her desk.

The desks were arranged in cubicles, each accommodating four people. Each person's desk was in a corner of a cubicle, not providing much privacy at all. Pulling up a handful of purchase orders, Penny began to silently enter them, letting her thoughts drift. She was interrupted by a knock on the cube wall.

"Hey Penny." the voice of her wallmate, Ryan, came. "Any plans for the weekend?"

Pausing to look up at him, she shrugged. "....Not really. I just want to stay home."

Staying home. It's what she always did. She'd taken this job here in Rockwell nearly right out of college, and left her friends, her boyfriend, her family...and here she was now, alone. She hadn't made any friends in Rockwell, despite the fact she'd lived there for over a year now - Penny didn't want to make any connections. After all, she really just wanted to move back to Big Falls. Everyone she knew and loved was there.

The end of the day. After the hourlong commute home, she clicked on the light and kicked off her shoes, looking with weary eyes on her tiny upstairs apartment in Prosperity. A soft chittering greeted her as her pet gerbils, Phobos and Deimos, registered the light, and she couldn't help but smile.

"I'm home." she mumbled to no-one, slumping onto her couch.