The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Picking a costume for a convention had not been an easy thing for Javier - which was ironic, given that his actual profession was definitely design-related. Ever since he began making friends with the overly excitable librarian, Javier had been obsessing over what he would do if he actually decided to work up the courage and go to a convention with Booker. Of course Booker was overflowing with ideas and suggestions, but Javier felt no strong attachment to any of the characters on the list, and really did not want to put on a costume he was not comfortable in. Costumes drew attention, and if he did not have the attitude to go with them, he would be standing around awkwardly, or even be judged by fans who actually liked the character, and wanted to see it come alive. So, Javier carefully considered and discarded dozens of options, before finally inspiration struck.
The idea came from the Internet. Preparing himself for one of the largest conventions in the world, Javier scrolled through fan site after fan site, looking for ideas, and trying to get a feel of the whole thing. This was hos he accidentally came across a guy with a genius idea: A character whose sole purpose was going around, helping people fix their costumes on the go. Now that was something Javier could definitely get behind.
Of course, he put his own spin on the outfit. The original focused on utility, while Javier could not help but redesign the idea in a more streamlined fashion. What he created was essentially a very basic "superhero" outfit - a very simple black tactical uniform, mostly hidden by the utility belt he wore around his hips, weighed down with all the tools of costume-fixing, from scissors to duct tape, and the line of colorful threads across his chest. His breast pocket held pins of all shapes and sizes. The finger-less gloves and the shades were just for show, but all in all, Javier felt like he managed to look okay, while also making it very obvious what he was supposed to represent at the con. He hoped that by being helpful to people, he would feel more comfortable in the crowds, and he could, at the end of the day, simply be a (more heroic-looking) version of himself.
Hey Javi! You here yet? Would be so much easier if I actually knew what you dressed as.
He already had Booker in his sight when he got the message. Javier glanced at his watch: He was not late, but Booker had arrived a lot earlier (as per usual, even by Javier's standards). He smiled a little as he noticed the familiar figure in the dashing superhero outfit. Booker could definitely wear both costume and character: He was just as likable (not to mention just as... tall and handsome). Javier picked up his pace and walked over, waving a hand at Booker, suddenly feeling nervous to see his first reaction to the outfit.
"Sorry for being late" he said, even though he wasn't "Nice costume choice. You definitely fit the part." he added with a smile, not sure in what way Booker would take the compliment.
King Con is a yearly pop culture convention in the heart of New York City that draws thousands of geeks from all over the continent. Comics, TV shows, games, anime - you name it, they have it. Celebrity guests, panels, cosplay contests, vendors, weird Korean pop music, ViewTube personalities... every branch of geekdom can find what they love the most. The con is a three-day long weekend event filled with all kinds of people - most of them in costumes. This year, it promises to be even bigger as geeks from the AV trickle through to explore new fandoms, or watch their favorite TV show that was not cancelled on this side of the rip.
This year, there is also going to be a little extra excitement.
A group of (very nerdy) people decided to make the main day of the con (Saturday) even more of an event - by crashing it. The idea is that they will try to recreate all kinds of geeky situations for the people at the con to deal with; whether it is an attack of vaccum-cleaner-looking mechanical alien machines, or turning two groups of superhero cosplayers against each other, they will trigger multiple crises at once at various points of the convention center. They are geeky, they are creative, they are all for wreaking havoc, and they are not against collateral damage. Some of them are mutants with powers useful to the cause; others are tech-savvy humans that know how to pull off some movie grade special effects. They will put all of this to good work to make people believe things are serious.
The practical side: This miniplot offers the opportunity for people to start individual threads, and pick their own geeky references. The convention center setting is big enough that people can RP out various crisis situations independently from each other. The primary goal of the tricksters is not to cause serious casualties or kill people - they simply want to cause trouble in the geekiest ways possible, so the plot is more "superhero shenanigans" than "war zone." Of course things (or powers) might get out of hand, and require some brawling along the way.
Plot has been mod approved. Use this space to bounce ideas and find your con buddies. Tag threads related to the miniplot with KC or KingCon.
There were enough superheroes, vigilantes, and other over-powered people in New York City to go around. If one threw a stone, one was bound to hit at least one of them (and probably piss several off). Javier felt like one more or one less was not really going to make any difference. Only make things exponentially crazier.
>>”I dunno man...this town… It just has a way of calling in trouble. People like the X-Men will probably need their costumes mended. I’m sure you can help with that.”
Javier winced a little, as Booker accidentally guessed what he had already been doing. For Maya, anyway, not as an official, on-the-payroll vigilante tailor or anything. But it was a job, and he enjoyed the challenge. Even if he could not really talk about it to Booker. "Maybe..." God, he was bad at lying. Or even keeping secrets.
The shirt was not exactly ruined - it had kind of been scrap to begin with. He made notes to make sure next time there would be less of a chance that Booker would get stuck. Ripping a test shirt was not the same as trying to rip off the actual costume piece.
>>”Haha, okay. I’ll have to save that for my steamy fantasies, eh?”
Javier blushed furiously at the comment. It was not really even aimed at him, specifically, but he could sense that Booker was suddenly feeling hesitant about it, and in turn he also felt like they had crossed some kind of a line. At least Booker was wearing his shirt now. Javier chuckled a little to ease the tension, and did not comment anything, for fear of making it worse.
>>”Once will be fine… SO! Ugh, yeah, there’s definitely no rush in making it. I mean, heh, plenty of time until the convention so definitely no need to make it priority.”
"Okay" Javier nodded slowly. He was not sure how they were going to progress from here... so he decided to focus on the work, which he did have experience with. "Um, I think the pants will need a little more work than this. So... how about you come back, maybe later this week? I'll have a better version of the shirt, and a decent try at the pants, and... we can go from there?" The pants would definitely need some more work. And some mental preparation. In case they needed to be ripped too.
Javier really felt bad about finding the sight of Booker stuck in a shirt so amusing. It was just... very Booker, having the physique of a male underwear model, and the attitude of a golden retriever pup.
>>”Great. So this is how I die: embarrassed and trapped in a shirt. My psychic was right.”
Javier chuckled as he worked on the shirt. It was going to be thrown out anyway, or recycled as scrap fabric, but there was something... intimate about ripping a shirt off a guy, whatever the context. He knew he was blushing, but at least Booker was a little flustered too, by the time he emerged from his cocoon. Javier stepped back to let him wiggle out of the shreds of the test shirt. Yeah. A little looser next time.
>>”Hey yourself... Um, thanks for the rescue. Quite heroic, actually. I may have to start calling you the Brave Little Tailor from now on.”
Okay, so now he was shirtless, and definitely too close for comfort. Javier was almost glad for the terrible joke, because he could roll his eyes and move away, putting some polite distance between the two of them. "Hey, I know New York is full of superheroes, but I feel like the bar is not quite that low" he chuckled. It was kind of ironic, being part of a joke about heroism for ripping a shirt, as someone who could lift vehicles on a good day. Even if he rarely had good days, ever.
"Well, your costume might be a one time item" he noted, jotting down some notes "It's not going to be this tight, but... well. You're gonna have to practice taking it off, if you don't want someone to rip it off every time..."
Couples worked best if they could do things together - or, in Javier's limited experience, if they could do silly things together. For someone who took a long time to warm up and relax around people, the idea of doing something fun and silly without feeling embarrassed was the marker of a good (theoretical) relationship.
>>”It’s been known to happen. Pretty fun too. Sometimes couples get super creative. There was this one couple who went around dressed as Flying Fox’s murdered parents. Whenever they saw someone dressed as Flying Fox, they would shout his name and run up to him and then fall dead at the cosplayer’s feet.”
Javier laughed at the idea. "That's... horrible" he chuckled, shaking his head "But funny..." Case in point. Creativity and people who were having fun in their element.
He handed the shirt to Booker for trying on. Booker seemed excited to do so; he shed his nerdy t-shirt on the spot, simply turning his back at Javier. Javi did not know where to look. He didn't want to do a full turn and seem like overly prudish; but he also really did not want to stare at Booker half naked. So he averted his eyes and fiddled with his own shirt sleeves, catching glances from the corner of his eyes to see when Booker was done with putting the test costume on.
>>”You’re right about it being tight... It fits, but kinda just barely? Maybe a smidge looser so my circulation doesn’t get cut off.”
Well... it did fit. It left nothing to the imagination, really, sitting snugly around Booker's torso and lining his abs and his chest, but yes, technically, it did fit. Booker moved around and flexed, and Javier focused on the material shifting. He made mental notes on where the seams had to be done a little differently, to allow more movement instead of accidentally ripping. "Yes, we can do better for the real thing." All in all, Booker really looked like he could be an actual superhero. If he had any powers, that is... And if he did, shedding a shirt was not really one of them.
>>”Um… Little help?”
Javier chuckled a little, amused at how Booker got halfway stuck, then reminded himself that it was not polite to laugh at someone in a desperate situation, even if it was funny, and sort of self-inflicted. He stepped up to Booker, taking in the tangled shirt, and decided that trying to pull it off was going to be too awkward, and possibly accident-prone. So he reached up to catch a seam, and pulled... but the material, being flexible, did not budge to the attempt. Javier clicked his tongue in annoyance. Sure, his powers were not usually very useful when he was anxious, which he definitely was, so close to a (mostly) shirtless Booker in such an awkward way, but really, not even enough strength to rip a seam? Pathetic.
"Stay still." Reaching behind him, he picked up scissors from the table, made a small cut along the seam, and then braced himself for another try. This time, the seam gave way, rrrrrrrripping all the way along the side. Javier smirked as Booker's face appeared again, hair sticking out in weird ways, but at least free of the costume. "Hey. There you are."
Javier could sense that Booker was hesitation about the conversation, so he decided to keep working on the shirt while his friend figured out what exactly he was trying to say. It was a lot easier when someone was not staring at you, wondering where you were trying to go. But at least he had managed to give Booker a decent indication that he was single, and that he was bi. Or at least, so he hoped. The sewing machine made a whirring noise, until the next seam was done.
>>”Yeah my last girlfriend was not familiar with the scene but she seemed to get into it… …last boyfriend... He definitely didn’t like it. Probably shouldn’t have taken that as a sign that we were going to broke up, eh?”
It seemed like the two of them had more in common than Javi had thought. Booker had boyfriends and girlfriends, so he was also bi, or pan, or... some other sexuality that involved boyfriends and girlfriends. Javier would have been lying to himself if he said he was not glad to find out. Also, Booker was not talking about anyone in the present tense. It was telling that Javier felt relief mostly because that meant he did not have to have an awkward introduction to a significant other. He did not always get along as easily with significant others than he did with the people who were his friends in the first place.
He had only told Booker a half truth, though. The full truth was that not even in college did he really have a boyfriend or a girlfriend... none that stuck, anyway. The closest he got to a relationship was his... thing with Jack, who somehow managed to be a person he fully trusted, and occasionally was intimate with in the past. But as far as dating went...
"Couples that cosplay together, huh" he chuckled when the sewing was finished, and got up from the machine.
"Okay, you can try this on" he held the shirt out to Booker "It should be a snug fit... I tried to push the limits to see if it would... look the way it looks in the picture. This is just a test, for the fabric, to see how you can move in it, and how tight it needs to be." Given Booker's physique, the looks were probably not going to be a problem, but the movement might. "And if you get stuck, we can just r... cut it off, no harm done."
Javier glanced up to catch the wonder on Booker's face when he mentioned the kind of outfits he wished he could work on. It was close to the whole superhero-cosplay thing, except... for real. It was another kind of excitement, something that dew Javier in a lot more than the idea of using his... actual superhuman strength. Which he sometimes forgot about.
>>”Wow. That…that is like so completely amazing! I mean, to be able to make effective clothing like that would certain expand your market and it would help so many people. You certainly impress me more and more every time I talk to you, Mr. Moreno.”
Javier blushed a little and chuckled as he set the machine up. He appreciated Booker's admiration, and that he could see why his work would be useful for people, mutants especially. But he was also almost sure that there was another thought forming in Booker's head... and he told him the web shooters were not really in the plan.
>>”Ugh!! Breaking my heart here!”
Javier laughed and shook his head, beginning to sew the shirt. The material was not exactly cooperating, but it was not as horrible as expected either. He clicked his tongue, adjusting things on the machine. In the meantime, he left Booker alone with his thoughts, even though he already knew that tended to ahve unexpected results.
>>”You know, for the convention thing, if you did want to go, you can bring someone if you want to? I know enough people to get an extra ticket. That way, you know, your girlfriend…boyfriend…spouse or whatever could come too? Just let me know. I’ll make it happen.”
Javier looked up; it took him a minute to take in what Booker was saying, and also what he was implying. He blushed again. Was Booker trying to ask if he was single? Surely not. Booker would have just asked outright, more likely than not. Most likely, he was just offering a nice gesture, like the nice person he was. Javier sewed another line on the shirt before he answered.
"I don't... have any of those" he confessed, feeling a little awkward about it. He did not want to seem like a complete charity case, running the small shop, being socially awkward, and not having a date. But that was kind of the reality of it. "Honesty, I haven't had a girlfriend and boyfriend since college. New York is kind of a crazy place." he shrugged with a shy smile "But thanks for the offer. Um... for the extra ticket, I mean. I appreciate it."
Should he ask? He should not ask. If this really was just Booker being nice, there was no reason to make something awkward about it. But if he didn't ask, there would not be another chance anytime soon. Sure, the Humpr alert kinda suggested Booker was single... or not, but Javier didn't think he was that kind of a person. Javier opened his mouth, but then changed his mind, and went back to sewing the shirt.
>>"Solks are... too 'usy stayin' in dere own lane, to look around,"
Dating in New York was frustrating for a lot of reasons. It was a big city, full of opportunities - but it was also a busy city full of strangers and visitors, which made making friends a hard job. For someone like Javier, who was not into occasional hookups, the whole thing was a nightmare. Not impossible, but also not very comforting. For Jack, it was very similar. They had shared those experiences before; it was one of the reasons they were close.
>>"Wanna... Get sun tea as-ter you sin-ish utt here, today?"
"Yeah... that sounds nice" Javier nodded with a smile. "But I am warning you, I am a terrible wingman for tea shops..."
Javier did now show it, but he was actually excited. He was not a fan of the X-men, but at least they tried to work with the police, and have some sort of a system for the rules they followed. On the other hand, the outfit was definitely a challenge, and one that he always hoped he would get to do. A professional outfit for someone with extraordinary mutant powers.
>>"Blue is the color of the loaner uniforms. So it could be blue. It doesn't have to be. It does have to have a prominent X somewhere for easy identification. Doesn't have to be contrasting in color, just... big. And there?"
Javier nodded. That was a design issue. A fashion statement, in a way, but also branding, and important in situations that were chaotic enough wihtout unrecognizable uniforms making an appearance.
>>"The skirt and the heels— oh goodness. I didn't even bring the shoes. Those are both artifacts of a... previous design preference that I was not invited to give my opinion on."
Javier chuckled a little. The heels. No woman (or man) doing actual vigilante work would choose to work in heels. That just did not happen, despite what comic books claimed.
>>"I think I would prefer to swap to pants, provided that it doesn't hike up. Y'know."
Javier blinked, blushing a little as he realized what she was talking about, about pants hiking up. "Yes, that's... a functionality issue. It'd have to be designed like active wear, for a wide range of motions. So that it is not restricting, and doesn't shift out of... where it needs to be. You said that your powers don't cause a problem with the outfit?..."
Javier turned the pinned shirt around a few times, trying to decide how best to sew it together. It was not going to be a perfect fit; he mostly just wanted to see how the fabric would behave with the sewing machine, and how much it would stretch once put on. It was easier than putting in all the detail work and then throwing it all out at the last stage.
>>”So long as you can see the bright shiny side of things. And who knows, maybe you’ll eventually get to design those special outfits? You never know what the future will bring.”
"You never know" Javier smirked, sitting at the machine "I've had some jobs that were pretty fun, lately."
Count the original 19th century dresses, and the X-uniform among them. Of course he was not going to mention either to Booker specifically. Client confidentiality, and all that.
>>”What kind of suits, if you don’t mind my asking? Unfortunately chemistry isn’t my forte. Now if you have book or digital information questions, or nerd questions, I’m definitely your guy.”
Javier smiled. Smiling came easy around Booker. He was the kind of guy that everyone wanted to be their guy, books or nerd questions or otherwise.
"Not that far from your superhero costumes, actually" he admitted, setting the machine up "I mean, working for vigilantes... I am not sure how I'd feel about that. But outfits that are practical... you know, things that adjust to mutant powers. Like shapeshifting, or... fire" he chuckled, nodding at Bandit's costume, referring to their earlier conversation "I like the challenge of creating materials that can handle that kind of stress. or do specific things. Practical things." he arched an eyebrow at Booker "And before you ask, no, I'm not going to design any real life Arachnid Adult web shooters..."
Javier worked in silence for a bit as Booker looked around. He wondered if the librarian was getting bored, or if he was trying to think of a new topic to talk about. The shirt really wasn't that complicated (not at this stage, anyway), but it would need some more time before it was ready for a test.
>>”You really do have a great shop here. It’s...you.”
Javier glanced up again, with some pins between his lips. He was not sure what Booker was trying to say, but he was smiling, so it was probably a compliment.
>>”Don’t ask me what I mean by that because I honestly don’t know. I just...I see this place and it's exactly what I imagined when you said you were a tailor.”
Javier chuckled. A lot of people had a lot of ideas of what tailors looked like and what they did. Booker seemed genuinely interested in his work, but then again, Booker seemed genuinely interested in everything. He finished pinning the shirt. "Thanks?"
>>”Did you always want to be a tailor? Is this, like, your dream?”
"My dad's a tailor" Javier answered, shifting things around as he moved over to the sewing machine in the corner. He had a couple of them, but this one was set up for tests and quick fixes "So I kinda grew up around it. I actually studied chemistry in college." he added with a chuckle "I wanted to work with special materials... Design special work outfits and the like. But it turns out, running a shop is just fine for me. It's not a stressful job." It was better to do things at his own pace, and still make money. At least not many exciting and stressful things tended to happen around a tailor shop.
Booker put himself into a more comfortable position, watching Javier work. The tailor was not a big fain being watched; it usually made him feel uncomfortable, on the spot, or simply as if a customer was checking if he was working fast enough or well enough. But Booker had proven by now that he was not that kind of a person. Still, keeping the conversation going was a good distraction, so Javier brought up the topic of people hitting on costumes at cons.
>> ”Oh yeah. It’s an excuse for a lot of sweaty nerds to gawk at their favorite comic and film characters come to life. I never hooked up at one, but I’ve certainly heard stories.”
Javier had no doubt that Booker was telling the truth - but he also had no doubt that people had to be hitting on him all the time. He picked his costumes well, he had the physique to back them up, plus he was just overall a very friendly and likable person. People would want to be close to him, especially when he was dressed as a superhero.
>>”And, if you do go, don’t gawk at the Booth Babes when they are not working. Trust me, they hate that. I saw this one guy dressed up as The Badger. Totally ripped, completely looked the roll, and he was drooling over this booth babe who was on her lunch break. And she must have had enough because she clocked him directly in the eye. So, as a concerned friend, I’m warning, don’t pester them when they are trying to eat their chimichanga.”
"Duly noted. I don't think that's gonna be a problem." Javier laughed. It was a funny story, even though the warning was redundant: He would not really hit on anyone at a con, so he was definitely not in danger of being punched in the eye. He was done cutting patterns now, and moved on to pinning things together, which was a bit of a pain with stretchy materials like this one.
It was strange, admitting something like that to Booker. Not like Javier had not told people before about his issues. He had a precious few friends and close family who knew, and sometimes he had to signal them in situations where they were relevant. No, it was strange because up to this point Booker had given him no indication that he noticed his awkwardness at all. In fact, he had been treating him like an average person someone made friends with at the farmer's market. It was nice, and Javier did not want to lose it by going too far into explaining his issues.
>>”You know, you’d be surprised how easily you blend in with the crowd there, even in costume. Everyone is there to just have fun… ...and get laid by people in costumes to live out their fantasies.”
Javier arched an eyebrow again, and chuckled a little. Leave it to Booker to say something like that. Not that the existence of dressing up for erotic role-play was news to Javier, even if he had never ventured into that subculture, either as participant or as a fashion professional. But he was certainly not going to judge people for it. Even Booker.
>>”Not me, of course. I go because I like dressing up. But sometimes all you need is the right person to go with... You know, if you ever felt like tagging along, I wouldn’t mind. I love introducing people to the convention scene. Plus, you wouldn’t be alone! You’d know me. But I understand if not. Consider it an open invitation?”
Javier paused as he glanced up again. Booker was beaming with his usual open friendliness, inviting him along to participate in the con as... um. Not a date, clearly. But still, it was nice of him to offer, knowing that such a place would not be very comforting for Javier to be in, costumed or otherwise. Besides, he admired people who got as committed to a hobby as Booker did. He liked to be around them, for the sheer enjoyment.
"I'll definitely think about it. It does sound fun." he nodded with a smile, before he turned back to his work. He wondered what it would be like to actually go to a con with Booker as he finished laying out the simple pattern, and began to cut. He thought about the offer, for more reasons than one. "People really go there..." he paused "... for their superhero crushes?" he finally asked, with a chuckle "I mean, I can kinda see it..." he gestured at the shirt in progress. He paused, glancing up at Booker again, realizing that his comment was a little too easy to misread. "I mean, the superhero thing. Confidence is attractive." Especially if you had none. And you also did not know how to dig yourself out of this conversation.
Javier looked at the two different shades of fabric on the table. He was generally goof at his job, but if he really was truly talented at anything, he was talented at colors. He was only working from one picture, and neither was a perfect match, but he could use either for a test, and fix the color issue later.
>>”Those definitely work... I think that’s closest!”
Booker, on his part, was simply and endearingly enthusiastic. He had a smile that Javier liked to look at, and he was totally in for the full experience. In this case, for getting a costume made. Javier pulled up the pad with the measurements, and some patterns, and got to work with some chalk.
>>”You ever been to a convention to cosplay? I mean, with your skill, you could probably make yourself any costume. Biclops, Flying Fox, I bet you could pull off a Blur cosplay. You have the physique.”
Javier arched an eyebrow, glancing up at Booker, then down at himself. He knew most of those names only by passing, and he had never really put much thought into comparing his physique to that of a superhero. He decided to take it as a compliment, with a small smile.
"No, I've never been... not really the superhero type." he confessed, his hands working on the fabric. He paused, wondering if Booker would take his comment as some kind of a judgment on his hobby, and sighed, gesturing at himself "I mean... socially awkward. You probably guessed. And conventions tend to get... overwhelming. I don't think I could pose in front of strangers."
>>"If you could manage without destroying the old one... Yes. Absolutely."
Javier picked up the old outfit and laid it out. He was taking in the details and the work someone had put into it, and already thinking about changes that he would make. But he did not want to spring all that on the young woman. He would listen to her ideas first.
>>"Let's see you asked about specific ideas? I suppose I could list the things I don't like about the old one? That's a place to start at least."
"That works." Javier nodded. Problems led to solutions that led to improvements. He could work with that.
>>"That uniform is a little flashy since it's white and grey. Stealth at night isn't even an option. It provides little to no actual protection which is okay, I need the maneuverability. And I need the fabric to breathe. But... there's the dumb, uh... there's a skirt. I don't know what to do about that, uh, whole... area."
Javier blinked. The woman blushed a little, which in turn made him blush too. But now that he was faced with specific problems, he could focus on those before things got too awkward.
"Okay, so... different color. Does it have to be... some kind of blue? The X-men wear blue, right?..." he was not sure if that was simply a preference, or an actual requirement.
"Also, flexibility, and possibly more protection, as long as it does not harm the flexibility. And... do you want to keep the skirt and have something... under it, or would you rather switch it for pants?"
