Dr. Anomaly

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"Okay, that's it...we're going to need a bigger dragon."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Hey...just because I haven't died, then been brought back by some kind of lizard shaman and gotten superpowers as a result, doesn't mean my life isn't complicated!"
 
 
-----
 
 
"Okay, I'm going to change forms to Hathor, wearing a FedEx uniform...as no FedEx uniform has ever been worn before!"
 
 
-----
 
"And thus the main guns of the battleship Missouri are used to shoot down a mosquito."
 
(referring to Hathor turning the full force of her attentions on a mere mortal.)
 
 
-----
 
 
Dr. Anomaly's sister, Rebecca: "Come in and sit down, Solomon...or should I say, 'Dr. Anomaly'?"
 
Dr. Anomaly: (stunned silence, followed by) "How...when...how long have you known? How did you find out?"
 
Rebecca: "I've only known for a few minutes; I never had cause to probe your mind before, and never suspected my brother was more than the flake the popular press thinks he is. In hindsight, of course, it should have been obvious."
 
Dr. Anomaly: "Waitaminute...my sister is a metanormal? Rebecca, when did this happen?!?"
 
 
-----
 
 
Rebecca: "Honestly, Solomon, at this point, I think we should move any further discussion to my laboratory/HQ." (She flips a concealed switch and a bookcase slides aside, revealing a hidden staircase leading downward. A faint hum of some kind of esoteric power generator can be heard from below.)
 
Kathleen: "Solomon, why doesn't our base have a secret laboratory like this?"
 
Solomon: "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to try and remodel an indestructible, invulnerable building?"

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"The Rod of Orcus...and at a dollar store, no less. Who would've thought?"
 
-----
 
"If the plane breaks down, it's not like we can just pull over and call Triple A."
 
-----
 
"In the history of the world, I wonder just how many other merc contracts have been signed in return for cookies?"
 
-----
 
"If black denim curtains can't keep the sun out...move to a planet other than Mercury."
 
-----
 
"Don't throw a book at me...throw something metal!"
 
-----
 
"Somewhere in the universe, the star named 'Normal' just went supernova."
 
-----
 
In the Dark Conspiracy-esque game, the group is trying to track down a particularly brutal sort of killer who, the last time the group tangled with her, sacrificed the soul of one of Dr. Travis Trent's graduate students in a black ritual. Dr. Trent, as well as the rest of the group, want this ***** bad, and are willing to go through a lot to find her. Currently their best lead finds them 'climbing the ladder' of the extreme end of the S&M/B&D community, using each club or group as a stepping stone to find the next higher, more extreme, club.
 
In the most recent club, the floor show for the night was what you might call audience-participation torture, with members of the audience being both victim and torturer. In order to try and make a 'good impression' so as to secure the attention of someone who could direct them to the next rung on the ladder, when asked if he would participate, Dr. Trent agreed...as a victim. After his time 'in the spotlight', another member of the group helped him back to where everyone else is sitting. Trying his best to ignore the pain of his injuries, and worried about the psychological stress the rest of his party may have endured seeing him being tortured for the delight of the audience, he asked them: "Are the rest of you alright?"
 
Rather wide-eyed and more than a bit wild-eyed, Rain looked at the rest of the members of the group, then back at Dr. Trent and said "After that...you have the nerve to ask us if we're alright?!?"

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
There were a lot of ones from various games this weekend; some of them were a bit...risque, and I'll try to make sure they can make it past the censors.
 
 
Champions Game
 
"And the geek shall inherit the Earth."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Yeah, he's really an anomaly wrapped in an enigma."
 
"Uhm...considering I saw Dr. Anomaly and Enigma coming out of the same bedroom this morning before breakfast, you might want to think about choosing a different turn of phrase for that problem..."
 
 
Teen Champions
 
"I didn't fall over because I have a very low center of gravity."
 
"You do? How low?"
 
"The center of the Earth."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Wait a minute! You're a Buddist monk...who knows about baseball?!?"
 
 
Dark Conspiricy-esque Game
 
Travis: "Somehow, I never thought that planning out my wedding would end up including deciding on what kinds of tortures myself and my bride would be performing on each other for the audience of wedding guests."
 
Dan: "Travis, there's a reason most would refer to your fiance's people as dark elves..."
 
 
-----
 
 
Travis: "Dan, considering I'm the one who just zinged Terry, would you please explain to me how I came out on the losing end of that conversation?"
 
Terry: "It's simple...I'm a woman, which means I have t*ts."
 
Travis: "Well, I'm a man, which means that I have..."
 
Dan: "Travis, unlike poker, this is a game where a Pair beats an Ace High Straight."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Who would have guessed that a being capable of assuming any shape imaginable would turn out to be a sex fiend?"

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
There were a lot of ones from various games this weekend; some of them were a bit...risque, and I'll try to make sure they can make it past the censors.
 
 
Champions Game
 
"And the geek shall inherit the Earth."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Yeah, he's really an anomaly wrapped in an enigma."
 
"Uhm...considering I saw Dr. Anomaly and Enigma coming out of the same bedroom this morning before breakfast, you might want to think about choosing a different turn of phrase for that problem..."
 
 
Teen Champions
 
"I didn't fall over because I have a very low center of gravity."
 
"You do? How low?"
 
"The center of the Earth."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Wait a minute! You're a Buddist monk...who knows about baseball?!?"
 
 
Dark Conspiricy-esque Game
 
Travis: "Somehow, I never thought that planning out my wedding would end up including deciding on what kinds of tortures myself and my bride would be performing on each other for the audience of wedding guests."
 
Dan: "Travis, there's a reason most would refer to your fiance's people as dark elves..."
 
 
-----
 
 
Travis: "Dan, considering I'm the one who just zinged Terry, would you please explain to me how I came out on the losing end of that conversation?"
 
Terry: "It's simple...I'm a woman, which means I have t*ts."
 
Travis: "Well, I'm a man, which means that I have..."
 
Dan: "Travis, unlike poker, this is a game where a Pair beats an Ace High Straight."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Who would have guessed that a being capable of assuming any shape imaginable would turn out to be a sex fiend?"

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
There were a lot of ones from various games this weekend; some of them were a bit...risque, and I'll try to make sure they can make it past the censors.
 
 
Champions Game
 
"And the geek shall inherit the Earth."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Yeah, he's really an anomaly wrapped in an enigma."
 
"Uhm...considering I saw Dr. Anomaly and Enigma coming out of the same bedroom this morning before breakfast, you might want to think about choosing a different turn of phrase for that problem..."
 
 
Teen Champions
 
"I didn't fall over because I have a very low center of gravity."
 
"You do? How low?"
 
"The center of the Earth."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Wait a minute! You're a Buddist monk...who knows about baseball?!?"
 
 
Dark Conspiricy-esque Game
 
Travis: "Somehow, I never thought that planning out my wedding would end up including deciding on what kinds of tortures myself and my bride would be performing on each other for the audience of wedding guests."
 
Dan: "Travis, there's a reason most would refer to your fiance's people as dark elves..."
 
 
-----
 
 
Travis: "Dan, considering I'm the one who just zinged Terry, would you please explain to me how I came out on the losing end of that conversation?"
 
Terry: "It's simple...I'm a woman, which means I have t*ts."
 
Travis: "Well, I'm a man, which means that I have..."
 
Dan: "Travis, unlike poker, this is a game where a Pair beats an Ace High Straight."
 
 
-----
 
 
"Who would have guessed that a being capable of assuming any shape imaginable would turn out to be a sex fiend?"

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"There's an easy way and a hard way to resolve this. The hard way involves ketchup."
 
 
-----
 
 
"How complex a goddess do you need to be if your portfolio is one color of the rainbow? I mean, c'mon!"
 
 
-----
 
 
"All the parts were made in Korea, except the labels that say 'Made in Korea'."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
From last Saturday's Champions session:
 
1. [situation: The GM is explaining to a player who was not present at the session why all heck broke loose]
 
"The problem is, Iron Maiden has the social skills of an avalanche."
 
2. [situation: The hero team is debating the ethics of killing demons in front of their offficial govenment Secret Service liason]
 
Ryucin (Japanese mystical hero) "Technically, you don't *kill* demons, you just send them back to the Underworld."
 
Secret Service liason "Oh, then there's no problem; you're just extraditing illegal aliens."

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER
 
I'm on 86. I'm hoping to get that big boost soon. I think I may have a tidal pattern to my rep.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
These are all from tonight's Champions game:
 
"Somewhere, the laws of physics are getting bent over in a most improper fashion."
 
-----
 
"It would be rude to just go up to someone and start petting them."
 
-----
 
"Most peoples' minds don't have card catalogs."
 
-----
 
"Did someone use the doom ray to dig a bar-b-q pit...again?"
 
-----
 
"Well, if that other me is anything like me, then like me, it's likely that I...that she...you know, we really need a new vocabulary for this time-travel stuff."
 
-----
 
"Sometimes, it's better not to ask too many questions about Dr. Anomaly's devices or methods. He always gets the job done, but occasionally it's because he takes the laws of the universe out for dinner, a few drinks, and then back to his place, where he...well, you get the idea."

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER
 
Lemming is on 95, Bonedaddy on 91. They should be the next ascendees.
 
There are a few then in the 80s including Bazza.
 
At this rate I may be the 40th or 50th ascendee the rate I am going.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.
 
Dangit, Storn, quit posting art faster than I can rep you!
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
And here's another one from Friday night's Dark Conspiracy-esque campaign that I forgot to post with the others last night:
 
"Oh, God...I'm a Pokemon trainer!!"

Re: Musings on Random Musings
 

Exactly; no more than you do when watching a mime.

Re: Complicate the Person Above
 
Ancient earthlings feared a constellation they only knew as "death tribble".

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 

Okay, it was a rather complicated situation, but I'll try to explain as briefly and as simply as possible.
 
The team of which Dr. Anomaly is a member encountered a person who was a time traveler who said he was "stuck" -- he couldn't get a "lock" on his "home" time anymore, and he feared that meant his future no longer existed; he said he'd consulted many experts on time travel but none of them could help. The team member who encountered him suggested that he trying talking to Dr. Anomaly who, as a scientist and a mage, might be able to bring to bear abilities (or combinations of abilities) that other experts couldn't, and what did it hurt to try?
 
In the investigation and discussion with "Mark" (the time traveler) that followed, we discovered that as far as the universe was concerned, he simply didn't exist...no instrument could detect him, magic (and magical beings) couldn't interact with him or see him, even though he could physically interact with his surroundings, the laws of physics and magic, when applied from outside himself, didn't "stick." He was a powerful psionic, and we figured out that he didn't exist, not really...and the only reason he seemed to exist was that his own incredible force of will could make the universe interact with him, if he forced the issue, but outside forces couldn't.
 
It was eventually determined that the reason he couldn't get a "lock" on his home time was that he wasn't from this universe, or any alternate timeline or parallel universe...but from the universe that would come into being after our own eventually ceased to exist, many tens of billions of years hence. The reason our universe didn't "acknowledge" is presence was because at a very fundamental level, he didn't match up with the fundamental constants, etc. that had stabilized in the first few microseconds after our Big Bang. What was worse, though, was that a bit more thinking, theorizing, etc. led to the realization that he was, in essence, a man-sized bubble of quantum state zero...no quantum signature at all. This is an inherently unstable state, and if something happened to destabilize him...the collapse of the "bubble" that he represented could tear a very large hole in this universe. It was decided we needed to "weave him in" to this universe, and quick, before something happened to destabilize him.
 
We decided to do this by using nanobots to "swap in" matter of our universe in place of the 'matter' making up his body...carbon atom for carbon atom, oxygen atom for oxygen atom, etc. Theoretically, when we were finished, he would exist because he'd be made up of "stuff" from this universe, and the danger would be averted. This was all complicated by the fact that he was a very advanced, genetically-engineered person, with his own live-in colony of nanobots (for wound repair, etc.), much more advanced than those to which we had access, that tests showed would combat (and easily destroy) the "invading" nanobots we needed to use.
 
Eventually we came up with a way to do it, and started the process of replacement. In so doing, however, that made the possibility of him becoming destabilized a lot greater...which led to our universe, at least in the immediate vicinity, starting to have a "quantum fizz" in the timeline, as the future...or even the existence of a future, miliseconds ahead of the current moment...became very uncertain. The main way this manifested, at least as far as the characters were concered, as a sort of burning/itching in our heads as reality was starting to come apart. Dr. Anomaly, probably because of his INT of 40, was hit especially hard by this and was having a difficult time holding his concentration on the procedure.
 
The last major hurdle came when the matter in all of "Mark's" body except his head had been successfully swapped for "local" atoms; the problem there was that "Mark", as a very powerful psion, still had his self-conception rooted in where he did (will? would?) come from, and that was preventing us from being able to swap out the atoms that made up his head/brain.
 
One of our team, Scarab, is a multiformer themed on the Egyptian pantheon, and changed to its Anubis form, because among other things the Anubis form is a mentalist, and was going to try and pry "Mark's" psionic focus into the here-and-now. Despite the urgent need to try and scratch the itch inside his head, Dr. Anomaly realized that given the power of "Mark's" mind, that was almost certain to fail...but there was a sure-fire way to grab "Mark's" attention, and really focus it on the here-and-now, and make him want to be here, in this universe, and not in a place that didn't yet exist. Dr. Anomaly yelled "No, not Anubis! We need Hathor, and now!"
 
(Hathor has been short-hand described, in a Stargate episode, as the Egyptian equivalent of the Goddess of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. Scarab's Hathor form, among other things, has a 30 PRE, 30 COM...with +30 PRE, Only vs. Men, and +30 COM, only vs. Men. )
 
Anubis immediately changed, manifested as Hathor, in all her glory...and completely sans clothing of any sort. It grabbed "Mark's" attention, alright, focused him well-nigh instantly on the here-and-now, and in the next few seconds the replacement process was able to be completed successfully.
 
The "I'm glad my brain is itching" repeated phrase came from Dr. Anomaly, who unfortunately happened to be looking at Anubis when he called for Hathor, which meant he was looking at the all-too-naked Hathor who manifested a moment later. Now, Dr. Anomaly has nothing against good-looking women, even naked ones. The problem here is that Hathor is an aspect of a team-mate of his, he has no desire for any kind of "complications", and seeing Hathor that way, very deliberately exerting her influence-on-men to the fullest extent (on emergancy overload, you might say), gave him all kinds of thoughts that, for his own peace of mind and team harmony, he shouldn't be having, and desperately did not want to have, regardless of what his body's reaction said!
 
So, to try and drive that image out of his head, instead of fighting the terrible itching inside his skull, Dr. Anomaly focused on it, embraced it, tried to use it (unsuccessfully) to scour the image of Hathor from his mind, and was repeating the "I'm glad my brain is itching" almost like a mantra to help him focus on the itch rather than on Hathor.
 
A few seconds later, when the process was completed, the horrible itch went away as the "quantum fizz" in the timeline died down, as there was no longer a chance of a quantum collapse...and Hathor mercifully manifested some clothing and "turned down the wattage" on her PRE & COM.
 
So there you have it. I'm sorry it was that long, but that really is the shortest I felt I could give the context and have it make sense. (Then again, I never have been very good at condensing things when I write.)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 

Okay, it was a rather complicated situation, but I'll try to explain as briefly and as simply as possible.
 
The team of which Dr. Anomaly is a member encountered a person who was a time traveler who said he was "stuck" -- he couldn't get a "lock" on his "home" time anymore, and he feared that meant his future no longer existed; he said he'd consulted many experts on time travel but none of them could help. The team member who encountered him suggested that he trying talking to Dr. Anomaly who, as a scientist and a mage, might be able to bring to bear abilities (or combinations of abilities) that other experts couldn't, and what did it hurt to try?
 
In the investigation and discussion with "Mark" (the time traveler) that followed, we discovered that as far as the universe was concerned, he simply didn't exist...no instrument could detect him, magic (and magical beings) couldn't interact with him or see him, even though he could physically interact with his surroundings, the laws of physics and magic, when applied from outside himself, didn't "stick." He was a powerful psionic, and we figured out that he didn't exist, not really...and the only reason he seemed to exist was that his own incredible force of will could make the universe interact with him, if he forced the issue, but outside forces couldn't.
 
It was eventually determined that the reason he couldn't get a "lock" on his home time was that he wasn't from this universe, or any alternate timeline or parallel universe...but from the universe that would come into being after our own eventually ceased to exist, many tens of billions of years hence. The reason our universe didn't "acknowledge" is presence was because at a very fundamental level, he didn't match up with the fundamental constants, etc. that had stabilized in the first few microseconds after our Big Bang. What was worse, though, was that a bit more thinking, theorizing, etc. led to the realization that he was, in essence, a man-sized bubble of quantum state zero...no quantum signature at all. This is an inherently unstable state, and if something happened to destabilize him...the collapse of the "bubble" that he represented could tear a very large hole in this universe. It was decided we needed to "weave him in" to this universe, and quick, before something happened to destabilize him.
 
We decided to do this by using nanobots to "swap in" matter of our universe in place of the 'matter' making up his body...carbon atom for carbon atom, oxygen atom for oxygen atom, etc. Theoretically, when we were finished, he would exist because he'd be made up of "stuff" from this universe, and the danger would be averted. This was all complicated by the fact that he was a very advanced, genetically-engineered person, with his own live-in colony of nanobots (for wound repair, etc.), much more advanced than those to which we had access, that tests showed would combat (and easily destroy) the "invading" nanobots we needed to use.
 
Eventually we came up with a way to do it, and started the process of replacement. In so doing, however, that made the possibility of him becoming destabilized a lot greater...which led to our universe, at least in the immediate vicinity, starting to have a "quantum fizz" in the timeline, as the future...or even the existence of a future, miliseconds ahead of the current moment...became very uncertain. The main way this manifested, at least as far as the characters were concered, as a sort of burning/itching in our heads as reality was starting to come apart. Dr. Anomaly, probably because of his INT of 40, was hit especially hard by this and was having a difficult time holding his concentration on the procedure.
 
The last major hurdle came when the matter in all of "Mark's" body except his head had been successfully swapped for "local" atoms; the problem there was that "Mark", as a very powerful psion, still had his self-conception rooted in where he did (will? would?) come from, and that was preventing us from being able to swap out the atoms that made up his head/brain.
 
One of our team, Scarab, is a multiformer themed on the Egyptian pantheon, and changed to its Anubis form, because among other things the Anubis form is a mentalist, and was going to try and pry "Mark's" psionic focus into the here-and-now. Despite the urgent need to try and scratch the itch inside his head, Dr. Anomaly realized that given the power of "Mark's" mind, that was almost certain to fail...but there was a sure-fire way to grab "Mark's" attention, and really focus it on the here-and-now, and make him want to be here, in this universe, and not in a place that didn't yet exist. Dr. Anomaly yelled "No, not Anubis! We need Hathor, and now!"
 
(Hathor has been short-hand described, in a Stargate episode, as the Egyptian equivalent of the Goddess of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. Scarab's Hathor form, among other things, has a 30 PRE, 30 COM...with +30 PRE, Only vs. Men, and +30 COM, only vs. Men. )
 
Anubis immediately changed, manifested as Hathor, in all her glory...and completely sans clothing of any sort. It grabbed "Mark's" attention, alright, focused him well-nigh instantly on the here-and-now, and in the next few seconds the replacement process was able to be completed successfully.
 
The "I'm glad my brain is itching" repeated phrase came from Dr. Anomaly, who unfortunately happened to be looking at Anubis when he called for Hathor, which meant he was looking at the all-too-naked Hathor who manifested a moment later. Now, Dr. Anomaly has nothing against good-looking women, even naked ones. The problem here is that Hathor is an aspect of a team-mate of his, he has no desire for any kind of "complications", and seeing Hathor that way, very deliberately exerting her influence-on-men to the fullest extent (on emergancy overload, you might say), gave him all kinds of thoughts that, for his own peace of mind and team harmony, he shouldn't be having, and desperately did not want to have, regardless of what his body's reaction said!
 
So, to try and drive that image out of his head, instead of fighting the terrible itching inside his skull, Dr. Anomaly focused on it, embraced it, tried to use it (unsuccessfully) to scour the image of Hathor from his mind, and was repeating the "I'm glad my brain is itching" almost like a mantra to help him focus on the itch rather than on Hathor.
 
A few seconds later, when the process was completed, the horrible itch went away as the "quantum fizz" in the timeline died down, as there was no longer a chance of a quantum collapse...and Hathor mercifully manifested some clothing and "turned down the wattage" on her PRE & COM.
 
So there you have it. I'm sorry it was that long, but that really is the shortest I felt I could give the context and have it make sense. (Then again, I never have been very good at condensing things when I write.)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 

Okay, it was a rather complicated situation, but I'll try to explain as briefly and as simply as possible.
 
The team of which Dr. Anomaly is a member encountered a person who was a time traveler who said he was "stuck" -- he couldn't get a "lock" on his "home" time anymore, and he feared that meant his future no longer existed; he said he'd consulted many experts on time travel but none of them could help. The team member who encountered him suggested that he trying talking to Dr. Anomaly who, as a scientist and a mage, might be able to bring to bear abilities (or combinations of abilities) that other experts couldn't, and what did it hurt to try?
 
In the investigation and discussion with "Mark" (the time traveler) that followed, we discovered that as far as the universe was concerned, he simply didn't exist...no instrument could detect him, magic (and magical beings) couldn't interact with him or see him, even though he could physically interact with his surroundings, the laws of physics and magic, when applied from outside himself, didn't "stick." He was a powerful psionic, and we figured out that he didn't exist, not really...and the only reason he seemed to exist was that his own incredible force of will could make the universe interact with him, if he forced the issue, but outside forces couldn't.
 
It was eventually determined that the reason he couldn't get a "lock" on his home time was that he wasn't from this universe, or any alternate timeline or parallel universe...but from the universe that would come into being after our own eventually ceased to exist, many tens of billions of years hence. The reason our universe didn't "acknowledge" is presence was because at a very fundamental level, he didn't match up with the fundamental constants, etc. that had stabilized in the first few microseconds after our Big Bang. What was worse, though, was that a bit more thinking, theorizing, etc. led to the realization that he was, in essence, a man-sized bubble of quantum state zero...no quantum signature at all. This is an inherently unstable state, and if something happened to destabilize him...the collapse of the "bubble" that he represented could tear a very large hole in this universe. It was decided we needed to "weave him in" to this universe, and quick, before something happened to destabilize him.
 
We decided to do this by using nanobots to "swap in" matter of our universe in place of the 'matter' making up his body...carbon atom for carbon atom, oxygen atom for oxygen atom, etc. Theoretically, when we were finished, he would exist because he'd be made up of "stuff" from this universe, and the danger would be averted. This was all complicated by the fact that he was a very advanced, genetically-engineered person, with his own live-in colony of nanobots (for wound repair, etc.), much more advanced than those to which we had access, that tests showed would combat (and easily destroy) the "invading" nanobots we needed to use.
 
Eventually we came up with a way to do it, and started the process of replacement. In so doing, however, that made the possibility of him becoming destabilized a lot greater...which led to our universe, at least in the immediate vicinity, starting to have a "quantum fizz" in the timeline, as the future...or even the existence of a future, miliseconds ahead of the current moment...became very uncertain. The main way this manifested, at least as far as the characters were concered, as a sort of burning/itching in our heads as reality was starting to come apart. Dr. Anomaly, probably because of his INT of 40, was hit especially hard by this and was having a difficult time holding his concentration on the procedure.
 
The last major hurdle came when the matter in all of "Mark's" body except his head had been successfully swapped for "local" atoms; the problem there was that "Mark", as a very powerful psion, still had his self-conception rooted in where he did (will? would?) come from, and that was preventing us from being able to swap out the atoms that made up his head/brain.
 
One of our team, Scarab, is a multiformer themed on the Egyptian pantheon, and changed to its Anubis form, because among other things the Anubis form is a mentalist, and was going to try and pry "Mark's" psionic focus into the here-and-now. Despite the urgent need to try and scratch the itch inside his head, Dr. Anomaly realized that given the power of "Mark's" mind, that was almost certain to fail...but there was a sure-fire way to grab "Mark's" attention, and really focus it on the here-and-now, and make him want to be here, in this universe, and not in a place that didn't yet exist. Dr. Anomaly yelled "No, not Anubis! We need Hathor, and now!"
 
(Hathor has been short-hand described, in a Stargate episode, as the Egyptian equivalent of the Goddess of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. Scarab's Hathor form, among other things, has a 30 PRE, 30 COM...with +30 PRE, Only vs. Men, and +30 COM, only vs. Men. )
 
Anubis immediately changed, manifested as Hathor, in all her glory...and completely sans clothing of any sort. It grabbed "Mark's" attention, alright, focused him well-nigh instantly on the here-and-now, and in the next few seconds the replacement process was able to be completed successfully.
 
The "I'm glad my brain is itching" repeated phrase came from Dr. Anomaly, who unfortunately happened to be looking at Anubis when he called for Hathor, which meant he was looking at the all-too-naked Hathor who manifested a moment later. Now, Dr. Anomaly has nothing against good-looking women, even naked ones. The problem here is that Hathor is an aspect of a team-mate of his, he has no desire for any kind of "complications", and seeing Hathor that way, very deliberately exerting her influence-on-men to the fullest extent (on emergancy overload, you might say), gave him all kinds of thoughts that, for his own peace of mind and team harmony, he shouldn't be having, and desperately did not want to have, regardless of what his body's reaction said!
 
So, to try and drive that image out of his head, instead of fighting the terrible itching inside his skull, Dr. Anomaly focused on it, embraced it, tried to use it (unsuccessfully) to scour the image of Hathor from his mind, and was repeating the "I'm glad my brain is itching" almost like a mantra to help him focus on the itch rather than on Hathor.
 
A few seconds later, when the process was completed, the horrible itch went away as the "quantum fizz" in the timeline died down, as there was no longer a chance of a quantum collapse...and Hathor mercifully manifested some clothing and "turned down the wattage" on her PRE & COM.
 
So there you have it. I'm sorry it was that long, but that really is the shortest I felt I could give the context and have it make sense. (Then again, I never have been very good at condensing things when I write.)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 

Some time back, I was GMing a years-long-realtime Amber campaign. We always used background music for our games, and one disc we almost always had in the player in those days was the soundtrack to Last of the Mohicans. There's one particular track on there (don't remember which one now) that has a very ominous, loud, "dramatic" part...and it had an unnerving tendency to play just as I (the GM) got through delivering some dramatic announcement, or a disturbing bit of news from a major NPC. This happened lots of times, not just once. It got to be something of a joke: "Well, it couldn't have been that important...the CD player didn't do its 'dramatic bit'!"
 
Not strictly gaming related, but...
 
I seem to have an affinity with and for fire; enough so that most people who've got to know me over the years notice it without me telling anyone directly about it. They tend to capitalize on it when they can, too: "Scott, I can't get this ******* fire to light -- get over here and get this started so we can have a fire in the fireplace tonight!" and things like that.
 
One this particular occassion, I was the current GM and we were gaming at the house of a friend a couple of miles outside the city limits. As was usually the case on days with nice weather, at least one meal of the day-long game session was cooked on the grill out on the patio behind the kitchen. That day I was sitting out on the patio, talking over character development and background stuff with the player whose house it was...and he had been trying for many minutes to get the charcoal to light, but it was stubbornly refusing, and he was getting hot, sweaty, and very frustrated. Finally he put down the lighter on the patio rail, turned to me in annoyance and said: "Look...can't you do something about this? Use your influence or something!"
 
I said "What do you expect me to do, just wave my hand," -- and I did, in the general direction of the grill -- "and cause the fire to..."
 
WHOOOOSH!!!
 
A yard-high pillar of fire erupted from the charcoal, very nearly catching my friend in it, and then immediately settled down with the briquettes beginning to turn white at the edges as they burned. My friend, who had reflexively jumped back when the fire roared up, gave me the most venemous look you can imagine and said "Next time, wait until I'm out of the way!!"
 
I was sitting there mouth open, not finishing my sentence, because though I have a 'way' with fire, it had never responded so...vigorously...before!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"Stupidity has no shelf life."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"I didn't know Native Americans came in blonde."
 
"Well, you have to special order them."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"It's a causual dinner and we're relatively safe, so I'm only carrying the 9mm, my backup 9mm, and just four knives."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"Stupidity has no shelf life."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 

Some time back, I was GMing a years-long-realtime Amber campaign. We always used background music for our games, and one disc we almost always had in the player in those days was the soundtrack to Last of the Mohicans. There's one particular track on there (don't remember which one now) that has a very ominous, loud, "dramatic" part...and it had an unnerving tendency to play just as I (the GM) got through delivering some dramatic announcement, or a disturbing bit of news from a major NPC. This happened lots of times, not just once. It got to be something of a joke: "Well, it couldn't have been that important...the CD player didn't do its 'dramatic bit'!"
 
Not strictly gaming related, but...
 
I seem to have an affinity with and for fire; enough so that most people who've got to know me over the years notice it without me telling anyone directly about it. They tend to capitalize on it when they can, too: "Scott, I can't get this ******* fire to light -- get over here and get this started so we can have a fire in the fireplace tonight!" and things like that.
 
One this particular occassion, I was the current GM and we were gaming at the house of a friend a couple of miles outside the city limits. As was usually the case on days with nice weather, at least one meal of the day-long game session was cooked on the grill out on the patio behind the kitchen. That day I was sitting out on the patio, talking over character development and background stuff with the player whose house it was...and he had been trying for many minutes to get the charcoal to light, but it was stubbornly refusing, and he was getting hot, sweaty, and very frustrated. Finally he put down the lighter on the patio rail, turned to me in annoyance and said: "Look...can't you do something about this? Use your influence or something!"
 
I said "What do you expect me to do, just wave my hand," -- and I did, in the general direction of the grill -- "and cause the fire to..."
 
WHOOOOSH!!!
 
A yard-high pillar of fire erupted from the charcoal, very nearly catching my friend in it, and then immediately settled down with the briquettes beginning to turn white at the edges as they burned. My friend, who had reflexively jumped back when the fire roared up, gave me the most venemous look you can imagine and said "Next time, wait until I'm out of the way!!"
 
I was sitting there mouth open, not finishing my sentence, because though I have a 'way' with fire, it had never responded so...vigorously...before!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
In Saturday's game, a couple members of the team are meeting with a high-ranking VIPER member, incognito, during a function being held at the Scarab Club in Milennium City. Sentinel, the team's power armor wearer, stations himself on a nearby rooftop "just in case" something goes wrong or VIPER gets any "funny ideas." It turns out that the VIPER member had the same idea, and there's a VIPER aircav agent also stationed on the rooftop. After a bit of "strange cats sizing each other up" behaviors, Sentinel and the VIPER aircav agent come to the conclusion that (a) they're both there to do the same type of job and ( there's nothing to be gained from starting a fight with the other guy just this moment.
 
Sentinel is also moderately infamous inside VIPER circles because, before he was piloting it, the suit of alien power armor he wears was in the hands of VIPER. He's the main reason it's not in their hands any more, and they really do not like him much.
 
So, after some uncomfortable silence, the VIPER aircav agent tries to strike up a conversation with Sentinel, and is rather unsubtle about making a bid to get him to "come back" to VIPER.
 
VIPER: "I really don't understand why you left VIPER in the first place. You put your life on the line every day, and for what? Public adoration? That and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee. The rewards for being a member of VIPER are much higher than veneration by the masses."
 
Sentinel: "I make $300,000 a year. How much are you pulling down?"
 
VIPER: (more silence) "There are a lot of perks for being part of VIPER, the sorts of things that, as a superhero, you just don't get to do. That's a much bigger incentive than mere money."
 
Sentinel: "One of my teammates is the avatar of the goddess of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. How do you think that compares to your perks?"
 
VIPER: (long pause) "I think we should keep our minds on the job were supposed to be doing up here." (lapses into silence)
 
 
----
 
(One of Sentinel's teammates, Scarab, is a multiformer and most of her alternate forms are based on one of the gods of the Egyptian pantheon. One of those forms is that of Hathor. )