'Bout to hop on the bar and put it all on my card tonight | [closed]

[heartboxer]

WHO: Alex Louis Armstrong and Diamond Lil!
WHERE: Diamond Lil's house to the Local Heropa Bar.
WHEN: ....At night
WHAT: Alex Louis Armstrong and Diamond Lil take the Armstrong Family Challenge.
WARNINGS: 64 ounces of beer on the wall

A couple of months after their first training session, Armstrong finally got the materials together to repay Diamond Lil for all of her hard effort in maintaining her own skills and Armstrong's skills. With the materials and great care, he transmuted an amazing, ten foot, bronze statue with aluminum coating for that tacky illustrious shine. To complete the display of total tackiness, there's a Hawaiian shirt laid over the torso of the statue. It's pattern are two glasses of beer clinking against one another and it repeats frequently over the shirt.

He's not sure how Lillian is going to react to the gift. I mean, he expected her to be aware of the potential of its extravagance but sometimes Armstrong just happens to outdo himself. He hopes this isn't one of those times and he hopes that she'll accept the gift as eagerly as his offer to train with her. To make the scene slightly more puzzling, Armstrong is carrying this elegant statue with one arm.

He knocks on the door and his voice is coated with his usual sing-song enthusiastic tune, "Hello! Miss Lillian, I have your present in my arms as we speak! Can you please open the door so I can put it down? Carrying this from my home one handed has been quite the challenge!"

Comments

[glassbox]

Lil isn't sure really what it is that she should expect when she hears Armstrong's familiar voice through the door. She does remember them talking about a gift, and some discussion of a statue, but she isn't sure how seriously she actually took that conversation -- though retrospect, the man seemed sincere as a general rule, and she probably should've known he'd follow through.

The lock clicks, and the door swings open. Lil's face is, at the very least, one of the most readable faces in all of Heropa. Her eyebrows immediately rise towards her hairline as her stare moves visibly over each foot of that ten foot statue. She doesn't often say this, but in current company and with the size of his offering, she feels fairly dwarfed. It's novel.

"...Hi, hon," she finally greets him, unsure if she should be skeptical or amused or a bit of both. "Y'know, I'm thinkin' that might not fit in the living room. Y'might have t'leave it in the lawn."

[heartboxer]

Armstrong watches her silent and surprised reaction towards his creation. He's not sure what exactly her reaction is besides holy shit! He was serious!

He hopes to pry the answer out of her through his conversational skills by directly asking her, "Do you like it? I made it in your likeness, but I decided to add on a couple of feet to capture your invigorating, shining spirit! If you have a backyard, I can place it there but I would much prefer this artwork be kept safe from theft."

Lillian is free, as always, to point out that very few people would have the strength to even carry such an item, let alone steal it. Where are they even going to hide such a massive statue anyways? All of these questions, and more, should be raised to convince Armstrong that the lawn decoration is entirely acceptable and no harm shall befall it.

[glassbox]

She's leaning towards amused now, and a little flattered, mostly because she's never been given such an elaborate gift before -- and really, the man's utter sincerity about the whole thing is a bit endearing. Stepping outside, she shuts the door behind her and gestures for him to follow. She'd offer to help carry the sculpture, but Armstrong seems to be managing it just fine.

"Here, I'll let y'in t'the backyard by the gate." It's more convenient than trucking it all the way through the house, what with the furniture and doorways and all. She heads over to the fenced portion of the yard, opening the gate before moving aside to make room for him to pass. "I gotta say, I ain't ever seen anythin' quite like it. Don't figure anyone's ever tried t'capture my invigoratin', shinin' spirit either. It's one of a kind, for sure."

Leaning against the fence a bit idly, she goes on in a mild tone, "Hope it didn't take alotta your time, hon."

[heartboxer]

Armstrong continues to wield the statue as if it's the president and he's the secret service. He finds the most appropriate place to put it in the backyard, making sure that it veers over the fences and allows for neighbors to see the beauty of the larger than life sized Diamond Ll'.

"It didn't take up much of my time. The materials was the longest part, because the alchemy is almost instantaneous! A simple punch and I was able to reconstruct these materials!" Armstrong beams as he leans on the sturdy statue. It refuses to budge even an inch with all of the weight Armstrong is putting on it.

"I knew you would appreciate it more if it was shiny, so I transmuted the aluminum into something that'll shine brightly!"

[glassbox]

It's really quiet considerate, even sweet. Lil can safely say that no one has ever guarded a gift to her so thoroughly. Her neighbors will probably think it's bizarre, but fortunately Lil's never been the type to really give a damn what anyone else thinks about the things she likes. Besides, it isn't so unusual for superheroes to get commemorative statues, now is it?

"Y'got a real talent, hon, I gotta say," she answers as they wander into the backyard. Lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she scopes out a place for the sculpture. "With all those muscles y'got, wouldn't suspect y'were an artist except for the fact that y'told me."

God knows Lil only ever deals with things using brute force.

"How about that spot right there, over by the trees?"

[heartboxer]

Armstrong will place it in a spot that's as picturesque as humanly possible. It's not dwarfing the tree, but the trees really do serve to accentuate the ridiculous height of the statue. Armstrong smiles with a satisfaction that you'd probably only see if a president just won a war, yet Armstrong takes equal amount of pleasure of bestowing a gift to a suitable training partner.

"The body is not the only thing I can sculpt! Art is one of the purest expressions of beauty possible! It's a realization of the beauty that lurks within!" Armstrong's arms flex and point to the statue fabulously as he starts to glisten and sparkle for no reason other than to try and present sparkles.

Still, as much as Armstrong would love to talk about art, there's not a lot of it to be seen in the backyard. Immediately after the outburst, the topic changes, "I believe we are going to the bar tonight, yes?"

[glassbox]

Matt will probably be horrified to find that statue in his backyard. The man is blind, sure, but it's hard to miss something that big either way. But Lil loves it, and that's what counts. More importantly, it's been what feels like one million years since the last time she went out properly. It'll be fun to go to the bar, hang out with a friend.

She heads back towards the gate, out to the driveway to get her car.

"Y'better believe it," she answers as she walks. "You an' I are gonna have a good time. Bet you're gonna be a hit with the ladies too, build like yours."

[heartboxer]

Perhaps she can gently gib about the statue and say it's an amazing antique passed down from generation to generation. Technically, the only thing that would be wrong about that statement would be the amazing antique part but with a little age, dust and discoloration it will get there.

Armstrong flushes with a shade of red as he starts to stammer. Romance has never been a topic of security with the seven foot support beam disguised as a man. His overbearing temperament yet soft demeanor, coupled with his less than traditionally beautiful (bald, eyebrowless) face hasn't made him as popular with the ladies as one would believe.

"I believe a good time can be found wherever we are but I am only looking for that. I wouldn't want to start a relationship here, knowing I can go home at any minute." Call Armstrong old fashioned but he's very much married to his temporary temporal work.

[glassbox]

Lil, for once, sees absolutely nothing wrong with her friend -- though, to be fair, she is a sometimes crude and brazen woman who also sees no problem with being a six-foot-four invulnerable mutant either. They're clearly meant to be. If that wasn't certain, she even gives him a light play-punch in the arm as they walk to her car for good measure.

Digging out her keys, she unlocks the doors for them before sliding into the driver's seat.

"What's wrong with startin' a relationship? Y'might go home any minute. Y'might be here for years an' years too. Some folks've been around ages," she responds matter-of-factly.