Zortel

How does Thursday the 29th or Friday 30th March sound?

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The Jane & Nene example just threw me because they started talking about roleplaying and GM's, that's all.

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Ahhh, yes. Sorry about that! Indeed, in CoH there's a chain of gaming stores called the Wizard's Well, and Jane, being the geek that she is (Much to the dispair of her boyfriend), GM's several games there.

And yes, you can bring villains, as long as they're sociable and won't start talking about who they eviscerated that day.

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When I first read the thread I thought it was "speed meeting" characters. Now I see it's speed meeting players.

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No, it's speed meeting characters. If it was speed meeting players, this post wouldn't be in roleplaying.

Hmm... 10-15 minutes, say? I'm leaning towards 15 if there's a smaller amount of people, and 10 if there's a larger group, letting you fit more interaction with others in if there's more people. And aye, that's one point, the other points are that some players/characters might find it hard to approach others, this gives them an oppertunity to build up who they know and more easily get into conversations.

As for when, hmm... I'm not too sure. Where, the main dancefloor of Pocket D seems like the best area. Possibly next week, or the week after.

Speed meeting, not dating. Of course, if two characters hit it off and it develops further, that's fine, but the purpose is to help people find others to chat and drink with, or even team with.

What to do... okay, let's borrow Jane and Nene to demonstrate!

*The bell rings, signifying for people to swap who they're talking two. Jane approaches Nene with a smile.*

Jane Darc: Hey there, nice to meet you. I'm Jane Darc.
Nene Ninnezt: Hello Jane, I am Nene Ninnezt.
Jane: So, how're you finding tonight?
Nene: It is rather interesting, I have met several people that seem rather nice.
Jane: Cool, cool, so, what do you do then?
Nene: Apart from working in a cafe in Atlas Park, I do some hero work. And yourself?
Jane: Ghostbuster, Parapsychologist, mediator to the living impaired. Oh, I GM at the Wizard's Well in Galaxy City on a Thursday.
Nene: GM?
Jane: Yeah, roleplaying games and the like. It's cool.
Nene: I see... so I take it roleplaying interests you?
Jane: It does, it's a great laugh. What kind of things do you like then?
Nene: Well, I enjoy socializing with others, and a wide variety of music.
*Things continue like this till the bell rings*
Jane: Well, that's all we have time for, was nice chatting to you Nene.
Nene: And to you, Jane. Take care.
*The pair move off to find someone else to talk to.*

Okay! *Rubs hand*

Firstly, have we all heard of speed dating? For those that haven't, here's a brief description from Wikipedia:

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Men and women are rotated to meet each other over a series of short "dates", usually lasting from 3 to 8 minutes depending on the organization running the event. At the end of each interval, the organizer rings a bell or clinks a glass to signal the participants to move on to the next date. At the end of the event participants submit to the organizers a list of who they would like to provide their contact information to. If there is a match, contact information is forwarded to both parties. Contact information cannot be traded during the initial meeting, in order to reduce pressure (especially on women) to accept or reject a suitor to their face.

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Now, not saying we should have speed dating, but I was more thinking along these lines: A speed meet in Pocket D, where characters can chat to other characters for a brief period of time, then head off to speak to someone else after the time is up, in order to make new friends, comrades and heck, even just drinking buddies for after a long day.

Say Person A attends and speaks to Person C, D, H and I, Person A might think Person D and I are interesting, and afterwards decides to speak to them more, while finding Person C isn't the kind they hang about with, so don't.

If that makes sense.

It'd probably be arranged IC by Number Nine, or by Alraune, though I'm still pondering upon the way it'll be carried out, whether it will be random mingling or some kind of lottery to determine who talks to who.

"OH DEAR GOD! I... yuck! Isaac, you've got to get the cleaners in the ladies toilets, there's like a... rodent skeleton in one of the toilet basins!"

- A shrill woman in Pocket D last night, complaining to bartender Isaac.

((Taken from Wikipedia:

There are currently 29 IKEA stores in the U.S.

Sorry Birdy. *pats on the head consolingly*))

Sometime over the weekend, Hikari-Hime and Juan Ross went to a 2-bedroom apartment in Steel Canyon, checking it out before deciding that yes, they do want this place, and after some discussion of who gets what bedroom (Juan and Mina going for the one that gets the morning sun, seeing as Isaac often works nights and doesn't want to be blinded trying to get to sleep.), the need for a new, bigger and possibly stronger bed (oooer ), and whether to get a sofa bed or leather sofa, the two called friend/partner/general bad influence Isaac Anderson. seeing as he was the one putting up the deposit for the place, and the three met outside the estate agents to get the papers signed. Now just waiting for them to go through so they can claim their keys (Egad, 3 other sets need to be cut), the three headed back to their current domicile to speak with Sophie Reynalds, celebrate, look in many IKEA and other catalogues, and occasionally pinching Mina to inform her that she wasn't dreaming.

Jan Boa and Eco System caused havoc for Arachnos earlier in the week, leading their teams through Arachnos facilities and generally causing mayhem. When Jan let Eco know that she knew the location of Arachnos Agent Domonic, who led a raid into Eco's warehouse and confiscated his DJ'ing equipment, Eco went off like a man possessed, with Jan hot on his tail. The two wasted everything in their path, but Domonic was a strong one, and Eco sustained heavy injuries, and had to be knocked unconcious by his friend Tropic, and taken to Hospital, but not before beating Domonic's face into a bloody pulp, then the pulp into mush, all with a stream of F-words coming from his lips. Even Jan's boys were somewhat taken aback by Eco's ferocity.

Afterwards, Jan was less than happy in the state of her friend and lover, and her boys noticed this as she lead an expanded number of her forces into a Longbow facility to take down a Longbow Agent who had played her off against Arachnos for his own gains. Many Longbow agents fell in the all out attack, to both bullets and Jan's poison and fists. The agent was delivered to Arachnos with breaks in most of his appendages.

Luckily, all was well with Eco, apart from faking his own death to remove one of his previous aliases from the picture. In fact, just last night, Jan went back to Eco's place.

For a romantic dinner of being fed a live rat by the eco-terrorist.

Nowt like love in the Isles, is there?

Number Nine visited Madame Midknight and Dark Stone on saturday for a nice indian dinner, coming with a bottle of wine to give the couple, chatting and a gift from Jane of the latest MMORPG she's playing, as her continuned campaign of corrupting the gynoid goes on. Much talk was had, about synthskin, intolerence (Damn those stupid people, decrying the love between an older not-a-demon man and a mid-twenties undead geek) and children.

With Jane getting a little broody at the thought of raising a roleplayer from birth, reading bedtime stories from the monster manual and teaching the sprog how to count using DC checks and dice rolls. She insisted to Jared she wasn't though, and after Nene left with her new game and some hugs, Jane and Jared discussed bodily heating spells and the need or not for them, before the washing and drying up and general clearing away from dinner ensued, and a quiet night in for them.

Meanwhile on that Saturday, Nightschild took Alraune on a tour of the Golden Giza, which was one of the many things she was impressed with that night.

And after shopping for a new suit late Sunday evening, Dinah turned up for her job interview at Garden Jewels in Port Oakes, armed with her CV and a list of references, ready to impress prospective employer Roselin Thorne. She got the job.

To clarify, you can either make your character exactly as according to in game, or altered to include any RP'ed powers, such as I have for Hannah's cyberpathy with Datalink, and her ability to see electrical currents with Supersense: Electricity. I forgot to add Drain, as I said it was a quick roll up.

Just as the title says, what'd your character be like if statted in a pen and paper roleplaying system? You can use any applicable one that you can accurately roll your character in. For instance, I'll be using Mutants and Masterminds in this example for my electric Blaster, Fusebox. A fun little exercise for those who have access to various rulesets, and something I enjoy. Will do Nene soon and others of mine.

Fusebox:
Level 10, Medium Size


STR: 14 (+2) (Fuse is a fairly strong girl, from her gymnastics, weight training and generally keeping fit.)
DEX: 18 (+4) (A gymnast since a young age, Hannah is very nimble, agile and flexible, giving her great dexterity.)
CON: 11 (0) (A little more robust than other teens from her heroing career, but nothing super-human.)
INT: 20 (+5) (Hannah is a bright young woman, who is very skilled in a number of areas of science, technology and computers.)
WIS: 10 (0) (Hannah's wise in some situations, but still a little naive and unsure of herself in others.)
CHA: 16 (+3) (Hannah's an attractive, nice and polite girl, and is fairly charismatic.)

SAVING THROWS
Toughness: 0 (Hannah isn't that tough, so injuries can still affect her.)
Fortitude: 0/4 (Though her heroing and general bill of good health has given her some immunity and resistence.)
Reflex: 4/5 (9) (Her gymnastics and skills with FPS games show in her way above averge reflexes.)
Will: 0/3 (Hannah's got some strong will in her, but it can't compare to some of the things that get thrown at her.)

Attack: 8 (Good reflexes and a good eye help Hannah land her attacks)
Defence: 10 (And general nimbleness help her avoid them)
Dodge Bonus: 4 (Even in situations when caught off guard, women's intuition and natrual instincts help steer her right.)

SKILLS
Acrobatics: 12 (16) (Years of Gymnastics have honed her acrobatics to a superb level)
Computers: 14 (20) (And being around computers for most of her life has given her extraordinary talent with them.)
Gather Information: 8 (14) (Plus when you've used the internet as long as Fuse has, you tend to be able to get info quickly.)
Knowledge: Technology: 10 (16) (General tinkering and an innate grasp of electronics helps Fuse know what's what inside a machine.)
Knowledge: Popular Culture: 8 (14) (Internet again, and being your almost average teenage girl lends you lots of information about what's hot and what's not.)
Knowledge: General Sciences: 6 (12) (And having a physicsist and a chemist for parents gave her a natural edge in the sciences.)
Swim: 2 (6) (Living on a tropical island surrounded by water means that Hannah's okay at swiming.)

FEATS

Attractive (+4 Bluff/Diplomacy on those attracted) (Hannah's certainly pretty, and knows how to use it to her advantage.)
Attack Specialization: Ranged (+1 Ranged attack rolls) (Years of flyinging lightning bolts have given her an edge to her ranged blasts.)
Evasion (If Reflex save made against Area effect, no damage)
Evasion 2 (Half Damage on failed save) (Hannah's nimble, and trained in landing and avoiding damage.)
Instant Up (Stand from Prone as free action) (Hannah can also quickly get up thanks to her practices.)
Jack of All Trades (Use any skill untrained, proper tools required.) (Hannah's gifted in most things she tries, and can quickly pick up what to do with the right tools.)
Move-By Action (Can move before and after a standard action as long as distance doesn't exceed total movement range) (Dodging outcasts and being able to blast back is always handy.)
Quick Change
Quick Change 2 (Use of a special type of material lets Hannah shift in and out of costumes with just a surge of electricity.)
Skill Mastery (Computers, Technology, Pop Cult, Sciences) (Hannah's good at what she doesn't know, and what she does, she's great at.)
Well Informed (First time meeting group/person can make Gather INfo check to see if they know anything beforehand.)
(A PDA with Wifi lets Hannah do a quick check on someone, and good memory, being a voracious reader and rather curious means she might just know something about someone.)


POWERS
Absorbtion (Boost): Rank 5 (10 pp cost)
Limited (Electricity) -2 PP per rank
Alternate Power: Absorbtion (Heal) Rank 5
Limited (Electricity)
--------------((Total Cost: 11pp))--------------
((Hannah can draw in electricty from around her to heal quicker than most, or boost her existing powers.))

Electric Control: Rank 10 (20pp cost) ((Hannah can blast out powerful bolts of lightning from her body.))
Alternate Powers:
Datalink: 10 ((She can also directly interface with computers and electronic machinery to manipulate them.))
Strike (Aura, Electrical): 10 ((Or charge her fists and feet with electrical energy to enhance physical attacks.))
Stun: 10 ((A quick surge of electricty can incapacitate many things.))
Snare: 10 ((And a cage of lightning can soon restrain people harmlessly.))
-------------((Total Cost: 21pp))--------------
((Hannah's electrokineticism and cyberpathy lets her use her gifts in a variety of ways.))

Flight: Rank 3 (6pp cost)
-------------((Total Cost 6pp))---------------
((Hannah is able to form an electromagnetic field around her body, propelling her through the air.))

Force Field: Rank 6 ((6pp))
--------------((Total Cost 6pp))-------------
((Hannah can create surging arcs of lightning over her body, able to lessen and deflect incoming attacks.))

Super Sense: Radio ((1pp))
Super Sense: Electricity ((1pp))
-----------((Total Cost 2pp))-----------------
((Hannah is able to see electrical currents naturally, and with practice has learned to be able to discern and tune into communications frequencies, aided by her PDA.))

Posted in the Heroes side lobby to Pocket D, and distributed via letter/e-mail to those Fusebox knows.

Part Two
March 16th

Emily sat on her sofa, nibbling on one knuckle as she listened to the morning news on the radio. Still in her nightclothes, she had a phonebook on her lap, and the cordless telephone rested on the arm of the cream-coloured sofa. Her eyes darted to the clock on the Combo DVD/VCR player atop her TV, watching as it ticked closer to eight AM.

”It won’t tick any quicker if you watch it, Em. Unless you happened to pick up some temporal altering abilities while my back was turned?”

“I know… but you know how those switchboards get…”

”It’s seven twenty six, Em. Go take a shower and put breakfast on.” Ameterasu suggested.

“I’m… oh.. fine, you win Ameterasu. You win.” Emily said, giving up arguing with her Kheldian. He was right anyway.

”Usually am, my dear. Usually am.” He responded rather smugly.

She didn’t bother to dignify that with a response. Setting the phonebook to one side, she wandered into the bathroom and slipped out of her nightclothes, folding the shirt up neatly and leaving it on the lid of the toilet before hanging a towel over the side of the shower door. Stepping under the shower head, she shut the door behind her and flicked the tap on, tensing up as the cool spray of water burst from the showerhead.

”Please Em, for my sake if not yours, let it run a little first before getting under…”

“I know, but it helps wake me up a little.” Emily replied, pressing close to the wall of the shower cubicle, as far from the stream as she could get as she waited for it to warm up a bit. They must have had this argument every morning, and it showed no sign of ever being resolved. Finally, the stream was warm enough and Emily stepped back under it, starting to run her fingers through her hair. She was about to speak, when Ameterasu took the words from her mouth.

”Wear your dressing gown once you’ve dried off, we can wait till after the phonecall to see if you’ll need your work uniform on.”

“Get out of my head, Ameterasu… oh wait, you can’t.” Emily smiled, pouring some shower gel on her hands and starting to work it into her body, fingers running up her now rather well toned arms and legs, visible proof that her time in the gym had paid off.

”You’d be lonely without me, anyway.” Ameterasu sniffed.

“That’s true… think she’ll be able to see me today?” Emily asked, adding some more shower gel to her hands before rubbing it into her back, chest and torso.

”Sadly, I don’t have a link to her appointments book. I –could- try and bond with a computer if you were really curious. Or a filofax.” Her Kheldian replied cheekily.

“You’ve got to have a snappy answer for everything, don’t you?” She said, reaching for the washcloth.

”I try my best.”

Emily shook her head as she rinsed the rest of the suds off her, before squirting some conditioner into her hair and starting to work it in with her fingertips.

”This would go faster if we bought one of those shower radios, you know.”

“If you want music, I’ll sing.” Emily laughed, eyes closed as she tilted her head back to avoid getting the shampoo running into her eyes.

”I thought they banned sonic weaponry from being discharged in housing areas?” The smirk was audible in his voice.

“I’d hit you, if I wouldn’t be hurting myself in the process.” She grumbled in response, before rinsing her hair out.

“Ahhh, the greatest defence I have against your physical rebukes, Em.” Ameterasu laughed.

Shaking her head yet again, Emily turned the shower spray off and started to towel herself dry before stepping out of the cubicle. Wrapping the towel around her damp hair, she pulled on the light blue flannel bathrobe that was hanging on the back of the door and tied the belt around her waist. A quick tug of a cord dangling from the ceiling started the fan in the bathroom up to get rid of the steam, and she headed out back to the lounge to sit down.

The clock ticked closer to eight AM, and picking the phone up, Emily started to dial the number listed in the phone book. Curling her legs up under her on the sofa, she rested against the arm of it, listening as the dialling tone filled the earpiece.

“Good morning, Platinum Lake Priory Centre, Angela speaking.” The voice of the receptionist came through at last.

“Oh, good morning, would it be possible for me to get an appointment with Doctor Becker? At any available time.” Emily asked, the fluttering of nerves starting in her stomach.

“I can check in a moment, are you on our records?”

“Yes, Emily Preston, I’ve seen Doctor Becker several times before.”

“One moment… ah yes, your file’s on our system. Hmm… her ten o’clock cancelled, I can fit you in then if you wish?”

Emily nodded quickly, then realised she was on the phone. “Yes, that’s fine with me thanks.”

“Okay, I’ve made your appointment, and I’ll get your file put in the Doctor’s case pile.” The receptionist replied. “Have a nice day.”

“You too, thank you.” Emily said, before hanging up and putting the phone down besides her. Her hands trembled a little, and she took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

”You okay Em?” Ameterasu asked with some concern.

“Yeah… just nervous.” Emily said, before reaching for the phone again. “Better call in and let the department know I need the morning off.”

”You’ve nothing to be nervous about, Em… and that’s a good idea. You’ve put in enough overtime hours that they’d be silly not to let you take the morning off.”

Nodding, Emily started to dial the number for the Steel Canyon precinct of the PPD, drumming her fingers on the back of the phone. “Plus it gives us a chance to get that shopping done.”

”Honey-roast ham, bread, Digital Photography.”

“Indeed.” Emily smiled.

“Paragon Police Department, Steel Canyon Precinct. Officer Hayes speaking, how may I help you today?”

“Hey Tony, it’s Emily calling. Listen, something’s come up, hospital rearranging an appointment, and I need to go in this morning at 10, think I could get the morning off?” Emily asked, her fingers crossed.

“Oh, hey Emily, let me just check… yeah, that’s fine. We’ve got a few of the Psi Division here this morning, so we’ve got enough staff to let you go… actually… one moment.” Tony said, the sound of fingers tapping away on keyboards audible.

“Ah, Emily, you’ve got some holiday due actually to use up, so why not take the day off? You put in enough work around here.”

“Really? I suppose the day off won’t hurt. Thanks Tony, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Emily smiled, relieved she could make the appointment.

“No need to thank me, and nah, I’m off to-“

“Oh right, your brother’s wedding. Hope you don’t embaress him in the best man speech too much.” Emily laughed.

“Oh, I’ll try my best.” Tony said. “Got another call coming in, see you Emily.”

“See you.” Emily said, before hanging up.

”Hmm, might be an idea to put some clothes on then, should take us about half an hour to get through rush hour traffic, unless we’re flying there?” Ameterasu pondered.

Taking the phone back to it’s cradle, she made her way into the bedroom and started to root through her wardrobe, pulling out various articles of clothing and giving them an appraising eye.

”Nope… nope, too casual, too formal, too summery, too frumpy… Why Em, anyone would think you didn’t have a fashion sense… oh wait, with that dress, you clearly don’t.” Ameterasu joked.

“And since when have you been a paragon of fashion?” Emily replied with a hint of irritation, before pulling out a pair of denim jeans and a cream jumper. “Does this measure up to your tastes?”

”Hmm… yes. I think it does… might want to wear a t-shirt underneath though, it’s cold outside at the moment, but due to get warmer later.”

“Want me to wear some mittens and a scarf too?” Emily smirked, grabbing one of her dark blue t-shirts from a drawer and moving her clothing to the bed.

”As cute as they’d look, I think the general populous would find you rather ridiculous in appearance. Don’t forget your badge. Or your purse.” Her Kheldian reminded her. “Or to make your bed.”

“Of all the Kheldians I could be bonded to, I get the nagging mother.” Emily mock sighed, slipping off her dressing gown and starting to dress, pausing halfway through to finish drying her hair.

”You’d be lost without me, Em. Oh, you left the comb in the top drawer of your bedside cabinet. As usual.” Ameterasu replied smugly as Emily rooted about for it.

“Are you always so insufferably smug when you’re right?”

”Yes. Yes I am.”

Emily couldn’t help but grin. “Don’t change.”

”No intention of changing either.”

Finally, the bed was made, Emily was dressed and her handbag had her badge, purse and mobile in. A quick glance at the clock said she still had time for breakfast, a quick slice of toast and an orange juice.

”I’ve seen small birds eat more than that, Em. At least put some jam on it or something.” Ameteratsu chided her.

“You know I don’t eat much if I’m nervous, I get stomach aches otherwise.” Emily replied, starting to rush a little around the apartment to grab her mug from last night to wash up with the breakfast things.

”True. Don’t forget to brush your teeth. No one likes a breadcrumb smile.”

Emily grumbled a reply, making her way into the bathroom.

”Why Em, you weren’t going to forget were you? And is there any need for that language?”

“I wasn’t going to forget, geez, you stepped up a gear in your nagging or something?” Emily asked, squirting toothpaste onto the brush head before starting to clean her teeth.

”Actually, doing my best to take your mind off your nerves with my own brand of constant reminding and admonishing.” Ameteratsu replied warmly. “Mouthwash.”

Emily smiled softly, rinsing her brush off and pouring some of the minty-green mouthwash into a small plastic cup. “It’s appreciated, but not necessary. I’ve dealt with nerves before, I’ll deal with them afterwards.” She said before gargling.

”Duly noted. Just let me know if you’d like my services to resume. Spit Em, don’t swallow. Mouthwash is a horrible thing to swallow.”

Emily spluttered instead, coughing a little as she spat out the mouthwash. “Ameterasu…” she muttered darkly.

”Couldn’t resist.”

“Next time, resist. Please. I think some went up my nose…” Emily grumbled, heading out into the lounge to open up the window leading to a small little balcony. Shutting it securely behind her after grabbing her boots and climbing out, she drew in a deep breath.

”Mmm, nothing like car pollution and city smell to clear your nose of mouthwash, eh?”

“You’ve got a point there… remind me to use the door when we come back, need to check my mail box.” Emily said, zipping her boots up and rolling the legs of her jeans back down over them. Waving to the elderly couple eating breakfast in the apartment across the street, Emily climbed onto the railing and looked down to the crowded streets below.

”Will do. Once more unto the breach, Em.”

With a nod to herself she dropped off the balcony, gracefully swan-diving and enjoying the exhilarating rush of seeing the ground rapidly get closer to her.

My Peacebringer is Storm Sapphire, Storm because she used to have some minor (unknown to her) wind manipulating abilities, Sapphire because of the colour of her powers, and the name kind of fitted with the image of her descending from the clouds in a blue orb of light, like a glittering sapphire falling from the clouds.

((Here be the first part of hopefully many stories about Storm Sapphire, a member of the PPD Awakened Division.))

Part One
March 15th

High above the wisps of clouds covering the brightly lit streets of the concrete jungle, high enough so that the large skyscrapers and lakes were mere pixel-sized squares floated a young woman. The person in question lay floating on their back, their body clad in a blue, skin-tight material with a white strip down each side, and tied sash of white cloth at her waist and a white sleeveless jacket billowing out in the wind at that altitude.

In any other city in the world, that might just have been considered a pretty unordinary sight, but this wasn’t any other city. Or an ordinary city. This was Paragon City. Birthplace of Tomorrow. The City of Heroes.

The moonlight gave the woman a pale, blue tinge, enhanced by the blueish-white light that shone from her eyes. Dark reddish-brown hair was cropped short, giving her quite a tomboyish appearance, and a blue mask covered from her eyebrows to her cheeks. The prim, pristine clean uniform, plus the badge and emblem on her costume said plainer than day that she was not only a Peacebringer, a fusion of human bonded with an energy-based alien lifeform known as a Kheldian, but also one of the members of the police department that helped protect the city.

Slowly, she began to move, sitting up a little to stare at the moon, a long sigh escaping her lips.

”That’s a rather forlorn sigh, Em…”

Emily smiled a little as the voice echoed through her mind.

“I’ve just been thinking, Ameterasu...” she replied out loud. There wasn’t anyone up here to hear her talking to herself, or more precisely, her Kheldian symbiot.

”Well, when is that not a change. You’ll wear your brain out if you keep using it.” A teasing response came, rising to the surface thoughts of her mind like a soft whisper.

“Heh… guess it isn’t, really.” She said, drawing her knees up to her chest as she floated.

”So, might one enquire into what’s preoccupying your thoughts?”

“Rather formal of you there… and do you need to ask? You see all of them anyway.”

”Well technically Em, I don’t see, I feel them and interpret them, but I was just trying to make conversation. Plus you know what they say, better to talk out a problem than letting it fester in your head.” Ameterasu said sagely.

“True enough… might take a while though, how long have you got?” Emily sighed.

”For you? All the time in the world.”

Despite how annoying her partner could be at times, he always knew the right thing to say to bring a smile to her lips. The two hadn’t fully bonded together. She, and he, preferred it this way. Taking a breath, she started to speak.

“It’s… well, to do with what it normally is.”

”As per normal, Em. Still, a topic I am quite happy to discuss with you. Go ahead and continue,”

“Why thank you for your permission.” Emily replied with some sarcasm. It was useless trying to keep the grin from her face. “Well…I think I need to go and see her again. I thought I worked through those problems… again, but it seems I haven’t, and things just keep bringing them back to the surface.”

”Ahhh, the… ruckus at Pocket D with the barmaid?”

Emily nodded. “Yes… that.” She sighed, referring to the argument she had with one of the bartenders there about gender pronouns.

”Stung a little deeper than you thought?”

“No… just got me thinking… not the first time it’s happened, is it? Even before I cut my hair those months ago.”

”I wouldn’t know, I didn’t have the pleasure of your company at that point… well, at least not this intimately. My former host did indeed watch you present the weather on Breakfast Paragon.”

Emily sighed again. Her days as a weathergirl for Channel 7’s Breakfast Paragon seemed so far away now from her days as a member of the Paragon Police Department’s Awakened Division, consisting of Kheldian bonded individuals such as herself.

“One of the reasons I got my haircut… was getting annoyed being stopped and asked if I was that weathergirl.”

”At least you haven’t been asked if it was going to rain men…”

“Oh, it’s happened… annoying when it does.”

”But we’re digressing, Emily.”

“Our chats have an odd way of doing that, Ameterasu… It just seems like…” Emily made several attempts at forming the sentence, but the words just weren’t coming to her lips.

”Mind if I…?”

“Go ahead… not like I’m getting anywhere.”

”You feel that people are seeing things about you that you’ve tried not to see in yourself? Hmm… I’m not sure if I put that quite right…”

“No… no, I understand, and yeah…” Emily sighed. “Like they look at me and see something that I didn’t want them to.”

”Then yes… I think talking to her would be a good idea, Em. While I am many things, a trained psychiatrist I am not. Always happy to listen, you must understand, but… I don’t have the knowledge to give advice properly, so you’ll need to excuse me if I just nod my head.” Ameterasu explained.

“I could get a nodding dog to do that.” Emily half-smiled. “It’s appreciated though, and I’ll phone her tomorrow morning. Come on, let’s go home… I could do with some warm milk before bed.”

Feeling a little better with herself, Emily flew down through the cloudbank into the large district of Steel Canyon, aiming for her apartment. Flying always helped her feel better, it took enough control that she could keep her mind of things if necessary, and the thrill and views it gave was quite something else. Slowing to a halt, she slid her window open and slipped inside. She’d lived in this place since she came to the city ten years ago to study, and the books and accumulated clutter on the shelves clearly showed that.

Making her way to the kitchen, she paused and slipped her jacket off, hanging it up on a coat hook before untying the sash around her waist. Lastly, her blue mask came off and was hung up by one of the eyeholes before she made her way into the kitchen. Light from the refrigerator illuminated the kitchen as she got the plastic carton of milk out and poured some into a mug, before putting it back in and closing the door.

“Ameterasu, don’t let me forget we need some more bread tomorrow… maybe some of that honey-roast ham too?” Emily said out loud, putting the mug in the microwave and setting it to heat it up.

”Will do, Em. I don’t suppose I could trouble you for the latest issue of Digital Photography?”

“Hmm? Oh, sure thing.” She replied, reaching behind her to unzip her costume down to the waist, pulling her arms out and letting it hang around her torso as she waited for her milk. With a hint of annoyance on her face, she slipped her fingers under the strap at the back of her bra.

”That clasp digging in again?”

“Yeah… luckily I got the laundry done earlier.” Emily said, rubbing the red imprint of skin where it had pressed into her back. Her attention was jolted back to the microwave by the beeping of it, and with a smile she took her mug out and made her way through the apartment to the bedroom. Placing the mug on the bedside counter, she slipped out of the rest of her uniform and carefully folded it up, placing it on the chair near the door and unhooked her bra. With a dexterous throw, it landed in the laundry basket.

”She shoots… she scores!” Ameterasu quipped dryly.

“Oh quiet you.” Emily smiled, pulling an old T-shirt with Garfield printed on the front on, and slipped into bed to draw the covers around her, gazing out of the window. The pair were silent as they watched lights flicker on and off in the city, sipping occasionally at the mug of hot milk in Emily’s hands, before finally finishing it and setting it to one side.

”Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

“Yes… mom.” Emily grinned, heading out of bed to the bathroom.

Channelling the spirit of _Max_ yet again, It's Ellen Darc, mediator for the subscription impaired!

[ QUOTE ]
For me, if the plot has to be railroaded at some point, then it should be a case of setting guidelines rather than barriers. One GM I play with will do the sensible thing if we go very off-course, and call a 15-minute break, just so he can readjust the boundaries, so that they still lead reasonably towards the intended goal.

[/ QUOTE ]

No means No.

Nothing to do with sexual harassment, honest. Basically, if things are getting a little out of hand/out of control, feel free to yell out ((Pause!)) or the like, to stop the ravaging hordes, I mean, players involved.

I once ran a smallish plot involving someone held by Crey, and a mission was arranged to go and rescue him. 12 people turned up for the mission, it was a level 40 one and the average team level was 36. I made the mistake of not going with gut instincts and saying stop, then working something alternate out. It lead to near teamwipes at every group and me having a bit of a panic about the situation, which caused me to log out. You're the GM. Your say is final.

Aye, as have been said, one of the problems with stories is that... well, I can never figure out something to say! Other than "Good work, can't wait to see more!", which seems a little post count plus one-ish.

See ya, Kelv. :<

Though, I do have the ideas for a story forming... *Plots and then realises her tutor asked her a question. >_<*

Watch this space!

I don't bother doing fiction in the Creative forum anymore, my bits all get posted into the IC story thread. Two reasons being:

One: I work better doing short stories, which fit something like the IC story thread better than a post of their own in here.

and

Two: Stories don't really win the Creative Genius, so I've no incentive to post in here, when the RP forum is a more logical place to post them. I think the closest story so far that's come to winning in recent months was FFM's 'The Diary' in November.

What I'm finding interesting is the reasons for why people are/aren't signing.

Take a look at my characters, for instance.

Cauter was mulling over signing, and got talking to Suzi. When he tried to make the point that police officers got paid for the job they did, he risked his neck for nothing in situations much worse than a police officer would be expected to face, he got that thrown back in his face and got called a merc, and was told 'I expect to see you in the Rogue Isles'. The fact that the petition had stirred up some of the usual crowd of hero haters (Most hero settings have them, just watch Justice League, X-Men, Spiderman cartoons, or look in game for the 'Maybe you capes aren't so bad.' comments), to chuck a brick at him was brushed off as him complaining that his suit got a scratch in started to annoy him.

Another thing I/he found interesting was the mention of Mediports. See, now in real life, I'd be a little... I dunno, creeped out if I was fitted with a chip that monitored my vital signs and my position within the city. 1984, much? Plus we need to remember that the Mediport system was created from Rikti Tech recently (5 years ago this May), and thus may be too costly/difficult to impliment on a populus wide scale, and thus is given out on the basis of need. A hero who often flies into dangerous parts of the city to face supervillains is more in need of one than a beat cop in Atlas Park or a school teacher in Steel Canyon. Plus, not all heroes -have- mediport chips, for character reasons. Wordmaker's character Nevermore didn't. Velvet Vengence I don't think has one, seeing as she dragged herself to hospital one time, and several of mine don't for one reason or another.

Finally from Cauter's point, he did mention that even if the money from building statues was used to make schools and hospitals and the like, he pointed out that statues are fairly low maintance/cost. You build one, clean it when it needs cleaning and that's it. The more 'worthy' projects would need a constant influx of money, staff and resources. Considering there's construction of Overbrooke, Baumton and still some places in Skyway being built, can the city spare money for that?

Jessica Kade [Zortel III] signed, but Jess didn't read the petition itself. Jess got told the good jist of it, that we should do more to honour the ordinary citizens of Paragon City and maybe use the money for statues for better causes. Yes, if the petition had been just that and not as contreversial, it wouldn't have had as much media attention, but how much of that attention will have been tainted?

Storm Sapphire is an interesting one, because she's both a hero and a police officer, being a Peacebringer in the PPD Awakened Division. She's seen lazyness in her police collegues and a 'Let the hero take care of it' attitude. Of course, the blame for that attitude can go either way, that's down to character oppinions whether the heroes are demoralizing the police, or the police are gladly letting heroes take the risk. Emily's seen first hand on the streets the affect of the 'passionate' wording, and as a police officer she feels she should remain neutral in these affairs.

Though I still have several other characters reactions to do yet, I think Fusebox's will be rather interesting, seeing as she started out as an Outcast and became a hero in part -because- of inspiration from the statues and friends of hers who happened to become heroes. Plus after a brief spell of death she had two 'Hannah Rolando Homes for Young Mutants' opened to house homeless or in trouble teen mutants.

Cauter.

Lance felt an inner turmoil boiling as he read the letter published in the Paragon Times. It wouldn't help, it would just make things worse and worse. He'd already had things thrown at him five times now by people in the street, shouting abuse at heroes. Such a post denouncing heroes would only add coal to the fire.

Sighing, he turned over to look at the sleeping woman next to him, brushing some of the hair back from her face. This place was his sanctuary, the bedroom. The only room he could safely take his suit off and not risk the chance of catching alight. He read through the article a few more times, then over the slightly crumpled petition form he had.

If he was smarter, more lingustic, more eloquent, he might have been able to word a reply to this, something to try and calm things down. But he couldn't. Lance spoke from his heart, and it tended to beat fast enough that he'd muddle and confuse words, or say the wrong thing or something that can be taken the wrong way. Heroing was the only thing he was good at, and even that was under threat now.

With a sigh, he folded the paper up and put it on the bedside cabinet, before drawing the covers back up over his chest and spooning up to Lyn, eyes closed as he rested his face against her hair.

Storm Sapphire

Officer Preston sighed as another person came up to her on the street. Again she waved the person off, saying the same thing she had said already. She wasn't a hero. She was an officer of the law, it wasn't her place to get involved in such matters.

The matter was a little more clouded for her. She was both a PPD officer and a Peacebringer, being a member of the Awakened Division. To all extents and purposes she saw herself the same as the beat cops and desk jockeys she worked with, but would the public.

Ameterasu, her Kheldian, had mostly been avoiding the debate. Emily probably should too, and just concentrate on her work. The last thing she needed was another worry at the back of her mind.