Heroid

((*looks at thread title*

Man, this is like the second thread like this in the past few days. All right. Here goes, I'll show ya how it's done:

/em, Helps.

There. It's not really that hard. Just remember to type the "/em" or use an ";", or else it will look like you're character is saying it instead of doing it. ))

What!?! The pamcakes better be just as good! An' th' java too!

((I can rp frustration pretty well:

/em, sigh

But I can do it even better in real life. ))

((Well done! I know exactly how he feels.))

((This isn't exactly a "Domestic Blitz" type subject, but I don't think it warrants a separate thread of its own.

But... I stupidly made another alt. And then I stupidly made her a character brought to life from a series of fantasy novels. Then I stupidly said there were 15 of them. Then, of course, I made them ICly available for people to read...

Well, a couple nights ago, I wrote 15 fantasy novels.

A few notes regarding noble titles:
Tec = servant to royalty, male
Tessa = servant to royalt, female

Evec = Warrior, male or female.

Cetec = Lord or Duke
Cetess = Lady or Duchess
Evescetess = Wife or consort of the King
Evescetec = Husband or consort of the Queen
Pendec = King
Pendeca = Prince
Pendess = Queen
Pendessa = Princess

So... here is the Magic of Karkosa, by Flynn Stewart. Hope you enjoy it.))

Book 1: Hexed-Child of Karkosa
Alara is born of Evescetess (wife of the king) Elze to Pendec (king) Olru of Karkosa. The Darkesh (evil magic users from a hidden, mysterious realm) leader Inora steals the child, only to bring her back the next day, but now, instead of a little baby, Alara is a twelve year-old girl. She has no memory of what happened during the lost day, or how she came to age twelve years. The Pendec’s advisors distrust Alara and the courtier, Cetec (Lord or Duke) Moyar plots to kill her. Inora stops the plot, but it is revealed that Moyar’s distrust of Alara is justified, since the Darkesh have planted in Alara’s mind the impulse to kill her father during an upcoming festival. Venwar, the thirteen year-old son of Tec (servant to royalty) Ven, overhears Inora and risks his own life to stop Alara from committing this terrible act. This is the beginning of the primary relationship in the series – that between Alara and Venwar.

Book 2: Stormlords of Karkosa
The Darkesh and the Karkosans both fear the Stormlords who live at the Center, deep beneath the ground and direct the natural workings of the world. The Stormlords are unknowable and do not interact with mortals during those rare occasions when they deem to walk among them. One day, however, a youthful Stormlord named Nok makes his presence known to Alara, and refers to a mutual experience that she has no memory of. He refers to the curse placed upon her, and how she must solve all of the 3 riddles before her sixteenth birthday or she and her father’s realm will perish. This seems an impossible task since she doesn’t remember what happened during the time she was stolen by the Darkesh. Nok tells her that she didn’t spend all of that time with the Darkesh, that a war was fought over her in the hidden realms, and that it was the Stormlords’ intervention that forced Inora to return her. The main plot involves Alara and Venwar returning Nok to the Center, which is difficult because he has broken the Stormlords’ taboo by communicating with a mortal – he is sentenced to annihilation. The Stormlords relent and accept Nok back, but only after Alara proves her bravery to them by her willingness to take Nok’s punishment in his stead. Meanwhile, their journey to the Center has accidentally unleashed the dreaded Sword Dogs, a race of anthropomorphic wolves that the mages of Karkosa long ago banished into the Caves of Awa.

Elsewhere…

The God of War watches his former consort cavort across the Olympus plateau with his rival, the God of Light. She is different in this form: her golden hair, now raven black and her green eyes, brown. She looks like a human wench. But then she is a human wench – a beautiful human wench possessed of the immortal spark of the Goddess of Love and Desire.

He thinks of his own situation – his body that of a tattooed warrior, “biker”. He shares the memories of this Dewey Ray Wayne. Women and drugs and the road. And death. So much death that the God of War feels priviledged to make use of the man. So much death that the man and the god are nearly one.

The God of War has been biding his time, gathering his strength, testing the limits of his diminished power. There is nothing he would like more than to crush the last breath out of Apollo’s throat, then to take Aphrodite while her lover dies beside them. But that is not to be. They are protected from his violence by the Olympian Pact.

However, there is one whom they care about; one whom who shares the blood of the bodies they inhabit. And that blood is protected by no pact. It can be spilled.

Ares opens a doorway into another world and steps through it.

((Congratulations! ))

((Off-topic: WHOA! It's Whale! Hi!))

An old man, an ancient crime boss from a bygone era lies stretched out on a hospital bed just like he was any other old person whose body had worn out and was ready to quit. He’s not hooked to machines – he’s lived his life by force of will, and force of will shall keep him going until he’s done. By his bedside sits another man, not as old, but not young either – a large man, with a face like a bulldog and thick, heavy hands that were not made for tenderness. In those hands he holds a book.

“Where is Angelina?” the old man asks.

“We don’t know, boss. Her trail went cold in South Carolina.”

“And Paulie?”

“Him too. It’s like they disappeared together.”

“Then what did you find?”

The big man pauses as if he doesn’t want to say, “We found your son, Carli.”

“I’ve told you, I have no son! Carli is dead to me!”

“Sorry boss…”

“Angelina ran his crew – that’s common knowledge. She was always twice the man he was.”

“Yeah, boss – that Arachnos trainin’ and all that.”

The old man shifts in the bed and shakes his head sadly. “I’m ashamed. They should have had heirs. Someone to take over they business But Carli… he wasn’t enough of a man. I thought once, when she came to see me, that I saw a belly on her – that she might have my grandson inside her, but then she didn’t come around for a while, and when I saw her again… no bambino.”

A quiet minute passes before the big man says, “Boss… I don’t know how to tell you, but Angie was traveling with a kid. We think it was Paulie’s kid.”

“His kid? Well, find that kid and kill him then! Ten million dollars, Paulie too from us! Somebody has to die for that!”

“Boss… Gianni… I don’t know how to put this, but… Angie and Paulie was knocking boots a few years back – everybody knew about it, but I wouldn’t let nobody talk about it.”

The old man breathes out a wheezing sigh. “Not man enough…”

“Yeah, well, not long after that, she quits working for Lord Recluse alla sudden. We figured it was a conflict of interest, y’know? Her being Arachnos and Carli being a Marcone? Gotta say, it didn’t break my heart when she gave up that career choice. I was against it from the get-go.”

A hacking cough interrupts the conversation until the old man can speak again, and then he says, “I was glad when she did that. Lord Recluse has been good to us, but those widows give me the creeps. I always thought Angie was better than that.” The old man sighs, then adds, “I didn’t know about her and Paulie… they – wait, are you saying…?”

“Yeah, boss.” The big man with the bulldog face and large hands opens the book and holds it so that the older man can see. The book is a yearbook from Cap Au Diable High School. The big man points at a picture with the name “Michael “Mick” Heller” beneath it.

“Angie’s…?”

“Looks just like his momma when she was that age – except masculine of course.”

The old man nods in response. “What do you want to do, Angelo?”

“Don Gianni Marcone, when I find him, I’d like your blessing to set my grandson up in the business.”

((What they said. Oryo Rio. Sounds nice when you say it out loud. ))

((Grats! And Happy Birthday!))

((Happy Birthday! ))

[ QUOTE ]
I find it nothing less than astounding that a little more than a half century after Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first powered flight of 120 feet, we managed to fly people a quarter of a million miles from our home and back again.

I find it absolutely amazing that the first footsteps on a surface that was not our Earth were made by a man born in a place as humble and unassuming as Ohio.

Most of all, however, I find it profoundly disappointing that we haven't sent more to follow in his footsteps.

[/ QUOTE ]

((Amen.))

((It's important to also note that computer technology has evolved along with advances in circuitry miniaturization, which has been a steady process that has been ongoing for decades. It has more effect on our everyday lives than the moon landing, but even so, it has much less impact than the development of art and written language. Is it an accomplishment? Yes. Is it as impressive as the Apollo program? No.

The moon landing was a result of some of the best and bravest people in our country coming together to accomplish an objective. And they were in competition with the best and bravest of our Cold War adversary. If the Russians had achieved it instead of us, it would have been no less impressive. Astronaut Mike Collins said that after Apollo 11, he, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong went on a world tour. People in other countries didn't come up to shake his hand saying, "You did it," or "America did it," they came up saying "We did it." It was one of those rare moments when it seemed as though humankind really could find unity and peace. It was a moment that inspired hope in people all over the world. As a single accomplishment, we haven't even come close to topping it.

I only wish the future I live in today could come close to the future that I could envision as a 10 year-old boy on July 20, 1969.))

((We went to the moon. WE went to the moon. We got our stuff together for once and accomplished something huge. It's insulting when people claim it was a hoax. If it was as impossible as the conspiracy theorists say, then don't you think that this country's detractors would have exposed the hoax way back when? Is it easier to deny that we ever had such vision and ingenuity than it is to aim for such heights again?))

Gimme some pamcakes with plenny o' surp, an' a cuppa joe! Hurry! I'm havin' sugar an' caffeine DT's!

((Happy Birthday! Wisdom tooth -- been there, done that. Save some celebrating for when you're completely healed! ))

((I wish he had made it until Monday, the 30th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's giant step. I remember watching his coverage of the event and how downright giddy he was about it. I hope he wasn't too disappointed in the future we got instead of the future that seemed possible at that moment.

I've missed him since his retirement. It's like we lost the last newsman who wasn't trying to put a spin on things.))

((I remember this event. I so much wish I could have attended.))

((Alias Smith will return in Red Night.))

((Slow news day.))

((Happy Birthday! ))

((Dang. I'm a day late and I don't even have a present, but... happy birthday! ))

((Go CUBS! Woooo! Derek Lee! Wooooo! Zambrano! Wooooo! Aramis Ramirez! Woooooo!

Oh... wait... did I totally misunderstand the OP? I think maybe I did...

Oh well...


GO CUBS! Woooooo!

*sings*
Go Cubs, go!
Go Cubs, go!
Hey, Chicago whaddaya say?
Cubs are gonna win today.

Hey Cards fans -- ))

((As far as Ryan being a "comic actor" and whether he can play serious...

Look at Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting. Danny Kaye in the Twilight Zone episode, Paladin of the Last Hour. Jack Lemon in the Days of Wine and Roses. And conversely, Robert De Niro in Analyze This. Or watch any of Tom Hanks early movies and then watch Road to Perdition or Castaway.

I'm not saying Ryan Reynolds is my vision of Hal Jordan, but he's a credible actor with good comic timing. I think he'll be able to pull off an action sci-fi flick and capture the fearless, sometimes cocky Hal Jordan as well as the material he's given will allow. ))