Ravenswing

Love and Hate in the Capital
Paragon Times, June 3rd 2011
The news that Senator Maynard Price (R – WY) had a star witness for his subcommittee on “Emergent Alien Threats” got around the Capitol fast and it seemed that the entire political Press Corps was on hand to see Paragon City hero Tiger White questioned yesterday morning.

As I sat among the other reporters I kept hearing rumours. It seemed as though someone had been leaking news that the Senator was going to bring evidence that the war between the Peacebringers and their Nictus enemies was claiming innocent lives. Well, as an ex-resident of Paragon City that’s hardly news, but it seemed that the Senator was putting a different slant on things.

Flanked by Zorielle Rolando, noted scientist and businesswoman, and Jessica Stoneberg, a well-known sorceress and Tiger White’s wife, Eloise Stoneberg entered the chamber to a barrage of flash bulbs. A woman with the power to level buildings seemed hesitant to be standing before a room of simple people, despite having various members of the Unity Vigil present. She approached the bench with all due humility, confirming her name to the rather smug looking senator.

Then, as he was about to begin his questions, fate in the form of the FBI intervened. Quoting national security and an on-going anti-terrorism investigation, a Senior Special Agent halted proceedings and whisked Mrs Stoneberg away for debriefing.

Senator Price was unavailable for comment after aborted hearing.

In other news, all-American Hero, Rushmore was at the Lincoln Memorial today along with his fiancée, the Warshade Penumbral Paradox. It was quite the paradox, in one part of the city a representative of the people stands ready to urge us to war against the “aliens,” while in another a representative of the spirit of the country prepares to marry one of those same beings.


Mockery of Justice
Paragon Tattler, June 3rd 2011
Yesterday’s Senate Subcommittee hearing on Emergent Alien Threats was brought to an abrupt end as the key witness, known dilettante and so-called Hero, Tiger White was taken away under armed, FBI escort to an undisclosed location for “debriefing.” What is it that the Peacebringers feel they have to hide? That’s the question the Tattler wants answered.

There was also the method of her extradition from Justice, a declaration that her testimony might obstruct an on-going investigation into terrorism. The order came from none other than the Office of the President. How far up the chain of command does this thread of alien involvement in our affairs go?

Another One Bites the Dust
Paragon Tattler, May 27th 2011
The title today is doubly indicative of the state of our fair city. Why? Because two things happened yesterday that show just how rotten things have become.

Seven good policemen died yesterday when someone destroyed the evidence room at the Founders’ Falls Precinct. Seven men won’t be going home to their families because some mad scientist (the explosion was, reports say, unlike anything seen before) wanted to cover up the evidence of their crimes. Who is responsible? Well we can rule out the self-publicists like Dr Edward Mechano, there was no city-wide, insane broadcast. Perhaps this is somehow related to the mad man who unleashed an army of zombie warriors on Atlas Park a few months ago. Or was it someone knew? The police have, of course, no clues.

Meanwhile in King’s Row, two children have been made motherless and another of the so-called heroes who are supposed to protect us is being held for their mother’s murder. Jasmine Taylor was once a prostitute, but had given up that life and lived as best she could in the Astral Rise apartment building in High Park, looking after her children as a good mother should. Neighbours say that she had a steady boyfriend who doted on the children, a nice, smart young man. Jasmine was an example of how someone can start out wrong and climb up from the gutter.

Her past caught up with her, however, as the man who has apparently already killed a number of other street girls and escorts, came to her flat and killed her using some form of infernal fire on Wednesday night. He did this right in front of her terrified daughter. The price this man must pay for his crimes is hardly sufficient for such a betrayal of trust, but let us hope that the full weight of the law is brought to bear on him.

Praetorian Invaders?
Paragon Times Sunday Edition, May 22nd 2011
On May the 11th our city saw massive incursions of troops, meta-humans and gigantic robots from another dimension. The world which Portal Corporation has designated Upsilon Beta 9-6 has become better known to us as Praetoria, and it was the source of these invaders. A world, we are told run by a brutal dictatorship which thinks nothing of enslaving its own people, a dystopia bent on world domination.

In truth, we have been subject to a Praetorian invasion for several months now. Not the forceful, violent, murderous one we saw on the 11th, but a much quieter one. These other invaders have come here seeking a safe haven from the regime they left behind. America has long had a tradition of taking in those seeking respite from tyranny, so we have welcomed these people into our homes as we have done for centuries. America fights for the persecuted, now as then.

So why is it that we are beginning to see people speaking out against those who have come to us seeking help? Some of us are old enough to remember Senator McCarthy and his pursuit of “communists” following the rise of the Soviet Union. Perhaps it is the fact that many living now did not live through those days of fear that allows such sentiments to once again be voiced. Those of us who do remember can only watch in fear as people with power use an invented bogeyman to gain more power. It begins with the spreading of rumour and fear, and ends with accusations and the ending of lives. Already the process has started.

Recent articles in some media, and discussions on Capitol Hill, have led us to believe that the Praetorians we have taken in are traitors, that they refused to fight when their former brethren attacked. The source of these allegations is an out of context quote from an unfinished report and a similarly extracted segment of an as yet unpublished interview for this very paper. But what of the other Praetorians?

Many are running from being forced to fight. One family came to King’s Row so that their daughter might have a free life. They were not soldiers. We do not ask the average man on the street to fight forty foot tall robot killing machines, why should we ask them to do the same? This family will not be fighting at any time in the future either. Why? Because they were brutally murdered not long after the invasion. A family, in their home, watching TV were killed because they came from another world.

Another Praetorian, a woman who has become well known in King’s Row under the sobriquet “the Gunwitch,” fought alongside other heroes and the police on May the 11th. She is not some super-powered soldier, just a clever woman who uses her skills to defend those weaker than herself, but she put her life on the line when it mattered. Perhaps her words explain the position of most of our Praetorian immigrants. ‘I left Praetoria because I had to, because life was intolerable there. In some ways, it will always be my home, but now I have a new life, and a new home, here in Paragon City. I have been welcomed and found new friends and a purpose. And I will fight to keep that, no matter what it takes.’

There's SG roleplay on Union, but also a lot of open area stuff.

There are two main areas, Pocket D and Galaxy Girl. There have been attempts to start something in the Isles, but they don't seem to have worked as well.

I can't really say much about PD, I don't usually go there since I don't like the style.

The concept of GG is that it's a place that the hero community gathers at around 9pm every night to relax and be among others like themselves. Conversation ranges from the plot-based serious to the insane and comedic. It tends to appear insular from the outside, especially to people who want to see it that way, but if you go there with a character who actually interacts socially and you then actually interact, it's easy to get involved. If your character is rude, unpleasant, or evil, then that just causes problems. If you stand around saying nothing and being dark and mysterious, you'll usually be allowed to be. And, unfortunately, if you want to do the "I'm an alien and I don't know what a dog is" thing, we're kind of fed up with it. But we are actually friendly.

I suspect that Virtue has the higher population. Given that the proportion of roleplayers is likely to be about the same, Virtue probably has more (absolute quantity) roleplayers and non-roleplayers.

Never been on Virtue, so I don't know what it's actually like.

Concern Over Aliens in Our Midst
Paragon Times, May 20th 2011
Concern was expressed yesterday in a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee for Emerging Alien Threats chaired by Senator Maynard Price (R – WY) regarding the number of Praetorian asylum seekers and resident aliens in the city who failed to take part in fighting during the incursions of May 11th. Senator Price’s assertions that the majority of Praetorians in Paragon City had not engaged in the defence of the city came after evidence was presented to the committee by Longbow officer Lt. Major John Barrett, who is currently four months into a six month review of the current Praetorian security situation.

Our reporter Andrew Becker caught up with Lt. Major Barrett following the hearing, and managed to get this quote from him. ‘My report is in a very preliminary stage and taking any part of it, out of context and prior to final evidence and editing, is liable to give an entirely false impression of the totality of the report.’

A request to Vanguard regarding any statistics they had on Praetorian participation in the May 11th incursions resulted in a statement that they had no such statistics, but knew of many who had taken part. Senator Price’s office was unavailable for comment.

Traitors and Spies?
Paragon Tattler, May 20th 2011
Dateline Washington, DC, and yesterday Senator Maynard Price (R-WY) stood up to Longbow’s obfuscation and told it like it is. Facing off against a Longbow Lieutenant tasked with whitewashing the involvement of Praetorians in espionage, terrorism and sabotage, Senator Price got to the bottom of it all and went on to prove that the Praetorians over here could be traitors. Citing sources in our sister newspaper the Paragon Times, the Senator gave evidence that these so-called asylum seekers stood by while the armies of their homeworld trashed our fair city. Can we really afford to allow these people to stay?

Small ads section, near the back
Wanted: exorcist or ritualist conversant with the removal of curses to consult on possible magical issues. Candidates should call Hillary Richards at the Tattler.

Fair enough. A few things other than that then:

It's a little cliched. Admittedly not always a bad thing in superhero stuff which thrives on cliche and trope. The story's basically okay though.

I'd suggest, before posting, that you take the time to read over your work and possibly change it. It's not easy, I don't always do it on short pieces and I almost always wish I had. If you can spare the time, leave it a day before you read it. You'll have forgotten what you thought you aid and be reading what you did.

There are some logical issues you might spot then. For example:

"His green eyes darted around the area a bit, as if the figure was waiting for someone. The pace increased a little bit, but no one seemed to care. As the figure turned a corner, there was a man waiting for the person."

He's waiting for someone while walking around? 'Searching' might have been better.

Try to avoid repeating words where another word would do. It looks clumsy. Biggest example:

"The man grunted as he sat down before DAMOCLES, a high tech computer created by his friend, simply known as Trick. He watched as DAMOCLES turned on, and began to sift through a disk that he had put into DAMOCLES."

That 'DAMOCLES' bangs you in the eyes like a hammer!

"The man grunted as he sat down before DAMOCLES, a high tech computer created by his friend, simply known as Trick. He watched it boot up, and began to sift through a disk that he had put into the drive."

We got that it's called DAMOCLES (though it might have been interested to learn why), we don't need it spelled out three times in two sentences. This applies to most things and it's a common fault in amateur writing (I know I got called on it enough).

Could I ask whether English is your primary language?

(( More like post-invasion fiction, so I've put it elsewhere and I'll link it here. ))

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...89#post3634989

(( Besides, I didn't want to impose on the displays of awesomeness. ))

Well, currently I'm @Gunwitch until I can decide what I want to change it to. Pretty much to be expected.

And the resident old coot says:

Git offa ma lawn!

London, England, May 10th 2011
Annette sat in her rooms in the Barrington Club, her knees tucked under her chin, rocking slowly back and forth. She did not look up as the door opened and a slight woman in a maid’s uniform entered and walked closer, frowning in concern.

‘Keeper?’ Jenny said. ‘Annette,’ she added more firmly when she got no reply.

The Keeper of the Wards, Annette Barrington, looked up, pain showing on her face. ‘It’s beginning,’ she said. ‘The barriers between the worlds are coming down.’

Jenny dropped to one knee, a delicate hand resting on Annette’s. ‘We know that, Annette. We need you to be strong, to keep the wards up and us safe.’

‘But… it’s so loud,’ Annette whispered. ‘I can hear it… war… fighting… battle across a million universes. It’s…’ She let out a cry of pain and buried her face in her knees again, Jenny wrapping her arms around the younger girl, unsure what she could do.


Rolando Island
One thing Louise had not considered when she had constructed her new armour was that it would be useful as a fork-lift. The missile she was holding was heavy and she would have been hard-pressed to lift it at all without the motors and synthetic musculature driving the new suit. She watched as the port missile pylon on her ship lowered to operational position and then raised the weapon into position. There was a series of heavy clicks as the latches locked into place and she turned, intending to get the next projectile from the ship.

‘Are you intending to take your ship to war?’ Zorielle asked from near the rear ramp. She was dressed for the island, casual clothes for warm weather, but there was a hint of something steely in her eyes and Louise had the additional disadvantage of facial analysis software which was pointing out mild anger, disapproval, regret, disappointment…

Louise swallowed. ‘No,’ she said and looked up at the missile, then back to Zorielle. ‘I’m sorry, I should’ve asked.’ She paused slightly to allow the older woman to add something, but there was just the stare so she went on. ‘It’s for here,’ she said, ‘in case. If the Rikti put another Mothership into play here, these can take it out without you almost killing yourself. And if the Praetorians open a portal here… the missiles have thermobarric warheads. The staging areas in Praetoria are largely underground and one of these going off inside will probably shut the portal off.’

‘Why did you not tell me before building these?’ Zorielle asked.

‘You might have said “no.” Zorielle, I’m the one person on this island who doesn’t belong. I’m the lone girl among all the couples, and you have children! If anyone’s going to make the mad attempt to avert destruction it should be me.’ Louise swallowed rather heavily again, wishing she had put the suit’s helmet on so that Zorielle could not see her face. ‘I know what it’s like to lose a mother, I don’t want your kids to have to face that.’

Zorielle was silent for a second before turning toward one of the transport platforms. ‘I would be grateful if you would ask before arming your ship next time, Louise,’ she said as she walked away. ‘Apology accepted.’


London
What is it about this place that turns you into an idiot? The voice cut through the noise of battle that throbbed through Annette’s mind. I swear you come here to act confused and lose your belief in yourself.

It’s all right for you, she thought back to Ni, you’re born for this.

You do talk utter garbage sometimes. Or should that be rubbish since we’re in the UK?

Don’t joke, Ni, Annette snapped, I’m not in the mood.

Well, I’m not in the mood for you sitting around like this! We’re here, and I’m useless, because you are needed to handle the wards. If you’re going to be useless here, let me out, we’ll go back to Paragon and carve up Praetorians. Or…

Or I pull myself together and deal with it?

Annette could feel her mental sibling grinning. You know you can do it…

All I have to do is push this aside, draw on Rei… She listened to the howling noise of battle again, not sure whether she could really do this or, more importantly, whether she wanted to.

She still scares you, doesn’t she?

Annette lifted her head and looked at Jenny. Yes, she thought, but this has to be done. She reached down into the dark corners of their shared mind, the place where those parts of Rei which had not totally dissolved lay, and pulled up that part of her that was the callous, indifferent mistress. Rei would send men to their deaths without a single worried thought, and that was what Annette needed now; the resolve to stand and ignore armies dying in front of her. ‘Okay,’ she said aloud, sitting up and uncurling from the seat, ‘I’m ready.’

In this game, I'd never consider waiting until level 50 to lay a character. That's mostly because I'd never play most of them if I did.

Nitoichi was specifically roleplayed as rising through the ranks. Her reason for doing hero stuff was to be "assessed at level 35 so that Vanguard would accept her" since she wanted revenge on the Rikti for what they did to her brother.

Her Praetorian counterpart is kind of different. She's got more skilled at avoiding being hurt (HP) and has created new gadgets (got new powers), but she isn't a "level 50 hero"; her 'level' hasn't changed since she got to Paragon City and started kicking Skull butt around King's (though her reputation has increased over time). Fundamentally, she's a street hero who can go toe-to-toe with some of the big bads if she has to to keep her part of the city safe.

Just a wild thought which passed through my head while scrolling down the forums and seeing no one had posted here in a few millenia...

Is the EU Test Server going to be an extra test server after the merge, or will it just get junked?

While I can see many advantages to having two boxes for testing. Equally... err, not. Just wondering.