Shadowe

Mints?

Outrageous!

He's not doing his job properly, is he?

Blimey, if Sam got offered mints she'd probably go spare, and project a mental image to everyone nearby with a rather graphic view of what he can do with his mints...

Welcome to RP, CoH style!

I'm a long time PnPer, myself, and in fact, just to worry you, one of my RP toons is technically from Faerun as well. (I'll leave it to those who know it to guess which one.)

RP in CoH is brilliant fun, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

As FFM says, Union server has the only 'organised and open to all' RP meet (Galaxy Girl at 9pm UK time), and Pocket D is a great place to meet RPers too (apparently, according to my wife, anyway. )

Come along, join in and - this is important - DON'T be put off if it feels like you're being ignored. You're not. It's just that there are some ongoing things that distract people's attention, so they may find it difficult to find time to talk to you.

So, my personal recommendation is: Come to GG at 9, be friendly, accept chocolate (you will be offered some if you bring a female toon), and be prepared to answer questions. It's just like meeting someone new for the first time - people want to know stuff about you.

Look forward to seeing you around.

Unfortunately Samantha Huntington is indisposed currently, otherwise I'd put her forward as a guest. I'd suggest Helena Huntington instead, but unfortunately she doesn't want my other toons to know she exists, so that's a problem...

That's brilliant, Beet. Love it. Now to sort out test server...

The base kicking bug is still around. I cannot enter a team leader's base. On any of my toons. Ever.

Much agreement with FFM on this score. I'm a huge fan of spontaneous RP - it simply works better for me - so the idea of playing it in-game and the logs being posted here sounds like a riot.

In the interests of sheer hilarity, I'd like to offer up Samantha Huntington as a guest for a show entitled: "I'm in love with a rock."

I would offer Richard, too for something, but honesty compels me to admit that it might be a bad idea (for a lot of IC reasons to do with ongoing plottage)

Blimey, this is a good idea. Most of the stuff about Shadowe (Energy/Energy Blaster) is on the GG Wiki - here's a copy of it with a couple of extra bits.

Richard is really a black hole. A free-floating, very massive (not large - in fact, about the size of a golf ball - but massive in the sense a physicist would use it), intelligent black hole. The black hole that is Richard Huntington has many powers, the known ones of which are listed below.

Form a body around itself that matches Richard's original one (in fact it takes effort for this body not to exist).

Absorb huge quantities of energy with little apparent harm (Richard has speculated on sound physical grounds that it is capable of absorbing a Solar mass, but is unwilling to test this hypothesis).

Project energy in a variety of forms - commonly used as 'attack' powers to subdue criminals and foes.

Differentiate energy types. So far Richard has demonstrated an ability to identify bonded Kheldians (and can tell the difference between a Warshade and a Peacebringer), dimensional energies and different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum (he typically uses the Infrared region to locate and identify mammalian presences, though he is so far barely able to narrow this down to species). It is no more refined than this, though that might just be a matter of practice.

Negate the force of gravity. Richard has not speculated what this actually is, but he can fly.

Almost invulnerable to permanent harm. The body that the hole projects can be damaged, certainly, and it takes effort to repair it, but the hole itself appears to be incapable of sustaining damage. So far.

Gravitational control. So far Richard has demonstrated an almost pinpoint control of the gravitational field around his own body, and can warp light around himself to become invisible. He has also discovered that he can, with effort, do the same to others.

Desolidify. Much easier than actually removing his body (which he has so far only done in time of extreme need, or happened accidentally when he took a trip to the sun recently), he has found that he can dramatically reduce the number of particles in parts of his body, allowing those parts to pass through solid objects. He has so far only done this with his hand in public, but it is reasonable to assume that he is capable of desolidifying his entire body.

In addition to the above, Richard seems to be tightly bound to his home dimension. Travel to other realities causes a destabilisation within himself that has, to date, resulted in him feeling sick, caused spontaneous 'Nova' explosions, and on prolonged visits could easily cause the destruction of his body.



Luminescence (Mind Control/Radiation Controller)/Samantha Huntington (Radiation/Psychic Blast Defender)

Her most powerful ability is that she can project realistic images, thoughts and memories into the minds of others. All other powers revealed to date match those in game.

Well, in that case...

Bringalongatoon tonight to the chalet at 9.00. Just watch out for the big crowd of people waffling in local.

I'll probably be around until 11.00 (I need an early night), but people will be around for some time after that.

The hardest part is getting into a conversation. I'd recommend starting with a question of someone.

We're a friendly bunch, so just come along and enjoy.

There are RP SGs out there. Trust me. I have one toon that is a member of a bunch of complete reprobates called the Fletched Alliance, and a more entertaining group you couldn't wish to meet.

There are others. Lots of others.

Have you actually done much/any RP in CoH yet? If not, then I wholeheartedly recommend popping along to the Galaxy Girl meet, daily, 9pm UK time (currently taking place in the ski chalet in Pocket D during the Winter Event). It's a good place to meet some people and have a bit of lighthearted (or serious, depends on your tastes) RP.

Keep your eyes open for Red Commissar, GG's unofficial second statue and general meet-n-greet guy.

Well, for me, I'm loving it (as one of the more prolific users of the thread). I'm enjoying reading the prose versions of character actions outside the RP environment, and it has become one of my touchstone threads on the forum.

Again, loving it.

Hmm... Well, unless something really drastic happens, I'll be there.

Samantha Huntington grimaced. Damn. Someone must have blabbed. She couldn't get anywhere near her office - the gates were blocked. By what appeared to be a hundred or so reporters. Glancing up she saw a news 'copter flying overhead. Probably the same damned one that took the pictures of Kit and Richard the other day.

She pulled the car into a spare parking space, opened the door and stepped out, tugging her skirt down.

One of them saw her, and called out, then the whole crowd of them surged toward her.

"Miss Huntington, is there any truth..."
"Samantha! Care to comment on..."
"Can you tell us..."

A dozen questions were shouted at once, and there was no way she could answer them all. Closing her eyes, she concentrated for a moment and let out a sharp mental command for them to be quiet.

The noise stopped instantly. Several of them were wincing in pain. Perhaps she'd been a little too firm. Her jaw clenched. No, she hadn't. She couldn't deal with this with them all screaming at her.

Taking a deep breath, she faced them.

"I have a statement." Instant silence greeted her words, and microphones, tape recorders and video lenses were suddenly aimed her way.

"I am unable to speak for the Fletched Alliance as a whole. My affiliation within the organisation is such that I am not privy to top level decision making. This does not, however, change the fact that I am a member of that group.

"Number one. We have been assured by Akkarin that the Fletched Alliance have no intention of utilising this device against civilians.

"Number two. According to Akkarin, whom, I might add, I have no reason to doubt at this time, he was not made aware of the construction of this device until after it was completed. I wish to point out that the head of the FA's United Kingdom branch showed foresight and restraint by ensuring that the device cannot be utilised without the specific authorisation and presence of three people, two of whom are resident in the United States at this time. So, provided that this state of affairs continues, there is no chance of the device being used.

"Number three. The Fletched Alliance here in the United States have, since the existance of this device was revealed to us, decided that rational debate is the best way to decide on the future use, or even continued existance, of this device. We therefore ask all those who feel strongly about this to note - you are not alone! The membership of the Fletched Alliance are divided on this issue, but are not prepared to take unthinking action that could result in more harm than good. Rest assured that all viewpoints are represented within the existing membership, and we will doubtless arrive at an acceptable decision shortly.

"Thank you for your time. I have no further comments."

She brushed past them, and stormed to her office, where she threw a glossy brochure she had picked up from the FA base earlier into the bin.

She sighed as she reached for her keyboard, mentally preparing the memo she needed to send to Kit.

She grimaced as she thought of the first words on the letter accompanying that brochure.

"Huntington Technologies is happy to offer the Fletched Alliance an exclusive first buy-in to the Pulswave Maser H-23..."

Further to previous mails, please note the the "GG" event is currently taking place at the Winter Event Chalet accessible from Pocket D. If that tickles your fancy (and I strongly recommend turning up for a bit, at least), then you'll find many of us there from 9.00 UK time every night.

Hopefully see you around!

{Monday, December 18th, 11.50 pm}

Richard landed outside the main door to the mansion, and grinned. He couldn't keep the silly smile off his face. It had been a fun evening, all in all, though the unpleasantness with Alfred would doubtless have repurcussions at some point. Ah, well.

He remembered the feel of Alfred's throat in his grip, and shuddered. It would have been so easy to crush it. So easy to murder him. And he wouldn't have been the same man, if he had. So he'd held back. Thankfully. He forgot his own strength, sometimes. Being able to ignore the false reports of non-existent muscles was sometimes useful. Other times, dangerous.

He stepped up to the door, and it swung open as he approached. "Welcome home, Master Richard!" Helena's happy tones made him chuckle as he stepped across the threshold into the hall.

The grin dropped from his face in an instant.

Sitting on the broad stairway were Sam and Sophie. Sam had an arm around Sophie's shoulders, and the younger woman had clearly been weeping, though right now she merely looked extraordinarily upset.

He stepped quietly across the intervening space, and knelt on the floor before the pair of them. "Sophie? What's the matter, my dear?" He looked questioningly at Sam, who shrugged and shook her head. No idea. Damn.

Sophie lifted her head and red-rimmed eyes looked back at him. "It's nothing, Richard. I'm... fine." Gesturing to Sam, who rose, Richard sat down on the steps and put his arm around Sophie. She sighed, sadly.

"Come along, my dear. You can tell me. What is it?" She shook her head, seeming close to tears once more.

"Did... did you have a nice evening, Richard?" She asked, hesitantly.

Taken aback by the change of direction, he blinked. "Yes, my dear, it was very nice, thank you." A resigned smile tugged at her mouth.

"I'm glad." Richard snorted. He was no fool. There was something going on here, something he didn't understand. And he needed to figure it out.

Her next question flummoxed him. "Are you and Kit back together? You seemed pretty cozy, earlier." It was clear that his look of surprise and confusion perplexed her. What was she looking to hear? What was the point of all this?

Sam gasped, causing Sophie's head to lift sharply. A questioning look from Sam was met with a curt nod, and Sam nodded in return.

"No, my dear. Kit and I aren't back together. We're just good friends right now."

Perhaps that had been the right thing to say, for she burrowed closer into his embrace. What the heck was going on here? Sam clearly knew, but his sharp order across their bond was met with stoney silence. More confused than ever, he simply held her.

After a minute, she shrugged his arms off and stood. She bent down, kissed him on the cheek and swept up the stairs.

When she was gone, Richard turned to Sam. "Care to explain that?"

Sam looked at him with an expression he remembered all too well from their mother. "You're an idiot, Richard. Go to bed."

{Monday, 18 December, 2006. Approx: 1.30 am}

Richard hung up the phone. Those messages were getting harder and harder to say. Sighing he turned away from his desk, and stopped, startled.

Standing in the doorway to his office was Sophie, tousle-haired, in a dressing gown, bleary eyes squinting against the bright light.

"S-sorry, Richard. I heard voices and came to see who it was. Are you alright?" She sounded confused and more than a little tired - not surprising, since she had left the ski chalet hours earlier, and had probably slept for a short while before he disturbed her.

"I'm sorry, my dear. I was just leaving a message for Kit." His eyes dropped to the floor, and she grimaced slightly. She stepped briskly into the room, stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Would you like a coffee? You looked like you were doing some pretty heavy drinking earlier, and it'll probably help."

He didn't answer, simply wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair. She smiled faintly and shuffled slightly closer to him, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her, his breath softly blowing against her scalp, and she could feel his heart through the back of his shirt, pounding, getting faster...

She reached up a hand, stroked his head, and pressed herself against him.

She knew that he cared for Kit. Knew that it was hurting him, even if she didn't know the whole story. And she was determined to help him. To be there for him. To...

She felt her eyes closing, and struggled to keep them open, stiffling a yawn.

He noticed. He always noticed.

"You, my dear, should be in bed. Let's get you upstairs." She nodded, a slight grin on her face, took two steps and stumbled.

The grin broadened at his next words. "Oh, dear. You're even worse than last time, my dear. Come on, I'll carry you again." And he lifted her into his arms as if she was no more than a baby.

He strode up the stairs, his gait smooth and restful, and she again felt herself drifting to sleep in his arms.

At her door, he paused. He shifted her in his arms slightly, releasing one hand, and swiftly turned the handle and pushed it open.

Her cheeks flamed red, and she coughed as he stepped through. He paused once more, frowning slightly, before he realised what had happened. When he had shuffled his carrying position outside the door, his hand had accidentally gone inside her dressing gown, and he was currently supporting her with one hand against the lowest part of her body...

She looked up at him, cautiously. She was expecting some flustered activity to resolve the situation. Perhaps a look of indifference. Perhaps...

"Ah, well, my dear. Sorry about this. But can you blame me?" His cheeky smile lit up his face, and she giggled.

"Yes, I can!" She laughed as he carried her across to the bed, and then she jumped at an unexpected squeeze.

He swiftly carried her across the room and pratically dropped her onto the soft bed. She wriggled under the covers, and a sad smile drew itself across her face.

Richard tucked the covers over her, leaned down and kissed her forehead and rose, preparing to leave.

"No, stay." Her whisper sent a shiver through him, and he turned to face her.

"Sophie, I... I..." He was confused. Couldn't get the words out. Didn't know how to respond. Was lost in his own feelings of pain and regret and anger and anguish and he didn't know what she wanted...

"I just need a cuddle, Richard. Please? Just hold me for a while."

As he gazed into those liquid eyes, he melted inside. He couldn't abandon this poor child. Despite his own agonies, he had to be strong. To be supportive. She was tormented at least as much as he right now. And he needed the comfort himself.

"Alright. For a while."

He stepped back to the bed, and settled himself down atop the covers. No sense in confusing matters further. She nodded at that, as if she understood what he was doing and why, before wrapping her arms around him, and waited contentedly as he did the same.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Richard." With a flick of her wrist, the light switch across the room flicked off, and plunged the room into darkness.

"Goodnight, my dear," he murmured, and lay there, holding her in his arms as she slowly passed into sleep.

He simply stared at the ceiling, his eyes two starlight pinpricks in an otherwise pitch-black room, staring at the ceiling until dawn came.

{December 14th 2006, King's Row}

<Scanning...>

"Threat analysis complete, Master Richard." The small voice in his ear sounded almost smug. He whispered a request for the results and in moments they came pouring through. Negligible threat after negligible threat. They were only robots. A good blast of energy and they'd go down. Maybe two or three for the really big and tough ones. Then the litany reached its conclusion:

"Mistress Kitmarch: Code Alpha-Red Threat. Range: 276 feet. Warning! Engage at severe risk."

A fuzzy figure appeared on his HUD. It was tearing through a large group of Clockwork with abandon.

Grimacing slightly, Richard murmured, "Thanks, Helena," composed himself and stepped out from behind the building.

With light wrapped around himself there was no way she could see him. She might hear him, though, so he took to the air, until he was hovering less than the width of his office from her.

Steeling himself, aware that sooner or later she would lose control and start on living targets, he drew in a deep breath, dropped to the ground and relaxed his control.

The whirling black and purple dervish didn't appear to register him at all, so busy was she with the Clocks. He watched in fascination as her fist drove through the outer casing of one and snapped out an instant later, clutching some gears. At the same instant, so smooth that it looked accidental, her foot crushed the skull of another, and she cackled madly. He shook his head in chagrin, his eyes dropping from the terrifying scene. Then the fist slammed into his jaw. His visor shattered, shards of plastic scraping across his face. He spun completely round and collapsed to one knee, aided by her hand on the protruding shoulder pieces of his battle-suit. Instinctively he threw up a wall of energy between them, and she slammed into it, the shock hurling her back.

As she sprang to her feet he concentrated for a moment and changed costume. Black lycra encased him. One less weapon she could use against him.

"Helena, route all combat information to this suit." He didn't hear the acknowledgement as she leapt at him again, apparently not recognising who he was. She was operating on instinct. Raw animal instinct.

A rock hard fist slammed into his skull, and as he tried to block the follow up, the razors on her boots caught his left arm. He stared in horror as his hand flopped back, and a flare of light ripped out from the wound. No time to heal it. She was moving too fast.

Spinning, he hurled a blinding stream of low powered solid energy bolts in a spiral around himself. One of them was bound to connect, and despite her super-dense biophysical structure it was unlikely that she could stay upright against something that had thrown the Kronos Titan to the ground.

It was hard. He couldn't bring himself to go all out against her. If he did, he risked too much.

He finished the spin on one knee, his left arm hanging limply at his side. He considered it dispassionately. It would only take a small amount of time to repair. Ignoring the pain, he pushed and a powerful blast tore the air between them. It slammed into her like a freight train, but barely slowed her down. A wave of energy flashed from his body, kicking up a huge dust-cloud. In the haze he lost sight of her, and rose.

A pair of booted feet struck him square in the back, sending him sprawling. His left arm caught on a jagged shard of concrete and the hand tore off. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he twisted onto his back and saw her leap through the air towards him, one leg extended, the razors aimed clearly at his throat.

Curling into a ball, he rolled, wrapped light around himself and vanished from view.

Suddenly he felt a hand grip his head and it was pulled down, to meet an onrushing knee. She'd found him. Her instincts were too good. Too animal. He couldn't fight her this way. Before the knee slammed into his face, he let his energy power his right fist and thrust it at her as hard as he could. She flew away from him.

"Damage to body armour. Damage to thoracic cavity and organs. Damage to spinal column. Damage to lungs... Mistress Kitmarch is seriously... Hold! Damage repairing. Cellular regeneration accelerating. Body Armour: Repaired. Thorax: Repaired. Spinal column: Repaired. Lungs: Repaired. Threat undiminished."

"Thanks, Helena." Damn, she healed fast. But he could outfight her. Out-damage her. He could kill her if he... No! Don't think like that, Huntington. You're here to talk to her. Bring her back. This isn't a fight. It's just a very vigorous introduction to a conversation.

He let rip. She healed too quickly for anything less to work. He needed to distract her for long enough. So that she recognised it was him. If she carried on then... Well, he'd probably die.

Bolt after bolt of energy slammed into her body, and still she struggled to rise. There was no sign she saw him as anything other than a threat to eliminate.

He could see her struggles weaken. She was losing. She couldn't hold out much longer against the onslaught. The brilliant light of the power he was hurling blinded him to her location, and he stopped, afraid that he had harmed her.

She was gone.

He hadn't heard the sound of a medi-port activation, so where the hell...?

He saw movement from the corner of his eye, and turned just in time to meed a fist powering against his face. This time there was no helmet to block it. His jaw shattered, and the last thing he saw before the light left him was a shocked face surrounded by purple hair staring in horror...

*****

The news helicopter circled overhead, the camera trained on the scene below. Hundreds of decimated Clockwork lay scattered around, and a lone armoured figure knelt beside the sprawling form of a black-liveried man with one hand.

Well, not to steal Z's thunder (and I have said it's because of this thread in the first post), but I kind of got on and did it.

Welcome to life in the Huntington household.

{Thursday, December 14th, 2006. 0800 Hours}

Richard moved slowly downstairs toward the kitchen. His head hurt. Ignoring the pain, he finished pulling on his jacket and stepped through the door.

Samantha sat at the counter, an amused smile tugging the corner of her mouth. She was shoveling the last mouthful of something into her mouth and he swiftly took in the scene:

Frying pans sizzled on the hob, the kettle was boiling, and a cup next to it gave mute testament to the purpose. He smiled slightly as he watched Sophie bustling about, stirring this, checking that, flicking a hand and turning off one of the hobs without even touching the knob.

Sam rose from her chair, picked up her cup of tea and swished from the room. "Morning, Dicky," she murmured as she passed. He grunted a greeting to her, and she smiled as she left, closing the door behind her.

Sophie finally noticed him, blushed slightly and lowered her eyes. "Sam told me that you like a full English, Richard, so I thought I'd treat you..." Her voice trailed off under his gaze.

He strode over to the counter and examined everything. Bacon nice and crispy, fried bread, baked beans and two eggs - over-easy, just the way he liked them. No sausages, mushrooms or tomatoes. Damn, she'd done her homework.

His face broke into a grin, and she relaxed. He hadn't even noticed she was tense until that moment.

"Sit!" She ordered peremptorily, and he chuckled as he was guided into a chair. Coffee was poured and plonked down in front of him, and he took a tentative sip as she started serving the food. He glanced out of the window at the lawn. A light frost glittered in the morning light. Thank heaven he wasn't going to work today.

When the food was placed in front of him, he attacked it with abandon, and didn't really notice Sophie take up the chair opposite him, rest her chin on her hands, and watch him.

"Did you sleep well, Richard?" She asked, and he nodded around a mouthful of beans.

"Extremely well, my dear." Glancing up at her, he smiled, and was rewarded with a dazzling one in return. "Yourself?"

She stretched her arms out wide, eyes closed, and he couldn't help but watch as she drew in a deep breath. "Like a log, thanks." He shook himself after a moment and reluctantly returned his attention to the delicious food before him.

"Do you have any plans for today?" An innocent enough question to ask her, he supposed.

"I'm going out for a run in minute, then I thought I'd just come back here and tidy up the house a bit. I've been living here for weeks and not once have you asked me for rent, Richard." Her reproving tone cut through him like ice, and he felt a jolt.

Raising an eyebrow he looked at her, sitting there, hands on hips, glaring at him. A smile teased at his lips, and he questioned her as to why she would need to help with the housework when he employed a perfectly good maid.

"And I haven't asked you for any rent, my dear, because you're my friend. It's a pleasure to have you here, and I wouldn't dream of taking a penny from you." She pursed her lips at this response, shrugged and briskly stepped around the table.

"I'm off for that run, anyway." As she moved toward the door, she stepped up to him, leaned down and brushed her lips against his cheek. "See you later."

His cheek burned where she had kissed him, and he reacted without thinking, his arm swinging down in an arc, and his hand connecting sharply with her buttock.

"Yike!" Her yelp of surprise shocked him, until he realised what he'd done, and a look of profound embarrasment stole across his face. He started to apologise, until she grinned at him, rubbing her backside. "I'll get you for that, Richard," she admonished, winking, as she dashed from the room.

He shook his head and returned his attention to breakfast. Damn, but she was becoming more like Sam every single day...

This is the place for all those short stories about RP characters that aren't full blown and should go in Creative, but that take up more room than a recap and thus probably shouldn't be in the GG or Union Recap threads. Please note, that although I've mentioned two Union RP threads there, this one is open to all servers.

This idea was suggested by Zortel, and since I have a story to go in it, I figured it would be a good time to start it.

No argument from me, Z. (*feels all proud that he was used as a reference*)

I'm inclined to agree, though I'm also mildly worried that the 'flavour posts' might get missed/dissociated from the events that spawn them.

I rattled out 980 words this morning that I'm hoping to be able to post, and somewhere specific to put them would be good, because I always feel a little nervous putting them in the main threads.

Ooh, if we're listing them... I'll post again.

Ones I own and have played.

D&D (ALL versions, from the old Red, Green, Blue, Black and Gold booklets through to 3.5 currently)
Spacemaster (which just plain rocks)/Rolemaster (never actually played RM as such, but have used the books in the odd amusing Spacemaster game)
Star Wars RPG, 1st and 2nd Editions, as well as d20
D20 Modern
Shadowrun 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Vampire: The Masquerade (never played other WW stuff, oddly)
Palladium Fantasy RPG
Rifts
Fudge
Mechwarrior 2nd and 3rd.

Ones I own but have never got round to playing... Too many to list, and my memory's not that good in the office, I'd have to go home to work it all out.

I'm sorry I missed it.

Thanks for the invite that came through. Definitely count me in for the next one if you run one.

I'm certainly up for the 18th. (I mean, I'd prefer Thurday 21st, but that's only because I've got the Friday off work to spend with my darling wife on her birthday).

Looking forward to it.

Now all I need is a skimpy Santa outfit for Sam...

I'm a huge D&D fan (since 1985/6 - Damn, I've been playing for 20 years), but I am also something of an RP hoarder - at last count I owned around twenty systems (Core books) with innumerable supplements.

I play a regular Wednesday night D&D game (possibly soon to be introducing Cambodian Dragon Ninjas... don't ask. Please.) and a completely non-regular weekend D&D game every couple of months.