Union Roleplayers - Recaps, Plots and Banter.
By
Aethan_Romn,
Posted on: 2006-10-24 18:53 in Roleplaying
(Takes place 27.12.2006)
Moving out
Christmas-related junkmail littered the floor like dead leaves an autumn street near a lush park. Coile kicked them around enough to bulldoze a semi-free trail from the front door to coat hangers. He hung his quilted jacket and untied the boots and then set to take a look around his Talos Island apartment. Well, not exactly his, which was the point of this. It was Nadia's apartment which she rented. She owned what was inside and his possessions could be stuffed into one sizeable suitcase which was more a portable trunk.
He was well into this activity when the doorbell rang, It was Diana who had already visited home and disposed of her considerable amount of luggage. The first thing she did even before getting inside was starting to gather the mail into a neat pile abd only after clearing a neat way in she pulled the door close. The mail which was exclusively just colourful ads for last minute pre-Christmas sales was set in an orderly fashion on a small hall table and only after she removed her shoes.
"So, this is where you live? This is surprisingly tidy." Diana looked around appreciatively. A spacious, clean apartment which was tidy and orderly. "I clean it often.", was Coile's reply as he checked once more over the place to see if any of his belongings remained. He caught Diana's surprised look. "She goes to the office in the morning. I keep the place clean about daily before I head out to bash baddie heads:" Everything seemed to be packed.
Diana assumed a pre-defiant posture by crossing her arms and staring sternly at the older guy, older by a little bit more than three years. "Now, what are your exact plans? You promised to come back to look after me and I promised to watch after you. So, when are you going, where, and when are you going back?"
One more glance was just as futile that the last one. Everything that he owned and had kept here was now stashed into his suitcase. "I'll go now meet Kacey, have scuba lessons tonight and tomorrow, and then day after head to Jamaica. I'll come back right after the new year's."
"And where will you sleep? Obviously not here. And you can't come over, mom will be home." She was still convinced that poor Coile would do something silly. Something so silly it would prove dangerous. He was not still in a fit state of mind, not by far. "I don't know, maybe in base. I'll see. I really can't stay here you know."
She sighed and nodded. He could be so stubborn with these things and it would not gain anything to argue about it. How much trouble could he land into just by sleeping someplace? She shuddered. A lot, that's what. Coile handed her a key. "Please water the plants, daily if possible. Especially that one by the big window, it's special to Nadia." Diana closed the key into her hand. "The plants will be fine while you're gone." She hoped that also Coile would be.
He kissed her cheek and smiled. "Thanks Diana, you're an angel." He picked up his suitcase. "I'll see you around, and stay in contact. Maybe even tonight, depends on Kacey and training." He walked to the door and got boots on. "Sky goddess watch over you." He closed the door behind himself and headed to Independence Port.
Coile and Stormrise came back from the Caribbean, where they both had some scuba time for the end of the year in a quite warmer place than Paragon City.
Yet, Coile left the place two days before the end without really explaining to fly back to the city of heroes.
Stormrise herself came also back prematurely, one day before the end, an incident happening during scuba (where Coile saved the life of someone !) having shortened the experience.
In Pocket D, Stormrise met Mesoc, armed with cigars and whisky, two things to share.
Both casually chatted, commenting the value of Cuban cigars and the opportunity to directly drink from the bottle instead of a glass (Mesoc being more cigars and bottle where Stormrise is more regular cigs and glasses).
Dustine , Love Angel, also present were discussing with Coile while, close, Lady Cobra looked to get some attention from her friends and acquaintances. It sounded part of Cobra discussion was orbiting men attentions.
After the mandatory lecture from Love Angel (Coile having been handed a vodka from Stormrise), came Nightsparrow, whose natural assets cannot end somewhere else than in the Guiness World Records book.
With the departure of Mesoc and maybe to change his mind (or being driven by a renewed sense of duty ?), Coile led Dustine, Nightsparrow and Stormrise to Brickstown. There, the four heroes patrolled and fought villainy, noticeably crushing a squad of clowns targeting an unsuspecting (unknown) hero, against all odds (but still gaining some bruises).
From answers to police calls for help to regular patrol and intuition, the team revealed and cleared a Circle of Thorns cave complex, repelled an Arachnos incursion and blasted a couple of Freakshow bands.
Afterward, Coile and Nightsparrow decided to isolate "to talk".
Dustine and Stormrise continued to fight for law and order (Dustine maybe... Stormrise fought mainly for fun and excitement).
They both prevented an attempt from the Freakshow to free one of their leader from the Zigg. The Freaks, there, having found their way into the prison basement, through the sewers.
Those last battles saw the success of the heroines with blazing display of thunderstrikes, icy winds and tornadoes as both heroines are able to conjure mighty air powers, Dustine probably because of her link and devotion to Mother Nature (or whatever she calls that) and Stormrise just because... she can (when it doesn't interfere with cigarette lighting).
Finally, Dustine left a weary and amused Stormrise to track the last gifts for christmas she obviously couldn't have find and offer in time.
Coile and Nightsparrow were still discussing at that time...
It's my life (2.1.2007)
The darkness had already long since evaporated with the sunlight. Andre stared out of the widow at the new scenenery outside his new home with his new girlfriend who had new plans for their new future. A penthouse. Their own penthouse. In Founders' Falls. Fully furnished. For a short while his future had been uncertain, full of possible destinations. For a brief moment in time his life was what he would make of it. That window had flickered into existence and out again. He had chosen. One path had solidified while all the rest had vanished like wisps of fog.
He thought of Nadia, half a country away. Alone, hurting. It would have been the road of least misery. Sparrow would have just missed the chance to be with him. Now Nadia was facing a reality where their ways separated for real. For good. Still he could not bring himself to return to her. The fears that had plagued him were still there and they held him in their grip. Being with Nadia had only intensified that inner terror. When it had ended he had noticed the difference. He had been a very selfish man and set his own happiness in front of everyone else's. When he had decided to be with Melanie it had gotten better still.
Better. He was more at peace. Calmer. More balanced. The price of it was a new family, a new future. They had been together for less than a day before Lady Cobra had gifted them with a penthouse. Not just an apartment, small or large. A whole floor of a skyscraper. The topmost floor. It was a long way down to the streets riddled with Crey's workers, Rikti soldiers and other menaces. A safe distance for them, and for their children. Two or three of them, maybe more. And later on grandchildren. One of them would grow up to be a vigilante like her grandmother Nightsparrow.
Rubbing the eyes did not make him see any clearer. There was a dark future ahead where Melanie's consciousness had been converted into artificial intelligence. It would have been just fiction to him if only he had not come face to face with that exact situation in his own life just recently. All the ND-units that had looked after him and Andrea all their life, they were no mere robots programmed by their father. They each had housed a larger and larger chunk of their real mother's persona with each passing upgrade. When Melanie had told of that future he had promised to never inflict such a fate to the woman he loved.
Loved. His life was insanity. How could one love die like that? How could a new develop so fast? He remembered back across months when Xan had inquired if Andre had feelings towards Dawn. It had been so clear then. Even if he thought Nadia dead he still firmly loved her and Dawn was just a friend. Now Nightsparrow who had been just a friend was sleeping in their bed in their bedroom in their penthouse. This was wrong, so wrong.
How could he be so happy? Nadia was not. He had hurt the woman he had for months vowed to protect from all harm. He had failed. Nadia was hurting, Coila was dead, Kitia was dead. He claimed to be a protector, not a soldier. Some protector. And yet he could not just give up. There were matters he needed to tend to, matters that spelled disaster. In two hours he would be going to see his father and ask about who his real mother had been, and what had happened to ND-4, the latest model. And there was Emmily.
He had told Melanie what Emmily had done. All the twisted things that he had submitted to. There was no other word for it. Was he not a man trained in physical combat for years now? Surely stopping a girl from hitting him was not a feat at all. Hitting? Beating up. Severely. All the time. Beating and committing other things that had sent Melanie into a fit of rage, and a ventilation duct into scrapyard. Now it was time to wrap that part of his life up, confront Emmily and make the final offer for genuine help. She needed help so badly.
Melanie would go with him. Originally he had planned to go there all alone, after Jamaica, but Melanie's phone call had disrupted the flow. Her confession of deep love over long distance call had directed his intentions, formed his wishes, enabled him to see that one future with clarity. In that future he was happy. He made a leap of faith.
Now he stood looking out of his own penthouse. Theirs.
Steps behind approached. Hands wrapped around him and a bare chest pressed against his back. A kiss landed on his neck. "Good morning, dearie. Have you been up long?" Melanie pressed her head against his back and just held.
Andre blinked and looked outside once more. The dark possible future faded from his mind. This was now, this was theirs now, the house, the future, the destiny. He was a selfish dirty traitor who was going to face his fiercest demons and yet he was happy. So very happy. He put his hands over hers and closed his eyes. This was his life now.
Diaries!
There are quite a few IC diaries out there. I'll list here only those relevant to me, so everyone is welcome to make additions.
Pyranha's diary (Pyranha)
Nightsparrow's scrapbook (Nightsparrow aka Melanie)
Diana's secret diary (Love Angel aka Diana)
Journal of A (Coile aka Andre)
Just to mention, whatever other people put in their diaries is their call, not mine. I may end up using unsuitable-to-all-ages language in mine, as well describing situations that not everyone are comfy with. Click 'em links on your own discretion.
City of Madison, Wisconsin, 29/12/2006
The dark skinned woman was staring at the idle lake. Her heavy clothing was shielding her from the slight breeze and fresh air. Temperature was almost freezing now and snow was expected for the coming week.
By summer, there is almost always a horde of students there. Tables and chairs, placed outside the university cafeteria, close to the red tiled roofs of the dormitories. An ideal place to spend time chatting, relaxing, flirting.
The lake was now empty of the usual ballet of sailboats, white dots over blue water during the warmer months.
A lot of people come here to have a change in mind. Years ago, she was coming too, to observe birds or walk, at that special place called Picnic Point, one of the most popular spot in summer. You just had to walk from the university bay until you arrived at that green, scenic, place.
But today, in the late days of December, none of this. The sky was partly cloudy, the sun couldn't warm the earth, the students found their haven inside the cafeteria and there was no sailboat.
She was sitting, having taken a chair just for her alone, by the lake shore, on the terrace of the cafeteria. Nadia came to Madison to think about her life and what she truly wanted, what she considered she could accept.
Madison is a peculiar town. How did she become fond of the place is quite a mystery, even for her. She not even had spend a whole year of her life there, barely nine months, six years ago. But those months were happy, without worries and the town is far from being a bustling nest of metropolitan activity.
Someone once told her that Madison look a lot like European towns. No towering skyscrapers, shops in downtown, quite packed and not spread out all over the countryside.
She never went to Europe and to her, Madison looked like many other Midwest medium sized towns.
Still, the first word when she thought about the place in the later years was "cozy".
Preparing for the coming winter and its harsh climate, the town was slowering its activity. Less people outside, the ones you could see were rushing from one place to the other, it was nighttime by 5pm. Snow was already occasionally falling on the northern half of the state. Her friend Kelly talked about having a trip to Christie Mountain, to change her mind. But she preferred Madison and its numbing environment.
Kelly. Kelly Baker. Actually not even a friend two weeks ago, at best an old acquaintance, stored into memories of those nine months here.
She was surprised to meet the blonde woman again, it was so unexpected.
Kelly was a student like her, back to those days, aiming at a doctorate of juridical science when Nadia was studying legal institutions. They didn't really get along by then., only acknowledged each other existence, having common friends.
When Nadia arrived at Madison, she headed to the university, trying to find the peace of mind in a place she knew and appreciated. And Kelly was here.
Kelly was coming from Barrington, an obscure small town in Illinois, in the distant Chicago suburb. She was a true Midwesterner and kept reminding each time she could that Abraham Lincoln came from Illinois. And she was a fan of the Chicago Cubs.
Nadia was quite the opposite. Coming from Paragon City metropolis on the eastern coast, she was used of not seeing farther than a mile away at best because of tall buildings.
Kelly was Caucasian and blonde, Nadia was Afro-American. Kelly liked jelly and watching "The Young and the Restless", Nadia couldn't stand any. The blonde was collecting boyfriends, Nadia was hiding her gaze behind sunglasses. One was skiing every winter when the other was afraid to go to Perez Park alone.
And Kelly stayed at Madison when Nadia went back to Paragon City. For one of them, the Rikti invasion was mostly TV news and occasional lights in the eastern sky, for the other, it was a day to day struggle to survive amidst ruins.
They both met again in the university cafeteria. Kelly recognized Nadia as the later had already renewed her habit of drinking hot coffee by the window bay while reading book. Same place, same habit, same sunglasses.
Kelly had become a teacher at the university of Wisconsin. She never completed her doctorate but loving the university life, she applied and finally made her way in the Wisconsin education system.
The meeting was odd for Nadia as Kelly welcomed her as a long lost friend just coming back home. So far, it was still nice to find someone to discuss with and speak about the old times.
So it came naturally. Nadia and Kelly talking, exchanging news about what they became since. And that's how Nadia was immediately trapped again by her problem.
Nadia Forester, also known in Paragon City as the Sword of Truth is a heroine, a sword wielder, fast and holding her principles high.
But Nadia life also became a whole mess of uncertainties when she slowly discovered she was only a clone. A clone of the original Nadia, the original Sword of Truth, a woman who fell in an avalanche, to be later detained by a paramilitary and criminal organization during a cross-dimensional war. She discovered she was only that. An experiment, a project. Her existence only reduced to an operation codename, the Trojan Queen.
Indeed, the operation didn't go exactly as planned. Another hero, Andre Kraft, also known as Coile, a mighty mutant able to unleash bursts of energy, came and rescued his love, the original Nadia.
Rather, he saved the one who he believed to be his love. And the irony was the clone herself wasn't even aware of her own artificial nature and tailored, programmed, memory and mindset pattern.
When Kelly came to hug Nadia in that cafeteria, the problem showed its ugly head again. Either Nadia was going to tell she was only a clone of the person Kelly met years ago. Either she was leaving Kelly believe she was the original.
The decision should have been taken before. It was, indeed, even the purpose of Nadia trip : finally deciding what behavior to adopt and how to react to the original's friends.
But it was settled in a second. Nadia let Kelly hug her and even returned the hug. The damage was done. Nadia was lying by omission to Kelly.
It was the easy way. The clone living the life of the original. Nadia the clone was having exactly the same memories than Nadia the original.
Where was the harm then ?
In the cafeteria, that day of December, Kelly was believing to meet again someone she knew. Indeed, the clone was so similar to the original that it didn't matter. For Kelly. It couldn't matter until Kelly was made aware. But if the truth was kept hidden, no harm would be done on Kelly. Save the lie.
Indecision was ruling Nadia life. The clone couldn't choose between accepting to live a life, have friends, have love, that she didn't deserve.
On the other hand, it was the only life she knew, the only friends she had and the only love she ever felt.
Nadia friends in Paragon City became aware of the situation, eventually. They were heroes and heroines, used to hear, see odd things. None of them rejected her after learning her true nature.
Which was the second problem.
During her trip to Madison, Nadia was able to put a name on her problem. She called it the "syndrome of the clone".
Her deepest desire, being an artificial creation destined to mimic perfectly a true being, was to be recognized as a different individual. To be more than just a copy, to have her own identity, to be certain she was appreciated because she was unique.
Yet, when Nadia friends told her they didn't mind, they appreciated her, the clone understood it as "you are so close to the original we don't see a difference. And as we liked the original, we like you".
The offered friendship, tolerance to her nature, was a deny of her as an individual.
To Nadia, the clone, if the original was coming back to get back her right place, it wouldn't change a thing for her friends.
The inability of her friends to acknowledge her as an individual different from the original made slowly her universe collapse.
But who could blame them ? The clone was hoping to hear she was different from the original. Yet, she couldn't be different. The creation proved to be flawless. Every single second of the clone life was lived according to the original reactions and memories.
The syndrome of the clone : I want to be different but I can't.
So Nadia lied to Kelly, didn't tell her she was a clone.
What was different, still, was Kelly wasn't a true friend of the original. Kelly was a figure, known, seen, but not really a friend.
Going from simple and almost forgotten acquaintance to a surprisingly quick developing friendship. Kelly and her finally went immediately well together, found more topics to discuss now than they ever could have imagined years ago.
For the clone, it was like a revelation. Yes, Kelly came to her because she knew the original. But they weren't friends back then. And they were becoming friends fast, now.
So, they were both building a friendship, one the clone could claim as being hers.
Like with Andre, the original Sword of Truth love.
Andre and the original Nadia met months ago. The young man, newly arrived in Paragon City, pursued the original during weeks, more or less openly declaring his love. Tumultuous, sometimes thunderous, their relationship never went to the point of both of them being lovers.
The original had feelings for Andre. The clone was aware of that, having the exact same vivid memory of those days.
But it was the clone and Andre who turned it into a blossoming love.
Facing her true nature, the clone was devastated, there again believing she didn't deserve to have the love of Andre. But the man, patiently, slowly, convinced their story was theirs only.
That he might have love for the original but this love evolved into something greater that only the clone could be proud of.
Finally, maybe it was what all her friends were telling : "we appreciate you, even if you're a clone because what we are living us all is ours and only ours".
The main difference was only Andre made that kind of full statement.
Why Nadia didn't understand that earlier and left to Madison then ? Sometimes, it's easier when a complete stranger is telling you what your friends are telling.
And here, Kelly was that stranger. The clone couldn't suspect her to try to ease her discomfort of being a biological construct.
Nadia was overwhelmed by emotions, memories, mortally afraid of losing what she knew and at the same time unwilling to accept it even when freely and sincerely offered.
Leaving to Madison was a good idea. She foresaw she needed a break from Nadia life. Each day in Paragon City was forcing her to behave as the original. She needed a place to think.
Fortunately, she met Kelly and the process was speeded, like a super fast forward move. Or maybe Nadia had already reached the same conclusion. She just needed someone else to tell her.
Leaving Paragon City became an issue when Andre asked her to marry him.
MarriageĀ
Nadia couldn't be more jaded about marriage. She was happy enough to live with Andre, like any couple, without having that formality coming between them. She wanted something spontaneous, free, without obligation, without a legal frame to remind you signed for a married life.
She had seen many older couples, like her parents, staying together beyond reason just because of that paper.
Living with someone without constraint was the most beautiful gift to do, to her eyes. There, no reason to worry if someone stay with you because of a paper. Because with no legal constraint, you know love is sincere.
Andre became angry because of her refusal. He was aiming at stability, reassurance and marriage was a pillar for him, something to rely on.
She had trouble to understand why he went so angry. She told him she just needed a time away from Nadia fast moving life, that she wasn't going to vanish and will stay in contact. It was as if Andre was afraid she wouldn't come back, ever. He was so comprehensive even two days before her departure and suddenly made it an issue.
Maybe he had some hidden fear, wound, or someone scared him about the possibility Nadia wouldn't come back ?
It was inappropriate, not the moment, at all, to discuss marriage when she was heading away to think about her future. She left him in their apartment on Talos ialand, in Paragon City, angered, frustrated. She had hopes he would tell her goodbye with a smile and a kiss. It didn't happen.
Nadia knew it would be difficult to explain Andre why she was seeing a marriage almost as counter-productive in their relationship. Added to that her own difficulties to voice her thoughts when she was angered, the next weeks promised to be full of long discussions.
After a common friend funeral where Nadia and Andre were present, he gave her a letter. She was quite disturbed by his tone and comments. She was pained that none of the words written was "love" but she could understand. Andre, left alone, needed also time to think about what he wanted.
Attending the funeral was a difficult time. Nadia made the trip for the occasion, from Madison to the somewhat close Dakota state. Then came back.
She thought staying at Andre father's farm and trying to start talking with him. But at that time, she wasn't yet certain of her own thoughts. So instead of entering a confused discussion again, she went back to Madison again.
Christmas had passed. Kelly invited Nadia at her home. The now teacher at the Wisconsin university lived at Shorewood Hills, not far from the university itself. Just Campus Drive and University Avenue to go along.
Her place was nice and peaceful. And she had a kid.
Kelly married and divorced the same year. Not an uncommon thing in modern society. She kept her kid boy, a three years old redhead called Tom with a charming smile. The kind of smile who makes women hearts melt.
Nadia felt guilty of abandoning Andre on that night, of being away.
Indeed, so preoccupied with her thoughts, she even didn't notice the calendar coming to the end of the year. When she realized she was moving away from their home one week before christmas, it was too late.
At least, she knew she would be back for the New Year.
Nadia the clone couldn't be something different. She couldn't go against her nature, her being, her feelings and love.
The New Year. The time to start new things and change old.
It couldn't be a better moment for a renewed life for Nadia. Even if she was a clone.
Freedom Corps Building, Galaxy City - 8:30 am, 2 Jan 2007
Keeping her eyes down and her pace swift to avoid interruptions, Natalie walked throguh the sterile corridors of the Freedom Corps building to her office, closing the door quietly but firmly once she was inside. A sense of relief washed through her as she saw the office was empty. Just her then, that would be good, no need to participate in the meaningless office banter and whittering about what the heroes had achieved today.
She looked at her in-tray and started working throguh the updates from yesterday on what had been achieved and what, if nay, artefacts or trinkets had been obtained and handed in to Freedom Corps. The heroes had brought in all sorts of sun stuff for her to examine. A hungry smile crossed her lips as her eyes alighted on one report and she put it to one side whilst she finished going through the others. Various pieces of clockwork and Freakshow had been left with them to examine to see if anything useful could be obtained from the information. Some of the Freakshow items had alredy provided huge amounts of information on regeneration capabilities and some of the heroes were trialing her prototype designs to make use of this. A bitter smile crept onto her face 'at ;esat some people were benefiting fromthe discoveries, even if it was only heores. Still, it was expensive to use and only functioned on recent wounds'. One say though, she would improve it, make it cheaper so it was available to everyone and could mend even old wounds. Determined, she continued to work through the reports, today might bring the breakthrough she had been looking for.
As lunch time approached she picked up the report she had set aside earlier and reread it, a secretive smile forming as she considered it thoughtfully. 'If what it said was right there were all sorts of possibilities'. She just had time for a quick look before lunch. She picked up the keys and made her way down to the lab. Unlocking the outer door she went in, careful to lock it again behind her. She waited for the pressure to readjust around her then waslked sprightly over to the retinal scanner, pressing her thumb against the key pad as it scanned her eye. It blinked a recognition code and the sel on the inner door hissed before the door swung open. She walked purposefully across the floor, her heals clicking on the tiles. Opening a locker she brought out a small package and took it across to the sealed unit in the corner. She opened it, placed the package inside and resealed it. She needed to examine it carefully, but wanted to keep it safe and undamanged and this seemed the best way. Lowering the covers the moved to the viewing controls and began the examination.
...
Three hours later she sat up and stretched, her eyes glittering at the possibilities offered. She smiled wryly as she thought how this informaiton might be used in the wrong hands. 'Lucky it had come here, Freedom Corps would never let something like this go once they had it in their possession'. Carefully she approached the examination unit, cautious, now she understood more about what was inside. Removing the cover she looked carefully at the unit, wondering whether it was going to be safe to open. The package still looked intact on the viewer, but that could mean anyting. She shrugged, there was only her in the lap today and if anything untoward was detected the whole place would shut down and seal up. No one else would be affected. Carefully she released the seal on the unit and opened it up. The package was exactly where she had put it, sat innocently in the middle of the unit. She reached out to touch it tentatively, then, realising nothing had changed she picked it up, caressing its surface with her fingers, learning all the wrinkles, grooves and pits in its surface.
She blinked and smiled, then moving swiftly across the floor she replaced the package in its original locked and closed the door, security it with the combination lock and truned to scan her eyes across the lab. The only evidence of her being there were the images cached in the viewing machine. She worked quickly, erasing the images and over-writing them several times with old images or views of the empty unit. She then swept out of the lab, pasuing only between the doors while the air pressure equalised and she could unlock the outer door.
Briskly she returned to her office and sat down ast her desk, trying to focus on the other details she had to address today. Her mind wouldn't focus so she leant back on the chair to consider the package downstairs. Closing her eyes she visualised it in her mind's eye. It was beautiful, elegant even, with its smooth lines and the way it seemed to absorb the light, and it had something inside.
*************
Union
Pix - "Purple Pixie" Earth/Kinetic controller
"Age is a state of mind"
Lu - Katana / Regen scrapper
Last night at Pocket D, hero side bar.
Roselin Thorne sat at the bar with a drink and listened to a fairly obnoctious 'reporter' 'interviewing' some female heroes, one of which seemed to be only 12, and the issue was whether or not underaged children should be allowed to hero.. it was fairly amusing, both to her and Nick "Nightchild" who sat down in front of her.
The two chatted a bit and he was fairly free with naming his 'misdeeds', but in a casual "I don't care" way rather then "I'm a bad person, fear me" boasting way.
Most of the conversation he tried to figure out Roselin, while Roselin kept obscuring who she was, what she did and whether or not she had any super powers.
In the end he got that she was a mutant (fairly obvious with green skin and a tail) might be super powered (she 'insists' she gets by with bluffing) (hmm, mind control?) and worked in a jewellery store probably somewhere in the Rogue islands. And even her first name, which she gave just before he left.
In the meantime the reporter's prey had left and he found himself in conversation with a 'fan'.
With the arrival of a new visiter at the opposite end, Roselin moved to sit down near her, but not too close and ended up right behind the reporter.
While Roselin was chatting with Amber, she lifted the reporter's wallet with her tail. Amber noticed and made a mention to her, but left it as she wasn't inclined to admit to anything and Amber was there more to relax.
The reporter and his fan left to talk at an empty bar.
The chat was quite amicable and there was some sisterly bonding, even as Roselin checked the contents of the purse... and probably pleasantly surprised Amber by leaving it at the bartender with full contents, appearantly she didn't need or want the cash or credit card in there.
Some time later the reported came back and had a bit of trouble getting his wallet back from the bartender, who was dancing with joy 
And it quite amuzed Roselin!
Roselin gave Amber some advice how to deal with her boyfriend's weirdness, chatted with and explained the club to a woman who kept talking about Mr. Gale, appearantly her late husband, of which Roselin initially thought was now undead...
For some one who talked a lot about her late husband she seemed rather interested in the younger male population... except for the real undead pirate Roselin and Ms Gale were also chatting with.
Roselin and the pirate chatted a bit before she left, including about whether she might be a hero or not...
It seems she likes to obscure things about herself and confuse her conversation partner (who needs seeds of confusion? )
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
Headlines (3.1.2007)
"In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Smell like I sound, I'm lost in a crowd
And I'm hungry like the wolf"
- Duran Duran
Business or pleasure? All too often distinguising between the two is impossible for Jiffy Blakes, the reporter for Daily Comet and writer of Ground Zero. A quiet pint or two can turn into a case and a casual drinking buddy can threaten to begin borderlining friendship. A pro has to stay on guard and be ready to report about anything, no matter who gets burned. Truth must be served and people have the right to know.
Earlier last year one such quiet night just before Christmas turned into a talk with Nightsparrow who spearheaded the march of a new type of streetfighters, the 'merry vigilante'. That earned Sparrow a nickname Merry and Jiffy a column about the subject. This also resulted in an invite for another round of drinks three-four days prior to New Year's and the topic was romances or lack of them. Jiffy was feeling a bit moody due to holidays about a wife that walked out fifteen years ago and Merry was concerned over her own love interest (Coile) who was once again out of town doing some quiet thinking. As it was, with an outgoing woman (Stormrise), in Jamaica and diving together in the clear waters for a few days.
Another drinking spree (well, for Jiffy as Sparrow has nowadays some selfimposed limits on the consumption rate) took place with just one day of the year left. Jiffy was curious as to why Merry had kept the deepness of her feelings and the big hopes for a future to herself, without letting her guy in Jamaica know about them. He pointed out that perhaps ithe ntention of getting children could be a factor when someone is deciding whom to be with and what to do. This all was academic and Jiffy just trying to understand a female mindset until Merry decided to make a long distance phone call.
Merry's friend Lady Cobra thought it unbecoming of a woman to behave like that, calling after a guy who most evidently was having a steaming vacation with another woman, and was also of the opinion that Merry was making a fool out of herself, putting herself to shame over nothing. Jiffy was just interested to see how it would turn out being all too familiar with all the tabloid stories of the would-be-pair from the past couple of months. The call connected. After a while Merry was all smiles, giddy as a schoolgirl and nicked one of Jiffy's cigars. Year came to an end.
Now, three days into 2007 Jiffy was again in Pocket D hoping to catch his drinking buddy, being unawares of Sparrow being stuck in North Dakota, robot farm with her wounded lifemate. However the evening was not spent in solitude. Lady Cobra came along and on request started to recite what was ailing her these days. She got as far as a murderous ex-husband who curiously belonged to fifteen years in the past same as Jiffy's former wife. Then the story got disrupted as Dustine came to greet Cobra and a kid named Juniper (Wild Child) called Jiffy about an interview that Sparrow had set up. On the other edge of the bar counter perched herself a lady called Rosilyn Thorne. She was soonish joined by Nick whom the press had dubbed as Nightschild, a half-demon with a grudge against the Longbow.
Jiffy's angle for a new story in the making was children in the super world. How could a young person who was by law not allowed to drive, drink, smuke, vote and in some states slip between sheets for some hanky panky still be seen adult enough to decide to put their lives at risk daily, how could Paragon City government issue licenses to such youngsters and where was the responsibility of supergroups who admitted the kids in, taking them along the most dangerous missions across dimensions? To this end he was going to interview the kids, the parents and the groupleaders.
First Jiffy talked to Juniper and Cobra, whose daughter Jessie Chang was already in training ready to assume the mantle of Cobra when her mother would retire. After Juniper left another Militia affiliate Rachel (Vigilante Storm) arrived and offered her on views on the matter. It was starting to look like every kid in business had lived through some real rough times and justified their current position and lack of real childhood by circumstances.
The arrival of Tokai Hojo (Razor Dancer) spelled the time for Nick to leave. Pretty soon Jiffy found himself missing his previous company and talking to the mercenary from Rogue Isles. Three meters away Amber Banshee fell into conversation with Rosilyn who changed seats and being directly behind Jiffy quite expertly lifted his wallet. The guys took their private conversation to another part of the bar where Jiffy finally discovered his financial assets missing. Luckily the bartender at the old spot had it and nothing was missing.
Mr. Hojo had a beef with a part time parole officer and Longbow agent called Tyler Marks who indirectly was threatening one of his Dread Pack members. He wanted to give Jiffy enough material to start building an expose story on the guy that would be his downfall. A corrupt officer who abused both his position and psychic powers manipulating his charges in any manner he deemed fit. The trick was that Tyler should remain operational until the Pack had solved its problem and then it was not of no concern of theirs who took the fall. Jiffy promised to keep the lid on it until he got the word.
Meanwhile that end of the bar had gathered more folks and after Mr. Hojo left they kept arriving. A girl with no name but disturbingly familiar facial expressions (Darksparrow), a general busybody about that other people were doing (Ms. Gale), an ethereal being bent on raiding the bar who disliked cigar smoke (Lady Silverwing), extreme lifestyler Stormrise and a robot maker Ghost in the Shell.
A good part of the rest of the night was spent with Jiffy trying to figure out why the girl appeared so familiar. After much pondering he concluded that the girl was mimicking his drinking buddy and tabloid heroine Nightsparrow, but more with expressions and quite poorly with the costume. In fact a few features of it more reminded him of what Sparrow's new man Coile was shown wearing in all of those myriad pictures. Even so, after boxing the girl into a poor man's copycat category he couldn't help but think fleetingly that if Merry had a daughter she could look like that girl. Meanwhile Darksparrow was looting the bar. Bottles were a fair go but ceiling lamps could have brought security in.
After the second rate Merry lookalike had dragged her loot away the discussion started again about children in big time hero world. A few surprises were experienced as Ms. Gale started agreeing with what Jiffy was saying instead of just scoffing at him, Stormrise was didplaying caring about an issue (in this case, kids) and Ghost in the Shell whom Jiffy had pegged originally as a sort of a boaster could back up his beliefs and viewpoints. The final shock came when the crowd dispersed and Jiffy asked Ms. Gale to join for a nightcap. Jiffy was surprised to be asking. Ms. Gale was surprised to be saying yes. Stormrise was just amused.
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Sparrow being stuck in North Dakota, robot farm with her wounded lifemate
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Question... how can he be her lifemate if she's the rebound girl?*
*May be missinterprited 
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
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Sparrow being stuck in North Dakota, robot farm with her wounded lifemate
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Question... how can he be her lifemate if she's the rebound girl?*
*May be missinterprited
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You are not entirely wrong, although not particularly right either. The situation is complex to say the least. I'd explain at length but I'm not sure that all parties involved quite have yet figured out which factors are at work. And I do love keeping surprises which are logical once they hit.
EDIT: It's also from her point of view. Melanie no doubt sees Andre as a her lifemate (as far as I know, without seeing into the character's head). As for Andre, that'd be telling.
...dunno if I'll have the time to recap yesterday. I hope I do, some inherently interesting stuff took place. Granted, it helps if one is running the plot and sees behind the scenes. The most notable bit relating to the the subject matter at hand must have been Nadia and Andre meeting. Let's say there was some agitation detectable and leave it at that. Luckily this encounter with an ex didn't result in a bodycount.
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Sparrow being stuck in North Dakota, robot farm with her wounded lifemate
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Question... how can he be her lifemate if she's the rebound girl?*
*May be missinterprited
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You are not entirely wrong, although not particularly right either. The situation is complex to say the least.
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She probably can be his lifemate in the same way as Sword of Truth was the Only Love Of His Life, The Only Woman He'd Ever Have Eyes For and so on. /evil grin
... can anyone guess Andre is still almost teenager .
Blackdove
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Sparrow being stuck in North Dakota, robot farm with her wounded lifemate
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Question... how can he be her lifemate if she's the rebound girl?*
*May be missinterprited
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You are not entirely wrong, although not particularly right either. The situation is complex to say the least.
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She probably can be his lifemate in the same way as Sword of Truth was the Only Love Of His Life, The Only Woman He'd Ever Have Eyes For and so on. /evil grin
... can anyone guess Andre is still almost teenager .
Blackdove
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Luckily for him the trust issue isn't directly his problem. He's remarkably happy. And Sparrow had a vigilante answer to the big question, "If you betray me, then we'll talk." Adding extra weigth to that sentence could come from one recently deceased ex who got one-kicked straight into the obituary section.
And yes, oocly I could and would tag Andre and his actions with quite a few words that wouldn't pass through the censor filter. IC just is IC even if an IC kind and nice character gets slapped to the face repeatedly. Pulling that kind of harsh stuff out of the blue and without any warning works only with a good dose of OOC trust. Splendid that I have a great deal of respect towards both Sword and Sparrow as players.
Last night...
Roselin was back in PD, chatted with Nick and a 'new' hero called Sarah.
Both of them were slightly flirting with her, more sleasing over her... until she left... There was also a ghost there, a ghost of a 16yr old girl or something with dark tendancies she was trying to break? 
Oh well... it seemed that all three prefered women, and it was found out that Nick would pay to see Ghost date Roselin before sucking the life out of her...
Roselin went downstairs again and met Sarah again chatting with a friend with relationship problems...
Roselin gave him some advice how to win the woman over. She's becoming an agony aunt? Maybe she could do a column in the Comet?
After Shydow left, Roselin and Sarah chatted a bit before Sarah left.
And despite Roselin hanging around for a bit, nothing really happened otherwise, except for some demon-girl ignoring her.
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
Oh yes. Scrapbook now has an article about Coile pimping heroine look-a-likes in Pocket D on New Year's. Those Inquirer rapscalions, where do they come up with that stuff?
I shudder to think what happens when they find out that Coile and Nightsparrow are getting married.
Last night in Pocket D:
Fusebox stopped by the heroes bar to get a bottle of cola, and noticed Jiffy Blakes having problems with his articles. Hannah, being one of the main writiers of thefusewire.com, a popular gaming website. She revealed she used to be a pro-gamer, but she can't compete due to heing a cyberpath. Checking her watch, she realised she had to nip off, bidding Jiffy farewell and luck with his writers block.
Number Nine turned up to find Love Angel's birthday party in full swing, and was quickly accosted by the newly 17 year old girl, who with some surprise thought she was an ND Unit, built by Colie's father (if I understand correctly.) Nene corrected her on this and introduced herself, and soon had cake pressed into her hand and got into conversation with the girl. Feeling a little embaressed that she was at the party without a present, Nene used her dimensional translocation abilities to recall a personal belonging she just purchased, a rather nice jewellery box for Diana to store her new presents in. After some more chat, Nene said that she needed to head back home for her scheduled shutdown. Before being able to leave, Diana dragged Nene into a group photo, and afterwards, Nene had a quiet word with Sword of Truth, telling Nadia that she was glad to see her again before leaving.
Later on, Hegira turned up and chatted briefly with Nightschild and more with Roselin Thorn, speaking about her memory problems, headaches and blaiming them on drink or drugs, and spoke about her guardian. After a few drinks, she decided it was time to head off home.
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Sparrow being stuck in North Dakota, robot farm with her wounded lifemate
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Question... how can he be her lifemate if she's the rebound girl?*
*May be missinterprited
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About the rebound girl. Excerpt from Andre's diary:
"Melanie's pregnant, Xan confirmed it with a blood test."
Btw, seeing as my ability to write different kind of things at the same time is limited, does anyone give a toss either way about me maybe posting Andre's journal entries here? Recaps and journal seem to be a bit mutually exclusive.
* Yes, please do.
* Nah, I'll check Tempest forum if interested.
* This here is a 'toss'. I am not giving it to you.
You might want to post the journal in the "Status of Silent Tempest" thread. Actually, it is more or less a personnal log, isn't it ?
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About the rebound girl. Excerpt from Andre's diary:
"Melanie's pregnant, Xan confirmed it with a blood test."
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Mwa ha ha... Wait For Me
As for posting Andre's journal here... I suggest the Tempest thread like D, or the IC stories thread.
I should really write recaps too... maybe later.
Blackdove
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Mwa ha ha... Wait For Me
Blackdove
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You've been itching for weeks to use that. Admit it.
The pregnancy is likely to be a normal one. We outsourced the GM'ing of that plot to a third player, who for starters determined whether the pregnancy was on or not. This way we can have a smooth running until the birth or innumerable problems or even a catastrophic end without it being our 'OOC fault'.
When the characters decided to try have a child we had two basic options available. Either make a decision or use some form of random generator like a dice roll. I'm all for randomness and every time that Coile has been in any serious danger of death I've rolled dice for it just because a real risk of death adds depth to my experience.
However, a decision to roll dice would have been a limiting the randomness to begin with. If we said there was for example 20% chance of pregnancy for each menstrual cycle it would have ruled out the possibility of infertility. Also, other relevant factors were too a many to have been included sanely in a dice roll so whatever number we came up with would have been ripped from thin air. No meaning.
Then again, I for one prefer to live a story instead of writing one, which might be a weird statement seeing how much I love to write. Controlling such a major aspect in my character's life would have robbed much of the spontaneity and fun.
In the end, we combined the options. We left it for FaeryFire to determine when and if Melanie would get pregnant leaving it totally random for us, but having an actual mind considering options and making an informed decision. Best of the both worlds, really. And as said, that will continue. We just keep the GM aware of relevant facts (like if Nightsparrow ends up in a fight where her stomach gets hit) and let the story progress out of our OOC grasp.
Now it seems as if the first time (there's a story about it but I'm waiting for Bridger's word if it's suitable to be posted on the forum or if I go with a link with a warning) got results. Which is wild, cool and unpredicted.
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Diaries!
There are quite a few IC diaries out there. I'll list here only those relevant to me, so everyone is welcome to make additions.
Pyranha's diary (Pyranha)
Nightsparrow's scrapbook (Nightsparrow aka Melanie)
Diana's secret diary (Love Angel aka Diana)
Journal of A (Coile aka Andre)
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One more. And oh boy I'm excited over this one! When I first heard of this Days of Future Past / Terminator oriented plot twist I was a little dubious since time travel can easily go awry. Then I thought, what do I know of the player in question? Am I having fun? Do I have trust? Is this likely to be a wild ride of amusement, excitement and adventure that I'll cherish in later years?
Whatever worries I had went up in a puff of smoke and hey, now I'm enjoying the wild ride. I'm really excited to learn, IC and OOC, new things. With Andre and Melanie expecting a baby this one future now seems far more real, and the pregnancy already has a possible future history built on it.
So, one more diary:
CALIBURN 14 system logs (Darksparrow aka Angelique Kraft)
Last night...
Roselin was at Pocket D. She bought Sarah a drink and invited her to have a seat as she said she had a long day. They chatted a bit about this and that until Shydow Fish asked if he could have a word.
When they came back, Shydow had a big announcement: they were now an item and would like people to say 'well done'.
Rose thought this was... odd. In the first place because Sarah got who she wanted and that Shydow went for second best after hearing his first choice was not an option.
Roselin congratulated Sarah none the less!
After a bit, she asked to speak to her in private(ish) and had a heart to heart about her relationship. Words of warning and advice and congratulations were given. (along with an offer to be a kissing guinny pig )
When they got back to the crowd, they chatted a bit more before being approached by Marii, the gynoid. and they chatted for a while. Before long Sarah had to leave.. school night and all.
Rose and Marii talked about male testosterone, procreation, immortality and nature.
They were briefly 'acosted' by some kid before Rose had to leave
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
Sunday night at Pocket D:
Number Nine turned up in a fancy little skirt/top combo and went to the bar for a drink. Colie and Nightsparrow came over to talk to her, complimenting her on her outfit before dragging Star Crusader off for a private chat. Dark Stone and Minako Nizishumi were also at Pocket D, and Nene talked to them discussing clothing, the fact that Mina's boyfriends Juan Ross and Isaac Anderson were beaten up outside a club in Talos, plus Nene informed Jared that she thinks Jane may be a little jealous of Jared's young lodger, Jennifer 'Pyroclast' Tamland. Nene and Mina gave Jared varying advice to deal with this, from just affection and reassurance to flowers and lingere.
Mina then noticed Sara Aegis at the bar, but she was dressed very oddly. Nene chatted to them both and Star Crusader, informing him about wearing different clothes in different situations and advising him to maybe get something to wear in clubs.
Storm Sapphire turned up for a coffee, congratulating Nightsparrow when she climbed on the bar and announced she was pregnant, before getting a call to head off.
Isaac Anderson turned up to find Minako kissing Sara! He wasn't that pleased, and when he made his presence known, Mina ran off crying and Sara was acting very oddly. Isaac, after a few words to Sara, ran off after Minako and chatted to her, before walking the upset and confused girl back home.
((Sara Aegis was actually Sarane, but she tricked Mina into believing she was Sara.))
Last night at Pocket D:
Number Nine turned up and spoke briefly to Raizer Blayde before attracting the attention of a rather curious individual: Darksparrow. Darksparrow tried to access Nene's screws in her armour plate joinings to dissemble her and take her parts, and asked lots of probing questions about her schematics, of which Nene hardly answered. Coile asked Nene to perform a scan on Darksparrow, which she did, before starting to act and speak very oddily and distorted. An error with her Chronomanipulation Engine released the self-set limiters on Chronological Incursions, and almost caused her to undergo a Temporal Incursion. Who knows where she would have ended up! Luckily she managed to restore control and abort temporal incursion. Darksparrow was rather interested at the whole thing, especially with Nene possessing a Chronomanipulation Engine, and left in a hurry. Volt Master was rather concerned that Nene may have blew a hole in the fabric of time. Nene then got talking to fellow construct Marii, before Colie asked for a word. Excusing herself, Nene went to speak to Andre and give him the results of the scan of Darksparrow, before cryptically saying that Darksparrow originated 109,500 miles away. This confused Coile, and it lead to Nene attempting to explain her somewhat skewed perspective of time and space.
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Number Nine: How far away am I from the: bar?
Coile: I don't know... about a metre?
Number Nine: A metre and a half, or two point four seconds away.
Coile: It takes you two seconds to walk to the bar?
Number Nine smirks. "In these heels, yes."
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Nene then explained it would take her about an hour to walk one mile, and Darksparrow originated from a point that was 109,500 miles away, which computes to roughly 50 years away. Cue apoplexy for Coile as he exclaims "FIFTY YEARS?!" and looks very shaken. Love Angel and Wild Child headed over to see what Coile was looking distressed about, and together, Coile and Number Nine passed it off as a moment of panic about contemplating married life as a father. Coile headed off to get some fresh air, and Nene was left talking to Love Angel. Oh dear. Quoted for its entirety. Poor Diana.
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Love Angel: Oooh! Miss Nene! You look so fashionable!
Number Nine: Thank you, Diana.
Love Angel: I like it, although it is a bit daring, you know?
Number Nine: Yes, a friend chose it for me.
Love Angel: Are you trying to impress boys, Miss Nene? Oh... or did a boy chose this for you?
Number Nine: My friend: Jane Darc brought these for me to wear in social situations.
Love Angel: Jane Darc? Sounds like Jean D'Arc, funny. Well you will attract boys in this!
Number Nine: That seems a: logical step in my experiences of socialization.
Love Angel: Ooooooooh! But you don't want that boys think of you only as a good body! You know?
Number Nine: Though continuation down that path of social interaction is: impossible, due to a lack of functional genitalia.
Number Nine blinks and pauses, before her cheeks glow a slight red.
Number Nine: I did not mean to say that.
Love Angel blushes. "You... uh... no... uh..."
Number Nine: And no, I do not.
Number Nine: Wish to be seen as a 'good body' only, that is.
Love Angel is bright red. "Uh... but... can you... somehow... you know... uh..."
Love Angel is red and confused.
Number Nine: Sorry. Besides: I have no real wish to experience such yet.
Love Angel: Uh-huh... Uhm... okay. Erm... so... uh... I'll go and check on Miss Nadia! Yes! I'll do that!
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Before Love Angel went off, Nene gave Diana her e-mail address to send a copy of the photo from her birthday party too, and Nene then chatted to Marii about the illogicality of humans.
When Sword of Truth fainted, Nene went over to try to assist, and once she was concious headed back home to rest.
((Edited because I just realised I've been spelling Coile's name wrong, because for some reason I say it as Col-ie, and thus type Colie. Sorry! 
))
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((Edited because I just realised I've been spelling Coile's name wrong, because for some reason I say it as Col-ie, and thus type Colie. Sorry! ))
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((No, its COORRLEE!))
Last night...
" )
The French Maid went to Pocket D, the chalet.
I wasn't really in a big interaction mood, so she didn't reach out much. Though she did mutter that "it's been the longest yet..."
Eventually she went down the ski slope and entered the bar there for a nice cup of cocoa.
There she met Mileena Lim, and had a short talk before Samantha Jennings joined them and started talking with Mileena, being friends that hadn't seen each other for some time.
As Jolanda (Frenchy) turned to admire the scenery and let them have their chat, they turned to involve her.
So they talked about this and that, Jolanda's job as a cleaning lady...
After a bit, Sam left which left Jolanda and Mileena to chat, and be chat up by the 'tall dark and mysterious' gentleman that dropped by.
Mileena got a little more quiet as time passed and it became a bit of a flirting match between Jolanda and Fredrik. It was of course very descreet and light, a smile here, a remark there...
Fredrik was beset by two he had a silent conversation with, a woman and an other 'tall dark and mysterious' man (same SG), Frenchy pouted a bit as he had to go and left Fredrik to them.
In the end, he asked if he could add them to the friends/global list.. (awwww bless the RP newbies) To which Frenchy asked if he was asking them for their number (a /tell was send: "Welcome to the world of RP, where game mechanics are adjusted or ignored
The poor guy blushed as he said yes... At least he got one number
Then it was time to go...
I must admit, it was fun that he used the /e command to show thought bubbles, and use them for his thoughts, and not being able to respond to them
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.