Past Lives (The missing Positron/Numina story)
By
Arcanaville,
Posted on: 2012-09-07 07:29 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I think it's very amusing that a 90's revival of sorts is going on right now in comics, and Positron was going to go back to an old suit of his from the 90's.
Thanks for sharing this. 
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Not gonna lie; I laff'd.
| “But that rod could be the catalyst we need to bring back War Witch." |
Good stuff. I want to see the concept art too!
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So... War Witch = CoH, Posi = the dev team, and Numina = players? It fits, since Numina was a player created contest winner; Posi is, uh, Posi; and War Witch has been a sort of symbol for the game since she was in the comics.|
Originally Posted by gec72
Yep. As I read this, I kept wondering - old story...or allegory?
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I thought about writing more, but I didn't want to over analyze it any more than I had...
Thanks for sharing this Posi.
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Errr... She's stuck in her astral form. Isn't her 'default setting' being phased? *is confuzzled*
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Originally Posted by Positron
The skeletons and zombies emptied what remained of their clips in her direction. She had no choice but to completely phase out, dropping the rod. She couldnt retrieve it without phasing back in, and that would put her at the mercy of these undead abominations. She also couldnt remain phased forever. She didnt know what to do.
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*laugh*
See, it shows the way my mind works about these things. I didn't read it as some sort of deeper meaning. I read about decrepit corpses and my thought was "If Numina was able to come and go like that she'd have found some way to get those fallen heroes out of there for a proper burial".
Then, a couple of paragraphs later, it was revealed that the bodies were just a plot device and I decided it was better to just go along for the ride and not over-analyze things. Ah, well. Positron got to ride to the rescue. That's the important thing, right? 
Yeah, I'm a critic to the end. Sorry, Matt. I do appreciate you sharing the story with us.
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I'm having a hard time pinning down what 90s comic book high tech armor looked like, and crossing it with what we know of David Nakayama's art style.
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Originally Posted by Liquid
I think it's very amusing that a 90's revival of sorts is going on right now in comics, and Positron was going to go back to an old suit of his from the 90's.
Thanks for sharing this. |
A very cool read!
It would have been awesome to see some form of what Baumtown was like. Especially what the old Phalanx HQ would have been like.
I always thought the Phalanx should have had a much cooler base than some Longbow base. it should have been it's own high-tech building or separated pocket dimension or something like that. Recluse got his own zone.
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The Impervium would probably keep his thigh pouches from chafing, but having to lug a gun bigger than his torso with lots of rectangular barrels would still be a chore.
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Originally Posted by Liquid
I think it's very amusing that a 90's revival of sorts is going on right now in comics, and Positron was going to go back to an old suit of his from the 90's.
Thanks for sharing this. |
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It's too bad that the suit never got modeled. Even if it wasn't ultimately used as Positron's newest armor suit, it would have been a fun detail to have on display in Fort Trident after the story was published.
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Oww, stop it.|
Originally Posted by Positron
He powered up the strength augments in the armor once again and grabbed the beam. He pulled at it and it didnt budge. He overclocked the augment and started to move the rubble.
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| The 63% piece now reported as 96% safe with the new data. He casually grabbed that piece and pulled at it. The piece tore apart in his hands unexpectedly. |
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| He had forgotten about the overclocking he did on the strength augmentation and literally didnt know his own strength. |
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| The core CPU to the suit was located near where the pain was, so whatever broke that was probably pierced through his abdomen. |
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| Eventually she made her way into the trophy room. Anything really dangerous was removed before the base was sealed off. Just knickknacks remained. Stuff no one thought had any value. Stuff like the Necromantic rod. |
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| Live again? she spoke out loud as if asking the rod a question. That was a mistake. The rod took it as a command and the bodies of the dead Longbow and 5th Column soldiers that littered the room rose up and took aim. |
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| The new armor, the DRS-03 Mk. II, was a thing of beauty. The Impervium was a marked improvement over the alloys he had been using since the Rikti war, and he was able to incorporate the Prometheus energy from his DRS-08 armor into this one as well, returning that comforting blue glow that people began to relate to his hero identity. |
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God I love some of the character names in this game! |
Originally Posted by Positron
“Didn’t we keep Morbid Curiosity’s Necromantic rod?” she asked.
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Originally Posted by gec72
Yep. As I read this, I kept wondering - old story...or allegory?
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Anyway, I've always been puzzled at how casually the characters sometimes treat resurrecting each other ("I have a theory that bringing my uncle's dead girlfriend back to life will help make him good again," said Ms. Liberty, "let's do it!"), but that is very true to comic books, and with that said, this was a very, very fun read. Thank you for posting it!
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In a world where resurrection happens every other day, I suppose they end up taking the same attitude that the Necromancer in Steven Brust's Jhereg stories espouses towards death: "It is sometimes inconvenient."
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Originally Posted by Sparkly Soldier
Anyway, I've always been puzzled at how casually the characters sometimes treat resurrecting each other
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The closest thing was the Tier 9 Mecha Armor.|
Originally Posted by SlickRiptide
It's too bad that the suit never got modeled. Even if it wasn't ultimately used as Positron's newest armor suit, it would have been a fun detail to have on display in Fort Trident after the story was published.
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As for Numina's corporealness... It was never said one way or another if she could become solid if needed, and interact with the world. It's only inferred that she's permanently stuck incorporeal... so I emailed Sean Fish to get his take (since it was a key element of the story) and he said "sure, she can do it with enough concentration."
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Didn't Kitty Pryde go through something similar for awhile?
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Originally Posted by Positron
The closest thing was the Tier 9 Mecha Armor.
As for Numina's corporealness... It was never said one way or another if she could become solid if needed, and interact with the world. It's only inferred that she's permanently stuck incorporeal... so I emailed Sean Fish to get his take (since it was a key element of the story) and he said "sure, she can do it with enough concentration." |
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Yeah, I'd imagine that an astral spirit's 'default setting', as it were, is incorporeal, but if she tries hard enough, she can manifest by force of will. But that's gotta be seriously draining to STAY that way (I reduce almost everything to Champions/Hero System terms eventually... Costs END to Maintain, Requires Concentration roll, etc).|
Originally Posted by Positron
The closest thing was the Tier 9 Mecha Armor.
As for Numina's corporealness... It was never said one way or another if she could become solid if needed, and interact with the world. It's only inferred that she's permanently stuck incorporeal... so I emailed Sean Fish to get his take (since it was a key element of the story) and he said "sure, she can do it with enough concentration." |
And Arcanaville, when I actually finish the TCOSR series, I want you to vet it for everything I did stupid. I'll send you brownies if it'll help.
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I enjoyed that but I'm thnking I wanted to make a toon called "Necromantic Rod"
either that or the biggest double entendre you can imagine! (it'd be dead funny... srsly)
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Mmmm... Brownies...
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Originally Posted by Dark_Respite
And Arcanaville, when I actually finish the TCOSR series, I want you to vet it for everything I did stupid. I'll send you brownies if it'll help.
|
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Quote:
Oww. Quit it.
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Originally Posted by Yogi_Bare
Didn't Kitty Pryde go through something similar for awhile?
|
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Quote:
Well, we know he likes hot pants, so....
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Originally Posted by ThePill
I'm having a hard time pinning down what 90s comic book high tech armor looked like, and crossing it with what we know of David Nakayama's art style.
|
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The image of Posi in hot pants is NOT quite what I was really wanting to see...|
Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
Well, we know he likes hot pants, so....
|
Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite
Dark_Respite's Farewell Video: "One Last Day"
THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE CONTINUES!
Book I: A Tale of Nerd Flirting! ~*~ Book II: Courtship and Crime Fighting - Chap Nine live!
MA Arcs - 3430: Hell Hath No Fury / 3515: Positron Gets Some / 6600: Dyne of the Times / 351572: For All the Wrong Reasons
378944: Too Clever by Half / 459581: Kill or Cure / 551680: Clerical Errors (NEW!)
THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE CONTINUES!
Book I: A Tale of Nerd Flirting! ~*~ Book II: Courtship and Crime Fighting - Chap Nine live!
MA Arcs - 3430: Hell Hath No Fury / 3515: Positron Gets Some / 6600: Dyne of the Times / 351572: For All the Wrong Reasons
378944: Too Clever by Half / 459581: Kill or Cure / 551680: Clerical Errors (NEW!)
Quote:
Oww. Quit it.
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Originally Posted by Dark_Respite
The image of Posi in hot pants is NOT quite what I was really wanting to see...
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(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
Quote:
Necromantic Rod - He's Dead Stiff
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Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
I enjoyed that but I'm thnking I wanted to make a toon called "Necromantic Rod"
either that or the biggest double entendre you can imagine! (it'd be dead funny... srsly) |
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I always thought CoH subscribed to the idea, you could only get a Rez if you died "Naturally" thus souls like Numina and War Witch were hands-off for their deaths were really less death and more change of physical state. Neither are dead, per se.|
Originally Posted by SlickRiptide
In a world where resurrection happens every other day, I suppose they end up taking the same attitude that the Necromancer in Steven Brust's Jhereg stories espouses towards death: "It is sometimes inconvenient."
|
- Raith
I agree with everyone else, this was pretty awesome! I personally adored the first series of comics, Brandon's art is fabulous (and I got a cameo in the last issue!), War Witch has long been one of my favorite characters, so this is a kind of full circle for her too.
Good work, I really do wish we'll see this happen some day.
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