Blood_Wolffe

((Okay, I'm back. But I have five pages to read. It's been said already, but you guys post too fast! ))

((Just a note to say Happy Thanksgiving. I will be coming back to this thread later. I have a wedding to attend on Friday. I'm the best man so I have a lot to do.))

The healing beam made his wrist and ribs burn a little, but it was a good burn. He rubbed them to make sure they were alright.

"Firebase Zulu? Mission?"

Point Blank looked around at the skeletal remains again. The thick layer of undisturbed dust.

"I'll take a free ride, but... M-113," he wasn't sure how to put it, "What and when was your mission and what is today's date?"

----

[ QUOTE ]
"Well," she said, "I'm just who the license says. Dragonistic, mutant pyrokinetic, security level 50. My real name doesn't matter any more. As to how I got here...Well, it wasn't easy to find out about this place. I had to do a lot of digging with the few of my contacts who're still alive."

[/ QUOTE ]

"Good. It wouldn't be here long if it were easy."

Wolffe watched Dragonistic eat her food with enthusiasm. He was markedly older than his days when Paragon City was still around, but was still sturdy. He wasn't as fast or enduring though.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he held back, "Anyway, you can take any room you want. If it's empty you can program a code into a keypad to get in. They're through that door and down the hall," he pointed, "If you have any questions I am in 110 and anyone around should be able to help. I hope we're as comfortable as your last place."

((Siren's Call it is then. Between posts and pm's you guys have me moving a mile a minute here. Eating dinner now. That screeching sound is your questions coming to a halt. Heh heh.))

((Written with Averick))

Point Blank rounded a corner ready to lay down a stream of lead into someone. Instead he was greeted by a small flame clinging to some wallpaper.

"Stupid thermal vision," he muttered to himself.

There were still noises though so he took a step closer to the people in the building. The floor must have been hollowed out by an older fire, because his first step sent him crashing through several floors and landing in a basement.

"Son of a [censored]."

He hurt his wrist and ribs, but his gun was okay. Groaning, he hoisted himself up. It wasn't a basement. It was a fortress that had a several large holes in the roof. A cloud of dust from his fall became a fog.

The skeletal remains of heroes were strewn about. None of them had technology worth taking.

From the darkness of an unexplored alcove, a single red light came on. A voice, obviously digital reverberated through the chamber. "En en enter, please enter your voice identification for command verification."

Point took a firing stance and readied some attack drones as the machine stepped out of the shadow and debris. Half expecting a large, killer robot, he was surprised to see a man sized droid, in green and black camo bearing an army insignia that he'd never seen before. "Please enter your voice identification, for command verification, hero." The droid restated its request. It had armor, but not heavy armor, all over it. It carried no weapons that were obvious, but being a droid, it didn't have to. It also didn't show up on thermal at all.

He lowered his rifle, but kept his finger on the trigger. He took a few steps closer to it, "What the hell?"

"Voice not recognized." M-113 scanned Point Blank for identificaion. "Please state name, rank and unit. If not military, please say 'civilian'."

It obviously needed something from him before he could get answers, "Point Blank. Civilian... Who are you?"

This was making him nervous. Was there a wrong answer?

((The Bastion is the name. So is The Fortress. Flagstone is an NPC, so you can write for him. I think someone replied to your post though, so I held off.

The point of the NPC's is for people to doddle up to them, say, "I join you, let me in."

NPC then says, "M'kay. Help yourself to the fridge," then let them in and get them to the interacting of the player characters.

But please not word for word.

You can be a student, just recruited into either place as well.

The other option is to meet player characters when they are outside, doddling around the post-apocolyptic playground.

This way you can be a hero, villain, student, teacher, or a survivor/scrounger, or something entirely different.))

((There is no leader of the Fortress. Maybe a doorman NPC to answer questions, but officially it will be a conglomerate of villain groups. They agreed to let anyone in to encourage people to join their side because the heroes are in the way of all of them. It is the temptation to the dark side. If you really want, Crey seems most capable of creating a hotel-like setting. But all villains are allowed in and I'm sure recruitment posters line the walls with plenty of shady dealings and backstabbery between all the villains is plentiful.))

((Clarification has been requested.

The main villain base, The Fortress, will not be just Arachnos. It will be for all villains as they are all sort of on the same side... for now. Think of it as a luxurious apartment designed to lure people to their side with it's many ammenities. As for location... none has been chosen yet. I suggest somewhere other than Steel Canyon, so heroes and villains don't bump into each other constantly.

Arachnos bases are still allowed of course. Each villain group has its own plans. Its just that the fortress is there so villains from other organizations, or their own can interact.

As for other zones, Talos has been converted into a techno-dystopia. Corporations and militaries rule with an iron fist. I like to think of something like the Judge Dredd or Blade Runner universe. But more confined. It could certainly be there.

Founders Falls' is a glassy crater with little, if any buildings remaining on the outskirts. Eden is an overgrown jungle. No one has written about any other zones being much different looking than Boomtown yet.

Just remember that all villain organizations are still present.

Any other questions?))

((DeviousMe, your two guys are at the entrance right? I am going to sneak Wolffe and Dragonistic out of there for now because she gave me an opportunity to elaborate on the layout of the bastion a little.))

Wolffe nodded back to Justice Reborn.
[ QUOTE ]
"It's been said your ferocity and zeal has won us heroes many a victory," he said on a lighter note. "Please, do tell."

[/ QUOTE ]

“I don’t do much fighting anymore. Mostly just teach new heroes how to not get killed.”

[ QUOTE ]
She nodded, smiling a little. "Hungry? Of course. I just hope you've got enough to feed me without starving everybody else." That last bit was meant as a joke, of course, but she did seem like she could eat an awful lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wolffe chuckled a little, “We’re pretty used to that. This way, we have a big kitchen and dining hall,” he said, leading her to the promise of hot food.

[ QUOTE ]
"So...Exactly how safe is this place?" she looked a bit cautious, having gone to several 'safe' places before, only to end up as one of few survivors as the other secret bases were crushed.

[/ QUOTE ]

He talked as he walked her to the dining hall, “It’s safety is mostly in how well hidden it is. Above ground it looks like a five story building that has been bombed out. We don’t use it for much besides antennae and different gadgets that keep us from being found; I don’t know how they work. We have several hidden tunnels leading in and out, and all the entrances are hidden. We have private rooms to sleep in, a medical center, labs, this dining hall, and so on. It’s pretty big and mostly underground with lots of sensors to find out if anyone is nearby. If we’re not safe here we’re not safe anywhere.”

The Bastion was indeed big, but it was also reflective of the hard times they lived in. Graffiti and bits of trash lined the concrete walls, cracked and cold. Bare lightbulbs hung above, flickering occasionally. But the dining hall was different. They had done there best to make as much of the base as comfortable as possible, and this was one of their proudest achievements. The kitchen was stainless steel, and kept very sanitary. The dining hall was warmly lit and welcoming. The table was a long folding one, and the chairs were mixed and matched, but they did the job. Wolffe took his preferred chair, a simple folding metal one. It was rather uncomfortable.

A computerized voice broke in over the speakers, “Two unknowns detected at entrance.”

Wolffe seemed more annoyed at the voice in the speakers than worried about the fact that there were more new people showing up.

“Don’t worry, it did that for you too. We have more than enough people and automatic defenses to handle new arrivals if they decide to try anything.”

If she was like him, which he thought he was, he knew where to direct her, “The meat is over there,” he pointed to a large, industrial refrigerator of prepared meals.

“So who are you, and what brought you here? If you don’t mind me asking.”

----

The welcoming committee was even less welcoming this time as the two fought some horrid black nightmare. Heavy caliber machine gun and energy weapon turrets popped out of their hiding places in the walls, ceiling and floor. They tracked the lizard men’s movements in twitching, jittery movements. The nervous machines seemed a little trigger happy for autonomous robots. Whoever programmed them was probably a little twitchy themselves.

Flagstone sighed, “Today is not an easy day. Do you speak?”

((Edit: also, damn this thing really took off.))

News spread quickly through the base that there was a strange dragon woman, and got to Blood Wolffe quickly. He dismissed his students and headed for where they would have her.

She looked like she had spent a lot of time out in No Man's Land. Surviving how she could.

He approached her without fear. Wolffe was animalistic too. Though it wasn't as obvious in his physiology as hers, it was quickly made apparent when interacting with him.

"It's been a long time since I saw one of those," he said referring to her hero ID, "Are you hungry?"

----

Brett Mason and Hell Song saw a ship heading for the ruins of City Hall.

"Screw recruiting. I'm sure they would rather have that," he said pointing.

"Father would be most pleased," Hell Song agreed in a siren-like voice.

"See you when you get there," Mason smirked, then rocketed off, running at tremendous speed.

Hell Song stretched her wings, and launched herself powerfully into the air, heading toward the ship.

----

The noise Point Blank heard was coming from somewhere in the building. He heard shouts and gunfire. He switched scan modes, and saw one man take down about five in thermal vision. It was Experiment 2.0's fight.

Small disks with blades spun in the air. His attack drones waited for the command to launch at someone and detonate.

He got his rifle at the ready and rounded the corner, aiming at the strange man.

He demanded, "Who are you!? What are you doing here!?"

((Thanks for the tip DeviousMe, I will do that.))

A speakeasy type slat in a thick metal door slid open. A set of eyes visibly grew wide before slamming the metal back shut.

"Its bigger than the cameras made it look," a soldier said.

"It's got a hero ID," said another.

"So? That hasn't meant anything in a long time!"

Flagstone was the doormaster, one of the most important jobs there. He stood with a stoic, military presence and almost scowling face.

He ordered them, "Ready your weapons. Jenkins, you seal the rest of the base off until I say it is safe or it is dead."

He nodded and sealed them in.

The heavy door slid open revealing several men with guns pointed at the dragon.

Flagstone held a more diplomatic stance, "Easy," he said to both his men and this strange visitor. He showed empty hands as he moved slowly forward, "Can you talk?"

((Flagstone will be the first NPC for anyone to take control of. He is older, with harsh features like an old frowning general, and a paranoid militaristic personality.))

((A couple of very good questions were brought up in a PM. I thought I should post my answers here...

I suppose I should clarify the state of the city. It's one city in an ongoing global war, so while the world governments are present here, their forces are dispersed to several places at once. For background's sake, you can have any place be a battlefield, a dystopia, or be unaffected by the war. That part is up to you.

As my no leader rules, I just don't want anyone claiming leadership of one side or the other in this war. People, say, within the ranks of Arachnos from masterminds commanding a few to generals in charge of battalions are fine. But you can't sweep across the country with a massive army of millions. This may change, but for now I am trying to keep the scale a little more confined.

I tried to make my what-if able to accept as many characters as possible, so you can pluck them out of the current timeline and put them in this one, or have them aged since the present.

Plenty of places for survivor/scroungers, mercenaries, revisionaries, most any way you can see your character in this world, they will fit.))

((I have had this concept for an open RP in my head for a while, and have finally decided to do it. The premise is that in the future, Paragon City has been either reduced to rubble, or turned into a corporate or military dystopia. The organizations that protected the city are all but destroyed. The fascists, the corrupt, the mad, all our enemies are there. The heroes are hunted night and day. The villains are in power.

The last hope lies in the Bastion, the heroes’ secret base of operations in Paragon City. It is where all heroes live. If you seek it out, it can be found through contacts.

Villains reside in the formidable Fortress. It offers many tempting benefits with representatives from each organization. It recruits openly on the streets.

Aside from the standard fare of no overpowered characters and courtesy rules the following applies:

Neither base can be attacked. The hero base is hidden, even if you switch sides; the villain base is too well defended

No leading either side, or any huge armies

Just because your character is a hero or a villain, doesn’t necessarily mean they are required to pick a side. I will let your imagination come up with reasons for that.

Let’s have some fun with this.))



Paragon City was a ghost. Most sections were burning wastelands of twisted wreckage. It had joined Boomtown in its fate. A few parts had come to be dominated by Corporate juggernauts such as Crey, or were ruled with the iron fist of a military like the Council or Arachnos. One could live relatively safely in these sections, as long as they submitted to their new leaders. In the ruins of Steel Canyon, the Bastion was disguised mostly as a bombed out building, but it went deep underground as well. Inside, the base was dingy, dirty, and slapped together. Light bulbs hung flickering from the ceiling. But it fulfilled all the needs it could. Places to eat, sleep, get healed, and train.

Point Blank walked past various heroes toward the exit as he put on his technologically superior armor. It was green and blue metal, seemingly made out of honeycomb with wires running down him like veins. As it activated it took colors closer to its surroundings. He covered his square jaw with a skintight mask, his short, black hair with a helmet. Not an inch of skin was visible through his armor, his calculating, hard eyes disappearing behind a mirrored visor.

To get to the exit, he had to walk through the training center. Blood Wolffe was there instructing some kids on how to use their powers.

He wore red leather armor with a black stripe down the sides. His eyes were a strange, iridescent blue.

“Keep practicing,” Wolffe instructed them, “Hold on a second.”

Great, Point Blank thought as he rolled his eyes.

“Where are you going? We have enough patrols out and no missions.”

“I don’t need or like to be told what to do. Besides, I could use some fresh air.”

Wolffe eyed him judgingly, “You need fresh air a lot, and where do you get all your gadgets from?”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m watching you.”

Point Blank turned and left as Wolffe watched.

“Okay,” Wolffe said eyeing the students with predatory gaze, “Who is willing to spar with me?”


----


New recruit numbers were low, so Brett Mason and Hell Song were sent out to see if they could find some people in the blackened battlefield of Paragon City. They happened to work for Arachnos, but plenty other organizations were working together in the fortress. All secretly backstabbing each other according to Mason.

Brett straightened his leather jacket as he approached a building with heat signatures. He didn’t like meeting new people on the account of his face. Long ago, a hero raked it with her claws. The tangle of scars reminded him constantly how much he hated heroes.

“Over this way,” Brett pointed at the heat he sensed.

Hell Song bothered him almost as much as heroes. She was a pale beautiful woman, and wore little more than tactically placed red leather straps. Her black wings were exotic. But she was extremely religious. She was not filled with hope and light either. She saw herself as an angel sent to vanquish all the sinners. She disturbed Brett.

“Father commands us to bring as many back as possible,” she said.

“Yeah, I know. Please only say something if you have to. Even when you whisper it’s like feedback in my brain.”

They approached carefully. Peering into the doorway of a dilapidated building in Crey’s section of Talos Island.

“Hello? We’ve come unarmed. We’re here to offer a place to stay and food to eat.”


----


Point Blank watched a Council patrol march by from high above in an abandoned skyscraper. A few fires burned in the distance of the charred wasteland as hover jets stalked through gray skies above. His suit bent the light around him, rendering him almost completely invisible. He thought he heard a noise behind him, but continued to look out the window.

Nobody sneaks up on me, especially with my drones!

Attack drones spun to life in the air, ready to strike. In one fluid motion he pulled his rifle off his back and spun around.

As a writer I think you are letting a chance to grow you and your character and experience very moving pass you by. Reach out to someone either IC or OOC. You will not regret it. In the end it is your choice though, and the death of a character you love will be something you always remember.

You could have her ask for help in character.

If you want to be more subtle, you could have her go to doctors about getting helped, with them saying they aren't skilled enough to do anything.

Another is that she could announce that she is dying due to her condition. Have some episodes to emphasize it.

Other than that, DeviousMe hit it on the head, so to speak.

I have to back Averick up. Not on his tiff with DeviousMe, I wasn't there for that. With godmoding in general.

You want a tough guy? Look at his posts. I see his characters as some of the toughest in the Whitmoore Apartments, but physically they are probably the most vulnerable. Pay attention to his posts if you want to make an interesting tough guy.

Tough characters are fine. Remember to take your hits though. It's courtesy to not assume the other guy was hit, but it is also courtesy to get hit sometimes. I would even say most of the time. You can recover from it, but don't insult with the damage done. If you are outnumbered, unless it has been agreed on for plot purposes, you are going down or retreating.

I do have a character significantly more powerful than any single player character. But I made him a giant monster other people could take over and write for (assuming they don't kill or disfigure him), and he is still gets hit and hurt by everyone's attacks. I still worry about him being over the top sometimes.

On the other hand. Don't put a label on someone if they didn't play by your rules. People can learn. I have and still am.

On that note, I would like a critique of my RP/writing skills from anyone who has posted with me or read my recent stuff. As an aspiring writer I have learned to have a thick skin. It was difficult but I realized I needed to if I wanted to make money at it.

*gives props, more specifically, a rubber fish*

Two years ago I started something that grew much bigger than I could have ever imagined. A few weeks ago I decided to look back at the first story I ever wrote for fun. Much to my surprise it was very close to the 5000 hot topic mark. So I checked it every now and then (I know, it affected the score, but not by much in the grand scheme) and now I have hit it.

Thanks to everybody who read it. I learned a lot and it was a lot of fun to write and has inspired me to pursue it as a career. This pushes me to write more, and I will get back to my latest story, pillar of war. Promise. This, while I am writing my first novel.

Until then, Woot! Most read fan fic!

My one critique would be that it's a picture of your character Goat Lord and not Rorschach and Riddler.

All cool but I have to praise the Optimus Prime one! Awesome!

Wow! You do know that you could get paid for these right? Plenty of people here would get comissions from you.

Bam! Crestent finally gets his. Sorry for the long hiatus. Was travelling. At least I haven't forgotten.

Happy birthday!

Get the book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". It teaches you how to see things as an artist sees them. Which is critical.

Another piece of advice I can give is get a book that teaches you how to draw people using basic shapes to start. There are inumerable tricks to drawing humans, but they all seem centered around the head so they are easy to remember.

Look at the great masterworks by Da Vinci and such. My favorite is Prud'hon.

Finally, draw from real life a lot and never trace. It makes you worse.

That was awesome! More! I think Expendable Man sounded like a Cylon.