Coile

I have on my slots a character for a plot that never happened. I also created Coile's father so that Love Angel could talk to him directly IG instead of going by forum RP. I've used alt spots for, well, alts every now and then, and sometimes the NPCs just creep into PC-life and I'm stuck telling their stories too.

I understand that the officer would not be a full time character but there could still be a need for him, say, every other night, or just once a week briefly. Just wanting to make sure that I won't be a disappointment.

As per further discussion I think I landed on the job so I'll try to come up with a plausible and interesting character. If someone else is in need of a parole officer feel free to contact me. I'll see what can be done.

Hat off and high in the air!

Conga rats and other various dancing rodents, Z!

Hey there!

I've thoroughly enjoyed playing with you so far. Depending on the frequency needed I could play the parole officer. The important question is, how much IG facetime is needed?

I can come up with ideas, write stories and settle things through PMs quite easily but when I log a character in it so far has almost exclusively been Coile. Out of the sleeve I pull "one hour a week" that I could do, max.

Friday 22.12.2006 - Daily Comet
Ground Zero by Jiffy Blakes
"Consider me miss merry vigilante"

Today I will talk about a certain brand of hero that operates on the thin, grey fringe area of what's acceptable - the vigilante.

You know the type. Dark, brooding, alone, driven. Mad. They all start out all daring and courageous. They have this mission you see, probably about revenge. They hit the streets with fervor and start making a name that is to be feared and respected by the evil-doers. Public loves them, they are the fluffy lovable rogues taking down punks that your usual heroes are too busy to deal with. Press dresses them as mascots for the public consumption.

Then there happens a minute shift. A new flavour of the month magazine cover girl takes over and the vigilante is past their prime. They commit follies all the time but suddenly that becomes the news. Pressure builds and there is a [censored]-up. They become overnight the enemy. Tabloids spray them devils and public cries out for their blood. The hunt begins. Police starts taking potshots at them and heroes add them on their arrest agenda.

At this point the ones with survival instinct head out to Rogue Isles to avoid the law. Those without make their last stand and fall. Those who survive are put into Zig and those who don't get buried in Dark Astoria just to get at least someone to attend their funeral.

That's the usual story.

Last night I met the new generation of vigilante. They are the ones who make the stand, take the fall and still persevere. In their fall they lose their dark brooding doom and gloom and become the hippy generation of unlawful heroism.

They rely on their friends and also protect them. They can even plan the future with a certain someone. In a word they are no longer alone. They are happy and they dream. Their mission agenda is less strict and the aim no longer is a singular wish to gun down a special target.

They go the full circle from airhead barbies to murderers to fallen to redeemed. The circle completes but as a spiral. They evolve. They become merry vigilantes.

They are the future, you brooders out there. It's Christmas time. Go to your families, I assure you the dark alleyways survive without you lurking about a few days. Go and be merry. New year's is coming and now's your chance to make resolutions. How about less gloom and more cheer for two-double-oh-seven? Evolve to the new generation or get gunned down as a relic of the old.

Peaceful Christmas to all, and best of luck to miss merry vigilante. Here's hoping your prospective SO finds his way.

** Jiffy Blakes, Reporter on Heroic Affairs and free columnist, Daily Comet **

(( Same in graphics: CLICKY ))

"Needs to be scrapped"?

I'd say people are free to play wherever they want. If there are people who think GG is the hip place to be, there is in fact a need to retain GG.

I don't attend GG with Coile except very, very occasionally but nonetheless I steadfastly argue that GG has a very important role. It has been there long enough to have been there "always".

Telling people who RP at GG, or in Pocket D, or wherever, that they must cease their current activity and do as someone else tells them to is very arrogant. I could come up with dozens of reasons for people wanting to rp at GG but I'm not going to bother. The bottom line is that it is their choice, and they are free to choose so.

No real recaps as other writing commitments hog the time. In brief:

- Tuesday 12.12. Kitia died.

- Wednesday Coile tried to patch up things between Nadia and Pyranha. Results were slim.

- Thursday there was a massive war in Siren's Call between 200-300 heroas and villains (counting henchmen). By stupid luck Coile beats the leader of villains, Wu Long 'Shin, in combat and confiscates his sword for no other reason than to disarm a madman. Apparently the sword holds some importance.

- Coile and Nadia had a small fallout in Pocket D and Coile stayed for quite long talking with Nightsparrow who expressed her interest in a very clear manner.

- Friday Nadia left on her soul quest but in a manner that left Coile feeling like he was unable to carry on with their relationship. This feeling deepened until he saw the affair as being over. The evening was spent with Nightsparrow. So was the night.

- Saturday

(Takes place 16.12.2006)

Morning after she went away

When he opened his eyes the room was already filled with faint light from the outside. If the morning was this far he had slept way more than he had intended. Andre sat up rubbing the sleep sand from his eyes and let the morning drowsiness settle. Piece by piece the reality made itself known once again.

He looked around the room. There was no one else in there. Oh yes, Nadia had left yesterday morning on her quest of self-discovery and would be away for who knew how long. The separation hadn't gone all that well and for the first time in months Andre was horribly aware of the fact that his future was uncertain.

For months at first he had known for an unalterable fact that Nadia would be there with him. Then she had said she would leave him once they found the other Nadia that she was a copy of. Certainties, even if directly opposite. All this had behind the conscious mind shredded his meager sense of trust and confidence. When Nadia was leaving all his doubts had surfaced with a vengeance and he found out just how thinly he was now stretched.

He wanted certainties, guarantees of the future. A simple promise from the woman who said she loved him and would be with him. A promise she couldn't give. So she just walked and left him with his doubts and terrible feeling of emptiness.

Now the future was unknown territory. No promises. No certainties. Just possibilities and probabilities that shifted as events took place, even unexpected events. Especially unexpected events. Unexpected feelings. He buried his face into his hands and listened.

Clatter of plates. Music, or maybe singing? There was an aroma of freshly made coffee in the air. He got out of the bed and slipped into the civvy clothes. Then he pulled the bedroom door open.

"Good morning.", the woman said smiling happily.

Finally the most recent events from the last night flooded back. "Morning, Melanie.", Andre replied.

- A crossdimensional Freakshow goon kicks the living daylight out of Coile who meets Love Angel and Xan in Tempest base. Angel's friend Inuit X came to visit. Apparently it was wrong of Coile to have instructed Xan to watch adult channels to better understand his relationship to Sword and Nightsparrow. [u]Chat Log[u]

- Sunday Love Angel learns that Nadia left Coile and decides to fix him with Nightsparrow, and gets him a suit for the x-mas bash.

- Monday Angel gets a letter from Nadia and goes to full reversal. Still Coile goes to the party with Sparrow wearing the suit that Angel got him. Another long takes place, this time hanging in the air under a huge rock formation, away from prying eyes and Inquirer reporters. Coile goes and admits having certain strong feelings. Sparrow doesn't go home that night either.

- Tuesday

(Takes place 19.12.2006)

She's not my date, just a friend

Another evening together. Another night, as well. Another morning with breakfast.

Andre was unsure what to say and nibbled the toast absentmindedly. Things had not so much spiraled out of his control than plummeted far beyond salvage. A week ago things had been so very different. A kick caught his ankle. "Hey, I woke you up already once this morning. Looking for an encore?" He became again aware of the presence of Nightsparrow and tried to comprehend what she just said. The woman broke into a smile. "Geez Coile, we talked about not getting all uncomfortable afterwards, whatever happened."

"Sorry Melanie, just a lot of things on my mind.", he said quietly. She huddled a coffee mug between her hands and leaned forward. "Is that so?" She had found a perfect shirt that conferred to the 'dress decently' rule while allowing maximal exposure of her natural assets. "You didn't by any chance get any thinking done during the night?", she asked.

A half-eaten toast was hanging from his fingers as he searched for an answer that he could give. Melanie snapped her fingers. "I have your attention now which is good but eyes up here when I talk to you." His only reply was a querying, "What?". The vigilante woman snapped her fingers again. "Look into my eyes when I'm talking to you and leave my boobs alone for a second. Or otherwise I have to put a quota on how much you can spend time with them. I asked you something."

After a night with too little time for sleep his mind was always stiff in the morning. Finally a sluggish train of thoughts arrived at a station. "No, sorry. I really have to, you know, go and bury Kitia first. I guess she meant more to me than I thought and I just have to close the childhood chapter finally. Then it's time to think what I'm going to be." After a quiet moment he added quietly, "And who I'm going to be with."

He actually wanted to break the eye contact, for two reasons. Talking about Kitia was getting him emotional again and the burning sensation behind the eyes was a sign of an outburts of grief that he would rather have avoided. He also was not entirely comfortable with all the things that had happened since they met for the party last night. Talking about possible futures. About feelings. Admissions of them, even. Using one word definitions about lasting commitment in a two person relationship. Andre blinked but just could not look away.

If Melanie was ready for a marriage she was more certain of herself and her feelings than Nadia had ever been. Why else, reasoned Andre, would she refuse the last step, time and again? Once more his facade of composure began to crack. No wow of commitment would stop this now. When Nadia had walked away his world had collapsed. Now he would take his time to rebuild it, all on his own. As he had explained to Melanie, he could not be with anyone before he could be with himself. That is why he was going away and leaving his old life behind.

She held the gaze without mercy and his eyes in it. "Remember, I won't wait forever."

- Coile had a talk with Lady Cobra trying to learn what goes on in Nightsparrow's head and if in her opinion Sparrow is (or even can be) serious about commitments. An hour laterTempest members Coile, Subaiku, Love Angel, Kitalia and Phiseeque leave for North Dakota to hold a funeral for Kitia. [u]RP thread[u]

- Wednesday the funeral is held.

There's two nifty threads full of RP stuff, recaps, chitchat and all that nice socializing. Check them out and see if anything in particular catches your attention. If yes, get in touch with the player(s).

Also check two locations. Galaxy Girl statue in Galaxy city (also join channel GGOOC if you fancy) and Pocket D, the extradimensional bar for heroes and villains alike (access from Kings Row).

EDIT: Somehow I missed Ghostie's link which contains all the infos needed. Duh. I blame lack of caffeine.

Oi!

The bloke deserved it.

Heh, the sword ended up stored on the salvage racks for a day until Love Angel told Coile whom he had actually beaten. Only then he even remembered the whole sword that was resting among all the other junk the Silent Tempest has gathered during the months.

Sleep deprivation nonwithstanding I should be IG up to small hours. Like, 4 am. Depends on IC tho where all the chars will be dispersed by then.

EDIT: Oh and thanks Max for the info. Much appreciated.

Looks like instance PD 2 is the place to be. It would be good if people would make an effort to notify all of their aupposedly attending friends about it so folks would gather in one place.

Last Friday a new Scrapbook entry was pushed live and Friday means a new issue of Paragon Inquirer as well.

I hope the alledged cartoon mentioned by Doc T draws its inspiration from some place else than yellow press.

I'm not familiar with how the separated instances work. Once I had to choose between Atlas 1 and Atlas 2. I didn't check but did Atlas 2 continue existing until server reset or until the last person in it left? Was it available for anyone else until it vanished?

What if for the first people Pocket D 2 is not available? People will be split then?

My doubts and confusion may come from me not having a clear idea how the game functions. If someone can shed some light here, please do.

Currently Inago, Pyranha and Winter Heart live in Faultline in a hotel.

I like the idea of plenty of heroes living in the same place and getting together because of it before buggering off to save the day. However for the idea to work work is needed, which is usually the case.

You have to get enough characters to sign up to live there, either by proposing the idea OOCly or maybe creating a landlord character who sells apartment space (or something). It's not like money would be a problem since the richer chars are so loaded that they can now get nifty x-mas presents to all of their friends this way.

Once you have the people you need a time to meet for a meeting to happen, as people wouldn't have much reason to hang around a level-inappropriate zone. GG works because it has a set time and is well-established location. Pocket D works because it a bar and common ground for heroes and villains alike. As a location, because of IG role, Pocket D is even better known by players than GG.

For the Faultline Hero Condos to work you need the people to sign up and then create a structure that keeps things moving. It's not impossible, but rarely good ideas just pick up without someone pushing them forward when things threaten to stall. Someone has to make the effort.

Unfortunately I don't think I have enough resources to be properly involved in helping to run this sort of a setup. On the other hand me showing up if this picks up speed is not out of the question as it is possible that Coile might be looking for a new place to live in in the future.

(Takes place 16.12.2006)

Morning after she went away

When he opened his eyes the room was already filled with faint light from the outside. If the morning was this far he had slept way more than he had intended. Andre sat up rubbing the sleep sand from his eyes and let the morning drowsiness settle. Piece by piece the reality made itself known once again.

He looked around the room. There was no one else in there. Oh yes, Nadia had left yesterday morning on her quest of self-discovery and would be away for who knew how long. The separation hadn't gone all that well and for the first time in months Andre was horribly aware of the fact that his future was uncertain.

For months at first he had known for an unalterable fact that Nadia would be there with him. Then she had said she would leave him once they found the other Nadia that she was a copy of. Certainties, even if directly opposite. All this had behind the conscious mind shredded his meager sense of trust and confidence. When Nadia was leaving all his doubts had surfaced with a vengeance and he found out just how thinly he was now stretched.

He wanted certainties, guarantees of the future. A simple promise from the woman who said she loved him and would be with him. A promise she couldn't give. So she just walked and left him with his doubts and terrible feeling of emptiness.

Now the future was unknown territory. No promises. No certainties. Just possibilities and probabilities that shifted as events took place, even unexpected events. Especially unexpected events. Unexpected feelings. He buried his face into his hands and listened.

Clatter of plates. Music, or maybe singing? There was an aroma of freshly made coffee in the air. He got out of the bed and slipped into the civvy clothes. Then he pulled the bedroom door open.

"Good morning.", the woman said smiling happily.

Finally the most recent events from the last night flooded back. "Morning, Melanie.", Andre replied.

IC pieces slotted in at places where they are surrounded by posts that are relevant to them has some sense. Those other posst can give the IC bit some additional context.

Then again a dedicated thread has the advantage of highlighting the practice and perhaps inviting more of it. And that is always good in my book.

If you start such a thread, I have the feeling I'll be using it when I need to write something beyond a regular recap, but not enough juices to do a real A for Android short story.

If you build it they will come.

[ QUOTE ]
((Got some very holly-wood style footage of the battle between Wu Long and Coile...))

[/ QUOTE ]

(( This is a very "coffee out of my nose from sheer surprise" moment without the coffee mainly due to it not being ready yet. *That* was Wu Long? The main bad guy?

I admit, "there's someone named Wu Long calling the shots", "someone wants to kill Sabrina San", "this guy flying arounf here is prophesized to fight Sabrina" and "this guy has some fancy sword" should have rung a bell or two but at the time I focused on doing aerial combat with touchpad mouse.

The main achievement: Sword of Truth is kind of picky about Coile using her katanas so now Coile finally can properly play He-Man, the Defender of Eternia and fight the villainy of Skeletor! ))

In the evening, after 7-8 pm GMT, I might be interested. As with every such plan I cannot make promises. IRL is one thing, another is unexpected IC situations that require my humble presence. Those pending, count me in. Coile, En/En Blaster, L48.

(Coile's voice message can be heard on Freedom Corps wavelength briefly, possibly due to an error, possibly as intended.)

"Guys, we have a problem. Today there's going to be trouble over at Siren's. You know the loonies of New Mafia? Pistol and her flunkies? They're going to kill Dragonfly, from Militia. What we need to do is, well, make a stand, I guess. Be there, meet them, and clean their clocks. There'll be over a hundred of them...

I'll be there. I don't see how I could not. Alone if I have to but I guess I won't. I'm asking for as many heroes as possible to be there with me. I don't have much experience in leading a massive team so I might not be the optimal leader for this, but ...I can be one. if needed.

I guess that's it, all things said. One of ours is under threat. We won't have that. We stop them."

IRL pending I am signing in. Coile, En/En Blaster, now L48 - who knows by 22th tho.

Sal's raid that I sort of by accident stumbled on was great fun and I want to do it again.

If this takes place after 7 pm GMT (preferably after 8) I might be up for this. As my comings and goings are heavily regulated by IRL no plans should be tuned just to accommodate me.

What I can bring is just damage. From range.

Coile, En/En Blaster, L48

We had all the time in the world (12.12.06)

"All of my dreams are fading away
Why is it happening to me
Life is pain when you're going to die"
- Nightingale

A call came through on Silent Tempest channel. Love Angel was frantic. Kitia was in the medbay in base and there seemed to be something wrong with her, really wrong. Andre and Nadia answered the call and hurried over. The tension was almost suffocating. It had been building for a few weeks now and tonight Kitia's fate would be set, one way or the other.

Andre had tried to make Nadia promise that if Kitia wanted to establish a link or a bond with her she would refuse. As he had gotten no such promise he was so on the edge that anything more would have been a cutting wound. He feared so much what his one-time friend could do, how much damage she could inflict on Nadia who was too much a hero, if such a thing existed.

Kitia was in her cat-form. She had changed so much since they arrived Paragon City all those months ago, late April. She had been just a girl then, all human, a teenage love interest, training partner and despite Andre's wishful thinking to the otherwise, she had been a friend. Then the changes took place, she mutated into a cat with a tail, beastly hindlegs and ears and all. She also changed inside, or perhaps let her inner self surface. Now Andre felt just apprehension towards that creature.

Kitia barely able to speak and again asked for the help of her team mates. The spirit of her long dead twin sister Kitalia within her would have to be released tonight or the quantum states within the one body would rip it apart and they would both die. For that they would need to venture into Thorn caves and locate two altars or confines for artifacts and destroy them at the same time. The released energy would drive the spirit through a soul crystal that they had acquired a week before and into a cloned body of Kitia's. All this filled Andre with sheer dread. Bonds, links, souls and crystals and there was no telling how magic would work in practice. No telling what would be required of those present.

He made Kitia to make a promise that neither Nadia nor Love Angel would come to any harm. He left himself out on purpose, not because of false humility but because he suspected that all this strange and disturbing business might need someone to sacrifice something, and it would sure as blazes not be Nadia or Angel. Kitia was saddened to see how much Andre had grown to hate her but Andre corrected it to be fear, not hate. Both accepted the situation as the status quo. Nothing more was needed for this to proceed. At that moment their common past started to catch up and a form of wordless, voiceless, instinctive understanding was formed. The friendship that had been all but destroyed along the long, gruesome months started to manifest again.

The first indication of things not going just according to the plan was the caves being filled with Banished Panheon husks, not Thorn mages. Kitia just speculated that maybe the Pantheon had stolen the altar artifacts. She could walk but any fight that she had had in her was now out. Andre noted this but had no real time to think, just fight and blast the opposition to dust. The first relic was found. Then the other. Kitia was on the verge of collapsing.

Looking at his oldest friend Andre finally saw things for what they were. Kitia was bidding her wishes for luck and farewells just in case. Nadia was having none of it. She was talking about how afterwards they would go to have a day at the beach before she left. Friends together. She was always so sincere and there was no veiled fear in there. Andre saw that Nadia didn't know what was coming. He hoped to be wrong but inside he knew that there was just one path forward.

Just in case something went wrong he ushered Nadia and Angel to tend to the other relic. The possible cataclysm would happen here, not at the other end. He would not lose any more friends and team mates than were destined to fall. The girls left, with what hopes and fears there was no telling. Andre told Kitia to step back and she did. It settled the matters and everything was agonizingly clear in his mind. He waited hovering in mid-air waiting for a ready signal. He lifted his arm and took aim. An energy buildup was forming and there was no missing the target. With a completely level voice and dead calm feel inside he issued the command to the other team and let go. The artifact shattered, and with it so did some spirits, futures and plans.

Kitia screamed but it was not in pain. Even if it had been so it would not have cut any deeper. Andre went to his friend and took her into his arms whispering quietly that he was there. She was no longer the cat-being that the Thorn magic had mutated and warped her into in those early weeks. Now it was the Kitia who had met Coile and Coila in Atlas Park ready to dash off to adventures with her friends. Then not even the sky had been a limit.

Now it was all over. What was left was just seeing where the pieces fell. As Nadia and Angel got to the scene he was already crying quietly holding an echo from the past and the clearly absurd situation slapped them in the face. They had just done as was asked, and now both Kitia and Kitalia would live. So, why was Kitia all but powerless and Andre shaken to the core with grief?

Kitia had always been a nature's child. Now some aspect of that manifested and called itself Gaia. To Andre it did not matter if this was a goddess, a projection from Kitia or a figment of his own imagination. She was real enough and she would not help the situation. Kitia's time was up, for now, and with a very flimsy possibility of her returning in her original form some years further down the road she was allowed to say her last goodbyes. Nadia was completely broken and Angel was screaming at Gaia that such cruel gods are no gods at all.

Then Gaia was gone. And Kitia was gone. Love Angel broke down finally and it was left for Coile to be the strong one this time. He ushered the sorrow-stricken girls out of the caves. Once out they just sat down. They knew that their task was not over yet. Kitia was now gone but Kitalia's spirit had been released and now inhabited a body. Nadia spotted a shimmering cat-form running up a slope. Andre turned to look but Angel had fallen into dulling indifference. Seeing it was still needed Andre took their hands and flew them after the cat. On the hill they finally found her, Kitalia.

It was yet another blast from the past for Andre. Kitia had moved to Dakota when her mother and twin sister had died, a decade ago. This small girl now was just as that Kitia, the new girl in the neighbourhood that he and Andrea had spotted on one winter day. That was years before their powers would come, when they were still kids. Innocent. Now Andre was the last one left.

Kitia had clearly expected Andre and Nadia to look after Kitalia, but it was impossible. Nadia was going to leave, perhaps for months. Beside which she was now emotionally incapable of taking Kitalia under her wing. Andre felt much the same even if he didn't say it directly. Losing Kitia had torn open the wound that Coila's death had inflicted. On the practical side two heroing parents were not what a girl of this age needed. She needed stability, not the inhuman hours that the Tempest life demanded and parents who would be gone for twenty hours straight at times. Most days.

However Andre had an idea. There was this farm where a young child could live in peace, learn to harness the powers that would eventually come and be safe from the tumultuous world. All he had to do was get his father to agree to let Kitalia live there and construct an ND-unit for her. Kitalia asked if there really were robots on the farm and Andre promised that there would be hundreds. She agreed to come and see as Tempest would venture to Andre's birthplace in a week.

Love Angel took Kitalia to Tempest base where Phiseeque and Star Crusader were waiting. Andre took Nadia home. They were both completely exhausted to the core. The emotional maelstrom that kitia had inflicted on them for weeks and weeks was now over and they had both lost a person that they had, in the end as it was with Andre, cared about so very deeply.

****

[u]Andros County team status check:[u]
ND-3: deactivated and decommissioned.
ND-4: missing in action
Coila: deceased
Kitia: deceased
Coile: active

Coile stepped a few meters away from the street vendor with his newly-acquired hotdog and took a bite. The weather was cloudy and the December wind was starting to get through his combatwear. Upgrading the insulation seemed like a good idea.

Next to him was a street lamp covered with all kinds of small adverts. "Join the Freedom Corps, Ms. Liberty wants you!" proclaimed one. Huge pre-Christmas fleamarket in Kings Row on the upcoming weekend. Church of the Lost seeking new believers. Angrily Coile pulled the ad down. Filthy traitors! Then his eyes caught a familiar logo. Pocket D.

Oh yes. The Christmas party that Nightsparrow had mentioned. Munching down the hotdog he said aloud, "Dresscode mandatory. Thank the sky goddess, but she might still end up wearing wrapping ribbons. She said so. And Nadia will be gone by then so it's not like I can go there with my wife either. All I can hope for is it not turning out to be a complete disaster. And should I get some new wear for it? Something seasonal? I'm not into fashion. Maybe Angel can give me a tip or something."

An elderly woman standing at the nearby bus stop eyed him with suspicion and after the monologue asked, "Are you talking to me, young man?" Coile flinched. "Uh, no."

The woman looked around inquisitively. "I don't see anyone else." Coile smiled a little. "I sometimes talk to my sky goddess." The woman nodded slowly, an understanding dawning. "Oh, I am sure that you do, young man." Then she started to wave her hand wildly. "Taxi!"

Coile shrugged finishing his snack. This city was chock full with all sorts of crazy people. Absentmindedly he wondered who else would show up.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll keep doing these as mood and time allows. Falling behind even further, but struggling. The novel will follow, I'm still searching for the just the right beginning, and then the massive rewrite can start.

Please, don't anyone let my recaps be a reason for not doing your own if you'd like to. My writing has the benefit and fault of being from a certain point of view, and that only. While I can write 2k word recap about Coile's evening the introspection happens only to him - I can't really know what goes on in other characters' heads. I try to tread a fine line between OOC recapping with a distinct IC flavour to it and thus I am inadvertedly focusing only one character and one point of view. Even if the events are tha same, other people write about different things. One window, two people, two views, all that.

Now, with just that much ado, here's the next in line from a few days ago.

Absent families (8.12.06)

"No more nightmares, I've seen them all
From the day I was born, they've haunted my every move
Every open hand's there to push and shove
No time for love it doesn't matter"
- Queensrÿche

Nadia was again in the office until late night and tonight she expected to be so late that she'd go straight home. The most soothing company wasn't thus available and Coile considered whom to call up. There were quite a few issues to resolve with Nightsparrow and as far as company went he could have ended up worse, so Coile arranged to meet her on Talos. The end destination was a faraway island up north.

There the local Devouring Earth creatures curiously let them be as Coile set down near a blue flower and withdrew his flight field. Then he kneeled down and waited for Sparrow to sit down as well. He first explained the importance of the flower, how he and Nadia had gone to Khan Tengri where Nadia had been seemingly lost in an avalanche and how he had found the flower which he first planted in Steel Canyon. Later a Council attack had compelled him to relocate the flower to somewhere no one but he himself knew. Not even Nadia as she hadn't ever asked. Now he shared this secret with Sparrow.

Sparrow paid attention to the flower and memories of her deceased parents and twin sister started to come out front so they talked about families. About chocolate biscuits every Sunday, tough as nails goth sister, abundance of boyfriends. Also about reclusive father, robotic mother and a biological mom who had left no memories at all. Coile considered that in this city he had quite a few pals but only a scarce handful of people he saw as true friends: Nadia, Xan, Sparrow and to a certain degree Pyranha with whom he hadn't much talked in weeks and months since she fell out with Nadia.

There were no shouts, no screaming There was only a moderate amount of teasing and Coile coming up with a few feeble comeback attempts that shared one common thing, that being that each and every one of them backfired on him immediately. In this kind of mental game some people are goalies, some run defense and some offense, and some people should just stay clear out of the field on the reserve bench and be content to watch the play. What happens when someone not really equipped for the series wants to play too is that they get teased. Quid erat demonstratum. On another note the lack of arguments suggests that these two need an absence of audience to be truly amicable.

After some stargazing they headed back to main island and into Pocket D, after both had had a change of clothing. Coile got his white suit having no intentions of going back on the streets that night to bust heads and Sparrow had swapped on her civvies and went by name Melanie. Inside they met Pyranha, Inago, Sam Blayne and a guy called Mike. Could be due all the yellow paper articles but the first assumption seemed to be that Coile was having an extra-marital fling. Coile vehemently denied this nonsense and was lucky to have Melanie there to back up her master. Huh, wait? What? What master?

As it was revealed to others by Melanie she was her master's love slave and he was not a child molester. A few angry looks and shouts later Melanie had to admit that Coile was not her master. But only because her master made her say so. Mike who had no clue who these people were was a little apprehensive and tried to get solid information from Pyr. Coile went to talk to spiky-haired girl called Zeyna and tried to appeal that he didn't really look like some weirdo. His success could have been more stellar.

Mel had to go someplace and so a master was left without his servant. Coile was a little miffed about the performance as just a day before Sparrow had promised not to tease him any more. Apparently there was some misunderstanding or he was just too delicious a target. Mike left too which was a shame as his pal Jimmy (Corvus Corone) arrived a bit later having missed his roomie.

Just as Love Angel walked in to see if she could spot this Mariah woman she was supposed to drag to Silent Tempest meeting some real trouble reared its head. A New Mafia goonette Pistol walked over to Coile with her usual flunkies but this time she was way more prepared than usual. There must have been at least twenty New Mafia thugs present to show off their numbers. Pistol told Coile to stay out of her way this coming Thursday as she and her cohorts would march to Siren's Call with an intent of killing a Militia girl, Dragonfly.

Seeing as Coile had had no idea about any of what Pistol was talking about her tactics left even Coile baffled. If she wanted Coile not to come, surely revealing the upcoming conflict was not the smartest move. While smarts was not his biggest strength some amount of bravery and good heart were and if Pistol could read people at all she would have seen that trying to threaten Coile out of the conflict would not work. Hence, that had been an invite, for some obscure reason, and not a very classy one at that. Not that Pistol herself was a very classy woman so at least it was all consistent. Good for all that she took her muscle and left.

Coile took a small break, this time alone without endophin high, and when he came back he noticed that so had Nightsparrow who was having a shouting match Dragonfly. He had no idea what the feud was about but it seemed to run deep. Sparrow used Coile as a good distraction and got him a drink. Having had not an entirely unpleasant experience with Steel Guard's whiskey recently Coile gave in and Sparrow managed to get him to drink one. All at once. The result was a hoarse voice for a time and lots of coughing. Stick to the sodas, man!

And beware teasing women who try to get you drunk.

Like, in the future.

X-mas bash is coming.

The missus won't be there.

Sparrow will, rumouredly wearing only wrapping ribbons.

<facepalmage galore>

Hmm, Sabrina = antagonistic towards Number Nine and Ly Shokan
Sabrina = antagonistic towards Pyranha
Conclusion: Pyranha is a machine?

19.30 sounds cool as younger folks have to bail earlier anyway, and many of us have lots of alts to roll out throughout the evening.

Here's the thing. Some while back I asked if me doing recaps was worthwhile but it was months ago, people selection was a bit different from current crowd and it was in a different thread on a different forum section. So, I'm asking again.

I'd like to know if my recaps serve anyone or any purpose. My aim with them is to both inform and entertain. I try to describe where a certain situation stems from, what was the meaning of the discussion and what impacts did it have. I try to show the progress of characters and situations. I hope that after reading a recap the reader has an idea what took place, to whom and why it happened, and also what it means.

All that takes words and words take time. Since the beginning of December I haven't much written my novel. During the last week I haven't written a word of it. Then again a recent recap was 2000 words long. They have been for now mutually exclusive.

So, do the recaps still entertain? Would shorter recaps with less details be better and more informative? After posting last recap the number indicating views on the thread rose by over 50 so I guess there should have a few readers. Do you have opinions on this? Please do share.