DaShuk2381

Ugh, today is Monday for me since I was off yesterday. Too much work to do now, I hate going on vacation, lol.

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Ended up with this Video Card

This Processor

This case

This MoBo

And various other little bits.

Now to see if I can figure out how to put it together!

WWEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

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Grats!

If all else fails just remember that duct tape solves everything!

Ah, not too bad of a day at work plus it's 70 degrees outside in February which is enough to make anybody happy. Got my ice/ice blaster to 40 last night which was a feat considering she'd been sitting at 38 for almost 2 months and didn't get any love during double xp weekend.

Yeah I always have youtube up and watch random anime and funny videos all day to make work less boring.

I'm starving, all I've had to eat today is a muffin, haha.

I have stuff to do, it's just rent week(I work in property mgmt.) and I've been posting rent for 500+ apartments today and it's just mind numbing. Only 2 more hours...

I'm horribly bored at work right now and just trying to figure out how to make these next 3 hours go by faster....

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I like cases like this.

I hate cases with doors, I always break them off 'cause I end up leaving the door open all the time.

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I do the same, just because I'm always tinkering with something whether it's upgrading memory or installing graphics or network cards, plus it gives more air flow and helps the whole thing stay cool. Just have to make sure I keep it clean so dust doesn't build up on the inside. Plus I think it's cooler looking to be able to see all the wires and stuff.

I think you can make them last a lot longer when you build them yourself plus as you mentioned, it's easy to troubleshoot issues. Luckily in college I had a friend who was a computer engineer and he helped me keep mine upgraded. This is how I was able to make it from 2001-2008 on the same PC, haha. The computer is on it's original hard drive, but I think we changed the processor, upgraded the video card a couple of times and expanded the memory as much as possible. It had finally just reached it's limit.

The cool thing about the refurb I got is they took everything off of it software wise so really the only thing that came on it was Windows XP with SP3 and anti-virus software. So now I can load it up with all sorts of games and fun stuff

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All sorts of craziness.

You only need dual core... no you need quad core... this brand sucks... no wait it rocks...

Don't build prebought they use cheap stuff.

No buy prebuilt prices are dropping due to crappy economy and they are cheap as hell.

Don't use Vista, vista is fine.

Use this brand vid card NO this one, get 1 G vid card mem... shut up fool 1 G is ridiculous and over priced... she only needs 500K MB vid card memory is fine.

AMD processors are fine. NO they BLOW and it is worthwhile to pay for Intel.

Syn's head usually explodes about here.

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Yeah there are a lot of different opinions out there. It really depends on what you want the machine to be able to do. If you want a "gaming" build you may want different options then if it's just going to be a general use PC and vice versa. I was going to get a dual core, but was cheap so I just went with a Pentium 4 3.2 ghz processor. I don't really play any other games besides COH and the specs on this PC I got are well above what the game requires to be run on optimum settings to that was really my only requirement, besides lots of storage space for my music files to transfer off my old PC. It has a 500G hard drive to and I can't even imagine filling that up ever considering my old PC had 150G and I still had 60% free space on it.

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/jealous

I have to get a new computer. I have the money, but know nothing about building them and everyone I'm asking is telling me something different and it is making my poor wittle brain explode!

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I just bought a refurb from Dell. I didn't need a monitor or any accessories so I got just the desktop for around $200.00. 3.2 ghz processor and 2GB RAM expandable to 4GB if I want to spend the extra money. It has an intergrated graphics card(don't remember what kind ATM) that can run the game on the highest graphic settings w/o any lag so I am thrilled! The only issue was when I got it I discovered just how old mine really was because it didn't have the old inputs for the keyboard and mouse so I had to go out and buy news ones with USB connections, lol. The only thing I don't like about it though is my old HP had slots for all the different device cards and this one just has like 16 USB ports, no where for my SD card so getting pics off my camera is a bit more of a hassle.

I don't mind my job, it's just the weekends have been too short lately and our company is in the process of doing audits so lots of late nights getting prepared.

On a good note though, I got my new computer up and running and the game runs like 100X better!!

Another day at work....

Blah, Monday sucked kind of bad today. Didn't get off work till almost 10. Spoiled myself with a Macross marathon and Taco Bell when I got home. Plus bought my new computer!!!

I just got word from a co-worker that we got our W-2s today! Clutch!!! So I will be post-poning 2XP weekend for a bit when I get home to do my taxes online and get my refund back faster!!!!

This day is dragging on, just wish it was 6 so I could go home and start the 2XP goodness!!!! Unfortunately I don't have anything to add to the boot discussion, lol.

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Oooohhh.... Val Kilmer is delicious also. I preferred him in The Saint though.

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That was one of his best movies, but I don't think too many people know about it. He kind of vanished after that.

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I'm also buying a new desktop PC, mine is about 6 years old and I've been keeping it going with upgrades, but it's time for a new one with one of those fancy new processors

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Yeah, won't it be great not having to feed that hamster any more?

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Yeah, I'm going from 1GB of Ram and an AMD 3200 processor to probably a 3.2 ghz processor and 4GB of Ram I'm pretty excited!

I'm bored and can't find a team, if anybody gets on and wants to do something global me @shukis23 and help me be not bored, lol.

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So this is happy Thursday now? :3

I just got my W-2 today~ Yey...I'm gonna pay off my loan this month! wooooo. i like this thursday.

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I know, I'm waiting on getting mine so I can get my car paid off in February!!! I'm also buying a new desktop PC, mine is about 6 years old and I've been keeping it going with upgrades, but it's time for a new one with one of those fancy new processors and boatloads of RAM.

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Multi-grain or whole-grain wheat bread would be a nice compliment, I think.

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I'd go with the whole-grain wheat personally bean soup rulz!

Great guide! I just rolled a Sonic/NRG to pair with my SG mate's new BS/Regen scrapper. Figured the damage resistance debuffs would help us "arrest" faster with his high damage output.

Only played it through lvl 5 right now but love it and was looking for a good guide to help me plan out up through level 20. Nice job!

IV.
Titiana hummed to herself as she walked home from the Hole n’ The Wall. Her night has been interesting to say the least. The psychology exam had gone ok, she didn’t think she bombed it, but wasn’t sure that she did all that great either. She hadn’t cared though, all she could think about during the test was her late night rendezvous with her new friend. Her date with Derek had gone surprisingly well, compared to what she was used to. Since she was still getting used to her new life, Titiana wasn’t used to the opposite sex and was afraid of their motives and methods of achieving them. Most of the guys she had dated so far had tried to move way to fast for her and when she tried to explain why she was uncomfortable they usually disappeared never to be heard from again. Derek had been a pleasant surprise. He was pretty laid back and easy to talk to. He made her feel comfortable and seemed to have the perfect sense of humor. He had charmed her all night with his silly jokes and assortment of compliments ranging from how pretty her smile was to how interesting her topics of discussion were. He had revealed quite a bit about himself rather than just give her the run of the mill background information. He had told her how he was adopted before birth, that he didn’t know his real parents and his adopted parents died in a car accident on the way home from the hospital. Somehow he had miraculously survived the accident unscathed, but he spent the majority of his life in an orphanage as she had. After listening to his story she herself had opened up and told him her tale, how her single mother had died during childbirth and since she had no surviving relatives she was forced to live with foster parents. Her foster mother was an alcoholic and her foster father had beaten and abused her. When she was eight years old, a social worker removed her from her home and placed her in an orphanage, where she had stayed until the age of twenty. She had only now begun to live on her own and experience what life was like outside of foster care. The orphanage had provided her with a donation to get her life started and Paragon University had offered her a scholarship with full room and board, which she had quickly accepted. Most people had shied away from her after hearing about her past, but Derek was interested and supportive and she didn’t mind discussing it with him since he had dealt with almost the same thing. After a few drinks and shared basket of nachos, she began to get a little tired and suggested they head back to her apartment to watch television. Surprisingly Derek had turned down her offer and instead asked her if she would join him for dinner the next evening. She agreed and they went their separate ways after she turned down his offer for a ride home. It was a nice evening and she wanted to enjoy the moon lit night. She gave him her apartment phone number and told him to let her know the plans for the next evening

V.
“Well at least that went well,” Derek thought to himself as he walked towards his car in the parking lot of the Hole n’ The Wall. “I hope she doesn’t think I’m weird because I didn’t go to her apartment,” he thought to himself. Most guys would kill for the chance to go home with a girl like that on the first date, but he knew better. He understood how she was feeling and how lonely she had been her first few months out of the orphanage. He didn’t want to seem like he was trying to take advantage of her situation or make her feel uncomfortable. It was interesting how similar their life stories were and he was glad he had found someone he could talk with about his experiences and not feel judged. He strolled towards his car, a 2005 Dodge Neon SXT. He unlocked the driver side door and got in. He was about to start the car when a strange feeling came over him. “That’s weird he thought….I haven’t felt like this since…oh boy.” Something bad was about to happen, he was sure of it. Every so often he had these feelings of unrest, which were always followed by a disaster or accident or an event that wasn’t very good for anyone involved with it. “Ah maybe it’s nothing,” he thought as he fired up the ignition. A good drive was all he needed to relieve his anxiety. Driving his car always calmed him down, the sound of the engine and the wind whipping through the windows just made him feel better. That and thoughts of his new friend, Titiana. Derek couldn’t wait to take her out to dinner the next night. He happily turned up the radio and rolled down his windows. As he started to pull out of the parking lot he thought he heard something, a woman’s scream perhaps. He turned down the radio and listened intently. Again he heard a woman’s scream. It sounded like it was coming from the sidewalk down the street. “I hate being right all the time,” He thought to himself as he re-parked his car. He got out of the Dodge and stood still for a minute, almost as if he was concentrating on something. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash and he leapt into the night sky.

VII.
“AUUUUUGH,” Titiana screamed out, as an intense burning sensation exploded in her left shoulder. Her peaceful moon lit walk home had been abruptly ruined. “Oh my God,” she said weakly as she noticed the butt end of a metal arrow protruding from her left shoulder. A large, visible bloodstain was already appearing on her sweater, emanating from where the arrow had buried itself into her flesh. She began to feel light headed and her knees buckled. She collapsed on the cold, hard sidewalk and lay there motionless. As she frantically looked around for someone to help her she noticed something horrifying. Three humanoid figures emerged from the shadows, two of them holding loaded crossbows and the third reloading what appeared to the one she had been shot with. They wore long dark brown robes and had no visible facial features, save for their evil greenish eyes. “Whh…Who are you,” She stammered, as the figures approached her. One of them began to laugh devilishly as he lowered his crossbow towards her. “Nuh…No, pl…please don…” was all she could manage before he sadistically pulled the trigger. “AHHHHHHGH,” she screamed in pain and recoiled as the second arrow buried itself into her flesh, just to the left of her belly button. The pain was incredible and unlike anything she had ever felt. Her body went limp and sank back to the sidewalk. Her mind began to glaze over with thoughts of death and pain. The robed figures stood over her and glared down on her motionless form with their piercing green eyes. “Should we finish it, or let her suffer in the final moments,” one of them gurgled to the others, in a voice amazingly human like. “Let her suffer,” one of the others gurgled back. “We’ve spent far too much time and effort trying to locate the chosen one, watching her life force expire and stealing her soul is our reward.” “Indeed,” the third figure said, “if not for her powers finally beginning to manifest on her twentieth birthday, we may never have found her.” Titiana barely heard any of their strange conversation, she was too focused on the pain that was wracking her body. She began to cough up blood and she could feel her senses leaving her. “She is nearly ready for soul extraction,” one of the robed men said. Suddenly one of the robed figures glanced into the sky. “Wait, I sense…” He never finished his sentence as a flaming sword bore into his face with blinding speed and amazing accuracy. A strange demon like wail came from the figure as his body slowly melted away. The sword vanished and the other two figures frantically scanned the skies in disbelief. “GRRAAAGH,” one of the men howled as the sword reappeared, this time protruding through his stomach. His body caught fire and vanished into ashes in mere seconds. The third figure decided it was not worth waiting around to find out what was going on and fled. The bizarre turn of events had barely registered with Titiana as she was quickly fading away. She sensed another person looming over her but her vision was too blurry to make him out. “This is going to hurt just a bit, but hang in there for a few more minutes and the medicopter will be here,” he said. The incredible pain Titiana had felt before flared up again as the strange man reached down and carefully removed the metal arrows from her tortured flesh. “Oooohh,” a soft moan was all she could manage, she was too weak to scream. After removing the arrows the man placed his hands on her wounds and it felt as if she was on fire for a brief moment. “Sorry about that, but I had to cauterize those wounds of yours before you lost too much blood,” he exclaimed. Tears streamed down her face as her battered body was gathered up and cradled into a pair of strong arms. “Hang in there kiddo,” he said before speaking into some type of radio device, “Azuria, I’ve found her and she’s in bad shape, but I think she’ll make it, get the chopper over here now!” Titiana had no idea what was happening, all she could think about or feel was pain, everywhere. Slowly she began to lose consciousness and the merciful slumber of death began to pull her into its grasp. Titiana’s world went black.

This is my first attempt at a COH fan fiction story. I didn't really know of anywhere else to post it so I figured this would be the place. I also submitted it to the COH Writers Guild so you might be able to find the rest their. This story and ones to follow will be based on my toons on the Freedom server and their adventures and interactions. These stories will have mature topics and some violence. However they are not intended to be crude, just a look into the possible life of heroes as they struggle with their duty and their every day life as an alter ego. All references made to Paragon City, City of Heroes, Official named Heroes, City Zones, etc. are the property of City of Heroes and are only intended to be used for story telling purposes. I'm only going to post a few paragraphs from the first chapter, as it is 7 pages long. The rest will follow in nightly(hopefully) increments. The link to the full story is at the bottom of this post if you want to skip ahead and read it all. Thanks for reading and I welcome any comments or suggestions! Click the link below for the profile of one of the characters featured in the story, as well as a link to the story in it's entirety.

Titiana Moon Shadow

Titiana Moon Shadow and Flame Scythe in: Origins and Discoveries: Chapter 1

I.
“Come on girl, you know this,” she said to herself as she re-read the question for the 4th time, “you just read 3 chapters on it.” Titiana Mayes was stressed. She had a psychology final in an hour and as usual she had waited until the last minute to review her notes and practice exam. She had thought the Paragon University Library would be a haven for her to get some work done, but so far she was having problems concentrating. “Who implemented the first study of psychoanalysis…..oh the hell with this, I give up,” she thought and abruptly closed her textbook, a tad too loudly apparently, as several other students glanced in her direction with general looks of distaste. “What the heck was I thinking, choosing this major,” she thought to herself as she removed her wide framed wire rimmed glasses and ran her hands through her long auburn hair. She noticed that one of the students who had glanced at her when she closed her book was shooting her a glance every once in awhile. “Oh lord, he’s checking me out,” She thought, “I hope I look ok in this get up.” She quickly glanced down to ensure her outfit looked proper and to make sure the young man wasn’t staring at an ink stain or something else on her shirt. She was a bit overdressed compared to most of the girls on campus, who enjoyed running around in short skirts and revealing tops. Titiana enjoyed dressing up, she loved the feeling of exotic fabrics and always tried to dress as nicely and as neatly as she could. Tonight she had decided to go a little casual and was clad in her favorite white button down shirt with a light blue v-neck knit sweater and a pair of blue jeans. The top two buttons of her shirt were unbuttoned and she wore a tan colored choker around her neck. A brown cloth belt and a pair of white tennis shoes completed her outfit. Her shirttails hung out from under her sweater as she had felt too laid back to tuck them in. After ensuring she looked ok she glanced back at the young man across the room and caught him checking her out again. He flashed a smile and she smiled back, then blushed and quickly looked away. “Oh I’m so darned awkward,” she said to herself as she re-opened her book to a random page and attempted to fake that she was studying.
II.
He had been caught and he knew it. He gave her a sheepish smile and then laughed to himself as she blushed and went back to reading her textbook. Derek Jackson was bored. He had come to the library to try to read a few chapters of his history assignment and to meet with his calculus tutor. The tutor had phoned him and said he couldn’t make it tonight and his history book was still sitting on the first page of the new chapter. Instead of studying he had wandered around the library, checking out the newest additions in the periodicals section and seeing if there were any new books in the sci-fi area. He had grabbed the latest issue of Paragon Sports Monthly and had returned to his table to catch up on the latest sports news when he noticed an attractive young woman sitting a few tables away. She was neatly dressed in a pair of jeans and a button down shirt with a blue pullover sweater, and had the most beautiful auburn hair. Unlike most of the guys on campus, Derek wasn’t interested in the stereotypical blonde haired girl, dressed in the most revealing outfit. He was attracted to women who could hold a conversation past the word hello. The young lady looked stressed out and appeared to be cramming for a test. “What the heck, maybe it’s something I can help her with,” he thought to himself for a minute, before sliding out of his chair. “Hmm…now if I can just think of a good opening line,” he thought. Derek was horrible at this. He was shy when it came to the opposite sex and for good reason. He had been burned in the past for being too nice. “Ah excellent,” he thought as he spotted a conversation starter. He gathered himself and leisurely strolled towards the pretty auburn haired young woman.

III.
“Oh lord he’s coming over here,” she thought nervously. “Oh well, at least he’s cute and he’s not some knuckleheaded frat boy, maybe this is the guy I can’t scare away with intelligent conversation for once.” She was still nervous, she always was. She had only been out of the orphanage for about 4 months and was still getting used to interacting with people on an everyday basis. She shuddered at the thought of the orphanage and silently hoped that the looming conversation wouldn’t head in the direction of where she was from. “Kind of hard to read with out these ya know?” She looked up and realized he was holding her glasses which she had taken off before slamming her book shut. “You are such a dork,” she thought to herself, “pretending to read without glasses…nice move girl.” She looked up at him. He was about six foot four inches tall and was wearing a heather gray fleece sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, which his athletic and muscular frame filled out nicely. He wore a silver chain under his sweatshirt. He had short red hair and a full, but neatly trimmed beard of the same color. “Thanks,” she said and paused as if searching for his name. “Derek,” he finished her sentence for her and handed her the glasses. “Derek Jackson, but you can call me Derek or D or whatever you like,” he said. “Thanks Derek,” she said, “I’m Titiana, care to join me in my wonderful world of psychology?” He chuckled for a minute and then responded, “well I normally wouldn’t turn down an invitation from such an intelligent and pretty young lady, but you look like you have something important to study for.” She was disappointed that he had turned down her offer, but was surprised as he suddenly said, “however, after you finish up whatever it is you are working on, I was wondering if you might want to grab a drink or two, or something to eat.” She fidgeted nervously for a minute, but found her voice and replied, “well sure, my exam probably won’t be over until nine thirty or so, but it is Friday night and I don’t really have any plans.” “Great,” he said as he smiled, “meet you at the Hole n’ The Wall around ten?” Her mood improved instantly as he mentioned the Hole n’ The Wall. It was one of her favorite places to eat and relax. “That sounds great!” she exclaimed. “Looking forward to it, it was very nice meeting you Titiana, and good luck on your exam,” He said as he excused himself from the table. Her eyes followed him as he left the library and she blushed again as he turned and smiled at her before walking out. “This may prove to be an interesting night,” she thought to herself.

More to come later....