Dark_Respite

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...you have a Fanfiction account?

DO TELL.

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http://www.fanfiction.net/~samuraiko

I have one or two other COH related stories on there, plus almost 100 other stories. (The other COH related story, as opposed to FILK, is "Faith, Hope, and a Few Unlikely Superpowers.")

Many of my stories feature the intrepid Sister Johanna Sinclair in her original incarnation.

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Heh. I have a fanfiction account too, but no coh stories on it.

I have to admit I'd love for a redname to comment to me on some of my stories ...

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While part of me would love for Posi and/or Manticore to comment... there is a much, much, MUCH larger part of me dreading that they would ever do so, for fear of what they'd say.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

<------ one of the videographer geeks, and proud of it

And come on, Relentless... ONLY 100GB?!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Okay, your demorecord is fixed. You can download it at:

http://www.zazaza.net/cohuploads/zombies2.cohdemo

The problem was not the size - trust me on this one, I have an 86MB demofile from a Hami raid. The problem was that every now and again, a demofile mis-saves and certain information that has to be at the start of the demofile goes missing. As a result, it won't load. Don't ask me what makes it do it, I don't know. But since I've run into this problem before, I just fixed your starting code, and whoosh it works.

Second - don't use Word to edit your demofiles. Notepad all the way. It's a text editor so you don't get all the .doc coding embedded into the file.

Third - do not just hack and slash your democode to make it shorter, because the 'later' demorecords will be missing information that is needed. If you want more manageable demofiles, you need to stop recording and then start again. The longer you record (and especially if there's a lot going on), the longer the file will be.

I don't FRAPS in-game unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, because I AM one of those people who knows how to edit a demofile and put only what I want in there. If I had a KILLER shot and some dufus player ran right through it, I just remove him from the democode and my killer shot stays killer. If I'd FRAPS'd it, I'd be hosed.

Just my two cents.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Let me take a look at it. After all, I did just teach two classes on demorecording, I might be able to find what's wrong.

EDIT: *smirk* I was right. Give me a second to fix this and send it back to you.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

You should see my FanFiction.net account - sometimes I wonder if I'm writing the same story with different characters, sometimes.

And even if you're copying me, post it.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*calls out after Khell*

Don't forget to post it!

And Alpha, I'm still working on your story. I know the plot, I'm just wavering b/w whose POV to use.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I've always found the villains who struggle with themselves to be far more interesting than the ones who have absolutely no shred of humanity or personality to them. Even if Stefan Richter were a typical cold-blooded ranting screaming megalomaniac, even if we were to throw out the novels as 'canon', the officially sanctioned CoV CGI trailer has him refer to Marcus as "my old friend."

Although when Monica refers to herself as the Envoy of Light, I was wondering if the Envoy of Shadows would show up.

Still very much enjoying this.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*laughing*

LOVED the comic.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

(*grin* Although my first thought as to why Posi was missing is because of the fan fic that was featured last week, where Positron is off on a date...)

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Of course I have to FIND said book first.

I wonder if I can nab it at Bookman's...

And Troy, what'd you think of the screenshot?

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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Absolutely LOVED the screenshot. Really added to it.

And Michelle, if you can't find CG (and if you can't, tell your LCS to get with the program), you can currently buy it off Amazon for ten bucks (that's a third off the cover price) with free shipping on the order if it's over $25 (which works out nicely for folks who DON'T have the CoH comics, as you can get the collection of those plus CG for exactly $25!)

And if you want to read stuff from it before you buy a copy, let me know and I'll find the exact link from the Top Cow site where they give away a freebie story or two (sorry, feeling too lazy even to shamelessly plug this morning).

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*smirks* I love demoediting. I did another shot of Manticore and Sister Jo standing on either side of Cyrus' statue, but didn't post that one.

Yes, I already do have the CoH comics collection, but I'll swing out to Bookman's later on today and see if I can score a copy of your graphic novel. More stuff to read...

And I think I know what I'll be writing for Alpha_Zulu's villain story... will post it later today when I get home from work. And I need to finish the next chapter of the Positron/Tava story... so much writing, so little time!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Oooooooooh. Or Scirocco AND Ghost Widow.

Now I have something to do tomorrow while bored at work.

In the meantime, you can always read "The Course of Superhero Romance"...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*grins*

I have repeatedly joked that "Moondance" is the Keebler Elves' Mosh Song.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Of course I have to FIND said book first.

I wonder if I can nab it at Bookman's...

And Troy, what'd you think of the screenshot?

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

That too...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Okay, okay, I will go read Common Grounds.

Which sounds like a really generic coffee...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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Cracking little story. It’s wonderful what you do with so few words and the balance between description and dialogue is perfect.

I’d offer something constructive, but it doesn’t need anything more IMO.

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Thank you very much! Do check out my other story, "The Course of Superhero Romance" (that one is a WIP).

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Hey, great story.

I'm not an RPer by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I associate RPing ---> badgers ----> noobs in PvP----> complain on the forums about how PvP is "broken". So heh.

RPing doesn't suit my fancy but I do enjoy reading. And I enjoyed reading that. Real nice write up!

Edit : Do some villain stuff. You know you want too

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I'm working on a villain story, actually... I might do a one-shot for you, though - anyone in particular I should write about? (Like well known NPC)

And hey, my I-13 teaser featured a villain for once... I'm doing my best to promote redside content!

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Very nice job! And you know how I feel about stories with two characters talking. Can we get a screen shot of the character?

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Actually, Troy, I don't know how you feel about stories like that. *sheepish grin*

And if you'll give me a bit... I think I can manage a rather nifty screenshot...

In fact...

http://www.zazaza.net/cohuploads/Sis...dManticore.jpg

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*scratches head*

That was well written, as always, but for some reason it just felt very off the way Manticore kinda broke down like that. What you had Manticore do was certainly right, I think, from what we know about him, but the way he collapsed and all just felt too...theatrical to me.

I'unno. *looks up* It strikes me that I shouldn't be complaining of something Hickman obviously approves of, but I so very rarely find things to dislike in stories in this forum.

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I was surprised, too, which is why I think his story/comic made such an impression on me. The sight of Manticore on his knees, nearly in tears, scrabbling in the dirt trying to make something grow, made a hell of an impression on me.

But hey, I know not everyone will like my stuff - I at least appreciate the honest and constructive criticism. It's far more useful than "u suk".

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

This story came at me all at once, shortly after I got back from HeroCon. I think it was partly inspired by me meeting Sean Michael Dornan-Fish for the first time. It may have just been my imagination, but even when he was laughing, I was struck by... I don't know... the gravitas in his eyes. Between that, and remembering how much I liked the portrayal of Manticore in Troy Hickman's "Smoke and Mirrors," it made enough of an impression on me to take a crack at writing this.

The woman in the story, btw, is my signature character from Triumph... and those who've met her in-game (or know her storyline from my writings elsewhere) will probably understand why she makes an appearance here.

Apologies in advance to Sean for both what I did to his character, and any offense he might take to my above comment.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*******

SEEING CLEARLY

"Good job, Phalanx..." Statesman looked around in satisfaction at what was left of a large group of Vahzilok, now lying in crumpled heaps on the grass in Perez Park. "I hate to think of what would have happened once they'd really gotten started."

A few feet away, Sister Psyche was massaging her temples and making a face. "Just for the record, Statesman, that is the LAST time I go roaming around the mind of an Eidolon. Ugh, I feel like I just went swimming in that sludge around Crey's Folly."

"It was for a good cause, though," Synapse chimed in as he zoomed among the fallen Vahzilok, making sure to disable the last of the bombs that the Embalmed were so fond of carrying around. "If you hadn't gotten all of them so confused that they didn't know what to attack, this would have taken a lot longer."

Positron glanced up from where he was studying one of the bombs that Synapse had already disabled. "True... and I don't know about you guys, but I can't remember the last time I've seen THIS many Vahz working together. They must have been planning this for a while." He looked over at the sewer entry that ran under the towering War Walls into Skyway City. "And I'm surprised - I wouldn't have credited them with either the intelligence or the ambition to take down a War Wall."

"Well, whatever the reason, we'll find it," Statesman assured him. "Once the last of these are dealt with, we'll head back to HQ and see what we can turn up."

Sister Psyche, however, had turned to look at the fifth member of the Phalanx, who was standing off to one side, watching the lake.

"Manticore? You okay?" She could have just as easily gone into his mind to find out what was bothering him, but she was curious if he'd actually come out and tell her. However, the Phalanx's archer stayed quiet, still moodily watching the water, and she moved a bit closer. "Justin?"

"I'm fine, Shalice," he said quietly. "Listen, I... I'll just meet up with you guys a bit later, okay?"

Even though he'd spoken softly, the others turned to look at him.

"What's the matter, Manti? You look like you could use a beer or twenty. I'll join you, especially if you're buying," Synapse said cheerfully, but Manticore shook his head.

"Not right now, man... maybe later."

Even with his helmet on, Positron still managed to look doubtful. "Well... if you're sure you're okay..." But after a few more reassurances from Manticore, the Phalanx took off, Sister Psyche leaving last.



For a little while, Manticore continued to stand where he was, then he found himself walking down toward the lake shoreline, and the remains of a boathouse that stood at the water's edge. Once it had been a popular hangout spot, but between the occasional influx of Clockwork, Vahz, Lost, and Hydra, few people ever came here unless they absolutely had to.

To his surprise, though, the dockhouse was completely deserted. No Vahzilok, no Hydra, no Lost... nothing. Then he blinked and looked again. Standing on the boathouse roof was a figure in black, calmly watching the water.

Then the figure turned toward him and he saw it was actually a woman.

She studied him for a moment, then gave him a slight smile and a half-wave, then went back to looking at the water.

"Mind if I join you?" Manticore found himself asking.

She looked at him again. "Not at all."

A quick teleport later and he was standing on the roof beside her. Up close, he guessed that she was probably in her early thirties, with unruly chestnut hair and a wry, cheerful smile. She wore black robes and combat boots, black fingerless gloves, and sunglasses. But at her throat was a silver clasp in the shape of a cross, which matched the insignia over her heart.

"You're a... priest?" he blurted out in surprise.

"Nun. Yeah, I know," she said with a grin at the look of embarrassment he'd not been able to hide. "Most people don't expect to find a nun fighting crime."

That was for sure, he thought, then he realized she was talking to him.

"You're Manticore, aren't you? From the Freedom Phalanx?"

"Yeah."

She held out a hand. "Sister Johanna."

"So do you always stand around on rooftops in dangerous parts of the city?"

"Isn't that part of the job description? Heroes perching on building rooftops, or lurking behind gargoyles, waiting to spring down on unwary criminals..."

"Either that or you've been reading too many comic books," he said wryly, and she chuckled.

"Maybe so. I just go where I'm needed." Her own smile faded slightly. "I actually got here just in time to see you guys take out those Vahzilok. Not often you see them in a group that big."

"Mmmm... we're wondering about that ourselves."

"Well, I'd offer to help, but I doubt that the Phalanx needs help from the likes of me." There was no self-pity in her voice, just a matter-of-fact statement. She paused, then lifted her eyes to meet his directly. "You seem troubled, though. Wanna talk about it?"

"Confessing to a nun?" he remarked with a half-laugh, half-snort. "Sorry, not my gig."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged, then carefully sat, drew her knees up to her chest, and went back to watching the sunlight on the water.

For a few moments, Manticore remained standing, looking down at her, then he sat down beside her.

"Okay, then, tell me something. Why do you do what you do?"

"Is that a question about why I'm a nun, or about why I fight crime?"

"The latter."

"Well... to be honest... it's all I have. And because it's one of the few things I can do that makes a difference in the world."

"Says you. Don't you ever get discouraged? You keep putting scum behind bars but there's always more scum where they came from." His words came out in a rush, angrier than he'd intended them to be.

"Maybe so. But would it really be any better to do nothing?"

He hadn't expected that. "No, but... but damn it, sometimes I wonder if what I do makes a difference."

For several long moments, she didn't speak, but only sat and looked at him, and Manticore was disconcertingly reminded of Sister Psyche doing the same thing. He briefly wondered if she could also read his thoughts, and hoped that she couldn't - hanging around one mentalist was uncomfortable enough.

Then she asked, "You got a few minutes?"

He gave her a startled look. "Yeah, what for?"

"The Gospel according to Sister Johanna. Follow me."



About ten minutes later, he found himself standing in Kings Row, in one of the worst sections of town. Refuse and filth was piled high along the sidewalks and alleyways, Skulls members were everywhere painting graffiti on walls, stealing purses, or boosting cars, and passing citizens walked with their heads down. Suddenly and uncomfortably reminded of the time that he and Citadel had been confronted with the dismal conditions in the zone, Manticore looked away, but no matter where he turned, the same squalor and despair was before him.

"Why here?" he asked her in a low voice, not looking at the Sister.

"This place haunts you, doesn't it," she replied softly, her eyes intent on his face. "The pain... the despair... the guilt..."

He turned his face away, but even in the grimy, cracked windowpane of an abandoned storefront, he could still see the hopelessness all around him.

"Stop it," he whispered, but his voice lacked its usual bravado and conviction.

"It's not about the criminals... it's about the people they hurt... the lives they destroy..."

"Stop it..."

"You do all that you can, but to you, it's never enough..."

"Stop..." His voice was barely audible this time.

"And when you're all alone, in the darkest hours of the night, you wish you could just give up... then that way no one would look to you in hope, expecting you to save them."

This time he couldn't even answer, and Manticore felt himself start to shake. He half-staggered down an alleyway, but his legs gave out and he sank down on a nearby set of steps, his face in his hands.

He didn't know how she knew, and he didn't think he wanted to know, but everything she'd said was true. Despite the cheerful, know-it-all manner, a deeply-buried streak of insecurity lay hidden within him, one that he thought he'd managed to overcome until the night the Circle of Thorns had trapped him in his own worst nightmares. He had money, talent, everything - but all alone in the night, when compared to living legends like Statesman and Psyche, Manticore believed himself to be nothing special. And even after Sister Psyche and the others had saved him from his own despair, and even after redoubling his efforts to make a difference in the world... the nightmare was still there... waiting.

Then he felt hands gently take hold of his wrists and lower them away from his face, and he looked up to see Johanna kneeling in front of him, her own eyes sad. Her hands folded around his as if in prayer.

"Don't give up hope, Justin," she whispered. "Don't give up."

"What if there is no hope?"

"You just have to know where to look for it." Then her eyes shifted to look past him, and he turned to see a familiar statue in front of the Kings Row tram station.

A statue of an elderly man, sitting comfortably on a bench, smiling in the fading rays of the setting sun. At his feet was a bronze plaque, its words long since carved into Manticore's memory.

"Heroes may die, but heroism never shall."

"We do what we can," she said softly, her eyes moving back to his. "No matter how little we might think it is, no matter how hopeless we might think it is... we do what we can."

Her eyes glanced back at the statue, and Manticore saw two giggling children climbing up onto the statue to sit in its lap.

"We do what we can," he repeated faintly, watching the children laughing as they pretended to be superheroes.

"You can't save everyone... but every life you do save, every life you touch for the better, even if it's just for a moment... it's a victory for the light. Let it go, Justin. Let it go."

He bowed his head, remembering Statesman saying the same thing when they'd rescued him from his nightmare...

"You've done fine, kid. Let it go."

Maybe this time, he could take those words to heart.

Then he turned back to the nun.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You called me 'Justin.' How'd you know my name?"

She gave him a knowing smile as she rose and turned to leave. But then she turned back, and like a magician, made a small calling card appear in her hand. "For the next time you need hope." She passed it to him, and then to his utter amazement, a golden figure eight appeared at her feet. She gave him a quick wave, then the glow from the sigil on the ground swept up her body, flared once, then vanished, and the Sister along with it.

Then Manticore glanced down at the card in his hand.

And his eyes widened as he saw SISTER JOHANNA SINCLAIR engraved in elegant script on the card.

"SON OF A B-"

THE END

Thank you!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*admires what Uz did with FireBrandi*

Damn, dude, after the awesomeness of this, I can't WAIT to see what you come up with for me!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I keep myself motivated through music. As part of my lead-up to November, I generally construct playlists, whether for a particular character, scene, or the overall book. (In fact, my two previous novels have full playlists to listen to while reading.)

I set myself the goal of writing 1700-ish words per day, but if I hit a groove, I keep going and going and going.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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OK, now it's me who's getting too tired. I expected The Choice to be between ancillary power pools and patron power pools.

Great work yet again, Samuraiko!

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*laughs*

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I didn't turn them away (hell, I did everything I could to get them to show UP!), but they were all busy with other panels.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Okay - the Ko is home from work now.

The first workshop went well - about 20-25 people showed up, and it went reasonably smoothly, although we did hit "Technical difficulties" about halfway through when the projector crapped out, and the videocamera we were using to record the event went wonky. Grrrrrrrr. But I suspected that the Mission Architect panel would steal away a very large chunk of my potential audience. *sigh*

The second workshop, however, went FAR better. First of all, it was standing room only. The Dell sponsored gaming room had 40 computers - we filled all forty plus had another 30-40 people standing there and more people going, "Damn!" and leaving. PACKED. This time, no technical problems, and quite a few laughs were had during the presentation.

I was EXHAUSTED after that (still not quite up to par, haven't been sleeping well and the meds are still trying to stabilize me), so I didn't take part in the Live Mission event (although I did hang out in the courtyard with Niviene and handed out 'speed boost brownies').

Quite a few of the rednames were disappointed they could not make my panels, but oh, well... they can always invite me to Mountain View and I'll give a personal seminar.

The handout from the 'con will be going up on my site later this evening, and at some point, I need to hook up with PlasmaWarrior and figure out how to convert the videotape to footage I can upload (I also need to send it to Ex and company to make sure I'm allowed to post it!).

And oh yes... one more thing. Thanks to the coolness that is Ex Libris, I was able to debut my I-13 teaser at the Pocket D event Saturday night, to much cheers and applause and raucous appreciation of the video's dark side. (The link is in the Fan Videos thread, look for my most recent post.)

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

And chalk up another one for Samuraiko Productions!

Choices - Issue 13 teaser (Teaser/Trailer)

And please don't forget to update my section with:

Incarnate (Music Video)

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Yes, she was.

And she got home at just before midnight, Tuesday Oct 21st. I will dish tomorrow afternoon when I get home from work.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*staggers in from HeroCon only to realize that she's in the Scoop*

WHAA--?! Oh, hell, Matt Miller is going to KILL me...

Still, thanks for the vote of confidence, Mr_Grey... I've been trying very hard to keep Posi and the others 'real', as it were. And considering how... er... aloof Tava tends to be with relationships, this might run into a few problems.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite