Dark_Respite

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a) Yes, posting more than one thread on the same story creates a clutter. It's also con venient to store all related stories in one place for easy access.

b) No idea. Not my character. In my opinion, directly interacting/controlling the surviving eight is off-limits because nobody can truely know just what they'd do except their creators. That's just me though.

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This is an issue I thought long and hard about, especially when I decided to write Kat Scratched Fever. As I wrote, I began to have definite feelings about the relationship of Mynx and Synapse, but in the end I decided to keep as close to canon as much as possible.

That being said, I see nothing wrong with any author putting up their interpretation of how the Surviving Eight would react in a given situation, including a date or romance. As long as it's entertaining-- which this story is--then I say go for it!

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First off, thanks for the compliment.

Second, I will definitely have to read Kat Scratched Fever to see how you handle the relationship between Mynx and Synapse.

And third, most surprisingly, I *DID* ask Matt Miller if he objected to me writing Positron into Tava's storyline, and bless his heart, he was okay with it. (As he pointed out, given Posi's age, geekitude, and whatnot, he might not be one for a social life, but if the right woman came along...)

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I guess that'll depend on a) how many workshops there are, and b) how much time over the course of the day they want to devote to it!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

And here's part 2 (slightly longer than part 1)!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE, PART II

After making sure his armor was carefully stashed away, Raymond stalked into the bathroom and turned the shower water to just shy of 'scalding'. Standing there under the water, scrubbing himself clean of his earlier heroic exertions, he tried to tell himself that he wasn't nervous about the upcoming evening. He could keep this professional - he knew he could. They were both scientists, after all. And both of them had been around the block a few times. He frowned to himself as he washed away the soap. How old was she? Thirty-five? Only a bit younger than himself, that was for certain.

Damn Steve for making him think there was another way this evening might end. There would be no adolescent pawings this evening... although as he turned off the water and stared down at the tile, he couldn't tell if he was more relieved or saddened by the idea.

It also didn't help that while he'd been showering, Steve had apparently decided to continue his silent ragging and had cleaned up Raymond's bedroom and changed his sheets. Unfortunately for Raymond, though, Steve had wisely left the premises to avoid getting yelled at.

Twenty-five minutes later, feeling extremely uncomfortable in a suit and tie, Raymond arrived almost breathlessly at the small restaurant, then he ran his hand over his scalp, squared his shoulders and entered. Once his eyes adjusted to the muted lighting, he made his way over to the host's station.

"Um, I'm supposed to be meeting Sorina Tavarisch here, but..."

The maitre'd glanced up and gave a slight bow. "Ah, you must be Dr. Keyes. Welcome. Dr. Tavarisch is already here. If you'll follow me, I'll escort you to her table."

Raymond mentally grimaced and followed the maitre'd through the restaurant - not the most auspicious beginning for him to show up fifteen minutes late.

However, when he saw the look of genuine pleasure - and relief - on her face as she glanced up and saw him, he wondered if things might still go well. Had she honestly thought he was going to stand her up?

"Raymond! Dobriy vyecher! I was starting to wonder if you'd changed your mind." She rose from her chair and held out one hand to shake his.

Apparently, she had, and Raymond shook his head, momentarily distracted by the slight Russian lilt to her voice. "No, just swamped with Phalanx business. It's been a hectic day."

"For you, too, hmm?" she commiserated. Quickly he moved to hold her chair for her as she sat back down, and she thanked him with a smile. Raymond was hard-pressed not to stare at her - he was accustomed to seeing her in either a lab coat or field officer camo gear. To see her in a cocktail dress with her long black hair twisted up like that... Resolutely he dragged his mind back under control, and looked around with interest. "I've never eaten here - what would you recommend?"

"Everything I've had here is good. It just depends on how adventurous you feel like being."

He tried not to think about the different ways that statement could be taken, and turned his attention to the menu. "Do you eat here often?"

Sorina shrugged elegantly. "What's life if you can't indulge yourself? I enjoy it here, and I can certainly afford it."

It was true, he knew - like himself, Dr. Tavarisch earned royalties on several lucrative patents, allowing her to continue her research while avoiding the need for government subsidy or private fundraising. Raymond briefly wondered if the gossip were true that the scientist was on Crey's aggravation list because of her refusal to sell her patents to them, but he decided now was not the time to ask.

After they'd ordered their drinks and appetizers, she rested her elbows on the table, steepled her fingers, and studied him, her dark eyes half-hidden behind her spectacles. "So, tell me about yourself - what do you do when you're not saving the world with the rest of the Phalanx?"

Raymond stared down into his water glass, twirling it idly between his fingers. "Not much, actually. I tend to keep rather busy with my research."

"That's it?"

"I'm... not exactly what you'd call social." The admission surprised him.

Sorina blinked in confusion. "Whyever not?"

He shrugged uncomfortably at the question. It was something of a sore spot between himself and Steve, who was always teasing him about living the life of a monk. Time and again, Steve would try to hook him up with some woman or another, and time and again, the evenings would end somewhere between 'nice' and 'disastrous.'

Slowly she nodded, seeing the look on his face. "Ne obrashhajte vnimanija. I withdraw the question, then. So what are you researching at the moment?"

At first, he was ready to launch into a discussion of the schematics of his armor, but then he closed his mouth again. "I'd hate to bore you."

She laughed and gave him a long look over the rim of her own water glass. "Bore me? I'm a scientist, Dr. Keyes. I can take it when a man talks techie to me."

He grinned before he could stop himself. "All right, you win. I'm currently working on improving the circuitry of my armor to see if there's a more efficient way to handle the flow of anti-matter."

She looked intrigued. "What metals are you using as conduits in your circuitry?"

While waiting for their drinks, Raymond was surprised to find himself opening up to Sorina and her questions. It quickly became clear that she was well-versed in the latest scientific research, and was involved in quite a bit of it herself. Her questions about his work were insightful, and he soon began taking notes as their conversation sparked ideas for his research.

"You're amazing," he told her as their drinks arrived, and he lifted his glass to her in a toast. "How long have you been studying electrical engineering?"

"Double doctorate, along with theoretical physics," she replied, looking slightly smug. "But my talents lie in adapting existing technology, not developing original technology."

"And you used to be with Vanguard, doing research for them."

"Yes," she said slowly, looking down at her wine glass. "I started out as a civilian consultant to them during the Rikti War... they needed all the help they could get. I later formally joined them, served with them for five years." She shrugged again, her eyes somber behind her glasses. "And not just research - I served on the front lines as well."

"You're serious..."

"Da. When they found out I could field-adapt Rikti technology, I would accompany teams on almost every raid they managed. Weapons dumps, assault strikes, raids on the pylons..." Sorina gave a faint smile.

"So why'd you leave?" he asked in curiosity, and was surprised to see her eyes turn sad.

"I... had my reasons." He thought she seemed to almost force herself to cheer up. "But enough about that. Shall we order dinner?"

Before he could respond, however, an almost deafening ZISH sound had them clapping their hands over their ears and wincing in pain. The windows rattled for a moment and the ground shook, then things went still. For a split second, their eyes met, identical horrified expressions on their faces, then they both leapt to their feet and ran toward the door of the restaurant, skidding to a halt outside.

An almost sickly greenish cast had come over the evening sky, but that wasn't what held their attention.

"The War Walls," Raymond whispered. "Oh, God, the War Walls are down..."

He turned to look at Sorina, and was astounded to see her dashing back into the restaurant, running for their table. Quickly he pulled the door open and followed her. "What in the world are you...?"

She reached into her bag, grabbed some money, and tossed it on the table, then raced back toward the door, one hand to the side of her head. At first, Raymond thought she'd lost her mind, then he realized that what he had thought was jewelry was actually a communicator in her ear.

"Yes, I saw, Andrea," she was snapping angrily, brushing past other diners on her way outside. "Warn the other members of the Patrol that the Rikti are hitting Steel Canyon. I'm on my way to the base now." She paused for a second outside, and Raymond nearly cannoned right into her, then he heard her howl, "Zatknis', it's not like I PLANNED this, Sharpe, so stop laughing! Tava out!"

"Where are you going?" Raymond asked her, and she whirled around, looking at him as though astounded he even had to ask.

"The Rikti are invading! You think I'm just going to sit and have dinner with that going on?" With a frustrated growl, she stomped both of her feet like a child. "Dlja ljubvi k Bogu! Couldn't they have attacked on ANY OTHER NIGHT?!" She threw her head back and screamed up at the sky. "I WAS ON A DATE, YOU INVADING IDIOTS!!!"

"But you... you..." He stopped, at something of a loss for words. This wasn't happening... this was just not happening. His first date in God-knows-how long, and now this. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You're going to fight the Rikti dressed like that?"

Sorina glanced down at the elegant blue and black dress she was wearing, along with her high heels. "No. My powers are not nearly as strong without my armor. That's why I'm heading for the base - my uniform is there. And I can't even fly like this! Prokljat'e!" she growled. A moment later, sirens began to wail, and the two of them glanced up to see a line of Rikti assault dropships began making their way across Steel Canyon in a bombing run. She turned and started running as fast she could toward Blyde Square, hampered by her heels, and swearing in loud and vehement Russian the whole way.

Raymond let out a sigh and covered his face with his hands.

"Steve is never going to let me hear the end of this."

He reached into his pocket and triggered the remote-summon for his armor. In a flash, he felt the familiar metal begin encasing his body, and sensed the circuitry synching up with his nervous system. Thirty seconds later, the process was complete. Then he kicked off from the ground, flew after Sorina, and before she could protest, swept her up into his arms, and accelerated toward Blyde Square.

"What are you-?!"

"You'll get to the base portal faster if I fly you there," he said simply, looking down at her. It just wasn't fair, damn it. If he was going to be so lucky as to be able to hold her, it should have been while they were dancing or something, not while carrying her to her base so she could change into her uniform to fight off an impending invasion by the Rikti. "It's too bad, though..."

"About what?"

"Your dress... you looked lovely."

To his surprise, she blushed and looked away. "Spasibo... and... for what it's worth..." She glanced back at him. "It's too bad you had to get back into your armor. You look good in a suit."

Now he was glad he was wearing his helmet, because it hid his own blush.

To be continued...

***

Dobriy vyecher - good evening
Ne obrashhajte vnimanija - never mind
Zatknis' - shut up
Dlja ljubvi k Bogu - for the love of God
Prokljat'e - damn it
Spasibo - thank you

She is so CUTE! But what you really need to teach her to say?

"Parrots don't talk."

I used to have an African Gray... my parents almost killed me because I taught him (and our other parrot, the type of which I forget) to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat" in round.

Even after donating them to the Phoenix Zoo, I think if I were to go to the Aviary and start singing that, I'd hear two parrots start going, "Row row row your boat..." "Row row row your boat..."

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Two questions -

a) should I post part 2 (and any subsequent chapters) to this same thread?
b) who thinks Positron should score on the first date?

And thanks, Prodiguy, I do try to keep characters real. As will become evident later in the story, Tava and Posi do actually have a lot more in common than they realize.

And wait til Synapse, girl chaser that HE is, meets Tava's teammate!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

That would have taken time, and knowing Posi, would have just led to more harassment.

Part 2 already in the works... and thanks for being the first to comment!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*shrug*

I'm still waiting to see what the other panels/workshops are going to be. Wouldn't it be hilarious if they schedule something opposite me that *I* want to go to?!

Oh, btw, EnnVee - THIN MINTS. Nothing else will do.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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What everyone already said, so what are you waiting for DR?

Oh one thing that wasn't mentioned the Forum is PG13 nuff said.

Valor

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I did post it - the link to what I have so far is now in my initial post.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

If you drop your CoX characters into WoW, I'm going to hurt you.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I just hope that they don't schedule my workshop against something that folks really want to attend... *crosses fingers*

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Please bear with me, this is only the second CoX 'story' I've written!

EDIT: The story is now available in its entirety in this thread. To read it without commentary, visit my website and download the PDF.

I've also begun Book II: Courtship and Crime Fighting, which can be found here, while the Discussions thread for both stories can be found here.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE...

"So, any other business before we adjourn?"

Statesman glanced at each member of the Freedom Phalanx in turn, waiting to see if any of them would speak, but most seemed inclined to remain silent. Not surprising, considering it had been another long day for them, what with dealing with back-to-back-to-back fires in Steel Canyon, rescuing a few less experienced heroes after getting in over their heads during a battle with the Kraken in Perez, and then the impromptu Tsoo-Freakshow gang war that had erupted in Talos.

"No? Then I declare this meeting adjourned."

To Statesman's surprise, as well as the other members of the Phalanx, Positron was for once the first one out of his seat.

"Whoa, what's the rush? You pretending to be Synapse?" the archer asked, eyebrows raised, and Positron looked away in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to get up that fast and draw attention to himself.

"I'm, um... I've got plans."

"Oh, really?" In a red and blue blur, Synapse zoomed around the large table to drape one arm across Positron's shoulders in an exaggeratedly casual gesture. "And would these plans happen to include a certain dark-haired researcher turned superhero?" Positron barely managed to stifle a groan, and Synapse laughed aloud. "Oh, yeah, the uber-geek finally scores!"

"WHAT'S this?" Manticore's mouth fell slightly open, and Numina gave a slight chuckle as she leaned back in her chair.

"I was wondering what had you so distracted during this meeting, Positron..."

Sister Psyche also grinned. "'Distracted' is not quite the word I'd have chosen."

Positron did NOT want to know what word the psychic would have chosen instead.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out. Are you saying that HE-" Manticore pointed at Positron "-has a DATE?"

Positron was now looking like he was wishing the floor would open up underneath him. "It's... not really a date..."

"Riiiiiiiight," Synapse teased. "And I'll bet you're gonna fly right home and get all spiffed out over this not-a-date. Hey, you might even take off your armor!"

Manticore smirked. "Doesn't that sort of thing usually happen at the end of the night?"

"It's not like that!" Positron protested in frustration, trying to ignore the grins that now nearly every member of the Phalanx was wearing.

"That's enough, you two," Statesman warned. "What Positron chooses to do with his own time is none of our business."

Positron nodded slightly to Statesman in thanks, but Synapse wasn't quite ready to let the matter drop.

"I was wondering when you were going to work up the guts to ask her out, Oppenheimer. You'd think that for someone willing to go toe-to-toe with the city's biggest villains, asking a woman out would be a cakewalk."

"Actually, she asked me out," Positron blurted out before he could stop himself, then he reddened.

"Who is 'she', anyway?" Citadel asked in his slightly rumbling voice.

Positron mentally gave up his vain hope that he'd be able to just leave and escape the barrage of questions. "Her name's Sorina Tavarisch."

That got even Statesman's attention, and he turned to the armored superhero in surprise. "Dr. Tavarisch? The Vanguard scientist?"

"Yes. And guys, I really do need to go." And with as much dignity and haste as he could manage, he quickly left before the questions could resume.

***

The whole way home, Raymond was kicking himself for not having managed to keep it a secret from the rest of the Phalanx. If he'd only managed to play it cool for five minutes longer, they wouldn't have found out about it, and now to make matters worse, not only did they all know, but he was running late. With a scowl, he kicked in some additional power, accelerating past the skyscrapers of Steel Canyon.

As it was, he was still nearly ten minutes late getting home, only to find that Steve was already there, sprawled on the couch with a beer and obviously waiting for him to arrive.

Raymond only grunted and ignored him as he headed to change clothes.

"Ahhhhh, now I KNOW this is serious," he heard Steve laugh. "You're leaving the armor at home... well, she certainly is hot, so I can't say I blame you."

"Steve, to you, EVERY woman is hot," he grumbled, almost reluctantly starting to set aside his armor. Since his death and resurrection, his powers were once more fully under his control, but a trace of fear still lingered, the gut-wrenching sense of helplessness of feeling his powers surge free of his control...

"Not my fault the ladies love me. So where are you taking her?"

The question jolted him out of his darkening thoughts. "What? Oh... small place in Steel near the University. She recommended it. And I'm already late, so save the questions, will you?"

Then Raymond became aware of a familiar rushing sound in the living room, which meant that Steve was doing one of his Flight of the Bumblebee impressions, and he stuck his head out the door of his room. "What the hell are you doing now?"

The blur of movement abruptly stopped, and he suddenly realized the living room looked cleaner.

"Just getting the place presentable for later."

"What 'later'?" Raymond asked before he caught on, and he gave his roommate a frown. "Steve..."

"You want me to clean up your room, too? I can have your sheets changed in four seconds."

"Steve..."

"Or how about running to the drugstore?"

"NO!" Raymond stomped back into his room and slammed the door, grumbling under his breath while trying to ignore Steve's laughter.

To be continued...

Spiffy!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Not only am I doing NaNoWriMo for the third year, but this year's novel is based on my CITY OF HEROES Justice-based SG.

I am SUCH a geek.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I've got the first chapter of something written, and I'm not entirely certain that I've started it off well... do you guys only post COMPLETED stuff on here?

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

EDIT: Well, based on folks' answers, I went ahead and posted part one...

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Wow, those are fantastic! And I'm not sure why, but "Take My Hand" just resonates.

I really need to find a way to be able to afford artwork commissions... So many art ideas, so little money...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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Someone (I forget who, maybe TA?) has a list of affordable artists.

Darned if I can find it, though.

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Either that, or I start bartering my video talents in exchange for artwork... no idea how many artists would take me up on that, though.

*goes back and looks at "Take My Hand" again*

Damn, I just LIKE that picture.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Wow, those are fantastic! And I'm not sure why, but "Take My Hand" just resonates.

I really need to find a way to be able to afford artwork commissions... So many art ideas, so little money...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Hooray, my ad is there...

... now to see if he responds...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Not at all! It is a great name for a katana-scrapper, so go for it!

(Had two memorable L5R RPG characters - one was a Crane Daidoji bodyguard, the other a Crab Kuni Witch Hunter.)

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

That's because the auto setting for screenshots removes the HUD. Best way to get the text in there is to hit PrntScrn, then immediately open a program like PAINT and paste it in there. PhotoShop works for that too.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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10/2/2008

Took a few screenshots for today's journal entry. Here's a screenshot of Spacegirl successfully using Mesmerize on Scirocco in the STF (happened in the last journal entry):

Spacegirl vs Scirocco

I started Wednesday night playing Mary Megawatt (an 8 elec/will brute on Pinnacle) on a 3 player villain team of Pinnacle League SG. An ice/cold corruptor on the team kept cold shield on Mary, which helped her survivability a lot (she only had High Pain Threshold and Fast Healing as defenses so far). We did a few missions in Cap au Diable and Port Oakes that got her to level 10, where I took Indomitable Will.

After that team broke up I switched to playing Kid Valkyrie (50 broadsword/regen scrapper on Triumph) and joined a Rikti War Zone raid that was in progress. This raid was well organized and had a lot of people on it (I think we got up to 5 teams at one point); I stayed for two runs against the mother ship and scored about 400 Vanguard merits, which was pretty nice for one evening's work considering it took me many days to get 100 merits just soloing. I haven't spent these merits yet; I'm kinda torn between blowing all these merits on the Vanguard costumes or on the salvage capacity increase.

Kid Valkyrie at the RWZ raid

I finished the evening playing Samurai-ko (a newbie 9 katana/will scrapper on Liberty), joining a 4 player pickup team doing radio missions in King's Row. Puzzlingly, the other team members kept saying into team chat stuff like "Keep your hands to yourself!" and "I'm not EVEN going to comment on that" for no reason I could discern. Finally I realized by looking at people's global names that I had our tanker on gignore (which was kind of embarrassing to realize after having done 3 missions with him). I can't even remember why; though based on the team chat I could see, there was probably cause. I took the tanker off of gignore for the sake of team communications, which seemed fine; he didn't say anything particularly rude after that, though perhaps my mentioning I had to take him off ignore had a sobering effect.

Anyway, I got Samurai-ko to level 11, taking Swift at 10; I know I don't really need this for Stamina since a will scrapper can get Quick Recovery, but I'm just used to having the extra movement from Swift and Hurdle, and any alt who doesn't have these feels debuffed to me. I also got an idea to write a silly bio for her; the PERC bio contest inspired me to start taking screen shots of my characters and their biographical story, and you can see Samurai-ko's here:

Samurai-ko's bio


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*grins*

Not an L5R player, are you, by any chance? For the longest time, I got the strangest looks because @Samuraiko is my global (and its myriad variants depending on the forums I'm on), and it's primarily a LEGEND OF THE FIVE RINGS reference.



Go forth and kick tail, "little samurai".

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I know that at one point, when you end up having to fight Diabolique, she shows up on that map (NOT the one where she's on the same map as Infernal).

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Should be the first one, if memory serves.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Actually, the one in Bloody Bay isn't that bad, either, but I agree - the one in the 'Kings Row' outdoor map is probably the 'nicest' one. And I've photoshopped some of the headstones to have names, but in a video that'd be harder unless it's an upclose shot.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Thanks, Todd! Are you congratulating NCSoft for trying to record this, or for allowing me to make a fool of myself to begin with?

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Spiffy, thank you very much, Ex!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite