LoupGarou

((One of my fonder memories was collaborating with Hatesman on a LG vs. Hatesman piece on the forums. Typos and my own inability to edit properly notwithstanding, it was a jolly fine piece of work and I always wanted to pick it up and head to Round Two. And that, ladies and gents, is exactly what we're going to be doing. However, since Hatesman is going to be off on holiday to probably do incredibly cruel things to animals, I've got two weeks to brainstorm just how in the world LG is going to go about doing all this. He's going to be calling in a few favours, first of all...

(Those of you who know Loup and might be able to pry what Loup is about to do out of him either here or ingame, and perhaps can offer assistance...or try and talk him out of it! In the end, it's all about the arpeez! So, let's get started!))

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Jean-Luc yawned, resting his chin in his hand as he shuffled through the files upon the rather old computer he had dubbed "Fileosaurus" - mostly inspired from its contents, and also its age. He'd finished his training session for the morning and was fresh from the shower, silver-white hair damp and sticking up toward all the major directions of the compass due to his rough ministrations with the towel he had tossed into the corner. He grimaced, rubbing at the two darkish circles upon his bare chest - a gesture he didn't even know he made anymore.

The club was empty and staff wouldn't arrive until in the afternoon, so Jean-Luc had time to train and to think...he'd done a lot of both over the past few months, even returned to the Death Ring. That stung him and his sense of duty - he'd made a promise after all, but had rationalised the move for the greater task of tracking down his quarry.

Still broke it, boy...an' you swore on your life.

Jean-Luc sighed, clenching and flexing his fists reflexively. It had paid off, in more ways than one - Jean-Luc had managed to avoid the death-matches and merely chosen the cage-fights and Last-Man-Standing bouts. Whilst it was still underground and illegal, he was managing to make good on finding out what he needed to find, through the Family, the general banter and gossip which happened Down Below, and he established himself as "Back in the Ring". Whatever had happened to him Up Top as trying to be a hero, he'd done enough fighting and schmoozing - and had Rei Mizuni's backing to lend more weight to his cred - he had the trust of the Underworld once more.

Still, he'd changed, and people could see it - not merely in his more human appearance (though for the sake of the crowd, he always went into the cage feral), but also in his style. Paragon City's policy on arrests had taught Jean-Luc finesse. He didn't need Supa-X in the ring anymore, as his abilities had advanced enough to not require any illegal "edge". He had to admit, he was now a more formidable opponent than he'd been before, and word was getting around Down Below Loup Garou was back with a vengeance.

Still, he wasn't sure it was going to be enough...

("Where did ya get those? Jay asked, frowning slightly at the blackish marks upon Jean-Luc's chest, unwittingly placing two fingers in the exactly position Hatesman had done ages past when he'd made his devastating attack.

Jean-Luc shook his head, wincing slightly as a memory of "red" burst in his mind, and forced a smile as wheels seemed to be turning in Jay's head, for a frown was forming on the other man's face, one eye solemnly studying the way his two fingers fit perfectly into the slight depressions in the Creole's chest.

"Ask me bout dat later, m'chere...")

Jean-Luc sighed, a small smile across his lips, which faded as he eyed his cellphone for the dozenth time that morning. Nope, no message...with a curse in kreyol and a dull ache he refused to admit to, he picked the betraying communication device up and threw into an overflowing desk drawer, slamming it shut and trying to concentrate again - though it proved difficult at first.

"I'm actin' like a teenager," Jean-Luc muttered as he shifted in the chair, forcing himself to get back to it. But he felt like a teenager; hyped up, with all the bittersweet pain of a crush. Still, he kept to task, the cafe brulot at his elbow cooled slowly as he'd forgotten about it - too busy shuffling through the disk of information Sword of Redemption had given him some time ago.

"Terra Liberation Front, oui, split personality - Mon Dieu, another one, did dey hand dem out one day at de market at half price? - aaaaan', yeah, dat it...."

Jean-Luc narrowed his eyes, as the information he had been seeking was finally scrolling upon his screen.


Despite his nigh impervious nature, Hatesman's method of power leeching from Statesman was majorly flawed in that his Super-Senses extend to his full body nervous system and in particular, pain receptors. The pain from a needle is five-fold and a long battle can over-whelm his senses, sending him delirious and eventually into a comatose state. He is very wary of this, and uses sedatives and medical equipment to make up for his short-comings, but suffice it to say that he has good reason to shy away from a prolonged assault, be it by Fist or Fire.

Jean-Luc leaned back in his chair, chewing at his lower lip before getting up and pacing back and forth on bare feet - he'd nearly paced a furrow in the floor over the past few months, working over the same problem over and over in his head: how to take Hatesman down.

He felt de hurt I put on 'im...I know dat. An' he got a human min' and a beast min', jus' like I do. All I gotta do is get 'im mad enough to forget hisself.

"An' man, oh, man, dat's gonna hurt."

It wasn't good enough just to go after Hatesman, however - the whole Terra Liberation Front was a problem, as well as the computer-brain O.R.A.C.L.E which helped to manage it. Hatesman he might be able to take, but if any of his crew showed up, Jean-Luc wouldn't stand a chance, and he knew it.

"Ain't no good just takin' you down...I gotta tear de whol' thing up by de roots."

The "how" had him stumped however. He could stalk prey, bide his time, and hit his opponent at a weak moment, however he was up against his intellectual better. Whilst he had done everything he could on his own level - appearing to retire even while he gathered information quietly, staying as low key as he could and hoping Oswald forgot his beaten foe - there was still the matter of finding his prey, luring him out alone, and yet at the same time making sure the Terra Liberation Front was sufficiently weakened enough not to make a comeback.

The fact Jean-Luc wasn't going for an arrest didn't help matters; he couldn't involve his friends as they were heroes, and upheld the law of Paragon City. What Jean-Luc intended to do was wrong, could get him thrown into the Zig himself, and disgraced. It wasn't going to be self-defence - he was actively hunting Hatesman, actively seeking another showdown. He was actively going for the kill.

Jean-Luc growled under his breath, his eyes flaring bright gold, as he continued to pace, warring with his better nature and the part of him that wanted to bring Hatesman some hurt, and then some. The other word for "justice" was "revenge", and well he knew it. He threw himself upon a nearby couch, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling, frowning.

Mebbe this is a bad idea...

It wasn't the first time Jean-Luc questioned his own drive. He'd been defeated once, badly enough to be in a coma. So what? There were many who had, and many who died. Granted, the Terra Liberation Front was a direct threat to the Villain Rehab programmes...but even then, Jean-Luc could understand the Hatesman's sentiment; he'd seen what "rehab" meant in Paragon - controlling collars round the neck, microchips in the brain, mood-altering drugs. Training people to be something they weren't, and forcing them to walk the line. It wasn't anything Jean-Luc would ever consent to doing - he wasn't ashamed of who or what he was, and feeling as if he should be tended to make his hackles rise.

But no...Hatesman was different. According to the files, he was bent on destruction, and losing the battle against himself to do so. With Oswald's genius to get the ball rolling, it was only a matter of time before he got out of control...and what then? The Zig wouldn't hold him, surely. Putting villains in the Zig just meant organising all the worst of the worst into one spot for Arachnos to break them out and put them into service.

Some villains are just too bad to live, Powerdrive murmured, downing yet another scotch.

Jean-Luc's jaw tightened. No...someone had to do it. Someone had to put Oswald away once and for all, and as far as he knew, he was the only one with the guts to do it. He was willing to walk the line, and even cross it, if it meant the programme would continue, if it meant the TLF might be slowed down, then yes, he'd do it - he'd wipe Hatesman/Oswald right off the face of the earth.

Gonna do it, yeah. Gonna do it alone, too. Have to.

Jean-Luc sat up, his forearms upon his knees, and sighed, glancing at the desk once more, and in particular, the drawer which held the silent, decidedly-not-ringing cellphone.

Jean-Luc leaned against the windowframe in the high rise apartment which was not his own. This wasn't his place, and this wasn't his bedroom. He doubted he could even lay claim to the slumbering figure in the bed behind him either. The Creole's head pounded with bourbon and thoughts which chased their way round and round his head. But he was used to this.

This hour was always his, after all. He was nocturnal, always had been, and he was no stranger to this twilight time, this sitting perched upon a lone crag, howling one's lament to the sky, pacing beneath the open sky while all others in the world slept. In the light of the cityscape below, Jean-Luc's silverwhite hair gleamed like quicksilver. He brushed his hand over the two discoloured, greyish depressions over his sternum, and his golden eyes glittering and refracted the light from the streets below.

I bin gone too long.

He had no idea what had possessed him to make a trip to Pocket D, leaving his own club and his own booze to slum it around in a place he hardly knew anymore. Different faces, different heroes, different villains all flowed past him like a sea he didn't know how to navigate anymore. Once again, he was the outsider looking in, but he'd been a lone wolf most of his life, and that wasn't new to him.

And then, someone had recognised him from the Ring circuit and asked for his autograph. And then, someone else recognised him, and the word spread like wildfire: Loup Garou back in Pocket D. He'd downplayed it as much as he could, but more and more people started appearing, more and more familiar faces, talking about commendations and doings in a world Jean-Luc barely knew anymore. The Creole got drunk as only he could get, and then Jay appeared, setting his sense of smell going haywire with scents and colours exploding in his head as was so often the case. Hardly believing his luck and half-afraid he was going to wake up at any minute (or just plain afraid, as he'd never been in this situation Topside before) - one thing led to another as it often does in such situations, and here he was, enclosed by unfamiliar surroundings and scents, trying to make sense of what he was doing and how much he could say, or if he even dared.

Because Jean-Luc had never actually retired. He was still working, harder than ever, just on a track which was nowhere near this side of the law. He was back in the Ring, gathering what information he could when he could get it, adding it to the evergrowing files Ragefang had left him. He knew more about what was going on in the Isles than many people would care to admit. Yakuza Girl had sponsored him in the ring as he had asked, and now and again gave him a tip. He was gathering information and informants, acquaintances and details, allowing people to think he had gone underground, fallen through the cracks, given up on the hero work.

And all the while, he was just tightening the noose, he had his prey in mind, and he'd never forgotten him. All the efforts of the past four months were focussed upon his one goal, the one who wasn't going to get away...the one Jean-Luc had no intention of merely arresting. The next time they met, Jean-Luc wasn't going in as the hero, but as the Ring fighter, and the hunter. It was going to be bloodshed.

"You out dere, Hatesman...I feel you. You don' feel me...but I'm comin' fo' you. Certainment."

Let everyone think him gone for a little while longer...it wounded him to be so fallen in the eyes of many, but it was for the best. What he was about to do, he had to do alone.

Jean-Luc turned back toward the bed, sitting down carefully so he didn't wake sleeping form beneath the coverlet, and lay down, his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, then turned his head and watched the sleeping human beside him with a conflicted mind.

I'd like to tell you, m'sieu...like to say whole lotta t'ings. But I don' dare. Not yet...mebbe someday. Bon nuit, mon ami.

Jean-Luc closed his eyes and gave up the fight against sleep. Let others play the hero for one more night.

...I lol'ed.

Right...I tried to figure out how to put this, but there's no easy way, really. Due to health issues, I am having to concentrate on real life a fair bit. I shan't go into detail, it's boring. But as a result, I am going to be retiring my characters and my storylines for a while. I might return at some point, but it's undecided.

The Fourth Wall, essentially, will still be run for those who care to use it. However, I'm a little annoyed at the lack of interest with it - a place shouldn't be interesting only if you can spotlight your own characters and cliques in it. Don't complain about not having a place to go when you can't be bothered to use the space someone creates for you. That's all I'm saying on that score. It's open, use it if you like, try not to be twits in it. I'll debate who to hand it over to for paying prestige and so on in the near future.

Jean-Luc is retired from hero work...he's made the choice, though he might be involved with working on the villain rehab project in some way or another. Jam is studying and taking care of things with SOAR behind the scenes. The others were just faff characters.

Thanks to everyone who gave me some really fun arpee. I enjoyed my time here, and I'd continue on with it if it was possible, but I'm going to be spending a fair bit of time away and it's just not possible right now.

Wish me luck, and mayhap I'll see you in the near future.

yeah he went on a bender...I'll have to write that up eventually, but now, a trip to the docs...whee meh.

I've officially got the stomach bug going around, AND the flu. I will decidedly not be in tonight, but if people want to convene in the 4th wall even so, feel free to form up groups to do so.

Sorry, but no can do for me tonight. Expect me when you see me.

Fourth Wall again tomorrow from 8 till late. I am looking for people and ideas for the Carnivale and I think I will post an ad in the Paper thread for this.

I also apologise in advance as once again I'm rather ill, so I haven't been about much, but we'll see you on the morrow.

Jean-Luc sighed and plunked down on his leather couch in his home base. He was exhausted, but things were going well. The Fourth Wall was catching on and drawing some media attention - both a good thing and a bad thing. He'd actually spent so much time away fussing with club business he hadn't been home in days, and he had just spent the past hour watering his neglected plants and cleaning a filled-with-science-experiments fridge. He'd managed to get some meat from the store and had just finished his raw-steak repast when he had glimpsed the book lying on the table with a start and a sudden rush of guilt. It was as if he had neglected a grave...when was the last time he'd looked at this book? He'd only just entered the information Ed had managed to get on the Terra Liberation Front into his home files, but he hadn't even looked at the book in months.

Jean-Luc immediately reached forward and snatched it up, opening the lock and flipping through the pages, struggling with reading a script which was even more spidery than usual.


I'm trying to be quiet right now as you're sleeping in the bed just to the right of me. Damn, my night vision isn't as good as it used to be, nor is my ability to heal...that fight earlier today was a real nasty one and my ribs creak every time I breathe. Sleep is impossible till they stitch up, and that will take a few hours, so I've got time.

I said I wasn't going to get sentimental, but I think I'm about to. The only time that sullen rage isn't on your face is when you're sleeping. I can see it right now, just looking to my right; one lock of white hair over one eye and an arm behind your head. You look peaceful. You NEVER look peaceful, you're getting that grim look we all have of the condemned man, the modern day gladiator who kills or dies for the pleasure of his patrons. Eventually, a fighter like that either gives up, or they start to enjoy it. And I can't have you doing either, so I have to speed up my own plans.

So with that peaceful, beautiful face composed in sleep beside me as inspiration, I'm gonna talk about the gritty stuff. About the day you decide you don't want to be a hero anymore.

We all get there eventually. It happens to us all. Yet one more artifact to save, one more villain to bust - who will more than likely escape. One more incredibly stupid person on the street who gets themselves into trouble and expects us to save them without learning to save themselves first. And what are the rewards? We're not paid a damn thing. Maybe for some the deed is enough, but reality is the bills need paying, and food needs purchasing, and hospital bills mount up after a while.

Maybe you just got sick of it. Maybe you even got yourself hurt so badly it took you ages to recover...but somewhere along the line, you've hit the wall, where being a hero no longer makes any sense.

I could say a bunch of stuff about The Greater Good, and Doing it Anyway, and all that, but it's rubbish and we both know it. The bottom line for me right now is that you've somehow managed to bring that look you've got on your face right now into your everyday life. The instant that goes...the instant you start feeling like you are back in the ring again, back off and wait till you can deal with it.

Some people define themselves by being "heroes". The cape is everything to them. When that goes, their lives are over as far as they're concerned. That's me, Jean-Luc, like it or not. After that raid...well I can't even describe what it was like, coming out of that and seeing all that blood on my hands and knowing it was all over. I could go to jail sure, I could serve a sentence, but I was never going to be able to wash it off my hands. Backstreet Brawler has had his lumps but he's managed to come out the other side. I couldn't. And there's others who can't either. I don't want you to be one of them.

It's hard for guys like us to step back and take a breath. It's like admitting weakness, and here that gets you killed. But Paragon ain't the ring...you don't have to push and push and push until you or your opponent breaks. That's a difficult thing for you to learn, I know, but you gotta learn to fight smart, and know when to fight, and when to back off. When to arrest...and when an arrest just won't work.

That's something you've got to think about, not just decide in the heat of the moment, because that decision is going to stay with you for the rest of your life. You've gotta learn to THINK, not just use your instincts, and if you've gotta do that, gotta step back to let your head override your feral nature, then do it, kid.

The lights are out, and you're asleep, and I'm more sappy than I want to be right now, but I've just realised I've never seen you smile. I hope you've learned to do that Up Top these days. A proper, winning, brilliant smile rather than the half-sneer, half-snarl you give down here. I hope that feral look is out of your eyes. I hope...damn this is hard to write...I hope you've managed to put me to rest and move on with your life, as you and I both know if you're reading this, I'm dead and buried. Leave me there, kid, and go and be happy.

Just try and be happy, Jean. That comes before everything. Because being a hero isn't a reward, it's a job. And you have to either want to do it...or just not do it.

Smile for me, m'chere. Try if you can.

And now my ribs have just popped back into place - sound nearly woke you up - so I'm heading back to bed, and try not to make you stir and lose that look on your face.

The last few paragraphs had blurred, and Jean-Luc blinked his eyes, rubbing at the tears on his cheeks, but dimly aware he was smiling, he was. Even so, he was smiling.

It was true enough, of course. After the fight with Hatesman, he hadn't wanted anything to do with hero work. Sure, he was still involved quietly in the project and hand his hand in any amount of work here and there, but he wasn't actively pursuing anything just yet. He didn't have the heart for it. He enjoyed running the club, and while he'd felt a qualm, a bit of embarassment at his "life of leisure", at least Ragefang had given his counsel to bide his time. The hunt would be there waiting for him, when he was ready again.

Jean-Luc leaned back in his chair, and felt his gaze slowly pulled to where the rather ancient computer rested upon the desk, with its catalogue of secrets and files, awaiting his perusal. He pondered for a long while, and then nodded, a glint in his golden eyes. Purposefully, Jean-Luc strode to the console, sat down, entered the password, and began to read...

It took a few months. I've been playing a Dominator which is a lot of fun, but for the most part I log in to see if there's any rp I can get into, and if not, I log off. Missions are so done for me.

But there's always mixing it up as Loup owes Hatesman some pain.

Thanks Hatesman, for your article (gah, bloody Barry Manilow Easy Listenin'...*mutter*)! I'm just putting details together about the Carnivale event but I need a good long think first.

This ties into my second bit; I am totally utterly and completely burnt out on mission running. If I log in, I'm logging in for rp, and that's rather thin on the ground at the moment. So, if you need the Loupster for any arrpeez, please drop me a line and I'll try and coordinate a time when I'll be ingame.

Cheers

A good old fashioned PvP fight would indeed be brilliant, it's something I'd like to see done more often, really.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not having a go because of the thread, I'm just hoping this won't be yet another thread of "Look at the fun rp we're having ingame, but since you're not one of US, you're not invited." I certainly can empathise with a fair bit of "not wanting to be round the tools" - but not everyone is a tool, as I said before.

Establishing a base for the LORD crew would be cool, setting it up a bit like 4th wall as it's a coalition of a bigger stronghold would work; it's not too difficult getting the influence up to build it, it wouldn't even need to be big enough to withstand base attacks if you used the arenas for actual battles - which means less issue of ganking and interference by non rpers.

Ooooo the thowts!

The only issue I have with the LORD lot is - "Do we get to be participants or merely an audience?" I can forsee this being a "I'll fight my alts on hero side" sort of thing, which I'm sure is fine, but certainly isn't very welcoming for other people to interact or even follow along. Rp seems very insular on Union; people only rping with their own set because they don't want to deal with tools...but again, I think that's where we come up with an earlier point; not everyone is a tool. Just because one might see a new name doesn't mean they're completely inexperienced and incapable of contributing to the community. Roleplay for me is about community, not merely about rping amongst ourselves and only giving out tidbits to the masses. I am not one who ascribes to the camp of "I'm only interested if I'm involved." It's worth getting new blood into these scenarios, but that can't be done without opening up the closed cliques of rp from time to time.

I certainly like where the whole LORD idea is going and it would be great to mix it up as Jean-Luc certainly has a vested interest in taking a few involved down a peg or ten...however, I do wonder whether or not he'd ever get the chance. I do hope this is a case where quite a few heroes are able to band together and get their rp fix on, rather than just a few selected groups. After all, as has been said, the perk of playing villains is also being able to PLAY one, in sharp relief...and that often requires not merely an audience, but interaction as well.

Just a reminder on us opening this Tuesday, eight till late. I apologise for not getting the writeup sorted but the weekend has been manic, I'll attempt to get to it today.

Cheers

*Insert Dr Destiny's name here"

Right - for those who attended, could I get a quick writeup from people about your "Fourth Wall" experience? It will go into a newspaper review; namely looking for info re: the band,how heroes felt about the new space, the food, the staff, etc. I didn't want to create an article without getting proper feedback from everyone - good or bad (*grins at Powerdrive - you poor grumpy git*)

In other news - I believe next week we are going to try for Tuesday, again 8 till late. There is also something I am potentially going to need a few interested parties for regarding the Villain rehab programme, so I'll get in touch about that as well.

Cheers!

If people are happy with Wed, then we'll keep that. If not, then we'll move nights. I did ask some time ago what would be the best time, and since there was no protest about Wed, that's what I went with.

Understanding people and supergroups are often busy. I may be faced with the rather unpleasant requirement of having to shuffle Coalition members around depending on which are more active and willing to use the space. No, I'm not looking forward to that one, but it's all part of the deal. If there are SGs who are coalitioned who really don't forsee themselves coming to the 4th Wall, then please let me know and we'll shift things over to give those SGs on the waiting list a go. This is also true for the new groups cropping up as "alt supergroups" and so forth, as I know a few folks who are phasing out their mains and starting new projects, and therefore may want another Supergroup in the main slot.

My main raison d'etre here is to keep the Fourth Wall active - people can use it as they see fit (yes, again Erth, like I said, people can use it on "unofficial nights" but it's the official nights I'm working on at the moment). I intend on doing holiday parties and such to give the place a point and purpose.

If people are happy with Wed nights, then we'll roll with that. Just let me know before Friday, folks, what you want to do, and even though I probably won't be able to please 100% of the population, I'll try to at least go for the majority consensus.

I am still very much toying with creating a villain character, but I know myself, whatever villain I will create will be EVIL. Nasty evil. And nasty evil in a way that doesn't ever advertise its evilness. This tends to really tick off characters who feel their character should never make a mistake or get caught out because evil characters should supposedly always drop hints about how evil they are. I have the potential to really cheese off a lot of people who can't keep the IC/OOC thing seperated...

I am however very strongly considering doing it. I'd be tempted to join the Terra Liberation Front with said evil character but that my character isn't an anarchist, she's facist - however I rather think that at bottom the TLF fits that bill.

In any event, I think I might have a play with the Villain side and see what I come up with.

Okay, today's thursday, we do have a SG base, so if people and prospectives want to meet at the museum/school and we'll give everyone a rundown of what it is we are doing and why, and what we need to accomplish. If you want, bring some missions and we'll run a few after the main chat. This is mainly to get to know one another, our characters, and sort of get things going.

I know no matter what, there will be people who won't be able to show up. And yes, what we're doing is an official night. The problem with having it open all the time was that NO ONE showed up last time. There'd be people in the channel asking if anyone was going, but not a whole lot of initiative to go. That's human nature - once the initial buzz wears off people get bored. Hence having the club only "open" one night a week. It doesn't mean it's off limits or anything, it is open to be used (hence the concept of "private parties" and VIP space), but it still has to tempt people enough to want to come and use it in the first place.

So I'm still trying to find the best possible day for the most people, which may take a few weeks. After that, we'll just settle on a day and people will have to try and make do. All I ask is people USE the space. Coile put a fair bit of work and thought into the concept for people to use the space and the coalition. It's up to the players, however, to show the interest.

((OOC - A big thank you to everyone who turned up to this, and also a welcome to the supergroup, NHU, who joined the coalition last night.

I think attendance could be a bit better however, and I am thus considering moving the next opening night for 4th Wall for 14 January, which is a Monday night. I'm going to shuffle this round a few times till I find the day when most people can manage to attend.

Again, thanks for coming round and I hope it was an enjoyable evening, writeup to follow!))

Essentially we can do both if we want to do RP, we will, RP/PvE is also good and hopefully, eventually some RP/PvP with the willing.

Right, how does Thursdays sound, then? Anyone for/against?

C'mon, think some storylines up and let's have a go!

Right...thus do I say: bring it. Hatesman and Loup are probably going to go head to head at some point again. The Villain Rehab project will attract attention, both wanted, and unwanted. The S.O.A.R group also could do with having some baddies facing off. I'm sure there are other players in the RP Roundtable willing to mix it with baddies.

If you want to stretch that "evil muscle" now and again (quiet in the back) then you're more than welcome to find anyone in the RP Roundtable list to do so, or myself, and I'll find someone to point you toward.

It's all good, as they say.

Yes, Pious, it's true! I imagine I derailled a few brains. But the first to go up to Jean-Luc and say "a/s/l" will definitely get a bust in the chops.

I don't ascribe to the "I need a roleplayer to give me references in triplicate before I roleplay with them to make sure they don't try to harm my character" approach.

People are fine to interact with a villain as long as a villain isn't...well...villainous. It seems that there are some people out there who always want their characters to walk out of a situation totally unscathed, unchanged, and without any sort of repercussions. But for me, the unpredictable and the potentially confrontational is part of rp. Rp becomes stale if it's all just sitting around a club. Dare to be challenged, dare to talk a risk, and dare to interact and be challenged by a villain - and potentially even lose a fight. I can pretty much figure out within five minutes whether someone is an utter tool or whether they're a roleplayer who knows what they're doing. And if they know what they're doing, I run with it as far as I can, even if it is at my own character's disadvantage. In the Superhero world, if they could bring back Aunt May, I doubt anyone will stay down for long unless we really don't our characters to come back.

For me, a story does what it does, and I don't particularly care. We may be getting abit hung up in the metaphors here between acting and rp - I don't use a script when I'm roleplaying, for example, and an audience doesn't know how a movie is going to end (well, unless you're me, all stories sound the same these days and I already seem to know what the end result is). I'm aware I'm the minority in that. But that's why I started up the RP Roundtable for people who just wanted to be thrown into the deep end to either swim...or drown. I welcome that sort of thing. I'm down with it.

Now this isn't where people take offence and say "I'm not like that!" - we've all seen this sort of thing and I think for the most part, we can agree there are people out there who don't like their worlds to be interfered with. At which point playing a villain around them is rather pointless. They take it as a personal affront that ANYONE they don't know is trying to rp with them though, and it may not be villain-biased. So if I were a villain character and someone told me to sod off rather nastily in tells, I would just chalk it up to someone who doesn't want their glass menagerie broken down, not that there's something wrong with me as a player, and thus I don't feel badly about it. However, when it happens a LOT, yes, I also grow weary of playing the odd one out, and I find myself shelving characters instead.

However...at the same time, as a roleplayer, I try not to write off a name I don't know as a Tool-Until-Proven-Otherwise...and I think we're all guilty of that one. Maybe we need to loosen up a bit and not assume one is guilty till proven innocent of toolness.