Warp_Factor
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:That really makes me want to see this, even more than I already did; I left both The A-Team and The Expendables thinking that what made those films good was the fact that the cast was clearly having a great time working on it. I'm glad to hear the same thing can be said for this one.Originally Posted by NinjaPirate
I enjoyed it immensely.
You always get that much more out of a movie when it's clear the cast is having a ball with it.
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Quote:I think for most folks that's exactly what it is, though some are talking players and some are talking characters. For me, it's all about the characters who had struck me as the Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Hulk, etc. of the Virtue setting; I'm not generally inclined to think of the players behind the characters as iconic, though many of them are really cool people. With this large a group of players, all coming into the game at different times, and no official recognition of icon status (which I'm not suggesting should happen, it's a terrible idea), everyone's going to have their own list of characters (or players, if that's their flavor) that were the icons for their particular experience.Originally Posted by BrandX
Though, I can see people having their own list of who they think are iconic easily enough.
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Quote:Not so much a fan of the spandex look, but I do miss that element of fun in American metal. I made fun of 3iob when I first saw that video, but after I thought about it a while I realized, they won. They beat the system, they got the brass ring. They're making a living playing awesome metal about the stuff they did in their weekend tabletop game or whatever. It's the best nerd job in the world. You can bet Bill Gates is up late nights sometimes, thinking "Man... if only I'd been more serious about that guitar...."Originally Posted by Mariel_Martog
3 inches of blood,... I've heard of them, but OMG they are cute Nerds...when did metal stop being long hair and spandex?
see video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP0pk...next=1&index=2 -
Quote:No, but he has ironic glasses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Il84l6zg5oOriginally Posted by Mariel_Martog
As long as he doesn't have an ironic mustache.
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Quote:Yeah... Caios was cool before she sold out and got popular. Now I'm way more into this other icon. It's no one you've heard of. Never mind, you wouldn't "get it". *swills PBR*Originally Posted by Mariel_Martog
I was thinking, I would say the one of my favorite Iconic Characters who plays on Virtue, would be the Cowgirl Vampiress and interesting note, she was the 1st Vampire to reach level 50, if she is in a RP situation, everyone knows it... who do I speak of?
... come one it starts with a C
Sounds like Chaos...
Yes Caios, which is Pronounced Chaos.
/hipster off -
Think demographics. Red gets the usual action movie demographic, but it also gets older viewers who want to see 60somethings kicking butt. The "retired" aspect of it is being hyped for a reason. Old people have money and don't feel like there's much out there that appeals to them, so there's a good chance Red will get them out into the theaters.
Jackass 3D, on the other hand, appeals to... ? I'm not sure. I will say this, if it's at all successful then people who cry about file sharing destroying pop entertainment media can kiss off. If there's ever been a movie that catered to the piracy crowd it's Jackass 3D. I expect it'll still do reasonably respectably, but if it bombs I don't want to hear one more BS post about "My favorite movie/comic/album/whatever was killed by piracy!" ever again. -
Quote:I forget exactly which month it was released in, but there was Civ V. On a smaller scale, I know my circle of friends have had their game time in the last couple months eaten up by Recettear, Amnesia (OK, that one's mostly me), Blade Kitten, DLCs for Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age, and Dead Rising 2. There's been a lot of game to be played lately.Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
finally, were there any big games this september(outside of halo reach)? i know October should have some big names with fable 3 and fallout new vegas, but i dotn recall getting much personally this month, that doesnt mean that much, but outside of halo, which was as gorilla-sih as ever, were there big hits?
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Hey Qwerty, long time no see. Welcome back!
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Quote:That, and for a lot of us (I imagine old timers especially) there are just certain characters who helped define the feel of the Virtue world for us. It's not about who's better or more popular or whatever, it's about who's a defining figure for you in the world.Originally Posted by Knightslayer
Nope, but I do like seeing someone and going "Hey! I know that name from the forums! Cool to actually see the character in game!"
For me, in no particular order: Ascendant, Square Woot, Pengi, Doctor Crom, Captain Valor, Rakescar, Deathspider (I wouldn't generally list friends, but I knew who this guy was before I knew him personally), Killer Whale, Kelp Plankton, Oksah (what's with the aquatic characters?), Terra Skye, Xanatos. Probably others I'm forgetting from back in the day. -
Quote:I was thinking about that a little bit earlier. I don't think it's the losing per se, though if you really are losing constantly then I think it's reasonable to say that might be very fun. I think what really bothers people is the loss of control over your character's story. If you're winning a lot and for some reason that isn't consistent with your character's story, that's not a problem; throw a few fights and you've set things straight. If you're losing too consistently, though, your character's story is being altered by those events. Maybe only slightly, but maybe not. RPers in general are pretty strict about that, hence the sometimes excessive worry about powerposers and godmoders. When you say "OK, this fight's outcome is unplanned and will definitely, positively be a canon part of my character's story", you're taking chances with what may be a favorite character, and you're placing an awful lot of trust in other RPers to handle that RP in a reasonable and mature manner. That's not necessarily something everybody wants to do.Originally Posted by BrandX
I really don't think it's losing that's the problem, that a few people seem to be making it out to be.
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Gah, I just reread my last post and thought "Wow, if someone else wrote that I'd think he was a bit of a *****". I don't think I said anything untrue there, but the aggro level was unwarranted. My bad.
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I'm a Wildstorm/Vertigo kid at heart. I tend to bounce between the Authority/Ultimates sort of widescreen, "traditional superheroes versus '80s action hero mash-up" vibe, and the Grant Morrison-ish "artsy metafictional commentary" vibe. Though I do like to think I'm a bit less shallow than the stereotypes of the former, and a bit more fun than the stereotypes of the latter. The metafiction thing has been holding my interest more lately, but that may or may not last.
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Quote:No, it's not, not specifically anyway. It's the fact that a lot of people are saying "I13 and/or the general nature of PvP in this game is why we don't RPvP." And here you're telling us "No, the real reason you don't RPvP is because some RPvP group was dominant and you all got discouraged". I'm not saying that wasn't a factor for some players, maybe even a lot of players. Clearly, however, game mechanical changes have been a factor for a lot of players. They are telling you that straight up. Now you're pointing out other changes to the game, and some of your observations... I think you're wrong, but I can see where you're coming from. I'll address a couple of them:Originally Posted by Apophasis
Where have I dismissed responses? I haven't responded to everyone's, but that doesn't mean I didn't read or consider them.
And if it's about the response to Kyuuen's -- who's opinions are perfectly legit, even if they're a bit acerbic -- it's one sarcastic response to another between them and myself ;-)
1) ED predates PvP in this game. And frankly, anyone who doesn't think ED was a good move isn't thinking things through. ED was one of the best decisions post-launch that Cryptic ever made, it was just one of the worst handled in terms of PR and community. This game is better because of the diversity of options ED introduced. Does anyone seriously want to go back to a game where the only reasonable options for slotting your attacks were 1-2 accuracy and 4-5 damage/hold/etc? I sure don't, and I don't think anyone who's thought this through rationally would. I guess you could say we "adapted", but not in the same way we adapted to some other changes.
2) Introduction of IOs and purples. I think if you pay attention to the posts here you'll find that IOs and purples, while very cool in a lot of ways, are part of the problem; most RPers who aren't already hardcore into RPvP don't want to spend a ton of time farming them for a second build. We've adapted to them in the sense that we use them and all, but the expectation that RPers should want to spend a bunch of time working on a full second set doesn't fly for most folks. Look at most of the replies people have made to posts suggesting they make a second build for PvP or an alt for PvP. No one wants to do it. You want to, and obviously some others want to, and that's totally cool. More power to you for doing what's fun for you. But you asked why people don't RPvP and they're telling you, and one reason is that it's too much of a pain in the butt to get all the crap for a strong second build.
3) I don't know exactly what nerfs left, right and center you mean, but I think we can look to the reaction to IOs and purples for some insight; people will adapt to a point, but when that adaptation requires a ton of time for what many of us see as relatively little reward we're really not interested.
Now, you say you haven't replied to everyone here, but that isn't the point. It's that your responses and those of others pushing for us to get more into RPvP have consisted of telling us stuff anyone who isn't completely stupid already knows (that we can have alternate builds, that spending time on purples and rare IOs is helpful), telling us that we're Mary Sues or otherwise crappy RPers, and telling us that we should just not care about winning or losing and the effects that can have on our characters' stories. The latter of which is not only just plain silly, it's really hard to take seriously from anyone who's put serious effort into being tough to beat in PvP; if you really think winning and losing shouldn't matter, why have you put a great deal of effort into winning?
I'm not saying this stuff to you because I want you to fail. On the contrary, I think it's great if you and others who really want to RPvP get some cool stuff going. Hell, if you managed to convince me to do more RPvP and I actually liked it, that'd obviously be great. Frankly, I'm frustrated because you came in here sounding like you wanted to get a really positive and useful conversation going but then haven't posted anything constructive on the topic. You say you posted here to talk about organizing events, but what have you actually contributed in that area? Christ, Pure American contributed more positive input in one post than you or any other RPvP advocate has in this entire thread.
If you come here and imply that we're all Mary Sues and godmoders because we don't want to RPvP, we aren't going to respond positively. If you insist that we should do things we do not want to do (i.e. spend a lot of time on alternate builds and farming), we aren't going to respond positively. If you come here and actually bring something positive and useful to the table that encourages us to turn out and have some fun RPvPing, you just might get somewhere. Do that. Right now, most of us do not want to RPvP in any serious way. Convince us to change our minds. Make us want to invest the time and effort. Contribute something too freakin' cool for us to pass up. Criticism and negativity are not too freakin' cool to pass up, they make us want to ignore you and keep on having fun like we're already doing. If you want us to do what you want us to do you're going to have to convince us. So do it already. -
Quote:I suspect Marvel's trying to save face and not look like they're just following in DC's footsteps. That, and the new DC management seems to move a lot faster than Marvel's. You can bet Marvel will move entirely away from $3.99 22-page stories too, they'll just do it more gradually and quietly.Originally Posted by Scarlet_Phantom
Marvels response seems kind of lackluster. Price drop on new titles, no real mention on current titles. It's good to see Marvel acknowledge the market for digital comics.
As to warden_de_dios' concern about brick and mortar stores, I dunno. It seems to me that it's not so much that it's that hard to keep a comic shop in business, so much as that most comic shop owners and managers are terrible businesspeople. Or at least that's how it seems in my area, maybe it's just something about the economy here. For the longest time my area could only support one comic and game shop, others would open and go out of business left and right. Finally someone who knew how to run a business bought one of the failing stores, right before the recession started to boot, and voila. Now we can support two comic shops in the middle of bad economic times. -
Quote:That actually sounds like a pretty good time. I'd be down with it, and I could probably bring some SGmates with me too.Originally Posted by PureAmerican
On Pinnacle we used to have battle royals where every character would exemp down to 5, about 30 people, no allies, no exploits, just a bunch of lowbies chugging along with no travel powers slugging it out. It was a blast, pure fun, no trashtalk, just lolz !
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Quote:I don't see where you're agreeing with me on anything. I'm not saying some RPvP group dominating wasn't a factor for at least some people, and it's not like any of us want you to fail at what you're trying to do, but you've got a whole bunch of people here whose answer is some variation on either a) I can't get my character's PvP performance to reflect his/her concept without investing excessive amounts of time, and/or b) this game just isn't fun to PvP in. It's entirely likely that there are other reasons, but a bunch of us are telling you these things point blank. I'm not lying to you, and I'm fairly certain no one else is either. Why are you so keen to dismiss the responses you're getting here?Originally Posted by Apophasis
People in this thread are making complaints about i13's PvP mechanics making their builds less viable in PvP, but I'm inclined to agree with you Warp. In fact, from who I've talk to so far, it seems like it wasn't the change in game mechanics that turned people off from RPvP, but rather the domination of one RPvP group over all others, to the point where it seemed futile to even bother RPvPing. This also occurred in i14 or i15 (according to Malech and a few others I've talked to), well after the PvP changes.
Back in the RPvP days that I remember (~2005-2007ish), people were not concerned too much with game mechanics, though it may've featured in here and there a little. Hell, if I remember correctly, Kadekawa's only travel power was Combat Jumping w/ Sprint. -
Quote:You really aren't helping your case by implying that people who disagree with you are poor RPers, or by putting words in their mouths.Originally Posted by Apophasis
Further, let me ask you this: do all of your characters have to be demigods and Mary Sues? What's wrong with RPing an inferior character, or letting a character's strength to develope?
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Quote:I'm not sure what that means. Why would it have any specific impact on the RP community, beyond what Kelenar said earlier about most RPers being fairly casual PvPers? We're in agreement that most RPers have stopped PvPing since i13, so that's not in question. Is anyone anywhere saying there was supposed to be some other particular effect on the RP community? If so, what?Originally Posted by Apophasis
PS: It was i13 people are complaining about. I'm still not fully convinced it has much of an impact on the RP community though.
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To be fair, it's not as if any really deep and heavy RP usually goes on at open RPvP events anyway. The only one I can think of where I saw RP other than "We're fighting!" was the Warburg event Ascendant and Warcabbit set up ages ago with the xenonite meteor. Granted, that event was pretty awesome, but it's still just one example. Others haven't been bad or anything, but they were just regular PvP with a bit of RP veneer glued on.
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Quote:I'm sure there's some way in which one could pretend to be a roleplayer, in sort of an online version of hipsters getting mullets and bad mustaches and pretending to be white trash. Probably something along the lines of the Goon Squad's antics a few years ago on this server (it was the Goons, right? I get some of those old groups mixed up). I don't think that's what he's talking about, though.Originally Posted by Eveningstar2
How do you pretend to be a roleplayer? Isn't roleplay a form of pretend? So you're pretending to pretend? Does that make PVP'ers dead-serious and hardcore realistic? Or are we tackling some sort of postmodern model of meta-roleplay? I'm confused.
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Quote:Exactly. Many of us just don't like PvP in CoH/V. Whether it's RPvP or regular PvP. It isn't fun for us. You seem to have this idea that there's something wrong with the roleplayers that makes us not want to engage in RPvP. I say there's nothing wrong with the roleplayers, the PvPers, or the RPvPers, the problem is that the game's PvP simply isn't very good and that this puts far too much of a damper on any RP fun that could be had through it. I'd rather play TF2 and not RP at all than RPvP in CoH/V. I know many others who feel the same way.Originally Posted by Malech
I'm not certain how to respond to this. It feels like what you are saying is more of a complaint about the pvp in this game in general. Because, well last I checked you don't roleplay in tf2, I don't think you spend months building a character and detailing their origin in tf2, or any other fps for that matter. Oh, also it's grinding pvp io's now not purples.
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They thought the first Rikti monkey superhero would play by the rules... THEY! THOUGHT! WRONG!
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Quote:I think you might be surprised at how many of us don't RPvP or PvP simply because we don't think that CoH/V is a very good PvP game. It's not about cliques or Mary Sues or any of that nonsense, it's because time we'd be spending grinding inf to make a PvP build and then actually RPvPing is time we could be spending playing TF2. I'm a lot more OK with losing a match when I lose because of inferior skill than when I lose because the other guy has all the time in the world to grind for purples and I don't. Obviously you don't see it my way, and that's cool, but in many cases at least it's got nothing to do with any of that Mary Sue stuff you mentioned.Originally Posted by Malech
Someone asked me to post here and I will, virtue has never had an active rp pvp community, it had pvp rp events that were run by pvpers. Thats it. The rp playing base on virtue of whoever attended those events is almost all gone. The remaining player base on virtue dosen't rppvp because our game is built up in cliques with different sg's demanding all the other sg's realize how awesome they are. People are too used to doing rp plots were mary su generic characters win everything, because of this most rpers are way too afraid to lose.
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((Originally posted by yours truly, with input from Kai and Ascendant...))
Warp Factor
Location: the moon
This is sort of my getaway place. Not so much home away from home, since ya don't get very good internet or TV reception here, but a nice change of scenery for a few hours now and then. No TV news, no one running up demanding you save them, no sudden and burning need to 'port off to China or Pakistan to pitch in for earthquake relief or whatever. It's selfish, I know, but I'd go nuts without being able to just get away for a while and just unplug. Too much of a workaholic to just say "Nah, sorry, I'm off duty", I guess. Gotta remove the temptation altogether. Thank God I don't have telescopic vision or even this little mini-vacation wouldn't be any good. I'd probably hafta go to, like, Titan or something. I'd rather stick around here; the moon is what it is, but it still feels like ours. Earth, minus... everything, I guess. Kinda the point.
So I relax on a cusion of gravitational force and crank up my iPod. Would you believe this is the first time I've actually gotten to listen to Music in Motion? I grabbed a bunch of their MP3s off Amazon I don't even know when, it was that long ago. It's a little weird, but I think I like it OK. I can't sleep these days without at least a little sensory barrage, too used to the "noise" from my "gravity sense". Jesus, I really need to come up with a better name for that. Anyway, the silence up here is nice but it makes it tough to relax. Loud music fixes that. I start to settle down for a nice, long nap.
Speaking of "gravity sense"... I feel his disturbance in the moon's gravitational field before I open my eyes and see him. Like a transparent piece of glass dropped in water, that's the closest visual metaphor I can think of for it. Even if you can't exactly see the glass, you can see the disturbance it makes in the water and know that something's there. It's kinda like that. So opening my eyes I know someone's there, but it takes me a sec to recognize Ascendant. What the hell is this guy doing up here waving at me?
I'd never tell the guy, but running into Ascendant is still kind of a big deal for me. I mean, not a BIG DEAL big deal, but y'know. A minor big deal. Manageably big. Oh God, that sounded wrong. He is cute, but I don't date anyone who can come find me in space like this. This is exactly why. Anyway. He may be a mega-dork, but the Big A is the real deal, an honest to God real American superhero who probably even washes behind his ears and calls his mom at least once a week. It's kinda nice to see guys like him still around, given the kinds of people I usually traffic with.
So he's waving his hands weirdly at me, and it takes me a minute to realize he's trying to pantomime something. Sign language or whatever. I spent a moment trying to figure it out, then lose patience and gesture for him to come closer. A second's focus, and my force bubble expands to accommodate two people comfortably. "How do you do that?" I ask as soon as he lands. "Breathe in space like that."
He arches an eyebrow. "I don't breathe in space. I'd look really stupid if I tried to breathe in space. Why?"
Well, now don't I feel dumb. "Good point. So what's up, A? You just passing by and decided to drop in?"
He shakes his head. "Nothing that pleasant. Listen, Maggie. You need to get back to Earth. Now. Things are happening..." He really doesn't look like he's in the mood to joke around. He's serious. "...you really need to get down there and see for yourself. Some of your people are in real trouble and I don't know what I can do to help. They need you now."
"Right." I nod, turning off the iPod. "Should I be expecting immediate violence when I get there?" I don't like the way he stops to think before answering me.
"Touch down somewhere safe, you should be OK." I really don't like this now. "Don't stay in one place any longer than you have to though, at least until you figure out what you want to do. If there's anything I can do to help, just ring me up." I'm already gathering power for a teleport as he speaks. "And Maggie... listen. Whatever press you and your people get, the rest of us know you've done great work. You've changed a lot of lives for the better." He stops again. Like he has to choose his words carefully. "Don't lose sight of that. Whatever else happens."
I nod. "Thanks, Chief. I'm outtie. Thanks... any luck, maybe I'll catch up with you for a cocktail when things settle down, yeah?" A flash, and I'm away before he answers.
I blink back into existence back home, at the apartment my sister Sarah (that's Umbra Wind) share. My comm unit starts making noises immediately, picking up transmissions sent while I was offworld. I start my Macbook booting up while I read them; a quick surf of the news sites should clear things up.
The computer finishes booting. I reach the end of my messages. Holy ****. Xenolizard, Snowdog... Bateman, but the hell with him, nothing can kill that guy. Where the hell is Fenix now?
As if in response, my computer screen flashes a familiar shade of green. It doesn't matter. I can hear the pounding on the door and see laser sights zeroing in on me through the windows. They've been watching this place, no wonder Sarah's not home. Muffled shouts from outside.
I am so not going to prison. I raise my force shield, and smirk as a splattering of bullets bounce off harmlessly. Stupid Longbow. The door gives way to their battering ram as I gather energy for another teleport. A pair of sappers raise their weapons, and I have time to give 'em the finger before I blink back out.
I blink back in at the cave. It looks like most of the group is here, most that didn't get arrested or shot anyway. Bateman conveniently looms out of a nearby shadow. Looks like Caios already has the troops more or less organized, as organized as we get anyway.
I rub my eyes. I already feel like I haven't slept for days. "Sorry I'm late, guys. Got held up on the moon. So what's the plan?" -
((Originally posted by yours truly...))
Michael Bateman
Location: a creepy old house
I am all too accustomed to places like this. People like this. The scenario plays out in my mind over and over, my creeping into the building, the youth enjoying their malt beverages and doing what young people do. Whatever that is. Of course, tonight will end very differently from the playback in my mind. Fortunately.
I could sense the presence of a killer in this abandoned old house. I have an affinity for such people, doubtless due to my unique background. I feel drawn to them. I grip the axe tightly in my fingers; ordinarily I might choose to bring my energy axe, for the stun setting. For a man like this one, though, I feel that I owe it to him to use my original weapon. Perhaps he will realize and understand that even a weapon once used for murder can be repurposed as a tool to protect the innocent. Perhaps that will make some difference. Or perhaps that is a convenient fiction to make me more comfortable with this violence. Either way, the original axe will do. Sometimes you really do just need to stick with the classics.
I lurch through the doorway into the musty living room of the house and glance about, searching for my target. Four young people in the room, enjoying pizza and inexpensive beer. I wrinkle what remains of my nose behind the mask at the smell of overcooked pork; I will not judge others' consumption of animals for food, but it is not something I could bring myself to do. Memories of the taste of flesh are still vivid in my mind. I do not care to relive them, fictional as they may be. The unreality of my past is a comfort, but a cold one at that. The youth stare up at me, as fearful as expected. I must appear to them to be like something out of a nightmare. Or a terrible midnight film. Is there a difference to them?
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of boots clambering down the stairs to my left. My target. With a gravelly cry he throws himself at me, all 200 pounds of flannel-covered unwashed meat crashing into me as his knife penetrates my flesh. I do not care. I pull away, yanking the knife from his sweaty grasp and pushing him back against the bannister with my free hand. He smashes through the old, dry wood and catches himself on the side of the stairs, trying to pull himself back to his feet, but he is too slow. I raise my axe and catch him across the side of his head with the flat side of the blade. He goes down like a load of bricks, a massive bruise already beginning to form on the flesh of his temple. I reach down and slip my arm underneath him, then sling him up onto my shoulder and turn to leave. The two young women are screaming now, and the two men are on their feet with fists raised, but I understand that they do not wish to fight me. They never do. I should say something to calm them, to assure them that there is nothing to fear. I do my best to clear my throat and force something reassuring out.
"Acchh... hcchhhhh.... mmmrrrhhcchhh.... don't drive drunk. Good night." Yes. That will suffice. The youth have stopped screaming now. I turn and make my way to the front door, villain in tow, with what I am certain are awestruck and inspired eyes at my back.
"MICHAEL BATEMAN! THIS IS LONGBOW! DROP THE BODY AND THE WEAPON AND SURRENDER OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON!"
Oh, no. Spotlights in my eyes, I can't see. I drop the unconscious maniac and take a step forward, away from him. I raise my other arm to shield my eyes, I cannot see properly....
"HE'S RAISING A WEAPON! BAG HIM AND TAG HIM, BOYS!"
Gunshots. Pain. I feel those sapper guns on me, and I have difficulty standing upright. I do my best to move away from the unconscious body behind me, to draw their fire away from the subdued criminal. The pain does not bother me overly much, but I must not allow him to be caught in the line of fire. Speaking of which... Longbow use flamethrowers. What savage monster allows these people to use flamethrowers? I feel the heat of their flames, and that is the last thing I feel before sinking into oblivion.
Hours later....
<<WAS SHOT BY LONGBOW. GOT BETTER. BURNED FAVORITE SHIRT. I AM MAD. EN ROUTE TO CAVE. - MB>>