Tales of the Legendary
[A Hero Sandwich Production]
Gamma Emission: Staking a Claim
Ok, I'm finally getting around to writing down an idea that has been simmering on the back burner since Decay solidified into a solid voice in my head. For those of you that don't remember (or weren't around) I can point you to
http://drunkardswalkforums.yuku.com/topic/4468]here for the emotes, or you can bug me in game if you want to see the whole song and dance in person.
----------
When I first heard about my dimensional counterpart being taken in by our sister supergroup, I didn't think all that heavily on it. I'll admit I was curious at first, and some discrete questioning of a few of the sabers satisfied that urge.
She looked like me, sounded like me, had my same habit for minimalistic clothing. But her powers seemed to be focused around fire, with a side dish of radiation, rather than the straight up walking nuclear reactor that I was. And that was fine with me. I didn't have any reason to impose myself in her life. And if she wanted to talk to me, my communicator was on file with the Riot Force.
At least I didn't until now. Superball apparently couldn't resist sending me the video of her song and dance routine, along with a thinly veiled question about dressing up like a ninja to 'defend my honor'. Decay (calling her Lisa, even in my own head, just sounded too strange) had come up with a costume involving a lace body stocking, chains, and some discreetly positioned padlocks; and then she had ambushed Terr with a song about 'pirate treasure' and 'bursting locks'.
I wasn't worried about Terrance's reaction, even if he did blush rather spectacularly. I was worried about what would happen next if I didn't nip this in the butt.
Of course, by the time I had gotten the video Decay had signed off for the night. And calling her communicator to say "hi, don't do that again" doesn't have quite the same impact if your not there in person. But just because I couldn't look up her location on the base computer didn't mean I couldn't find her. It just meant that it would take a little more time. I left a note for Terr or Rhea if they got back before I did, and headed out.
My pub crawl started in Steel at a little before nine; it was almost midnight by the time I found her in a bar in Skyway.
A dive of a bar, unimaginatively called "The Underpass". One of the places I had found, and then quickly forgotten about during my own tour of the fine drinking establishments of Paragon. Decay sat in a corner booth nursing a beer and generally looking unhappy with the world. Apparently the places lax smoking policies, one of the things that turned me off of this place, was a positive from her side of things; she was smoking. Not a cigarette or cigar, thin tendrils rose off of the bare skin on her arms and chest to join the hazy miasma that gathered near the ceiling.
I recognized that slouch and expression. I had worn the pair of them often enough after a night of striking out. Which meant that descending on her like she had just attempted to lick Terrence's tonsils would not be productive. I sighed as I revised my plans and made a detour to the bar. I hated the fact that she could make me feel sympathetic just be looking like that. But I had been in the place she was for far too long before I had met Terrence. And I couldn't really fault her for having the same taste in men that I did.
Picking up two bottles of Damnation at the bar I made my way to her table. This was going to go one of two ways: Either I was going to be a sympathetic ear, in which case the 25 ounces of beer was only going to be the start. Or it was going to be a confrontation, in which case having a two pound blunt object in my hand would help to quickly end it.
She didn't notice me as I approached, but she did look up when I sat down and slid one of the bottles over to her. I was careful to keep my hand on my own bottle and make sure that she was in arms reach as I waited for her to recognize me. She glanced at me, the beer I had brought, then back at me, before a slightly confused expression crossed her face. "Why are you being nice to me?" she finally said with a slight slur.
I relaxed with a small sigh, sympathetic ear it was. "I'm being nice to you because I can remember a time, not that long ago, when I was in your position." I said, trying not to sound like I was pitying her. I wasn't, and I knew that this would be much easier if she didn't think I was. Being pitied while drunk was never something I took very well.
She took a pull from the bottle and made an appreciative noise. Then her expression soured a bit. "I doubt all the men ran away cause you would roast their wieners."
I suppressed a sigh of frustration and told myself that she was only angry because my successful relationship made her failures look all that much worse. "No, they ran away because I give new meaning to the term 'afterglow'. And none of them like the idea of permanently shooting blanks, or losing the family jewels to cancer." I said, keeping my voice as level as possible.
"Oh." She seemed to think about this for a min before adding "Sucks to be us huh?"
I sipped at my own beer before responding. "Yeah, It does suck. But poaching my boyfriend isn't going to help your situation any."
That got her attention. "I can appreciate where you are right now, and I can only imagine what seeing my own relationship does to make the problem worse. But you don't want to fight me on this." I said, making sure what I was saying was sinking in.
She looked at me for a few seconds before a sly smile spread on her face. "Why? Afraid you'll lose?" Her voice was sultry as she leaned forward. Apparently forgetting that her assets where the same size as my own.
"No, I'm afraid of what Ifrit would do to me after I send your throughly whooped ass to the hospital." I replied, smiling a slightly harder smile of my own. That popped her confidence. The smile leaving her face as she sat back in her seat and took another pull of the bottle to avoid looking at me.
I fought the impulse to bang my head against the table. But I couldn't quell the sigh that escaped my lips. "Look, I'm not here to fight you. I don't want to know how much property we would ruin in a fight. I came here hoping that I could help you." I said, trying to sound reasonable. "I know that life sucks right now, but trust me. You can find the right person out there for you. Have you talked to your Hero Corps liaison?"
"Why would I want to talk to them about this!" Decay said, her voice a little louder than strictly necessary, as she started to rise out of her seat.
"Because they can help?" I answered, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her back down. I slid around the table to sit next to her and lowered my voice a bit. "Look, they know everybody's powers right?" I said and waited for her to nod before continuing. "So they can tell you who it is safe to be around."
A look of slowly dawning comprehension spread across her face. But I had to throw in the same caveats that I had been warned against when I learned about it. "It's just a list of their registered names, no age, no sex, no idea if they are in a relationship or not, or even if they are looking for one. But it's a start." I warned, waiting until she looked at me to deliver the final warning. "And if you use that list for anything else than trying to find someone to be happy with, you pray that your liaison never finds out, because they will make your life hell."
The database the Hero Corps keeps on powers and abilities was never meant to be used as a dating service, but with a few discrete queries you an quickly get a list of people who it is safe to get into a relationship with. No guarantees on their current availability, or even preference. But it was start, even it if meant you had to keep your eyes out while on patrol. Problem was it wasn't something that was advertised, and most likely could never be, due to the privacy implications. Sometimes I wish I had known to ask my contact about it before I had gone on my multi-month bar crawl, but then I might not have met Terr, and that isn't worth thinking about for very long.
While Decay was mulling that over I went up to the bar and closed out her tab for the night. It was more than I expected, but less than some of my more spectacular nights, so I wasn't going to raise a fuss over it. The barman raised an eyebrow when I told him I was going to pay, but didn't say anything besides "Yer sisters a good kid, don't be too hard on her." I didn't bother correcting his misconception.
Decay was finishing the last of the beer when I got back to the table. "Come on, lets get you home." I said, hoping that she would at least remember some of what we had talked about in the morning.
She complied with only half hearted protests, and after throwing her arm over my shoulder we made our way out of the bar. Unfortunately the stairs onto the street proved a little to much for her coordination, and we both ended up sprawled on the sidewalk outside. I muttered under my breath as I got back to my feet, listening to Decay's more vitriolic utterances as she stayed on the concrete for a moment.
"Don't conk out on me now, we still need to get you home." I said pulling her back to her feet. The way Decay hung against my shoulder told me that walking home in her current state was not going to be fun. Fortunately I could cheat a bit. One deep breath and moment of concentration later we were both bathed in a carefully controlled stream of radiation. It took the edge off my buzz and made my body forget that it was now quarter to one. Decay stood up a little straighter with a surprised "ooh", followed by a breathy giggle and a "I can do that too."
I had half a second to connect the dots in my head before I was treated to a second dose. My beer buzz was reduced to a slight tingle, but it was joined by another one significantly lower. In addition to that, I now had a very warm curvy body pressed up against my own. I froze for a second as a Decay molded herself to my side. She most definitely didn't have a 'no molesting teammates' rule if her hands were any indication. She obviously was still feeling the alcohol, and I could only guess at the current state of her libido.
"Ok, now I know we need to get you home." I said taking half a step back.
Decay just smiled, but she did start to lead the way. Great. Why do I have the feeling that we have entirely different ideas about what is going to happen when we get there.
----------
Of course this is only the beginning. More to come soon.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
....well, all told, it's not as bad as if Emerald and Onyx ran into each other.
That'd probably end in attempted homicide if Rhea was too cheerful.
That said, poor Gamma. She doesn't need this level of complication. :lol:
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
Ops has the right of it, unfortunately. I'm, uh, in a position to know, so to speak. Dunno if I'll ever go back to that piece or not... it got ugly,
fast. O_O
I like to think that at some as-yet-undefined point, Onyx will get over her issue... but right now she's just as broken as Rhea is, in the opposite
direction. Rhea's happy and cheerful so she doesn't break things; Onyx breaks things because she can't be happy and cheerful. Sheesh.
Anyway!
Sweno: awesome, awesome work. I like this _a lot_. I'm almost afraid of where it could go, mind, but that's part of the anticipation, heh. Looking
forward to more!
Edit to add: durr. I quite forgot part of what I originally intended to post. Sweno, there's a RenFaire song (nobody quite seems to know who originated
it) that sounds a helluva lot like the ancestor to your pirate bit. Lyrics and tune
here.
And dammit, now I can't help but wonder if we could make _that_ an emote chain. *grin*
--sofaspud
--
"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
After a little bit of google-fu, the song (You Are a Pirate) there originates from the Icelandic Kid's Show 'Lazy Town' and episode
'Rottenbeard'
Take a look here and see:
...As for the story, well done, indeed. Apart from my lack of writing, I've not even tried to consider what might happen if En and Brae met. There would be
a lot of fire, for sure. I can't say if it would be for better or worse.
Well done. I wouldn't be brave enough to try and write something like this, to much to complicate with.
---
The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."
>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI
actually the my first exposure to this song, and the content that I based the emote chain off of is:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...70rE&feature=channel_page
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
Likewise. There's a whole lot of Uncanny Valley in that clip, just to start off.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Tales of the Legendary
[A Hero Sandwich Production]
Gamma Emission: Staking a Claim (pt 2)
By the time we had walked half way across Skyway to Decay's apartment I had given up on keeping any sort distance between us. Instead I settled for keeping her hands in safe places like my waist or shoulder. This was due in small part to the fact that she was very warm, my general lack of thick clothing, and the cold night air. Normally the cold weather didn't bother me that much. I didn't spend all that much time frolicking outside during the winter, jumping from the train station or portal drop point to whatever cave or building was in trouble rarely took more than a minute.
But jumping from rooftop to rooftop in our current state would probably lead to scraped knees and bloody noses if we were lucky, or broken legs and windows if weren't. So we walked in the cold. Well I walked in the cold and didn't complain when Decay decided to act like a heating blanket. Decay probably didn't notice the cold and I didn't really want to think about what was going through her inebriated mind.
I wanted to call someone, but neither Terrence or Rhea were good choices. Terrence would be last person I wanted to drag into this, as his presence would kill any chance of this night ending peacefully. And I'm not sure if Rhea would see the inherent problem of dragging yet another person into our relationship; especially someone who seemed to be geared more towards 'want-take-have' than 'long-term-relationship'.
Calling Ifrit was out of the question, she was the leader of the supergroup, not Decay's mom. And nothing had happened that needed any sort of official disciplinary action. Yet. It wasn't like Terr didn't get teased by other members of the group. Jackie was far more blatant, but even she knew when not to cross the line. Any sort of official action would draw unneeded attention... like from Jackie... who would then proceed to give pointers on how to avoid such things in the future. Ok, official actions of any sort were no longer an option. I just needed to come up with some way to settle this peacefully.
I fruitlessly spun my wheels trying to come up with something, anything, that would leave both my relationship and Decay emotionally unscarred. But I knew enough about myself - and from Decays actions tonight, her as well - to know that this would not just be dropped.
My slightly impaired mental gymnastics were brought to a abrupt stop when Decay turned off the sidewalk and started down a small set of stairs to a basement door. The fact that she had a basement apartment wasn't that surprising, it offered the cheapest shielding against radiation, it was door that threw me off. No bell, no knob, no lock, it was just a slab of painted metal in a doorframe. And Decay just spent a moment looking at it.
"Don't tell me you locked yourself out." I said, trying to make it make it a joke. But it didn't come out all that funny, I honestly couldn't see a way to open the door.
I didn't need to worry about my jokes falling flat. Decay gave another breathy giggle and untangled herself from me enough to look at my face. "I can't be locked out, I just need to remember how to open it." She said, her voice a strange mix of pride and something else I couldn't place.
As I was trying to figure out the logic behind that statement Decay placed her right hand on the door, thumb and first two fingers making contact with it's surface. She then rotated her hand around her thumb, and I saw tiny glyphs light up as her fingers traced semicircles on the metal surface. They were too small and gone too fast to get any idea what they were specifically, but they had an obvious effect. The door opened with a solid click, and swung inwards. I stared dumbly at the door, not quite getting the implications of it's operation, but knowing that I was missing something major.
Decay, happy at her success, spun around to face me. "See! Told you I could do it." She looked at me for a few seconds while stared at the door. "Ok, so it's nothing fancy, but I made it myself. It's even keyed to me... I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you can do." She said as her expression became downcast. The last bit was said in a defensive enough tone to shake me out of my stupor.
"No - It's neat. I just... haven't seen one without a doorknob." I said, grasping at straws, trying desperately to figure out when I arrived in the twilight zone.
Her expression lit back up at my disjointed praise. And she was suddenly upbeat and eager again as she flicked one hand across the door, causing it to shut with a solid thunk. "Hey, I bet you can open it!" Decay said as she stepped around behind me rested her chin on my shoulder. The sudden feeling of her pressing up against every inch of my back combined with my current metal gear slippage and I could little more than look as she guided my hand towards the door. Her hand closed over my own; leaving my thumb and first two fingers extended. As they made contact with the door her other hand slid across my bare abdomen and I didn't even notice when she turned my hand. This time I felt more than heard the click as the door opened.
And then the warmth at my back and stomach was gone, and Decay was dragging me inside with an excited babble. "See, I told you you could to it. I mean I had some problems with it after my first trip to Terra Volta. But I fixed it by loosening some of the tolerances and keying it to my core instead of my signature. That's changing on a monthly basis and it would be such a pain to get locked out again. Let me tell you, that was no fun. I spent a few hours beating up sky raiders with some of the gang from Riot and come home ready to sleep for a day, and I can't get the door open!" Her verbal torrent was broken as she leans against me with another breathy giggle, and I realize I'm inside and the door clicks shut behind me.
I don't hear the rest of her story. My gaze was locked on my only escape and my stomach becomes a cold hard knot as the overlapping wards carved into the door itself and the door frame briefly light up a pleasant green before fading away. Decay's fingers pull my chin back to face her. "We can compare notes later. I have something much more fun planned right now." She says as she presses herself to my front and my shoulders hit the wall. I open my mouth to take a breath and say something, what I don't know. But before I can say anything her tongue is running over my teeth and her hands are in all the right spots.
----------
Sorry to cut it off here, but I couldn't sleep until this was written down.
And now I have to share. This will continue tomorrow.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
The dangers of trying to fend off the advances of....yourself.
All the weakpoints are already mapped.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
o.o
Decay is seeming very oddly Like Enynn. I don't think there's enough room in my brain for Sweno too
---
The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."
>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI
You'll get a much better look inside Decay's head with the next bit.
And don't worry about Decay meeting up with En in the barracks. Decay, like Gamma, can be unsafe to be around during /certain/ activities, and she got
herself setup with housing to accommodate that as soon as she could.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
Actually, I was worrying about the potential of B and En meeting, and subsequent flammability... Decay getting more together with En could prove interesting,
though I dunno where the rads would fit in.
---
The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."
>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI
Tales of the Legendary
[A Hero Sandwich Production]
Smouldering Decay: Staking a Claim (pt 3)
[And now, from the other side of the fence]
[behold the wonders of drunk-decay-logic]
The night was not turning out to be one I wanted to remember any time soon. It had started off with yet another failure to get Terrence Knight's interests in any sort of physical fashion, or at least a physical fashion that I got any use out of. I had retreated back to my apartment after that crash and burn to change into some slightly more comfortable clothing. And then headed out to forget my sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. I was well on my way there when the last person I ever expected to see in a bar sat down across from me and passed me a beer. The local me, Gamma Emission, had bought me a beer. A rather large beer.
At first I was confused and suspicious. If she had shown up and threatened to tan my hide, I would have understood. It would have been just one more round of territorial marking. Granted I never really understood what her objection was in the first place. She was in an obviously open relationship with the medic, Emerald something. And from the way I had heard them talk on the com sometimes, I knew she swung both ways. It would have been fun at least. And four people can keep each other occupied better than three, at least according to what little research I was able to dig up.
And yet there she was, sitting across the table from me, and giving me a peace offering. There was the token 'Stay away from Terrence' which just made the whole thing more confusing. At least until she scooted around the booth to sit next to me and spouted some line about Hero Corps being able to help, and how I needed to find people that were safe to be around.
Then it all clicked into place, she wasn't pissed that I was going after Terrence, she was mad I was ignoring her. Well Gamma is a little more narcissistic than I first thought. But if I read between the lines of her proposal correctly, she wanted to vet me first before bringing me into her little group. I could live with that. In fact I could probably excel at that, I knew what spots made me shutter and moan, it would be fun seeing how many matched.
While I was still processing this, Gamma went and paid my tab. That was a pleasant surprise, she obviously didn't want to waste any time. I wasn't going to complain, it had been far too long since I had anything without batteries between my legs. I got warm fuzzies just thinking about what her tongue could do.
Once we got outside the uneven pavement joined forces with the beer I had already drunk to spill me on the ground. Gamma took the edge of my beer buzz, and ratcheted the warm fuzzies to warm NEEDies. I had to reciprocate, even if made me want to stick a hand down my panties, coming across as someone who can't even walk home would not be a good start to the evening. I distracted myself by half-heartedly trying to stick a hand down Gamma's panties, but she wanted to wait until we got back to my apartment.
When we finally did get to my apartment Gamma was a little surprised by the door, and it wasn't my finest moment when I couldn't open it right away. But I'm sure I made up for that little slip by showing her that she could open it too. The fact that the door recognized her magical core as my own is proof enough that she really is me. I know she was impressed, even if she hid it well, because she murmured a 'wow' under her breath when it opened for her. Well that might have been due to the fact that I was molding myself to her back and playing with the waistband to her shorts. I'm happy with either being the cause.
I didn't waste any time pulling her inside. Intent on having her moaning our name as soon as possible. Once we got inside I lit the candles in the hall with a little gesture. I felt the wards settle into place and I relaxed the tight control over my powers. Gamma was impressed with my ward work around the door, I had to draw her attention back to what was important; me, her, and the soon to be steamy shower.
I pinned her to the wall with a kiss and made sure to rub the spot on her lower back that drove me crazy. I knew I got it right when she moaned into my kiss and I felt her emit across a far wider spectrum that I could manage. Her output tweaked something in me, and I felt my skin temperature jump a degree or two. Ooh, this was going to be fun.
I had to pull back from the kiss for a second to get a good look at her top, it was coming off next and I didn't want to damage it. Her breathless "wait" made me want to drag her into the shower then and there. But a good partner listens, so pulled my hand out of her pants and smiled at her "Don't worry about the heat, I found this neat trick with the shower and cold water that I'm dying to show you."
When she didn't respond right away I moved back in to nibble on her lower lip, but before I could get there I had two firm hands on my shoulders and was roughly shoved away. That surprised me enough to look at her for a second. Her gaze was darting around the room, taking in all the warding that was softly glowing in response to the radiation we were both leaking. Oh, now her earlier interest made sense. "Don't worry about irritating the neighbors, I did all the warding myself." I said with no small amount of pride. Still no response, it was like she was trying to categorize them all or something.
I figured I'd put her at ease. "Carving all those into the drywall wasn't fun, but they are all inset with brass and rated up to 50 Exaherts at 5,000 Rems a minute." I said. Going into the technical details wasn't really what I had planned, but as long she was comfortable we could get back to the shower. And after this long I could put my libido on hold for a few minutes, maybe five.
Gamma didn't look reassured. "What, So you go higher than that? All this is on top of the standard lead. Nothing to worry about." I said, figuring that would finally put her at ease.
She finally looked at me instead of the walls, and there was something in her gaze that I couldn't nail down. "Please tell me it's not the incest thing. If anything this is going to be the best masturbation you've ever had." I said trying to inject some humor, I hoped, into the situation. When that didn't get a response either I took a step towards her.
She actually flinched at my approach! But she found her voice, however small it turned out to be "Make it stop."
This whole situation was going sideways and I had no idea what had caused it. "Make what stop?" I asked, praying it wasn't me.
"Make it STOP!" Gamma shouted, throwing an angry gesture at the walls. I had no idea what freaked her out about the wards so much, but I could hear the fear in her voice.
"The wards?" I asked in confusion. "They glow as long as we do, you know that." And before I even finished my sentence she stopped. One second glowing like a stoked nuclear pile, the next she may have well as been a bar of lead.
"Make it stop." She repeated again, staring at me. No longer screaming, but her voice was tight with emotion.
I stared dumbly at her for a second before realizing that the wards were still glowing in response to me. It took me about thirty seconds to accomplish what Gamma had done in a fraction of one. But eventually the wards flickered out, their metal surfaces lost against the dark walls in the dim lighting provided by the candles.
Only then did Gamma collapse with a choked sob. Sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and knees pulled up to her chest. I stayed were I was, stuck between wanting to help and wanting to give her some privacy. "You ok?" I finally asked, knowing the answer was definitely not. But hoping to get some measure on the damage.
After a few shaky breaths Gamma wiped her eyes and looked up at me. "No." she said, her tone of voice warning me not to ask any more stupid questions.
"Are you going to leave?" I asked, fearing that her answer was going to be just as obvious.
Gamma took another shaky breath and then stared a me for a full minute. I got the message. Two steps towards the door I got an answer I didn't expect. "No."
I turned around to look at her in confusion, not daring to hope that things could resume.
"I'm going to tell you a story you have no right to hear. And then perhaps you will treat the relationship I have with more respect than you have shown tonight." She said, her voice just as tightly controlled as before.
I nodded and sank down to the floor, not sure what I was going to hear, but knowing that it was important.
"I spent the first five days after getting my abilities staring at walls very much like these, putting out enough radiation to kill a normal human in under three hours. Terrified out of my wits and convinced I was going to die. It was two weeks before I saw someone that wasn't in a hazmat suit..."
----------
This is not the end.
ETA: fixed minor niggle
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
As I noted in channel, this is both creepy as hell and a really cool subversion of the whole "alternate duplicates are alike" trope. Because Gamma
and Decay couldn't be more different, but they don't see that because they're too similar on the outside.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
Wow sweno, thats really, really good, I always wondered what went through Decay's mind, and you did not dissapoint, I'm pretty creepted out, but at the
same time, I can't wait paitently for more because its a really good read, keep it up man.
Tales of the Legendary
[A Hero Sandwich Production]
Smouldering Decay: Staking a Claim (pt 4)
[Decay's head space: shaken, not stirred]
I'm not sure if the sense of frustration I felt was due to my libido getting crushed or watching someone I had put on a pedestal tear it apart. Gamma was everything I could have been, could be. She was respected by her friends; in a steady relationship with her boyfriend (and girlfriend!); in control of her her life; and changing the world for the better. From the moment I got here she was something to aspire to. Ok, maybe not from the moment I got here.
When I had first arrived in this dimension, I tried to fall into the same roll I had before. But the Portal Corps here had no need for a medic who couldn't pull their weight on the battlefield, or a spy with no proven loyalties. They were nice about it though, several people gave me business cards and told me to get back in touch with them when I got about 40 more security levels under my belt.
The hospitals had similar tales to tell. Sure they could use me, if I got a handle on that pesky radiation thing. I guess with the Rikti invasion settling down to almost a cold war they weren't as desperate for trained medical staff.
Hero Corps was happy to help me find a place to stay, for a fee. And what do you know, they could help with the fee too. Just go take care of some thugs who were harassing the civilians. It was a slippery slope to becoming a hero, and I didn't resist it all that much.
Then I ran into people who recognized me, or at least they thought they did. Heroes who had worked with Gamma, and who saw in me the same thing I had seen in them every day working in the ER back home. A dedication to the greater good. And I didn't want to disappoint them, even if I didn't think it was there. I ended up joining her supergroup's sister organization, because seeing her on a weekly basis would have been far too awkward.
I worked hard to live up to her example, I brought down the bad guys and rose up through the rankings.
I learned new ways to shape the magic that was my core. But it was never enough. She always kept her distance.
But I never gave up, not in the ER back home, and not in the hope that if I just worked hard enough, she would accept me.
Tonight I thought she finally had, except I totally screwed it up somewhere. Gamma ended up crying into her knees on my hallway floor and telling me just how scared I make her feel.
And then she got up and left.
I'm not certain if I should even try and see her again. I don't feel much like a hero at all right now.
----------
Ok, I feel the need to offer a bit of overview into character that Smouldering Decay has crystalized into in my head. Because I couldn't fit all of this into the story and still have it make sense and flow the way it needed to.
When she arrived here and saw the perfect* life that Gamma had, she developed a case of hero worship (this is what you could have been/could be)
This was not helped by the fact that neither of them are very comfortable around each other.
Gamma because 'hey look, there's you. Except everyone you know might as well be dead, and you just escaped from loosing a war to the ritki. And oh yeah she does magic'.
Decay because any common ground (hospital work) they have is so not a conversation she wants to have 'they got crashed into and I watched my coworkers get spread across the walls in the accident that got me my powers'
Because neither of them had any firm grasp of what the other was like, they both assumed that they were far more alike than they are.
Decay saw someone in a polygamous relationship without seeing any of the underlying emotional ties, and figured if she could integrate herself into that she would finally be accepted.
Gamma saw one more girl teasing Terr, and overreacted because 'she's you'. Add on top of that the unintentional sympathy, again cause 'she's you', and you get impending train wreck.
It wasn't helped at all by the fact that Decay has embraced their magical nature to an extent that Gamma will never be comfortable with (or even acknowledge the possibility of).
* Gamma does a good job of keeping the emotional rollercoaster that her relationship has been behind closed doors.
----------
why are all the characters I develop the most so broken? *cry*
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
Broken? Decay may be fractured, but she's not _broken_.
As I said the other night, I'm having a hard time finding words to express what I think about this piece. It's good. It makes me think. It makes me _feel_, which is always the hallmark of something done right.
You know the kinda ironic thing?
Rhea may be off-limits, for more than one reason, true. The Other Rhea isn't. But I don't think Decay would have much luck with Onyx, at this point. Not because Onyx dislikes her (quite the contrary), or anything, but rather... Onyx is a bit of a bitch, and despises her twin. Unless it was presented properly, she'd probably (mis)read between the lines and come to the conclusion that Decay was really after "her crazy twin", and not her.
That... wouldn't go over well, precisely. Ops summed it up best when he wrote an Onyx piece. "[Onyx]'d kept her mind intact through all that she'd gone through since that horrible day, and the her that snapped
under the pressure gets a borderline perfect life? That was fair?"
Poor Decay.
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
Tales of the Legendary
[A Hero Sandwich Production]
Smouldering Decay: Staking a Claim (pt 5)
It was three days before I left the apartment. Much of that time is a blur of drunken self-recrimination and pounding hangovers. When the beer ran out and I sobered up I was still angry. I'm not sure if I was angry at Gamma for not being who I thought she was, or myself for freaking her out so much that any sort of relationship is now fubar.
So I did the one thing I always do when I'm angry about something I can't fix. I beat up Rikti. It helped to deal with the frustration and fear that boiled up whenever I saw them. I remember months of living in fear of the next attack, hoping that the bombs wouldn't fall on top of us. Those feelings don't go away just because I left my world behind. But making them choke on radioactive smoke and watching my imps cut the monkeys into julienne fries hepls. It lets me feel just a little bit better about not doing enough back home. There were always some to be found in Creys Folly, and it was less risky than the war zone. There were far too many things there that can stomp me flat.
Two hours later I had spent my rage. I liked to think I was having an effect, even a small one, on the rikti forces there. But they always seemed to crawl out of metaphorical woodwork when I wasn't looking. I didn't know what they were looking for in this polluted mess. But the knowledge that I frustrated them was enough. Exhausted and feeling empty inside I returned to my apartment and had a shower. Then I collapsed back onto my empty bed, tired but unable to sleep.
My thoughts kept circling back to what Gamma had said in the bar. I had been so certain that she was making a veiled proposition, but I was obviously wrong about that. Which left me wondering what she had meant about talking to my Hero Corps liaison.
One answer was that she was being literal, and she actually expected me to talk about my relationship problems during my next meeting. I just couldn't see that happening. My contact at Hero Corps was very helpful about all manner of things; making sure I knew what the regulations where about applying my warding to my apartment; getting me in touch with a shrink to talk to when the almost-but-not-quite-the-same-ness got to be to much; pointing me towards the local magic groups when my interest in the topic became obvious. But I could imagine his expression if I hinted at using their database as a personal dating service. I had seen that disappointed mien often enough when I first got here and was still thinking like we were losing the war. It took me a while to realize just how many rules slid by the wayside towards the end back home. He would never get mad, or angry, or even condescending, he would just frown a bit and then deliver one more variation of the 'things are different here' speech, and how I needed to accept that.
If the literal interpretation was out, and my original guess of a proposal was wrong, that just left something in the middle. The general gist of Gamma's idea made sense. Don't waste your time trying to start a relationship with people who you can't be with. Get a list of people who are safe to be with first, and then try to make a relationship work with one of them. The problem was where to find a list of people I wouldn't hurt. I'm sure the hospital had one, but they were probably more uptight about access to their database than Hero Corps. And I didn't have the contacts here that I had back home. Nobody who would be willing to bend, or occasionally break, the rules for me. Vanguard might, but had no official standing with them, I had only heard about them. And while I could get behind the 'band together against a common enemy' bit they seemed to be promoting, I wasn't going to sink the months of work it would take to become trusted enough to peak at their database just to get a date.
Which left me drawing a blank. After a quick glance at the clock on the wall showed it wasn't too late, I reached over to my nightstand to grab my communicator. Maybe Corrine down in MAGI had an idea, she always seemed to have a different boyfriend every week. As I flipped open my communicator to give her a ring, I was hit by a realization so obvious I felt like banging my head against a wall. I didn't, mainly because my recent hangover was still hovering at the back of my mind, but I was tempted for a few moments.
My communicator was hooked into the computers at the Riot Force base, which had a detailed listing of every member, and probably enough basic information about the legendary membership as well to come up with a short list. The fact that I would have already met, at least in passing, most of the supers in whatever list was spit out made my job all that much easier. And if there was anyone who I didn't recognize, well it shouldn't be too hard to track them down for an after mission beer or two.
But any such database querying would have to wait until tomorrow. Once the stress of not knowing what to do faded, the desire for sleep made itself know. And since I was already on my bed I didn't put up too much of a fight.
----------
Ok, so here is where I ask for help.
I'm assuming that Decay will have enough clearance to get a list of names (on the job, not secret identities), ages, sex, and basic power information from the Riot computer.
I'm looking for any heroes in Riot or Legendary that have radiation based powers (or would be immune to their effects), and don't have a weakness towards fire/heat.
I will need:
1) a few names she can dismiss after a brief check (person is in a relationship/uses technology to generate the effects/or has an obviously incompatible personality)
2) a few names that can be dismissed after a drink or two (person has established backstory/personality/sexuality that won't work)
3) hopefully, a name or two from people who would be comfortable with Decay attempting a relationship with their character.
Depending on how compatible my muse is, I can see coming up with a few short humorous pieces about after mission dinner/drinks going wrong. As Decay isn't going to make assumptions about how the other person is reacting, and will pretty much state her intentions if things seem to be going well. If the other hero is male and gay, or female and straight this could lead to some amusing rejections.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
Quote: sweno wrote:
I'm assuming that Decay will have enough clearance to get a list of names (on the job, not secret identities), ages, sex, and basic power information
from the Riot computer.
Depending on how clumsy she is, she'd probably have an entire list in her email on the sly within a day at the behest of someone who wishes to
remain anonymous but nonetheless goes by "The Little Red One".
And for some reason, I have this hilarious image of Patricia/Cyberwoman 10 and Decay getting roaring drunk and having a rather angry dual tirade against the
inequity of being the "double".
"An...an....they lookit YOU funny, like youse got anything to do with dem...dem...big metal titties...*hic* S'what I got. Dey ain't detachable.
What'm I suppusda do? Buy impervium bre...che....boobie bindins'? *hic*"
"Amen sistah."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
From my own character list, people that would be in the database. Hope this is of use to you; mention or use 'em...or not, as you see fit.
Rejects - Category 1 (Dismissed after brief check)
- Syndesis - Female, apparent-age 30ish - Technically resistant to heat/radiation. Survived nuclear reactors and dips in lava. But she gets there by constantly regenerating.
- Light Errant - Male, early 20s - Can redirect energy. Tech-based, but the alien devices are part of his body. However, all his powers require conscious thought, they're not passive.
- Payload - Male, mid-30s - is damn near unstoppable, but he's a surgically-altered cyborg in power armor.
Rejects - Category 2 (After a drink or two)
- Superball - Male, age unknown - Mutant, resistant to all radiation (electromagnetic, heat, x-ray, etc). But honestly, no, just no. It's freaking Superball. No, seriously, this would be a disaster. Nevermind the fact he'd probably try to drink a beer through his mask.
- Glass Lass - Female, apparent age late teens/20ish - Not in a Legendary SG, but on the books as a reserve member/ally. Can encase herself in a heat-resistant shell. In fact, she needs to concentrate to keep the skin off. But then, well, she's covered in crystal, which presents certain logistical problems (*tink* *tink* *tink*). Also has self-esteem/self-image issues. Also not being easy talk to Glass. Glass talk like this.
Wild Card
- Impossibelle - Female, mid-20s - New member of Riot 6.1. Known to emit really weird multi-spectrum radiation. Can be knocked around, but never shows any sign of pain or damage. Always looks perfect. Stage persona might be off-putting - she's a heroine of TRUTH and JUSTICE! KAPOW! But unlike Superball, she does turn it off. Secret identity: level-headed, mild-mannered broadcast journalist.
Might be a challenge to use Impbell for any writing task, however. She's one of my new favourite alts, but I made her to solo arcs, so she's not teamed or done much RP yet. As a new character, she has no prior appearance in fiction, no name recognition...I ought to correct that, hmm.
-- Acyl
Rejects from my Virt list, cat 1
- Wide Receiver - Male, late 20s - Good looking, just as impervious as Terrence, Nice guy... and taken, dammit
- Combustionette - Female, mid teens - Nuclear-powered fire blaster, so some resistance is assumed, but she's pining too much for her version of Jim Temblor. And probably too young.
- Minerva Heisman - Female, early 30s - and Straight
Rejects Cat 2
- Emi Arizona - Too uptight [won't drink beer], and why is she always going to the Longbow base in Nerva Archipelago?
- RillyRillyBigMan - No. Just, no. The DUMB, it LINGERS!
Most of my others probably wouldn't be safe.... While Taeryns would be good with the rad [her "Radiation Emission" spores auto-chelate] her Plant-based powers and nature as a Dryad make the fire unpleasant...
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
Rejects, Cat 1
-
Mag Flashlight - Male, age unknown (late middle age) - Handsome, in a bulldog-ran-face-first-into-a-wall sort of way. Decent sort, a bit rough and tumble, happily married, will drink Decay under the table, _not_ radiation resistant ('Civilian' clothing includes concealed armor meshes, so sorry).
-
Pooky Da Imp - Male, age irrelevant - a big goofy clowny pervert sort, what point dating someone who isn't 'fully functional' < /tasha >, wish he'd quit 'accidently' looking down my shirt.
-
Vengeful Flame (Vengy) - Statement: This unit is not allowed to participate in any activity described as 'dating', this unit will now teleport away.
-
Lost Saber - Why'd she bring that goofy looking girl with her? Why doesn't she have decent clothing? where did all the tacos go?
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies
Rejects, Category 1 (brief check)
-Brightsky - Taken, straight, apparent invulnerability is a deflection field, not rad or fireproof underneath.
-Valles - Taken, not fireproof.
-Kentucky Smith - Not fire or radproof.
Rejects, Category 2 (halfway through the first date)
-Fissionette - Atomic-powered regenerator; not fireproof; more importantly, in mourning and not interested in a rebound.
Wildcards
-Themaria Dist - Not directly a candidate (she's carrying a torch, so to speak), but an archmage willing to arrange permanent protective wardings 'at
cost'
-Mira Wolf-Rayet - Utterly immune to heat or radiation in any quantity Decay is likely to manage, bi... and a callous bitch.
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
Rejects, Cat 1:
- Evangelia - Female, age 16 - Apparently invulvnerable to radiation, but a) she's underage, b) she's got this perky authoritative vibe that's a little offputting sometimes, and c) you'd never know when the Penguin was around watching. If you believe in the Penguin. If you don't, add "possibly nuts" to the mix.
- Beach Baby - Female, mid-20s - Relaxed California girl, but apparently made out of water despite her fleshy appearance. Not sure how that's going to mix with hard radiation, but the magic 8-ball says the signs aren't good.
- Sailor Null - Female, late 20s - Besides no rad resistance, I have enough of an attitude problem of my own. No need to add hers to the mix.
- Looney Toons - Male, looks late 20s, claims to be over a hundred - Also claims to be married and trying to get back to his wife, darn it. Even if that weren't an issue, there's the fact that he acts like Superball. Except he turns it off when off-duty.
- Halo Kitty - Female, mid 20s? - I'd probably fry her the moment she gets out of the armor.
- Some Random Schmuck - Male, mid-30s - Not rad resistant. Plus, I am not going to let myself get a reputation for going out with just any random schmuck.
Rejects, Cat 2:
- X-Ray Ted - Male, mid 20s - Rad/Rad type is a big plus... but jeeze, slimeball much? And I can do much better than an egocentric ex-porn star who refers to himself in the third person.
Wild Card:
-Nameless Terror - Male, early 30s - Invulnerable to radiation, nicely built. Bit of a mystery, though, even to the other Legendary. Doesn't socialize much.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Rejects lvl 1
Vyperpunk: Female, apparent age: early 20s - Obviously dead walking. No resistance.
Rejects lvl 2
Zen Hart: Female, apparent age: early 20s - straight. Resistant to Rad and Fire.
Wild card:
Tish Fuego: Female, 25ish - Orientation unknown. Severely fire resistant.