Leaving aside the actual issue for the moment, I found this bit from the dissent rather... odd.

(From the Des Moines Register)

Quote:In a dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons."

Over the past few nights, some of us have been hammering out the origin of a new character. As it grew, others joined in with their own characters. And still
others may yet join in if they want.

Problem for me is, I -know- how Dark Rhea, aka Onyx Blast, the twisted reflection of Emerald Blast, came to be... but the story needs to wait, because it is
part of another that I'm currently writing.

So I'm going to be intentionally vague, here, and gloss over quite a bit, hitting only the high points.

A Portal Corp. accident, coupled with a mission involving Ouro, results in Emerald Blast being 'cloned', for lack of a better term -- her entire being
is duplicated as it was at a specific point in time -- in this case, immediately after the crisis that led to her discovering her powers for the first time.
The nature of the mission is vague at this point -- I have some ideas, but I'll get to those when I get that story finished. However, it is a certainty
that she was not the only one on it. She may have been the only one affected, but the possibility of others having the same problem is there. And for others
who may have been caught up in the accident, the timeframe that was duplicated may well be different from person to person.

At any rate, Rhea-Prime, feeling a bit out of sorts and tired but otherwise fine, returns to here-and-now Paragon, complains about the rough ride to Portal
Corp. engineers, and goes about her business.

A few seconds later, the duplicate arrives, confused, also tired but otherwise fine, and stumbles across the Portal Corp. engineers arguing over whose coffee
had spilled into the machine. A time-shifted duplicate -- not Rhea as she is now, but Rhea as she was right after first discovering her powers. Right after
her -entire unit- was annihilated in front of her eyes.

How she wound up on the streets of Paragon city, with an unlikely conscience in the form of Sell-Sword, and an annoying shoulder devil trying to drive her mad,
is a story that will be told later.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

One: IE7.com -- Illustrates the importance of defensive domain registration. LOL.

Two:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&g ... 75&t=h&z=2

Take a look at no. 19.

So I figure this might get lost in the posts since the only time I mentioned it was in an Avatar AMV thread.

AudioMachine seems to be a group that does instrumental and suitably dramatic music for trailers. It's pretty fun to listen to. Link:
http://www.audiomachine.com/mp3frames3.html

Basically, just gauging interest for a possible Moonfire TF tonight. Time would be fairly lateto deal with some work schedules I'm aware of(and so that OM
can go see Indy 4, but that's beside the point. *grin*), so I'm seeing if there's any interest here since I wouldn't exactly be around to
advertise it.

Levels are 23-28, with a six character requirement, and the time would be about 11:30 EST

Anyone interested?
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

According to http://consumerist.com/tag/free-oral-se ... passengers]this article on The Consumerist, european airline Ryanair's CEO has announced transatlantic business-class passengers will receive amenities like "white seats," beds, and oral sex.

Yes, they have a video of him saying so.

Okay, it's (almost certainly) a joke, but still...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

This one's actually something that's been showing up as a Warshade concept in my head for almost a month now. I
figure I'll get the story out so people know her when she shows up....or I'm just impatient.

***

"Hmm? Oh, it's you," the man in the tattered hood with the strange goggles says. "Just in ti-...no, wait, this doesn't make
sense. My scans show you aren't nearly ready to do what I need you to do. Your Temporal Scaling is far too low to handle the stres....oh, oh yes. I know
now. I've mixed them up again. You aren't the you I need yet. It happens all the time..." the wanderer says, looking at you with a fatherly smile.
"Why, it reminds me of a young heroine I've, technically, yet to meet. I may never meet her, in fact. So confusing, the changes time travel can
create. She's not yet ready for the mysteries she'll find here. And she may come from where you do, or from where those that Mender Tesseract handles
do. It all hinges on possibility now. But she really is a sweet girl, once you get to know her. It took a few years. Not that you'd know...still, let me
tell you about her....about how things will be if they go right, and young Twilit Blade arrives here as is needed to mend a certain timestream. Who knows,
maybe you'll be the one to help her make the decision that sends her to me. Weighty, isn't it? But I'm rambling....it all begins in a certain
lab...."

Tales of the Legendary: Path of Twilight

Lynna looked around her. The full auto blasts of Family thugs and the Council's own Nebula troops echoed back and forth through the massive facility. She
felt cold, as she touched her stomach....and pulled a hand away coated in blood. The dark crystal in the container behind her was cracked and leaking some kind
of smoke, but odds were Lynna'd be dead before she suffocated from it. That stray grenade had gotten her well and good. How? How did this happen? She
wasn't supposed to die this young....her parents were investors, not Council officers. Why was this thing here? How did the Family thugs know to take her?
Why did this all happen?

Lynna Mason....

"What?"

Lynna Mason...listen to me....you need not die here....

"...I'm listening..."

***

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Lazarus says, seeming consternated. You gently point out that you have no idea what's going on and
he slaps a hand against his forhead. "Oh, I did it again, didn't I? Yes, you wouldn't know the events that led to the lab, even if that's
where she became what she's going to be. I'm getting ahead of myself again. It really begins in a mansion just off Independence Port...."

***

Clothes flew everywhere as the dark haired young woman dug through her drawers, trying to find something to fit her fickle tastes. Not finding anything, she
looked about on the racks of her closet, scowling at them as her emerald eyes flashed in irritation. Lynna grumbled and threw a pile of clothes back into the
closet without a second thought.

"The most important date of my life, and I have absolutely nothing to wear! God, why the hell am I lacking anything proper? George'll think I'm
some homeless girl off the street if I wear this sort of thing," she said, discarding a top into the growing pile. After a few more hours searching, she
gave up, going to the door. "Sarah! Get in here!" she yelled down the hallway. A few seconds later, the older woman came running up. Lynna rolled her
eyes at the maid's panting from the exertion. "I've got nothing to wear for tonight. Go out to the store and get me something, would you? Not too
slutty, but seductive. And in red," she said. Sarah looked resigned to inevitable disatisfaction with whatever she chose, but nodded. "Of course,
Miss Mason. When would you like it by?"

Lynna considered. "By five, so that I have time to veto it if you pick something too prudish," she said. "And don't be late!" Her
servant nodded, running off as Lynna plopped onto her bed in a huff. "So freaking hard to find good clothes these days...."

The rest of the day passed as usual for her. A length and luxurious bath in her tub led to relaxing and watching some The Price Is Right as Connie properly
combed, dried, and primped her hair, Lynna letting herself air-dry in the meantime. After that was a good lunch, with the usual nod and small talk her parents
expected to prove she was still alive and their daughter. Lynna really didn't care. As long as her allowance came in, she was fine with whatever level of
contact they wanted as long as it didn't interfere with her schedule.

Next were the self-defense classes. These she actually took seriously, at least more than other things, because she liked the feeling of being in control of
her own person. Master Li continually said she could be even better with more focus, but what she was learning was enough for her. She felt like she could
handle anything. Sure, Master Li was better, but he'd spent years on this. Maybe even longer. At the end of their session, Lynna bowed as required and
watched as Master Li slid his black coat on over his rather elaborately tatooed back and shoulders. As always, he complimented her while saying she could do
better. If he kept it up, Lynna made a note to have her father fire him and get another one.

Finally getting back, Lynna blinked in surprise at the outfit waiting her. "....Sarah....this is...actually good. Clearly, I've started rubbing off on
you," she said, the maid's surprised expression fading fairly quickly. Putting it on, Lynna twirled a little in front of the mirror before darting
downstairs as she heard the doorbell ring. "That'll be George!" she yelled at her parents' general direction and slipping out. She barely
noticed the long limo pulling up elsewhere as she drove off. Or her parents greating the man that stepped out, albeit with obvious nervousness.

"Please, come in Monsignor Uzzano..."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

You'd think, at who-knows-how-many posts, I'd have realized by now that I forgot to post here. Oops.

So, like, have an introduction! I'm Sofaspud. Yes, that Sofaspud, he of the now-defunct fanfiction website.
Don't blame me, it was Verio who shut it down and I lost the fight with them. It's now owned by somebody who wants more than I have to get it back,
so... yeah.

(If anyone is interested, I still have the latest version of the site archived, not counting the forums -- which are a mess of proprietary undigestible code,
this being before the easy-peasy free forum software days -- so if you want something in particular that was on the site, PM me and I can probably get it.)

Lessee. Other than that, not much goin' on here. I stumbled across Bob's work a LOOONG time ago, liked it, and didn't realize he had a forum
going about it until, um, just a year ago. I'm seeing a pattern here.... Anyway, on a different site I mentioned City of Heroes, he said, "Hey, I
know this supergroup...", and, well, yeah. I've been pestering the whole bunch on the Legendary forums here since.

Other than that... I'm not shy. Ask and ye shall be answered.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

(walks up to the mic, taps it twice to see if it's on, and waits for the feedback to settle.)

Hello, and thank you for coming to show.

Since I got things a little backwards and posted an honest observation before I made an introduction, I felt I should make one now.

(peers into the audience.) No, I won't play Free Bird.

I present myself for a moment's entertainment. Ask your questions, and I'll tell no lies.
_____
DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...

In the bibliography for Green Ronin Games Paragons, their newer setting for Mutants
and Masterminds. It's described as having "plenty of interesting ideas for a more realistic treatment of paranormals and their abilities."

That's all. Just thought folks might be interested.

Chris Davies.