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  Because someone had to tell the truth :-)
Posted by: His Lovely Wife - 04-01-2007, 11:53 AM - Forum: The Legendary - Replies (5)

So the other day I get this idea - it hurt, it really did. When I shared this idea, people wanted to see how it would look. So, here she is. Sexist Male Fantasy.
[Image: Sexist+Male+Fantasy.jpg]

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  A bit of Harry Potter
Posted by: Bob Schroeck - 04-01-2007, 07:51 AM - Forum: Bob's Other Fan Writing - Replies (18)

Yeah, I worked this into a standalone short-short, as I mentioned I might in the other thread. Enjoy.



The Fulfillment of Prophecy

by Robert M. Schroeck

Harry Potter stood in a pool of Voldemort's cooling blood,
staring intently at the Minister of Magic. In his left hand he
still held his broomstick like a scepter, a faint haze of golden
energy still wafting from the upraised bristles. Over his open
right hand a quaffle floated, cloaked in a faint white glow. A
golden snitch and a pair of bludgers obediently orbited his body.

At his feet lay the twisted, broken corpse of the so-called Dark
Lord. Its eyes were still wide with the terror Tom Riddle had
felt as death finally took him. To the side, Severus Snape lay
on the floor curled into a foetal ball, gibbering mindlessly.

Behind Harry stood the forces of Potter's Army, a hundred and
more young witches and wizards in their invisibility cloaks, all
taught by him, all wielding magicks the like of which none had
ever seen before. Each one was blooded in battle. Each one was
a fanatic. At their head stood the most fanatic of all, Harry's
five lieutenants -- Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley,
Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood -- their eyes all aglow
with the devotion they held for the man who now faced the
government of Wizarding England with a confidence and power that
was palpable.

In the moment of silence, one could hear the roars of the great
wyrms that had carried them to battle and which now circled the
building.

"Now, see here, Potter..." the Minister began, his blustering
tone at odds with the half-cower his body kept trying to slip
into.

"No," Harry interrupted, and his voice held the force of a
stunning charm, all but knocking the Minister off his feet.
"*You* will see." He turned slowly in place, his implacable gaze
sweeping the gathered members of the Wizangamot, the few
surviving Death Eaters, and those of the press who had forced
their way in to the scene of his final triumph. "You will *all*
see."

He turned back to the Minister, and raised the broomstick to
point at him with its bristles. "I am taking control now. You
will cede all governance to me."

*So this is what it has come to,* Minerva McGonagall thought
despondently as Potter's Army began a chant of "Boy-Who-Lived!
Boy-Who-Lived!" *Fifty generations and more we have guided the
Wizarding World, urging the strong to breed with the strong,
culling and training them with the Game, in the hopes of creating
the ultimate wizard. But all our seers agreed -- he was not to
be born for another century! Damn Lily Evans for her
disobedience!*

Minerva was snapped back to awareness of the events around her by
a sudden silence, and upbraided herself for woolgathering. She
must have missed something critical in her distraction -- the
Minister and the assembled members of the Wizengamot were now
kneeling to Harry, who stood unharmed in a pillar of golden fire.

Outrage filled her, and for a moment she forgot the danger as
old reflexes took hold. "Mister Potter!" she snapped before
she regained control of herself.

He turned his eyes, themselves blazing with golden light, upon
her. "You object, Professor? He who can destroy a thing,
controls a thing. And with one word, I can destroy all of
England's magic. Who better to rule these sheep and
incompetents?" She tore her eyes away from his, and he smiled,
shifting his attention again to the room at large. "I am tired of
the petty conflicts that wrack our world, and I say, No more! No
more pureblood, no more half-blood, no more muggle-born! We are
all *wizards,* no more, no less. The prejudices of the old days
will be dispensed with. This I decree, this I *will* make so."
His blazing eyes narrowed as he smiled slyly. "Starting with
those who supported the corpse at my feet."

He raised the broom, then slammed the end of its handle upon the
stone floor. A ripple of crimson light erupted from the point
where it struck and expanded to race outward across the room and
through the walls. Minerva flinched and cringed, humiliated and
angry at herself for her reaction, as it flowed over and through
her.

Where the red light passed, witches and wizards died. The
surviving Death Eaters screamed and burst into flame to a man, as
did Snape and far more members of the Wizengamot and the press
than Minerva had expected. *The Arcane Mother will be furious to
learn how poor our intelligence was after all,* she mused
absently as she felt the beginnings of a compulsion spell
creeping over her. *We had thought that we controlled the...
the...*

To her sudden horror, she realized that there was something
there, some concept that she had been familiar with, had
discussed and mused over on a daily basis, that she could no
longer even *think*. She desperately wracked her brains, for she
knew in her bones that it was important to the Sisterhood, this
concept which eluded her. What was it about those who had died?
The only thing that they had in common was that they had all been
members of families of long standing in the Wizarding World,
families who had produced continuous lines of wizards for
centuries. But there was nothing special about that...

"And so it is done," Potter announced imperiously. "The old
prejudices are gone."

*What *is* he babbling about?* Minerva thought angrily as she
grasped vainly for a concept she was certain she had known only
minutes before, but whose very *existence* had been purged from
her mind and the mind of every witch and wizard in England.

So distracted was she that Minerva barely noticed as Ginny
Weasley stepped forward from the rank of Lieutenants.

"And how can he do this?" Ginny asked rhetorically, her clear
soprano voice echoing throughout the Great Hall and somehow
overwhelming the panicked murmurs of the onlookers. "Because he
*is* the Quidditch Haderach!"

FIN

My apologies to J.K. Rowling and the estate of Frank Herbert.

Happy April Fool's Day!


-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

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  quirkbunny
Posted by: Norgarth - 03-31-2007, 06:42 AM - Forum: Fenspace - Replies (1)

I was listening to a Queen CD which included the song 'Flash', and had an idea for a ship's quirk:
The exhaust looks like something out of a B-rate 50's movie (sparks for example), or maybe when the drive is engaged the ship appears to hang from a string.__________________
The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live. - George Carlin.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

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  Task Force Vortex takes down Clockwork King! (Updated Pics)
Posted by: Logan Darklighter - 03-31-2007, 06:02 AM - Forum: The Legendary - Replies (5)

Very successful and fun TF tonight. Despite going in with no Defenders or healing, we had no problems, mainly because we kicked Clockworks to pieces so DAMN FAST that we hardly ever had any problems. A few individual defeats here and there, but no team wipes. TF went very quickly.
Task Force Vortex members all stayed throughout the entire run, with no one dropping out due to time constraints or disconnections. Very smooth. (I was concerned for myself on that last note because a Thunderstorm whipped up here in Dallas while we were playing.)
Task Force Vortex was -
Bella Fuego
Cyberman 8
Frenetic Sublimation
Marcus Mac Hine
Seelepanzer
Sir Vile
I was a shutterbug during the latter missions, particularly during the fight with Babbage and Clockwork King. I have a ton of screenshots that I'm going through. I'll but a few into this post on an edit. Then follow up with more posts. If anyone else from the TF or friends has any screenshots I urge you to post them.
[Image: Groupshot-TF-SYNAPSE-01.jpg]
^ From Left to Right: Marcus Mac Hine, Sir Vile, Synapse, Seelepanzer, Bella Fuego, Cyberman 8, Frenetic Sublimation.
Again - all shots taken at 1080x768. Full size pics emailed on request.
-Logan
-----------------
The only good Marvel is CAPTAIN MARVEL!
SHAZAM!!
-----------------

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  Webpage Prototype
Posted by: Bob Schroeck - 03-31-2007, 04:14 AM - Forum: Fenspace - Replies (22)

Yes, I've been a busy little developer these last couple days. This link will take you to a prototype page for the Fenspace archive. It has the rotating banners discussed in another thread (and I'll be adding more, don't you worry). The menu is functional although it doesn't link to any other Fenspace pages yet -- it's also just an eval, which is why the company that makes it forces itself into the first entry. I'm still looking for something that does just what I want it to, and this may not be it -- it's just a placeholder for the moment.
Anyway, there's enough there for folks to get an idea of what I had in mind, and to kibitz on the design. So... go look, and come back to kibitz.

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

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  [META] Would the owners of these ships...
Posted by: robkelk - 03-31-2007, 01:51 AM - Forum: Fenspace - Replies (4)

Pursuant to my Writers Guide project...

Folks, these two ships are reasonably important to Fenspace, but arent yet in the Ship Registry. Would the creators be kind enough to fill in the blanks, fix
whatever I got wrong, and post them to the Registry, please?



This ones almost complete. I couldnt find any hints to a maximum speed in the story (Id guess 0.07c;
this would let her keep pace with The Inelegant Truth), I took an educated guess at the ships
Purpose, and I took the liberty of adding a Quartermaster to the crew roster (in accordance with the off-hand comments made in the storys thread)...

USS Stingray

(Duane Peters)

Registry Number: SSN 2161-X

Base Hull: Seawolf-class nuclear
attack submarine

Drive Type: Speed

Maximum Speed: _____

Owner of Record: United States Navy

Flag of Record: United States of America

Home Port: Norfolk, Virginia

Purpose: Showing the Flag - US Navy presence in space

Launched: as a spacecraft, March 31, 2012

Known Vehicle Quirks:

Cant hear you over the music! The drive requires loud Sousa marches being played in the engine room
to function. Very loud Sousa marches.

Operation: Petticoat The hull turns bright pink when the drive is engaged.

Known Crew:

Commander Tom Dodge (Captain)

Lieutenant Emily Lake (XO)

Lieutenant j.g. Wilhemina Willie Grumby (Dive Officer, Manoeuvring Officer)

Ensign McHale (Quartermaster)

CPO Aldous Howard (engineer)

Electronic Technician 2/c Nitro Jones

Sonar Technician 2/c E. T. Lovachelli

Reactor Technician 1/c Brad Stepanik-Winslow

Spots Sylvesterson (dive plane operator)

Known Crew Quirks:

No Danes Here: The crew is made up exclusively of Fen and Fendanes; they likely cleaned out the
entire USNs stock on non-Danes to find enough to crew the Stingray.

Three-Hour Tour: Willie Grumby is the daughter of two reasonably-famous castaways, and treats all of
the people marooned with her biological parents as her parents.

Faction: Fendane

Trivia:

* The Stingray has the highest percentage of female crew in the US Navy submarine service.

* The ship has a waved mini-sub (similar to a NR-1 nuclear rescue vehicle) as an auxiliary craft.



This ones less developed, but should still be mentioned because of its pivotal role in Fenspace history. Ive extrapolated what I hope is a reasonable Owner of
Record; if I goofed, feel free to erase that part...

USS Miranda

(ClassicDrogn)

Registry Number: _____

Base Hull: one Large Array radio telescope

Drive Type: Speed (cola-uncola mutual annihilation engine; 80% efficient mass-energy conversion)

Maximum Speed: 500c

Owner of Record: Miranda Consortium (several major colleges including Cambridge, MIT, Sanford,
and Tokyo University; the SETI group; and many private individuals)

Flag of Record: Utopia Planitia, Mars

Home Port: Utopia Planitia, Mars

Purpose: Serious Astronomy

Launched: Winter 2009-2010

Known Vehicle Quirks:

Its five-year mission... The Miranda has
a sixty-month limit on its fuel supply, which can only be replenished in the Sol system. Other consumables need to be replaced more frequently, but can be
scavenged from comets and gas giants.

Crew:

Unknown

Faction: Half Dane, half Trekkie

Trivia:

* The Miranda is the result of probably the only wide-spread privately funded space program that
would ever exist.

* Theres a carefully maintained divide between the waved systems (drive, enviro, navigation) and the pure hardtech (astronomy, mainly), especially in the
computers. Serious Science has no room for waving hands.



I suspect Ill find more ships and people that should be in the respective stickies as I go along... If I do, Ill post mentions of them here.

Edit: My spelling-fu is the suxxors...

-Rob Kelk
--
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

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  [Story] Adventures in Space
Posted by: Murmur the Fallen - 03-30-2007, 10:13 PM - Forum: Fiction - Replies (20)

A multi-part serial of unknown length, breadth, or depth.
To be crude, it was the money that got her out of her home.
Hassan Wu looked down at the hand-delivered letter once again, then at the Hermes Universal Deliveryman, a short fellow that looked to be in his late twenties, dressed in green and brown with an animation patch running on his breast pocket. He waited expectantly as she reader through the letter again.
"Dear Dr. Wu," it began, "I represent an agglomoration of interests that would greatly appreciate both your presence and your unique services on a project that must, unfortunately, be kept unknown to you. A token of our esteem has been deposited in your public account already. If you would agree to meet with us, a meeting that is some distance away from your home, our appreciation would be further manifested concretely. Yet if after this meeting you wish to part ways with us, please be assured that it would be an amicable parting if regrettable on our parts. Please take as much time as you like in deciding, but indicate your acceptance of our admittedly unorthodox proposition with the HUD representative Jimmy Hawkins. To demonstrate that our hopefully future negotiations will not have a single taint of coercion, we have instructed Mr. Hawkins to engage the Baley Security Services on your behalf. Thank you." And it was signed, John Raven, Modern State Planning Commission.
"Mr. Hawkins?" she said.
"Yes, Doctor?" answered Jimmy Hawkins, perking up as she looked him in the eye.
"Please come in and wait a few moments as I . . . please wait." Hassan moved aside from the threshold as Hawkins came in and smiled at her. She guided him to the couch, the white silk upholstery giving slightly under his weight. "Would you like something to drink as you wait?"
"No, Doctor, thank you." Hawkins smiled once again, nodding in polite appreciation as he began to twiddle his thumbs. "Take all the time you want."
"Very well." Hassan left her guest, almost unconsciously actuating her personal security system to its setting for a guest of unknown hostility. Survelliance was kept on a passive level, merely watching to see if his kinesthetics indicated any heightened adrenaline, adrenaline that would come before a robbery or assassination attempt. Hassan looked back at her guest, the first one that she'd had in weeks, and regretted what having to kill him would do to the upholstery. She first contacted her public banker and checked to see if any deposits had been made. There had been, and after hearing just how much it was, she couldn't help but be flattered at how much esteem they held for her, or at least for her skills. She thanked her banker then moved onto finding out what she could about the Modern State Planning Commission and John Raven. Modern State, as it was known, began as an architectural and engineering firm, designing everything from houses to space habitats. In the process of designing these places to live, whatever the scale, they slowly incorporated ideological research and advocacy, or a think tank in the old argot, to their business. She wasn't an expert in sociology, so she wasn't sure what exactly their aims and beliefs were. Looking over some of their literature, she was surprised to find that they had designed the new odeon on the Island.
As for John Raven, less was known. He was the head of the Modern State, though the literature didn't list whether he was an architect or not. There were no pictures of him, which was not exactly surprising. What was shocking, even disturbing, was that there were no rumors or gossip at all about him. Fen culture was not known for its taciturnity. That there was nothing about him beyond what the official records and literature said about him spoke of his subtle power.
She sat, turning off her computer screen, and thought. There were a great many reasons why she shouldn't go, the potential danger, the lengths that John Raven and his associates were willing to go to get her to wherever it was they wanted her to go, the influence of John Raven himself. There was also the fact that she truly didn't want to leave her home. The new tourist season was beginning soon, with all its pageantry and excitement, and she didn't want to miss it. She also didn't want to miss any of the comforts of home.
Yet, in the end, it was the money that got her out of her home.

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  Okay, I gotta ask...
Posted by: Florin - 03-30-2007, 09:34 AM - Forum: Other People's Fanfiction - Replies (4)

Has anyone read Birds of a Feather by Solid Shark? I coulda sworn someone recc'd it a while back, but I can't find the post now. I'm fifteen chapters in and I gotta wonder if the entire fic is gonna slavishly follow the original plot, except now anything cool that Kira did is either done by DiFalco or only done because DiFalco helped Kira out. Does it get better?
--
"There are crazed martial artists out there looking to improve their skills and find inner peace through exterior violence!"
--
If you become a monster to put down a monster you've still got a monster running around at the end of the day and have as such not really solved the whole monster problem at all. 

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  Stan & Lou
Posted by: Mekadave - 03-30-2007, 04:31 AM - Forum: The Legendary - Replies (7)

This is some of the funniest CoH parody stuff I've heard in awhile. You all have to check this out:

Stan & Lou
Global: @Jimmy Amp
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will Rogers

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  Rank Names
Posted by: Bob Schroeck - 03-29-2007, 07:23 PM - Forum: The Legendary - Replies (9)

The fact that Rank 2 in the group remains "Commander" when everything else has that "myth" theme going has been rankling me for a long time. I finally came up with a possible solution, which I'm throwing up here for people to comment on.
The current structure is:
* Legend
* Commander
* Myth
* Tall Tale
* Rumor
I'd like to offer the new term "Chimera", which besides its immediate mythological and biosciences meanings can also mean something generically mythical/fictional.
We can either rename "commander" to "chimera", or, if people think that doesn't rank right in the metaphoric scale, we can rename "Myth" to "Chimera" and turn "Commander" into "Myth".
Thoughts, opinions?

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

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