“Found the Space Cray.” Van Loan held an outré steak--it was jade with alarmingly regular bands of hot-pink marbling--to his right eye.
Shego looked up from the game of strip poker she was playing with Twenty, the WMP (Weapon of Mass Pacifism) She was down her gloves ; Twenty had released the locks on maintenance-hatch Alpha.
“Violently.” She placed her cards face-up on the baize table. “I got two pair : Jacks & Tens.”
The bomb flashed its red receptor cell in a wink analogue while the delicate mantis mechanism of the Primary Fusing Waldo elegantly displayed Twenty’s hand.
“Three Jacks means I get to see your feet!”
“Ja, they do.” The virtual lens slid across the jet surface of the casing to pay careful attention to the removal of the boots, one black and one green. At the sight of naked, wiggling toes, the disc widened  ; the voice, Douglas Rain’s, sounded calmly startled, albeit not unpleasantly. “No socks?”
Van Loan’s jaw  dropped and nearly unhinged as his non-steak plastered eye’s data processed through the ‘TMI’ centre of his frontal-cortex. “Are you turning my bomb on?
“Go’s so boring it’s not even a game!”
“Consider this : Twenty’s consciousness is wedded to his charge ; and he’ll never go off , at least not in anger.”
“So, you’re saying...” Shego’s expression indicated that she had, once again, experienced the transitory lesson attached as fallout of her ‘Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time’ life methodology.  
“Premature detonation, darling.”
Shego rebooted; in a hurry. Twenty sounded faintly piqued. “I’m right here, you know!”
“Yes, you are!” Van Loan sounded positively manly. Wandblume secretly thrilled to see this side of her beau, so long as it wasn’t too common an experience. “I didn’t realize it until now! You not an angry bomb but you sure are a dirty one!” He wagged a furious index finger just above the bomb’s rapidly shrinking crimson ring. “ There’s exactly one bombshell in my life :  You! Are! Not! It! Now, behave or I’ll Geppetto you into a real bomb and explode you for the sheer pleasure of blasting you to Ordnance Hell!”
Twenty wasn’t an implosion bomb, but he sure did a convincing job of  shrinking. “ I’ll be the best behaved bomb of all time, boss! I swear!”
Van Loan’s disposition changed so quickly that it was dizzying. He laughed. “Only ‘till after I figure out how to dissociate your meta-id from your exothermic payload. Then, with that one notable exception just mentioned, you’ll have my blessings to blitz to your processor’s content!” By the end of this happier speech he had wrapped an arm supportingly about the cold curved surface of Twenty’s casing.
Shego lounged amorally on the den’s daybed as she took in the show. This was choice Drakken-dramatics. She was looking forward to what he would send her way. It was part of what made their relationship so damn fun.
Twenty’s ‘eye’ became disturbingly dewy. With his eerily calm yet somehow emotion laden synthesized voice he--Van Loan had actually stopped thinking of it as a mere machine about the time that he learnt about Twenty’s foot fetish : things didn’t obsess about other things!--enthused, “ You’re the best boss a bomb could have!”
“And you’re the best bomb!” He patted the Gadget ; secured the open panel. “Now, scurry along and charge your capacitors or something.” The tripod harness carried Twenty out of the room with Martian mechanics.
From her languid perch, Shego applauded her man. “I’ve seen bombs defused, but I’ve never seen a sex-bomb defused! I especially liked Ordnance Hell : it’s really twenty first century Danté!”
Van Loan removed the unwholesome looking meat from his shiner ; tossed it into a spark-plug shaped device ;  fixed her with a grin of happy vexation. “Do you know why we’re a couple?”
Behind him,  a blue-white flash and sizzle sent the pseudo-meat somewhere yet to be determined by science.
She smirked. “You’re Masters to my Johnson?”
The grin widened. “Why we’re really a couple?”
“There’s more to it than mind-blowing, awesome, transcendent sex?” She knew it ; Van Loan knew it : they unpacked it at times, usually in oddly dramatic ways, to marvel at what they shared. It was a ritual of theirs. He swept her up in an embrace, his face inches from hers.
“You make me bonkers, babe!”
“And you drive me bananas, beau!”

They smooched a brief smooch, breaking to breath after only a minute and twenty seconds.
Just a tad breathlessly, Van Loan picked up the deck of cards ; announced. “Game on : House rules apply.”
Wandblume, also a trifle blown, grinned in anticipation. “House rules?”
“The game is...Quantum Ten-Card Peel. Before we can start, we’re going to need at least five more....”
***
Shego flashed a mako-smile at Drakken from over the top of her giant fan of cards.
“Prepare to hand in your Haines!” She threw the cards down, dramatically. “Octo-Aces!” Sure enough, eight aces seemingly owned the table.
Drakken responded with a Great Blue Shark. “It’s not my debriefing, sugarcakes, it’s yours! Quantum Singularity!” His hand, a ten card straight-flush, was the Zeus-Brahma-Odin suit : it reigned supreme in the newest card game, game, Quantum Peel.
Shego improvised a rule. “Oh, dual-dress penalty for overconfidence!”
“I like that rule : House accepts addendum to Quantum Peel rule set!”
Shego slipped one carmine--the colour worked well against her virescent skin--bra strap off of a shapely shoulder.
“Prepare to receive my report in detail!”

There were those of us that thought that when Tyrant went down, it’d all be over. The city would be saved, and we’d be able to rebuild, to make Praetoria what it was always meant to be, just without the lies and secrets. It wasn’t until we drove the loyalists out of the Imperial City we realized that was just a dream.

Despite the damage from the battle and the riots, the city was mostly intact. But none of us, not the Resistance, the IDF, the Praetors or the Carnival, truly understood the scale of our mistake. We were that focused on each other, fighting a war of control, ideals and loyalty, that we failed to appreciate the full scale of what Vanessa DeVore died to discover. The Hamidon hadn’t been defeated in the final battle with Cole. Its creations weren’t losing focus and dying off. It was stronger than ever, and it was everywhere.

When the first remote IDF bases fell silent, everyone assumed that it was the cost of the infighting consuming our ranks. When we saw the Devouring Earth begin to move, we believed we had time, that we knew what Hamidon could do. As we fought for control of the Imperial City, for the First Ward and the colonies, Hamidon awakened from its ‘nap’... and by the time Tyrant had been surrounded, trapped in his tower, the monster had done the same to us.

Against those numbers and the sheer power, we didn’t stand a chance. The sonic fences could never hold back Hamidon now. The Resistance and those of us in the IDF that were loyal to the people, not the liar on the throne, we’d fight together against that, no one doubted that. But it would overrun us, and there was nowhere left on Earth to fall back to. We, and the people of Praetoria, would all die in a pointless last stand.

And then the Primals stepped forward, hand offered in true friendship. At first, we couldn’t quite believe it. Praetoria had attacked them, sent war machines rampaging through their streets. Tyrant had ordered every Primal hero be killed, Anti-matter and Neuron had continued their feud there, Diabolique had apparently tried to release a Death God from its prison, and Duray... Well, they’d been given every reason to distrust us. But the offer was real. Their compassion was genuine. After everything we’d done, they still stepped forward to help us, to offer us a new home.

Imperial City was almost completely evacuated by the time the Incarnates entered Nova Praetoria. The only people left to witness the final battle were the fanatics, on both sides. What was left of the Crusaders, the last elements of the IDF that still believed in Cole, and the Talons. It was for the best. It lets us remember Praetoria as what it was meant to be, not the radioactive jungle it became after Tyrant nuked it to try and destroy the Incarnates, and the Hamidon overwhelmed the sonic fences and marched in.

With Tyrant dragged to Primal Earth in chains, we were left with trying to find and rescue everyone that was left. It was usually an easy job, in one way or another. Some places Hamidon hadn’t attacked yet, having seen them as no immediate threat and saving them for later. Those, we quickly evacuated before the monsters noticed us. But all too often, we found nothing but dead bases, towns and cities, the Hamidon having already wiped them out.

One of the few exceptions to the trend was First Ward. Hamidon hadn’t attacked in force yet, but the city was still a warzone. Multiple factions trying to survive in the ruins, many of which had every reason to distrust anyone that once served Tyrant. He’d exiled them there after deeming them unsuitable for his grand vision of humanity, and sent D.U.S.T to train in urban combat by hunting them down like animals. Even now, there were still elements of D.U.S.T there, abandoned when Tyrant was forces back to Nova Praetoria, but still using violence and murder to try and dominate the region. There were survivors of Mayhem’s Seer program, mutated and seeking vengeance. The Apparitions, fragments of the souls Mayhem had fed on like the vampires of myth, wandering the streets and taking their anger out on everyone they saw. Murders, bandits and slavers, the ‘people’ that thrive in any place where law and order have fallen. And of course, the Talons of Vengeance. This had been where they first appeared in Praetoria, and even with Tyrant captured, they wanted all of us to pay for his ‘betrayal’.

With all the factions, grudges and fear in First Ward, there was no way to simply set up a dimensional portal and start evacuating. We had to convince them we could be trusted, that First Ward was indeed lost, and that the only chance any of them had was on Primal Earth. In the end, they never really trusted the IDF, even after we took down D.U.S.T. It was the Primals, and the handful of Powers Division members that had abandoned Tyrant and come to First Wards aid in the early days of the war, that convinced the majority of the city.

It took weeks of negotiations and talks before the evacuation was truly underway, ferrying people through portals to Primal Earth. And even then, there were those that refused to come. People who refused to trust us, people that liked their place in the world, or simply did not believe the reports that the Hamidon was coming. And there were those like the Talons, that simply wanted us all dead.

And just beyond the old, damaged, overworked sonic fences, the Hamidon was gathering.

- Captain John Coates, Imperial Defense Force (retired)

***

“Please, continue moving in an orderly fashion!” the Vanguard officer announced, megaphone carrying the voice across the line of refugees as they made their way into the old D.U.S.T Ranger facility in First Ward. Several thousand people were moving into the base and into the old CTA building where Vanguard had established the dimensional portal, all under the watchful eyes of an impressive, and varied, collection of defenders. The remains of the Resistance Wardens and Carnival of Light, the survivors of the various elements of the Imperial Defense Force that that followed Provost Marchand into rebellion against the Emperor, Longbow, Vanguard and several dozen heroes. The last group were constantly in motion, delivering civilians from all the possible safehouses and hiding spots they’d developed over the years.

“The Palatine’s getting surrenders,” Grant Creston said, the IDF veteran stepping away from one of the high powered radios Vanguard had brought to coordinate the evacuation effort. “Singles and strays apparently. Mostly Dregs, but a few Shepherds as well. Apparently, they’ve started to work out that we weren’t lying about evacuating the city.” His lips curved in a bitter smile. “I guess some of the scum and fanatics aren’t as confident as their leaders about their chances with us gone.”

Snorting, Street Sabre leaned back against an emptied supply supply crate, folding her arms across her chest. “Would anyone think less of me for wishing they’d taken a few more days to catch on?” she asked.

“Hell, I think I’d agree with you,” Grant admitted. “But we can’t just shoot them, no matter how tempting, and chasing them back into the city and leaving them to the Hamidon... That I don’t think we can do either, slaver scum or not.”

Looking up from a map of the city, Temporal Fault considered that for a moment. “Take their weapons, keep them under guard?” he guessed.

“Work out what to do with the slavers later,” Street finished. “Better than nothing I guess.” She glanced across the road as Emet appeared just inside the compound walls in a flash of light, several shell-shocked civilians holding onto the golems arm. “Four more... where was Emet again?”

Turning his attention back to the map, Fault took a moment to check, then looked back up. “The Westerman Building, looks like. Starting at the top and working down, along with Looney Toons and Typhoon Sabre.” He frowned slightly as medics ran over to check on the civilians. “This is his first run back... Thought a semi-isolated location would have had more people hiding out there.”

“It used to,” Grant said quietly. “Then D.U.S.T, Apparitions and the Talons all decided it’d make a good hunting ground.” Scowling, he took off his glasses and looked out at the lake in the center of the ruined city. “The Apparitions, the Talons, them I can almost understand. But D.U.S.T... They were supposed to be among the best of us. The men that’d stand against the Devouring Earth. And they did this. Hell, they never even went after the Seeds when they broke through the fence. That was left to you Primals and Powers.”

Considering the man for several moments, Street Sabre smiled sadly, before stepping up next to him. “The more I hear about your world, the more I understand why you left the IDF. And why you came here,” she said quietly.

“Easiest decision I ever made, really,” he admitted. “I still remember what our purpose was. Even if the men I left behind considered me a traitor, and those I worked with here never really trusted me, I know I made the right call.” He paused, eyes narrowing. “Near the shore. Do you see that?”

Zooming her helmet cameras in, Street frowned at the sight of humanoid shapes, made up of mist and light, floated across the lake towards the D.U.S.T compound. “Apparitions. Five of them.” Adjusting the settings on her hardsuits weapons array, she glanced over at Grant again. “Seeking bodies or just looking for someone to fight?”

“Does it matter?” Temporal Fault pointed out, stepping up next to the others and stretching slightly. “Either way, we’re going to have to take them down.”

“Agreed. You hit ‘em from below, I’ll take the left,” the Sabre said, firing her jumpjets and charging in.

***

From Arcanaville on the forums, reposted Verbatim with addendums since there's no guarantee of how much longer the official forums will functional: 

Not sure how often Zilem Kain reads these forums, but if you see him here or in game GET A HOLD OF HIM. He's the master base builder and has even more to lose than me in the event of the game closing in this regard! He's going to want to record all of his fantastic stuff from the Dojo and elsewhere!

Quote:Black Pebble may have provided an interesting option to base builders that want to preserve their bases in some form. In another thread he mentioned an unannounced feature that is in I24, and in the I24 beta client. There is a freeflight camera option when playing back demorecords.
In other words, demorecord yourself in your base for a while. Then play the demorecord back, but with the *Beta* client instead of the live client.
Now hit F2. Your camera is now decoupled from the original recorded one. You can now fly around the demorecord with wasd and the mouse. Hitting F2 again returns the camera to where it would have been in the demorecord.
I don't know if you can just stand in one place in your base or not when you record although I think you can: I haven't actually tried this in a base yet. But I've tested the feature with an old demorecord from a long, long time ago and it works. See this post:http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...9&postcount=81 for an example of the feature in action.
I will try to test this inside my base to see if there are any issues with it, but I have no reason to believe it wouldn't work. And this would allow you to fly around your base - or at least fly the camera around your base - if it works properly.
In fact, since cameras don't obey bounding boxes, you might be able to see your bases in ways you can't even do now.
Uberguy had the original idea that this would be very useful to base builders, so thank him for the idea to cross-post this information. I don't know everything about this feature yet: I only first played with it last night. I just thought I would get the information out there as quickly as possible, while I'm still playing with it. There may be problems, glitches, hitches, or other issues. But if it works, it might be a really nice way for base builders to keep a record of their bases - they could even show them off long after the game is shut down. Just keep a copy of the I24 beta client around.
Edit: because this seems to be a point of confusion:
You do not need to port your base to BETA. /demorecord on live. That file can be played back with the Beta client.
__________________

Quote:First test inside of a base and it works like a freakin' charm.
Good grief...
And, yes, you can fly through walls and objects and you go way outside and/or above the base, such as in the base editor.
So, record your bases and now we can revisit them, manually.
And here I had been trying to record reasonable tours of them, but now, I really didn't have to. Just make sure you demo record your bases!!

EDIT:
And the camera doesn't even reset when the demo loops through, it just keeps looping while you're off flying around. So, you can record just a quick second of doing nothing in the base and use that if you wanted.
Have to admit, I'll still do recordings of in-game tours, as it is a bit difficult maneuvering through some of my tight twists and turns and secret rooms without having the (player-made) floors and walls to collide against. 
__________________

Quote:To demorecord: /demorecord filename
To finish the demorecord: /demostop (note: zoning automatically terminates a demorecord)
To playback demorecord: make a shortcut to cityofheroes.exe. For these purposes, it should be the one in the Beta directory. Then in the Target of the shortcut where it says something like "Crogram Files (x86)CohBetacityofheroes.exe" add at the end "-demoplay full_path_to_demorecord_file"
That shortcut will run the game client and automatically run the demorecord file. Demorecords automatically loop continuously by default: to stop them either hit Escape or just close the window.
As previously mentioned, you can record on live and then playback with the Beta client. Just point the shortcut to the right location.
Also, there are demolaunchers out there, but this will work with no other software required. It will just require editing the shortcut when you want to play a different demorecord.

Quote:For those with limited experience with demorecord and/or are not technically inclined, here's the step by step process of how to do this:
1. Log into LIVE and enter your base with any character. (This will also work on Beta and Test, but I'm assuming most people's bases are on Live, and important to note you can record on any server and still playback with the beta client, which is necessary for the free flight feature).
2. You might want to consider moving to a neutral room other than the one with the entrance portal, unless you like watching yourself zone into the base (actually, I haven't tested this completely yet; this is a bit of a guess as to what's going on, but its harmless in any case).
3. Type the command /demorecord filename where "filename" is the name of the file you want to set for this recording.
4. You can run this for any length of time you want; it works even if the recording is only a second or two. When you have a few seconds, stop the recording by typing the command /demostop
5. The recording will by default show up in the client_demos subdirectory under where ever your City of Heroes game client is installed. For example, on my Windows 7 64 bit system, my City of Heroes client is installed in Crogram Files (x86)City of Heroes and by default demorecord files end up in Crogram Files (x86)City of Heroesclient_demos
6. Go to the directory where your beta client is installed. On my system its in Crogram Files (x86)CohBeta. Find cityofheroes.exe. Make a shortcut. I rename mine "cityofheroes - Demoplay" but that's entirely up to you.
7. Edit the shortcut. It should look about like this:

In the target blank highlighted, you should see something like "Crogram Files (x86)CohBetacityofheroes.exe". Change that by adding to the end: "Crogram Files (x86)CohBeta -demoplay full_path_to_demorecord"
** Note that the additional stuff is *INSIDE* the quotes. **
For example, something like: "Crogram Files (x86)CohBeta -demoplay Crogram Files (x86)City of Heroesclient_demosmybase.cohdemo"
CAUTION: whatever filename you gave in step 3, the game will append ".cohdemo" to the end as the file extension. You have to put that in the shortcut above or it will not work.
8. Run the shortcut.
9. Press F2 once. This will free the camera. You can now move using the wasd keys (plus x and space for up/down) and the mouse. The mouse is not inverted. Pressing F2 again will move the camera back to its normal position (where it was during the demorecord). Note that the demorecord will loop constantly: this may have an effect on the appearance of the demorecord if there are effects happening in the base (they might flicker, for example, as the recording loops).
10. When you want to exit, either hit ESCAPE or just close the client window.

Note:
- if you get disoriented or lost, F2 puts you back to where you started.
- the camera doesn't obey bounding areas: it can pass through walls, floors, ceilings, and objects
- walls, floors, and ceilings tend to have one-way textures. Meaning, you can see them from the inside, but they are invisible if you are on the outside.
- if you are one of those people that plays with the mouse Y-axis inverted, the demorecord free-flight camera doesn't honor that setting. It will take some time to get used to the mouse moving the wrong way vertically.

How it can fail:
1. Playback looks weird, I don't see my character or the base, just some weird dark sky.
Most likely the path to the demorecord file is wrong, and the client is playing back nothing with the default sky.
2. The controls don't work.
Possibility #1: you are using the live or test client. Only the I24 BETA client will work.
Possibility #2: you forgot to press F2, or you hit it twice.
Possibility #3: you are using keys other than WASD X or Space. QEZC don't seem to do anything, and I don't know if demorecord honors keyremapping although I don't think it does. For movement, WASDX, Space, and Mouse.

 

The Catgirls of Silence is contemplative religious order.  Contrary to the name they do not only admit catgirls, but those admitted must be female.  The order grew out of attempts from a number of directions to help people who had suffered as a result of the Catgirling Machine.  While creating a catgirl-only society seems to work for some, others seemed to need a different path.
This is a silent order, which allows speech for very few reasons and in certain emergencies.  Speech is also allowed in private counseling sessions, where such problems as self-image, and personal identity are covered, as well as issues like self-worth, leading a meaningful and valuable life, and anything else needed to help find a personal balance.  A number of contemplative techniques are taught, including meditation, prayer, slow exercise like tai chi, and various forms of visualisation.
When seen in public the catgirls are dressed in neat and respectable black nun's habits, and in general are not supposed to draw attention to themselves.  They are allowed to communicate by writing or typed text, but are not supposed to do this to excess.  Nothing stops catgirls leaving the order at any time, but if they do so without good reason, and generally consultation, they will likely find it difficult to re-enter later.
Some people have regular 'silence holidays', for example a month a year, and say that this helps them keep the problems of life in perspective.  Many spend a few months, even a year or so, then leave, as they have found a way to live with themselves.  Some enter the order for life, and stay.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

Do any of you happen to know of any successful, happy-ending-for-all-concerned Tatewaki/Akane/Ranma fics?

Given everything else that's been done in the fandom, you'd think it must have been done at least once over the years, but I don't remember ever seeing any examples.

Posi and co have worked together on answers to a lot of lore questions, past and future.

http://docs.google.com/document/d/19qb ... 1&sle=true

... WE WERE GETTING THE MOONBASE?! *Sob*

They don't know how to take decent publicity photos.

At least, not for Endeavour's final journey. The http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegal ... _2357.html]official NASA photo is... well, it's a photo. The http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story ... yback.html]AP photo is impressive.
--
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

From the following thread on the Virtue server forum:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=297388
(Copy/pasting for when the forums go away)
Sharing a new fan video - uploaded today.

Just got the word through the grapevine (the help channel and Titan Network)
HERO AND VILLAIN UNITY MARCH
Where? In RWZ.
When?
September 19th
6:30 PM PST
7:30 PM MST
8:30 PM CST
9:30 PM EST
As many heroes AND villains as possible are invited to march together to show support for their world. In an unprecedented move, Heroes and Villains cast aside their differences in a show of cooperation.
I'm torn - I don't know whether to take C8, Kara Skye, Lily the Diamond or Mechanon Prime to this event! Since I've brought C8 and Kara both to several events already, I guess I'll take Lily. ^_^
As I understand we literally turn "walk" on and march. This has been done a couple of times already in Galaxy Park (Echo) and Steel Canyon. I assume we'll be either level 50s or SKed to level 50s and stay out of the high-end zones so as not to aggro anything.

There is a "special room" that I know how to get to. And I can show you how to get there yourself. (Or I can port you there via ATT.)
Some of you may have heard it referred to as "The Blue Room" or "The Matrix Room" or "The Tron I/O Port".
For purposes of story explanation of exits of characters from the Paragon-verse to other alternate worlds, this place can serve as a really neat backdrop/explanation for any number of ideas.
It could literally be that Paragon City has always been a virtual world and your character is exiting to the real world. (A bit meta, but hey, it worked for Tron: Legacy)
Or it's the gateway to another shard. A doorway through space and time.
Or it's a transporter field whisking the character(s) away from Paragon Earth.







I've taken a couple of Legendary Folk here (I only was shown the way to get there a few days after Black Friday) and one discussion was - no matter what the explanation for this place is - it would be awesome if Evangalia, Terrance Knight, Cyberman 8, and a few others were fighting a delaying action against the "Langoliers" (Insert whatever force is destroying this universe - doesn't have to be that). It finally comes down to those three, then Eva gets wounded and C8 tosses her through, activates every last overdrive reserves he has left in him and joins Terrance fighting side by side as the last few survivors who can make it through do so. As last stands go, it's glorious, rivaling or surpassing the "Burly Brawl" from The Matrix Reloaded. An unstoppable force and an immovable object working together! C8's reserves finally drain away and he's left nearly powerless, Terrance hurls him into the beam, checks for any other survivors as he stands toe to toe with the horde, then finally steps in himself, never having fallen.
Don't know if anyone wants to follow that or another option. But I wanted to relate it because it's cool.