CoH Splasher

If you missed it in the last post, I found a new program on the forums, called CoH Splasher: http://www.furturama-madhouse.com.ar/misc/cohsplasher.html. It allows you to change your log-in screen, and your character selection screen in both CoH and CoV. Yes, you can set separate screens for both games. You can also, as I've read in the documentation, change the music settings in the game. That means you change what you hear when your character uses a boombox, or the music you hear when you enter Pocket D. I haven't played with that yet, but I'm going to. I hate the music in Pocket D. I did, however, change my screens for CoH. (edit: And when I saw how well they came out, I had to do my CoV screens, too.) Here they are:

Weekly Pictures

I got a little behind with the blogging. I know, I know. I was using my free time to play, not post. Weird, I know. So, there are a lot of pictures here. And, they're slightly out of order. I'll try to explain as I go.

Y'all, I did a Pick-Up Group Statesman Taskforce. Worst decision ever? Well, not entirely. The team was one blaster (Fyre Hex, me) two scrappers, a tank, a peacebringer, a defender, and two controllers. Two of those last three were empaths. Empaths who didn't use fortitude. That's all I'll say about them. Still, we flew through the first few missions. We got a little hung up on the Dr. Aeon AV, but honestly, just a little. Then, we hit the final mission. Confusion, chaos, and death. We didn't finish. Still, I'm glad that I made the run. And I want to do it again with a better team. Or, hell, just again. It's fun, and the visuals are great. Even the NPC dialogue is good.

Above, is Recluse's version of Atlas Park.

Fyre-Hex in Grandeville. No, not villain-Fyre. Hero-blaster-Fyre, during Statesman's TaskForce. A lot less laggy than the real Grandeville.

The Death Picture. Here, Scarlette Blade. At least she took out the Rikti boss she was fighting before she fell.

I love these Carnie missions. This is one from Harvey Maylor, where Malta has invaded a Carnival of Shadows party. After we cleared, I made Vagz wait while Cass and I ran around and took pictures like a tourist.

There's a new program I found on the forums, CoH Splasher, that allows you to change both your log in screen and your character selection screen. It is NOT against the EULA. This picture is most likely my new character select screen. When I get the program all worked out, I'll try to post what the new screen looks like. For the program, go here: http://www.futurama-madhouse.com.ar/misc/cohsplasher.html

I always wanted a neon green velvet sofa.

Cass, with Vagabond Blade sitting on the couch behind her.

A Ring Mistress from another Carnie mission. Yeah, I like the Carnie missions. Why? Arcane salvage, of course.

Cass, waiting for Vagabond Blade in Skyway.

TF Sunday has temporarily morphed into Altitis Sunday. This time, again on Triumph, I made Evan Caine, an AR/Dev blaster. I like the power sets. I like the name. I'm okay with the costume and the face. The hair has to go. She looks like Cass.

Here's my little costume rant, though: I have problems with costumes. I never read comic books. I think I own 4. (Those Buffy comics don't count. They're collector's items. Yeah, that's it.) So, I'm not used to looked at superhero costumes. In general, spandex looks silly to me. And people with underwear outside their clothes should be in insane asylums. Or in an 80's Madonna video. Yes, there are exceptions. I've seen some awesome costumes that look like they've come right off the pages of a comic book (or at least, what I think that might look like). I'm just saying that I have problems putting costumes together. Me, personally. Geez. Anyway. I tend to pick "regular" clothes. And there's a limit supply of those. And, yeah, I use a lot of black. So, I end up with a lot of costumes that look the same or simliar. Of course, the fact that I have, and have made, entirely too many alts may have something to do with that, too.

Evan's at 8 or 9 now. I'll change her hair when she gets a few more levels and can get through Steel Canyon with a little less risk. Yes, she could make it to Icon now. But, I'll still take the less risk, thanks.

Fyre got her imps! Fyre imps? Either way, that's Stop, Drop and Roll. The little one is Drop. Those are my names for them. Fyre has so far refused to name them, although she's referred to them as Larry, Curly and Shemp (yes, I know that particular combination never existed, but the names flow better) and Dweezil, Moon Unit, and Frank.

Part of the Statesman TF. You fight an AV Dr. Aeon, who spawns clones that are Elite Bosses. We died. More than once.

This is the hospital in the final mission of the Statesman TF. You'll probably see it a few times.

Ghost Widow did NOT like Fyre. Can't imagine why.

Captain Mako didn't like anyone.

Weekend Pictures

Not all of the Rogue Isles is ugly. If I saw this picture without knowing the context, I'd say it came from Fyre's vacation album.

That's Havoc and his ninjas in the back, their path of destruction in the front.



After a long day of blowing up cars, Havoc gets down with his ninjas and Captain Piett's soldiers. If you haven't seen the Mastermind Hijinx in Keen's blog, go look for more and better pictures.

Angel Noir, in this season's demonic casual wear.

Guess which key Mason's player broke on her keyboard?

One of these tanks is not like the others.

It's Metal Shift, from the Calystix the Shaper Arc in CoV. If you didn't see what the difference is, look at the faces on the tanks.

Altitis struck again. We created Heroic alts on Triumph, and I used the chance to make my first male character ever. This is Ward Arcana, a level 8 BS/DA scrapper.

Isn't he cute when he's sleeping?

That's Keen's alt, MegaHeat, a fire/fire blaster, in the background.

The Evil Temptation of Fire Imps

We ran half of Team Nevermastermind last night. I want my fire imps, dammit. Which is actually kind of ironic, because I hold a deep hatred for fire imps, from back when a single caster could command a herd of the damn things. Think about it like this: Imagine one of the CoT Oranbega maps with a full team of eight, and a herd of the crazy little rabid wanna-be Rikti monkeys jumping all over. The team is trying to cross one of the catwalks, or climb one of the spiral ramps. You should be seeing fire imps pushing heroes to their doom of waiting spectral demons. This might also be part of my dislike of CoT, come to think of it. Though, I've found myself in an inordinate number of CoT missions lately, because, as has been stated, I want their stuff.

Fyre and Will had a pretty uneventful night last night. They talked about some of the things that were brought up the night before, including the origins of Fyre's powers.
She, of course, doesn't mention her deal with the demon, and doesn't even try to explain Katherine to him. It doesn't seem necessary to her, at this point, and he doesn't press the issue at all. She does warn him, though:
It shouldn't come up... but... if you're ever... concerned.... and you think maybe it might be a good idea to, you know, run away from me... just run.
He doesn't question or act surprised by the warning, so she lets it go.

We both got to 30 and did the aura mission and the costume mission. I picked up "Combustion" as my level 30 power. Dominators are a strange AT. They're as fragile as any other AT, but they have quite a bit of melee powers. It's almost like the "blapper" AT. The mercenaries take most things down quick enough that I haven't found myself in melee very often, but if I keep picking up melee powers, some blapping is bound to happen. I've been putting off "hotfoot," or whatever the exact name is, for endurance reasons. When I pick that up, it'll be a good time to rethink some of my tactics. Now, cinders+combustion seem to work pretty well. Cinders is an PbAoe hold, and then the combustion does some decent DoT damage. Cinders is slow to recharge, though, and its a situational thing, too. I am becoming happier with Fyre's usefulness, though.

Oh, and Will met the Carnies. He wasn't impressed. Point for Will.

Mason and "Red" Tag-Team

We're nudging ever closer to "angst." I guess with this set of players, and the characters that we've dragged into the new Virtue villain team, it was inevitible. Team Nevermastermind. For blogging ease, we'll stick with Team NM, but in my mind, it's Team Nevermastermind.

First, we had more fun with the sapper tech. I had no idea it came up once, much less twice. Will has a sapper gun. Fyre's not happy. Not happy is really an understatement. She's scared, nervous, unsettled, concerned, distressed.... etc. It's impossible for her to hide that level of discomfort from Will. He's seen the scar on her neck-- which I hadn't thought about being visible with her hair pulled into a ponytail until Will and his player pointed it out, but, yeah, it would be. Will was able to make the connection between the scar and the sapper rifle, but Fyre's not going to talk about it easily. While there are things to distract them from the issue, she's going to go along with the distraction.

Distractions abound.

Mason's stand-in, Red, and Havoc both join up. The Rikti appear. Unremarkable missions. (And, damn, wish I could keep Arena and Help out of my chat logs)

Then, Red hints and then admits that he's reporting everything back to Mason. Well, first "someone," but it was obvious, at least to Fyre, to whom he was reporting. At first, Fyre doesn't understand why Mason's so interested in what the group's doing. He doesn't care about anyone but himself, so why does he care what they're doing? (I see in Mason-the-player's blog that Mason-the-character thinks that Fyre might be forming some sort of army to go after Mason. Mason-the-character has officially lost it. Wait, lost it again? Still? Whatever. Had he mentioned that to Fyre, she'd never stop laughing.) Red says repeatedly that it doesn't matter. Confusion quickly turns to anger. Of course it matters.

Master Masonry: Why should it. Not like I have orders to kill you or anything like that. Sheesh.
Cpt. William Piett: ...yet.
Fyre-Hex: You wouldn't be the first from him to.

That's why it matters. How many times has Mason wanted to, tried to, or tried to get someone else to kill Fyre? Really, I've lost track. I think just in the post yesterday or the day before, I mentioned that Fyre was unconcerned with Mason as long as he stayed out of her way, which she now sees he's incapable of doing that. Mason doesn't like being ignored. Maybe that was part of his motivation?

Red has a completely twisted view of Mason, and of Fyre from the lies Mason has told him. Fyre realizes that quickly, and doesn't expect Red to believe anything she has to say about Mason, or about anything else. She should have simply told the "kid," "Buzz off. If I see you again, you're dead. Tell Mason to shove it." But, of course, we like long complicated, convoluted storylines and conversations, so it drags, and Fyre tells him things about Mason that he hadn't known. The truth, though she never expects him to believe her or any of it to make a difference.

Master Masonry: Because he doesn't trust you. It's why he's set me on you. He said you lie.
Master Masonry takes a moment.
Master Masonry: Wait... what?
Fyre-Hex: He said *I* lie? Ha! You don't know Mason very well, do you?

The irony is rather staggering.

Fyre's jumped on Red everytime that Red calls Mason "the Master." She finally tells him why.
Fyre-Hex: You know where he got the idea to have people call him "master?"
Fyre-Hex: From a guy who tortured his best friend almost to death.
It doesn't have much of an impact on Red. In fact, nothing has much of an impact on Red until Red finally catches on that Mason's gay. That's the last thing that Fyre would expect anyone to have a problem with. The betrayals, the lies, and the violence, yes. Homosexual tendencies? No. But that's what Red gets stuck on.

Master Masonry: He has people. He has people who care about him, who do what he asks and orders. You have to pay for your friends.
Master Masonry nods to Piett.
Master Masonry: You have no one who cares.

Is this hitting too close to home? Later, in Pocket D, Mason says something similar. It doesn't bother Fyre nearly as much as one might expect. She's been alone most of her life, with superficial friends and lovers. More after her powers surfaced. She's come to terms with it, so she's able to brush if off, especially as it comes from Red, whom she couldn't care less about, and Mason.

Right around here is where Fyre starts losing it, though:
Fyre-Hex: I told you, you idiot, why he uses that title.
Fyre-Hex: Do you think that's... admirable?
Master Masonry: Why... you just think that because someone else used that title that he took the idea from him.
Fyre-Hex: Mason wants to be like a guy who tortured someone to get them to give up their nine-year-old daughter. Someone who was supposedly Mason's best friend.
Master Masonry:
Fyre-Hex: The same little girl that Mason was willing to turn over to the first "master," for god knows what.

Red's stupidity and blind loyalty and admiration for someone as cruel as Mason, once Red's aware of the things he's done break through Fyre's lack of concern for Mason. She's so angry at Red and Mason both that she can barely see straight. If Fyre was any of the things that Mason's told Red, well:
Fyre-Hex: You stupid son of a bitch. If I was a witch, you'd be a pile of ashes right now.
Master Masonry: No... no...
Cpt. William Piett:If this was directed at me, he'd be a corpse decorating the bottom of the Pit.
Master Masonry: You're not doing... that because... you're too afraid.
Fyre-Hex: Of you?
Master Masonry nods to himself as if agreeing with his statement.
Fyre-Hex: Do you have any idea of the things I've gone against?
Master Masonry: Of the Master.
Master Masonry: You're afraid of him, you make these things up to discredit him.
Fyre-Hex: Your "master" wets his pants when I look at him wrong.
Yeah, she's exaggerating... a little. Mason is afraid of her, of course. We all know this, and Mason even admits it again later. But she's angry.

Red gets hung up on where Fyre's fire comes from. Now, Fyre and I were both surprised that not only Mason remembered, but found it important enough to tell his minions. And, like Fyre tells Red:
Fyre-Hex: Not that even freakin' matters.
Fyre-Hex: Mason used his hands and guns to kill your friends. Does it matter where he bought the guns, or whether he wore gloves or not?

Finally, Fyre says:
Fyre-Hex: You're an idiot. And you tell Mason that if he wants to know what I'm doing so damn bad, he can ask me his own damn self.
And Red takes off.

Oh, of course, not before Captain Piett shoots Diesel in the kneecap. Hey, he did warn him first. And with a gang, if you make a threat and back down from it, you lose more than face. Medical care in the Rogue Isles certainly made it a minor problem. Fyre was shocked until she thought about it like that, but then couldn't find much fault with Will's actions. And, the truth is:
Fyre-Hex: And... still better than he would have gotten from Mason in a similar situation.

Now, I knew if we put it off, I'd forget how angry Fyre was, and Mason's player was still hanging around.... so, we set up a meeting in Pocket D for them.

I wanted to take level 50 Blaster Fyre, not level 29 Dominator Fyre. I thought for sure the arena would be involved, and Mason was going to be either a level 50 tank or a level 50 peacebringer. Mason-the-character avoided any fighting, though. Mason was entirely too calm. Fyre even tried on purpose to get him rilled up, and he hardly stirred. Fyre was thinking maybe he was on some sort of drugs. (no, not Prozac... like, animal tranquilizers or something.)

Mason was hung up on Fyre "trying to undermine everything I built over there." Fyre had no idea what he meant. This must be a reference to Mason's paranoid suspicion about Fyre building some kind of army to take him out?
Masonry Redux: You're trying to undermine everything I built over there.
Keen Havoc: What are you building over there? "The Masonry Cult?"

Mason, and Red earlier, keep saying that Fyre is cheating on E with Captain Piett. Fyre ignores it. First, she's not doing anything with Captain Piett that would be included in "cheating." Also, she and E didn't have the type of relationship at the time of his coma that would ban any actions that would be considered "cheating." Is it more complicated than that? Of course it is.

Mason also brings up Fyre's ancestor and the demon.
Masonry Redux: Given up on getting rid of your curse, too?
Fyre Hex: Mase, I think you *are* my curse.
Again, Fyre and I are surprised that Mason's processed and retained any of that information. She manages to dodge and misdirect any questions or hints. She never lies, or even bends the truth. Anything she says about it is the absolute truth. She just doesn't elaborate.

Those two things are the only thing about the conversation with Mason that stays with her. She's concerned with Captain Piett's perception of the hints and accusations that Mason throws out, and she plans to talk with him about those as soon as possible. Havoc hates Mason enough, and is less concerned with her, that she doesn't consider his reaction as much.

Mason denies, misremembers, and misrepresents quite a few things they talk about, as usual.
For example:
Masonry Redux: I was having them watch you. What's so bad about that?
Masonry Redux: Not like I would have them kill you.
Fyre Hex: It wouldn't be the first time you've tried to have someone kill me, would it?
Masonry Redux: sighs:: So you say.
Fyre Hex: So I say? Do you have amnesia?
Masonry Redux: Often.
Fyre Hex: Obviously.
Fyre's used to him twisting... no, breaking the truth, so she pretty much brushes it off.

Mason mentions that one of gang, Jynx, liked Fyre. Fyre's pretty sure that Mason's lying. Had one of the gang expressed something that wasn't hate or contempt for her, Fyre figures that Mason would have just killed him for daring to think in a way different from Mason.

Mason gets shot down a lot. Captain Piett turns him down more than once, and a little later Havoc turns him down, too. Fyre points out more:
Fyre Hex: Mase, I don't care. I didn't want you, E didn't want you.... ::shrugs::
Masonry Redux: Nope. I can deal with that. Your loss.
Cpt. William Piett: As long as there are teenage necks to break, you'll deal.
Fyre Hex: Ah, but it's my neck he really wants to break. And it makes him so angry that he can't.
Masonry Redux: I've sworn off it. I'm going for a clean slate now. I have no choice.
Masonry Redux: glances at Fyre::
Masonry Redux: It does.
Fyre Hex gives Mason a blindingly bright smile.
Masonry Redux: ::mutters:: Bitch.
Fyre Hex laughs.

Mason tries to start with Havoc, by bringing up again that he's sleeping with Havoc's brother, which seriously bothers Havoc. Fyre tries to deflect him, because she sees how upset it makes Havoc:
Fyre Hex: Hey, Mase?
Masonry Redux: What?
Masonry Redux blinks.
Fyre Hex: When you're sleeping with Daisuke, are you dreaming about killing people? Snapping necks? My neck?

Fyre Hex: Stay away from us. Keep your boys away from us.
Fyre Hex: And, Mase.
Fyre Hex gives another bright smile.
Fyre Hex: Dream about me.
Masonry Redux: I'll dream about you all right.
Masonry Redux: It won't be pretty.
Fyre Hex: I wouldn't expect anything other from you, Mase.
Masonry Redux: Nice to know your expectations are so easy to satisfy.
Fyre Hex: I have low ones for you.

Finally, there were so many good lines. But the winner is the game. In the midst of the conversation in Pocket D, an NPC near Fyre came up with:
[NPC]Raver: Never date a redhead. Don't ask.

Captain Piett and the "Proto-Rikti"

Will had his freak-out last night. His player already posted in his blog, and I probably could have just made this as a comment to that, but I have more space to ramble here. Ramble, me? No, really, it happens sometimes.

Anyway.

We did three or 4 missions on the Dark Mavis/Dark Maverick arc.... how do you get from Dark Maverick to Dark Mavis? She calls herself the Dark Maverick, but she's listed as Dark Mavis. Did I miss something, or is it just one of those irritating little typo type things? Is a little consistency too much to ask?

Anyway.

Just those couple of missions caused quite a bit of ang-- er, drama. And, checking Wiki, I see I made an error.

I hate Task Forces. I've mentioned this. So, I don't pay much attention to them. They all sort of run together for me. My first thought when Mavis sent us on the trail of Aurora Borealis was the task force where you're sent by her husband to rescue her. Okay, if I remember that much of it, Fyre must have done it, right? Wrong! That task force doesn't exist any more, and it hasn't existed for a long time. Fyre couldn't have done it. I'm not even sure I've done it.

But, we'll play it as it stands.

So Fyre thought Aurora might know who she was. Well, of course not, but Fyre was slightly concerned. Then Mavis set them on the trail of Longbow's "sapper" tech. Malta has sapper guns. Malta killed Fyre, so she's understandably got some issues there. Then, one of the scientists involved in the sapper tech is now residing with the Lost.

At level 30, Lost become Rikti. We were 29, so there were bound to be some 30s in the mission, even at the Heroic-- er, Villainous setting. And there were. And Will freaked.

Fyre's pretty understand of the freaking. She's done it, both over Malta and once over a mission in an insane asylum, that I don't recall very well.

Okay, I don't recall, because it didn't actually happen. Back in the Team 1.0 days, either at or near 50, there was a mission to go after Malaise. It's set in the hospital/insane asylum map that we've recently run into villain-side with Team 3.0. Character-wise, Fyre freaked, and wouldn't have gone inside. It should have been as bad, at least, as her Malta-mission freak out. Probably much worse, because she wasn't nearly as tough as she is now. In reality, it was an "RP-lite" team, and it was late at night, and in tells it was decided to "pretend" she freaked, and just go on with the mission.

But, anyway, she's understanding of Will's issues, and she has sympathy and concern for him. She hasn't mentioned her own, both because she's not a "sharer" and because she doesn't feel they compare. Will's mourning the death of thousands of people, including his family. For her, the only death involved was her own. It makes her feel as though she's being selfish.

Quick aside: I love the way Will's player is using the minions. Sinatra, the commando, in particular, and to a lesser extent Taylor, the medic, are almost developing into characters themselves.

So, the argument of the previous night is more than forgotten, Fyre's concerned about Will, and Will finally acknowledges that Fyre wasn't just making up stories about the Lost and the Rikti.

And then we get a mission about an ex-hero that's come to the Rogue Isles and become a villain. "Again," says Will. "Again?" asks Fyre. Well, yeah, a couple of days ago, there was a Freak that had been a hero in Paragon. "It must be a trend," comments Will. Two isn't a trend, Fyre points out. "Four is," says Will.

Silence. Dead silence.

Will is, obviously, referring to Mason and Fyre. Fyre doesn't consider herself a villain. She hates that she might be thought of as one. She doesn't like being put in the same class as psycho-serial-killer Mason, either. Especially by Will, who doesn't hold Mason in very high esteem, to say the least. Was that an innocent comment, or did he know how much it would disturb her? If he knew, did he say it because of how much he disapproves of her actions, or is it some jibe to get back at her for being right about the Lost and the Rikti? Either way, it's enough to remind her how distrustful she should be. Just because she can identify with some of Will's issues, she shouldn't overlook what he is, or how dangerous he could be.

And, 3 more levels to fire imps.

Fyre, Will, Team Nevermastermind, and the LGTF

I've been doing some "housekeeping" type things that I've been putting off for more than awhile. Literal, and metaphorical housekeeping. One of the things I've been meaning to do is put labels on my posts, mostly for my own benefit. I started at the most recent, and worked my way back. "Wow, lots of pictures. Team 2.0. Angst, angst, angst." I stopped labeling. Maybe my labeling system needs to be more specific. Maybe I'll get to that. Or, you know, not.

So, what's goin' on?

I skipped some things, I know. And I'm probably going to skip more stuff. It's my blog, and I'll do what I want.

Anyway.

Mason's been replaced on Team 3.1..... Team Mastermind... Team MM... Team Nevermind.... Team Nevermastermind? Team NMM? Okay, how about just Team NM? Right. Mason's been replaced on Team NM by one of the gang that he dragged around with him, a guy who calls himself Red. Or, "kid," or "boy," if you ask Havoc or Captain Piett. Would they actually accept this new guy into their loosely knit group so easily? Almost definitely not, but we like and want to keep the player, so Red's in. Fyre's pretty indifferent about it. She's got bigger things on her mind. And she knows any one of them can take some street punk if the need arises. Mason himself is a peripheral problem. As long as he doesn't show up and cause problems and force her to deal with him, she won't. As far as revealing her presence in the Isles, the importance of that not happening has faded. (Really, the consequences are non-existent, and reality of it would screw with the story.)

The demon has told me the reason why he wants Fyre in the Isles. It's maybe stretching a little, and it has the potential to be way over-blown. It's a big idea. More melo-dramatic than I would have chosen. But it works. Fyre doesn't know, and won't know for a good long while. The demon's not telling her right now, and I'm not telling her, either. I've been playing around with ways to drag my fallen angel character on Virtue, Angel Noir (level 41 fire/thermal corrupter who's been languishing at 40+ since way before they raised the CoV level cap from 40 to 50) into the story. Maybe she knows Fyre's demon, and she'll "accidentally" run into Will sometime. Or, not. Just something I'm playing with.

Fyre and Will got into an argument last night. It was after 3am, so I don't remember it well. Luckily, I don't look at the keys to type, or I wouldn't have been able to see what I was typing. I should have been sleeping, not ang-- er, drama-ing. The mission was a Circle of Thorns kidnap. Simple, right? Until the text came up from the kidnappers and the hostage. You have to love when the game throws these kinds of things into your lap. The hostage, Agnes something, had bought a necklace that was a charm against demons, and the Circle wanted it. Fyre wanted that charm. A lot. But she didn't want to draw attention to how much she wanted it, and especially not why she might need it. Will makes a comment something like, "Hey, that could be useful. You should see how much she wants for it." Fyre was already going to do that. No, she wasn't going to just take it. Fyre's not a villain, she's just playing one. And, she could certainly afford whatever Agnes wanted for it, especially since she told the Circle she didn't want it, anyway, and they could just have it. Most likely, Agnes was so grateful to get away from the Circle, she just gave it to Fyre.

But instead of just telling Will that was a good idea, and buying it from Agnes anyway, Fyre snaps at Will. "Don't you think I know what I'm doing, at least sometimes?" Or something like that. They had a brief argument last week when Will went back and checked some rooms in a mission that Fyre had just been through. When you think about the stuff she's been through and done and been up against, she really does have to be more than competent at the type of things that she and Will are doing. She knows, though, that people often don't get past what she looks like and what her upbringing was. She's been touchy about that before, and it wouldn't stop with someone like Will. She doesn't like that he questions her judgement on things she knows she's capable of doing. She doesn't like that he doesn't believe her when she tells him things like the Lost are Rikti, when she'd have no reason to lie to him about such a thing. She's nervous that he's going to ask why she wants the charm, especially since every other time they've taken something from one of their missions, she's expressed no interest in whatever the thing is, no matter how much it's worth, or how important it is. Even if she wanted to explain anything to him, Havoc's listening. Havoc wanders off to see an Arbiter, and Fyre tries the employer/employee thing, but does it badly, and the fact that she was just arguing with him makes Will less inclined to cut her some slack. The argument probably would have gone on, but the players weren't awake enough.

Earlier, we'd played around with Team 3.0 a little. Pretty quiet, except when Bomb collapsed at the end. Luna's first reaction was to shake him, or check his pulse or his breathing. She remembered in time, though, how much she didn't want to touch him. Physical contact makes psychic contact all that much easier. It's not impossible to have psychic contact without physical contact, of course, but the physical contact makes it all but unavoidable. Luna does not want to know what's going on inside Bomber's head, or any of things that have happened to make him what he is, or anything else she might pick up on. The same, by the way, goes for anyone else, which is why she's never without her gloves, and why she goes out of the way not to touch people. I think she has nightmares about accidentally touching the demon that Ryu's introduced to the gang.

Before that, we did the Lady Grey TF with blaster Fyre, scrapper Vagz, tanker Masonry, and Keen Stronghold, and some of Vagz's friends from Dauntless. Pretty unremarkable.

SPOILERS FOR THE LADY GREY TF AND THE RWZ

I still love the TF. The first mission where you rescue Penny and the Clockwork King and his minions appear, the mission where you rescue two sisters from the Omega Team, the Abyss, and the final mission where you walk through the carnage to get downstairs to find the Honoree. It's a great TF, story-wise and visual-wise. If you've seen the pictures I posted today, you'll see that we accidentally "worm-holed" a pylon into the center of the Hamidon. That's something you don't see every day. We had relatively few deaths, no angst, and we went through it pretty quick. Cass is, barely, in range for it, and I still wouldn't mind doing it on Fyre or Blaze again.

I want to get villain Fyre to 32. Fire imps. Fyre imps? Uh, maybe not. But first level 30 and the aura, which I may have a use for. I have an itty-bitty idea of a plan, or an option for a plan, because it might be more of a pain in the ass than its worth. I'm still more into letting things happen as they do than forcing things, so, we'll see, I guess.

Weekend Pictures

Master Masonry, Keen Havoc, Fyre-Hex, and Cpt. William Piett in Pocket D. (And, yes, I editted and cropped the picture. I officially have too much free time.)

The Captain, bubbling while his mercs keep watch.

Looks peaceful, doesn't it? Looks are deceiving.





The Abyss, during the Lady Grey Task Force.

Hami ate a pylon.

Hami goes out in a burst of light.

The disturbing beginning of the last mission in the Lady Grey TF. That's Oksah, in the gold, checking on a Vanguard soldier, and Keen Stronghold standing near her.

It started out as a good place for Blaze to go AFK when I was scared to death to stop anywhere mobs could reach me, and now it's one of Fyre's favorite places to sit. Nothing can sneak up on her there.

Weekly Pictures

Fyre and Barracuda. They're not going to be friends

Captain William Piett and Keen Havoc. A lot of cows had to die for those outfits. Let's have a moment of silence for the cows.

Samantha Noir, a.k.a. "Sam." A level 8 robots/ff Mastermind on Pinnacle, and also on Infinity. She's tougher than you.



Fyre Hex and Vagabond Mage fighting the Rikti AV, though here he's only an EB. In both guises, he's one of the few AV's that will run away. Wimp.




Fyre, pulling her kamikaze routine and trying to solo the EB. It didn't work. That time.

Faultline's in that mess. He turns out to be a stone armor/earth control tanktroller.

You may have to click on this picture to read the blue text. But, do it!

Floating torsos. The Isles really are weird.

Team Mastermind, doing what masterminds do best... block things. Here, the stairs. All the minions wouldn't even fit on the stairs.

Drama in the Isles

One of the thing I missed in the first year I played the game, which for me consisted of leveling almost exclusively, was the complexity of some of the mission story lines. On teams, we did whoever had that highest level mission. If it was mine, I clicked, "Accept this mission," or whatever, and never read further than that. Clues were things I wished other members of the team had, not something to read to figure out the next step in the story arc.

I've gotten the chance to pick up things that I missed previously, but a great illustration of some of the more interesting stories are the Vanguard missions in the RWZ. I hadn't really done any until the night before last when Fyre Hex and Keen Stronghold tagged along with Vagabond Mage on a few.

(Spoilers if you haven't done the RWZ missions!)

And what did we find out? Vanguard is crooked. And so is Longbow. Wait, we knew that second part already. But, anyway. And, okay, not all of Vanguard. Just a faction that doesn't like the Rikti peace negotiations, and plots the assassination of Lady Grey (which they managed! That was a stupid place to hide a hostage. And they killed her as soon as we got close, and damn! Is she squishy, or what?). Longbow has an entire huge base that they've been using to spy on Vanguard. They're none too happy when a group of heroes come in, sniffing around the base. In one mission, you end up fighting Longbow AND Vanguard, as a hero. (And Vanguard are tough as hell, by the way.)

Vagabond took it all in stride. He was a little surprised, but if anyone could claim to have seen it all before, it would be Vagz. Poor Stronghold was crushed. He'd been working with Longbow of late, and specifically with one of the Longbow lieutenants (Who has some sort of African name that I won't even attempt. Sufi something, maybe) that you initially fight along side in one of the earlier missions, and then you have to defeat in a later mission. After he was defeated, Stronghold knelt by his side until the hospital teleporter took him away. He told Vagz and Fyre that part of his work was to steal technology from Vanguard. He hadn't understood all of his job, but now that he'd seen the listening post and what Longbow was doing to and with Vanguard, it made sense. And he wasn't happy about it.

For Fyre, it just reinforced her idea that no one is trustworthy. She wasn't surprised that Longbow was on the wrong side, again. After what they've done to E and Jen, she has a hard time believing that anyone in Longbow is really one of the good guys. Vanguard, though, is supposed to be above things like that. They're supposed to be the ones who put aside petty concerns and protect the world from its biggest threat, the Rikti. Finding betrayal there of all places shattered one of the few illusions she had left. It made her angry. And getting the crap beat out of her by them didn't help in the least.

A little aside here. I'll admit, I sometimes play Fyre like a kamikaze. This is mostly just a game-mechanics stance, and not a character trait. Mostly. But, if death is coming, that's okay. If someone has to die, I'll try to get her to take one for the team. She's 50. Debt is just another badge. While her health goes down, Defiance goes up. It doesn't really kick in until the health bar is red. She's going to get a few good shots in, and if she does die, she has a self-rez, which also has the benefit of stunning and knocking back everything around her.

So, Vanguard killed her a lot. She was hurt and angry, and it was just a matter of time before she started taking it out on someone. Poor Captain Piett gave her the perfect opening, but Captain Piett's tough enough that he wasn't putting up with it, and shut her down pretty quick. (Which is why I love Captain Piett. I love tough guys, I admit it. And, hey, you gotta be pretty tough to hang with Fyre, especially now.) Unfortunately, Mason chose just that minute to join them. I almost felt bad for Mason, walking into that. I warned the player, but we all (players and characters) knew it was just a matter of time before Fyre and Mason got into it. And they did. But Mason wasn't in the mood to fight, much.

Fyre has a bad habit of forgetting all the things that Mason has done to her, and those around her. She wants to believe that he's not a bad person, and it usually works for awhile, until he tries to kill her, tries to get someone else to kill her, admits how much he wants to kill her, tries to hand over a little girl to an evil mastermind.... stuff like that. Even through Mason's impression of a psycho serial killer, she's been able to talk to and joke with him. She needed to remind herself that he'd kill her or betray her at a moment's notice. Captain Piett, however, sees Mason only as a threat and didn't need reminded of any of that. Fyre does not like the idea of turning Mason in, because she figures that would reveal her own presence in the Isles. She's not under threat of imprisonment in the Zig, but she hates the things she's doing. She hates the isles and everything about them. (In fact, she actually hates it so much, I'm having a hard time keeping her from finding an exorcist for the demon and hoping the doctors can keep E alive without its help, or just giving in to the inevitable. A real hard time.) She and Mason had a conversation some time ago, where they both claimed to not be heroes. But, Fyre's seeing that she's not a villain, either. The injustices she sees in the Isles make her sick. It's almost killing her to ignore them, or worse, enforce them. She's trying to ignore things, and it works for her for awhile, but it works a little less each time. Captain Piett's matter-of-fact attitude helps her some, too. How much longer can she continue to pull it off, though?

In the middle of a cave Circle of Thorns mission, Mason chose to ask after E. That set Fyre off again. Had he actually cared about E's condition, he'd have chosen a quiet moment to ask. In the midst of fighting, Fyre knows what his real motivation is. He's trying to get her worked up, to make her feel guilty for running around the isles while E suffers the coma in Paragon. She remembers the "maternal" comment that Mason made once before. (See June 1st's post if you need a reminder) She knows he thinks she should never move from her chair next to E's hospital bed, and he wants her to feel guilty for not being there. She was there. She would be there. But sitting in that chair doesn't get anything done, and Fyre is not one to sit idly by when there's something to be done.

Mason leaves to work with Futura eventually, and they all wonder if Star will manage to kill him this time, with various degrees of interest. We ran one of Havoc's mayhem missions with him sk'ed up to Fyre and Will's level. Wow, can we do that again? It was just mass destruction. At one point, we had 36 minutes on the timer, and that was just the biggest amount of time that I actually noticed. Keen got his contact and we all made progress on our Mayhem badges, and had a blast doing it.

Captain Piett wanders off to take care of some business (the player had pesky RL stuff), and Fyre and Havoc are left together. Fyre likes Havoc. The normal definition of "like," not the grade-school-Mason definition of "like." She already sort of knows him through Stronghold, but more from working with him now. Like she told him, even though she worked with Stronghold longer, she feels like she knows Havoc better. Havoc's much more talkative and open. Does she trust him? Probably not, but then, that's standard for her. He makes a comment and winks at her during the mission, but Fyre's pretty oblivious. Men smile at her, and stare at her, and flirt with her (and run up to her in the middle of the street and stand next to her for long periods of time just slowly spinning in a circle). That's just how it is. She doesn't take it personally. She'll smile back and laugh, but she doesn't mean it personally, either, not as encouragement or as rejection. Unless, of course, the person is repellent for some reason or another, then the rejection will be quick and obvious.

Which brings me briefly to Luna. Luna's been thrown into situations that are beyond her. She feels bad for Bomber. She knew Bomb was dead, or at least not quite alive. It really should have been obvious to all of them, but Luna's got a couple of extra senses to pick up on things with, anyway. She doesn't know how to deal with him, though, or even offer sympathy that he would understand or accept. Kain, as far as she's seen, may as well be a robot. He hardly talks, and rarely shows a reaction to much of anything. She does have issues with Ryu. No, I certainly didn't plan it this way. Ryu represents authority, privilege, and a section of society that she not only doesn't have experience with, but resents, for reasons we may or may not get into. She doesn't hate him, she doesn't want to kill him, but she doesn't especially like him. And the demon freaks her out, especially after he gave the "demons should be destroyed" lecture.

I'm not going to call it "angst," yet, but... we have drama, people.

Weekend Pictures

This is Villain-Fyre (you can tell by the blonde). I don't know why she was posing, but I do like the picture. It was taken before I (finally) turned up my resolution, so it could have been better, of course.

Yeah, it's kind of a "death picture," but it's a good action shot anyway. That's Keen Havoc in the foreground, Fyre dead on the floor with the minions and miners, and Mason, in the back ground, about to be hit by a shovel.

Mason, Fyre, and Captain Piett spent some time in Pocket D over the weekend. The facial expressions do not change in the game, but I'd say Fyre looks mad about something or other. With that crowd, it's a good bet.

I spent way too many hours in the RWZ on Saturday. Poor Fyre died, a lot. Here, she's helping to tear down a pylon.

The Rikti Giant Monster, U'Kon Gr'ai. Note the guy with the Most Mismatched Costume In The World, behind U'Kon's.... club? Gun? Sword?




The death picture! I think we were trying to spell out "help."

I always think it's kinda ironic when Fyre gets frozen. Even more, when she gets set on fire.

Luna spent some time exploring Sharkhead while the team waited for Kain. She found some Freaks doing some strange stuff. They were apparently baffled by this "strange item." Looks like a skelton to me, guys. With all the shooting, slicing, stabbing, burning, and exploding, it can't be a very unusual sight.

You can also see my obessive-complusive need to organize my inspirations (ugh, that orange is in the wrong place!) and Luna's lack of chat tabs. All the action in Guardian happens in team-chat, and only in team-chat. I never bothered to add or seperate anything else. I think every character I have has a different chat-tab set up. But, everyone's inspiration tray is nice and organized. No matter what. Yes, I will click-and-drag in the middle of a fight.

Lunatrix, in her goth look, making someone invisible. Probably Bomber.