https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udICE0keewk

I really like this one

that's really neat as well.. when i was little, we had 'Film Strips' in school.. a  slide  camera  showed pics, while a record played.. when the  record beeped, the  film strip would be advanced one pic...we heard alot of  folk songs and stuff like this.

Zob?  take care  of how you are goign to deal with Frost,  then we'll move to 'the next day"

Catching up now, glad to see Melia's Charles Vane school of interrogation methods is still generating results well after the fact.

One of the  things   i like  about Video games,  Books  or  movies, is,  somehting that happened before  and effect somehting now.

  'newer' folks have seen  nods  to  Stoly  , Hannah and even Justin...there are things  that happens on shore leave, delta Nights, or  Jump Offs  that  have   effected and will effect the  game as  we continue on

 I would be lying if i said  i remember  everything, but  i often go back and check threads   , skim through things  that may  or may not still have an effect on us.

 Apple and Ajax, who left under , rather, 'bad' feelings'.. have effected things...The  female  HW trooper that was just here for  'a cup of coffee' during the  first Avains nest ship..and she  'broke  Supe's ' nose ( which she couldn't have done  unless she rolled  really high..but that was her 'rage  quit"..but i left it  stand because that added  color for Supe )

 Captain Si's sister , Captain Zonia, ec ect..there were some failed  NPCs   , ebcause of the   wrong  interaction, or lack of interaction that steered them towards thier fastes,,and thus, affected the  the game.

 so?  yeah , Melia's  Nasty questioning, which...( after  some  badgering) Shadow would have to admit , was nastier then his!

It was definitely a tough choice as a player, for the most part Melia is fairly uncomplex to play. However that moment was difficult, because I had to lean into the character and decide what sort of line she would draw, and where that line would be placed given her own personal experiences and the outcomes of them. She's mellowed and tempered over time, but on the questioning line I think that's something that'll stick with her forever as an avenger kind of mindset especially where the EDT/Lady V/empire allies are concerned. She suffered purely out of malice and for unethical science. They suffer because she doesn't want anyone to suffer like that for sport.

 for my part, whether it is my characters or not... Bad guys  should be eliminated..cut and dried.

  Superman and  the  goofy DC  stuff used to make me  mad... marvel, had deaths ( even good  guy deaths) which made  me  lean to them more... SGT Fury and his Howling Commandos lost  2 of thier group and a few  close   'npcs' as it were.

 while DC's  SGT  Rock had a whole company of  soldiers, and only the 'red shirts'  died.

 one of the best Marvel lines was when Peter  Parker let the crook escape..( though he had every right to, after the way he was treated)..however.. that Crook kills his  Uncle.

  I  began to send the message in every game i played  it, with those players  who were 'too lawful good' for my tastes..would rail against my guy killing off  bad  guys, no matter what the reason, or circumstances.

 The Motto that  runs through  my characters is " be the  fire, that fights the fire'...and " leave no live  enemies behind you"

  the first part tells the bad guys, they can't  expect  this 'hero' to  'play nice'...they pay darkness  back, in the coin that they earned.

 the second part has many facets, but the biggest thing  is? if you let a bad  guy go, or they escape ect ect...everyone they kill or harm , is one you. because you could have stopped it.

 That is what gives the dark  cast to  my games, with 'punisher' type  heroes, where vengeance  'isn't a bad thing'

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 934):

If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

But there is cause and effect. If you don't have that, then its fantasy where it doesnt matter who does what at this point. THere's no line to toe then there's chaos. A lot of people have been here a long time. I respect that you've kept this running for so long.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:10, Mon 29 Mar 2021.

::grins::  and then you embrace it!

....................

  Now... somehting on the lighter  side.. Today is Roy's RL B-day!

 Happy B-day Roy!

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 936):

I actually don't embrace it sadly. My character would do what is necessary, necessary doesn't require doing what Shadow did at all. But the road to hell is filled with good intentions.

::chuckles::   some  NPCs  and even PCs   will 'get in the face' of  those  one might consider  'good  guys'.

 but  bad  guys feel the   whole of the wrath. Its not about 'rehabing'  a bad  guy, its  about   punishment  and removal  of the  darker folks from the  board ( on the enemies  side)

 it has its Moral things going on, and  when you see a 'vet's ' actions, you'll see, that it  is almost....never.. out of character.

 one player who wasn't here very long, said  she expected  Shadow  to say "  I'll be your  Huckleberry'... i liked that  so much i used that once or twice, with Shadow , then, having to ask  Roy or someone what the 9 hells a huckleberry was!

...................

 also, for   the 'player  side' of this game..and this is totaly up to you all... PM  me  your  B-day, and I'll list it to give a shout out  in OOC..

 if you rather not? that's  fine..personal info, is just that..but it does  tend to help the community  seem a bit more 'table top'

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 938):

Sure, its coming up in a few months XD I ain't quitting, just saying sometimes I have to take a wait and see approach to your character because with me, I don't plan everything out, I start with a framework and see what comes up after. Right now, mine wouldn't. He would be horrified at the way Shadow killed the woman.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:32, Mon 29 Mar 2021.

Now Lizzy when she first cane aboard would have been horrified as well but Lizzy has been through so much already she would say Shadow went easy on Hoe for what she did.

In reply to Lizzy O'conner (msg # 940):

*laughs* Intentional typo there? Yes well, thats why Lizzy got pissy at Nic too. There is a whole big world of difference between taking care of things and being as cruel as you can

ok we can move onto the next day :)

also Happy Birthday Roy!
This message was last edited by the player at 16:16, Mon 29 Mar 2021.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, all.  I was gonna take the day off from work and go golfing, but the weather is going to crap today, so I'll go to work and then take the day off in a couple of days.

The whole question of how dark to go is part of Roy's character development.  He's constantly, within himself, walking the fine line between becoming so consumed with fighting the enemy that he surrenders his humanity, and embracing the better aspects of humanity.  Sometimes he even calls out Shadow or Hack for taking things too far (he and Garrat are the reason we have Hyrians fighting for us now...they bent Hack's ear with an argument for leniency, and the resulting decisions impressed some of the Hyrians enough to convince them to volunteer for service with the Delta Fleet.  Other times, things get him so pissed off that he sets his humanity aside...not quite as bad as Melia, but the time the two of them went after a group of Marines that would abduct and rape Fleet members on shore leave was stuff that would, in normal circumstances, be grounds for court-martial and dishonorable discharge (Roy didn't leave his Marine gagging on his own genitalia, but the guy will never be combat-worthy again...be lucky if he ever gets out of a hover-chair.)

I've known enough combat veterans, and heard enough stories from them, to know that war often polarizes human emotion...some of the most altruistic actions I've ever heard of were stories of combat troops showing mercy...but some of the darkest stories I've ever heard were also combat troops in action.  The highs get higher, the lows get lower.

And it makes for some enjoyable introspective character moments, when Roy takes a step back and wonders if he's too far gone.  He already regards himself as a sin-eater, of sorts...he does the dark and ugly things so that someone else doesn't have to, and has already resigned himself to the reality that he will never fit in with a 'normal' life, once the war is over...and, frankly, is resigned to the thought that he's unlikely to live through the war (although he also realizes that, oddly enough, the longer he lives, the more his chances of surviving the war go up.)

In reply to Roy Spencer (msg # 943):

Oh i know that and btw, happy bday! Yea Roy's interesting for sure, he's on that line certainly, well behind Shadow who has stepped over. If nic survives have to see how he changes.

Yeah watching kids get thrown out a Vampire hatch began to get Lizzy to and past that point, learning about her father and watching him grt executed really put her to that kill them all mentality.

 Happy birthday Roy.

all  in all  it  doesn't matter how  the characters  are played,  as long as it doesn't bog   down the game.

  some PCs  and NPCs  love Shadow... some...not so much.

 In the end, those who like  him, know  that he has thier back,  those who don't  might be  the kind of  folks  he has to hunt.

 His  Moral  compass points   to 'whatever it takes to get the job done"... and if  he can reward himself with  dolling out punishment, well.. he's not going to turn it down.

.......

 Hack   was  a bit like that when he served, but..he didn't have to grow  up the way Shadow did? so Shadow's  crusade to make  bad folks  pay the price, plays  well for the Delta  fleet. He is hard on this people, to make sure  they are still around  for the next after party. Those who don't  fit the mold, will be sent eslewhere.

Izzy's pretty much the typical "Lawful Good" by the book kind of person. She wants the bad guys taken down but she wants it done properly because in her mind the good guys should follow the rules even if it doesn't always suit them. With her viewing Delta Night as the lesser of two evils which she's willing to accept if not actively take part in.

In reply to Isobel Sakura (msg # 947):

That was all before i got here :P

Then the fire nation attacked

In reply to Nicholas Vasilakos (msg # 948):

Sarah is very much lawful good. She's by the book, and follows strict regs believes in effective discipline and structure in getting the job done. However she's not what I've frequently heard of as Lawful Stupid ie she doesn't get so bound up by the letter of the law that she let's it hamstring her (much like the character she's based on). Sarah will improvise and bend the rest for the greater good especially when given no other option however she's not going to forsake the rules just because it's the fastest path to the objective. There has to be more value gained than easiness.

Hawkeye is neutral good, to again use DnD references. She leans leans on the rules and twists them to suit her needs but isn't bothered by cutting wire and completely breaking the rules for good. Her main thing is good. If the end step is good and harm is minimized than that's how she operates

Hmmmm Lizzy would be Chaotic moody......an explosion waiting to happen.... but she is a terror in the air.

  Fortunately  for the Fleet , Izzy doesn't get much say in delta Nights  and such..it  coems down to the ' " ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or  die"... or, As shadow  would  say " ours  is to make them die'