FANFIC: LNH: Constellation #27 - "Why Did Myk-El Betray The LNH?"
Dave Van Domelen
copyright 1994 by Dave Van Domelen, Coherent Comics UnInc.
Myk-El kinda *is* Mike Kelly, used by permission
=============================================================================
[Cover is looking over Constellation's shoulder at the armored form of Myk-El.
Sig.Lad and Kopikat flank Constellation, and Myk-El's armorsuit looks decayed
and mouldering, with bits falling off]
[Opening page is nine-panel grid]
A computer screen is visible, although the words on it are not. From
off-panel a voice says, "This doesn't make much sense." A second voice
replies, "Since when did the LNH's records *ever* make sense?"
Grey-gloved hands work the keyboard. "Less sense than normal, Kat. It
just doesn't fit."
A shadowy figure stands in the doorway, his face not visible. "What
doesn't fit?" asks the newcomer. The tapping of the keyboard can be heard.
Tight focus on one side of a red domino mask which is lying on the desk
next to the keyboard. "I've been going through the mission logs again, Floyd.
Trying to fill in the gaps from when I was in my wandering phase after the
Bellerophon Gambit."
The upper left-hand corner of the monitor is visible. It reads "Ultimate
Ninja Log: #5" in glowing amber characters. The typist continues, "Apparently
the traitor Contraption Man came to this time to warn us about was found while
I was gone."
The shadowy figure steps out of the doorway, but still is cloaked in
blackness. "Someone you know? Duh, stupid question. I mean, someone you know
*well*?"
Close shot of a bearded mouth and chin. "Not really. In fact, I still
don't know much about him. But this whole thing stinks of Acton Lord's hand."
The first speaker's face is now partly obscured by a gesturing metallic
hand. The owner of the hand says, "Sam, you *always* think Acton Lord's
involved."
Sam's torso is visible as he stands up. His LNH belt insignia catches the
light. "Perhaps. But the question remains...."
Sig.Lad stands dramatically in a worm's eye shot full splash page, and
asks:
"WHY DID MYK-EL BETRAY THE LEGION OF NET.HEROES?"
The room was silent for a moment as the question hung in the air as if it
were the title of the issue.
Constellation shrugged. "Who's Myk-El? And can we kill the pseudo-
Giffen effect? It's giving me a headache. It's too cryptic even for this
title."
Sig.Lad smirked. "All right. Felt like a change of pace, myself.
Anyway, Myk-El was one of the original members of the current LNH, back during
the Cosmic Plot Device Caper. A member of the now-dead Qwertian race, he
apparently gained immense powers under red sun radiation. When wearing a suit
that bathed him in said radiation, he went berzerk and tried to destroy the
Legion. Would have succeeded, except that by that time several people already
suspected him of treason, so there was a cutoff switch for the suit. His power
gone, he was cut in half by Ultimate Ninja. End of story, end of the threat
Contraption Man predicted."
"How did they know he would be the traitor? Maybe the same clues that
tipped them off would explain things to you?" suggested Kopikat.
Sig.Lad shook his head. "Nada. The day he turned traitor he tried to
frame Cheesecake-Eater Lad as the traitor, but aside from that the only clues
were all the derogatory ninja jokes he'd been telling the past week or so."
Constellation grinned lopsidedly. "And if telling ninja jokes was grounds
for suspicion of treason, Lite'd be in the SecuriCells already. Couldn't we
ask Contraption Man?"
Kopikat interrupted Sig.Lad, "No, the records show he returned to the
future shortly after the traitor was revealed."
Sig.Lad shot Kat a cold look. "Actually, he's been sighted around the
LNHQ several times recently. I sent his account some email, but no answer yet.
And he's not actually in the building right now. Unfortunately, his recent
appearances may simply be temporal echos...he *was* a time traveller, after
all."
A dulcet feminine voice spoke from Constellation's chest, "What 'leads' do
we have open right now?"
Kopikat jumped back and nearly transformed. "What the hell(TM)?"
[Editor's note: in the SuperGuy Altiverses, Hell(TM) has gone corporate and
among other things trademarked its name. In order to smooth the upcoming
interdimensional shift (aka imminent crossover), various legal actions are
being taken in slow stages so that this title will be in compliance with
trademark law in SuperGuy.]
Sig.Lad and Constellation looked at her in confusion for a moment.
Constellation said, "That was Dot...I thought you couldn't hear her?"
Sig.Lad cocked his head, "Waitaminnit...that wasn't mindspeak."
"Correct. I've finally figured out how to make myself heard. What do you
think of the voice?" asked Dot.
Constellation paused and looked a bit uncomfortable, but Sig.Lad smiled
and replied, "Good job, Dot. Sounds just like your mindspeak. Kinda weird
hearing a voice come from someone's chest, though."
++What do you think, Flood? Feminine enough?++ asked Dot so that Sig.Lad
couldn't hear.
Constellation ignored the mindspeak. "Um, yeah. Like she said...anyone
else we could talk to about Myk-El?"
Sig.Lad sat back down. "Well, talking to anyone involved in the fight
against him would be pretty biased. And I'd rather not go around stirring up
old memories like this unless I have to. I've heard Bad Timing Boy got along
fairly well with Myk-El, but he said the wrong thing to Kat yesterday and won't
be able to talk until Doc Stomper regenerates his tongue for him." Sig.Lad
shot another one of those looks at Kopikat.
"I *said* I was sorry. But I've taken all the machine oil jokes I'm going
to take."
"You could at least not have broken both his hands...then he could have
written what he knew. Yeah, I know...he tried to see if your chest felt real
at the same time he made the joke. Remarkably bad judgment, above and beyond
his normal powers." Sig.Lad sighed. Kat's tendency to resolve disputes with
excessive violence already had her on probation in the LNH. She'd have to
adapt to the more rough and tumble Looniverse or she'd end up alienating
everyone. "We could always check the grave, make sure the body's real.
Probably is, based on the autopsy here," he pointed to the computer screen,
on which the words "bisected at waist" could be read, "but it can't hurt to
check. Plus, word is that Myk-El had a villainous cousin named Dev-Null. If
we can find him, he might give us some insight into the culture Myk's from and
a reason for the betrayal."
Constellation shifted from one foot to the other. "I can take care of the
grave detail while you computer types try to get a lead on Dev."
Sig.Lad nodded. "Okay. Maybe get Particle Man to come with, in case
something at the graveyard comes back to life and attacks you."
Constellation shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Person's still
having trouble with corpses from the VerminMAC thing. All he'll say is that he
saw one of the MACs eating a person...but I think it was worse than that. The
last thing he needs to see is a body that's been decomposing for a year.
Besides, dealing with necromatic foes is my specialty."
"All right. But take a Flight.Thingy, so anything that does get past you
can more easily get back to the LNHQ and attack us."
"Right-o," responded Constellation. His tone was brittle, the humor in it
sounded forced.
Kat cocked her head to one side. "Are you guys being serious?"
Sig.Lad chuckled and a reluctant smile spread across Constellation's face.
Sig.Lad answered, "Kind of. Dramatic license and all that. We've been
watching too much MST3K lately, stupid horror movies. Also, the Flight.Thingy
can be used to carry the body back here for analysis without attracting too
much attention."
Kat sighed. Was she ever like that when *she* was a squishy?
* * * *
The Flight.Thingy set down on the grey windswept hill of the Net.Ropolis
Cemetary. No matter the weather elsewhere, it was always dark and forbidding
here. Many of the graves were empty, which was the norm. Constellation
stepped out of the Flight.Thingy and looked down at the broken headstone of
Ellipses King, covered already in a thin layer of black moss and mildew. A few
meters away he could see the almost unmarked grave he sought. Some LNHers had
wanted to simply toss the body in the furnace, but Invisible Incendiary
objected. Not just because he lived in the furnace, but also because he
believed the fallen Legionnaire deserved a little more than that, even if he
was a traitor.
The withered remains of a white rose rested on the slightly mounding
earth, clinging to the grave against all winds. The headstone read simply
__________________
| |\
| MYK-EL | \
| | |
| ???? to 1993 |
|__________________||
`------------------`
++Sometimes death is permanent,++ mused Dot, echoing Constellation's
sentiments of only a few days ago.
--Perhaps not in this case. Can you tell if there's a body in the
casket?--
++I think so, but the level of detail is low. It could be anything
roughly the shape and mass of a body.++
--I guess we'll have to dig it up.--
Constellation formed a shovel-like construct out of astral matter and
began scooping up the dirt over the coffin. Tattered rose petals fluttered
away in the howling wind.
A moment passed, broken only by the scuffing sound of digging.
++Does it really still bother you that I used to be male?++
Constellation paused in the digging. --I...don't know. I mean, I don't
remember much of my childhood, probably because I wasn't fully real until
adulthood, but I'm pretty sure I was raised to think that men were men and
women were women, and didn't change around. Since then I've seen plenty of
counterexamples, like Lass Lad...but it never really hit home.--
++What's so difficult about it? Until I told you my spirit used to be in
a male body, you always just assumed I was female. It never bothered you
before. And I already told you, I'm *not* George Kallen anymore.++
Constellation scooped out another cubic meter of partly frozen earth.
--I...I guess I never really thought of you as having gender in the human sense
at all before. I always thought you were some type of totally alien life...
thinking of you of female...well, was like calling a ship 'she'.--
++YOU LIAR. Can't you be honest with me on this? Can't you be honest
with *yourself*? You can't keep the truth from me as easily as you can keep it
from yourself...I'm always inside you, no matter what happens! I know how you
considered me. How I filled a void left when you were separated from Lucky.
Maybe you felt paternal at first, but it didn't stay that way. You thought of
me as female in every important sense of the word! And not just any female,
but your ideal of what a woman should be! So I became your ideal woman, and
now that you find what I *USED TO BE* I'm not good enough for you anymore?++
Each word hit Constellation like a physical blow. --Are...are you saying
that you....--
++YES! I *LOVE* you, damn you! Can you at least not loathe me in
return?++
--I...I don't hate you....-- Constellation felt like his chest had been
the site for a World Cup match.
++I didn't say hate. Deep down, there's a part of you that is totally
disgusted at the thought that you're sharing your body with another man. You
may be able to hide it from yourself, but to me it's like a red hot poker in
the face! OH, I could probably change it...this relationship works both ways,
you know. But I 'grew up' in love with who you are...to play around in your
mind would make me loathe *myself*. It's one thing for your subconscious
desires to shape me, quite another for me to intentionally change you. That's
for people like Lord Ebon.++
--Why are you telling me this? So I can feel like shit? If I can't see
it, and you won't change it, what's the point?--
++YOU CAN SEE IT NOW. I've shown it to you...but it's up to you to decide
if you want to change. We're bound together, it's not like we can go our
separate ways. I can live without your love...but please...don't let your
prejudices keep a dark hold on your heart. You might not hate me now, but if
you can't get over my former gender, someday you will. I'm...I'm sorry I had
to drop this burden on you. I'll go away now, let you think.++
Suddenly there was a silence in Constellation's head, a total dead silence
the likes of which he hadn't felt since be was merely Flood.
--Dot?--
Nothing. The 'skin' was still there, and in his head he knew she couldn't
ever totally leave him...they shared a single soul. But he couldn't hear her
anymore. The graveyard suddenly felt even more chilling than before.
As he went back to the task of exhuming Myk-El, a single silvery tear ran
down Constellation's face.
* * * *
Examination had shown the body was Myk-El's. Organic decomposition had
indeed set in, as opposed to the kind of de-rezzing which marks the corpse of a
GIF. Forensic checks revealed no traces of psychoactive drugs or gross mental
control (elevated serotonin levels and the like), so the body was placed in
stasis pending later investigation for less-common agents.
Constellation had been sullen and silent ever since returning from the
gravesite, but Sig.Lad chalked it up to the sobering experience dealing with a
corpse can be. He was curious why Dot was so quiet, since she'd just learned
to speak. Sig.Lad decided not to pry any further...yet.
No leads had shown up on Dev-Null...in fact, he wasn't even in the Roster.
So the three Secret Dvanders (Sig.Lad, Constellation and Kopikat) boarded a
specially modified Space.Thingy and headed for the planet Qwerty. Doctor
Stomper had cautioned them about using the early prototype for the
Super.Flight.Thingy given the disappearance of the 'production model' recently,
but Sig.Lad assured the scientist that Constellation's powers would get them
back to the LNHQ if they fell into a wormhole or something improbable like
that.
Qwerty's star shone a baleful red as the Space.Thingy emerged from
ScientificallyImplausibleSpace. A few hours later, the N-space drives had
eased them into a synchronous orbit above the devastated planet. For all that
time, Constellation said nothing. Kopikat tried to get him into conversation,
but gave up after a while and reviewed her databanks, performing file
maintainance work. Sig.Lad kept busy with the manual override controls...the
Dvorakian invasion had left a great deal of interplanetary debris in the
system, including unexploded mine fields.
The planet itself looked like the original RAC had shortly after the
rmgroup. Stripped of atmosphere and life, it was a cratered mass which still
glowed in places from powerful transnuclear weapons used to destroy entire
cities. A single radio-band signal emanated from the planet's surface. It was
a beacon placed there by the winners in the war. Once the Space.Thingy's
onboard computers had translated it, a chilling voice filled the cabin.
"This world is obsolete. Do not seek support here. Let this mass grave
of Qwertians stand as testament to the might of the Dvorakian Empire."
The message repeated several times. A separate datastream informed the
onboard computers that the beacon had stood for the last 746 Terran days, or
exactly two planetary revolutions.
Suddenly both the message and the datastream stopped. Sig.Lad sat bolt
upright and started typing on the keyboard. "Kat, check sensors, see if you
can get a position for that beacon!"
Constellation stirred from his sullen mood. "Some kind of gravitic
implosion was just set off on the surface!"
Kat nodded. "Check. Sensors indicate an energy release at the
approximate location of the beacon." She looked at Sig.Lad. "They also
indicate a small starship approximately 3000 meters from the explosion site."
Sig.Lad grabbed the manual controls. "I'm taking us down to that ship.
Whoever it is might know something of use to us."
* * * *
Net.ropolis at night. A dark and forbidding place if you're not one of
the city's many superheroes. Even if you are, it can be kind of scary. For a
short while, citizens were a little more confident to go out at night, because
they had a protector. A hero who wasn't too busy saving the world to try and
save the streets. Perhaps only one unpowered man, but no one would call him an
ordinary man. He was Squidman, the Calimari Crusader, the Deepsea Detective.
In dark alleys that seemed to have not changed since the pulp era, he fought
criminals in his own bizarre style. Not a psychotic vigilante "hero" like so
many of the day, he was nonetheless grim, at least he appeared to be. All
people knew was that he was willing to look beyond the spandex and find that
crime sometimes wore street clothes.
But now he was missing. Some said he was really Squid Boy, which meant he
wasn't just missing, he was dead. A few residents of this grim neighborhood
had attended the funeral, and still shed an occasional tear over the loss of
their brief protector.
But not everyone. Some were glad he was gone. He'd been bad for
business, and now that he was gone, life would return to normal. That "normal"
in this case meant "crime-ridden" didn't matter to these people. In fact, they
liked it that way. Criminals tend to like crime-ridden areas, you see.
One such criminal swaggered down an alleyway like he owned it. And in
most important respects he did. He owned the alley and all the people who
lived on it. And with Squidman gone, no one would dispute his ownership.
So he thought.
One moment he was trying to choose which of his 'subjects' to shake down
tonight, the next he felt the clammy embrace of numerous gray, rubbery
tentacles!
"Squidman!" he gasped as he twisted to see the face of the hero who held
him. What he saw made his knees turn to water. A cybernetic monstrosity, half
man, half squidlike robot. The electronic voice of his captor spoke in mocking
tones.
"So, X-Armenian Criminal/Net.Clown, now you pay for the deaths of the 2.5
Million Turks on this block!" With that, the armored avenger tightened his
grip and tore the criminal in half. "REproduction and UN-ALTERED dissemination
of this IMPORTANT action is ENCOURAGED...."
* * * *
A figure clad in an environmental enclosure suit trudged slowly across the
shattered landscape. The job was done, and he did feel a little better.
Suddenly the crude sensors in his suit registered someone approaching from over
the next rise. Between him and his ship. Damn.
As quickly as he could in the awkward suit, he took cover. Fumbling with
the holster, he drew an atomic pistol. Not as effective as gravimetric
detonators, but safer for him at this range. Of course, anyone who would be on
the surface here would have to be rad-shielded anyway, which would make the gun
almost useless. Still, he might be able to bluff with it.
Three figures stepped into view. Double damn. Two of them seemed able to
handle the environment without EE suits, which meant they could probably ignore
his gun. Carefully, he started to ready a gravimetric charge, hoping he
wouldn't have to use it.
One suited figure, one unsuited male and one unsuited female. All
Qwertiform. The woman had some kind of insignia exposed on her belt. He
toggled the gain on his visual sensors and waited for the focus to adjust.
LNHers. The people who had killed his cousin. He'd sworn revenge: Myk-El
was *his* to kill, damn it. But he'd never had the power to risk an attempt.
A signal came in over his helmetcom, in English. Fortunately, he'd
learned the language.
"Hello. We're not here to fight, whoever you are, so please put away the
gun and defuse the gravity bomb and come out to talk with us. We're trying to
find out some things about the Qwertians."
Damn. If they could tell what his weapons were, either they had some kind
of supersenses, or a fourth person behind him. On the plus side, LNHers tend
to be pretty gullible...he probably could get away without a fight. He stepped
out.
"What brings Terrans to Qwerty on the anniversary of my world's death?" he
asked. Immediately he regretted admitting to be a native, as the woman's head
cocked to one side and she scrutinized him. Although she didn't say anything
aloud, she must have conveyed her findings to the suited figure, since he
nodded.
"My name is Sig.Lad. You may remember me from your time on Terra,
Dev-Null. We're trying to find out why Myk-El went mad and tried to destroy
the Legion. Can we assume you blew up the Dvorakian beacon?"
Dev-Null nodded slowly. "I couldn't let that damn thing stand. Arrogant
momument to my people's death."
"I thought you were a renegade, cast out by your people long before the
Dvorak invasion?" asked Sig.Lad. The woman looked at him as if to say, "Smooth
move, insult him," to Sig.Lad.
"Hey, just because I'm a psychopath doesn't mean I can't form some
loyalties and connections. I *did* have friends here," angrily replied
Dev-Null.
The dark unsuited figure muttered, "Actually, being psychopathic means
exactly that...."
Dev-Null snarled, "Okay, so I'm only borderline. No one ever accused me
of getting anything right, even insanity. So, why do you care what happened to
my cousin? You people killed him, after all."
Sig.Lad spoke again, waving the dark figure silent. "The circumstances of
his death were rather suspect. He was killed after going power-mad and trying
to destroy the Legion."
Dev-Null snorted. "Where'd he get the kind of power needed to do that?
I've been trying ever since then, and gotten squat."
Sig.Lad hesitated. "Well, he was wearing a suit that bathed him in red
sun radiation, giving him massive powers as foretold by Qwertian myth. At
least, that's what he said."
Dev-Null tossed his head back as far as his suit would let him and
guffawed. When he was done, he pointed at the sky. "See that? Red sun
radiation. You don't see me being superpowered. Hell(TM), if red sun
radiation gave us powers, there's be one of those beacons on Dvorak, not here.
No, the legends refer to red Sun *stations*...you know, the computer...giving
us great powers of rapid processing speed. That's why Myk-El was sent to Terra
in the first place, it's where the legends said the Sunstations were to be
found. But by the time the order came through, this," he gestured in a circle
around him, "had already happened. I tried one myself later on, but the
increase in speed wasn't very impressive. Nah, someone's been feeding you a
line of skelitz. You sure he got powers from...heh...red sun radiation?"
Sig.Lad looked to his companions and then back at Dev-Null. "We've
checked the body. It *is* his. And he did have enough power in that suit to
nearly kill several Legionnaires...oh...my...God...."
* * * *
Contraption Man sat in his lab/quarters tinkering with some implausible-
looking gadget, and nearly stabbed himself with the soldering iron when the
door blew in.
"THE GAME'S UNDERFOOT, VILLAIN!" shouted Sig.Lock Holmes as Kopikat...
flowed...into the room and Constellation blocked the exits with astral
barriers. He grabbed a pistol-like object from the pile of parts and pointed
it at the non-invulnerable Sig.Lock.
"What's the meaning of this? We already established months ago that I
wasn't the villain that I came to warn about! Myk-El was!" His hand trembled
slightly as he trained the glue gun on Sig.Lad, who had reverted to baseline
form.
Kopikat purred, her voice full of the threat of violence, "Oh, Contraption
Man's not the villain. He's also not in this time frame. We checked...he
still hasn't returned from 2072. Not to mention, he wouldn't have instantly
assumed we thought he was the traitor. Other than that, though, you've been
doing a good job...everyone was fooled into thinking you were him. Who are you
setting up this time?"
'Contraption Man' looked as if he was about to bolt. "Oh, no you don't,"
sneered Constellation. "Time for an Astral journey and an unmasking!"
Suddenly, everything seemed to shift sideways to reality. 'Contraption
Man' shimmered and pulsated, losing his solidity and reverting to a mass of
psychophotonic energy. A moment later, his features settled down into a
recognizable face.
"Bennett Rush!" gasped Constellation. "Doublecross! But what the
hell(TM) are you doing in the Looniverse?"
Sig.Lad looked at the still-disoriented villain. "I think I know. I
thought it had just been a nightmare, but I guess it really happened. A while
ago, shortly after the Bellerophon Gambit, Doublecross from your native reality
was able to find his way here. I think this was about the same time you and
the rest of TheyMightBeVillains came here. Doublecross took over the entire
Looniverse and crucified me and Acton Lord in his throne room. The Raiders
managed to stop him, and when he was expelled from the Net all his works faded
with him [see Paper Tigers TEB - Ed]. But he should have been totally purged
from the Net!"
Doublecross started to recover from the disorienting effects of the Astral
Realm. "N-not completely. Backups. Acton Lord found one, activated it...me.
He needed power, but had enough to force my compliance...not complete persona,
only backup, y'see...."
Sig.Lad faced the shadow of a villain. "So, he decided to manufacture a
traitor in the Legion, then corrupt Myk-El as a source of power?"
"Al-almost right. Real...Contraption Man was telling truth about traitor.
B-but Myk-El wasn't it. The real traitor wouldn't start to corrupt soon enough
for Acton Lord's hunger to be sated...so I impersonated Contraption Man and
added extra parts to tanning suit...based on Light Brigade armors, with
built-in Tesla Boosters and other special c-circuits Acton Lord designed.
P-power corrupts...."
Kopikat snarled, "So who's the real traitor? Can we assume he's about to
betray the Legion, since you're back in the mix?"
The Doublecross backup was losing coherence again, not being a robust
enough spirit to survive in a realm of pure spirit. "Tho-thought real
Contraption Man was back...ideal way to spy, in his guise while he was off on
private missions...."
Sig.Lad snorted. "Actually, I have no idea if he really is back. And if
you really had been him, I'd have felt really stupid. But my Sig.Lock hunches
told me you were bogus. The devices you'd been building lately seemed too
plausible. But WHO IS THE TRAITOR?"
Doublecross was like wisps of smoke now. "Not...sure.... But
think...about it.... Who killed Myk-El?" Then he disappeared in a glimmer of
astral sparks.
* * * *
Acton Lord frowned. The false Contraption Man had disappeared from the
Looniverse, which could only mean that his hated "brother" and his little team
had discovered some of the truth behind the Myk-El incident. Unfortunately,
this put an end to the usefulness of the backup Doublecross. Still, he had
never been a terribly effective agent, being unable to transmit data back to
Andale Atoll without being detected. Only rarely could he tell Acton Lord
much. And he had to hide anytime it seemed likely the real article was nearby.
There was a plus side, however. The backup had been hardcoded with the
story Acton Lord wanted told. By now, Sig.Lad and the others should suspect
their dear leader of murdering Myk-El to cover up his own intended betrayal.
Of course, it was entirely possible that one of the two Ultimate Ninjas
currently in existence planned exactly that...but whether the one who did was
the same one who killed Myk-El? Well, even Acton Lord didn't know that for
sure.
In addition, the cover story would probably be swallowed. Oh, certainly,
the augmented armor and the general corruption of power played a role in
Myk-El's acts. But they weren't the entire reason. Acton Lord had an inside
agent, so to speak...and it wasn't the nonexistant 'special circuits' his pawn
was programmed to reveal.
Although crippling and draining, Acton Lord's brief contact with the
Source Code had given him several flashes of the future. One of them told him
of the eventual success of two collectible lines...the Mighty Morphine Power
Grungers toy line, and LNH: The Gathering trading card game. He had managed to
trade that information to the Fan.Dom of the Alt.Ra in exchange for his
sometimes ally, Action Lord. Action Lord then took over the mind and body of
Myk-El, forcing the Net.Hero into acts of blatant treason, then abandoning him
as soon as the Qwertian had donned the augmented armor. Backed into a corner
and given the power to fight his way out, Myk-El had taken the only option open
to him. He embraced the power, and it corrupted him, much to Acton Lord's
delight. And empowerment. Corrupting the only 'pure' survivor of an entire
race gave Acton Lord a rush of unbelieveable potency, giving him the confidence
to attempt a takeover of the recently-revealed Universal Office.
Acton Lord smiled. He had lost a pawn or two, but deflected blame from
himself onto another enemy. Myk-El was still dead. Action Lord was no doubt
vegging out in one of the many new sports groups to be created recently. And
other manipulations had seemingly stymied the RACelestial's attempt at
votetaking. Life was good.
* * * *
Too many funerals recently, thought Sig.Lad as Myk-El's body was lowered
back into its grave. A new headstone had been erected, over Deja Dude's
objections, proclaiming Myk-El as a hero for all to see. Looking off to the
top of a distant hill, Sig.Lad thought he saw a figure standing under a tree,
huddled in a trenchcoat against the rain. But when he looked again, the figure
was gone.
Constellation wasn't attending, and Sig.Lad didn't blame him. This all
had been a bit heavy, and after recent events, Sig.Lad could understand him not
wanting to be present.
Kopikat stood back a bit, outside the inner circle of original LNHers who
had come to pay respects. She walked over to Sig.Lad.
"In case you're wondering, the guy over on the hill was Dev-Null. Think
he took the datafile we left there?"
"Probably. It's case had a hypercomm beacon on it tuned to the channels
his ship used. If he came here, he came for it." Sig.Lad brushed his
rain-soaked hair back from his face. "Maybe he'll try to seek vengeance
against Acton Lord now. Maybe he'll just figure that stuff happens. But we'll
probably be seeing him again."
Occultism Kid came up to Sig.Lad's side. "Did you include the information
on Squalor in that disk?"
"The twisted clone of Myk-El's you told me about when you returned from
the Freonverse? No. Better to keep Dev-Null and Squalor apart if we can. I
don't know how Dev would feel about knowing a clone of his cousin exists, but
we *do* know Squalor doesn't know he's a clone. If Dev-Null tells him, it
could be...bad. Do you know where Squalor might be?"
Occultism Kid shook his head, sending small droplets of rain off his
slouch hat. "No. It all happened during the second Flame Wars. Few people
even paid attention to what happened then...."
"Like in most flamewars," added Sig.Lad.
"Exactly. Those of us who were paying attention were too busy to keep
track of a relatively minor player like Squalor. He could be anywhere now.
You know...he's supposed to have all of Myk-El's memories...." Occultism Kid
let the sentence trail off.
A shadow seemed to pass before Sig.Lad's face. "No, we know enough. The
real Myk-El is gone, and his name is cleared. No reason to be obsessed about
this...I doubt we'd get much more out of Squalor than we already know, and we
might cause more harm than good by doing it. If he comes to us, perhaps I'll
put the question to him. But in the end, the one who really has to answer for
this is Acton Lord."
On the horizon, the clouds started to break, scattered shafts of sunlight
piercing the gloom....
sl...@cc.usu.edu
completely missed the motive as to why Mykel became the traitor. It may
have appeared in my story that I just pronounced him the traitor, but it
goes much deeper than that. For all intents and purposes the real reason
Mykel was the traitor will remained buried with is corpse.
wReam...
P.S. It has also been established that the fake UN that inhabits LNH.HQ came
about a considerable amount of time AFTER the traitor incident.
Dave Van Domelen
>Nice story. Thanks for rewriting my background. Only problem is you
>completely missed the motive as to why Mykel became the traitor. It may
>have appeared in my story that I just pronounced him the traitor, but it
>goes much deeper than that. For all intents and purposes the real reason
>Mykel was the traitor will remained buried with is corpse.
Actually, the REAL reason Myk-El was made the traitor was because Certain
People got totally pissed that Mike Kelly sided with Cowling against the LNH
during the first Semi-Annual LNH Flamewar and their response was less than
mature. Even now, I hear that there are people (I'll let them come forward if
they want to be named) who are put out that Myk-El was redeemed. Not because
it was a retcon, but because it was too much like saying Mike wasn't a jerk.
In general, I frown on using net.personalities as villains without asking
them first. The Scowling RACelestial is cool, since Jim was asked. But
Cowlung isn't. And no matter how annoying he may be, I won't use Omega Mosely
as a villain unless he says okay. Essentially, by making a person your
villain, your story is reduced to merely a flame. If you want conflict between
characters, make it character driven, not RL-driven. In other words: if
someone makes his character act in a way that your character would...
disapprove of...then conflict is fine (example: Deja Dude's recent actions with
Julie, if they turn uglier, could bring him into conflict with other LNHers.
Another example: Kopikat is cruising for a bruising with her tendency to react
with her claws). But changing someone's character into a straw villain because
you don't like the writer? Just don't.
Dave Van Domelen, not too keen on villains based on RL creators either,
but at least they don't read LNH....
Jeff McCoskey~
In article <2qmm28$4...@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, dva...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Dave Van Domelen) writes:
>
> Actually, the REAL reason Myk-El was made the traitor was because Certain
> People got totally pissed that Mike Kelly sided with Cowling against the LNH
> during the first Semi-Annual LNH Flamewar and their response was less than
> mature. Even now, I hear that there are people (I'll let them come forward if
> they want to be named) who are put out that Myk-El was redeemed. Not because
> it was a retcon, but because it was too much like saying Mike wasn't a jerk.
Don't know Mike, blew off the LNH flamewars, haven't read three things
by Cowling. But I gotta say, this seems to make that whole traitor plot funnier
to me. My impression at the time was that Kelly had ok'd the plotline. This may
have been way off base though. Making people villains seems entirely reasonable.
(Of course if Mike's WC was changed without his permission, that's an entirely
different issue. You managed to convert me on that one.)
> In general, I frown on using net.personalities as villains without asking
> them first. The Scowling RACelestial is cool, since Jim was asked. But
> Cowlung isn't.
Them's your preferences. I'm on the other side of the fence here.
> [...] Essentially, by making a person your
> villain, your story is reduced to merely a flame.
Flames are not necessarily bad or immature, most people are just inept
at them. Rec.motorcycles used to have a few guys that were absolute masters at
the art of flame. Their stuff was tremendously funny. I wholeheartedly support
the well-executed flame, even embedded in a story. 'Course an inept flame is
just plain ugly, storied or no. I haven't seen any of that ilk in LNH stories...
> Dave Van Domelen, not too keen on villains based on RL creators either,
> but at least they don't read LNH....
Geez, that kind of trashes the whole Integrity Quest doesn't it?
Lampoon and satire of people are legitimate endeavors (as evinced by any
political cartoon). I guess it's just not to your taste, and that's cool, but
some of us like it.
JJMcC, waiting for JJMcCad as the next Constellation villain... ;]
sl...@cc.usu.edu
>>Nice story. Thanks for rewriting my background. Only problem is you
>>completely missed the motive as to why Mykel became the traitor. It may
>>have appeared in my story that I just pronounced him the traitor, but it
>>goes much deeper than that. For all intents and purposes the real reason
>>Mykel was the traitor will remained buried with is corpse.
>
> Actually, the REAL reason Myk-El was made the traitor was because Certain
> People got totally pissed that Mike Kelly sided with Cowling against the LNH
> during the first Semi-Annual LNH Flamewar and their response was less than
> mature.
Okay, so you do know why :) No matter how you feel about it, you don't have
the right to overwrite a storyline that is placed down without at least
consulting with one who laid down the latest plotlines. I mean I may have had
something planned with that plotline, but no one even bothered asking.
> Even now, I hear that there are people (I'll let them come forward if
> they want to be named) who are put out that Myk-El was redeemed. Not because
> it was a retcon, but because it was too much like saying Mike wasn't a jerk.
Oh and what will you do, if there are some that feel like such? Stone them
logically with your ability to cast boulders of reason? PULEEAZE!
> In general, I frown on using net.personalities as villains without asking
> them first. The Scowling RACelestial is cool, since Jim was asked. But
> Cowlung isn't.
So what? Jim has been a royal pain in the butt to LNHers, he deserves to embody
a threat to their existence on the story realm. I like to combine real life
situations with fiction. I don't know if you live in such a fantasy world that
you can't relate with that, but that is your choice. You go ahead and forge
your own space doctrine, but don't be to shocked if things keep reflecting life
as it is.
> And no matter how annoying he may be, I won't use Omega Mosely
> as a villain unless he says okay. Essentially, by making a person your
> villain, your story is reduced to merely a flame. If you want conflict between
> characters, make it character driven, not RL-driven. In other words: if
> someone makes his character act in a way that your character would...
> disapprove of...then conflict is fine (example: Deja Dude's recent actions with
> Julie, if they turn uglier, could bring him into conflict with other LNHers.
> Another example: Kopikat is cruising for a bruising with her tendency to react
> with her claws). But changing someone's character into a straw villain because
> you don't like the writer? Just don't.
I disagree, you can use it to tie in a plotpoint. That doublecross thing was
plain cheesy, not only did it ruin my plot to use Contraption man, but the
whole situation paid no attention to the traitor plot runnin in UN. Not that
I expect you to read it, but the least you could do is if you are going to make
a halfhearted attempt at tying into a plotline, try to get it right.
Personally I think your actions are equally as immature and hypocritical.
Taking some plotline and bludgeoning it with your ethical interpretation of the
universe because you can't handle the diversity in the LNH is not exactly
respecting each other...
I really don't mind all that much that Mykel was "redeemed", as you call it.
I am sure there would have been no problems except that instead of consulting
those that were closest to the plotline you broke your own preset rules...
If you want all these great "respect rules" you gotta live by them... I
personally could not care less. Just live by the rules you establish.
wReam...
P.S. To post or not to post? :)
Dave Van Domelen
>
>Okay, so you do know why :) No matter how you feel about it, you don't have
>the right to overwrite a storyline that is placed down without at least
>consulting with one who laid down the latest plotlines. I mean I may have had
>something planned with that plotline, but no one even bothered asking.
How about consulting the one who created the character? I checked with
Mike, who was rather annoyed when the initial traitor story came out. He
okayed my use of his character. The original storyline that I was
"disrespecting" had no grounds to be respected in the first place.
>
>So what? Jim has been a royal pain in the butt to LNHers, he deserves to embod
>a threat to their existence on the story realm. I like to combine real life
>situations with fiction. I don't know if you live in such a fantasy world tha
>you can't relate with that, but that is your choice.
Cute contradiction there, Ray. First you say you like mixing fiction with
reality, then accuse *me* of living in a fantasy world. My turn to say
PUHLEEZE! Jim may have been a pain, but taunting him by writing him as a
villain without his permission goes beyond rude into STUPID and perhaps even
legally actionable. You know, as in getting sued. (Granted, the US-Canadian
border makes it harder to sue for that kind of stuff and Jim's probably not
lawsuit happy in any case, but it does dance near the precipice) The big
problem with mixing real life into your fiction is that you risk the fiction
rebounding back into real life. Unless one is very careful (and sorry, wReam,
but you're not exactly what I'd call careful) if can boomerang rather nastily.
>
>I disagree, you can use it to tie in a plotpoint. That doublecross thing was
>plain cheesy, not only did it ruin my plot to use Contraption man, but the
>whole situation paid no attention to the traitor plot runnin in UN. Not that
>I expect you to read it, but the least you could do is if you are going to mak
>a halfhearted attempt at tying into a plotline, try to get it right.
First off, I'll refrain from pot/kettle barbs here. Second, I
deliberately left the whole CM thing open so that anyone actually wanting to
use the real article still could, and those (like Mongoose) who needed a good
traitor/scapegoat had one. Finally, cancel part one. It's one thing to "get
it right" when tying into a relatively coherent plotline that preserves
characterization, quite another to deal with plots in UN. Every issue that
comes out, *someone* usually ends up gnashing his or her teeth and how their
plots of characters have been utterly abused. So the question comes, whenever
tying in with UN, "Do I try to keep to his plot and perhaps perpetuate his
gaffes, or do I contradict his contradictions?" My general resolution to that
is to do what I can to keep to the big points, write around the errors I can't
condone perpetuating, and then just write it like I'd write it. In the case
of Contraption Man and the Fake UN, I've left plenty of ambiguity to reflect
that fact that I *don't* know all of what's happening, but want to include the
plots to help tie the Looniverse together. Of course, most of the CM
appearances were due to the fact he had no note in his roster entry pointing
out that he was unavailable in 2072. I've even gotten some thanks for "saving"
some of the writers who unknowingly included him. But I left open the
possibility of CM really being back (or maybe even another fake!), so your
story is hardly ruined. By me, at least.
>
>Personally I think your actions are equally as immature and hypocritical.
>Taking some plotline and bludgeoning it with your ethical interpretation of th
>universe because you can't handle the diversity in the LNH is not exactly
>respecting each other...
It's not the "diversity in the LNH" I have trouble with. The bludgeoning
you accuse me of doing relates not to the Looniverse, but to the writers. If
someone is going to be rude and trash someone else's character because they
don't like the other writer, I'll do what I can to help fix the damage. If I
had known that Myk-El was opposed to the traitor thing back when it happened,
you can be damn sure I'd have kicked up a major ruckus.
>
>I really don't mind all that much that Mykel was "redeemed", as you call it.
>I am sure there would have been no problems except that instead of consulting
>those that were closest to the plotline you broke your own preset rules...
>If you want all these great "respect rules" you gotta live by them... I
>personally could not care less. Just live by the rules you establish.
>
Ah, but Myk-El wasn't your character, nor was the plot you used him in
approved by the creator. To be respected you have to give it. I have no
obligation to pay any attention to any story someone writes with my characters
if they didn't ask first. If they do ask me first and I say yes, I expect
others to respect that work. If you had gotten Mike Kelly's permission to turn
the character traitor, I wouldn't have touched the story. Thieves do not have
rights to the property they steal, whether it is physical or intellectual. I
don't see where I've contradicted that.
In closing, as long as this is getting personal anyway, I'd like to point
out to you, wReam, that you are perhaps the most dangerous LNH writer. Few
have done so much damage to characters, plotlines and especially the RL
reputation of the LNH as you. Anyone who will kick a sleeping Rotweiler
because he doesn't like the dog is no one I want to be near when the dog wakes
up.
Dave Van Domelen, in case you miss the metaphor, Jim's a particularly
vicious Rotweiler, and he's proud of it.
Steve Hutchison
>If you want all these great "respect rules" you gotta live by them... I
>personally could not care less. Just live by the rules you establish.
>
> wReam...
Ah. And people wonder why we've characterized the Ultimate Ninja
as the Ultimate Jerk lately....
wReam, the reason I first got pissed off at you two years ago was
because you fucked with my character without asking permission.
You seem to have forgotten, or never learned, the minimum rule of
common courtesy -- you NEVER screw other writer's characters without
asking first. This is understood by civilised folks all over the
world, and it's shameful that two years of allegedly being in a place
of learning hasn't broken you of that bad habit.
Dave wrote a story which, frankly, outclassed yours by light years.
Retcons happen, and a good retcon can take a crappy story and make
it something worth paying attention to. This was a good retcon.
You've done a great job of whining about that, and about "messing up"
a storyline (which sucked by the way) that you have not posted anything
on for, what, ten months? Do you now offer to start posting a weekly
ADMIN posting that lists the reserved plotlines?
>P.S. To post or not to post? :)
Not. But you're too late. You could stop now, though, while you
only have one foot in it.
sl...@cc.usu.edu
:)
actually I really am not that mad about anything...
The whole mykel incident happened a long time ago. It was near the end of an
era where the LNH was not so well defined. Part of the fun behind the LNH came
from reading the next story and seeing how badly screwed your story/character
got... Nowadays we have pidgeonholed this phenomena to a "mosaic"... In all
honesty I miss a lot of the spontaneity that came from the old LNH. Now we are
all so old and afraid of trampling on each other, and we fuss so much about
continuity, that we make all the comic companies out there look absolutely
shameful.
Hubert remarked a couple weeks back when he and I were coordinating UN
stories "Sheesh, we worry more about continuity than any of the professional
comics" (that is a paraphrase, he had a more eloquent way of putting it :)
Nowadays taking a character and creaming it, is completely beyond the
selfimplied restrictions that have been placed on the LNH. But back when it
occurred it was fine. I guess it did bother me when Dave accused us of being
"imature" when "everyone was doing it." Even Dave has been guilty of killing
some people's WC's in a glut of power, way back in the beginnings... (of course
he quit that very very quickly.) (where as I still have occasional bouts I have
to beat back :)
Anyhow just wanted to clarify a few things about the way things are now,
compared with the way they were then...
wReam...
michael kelly
sl...@cc.usu.edu writes:
|> actually I really am not that mad about anything...
|>
|> The whole mykel incident happened a long time ago. It was near the end of an
|> era where the LNH was not so well defined.
This is not true. I "joined" the LNH as Myk-El back during the massive
explosion of Net characters when the LNH first formed. I stuck around
while I thought it was fun (and Usenet based), never giving Myk-El an
origin, and only describing him as someone who "developed great powers
while working on a a color Sun station".
Even before Jim Cowling started giving his lectures on fanfic, the
"triumvirate" or whatever you started calling yourselves had laid down the
rules about WCs and NWCs. Myk-El was clearly a WC.
I happened to agree with Jim about fanfic (what it is, and where it belongs)
and for that the ridiculous "traitor" story was written, in blatant violation
of your own rules. (and completely ignoring the small amount of history
I'd written.)
|> Part of the fun behind the LNH came
|> from reading the next story and seeing how badly screwed your story/character
|> got...
Hardly. I seem to recall someone crying quite loudly when their Ultimate
Something-or-other was used without approval.
My own experience in electronic shared-universe fanfic goes back ten years
to the glory days of North Jersey BBS storyboards, and later MUDs (all
pre-LNH). In that decade I happily participated in a variety of genres, often
serving as story co-ordinator (or god). My days with 'classic' fanfic (Trek
Dr. Who) go back even farther. Additionally I've been reading Usenet
news for (only) six years, so I like to think of myself as someone who has some
small experience with these forums.
IMHO: Quite honestly, the entire LNH thing went into a tailspin early, with
egos becoming more important than anything else. I didn't need the LNH as
much as others did, so I went to lurking without a fuss. I've always been amazed
at the lack of consistancy in the "LNH rules". I was even more surprised by the
rules in the first place...fanfic never needed rules. (And I'm willing to argue against
Usenet rules as well -The reason I'm against rac.creative :)
--
+ Mike Kelly, Notre Dame Department of Physics mke...@doc.helios.nd.edu +
+ +
+ Oh, and never mind the words, just hum along and keep on going. +
+ - Ian Anderson +
Jeff McCoskey~
Another Pseudo-Random House Position Paper
This debate is snowballing in vitriol. As one of the newer waves let me
at least try to bring it back to some sort of constructive framework via
a newer perspective.
The real issues beneath the emotions seem to be these:
1. WC's and reserved NWC's are creator's property. _Nothing_ should be
done to them w/o approval.
2. Stories are also creator's property. Ditto 1. for retcon approval.
3. How is it appropriate to enforce 1. and 2. ?
Seen in this framework, what we have is wReam violating #1 a year ago.
DVD violated #2 in the name of #3 this week. If we try to stick to this
framework (Or a better one. I'm not Cary Smith.) we might actually solve
something. Otherwise Drizzt will be writing Flame Wars 3 in Sept.
Remember the LNH was conceived of as a flame-free zone.
> (Hutch wrote...)
>
> [wReam first broke WC sanctity]
Granted.
> [DVD's retcon better quality than original]
I happen to agree, but others might not. I think we are in real danger
if we start judging FANFIC on quality. This way leads nowhere productive and
may restrict creativity. We need to resist these statements.
In article <2qqrcp$q...@news.nd.edu>, mke...@lazy.helios.nd.edu (michael kelly) writes:
> Time for me to step in.
>
> Even before Jim Cowling started giving his lectures on fanfic, the
> "triumvirate" or whatever you started calling yourselves had laid down the
> rules about WCs and NWCs. Myk-El was clearly a WC.
>
> I happened to agree with Jim about fanfic (what it is, and where it belongs)
> and for that the ridiculous "traitor" story was written, in blatant violation
> of your own rules. (and completely ignoring the small amount of history
> I'd written.)
Sure. Plenty of folks here disagree with Jim but this is America.
Granted again that wReam violated #1 back when.
>
> My own experience in electronic shared-universe fanfic goes back ten years
> to the glory days of North Jersey BBS storyboards, and later MUDs (all
> pre-LNH). In that decade I happily participated in a variety of genres, often
> serving as story co-ordinator (or god). My days with 'classic' fanfic (Trek
> Dr. Who) go back even farther. Additionally I've been reading Usenet
> news for (only) six years, so I like to think of myself as someone who has some
> small experience with these forums.
>
This is where the water gets muddied. Every group has its own dynamics.
Your experience may lend you insight into what worked before, but the LNH works
on its own. It is not modelled on _any_ of those forums you mentioned (at least
not to a degree that allows direct comparisons). Our WC constructs are more
rigid than a mere shared-universe (especially one with vast background material
to draw from). And the potential to affect another character is much greater
than any MUD.
Even if you had participated in a group that copied the LNH charter
line-for-line, your experience would still only be marginally useful, because
it's the group dynamics that keep it going not the charter.
> IMHO: Quite honestly, the entire LNH thing went into a tailspin early, with
> egos becoming more important than anything else. I didn't need the LNH as
> much as others did, so I went to lurking without a fuss. I've always been amazed
> at the lack of consistancy in the "LNH rules". I was even more surprised by the
> rules in the first place...fanfic never needed rules. (And I'm willing to argue against
> Usenet rules as well -The reason I'm against rac.creative :)
>
Here the water becomes opaque. If FANFIC needs no rules, why is what
wReam did wrong? We need rules because of the interactive nature of LNH-fanfic.
Writers as characters, etc. And frankly, because we want them. You didn't see a
value in them so you DD'd. Others stayed. Others joined later, also seeing
value in the rules. We appreciate your comments, but clearly you have only
marginal interest in the LNH forum. We reserve the right to gather in ways that
make no sense to anyone else simply because we want to.
Now can we get back to an LNH debate that involves points 1-3 above? Or
at least make the flames funnier? ;]
JJMcC
FWIW: I stand firmly in the 'two wrongs don't make a right' camp and feel DVD was
just as wrong as wReam. The time to settle wReam was a year ago. Reason with
me.
MARTIN PHIPPS
>In article <1994May9.1...@cc.usu.edu>, <sl...@cc.usu.edu> wrote:
>>Nice story. Thanks for rewriting my background. Only problem is you
>>completely missed the motive as to why Mykel became the traitor. It may
>>have appeared in my story that I just pronounced him the traitor, but it
>>goes much deeper than that. For all intents and purposes the real reason
>>Mykel was the traitor will remained buried with is corpse.
>
> Actually, the REAL reason Myk-El was made the traitor was because Certain
>People got totally pissed that Mike Kelly sided with Cowling against the LNH
>during the first Semi-Annual LNH Flamewar and their response was less than
True. In fact I thought the real reason that Myk-El betrayed the
legion was because he didn't like wReam's writing. Remember the line
"No more ninja stories" (or something like that)?
>mature. Even now, I hear that there are people (I'll let them come forward if
>they want to be named) who are put out that Myk-El was redeemed. Not because
>it was a retcon, but because it was too much like saying Mike wasn't a jerk.
> In general, I frown on using net.personalities as villains without asking
>them first. The Scowling RACelestial is cool, since Jim was asked. But
I used LaRocque's "Marshall LaRocque" character "The Fate of Flameproof
Lad" _with_ his permission. He loved the idea of being a Dorf (in more
ways than one :I).
>Cowlung isn't. And no matter how annoying he may be, I won't use Omega Mosely
Depends: I see nothing wrong with using Jim Cowling as an unseen Legion
adversary. There have been a few instances (due to a couple of writers
who we won't mention by name) where he has been used in an insulting
The story suggests that I might have been one of those people so I'll
just say for the record that that is not the case. That being said,
I would have strongly questioned the sense in changing the headstone
had it not been suggested that Acton Lord was responsible for the
betrayal. (I'm still waiting to find out how Acton Lord arranged
things so that Ultimate Ninja would kick the Z-Team's cat, BTW. ;))
manner. (The one time I used Jim, he got upset, I apologised for
making him upset and he was OK with that.)
>as a villain unless he says okay. Essentially, by making a person your
>villain, your story is reduced to merely a flame. If you want conflict between
>characters, make it character driven, not RL-driven. In other words: if
>someone makes his character act in a way that your character would...
>disapprove of...then conflict is fine (example: Deja Dude's recent actions with
>Julie, if they turn uglier, could bring him into conflict with other LNHers.
Perhaps there's some confusion as to what happened in LNH #87: the
character referred to as "Philip Martin" was, in fact, The Colourblind
Kid from the Myopia Man / Colourblind Kid Limited Series. In effect
then what I did was pair off two existing characters while, at the same
time,demonstrate that Deja Dude had gotten over his feelings of angst
that he had been experiencing ever since Julie left him in LNH #81
(A couple of people had asked me what was going to happen next, the
assumption being that I wasn't going to just leave it there. Should
I have?). At any rate, the story did come with a warning.
>Another example: Kopikat is cruising for a bruising with her tendency to react
>with her claws). But changing someone's character into a straw villain because
>you don't like the writer? Just don't.
> Dave Van Domelen, not too keen on villains based on RL creators either,
>but at least they don't read LNH....
I felt a bit annoyed with Charles when he revealed that Bert Niceguy
was supposedly Bob Harras. I thought he was supposed to be a generic
editor. :I
Oh well. At least the CFV is underway. I hope that those who left us
on Monday thought to send off a vote. :I
Martin Phipps (The Ce'line Fan)
Deja Dude on alt.comics.lnh
Anybody wanna create alt.fan.celine.dion?
sl...@cc.usu.edu
> In article <1994May10.1...@cc.usu.edu>, <sl...@cc.usu.edu> wrote:
>>
>>Okay, so you do know why :) No matter how you feel about it, you don't have
>>the right to overwrite a storyline that is placed down without at least
>>consulting with one who laid down the latest plotlines. I mean I may have had
>>something planned with that plotline, but no one even bothered asking.
> How about consulting the one who created the character? I checked with
> Mike, who was rather annoyed when the initial traitor story came out. He
> okayed my use of his character. The original storyline that I was
> "disrespecting" had no grounds to be respected in the first place.
One who declares himself an enemy to the LNH can expect to run aground with
those in the LNH. That is what we saw it as, and the story was written. It
was back in a more "feudal" time. I contend I really wasn't outstepping my
bounds, even if now, they look absurd.
>>So what? Jim has been a royal pain in the butt to LNHers, he deserves to embod
>>a threat to their existence on the story realm. I like to combine real life
>>situations with fiction. I don't know if you live in such a fantasy world tha
>>you can't relate with that, but that is your choice.
>
> Cute contradiction there, Ray. First you say you like mixing fiction with
> reality, then accuse *me* of living in a fantasy world. My turn to say
> PUHLEEZE!
When I wrote that, I thought you might get a good laugh out of that one... :)
(I did... :)
> Jim may have been a pain, but taunting him by writing him as a
> villain without his permission goes beyond rude into STUPID and perhaps even
> legally actionable. You know, as in getting sued. (Granted, the US-Canadian
> border makes it harder to sue for that kind of stuff and Jim's probably not
> lawsuit happy in any case, but it does dance near the precipice) The big
> problem with mixing real life into your fiction is that you risk the fiction
> rebounding back into real life. Unless one is very careful (and sorry, wReam,
> but you're not exactly what I'd call careful) if can boomerang rather nastily.
This is a bit ridiculous. Firstly it is well understood that the LNH is
fiction. I don't think that any of the things I have done have in anyway put
me at legal risk. The best fiction is "satire" on the real world. Ok maybe I
am not the best writer, but I think that you will agree that your accusation is
a bit extreme. Firstly all I did was create a super villain called "Cowlung" I
didn't even USE him! (Drizzt used him! ;) (and Martin, I think...)
> In closing, as long as this is getting personal anyway, I'd like to point
> out to you, wReam, that you are perhaps the most dangerous LNH writer. Few
> have done so much damage to characters, plotlines and especially the RL
> reputation of the LNH as you. Anyone who will kick a sleeping Rotweiler
> because he doesn't like the dog is no one I want to be near when the dog wakes
> up.
I like this, and I am glad you noticed. I think you will also agree that
thanks to this, people have been able to join the LNH and not feel intimidated
by the huge volume of writing that has been presented. I like to think I
provide a useful function to the LNH. Like Pleasure and Pain, Love and Malice,
Good and Evil... :) I myself have conformed to the rules that have been placed
on the LNH by well meaning members, because I like the friendship and comradery
that the LNH represents, and I like writing occasional stories. I like reading
some series too, but I am not going to read all of them nor should I have to
propogate storylines that go bonkers with characters I use in my stories with
any great amount of interest. In particular I created a whole slew of
characters so I wouldn't have to deal with the continuity problems, but they
will continue to arise, and such is the nature of the LNH. I would like to
think that the LNH were more than just an exclusive club of comicsnobs, but a
bunch of friends, that dispute, kiss and make up. LNHers are not required to
take an oath to join, and I think that would be a big mistake to enforce.
I will risk becoming unpopular at times so that the LNH can be more personable,
and less an exclusive clicque.
wReam...
P.S. This is one reason I created wReamicus Maximus, he reality warping was
just supposed to represent how for some reason I never got characterizations
right.
sl...@cc.usu.edu
> because you fucked with my character without asking permission.
> You seem to have forgotten, or never learned, the minimum rule of
> common courtesy -- you NEVER screw other writer's characters without
> asking first. This is understood by civilised folks all over the
> world, and it's shameful that two years of allegedly being in a place
> of learning hasn't broken you of that bad habit.
Sheesh, are you still mad? I thought you cared... :)
> Dave wrote a story which, frankly, outclassed yours by light years.
> Retcons happen, and a good retcon can take a crappy story and make
> it something worth paying attention to. This was a good retcon.
> You've done a great job of whining about that, and about "messing up"
> a storyline (which sucked by the way) that you have not posted anything
> on for, what, ten months? Do you now offer to start posting a weekly
> ADMIN posting that lists the reserved plotlines?
Uh Hutch? have you been paying attention? (or is this just a strategic
hyperbole?) I posted UN #12 less than a month ago...
I have posted over 6 issues in the past 10 months. (I could go back
and figure an exact figure but I really don't think that I will... :)
>>P.S. To post or not to post? :)
>
> Not. But you're too late. You could stop now, though, while you
> only have one foot in it.
Okay... :)
wReam...
P.S. Hutch? When was the last time you posted any story? Just out of
curiosity...
Steve Hutchison
>> wReam, the reason I first got pissed off at you two years ago was
>> because you fucked with my character without asking permission.
>Sheesh, are you still mad? I thought you cared... :)
Mad? No, but it's like this: I've been on the net since you were a
happy little six year old. (Guess from that estimate how old I think
you are.) In that time I've learned that some people do change and
mature with time, but that others don't, and the latter you just can't
trust. _You_ define which of the two groups you'll get grouped with.
>> Dave wrote a story which, frankly, outclassed yours by light years.
>> [...]storyline (which sucked by the way) that you have not posted []
>> on for, what, ten months? Do you now offer to start posting a weekly
>> ADMIN posting that lists the reserved plotlines?
>Uh Hutch? have you been paying attention? (or is this just a strategic
>hyperbole?) I posted UN #12 less than a month ago...
Yeah, I saw that. It had zip to do with the subject in question,
the "traitor" plotline. At least, as far as I could tell.
>I have posted over 6 issues in the past 10 months. (I could go back
>and figure an exact figure but I really don't think that I will... :)
I've seen exactly one new thing from you in the past year, other than
the infrequent "Gosh I'm busy but I'll waste a little time chatting"
stuff that everybody does.
>P.S. Hutch? When was the last time you posted any story? Just out of
>curiosity...
February. Look it up. Revenge Comics #1.
SCAVENGERemy
I find the way the terms WC and NWC are thrown around to be laughable. They
are words I made up cuz I felt something like it was needed. Wierd.
(course one of my collest net.moments was when Dave wrote me and asked
to use the terms in his AOJ story, that was neat)
Yes, I was an Elder, yes I formed the Elders, and yes I probably made up a bunch
of the rules that people are screaming about. (I know Martin loves to scream
out me about them :-) and yes I'm probably the most hated person in the LNH.
fine.
Why was Mike Kelly condemed as a traitor? Why did I agree with wReam's discion?
Why did I have it mentioned in Closing Knight, which I assume is what brought
this topic up for Dave to retcon it?(and if it wasn't fine, that's not important
) Why is Myk-El the only WC I have ever agreed on to be turned bad and killed,
never to be reborn?
It was not because Mike Kelly thought we should be off RAC. Hell, I thought
we should be off RAC, but only when we have a place for all to post to and read
if they want to. No, it was because Mike Kelly, went on, saying that he was
a founder (which he is), that those of us doing the LNH were idiots, and that we
should be banned. He took it to a personal level. Plus, he was later used as
an example by others, as why we should've been banned.
Now, most of you don't know this, (I've been told that many of the current
readers are generaly new), but the LNH flame war got ugly. There were very
personal attacks thrown around through e-mail at friends, and the whole thing
became very personal. We tried to keep it quiet on USENET. That didn't
necessarily work. I tried to keep the LNHers from responding to the flames,
so that it would quiet down and we could settle things civily. That, too,didn't
work entirly. (I did get complimented by members from "the other side" for
answering attacks calmly and rationaly.:-) Those of you who knew me then,
knew I was doing a pretty good acting job:-).
I don't agree with using real people from the net as villains. I never supported
or liked the idea of Jim Cowling being cast as a villain (Cowlung). I felt
it was beneath us. Using RL people is something I generaly don't agree with
if it is directly that person (the apparant Bob Harras villain) Parodies, even
thinly vailed ones are fine, (I did create E.R.N.I.E. after all :-).
I don't agree with Dave's desision to bring Myk-El back, or redeem him or what
ever (I only skimmed the story :-), I told him that when he decided to write it.
It has nothing to do with "it screws up my upcoming story" or "You changed my
story without asking" or any of that crap. It has to do that he, not as a
everyday net person, but as one of us (as I said, in his letter, he used that
as his validifier) steped over the line, not by disagreeing with us, and not by
not likeing the direction we went, but by sending out a personal attack.
Today, I have no problems whatsoever with Jim Scowling.
---Todd Kogutt aka SCAVENGER, Revivalist of the Legion of Net.Heroes
--
"Listen to their names! _Death Star,World Devestator_|kog...@rtt.colorado.edu
That doesn't sound like something for peacetime |Scavenger-Remy-Nikodemus
economic development, does it?" --Han Solo |Live Wire,Amnar@LegionMush
"Suspicion of tradition is so new wave."--R.O'Brien |Rebel Yell of the LNH
sl...@cc.usu.edu
with now ;) (even on Mike Kelley's arguments...)
I don't agree that the rules of the LNH were all that well established way
back then... the FAQ had not even been written at the time this storyline came
out...
In fact If you think about it, I did consult with a few of the Elders before
posting the story... Only one of the elders even partially disagreed with the
storyline.
I would probably never write another story like it... (look at my last UN's for
that matter. I have been very careful to consult with the authors, whose
characters I have used... Unless they appear in cameo, which I feel would be
ridiculous to consult with. )
There are certain characters I do not use because the authors are way too rigid
on their interpretation of their characters, anymore... Some authors are an
absolute delight to work with, however. I would like to thank them for being
such good sports.
In particular Hubert, Stephane, Stirge, and Dave Henry ;)
wReam...
The Family of Glenn
>
> IMHO: Quite honestly, the entire LNH thing went into a tailspin early,
> with egos becoming more important than anything else. I didn't need
> the LNH as much as others did, so I went to lurking without a fuss.
> I've always been amazed at the lack of consistancy in the "LNH rules".
> I was even more surprised by the rules in the first place...fanfic
> never needed rules. (And I'm willing to argue against Usenet rules as
> well -The reason I'm against rac.creative :)
Yeah, that was my experience, too. Once the rules came in and the
spontaneous collab died, (i.e. the following Fall) so did my interest.
:-) But, rac.c is not rac.lnh, there's no inherent reason
less-structured fiction writing couldn't take place, which is why I
voted for it...
Pax ex machina,
Glenn
......................................................................
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away".
--- Philip K. Dick
"Truth has to be stranger than fiction.
We impose order on fiction: it follows the rules."
--Neil Gaiman
g-car...@uchicago.edu, if you must know
......................................................................
Russ Allbery
>
>IMHO: Quite honestly, the entire LNH thing went into a tailspin early, with
>egos becoming more important than anything else. I didn't need the LNH as
>much as others did, so I went to lurking without a fuss. I've always been
>amazed at the lack of consistancy in the "LNH rules". I was even more
>surprised by the rules in the first place...fanfic never needed rules.
I may disagree with you about the necessity of rules, and I obviously disagree
with you about the LNH going into a tailspin 8-), but I can see where you
are coming from. I'm not going to get involved in the current argument, but
I think there is a more general point here that's important.
I'm new around here. I'm not a long-time member or even a particularly
frequent writer. I do feel, however, that I've read enough LNH stories and
been involved in the LNH enough to have developed a reasoned opinion on a
few things. The current status of the Cosmic Plot-Device characters is
something that is very much in question, and I think it needs to be
resolved. I feel that it's important we decide exactly what those characters
are, whether WCs, NWCs, or something new, and put that information in the
roster. Right now, by listing them as NWCs, we are making a statement that
I'm not sure I agree with.
My personal opinion is that those characters are WCs or something equivalent,
and that unless the person has explicitly given us the right to use their
character in stories, the character should be retired. The important thing
to me, however, is not that my position necessarily be adopted, but rather
that we come to *some* kind of decision on it that everyone can agree with.
We all should be writing stories, not arguing with each other over this
stuff 8-).
--
Eagle | Windrider of the LNH | Drifter
Russ Allbery | Endari on LegionMUSH | published monthly by
wind...@cs.stanford.edu | Eagle_ on IRC | SubSpace Press
michael kelly
kog...@benji.Colorado.EDU (SCAVENGERemy) writes:
|> Why was Mike Kelly condemed as a traitor? Why did I agree with
|> wReam's discion?
|> Why did I have it mentioned in Closing Knight, which I assume is what brought
|> this topic up for Dave to retcon it?(and if it wasn't fine, that's not
|> important
|> ) Why is Myk-El the only WC I have ever agreed on to be turned bad and killed,
|> never to be reborn?
|>
|> It was not because Mike Kelly thought we should be off RAC. Hell, I thought
|> we should be off RAC, but only when we have a place for all to post to and read
|> if they want to. No, it was because Mike Kelly, went on, saying that he was
|> a founder (which he is), that those of us doing the LNH were idiots, and
|> that we
|> should be banned. He took it to a personal level. Plus, he was later used as
|> an example by others, as why we should've been banned.
I was going to ask for evidence for *any* of this, but since I have never
done any such things, I suppose you would have a hard time finding any.
Of course, since everyone on Usenet news can read and write, they are
techinically incapable of being idiots. The worst thing you could be
(technically speaking) is an imbecile.
|> Now, most of you don't know this, (I've been told that many of the current
|> readers are generaly new), but the LNH flame war got ugly. There were very
|> personal attacks thrown around through e-mail at friends, and the whole thing
|> became very personal.
I never saw any of this. I don't send flames through email, and I didn't
receive any either. What you are remembering is a group of people who tried
to tell you that you were taking the entire thing too seriously. This then
degenerated into an "but *I* don't *get* alt groups at my site" whine that
can be found on any of a dozen groups at any given time.
The closest thing to flames I remember is when someone started accusing
Jim Cowling of having no appreciation for fanfic, and another time when he
suggested that some of you could use a little editorial assistance (and
a spell-checker).
On the former count, Jim was quite forthcoming about his personal
experiences, which as I recall included either some checkable references
as either an author and/or editor. On the latter, he actually did take one
of the stories and "go over it with a red pencil".
I limited my criticism (a term that anyone with literary asperations should
truly understand and appreciate) of the LNH to the unbelievable seriousness
which some of the 2nd generation took themselves. I never griped about the
ridiculous sentance structures, inappropriate syntax, etc. My one complaint
is always that the 2nd+ generation of LNH has taken itself too seriously,
especially when trying to hide behind the "we're one big parody" defense.
I never even complained when certain writers completely violated existing
trademarked characters. Case in point: Pliable Lad as originally described
is a *blatant* rip-off of Bill Willingham's (now Comico's) Shapeshifter.
If rac.c ever passes, Pliable Lad will not be able to be used in any
stories due to TM violations. (And if you don't think Rev would try to sue
Usenet -however that would work-, just wait and see.)
|> I don't agree with using real people from the net as villains.
I always have been the exception that proved the rule.
As I mentioned to JimC: I am unwilling to let this become a "grim 'n'
gritty, re-tooled for the '90s" look at the Chuq and Bob story, even if
some of the parallels are becoming dangerously similar.
Some footnotes:
[1] Andrew Rev, current owner of the Elementals (modulo rumors of Bill
Willingham buying them back). True business man. I wouldn't put it past him
to file suit against any and every site that carries a Pliable Man story.
[2] Chuq and Bob (and Tygger too!) One of the great personal flamewars
of the last decade, with occasional eruptions. Usually characterized by
one side's faulty memory (and unfounded claims of harrasment via email)
directly followed by messages from uninvolved old-timers who remember
what really happened.
Dave Van Domelen
michael kelly <mke...@ovid.helios.nd.edu> wrote:
>
>If rac.c ever passes, Pliable Lad will not be able to be used in any
>stories due to TM violations. (And if you don't think Rev would try to sue
>Usenet -however that would work-, just wait and see.)
>Willingham buying them back). True business man. I wouldn't put it past him
>to file suit against any and every site that carries a Pliable Man story.
Actually, TM covers distinct likenesses, not just power groups. After
all, Shapeshifter has the same powers as Cham (Reep Daggle) with only minor
differences (such as, Shapeshifter can use flaming breath in dragon form) in
type. Shapeshifting characters abound, really. Pliable Lad's original powers
were that he could turn into anything he saw in a comic book, which is easily
different enough from Shapeshifter to be immune to prosecution. And even if
his powers evolved into ones identical to Shapeshifter's, Rev still wouldn't
have a legal leg to stand on. Only if Pliable Lad found out he had been around
since the beginning of life on Earth, got another major power boost, and
started *calling himself* Shapeshifter could Rev sue and expect to not have it
tossed out of court. Heck, Batman and Punisher are about as similar as Pliable
Lad and Shapeshifter (Batman has no powers, but the death of his family turned
him into an obsessed crimefighter. Punisher has no powers...etc). You need a
whole lot of similarity before TM infringement kicks in, and Pli just isn't
close enough to any TM to violate it. Similarly, the Sig.Lad/Acton Lord origin
is a blatant (and admitted) ripoff of the Warlock/Magus origin from the 70s.
But other than that, Sig.Lad isn't anywhere near enough to Warlock for TM
violation. TM laws are necessarily strict as to how close you have to be
before violation occurs, to prevent monopolies over huge tracts of
intellectual property. Otherwise, all superpowered aliens acting as heroes on
Earth would violate Superman's TM...but we know they don't.
Dave Van Domelen, whoops, better go up and change the header....there,
that's better.
michael kelly
sl...@cc.usu.edu writes:
|> hahahahahaha! thanks Jeff... I think there are points on each side that I agree
|> with now ;) (even on Mike Kelley's arguments...)
Who's that?
MARTIN PHIPPS
>
>You seem to have forgotten, or never learned, the minimum rule of
>common courtesy -- you NEVER screw other writer's characters without
>asking first.
Interesting choice of words. It actually better describes Doug
"Woody Scandal" Wojtowich's handling of Panta more than anything else.
>Dave wrote a story which, frankly, outclassed yours by light years.
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!
We can't allow ourselves to say "I don't like this story so therefore
I'll ignore what happened therein and feel free to contradict it."
>ADMIN posting that lists the reserved plotlines?
Wasn't necessary in this case: Contraption Man had appeared in The
Flame Wars II; he was not tied up in the continuity of 2072 (which
is also being written by Drizzt). I don't know where Dave (or was it
just Sig.Lad?) got the impression that Contraption Man hadn't been
around since UN#5 and that, therefore, Contraption Man might be an
imposter.
As for wReam's writing, I personally think that wReam is one of the
better LNH writers. Why? Because he doesn't take things too seriously.
Look: wReam came up with Cannon Fodder and Special Bonding Boy; he
breathed life into Cheesecake-Eater Lad and Parking Karma Kid. I
really don't think we are supposed to take these characters all that
seriously. Then there was Jungle Cheesecake with The Savage Place
and the Rung of Revamp and with OP Person deciding she was "too dull",
grabbing the rung and becoming VAMMO Woman. (Hmm... I suppose if we
were to examine that event we might conclude that it is sexist as hell
:I) Then there was McLaughlin Man getting upset because his "stunt
double" (?!) was killed by the mysterious assassin (actually Pointless
Death Man) and then UN#10 in which the LNH Registration Act was
introduced. Hell, if people could just stop and think in terms of
good humour, I think they'd see that even his Electricutioner Song
issues were pretty good: the LNH action figures, UN kicking the Z-Team's
cat, people in the LNH playing poker,.. it was all pretty funny.
On the other hand, having UN and Cheesecake Eater Lad kill off the entir
LNH in Sieze Dangerous was a bit silly. Nor is it cool to suggest that
a grown LNHer could wet his pants. :I For that matter, I cannot stress
too strongly how inappropriate it is to describe Deja Dude as carrying
"a gun". Hell, we probably all have pet peeves as far as wReam is
concerned. After all, wasn't it wReam who killed off first Spelling
Boy then Obscure Trivia Lad without asking (anybody)?
That being said, I don't like to see people jumping on wReam like this:
as far as I'm concerned, he's just trying to be spontaneous and it's
getting him into trouble. Meanwhile, I find there's a tendency in
some of the stories I've read lately for writers to take themselves
waaay to seriously, trying to sound profound whenever possible and
laying angst on top of angst. PULEASE! I'm not saying that people
shouldn't go to the trouble of writing a good story; look at Jeff's
Triple Play and Golden LNH stuff: Jeff uses a lot of characters,
brings out their characterisation but keeps the narrative simple so
that the reader doesn't lose interest and hit 'n'. I honestly think
there's a fine line between being a goof and taking things too seriously
that LNH writers have to walk if they intend to entertain people.
Too all you newbies out there: you thought we were one big happy family,
didn't you? HAHAHAHA!!!
Martin Phipps (The Ce'line Fan)
Deja Dude on alt.comics.lnh
Anybody wanna create alt.fan.celine.dion?
PS: I enjoyed the Giffen homage. :)
David Goldfarb
)Of course, since everyone on Usenet news can read and write, they are
)techinically incapable of being idiots. The worst thing you could be
)(technically speaking) is an imbecile.
Actually, if I'm remembering _The Mismeasure of Man_ correctly
(and I am), the worst would be "moron" rather than "imbecile". Of course,
that's a bit academic, since nobody's used those words as technical terms
for decades.
David Goldfarb | "Oh, no, foolish Jed! You have let out
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | the verbal gerbils!"
gold...@UCBOCF.BITNET | -- _Sandman_
gold...@soda.berkeley.edu |
as...@acad2.alaska.edu
>
> P.S. It has also been established that the fake UN that inhabits LNH.HQ came
> about a considerable amount of time AFTER the traitor incident.
>
Y'know, I've really been enjoying the "Evil Ultimate Ninja" story, because it's
mostly my fault. Back when I was young and stupid(as opposed to now being
marginally older and stupid), I wrote Errand Boy #1 after reading like, what, 4
stories here? (And after writing 2 others, but I've been trying to forget
those.) In it, I used a bunch of characters without permission, because I had
no idea at the time that permission was required, or even desired, by any of
the authors of these characters. One of these characters was the Ultimate
Ninja. I wrote it as an original post, in one sitting, without doing any
editing or anything, and without bothering to check any of my facts. Except for
one or two minor quibbles which I managed to explain away, none of the authors
had any problems with the uses I made of their characters. Encouraged by the
one or two positive responses to the story that I got, and by the lack of
negative response(in fact, the lack of any other kind of response), I decided
to write another one(actually, I'd already decided to do another one, seeing as
I'd left the story on a cliffhanger of sorts). Being me, I decided that I'd
like to do a crossover if I could, so I set about contacting various writers
whose e-mail addresses were easy to remember, because I'm too lazy to write
them down. Anyway, one of the writers I contacted was wReam. I proposed to him
that I would have my character steal UN's Ginsu Katana Blade, and then lose it,
and then he could take it from there. He agreed, and so it happened, and the
recent(?) story by wReam is the result. Ummm, I forget what point I was trying
to make when I started this post, but oh, well. It must not have been very
important. Not that much that I say ever is. :)
The Stirge. I'm too lazy to write a story, but I'll stop and chat. ;)
Russ Allbery
>
>I never even complained when certain writers completely violated existing
>trademarked characters. Case in point: Pliable Lad as originally described
>is a *blatant* rip-off of Bill Willingham's (now Comico's) Shapeshifter.
>If rac.c ever passes, Pliable Lad will not be able to be used in any
>stories due to TM violations. (And if you don't think Rev would try to sue
>Usenet -however that would work-, just wait and see.)
Well, since Mike Escutia's newsreader tends to be slow and I'm not sure if
he'll see this before he heads home for the summer, I'll pipe up at this point.
Quoting directly from Pli's roster entry, his power is: "To duplicate the
shapeshifting powers of any shapeshifting hero." I really don't think that
would violate anyone's trademark. The original power description that you
are thinking of, if I remember correctly, was never really the way the
character was written.
>As I mentioned to JimC: I am unwilling to let this become a "grim 'n'
>gritty, re-tooled for the '90s" look at the Chuq and Bob story, even if
>some of the parallels are becoming dangerously similar.
This isn't helping, Mike. None of us are psychotic, and none of us are
threatening you with a nail-studded baseball bat. Unfortunately, this does
seem to be dredging up an old flamewar, which I would really rather we
didn't do. Myk-El is now rather securely out of LNH continuity, and it's
highly unlikely that he'll be included in any future storylines. There
isn't any point in rehashing the entire traitor thing, or going over the
LNH flamewar again. The only point we disagree about *now* is racc, and
I think we can agree to disagree about that.
--
Eagle | There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. The
Russ Allbery | knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at
r...@cs.stanford.edu | the ground and miss.
My opinions, not theirs | -- Douglas Adams
High Priest Pli of the Church of the Lady of Tour
>type. Shapeshifting characters abound, really. Pliable Lad's original powers
>were that he could turn into anything he saw in a comic book, which is easily
>different enough from Shapeshifter to be immune to prosecution.
Not to mention the fact that I've never even *heard* of Shapeshifter.
>And even if
>his powers evolved into ones identical to Shapeshifter's, Rev still wouldn't
>have a legal leg to stand on. Only if Pliable Lad found out he had been around
>since the beginning of life on Earth, got another major power boost, and
>started *calling himself* Shapeshifter
Which isn't going to happen. :)
> Dave Van Domelen, whoops, better go up and change the header....there,
>that's better.
--Mike (is it alright if I had a 'Re:'?)
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Rec.Arts.Comics.Creative: The time has come. Vote.
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Mike Escutia -- Pliable Lad of the LNH -- m...@christa.unh.edu or mi...@unh.edu