[ELSEWHIRLS][LNH] Acton Lord #0
Dave Van Domelen
===========================================================================
Personal Journal, April 30, 1893.
Recovering from narrow escape. I knew that if I could survive the
Falls, then HE could as well. Still, I did not expect him to follow me to
the Americas so quickly, and that was my undoing. I barely made it out of
Babbagetown with my skin and forged identity papers, plus enough money to
make it to Seattle and pay for a cheap room.
Came to a realization on the road. The universe itself seems to favor
the detective's sort of dramatic logic. The flimsiest of threads seem to
offer themselves up to his powers of observation, while the laws of chance
bend to accomodate his deductions. There is a pattern to the seemingly
random events that guide and aid my adversary, and if I am ever to defeat
that confounded man, I must discern this pattern.
Perhaps it is time to lay low.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Personal Journal, November 12, 1898.
He has revealed his survival to the world, and I can only hope this
causes him to become entangled in other affairs. He has dogged me around the
globe since our mutual "deaths," and I am quite weary of the pointless game.
Every time I believe I have come close to divining the patterns I seek, the
detective arrives on the scene. It is as if the very forces I wish to
unravel are aware of my efforts and use my adversary as a pawn to keep me in
check.
Babbagetown comes up disturbingly often of late. Whether I am traveling
through it or seeking some person residing there, this port community on the
northern California coast bears some significance in the grand scheme of
things. Even those living there seem to sense their city has a grander role
to play than the founders suspected...a movement is afoot to rename it
"Neotropolis" in a fit of end of the century enthusiasm.
But whether fate is telling me to seek this place out or avoid it I do
not yet know.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Personal Journal, January 1, 1901.
On the dawning of the new century I believe I have finally gained the
insight I sought.
The universe does not proceed in an orderly, clockwork fashion as the
theories of Newton and Kant would have us believe. This clockwork universe
is only a sort of default for mundane matters, but it does not rule the truly
important events of the world.
Drama does.
Yes, it seems mad even as I write it here.
But everything I have lived through in the past decades leads me
conclusively to the proposition that logic and science must bow to the needs
of drama. It is as my adversary has been known to say...I have eliminated
the impossible, leaving only the wildly improbable.
It is as if God in His heaven seeks entertainment from we mortals below,
and we would make a boring story if He did not intercede from time to time in
favor of his protagonists. God as Author, what a horrifying idea.
Especially to one such as myself, cast in the role of antagonist.
When that religious firebrand, the Lord Acton, uttered his condemnation
of the danger of power, he meant that no man could be trusted with the power
of God, for it would surely corrupt him. But what if God Himself has been
corrupted?
No...the natural order is the natural order, odious though I may find
it. This Author of existence writes a story not to my liking...perhaps there
is a way to corrupt the story itself, and thus gain power? An intriguing
inversion of Lord Acton's premise...corruption empowering.
Yes...something to think on.
* * * *
The Chronicle of Acton Lord, July 18, 1921.
Father died today.
He was not my father by blood, but he was father to my mind, my spirit
and my dreams. I was little more than a clever street urchin in Neotropolis
when he took me in fifteen years ago. A wise man, he had determined that his
quest would require more than one lifetime to complete.
Today I an no longer Ian McGuinness...I accept the mantle of Acton Lord,
he who quests for the power that corruption may bring.
Much of what I will write today is redundant, chronicled in my father's
journals over the years. But as I accept my inheritance, it is necessary
that I collect my thoughts, write them down so that my inheritor may one day
know what my impressions of my father's work were.
I shall begin with the detective. The accursed man who harried my
father to the ends of the Earth and back still lives, a scarecrow of a man to
say the least. He has no sons, but rather three lovely daughters. They
certainly take after their mother in that regard...I would not wish the
adversary's countenance on anyone of the fair sex. Still, they are all quite
mentally strong, especially for women...both sire and dam had that quality in
earnest. But they ARE women, and for all the triumphant squawking of
suffragettes, hardly a force to be reckoned with.
Father did live to see the completion of the Chancel, a secure bolthole
>From which we could further study the ways of the universe. Gently torn from
the fabric of spacetime like a bit of lacework, the Chancel is no longer a
part of the world I was born into. Insulated from the workings of the
Author, it is a realm of safety for any who would seek to corrupt the natural
order and rewrite the story of life.
The Chancel is sparse now, being only a piece of space and a few
important possessions. But it will not be long before a proper household and
library reside within the boundaries of the Chancel.
My world is...quiet for now. The detective has long since retired from
the game, his daughters are more interested in matrimony than acrimony, and
the best men of this generation have done their duty and died in the mud of
France. There are no heroes present for me to worry about, I can carry out
my work in peace.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Chronicle of Acton Lord, May 2, 1923.
How quickly things go awry!
It all comes down to a place, and the men who gather there.
The place is Neotropolis, or Ne'tropolis as the local accent tends to
abbreviate it. To be specific, a building near the city center. It is a
most strange affair...no one can quite recall when it was built, but everyone
seems certain that it's been in place for some time. The building resembles
the Athenaeum and other such meeting halls in outside structure, but it also
seems to be a hotel inside. Inscribed in the stonework over the front door
are the letters "LNHQ," which supposedly stand for the first letters of a
motto in Latin.
This is, of course, patently false. Not only was there NOT a building
on that site during my 1920 trip to Neotropolis, but there is no meaningful
Latin motto I am aware of which abbreviates to LNHQ.
Regardless of its provenance, the structure has attracted a rare breed
of men. Daring pilots, bold explorers, crafty businessmen...and detectives.
One detective in particular vexes me. Kenneth Franklins, formerly of Boston,
recently moved to Neotropolis and set up business there. He joined the
burgeoning organization at the LNHQ almost immediately, and soon after
managed to foil one of my minor operations in that city.
Perhaps an explosive device in the boiler room of this LNHQ will rid me
of a great many potential annoyances in a single stroke....
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Chronicles of Acton Lord, December 12, 1923.
Months of planning ruined.
My hirelings infiltrated the LNHQ with ease. Men of vision or no, the
members of this "League of Neotropolitan Heroes" tend to see all servants as
interchangeable. My men were very well paid and very lacking in moral
character, scum from the dockworks.
So why did one of these dockworkers suddenly find a conscience and race
outside with the bomb in his arms, to have it kill only him?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Chronicles of Acton Lord, April 3, 1924.
Delicious news. Franklins has decided to accompany a friend to London,
getting him nicely out of my plans for the next few months. With the
remaining bulk of the "LNH" busy with a dig in Australia...one based on false
rumors I planted myself, of course...America is all but without protection
>From my machinations. Perhaps this concentration of protagonists in one
place can be advantageous?
Ah, the machinations. The Chancel is complete for now, and quite a
comfortable abode. The grand library, however, is pitifully lacking in tomes
for its shelves. But what to fill it with? It already contains the finest
scientific writings available.
Magic, of course. If science represents the logic that runs the world,
then magic is a way to break down those rules. And with the putative
guardians of so many ancient magic tomes chasing shadows at the antipodes,
now would be an excellent time to enlarge my collection.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Chronicles of Acton Lord, September 20, 1924.
Bad news and worse.
I have no aptitude for ritual magic, nearly killing myself in the
attempting of a simple spell. Perhaps it is the resonances of the Chancel
itself which cling to me and make spellcasting go awry. While I am still
young and hearty, perhaps I should seek out a son of my own, one who could
master these magical mysteries.
But that is only the lesser of two foul portents.
Franklins has returned from London, with a new bride in tow. She is the
eldest daughter of the detective.
The Author is laughing at me.
My father's greatest enemy and my most persistent foe joined by
marriage. If I seriously thought the Author would even allow such an action,
I should have them both killed before they can issue forth any offspring.
But my attempts to destroy the LNHQ have taught me that such crude and direct
actions are futile. I am branded the antagonist, and I must always lose the
clear conflict.
Until I can corrupt clarity into victory, that is....
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Chronicles of Acton Lord, January 3, 1925.
I have my own son now. A nameless orphan of tender age, no more than
five years old. Old enough that a bachelor can raise him, young enough to
mold. But more importantly, touched by magic.
Franklins and his allies flushed out a coven of cultists following some
nameless horror of the deeps, some elder god from before the days of
mankind. I had considered supporting such an effort at one time, but the
cost of loosing a mad god to gibber its way across the cosmos and destroy the
entire story was more than I was willing to pay to wrest reality from the
Author.
In any case, they had found some street urchin not unlike those I once
called comrades to use in a sacrifice. Franklins had saved the lad from the
tentacular embrace of the squidlike creature the cultists had summoned, and
placed him in an orphanage. An orphanage from which it was trivial to
acquire the child to raise as my own.
It is these small victories that I relish, for they are all the Author
will allow me. Franklins will never even know he has lost this round to my
machinations, and the young boy will become my heir. While magic is beyond
my abilities, I am able to sense its power coursing through the boy's veins.
I have named him Alex, but when he comes of age he will abandon this
name and become the new Acton Lord.
The present leaves me stymied, so I plan to seize the future as my own
adoptive father did. It may take ten generations, but the Author will find
himself at the other end of the pen....
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Memory Sphere: Thirtieth of April, 1938.
I do not know my age, but today I am an adult.
I have mastered every spell in the Library, although the science remains
frustratingly out of my grasp. It is as if no one mind in this age can
encompass both sides of the coin, both halves of the equation. Perhaps that
will be left to my son, although it will be years before I am ready to adopt
one. Perhaps I will even sire one the natural way...but we Acton Lords seem
to have a tradition already, would be a shame to break it.
In any case, the Library needs to grow, so that my powers might follow.
And I think I have deduced a method by which it might expand into infinity.
A method based on the principles of this Memory Sphere into which I project
my memoirs.
But today, as the winds of war start to whip about the world outside, I
cast aside my old name and take up another. I am not Alex anymore...I am
Acton Lord.
============================================================================
Author's Notes:
A few years ago, shortly before finishing Dvandom Force up, I decided to
try and relaunch the LNH concept with a few other writers. The idea would be
to try and recapture the smaller pool of original writers, yet allow for
expansion within a reasonable structure. Basically, the idea would be to
make sure everyone who joined could be trusted to ask before using someone
else's characters and generally not trash the setting. It was going to be
LNH2, and I had a few writers on board. I even started writing the beginning
of a story that would help set the mood and the history.
But then it just sort of petered out, as many similar efforts are prone
to do. And the LNH2 imprint got snapped up by someone else, further removing
momentum from my project. Also, ASH entered a period of high activity and I
started seriously working on my thesis, so my writing time was reduced.
Anyway, I dug this piece up, proofread it, added a section or two and
this notes section. The fourth Acton Lord would have been a Kirby-style
villain, mastering strange technologies and the dimensions that lay beyond
the borders of the Chancel. He would be the arch foe of Fred Franklins, and
would arrange to steal one of the Franklins twins as they were born (in a
Validus homage). This stolen child would become the fifth Acton Lord, who
would be coming into power as the action of LNH2 would start. Meanwhile, the
other twin would have grown up into Sig.Lad, a one-man powerhouse capable of
assuming whatever powers were needed for a given situation. With his
father's team in retirement and villainous activity at low ebb, Sig.Lad was
the only hero Netropolis needed.
Sig.Lad's own book would have started with the new Acton Lord stripping
him of his powers, leaving Richard Franklins with only a minor sensory power
(the ability to read the signatures left on items and places) but with all
the old enemies he'd accumulated over years as Netropolis's protector. He
would seek out the old LNHQ and try to gather a new team of heroes, which
would include the other writer-characters and a few public domain heroes to
flesh things out.
LNHQ would have been an anthology title run by the various writers,
using all the individual characters. It would have been a more deadpan
parody than the madcap early days of the LNH, with more elements worked out
in advance to avoid some of the pitfalls and acrimony that the original LNH
ran into.
Of course, it never got off the ground. I include now the information
files I wrote up as we worked out how things were to go.
Legion of Net.Heroes Version 2
Da Rules
The original Legion of Net.Heroes grew out of chaos. To be sure, it was
a fun chaos, but eventually order settled in. And then came the problems.
Stuff which no one had paid any attention to during the chaotic first few
months suddenly started to come back and haunt us. Additionally, while there
was nothing keeping people from joining the LNH, there was also nothing to
help them, beyond some FAQs and other files which really couldn't cover every
contingiency. Some writers didn't really need help, some managed to find the
help they needed, but a lot fell through the cracks because no one gave them
the hand up they needed. No one helped them with simple formatting, so
people didn't read the stories. Or no one took them aside and pointed out
how their new story was likely to annoy a lot of people and make the new
writer persona non grata. In the seven years since the LNH started, this
really hasn't solved itself.
Thus, in LNH2, we resolve to make sure we don't repeat some of the more
easily avoidable mistakes of the original run. We still want a free-flowing,
silly and parodic universe to play in...but we wanna make sure no one gets
hurt in real life.
There is really only one real rule, only one thing that will be insisted
on with vigor. Violation of this rule can get you shunned, so that your
stories might as well exist in a different universe. Here's The Rule:
Never use a character without permission.
Of course, some explanation of The Rule is needed.
"Use" means actually have the character present in the story, either
with a speaking part or in a location that the character would not normally
be in. Cameos and references are fine...if you have someone brush past
Sig.Lad in the LNHQ, that's not a problem, since he's likely to be in the
LNHQ anyway. If you want to have Sig.Lad accompany your character on a
mission to Alt.veria, you'd better ask first.
"Permission" means the writer has to say "yes," either in each specific
instance or by generally throwing a character open as Public Domain. A
writer simply not saying "no" isn't enough. Similarly, if you can't find the
creator of a character, and the creator did not explicitly make the character
Public Domain, the character is off-limits. The biggest implication of this
is that a lot of "classic" LNH1 characters can't be brought over to LNH2,
because their creators have left the net or otherwise become inaccessible.
The LNHQ will have a staff of Public Domain characters available to cover
most of the holes left by the absence of LNH1 characters, however.
So that's The Rule. It's simple courtesy, so that we don't have to
start resorting to intellectual property battles. It's also the means by
which a lot of the guidelines below are likely to be enforced.
Guidelines? Yeah, there's a few things we'd like people to do, in order
to help keep LNH2 working.
1) Mentors
2) Number of characters
3) Crossover Limitations
4) Civility
5) (more?)
1) Mentors
FAQs and info-files are nice resources, but they can never anticipate
every contingiency...and if they try, they get too big to read anyway. The
solution to this is mentoring new writers, just like universities and
businesses often have someone mentor a new hire. (Note to language purists:
yes, I know "mentor" isn't really a verb, but I'm going to abuse the word
anyway. }->)
A mentor is someone who agrees to vouch for a new writer. In the case
where an experienced writer is brought into LNH2, this can be as simple as
saying, "Yeah, you're good, go for it, you don't need my help." Often,
however, the mentor will be a sort of editor for the writer. Proofreading
if asked to, and always at least skimming over the stories and making sure
the writer isn't violating some unwritten rule. Writers who get active
assistance from their mentor should list the mentor in their title or
credits section. Similarly, those who just get a "go for it" sign-off should
say as much somewhere in their first issue.
The purpose of the mentor is to act as a sort of "stamp of approval."
Readers will know that the story is at the very least formatted legibly,
readable and in what passes for continuity (continuity should be kept loose,
but it's still possible to break it). In other words, you may not know Joe
Newbie's work, but you know his mentor. So Joe's stories should at least be
worth a try.
A writer can ask for more or less editing assistance from a mentor, but
should never post a story over the mentor's objections. The mentor is likely
to post a followup expressing disapproval, after all. Once a mentor thinks
the writer has the hang of things, the he can "graduate" the writer. When
this happens, the writer will no longer have to run stories past the mentor,
but he can still choose to.
Who will be mentors? Well, to start with, the original writers (those
involved in LNHQ #0-1) will be available as mentors as their time allows. A
few others may also volunteer at the beginning, with approval of the original
writers. A new writer can only mentor other writers once his own mentor
gives the go-ahead. Usually this will happen at the same time the writer
"graduates" from being mentored, but there might be exceptions. And, of
course, a new writer can always ask not to be a mentor at all. A list of
mentors will be maintained on the LNH2 webpage (add URL).
Now, you may be thinking that this is all pretty hardnosed, making all
new writers go through apprenticeship. True, it can be a bit of a pain,
especially if you're bursting with ideas and want to let them flow onto the
screen at maximum speed. But keep two things in mind. One, you can still
write LNH2 without a mentor...just keep in mind that you may have trouble
getting permission using characters while you try and establish your
reputation. Mentorship is meant to help people piggyback on the reputation
of established writers. Two, you can always go write in the original LNH
Looniverse if you feel this is too restricting. This isn't a comic company,
where we plow under the old to make way for the new...LNH1 and LNH2 can exist
side by side.
2) Number of characters
One problem with the original LNH is bloat. Too many characters too
fast. One-note ideas that appear for a paragraph and then are forgotten. It
makes the LNH rather large, and raises an intimidating barrier to new
writers. What if their idea is taken by someone not using it anymore? What
if there's five other LNHers with the same powers? And who can bring
themselves to care about a thousand cyphers?
As a result, we'd like to start small and grow as slowly as we can
manage without locking writers out. This means a return to the idea of the
Writer Character, a single character you write and focus on. Like a
character in a roleplaying game, if you only have one major character to
worry about, it's easier to make it live and breathe.
Thus, each writer should only have one LNH member character, at least
for now. Duos might be considered if the concept really needs two people.
Otherwise, keep the extra characters for your solo adventures. Sig.Lad may
have several retired members of the Net.astic Nine and a few relatives and
buddies from the old days haunting his own book, but he's the only one who
shows up at the LNHQ.
Similarly, don't burst onto the scene with an entire new team.
Eventually there'll be room for more teams than the LNH, but even those
should probably be composed of several Writer Characters collaborating, not
one writer with a dozen characters. Complete new teams fit better in the
larger LNH1 Looniverse.
Remember, the idea here is collaborative fiction. And no one needs to
collaborate if he can just create a slew of new characters to fit every plot
need. If you want to be a part of the LNH2, BE a part of it. Not a visitor
who brings his own room.
3) Crossover Limitations
Part of this ties into point 2...flooding characters from another
universe into LNH2 would defeat the point of LNH2. So don't do it. Try to
keep crossovers with other RACC universes to a minimum. Unbridled crossovers
can really mess things up, I've seen it kill universes.
Above all, there should be NO interaction between LNH1 and LNH2. To do
so would just make LNH2 a part of LNH1 and render the reboot pointless. If
you want to write LNH1 characters, write them in LNH1. If you need a
plot-driven reason for this, consider that the Dvandom Strangers of both
universe are devoting a large measure of their power to maintaining a barrier
between the worlds, okay?
However, this does not mean you can't bring in your favorite character
>From LNH1. Heck, most of the original writers are doing that. But make the
character native to LNH2, not a visitor from LNH1. Sig.Lad has a lot of
similarities to his LNH1 counterpart, but he's never held the Sword of .Sig
or been time-looped into his own worst enemy. Think of it as a chance to
redo a character with a better idea of where you're going.
Similarly, it's okay to have a character with an extradimensional
origin. Just make it a new dimension, not an existing RACC universe. And
try to make sure you're not stepping on the thematic toes of any existing
characters...too many reality-tossed strangers-in-a-silly-land can get old.
4) Civility
Part of this means that LNH2 stories should be considered to have a PG
or even G rating. Keep the cursing to a minimum, warn readers at the start
if that "minimum" makes South Park look tame, etc. Often you'll find that
profanity adds nothing but profanity to a story, and your mentor should help
you cut back on it. Save it for special occasions, and all that.
Beyond the "rating" of the story, also try to keep in mind that there
are real people at the other end of the internet connection. Writing stories
that are thinly-veiled attacks on other writers is a bad idea. Launching
personal attacks against real people is also generally poor form (especially
since some of those targets may be reading RACC!). Obviously, some attacks
are going to be inevitable...parody is the name of the game, after all. And
parody isn't always gentle. But try to stop short of libel. Again, mentors
should keep an eye out for this and stop fights before they begin. One of
the darkest days of the original LNH involved a personal disagreement that
escalated into a character being declared a traitor and killed, without his
writer's permission. And because that writer had left the LNH at that point,
no one objected until it was too late. We don't want that sort of thing
happening in LNH2.
5) ....
The LNHQ
version 1.0
The Legion of Net.Heroes Headquarters, or LNHQ (for reasons of tradition
none of the current LNHers quite understand), has been around a long time.
In fact, it's been around longer than the LNH. One day, someone just noticed
that this Victorian-style mansion was sitting in the middle of Net.ropolis,
surrounded by a high fence and a well-manicured lawn.
The LNHQ is a character as much as any of the Net.Heroes who live in
it. What no one knows is that it is the "twin" to Acton Lord's Chancel,
created by the universe in a backlash reaction to the creation of the twisted
Chancel. As such, it has a number of strange properties.
1: Shapeshifting - While always remaining four stories tall on the
outside and taking up the same amount of area on the grounds, inside it can
subtly twist up into higher dimensions, borrowing space to accomodate the
needs of its residents. Initially, it is "at rest," being exactly the same
size inside and outside. And no matter how much size it adds internally,
it's always the same distance from the front door to the back door, or to the
garage, etc. No one's quite sure how this works, not even the Premise, and
he's lived there off and on for decades. Some people have no trouble finding
things in the LNHQ (and some places are always easy to find), while others
can get lost in a ten meter stretch of hall.
2: Heroism - The LNHQ attracts heroic types, acting like a beacon to
fate. It's not a conscious attraction, heroic people just find their path
ending up at the LNHQ by coincidence. Additionally, those who spend a lot of
time there tend to develop a more heroic personality. Villainous types tend
to be uncomfortable in the place, and get lost a lot more frequently than
others do, even when the building has the same size inside as outside.
3: Origins - People who spend a lot of time in the LNHQ without going
mad from all the weirdness often end up with net.ahuman powers and
abilities. As if the LNHQ creates net.heroes when there are none around to
be found. The powers aren't always gained while inside the building, and
tend not to be very strong, but it's part of the reason why most of the staff
has some sort of power.
4: Location - Just as the interior moves around, sometimes the exterior
does. Net.ropolis is an odd city to start with, and the LNHQ isn't always in
the same place. People who live there can always find it, and in fact often
don't realize it has moved.
5: Self-Repair - Even setting off a blockbuster bomb in the LNHQ won't
permanently destroy it. Damage tends to go away after a while, when no one's
looking. Actually having repair crews in can speed the process, but the
repair crews will quickly get frustrated by how things keep moving around.
6: Basements - No one really knows how many levels below ground the LNHQ
extends. Legend has it that one of the original members of the LNH is still
down there, trying to find a bottom (perhaps Too Much Time On His Hands Lad).
LNH2: The LNHQ Staff
version 1.0
In LNH2, there's a number of characters who primarily show up at the
LNHQ, and are either part of the building's permanent staff, or who just hang
out there. These characters are all Public Domain, and may be used by anyone
so long as they're not radically changed (which would make it hard for others
to use them, after all). One of the purposes behind having this staff is so
that new writers don't need to create half a dozen supporting characters to
take care of basic plot-driven needs. If the character would only be
spear-carrying in the background, don't introduce it, use one of these guys
instead.
Note, the "real names" of the characters are being left open for now, in
case someone wants to flesh any of them out. Just keep in mind that they
remain Public Domain, so be sure to get any added info into this file
somehow.
The Premise: A member of the LNH in the 1970s, his power is to work out
the basic premise behind anything, given time. This makes him a sort of
catch-all Comicbook Scientist and armchair detective, although it's probably
better you not rely on him too heavily to solve mysteries for your
character. Not a part of the staff, and he's retired from active heroing,
but he comes in to the LNHQ frequently to hang out with the staff and relive
old memories. As the new generation of the LNH gets going, he's likely to
move into the LNHQ on a more permanent basis.
Kelly Girl: Her power is Super Temping. She can do just about anything
humanly possible, but only on a temporary basis. She was originally a
regular temp, working the reception desk after Schedule Error Man had his
origin. But anyone who spends a lot of time in the LNHQ has a tendency to
develop superpowers, provided they don't get in the way of a net.villain
first.
Public Domain Lad: A member of the previous LNH incarnation, he got to
be in every story because he was public domain. But he had no other powers,
so he ended up as the cook. He's gotten to like crafting fine meals for a
small number of staffers whose tastes he knows, and will have...problems...
when the number of diners suddenly increases.
Schedule Error Man: He used to be a normal guy, the receptionist. Then
he gained the power to induce scheduling errors. Initially this was helpful,
as he could make openings for LNHers in the schedules of busy people by
simply introducing enough errors to leave an opening. But then his powers
started to leak over into his own duties, and he got rotated to monitor duty.
Admiral Annihilation: Able to destroy the entire universe. Himself
with it. Hangs out at the LNHQ because he has nowhere else to go, does odd
jobs, maint work and janitorial. Dislikes being taunted about his power, but
please don't take that as an invitation to try and write a story in which it
ends up being useful...it's not supposed to be. }->
Mary, Carrie and Geri: Triplets, with identical mannerisms and style of
dress. Once things get busy enough around the LNHQ that Kelly Girl can't
handle the receptionist job, this trio will be hired on (so, figure they
won't be in the first few issues). So far they have no powers, although some
speculate that they're one person able to split into three, or something like
that. No one's ever quite sure which one is on duty at any given time.
Agent Carl D. Orange: Another later appearance. Once the LNH gets going
again, the United States government will assign a liaison to keep an eye on
the team. And, given that this is a parodic universe, Agent Orange is your
basic crew-cut-wearing sunglasses-even-at-night suspicious and hostile secret
agent type. Think Henry Gyrich (TM Marvel) on a very bad day. And whenever
he enters a room, a plant withers nearby, from the sheer bad vibes. I think
we'll all sleep a little better if I don't spell out the joke in this.
LNH2: Net.Stuff
version 1.0
Okay, one of the running gags in the original LNH is that every place
has some kind of Net.Name, computer language gags are everywhere, and all
technology has "thingy" somewhere in it. So, what's the deal going to be in
LNH2?
PLACES
In LNH2, real places will have real names. So it's New York, not
Net.York. The gag has gotten a bit old, and it's been largely played out at
this point.
However, fictional places and parodies of them should try to work in
some kind of net.reference if it can be done without pushing things too far.
So you have places like Alt.veria, Net.ropolis or Shangri-LAN (where all are
networked without glitch or hardware conflict). After all, this is the
Legion of Net.Heroes, and the Net part should be reflected in some of the
parodies and so forth.
THINGIES
Mr. Thingy, of the Net.astic Nine, exists in LNH2. So the LNH does make
heavy use of thingy technology. Flight.thingies, comm.thingies, and so
forth. In fact, "Thingy" is a registered trademark of Net.astic Nine
iNcorporated (NNN on the stock exchange).
However, you don't have to use Thingy tech if you don't want to.
OTHER GAGS
As mentioned before, this is the Legion of NET.Heroes. So, if you have
what you suspect may be a decent (or awful) net.gag, by all means use it.
But don't feel compelled to shove them in wherever and whenever. After all,
the lamest joke is one you've heard a thousand times.
Lalo Martins
On Wed, Mar 14, 2001 at 04:03:42AM -0000, Dave Van Domelen wrote:
>
> A few years ago, shortly before finishing Dvandom Force up, I decided to
> try and relaunch the LNH concept with a few other writers. The idea would be
> to try and recapture the smaller pool of original writers, yet allow for
> expansion within a reasonable structure. Basically, the idea would be to
> make sure everyone who joined could be trusted to ask before using someone
> else's characters and generally not trash the setting. It was going to be
> LNH2, and I had a few writers on board. I even started writing the beginning
> of a story that would help set the mood and the history.
I think it would be a cool idea. LNH sometimes has too much
baggage which we can't use, can't ignore and can't discard.
But, even if it wasn't taken, I don't think LNH2 would be the
best name. If some writers decide they want to do this, they'll
suggest a better one, I think. I can't think of any.
> Anyway, I dug this piece up, proofread it, added a section or two and
> this notes section. The fourth Acton Lord would have been (...)
And I like the fictional premise for this LNH/LNHQ too.
> Never use a character without permission.
>
> 2) Number of characters
Reading these two, I would add:
- If you stop writing (meaning, you "abandon" the character for
one year), the character retires.
- If you're not contactable for, say, three months, the
character resigns from the LNH for a while, perhaps in a long
mission.
- If you decide you don't want to use the character anymore, it
would be polite to put her in Public Domain or retirement.
Of course, these "rules" don't apply if the character is Public
Domain - we're talking about WCs here.
I'd further propose that any author who's been writing for more
than, say, 6 months, in this universe is free to write the
story where this happens (retirement etc), if you don't do it.
Just follow the rule of leaving a path back, and not going too
much off-character or changing him too much.
[]s,
|alo
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