in_nomine-digest Friday, January 25 2002 Volume 01 : Number 2527 In this digest: Re: IN> Yeah! Those White people suck! Skin color is how you can judge... Re: IN> The EPG (was Re: the War) Re: IN> Race and IN Re: IN> The EPG (was Re: the War) Re: IN> Race and IN Re: IN> The EPG (was Re: the War) IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: IN> The Deluge Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: IN> In Nomine Champions (was: In Nomine/DC cross-over) Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Heaven's security clearances (was Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?') Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer Re: Heaven's security clearances (was Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?') IN> Episode I, Part I (No, worse) (Crossposted to Pyramid) IN> Episode I, Part II (No, worse) (Crossposted to Pyramid) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 14:24:47 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Yeah! Those White people suck! Skin color is how you can judge... - --- Perry Lloyd wrote: > we > have You Are Here, but nothing the really spans the > Globe, with actual > specific suggestions appropriate to each locale. > > I dunno. a 32-pager about China in the IN world, I'd buy > it. That would be choice! Just think, a description of a temple of Kuan Yin -- can you imagine the looks on players' faces when they walk into an Ethereal Tether with what seems to be a permanent Seraph of Flowers Attunement over it? ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 Existential fast food slogan: "Why's the beef?" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 17:26:32 -0500 From: Christopher Pipinou Subject: Re: IN> The EPG (was Re: the War) On Fri, 25 Jan 2002 06:35:46 -0800 (PST) Michael Walton writes: > THANK YOU! Somebody got the point! > > Let's see that same white kid try and play a character > > from Mythic Greece > > Well, I don't foresee that any ancient Greeks will crash > a convention and cry "discrimination" any time soon, so > there's a bit more leeway there. But the kid should still > do some research IMO. No, but the religions ARE still practiced - the one that leaps immediately to mind is the Ancient Norse. Asatru is still quite a thriving religion in some places. Not having seen The Marches book (waah, my FLGS is woefully understocked for IN stuff), I wonder idly if it mentions that sort of thing at all? Best, Chris ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 17:46:39 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Race and IN At 2:18 PM -0800 1/25/02, Michael Walton wrote: >[...] how many of you devoted this >much thought to the issue of race in IN before this thread >(relax, it's a rhetorical question)? Ah, but a black _woman_ gamer was in the audience at one of the Arisia panels I was on; talk about a rare person, there. (There was also some discussion in that, and another panel, about feeling obligated to play the Token Member of One's Ethnic/Gender Group, because no one else would.) Which is probably not related to IN much, except that when one is really a swirling wheel of fire, or a large tiger, or a glob of drippy bits -- playing the underlying being instead of the vessel can help mask bits of "off" roleplaying. If one gets it wrong, it's due to the ignorance of the underlying being, who is having a hard enough time pretending to be _human_... (Such as the time the Seraph and the Lilim tried to cook frozen pizza, discovering the Seraph had neglected to purchase the proper baking tray. And it took a human to point out that they could order out and have pizza _delivered_...) It does rather help me, doing my first male character, to think of him as a large, winged polar bear first, and gendered second. O:> - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor RPG links; Random name list, Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 17:52:27 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> The EPG (was Re: the War) At 5:26 PM -0500 1/25/02, Christopher Pipinou wrote: [...] >No, but the religions ARE still practiced - the one that leaps >immediately to mind is the Ancient Norse. Asatru is still quite a >thriving religion in some places. > >Not having seen The Marches book (waah, my FLGS is woefully understocked >for IN stuff), I wonder idly if it mentions that sort of thing at all? It does, somewhat, yes. It has a list of the major surviving pantheons in it. There is _very_ brief mention of that lot in the EPG, probably, and people who know stuff should get a Pyramid subscription for the playtest... ($15 a year, access to all backissues, including IN stuff, etc., etc. ) - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor RPG links; Random name list, Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 14:51:36 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Race and IN - --- Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > Ah, but a black _woman_ gamer was in the audience at one > of > the Arisia panels I was on; talk about a rare person, > there. No kidding! The only time I usually see a Black woman at a gaming con is when I bring my wife along. > when one is > really a swirling wheel of fire, or a large tiger, or a > glob of > drippy bits -- playing the underlying being instead of > the vessel > can help mask bits of "off" roleplaying. If one gets it > wrong, it's > due to the ignorance of the underlying being, who is > having a hard enough time pretending to be _human_... Which is what makes IN such an excellent vehicle for this kind of exploration. There's both room to make mistakes and opportunity for exploring out-of-character issues from a new perspective. Sure, we play rpg's to have fun -- but I like a little thought-provoking in my fun every now and then. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 Existential fast food slogan: "Why's the beef?" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 15:26:28 -0800 From: Sean McCarthy Subject: Re: IN> The EPG (was Re: the War) Our spies report that at 05:52 PM 1/25/2002 -0500, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: >and people who know stuff should get a Pyramid subscription for the >playtest... ($15 a year, access to all backissues, including IN stuff, >etc., etc. ) Aaaaaaah! What a horrid dashing of hopes. I popped right on over and logged in, skipped past Dork Tower and the In Anime designer's notes, didn't even notice the lack of Suppressed Transmission and Murphy's Rules ... into the playtest section I went! No EPG playtest yet. I'm reading the In Anime designer's notes now, though. That I like. :) Sean ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 19:45:14 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer As theories go, it's shaky, and at the least, half-bakey But it's really, really flaky, And that's good enough for me.* Moe *Gimme that IN religion, Gimme that IN religion, Gimme that IN religion, It was a break from Heresy. ;) Defeat in Detail At the moment, the Council Chambers resembled nothing so much as a wartime Field HQ: fair enough, because it was. The assembled Superiors and their most trusted aides were armed, armored and extremely tense. Messengers flitted in and out, their forms flickering as they dropped off the latest intelligence on the corporeal plane. It was The Day. Specifically, it was Three Minutes After Midnight On The Day. Every Archangel's face showed a complex mix of resolution and distraction as they simultaneously reviewed, oversaw and directed the nigh-infinite details needed to move the Host into position for the battle. All disputes were forgotten and all conflicts shelved for the duration for the sake of unity. The Host was united as never before, with all the pieces finally coming into position ... save, of course, for one glaring absence. Then, quietly, that absence was filled. "Morning, everyone," casually remarked Eli, no-longer-AWOL Archangel of Creation. "Anyone want a donut?" The first to react was Dominic. The Archangel of Judgement straightened from his so far futile attempts to dislodge a small kitten from his cloak - Justinian had shown considerable reluctance in being placed into his specially reinforced, adamantine-armored traveling box - and pointed one finger at Eli. Moving around one of the six Malakite of Judgement who stood face outward from said box (flaming swords already out), Dominic intoned, "Eli, Archangel of Creation, be advised that you are under arrest for the crimes of..." Eli reached out with one hand and said, "Sock, please." The Symphony briefly trilled as a blue and purple sock materialized out of nothing. Eli nodded. "Thank you. Here, Nikki." The response was sufficiently unusual that the Archangel of Judgement stopped for a moment, bemused. The air grew slightly colder as he deciphered the reference, but by then the kitten had gotten his claws into the sock. In the slightly strained silence, Eli beamed brightly as he moved to the table. "Right. Long story why I was gone, and we're short on time, so I'll summarize. I had a good reason for popping off, I was in my right mind all the time, and you all should have trusted me in the first place. Besides, I'm back, so let's move on." The Archangel of Creation looked up slightly. "Dossiers, if you could." Another set of trills as several dozen sets of papers appeared before the assembled Archangels and their immediate aides. "Much obliged. Now, a picture's worth a thousand words, so, if you would, dear" - the Symphony's trill seemed almost a feminine chuckle as a shimmering globe appeared in midair - "Great. Now, if you'll look here, you can see the results of my research." Red dots appeared on the globe. "Steady lights indicate Infernal Tethers that we already knew about, blinking ones indicate ones that I was able to confirm. The yellow dots" - which flickered into existence as he spoke - "show Ethereal Tethers controlled by Hell. Lots of the buggers, huh?" Laurence spoke at this point, the frustration in his voice admirably under control. "Wonderful ... except that the Enemy is already using them. By the time that we can strike, they will have already gotten their forces through. For the Love of Christ, Eli, you were supposed to get this information back to us in time for us to do something with it!" Eli half smiled at the sudden shock in the room from the implications of Laurence's outburst (and the rare profanity that had accompanied it), but his expression became more somber as he turned to the Commander of the Host. "My apologies, sir. In the end, they moved faster than either you or I might have thought. I'm not sure - the demons that were supposed to be, ah, 'converting' me weren't precisely conversant with their Princes' machinations - but I suspect that this attack was thrown together at short notice. They've certainly not shown much efficiency in shipping through their first wave." The Archangel of the Sword nodded, his face becoming less stormy. "Which will cost them, dearly - and knowing where they're likely to try a flanking movement will certainly be useful. My apologies for the outburst, Archangel Eli: you did all that I asked, and more." Eli smiled. No, it was an unabashed grin, which made his expression look as out of place as a Shedite of Death at the Eighth Virtue. "That's putting it mildly, my boy. That's putting it mildly." Laurence blinked. "Excuse me?" The Archangel of Creation leaned against a pillar that hadn't been there a minute before. "You're so good to me... Right. He looked back at Laurence. "Sir, remember that conversation we had before I started my reconnaissance-in-apparent-aimlessness? About how knowing where Hell was likely to stage its attacks would allow to project overwhelming force there, thus defeating them in detail?" Laurence nodded. "Of course." "Well, while I was 'wandering' around, it occurred to me: why am I just looking for the Damned things?" Laurence's eyes slightly widened as Eli went on, "I mean, here I am, spending my whole time tracking down boils on the fundament of Creation: it seemed wrong to not voice my opinion on the matter, as it were. Fairly forcefully. The rest was implementation. And a knowledge of corporeal physics, of course." The Archangel of Creation looked up. "Might I have a dramatic symbol?" Another trill as a black box appeared, complete with antenna and blinking red button. "Perfect." The Archangel pointed the antenna at the globe and smoothly pressed the button. Red and yellow dots brightened, expanded and winked out. A second later, the dim throbbing of disturbance could be heard. Most of the celestials present winced: you weren't supposed to hear disturbance in Heaven. Eli had staggered a little, but was bravely stroking the apparently empty air. "There, there, dear. It's over, and you were very brave. We'll need you to be brave, again, but once it's over, it'll be over, forever. Can you be brave again, one more time?" The trill from the Symphony was tremulous, this time, but clearly affirmative. "I knew it." Eli looked around at his colleagues. "Antimatter. Not one of my favorite things, but tolerable in very, very small doses, provided that you spin the magnetic fields just right. Amazing what a molecule or two in the right place will do, nu?" The Archangel of Creation looked around again. Laurence and Michael had already begun relaying new deployment orders: the rest just looked ... bemused. Eli shrugged a bit. "Everyone's sure that they don't want donuts?" ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 22:47:19 -0500 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN> The Deluge >>By the way, question on canon: presumably, damned souls can never, never >>leave Hell by any normal means. But "You Are Here" lists damned souls as >>among the actors at The Camp in the Marches -- error, or what? > >They didn't get there via normal means -- a damned soul could, most likely, >be taken through Beleth's Tower and shipped anywhere Beleth blessed well >pleases... > >And there are always _rumors_.... Yeah. So... hmm... a canon way for a damned soul to get out of Hell. Smuggle yourself in, escape from the Camp and flee into the Marches... do *something* for the Princess of Nightmares to consider you worth releasing... have Lucifer say "Beleth. This one. Out."... Mmm, "Escape From Hell." And... then what? Might Blandine be able to take a repentant soul up her own Tower? Just some thoughts to torture the damned with, I suppose, since it's all highly unlikely in the extreme. William ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 03:59:22 +0000 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer I like it. Because the big question about Eli isn't so much what he's doing, but the thing that irritates not only his critics, like Dominic, but many of his supporters, like David or Michael: Why did he just vanish, instead of letting someone know? Solutions like yours assume that not only is he doing something worthwhile - -- which goes along with my theories on the matter -- but that he *did* let someone know, but it was classified. (Well, Dominic *does* collaborate with Asmodeus. And Marc *does* do business with Lilith. And there *is* that question about Janus. So this sort of mission would be on a "need to know" basis, which would mean Laurence and Michael and no one else.) Janet Anderson _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 19:52:13 -0800 From: Daiv Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer I like it! One question, though. Why would Eli object to Antimater? I mean, from a Celestial point of view, it is just one more Cororeal... thing, right? And as such, all Corporeal ...things... are the Creation of God through Eli, yes? Still, the idea that Eli treats The Symphony as his personal Secretary, kitten, and or lover is such a wonderful image. > >"Everyone's sure that they don't want donuts?" > >===== >Liber Licentiae Moeticae: >http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html > >Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! >http://auctions.yahoo.com - -- hammer and anvil fire sweat iron and breath forging destiny ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 22:14:53 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet Anderson" To: Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 9:59 PM Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer > So this sort of mission would be on a "need to know" > basis, which would mean Laurence and Michael and no one else.) Or maybe not even Michael -- although I personally lean to the theory that keeping Michael out of the loop on something like this only increases the risk that War's forces will accidentally do something to inconvenience or stumble across it, and it's not as if you can't trust him to both keep his mouth shut and be effectively un-interrogatable by anything. - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 22:17:35 -0600 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> In Nomine Champions (was: In Nomine/DC cross-over) Whistling in the Dark wrote: > That's putting me in a frightening frame of mind. The frame of mind > where a basically nice, unassuming person decides it's time to write > up In Nomine abilities in Champions.... Back in the day, when I was a Champions ܢergeek, I'd have had all the Choirs and Bands knocked out in the Hero system within hours. No time nowadays, although I've already done In Nomine Nobilis and Fudge In Nomine (and have been toying with BESM In Nomine). Ah, well. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 20:18:42 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer - --- Janet Anderson wrote: > I like it. Glad to hear it. > So this sort of mission would > be on a "need to know" > basis, which would mean Laurence and Michael and no > one else.) Who said Archangel "Hi-I-go-drinking-with-the-head-of-Hell's-armies" Michael knew anything about it? ;) Something like this would only get told to somebody who has _no_ contacts with the Other Side, no matter how benign or tenuous. That rules out just about half of the War Faction right there: Larry might have told David - maybe - but that's about it. Moe PS: Daiv, I figure Eli ain't too fond of antimatter because, well, there's not much you can do with it except turn lots of matter into energy - and energy's great stuff, don't get me wrong, but it's always a pain to turn it back into matter. :) ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 20:23:24 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer - --- Charles Glasgow wrote: >Or maybe not even Michael -- although I personally >lean to the theory that keeping Michael out of the >loop on something like this only increases the risk >that War's forces will accidentally do something to >inconvenience or stumble across it, and it's not as >if you can't trust him to both keep his mouth shut >and be effectively un-interrogatable by anything. Well, at least he wouldn't get stroppy about not being told ahead of time, unlike, well, just about everybody else. :) Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 22:28:51 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Heaven's security clearances (was Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?') - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maurice Lane" To: Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 10:18 PM Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer > Who said Archangel "Hi-I-go-drinking-with-the-head- >of-Hell's-armies" Michael knew anything about it? ;) What, the toughest being in the Symphony can't hold his liquor or something? :\;) > Something like this would only get told to somebody > who has _no_ contacts with the Other Side, no matter > how benign or tenuous. Don't quite get that reasoning, myself. All of them can be trusted to be intelligent enough to know not to talk about it, and most of them can be trusted to withstand any probe or interrogation. (Just try getting under Dominic's Cloak, for example...). The frequency with which they contact the enemy, amiably or otherwise, doesn't change that. There are two criteria for choosing who to restrict classified information to: a) trustworthiness and b) need to know. All of the Archangels (save pre-FoTM Khalid) pretty much bury the needle on a) to any rational standard, so the *only* criteria necessary is b). And while most Archangels wouldn't need to know about an ultra high-level triple-agent/reconaissance combo, the War Faction member who does most of the sneaky-pete stuff (which is either Michael, Dominic, or Zadkiel, depending on whether you use canon interpretation #1, canon interpretation #2, or Moe interpretation #plaid) would reasonably need to know. - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 04:40:39 +0000 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer >Who said Archangel >"Hi-I-go-drinking-with-the-head-of-Hell's-armies" >Michael knew anything about it? ;) Like someone said, he *ought* to be told so he doesn't accidentally do something to mess it up. Like someone else said, he's the one with the espionage experience, not Laurence. And like still someone else said, what's Baal going to do, get him drunk and hope he babbles something? Janet Anderson _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 21:10:04 -0800 From: Daiv Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer It is also true that having Eli show up with a box of Krispy Kremes, at the war council for Armegeddon and saying, 'Hi. Wars over. We won. Who wants a donut?' has a very specific appeal to it. Especially the part where he explains chocolate sprinkles to David. - -- hammer and anvil fire sweat iron and breath forging destiny ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 21:32:35 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low probability answer - --- Janet Anderson wrote: > >Who said Archangel > >"Hi-I-go-drinking-with-the-head-of-Hell's-armies" > >Michael knew anything about it? ;) > > Like someone said, he *ought* to be told so he > doesn't accidentally do > something to mess it up. Like someone else said, > he's the one with the > espionage experience, not Laurence. And like still > someone else said, > what's Baal going to do, get him drunk and hope he > babbles something? Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just teasing. :) Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 21:40:34 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: Heaven's security clearances (was Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?') - --- Charles Glasgow wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Maurice Lane" > To: > Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 10:18 PM > Subject: Re: IN> 'What's Eli Doing?' - the low > probability answer > > > > Who said Archangel > "Hi-I-go-drinking-with-the-head- > >of-Hell's-armies" Michael knew anything about it? > ;) > > What, the toughest being in the Symphony can't hold > his liquor or something? > :\;) Well, the older _I_ get, the easier it is to get me drunk... ;) Seriously, I left Mike out of this one mostly because I didn't have any lines for him and the guy's enough like kudzu as it is. Heck, I wouldn't have included Nikki if it wasn't for the fact that I really wanted Eli to tell him to put a sock in it, however indirectly. :) > And while most Archangels wouldn't need to know > about an ultra high-level > triple-agent/reconaissance combo, the War Faction > member who does most of > the sneaky-pete stuff (which is either Michael, > Dominic, or Zadkiel, > depending on whether you use canon interpretation > #1, canon interpretation > #2, or Moe interpretation #plaid) would reasonably > need to know. Oh, I never said that Zaddie does _all_ the sneaky-pete stuff: it's just that she does all of _Marc's_.* True, I'll be pushing the 'let Marc be head spymaster' meme until canon makes the point moot, but that's just a personal quirk. :) Moe *Considering the amount of redundant spy agencies that, say, the USA has, I don't think it's unreasonable to postulate that Heaven is any better. Heck, they're probably _worse_: can you imagine turf fights between rival bureaucracies staffed by immortal blessed souls? :) ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 21:51:16 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Episode I, Part I (No, worse) (Crossposted to Pyramid) "Cleaning out the IN tray, Watching the backlog go away, uh-huhh Cleaning out the IN tray About time, yeah-heh-heh-heh..." And I still haven't cleaned it out, but I _am_ starting to get blurry vision. This one isn't particularly deep, either. Comments welcome. Roost This penthouse office had windows in every direction - not that Nybbas had chosen it for that. He had picked the office building because it was in the dead center of his Principality and there was enough room in the lower levels for the frantically working communications teams. The windows had shown up because the Prince of the Media felt like looking out at Hell. The view was even uglier than usual, at least from Nybbas' point of view. Shal-Mari was still burning. The flashes of actinic light had died down, but the screaming was audible even at this distance. Every so often, a building would explode, collapse or simply wink out of existence. The smell was incredibly pungent, as well: there were at least three Deadly Sins being excised over there, and the resulting reek threatened to overwhelm even the Prince. In contrast, Hades was quiet ... but that might have been because every building within striking range of an enraged Cherub Archangel had been flattened. Nybbas snorted wearily. It seemed a good idea at the time to hold off attacking them until the battle started. *That has-been Baal swore that we needed to start with a splash and keep going.* Unfortunately, the special strike team had only gotten one of the Angels of Final Judgement in the first shot... and they never got another once Armageddon boosted the other to obscene levels of Word-power. At a guess, the remaining entities within the Principality were literally half frightened to death. 'Above', the Marches still hadn't shifted from the pale gray blur that had slammed down like a curtain when the Last Battle reached the Vale. Not even Nybbas' eyes could break through; with any luck, the camera crews already inside and in place were getting everything. *I hope that I get the chance to view the raw tapes.* His communications people were reporting that Armageddon was shaping up more or less the way Nybbas expected: that is, both sides were steadily grinding each other into hamburger. *At the moment, Hell's ahead on points...* The Principality of Sheol chose this moment to implode. Scattered fragments of stinking mud began to splatter down across Hell. Nybbas gave the reluctant smile of an expert director who has been forced to note a good dramatic scene in someone else's work of art. *...well, maybe not. Hope he took the bitch with him.* The Prince sat in a chair that wasn't there before he needed it, his fingers intertwined as he judged the storyboard. It all seemed perfect at the time. /Montage: hordes of demons gathering at various Tethers, weapons being handed out, the soundtrack blaring away as the armies swarmed across the corporeal plane. Cut to another montage of worldwide panic and destruction; split screen to two wide shots of atrocities, then four, then eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four and so on, until the viewers can't make out anything clearly./ /Insert scenes of the Prince of the Media, heroically watching over the high tech communications center that makes this all possible and bitterly cursing the cruel necessity of not being up there for the final push. Cut to a tasteful close-up of his disappointed, yet resolute face, with a quick background shot of the admiration and love of his Servitors. The inspiring speech ends up on the cutting room floor, but that's what DVD players are for./ /Cut to panoramic view of the Seraphim Council: shock, surprise, Novalis weeping, War Faction already heading for the door, ominous theme music in the background. Another series of quick shots of the Host streaming down, frantically trying to consolidate and meet the destruction head on. Cut to wide view of most of the principals, facing each other mano-to-mano on some desolate exotic locale. Zoom in on Baal and Michael squaring off. Baal dies well - *didn't know that he actually knew how to chew scenery* - and utter silence for a minute. Zoom back to wide shot as the two sides start shouting and attack each other./ /Cut to the corporeal plane: no music at first, then a low repetitive beat as camera shows various stealthy demons, liberally covered with eye-catching gadgets, creeping up to angelic Tethers. Focus on one group as it attacks one Tether - Flowers for preference, they give good visuals - and start streaming up. The group takes losses, but they keep going, towards an empty Heaven and a panoramic shot of unattended Hearts./ /Sudden cut to random angel: zoom close as he suddenly staggers in pain. Zoom back to show rest of Host doing the same, their ranks rippling as they fall and moan. Demons start cheering and roll over Host. Fade to black as the soundtrack blasts out triumphant theme music./ *It just goes to show: never believe the pitch ... or let your actors get creative control over the script.* Everything had been going fine until the actual assaults. Unlike the Marches, Nybbas had been able to access the satellite feeds from the infiltration teams, and he had been both stunned and impressed by the special effects. Probably Hell would have been able to deal with the unexpectedly high resistance from the blessed souls - somebody really should have thought to mention that they had artillery up there - but the sudden appearance of choking white smoke streaming down from Jacob's Ladder was what killed the scene. Granted, the visuals were outstanding - especially the way that demons tended to both explode and implode on contact - but it was an extraordinarily heavy-handed piece of Direction. And, of course, it seemed that Hell wasn't the only one with infiltration plans: hence, the aforementioned burning Shal-Mari: apparently, soon to be followed by a fiery Perdition. The Prince walked to the window and looked down at the battle again. The overall style was eerily reminiscent of Dore or Bosch, provided of course that either worthy had been first given extensive CGI training and a chance to catch up on popular culture. Nybbas' own troops were fairly uniform: Servitors of the Media predominated, with the more photogenic monsters out there a close second. There were even some demonic refugees from the insanity going on elsewhere. Opposing them, though... Nybbas munched some popcorn as he watched a squadron of Valkyries reform their formation and begin another strafing run on the defenders below. Dragons and harpies rose to meet them ... but were scattered by the sudden appearance of fighters on every kind of flying vehicle ever hallucinated by the mind of man, from broomsticks to flying carpets to doghouses. Media's own 'mechanical' air force had been knocked out in the first attack, thanks to the little green humanoids that had appeared from nowhere and proceeded to whale on sensitive equipment with very large hammers. Below them, the hastily thrown together trenches were holding, but the fighting remained intense. A portion of the defenders had attempted to switch sides at the outset - damn all ungrateful gods, anyway - but Nybbas had been prepared for that, at least. Most of the would-be rebels' heads were on pikes now, with just the right lighting needed to maximize the effect. Nybbas sourly noted that the few that got away were giving better performances than _he_ ever got out of them. Unfortunately, what was going on below was an ironic reversal of the usual order of things: Hell had superior forces, but Heaven's troops had the numbers - and were spending them like water. A thoroughly motley crew was down there, too: their only pretense to uniformity was the sigil (a golden cup on a red field) that each wore. Impossibly bright knights on snowy-white steeds charged alongside retro mechanical men and beggars on giant ants, slaughtering every unicorn-riding elf that came within reach of their hateful steel swords, fists and mandibles. Hosts of nearly identical old, bearded men with staffs were calling down lightning bolts and fireballs onto the milling hordes in front of them: behind, an anthropomorphic frog was directing squadrons of implausible walking tanks into position for the next armored assault. Where the two lines met, the carnage was amazing. In one place, a white-haired old man was the front line all by himself, his striped top hat askew as he pummeled five demons at a time with a sixth. That part of the line seemed to be mostly otherwise comprised of Greek and Norse gods, although there was a sizable proportion of people who apparently liked wearing their underwear outside their regular clothing. Every time a gap opened up in the lines for a moment, six or eight humanoids dressed all in black would dart through. Oddly, their appearance would go unnoticed by Nybbas' defenders... until the raiders uncrossed their arms from across their chest and ripped out someone's jugular from behind. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 21:52:41 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Episode I, Part II (No, worse) (Crossposted to Pyramid) (cont.) All of this did not particularly concern Nybbas: as far as he could see, the total combined firepower down there wasn't enough to penetrate his personal defenses, so why not watch the free show? Still, there were some questions about the point of it all. The attackers knew he was here, knew that they couldn't get past him and (presumably) knew that he wouldn't abandon his suddenly all-important post. *Now that I think about it, why aren't these losers off getting smacked around by the Ice Bitch? Sure, they all hate me, but this isn't their usual venue...* The roar beneath began to shift in tone: fearful from the defenders, triumphant from the attackers. The Prince strained his ears to hear the sudden rhythmic chant. Da da-DAH-dah DAH... da da-DAH-dah DAH... *The... something something...* *Oh.* Idly shouldering aside a few buildings in the way, the attacker's secret weapon ponderously strode up the hastily-cleared path for it. Three hundred feet tall, his warty green hide scarred from corporeal, ethereal and celestial attacks, the Gorilla-Whale howled his anger and rage at Perdition as his eyes alighted on the defensive line in front of him. On his back, two humans frantically fired Brownings at any demons or hostile ethereals that came too close: Nybbas' eyes glittered as he recognized them. *Well, there's a trinity for you: celestial wannabe, ethereal copy and corporeal convert - and they'd be nobodies without me. I've got issues with all three of you ingrates: Mr. Lizard out there, most of all* - the inundation of Hollywood has seriously discolored the shine on Nybbas' shoes - *but you two aren't high and dry, either. There's only one King - ME - so we've got some copyright issues to discuss, 'son' ... and as for you, Norma, when I get done with you you'll wish you'd taken that secretary job. So come on down.* The Prince of the Media flexed his fingers. *Let's do lunch.* The battle line had dissolved, even before the first wave of radioactive breath had washed over it, and the unlikely juggernaut had strode through it at full speed. Time for Nybbas slowed as he watched the breath crawl sluggishly up towards him, his thumb caressing the Delete button on his Remote... ...and then time slowed even further as he heard the faintest background music. It was _Him_. It was that insipid, powerful, happy-go-lucky bastard that had played hard to get for a century. That incompetent genius that had somehow vaguely managed to avoid every single lure and trap that the Media had ever laid for him. That intolerably Creative Fool that had been the silent ghost at Nybbas' feast, mocking the Prince's accomplishments by his mere existence. And, apparently, he was down there, waiting for Nybbas to make his move. It all became so obvious. This attack had Eli's fingerprints all over it, down to the ironic juxtaposition of Heaven's and Hell's usual roles and the stunning visuals. Once the Prince committed to an attack, the Archangel of Creation would intervene - and then the climactic fight scene would begin. Archangel versus Prince... except that the Prince would have to divert part of his power to keep Hell's communication nexus open. This wasn't going to be pretty. Nybbas smiled. *This was going to be majestic.* It was amazing, really, how _good_ this felt. *All this time, I knew, somehow. I knew that the Tyrant was also the Audience. He's Up There, right now, watching some equivalent of TV, His eyes rapt on the screen. This scene is too perfect to be anything else but the final episode of a 20,000 year-old reality show designed to keep God on the brink of His seat. And I'm the villain. I'm the guy in the Black Hat. I'm the ultimate heavy, the penultimate Boss Level. I am what Eli needs to prove that he's the Hero of this picture.* *In short, I am THE MAN. Even God admits it: otherwise, why send his hip, post-modern leading man to face me?* The most wonderful part is, Nybbas couldn't lose. *Either I take down the lead, or he takes down me. If I win, well, that's live TV for you. The flubs are the most interesting part, anyway. But if I go down for the count... Hell, they'll remember me until the end of time. It'll be too good a story to not remember. Besides, even if Eli doesn't remember the first rule of Action Flicks, I do.* *If the Bad Guy's cool enough, the Fans will insist that he come back.* Nybbas looked in a direction impossible to describe in corporeal terms. *Is that the deal, Boychik? I give good visuals, you write me into the sequel?* There was no answer, of course, but then the Prince of the Media hadn't expected one. He looked himself over, wondering whether he should wear something more suitable for the final scene. *This look's a trademark, but we need some costumes for the action figure line - no, forget it. If I go out, it'll be as I came in: loudly.* The Prince let his time-sense speed up again as he silently worked out his motivation for the upcoming scene. As radioactive winds scoured away his surroundings, Nybbas practiced his trademark grin and tried to decide on a good throwaway line. *The problem is, everything from the last twenty years isn't right, somehow.* The floor gave way. *I think that for once we'll actually go with the classics.* The Prince slid down, cosmetically buffeted by crashing debris. *When in doubt, steal from the best.* He came to rest at the base of his half-gutted tower, slightly and dramatically disheveled. From out of the roiling clouds of dust came the footsteps of his enemy, coming ever closer. Nybbas adjusted the grip on his remote and waited. "Top of the world, Ma," whispered the Prince of the Media. "Top of the world." Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/01/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2527 ********************************