Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => The Secret History => Topic started by: Wakshaani on <11-01-11/0946:08>
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(Crossposting this from RPG.Net when I realized that the Secret History forum existed here. D'oh!)
Ol' Roxy had a horrible autoimmune disease that left him a year to live back in '49, but Universal Omnitech (A corporation that he owned 5% of) gave him a chance, albeit a risky one. He took their treatment (A germ-based thing) and ... lived? Ish?
Ol' Roxy's tissue discorporated, no longer shaking hands with one another, seperating into a mass of goop that lives in a vat, only hs brain still intact. He's been working on a cure for his cure ever since, and over the past twenty three years, has become an astoundingly good decker (The advantages of living in the Matrix 24/7) ... He's been haunted by Alice Haeffner, who has some sort of history with him that I've never learned. Alice was a member of Echo Mirage, died fighting the original Crash Virus, and became a ghost in the machine (The first, perhaps?) ... a Matrix-based entity that might have been Alice's ghost, that might have been a reflection of same made by the Crash virus, or might have been the Crash virius itself ... no one's ever said, really. Alice had a hate on for Roxy and whenever he'd get close to making his life better, she'd step in and ruin it.
"His fate is terrible. Rest assured, he's earned worse."
Crash 2.0 seems to have eradicated Alice, leaving the door open for Roxy to move up. The idea of rigging 'wimps' (Clones of people, never woken up, to have a body on hand for spare parts) with remote operation gear is now possible, and brain transplants seem within the realm of Shadowrun technology. (Dr Halbertsan, for instance, has been doing it since the mid 50's) ... Seems like the stage is set for ol' Roxy to walk out on stage, celebrate with a big smile, and see UO's stock shoot skyward.
Of course, the question of if he *deserves* a 'happy ending' is a valid one. Maybe. (Does anybody know the backstory between him and Alice?)
Then again, it could be a classic "My only regret ... is that I have ... boneitis!" moment, where he gets to walk around free for a while, then it all falls apart and he winds up worse than before. See Victor Freize in Batman Beyond, or Eric Cartman's amusement park.
...
I dunno. Today's a day for thinkin', and ol' Roxy just came up.
Anybody got thoughts?
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I would guess it's largely because, well, no ones gotten around to doing anything with it.
It comes down to a finite amount of word count and books coupled with whatever the writers are interested in playing around with. Heck, this is why most plotlines drag on as long as they do (And as much as I love the "living world" aspect of Shadowrun and the always moving forward timeline, this is also one of the drawbacks to it).
That said... I don't believe any of the AI's are truly gone. Changed, definately. Diminished, almost certainly. But gone? Heh.
(Note: That's just my own opinion, and not an official comment on them :))
Bull
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I still want to see a fist-fight between Roxy and Argent's Decker, Peg era 2050s. :P
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Oh, agreed on the AIs. Deus is still branching out (hah!), for certain, while the other two are probably out there as well, if in diminished forms.
Ol' Roxy gets mentioned once in a while, but isn't an active plot, just one of those backburner "If we ever have a dry spell, we could dig him up" things.
I'm still curious on his backstory, however. I *think* someone once said it's expanded more in the original Secrets of Power trilogy, but I never did get around to reading those. Beyond that, you get some tiny hints or suggestions, but nothing more. Fairly certain he's not one of the Echo Mirage team, however... I *think* that all of them are now accounted for.
(Where's Ancient History when you need him?)
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YOu should read them, Wak. They're good, especially for the atmosphere.
That's something I need to poke Jason & Co about... We really need to see about getting the rest of the novel novels (Most of them, actually) and the last 20 or so FASA/Fanpro books properly scanned and OCRd.
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(Where's Ancient History when you need him?)
Extremely unhappy, and doesn't want to talk about it.
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Understood on that one, CanRay.
I miss him, tho.
As for Rox, I'll have to see about fitting him in somewhere, sometime.
Assuming I can gather up the backstory with him and Alice, at any rate. :)
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I still want to see a fist-fight between Roxy and Argent's Decker, Peg era 2050s. :P
Me too. :P
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I'm still curious on his backstory, however. I *think* someone once said it's expanded more in the original Secrets of Power trilogy, but I never did get around to reading those.
Not quite, it's in the Dragonheart Trilogy (this should not discourage you from reading Secrets of Power, though)
As the CEO of Acquisition Technologies, Roxy ordered the development of a core war virus to be used against a rival company called [something] Threads. During a test run against another company something went wrong, the virus got loose and the result is what we know as the Crash of '29.
This damage caused the head programmer of Acquisition Technologies, a certain David Gillian [or soemthing like that, you know who I'm talking about], to switch sides and head the fight against the virus...reportedly Dunkelzahn as the owner of [something] Threads also played a role in that decision. And as if those were not enough big names in one small spot, another employee of Acquisition Tech also made a fortune as CEO of a triple-A corp: Lucien Cross.
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I still want to see a fist-fight between Roxy and Argent's Decker, Peg era 2050s. :P
Me too. :P
We had a big "Who would win a fist fight" thread in The Other Forum, and that was (one of) my suggestions.
I'm glad they don't have a rep system there. :P
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I'm still curious on his backstory, however. I *think* someone once said it's expanded more in the original Secrets of Power trilogy, but I never did get around to reading those.
Not quite, it's in the Dragonheart Trilogy (this should not discourage you from reading Secrets of Power, though)
As the CEO of Acquisition Technologies, Roxy ordered the development of a core war virus to be used against a rival company called [something] Threads. During a test run against another company something went wrong, the virus got loose and the result is what we know as the Crash of '29.
This damage caused the head programmer of Acquisition Technologies, a certain David Gillian [or soemthing like that, you know who I'm talking about], to switch sides and head the fight against the virus...reportedly Dunkelzahn as the owner of [something] Threads also played a role in that decision. And as if those were not enough big names in one small spot, another employee of Acquisition Tech also made a fortune as CEO of a triple-A corp: Lucien Cross.
In other words, there's a lot of big names that would be vicious enough to make sure he never ever finds a cure.
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Well, one's no longer a problem.
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Directly. ;D
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Unless he left notes to some of his loyal followers saying that this guy needed to be kept miserable for as long as possible. Dragons have been known to do things like that.
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Thus my addition of "Directly". ;D
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I'm still curious on his backstory, however. I *think* someone once said it's expanded more in the original Secrets of Power trilogy, but I never did get around to reading those.
Not quite, it's in the Dragonheart Trilogy (this should not discourage you from reading Secrets of Power, though)
As the CEO of Acquisition Technologies, Roxy ordered the development of a core war virus to be used against a rival company called [something] Threads. During a test run against another company something went wrong, the virus got loose and the result is what we know as the Crash of '29.
This damage caused the head programmer of Acquisition Technologies, a certain David Gillian [or soemthing like that, you know who I'm talking about], to switch sides and head the fight against the virus...reportedly Dunkelzahn as the owner of [something] Threads also played a role in that decision. And as if those were not enough big names in one small spot, another employee of Acquisition Tech also made a fortune as CEO of a triple-A corp: Lucien Cross.
The top datasearch hit for Dunkelzahn´s company was this - http://www.gossamer-threads.com/ (http://www.gossamer-threads.com/)
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Yay for successful Vancouver based companies!
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Actually, I'm sort of shocked that Roxborough wasn't a Crash 2.0 victim, one way or another. He's always jacked in, and he needs massive life support, all of it computer controlled.
Man should've died. He's got the gods' own luck ...
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Or the Devil's.
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Which reminds me of a game I ran -- based pretty closely off the movie Freejack, not to mention (I think) a comment/scenario in some SR fiction -- of a group of martial artists who got kidnapped and dumped into one of the Aztlan bloodsport arenas. One of them was selected to be the 'host' for a transference of Roxy's mind, so he could be free of the tank ...
... unfortunately, I a) picked the one player who was a complete idiot, and b) nobody but me had ever seen Freejack.
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Honestly, what are they teaching in schools nowadays?
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Alex Furlong (Emilio Estevez): "So, how am I doing??"
Vacendak (Mick Jagger): *looking back at the three cars ex-race-car-driver Furlong just ran off the road, then back, ruefully* "Not bad."
A movie rife with great quotes. Like Princess Bride, but Shadowrunny.
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Actually, I'm sort of shocked that Roxborough wasn't a Crash 2.0 victim, one way or another. He's always jacked in, and he needs massive life support, all of it computer controlled.
Man should've died. He's got the gods' own luck ...
He's a tough one, our Roxy.
With Alice out of the way, you'd think he'd have a clear shot at escaping now.
Then again, I'm still wondering how he managed to marry KAM. What could they have possibly got out of such a relationship?
(And now I wonder if there are any lil' RoxDrops out there. Ewww...)
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Cybersex can do wonders when you have a DNI. ;D
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Cybersex can do wonders when you have a DNI. ;D
Hot SIM,
check in and see.
I feel flagellan,
hundred and three...
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I've never read this about Rox, at least don't remember reading anything like it, but it could be that psychosis/fear has kept him in his vat...the idea of having to interact in the meat world after so many years in his cell has left him with little desire to "step outside" even if through a surrogate body.
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Possible. Lots of time to think about microorganisms and such.
Maybe he's trying to buy the top few floors to a casino in Vegas all to himself?
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Heck, maybe he *did* flatline and has been Ghosting ever since. It's not like anyone would know the difference. His body's on life support, he does all his work through the Matrix ...
Now I have images of Alice's final "gift" being to give Wonderland to Rox.
(I really need to read the novels that that whole mess is in.)
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Roxy already tried the Freejack trick. It failed for a couple of reasons.
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Roxy already tried the Freejack trick. It failed for a couple of reasons.
True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome, where a plan nearly works but he never touches it again after it barely fails.
Then again, he's far more likely to look into the Proteus-style "Rig a Wimp" gambit these days. Not that he has any examples of this, of course, but rumors have been around for ages, so he's bound to have had someone looking into it.
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True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome...
You mean he isn't Squirrel Girl's B****?
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I think when Alice locked him in Wonderland, it pretty much screwed up him being able to try again.
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Maybe she checked out American McGee's work and locked him in THAT Wonderland. *Slasher Smile*
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Stranger Souls implies that Roxy was also a pedophile.
Which is probably one of the many reasons KAM divorced him. Though I suspect that her daughter is also his. I mean, the man did have a pretty functional life for a long time before he became a vat of organs.
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True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome...
You mean he isn't Squirrel Girl's B****?
In all fairness, *everyone* is SG's punching bag. Wolverine, Iron Fist, Galactus...
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True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome...
You mean he isn't Squirrel Girl's B****?
In all fairness, *everyone* is SG's punching bag. Wolverine, Iron Fist, Galactus...
Yeah, but Doctor Doom has a special place in that group, as she's occasionally gone to his place, demanded something, and he just points to it, looking dejected and defeated without even trying to fight back.
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True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome...
You mean he isn't Squirrel Girl's B****?
In all fairness, *everyone* is SG's punching bag. Wolverine, Iron Fist, Galactus...
Yeah, but Doctor Doom has a special place in that group, as she's occasionally gone to his place, demanded something, and he just points to it, looking dejected and defeated without even trying to fight back.
Which raises my already-high opinion of Doom's intelligence vastly.
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Which raises my already-high opinion of Doom's intelligence vastly.
More like his will has been broken after having a SQUIRREL declare dominance on him... And never wanting to experience that ever again.
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Considering the company he's in, I really doubt his will is broken.
In any case. Rox in the Box, well -- I expect that situation to come to a head, and soon. He's been playing both sides against the middle for far, far too long...
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Why do I hear a flushing sound? ;D
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True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome...
You mean he isn't Squirrel Girl's B****?
Oh man, now I want to see this Doctor Doom vs. Squirrel fight that you're talking about. I'll have to find those books somehow.
The top datasearch hit for Dunkelzahn´s company was this - http://www.gossamer-threads.com/ (http://www.gossamer-threads.com/)
Any company who's sells pitch is "You've never heard of us... we’re the folks behind the scenes making sure everything’s working as it should be." is a company worth taking over. Or investing in if, you know, you're not a dragon that has the resources to take it over..
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True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome...
You mean he isn't Squirrel Girl's B****?
Oh man, now I want to see this Doctor Doom vs. Squirrel fight that you're talking about. I'll have to find those books somehow.
Squirrel Linky! (http://eyzmaster.blogspot.com/2010/10/comicpagesoftheweekend-squirrel-vs-doom.html)
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True, but I don't think he has Dr Doom Syndrome...
You mean he isn't Squirrel Girl's B****?
Oh man, now I want to see this Doctor Doom vs. Squirrel fight that you're talking about. I'll have to find those books somehow.
Squirrel Linky! (http://eyzmaster.blogspot.com/2010/10/comicpagesoftheweekend-squirrel-vs-doom.html)
Eeek! That story would be adorable if Squirrel Girl didn't look so God forsaken creepy.
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Well, they've cleaned her up into "Standard comic hottie" more or less.
http://www.writeups.org/img/fiche/3412.jpg
http://www.writeups.org/img/inset/squirrel.jpg
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/15776/1600474-squirrel_girl_23_super.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/6248/squirrelgirlvsdoom.jpg
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Yeah, Deodato only has one style of woman: Megan Fox with bigger breasts.
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It's the eye makeup. Compare Squirrel Girl (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/15776/1600474-squirrel_girl_23_super.jpg) with Alice Cooper (http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTqXW1cT14BH-yd2Pcknc5WoWf_zdC7uzS-YoR_7lLhvO-ZNGpYFw).
Creepiness apparently lies in vertical stripes over the eyes ...
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D'oh! I know why he's still in the box!
"Do not open until Christmas"! We're 17 days too early! ;D
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He'll be in there for more than seventeen days.
Last week, I sat down with the other freelancer who lives in town, and Roxy was one of many things we discussed in those four hours. We discussed what is possible, what could be possible, and more importantly, what he is thinking.
Let me just say that every time we meet, it's Bad News for you all.
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I got a friend just like that.
We've had over-fast discussions feeding on each other as we got more and more hyper until we were locked in another room.
With a tape recorder.
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Let me just say that every time we meet, it's Bad News for you all.
Not me, that is why I GM. :P
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Let me just say that every time we meet, it's Bad News for you all.
Isn't that Good News for people who devour fluff books like I do?
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*Looks up with a face full of pages* Mummph?
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Let me just say that every time we meet, it's Bad News for you all.
Not me, that is why I GM. :P
You think so?
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Well, I do have a bad habit of using a book as soon as I read it. :-\
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Well, I do have a bad habit of using a book as soon as I read it. :-\
And that's bad... How?
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It just is, neither bad or good. But it does makes getting side tracked easier. A meet with a Johnson at Icarus Descending turned into a 15 minute discussion on Elvin and Asian fusion cuisine.
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Well, both use a lot of fish. :P
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I'm a fan of the players. Let's put it that way.
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Now this is an interesting thread. Now Mr. Meiers has me very curious at to whats been said about this subject in secret meetings. That said, I already have my own plans for this particular situation in a game I have starting up here after the holiday. Should be interesting to see what the "official" method of handling Roxy will be at some point.
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I think Roxy is the personification of Human Evil.
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I think Roxy is the personification of Human Evil.
He's got a lot of competition for that honorarium. :P
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I think Roxy is the personification of Human Evil.
Absolutely...why do you think I'm going to have him involved in said upcoming game? Evil evil evil.
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I'm thinking aout how he could be used in the future, if at all, and I keep coming back to the idea that he's a solution in search of a problem. He needs to get out of teh box and start walking around, giving us a nice Big Bad for a while. His company doesn't have the resources or it'd have happened by now. Other corporations *might* have the ability to do so, however. If he could somehow be addded to one of those, then things start into motion. To what end, who gets involved, when it happens, and what does it lead towards, however, are all story sparks.
Might have to type out some thoughts on this...
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... and I keep coming back to the idea that he's a solution in search of a problem. He needs to get out of teh box and start walking around, giving us a nice Big Bad for a while. His company doesn't have the resources or it'd have happened by now.
... Great Captain's Ghost, why ?!?
Look, the best high-end opponents are those who recur. More, those who are functionally untouchable. Lofwyr. Damien Knight. The Shiawase Family, Buttercup, any Great Dragon or major CEO, etc. etc. etc. Darke is a fantastic villain, Dr. Halberstam still gives me the willies 25 years post-Renny, I damn near break into panicked tears whenever I re-read Captain Chaos announce to everyone to 'Let the world know. There are bugs here.'
'Ultimately' defeating any of these, with the possible exclusion of Darke or Halberstam, is an event that in most campaigns is never likely to happen. (Or even unlikely to happen.) The individuals, and Roxborough can be counted amongst them, are simply too powerful, too influential, and/or too well-protected. You might get fried by your Opponent directly; you might get shot by the bodyguards. You might get captured, tortured, interrogated, then brainwashed into being a good little corporate stooge.
Roxborough is so intensely interesting because all he can do is plot, plan, and send mooks out to do his dirty work. Oh, I expect by this point he's a moderately competent hacker; I also expect by this point for him to be missing more than a couple of links in the chain anchoring him to reality. But my god, if for some reason he casually disses the PCs (who are nobodies in his eyes), and they make their life goal 'doing him wrong', they'll eventually gain his attention -- and then he'll go to work on them.
Rox becoming a Big Bad? He already is. Enabling him to walk around in the flesh just lessens his threat level.
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If Roxy's brain is still intact, there's a solution already available. Cyborgs.
Or he can just rig himself some anthroform drones. :)
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... Great Captain's Ghost, why ?!?
Brainstorming a bit, mainly. Out of those mentioned, the Shiawase family ... I don't want to say 'is no more', but they had one heck of a turnover but have largely lain fallow ... Aside from the dyanastic change of the Corporate Handbook, what have they done? Darke is dead. Lofwyr will always be around but, equally, is pretty much untouchable for any PC group, ever. (Mind, now that we have stats, well, there's an old adage that applies.:) )
Besides, every now and then, you need to set aside some toys and see what the others can do. When Horizon's story is told, who's up next? After the long-term Tempo arc finishes, what's next? Who picks up the pieces after the Dragon CIvil War?
Rox is still in the box, waiting for his turn to come out and play. And I can't think of a better 'unwrapping' then a press conference that features him walk out on stage, smile, and simply saying "I'm back." That should give people the willies.
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Roxy vs. Brackhaven for Governor!
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The problem is not scientific. It's metaphysical.
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Roxy vs. Brackhaven for Governor!
Finally, a legit reason for voting for Brackhaven. Whodathunkit?
'Course, shoot them both and hold new elections, and everything is much, much better. ;D
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Besides, every now and then, you need to set aside some toys and see what the others can do. When Horizon's story is told, who's up next? After the long-term Tempo arc finishes, what's next? Who picks up the pieces after the Dragon CIvil War?
A plot never just goes away.
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Besides, every now and then, you need to set aside some toys and see what the others can do. When Horizon's story is told, who's up next? After the long-term Tempo arc finishes, what's next? Who picks up the pieces after the Dragon CIvil War?
A plot never just goes away.
Yes, it just gets put in a box and never mentioned again. ;)
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No, that was just the character Leonardo.
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No, that was just the character Leonardo.
Whonardo?
Never heard of him.
...
SUCH A PERSON DIDN'T EXIST.
(ahem)
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Dude.