Roses and Rapiers

[Miriam Valentine]

Despite her sheltered upbringing, Miriam's return to Endonia places her in a position to be highly accessible in a variety of settings. Being the individual in control of "Guardian", the sole proprietor of "The Palace at Versailles" casino and night club, a University student, and one prone to late night vigilante-style adventures certainly forces her to homogenize her "triple life" and personalities, just in order to function. Thus, interactions may be of the wild card variety, depending on the circumstances. It's a rather stressful time for the young woman. Ha, but as to specifics...

"Guardian Network"/"Trinity"[/u] - As stated in her profile and above, Miri's currently running the Network by her lonesome (in terms of leadership.) There currently is no "Trinity"; it's just her, and she knows that she simply cannot do it all on her own. So, she's looking to fill in the two vacant spots of "Guardian" and "Guardian: Judgment." (That may be negotiable, though. She currently believes that she must be the one with the anti-mutant "Calypso" role, but... who knows how that might change.) Generally speaking, "Guardian" is pro-mutant and is the protective/beneficial voice for mutants within the "Trinity", and "Judgment" is the impartial, neutral party that acts as the tie-breaking vote if consensus for a situation cannot be reached between "Guardian" and "Calypso." Of course, the problem with finding replacements is... she's really not sure how to go about identifying potential candidates at this point.

Additionally, as mentioned, the Network both facilitates the escape and protection of mutants... and facilitates their capture/elimination for all of the various anti-mutant groups (assassins, DNCS, ect.) If you are a mutant that needs help, give a shout out! If you're an anti-mutant group looking for info, services can be provided for a fee. LoL. Lots of possibilities here, including cross-over between the two sides.

"Guardian" Vigilante side note[/u] - Also, since she will be looking for trouble and/or acting directly on some of the information she has gathered from various contacts, one can expect to meet her "in the field."

The Palace at Versailles[/u] - The Palace is an extravagant casino and night-club located in the Hotels/Bars portion of Endonia. It is also where Miriam lives - the top few floors (she's expanded her living space during the renovation) are dedicated strictly to her, and security for gaining access to those floors is extremely tight. Still, she is typically very visible on the various casino floors (she doesn't frequent the night club setting floors nearly as much) and although she is typically closely flanked by casino security, she routinely entertains those with the "courage" to approach. She views it as a "nice distraction." It's also well-known that approaching with expensive gifts certainly improves her mood...

University[/u] - Of course, she's also present on the college campus. As is her classroom habit, she tends to sit in the front row, preferably by herself, and has a habit of ignoring/avoiding other students, if she can help it. Still, she's there, so it's an opportunity to interact, without the "bodyguard" presence that exists in the casino. It should also be noted that she hasn't been in the classroom in 5 or 6 years, so she may have trouble re-adjusting and "getting back into the groove" of things. Annnd... she's typically over-dressed for the setting, so you really can't miss her.

Romance[/u] - Just as a last little side note, if you happen to develop an interest in her, do note that she expects to be "courted." >_> Like, old school style. The only part that doesn't count here is asking for permission from her parents... seeing as how her father's disappeared somewhere and she couldn't even tell you her mother's name or what happened to her. One should expect to have to wait for the return of any sort of affection, as well. n_n And, should you manage to proceed farther along this path, do note that she has no earthly idea what she is doing when it comes to the physical portions of a relationship.


And... anything else anyone can think of. =o Let's discuss. LoL.[/color]

[Eluard Verlaine]

My only question is... where exactly do you want them to meet and what would Eluard know of her "organization"? I see him seeking her out both to convince her to stop releasing information to the DNCS about mutants and encourage her to forward any mutants she finds to him. This could even turn into an invitation to be a partner in the whole thing depending on how she responds and what she wants to continue doing. I seriously need to write up a request for Eluard's secret mutant base place.

It's basically a place where mutants and his other associates are welcome to come and share a common room or housing if they so desire.

Anyway, where would she show up as the person leading the Guardian Network?

[Oscar Leonhardt]

Miriam as the impartial go between that she is, would probably get a visit from Oscar as well. He'll obviously be sent to make sure information on mutants comes down DNCS way, and he'll do his thing where he'll ignore information she may give about little kids and only share information about actual criminal/delinquent mutants with the DNCS, not that anyone should find out about this.

So maybe he could find her in the nightclub? Meeting her there would add to his discomfort and amuse me, lol.

No idea why I decided to change accounts to post this.

Also, I'm holding off on sending Kaien her way until he's out of Lee's plot?

[Miriam Valentine]

Ha... I've been wondering if I ought to bug Grim for a sub-board in the Hotels/Bars section for "The Palace at Versailles" as well... but I figured I'd wait until I actually got her a little active before "the grand re-opening." Anyhoo...

First, it's not generally known that the "face" of "Guardian" that helps mutants and the "face" that sells locations and identities of them to anti-mutant groups are one and the same. Previously, this was easy to maintain, since there were actually two different individuals playing those roles. Now, since Miri's doing everything on her own, it won't be so easy to do that, but she'll be attempting to maintain the status quo just the same. However, there is a flaw to this: Miriam also intends to be much more hands on. So...

With Oscar, there's not really an issue, at least to begin with. One thing to note is that pretty much any initial contact comes via electronic means, and the video/audio associated with the electronic communications is always encrypted/scrambled. After an understanding is reached in terms of the "price" of whatever information "Guardian: Calypso" intends to exchange with the interested party, a meeting could be scheduled, with mention that an "agent" will be facilitating the transfer. In the past, information would simply be electronically transferred once the financial transaction was confirmed. Although Miri may use that method for some transfers, her current goal of being more hands on AND looking for potential replacements will have her playing the "agent" role for many of the information exchanges, for assessment of contacts, if nothing else. Also, for Oscar and the DNCS and any of the other mutant groups, it's pretty well known that if "Calypso" has information for sale, the contents of that information deals with something dangerous. "Calypso" probably has the reputation in the DNCS as being the "Widowmaker" for their troops, as missions spawned from its information tend to be rife with injuries, at the very least.

Now, seeing as how the "rumors" associated with the "terror attack" on Miri's casino/club state that those responsible were mutant in origin, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that the owner of The Palace happens to be "playing the role of an agent" of "Guardian: Calypso." Thus, having them meet there is perfect. LoL.

As for Eluard, I imagine that he would know of the existence of both the beneficial and detrimental sides to Guardian, but he shouldn't know (yet) that the two are actually opposite sides of the same coin. I'm sure that Eluard's organization and the "Guardian" pro-mutant side have exchanged information in the past, and the recent (over the last year) diminishing information/restricted access is probably worrisome or unsettling. A "reappearance" would likely be welcomed, although it would probably be odd for a physical meeting to be requested - to which, the response would be that the previous "leave of absence" that "Guardian" was forced to take was due to a breach of trust, and thus, contact evaluation needs to occur for continued "business." Since this is coming from the "pro-mutant" side, I'd think it'd be up to Eluard to decide where the meeting would take place, and Miri would oblige him on "good faith and cooperation."

If he attempts to contact "Calypso", the same thing as above with Oscar would probably go on, although I imagine Eluard would hesitate to agree to meeting at "The Palace" since it would be like "walking into the Lion's Den." Since it would obviously be an attempt at subterfuge, I don't imagine Eluard would be contacting "Calypso" under his usual guise, and with Miri's current resource drought, she wouldn't have the means to uncover this deception prior to their meeting. The location for the meeting would probably initially be proposed to be The Palace, but that could change. I actually think the "good" meeting should take place before the "bad" meeting. xD The second meeting would make it clear that the two "sides" are one and the same, and that could lead to the "persuasion" attempts and such you mentioned.

With Kaien, I was wondering if he would be familiar with Miri due to the interest in fencing, since I wrote her up to have gone to the Olympics for that. xD I'd imagine, with his odd power, that he hasn't been identified by "Guardian" at this time, so their meeting would likely take place elsewhere. But, since that will be in the future, we can figure that out later.

[Eluard Verlaine]

That's exactly why I haven't requested it either yet. Trying to build up a collection of people that might actually drop by / live there first.

Not known, noted.

I see, well Oscar would love the sound of that. Not that widowmaking is a good thing but he'd rather know the information is about something serious and not some scared kid. I'll have him come to the club-casino the moment you feel like setting the stage for it.

In Eluard's case, if he'd suspect the two sides are working together in some way he'll do his best to present himself differently to both as to not arise suspicion or facilitate the connecting of the dots. It's most likely that he hasn't contacted Calypso yet although he worked with Guardian in the past. If the temporary absence of Guardian would be motivated as a "breach of trust" I'm sure he'd like to know if anything went askew from his side. As for where, it would be an abandoned apartment in a vacated building he usually takes such matters to. I can start such a thread.

Meeting at "The Palace" with a declaredly anti-mutant representative? Yes, Eluard would rather set himself on fire and be done with it without involving someone else. It's likely he'd approach Calypso under the guise of a fresh new identity and if it's Miri he comes across, now that would be a fun situation (for me, not him). He would offer a meeting in the park, on one of its less travelled alleys instead. He would request Calypso send one representative only and offer the same curtesy in exchange. We'll come to this again after the Guardian meeting.

Kaien hasn't been in the country for very long, so it's likely not many people have identified him in any way, aside from MV, who caught him hunting down the same mutant he was pursuing to add to his collection. As for the fencing, I'm sure Kaien would have heard of/seen Miriam on TV if she attended the Olympics but he would have had no interest in participating in any competitions himself so the know-you would be one sided. She would likely be more skilled than him and I'm sure it would frustrate him to lose to her if they were to come to a confrontation, be it friendly or otherwise. Maybe once the Thunderdome arc comes to an end we can find some opportunity for a meeting for them.

[Miriam Valentine]

LoL... on the topic of Kaien losing to Miri because she's more skilled, I actually saw a piece of a scene in my head revolving around that precisely. Her usual practice is to carry a rapier, less commonly an epee (because it's even lighter and more oddly shaped), which is quite a light blade. The scene took place as a chance meeting between the two while she was out prowling the city late-night, and I've no idea what caused it to result in a confrontation between the two. In it, the duel is actually initiated by her with a "proper" sort of challenge - after whatever discussion determined that they couldn't work together on whatever the situation was - where she brandishes her blade first. When Kaien pulls out his katana, though, Miri defaults, stating that the situation presented is an obvious mismatch - one imperfect parry on her part and Kaien's katana cleaves her rapier in half. With this declaration, she provides two options: allow her to retreat gracefully, with the promise of bringing her heavier saber, more suited to matching the strength of a katana, to their next meeting, or he can press the issue and she will be forced to resort to a less elegant and underhanded method of combat to ensure she escapes. LoL. That's where the scene in my head stopped, since I wasn't going to be filling in your character's decision-making. Haha.

For Eluard, start the thread whenever you like. There are lots of threads going for you, so I don't want to turn it into an overload situation.

The same goes for the meeting with Oscar. I think I'll hold off on asking for a sub-board until there's more of a reason to have it. One meeting with one DNCS officer doesn't really justify a whole extra board at this point, methinks. But I'll see if I can decide on her "conversation color" and see about crafting a thread in The Palace for Oscar in just a bit.

[Oscar Leonhardt]

I have no idea what they could say to each other that would result into conflict. Also, if I'm to say how he would react to her request after her weapon snaps I'd need to know why they're fighting in the first place, since it would matter. If he would be fighting her because he genuinely stood against everything she represened and considered her a bad person or something he may not be kind in his reaction but if it was more of a "We're fighting because it's the only way to settle this debate or claim" (Lawl) then he would let her get a suitable blade. So. Don't know.

I'm going to get to starting that thread too eventually. So getting distracted by the threads we do have haha.

Edit: Deleted off topic posts.

[Miriam Valentine]

LoL, I know. xD I'm pretty sure that's why the scene in my head stopped there - the circumstances surrounding the duel were unknowns. Haha.

And yep... I owe you some replies, it looks like. Gonna try to do the casino opening for Oscar while I'm on the Miri account, though. You can go ahead and launch Oscar/Cass - Saturday, since I believe the first thread is complete. xD

[Miriam Valentine]

>_> Nah, that's just me being lazy. I noticed it the other day and just haven't gotten around to doing it. I thought it strange since I cropped them to be 100 x 100, but... n_n

[Eluard Verlaine]

Hope you don't mind my leaving the Eluard/Miri meeting for a little later. I'll update here when that thread is up.

Also sorry for being such a fail at Oscar posts lately. @.@

[Kayla Chetwood-Elicott]

Yo, Miri, Kayla wants to meet. Nevermind Oscar and Eluard are still scared of you and all. Lol.

So I was thinking, through her information network, Miri could have heard of Kayla, maybe, for the skill she has as a spy/information gatherer and the "possessions retrieval" she's capoable of, which is really just a fancy way of saying she'll steal something for a good price. In this quality, she would be known as "Spectre," not exactly her choice of name but something that stuck along the way.

So if Miri would have anything that genuinely needs retrieving (cause I don't think she'd actually need something stolen?) that could work as premise. The same goes for difficult information gathering.

If you'd rather go on the other side of the fence, we can have Miri catch Kayla in the act of breaking into or coming out of someone's private residence. I'd like her to escape the encounter without getting effectively detained though. At least, right now.

So lemme know what you think!

[Miriam Valentine]

What, scared of her? xD Hahaha.

As for the ideas you've listed, hm. I... don't really think Miri would care much about catching Kayla breaking into or coming out of someone else's private residence? xD I mean, she might give chase if there were something happening that made her think "mutant", but general thievery wouldn't really make her attention, unless it was her own place being broken into. She has "more important" things to consider than "petty crime." Still, there could be a chance meeting, where Miri might give chase long enough to try to confirm Kayla isn't a mutant? Or it could occur while Miri is after a mutant, and chase accidentally ends up crashing Kayla's thieving party? e_e;

As for a hiring for information, the only thing I can currently think of is maybe... having her infiltrate the DNCS to try to get up-to-date information on the mutants in captivity there, or their progress (or lack thereof) in re-creating the virus, or, perhaps, something about their android project? I dunno. I think I made my brain numb with the new thread. xD

[Kayla Chetwood-Elicott]

I like the idea of Miri chasing after a mutant and accidentally following a false, coincidental, lead instead. Kayla pretty much always makes sure she knows who she's stealing from, and she wouldn't steal from Miri. She also wouldn't go into the DNCS... not now, at least. She's still terrified of the government finding out about her. Being caught means instant execution.

Sooo, I'll work on starting the chase thread.