From alt.pub.dragons-inn Mon Sep 4 22:44:38 1995 Xref: netcom.com alt.comics.lnh:8613 alt.pub.dragons-inn:8679 rec.arts.comics.creative:4079 Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!not-for-mail From: robotech@gxl.woodtech.com (Robotech_Master) Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh,alt.pub.dragons-inn,rec.arts.comics.creative Subject: SG/LNH/APDI [AU]: Team M.E.C.H.A. #65 Introduction Date: 2 Sep 1995 20:53:47 -0500 Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway Lines: 92 Sender: nobody@cs.utexas.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: news.cs.utexas.edu First, the copyright notice: This story is copyright 1995 by Chris Meadows et al. Permission is granted for electronic distribution and associated archival as long as this is not being done for profit. All characters are property of their respective authors. Now, about the story itself. This is going to take some explaining. This episode is going out to three separate Internet fiction writing groups. For the benefit of those of you in one group who may not be aware of one or both of the other two, I'll provide a brief description of each and a synopsis of the story thus far to cut down on the amount of exposition necessary in the story itself. SUPERGUY: The Superguy listserv came into being about seven years ago, and it's been picking up momentum (more or less) ever since. Superguy takes place in a world rather similar to our own, save for some points of historical divergence and the fact that there are superheroes around. Superguy's writing style ranges from the slapstick to the almost-completely serious, and there are special sections set aside for those who want to write completely serious stories. I write "Team M.E.C.H.A." and "Crapshoot & Company" on Superguy. If you're interested in Superguy, check out this web page: http://www.halcyon.com/superguy/ LNH (Legion of Net.Heroes): The LNH is another Internet superhero writing group, using newsgroups (alt.comics.lnh, rec.arts.comics.creative) rather than a listserv for distribution. It is a younger group than Superguy, and the writing style tends more toward humor. The setting is a world sort of similar to ours, but its geography and physics are tied to the Internet, using Internettish names, like "Net.York" for "New York." LNH's intent seems to be more direct parody, especially of comic books. If you're interested in the LNH, check out this web page: http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~rra/lnh/lnh.html ALT.PUB.DRAGONS-INN: Alt.pub.dragons-inn is another Internet writing forum. Rather than superhero stories, APDI is devoted to fantasy. Fighters, thieves, mages, clerics, and all sorts of stranger creatures abound. The setting of APDI is a world called Nexus, and, more specifically, a town called Generica. The group takes its name from the central pub, the Dragon's Inn, where there are more dark corners than Euclidean geometry would seem to permit, and each one has one or two lurkers in it. The writing style here is usually serious, but there is also some humor. I write the [AU] ("Andrea & Unicorn") thread on alt.pub.dragons-inn. If you're interested in alt.pub.dragons-inn, check out this web page: http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~cvenour/dragons-inn/ THE STORY THUS FAR ([AU] thread) After a series of interesting adventures, Andrea, thief and part-time unicorn, has recently moved into a huge mansion along with the other three members of her new "family": N'graytha, unicorn and part-time human; Sheryl, a unicorn who also happens to be her younger sister; and Jay, her new apprentice thief and Sheryl's new companion. They've been spending the last few weeks cleaning up the mansion, and are now getting ready to take a trip into the wilderness to celebrate. THE STORY THUS FAR (Team M.E.C.H.A.) It's kind of difficult to explain the story, as it's rather convoluted and there are a lot of guest characters, but here's the basic version. Several of Team M.E.C.H.A.'s arch-enemies are working together, aided by DeFacto, a malevolent cyborg from the LNH Looniverse who is hoping to use them to allow him to return to his own time. The Mighty Muddy Power Grangers, a team of farm kids from the Ozarks, received new mecha (and new scientific genius in the form of Dr. Zwarghoff, another Team M.E.C.H.A. arch-enemy) and then proceeded to take on Team M.E.C.H.A., combiner-robot to combiner-robot. They hoped to win back Pinto Sally, their former leader, who had gone over to Team M.E.C.H.A. due to a growing friendship with one of its members. With the aid of DeFacto's advanced technology, their Roadkill Destructoid soon took the upper hand over Team M.E.C.H.A.'s Bahamode Sigma. At that point, DeFacto activated a dimensional manipulation system, hoping to take advantage of the hyperspatial powers of Summer, Team M.E.C.H.A.'s resident shape-shifter (currently the head of Sigma). Instead, Bahamode Sigma was able to turn those powers against the Destructoid, sending it to the LNH Looniverse. Bahamode Sigma decided to use Summer's abilities to follow the Destructoid, and so Team M.E.C.H.A. crossed the dimensional barriers itself. However, Sigma's calculations were just a little bit off... -- Chris Meadows aka | Author, Team M.E.C.H.A., Crapshoot & Co. Robotech_Master | on the Superguy Listserv (bit.listserv.superguy robotech@woodtech.com | Now with a brand new World Wide Web homepage! chm173s@nic.smsu.edu | http://www.woodtech.com/~robotech/index.html