Two years ago today, the storyline of a character created to be just a filler alt took a lasting and unexpected turn.
Azure, one of my two first characters (I created two at once) was level 12 at the time, and in The Sisterhood. I liked the group, although my work hours precluded me from being able to attend many events. At that time, SGs were only about the teaming, since there were no bases nor much of anything else for supergroups.
At that point, Cap and Azure had yet to meet. We had two low-level couples who ran together, and our plan was for these two characters *not* to play together.
Except about that time, I found out just how squishy blasters were. And I'd run a PuG mission with a tank who needed damage assistance, and it was so much easier than running solo. And I had a mission from hell that was piling debt on me to the point where I thought I would NEVER get a travel power and I was going to be stuck trying to find ramps around Skyway FOREVER.
(No, in those days, you couldn't run a safeguard to get a flight pack, didn't have vet reward teleporters or Pocket D teleporters. Hush, whippersnapper, I'm telling a story here.)
Steve took pity on me (or he could have just gotten tired of hearing me whine about the probability of the twenty-second century coming around before I got a travel power, I'm not sure which). Whatever the case, the fourth time Azzie dragged her bruised blue scantily Witchblade-clad butt and her Super Soaker gun out of the hospital, she ran into a blond man-mountain with a mechanical arm who wore a white and gold leather disco-retro jumpsuit. This walking megalith introduced himself as Captain Superior, then told her politely (how else?) he'd seen her coming back and forth from the hospital several times, and asked her if she needed help. Although Azure had him pegged as being so formal he'd squeak if he bent over (and formality was never something Azzie cared for) she was very tired of sampling sections of the floor in that warehouse, so she accepted the offer.
And the unexpected happened. We had a blast and the two of them hit it off. (And no, despite the fact that we're married, that doesn't always happen for our characters.) So much for the 'won't play together' scenario, we said, and decided to try duoing them -- occasionally. Occasionally led to frequent, and frequent to standard practice.
Along the way, Azure (without my permission, I assure you) encouraged Cap to rebuild upon what Lazon had started, as a way of helping to get Cap past the survivor's guilt he felt. Despite his first refusals, eventually, level 12 Capt. Superior marched into the City Hall in Atlas Park and registered The SOLUS Foundation with the Supergroup Registrar.
I did help pitch in to help him decide on the name, but after that, it was a supergroup of just one, created just to help flesh out Cap's background. As I told Steve, I was going to just PLAY this game. I'd enjoyed the camaraderie of a group in previous games, but I didn't want to come home to a second job again, and I knew he didn't want to, either. He agreed -- for a week.
Although he'd been playing since launch, he'd always soloed. Now that we were duoing, we were trying things he hadn't done the first time around, although Dalghryn was in his 30's. Task forces. PuGs. We were meeting people we wanted to play with more often, but without globals, it was difficult to keep track of them or keep in touch. So Steve suggested making SOLUS a reality.
C'mon, he said. It'll be fun.
Yeah, I said. Like a toothache. I already told you, no more second jobs. I want to come and play and be irresponsible.
Aw, c'mon. Let's try it. If nothing else, it'll just be the two of us. That won't be much work, will it?
Did I mention I can deny him pretty much nothing?
In any event, Azure sent her best regards and respects and left The Sisterhood to join SOLUS. 'The two of us' started expanding after the next task force. And the next PuG. And the friend-of-a-friend-we-just-had-to-meet after that. And along the way, a circle of friends grew.
And he was right. It was fun. The group was adding a whole new dimension to the game, to RP, to stories.
Two years later, it continues to do so.
Happy anniversary, SOLUS, and to all of you who make the group and gaming fun, may our happy returns continue.
~Elizabeth
