Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Exhausted all options? My...rosey red...you know what.

As you all know, I play the MMO called City of Heroes. Also, you know that it's shutting down on November 30th. NCSoft wants it dead.  They also seemingly want us to shut up.  It isn't going to happen.  This game has been a part of my life for well over 7 years now.  3 of those, I was sharing my husbands account.  4 of those, I've had my own.

 This is more than a game to me.  This is a community of friends, I would not have met anywhere else.  When I was nursing my newborn son,  I did it at the keyboard while playing City of Heroes, getting the adult interaction I so sorely craved during that very isolating time.  This game also helped me spend quality time with my husband, who is in the military, when he was deployed for long periods of time.  I was hoping to introduce my daughter and son to this game in the future.

My son loves superheroes.  He loves watching Iron Man, Avengers, Thor, you name it he goes squirrely over it.  My daughter, not so much.  She has Aspergers/Autism.  We were hoping to use this game to help her social development in a controlled and virtual environment.  The community that makes up the City of Heroes world, is one that I felt, as a parent, safe enough to introduce her to.  I cannot say the same for World of Warcraft, or any other MMO community.  City of Heroes also has the Mission Architect.  It allows players to create their own mission stories, that other players can experience.  My daughter would have loved to play around with that.  Unfortunately, this is coming to an end as well.

People have spent countless hours, weaving their personal hero stories in that game.  Making their avatars uniquely theirs.  They have the ability to allow others into their heroic or villanous world.  Don't get me wrong,  The City also has a very dark side to it as well.

Villains..lurking in the darkness.  Slinking across the channel from the Rogue Isles, causing mayhem and mischief.  Even going so far as to attack the heart  of Paragon City itself.  Not everyone is a good guy, but Villains don't want this game to go, either.  We can't take over a world that doesn't exist.

This game has just so much.  This isn't a game anymore.  It's a City, a virtual city.  A City of Writers, a City of Artists.  A City of Lovers, A City of Life.

People have met their life partners in this game,  married them in real life, forged families.  This game has reached out and touched people in the depths of depression, saving them from the ultimate mistake.  We also have banded together in the past, for Extra-Life Children's Charities, to raise money for various Children's Miracle Network Hosptials across the globe.  (You can Sponsor me here for the very last Team COH run )  There's also Real World Hero  a charity that helps raise money for many organizations including Childs-Play  a charity that donates money, toys and books to various children's hospitals around the world, to brighten the lives of critically ill children.  Don't you see?  This community has touched so many lives in such a positive way!

This game hasn't just affected my family in a positive way.  It's affected MILLIONS of people..in a very positive way.  We will not give up fighting.

We are Heroes.  This is what we do.  We are Villains.  What's ours is OURS.  We will never give up.  We will never surrender.

Please sign our petition. Keep this community alive.


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