Good bye old friend

Last night was the very last night of City of Heroes.  I missed the grand finale because I needed to be up today to get my daughter to her Lego Robot competition.  As always, my friends were disappointed, but, understanding, when I couldn't show up for something.  That was the most awesome thing about this community.  If you couldn't make something due to life, they understood and didn't guilt you.  They might have joshed around with you a bit, but they did understand.

I'm going to miss the game.  I didn't play much after the Extra Life thing, and I know that. I do regret it, but I just couldn't bring myself to visit my dying friend.  I said my goodbyes last night in my own way.  I hate goodbyes.  I hate repeats.

I have faith that whatever Titan Network has planned as a spiritual successor, will be absolutely beautiful, or, if Disney does manage to pry the IP out of NCsoft's cold greedy soulless hands, then I hope my characters will be restored.  If not, I have them committed to memory.

Kahlan Raynes.  My Elec/Kinetic Corruptor.  Married in game to my husband's Mercs/FF MM Alpha-One/Alec Raynes.

Gabriella Di Inferno  My Mace/Elec brute.  The Rikti Destroying Machine.  Jawbreaker looks like she's smashing nads since she's tiny.

Sharp Pointy Stik.  My Arch/TA Corr.  Ran an All TA ITF spearheaded by her, and we won.

o.0  My bane.

I didn't screenie all of them..I should have but I guess I didn't. One other stupid thing I guess..wishful thinking? I dunno.  I was just really attached to Kahlan though

Oh Rogue Ivy, my plant/thorn Dom.  My flagship Villain.

Terrana Nightside, my Emp-Psi defender...another flagship homage since both my flagship toons were on my husbands account.

Sybil Nightside, my first ever 50, when I shared my husbands account.

The role call is long...and sad...all those "lives" snuffed out with a careless flick of a switch.

The "Gamer" or "Video Game" Stigma

You know, The more I think about it, the more I realize that, Extra Life is a way for non-athletes, those of us with physical limitations who can't run marathons, or triathalons, to raise money for a very good cause.

 Just because we aren't running our butts off in a physical means, doesn't mean we aren't pushing ourselves to the limits of our endurance for the cause, to raise money and awareness for the cause we are passionate in. We are Gamers, We are Heroes, we are members of society. We game, it's what we do well. Just like marathon runners. So, when someone approaches you with an Extra Life link, it's legit. It's a legitimate way to raise money for Children's Hospitals across North America. If you have questions about it, email your local Children's Miracle Network hospital directly and ask them.

At around 6am I was literally TREMBLING From exhaustion. I mean I was pushing my limits as a human being to keep a commitment to my donors. 

I tried to be a hero for the local kids. I hope I made a difference in my own way.

Anyway this is how I logged off at the end of my 24hr City of Heroes run.  We had a Milliyun Tiny Pepsimen March earlier in the evening to honour one of our most iconic players on the server, Pepsiman.  His incredible sense of humour, wit, and silliness is one the things that makes Guardian such a great place to be.  I rolled there because it was at the top of the list,  I stayed there because of the friendly people.

I do hope this game gets saved.  I really enjoyed my 24hr stint of madness for Extra Life Charities.  I hope I can run with the same people again next year.  NCsoft, please sell the IP...This community does things like this regularly. If you split us up...you divide the good we can do together.

All together for Extra Life, we raised  Over $8500 !!!!! For the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals!  That is PHENOMENAL considering how small our community is compared to that of Reddit.  That's quite a bit of change.  

So destroying our world, also divides the amount of good we can do. :(  Please...please if you haven't yet,  go over to  The Titan Network  and get involved in one of the many "Calls To Action" TonyV, and the rest of the community, has going on.

Thank you.

Livestream NOW

Playing City of Heroes for 24hrs to benefit the IWK Grace foundation, my local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

I'm livestreaming HERE:

YES HERE!! CLICK IT

You can sponsor me here:

SPONSOR MEH!!!!!

So there you go.  Proof that I"m doing this.

Thanks!

DROP IT BOY!

Do you know what the difference is between NCSoft and This:?

I'll answer.  The dog will give you the bone if you tell it to, enough times.  If you leave it alone, the dog will probably find a nice secluded spot in your yard, and bury it.  

As a community we need to keep telling the dog (NCsoftcore) to drop the bone, (CoH's IP) So we can do what we want with it...

I'm just sick of NCsoft sitting there growling at us as we tell it to drop the bone.   They don't need it, they don't want it anymore, but they refuse to let it go so they'll go off and bury it in the yard if you don't grab it, but it must be done in such a way that it becomes their idea so they don't bite you.

So frustrating.  There have been offers for the IP.  NCsoft is refusing to let it go.  "Tried all the options" is an outright lie.  Stop lying to us.  NCsoft drop the bone.  DROP IT NOW.  Give us the bone and we'll give you this awesome cookie.  Cookie (millions of dollars) or bone?  Let another owner run with it now.  stop being greedy bastards.

*giggles evilly*

You know, I have absolutely zero knowledge about the stock market, but even I know that this is bad

Going down NCsoft?

You would think that closing City of Heroes was a good business move the way they keep spinning this "realignment of company focus" , but it's sort of obvious now, that they have wound up shooting themselves in the foot.

First: They kill off a profitable and family friendly game and community.

Second: They make said community who role play as heroes and villains in their chosen MMO slightly perturbed. We vocalize our upset.  That's understandable

Third:  They release this pile of steaming horse manure. expecting us to be like

Well NCsoft,  now you realize that it's not working.  What you are doing, is not working.  We will not shut up.  We will not surrender.  We will not stop calling you out on your heifer dust.  DUDE! You forged Garriot's resignation letter when he was out in space! Like COME ON.  You really think after murdering  5 MMO's we would trust you with more of our money? 

Think again.  I'm sort of glad I'm watching your stock holders bail like rats out of a sinking ship.  I wouldn't blame them.   

 

NaNoWriMo is approaching

I registered about 3 years ago for NaNo, I didn't do anything with it at the time.  I just couldn't find any inspiration for a novel, let alone write a 50k + word one in a month, the way my life was going at the time.  Well this year, I'll be participating.  Why not?  The worst that could happen is, I could bang out a 50k word filled pile of poo.  Heck worse stuff got published. (Looking at you Twilight and 50Shades) So, maybe a new Sci-Fi author is on the horizon?  I don't know.

Anyway I have a rough outline, plot, environment and races going on.  I'm just trying to figure out the specifics.  Names, a dating system, and well conditions that make my ideas plausible without looking like Deus Ex Machina.

This is a random blog after all so not all my rants are about NCsoft and the closure of City of Heroes.  I'm still running that 24hr game marathon on the 20th for the IWK Grace (Points to sidebar link)  with Team City of Heroes and Extra Life for Kids.

I was going to write a fanfiction novel for my NaNo project using my City of Heroes/Villains characters, but, I'm hoping that maybe I'll get published (or even self publish) if the final project is good enough, so that was out.  I really don't want to tread on any copyright toes, IP toes or whatever, and I have no idea about the legalities of even THINKING about getting permission to do that.  I know, NaNo lets you write fanfiction for the contest.  I figure why not come up with a new idea?  Something original and not really seen in Sci-Fi/Fantasy?

So off I go to figure out the name for my winged race.  Winglie is taken by Legend of the Dragoon so that one is out..and Avillian is possibly taken/copyrighted by NCsoft just by the grace it came out of Matt Miller's noggin while he was working for them.  So Imma go and put on my thinking cap....if any of my blog readers can come up with an idea for a name that would rock.

Breasts and Camels

Err.. let's try this again.

Blade and Soul.  The game that NCsoft is replacing City of Heroes with.  Let's talk about that shall we?

It is a fantasy based martial arts game.  I guess NCsoft's primary focus is shifting away from the family friendly Comic Book Super Hero based game to....

This. (Warning, Potentially NSFW/NotSafeForKids) 

Ok,  So it looks like that NCsoft is trying to re-focus their company to cater to, basement dwelling neckbeard weeaboos who enjoy looking at that kind of thing.  Hey, whatever floats their boat.  As a parent, I will not be buying this game.  I do not want my children exposed to this kind of material.  I had no problems with them playing City of Heroes/Villains, but I refuse to allow them to even get a glimpse of this game.  I'm far from a prude, but this is just too far.

Sure City of Heroes has the potential to make characters look pretty racy, but the GM's are pretty swift to act on any costume related complaints with a Generic Hammer and a free costume token.  Doesn't look like Breasts and Butts.. Err Blade and Soul will have that safety net.

So parents,  are you getting sick of trash like this getting shoved in your kids faces yet?  I know you have the choice to buy this stuff or not.  Seriously, I wouldn't.  This crap would NOT enter my house.  I don't care how much my kids, or even my husband begged.  (Luckily my husband thinks it's crap, too)  I would veto it, or at least make the person PROMISE to never play it with my kids awake/in the room/in the HOUSE even.

These Graphics say it all IMO

Please,  if you have kids, think twice before buying Blade and Soul.  Your kids do not need to be given any more confusing messages about sexuality as it is.  

Call To Arms: Special Needs Parents.

Inspired by This:  http://leilasledger.blogspot.ca/2012/10/save-city-of-heroeswhy-it-matters.html  blog post.

Hey, I know my blog isn't the most traffic heavy blog on the internet.  Heck I don't even know how many parents of Special Needs kids read this.  But, I'm gonna challenge you.  We are warriors for our kids.  If you play City of Heroes/Villains with your special needs kids, SPEAK OUT. Blog about it, share it with your blogsphere.  Howl it far and wide how NCsoft is taking away one of your most key tools out of your toolbox!

We all know  how challenging it is to raise kids that have needs that are out of the ordinary.  I have a daughter who has Autism.  We know that every tool is a treasure in the box when we find one that actually WORKS to help our kids be...KIDS.

City of Heroes and Villains gives these kids who have enough challenges to begin with, be kids.  They allow them to be heroes!  Villains (Without getting punished! hehe)  Or just plain free to do whatever they imagine!  These kids are housebound due to severe allergies, or other form of challenges, so they have no real friends.

Humans are social creatures, kids even more so.  This game gives these kids such a chance they never would have had otherwise.

NCsoft is taking away something very unique, from kids with special needs.  We need their parents, to really rattle some cages.  Take a game from a bunch of paying adults...no one bats an eye.  Take something from kids that have challenges, OH you got a nasty PR mess on your hands.  So please...please  Blog, share your blog with TonyV and Victoria Vitrix over on The Titan Forums  Or on TonyV's twitter https://twitter.com/thetitannetwork  Tweet you name it.

Warrior Mammas...activate.

Click here to sponsor me for Extra-Life's 24hr City of Heroes Game A thon on Oct 20th

Click here to sign the petition to keep this wonderful safe community alive!

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.

Ok, I'm getting kind of excited.  I was at the career counsellor today.  She kept noticing how I lit up and then went all sadface when a cook/chef position came up on the job bank, that required X certification.  She said "Looks like you have a passion for cooking"

Who what me?  Naww... I've been debating on whether or not to make my passion of cooking an actual career, like do I love doing it enough to make it a job?  I'm not sure.  It's so conflicting.

Anyway, on Friday I have an information session with the local person who handles all that stuff,  apprenticeships, certifications and all that.  So we'll see.  I'm kind of excited.  Red Seal Chef.  Chef Monique Boulanger.  Has a nice ring to it eh?

I'm pretty nervous yet excited at the same time about this prospect.   *twitch*

Oh by the way, if you're of the mind http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=37152  sponsor me for the Extra-Life City of Heroes 24hr Game-A-Thon I'm doing for the IWK Grace hospital.  that would rock.  It's a great cause too.

Help me raise money for sick kids!!!

Ok with that out of the way.  I'm going to be playing City of Heroes for a full 24hrs starting on October 20th to raise money for the IWK Grace Children's hospital.  It is my local Children's Miracle Network hospital and it's helped SO MANY of my friends and family over the years.

Anyway City of Heroes is going under.  So this is a two fold deal.  1:  Raise money to help sick kids in my general area and 2:  Raise awareness for City of Heroes and try to get NCSoft to release the IP ( Sign the petition here to help save City of Heroes  )  So I'm gonna do the best I can to get the petition link out there, AND raise money for a cool cause at the same time.

So yeah, sponsor me...I'll even livestream the whole thing.

http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=37152