Steele_Magnolia

Very well written, I'll be watching this thread with interest.

I too have often felt the limitations of PG-13 writing. Don't be frustrated, take it as a challenge to convey your story in less-obvious ways.

Shakespeare wrote one of the most moving romantic scenes (the hand scene in "Romeo and Juliet" by trying to work outside of the box. At the time, only male actors were on the stage, and he was seeking a way to write a romantic scene between a girl and a boy that wasn't skewed by the audience's knowledge that the female lead was played by a man in a wig. He succeeed, and I think the results are probably better than if he'd gone with the obvious.

*giggle*

Vampires.... *shudder*
For months.... *shudder*
Might be lunch... *shudder*

Blood Wolffe, you are a bad, bad man.

Ditto.

/emote pokes at Blood_Wolffe
/emote whines "PLEASE! Mercy!"

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WOW, Awesome stuff, wish i'd found it sooner. Great job Blood_Wolffe!

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Rest comforted in this.... if you had been along from the beginning, you would have suffered a tormented existence with the rest of us as we waited with baited breath for each successive chapter.

Oh, I don't know if I can wait another day!!!! Or three!!!!
/emote angsts horriblly

Could the machine be.... *gasp of horror* a Blood Waffler? The mother of all breakfast irons?!?!?

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Butbutbut... What about my love scene?

I mean... He's like... 37 in this thread. Debonnaire, white-haired, good health and handshome in that Shean Connery shtyle ala Jamesh Bond... erm.. ok... So I exaggerate a little.

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My heart is pitter-pattering.... except, well, The Steele part of me sees that Neem Avatar and goes wild. Pandora is a single girl, 35, built like an athletic Marilyn Monroe....

Another tragic death? *swoon*

Well... if it needs one...

I'm not even going to address PvP vs PvE. Others have done that, from all points of view, I've got nothing to add there other than to state for the record that I have zero interest in PvP.

But can someone please point me to a nice summation of the upcoming changes that I can read and digest over a cup of coffee?

I've tried to keep up, but I can't. There is simply too much, too conflicting, and coming too fast. I guess I'll just be winging it in PvE-land when it goes live because I don't have the time to devote to figuring out how the "new" CoH is going to work.

Trying to wade through the this-that-this-that patchnotes and forums is like drinking coffee from a firehose.

Yes, Captain Neem is a badass. (And quite handsomely purple, I just love that red-spectacled, ebon curl bedecked, grinning countenance)

If anything, you didn't make Blood Wolffe bad enough! As said above, he'd have had to have been tough to survive.

Heh. Steele's bullets aren't silver....

So did I. I'm going to have to research the original speaker/writer now.

I need some moving quotes for a funeral I'm writing for the Whitmoore. May I borrow that? (Heck, would Lord Raymond like a write in cameo for it?)

How do you do it?

Each chapter is more seamless, more smooth, and more drawing than the last. Your action sequences, particularly the aerial combat, make me green with envy.

With just a short exchange of sentences you give drama to my characters, and make me wish all the others mentioned here were writing in the Whitmoore.

Heck, I'm jealous, proud, and awestricken. And that's the flat truth.

(OOC: Keep going! )

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1) 50% debt if you are killed by something 10 levels bigger than you. It's obviously someone else's ambush and not your fault your 13th level blaster met a 28th level Family guy in Perez Park (had it happen, wasn't amused). Alternatively, you are out exploring, and that's at least -something- to do other than the grind, and shouldn't be punished with the full weight of the debt stick.

2) A new, possibly training-only (no DO, no SO) enhancement that reduces debt when you are rezed by a power. Give healers something to think about when slotting their rezes, and take some of the sting out of powers that can only be used by dead characters. Were it me, I'd cap it at 25% (3 slots) debt relief for rez-other powers, and 33.3% (4 slots) debt relief for self-rez powers. This change could encourage more teamming, and less going to the hospital in general, while providing greater variety in how rez powers are slotted/enhanced.

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Removing debt for being defeated by ambushes would be nice, but I don't see it as practical. How would the DEVs distinguish betweens an SK'd character defeated by +10 and someone who fell prey to a high-level ambush? Also, I know of Tanks that go out and fight +10 mobs... not to mention PLing. I hardly think this needs more encouragement.

I like the idea of removing the debt penalty up to level 10. For new players, they need a chance to learn and ENJOY playing... this will do that. They will (or not) learn about biting off too much and the consequent debt soon enough. For the Hollows and Perez Park storylines and missions at that level, debt can be very annoying. I suspect this is a partial solution to the "mission generating in +5/+10 areas", and is a boon to those experienced players starting alts who tire of gaining debt for playing with inexperienced players.

Regarding XP-regaining Rez powers - PLEASE DON'T. Please don't turn CoH into EQ-style Rez Begging Fests. Already we see rez begging in some zones. (I don't see the point of it, when by the time someone arrives and rezes and you rest, you could just have easily run back from the hospital and stopped off to sell and pick up inspirations on the way back.)

I love it! Thanks States!

One sidenote to consider: Removing the additional five levels of debt will make it even harder to meet the level range and completion requirements to get the Caverns of Transcendence Trial.

But DON'T nix it on that account - please fix the trial requirements instead.

(I solo'd a scrapper all the way up to getting this TF, including allowing myself to be defeated to get debt so I wouldn't outlevel, only to realize the chances of putting together a team of 8 people meeting the requirements who would all stay for the entirity and who all knew what they were doing was practically impossible. So I'm waiting for Flashback for this trial, when I can do it with players I trust.)

Please post more. I'll be waiting not-quite-patiently.

I like your writing style, it's different, and in a good way. The shifts between 1st and 3rd, past and present, and narrative are very smooth and poignant.

5 Stars.

You evil tease!

Blood Waffle - that's priceless. Hang tight, stay away from my squirrel bretheren, and get back to writing soon.

Signed,
Queen Wobblebottom, Mistress of the Squirrels
(The first part of that comes from a "What's your squirrel name" generator I found online a few months ago)

MORE!

While some drama makes for an interesting background and roleplay experience, in my opinion characters who are all doom-n-gloom and hystrionics are sterotypical, boring, and tiring.

To use some iconic examples:

Superman has a tragic background in that his homeworld and people were destroyed in a planet-wide cataclysm. However, he found love, acceptance, and a strong measure of happiness with his adoptive Earth family and friends. His challenges are many (and I don't mean cryptonite): What it means to be human when one isnt. What it means to be a hero. What it means to be a man. The list goes on.... His tragedy was a beginning point, but it was not the definitive answer on who he was.

Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Professor Xavier, all of the truly interesting and successful heroes were complex characters. I try to remember this in my writing, and balance drama with light-heartedness, tragedy with happiness, etc. I think this is what makes my characters work.

After all, if Joe Smith were an ordinary man, with an ordinary life, and nothing exceptional ever happened or motivated him, why would he become a hero?

Need an email to send photos (screenshots). :-)

Steele Magnolia: "Right Now" by VanHalen

Right now, hey
It's your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon,it's everything
Right now,
Catch a magic moment, do it
Right here and now


2020 Vision: "Headstrong" by Trapt

Back off I’ll take you on
Headstrong to take on anyone
I know that you are wrong
Headstrong we’re Headstrong
Back off I’ll take you on
Headstrong to take on anyone
I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong
I can’t give everything away
I won’t give everything away


Simon-Says: "Fly" by Hillary Duff

Open up the part of you that wants to hide away
You can shine
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life
And start to try, cause it's your time
Time to fly.

Very good indeed! You've given us insight into the personalities of the different players, something hard to do, and the conversation and descriptions flow very smoothly!

Now, the big question... How long until the next chapter?

Steele Magnolia - Taken from the character's given name, Hell Steele (yes, her mother didn't want and said her daughter looked like hell when she was born) and a reference to the nickname for Southern women who persevere despite terrible circumstances. The name also serves as a reference to the fact that she wears heavy metal armor, even though she's a blaster.

Simon-Says: Named for her powerful mental powers and her whimsical penchant for playing games.

2020 Vision: Named for the fact that he came from the year 2020, and a juxtapositional reference to the phrase "hindsight is 20/20 vision".

For the full story, see the RP Thread Whitmoore Apartments where I write for them (copiously).

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As all their attention was on that one the leader lept onto Steele Magnolia pinning her to the ground. She raised her rifle to its chin but it knocked her gun away. She could see herself in its giant black eyes, then she looked at its hideous teeth.

It spoke in a sigh so quiet only she could hear. "Hhhhhhhheeeeelllllllleeeeeeeeeen"

It knew her name, her real name.

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/emote shudders

Oh, for those who don't read the Whitmoore Apartments RP thread, I'll describe my two characters (with the age they are in this story)

Dr. Helen Markov AKA Steele Magnolia
Caucasian female, 42 yrs, 5'7" 130 lbs, shoulderlength auburn brown hair, hazel green eyes.
Technology AR/DEV Blaster

Michael Flagg (at least that's the name he registered for his Paragon ID) AKA 2020 Vision
Caucasian male, 25 yrs, 7'0" 390lbs, black hair, hazel green eyes.
Mutation MA/INV Scrapper

Three Cheers for Captain Neem!

Seriously, I love the way he's written. Very intriguing and interesting. I'm enjoying reading him every bit as much as seeing how my own characters have grown over the years.