poptart_fairy1

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It's easy to imagine if a bear is a huge scientific experiment, a mutant bear, a magically empowered bear, a bear inexplicably in a suit of power armour or just an angry bear. So why not the same for an alien?

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...

*runs off to make bear characters*

It's heavily implied the Scrapyarders are former criminals with access to some heavy duty drugs and stimulants. Bearing in mind this is a group specifically armed to tunnel around a Leviathan, while under siege from the Catalyx...

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I dont think Warcraft had 11 million players.

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Um, actually...it did. Battle.net was, and still is, an absurdly popular function - it was the basis of a national sport in several countries for crying out loud. No other modern MMO can claim that kind of penetration; even Warhammer online "only" manages about 600k active subscriptions and that's had thirty years to build up a customer base.

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Care to qualify that? It was pretty simple statement.

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You claim not to be getting aggressive, yet throw out terms like that, in a tone like yours.

As I said, lols ensued.

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This is precisely why i get criticized so much, Praf.

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Well, no, you get criticised because you come across as an arrogant little know-it-all that never backs up his "factual" claims, but then retreats behind a martyr's shield when called out on your behaviour.

Oddly enough, it wasn't my dashing charisma or love of Team Fortress that got me in a spat with Ravenswing several months ago.

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Dont look at me. I was only making my obsevations before the insults started flying in. I dont agree with a lot of opinions here but I don`t point to anyone personally and insult them.

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Now you are on my radar I'll be sure to give you a miss, particularily as you never sem to say anything that i deem worth replying to.

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When the subs rise and i'm critising, then you can tell me im ignorant, big boy.

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I have lol'ed in a suitably hearty fashion.

130k subscribers after four years is as healthy as a non-WoW MMO gets.

Anyone who uses their own self-insert to declare themselves the king of gaming is a prat, tbh.

The shoddy writing doesn't help, I suppose.

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Given that BaB is known to have gotten "carried away" with some patrons on PD before, hence the chalk outlines and what the barman says, I've always presumed it's the use of offensive powers that are somehow, lets say magically, prevented from hurting people, but physical violence clearly CAN happen at some level.

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I always assumed that was just a joke put together by DJ Zero and the barman. I doubt even the relatively loose approach to canon in CoX would ignore something like that. :P

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I think this is why Batman is so insanely popular (ignoring the movies for a while). He is human. Completely.

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He just has the small advantage of being written by people who never allow him to do wrong, and to face up to any situation at any time.

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But so far no-one has posted anything. (if they have then i've missed it because i'm tired)

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How can they post something that doesn't exist?

OOC: So, Jane desperately needs more history (I'm redoing her wiki page in the very near future), and I need to get back into writing. Here's my attempt at killing two birds with one stone: I'll be posting further (longer) sections over the next few days. Any major errors/grammatical issues/etc? Just point them out to me. Any feedback is appreciated.

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[u]Spiders and Flies[u]
"It's certainly been a while, Lundgren."

Thomas was still as she remembered, even if he'd let himself go over the last few months.

Where a lean, muscular Huntsman would have stood was, instead, someone getting on in years. A once handsome face heavily lined with age and receding hair, most of the colour long since faded to a dull, whispy grey. As he shifted his weight from one boot-clad foot to the other, red and black uniform straining against a rotund stomach, his eyes moved to the large window set into one side of his office - untouched glass giving a perfect view of Aeon City. If it wasn't for that exuberantly trimmed moustache and the piercing gaze that somehow filtered through his visor, Jane most likely wouldn't have recognised the man stood in front of her now. Not that she was one to talk.

Even without the Longfang claws twitching and unfurling themselves, Jane would have still towered over him in height and breadth. An assortment of electronics and prosthetic muscles ran the length of her body, jutting against clothing or glimpsed beneath steel plating. Even her lower jaw, as heavy-set as it was even without robotics, had been crudely reinforced: she very much had the feel of an unfinished project, as if someone had grown bored with her halfway through and simply abandoned their ideas. Following the movement of Thomas' head, she too looked out across the city; a subtle whir heard behind the slivers of green goggles that passed for eyes.

"The quality of our equipment has gone down in recent years, Lundgren?"

"S'not theirs, really. One of the boss' friends hooked me up with this stuff. Hurts like a slag, but does the job good, heh."

"Quite."

Thomas forced a grin but made no attempt at making it look genuine. He stared at Jane for a time, unashamedly appraising her, before waving his hand irritably and seating himself before a large, excessively tidy desk. Monitor terminals buzzed with activity, decrypting and re-encrypting information about this and that. Jane couldn't make any sense of it, but the Huntsman switched them off nonetheless, shooting the woman a vindictive look for her moment of curiosity. Shuffling several loose files together, Thomas pressed his fingertips together, lips thin and white - a gesture that, electronic nerves or not, still managed to unsettle Jane after twenty years.

"Your...'boss'. Varrick, I presume?"

"Yeah, hey, that's the guy! How'd ya-...?"

"An astonishing reputation for failure and harbouring those responsible."

His tone was casual, but the atmosphere in the room changed almost immediately. Jane hesitated before she spoke again.

"Not really summat I like hearing about him, with respect."

A claw drew up sharply, stopping itself mid-lunge, but Thomas still caught the movement. Allowing himself a smirk, he leant back in his chair, both boots slamming down against the top of his desk. Stretching dramatically, the Huntsman yawned loudly and placed both hands against a chunk of armour plating stretched over his chest. Jane was quite certain the 'accidental' reveal of a large sidearm was nothing of the sort.

"You are, of course, not bound by the same rules as the rest of the grunts Lundgren, but it would be my reputation against yours if things were to become unpleasant. I don't think you're stupid enough to let your temper get in the way of an otherwise civil discussion. Imagine how further your Commander's reputation would be tarnished."

"Varrick ain't a failure."

"You're a mechanised abomination that would most likely explode if immersed in anything larger than a puddle, Lundgren. Recruiting you was one thing, but he went so far as to make you his bodyguard. Even you can't deny the stupidity there, surely?"

"He's taking...y'know...he's playing it safe with the tech stuff..."

"Of course. I've also heard Lord Nemesis is - in fact - the reason my morning coffee is never quite warm enough. Let's face facts: Varrick is a failure of a man, acting as a beacon of hope for all those who believe their own lot in life is poor. Thanks to him, we can all rise in the morning and say 'it could be worse'."

An actuator purred in Jane's left arm, her entire fist clenching with barely contained anger. Thomas clearly knew what she was thinking, and just continued to smirk in that playfully arrogant way of his. Huntsman and Crab Spider stared at one another, not a word between them, before Jane sighed and shook her head, the tension ebbing out of her in an instant. He was just trying to rile her up, get an excuse to throw her out. There was no point in flaring up and getting physical, regardless of how annoyingly tempting it was to do so.

"You just don't know him..."

"Oh, I certainly know about, but let's move along shall we? Pleasantries aside, I'm quite curious as to why, exactly, you're here. I made no requests to transfer you away from the Dusk Spiders, nor have I been informed of any change in personnel. This can't be a meeting for old time's sake either, as I'm sure you're aware. Why then, do you waste my time?"

"Just need to take care of summat with your lot. Leaking info, y'know?"

"Yes, I know. This...'summat'. You are aware of how long I have served Recluse and Arachnos, yes? Far in excess of your own years here, Lundgren. Do you think I would allow betrayal to take place if I had heard even the slightest amount about it? Do you genuinely believe that I would have missed something you, YOU, have discovered?"

"Got our reasons. Seen folk yell about being faithful before, and then it goes right up, don't it? Can't stand traitors. Can't stand 'em at all. That's been smacked into me since day one of joinin' Arachnos."

"Of course. It was...'smacked in' to you quite well, wasn't it? How long ago, Lundgren? Eight years now, if I'm not mistaken..."

Jane was conceived as a concept more than a story, so to speak. It's a similar thing with all my characters, in all settings/games - the character develops over time based on his or her experiences, rather than anything I've already written down.

This approach has massive flaws to it, but at the same time it feels very organic and flexible to me.

I prefer your mom's friendly atmosphere.

But, uh, moving away from Floaty moments, I wouldn't neccesarily mind a merger though I think it'd be largely impractical. Beyon developer interaction I can't think of many benefits.

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I'm not advocating a "slower levelling grind" Syracuse.

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"The XP curve was "smoothed" out around Issue 11... which actually translates as "make it a lot lot easier" and your comments on debt make me think otherwise. Higher difficulties, sure, but then what? How do you make the game a "challenge" without artifically boosting experience requirements?

A slog isn't a challenge.

A slower levelling grind doesn't make for a harder one. Just a more annoying one. TBH, I expect the only reason the game is "easier" is because you're more experienced with it.

I'd seriously consider it for unlocking a Hero EAT - I can't stand the Blue side archetypes otherwise - but other than that, not really.

Whoop whoop. Had fun for the two hours I was there - would have made it three, but...well. I whinged the reasons for the delay over MSN.

>_<

Very impressive base!

Oooo, convenient timing. I'd say more, but I'm already late for work.

/flee

Nope, not personal. Just hilarious.

Speaking of which, there's quite a few inconsistencies when it comes to the numbers of badges across your characters. If you don't want all the badges on all your characters, you can live without a few more. I just don't see what the problem is, or why you feel the need to keep reminding everyone how much of a collector you are.

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So in regards to your post, what toon should I "try"?

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Make new ones. If you're determined enough to brag about the amount of badges you have, you're determined enough to go and experiment with new playstyles while the old characters are getting their career accolades.

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And I think my "faux-Serious Business attitude" is a little less "Faux" now, don't you?

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Not really. If anything it seems even funnier.

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*shrug* You can call it what you will, they were there, they got removed. Why you prob don't believe me is cause they were removed long before CoH got released in the EU.

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I played before the EU. They were "removed" because the polygons were smoothed out, not because someone suddenly realised nipples had been snuck in. As for your second point, you might want to go back and read what I'm actually saying, rather than continue to dither on about their existence. Nobody's denying they were there, they're denying the damn things were deliberate.

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Getting badges is a motivation for some people, and as some have said here, getting em for not being online so much isn't really a good idea all round, I think.


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It's a motivator to try other characters as the offline ones work towards the badges. If you were half as determined as you faux-Serious Business attitude here indicated, you'd understand that, surely.

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Unfortunatly no. The last patch notes i found were from a year ago. This happened back in summer -04. Before CoH even came to EU.

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Then I'm going to call 'nuts' on this apparent nipple patch note. As was said earlier, it's a graphical thing, not something NC would have consciously added.

A lot of statues in WoW have "nipples". It's a sloppy polygon issue, not a BOOBSLOL one.

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There was a note when they patched em away.

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Then can you provide it, as asked? You're being terribly vague about this.