if you hide away from me how can our love grow?

There seems no end to startlingly specific Tumblrs in the world, but here's one I thought people would appreciate--a very detailed run-down, prop by prop, of the Moffat-penned Sherlock Holmes series, in a question-and-answer format. The pictures are large, there are tons of links to explore further, and all in all, for fans of the show or Sherlock in general, it's a joy to read through.

For fans of actual history, not literary history, try Archaeologica. It definitely seems to be using a web site template from the 90's, but barring that, it's a wonderful resource for the latest archeological dig site and press news.

Did you know Kindergarten Cop was filmed in Silent Hill? Me neither, but apparently Kotaku thinks they can back it up. That's...eerily creepy, frankly.

And I have no words for why this exists in the world. It hurts my brain.

And speaking of Skyrim, someone put far too much effort into My Little Dragonborn, but look at the detailing. That's seriously impressive.

In the meantime, a friend of mine collated a bit of Caledon chatter, but she didn't send any names alone. Still, I think it's worthwhile sharing.

Profile says: SL is a game but behind every avatar is a real human heart that etc etc.
I say: So is monopoly but I don't feel bad about bankrupting you. Get some perspective.

Profile says: If you can't handle me at my worst you don't deserve me at my best.
I say: Shit, I was just going to say hi. I didn't realize I was supposed to be your damn support network.

Profile says: No drama
I say: Good luck with that. Welcome to life.

Profile says: Never make someone your priority when they only make you an option.
I say: Thanks for the unsolicited relationship advice. Are you speaking from experience or just assuming that everyone else is obsessively clingy?

The replies after that (from Skype):

[3:07:02 AM] Hxxx Rxxxxx: Huh. I guess I need to alter my "Please jebus no drama" line in my profile...
[3:13:37 AM] Axxxxxxxx Rxxxxx: it started with "what are the most annoying things you see in people's profiles" and has been snowballing from there
[3:14:27 AM] Axxxxxxxx Rxxxxx: hee!

And back to ISC chat:

[03:12] Mxxxxxxxx Oxxxxxxxx: I love my neighbors but sometimes I wish I could program my defense drones to hunt their breedables.
[03:13] Axxxxxxx Wxxxxxx muses.......... in France they have horse butchers' shops. Probably wouldn't go down too well in Caledon.

Good points all.

And I'll end with some friendly, motherly advice. For those of you with young teen men...you're, um...welcome?

they can't turn off my feelings like they're turning off the light

[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Hey! I'm Grimdark Goregush; you might remember me from that time I punched Back Alley Brawler in the temple!
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: As you may know, my motto in life is "rip and tear," but what does that mean to you?
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Here at Goregush Incorporated, we're here for YOU!
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: We offer training lessons, self help groups, addictions anonymous, and full-contact sports to ease your pain so you can get back to work being evil!
[Help] Darkwater Bloom turns the dial on the help channel, because it's mysteriously become an infomercial

This was perplexing when it occurred earlier, and I was in the middle of killing Wyvern agents to prevent something from happening somewhere else...and frankly, I just didn't want to hear it.

[Help] Grimdark Goregush: And in other news, Grimdark Goregush's signature attack, "Guts and Glory," yet again is seen in a suburban neighborhood. Survivors have yet to be identified.
[Help] BFB 2000: oj and i thought it had turned into Barrens chat
[Help] Maratus: Grimdark doesn't sleep, he waits.
[Help] Duncan Disorderly: Not nearly enough immature skill puns and Chuck Norris jokes for that.
[Help] Knightmare Moon: Grimdark Goregush has two speeds. Walk, and kill.
[Help] Darkwater Bloom: I thought the two speeds were brag, and boast.

Maybe it was just me, but I was in no mood to listen to some internet-enabled yahoo spout praise on a character named "Goregush", of all things.

[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Hey! Are you a nerd?! Do people pick on your because they have self-esteem issues and the only way they can comfort themselves is by lessening the pulic opinion of you to take focus off themselves?
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Well now YOU CAN TOO! Introducing, the Goregush Gutspiller! Next time your antagonizer grabs you by the collar, grab him by the abdomen with the three-pronged hook! Then with one quick motion, his intestines will spill out onto the floor for all to see
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Ha, ha! Your organs are a different color! That means they're DIFFERENT! And DIFFERENT translates to BAD!

It was annoying, in a short word.

[Help] Sandolphan: Oh wow COOL! You have awesome organs! Not like that NERD over there with the organs all inside him! HAHAHAHA
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Don't be a wimp! Don't be a nerd! Buy the Goregush Gutripper and recieve a FREE keychain/bottle opener/guitar tuner/cigar cutter!
[Help] Eldritch Sorceress: Nerds!!!!
[Help] Eldritch Sorceress: Fear ogre.
[Help] Xois.: Fun for the whole Family! Even get grammy in on the fun!
[Help] Upgrade Project: Or, youcould take the quick and dirty route and just buy a sawed-off double-barrel with Dragon's Breath rounds and call it a day.

Always a good option.

[Help] Upgrade Project: 30 minutes in a store, or several months in a dojo. Your choice.
[Help] Upgrade Project: Plus, you don't have to wear pajamas all the time.
[Help] Just Another Catgirl: I like wearing pajamas though, at least when I'm wearing anything at all.
[Help] Samui Karasu waits for every lonely dude in this game to start masturbating
[Help] Just Another Catgirl: *huggles Samui*
[Help] Meta Soul: *fap*
[Help] Crankenstein: *fappity fappity fappity*
[Help] Samui Karasu: AH MAH GOD! HUGS!? THEY BUUURRRRRN *Flops around like a fish*
[Help] Just Another Catgirl: teehee.
[Help] Samui Karasu: YE THRICE DAMNED CAT WOMAN! DON'T LAUGH GET MY RAAAASH CREAM *Dies*
[Help] Just Another Catgirl gets the cream, and applies said cream o.o

Why don't any of these people have anything better to do?

[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Hey! Do you want a drink that will make you feel SO ENERGETIC? Try HEARTBURSTER, an exciting new energy drink by Goregush Inc.!
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: It comes in RADICAL FLAVORS like KILL, CHILDREN'S TEARS, and MANGO!

*facepalms* I have no idea what he's even talking about at this point.

[Help] Grimdark Goregush: It's like I'm in the Pocket D!
[Help] Grimdark Goregush: But I'm not! HOW HORRIFYING
[Help] Samui Karasu: AND THAT CHILDREN IS WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER ROLEPLAY! PEOPLE LIKE ME GET BORED OF THE D AND COME SPAM TEH CHAT CHANNEL!

Can we not, please? Anyone?

[Help] CaitLAN: OH MY
[Help] Samui Karasu: AND THAT CHILDREN IS WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER ROLEPLAY! PEOPLE LIKE ME GET BORED OF THE D AND COME SPAM TEH CHAT CHANNEL!
[Help] Crankenstein: It puts the rash cream on its skin or else it gets the hose again!
[Help] Oleander Shadow: Now now. Without the erp materworks like the D, we wouldn't have cinematic masterpieces like Splice. . .
[Help] Samui Karasu breaks Character and looks at your screen ISN'T THAT RIGHT CHILDREN!?

No. No it is not.

[Help] Darkwater Bloom: Remember when help channel only went off when someone actually needed help?
[Help] Samui Karasu: NO ONE ASKED YOU.
[Help] CaitLAN: YOU DID

That is true. He did ask.

[Help] Lisi: i'm pretty sure there's people here that NEED help
[Help] Samui Karasu: Remember when people weren't whiny bitches about the help channel?

And then immediately became an ass about it.

[Help] Darkwater Bloom: Well, actually, I would agree with that, but I'm not sure it's help anyone in game is equipped to give...
[Help] Nataleigh: Remember back when Samui Karasu didn't exist? ;)
[Help] Lisi: I'm sure there must be some doctors that play this game.
[Help] Samui Karasu: Yup! Everyone's too busy jacking off to the futa catgirls in the D.
[Help] Darkwater Bloom is still trying to wrap her brain around why that even EXISTS

Still don't know.

[Help] Grimdark Goregush: Speaking of children.... ADOPT ONE! The Goregush Adoption Agency needs your help! Become a foster parent for one of our many displaced children and recieve a FREE copy of Grimdark Goregush's hit novel: Grimdark Goregush: The Man behind the Maggots!
[Help] Upgrade Project: I used to find Goregush funny, but then I took a buried answer to the brain.

And I believe that's meme full circle in the Help channel. G'night, everybody!

I said "you're such a sweet young thing, why you do this to yourself?"

Pursuant to the earlier mention of the mysterious cop appearances, some further information!

All of this came from reading through the comics, btw.

Someone mentioned they're a time-traveling Tag & Bink; someone else said that at least one of them could be the megafan from Draw Me In; I remain unconvinced on that latter one.

Amusingly after that, someone else mentioned that the pair may have 'moved on to new media': to wit, the Hotels.com commercial series. (And damn, if one of the clay people doesn't have red hair and a red goatee.)

Not sure if this was actually a self-insertion plug for the upcoming film, but someone later in the thread suggested the pair was the Robinson boys, but older and also time-traveling: again, I don't buy it, but there is token resemblance.

They've also been seen in at least one Transformers comic.

Someone else mentioned they might be two members of a kids' music band called the Imagination Movers, and even more bizarrely, they've also been seen on South Park. Weird.

Also, they have their own Facebook page now, as well as a hip-hop tribute on Youtube.

Finally, towards the end of the comment thread, someone else mentions that they might just be someone else chimes in to say they just might be Joe Shuster (seen in artist's rendition on a comic cover, appropriately enough) and Jerry Siegel (seen on the right, next to Shuster). And why is that relevant? Well, because Shuster was the creator and head writer on the first run of Superman comics (and for many years thereafter), and Siegel was the head artist.

So all of this could be quirky tribute offerings to two men who were foundational in creating superheroes in the first place. And whether it's true or not, I can live with that.

And more news on SOPA--in protest of SOPA and its companion, only slightly less vile bill, PIPA--Reddit has stated it will go dark on January 18th. Other companies supposedly "considering" a blackout on that day include Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, Twitter and Amazon, but they may or may not go through with it. There was a snippet of coverage on the Young Turks that covered this as well; they also seem unconvinced that other top-100 websites will join in.

I'm proud of Reddit for putting themselves out on the line like this, though.

mirror, mirror, won't you kiss my cheek and tell me I'll be okay?

Slowly but surely, we creep towards the future. Here's another sign--a seemingly fully-functional heads-up wearable display. It's not perfect yet--there's a long way to go--but it's a good stride forward.

More future signs--Corning has developed a thinner, stronger, more durable glass they've dubbed Gorilla Glass. It can take over one hundred pounds of pressure weight before fracturing. They're hoping to get it into manufacturing hands later this year.

For lovers of costume, here's the Adjutant from StarCraft II. (Here's a shot seen in the game, so you can see how good this costume came out--and if you're curious, here's a full-length shot from the main convention hall, and a shot under stage lights for more of the effect.)

In the meantime, how to make your own arrow-to-the-knee prosthetic (for hardcore Skyrim fans), a lovely leather TARDIS purse (fan-created, not authorized by the show) on Etsy, hope on the horizon for Silent Hill: Downpour, and a sheep in Minecraft who rezzed in the exactly wrong place.

Finally, toss your two cents into one of the strangest comics mysteries yet--two unnamed, specifically depicted cops seen throughout many childrens' comics. They've been seen in uniform and out, fighting crime, standing in the background, action shots and simply posing--and what makes it even stranger is that it isn't just one company doing this. So why are they there? And why are they always the same?

I turned away, I would pretend, but the burning never ends

Bit of an oddity, here--I'm not endorsing the publication of Katawa Shoujo, nor how it came to be (as a developed game primarily funded and launched by 4chan), but I think it's worth mentioning, both because disability seems to be such a taboo subject in Japanese culture, and because it may be the first game ever where the object is to start a relationship with a disabled person.

Something to keep in mind for free players in City of Heroes:

[Help] Far Shadow: Free to players can use the /r command to reply to the person who last sent them a tell
[Help] Sigma Volt: oooooh. thanks. now that's something that they should add to the tutorial
[Help] Far Shadow: I think it's something undocumented, but I try to spread that hint around whenever possible.

Well, I know I've never heard of that tip, so that's very good to know!

And now, more dolly pictures.

Last night, a friend told me they still had the old (1.26) mesh viewer from Henri Beauchamp, all packaged up. I was still feeling out of sorts with him, but I told her to go ahead and upload it to me. This morning, I stared at the zip file, and thought, well, what the hell, it might work.

Went to a skybox, popped up a platform, set the sky to Incongruent Truths...and here you go.

(from the dolly album)

This is (barring shoes, of course) the full ball-jointed doll mesh avatar from Dollcoco (the SLUrl for you, or just go back to yesterday's entry). All nine pieces comprising the doll body, and the two pieces of the black dress (one whole dress piece, and one neck piece).

(from the dolly album)

The same avatar and dress, back view. (Hair is not included, though Dollcoco also makes one mesh hairstyle, and will likely be working on more.)

(from the dolly album)

Detail shot of the back of the dress's corset. Lovely work.

(from the dolly album)

Full length shot of the doll body, sans dress (though this is the variant that features painted-on lingerie).

(from the dolly album)

And the back view. If you think it looks better than the traditional doll skins with painted-on joints, that's because it does. With the body being in nine rigged sections, there are natural separations and some limited shadowing (even without "actual" shadows and deferred rendering options selected).

Just be sure that you're using a mesh-enabled viewer, and that those looking at you are using a mesh-enabled viewer (which is the hard part); elsewise, this avatar is going to look very odd indeed.

(from the dolly album)

Detail shot of one of the jointed elbows. While most ball-jointed dolls are made from plastic resin (like this offering from Iplehouse, or the Fenny Delf from LUTS), a very select few companies and artists make their ball-jointed dolls out of porcelain. In the case of some (though not all) of the porcelain dolls, there is unglazed edging along certain parts, where they had to balance cleanly on kiln shelves.

Intriguingly enough, as can be seen in the above picture, this doll avatar combines both the smooth separations of the resin BJD dolls, with the artistic casting lines of the porcelain dolls. You can clearly see the white "unglazed" edging along the arms, the torso, and the upper legs.

(from the dolly album)

As mentioned before, I believe, I chose the Emily head as my first official head purchase. Partially because of the name (of course), but also, it seemed to have a fresh quality the others didn't seem to have (at least, at the time).

(from the dolly album)

All doll heads come with two options: eyes open (they do not blink) and eyes closed. This is the Emily head with eyes closed.

(from the dolly album)

And finally, I picked up a demo for the Kyoko Asian-style head, which is just lovely. I may have to pick that one up, too. (Finances allowing.)

This avatar includes one thing I did not show in these images, which may make it an ideal purchase for shop alts (who work for designers developing mesh clothing): something termed a "white cap" that fits over the neck and takes the place of the head, i.e. the neck block found on mannequin sales sites. This renders the entire doll simply that: a display object. Headless, posed, and silent.

I'm fairly sure that if you wanted the neck block in colors other than white, the designer behind Dollcoco may well be willing to accommodate.

But that's it. I will definitely be angling for a set of shoes, but all in all--while I'm still paranoid about walking around, on view of folks who don't have mesh enabled on their viewers--I'm quite, quite pleased with Dollcoco's work. Start to finish, it's easy to wear, and already rigged, so there's no need for adjusting anything--it fits into place and perfectly where it's intended to be.

The main body (in any color shade) is on the thin and tall side, but that also matches well with the BJD dolls as sold in many, many places. All in all, if you've seen a BJD doll, you'll immediately recognize this version. It's not cheap, by any means, but I think it's well worth the expense.

and I don't see you anymore

"A song cannot survive if it is not being played – it is either played or it perishes."
~Martin Caerthy

Ever wanted one of TRON's lightcycles? Now, maybe you can have one.

Sort of.

If you have $50,000 spare in the coinpurse.

In other news:

[20:28] Sxxxxx Sxxxxx: Sending LM for "Dollcoco" - they do rigged mesh *everything* - their approach is since we can't deform the mesh (yet) they're doing a doll body (yes, doll joints too) and doll heads and have mesh clothing rigged for THOSE bodies/heads instead of people trying to make them fit something else
[20:29] Sxxxxx Sxxxxx: there's a free bunny mesh av too, btw. Also, for group, bodies, one set of ears and a joker dress are free, and there's free demos of the heads.
Sxxxxx Sxxxxx has offered you '*DOLLCOCO*_COCO DESIGNS, COCO DESIGNS (156, 114, 4013)' in Second Life. Log in to accept or decline the offer.

Thus armed, and being of somewhat manic despairing heart, I sallied forth to investigate Dollcoco.

(from the dolly album)

So, the store is in a clean, white space, minimal but attractive decorations. Reminds me a lot of Lico Lico, actually, just smaller. And everything's neatly set out--instructions, heads, bodies, outfits.

(from the dolly album)

Most of the outfits run from from L$250 to L$750, depending on amount of detail work, I'd assume. If you turn around, from facing the sign, you'll find an add-on of elf ears for the doll heads, and a card-suit 'dress', both for free if you join the Dollcoco update group. There's also some less "doll"-centric outfits along the same wall, some neo-Grecian numbers, some evening slip dresses. These selections seem to be towards the lower end of the price line.

(from the dolly album)

These are hardly all of the doll heads available--and though most are made to match the "snow" tone doll body, there is also a variant called "cocoa" which is dark and lovely. Unfortunately there's only one head to match that particular body--so far. Here's to hoping there will be more.

(from the dolly album)

These are the two doll bodies, containing three different torso variants (anatomical, "smooth", and wearing boy-shorts and bras, respectively), comprising nine mesh pieces (and also complete with fully ball-jointed limbs, wrists, and feet), miraculously both available for free (again, if you're a member of the update group). I'm astounded at that.

(from the dolly album)

She also has fish skirts.

Don't ask.

So, why aren't you seeing me modeling any of these? I will admit, I did throw caution to the wind and, since I'd given back Salix Alba in Winterfell, spent L$750 on the all-black EGL frock, L$450 on the "Emilly" head, and will likely try to talk friends tomorrow into tossing me L$250 for a pair of the mesh boots. Then I went home and tried everything on...and nearly pounded my head against the monitor screen, so great was my frustration.

See, the latest build of Henri Beauchamp's Cool-VL mesh viewer does not work. Flat out. Among the many, many bugs it manifests:

• crashing on teleport
• crashing on login
• crashing on sim-crossing
• constant (like, every five minutes constant) messages that the viewer is going to crash due to lack of sufficient memory (even if the viewer cache is cleared every time the message appears and the user relogs)
• the viewer constantly auto-scaling back draw distance to 64
• the viewer constantly relocating local lights to sun and moon only under graphics, even if changed
• the inability to spin the camera around an avatar without the avatar also spinning around to face where the camera's pointing
• refusal to load textures in sims
• refusal to load vendors in sims
• refusal to load anything in sims
• occasional inability to load EYES (Goddamn it, Henri, EYES! WHAT THE HELL?!?)

I'd point you towards the forums for this, for any tips and tricks, but Henri has inexplicably morphed from a helpful, caring programmer I trust into complete stunted snippy jerklife, and, until he improves, I switched to Singularity. It's noooot just the drivers, Henri, look into it.

How'ver, the problem with doing this? (Other than the waste of time spent completely uninstalling Cool-VL and Second Life v2 and then running a clean install of Singularity?)

I did not realize Singularity did not have mesh support yet.

Damn it.

So I'll get back to you on that.

In the meantime, an explanation for why there are so many bugs in Skyrim. Also, based (partially) on that, I think more games should have nanobears.

Herds and herds of nanobears.

Forever.

That is all.

and I can listen when the screaming doesn't repeat everything I've said

come on down to my part of town
where the bullets light up the sky
it's the fifth of May every day
no one averts their eyes

Has it been a year since I pulled away from the weave of my life? I am tired of being betrayed by people I trusted. Tired of betraying people I looked up to, admired, respected. But when is it enough? When can I stop backing away instead of striding forward? When will I feel safe enough to reach out again?

When do I get over the burning loss, the hurt, the pain of departure? Do I ever get over these feelings?

or we could go to the country, find a willow tree
lay down and whisper to its roots
"Won't you take my sorrow from me?"

And it would be made no easier were there a love on the grid to devote time to, spend time with, relax in the arms of...but even that, I do not have, and for much of the same reasons: I tire, deeply tire, of the crash and burn that seems to infect every relationship I have.

you can come with me, but I don't suggest you stay
I have a habit of leaving damage in my wake
I was born under a new moon, it dictates that fate
'cos if my highs don't get you, my lows will, guaranteed

Now, I hold L$2500 in Lindens. My rent, on my sole remaining parcel of Winterfell, is L$1500 per week. I can pay one more week, then have to give the parcel back when the rent runs out...or I can give it back now. I'm atill debating which is the better option.

I talk to the angels, I listen to the stones
stormwinds know me best now; only with them am I at home
I'm serenaded by the ocean
and I'm looked after by the roads
the blood in my veins is older than anything you've ever known

All because Ayesha Lytton fired the woman who was helping me pay rent, and I am too wary to find another position on my own.

you can come with me, but I don't suggest you stay
I have a habit of leaving damage in my wake
I was born on a new moon, it dictates my fate
if my highs don't get you, my lows will, guaranteed

I think...I think this honestly might be it. My heart can't take any more. I can't bear to be close to people, my business is dead, and I can't even conceive of putting myself into someone else's hands, so I can be fired yet another time for saying the wrong thing, supporting the wrong cause, arguing with the wrong underling.

you're right, I'm a whole different species
you're right, I'm not from here
but that's probably why you like me, you like a little fear

If I don't trust anyone enough to work for them; if we now have better things, brighter things, off the grid that eat up any 'play' money remaining; if there's no one to love and cherish on the grid, and shopping isn't an option...And with the business evaporated, I can't even find joy in creating things...Seriously, what's left?

but I'm golden-hearted, baby
born, lived, and will die free
you're just in love with romance, only with the idea of me

What is left?

you can come with me, but I don't suggest you stay
I have a habit of leaving damage in my wake
I was born on a new moon, it dictates that fate
'cos if my highs don't break you, then my lows will, guaranteed

Even the blind hunting, the inventory ever increasing, seems a flawed and childish thing now. What good are dresses I'm never going to wear, couples' poses I'm never going to use, or furniture if I do lose my last home on the grid? What good is any of it if I'm never there to use it?

What good is being there if I rarely leave my house?

I'm a different thing, baby, not what you need
I'm a different thing, baby, not what you need

I'm a hollow shell, searching for my heartbeat, and I have no idea what to do to fill myself up again. All I am is echoes disappearing on the winds.

When do I stop feeling like this? How long do I keep feeling like this? And how soon can I move on?

(Lyrics from Fairuza Balk's "Stormwinds", but adapted to the recording, not the lyrics as given on her site.)

I have a habit of leaving damage in my wake

More mania from City of Heroes'Help channel.

[Help] Rockin Rolla: Are there any drinking games associated w/ CoH/V? Like "Click a glowie, take a shot?"
[Help] Daddy Longleg: Make your own :)

Never the best advice, but they were off and running.

[Help] Night Lioness: "take a DoT from a ghost, take a shot" you will have liver failure in a week
[Help] Frog of War: everytime Azuria loses something, take a shot
[Help] Mighty Mousse: blaster faceplants, take a shot

Otherwise known as the "sacrificial blaster" phenomenon--since blasters in-game can deal a great amount of damage, but do not have the steady hit points to take that damage back in return, this is pretty much the phrase used everytime a blaster runs into melee range to punch things, and as expected, they drop like rocks doing it.

[Help] Daddy Longleg: Everytime you defeat a minion...take a shot
[Help] Jake Portia Simmons: AV, take a shot. Best done in the sewers.
[Help] Jake Portia Simmons: Team wipe, take a shot.
[Help] Jake Portia Simmons: Vengeance cast, take a shot.
[Help] Jake Portia Simmons: Holwing twilight/Barrier hits more then one person, take a shot.
[Help] Night Lioness: mapserved, take a shot

"Mapserved" is when the message flashes on your screen "Disconnected from Mapserver"--it may mean you have to wait until the game picks up your internet again, or close the game entirely and restart. It's annoying either way.

[Help] Dr. Thraxmidar: why must it be take a shot? why don't you just be men about it and down a bottle

Because we'd all be DEAD if we did that.

[Help] Lady Arcadia: Is Azuria the only one who loses stuff thought? I mean, doesn't the Zig have constant breakouts?
[Help] Blade'Dancer: See a Catgirl, take a shot (you'll be blitzed in about 5 minutes)

Yes, the Neko invasion is well established in City of Heroes, just like SL.

[Help] North Pole Exile: at least people know the Zig has breakouts.

The Zig is a jail in City of Heroes; it used to feature prominently in the intro mission to the game. (Now, it doesn't, and many people still miss it.)

[Help] Galadion: ((Empath goes AFK, take a shot))

Empath = healer.

[Help] Kali Blade: See unhelpfull comments in help chat, take a shot.

Dear gods...Again, we'd all be DEAD if we did this now.

[Help] North Pole Exile: For all we know, Azuria's (or Magi's rather) vault is merely a portal to some corner of kings row
[Help] Inferno Ten: Blaster rushes in and dies take a shot
[Help] North Pole Exile: does the blaster death count if it's part of an attack chain?
[Help] North Pole Exile: the blaster's own attack chain, specifically
[Help] North Pole Exile: My blaster has four self rezzes.. a nuke.. crap, one mission is liverdeath for me

Yeah. There are so many ways a CoH could end in cirrhosis.

[Help] Galadion: ((Someone encloses obviously OOC speech in brackets, take a shot))
Help] Desiree DuCoeur: ((someone takes a shot, take a shot))
[Help] Desiree DuCoeur: ((that means two....ah, no, 3 shots now......ah, screw it, gimme the bottle ^^)
[Help] Rockin Rolla: Everytime I back into a Boss group, take a shot

You're not alone, I do this too.

[Help] Jake Portia Simmons: Kill a one eyed monster on the ITF, take a shot.

The Imperious Task Force, or ITF, features Cyclop warriors, because it's set in a neo-Roman seaside town named Cimerora.

[Help] Madame Incendia: Someone's liver spontaneously books a vacation to somewhere sober, take a shot.

Hee! (Wait, can livers do that??)

[Help] Desiree DuCoeur: everytime the defender goes 'lol, toebombing nuke', take a shot.

I have no idea what "toebombing" is. This really doesn't help, either, but it's all I could find.

[Help] Desiree DuCoeur: everytime the only one who has a rez kisses the carpet: take a shot
[Help] Madame Incendia: Everytime the only person with a Rez is a Free Account, take a shot.

There's a lot of things free account holders can't do. While they can play empaths (the big healing class), they can't be traded with, or talk in any chat channel other than Help, can't send in-game emails, can't send in-game tells, can't craft items, can't use the Auction House...there's a whole list of things they can't do.

But if your empath is a free account, they have the only rez in the party, and they go down? You can't pass them an Awaken inspiration, you can't IM them, you can't start a trade...you just have to wait. Yeah, it's annoying.

[Help] Madame Incendia: Also, as a Holiday one. Anytime someone on your Team takes a brief detour to open a Present forgetting they're on a team and die, take a shot. *Will promptly be passed out dead.*

Soooo not kidding. When an individual character opens a present, they have a shot of getting as few as three Frostlings, small puffy snow creatures who freeze combatants in place, up to five Frostlings, one or two Blights (larger puffy snow creatures with greater abilities), and every once in a while, a full Winter Lord (HUGE puffy snow creatures who pretty much kill you dead, period).

HOWEVER, if one is on a team? The game tries to scale the attackers in the present to match. So if you're a level 12 character, in a level 12 zone, but you've been exemplared up to level 33, and you have five other people on your team...touching that present usually leads to certain death by snowy things.

I'm sure there's more, but yeah, that's enough to die from alcohol poisoning, right there.

[Help] Big Zeke: Can you /respec into a different powerset, or should I roll a new toon?

I let this go at the time, but you know, I think I'm just going to revise my thinking. Anyone who calls game characters--for any game that isn't World of Warcraft--"toons", well, instead of getting upset, I'm just going to sympathize. Because it must be difficult for them, being that stupid. There's no need for ire when the person behind the screen just isn't that bright.

He can't help it, obviously. It's like a chosen disability. He's to be pitied, not attacked.

And to finish up:

[Help] Night Lioness: of course Lord Recluse wouldn't know where the sewers are, that's beneath him
[Help] Amethyst Pierce: is that a pun?

Ba-dum CHING.

got a glitter drop of fall and I'm on my knees

[Help] Far Shadow: If [your] explore/history plaque hunting, use the instructions and maps on Paragon Wiki, it's not too hard if you're full of smarticles
[Help] Falling Barometer: smarticles is officially an awesome word. I award you one internet, which comes with a dozen cookies of your choice, as long as your choice is oatmeal raisin.

So there's a lovely little round-up of the plain differences between SOPA and PIPA, but more specifically, how SOPA would affect us all (post-passage, assuming that it does pass in the US), over on CNet. I highly recommend everyone interested to read through it; it condenses the issue down to good, solid talking points, and eases understanding of what is a staggeringly overwritten, yet surprisingly vague, prohibitionary bill.

Once upon a time...Wau. That's kind of scary. I've known about the poor ladies in the radium factory for years now, but this apparently is the male version. So...if teeth loosen, and bones weaken, and tumors develop, just from licking brushes dipped into radium paint...what would happen if you had sex with radium condoms?

Actually, don't answer that. I truly don't want to know.

The next bit is going to wander slightly. So, I've been engaged for some time following the exploits of the Women Fighters in Reasonable Clothes Tumblr. Some of what they post is clearly fan art; some's not, and is actually taken from published works, art books, movies, what-have-you, and it's all thrown in this melting pot of mixed genre armors--not what ultimately would work best, but whatever--as armor--would actually work, as opposed to best display more bits of skin than any fighter would, ordinarily.

The topic came up again recently when friends of mine tossed me this link, which eventually leads back to another Tumblr blog, namely the Tumblr of Grace Duval, a fashion designer and designer of wearable art, who was absolutely blown away when Jezebel liked the pictures posted enough for a feature.

But that brought me back to thinking about armor designed for females, and the very next day I found this link, written by a maker of armor, who points out both the ridiculousness and the utility of armor as worn by females. (And I still think the best example is the Gothic plate designed for Elizabeth's character from the film of the same name.)

Just to reach from there a moment, it's not just female characters in armor who are given this treatment. Sometimes women in uniform get the same treatment. That's ridiculous as a working uniform for any gender, unless part of your job involves constant breast-feeding. Come on now.

But I'm still thinking on the topic. Why is this the male armor upgrade for Dynasty Warriors 6, and this the female armor? Or what about Wolfenpride's response in a forum on the same topic? I mean, while I get what what he was saying, does it unnerve anyone else that his first response to the sight of figure-revealing armor is murderous necrophilia? Or is it just me?

And it's not like this is just in one game, or even one game genre; it's broadband and wide-spread.

Fantasy, science fiction, it doesn't seem to matter, it's all the same thing. Even in areas where one wouldn't think it would naturally crop up--for example, the Gunslinger add-on for City of Heroes.

The guys? Got the full-on Wild West treatment: specialty guns, chaps, a rather jaunty top hat, vest, a bolo tie. It's a nice outfit. The duster, especially, was very well done.

But the girls? Got the bar wench. Not even kidding. And there's zero attempt to hide it--if you play a female character, you get ruffles, corsets, and thigh-high boots with spurs. You might as well put out a sign asking for ten bits an hour.

Normally, I won't lie, I'm all for cheesecake in games, but I want it to have some relevance to armor, rather than just being made of metal. (Which most of it isn't anyway, so what the hell?)

(from the random album)

Because seriously. This isn't armor. This is a chick in lingerie--partial lingerie, at that!--with a bow. There's nothing in anything she's wearing that would protect her from a slightly incompetent rodent with a toothpick. Let alone big guys with guns.

it's bound for the graveyard cart

Later the next day...Yes. This is more oddity from City of Heroes' Help channel...This all started over a very simple question, namely, this one:

[Help] Dark Thorn Oppressor: is there a way to rename a character?

That's clear, right? Simple, to the point, asking--on the global Help channel, sure, but at least it is a question...if there's a way to rename a character, once made. And the answers--at least to start--were also simple:

[Help] Agent Vangier: Buy a rename token. 800 points.
[Help] Anti Light: buy a rename token
[Help] DJ P0N-3: Yep, you can buy character rename tokens in the store.
[Help] Blackbird.: If you have $10, sure
[Help] Dark Thorn Oppressor: or wait a couple months then buy one
[Help] Anti Light: Or if you want to be sneaky about it, if you are VIP and have saved up some transfer tokens, transfer to another server, make a new alt there with the same name, transfer back, presto, name change

And thus were the seeds of disagreement planted. And boy, did they sprout in fertile ground.

[Help] Blackbird.: Yeah Anti, but that's technically an exploit.
[Help] Anti Light: No, it's not.
[Help] Blackbird.: You're abusing game mechanics for an unintended benefit.
[Help] Blackbird.: that's exploiting.
[Help] DJ P0N-3: If it were considered a sploit, it would have been plugged after the first free transfer weekend. It wasn't, therefore it isn't.
[Help] Blackbird.: It can't be plugged.
[Help] Lovely Lara Lava: If it was considered an exploit, the moon would have exploded. It wasnt, therefore false logic is bad.

Here we see the beginnings of the logic machine grinding to a halt. First, they charge for both server transfers and name changes, but if you're a subscriber to City of Heroes--a VIP--you can do this, and it's not exploitative.

More accurately, it's more of a hassle to do it (at least properly) without paying the fee to the Paragon store; because...well, this is involved, but the simplest breakdown is if you transfer a character back with the same name as an original character, to the same server, you don't end up with a name change, you end up with two characters with the same name, and that's just not going to work unless you have the character slots open and active for it. (If you do, then at that point, one of those characters will be granted a free rename, so it works out.)

However, the disagreement was escalating.

[Help] DJ P0N-3: Did the devs ever speak out against it? If so, where?
[Help] Stainless Steele: Mild exploit at most. It still requires you to sacrifice something. just maybe not as valuable a something as real cash..
[Help] Lovely Lara Lava: The evidence is inconclusive as it whether it is or isnt. Cant say either way.
[Help] Blackbird.: In technical terms, it is an exploit. You are utilizing game mechanics in a manner which they are not meant to be, in order to gain a benefit or advantage that you are not supposed to gain from those mechanics.

See, it's not an exploit. If it was, it would be addressed by the developers by now. It's actually a feature, not a bug.

[Help] Volcanohead: the transfer/rename thing is actually endorsed by the devs as a good idea
[Help] Blackbird.: [citation needed]
[Help] DJ P0N-3: Volcano, got a link for that?
[Help] Alliisza: it's not an exploit cuz u have to use up transfers to do it
[Help] Volcanohead: I've read it somewhere on the forums, when I was looking up whether or not it was possible, so no, not atm, but it's there
[Help] Blackbird.: Alli: It's an exploit because it fits the definition of what an exploit is.
[Help] Agent Vangier: Server transfer tokens are 800 points each. A rename token is 800 points. So to do this "exploit" you're burning 1600 points worth of benefits to get 800 points' worth.

Perfectly put.

[Help] Blackbird.: Agent: You get transfers for free with a VIP subscription.
[Help] Anti Light: So for VIPs, it's not an exploit it's a benefit and a feature :)
[Help] Blackbird.: It's an exploit.
[Help] Blackbird.: By factual definition.
[Help] DJ P0N-3: Black... by factual definition, nobody of consequence cares.
[Help] Blackbird.: ...That's the best argument you can come up with? "Nobody cares"?
[Help] Blackbird.: Did you go to the 4chan School of Logic?
[Help] DJ P0N-3: No harm, no foul.

Blackbird--oh, excuse me, Blackbird., because the player wanted a period on the end of their character's name...just wouldn't let it go, however.

[Help] Anti Light: How about this, you write up a nice detailed bug report on the subject and send it to the Dev team and let them handle it. Arguing on help isn't really productive.
[Help] DJ P0N-3: What else you want?
[Help] Blackbird.: Anti Light: It's an exploit that can't be fixed due to the nature of server transfers.
[Help] Anti Light: And I will continue to advocate it's use until such time as there is an official word on it.
[Help] Blackbird.: Okay, so what you're saying is that you advocate the use of exploits to get an advantage in game.
[Help] DJ P0N-3: ...how is a character rename a gameplay advantage?

You know, I was wondering this same thing around this time.

[Help] Ackburn: done it plenty of times as well. Whether it is technically an exploit or not, I seriously doubt the devs care
[Help] Harold Rime: It's not factual definition Blackbird. It is your interpretation of the definition given, which means it is your opinion, not factual.
[Help] Anti Light: No, I'm saying all that I want to say on the subject, simply re-read my previous two statements. And with that, have a nice evening everyone and happy new year!

Anti Light has realized that they were arguing with a brick wall, and made their best effort to back away and get out of the argument. Unfortunately, others were not so bright.

[Help] Blackbird.: Harold: Okay, define 'exploit' for me.
[Help] Blackbird.: No matter your definition of 'exploit', the abuse of server transfers to rename your character is still an exploit.
[Help] Harold Rime: No, I won't. The definition has already been given. Your opinion doesn't mean shit. Neither does mine. The only interpretation that matters is that of the devs.

Intriguingly, the devs are not on the side of the final-stop Blackbird; they've made that quite clear four years ago. In fact, at that time, they said that it could be used. So...the entire argument was pretty damned pointless from the start.

[Help] Blackbird.: Harold: What is your opinion on the definition of the word 'exploit'?
[Help] Ackburn: and once again exploit or not, show me where the devs care that we use 2 transfers to get 1 rename.
[Help] Harold Rime: I already said my opinion or interpretation doesn't matter. Neither does yours, so shut the fuck up about it and report it if you really feel that strongly that it is an exploit.
[Help] Blackbird.: So basically, you know I'm right, so you won't enable me to prove it.

But you're not right.

[Help] Blackbird.: Essentially your logic is "LOL! I CAN WIN IF I DON'T ACTUALLY ARGUE MY POINT!"
[Help] Blackbird.: Nice going there, Harold. :)
[Help] Project 03: can you take the nerd fight to a venue other than /help, please? This channel does have a purpose, and pointless bickering to prove you're more right than someone else isn't it.

Excellent suggestion! ...Pity no one listened.

[Help] Harold Rime: No Blackbird. I am saying it doesn't matter, period. Your opinion and interpretation don't mean jack shit. As I said before, the only interpretation that does matter is that of the devs. If you want to prove your point, report the supposed violation
[Help] Blackbird.: See, your brain and the brain of every other person is wired to win arguments. It's not so much about being -right- as establishing your dominance over someone else. When you lose an argument -- when you don't get to establish that dominance -- youget mad. You try to change the subject.
[Help] Blackbird.: You try to block the enemy's win.

He didn't change the subject. He's explaining to you--rather more politely than I would have done at this time--that your internal definition of "exploit", not matching the devs' definition of "exploit", makes your definition meaningless. As was the entire argument at this point.

[Help] Harold Rime: Who said I changed the subject? You're the one doing that because you know I have a point and don't want to acknowledge it.
[Help] Blackbird.: And when you can't block it? When you're shown in front of everyone that you are wrong? You get real, real mad about it. Go ahead. Keep swearing. Keep claiming "LOL NOBODYS OPINION MATTERS."

Yes, but...you're not right. Harold's right. Actually, more to the point, there is no right, just what the devs have established. And the devs already established--and remember, this was back in 2007 when they established it--that it's just fine to rename a character this way. They have no problem with it, "Blackbird."--therefore you don't get to have a problem with it, either.

[Help] Riot Hour: Hihi, outside the conversation here. I know trolling can be a -real- blast, but if we could keep it out of global help channel that would be just tops and I'm sure the server would appreciate it.

Another excellent suggestion! Sadly, it was mostly ignored.

[Help] Blackbird.: Keep trying to use my own argument against me. I'm sure it'll work sometime.
[Help] Ravenous Wraith: not a chance, riot. dubstep gets off on this shit.
[Help] Blackbird.: And keep trying to selectively choose what you want to argue against and ignore everything else.
[Help] Ackburn: ah, it is dubstep, that explains it
[Help] Harold Rime: I wasn't trying to use your argument against you. I was simply pointing out that it is stupid to bash your keyboard and cry exploit when the matter is subjective and you do not have any control over a "correct" interpretation.
[Help] Blackbird.: The closest interpretation you can get to 'correct' is the factual definition of the term.
[Help] Harold Rime: Yes, and the only "factual" definition is the opinion and interpretation of the devs. Period.

Yep. Exactly. Unfortunately "Blackbird." is impervious to all logic.

[Help] Blackbird.: This definition is agreed on by the majority of the people who speak said language - that's what makes it a definition. You could say that's arguing for the majority, but the entirety of language and communication depends on everyone agreeing with something.
[Help] Assistant.: TROLOLOLOLOLOL HAHAHAHAHAHAH ARGUING ON THE HELP CHANNEL EPEEEN TROLOLOLOL!
[Help] Assistant.: Does it really matter? Help is for help people. Move on.
[Help] Blackbird.: I am helping, actually. I'm helping this guy to understand how wrong he is.
[Help] Ravenous Wraith: it matters because someone is WRONG ON THE INTERNET.
[Help] Assistant.: ^
[Help] Derek Fray: *Brain cells start to die from reading help channel*

Which is what all of us were thinking at this point...well, except for "Blackbird." who was insanely convinced that there was Right in the Universe, and Xie was It.

Pffft.

[Help] Harold Rime: see Blackbird, that is your problem. You are using your opinion to tell someone what is right or wrong in a subjective context. That really is funny.
Help] Blackbird.: Yes, Grandma, welcome to the internet. Did you come out of a time portal from 1995? Hey, I hear there's this really cool video of a dancing baby! Why don't you log on AOL and check it out?

And I guess this is when we all realized that "Blackbird." was no longer in it to win, but just to be mean and strike out.

Again, all of this was happening on one of the global channels for chat in City of Heroes--something that transcends redside or blueside, in mission or out, whether you're a hero in Atlas Park or Peregrine Island, or a villain in Port Oakes or St. Martial. It goes to everybody logged in to that server.

[Help] Blackbird.: Watch out for viruses, though. They can infect your Windows 95 floppies.
[Help] Harold Rime: ooh, zing, good one. Nice gradschool insult.

Of course, Harold wasn't much better at this point.

[Help] Ravenous Wraith: pointless agression.

Indeed so.

[Help] Harold Rime: so, tell me Blackbird, has my counter-trolling pissed you off yet or are you still getting warmed up?
Help] Blackbird.: Harold: When all else fails, apply the ultimate fall-back: "LOL I TROL U"
[Help] Assistant.: ^Did that five minutes ago.
[Help] Harold Rime: Yup, thought so. I bet you thought you were good at trolling, then you took an arrow to the knee I bet.
elp] Assistant.: ^Did in fact take an arrow to the knee.
[Help] Overlord Shadow: How's life in whiterun
[Help] Mu'Kanerak: Lightsaber battle on CoX, Brought to you by E-Peen!

See, and I can't even say I've never done this. What is it about internet conversations that bypasses that internal sanity check? The one that usually starts saying, long before this point, that we might be the merest bit out of line, and we may want to stop fighting back?

Or is it just that people, as a general lump sum, are so frustrated, angry, and feel so ultimately powerless with all the other events in their lives that arguing on the internet becomes some twisted form of accomplishment? I don't get it. I don't get it even having done this.

[Help] Harold Rime: See, you can't give up yet. You're still trying to piss me off. It isn't going to work. I got passed that stage on the internet in...I think it was 1993.
[Help] Overlord Shadow: Internet came out in like 95 didnt it

That clunk you just heard was my jaw completely falling off my face and striking the floor.

[Help] Blackbird.: And you keep implying that I'm trying to piss you off.
[Help] Anti Light: more like the 70s, but didnt take off til the 90s
[Help] Blackbird.: Not that I had to try, mind you. You offered me plenty of swears and insults this entire time.
[Help] Harold Rime: the relentless insults pretty much prove that you are
[Help] Blackbird.: LOL STFU NOOB LOL UR OPINION SUCKS
[Help] Ravenous Wraith: GONE TO THE AMERICAS UR ALL BAD OMG NERF AS
[Help] Blackbird.: ^- that's you. That's how DUMB you sound.

*sighs* Yes, "Blackbird.", thanks for descending to the level of "Nuh-UH, YOU are!" Honestly, some peoples' children.

[Help] Agaris Sirilye: Dubstep, shut the hell up. Most people here are way beyong caring anymore
[Help] Harold Rime: And how do you know that was or was not sincere? Oh, that's right, your almighty opinion tells you that.
[Help] Apocalypse Pony: It's times like this I wish Help was moderated somehow.

WE ALL DO.

[Help] Blackbird.: Harold: Because you're using the classic "LOL I WAS ACTUALLY TROLLING YOU LOL YOU TOTALLY FELL FOR IT" argument.
[Help] Harold Rime: since when? Also, who made you an authority on psychology?
[Help] Derek Fray: *Eye's burn out of there sockets*
[Help] Overlord Shadow: Thats better
[Help] Blackbird.: The university where I got my master's degree from, Harold.

Gods help us all, it's accredited.

[Help] Blackbird.: I'd say they made me an authority on psychology.

Oh hell, it's an accredited psychologist.

..Wait, is this Stiv??

[Help] Harold Rime: Link your degree.
[Help] Derek Fray: lol
[Help] Blackbird.: Very well.
[Help] Zak Saturday: Remember when the platform was sliding into the fire pit and I said "Goodbye" and you were like 'NO WAY' And then I was all "We pretended we were going to murder you?" That was great!
[Help] Blackbird.: Here you go http://bit.ly/18m6vd

.....

Yeah, that was helpful, you idiot.

[Help] Harold Rime: See, this is the problem with the internet, people like Blackbird who think their opinion is fact and that anyone who disagrees with them is inherently wrong.
[Help] Ravenous Wraith: replace "internet" with "people" rime.
[Help] Blackbird.: Harold: You have yet to prove that you are right.

Not right. And again, really, since I'm posting this on my blog, I'm essentially offering up side protests on a conversation already having occurred, so I'm protesting against myself really...A new definition of "pointless", people.

[Help] Blackbird.: I've proven that I'm right through factual dictionary definition, and, on a more minor note, by calling out your numerous logical fallacies.
[Help] Overlord Shadow: Lol jinx
[Help] Blackbird.: Shadow: We're arguing about arguing right now.
[Help] Blackbird.: It's a meta-argument.

It's mind-numbing, is what it is.

[Help] Overlord Shadow: I love you internet
[Help] Harold Rime: wait, -my- logical fallacies? Please tell me what those were. I bet you can't.
[Help] Overlord Shadow: Part of me feels like you and harold are both in on this

About this time I was thinking the same thing.

[Help] Mu'Kanerak: just shut up and kiss already...
[Help] Blackbird.: Basically, "HERP DERP! I WAS ACTUALLY TROLLING YOU THIS WHOLE TIME"
[Help] Tentaclown: Harold Rime and the Blackbird? Sounds like JK Rowlings newest novel
[Help] Harold Rime: that's not a fallacy, if it is a fallback, as you believe, then the actual term is cognitive dissonance
[Help] Blackbird.: The actual term is "I did your mom"
[Help] Blackbird.: OH SNAP
[Help] Blackbird.: Okay. Okay. Hang on. Let me go alt to my cold defender so I can get you some ice for that burn.
[Help] Operative Korag: oh for the love of....
[Help] Lovely Lara Lava: Honestly, its at this point I wish I owned a hotel. these guys need a room, badly
[Help] Harold Rime: seriously? that is the best you can come up with after claiming to have a psychology degree? Come on, you can do better than that Blackbird
[Help] Overlord Shadow: I wonder how many global ignores im on
[Help] Overlord Shadow: The silence probably answered that

Which is about when the argument, which apparently went meta when the participants forgot what the hell even they were arguing about, for the most part...trailed off and died a small and whimpering death.

See, the real problem here is not that this happened and wasted all of our time. The real problem is that, since City of Heroes went free to play, this kind of idiocy drives the chatter in Help about ninety percent of the time, twenty-four hours a day.

When it's not spam ads from the Chinese (GDay2010.com is out of Hebei, and cuIngame.com is from Nanking), which are, taken honestly, about equally as irritating as this one when it was scrolling along.

sound of rain is rain in gutters, lightning, seven seconds thunder

This post was brought to you by game boredom...Well, not precisely game boredom...You'll see what I mean.

I've spent more than a year playing City of Heroes. Obviously, any game that retains my attention that long has something, even if it's only relevant to me (see: Minecraft, one of the few games I entered on the alpha-test level). But a few months back, City of Heroes went free to play. Pretty standard format--they 'dumbed down' their intro story arcs (not for the better), added in a micro-transaction store, and--because they still have subscribers, too--partitioned the content into three general groups: free players (they get the basics, have to buy everything else with Paragon Points, but are massively restricted in terms of game content); "Premium" players (players who used to be subscribers, but downgraded, or anyone who buys at least one thing from the Paragon store; due to this, they have a few more bells and whistles); and VIPs (that would be my class, because I'm a subscriber: we get everything, more or less, though we still have to buy new content like any other player).

So. When I make a new character, these days, they get the new intro arcs, which I haaaate, and am beyond bored with. I doubt they'd be so galling if I hadn't decided I needed to remake (remake: keep bio and power selections of, but make as a new character; there's no simple retention of the name and changing power sets. It's discard entirely, then make from scratch). Because of this, I tend to rush through them, and anything that distracts me from the superpowered ennui is...usually...a good thing.

However: one of the curious features of the 'new' City of Heroes is that for new players who aren't VIPs or premium accounts, there's a ton of restrictions. No selling things at the auction house. No crafting things in the Universities. No ability to trade. No ability to send private messages (also called "tells", which I try not to twitch at, because of the WoW association). No ability to chat in all but one chat channel. (I think that's partially changed; new players can chat in Local now, but seriously--that covers the people directly around you, and it's a BIIIIG MMO. Also, another recent change lifted the ban on new players posting in the forums, so that's slowly working out.)

The one channel exception? Help. Which was formerly reserved for things like, "Help! I'm stuck behind a box and I can't get out!" or "I found a bug in one of the missions, is there anyone who's online to take a report?"

Instead, we get chatter. Mindless, draining chatter. Constant chatter. Flirting, plays on words, lolpeople who can't spell, 'what's everyone doing' questions, 'lvl 12 brute nds help on mish' comments, and spammers. Dear gods, do we get spammers.

But there are, though rare and occasional in nature, up sides. Witness this conversation overheard earlier:

[Help] North Wind Barbarian: I am on the "Defeat Mynx' Mish
[Help] North Wind Barbarian: when does she show up?

For those who don't know, this is Mynx:

(from the City of Heroes album)

[Help] North Wind Barbarian: as in how much time until she shows *or does she end up at the back area*
[Help] Possessed Beauty: Just make fun of Neuron she will come running.
[Help] North Wind Barbarian: Thats Bobcat
[Help] Possessed Beauty: Wait that's Bobcat nm
[Help] Green Wraith: or a sign that says "free slutty jumpsuits"
[Help] North Wind Barbarian: LULZ!

This is Bobcat, Minx's Praetorian double:

(from the City of Heroes album)

[Help] Dark Soleil: Its BOOBCAT
[Help] Dark Soleil: people always leave out the extra O for some reason
[Help] Possessed Beauty: If Minx met Bobcat what would result be?
[Help] Green Wraith: hot
[Help] Moira mna Badb: Catfight.
[Help] Ultraguard: a really expensive coat
[Help] Dark Soleil: the result is rule 34
[Help] Possessed Beauty: All of the above most likely.

I have to admit, to divert from the double entendres for a moment, to being impressed by Praetoria. Praetoria is City of Heroes' take on the whole "Crisis on multiple earths" concept. Praetoria is the flip side of the reality that contains Paragon City, and its capital, Nova Praetoria, is ruled by the iron fist of Emperor Cole, who goes so far as to train and station psychics on streetcorners to aid in quashing "traitorous" thinking.

Okay, sure, that's bad, but on the other hand, there is no trash in Praetoria. There's barely any crime (that's not caused by heroes, or hidden away in underground lairs or featureless office buildings). They have universal health care, and everyone works--and not just, everyone must become a cog in the great system. No, every citizen is tested, and their strengths and weaknesses determined, and then they are given a job which they can do, will be productive doing, and which ultimately will give them a happy life.

Damn. Bring on the fascism. If that's the down side--being mentally scanned for subversion off and on--but I get universal health care, a productive job that I can do, and a city free of debris and unfortunate signs of decay? Where do I sign up?

Of course, it is just a game, and it must be mentioned, part of what keeps the city so clean is a large army of partially-independent androids equipped with fire, acid and cleaning solutions...so anything they can't just burn off or wash away, they can dissolve down to basic particulates...which can then be burned or rinsed clean. They have no problem with homelessness, but that's not necessarily the best thing...

[Help] Azure Sting: I posed a philosophical question last night. If Mother Mayhem went to Boomtown, would it become BOOBtown?
[Help] Green Wraith: going to blow your mind with this: neuron MADE HIS OWN CATGIRL.
[Help] Dirty Bloke: Siege wears his boobs on his shoulders

This is Siege:

(from the City of Heroes album)

They're not actually boobs. He's just big-boned.

[Help] Ultraguard: Funny thing is, Mayhem's got a pair of As, but she just makes you THINK they are Ds
[Help] Possessed Beauty: Haha.
[Help] Dark Soleil: Mother Mayhem looks like Michael Jackson to me

This is Mother Mayhem:

(from the City of Heroes album)

Mother Mayhem trains any girl child with psychic ability for both the combat psychic program, and the Seer program, which ends up with the Seers monitoring thoughts on streetcorners. Also, two things.

1. I can't imagine anyone confusing her with Michael Jackson.
2. Those aren't A-cup breasts. They're just not.

[Help] Possessed Beauty: Yes Desdemona has always been the sexier darkly dressed woman at least to me.
[Help] Green Wraith: yo dawg, we heard you like psychic dominatrices, so we put a psychic dominatrix in your psychic dominatrix, so you can be mindraped while you get mindraped.
[Help] Azure Sting: Desdemona needs better-fitting clothes, half her ass hang out of her underdrawers......

This is Desdemona:

(from the City of Heroes album)

And...yeah, I kind of have to agree with that.

[Help] Operative Minerva: Think about this. Do you REALLY want someone digging through your mind while you're screwing her?
[Help] Iron-Goliath: Mayhem does not care what you want... she is going to F you anyway
[Help] Dark Soleil: Mayhem only likes little girls
[Help] Operative Minerva: Especially someone who can control other people's bodies with her mind....
[Help] Jenna Tate: so...like a Kardashian?

This is Kim Kardashian:

(from the random album)

And...I can't really say anything about someone who looks like an inflatable doll while alive, so...we'll move on.

[Help] Talrak Sloversin: She's not a Kardashian. Psychics are -useful-.
[Help] Jenna Tate: so...like a wife then?
[Help] Possessed Beauty: Flambeaux is more kardasian than her.

This is Flambeaux:

(from the City of Heroes album)

and she's one of the single most irritating characters in the entire game. (And considering the hundreds if not thousands of quests, the hundreds of different characters before you account for the millions of player characters, and the several different cities on all three sides of the game now...yeah. That's saying something.)

(And yes, I found other pictures of Flambeaux, like this one, but that bar over her head? That means she's halfway down on health and will DIE SOON. That makes me happy.)

So...yes. Really random conversation in the Help Channel this morning. For some reason, I wanted to share.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a badly-translated Korean film about an evil twin I have to get back to...