One of the biggest things I was going to miss, I reflected as I swam up through the murky waters of unconsciousness, was Bell's cooking. She'd said
that the breakfast she had prepared for me would 'help with the recovery' after I Gated, and it appeared she was right. I was still drained, but I
didn't feel like Loon Soup, more like a thick chunky stew. I took a deep breath to brace myself, and opened my eyes.

A looming sky was overhead, dark clouds reflecting the sullen light of a city. I did another physical check, and figuring I might as well, sat up. It
didn't hurt nearly as much as I expected.Looking around, I appeared to be on a common rooftop. Air exchangers poked their blunt snouts into the night air,
and a low retaining wall masked the city from me. I rolled over and began to lever myself to my feet, when a menacing roll of a voice froze me in a rather
awkward posture.

"Care to explain what you're doing in my city, stranger?"

I held my position for a moment while my mind raced. The unfamiliar voice was confident, aggressive, and firm. Obviously someone on his own turf, and secure in
his power.

"At the moment, standing up. Then I was planning on checking out my bike. From there, I'm not sure." I replied, inwardly pleased with the
stability I managed to put in my own voice. Bell's cooking helped a lot, but I was still as weak as the proverbial kitten. I resumed my movement, standing
slowly and keeping my hands in plain sight, and looked around me with more focus. As I scanned past a pool of darkness at the corner of a roof entrance, my
peripheral vision caught movement, and I looked straight at it, to see a cowled figure in light body armor step out of the concealing shadow.

"So you're saying that you appeared out of nowhere in a flash of light, in the middle of _my_ city, and you're 'not sure' why you're
here?" The menacing figure in black ground out. My mind had spun back up to full speed surprisingly fast, and I considered his language and body language
for the split second I had before my next move. While aggressive, and intimidating, my rooftop stranger had made no actual threats, unless I counted him
keeping his upper body concealed by his cape - which I thought was a very sound tactical idea. That fairly well dictated my next step.

"I'm afraid that's exactly correct, sir. If you'll permit, I'll right my bike, and get out my ID. It should help explain things. To start
with.. I'm not from around here." I finished my statement facing the man, who I had dubbed 'Mr. Spookypants', due to his predilection for
theatrics. He was starting to remind me of Chris, in fact, and I kept that in mind, given my initial meeting with that Guardian type..

Mr. Spooky nodded, one short chop of his square chin under the half-mask, and I followed through, slowly righting my bike and giving it a once-over, shutting
off the key and verifying that all the bits that were supposed to be on, were on. I turned to face Spooky again, and slowly went for my ID pocket, with the
police-approved two fingers. I opened the ID on my palm, and let it run through it's spiel. Mr. Spooky seemed interested, and I closed my ID with a snap
(that failed to startle him), and opened my face shield.

"My name is Douglas Q. Sangnoir, Sir, and I am not from this world, or even this dimension. Given that you're a 'good guy' here, I'm
pleased to meet you." And I extended my hand on the last beat. Mr. Spooky considered it for a moment, then extended his and shook my hand. His grip
matched the rest of his persona - firm and strong, without the knuckle-crusher that some men needed to prove themselves with. He release my hand and took a
step back.

"Welcome to my City, Mr. Sangnoir. For now, I'll take your word that you are who you say you are, so welcome to Gotham. I'm Batman."
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

Movin' Right Along (Kermit and Fozzie)

Kermit

Movin' right along in search of good times and good news,

With good friends, you can't lose,

Fozzie:

This could become a habit.

Kermit:

Opportunity just knocked, let's reach out and grab it,

Together we'll nab it.

Fozzie:

Ya! We'll hitch-hike, bus, or yellow cab it.

Kermit (spoken): Cab it?

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Foot-loose and fancy free.

Gettin' there is half the fun; come share it with me.

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along!

Kermit:

Doog-a-doon, doog-a-doon

We'll learn to share the load.

Fozzie:

We don't need a map to keep this show on the road.

(Dialogue)

Kermit: (looking at the map) Hey, Fozzie, I want you to turn left when you get to a fork in the road.

Fozzie: Yessir: turn left at the fork in the road.

(A giant fork appears in a fork in the road)

Fozzie: KERMIT!

Kermit: I don't believe that.

Kermit:

Movin' right along we found a life on the highway,

Fozzie:

And your way is my way--

Kermit:

So trust my navigation.

Fozzie:

California here we come, come pie-in-the-sky land.

Kermit:

Palm trees and warm sand--

Fozzie:

Though sadly we just left Rhode Island.

Kermit: (spoken) We did what?

Fozzie: (spoken) Just forget it.

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Hey, L.A., where have you gone?

Fozzie:

Send someone to fetch us, we're in Saskatchewan.

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Doog-a-doon, doog-a-doon)

You take it, you know best.

Fozzie:

Hey, I've never seen the sun come up in the West.

Fozzie: (spoken) A bear in his natural habitat! A studabaker!

(Dialogue)

Kermit: Hey, Fozzie, look up ahead.

(A tall creature is walking on the other side of the quiet empty highway)

Fozzie: What is that?

Kermit: Maybe we should give him a ride.

Fozzie: I dunno. He's pretty big.

(The studabaker pulls alongside the creature)

Fozzie: Hey, there. Wanna lift?

Big Bird (Carroll Spinney) Oh, no, thanks. I'm on my way to New York City to try to break into public television!

Fozzie: Ah...hmmm, good luck.

(The studabaker keeps on moving the other direction)

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Fozzie:

We're truly birds of a feather,

We're in this together--

Kermit:

And we know where we're goin'.

Fozzie:

Movie stars with flashy cars and life with the top down.

Kermit:

We're stormin' the big town.

Fozzie:

Yeah! Storm is right, should it be snowin'?

Kermit: (spoken) No, I don't think so.

(On the Soundtrack but not in the Movie)

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Fozzie:

Do I see signs of men?

Kermit:

Yeah, "welcome" on the same post that says "come back again."



Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Foot-loose and fancy free.

Fozzie:

You're ready for the big time--

Kermit:

Is it ready for me?

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along!

Movin' right along!

(repeat to fade)



-----

This is even more appropriate as a gatesong since (judging by some of Fozzie's lines) they experienced their own drunkard's walk.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

Does anyone have one to spare? My curiousity about it has recently been piqued enough to spur me to try it
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.

No kidding.

----------------

Epsilon

Anyone have some faves? I'm hitting a boredom wall with most of my ficdoms, and would like to read some entertaining S/R Eva.

Thanks.

...Discussion thread GO!

Shinsen-Subs haven't come through with their take on episode 2 yet, but the two existing versions aren't half bad.

Opening credits... hm. No one there who obviously isn't part of the Frontier Fleet; not really possible to point at any of them and say "here is the
Enemy du Jour!"

Careful pausing during the opening sequence reveals one of the new variable configuration Monsters and a lady who is, presumably, its pilot. (Do those things
qualify as Destroids or Battroids? Is it a Destroid with a Battroid mode? Ah, terminological confusion.)

Ranka's hair continues to mystify. At minimum, it seems to be under a lighter gravity field than everything else in the area. As we figured, she's
part Zentradi. (And has anyone else noticed, last episode, that she works at what seems to be a franchise of the Lynn family restaurant? ^.^)

Further confirmation that the civilian government and Spacy were expecting these Vajra things to attack; there are
cover-up protocols in place already... the galaxy is known to be a hostile place, why bother with this secrecy crap?

BOMBER!!!

...and Alto is a nineteenth generation Kabuki performer. That explains a lot. n.n; For starters, it looks like he wants to get the heck out of the family
business. Expect to see some nasty parental confrontations in future episodes.

Huh, he had no idea that his classmates were in SMS. This ought to be amusing.

Looks like they're dispensing with a long buildup and cutting straight to the love triangle...

ETA: On the one hand, we've got a massive homage to the original first couple of episodes, what with the Ranka-rescue and all. On the other, Alto is in
one sense a reverse Hikaru, as he WANTS to be a fighter pilot but there are all kinds of obstacles in his way...

--Sam

"Sarsaparilla and fresh horses for all my men!"

I don't know if I'll ever write this story, but it's fun coming up with bits and pieces and slowly stringing them together in a development file.

As per Positron

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat ... st10600404

NCsoft NorCal Studios is pleased to announce the pricing and details for the coming Optional Additional Character Slot feature. As we
previously announced, we
heard the request for a system to allow more characters on a single server and this is our answer. City of Heroes is a unique game that offers many playstyle
options; options that are growing in a large way due to Powerset
Proliferation and the addition of the Villain Epic Archetypes in the next free expansion, Issue 12: Midnight Hour. To accommodate playing more characters on your favorite server, we will be including the following features in Issue 12:

• All current subscribers will receive 2 free character slots, each of which can be used on the specific server of their choice. This is
  to help you make new characters to take advantage of the new features of Issue 12, even if you already have maxed out your "home" server's
  character slots.
  
  
  
  
  
• 1 free character slot will be granted retroactively on a yearly basis through the current Veteran Reward system. Every 12 months that a subscription is maintained will
  unlock an additional free character slot that the user can apply to the server of their choice. Thus, existing players will be eligible for up to 4
  additional character slots at the launch of Issue 12. This will continue into the future for Veteran Rewards given out every 12 months, so you get another
  slot for 5 years, another one for 6 years, etc.
  
  
  
  
  
• Additional Optional Character Slots will be available on a purchasable basis. These are one-time fees, not an addition to your monthly
  subscription rate. The additional slots can be had at the following price points:
  
  
  
  
  • 1 Optional Character Slot for a one-time fee of $5.99
  
  
  • 2 Optional Character Slots for a one-time fee of $9.99
  
  
  • 5 Optional Character Slots for a one-time fee of $19.99
  
  
  
  
  
• Players can have up to 36 slots per server, with an update to the character selection screen that lets you re-organize your character
  list by Drag and Drop, as well as easily flip between up to three pages of characters available on that server. All customers benefit from these great new
  User Interface features included with the revisions for Optional Character Slots.
  

Yes, you read the title right. I've already talked about this in-game to some people. Here's a recount of the story:

Early this morning, I got up and with nothing better to do, fired up the test server while browsing, when it downloaded new patch, and confirming that it
wouldn't let me log on as part of the Closed Beta, I went in and played around with the new features on the costume editor (which anyone can do, you just
can't log in after that.) just to see the new organization of stuff. Found some oddities, too. A classic English style monocle option for both male and
female toons. A set of "widow" shoulder pieces (from the Blood Widow set, I assume) and most oddly - a set of Widow leggings that had the Ghost Widow
style sheen to them. It's different from the "tights sleek" option. More light the kind of sheen you get from oil on water. That sort of subtle
rainbow effect.

Anyway - here's where things went strange.

I backed out of the costume edit screen, and sort of out of habit/reflex, forgetting that I was on the test server for a moment, clicked on Cyberman 8 and
logged in.

AND LOGGED IN.

After a stunned "WAIT... THAT wasn't supposed to happen!" moment. I started checking things out.

Let me back up a moment. I don't know if everyone else has this. But for some months now, when I log into test server, I have TWO listed. One says
"Training Room" and lets you play with other people normally when the test server is open. The other one says "Training Room 01". And
I'm not really sure WHAT is going on with that one. Because not only is the Legendary Base replicated there along with our roster, but it's the base as
of a couple of my edits back. In other words, it's not completely up-to-date.

Secondly - and this is the weird part. It's completely unpopulated. I NEVER see anyone there, even when the regular test server is open. It's almost
like I'm logging onto a private server of some kind.

THAT's the server I accidentally logged into with Cyberman 8. But it has the most recent version of Issue 12 stuff in it.

Well!

Now - unfortunately, I do NOT have a level 50 villain to test any VEATS out with. And I'm not sure if it would've worked. When I tried logging any
OTHER of my characters in, it would give me the standard "server is closed, you are not allowed" message.

But not if I logged in with Cyberman 8. HE can get in! I have NO CLUE why that is.

So -

I spent some time running around taking screenshots, visiting the Hollows (no screenshots really necessary here. But I can confirm that War Witch has changed
the spawns a LOT. Going to be a lot easier of a zone to go to in the 5-10 level range), checking map points. Seeing what I could see.

The first thing I noticed was that a lot of the billboards were blank. Here's a screenshot to show you what I mean:



I assume that this is a "work in progress" placeholder for the in-game ads that they are going to put in the game.

Here's a few more.







On that wide shot in Atlas above, you can see several of them.



It looked like most, if not all signage for in-game restaurants and street level businesses would remain unchanged. And several billboards are not included in
the changes.

This next one is a bit bizarre looking. It's the same thing, only in Boomtown.



In regards to the Midnight Club and the two Roman Zones. Apparently they haven't been added yet. When I looked around. I found the entrances to the
Midnight club in the campuses of the University in Steel Canyon and in Croatoa. But I couldn't enter. There were several Ouroboros missions that were
accessible though. But if they sent you to a zone that didn't exist, then you would be stuck and have to quit out of the arc.

But here's a few telling screenshots.



What is HIGHLY AMUSING to me is this: I've known for sometime that SOMEONE on the COH staff is an old school Star Blazers fan. They've already had a
radio mission that referenced a "Wave Motion Gun" prototype. But the above bit of work-in-progress placeholder text uses the name of the villain from
the show - Desslock!















So there's my evidence, because of course "screenshots or it didn't happen!" ^_^

Oh! Hey, I just checked and it's downloading another patch. I'm going to go check and see if I can still get in. I'll be back on the edit to let
you know what happened!

EDIT: Okay. The "Training Room 01" appears to be down. I've seen that happen before, so I'm not sure if it'll stay that way or not.
Obviously I can't get in on the regular training room. I'll check again later.

If anyone is NOT sick of the Citadel TF after Friday, let me know. I still need to do it sometime.