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  1. This. Right there. That is precisely how I have felt. This is part of the reason why I became disillusioned with the HC community. A community which I have often seen touting how much better they are compared to other CoX servers. Trash talk anybody who felt different for their own reasons. People who have went to great lengths to spread rumors and otherwise act like this is some kind of highschool drama. People who want player retention but then go about wanting to quite literally control how others (as in, people they have no ownership over) play the game, micromanaging them every step of the way, doesn't make this fun. At all. Pardon me for being rude and blunt, but holy shit. Those who fall in this category need to wake the hell up. If these are the people who try to represent HC, they're not doing it any service.
  2. Oh, look! My prediction was correct, so here's me quoting myself, and in doing so, literally every other player who has also voice this very same concept. That concept being: Bruh. How 'bout you let others enjoy the game how they want? Turns out that players policing how others should play the game will never help with player retention/recruit. Now how about ideas for recruitment?
  3. Here are some novel concepts, since apparently certain individuals cannot help throwing blame on certain game play styles because they personally dislike/hate that style of gaming. Nobody is obligated to play the way you do. Their fun is not wrong. This is an MMO. This means there are a variety of activities to partake in. PvE, PvP, Crafting, Storylines, Solo, Group Content, Farming for Inf/Merits/XP/Salvage/Recipes/Etc., Contests, Socializing, Role Playing, Badge Hunting, Temp. Power Hunting, Seasonal Events, and so on so forth. Focus on YOUR own game experience. This is a game. The way people play the game can only annoy/harm you if you get involved with these people in groups or go out of your way to police how others play. You can play with people who share similar likes/dislikes without raining on somebody else's parade. If a certain piece of content were to be deemed harmful for whatever reasons, it would be removed by the ones in charge of the game. The ones who actually have access to data pertaining to the servers/shards/player population. So, is it in the game? Has it been there for a long time? Have the devs labelled it as an abuse or exploitation of heck or whatever? No? Then it's fine. Just let it go. I am sick and tired of every other thread devolving into a whole mess of "You're playing the game wrong". Stop it. You can dislike something without badgering strangers on the internet about it. I am very tempted to keep a copy of this post, because this particular "discussion" is sure to come up again and again. I hate PvP, yet you don't see me claim it's evil or something. I don't engage in PvP. End of the story. All is good in the world. Now how about them ideas for recruiting players?
  4. You're very much going into this with a very confrontational attitude, to be honest. People enjoy different things... And when people are being told they should do X differently because this is how ACTUAL Roleplayers should do things, of course people will be offended. The phrasing is, uh, pretty aggressive there. It implies they are not actual role players, because they enjoy something you define as a "trap". And believe me, despite playing a "powerful" characters, I too tend to dislike RPing with people who casually claim to defeat Statesman/Lord Recluse/Deific Entities on a regular basis. But, there's space enough for people to coexist. There are people I dislike, so I avoid them. I let them enjoy themselves. And if they happen to be role playing with somebody I wanted to interact with, I simply wait for my turn. "Being constantly offended doesn't mean you're right, it means you're too narcissistic to tolerate opinions different than your own." Your words. Not mine. Take your own advice, please.
  5. Everything said by @Andreah in the previous post, really. To me, the original post came across as an open ended question to those that play such characters, (and given the kind of responses you did get, it seems others have thought similarly) and not as specific as you made it out to be in your ( @MHertz ) response in the following posts. If you want to know why these specific players/characters which you described play these characters the way they do, then I suggest asking them privately. I can't answer for other people, and frankly I don't know who you're talking about anyway. And I get it. It can be quite frustrating dealing with people. But... An open forum thread doesn't seem like the best place to vent. I encourage you to do such venting with friends who will lend a sympathetic ear, and of course provide context too.
  6. I will start out by saying that the original post feels… Biased. I’ll try to answer best I can while addressing some of the points written. It feels as though you’ve had several bad experiences with players roleplaying as these concepts, and thus, put them in the same boat. Which honestly feels rather unfair to me. No with that preamble out of the way: First off: Dragons, Aliens, Demons, Vampires, Fae, etc. are not greater than superheroes. They are, like depictions of superheroes and supervillains, character concepts. A lot of which have actually appeared and integrated within the genre of superhero comic books, such as, but not limited to: Superman, Martian Manhunter, Lobo (DC Aliens), Yondu, Venom, Mantis (Marvel aliens) Batman (Earth 43) (DC Vampire), Morbius (Marvel Vampire) Etrigan the Demon, Raven (DC demons), Sammael, Zarathos (Marvel demons) And many, many more. This is just a small list I compiled from a very brief google search, and a lot of those characters I don’t even know. I don’t read that many comics. I invite you to make your own research in the future. However, I do know that some of these characters have joined forces with humanity or otherwise want to see to its destruction for reasons of their own. Or just happen to be spacefaring bounty hunters looking for a mark that happens to be on Earth. To say that these character concepts are “Even greater” than superheroes is really just your personal bias, to be blunt about it. They’re characters, part of expansive universes in which some people shoot lasers from their eyes. Really, you could make a Pyrokinetic character and just slap a mystical coat of paint on them, and name them an Elemental Spirit or something. One of the joys of writing and art is creativity. So let people create, I say. As for Incarnates… Well, honestly, I see Incarnate being thrown around a lot in RP as though it were the single be-all, end-all. It isn’t. Incarnates have varying degrees of power levels, and a lot of it comes at a cost. Or, a long-time investment and slow power crawl in order to avoid great costs. It is a path to power. An option. Not every player will want to portray this in their characters, and thus the in-game missions shouldn’t be forced into a player character’s background if they wish to portray something else. Variety, y’know. For example, my character Leylathiriel, is a Sloth Demon. She doesn’t care for being an Incarnate, because it’s frankly too much work at too high a cost. So she stays far away from the Well and its business. (I didn't know how to quote more because I'm not used to this forum interface, lol. Pardon my derpness.) By MHertz: From a roleplaying perspective, doesn't this make it harder for your character to take an interest in the trivial inconsequential daily lives of citizens in Paragon? Why would your character care about a single purse snatcher, or a pitiful plot by the Freakshow to hold a crime competition? Doesn't this backstory require jumping through some hurdles to explain why your ultra-powerful ancient evil dragon is struggling against level 2 Skulls at the start? Are you trying to create a character with power on your terms, without any weaknesses unless you permit them? Is it because super-beings play for much higher stakes on a heroic scale (savior of the timestream, guardian of the universe) and much lower stakes on the emotional scale (can never be hurt, never touched by mortal loss or trauma)? Or is this an OOC (out-of-character) thing, where you feel inadequate unless your character is somehow better than those of other players? I don't know, I don't get it. Characters with limits and flaws are so, so much more interesting to me, and I have a hard time relating to (and RPing with) characters who fill this "god mode" role. I prefer characters that need help. Characters that cooperate, rather than dominate. So why do you choose a god-mode kind of character? Please explain the appeal. I'm willing to understand, here. Character level is a tool for gameplay progression, and not a tool for roleplay/storytelling. In comic books, superheroes/supervillains do not follow a level progression like that. For an easy example, Superman. I’m pretty sure his abilities are tied to his alien physiology rather than EXP and arbitrary progression as showcased in video games. Pretty sure he just came into having his powers simply by existing. Which makes sense, considering that it is the norm for his species. To be quite frank, I am very, very, very tired of this Gameplay=RP mentality. It doesn’t, and shouldn’t. Sure, you can use gameplay to tell stories. The AE is good for that. However, if you only abide to those gameplay elements to inform your storytelling, you’re limiting yourself intentionally. Make use of your writing chops and creativity like a comic book artist would. Make your own stories. CoX just happens to be a convenient vehicle within which people can roleplay within a superhero genre. With that little bit out of the way: Limitations can breed creativity. Leylathiriel, my Sloth Demon, can be considered powerful, sure. Why would she care about the crimes you described? She doesn’t, not really. But as part of her character story arc, she was magically bound to a MAGI handler, which severely limited her personal freedom, but also put her on the path of helping random citizens with those kinds of crimes. To her, it was how she was allowed to stay on Earth, where she was (previously) just taking a break from the politics/life of Hell. So, she gladly accepted those restrictions on her personal freedom in order to linger in a more pleasant place. Hurdles and hoops? You could see them that way, sure. I rather call them “Storytelling opportunities”. Oh, also, despite being powerful, my character also likes to cooperate. There are skills she simple doesn’t have. Example; modern technology. Long ranged attacked. She’s also rather slow on foot, and not all environments have enough space to make flight a viable option. A lot of her magic are ritual-based, things that will demand time and resources to be successfully cast. Meaning that in the heat of battle, she is more limited and has to rely on her physical capabilities more. She can be outran, restrained, boxed in, outperformed, etc. That she’s a demon just happens to be a species. She is, essentially, a person whose physiology, perception on things, and culture somewhat differs from humanity. And she does have emotion. Even is in love with a human being. So, as you can see, not all people who play these character concepts just want to “God mode” or “Dominate”. Tl;dr: Don’t blame bad writing on the character concepts. You’re doing yourself a disservice. And please allow yourself to actually write stories with others, yeah? Gameplay is only just that; the playing of the video game.
  7. See that part I wrote about people being more concerned with going at each other instead of self-examining their behaviour? Yeah. Since you insist down this road however: I hand picked those posts due to the attitude and choice of words. No, I am not surprised by this kind of responses. Just tired. If people confided these feelings in private, I won't be putting them out there. And no, it isn't the "silent majority", words which I have never employed. If you would like to be painstakingly specific, then I will say that within the circle of closer friends and acquaintances I have kept during my time on Homecoming, this "a lot" counts 9 individuals and their own anecdotal mentions of their own friends, which I did not pry to know their identity. To me, this is "a lot" since I try to keep my circle of friends on the small side. So no, it's not a convenient comment, it is based on my perception of things. Nine might not be a lot to you, but it is for me. I hope this sufficiently clears things up. As it so happens, I'm only a single person, and I don't have the energy nor time to spend it the once-larger community at large. I hope my human limits are likewise understandable. Sorry, where have I discounted other posters' anecdotal experiences? You seem to be the one doing precisely what you're accusing me to do. I commented that the highlighted behaviour which I have experienced over time was one of the reasons I left. That is, in essence, the whole content of my first post in this thread. I commented on my own anecdotal experiences, while using examples provided in this thread. I even took the time to point that, in agreement with Krimson, yes, some people DO leave Homecoming for other games. Or for other reasons. I invite you to re-read my previous post. Is more specificity required?
  8. Ah yes, assumptions. Nice. No. More like spending time since 2019 in Homecoming, and noticing trends in how people act. These just happened to be convenient examples of the kind of attitude I have unfortunately ran into. People slinging "butthurt" here or "idiot" there... Just because they can, I suppose? Especially when it concerns how the Homecoming team is handling their server and whatnot? Yikes... Anyway, considering this is the kind of response, no wonder a lot prefer to remain silent. There are more than one kind of reasons for leaving a game community. I honestly didn't think I would have to spend time explaining this. For some, it's new/other games, absolutely. That much is simply how it goes. For others, like me? It's not feeling welcomed. Having my words and stance, to put it bluntly, shat on. Obviously and as this thread more than aptly represents, not everybody gets along. And yes, the ignore feature is there for these situations, but a good community the ignore function does not make. But instead of investigating the "why", and "how" to fix it... People are immediately up in arms about each others' comments, myself included, or only offering a dismissive "Bye". Perhaps it do well for the community to stop and think about the impact attitude has on the playerbase. With that said, Homecoming is a good experience if one is lucky enough to find a group of people they get along with on friendly terms. And I hope that people can find such a place within Indomitable. Happy gaming. Best of luck.
  9. Annnd highlighted here we see decent examples of why the population count diminishes. To be quite honest? This is generally the kind of attitude/vibe which has driven me off of Homecoming. And from one of the more populated shards, even. It only takes one to ruin a good thing.
  10. It wasn’t long after that she wrote her e-mail and resumed watching her show on Netflix that she received a reply. Huh! Well, definitely points of expediency. She liked that. She picked up the remote and paused the episode. Which, as is often customary when one pauses a movie or TV show, the screen froze on a particularly amusing facial expression of a character. It drew a small smirk from her. She turned her attention to her laptop, and read her newest e-mail. So, Emily was definitely interested in her offer, as well as being willing to pay extra for making it quick. That, she would be able to do. Then, more details on her situation with her ex-husband. Honestly, given that she didn’t read news from the Bangkok Post, these were news to her. It truly began to paint an image of the kind of man this fellow was, and he wasn’t good news, to say the least. She flexed her fingers (even thought the technically didn’t need to) and began typing up a response. Ms. Chang, I am truly saddened to read about the actions of your ex-husband. As I have worked closely with MAGI and the FBSA for a few years now, and still close friendly ties with them, I understand the pain that having your trust broken in such a manner represents. Based on what you have divulged about him, I believe it is good you took the decision to stay away from him. If he feels no remorse in exposing your identity, then it’s likely that he is the kind of person to place obstacles in your path. Based on the urgency of your words, I assume it would be quite important that I get to work. For an extra amount of $10,000 US, I will put this at the top of my priorities as well as offer an additional service so that the compass reaches you in time: teleporting the item to you directly. To make this possible however, I will need a picture of the location you wish to receive the compass. The picture must contain enough details so that I might be able to distinguish what kind of place it is. For instance, if you want me to teleport it within your hotel room, I will need to be able to see what the room is clearly. If in doubt, take more than one picture at different angles. I will begin making it immediately, but I await your response to know whether or not I am to teleport the package to you. Best of luck. Leylathiriel This time, she hit send immediately after writing it. This would be good enough as-is, especially since time seemed to be at a premium in this situation. Glancing to her TV, she shook her head. Entertainment would have to wait. For the time being, she had work to do. Standing up, she got rid of her blanket and moved to her workshop downstairs. All manner of items and esoteric components lined a handful of metallic shelves, while books were sorted in an orderly manner on a wooden shelf. She took a moment to remove her pyjamas and exchange them for work clothes. An old pair of loose, patch-worked pants, as well as tank top with grease spots here and there. And that was it. After slipping her tail out from the hole in the back of her pants, she collected a crafting manual, moulds, small ingots of brass, a case of cut jewels, the captured hex previously affecting Emily, and a bunch of other things. She flipped the pages of her manual and set it on the right page, and plopped it in a book holder. Tracking compasses weren’t exactly the hardest thing to make provided that one had the right tools and resources. And as it to happened, she did. And she began the process with the framework. Picking up an ingot of brass, she went over to the basin of magma and sat down on its ledge, lowering her hand, cupped around the ingot, right into the surface of the magma. Her snow-white skin took on red hues from being under lit by the magma, but the heat… Did exactly nothing to her flesh. Her hands didn’t burn, but the brass didn’t take too long before it began liquefying right in her hands… ~.oOo.~ With flecks slag metal still on her hands, she filled the compass with a magically reactive oil, set the ruby-tipped needle, and finally, sealed the whole thing with a plexiglass cover. The ornate, filigreed surface of the compass gave it the look of a luxury item, but in truth, these engravings had served the purpose of constructing the enchantment that now guided the needle. She wrapped the compass in a protective layer of thick red cloth, before placing it within a small cardboard box which she taped securely. A job well done.
  11. It was one of those evenings. Netflix and snacks with the lights off, chocolate bars and popcorn. Another episodic installment of this odd show called “Love, Death and Robots”, a series of self-contained stories, without particular continuity between them. Punctuated every so often by the crunch of a demoness eating her snacks. She wasn’t really feeling it. She caught her thoughts wandering while she didn’t really pay attention to what was going on in the show. So when her laptop, on the coffee table, showed the icon that she received a new e-mail, she decided it was a welcomed distraction. She set down her bag of popcorn and picked up the laptop, and… Well, did as the name implied, and placed it on her lap. And it was a message from Emily Chang, the woman she’d helped recently. Fair enough. She read it. It contained profuse thanks and the information about the Ngo Damh she has proposed to share. And, sure enough, they sounded like a form of mafia, except from Thailand originally and expanding their borders. Details were sparse, but it was no surprise that this organisation would cover their tracks and remain secretive. What she didn’t expect was the admission that Emily was also a crime-fighter going by Lady Cobra, and the friend she referred to was the Lady of Allure. Undoubtedly, another costumed crime-fighter. For now, she tucked that information aside and focused on writing a reply. Ms. Chang, It’s good to read you’ve recovered. Thank you for the information. I will share the relevant details with MAGI, as the FBSA (and by extension, MAGI itself) do also cover foreign superhuman affairs. I am not personally aware of all the details on how they operate outside the borders of the United States, if at all they do. However, I imagine they will be appreciative of being forewarned of a possible threat, especially since the Étoiles Islands are relatively close. I will, of course, omit to mention your identity as Lady Cobra should that be your preference. I understand that secrecy can be a need in the world of costumed crime-fighting. Regarding the Witch of Mekong; I have taken the liberty of keeping the nightmare hex which previously plagued your dreams. With it, I might be possible for me to craft a compass to lead you in the general direction of the witch – or whosoever had cast this spell on you. It may be a boon to your activities during your visit to Loei. Assuming, that is, that the witch or warlock in question hasn’t cloaked themselves in spells to confuse this method of tracking them. Please keep in mind that I will charge a considerable amount more than I did for my previous service, seeing as I would need to expend costly materials for the construction of this compass. Roughly $3,000 US. Regardless of if you take me up on this offer or not, I wish you the best of luck in your investigation. Your apologies are accepted, and please think nothing of it. I understand that you must lead a busy life, now that I know you are a caped crusader. Stay safe, Leylathiriel This ought to do the trick. She re-reads her own reply before sending it, pondering. Anything else she should add…? Or was this an apt reply? Hm. It’s probably good, she thought. She clicks send. That being said, Sabrehawk might be interested in this. She had mentioned the Ngo Damh before, and now that she knew Emily Chang is Lady Cobra, and also entangled with matters relating to this Black Serpent Society? She had better let her know. She had already told her she had helped somebody get rid of their nightmares, but… What were the odds that both were connected? Being too inquisitive with Emily Chang’s current situation might appear suspicious, but perhaps she could insert a tracking device of Sabre’s into the compass. She decided to copy/paste the contents of the e-mails and plugged in her private communicator device to her laptop, forwarding the information to her supervillain girlfriend on a secure line. Following those e-mails, she added a single question in text format. What do you think, love?
  12. My character, Leylathiriel, in what I believe to be her best costume of yet. The inside and outside of the cape were colored different, and I did my best to fit the shoulders with it to make it look like one continuous mantle/cloak thing.
  13. (( Self-contained (very) short story. )) December 7th, 2020. The shaky cameraman of Paragon City’s local news station did his best to keep the camera centered on the villainous arsonist while flames roared ominously in the background of the city streets, slowly consuming car tyres, the contents of mailboxes, trees, and other objects susceptible to flames. The arsonist himself was a tall and toned Hellion gang member, his face covered in a red bandana and goggles over his eyes. He wore a long jacket, opened, letting the viewers see the crude pentagram and other such iconography. With the end of his twisted staff, resembling a burnt and petrified branch, he guided the camera to the trio of captured heroes tied up in ropes and surrounded in a fiery circle. “Ladies and gents of Paragon City! Welcome to today’s little show! And boy do I have a surprise for you all… You’ll be seeing live how truly ineffective your precious protectors truly are! As it turns out, spandex isn’t exactly the best protection against the Hellish flames I wield.” He forcefully slammed down his staff which caused the staff to briefly burst in raging flames, but dissipating as quickly. The cameraman flinched, the image losing focus for a moment before centering anew on the empowered Hellion. “My demands, should the lives of these three matter to you, are simple… Firstly, the PPD of Atlas Park are to collect their weapons and equipment, load them in a van, drive it here, and leave it here. Once they are disarmed…” The old druid, Bertrand, took a sip from his tea with calm, unperturbed expression while he watched the live feed from his computer. His big mustache partially soaked in the aromatic beverage while he hummed in a deep tone that came from his chest. Leylathiriel, who was leaning on his shoulder while watching the feed, frowned. “He’s on a monologue, now,” noted the demoness, sounding frustrated. “That he is.” Bertrand’s response was simple and unhurried, dipping a biscuit in his tea that looked quite tiny in his big, if wrinkled hand. It disappeared behind his mustache and beard. “I hate monologues.” “That you do.” “Tsk—Ahkay, I’m just gonna…” Leylathiriel leaned off Bertrand and took a couple of long strides to the office’s windows, and pulled them opened. And, without ceremony, jumped out and flew off. Bertrand only offered a quiet “Mhmm,” when Leyla jumped out the window. Just another day at MAGI. “… shall feel the burn that they so rightly deserve for their actions, for they are nothing but false icons that should be burned away, to reveal the truth!” The Hellion made use of his conviction to project his voice, the fire he had conjured depicting the image of Paragon City’s heroic statues crumbling down. “And that truth is—“ FWOMP. There was a white and black blur of motion the cameraman was startled by the sudden appearance of a tall demoness in a crumpled business casual attire came down belly-flopping right atop the Hellion. The staff got knocked out from his hand, flipping and clattering on the ground. A lot of the flames died down as a result. The camera moved to focus on the scene anew, with a dazed and confused Hellion underneath the demoness that now shifted to lay on her side, pressing her elbow on the gangbanger’s head and her palm against her cheek, supporting her own head. Completely ignoring the three heroes in the background that were looking at all of this with befuddled expression, Leylathiriel asked the cameraman a simple question: “’Sup?”
  14. ((OOC: Self-contained short story.)) The ride within the elevator was especially quiet today. There was a tense feeling in the air that she couldn’t help but notice as the woman besides her stared ahead with a focused, but exhausted expression marking her face. This wasn’t her first time in this same elevator, with this same person, so she was surprised she hadn’t initiated a bit of small-talk, as she used to do. So, Leylathiriel, a snow-white demoness with curled horns, decided to kick things off. “You okay, Madelyn? You’re quiet.” Her voice came with the husky tone of somebody that had just woken up. And given that she is a Demon of Sloth, it made sense that she’d sound that way. An unhurried pace to her words and care in pronunciation added a bit of warmth of her voice. Madelyn Jackobs shrugged, shoulders seemingly sagging further than had been afterwards. “Nothing I want to discuss until we’ve reached my office, Leyla. Though…” She side eyed the demoness, roughly at chest-level with her. “You could’ve worn something else than this for a business meeting.” Leyla couldn’t help but blink, and she looked down at herself quizzically. She was wearing a grey hoodie, unzipped, over a worn Motörhead t-shirt that seemed to be a bit small for all of her 6’2” brickhouse self. Aside from that, she also wore faded blue jeans, and black slip on sneakers. Her tail flicked, and her diminutive wings shifted under her hoodie. “Considering that just a moment ago I was still wearing my pajamas, I think that’s an upgrade.” Countered the demoness. Madelyn huffed quietly. “I know you have formal attires, Leyla.” She tugged lightly on her excellently cut light grey two-buttons blazer. Complete with same-colored dress pants, heeled shoes, and her black, no-nonsense shoes, the bespectacled and short-haired woman was an apt representation of professionalism. “I even bought you one of your blouses.” Ding. The elevator’s doors slid open, and both of them walked side-by-side as they made their way to Madelyn’s office within the space dedicated to the MAGI’s employees. Things were busy today, almost like an all-hands-on-deck situation, but not quite. Phone calls were going off here and there, and after dodging other employees passing by them, Leyla decided to fall in steps behind Madelyn instead of beside her. Something was decidedly afoot. “Madelyn, what’s going on? Looks like a hive of angry bees in here…” She asks, as she looked around. She noted the presence of other supernatural beings currently with their respective handlers. “Well, that’s a convenient way to escape from the topic outfits appropriate for an office environment." Madelyn reached her office space and opened the door for Leyla, who entered and sat down in front of her desk without saying anything else. The little room was shared with another MAGI employee, and the divide between Madelyn’s desk and Bertrand’s workspace was very obvious. On one side, everything was orderly. Positively drenched in a respect for regulations and minimally decorated, to a point where one might confused it for an unoccupied desk. If it wasn’t for the nameplate on her desk, it would look quite deserted. Then, on the flipside, there was Bertrand. The old druid had crowded his space with every plant that he could fit inside the windowed room. The big man himself, in fact, was fast asleep in his chair, reclined with his thickly bearded chin against his chest. He must’ve been there for a while, since some plants had begun to attach to his person in order to get more sunlight. He was, or so they were told, communing with nature while he slept. Supposedly. Madelyn took place in her chair across from Leyla. “Now we can get into it.” She steepled her fingers in her desk, and sustained a serious expression as she stared insistently into the demoness’ eyes. “The Circle of Thorns attacked one of our secured locations and destroyed a variety of assets, including all the wards we had in place, a number of useful artifacts, and the reason for our meeting today, pacts we have established with supernatural beings in order to push forward the Guild’s investigative mission. Among these was yours. The loss of life is, however, the most tragic effect of this attack.” Leylathiriel leaned back into her chair, slowly. Her expression was best described as suddenly awake, but also surprised and confused. “… How many?” “Every single person that was staffed in said vaults and related offices of the 13th floor have been killed,” stated the handler without any detours. “Security staff, mages, paper pushers. You name it. I’m not allowed to give you the full details of the ongoing investigation, but suffice to say that we’re doing our best to keep this on the down low. Only individuals directly affected by this are to be made aware, and thus you and I are included. Which brings me to today’s bit of business. First of which…” She pulled open a drawer, and retrieved some paperwork, setting them on the desk, as well as a pen. “A confidentiality agreement, seeing as we can’t just have people talk about this. It could very much cause panic in Paragon City if something like this gets out.” Leylathiriel picked up the document and gave it a brief read while she spoke; “… Yeah, no kidding. I agree. Besides, what I am gonna tell people since you’re not even allowed to tell me much more than that right here? Also, I’m going to guess the latter has to do with the destruction of my contract. Right?” She shook her head and signed the NDA with her name. “I did feel an odd snapping sensation recently. I imagine that was the binding magic failing.” “Correct,” she responded while reaching into her drawers once more, though this time for more esoteric items; an enchanted sheet of vellum, a vial of specially prepared ink, as well as a fountain pen to go with it. The only normal item was a photocopy of Leyla’s previous pact with Madelyn and MAGI. “This brings me to the next point on the list. Creating a replacement pact. We’ll be using the old one as a template for—“ “No, thank you,” interrupted Leyla while setting down the NDA and regular pen. Madelyn raised an eyebrow, peering at the demoness from over the rim of her glasses for a sustained, quiet moment. “Come again?” “I said, no, thank you.” She offered a small shrug. “No offense, Madelyn. We’ve had good times together, but… I am technically a retiree. I don’t really want to be an on-call consultant and operative for MAGI, anymore. I have enough income from selling magical stuff on my website that I don’t feel like I need to stipend offered by MAGI anymore. There are enough people on Primal Earth that have trouble sleeping that my products are fairly popular. Or, well, enough for me to live comfortably, anyway. Not to mention that despite what happened, fighting the Circle is best left to heroes.” For a moment, Madelyn didn’t seem to know how to respond, but after a beat or two, she said: “What of the partial human rights you wanted? You approached us in late 2019 and entered this pact willingly in order to had said legal rights. Become a citizen. Are you… Fine with not being legally considered a citizen anymore? It is, after all, dependant on being under a pact with us.” Leyla picked up the photocopy of her old pact and turned it around so it would face Madelyn. Without looking at it, she recited; “The signatory of this present contract shall be granted the limited rights following this clause, as well as become a legal citizen of the United States of America, residing in Rhode Island, Paragon City. The signatory shall also be compelled to inform MAGI should they intend to move to another city and state within the USA of Primal Earth, and wait for approval—You get the jist, Mads. Legally speaking I still have the rights and citizenship I was granted, since it was reliant on the signing of that particular pact, and not reliant on having a pact with MAGI. And as you know, I did sign that pact before it was destroyed.” Madelyn hummed quietly, and re-read that particular passage on the photocopied version of the magical paperwork. After doing so, she turned to her computer and navigated to consult Leyla’s profile. “… You’re correct. My apologies, Leyla, been a long 72 hours.” The demoness winced heavily. “You’ve been awake for three days? Holy crap, Mads, get some sleep.” She thumbs across to Bertrand. “He’s got the right idea here. I get that you’re the diligent sort’ve person, but that’s just not healthy. Like, sure, FBSA employee of the month and all, but that’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Madelyn smirked briefly and nodded without a word. A silent acquiescence to a fair point. Unlike some members of MAGI, she needed her sleep. “... It’s going to be weird not having you on the roster anymore, Leyla. Hope you know that.” Leyla waved it off. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. On the plus side, I just avoided you a bunch of occult paperwork.” “Fittingly enough, meeting with you was the last urgent matter I had to get to. I’ll be able to follow your advice and nap.” Leylathiriel spread her hands as though she were some kind of Godsent response to the problems plaguing the mage before her, featuring a wide, if sleepy grin. The demoness always looked a bit tired. “You’re welcome.” Madelyn chuckled quietly, and reached her hands up to remove her glasses and massage her temples. “Right. Well, you know the exit. Be well, Leyla.” She stood from her chair and went to exit the office, but stopped by the door, looking back. “You still have my cellphone number though. Y’know, unofficially, if you think you really need my help. Just don’t overwork yourself, Henry doesn’t like that.” And with that, she walked back to the elevator, and vanished from sight. Madelyn sighed as her eyes turned to the single framed picture on her desk. Henry, her son. One of the reasons why she learned to trust the demon that just left her office was due to the fact she save the ten years old boy. A disgruntled ex-MAGI employee took every opportunity he could get away with to hurt the FBSA as well as their employees. And that day, if the demoness hadn’t been there… But she had been there. That’s what matters. Turning to her computer, she archived Leylathiriel’s profile from the MAGI’s active consultants, with a few clicks and confirmations, then set about writing a couple of e-mails before she could finally return home to her family. She felt exhausted, and sad that many coworkers won't be able to do the same.
  15. This is mostly the only point I wanted to give my two cents on seeing as I play a character that I RP as being Invulnerable/Immortal. So using Leylathiriel as an example, she is Invulnerable to harm and cannot die. However, here's the distinction people should keep in mind: just because a character can't be killed, it doesn't mean they can't be defeated. For instance, being that Leylathiriel is a Demon of Sloth, she isn't very fast on her feet. Characters that are quick on their feet and able to outmaneuver her in battle can effectively make all her might and immortality useless, because she can't get to them. I think this point in particular should be less about the kind of characters that are (often) considered overpowered, and more about character design in general. Even the quoted characters have glaring weaknesses. Superman, of course, has kryptonite. Batman can only prepare for situations he can predict, or based off information he collected while sleuthing. Alongside that, making all those gadgets and preparing for every sitution would demand a tremendous amount of time and resources, not to mention that ostensibly, there is a limit to just how much gear and tools a single person can carry into battle. So, somebody with kryptonite can defeat Superman. Somebody who planted convincing false evidences can lead Batman astray and make him bring the wrong tools for the job to defeat him. Besides, what's the point of roleplaying in a super hero/villain setting if players are to avoid some of the most iconic archetypes? If there's a will, there's a way. Because I take those kinds of things in considerations, I have never once received a complaint concerning my character's chosen powers. She is a lazy immovable object, who prefers napping over fighting! Kind regards and be awesome to one another.
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