Where will your characters be?

Since the devs were based out of Northern California (close to the Bay area), I'll post this one separately. I have one other level 50 incarnate- Golden Gate Bridge. Some of you on Virtue have probably met him recently, as I've been grinding for e-merits prior to this unfortunate business.
What would happen at the end of things when Golden Gate goes home? Keep reading.

San Francisco-
As twilight fell over the city, a tall figure could be seen walking along the road, high in the Marin Headlands. Long red hair flowed in the wind as he walked, the butt of the long staff he carried striking the ground with each step. Beneath his flowing robes, armor glinted.

Finally he rounded a corner, and the city of San Francisco came into view in all its splendor, lights twinkling as night slowly fell. Framing the cityscape was the mighty span of the Golden Gate Bridge, relatively quiet after the evening rush hour's ebb.

Home at last. The tall redheaded man quickened his pace, going from walk to jog, to full-on run as he neared the city. As he approached the nearest cliff face, he took a long leap and hurled himself over the edge, his staff still gripped firmly in hand, robes fluttering around him like great wings. But gravity did not take hold of him, dragging him down to the rocks below. Instead, he caught himself in mid descent, his propelled levitation taking over. Now he soared toward the great bridge ahead of him, focusing his sights on the top of its southern tower. Gently he touched down, his feet resting firmly on the steel. And then another incredible thing happened. He knelt down, pressing his palms to the metal surface...and slowly he began to merge with the mighty structure itself. For he was no ordinary "meta-human", as at least one organization liked to called Powered individuals. He was none less than the Avatar of the great bridge, a spirit once hidden in the steel, now freely able to manifest as a being of flesh.

This act, the life force flaring up once more in that massive bridge was enough to alert the Steel People of San Francisco. Golden Gate Bridge could sense the hum rippling through their collective consciousness. "He's back..finally..About time.."

A short while later, he felt recharged enough to take his incarnate form again, his bridge-form's connection to earth and sky allowing him to refresh his energy, depleted by the long trip home.
Again, he took a flying leap, this time aiming for the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

He barely landed before being ambushed by a tall, silver-haired woman, the Avatar of the Bay Bridge herself. Quick on her heels was an adolescent girl of the same species- dusty white hair and reddish eyes. Al Zampa Bridge, who he and Bay Bridge had taken under their wing, almost as a grand-daughter of sorts. Both reached out to embrace him, and the three of them stood wordlessly for a few moments, locked in a three-way bear hug.
"Welcome home! Back for good this time?" Al Zampa Bridge finally said.
"Yes". Golden Gate answered. "Things appear to be winding down in Paragon for now, they don't need the reinforcements any more. So I'm back to stay for good now!"

Al Zampa and Bay Bridge both smiled, at long last releasing Golden Gate. Golden Gate studied them both- Bay Bridge, his lifelong friend and mate, easily his equal in terms of martial skill and strength. And Al Zampa Bridge, young, but a student of great promise. Both had occasionally joined him on missions in Paragon City, but after short forays, they had always returned home to San Francisco in the end, feeling that their talents were needed closer to home. And now he too had returned, the three of them, along with San Francisco's other Steel ones, ready to take on whatever the future might bring- As their city's motto said so eloquently, "Gold in Peace, Iron in War."

Since I pretty much know how to TP past most War Walls, I'm going to let the Arachnos Commander and the Arachnos Countess ride out the last hours on top of Phoebas Peak in Cimerora. Feel that it's a fitting place to ride out eternity so they can relive the history of CoH all over again.

My main will be left by the entrance to the Hollows by Wincott where 7 years ago Lady Blessing taught me to love this game. FFs blubbing

Voodoo Girl will be standing at Fort Darwin, near where Kalinda was, which is where I spent year standing on Victory actively seeking new recruits.

Ellen Akres, my first toon (emp defender), will probably be parked in Atlas Park; either in the Garden Dome or on the balcony of city hall.

The rest - I will try to make sure to have one hero or villain logged out in each of the major zones blue and red side

Too many places to choose from, so I'll be putting characters in each of them. But my main, my first character ever?

The Shadow Shard - sitting atop the Storm Palace, knowing that I've done as much as I could to be ready for the Coming Storm.

Next Spirit will be on top of the atlas globe flying with his arms cross and eyes flaming showing power

Too bad I never got ahold of the celestial armor pack

I'm going to make a new FF/NRG Defender, skip the tutorial for the first time ever, and upon arriving in Atlas Park:

Lvl 1 Defender LFT!

^
Epic

Hard to say, E. Mission, my first (and only) 50 villian will probably sit atop the highest point in Grandville looking down with disdain at what he always felt should have been his.

Heat Guard will hover above Atlas City hall, fire sword in hand waiting to meet the coming end the only way he can, believing above all else that he'll get back up again in some way.

Chronoblast will probably be in Peregrine Island, using his tech knowhow to find another universe to travel to in hopes of saving himself and anyone else he can before the end.

Brushback will go to Croatoa, find Jack and have that rematch he's been wanting for a long time.

Blaqstone will be surrounded by the magical artifacts within the Midnight Club.

The others I'm not sure at the moment.

Within the CoH story, Oedipus Tex dies. That was my ultimate intention when I created the character, and the only logical, final outcome. I knew it would be someday.

I'm thinking it's going to catch my characters as off-guard as it caught me - they will be doing what they normally do, and will be stunned as the world disappears from around them

Ironically, all but one of my Women of Justice were at the scene when Cole fell. Their leader, The Anbaric Amber, a time-traveling electric blaster rescued them from the nuke. But were accidentally sent to 1908 where they remain.

My most popular character, Eiko Magami (a homage to Project: A-ko) will be going to CO.

My first and most original character, Anbaric Amber will probably head to The Secret World. She also already exists in SW:TOR and Rift and Aion thanks to her "interdimensionally transcendent" nature.

The rest of them will all live long lives in the past staying out of the way of history.

E.

Hmmmm... Hadn't thought much about that.

My main, FourSpeed (E^3 Blaster) will be in the Shadow Shard somewhere.

It was my favorite zone back in the day, and FS found, rescued, and adopted his
"daughter", HalfSpeed (an orphan from the shard - Grav/FF troller) out there, so
that seems a fitting place for both of them to perish.

Death's Whisper, my level-locked L28 Stalker (NB/Nin) will, of course, be in Bloody Bay -
the zone he was created for the week CoV came out... Not many heroes traveled the
Bay with impunity when he was on patrol. NCsoft will finally do to him what few heroes
ever accomplished -- kill him.

Da Gorilla (SS/WP Brute) will be in the Giza slapping around any drunken gamblers
who try to pester Mr. Sonata, and generally making sure dat no low-lifes get rowdy
in da Casino thinkin they can pull anything on account of da world ending...

Fargin J Icehole, an Ice/Kin Corruptor will be hanging out as usual in Port Oakes
along with various "friends" from the Marcone Family.

Random Anomaly, a PB, will be heading for deep space in search of another home...
According to lore, he's got about 10 years to find it... Since Kheldians are energy
beings, light speed travel in space, should be possible (I assume) for him, so I'd
think Alpha Centauri is in range, if not a passing Rikti Battlecruiser. Godspeed.

Dyslexia Arcanus (Magic Fire/Time troller) will be in Atlas Park with Azuria,
her mentor, assisting in any way she can.

Granny Warbucks, my L2 Crazy 88's character will be in AP City Hall boosting the
SG's prestige with whatever funds she amasses between now and then.

Guardian's Angel, my Empath defender will be in the Hollows - where she enjoyed
helping newbie heroes make their way so long ago.

Mister Cash Flow, the L6 toon ("MCF") I used to document the transactions in my
"Avoiding Poverty" guide in my signature, from way way back in Oct. 2008, is currently
on a beach somewhere sipping MaiTais... He's not goin' anywhere

The rest? Not sure yet, but I'll give it some more thought.

Certainly, one of my toons will be in the Matrix Room (if it's still accessible).

I also have a warshade (DeContaminator, I think?) in the original tutorial zone. TP from
the get-go was always great fun there for people-watching the new/lowbies as
they blundered around on a new toon, or for the very first time

I think I even have a toon or two under a couple PvP zone maps - so, watch your
back on the last day....You might not know what hits you...


Regards,
4

I hate this thread it makes cry just thinking about it.

If I have to say the world ends when the servers go down for the final time:

Tox--

I can't. The characters I created for this game are far more than pixels and polygons. They're parts of me. Toxpin, Tempestra Silversong, Maggie Accident, Jacob Wyatt, and all the rest; they'll be in my heart, waiting for a chance to live again outside of me.

HardRider lvl 50 Stone/Invul - An original Issue 6 villain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRQcNbmJ_q0

Anywhere.. Most likely sitting in the old fort (pre-longbow) saying that above

Comrade Hero will end City of Heroes as he began his adventures in Paragon City after completing the old tutorial mission and introduction. At the base of the steps leading up to Ms. Liberty and City Hall.

Of course that's not the end of Comrade Hero's adventures. City of Heroes gave me the opportunity to put a face and outfit to my scribblings and scratchings, and rekindled my interest in creative writing. Comrade Hero began marching inexorably onwards - slowly, but surely - as a project since I started (and eventually completed) a Certificate and Diploma in Creative Writing back in 2008.

Sabre Justice, after all his techno-knight adventures, is gonna head down to Spanky's Boardwalk on Talos and chill with the Tsoo and reminisce about old times.

Firefawkes is gonna be doing what he loves- setting supervillains on fire.

Spectral Guardian goes to the worst battleground in Galaxy City and spends every ounce of her power to protect the people there, in honour of its guardian.

Sergeant Mittens and her crew are scrambling to take the first rocket back to Mars, court martial or no court martial.

Hyperhero One... with the world ending and everything he fought for going to naught? The people of the Rogue Isles could use a hero right now, and maybe about time he became the hero he once pretended to be.

The rest of the crew? Too many places and people and dreams to count...

And Professor Backfire himself? Last seen disappearing into the laboratory and locking the door...

In the game:
I have two mains, each a side of my own bipolar personality. The bright, cheery Cirreon and the dark/dark Gaiknight. They were my first two characters and they will be the last two I ever see. I plan on recreating Gaiknight on my second account so they may both stand together, for the first and last time, overlooking Atlas Park on November 30th. They will stay there and I will watch them until they shut down the servers.

For my own closure:
The Battalion have come and most of my 70+ characters are going to go out as they came in, fighting until the end. While a few may survive this storyline, most will not. I truly love them all and it really would hurt too much to try and continue somewhere else with them - they could never be the same in any other game and a similar fate may befall them there as well. So its best for me if I can visualize an ending for each and every one of them. I have started a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/BattalionWarMemorial) and each one will get a send off in the coming months.

Well... for the first character I grew attached to... I'm going to close out her game fighting infront of Mot in DA, probably.



Seems appropriate, anyway.

What I envision happening...

(All of us... myself and my characters standing on the dome of City Hall in Atlas Park)

D'Shan Steelclaw: Thanks for the reputation...

Me: Hey, now... I just used your last name... just tell them I'm a mentally challenged cousin or something...

Edie Wyldfire: Like he doesn't already?

(We all laugh... but it fades quickly into poignant silence.)

Mistress Monolith: It's about time, hot shot. (She embraces me with a hint of fierceness... at nearly 8 feet tall my head feels like its being smothered by two pillows but she doesn't seem to mind...) Thanks for making me tough... but not forgetting to keep me gentle...

(She passes me to Passive Aggression who wipes the tears from my cheeks... an Empath to the last)

Passive Aggression: I know you're hurting... we all are... I only wish I could heal this one... (She kisses me gently on the cheek then hugs me tight) May the gods of your world watch over your path and guide you always to the light...

Lord Gravenheart: (shaking my hand with a wry grin on his face) I may never forgive you for changing me into a hero you know...

Me: (laughing unevenly through the blockage in my throat) Ah, you were always too tragic a figure to remain a villain forever any way... I think you were always edging for redemption...

Lord Gravenheart: I thought that was YOU...

Me: Same thing, isn't it?

Guardian Edge: (Slapping me on the back so hard I nearly fall to my knees) Get over it, wuss... I swear if you cry on this shirt I'm sending you the dry cleaning bill...

Me: Ah, shuddup or I'll have Monolith toss you off the building...

Guardian Edge: Never lose it, man...

Me: Lose what? My rapier wit or my incredible good looks?

Guardian Edge: I was gonna say your delusions... but now I'm confident they'll be with you for a while yet...

(I turn to Edie Wyldfire and D'Shan Steelclaw and now the tears start pouring... trying to hold them back is no longer an option...)

Me: You two were always there... every Tournament... every deletion and restart... all of it... you two were always the constants...

D'Shan Steelclaw: Yeah, and we never did settle up on all that unpaid overtime...

Edie Wyldfire: (hugging me short and quick... uncomfortable with the emotional scene) I'm just glad you eventually learned a little fashion sense... I never did look good in spandex...

(She turns me gently towards D'Shan and the others step back respectfully)

Me: I think I'm gonna miss you most of all..

D'Shan Steelclaw: ANOTHER Wizard of Oz reference? What is it with you and that movie?

Me: Just hug me you fuzzy ba***rd...

(I'm not sure the hug can really be called "manly" considering how long it lasts... there is no back slapping... no friendly insults... just a hard clinging in these last few seconds...)

(I step back and look at them all... then down over the edge of the building..)

Me: (laughing unsteadily) I think one of you guys is going to have to fly or jump me down to the ground... I'm not sure I have the civilian resistance to injury that the native's do...

Mistress Monolith: (very softly) no... no I don't think we'll have to...

(I notice they are not looking directly at me... but rather just above my head... I look up to see the words "Quitting in..." above my head and a steady count down)

10... 9.... 8...

(And I understand something then...)

7... 6... 5...

(...THEY are not the ones leaving...)

4... 3... 2...

(I am... They will be here always...)

1...

(...fighting the good fight... carrying on... heroes to the end...)

0...

(I fade from view... they look at the spot where I was and each of them hopes the memory of me doesn't fade... they each hope I won't become like a dream to them... a memory of a memory... then they turn and leap, fly or sprint from the building top... they have their jobs to do...)

(... they have a city to save...)

Come the Final Day, my heroes have a plan. Selected TUNNEL portals near monorail stations shall be assaulted, the Vanguard staff operating them quietly disabled. Then the controls shall be reset- aiming for earths well outside the known Portal Corp networks, and then will start funneling as many of the city's population through, in hopes of saving that fraction of the world that they can, one last time. So if you suddenly find a Hellion in your living room, we apologize.

My villains have a similar plan, though most of them can be expected to dive through first, and simply leave the portals open. Except Emeraldine Bakafairy. My mad little faerie, whose stated purpose is to smack people in the head with giant hammer when they do something STUPID, has vowed to come to our world, our Korea, to fulfill her Purpose.

The one thing I wished I could do is have the top 5-10 toons of mine all in one place. bowing out of this great game. So I may create a MA arc, with has many allies as possible of my toons, standing under atlas and bowing out.