Just got an e-mail from NC Soft.

My account has expired. :( I thought it wouldn't expire until the end of tomorrow.

Oh, well. No Doug Bash, after all.

You know how I'll come back to the game for awhile and then write about taking a break? Yeah, it's that time again.

This time around has been great, though. I got to join some great teams, have all kinds of fun (the ITF, tarq's picture, and of course showing the game to my niece being the highlights). It's a shame I've yet to inspire someone to do, say, a Super Doug portrait. If I had the money, I'd see about Liz doing a big portrait of the many faces of Doug or something.

But speaking of money, that's why I'm taking a break this time. I'm soon to be a starving university student as I'm returning to school to finish my English degree in Toronto (at York). So, it's not just a matter of funds, but less distractions, as well. I'd love to return on a regular basis again. Maybe next summer or at the very least, for one weekend to throw a No Pants Day bash on the Friday of May.

My account officially expires on the 27th, so I'll see about spending some time on Sunday. Hm. Maybe I should throw some kind of big bash in Atlas on Justice, as a Doug bash always equals awesomeness?

Thanks for the laughs, as usual, everyone. I'll try to pop on once in awhile with comments. Been thinking of maybe writing some kind of prose series with the origin of Doug, if anyone would be interested in reading that.

Ooh, a couple of leftover screenshots I forgot to post!

( Behind the cut. )

My six year old niece has been visiting for the past week. She's been a bundle of non-stop energy and it's been a blast. But I want to tell a quick game-related story that I think you'll all find adorable.

Yesterday, I was on my computer and she saw the background image I have on it...a drawn picture of Doug by </a></b></a>tarq. Of course, being a curious six year old, she pointed at it and said "What's that?" So, I explain the game of City of Heroes (as basic as I can for a six year old) and Doug. I leave out the origin of the superdrug that he was forced to take that turned him into this, and stuck with what everyone knows and loves about Doug: he's big, he's silly, he smells and talks funny. I told her a couple of classic Doug stories (like the "This am look like job for..." SuperDoug transformation and the "Doug is here. Hamidon is screwed, now!" and most especially his epic battle with </a></b></a>syrusb's villain, Lord Volf Alteron) and suddenly, she's turned into Doug's biggest fan.

So, I go into the game and show her Doug running and jumping around. I beat up a couple of bad guys, answering her questions about the game, etc. Well, after that, she wanted to make her own character!

And...we did!

Somewhat x-posted with my own journal (though more detailed and more pictures are there).

( Two pics behind the cut. )

As I threatened I would, I drew some art for Doug.

( Clicky to see )

That's all I got.

Fear not, am citizens! You am all rest easy 'cause there am special hero...FROM SPACE!...that come to rescue you from E.T.'s!

And Doug no talking Entertainment Tonight (maybe that am John Tesh guy).

No, Doug talking about...

( Secret, Classified Cut! )

Been meaning to make a post about this for awhile, but things have gotten in the way.

Oh, and another update coming in a moment, in honor of the big Invasion weekend.

( By am order of Dougius Maximus II, Doug order cut! )

Funny little thing happened when I was teaming with fellow LJ'ers last night:

We were in the Ritki War Zone, in between missions, when I came across a guy wearing a lot of armor, looking like a robot of some sort. So, I went right up to him and the following happened:

Doug: Hey, a toaster!
Doug: No...bigger than a toaster. It a fridge!
Doug: Doug gonna get a beer.
Doug: *tries to rip (hero's name) chest open*
(Character runs away)
Doug: HEY! Get back here!
Doug: Well! At least Doug know that fridge am running!

Everyone on Vent absolutely cracked up. I told the story to my roommate when he came home shortly later and he cracked up, too. Welllll, he slapped his forehead and buried his head in his arms, trying not to show that such a lame joke made him crack up.

The real reason for this post is to give a thank you, to everyone here at the community, and especially the people that I teamed up with last night. As I said, a large portion of them, if not all of them, were from the community, and most of them were chatting it up on Vent.

I've been endlessly lonely since I moved to Toronto. The only people that I know have been my roommates, so when on a whim, I rejoined City of Heroes, I was welcomed with open arms by everyone on the community. It's been a big boost to my confidence to feel so welcome and well, loved. It's any wonder I keep returning to the game when there's so many great people on here.

So, that's all. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone and to give some familiar voices to hear when I'm feeling so lonely these days. It helped a lot.

Doug know what you thinking. "Oh, no. Not am him again!"

But it true! Doug back from 6-month vacation! And Doug brought back...Chibi Doug with Doug!

Us am get to it!

( The 'ol Doug Cut! )

((My account expired about a week or two ago. I played it incredibly sporatically over the last month or two, so taking another break. Yeah, like that'll last long. =p In the meantime, I have a boatload of screenshots back logged that should be worth at least a couple of posts.))

Drama? Drama?! AM DRAMA?! No! No am drama! Doug fix that up right now!

Doug am here! Well, Doug not here, but Doug here for right now. See, Doug am on vactation! It hard work being Doug, you am know. Doug have to make token appearances under big man holding ball, Doug have to take request to am turn into Super Doug, Doug need to join team to make sure Doug teammates survive, Doug need to stand in mission and am let baddies try to hit Doug while friends beat up bad guy.

Whew. It hard work, Doug tell you! So that it! Doug put on tourist outfit and Doug go on vacation!

( The Vacation Cut! )

*Doug stands up on a platform.* Ahem.

Doug fellow hero-people. Doug think it am time to clean up city. Work am done on Faultline, but where work on Hollows? Hollows am in much worst shape, Doug think. And trolls! Look, Doug am only one troll stuck like troll. But there am lotsa good people out there that Doug think could use help. Why there no troll rehabilitation? Yup, no look so shock. Doug learn big word just for this! Trolls like breaking stuff, yah? Why no them put work as bouncers? As demolition? Ooh! Put trolls on front line! Put them in funny place with floating rocks! Doug bet them do good job there, work with army guys!

Child care! Lotsa mommy and daddy heroes out there fighting. Am have to leave kid at home. That no right! Why Mayor no set up child care for mommy heroes? Mayor guy not doing good job.

So, Doug have this to say.

Vote Doug for Mayor!

If Doug am voted Mayor, Doug promise to wash feet. This first time Doug ever do this in three years!

( The Ballot Cut! )

Two HUGE things to announce:

1) Account Reactivation
From here:

Have you played City of Heroes or City of Villains previously? Do you follow the game but are not subscribed? Are you interested to check out the new free expansion, Issue 9? Well now you can!

Well, I've already started! NO PANTS DAY!

No, I'm not making a grande return to City of Heroes. I haven't even had that itch to play it again since quitting.

However, recent developments have made me wonder if the creator is becoming his character. A friend of mine pointed out when I was getting ready for a bike ride that I looked a little Doug like. This was due to: shaved head, biking gloves, black tank top and losing weight/toning up from hitting the gym in a regular basis since January.

That said, I couldn't help myself and compare. If I keep up on the excercise, I might very well try for the CoH Halloween contest this year. It's tempting, I'll say that much.

Only on this community would I be willing to throw myself to the wolves. *big, Doug-like grin* But meh, I'm shameless enough to post pictures of myself for the sake of a good laugh.


( Oop! A cut might come in handy, too! )

Acting on outcry from the playerbase, Cryptic apparently changed the trainer in PI on the new patch. ( Screenie behind cut )

So, I've been thinking about it for awhile and I think it's time that I pack up and leave the game. Maybe not for good, but for now.

Even before Doug hit 50 (which took me two  years to accomplish as it is), I played the game incredibly casually. I would go weeks, sometimes as long as a month before realizing "Oh, yeah. I'm paying for this game monthly...!" Since I finally got Doug up to level 50, I've barely even logged into the game at all. I've played a couple of alts here and there, but honestly? Nothing, and I mean, nothing compares to playing the big guy. Not for the small amount of fame, but just the sheer fun and enjoyment of playing a giant, smelly troll that makes everyone laugh. Even when I play alts, I actually have a hard time not slipping into Doug-speak.

I have an alt on Guardian, Dr. Corona, who is nearly 40. He was my main before Doug came along. Being a blaster is, well, a blast, but without the role-playing, it feels naked.
There's another guy I have on the Villains side of Freedom, Don Komodo, a mastermind. He's fun but I've never found a regular group to play with there. Though again, that has a lot to do with how little I play.

Honestly, though? I feel like I've seen it all now. I've done the Hami raid, I've done the costume contests, I've done the parties, etc. Everything in the game feels repetitive, most especially once I've done them all at least once. Badge hunting was fun the first time around, but to do that for each and every character? Repetitive. Ditto for the beat-'em-up missions. They're all essentially the same. I think that's why I enjoyed Doug so much. He alleviated a lot of the boring repetitiveness of the game. And sadly, there really isn't much reason to play a character once they've hit level 50.

I've been playing the game on and off since CoH Beta. I was there for the huge Ritki invasion at the end of Beta, which nearly killed my system in lag, but was fun as all heck. There aren't enough city-wide events like that, which truth be told, I think would really add to the spontaneity of the game. The biggest feature of the game, really, is the costumes. There is absolutely no other MMORPG that has that kind of detail in a game for its characters. Unfortunately, as great as the game looks and as unique as each character is, that's as far as the long-term fun of the game goes.

So, sadly, I think this will be it for me for quite awhile. I might come back in May for a No Pants Day celebration, but even that I'm not sure if I'll bother with this year. It's not that I'm frustrated by the game or saying that the game sucks. It's just simply that I've realized that I never played the game hardcore every single day or consistently like most players do. It could also be that my time on the computer has been less and less, since I've been working and going to the gym frequently.

On that note? DOUG AM SAY BYE-BYE! (after I give it a few more days of thinking)

Doug have two words to describe Dougtoberfest:

PAR-TAY!!

Seriously, I figured it would be a good turn-out but this kind of turn out? I was amazed. We had a dozen trolls or troll-like characters, Justice Radio representin', the first ever all-troll mosh pit and the Anti-Doug!

Let's get to the pics. Beware, this is not dial-up friendly as there are at least 20 pictures behind this cut.

( Dougtoberfest! )

Surprised Doug hasn't posted about his party yet, and I won't completely steal his thunder, but I wanted to post a few pix of my own from that swingin' party...

*Links to the gallery*

A huge crowd was hangin' out under the mighty stone butt of Atlas, and as time wore on, we attracted a varied and shifting crowd. Glitterati from around the City came to pay their respects, and The Trolls put out a massive presence. More than a few comments from the uninformed asked what this was all about, why the party was happening, and what the Hell so many Trolls were doing in one place in Atlas Park. in the end, it was one of the best parties Paragon has ever seen.

As a side note, after a casual discussion about Doug's alter-ego, The Anti-Doug, he actually showed up...and, well, I'll let Doug himself speak more about it. Suffice it to say, thatnickguy was laughing so hard, he couldn't RP it. That says it all. ;)

Damn good times. Damn good times, indeed. Hey, if one of those Trolls is you, speak up! (*For the record, I'm Bob the Goblin*)

You am no forget! Tonight! In half hour from now! DOUG PARTY!! Wear party hat! (the Santa hat, colored purple with yellow tassle)

This am under butt of Atlas statue on Justice! If it get too crazy/crowded, us move it to maybe Skyway!

You am be there or be square!

EDIT: Well, I just logged off and man, what a hoot the whole party was. It was JAMMIN' with people and at a minimum of half a dozen trolls or troll-like characters. I was afraid my screenshot folder wouldn't be able to contain the awesomeness, but I'll be posting all kinds of pics in the next couple of days.

A few highlights:
1) The first ever all-troll mosh pit!
2) The Anti-Doug! A prim and proper English gent.
3) 12 or more trolls or troll-like characters at the dance party!
4) Justice Radio representing and playing all sorts of songs dedicated to Doug!

Now, I still have one more project in hand, but it has to be a kind of secretive one. And would also require the help over many, many, MANY people to be in game at the same time. I'm going to have to give it some more thought.

In response to this post and such, I'd like to demonstrate my thanks in a very Liz way.

( With chibis! )

*gives Servo the hairy eyeball* You're the only one I couldn't find pics of, and/or hunt down to bug for screenies. So... that's a hint. ;]

Oh yeah, Doug am almost forget!

P.S.: I swear, the Doug posts WILL slow down/stop eventually.
P.P.S.: And who could forget LAST year's with Cupid Doug!

( HAPPY HEART DAY! )

Guess who am hit 50 tonight!

No, no, no. Come on, guess! Wow, you am guess right on first try! Doug give you present!
*burp!*

Dwee-hee-hee. Yup, so Doug hit 50. This, like, end of era.

Okay, enough in-character talk. Frankly, this is huge for me because I've been playing the game since CoH beta and Doug is my first ever level 50 character. Of course, I've taken a several breaks of one to two months, only casually play and...well, with Doug, I hung out a lot in Atlas just goofing around.

So, my first 50. With Doug. And I was on a great team, as well. Liz brought on one of her Tekk's (a kin defender, my fave kind) along with a couple of people out of our SG. Plus, when I was in Pocket D, I ran into one of my fave people to team with in the SG before Liz's, Megumi Yamato. No idea who the person is behind the character (could even be a guy, for all I know!), but it's always been a hoot playing with "Meg". She brought along a friend of hers and we were a full team for several AV missions.

Ah, to hell with this. Let's get to the pics. Sadly, I didn't manage to snap a shot of the actual leveling. *sob!*

Oh! And before the cut, I'd like to say that there is going to be an official Doug Hitting 50 party this Thursday night. Not sure what time, exactly, but I'm thinking around maybe 8 PM my time (that's Atlantic time). I demand everyone wear party hats (the Santa hats, maybe with purple and yellow tassles). It'll take place in Atlas since Pocket D is going to be a nightmare.

( This am cut. )