[SIZE="4"]Melanie Coppertop[/SIZE]
[SIZE="2"]Her title changed every week[/SIZE]
(http://i.imgur.com/J2rikg8.png)
I am shaking as I type this. Haha. I know I'm going to miss a lot and just generalize things so forgive me if I overlook something.
I have never had such an exciting and interesting PW experience than what I had with Melanie during my time with her. She was my first character into the world of EFU, and was meant to be more of a probe into the setting than anything. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined just how far this character would take me.
She had a rather generic background. I took the theme of Uncertainty and Guilt to the extreme, even to the end of her days.
[hide="Humble Beginnings"]Before the rise of Dendar, Melanie was an upstanding citizen in Two Stone Hill, a small village within the Western Heartlands. She and her husband were humble wool merchants who traded with the caravans that traveled between the tall folk settlements.
When the darkening happened, Mel survived mostly due to sheer luck and being near more competent people. One by one they fell until the halfling was left alone, hiding in the shadows in hopes she'd never be found. She didn't know where that shimmering portal led to, but at the time she had hoped it'd lead to a quick and painless death. Sanctuary however, was something she'd never expect...[/hide]
I was kind of torn between playing a rogue or a craven barbarian for the concept, but ended up going with rogue instead and just saying she was a coward at heart. A lawful rogue is hard to play though! Someone who used some of the horrible talents she picked up on the surface to do some good in Sanctuary. Early on I also decided it would be fun to try playing a claustrophobic character as well, and I tried to show that with her drinking problem and constant fidgeting (that she never got over)
[hide='Hoot Hoot'](http://i.imgur.com/bwqdzdh.png)[/hide]
I don't have many screenshots of her early days in Sanctuary unfortunately. Since I was just 'trying out' EFU at the time, I decided I would latch onto the first character that showed any interest in using Melanie. It turned out to be RWG's Kalen Viluin. She became an undercover Watcher, spying on Irith and Tydides for her early jobs. For those who might remember her handle over the messenger girls was "Combustible".
After Kalen vanished, Melanie decided to just sort of quietly walk away. She never officially left or was dismissed from the Watchers, and never collected a single coin of wage. Zsigmond and his crew soon found the halfling and invited her into their merry band of Wayfinder misfits.
[hide="Some early adventures"]
(http://i.imgur.com/4RPoeYf.png)
HAHAHA
(http://i.imgur.com/BY51F55.png)
Debate during the first elections
(http://i.imgur.com/4OqpK4E.png)
My first IC and OOC encounter with the stewards. Honestly I was sweating pretty hard here. A really intense and great interaction.
[/hide]
Life was pretty good. She could just (safely) adventure and drink gin and generally not care about too many things. This was around the time she actually met and interacted with Abala, and I decided Melanie would be extremely jealous of the super charismatic Prefect.
Well, Abala fell and Melanie felt pretty awful about it. So she sort of offered herself to service as a clerk in the Red Guild as a penance of sorts, though she lied about it. Serving as a Wayfinder and Clerk was kinda hectic, but it led to some good times.
[hide="DOUBLE WAGE LIFE"]
(http://i.imgur.com/9Ksz4xW.png)
Trying to get the charter ratified
(http://i.imgur.com/bbdO00a.png)
For some reason people thought Melanie would make a good mentor. A dark sign of things to come.
(http://i.imgur.com/eqdWFS5.png)
I actually really liked playing a sidekick/notetaker
(http://i.imgur.com/UfuE3E9.png)
Becoming an official institution of Sanctuary
(http://i.imgur.com/Pk26bEO.png)
Sanctuary War Council for the Dark Lake War
(http://i.imgur.com/PlIJDFy.png)
AYE IT BE MUNT LAD PT. 1
(http://i.imgur.com/eZNcFWk.png)
[/hide]
Melanie was being pushed by both Zsigmond and Abala to try and become more of a leader at this point (and to stop being a coward, haha). I even ran for Prefect at one point, but pissed off the wrong Agent who got the whole thing torn up.
Then Zsigmond got his eyes torn out. Some time later, Melanie donned a Lieutenant's Cloak and finally accepted some sort of actual responsibility.
[hide="Lieutenant Coppertop"]
(http://i.imgur.com/XycGXKz.png)
Zsigmond probably made a poor decision here. I've always believed Melanie was a terrible leader who couldn't make the hard calls....
(http://i.imgur.com/XqpOw3h.jpg)
...But I was pretty happy none the less! I felt pretty great.
(http://i.imgur.com/lgTAtuU.jpg)
Dess got turned into a statue.
(http://i.imgur.com/1A87BGU.png)
Meeting the Commune for the first time.
(http://i.imgur.com/TzPraj2.png)
I love this screenshot. I think it shows well how Melanie views the world, not just a dragon.
(http://i.imgur.com/uGQ3hjB.png)
Funny moment during a surface expedition
(http://i.imgur.com/I3bPZHD.png)
Halfling pals after they rescued Melanie from one of her many abductions
(http://i.imgur.com/TJRLsyO.jpg)
Full collared dog of the Spellguard, during a meeting with Narvis
(http://i.imgur.com/h5PFUWp.jpg)
Melanie's angels
[/hide]
Life was pretty great for a time. But Melanie had a very naive vision of Sanctuary that slowly deteriorated over time as she continued to get in scuffles with the Spellguard and watching her friends get manipulated. What began as blind patriotism slowly became a jaded resignation to her duty, and eventually spawned a bunch of paranoid theories about what was REALLY happening in Sanctuary. Fortunately, she had plenty of people to talk her down from it.
[hide="Then Booker died. And Mari. And a bunch of others"](http://i.imgur.com/torXJET.png)[/hide]
This began her slow descent into full blown depression and the loss of the rest of her chipperness. A slap in the face that reminded her just how terrible the world was, and how little everyone actually cared. To make things even better, the whole story with Jarik and the blossoming of her faith in Ibrandul really got started shortly after. You can read about it in his obit thread.
[hide="Fuck this world, praise Ibrandul phase"]
(http://i.imgur.com/vIs6cE4.png)
Surface mission! Line up for briefing!
(http://i.imgur.com/FndRMaR.png)
Barkley shows up to jam and give us an inspirational speech.
(http://i.imgur.com/TKFL8C3.png)
Substance quest pt. 1
(http://i.imgur.com/sPLpoHz.png)
Haha
(http://i.imgur.com/oriLNqD.png)
One must die to save another.
(http://i.imgur.com/Mcb6gfY.png)
Praise Him.
(http://i.imgur.com/gIsB6r6.png)
She tiptoed dangerously close to evil towards the end of her days.
[/hide]
Abala and Melanie had grown pretty close at this point, and Abala was probably the only person left that Melanie could be undyingly loyal to. She dedicated herself to fulfilling Abala's dream, even if she didn't believe in her own anymore.
[hide="Towards the End"]
(http://i.imgur.com/SWkqbDF.png)
Rare (Read: Common) sight of Melanie after a PVP. After Nibley defeated and captured her. Really intense and great RP, kudos to HDM.
(http://i.imgur.com/7aKlPgX.png)
Melanie confided more in her 'enemies' than she did her own companions at times.
(http://i.imgur.com/koSRbmj.png)
Doubts and Loyalty
(http://i.imgur.com/LP8uDlA.png)
You have no idea how right you are, Robert.[/hide]
I'm going to leave things after this out, as much involving Melanie's demise is spoilers and I don't want to give anything away. I will leave with this, though.
[hide="Finally Free"]
(http://i.imgur.com/9qtnuD7.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/sfA4DgM.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/20EC1Rl.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/3uBipkV.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/jE9esT8.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/MSny1Mp.png)[/hide]
Thanks for an amazing ten months, everyone. Special thanks to MaimedGod, Moonlighter, Alpha, Tala, VaultShrike, Ryan, and Jaenas for some stellar interactions and involving my PC in so many different things to show my noobie butt around. Also Caster, who oversaw many of the pivotal parts in Melanie's development.
(http://i.imgur.com/9Pt20iG.png)
See you next time, EFU.
[SIZE="2"]Loot later. I'm exhausted.[/SIZE]
This makes me so, so sad. Melanie was an excellent PC, one of my favorites on EFU. I look forward to what you come up with next.
Miss Melanie ='( ='( I wish I had screenies. I loved our few little chats. <3
I dearly loved Melanie. Right from the first few interactions, she held a special place with me.
I remember trying to, subtly, teach her how to be more like Charlene was.
It never really seemed to take!
But a wonderful, wonderful character. It was a sincere pleasure to watch her grow, and to play my parts in it.
Well done, Tinfoil.
Very well done.
I look forward to meeting your next!
My saddest moment, so far, in EfU:
(http://i.imgur.com/TC4Ug8S.jpg)
Oh no! :( God, the death trifecta is unforgiving... I'll miss the living hell out of her.
A very enjoyable PC to RP with who I never got as much time with as I would have liked. Circumstances and all of that.
We started the server right around the same time as one another, and even joined the Wayfinders almost in the same step. I would have never imagined the roads that we'd be down nearly a year from that point. I was able to interact with Melanie on several characters, and I was always incredibly impressed at the portrayal of a frightened woman who would really rather just slip into the darkness and vanish entirely. Probably the best job I've ever seen handling such mental issues in a PW environment.
Absolutely amazing.
Coppertop was great. From her early days spying on Irith, until way later when I befriended her with Mari, 'till even later when she and Corinne were sisters in faith, I always had a good time with you around.
Eagerly await whatever comes next.
A character I feel I didn't get to interact enough with, despite her seeming so integral to Sanctuary as a whole. She always came across as a woman in increasingly dire situations, barely coping with all the emotional baggage she dragged around with her.
Much like Abala, it's hard to think of a sanctuary without her.
Great job. I love when PCs grow into so much more than the player expected. Melanie turned out to be a great leader of Sanctuary.
William's drinking buddy and fellow dungeon delver. God speed. ;_;7
Oh Mel. Chimaera always had a soft spot for her. Unfortunately they found themselves divided by politics in the end -- Mel completely loyal to Abala, Kim irreconcilably opposed. Here are some screenshots I like, though:
Chatting in the House of Heroes:
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/y9yvoG.jpg) (//%22https://imageshack.com/i/eyy9yvoGj%22)
To Gas Lower or Not to Gas Lower, That is the Question:
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/3MWQZx.jpg) (//%22https://imageshack.com/i/f03MWQZxj%22)
The Marriage of Reesa and Raggz!
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/743/Kxj9Nj.jpg) (//%22https://imageshack.com/i/knKxj9Njj%22)
Wicked Scrapper plotting in the Machine! *gasp* Is... Mel SABOTAGING the Machine with that rod?!
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/MUx1aE.jpg) (//%22https://imageshack.com/i/f0MUx1aEj%22)
Thanks for all the good roleplay. Mel was a gem. :)
And looking forward to see what will come next!
Thanks for the good times. IC and OOC :)
I'm so sad now. Melanie was my favorite PC in the chapter.
Jarik and Melanie's relationship started mostly by chance. Leading her to the faith of Ibrandul, fighting Dendar and...well you know what came next, was lots of fun.
I later got the opportunity to see more of her daily operations inside the Wayfinders. She truly cared for her Wayfinders and that was the quality that made her a leader.
Was glad I could take part in her story
Really well done, tinfoilhat
I'll miss her alot. I didn't spend as much time as i could have, but what time i did spend with her was awesome. I'm looking forward to your next character :D
Melanie was, in my mind, that perfect unwilling leader figure. You did a fantastic job portraying her, tinfoilhat, and I can't wait to see what you come up with next.
My interactions with Melanie were very limited, but the character shone through so well in them!
... it was good to have an impact on her story. And it was interesting to see how much impact she had on Jarik. I wait for your next.
Melanie was a simply fantastic PC. One of those PCs that it didn't matter what she was doing at the time it felt like she was always characterized well and just really was well portrayed.
One of my favorite halflings that I've ever seen played.
Ksenia had a lot of respect for Mel, especially considering her closeness with Abala. We didn't interact much, but it was generally pretty cool to be around Mel whenever she was doing anything. Also, your getting captured led to one of my coolest moments on Ksenia, which was excellent! She was so well characterized that interactions with her, few as they were for me, felt very real and satisfying. She was just altogether a lot of fun to be around.
I didn't get to interact with Melanie nearly as much as I'd wanted to. Its difficult to articulate but she felt very "human" - an ordinary person trying to make their way in the apocalypse a midst bloodthirsty adventurers - often something hard to appreciate until you see it done so well.