Out Of The Frying Pan

Fulguralis's eyes snapped open as the tent flap slapped shut.  His wife had just gotten up in the middle of the night, again, leaving for unknown reasons, again.  The Warlock had tried following her on other nights, but he could never seem to keep up.  He blamed it on the hindrance of long robes.  Paladins always seemed to be just a hair swifter.  Also, quickness was not his style.

Where was she going?  Fulguralis sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily.  It was always the same thing.  She'd wake up with a jolt in the dead of the night, get up, and wander away.  Had he not known as much as he did about magic, he have thought her bewitched.  Priests were always doing that sort of thing to the unsuspecting or unprepared.  Not the good Priests, mind you, the more shadowy ones.

Fulguralis had no problem with that; he preferred the shadows himself.  Fear was a useful tool when used appropriately.  Still, if one of those bastards was preying on his wife, they would be in for a world of slow, agonizing pain.  If there was one thing Fulguralis knew, it was how to make the pain last.

More likely she was sleep walking, but she had never exhibited the tendency before.  The Warlock was certainly puzzled.  Ever since taking that locket from her with its strange inscription on the back, Fuubaar's stability had seemed to continue to erode.  Fulguralis wasn't sure he even knew who she was any more.  She was distant and sullen in her more lucid moments, crazed and, frankly, scary on the battlefield.  The Warlock desperately wanted to bridge the chasm forming between them, but he had always been far better at burning bridges than building them.

The fear that corrupted Fulguralis most inside was that she was seeking comfort in another's arms.  That she had totally given up on him.  That he was not enough.  Though he kept up his facade of confidence and control, on the inside Fulguralis was warring with more demons than usual.  Self-doubt was a festering sore in the mind of a Warlock that, if left alone, would eventually weaken the barriers that kept minion from being master.  It wasn't only his marriage that was at stake here, but his very sanity.  Without the woman he loved, he wasn't sure he'd survive.

If only he knew how to start the conversation.  If only he had some sort of clue.

Wrapping his cloak around himself, Fulguralis slipped quietly out of the tent grimacing at the cold, crisp Northrend air.  Perhaps he would get lucky tonight and stumble upon his wandering wife.  Maybe that would be the break he needed.

*  *  *

More than a world away, Decedereful stepped out of the inn at Honor Hold and walked with purpose towards the barracks.  The hot air buffeted her like a furnace.  The Death Knight thought that if she stayed here long enough, the chill of the grave itself might leave her bones.  It had been a very long time since she'd felt truly warm.  

Even so, she strode quickly towards the large stone structure.  She needed to find a battlemage and get a port to Northrend.  She needed to find her brother.  The information she had was hotter than anything this peninsula had to offer.  Decedereful knew her brother was hurting, suspected his confidence was eroding.  He needed to hear what she'd learned, if only to save himself from himself.  Family was hard to come by in Azeroth right now.

Loud shouts stopped the Death Knight in her tracks.  Around her, the hold suddenly became a beehive of activity.  Soldiers were running around haphazardly, shouting as if the world were breaking about.  The cracked ground trembled beneath her feet as she stared as the disorganized soldiers.  Decedereful wondered if a simple earth tremor always caused such commotion.  Surely soldiers serving in the Outlands should display more mettle than this.

"Look out!" A fresh faced young soldier called from several paces away.  He was staring directly at her with wide eyes and pointing towards the sky.  

Decedereful felt a chill for a moment as her eyes fell on the young man's panic stricken baby blues.  It was cooler in the shade here.  

Shade?  Decedereful realized with a start that she was standing in the middle of open ground.  Why am I in the shade?  Alarm cranked her neck skyward.  Directly above, rocketing towards her at an alarming rate was a rather large hunk of rock.  What was worse, green flames appeared to be dancing joyously on its surface. 

That can't be good, were the last thoughts Decedereful had time to think before the world went dark.

Into The Fire

A fiery blast of air hit Decedereful in the face as she stepped from the portal and onto Hellfire Peninsula. High stone walls surrounded the moisture starved land that made up the interior of Honor Hold. The keep itself sat atop a hill and loomed above her as she attempted to get her bearings.

Heavily armored alliance guardsmen milled around her, toiling in the hot sun.  Few gave her a second glance as she started up the path leading to the keep.  Had she possess functional sweat glands, she would already have been sweating profusely as she labored up the incline.  It didn't take too much exertion to elicit a bead in this perpetual heat, yet any evidence of moisture on the soldiers had been swiftly snatched away by the dry air that blew as if from a furnace.  It was not a pleasant station, yet it was one of the original footholds for the Alliance in the Outlands, so there was a certain pride to serving there that offset the misery.

"Your orders?" A footman guarding entry to the keep asked blandly.

Decedereful eyed the man curiously, wondering if her burning blue eyes might cause her trouble.  The man, however, stared back with a uninterested look.  Soldiers who had served a turn in the Outlands generally were a little more laid back than the Eastern Kingdoms fare.

"Lady Jaina has sent me and I have a message for Force Commander Danath," Decedereful intoned.  It was a harmless play on the truth.  After all, Lady Jaina did send her and she did have a message for Danath.  Let the man link the two if he wished.

The man hardly blinked, "Up the stairs at the back, then.  The Commander'll be at his desk."  He gave her a salute and returned to staring back down the hill at nothing.

The keep was largely utilitarian, with most of it's spaces given over to storerooms and equipment racks.  A stand of armor her, a box of goods there were the only decorations.  Dece hurriedly found the wooden stairs at the back, same as they were in every keep made by humans, and wound her way to the top. 

Couriers danced around each other in the hallway, providing a constant stream of activity in and out of the room that surely contained the Commander's desk.  Decedereful entered and surveyed the scene.  Only a handful of people stood around examining maps and other miscellanea, but her eyes quickly found a graying man who exuded the aura of authority seated behind a large wooden desk in the back of the room.

Danath Trollbane had white hair with a matching beard that flowed down to his chest.  His sun bleached uniform had seen better days, but his eyes were vibrant and busy as they scanned the piece of parchment in his hand.  Dece crossed the room and stood patiently before the desk, waiting for the Commander to acknowledge her presence.  As soon as he finished with the document, he placed it neatly on a stack in front of him and turned his piercing eyes to study her.

"Yes, Death Knight?" he said.  Mild irritation colored his voice, but his face otherwise remained impassive.

"Lady Jaina sent me.  I have a few questions about a Captain Brightrune," Decedereful posited.

The first name raised one eyebrow, the second sent its partner up to join the first high on Danath's brow.  "Strange questions from one such as yourself,"  Danath admitted, then glanced around the room.  "Leave us!" He bellowed.  The room emptied.

"If it were anyone but Jaina asking," he began, "I might question their motives.  However..." he trailed off.

"Sir?" Decedereful prodded.

Danath waved a callused hand through the air, "It's no matter.  Brightrune is a name I've not heard for some time.  Well before the Third War I should think." 

"Do you know where he is?" Dece asked hopefully.

"Dead I should think," he replied bluntly.  Then, with a considering look at Decedereful amended, "Perhaps that's one of the better fates for the loyal sons of Stromgarde.  No, I suppose I don't know at that.  Why do you ask?"

In response, Decedereful held up the necklace she had brought with her, "A friend was in possession of this and I've been tasked with finding out how she came about it."

"She, you say?" Danath asked incredulously.  "Could it be? Brightrune blood lives on?"

"What are you saying?" Decedereful asked.

Dece found her own eyebrows climbing skyward as Danath Trollbane recounted a somewhat preposterous piecemeal tale based mostly on hearsay.  Still, when he'd finished, Decedereful couldn't help but be anxious to leave.  With what she'd learned, she needed to return to her brother right away.  There was something he need to know about his young bride.

(Note: As promised, we'll get a dual episode this week with more to come tomorrow.  I had this done last Friday just never got a chance to post it, and purposely saved it for today so we can do back to back.  I suppose that makes some sense, right?  Besides, it's never too early to start celebrating Friday.)

I Talk Smack In Raids

Yeah, that's right. I do. Wanna fight about it?  I talk smack to the trash.  I talk smack to the bosses.  And, yes, I talk smack to my fellow raiders sometimes.  Not always is it in vent or chat, sometimes it's just out loud without keying in, but I totally do it.  Tell me you don't do the same.  Honestly?  Liar.

For the record, usually my smack talking is heavily laced with profanity.  Thus, examples will generally be more mild than reality (Ha, me. Mild.  Right).  Actual results may vary.

I wanted to admit to this today because I think there is a general disapproval shown towards talking smack, or e-peening as it's called.  After all, e-peening is childish and bad right?  To a point, I agree, and the majority of what we see is mindless, unhelpful e-peening that crosses that point.  The question I want to ask then is if e-peening can be mindful.  Can talking smack actually help you raid group?  When done correctly, I think so.

I'm going to break my smack talk down into three main types and explain why I believe they can be used constructively in a raid environment.  Now, you have to apply a certain amount of maturity and brain power to the smack talking (But not too much, mind you.  The best smack is generally off-the-cuff).  Also, keep in mind the key is to help the group here, not break it apart.

First, we have the "Screw This Boss" category. 
Let's face it, bosses are meant to be frustrating.  Frustration equals challenge.  Or maybe that's the other way around.  Apply the transitive axiom of equality and you have it.  (Did I just reference an axiom of equality... yes, yes I did.  Wanna fight about it?).  A great way to vent frustration is to talk smack.  Yeah, let it out.  If you wanna call the boss a twatface, do it.  Loudly.  In vent.

The bonus points come here when key that shit in.  Seriously.  Sometimes you're having a wipe-fest and it just needs to be done.  Like on Professor Putrizzle.  I like to yell such inspired shit as "Profess this, fucktard" and "Chuck another green ball at me, I dare you.  I double dare you.  Chuck one more ball motha-shutyomouth".  (If you are hurting for inspiration, find a Sam Jackson soundboard.  Or Full Metal Jacket.  Tweak some of those and you have it.)

Care must be taken here that you don't talk over the raid leader's instructions.  Also, don't over do it.  Sometimes a one-liner is what the doctor ordered to release some tension and let everyone know that, hey, raiding is frustrating, but we're doing some fun shit too.  Also, you may need to censor yourself depending on your guild.  PuGs are probably not the place to do this, at least not right away.  Then again, it may make the night for someone.  You never know unless you try, and bottling it all up just isn't healthy.  Plus, there's nothing like some good smack to help unite you all against the common, shit-spawning foe.

So next time lady D-bag starts on her monologue and you're pulling trash, feel free to tell her to shut the hell up; she'll get hers.  Her and her little adds, too.

Next, the "Just For Me" category.
This post is all about honesty and letting it out.  Look at your man, then back at me. Now look at your man.  He's standing in a fire.  Yes, this happens.  Every. Raid.  Someone will do something completely dumb.  It may be all one person, or it may be spread around.  Everyone preaches: be nice, help them, teach them.

Forget that.  Scream at the top of your lungs.  Wake up your kids.  Call that person every name you can think of that ends in -ucker.  Like Mushroom and Swiss Burgerucker.  Just don't key this smack in.  Trust me, this is the deconstructive smack.  Sometimes, people are playing like idiots, and we should just call a spade a spade... in the privacy of our own home.  This helps if you have one other person you can bitch at.

Letting it out is good.  Holding it in is not.  Once you unleash the beast on the dust mites in your computer lab, then the healing can begin.  As long as you're holding it in, you're going to be nurturing resentment.  Just take care not to let this turn into repetitive talking smack about someone behind their back.  Say it once, then put it in a magical bubble and LET IT GO.  Personally, I'm more likely to ninja-yell at the tool belt that feels the urge to keep track of every mistake you've ever made and relate them at length in your ear than the poor sod who just didn't realize the goddamn red rope leads directly to the person you need to run towards.

Finally, the "Friendly Competition" category.
I'm a competitive guy.  I'm huge into sports.  I've talked about the strange double standard of sports v. raiding on here before.  One is socially acceptable to be obsessed with, the other is not.  They almost seem of two different worlds, but, really, they hold nearly everything in common.  You have fat basement dwelling nerds that play fantasy sports as often as you do playing video games.  Nothing about sports helps your complexion or your lisp.

My point here is that I take the same attitude on the court that I do in a raid.  My goal is always to win.  If we didn't win, I'm not happy.  I hate to lose.  I usually play at least twice a week on a men's league team in various sports (Basketball and softball mostly nowadays, but I've done flag football, disc golf, even ultimate Frisbee.  If there is a city league of it, I'll try it).  I try to raid a couple times a week as well.  I approach both with the same attitude.

In sports, it's not uncommon to talk a little smack.  In fact, that's often part of the game.  Even talking some smack to your teammates.  When Joe Everyman is just not pulling his weight on the basketball floor and I'm making it rain from the three point line, sometimes I just have to talk a little smack about it.  A lot of the times, Joe will step up and start playing harder to rise to the challenge, if only to shut me the hell up.  I'm not nasty about it; I don't question his manhood or anything.  I just simply make sure he's well aware of the quality of the masonry he's putting up.

The same thing can be useful in raiding.  I'm not a big meter spammer, but I will most definitely whisper other DPS that I know and brag a bit.  A lot of times, they'll try to get back at me on the next fight.  This engenders a little friendly competition that makes the night more fun, the raid more challenging, and the team better as a whole since we're putting out bigger numbers.

Like the other categories, you have to take care to not lose sight of the bigger goal.  I make sure when I'm talking smack that I not only talk about raw DPS, but raw DPS while doing my job.  I'm not standing in the fires or letting bone spikes half their way with my buddy's prostate.  I'm topping the chart while getting shit done.  A good way to make sure you do this is to treat it as a full night competition.  Often, different fights require different people to step up.  If there's one that favors your, there's probably one that favors your buddy.  Thus, you gotta make the most of your opportunities. 

To sum it up.
Whether you're Telling the Boss Off, Yelling In Private, or Prodding A Friend, smack talking is not all bad.  It has it's place just like any of the other spells in your spellbook.  Don't be afraid to put /cast Smack Talk on your action bar.  Bind that shit to your push to talk key.  Get it off your chest.  Just don't be an idiot about it.  Or rather, be an idiot, just not the idiot that makes everyone else want to talk smack.  It's a fine line, I know, but I can walk it.  Not my fault if you can't, you Smack Talk Failucker.  (Pronounced Fah-luck-er, wanna fight about it?).

/GlaresAtManBehindCurtain... We Cool Now?

A couple of housekeeping items before we get back into things:

1. Blogger inexplicably locked me out yesterday.  Did anyone else experience this?  Oh, I could see the site just fine; I just couldn't get into the posting area.  I wanted to post this yesterday but couldn't even work on it.  Woe is me.
2. Sadly, neither Fuu nor I will be attending Blizzcon again this year.  The fall is a bad time for me to travel due to other commitments, and they always have Blizzcon in the fall.  Here endeth the discussion on Blizzcon tickets as far as I'm concerned.  I wish I could experience the festivities, but it's just not in the cards.  Poor Fuu could go alone, but we don't do that.  We're like the puke couple you see that dresses the same and has codependency issues.  
3. Seriously, we get all mushy after spending any more than twelve hours apart.  I've been know to do stuff like stand forlornly in the living room wondering what the hell I'm supposed to do when she's gone.  Don't say it's cute; it's sad.  Love stole any semblance of being self-reliant from us, the vile emotion.  And don't talk to us about spawning.  Other warlocks are cornering that market.  And we get it enough from our parents.  We still think we're too co-selfish.
4. If you're looking to meet us, come up to Indy for Gencon.  We'll be there.  I'll be wearing my red WoW hat with my old guild sigil on the front (the lion).  It also says Fulguralis on the back.  Say hi.  We won't bite.  
5. You may also get a peak as Jessabelle if find us at Gencon, as we will likely be in her company as much as drunkenly possible.  I assure you, she still exists.  We chat about Civ IV on gchat at work (and still raid once a week).  Yeah, I picked up Civ IV finally.  Welcome to last decade.  Totally an addicting game, though.  They've got a sweet battle-chesty like combo for like $40.  With four games included, it's pretty buxom, and that's always good.  Anybody ever try the "play by email" option?  Is it any good?
6. Last week's IC post is 98% written and it never got finished.  I will probably therefore make a special double IC post this week and finish that one off for tomorrow.  Dunno whether that makes folks happy or roll their eyes.  
7. I'm glad Gnomer is still watching.  I would hate to think my underhanded machinations are going unappreciated due to some silly scuffle amongst the lesser classes of Azeroth.  And also, I <3 my banner.  Just sayin'.

That is all.

Geeky Girls Gone Wild! Er... Girls Gone Geeky!!!!!!

Hey Gang!

If you haven't read the Girls Gone Geek Post over at Miss Medicina's Blog... Go Right now & DO IT! I'll Wait.

Welcome back! So are you on the charter for the club yet?! For those of you who were A) Allergic to Jess's blog & did not read it or B) Too Lazy to click on a link (for Shame)

June is Celebrate Geeky Girl Month! 

As you can see, Fuu celebrates by taking her pants off & tanking an entire instance while proving that girls do play WoW & can tank... actually she was just showing off her tanking epeen (and her pixelated booty) to her guildies.

Why do I support this Club? Well for one, I'm a Girl & two I'm a Geek. I've also been a huge gamer since my original Nintendo & my Dad's old school IBM where I played my first Sims game (Sim Ant fyi). Once I got my first clunky PlayStation I was hooked on Final Fantasy. I would play for hours at a time & for months on end. I used to print out where all of the treasures where so that I could finish everything in one swoop (which would take me upwards to 5-7 months). No small feat if you ask me. Gaming was such a huge part of my life. I loved it and still do today.

Here in lies the problem though, I didn't have any friends who were gamers. I couldn't ask them how they beat Zelda or how long it took them to grind for the Legendary Shield of blah. I mean, it was such a part of my life but I had no one to share it with. Even when I had guy friends, they would only be playing the latest Madden game or Golden Eye (which OMG I would beat the living daylights out of them with Slappers only). I do remember one time when I was in high school where one of my girl friend's brother's had a Nintendo 64 and we played Mario Kart until our fingers were aching. If you must know, I was always Donkey Kong (the fat pixelated monkey who's kart was so slow that people would lap me). It was actually nice to play with someone else who was a girl. This was a true gift at this awkward age. Where gaming wasn't cool and girls had to be sexy in order to fit in.

Looking back at it, it made me sort of sad to think that I couldn't share my love of gaming with others freely for fear of being judged (of Light) or labeled as a geek. The more I think about it though, perhaps I should have just embraced my passion & threw a net out to see if there were other "gamer girls" in my school. Hind Sight 20/20 right? Talking with Jessabelle yesterday made me realize how much I did miss out on. Things that I know that I would have enjoyed but wasn't brave enough to do it alone. 

Now is different because I actually have people that I care about in my life to share my geeky passions with. I have a wonderful husband who games right by my side. I have an entire guild of people that I can honestly say that I've shared a beer with in real life. And most of all, I have a great girl friend who urges me on to express my inner geek. Injecting bravery to try all of the things that I've missed out. 

This year, I'm going to Gen-con in Indianapolis, IN. This will be my very first Gaming Convention and I cannot express to you how excited I am to go and be with my friends. I'm also doing something that I've never done before and that is wear a costume. Now, I'm not going to LARP (aka Live action roleplay) or anything quite yet, but I figure how often do you get to actually dress up in your life? Halloween and random college breakfast clubs but that's about it. I'm going to buy a medieval dress and maybe Elf ears (the ones that actually stick to your skin not the odd looking Goofy ones). I'm also going to be traveling to my very first Renaissance Fest in Ohio with Jess. Her & I have decided that we are going to dress up as beer wenches, get drunk & frolic in the forest.

This is why I support Girls Gone Geek for the month of June. I implore you to reach inside and think about something that you've always wanted to do but weren't brave enough to do it for fear of rejection by others. WHO CARES! Life is too short to live like that. Pick up that game you've been too shy to buy. Start sitting in with your D&D friends. Go & see the new Iron Man movie with your girl friends. I'll bet if you do something that is outside of your box, you'll learn something about yourself.

<3 Fuu

PS: /wave to all of the new wow.com people who followed the link. I encourage you to sniff around, you might find your new favorite bloggers :)

I'm Like An S-Country

Did you know that Switzerland is not the oldest neutral country on record?  It was a surprise to me, but actually Sweden beat 'em to it by a year (1814 is when they were last involved in a war.  Switzerland established their neutrality at the Congress of Vienna in 1815).  Fact.  Wiki that shit.

Another little known fact: one of life's greatest pleasures is when Mages and Hunters fight.  Really, it's a win-win.

/popcorn

(I think Fuu is making the "real" post later today, fwiw).

Lore Memorial Day

In honor of Memorial Day here in The States and also because I really enjoyed writing it, I'd like to link to an old post of mine.  It is a "fan fic" type post or in the same vein as what I call my IC Friday posts.  I figure some new people may have shown up around here and haven't had a chance to read it.  I believe it is one of my more emotional works, and appropriate.  It was written last September on the 11th, which will perhaps become the Memorial Day of my generation. That is to say, I think each generation always has a handful of days that stick out in memory.  For my parents, maybe it was JFK.  For me, it was 9/11.  It's one of those things that, as a kid at the time, you'll always remember where you were (Adults too, mind you, but I think when you were a child, you really have an opportunity to reflect on how little you understood, though you thought you knew everything.  Isn't that always how it goes?). 

Apart from the RL implications, this story also notes some of the lore surrounding Stromgarde, a ghost of a city that has really become central to the on-going saga here on Fridays.  It's also pretty much stand alone, since there are no recurring characters in it.  Thus, I figured it'd be a "several-fold" good article to link, even if it is my own.  Is that unbelievably lazy, listing your own old stuff?  If so, sorry.  Then again, if you're like me you probably have triple digits in your feedreader from being busy all weekend and not keeping up.  If you're in that boat and you've read the article... by all means click "read" and carry on :-).

Anyways, here's the link to my old story: In Honor of the Fallen.