HOLY BALLS BUSY

Don't worry, not dead, just Terminally busy (and no, not on Termenus, as much as I would like)

And also, unfortunately it's not about anything in particular I havn't talked about previously or care to expound upon.

For those that REALLY MUST KNOW, I had a sort of family emergency that put me out of wack for a good two days solid, and then on top of work and rehearsal, our store is at the Cow Palace again this weekend for the Gun Show, so that kept us busy as well, AND T1nk finally opened all three of her shows over the last two weeks, so of course I had to go see those, usually after work, after fight call's on Saturdays, or even taking her to rehearsal, doing some reading while I waited for her to be finished (as wireless is spotty out at the farm, I could not really work on the blog).

Just as reminders though:

T1nk

Me

and then we're both going down to SDCC and will actually be spending most of our time at G4m3rCon!!!

Part Time Opinions

Impressions of "A Part Time Sorceress" . . .

The Cover. A lot of pink . . . I suppose not TOO much though.

I read this book second, and how I came to seek it out will be outlined further in another post, probably my next regular update, as I intend to review her second book as well.
After finishing reading this book, the only things I really learned were more about the living habits of  modern semi-feminist/girly girls from the East Coast, their mothers proclivities, how they put upon their significant others, and the social circles they cultivate. As for what I would consider the "meat" of the book, it was comprised things I already know, surrounded by anecdotes and tips on how a "normal" female can get into D&D. I was happy that it was a very fast read and was able to finish it before I got to a point where it might have become totally unreadable.

 

 

 

The Author with someone whom I believe is one of her co-workers.

Having said all that, I highly recommend this book . . . to almost any female who doesn't read this blog, or understand any of the posts with "RPG" or "Table top" in the tags. Then again, my fiancee has been with me for almost a decade, played in a few campaigns, including different systems (not just Wizards D&D) and I think she will enjoy this book immensely. Also, I would probably still recommend it to any lady gamer I know who isn't exactly like me (that's a terrifying thought, what a slutty lesbian that would be). I am constantly trying to understand the opposite sex, ESPECIALLY the gamer/geek type as I will be the first to admit there are disparate misconceptions across the genders, and I'm not sure why, but I think this book would speak to many femme fraggers. More simply put, I don't think it was a bad book, on the contrary I would even say it was good and worth a read. It's just that I could barely stand it. Don't understand how those two statements can be true? I think you might be on the wrong blog, OR ask me for my review of the Watchmen movie some time.

Then again, I'm confident there are some ladies out there who agree with my more snarky side and see this as yet another brick in the marketing wall from Wizards that is an attempt to make D&D accessible to everyone from "bros" to housewives regardless if it maintains it's soul (whatever that is) as a game. I don't want to get into my feelings on 4.0, or any "x.0 vs -whateva system" at this time, but it does feel like they tie in to each other when you come from that perspective. Maybe I'm just a bitter gaming-conspiracy theorists but, I thnk most people might understand where I'm coming from on that one.

So yeah, get the book if you know girls, it might help. And since I usually throw a vid in somewhere, try THIS ONE > > > >

Gamer Specifics

So, all love, we all get things confused and mix things up or have heard of things and associate them incorrectly. In an attempt to make some nerdy sense of unarguably nerdy visual media, I present a couple properties and hope to establish some new mental associations.

Gamers (sometimes -> ) The Movie
A movie from '06, this particular film revolves around a group attempting to break a world record for length of time playing a table top RPG.
This one is fun as the production value is quite clean. I recall it receiving mediocre-to-decent press and there is a good amount of resources to be found concerning the movie. Behind the scenes stuff and production clips around the net. For further resources, have their site, as well as IMDB, and of course WIKI, and . . . .



The Gamers
and of course,
The Gamers: Dorkness Rising
And AND
Journey Quest
I will admit, I still need to watch the original movie, The Gamers, but I have consumed, with great relish, the sequel, as well as their current web series, as you may already be familiar with it.
Dorkness Rising, last I checked was available on Netflix, and crazy entertaining as it somewhat just dives right into the culture without trying to explain too much, which I appreciate.
And of course, Journey Quest goes even farther by setting the whole thing IN a fantasy setting, no "RL" players, just ridiculous fantasy characters doing things you might guess they would get up to. As I've linked to JQ a couple times and you can already read a review, have some Dorkness . . . The Magical Quote is at 3:50

It would also seem Dead Gentleman/Zombie Oprheus/Epic Level have formatted the Movie into a Web series and left the last few episodes offline, or have not finished posting them in their entirety.


In any event, GO! ENJOY!
Oh yeah, there was a movie called Gamer, it was kinda big, mostly what I'm sure FPS's will become in the future, Running Man already did it though, and I find it more likely to come true than the FPS one, or at least before the other.

Ladies Playing Pretend

Who doesn't like it when a bunch of lovely women get dressed up and then start make believe. . . That they're warriors, clerics, and monsters?

Continuing on my RPG webseries kick, I also finally watched Dragons & Damsels. With Mirai Booth-Ong from The Guild (I may or may not do a post about that as it has a bit more popularity then a lot of the stuff I post about, I think you all know what it is).

My quick, snarky, over-simplified impression was, like many girls I like, short, pretty, something deep about them, but unfortunately leave me frustrated in ways I can't fix.

To elaborate, I think the short part is obvious, it is very well produced, as in the camera work is fine, the audio is excellent, and I believed these characters lived in this world, they seemed to have lives and desires and dreams.

I liked how there were plots that were alluded to and there was set idea of how the game went, all that sort of thing.

However, the first story arc finished after eight short episodes and no one besides bots have posted anything on the site or the forum since '09. It feels like they had intended to do quite a bit further with the world but have left it or are unable to continue it for whatever reason. If there had been anything on the site to suggest that that was it and the project was finished I might feel a bit more closure, but as it is, my neuroses is agitated by such frivolous things, ah well.

If they do decide to clean up the forum and perhaps begin a new story arc I hope I will be able to find it or see it advertised as it was fun and think it has quite a lot of potential.

1 part fem, 1 part drake, mix vigorously!

P.S. Apparently back in 2010 a few of the ladies filmed character Vlogs for their youtube channel, and although I liked the thief & the cleric, this one was the one that actually made me laugh.

All That Glitters

Here is a trailer to get you THERE

I finally got around to watching "Gold," the webseries about gamers.

Season one is about professional gamers working for the gold medal and is fairly entertaining, however some elements felt weak. (I will try to explain below.)

The other "season?" is a sort of six episode mini-series based around a one shot. This one I enjoyed much more and after about a week passed having seen both I think I realized why;

The main season felt forced and didn't feel real. It seemed set in this alternate reality that never totally embraced it's silliness which made things uncomfortable and awkward to watch. Not to say there wasn't elements of drama that I believed, the characters lived in this world and I felt most of their pains. Also, the sound quality really got to me. I understand it's technical and how much of a pain filming independently can be (oh yeah, tangent, did I mention I finally graduated, I have a B.A. in Theatre Arts and have acted for a few student films. I can relate, camera mounted mics can be the devil) but a little touch up, maybe some post recordings might have been nice? Anyway, yeah, the locations were fine, the camera work was fantastic, but something about the character work felt lacking, especially when I saw some of the production was SAG, I guess it raised the bar for me. Also, soundtrack choice was a little off. It felt right a few times but it didn't seem to flow with the ENTIRE season.

Now that I have talked smack about the main shows, lemme tell you how AWESOME Night of The Zombie King was. Watch season one to get yourself oriented and learn the mechanics of the world and then watch NTZK. I watched all six episodes in one sitting because I was so absorbed with it. It follows an old group reuniting after several years to have on last game as their old characters and it all felt so much more honest. Real characters with real lives trying to interact with each other.Several conflicts working in concert to elevate each other. Stakes get raised up in this one, with a great nod to the main series.
I am honestly optimistic to see if the company will continue and will wait patiently to see what new gamer-centric vids they will unveil. I don't know if they are worthy of platinum, but I will say they are as good as gold.

Memeorable - Meme-ar-pee-gee

Many of us are gamers. Even fewer, are Table-Top gamers. It takes a special breed of nerd to partake of the truly . . . unique experience that is assembling like minded individuals for a session of shared imagining.

A skit by the Dead Alewives has had a massive resonance with my own personal experience and I think I could venture to assume it has impacted others who have come before me and those who shall come after.

HERE is the audio file, but I recommend watching both of the videos below.






AND, the less known, but, in my opinion, just as accurate and amusing SECOND SKIT. Stick it in your ear hole while shoving cheetos in your Mt. Dew hole!

H
O
L
E
!!!

Memeorables - MemeWoW 1

World of Warcraft: I am seriously addicted. If you didn't already know.

So, while I am STILL Working on S.G.I.S.Con IV postings, Here are just a few of the Video's that have influenced my Wow, Gaming, geek state of existence.

LEEEEEERROOYYY!!!!! JENKINS!

The battle cry heard over teamspeak for almost half a decade now. There is debate over how staged this was and "Leeroy" has become a pseudo-star-nerd but we've all been in this group, sometimes we're even Leeroy himself, and any time you inspire a CCG card and an achievement in the game itself, I'm sure you've cemented your place in WoW History.

WHAT!!??! TEH ! FAAHHHKK!!!???!?!?!?

Another video that gave me my first glimpse of high end content, Onyxia Raid Wipe on Vent. I have since been in many raidsand killed Ony a few times, and although I've never had a raid leader on vent melt down like this one, I think all WoWers can understand the frustration and rage. We may laugh, but a little part of our souls feel pain and anguish for this accented raider. Lets listen in, shall we?

WOOOO!!!! YEAAAHHH!!! IMMA WAND YOUUUU!!!

Lastly, a more recent video, I have since adapted this as my go to any time I have questions about rotation, technique or proper obscenities to use in vent.

Light for Frosties?

Hello, My name is Termenus, and I am frost mage(yes, I know, one is arcane spec, but let me explain). Since just before the reopening of the Dark Portal (less than a few months before Burning Crusade) I reawakened as a Forsaken and have been Frost ever since.

As far as putting the Hurt on some Alliance, us Fridgeomancers are more than adequate. I'm horrible at PVP so, I don't really care, so long as I have fun.

My issue for some time, has been damage output in PvInstances. (Raids, dungeons.)
Going back a few steps, until very recently, both my pvp and my pve spec, were TOTALLY frost. I just loved it. Faster casting, survivability and control of combat like none other. Honestly, If I had three more talent points I would love to just fill up the tree. I originally speced it for leveling and fell in love. It was FUN no matter what I was doing. Grinding, farming, 5-mans, raids, questing, world pvp, bg's, helping lowbies. I had "tanked" some old instances at lower levels and even managed to pull & survive fel reavers at lvl 56 while NPC's dropped it.

(WHA!!?? NORLY! I did it for a few friends, they were all very impressed. I was l337. You see, you stand near Thrallmar and wait for it to pat towards the caravan. You use frost barrier AND mana shield and tag it at max range w/ any instant spell. Then, you RUN! Turn around and run straight towards the group of mages and the large orc. Blink to get distance. You SHOULD be able to survive one hit as it breaks the bubbles. Then, ice block, let him thump on you till ice block wears down, and blink again immediately. Double bubble as you run straight into the group. hit cold snap if the group doesn't pull the Reaver right away and keep blinking/bubbling/Ice Block into thrallmar till NPC's pull him, and, watch the show. I used this trick to help my 70 S-priest friend get his kara key. Good times.)

I even raided with a couple guilds in BC, Kara, Mag, even a couple jumps into SSC & TK. Full frost, nobody said anything. The only complaints I got in raids were to not sheep the Healers when they got MC'd. I still believe polymorph should be castable on anyone at anytime, it is a passive aggressive heal. Those were happier times, simpler times, when demons were bad and we could kill all of them we wanted. Alli's stayed on there own damn side of Outland and you didn't have to like them, just not kill them inside Shatt.

Then, with the march upon Northrend, new abilities became available and FREE FIREBALLS!?!?! yes please! I hit 80 and started to get serious about some raiding again.
Two patches later, I'm starting to get into some SRZ BZNZ, Ulduar, ToC, Ony. And no shortage of WoW friends and even fellow mages have been asking/wondering/hinting/threatening, when I was going to respec Arcane for raids.

A fact of life right now for every frost mage is that you do crap for dps. Blizzard is VERY aware of this and did nothing for almost a year or more. I started doing serious research on output and optimization of talents. The truth is that frost puts out 30% less dps than all other raid mage specs. For allot of timed fights this doesn't cut it. On top of this I find it annoying that every spec dips into arcane for Torment the Weak, but whatever.

I respecced my pvp tree to what it is today to accommodate the TTW necessity and starting looking at arcane rotations. I wanted to be a HARD hardcore raider! even at the expense of my beloved, cold love.

So, less than two weeks ago, I made the change to Arcane (see? peer pressure kids). As I lamented my betrayal of the chilly path to my friends and guildies two of the champions of my demise decided to deride me by telling me tales of changes to come making Deep Freeze a pyroblast-like damaging spell. I dismissed them and spurned them for mocking me. But, they are reliable sources, and I had hope. So, I sought ought the information, and lo and behold, they were right. Assholes.

In the next patch, the one currently on the test realms, if a target is PERMANENTLY immune to freeze effects(Bosses), Deep freeze deals some set amount of damage. ALSO, there is a Major Mage Glyph that makes your water elemental permanent at the expense of his frost nova. (100% up time in raids, increasing dps. this COULD be a pvp buff, but almost every pvp frostie LIVES for that extra freeze) AS WELL AS, there are rumors of a change to frozen core that when ice lance crits, your frostbolt's casting time is reduced by 1 second. This is not likely to last or be useful. most of us frosties are already stacking haste and have a really short cast time for frostbolt, with a bloodlust and an icy veins, not to mention any other thousand haste enhancers, its probably going to be thumping against the GCD and becoming overkill.

SO! the first two are currently on the test realms and I have rolled to learn if my dps can become viable once more in raids.

Some people might complain that with a frost elemental up all the time, frosties have started to look like a lok. I call shenanigans, loks look like us. Jaina was there first. Frankly, Raid frost has been so gimped so long I'm not sure any of us care anymore. I approve, it changes the use of the elemental and is potentially a buff for raiding frosties. It also has become apparent that ooming out might be a problem for the pets and that has been worked with.

Deep Freeze as a big damage spell. I approve. Initially I had always wondered why it couldn't be a "cold DoT", you know, "so cold it BURNS!" anything that is permanently immune to stops/stuns. some might argue that's Fire's realm, or once again, a Lock's expertise. but, whatever, honestly. The mechanic is different and you have a very different skill set and raid role in your spell set. You CC differently, you drop aggro differently, you dps differently. I see no huge issues. I will be raiding and instancing on the test realms to see if the spell change & the elemental have a large enough impact to make frost viable again.

I'll report back with more after some raiding & 5-mans, maybe some pvp, on the PTR's and lets keep our cold, clammy, fingers crossed.

Termenus, The Incredible Tanking Mage, Frost Imp extraordinaire, Mage of the Grave Chill, Ambassador, Explorer, Crusader, Sergeant, of Sen'Jin(I'm a raptor whore). Shadoweave tailor, Goblin Engineer -Lords of Ancient Sin- Cenarius, U.S.

Common Vocabulary

As you hang around you might notice certain proclivities within my vocabulary. Today I think it might be nice to define and clarify some things that might confuse or just generally help give insight into some of the madness running around here.
Also, don't feel afraid to look up any word I use, even if you know the word, I often twist and have my way with meanings. Something I know I enjoy sharing with some of my closest friends. I.e. the inordinate amount of food metaphors for things that are distinctly NOT edible in any way.
(Me being geeky at a LAN party. ol school, no flat screens. back in HS days)

Definitions:

Geek: A self identifying term I use constantly. To me a geek is CAPABLE, not necessarily comfortable, but capable of social interaction and more often than not, enjoys it, especially when in the company of other geeks. Common interests can range from anime to movies, to music, to zoology. He (I use the male tense because frankly, its from a male perspective, but I know many female geeks, I'm engaged to one.) may not be born a geek, nor may he even realize what he is, but will more often than not become aware at some point in his pursuit of things geeky. Such as conventions, D&D, Renaissance Faires, reenactments, video games.

Nerd: In its potentially negative form, a nerd is one who is socially retarded, wallows in his outcast state and resentful of a world that does not understand his obsessions, nor his singular focus on ideas that many might find trivial.
In its more mundane definition and in both situations a Nerd is smart and often a specialist in what ever subject his fanboy heart clings to. By result, his knowledge usually surpasses that of the geek, but at the cost of being less well versed in other things.
(as this very guy would often yell at me, "NERD!!!")

Trekkie vs. Trekker: As I understand it (and I'm not sure I entirely do, as I am a Star Wars fan first, but my fiance is a ST:NG fan so I have sampled it as well and enjoyed it.) Trekkie/Trekky is someone who is a Trek Nerd. A sad creature who speaks klingon, has SEVERAL starfleet uniforms and has an opinion on who the better captain was that would rival religious fervor in the middle east. They are numerous and not to be trifled with, use caution when interacting with them. As well as be kind, they know not what they are. A Trekker is a Trek obsessed geek, very similar to a trekky in most habits and collectibles, however, will only THREATEN to cut off your head with a Bat'Leth if you disagree with their chosen captain.

Freak: A horrid beast akin to a nerd but without any redeeming values. A freak doesn't know how to wear a trench coat, wears black faded jeans with said trench coat, and is rarely a viable expert on any geeky/nerdy subject, but believes himself to be one. Often names his characters after main characters from whatever realm he cherishes at the time thinking he is the first to do so, but stubbornly refuses to be creative when confronted with the fact that several hundred have come before him. So, left to his own design forces names such as "xStriderx3285" or "neofromthematrix" upon the world. Trolls, noobs, flamers, reprobates, the filth of our sub-culture. Often they will attempt to perpetuate the idea that others believe they are actually witches/vampires/werewolves/aliens/not virgins, no matter how solid any argument is otherwise. Take the high road and either ignore them, or try to be generous and tactful in your recommendations about being less of a dick and maybe try creating an awesome character of their own. . . . . which brings me to a theory . . .

In Live Action Role Playing:
-LARP by yourself- Masturbating. But you're doing it by yourself, so no harm done.
-2 person LARP- If it's out of normal campaign progression there shouldn't be any need to dress up, SO then its naughty
As soon as you get a third person or more in on the action, SOMEBODY, somehow, one of the participants will get too into it, get a little out of hand, or try too hard and turn into a freak. Ruining the experience altogether, or worse in my opinion, making things JUST uncomfortable enough to distract from play and then letting everyone dwell on the idea that things might get out of hand.
If you can not identify who this person is, step back, asses the situation and I can only offer 3 solutions; 1, YOU"RE IT! I'm sorry, try not to reproduce. 2, you're all it, in which case cease and desist, you are a danger to yourselves and society, go play a console game or seek counseling. 3, a miracle has occurred, you managed to find an assemblage of geeks who not only trust each other, but realize boundaries, follow rules and put just enough enthusiasm into it to make the game great, but not at the expense of their real lives. Cherish this, for in my decade plus of geeky experience I have never even heard rumors of such a thing.

Gamer Superstitions

(Persevere my brethren! Together, we shall confirm!!)

If you know, or are, a tabletop gamer, you know that there is something . . . odd, about their relationship with dice.

For some of us, its simple. We get mad when we roll poorly and excited when we roll well. For others, we spurn and embrace the little polyhedrons as the winds favor certain combinations.



For some of us though, an animistic view becomes prevalent and we find ourselves test rolling dice, feeling bonds with dice, selecting them from a balance of aesthetic, balance, "rolls" and even materials (ty to JBJ for my pewter dice set, they have served me well!).

I find every approach valid and as long as it is fun and healthy (I use the term loosely, especially in the mental arena) I think it has become an essential part of the tabletop culture. (Picture? see Commandment #8)


Although I have recently discovered THIS GUY (He seems kind of odd at first, and yes, he is VERY passionate about the dice, I believe it and recommend them to any who are even slightly interested) thanks to Gilliam, and fully intend to purchase some dice and use them (Gilly has a set already and they are very crisp and clean, they feel very exact) I still like a little "mojo" to dice and think it adds to the overall experience.


I've heard rumors that the longer you play, the better you roll, but I find this to be invalid.

Some members of my group have used dice rolling software for ease and simplicity, and to further my geek cred, we can tabletop on the fly by keeping our character sheets on digital copy. How many times have you seen a group of geeks playing D&D at a park WITHOUT pencils or dice? Done it! BUT! I shy away from it. Much like music and books for me, having a digital is nice, but having a tactile object, something that cant run out of power, is always preferable to me.

This is just my opinion, but I think there is more to it than just convenience and economy. Whether you're feeling out the "right" dice at the local comic shop or hand painting numbers onto your new razor-sharp-verticesed d4's, keep rollin' kids. Here's to those sweet rolls that make a great story years later, that only other weirdos like you can understand. Those great opening lines "this one time in-game . . ."

P.S. House rule I like, If you roll Yatzhee on more than 3d, you deal double damage if its greater than average, and roll again if it's less than.(True Story, J-explosion did this. I still hate him. "Pics or it didn't happen" right?)

Geek Ph34r

Do you like ghost stories? A chilling tale around the campfire? Well, in our modern age even the youngest listener can be doubtful of even the most gruesome lake-side myths. So, here I have a fairly modern, geek-centric telling of a terrible occurrence I developed recently. Feel free to use it at your own outings. I think this can be adapted easily to most locals; such as cons, fairs or its native root of the campsite.

------------ -------------------- ----------------------

The hand full of us sat around the campfire as we roasted marshmallows, I know, how wonderfully cliche.
A quiet calm descended over the group as a particularly nipping breeze floated through the woods.
I made an over dramatic sigh and looked about obviously, letting my view linger up at the starry sky.

"Mel loved nights like this," I said wistfully.

"Mel? your ex?" My friend asked.

"No, his name was Melvin, and he was a frie . . um, more like an acquaintance of mine a few years back." I said as I stoked the fire and looked away despondently. "Poor guy," I continued, "I wonder if they ever found him."

Several raised eyebrows met my eyes as well as my cryptic comment.

"Melvin Butram, poor kid, what a name, went to my rival high school back in Stockton, but I knew him through LARPing. Our group used to come up here for our games. We were the Edhelian Larp Fun Society. ELFS? I didn't name it. It was during that time in my life I developed my "Theory on LARPing by the Numbers" and stopped playing shortly thereafter. But I always remember poor Melvin."

I leaned forward, settling into the story and lowered my voice a bit. Something made me nervous.

"He was very quiet, very typically nerdy. Big glasses, big boned, freckles, could not talk to girls, even in character, he'd just stutter. But, he was very talented, he always had the best outfits, armour, weapons. The noobs were always asking for his help, and he did his best to teach what he could. My buddy mike once asked him how he got so good, Melvin's reply was 'lots of free time.' We were very inclined to believe him since as far as we knew he never had any party's, a girlfriend, or anything. On occasion we'd invite him to our parties, LAN's, whatever, but he only ever came to LARP events."

The sound of the crackling fire, the wind in the trees and our slow breaths were all we could hear as I made a concerned face.

"It was funny. well, funny odd, not funny 'ha,ha.' He was a big guy but he was real good at live action, especially the combat. He took it very serious as far as not getting hit, that wounds were big deals. And any time he could help with first aid he would jump right in. He was almost always either the last person in his crew to die or not at all.
One time he 'died' in a melee that was a real bad call by one of the game masters and you could tell by Mel's face he was not pleased about the call. So he lied down and waited. A cleric came by and 'rezed' him and then he kinda snapped for a bit. He jumped up, let out a real 'GEEYYAAAGGGHH!!!' you know, startled a couple people near him, and ran down the guy who 'killed' him, guy's name was Chris. Even after he had returned the favor, he kept hitting the ground next to Chris, sorta as if the ground had been Chris' 'corpse' and then after about a good solid thirty seconds or so went off and slaughtered like four or five other enemy players that were honestly too easy. It was like Melvin . . . I don't know . . . he followed all the rules, I think he just took it too seriously."

A couple of my fellow campers shifted as I looked up with a pensive look on my face.

"Then it got close to graduation and we heard he got held back. Apparently he flunked out of most of his classes because he was skipping a lot of school. Our buddy 'Jeebus,' who we shared a Vocational class with some of the guys who went to school with Melvin, said he had gotten addicted to an MMO. Ever? . . Galax? . . no, it was one of the more gritty ones. Dark ages? I don't remember, but anyway.
Melvin only started coming to the longer outings up here. Nothing shorter than a four day weekend. He became even more quiet and the only time we saw him smile was when we were doing combats."

I gave a slight grin as I continued, " except one week, spring break, we were up here and he was all smiles. When asked what had him so happy he said he'd met somebody. We were all happy for him. Wondering who she was or if she was even real, but he was in a good mood and that was cool." My face then turned to a grimace. "But, about a month later, Melvin disappeared."

"After a week or so rumor got round that they found his room empty of all of his practical weapons and his computer on to a character log in screen. When the investigators logged in they found he had been on an RP server and a chat log where he had confessed his love to another character in game. Initially, the other player played along through RP, about a month earlier, and Melvin's character had mentioned meeting or leaving with the other character to 'the woods of Edhelian'," I said with emphasis as I motioned to the woods around me.
"Apparently when Mel dropped the bomb and gave the other player a real life address to get out here, the other player put Mel on ignore and never replied to him again, even reported him for abuse. So, the cops came out here as this was the only other lead they could find. All they ever found was his bicycle. They searched out here for another month. We all graduated without hearing any sort of updates. His parents were crushed."



"A couple years back though, I was talking to Ricky, one of Jeebus' best friends, and he said they had to stop LARPing out here because the younger kids were getting scared and players of all ages were getting hurt in freak accidents. One kid even died. The rangers said he was attacked by a predator because he had massive lacerations, but anybody who's been up here more than a few times can tell you, the most vicious thing up here is a raccoon. The creepy thing to me, is that the kid was dressed as an 'evil warlock' and Melvin almost always played a 'good ranger.' On top of that, last year they had a couple hikers go missing. They found the bodies a week and a half later, bound, gagged and dead in a cave. The cave had had a basic fire pit, some leaves that resembled bedding, and the plastic of an eyglass lens. Both hikers had twenty-twenty vision."

I looked up in suprise. I lowered my hand to my pocket and reached in.
"W-T- . . . . AAAHH!!!!" I screamed as I pulled the pair of hornrimed glasses from my pocket, they were missing one lense and were scratched and bloodied.

Dangling From the Wagon

Well, devoted readers (all 3 of you), I managed to keep a steady stream of deliciousness up for about 3 months before I flagged. This is a blog about the status of the blog.

Lament or rejoice (however you feel) this is not defeat, only an update, the blog will march on. I am theatre person and the "show" must go on! (Shakespeare In Love, "It will work! How? I don't know. It's a mystery." On a total shameless tangent, in my Science, Religion, Magic, class, one theorist proposes that humans first result to science, then religion, than lastly, magic. Theatre is a great example of this. How do we put up a show? First, we set up and follow the instructions by the book. Something goes wrong? We pray and hope it will get fixed. Still no? Finally, we resort to superstition and strange rituals to explain and resolve. *looks around* Say hey, look where we ended up. Okay, back to the "not being able to write" portion of this essay . . .)

I currently have about 3 to 5 blogs sitting in the edit file, all of them succulent and juicy, ready to be devoured by you (all 3 of you) the hungering reader.
Subjects include the story of my Proposal to T1nk, an in-character narrative, an observation on RP geek superstitions, as well as reviews on "Melody of Oblivion" & "9." (heh, looky that. Five ideas. Cool.)

Anyway, nerdlings, thank you for hangin' in here with me, and if you havnt already availed yourself of some of the back log posts, I highly reccomend that you partake of them . . . all except for T3h R4n7s. stay away from those. Bad tings mon, bad tings.

-H47