A taste for toad....

This was an emotionally exhausting week, and while I really must, should, etc., go do things, important things, I found myself sitting on the couch watching An Idiot Abroad: China.

No matter how you may feel about Ricky Gervais' torturing of poor Carl Pinkerton, when Carl expresses concern over going to China, eating toads, liking them, and then coming back to England and finding a paucity of toad delicacies, well, this is his worry, and--

--see what things you can worry about? Going to China, trying toad, and then not being able to find it in your hometown?! These are real problems! Of global proportions!

Turns out, there are indeed toads in China, toads to eat, be beaten on the streets, etc. Didn't see anyone licking them, though. Must be a different channel. On a different episode I learned what "bullocks" are and what happens to them when riding a camel. About the same as a toad in the hands of an elderly Chinese lady.

For Navi: Do not be afraid, be not very afraid...

Phantom Limb...

Momokawa reads her junk mail...

No, this is not another disturbing drabble.*

This is about something I sense, but cannot articulate. I am asking a few things:

1. Do any of you know of a word for this genre of writing I am attempting to describe?
2. If not, will you help me consider one?

Here is what got me thinking: (Easy there, haven't had my first cup of coffee yet....)

Erinys from Harpy's Nest posted this heartfelt story about one of her characters who had to let go of a beloved pet due to constrictions and abilities (or lack thereof) given to hunters.  It read like a tiny Where the Red Fern Grows or Old Yeller.

But--it was more heartbreaking in one aspect that--

Well, let me back up. The phenomenon of a phantom limb is when someone loses, well, a body part, and they still sense it. The nerve endings and muscle memory have set those grooves and pathways and it's still virtually there. I recently watched a fascinating TedTalk with Vilayanur Ramachandran on his research and help for patients who experience this. When we lose something that is a part of us, we still feel it. It's not magic, it's certainly not mojo, it's science. Okay, maybe a tiny bit of mojo. I'm sure Dr. Ramachandran would concede that.

So, talking with my trusty Cross-Dressing Rogue, he understood what I was asking.

Consider:

• There are non-fiction: informational or expositional texts, that come in a multitude of genres/forms, everything from a menu to a biography, and personal anecdotal narratives (think of essayist David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell). 
• There are fictional texts: fabricated texts, also a kaleidoscope of genres/forms, from fanfiction, pulp, graphic novels, novels, realistic fiction, science, etc. There are hundreds.

But what I am looking for is the cross-breed genre: when a personal, true anecdote of a fictional character, is told in game. Yes, it's role playing, yes, it's a bit of fanfiction, but if it really happened to Eriny's hunter character, and she cries real tears over the memory and loss, and --here is the important piece--it is not a story that triggers another memory but is the memory itself--what is that?

CDR understood what I was asking, and reminded me that there may not currently be a word to describe this genre of writing, since these virtual worlds are very young in our collective consciousness in a medium of narrative/story telling, it is something new.


However, I am not so vain to think I discovered this just because I am new to MMOs.

On a coincidental tangent, Hugh from MMO Melting pot tweeted the other day a thought about "What if..(paraphrasing) the images of sexy female figures was not so much a promise of of "sex sells," but perhaps an identity promise. I totally get that. From a writer's standpoint, I love that I can be some fantasy female in a virtual world, somewhat control this character's actions and reactions, and then wait for the surprise. Because the female characters I've created are visually appealing, and yes, even the Forsaken ones charm me, it's easy to get caught up in their non-stop strength, health, and vigor. They can take a punch and still look good. (I have another post in mind about how characters die--they flop, they yell, they sigh wistfully, they spin, they crumble -- all so interesting to me...)

So, my sweet and dear friends--what do you think? What could this genre be known as henceforth? If you know it, tell me.

MMO-ogrphies?

Auto-massive multi-ogriphies?

Virtual Veracity?

Okay. More coffee coming up.





*Although those are really fun to write. You have been warned.

Drabble: monster

better left for dead

scrurch-scorch where did he leave his name where cockroach feasted fecal name left trace to a cockroach’s ass his name no name no face gone not right in life the Lady never should have allowed this one back his name maiden’s face buttery soft rusted bloody blade sliced feasted on the worms worms feasted on him cut cut cut humping death the smell sweet gassed corpse flowers blooming shovel blades cut cut cut into the buttery soft rusted earth unearthed the blades in the back of a shop served his ale she wished he would go away stay dead scrurch-scorch

*inspired by something Ironyca shared....woke up writing this and could not go back to sleep...

Naked. Bikes. Solstice.

This is something that happens in Seattle every year: http://www.fremontfair.org/

This amuses me.

Can your city boast hundreds of naked bicyclists?

Maybe Blizz can add that to the next holiday achievement....
Let's give that some thought.

Talking tabards...(or letting your freak flag fly...)

Tabards.

Someday, yes, someday, I will be exalted with the Kirin Tor and I can take off their purple-fuzzy-phallic prophylactic. (Or what was that Navi...fraggle?)

But until I find the will, or extreme boredom, to do the Dalaran dailies for those dolts, I shall work on becoming exalted with my new guild.

And--not a criticism--this is stacked purely, squarely in the "I don't have control over this" area.

Not a big fan of the baby blue that is so popular amongst Alliance guilds.

Now - what inspired this post? And do you get the play on words, "talking" tabards? That is because in the language of emblems, tabards do indeed speak. Reading the Game of Throne novels, the use of knowledge of keeps' and kingdoms' colors, banners, emblems, etc., comes at some critical parts in the exposition of the tale. Understanding who's zooming whom, in other words is critical information for survival. Designing tabards in game sometimes takes guildmasters and guild-starters careful consideration of color, threading, and sometimes just careless slap-dash of what's available. I think it could be better.

First of all - this is some damn lazy blog posting because I am exhausted right now--but wanted to get these thoughts out there. How do you "represent?"

Dornaa gets her Exodar on...

Rohawn the Forgotten Warrior is sporting the sage symbol of Ever Thus to Deadbeats. Perfect for anyone who wishes to aspire to Dude status.

Escarlata says, "Give me a D! D! Gimme an A! A!  [sic] What's that spell? DARK LADY!
This tabard looks awful on a Forsaken due to the poor posture --stand up straight, Escarlata! 

Sexytepi takes the colors for a spin...

One of my favorites is how my friend designed the one for our tiny guild - simple, elegant, and goes with everything...except for maybe shiny-pretty-gold-gossamer robes.

And still Mataoka has yet to acquire the Scarlet Crusade tabard, although both Luperci and Momokawa have it:

I guess what I wish it that even though there are some great looking tabards out there, I could see or wish that Blizzard would do more. I doubt the aesthetic of guild tabard design and colors will go much futher -- don't know how the pandas feel about it. I think what we're all feeling is a love of the customization -- transmog gave us a taste, but let's hope it doesn't stop there.

Debut...

With all due respect to the very sexy Aisha Tyler, the real star of today's posts is the completion of a commissioned piece by Vidyala of Manalicious of Mataoka:

I really tried not to pester her --you can't just turn on a faucet and have creativity pour out, and in my estimation, she created this beautiful piece in quick time. But...

...as impatient as I can be....

...and as much as I needed this...

...do you see what she added? The necklace...with the phial added?

...do you know what it's like to be really seen? To be heard?

And to me, she captured something I couldn't quite put my finger on, that the character of Mataoka is both sweet, but knowing. Innocence lost and found, I guess. Maybe I'm just projecting, but I see it.

Theme song: Something/George Harrison (my favorite Beatle, by the way)

Aisha says:

So--Trolls: Aisha doesn't  like you.

Part II: Sweet

I was debating on not trying to raid with my new guild last night for a few reasons (still reeling from some things), but decided to go ahead. Last night would be my third time with them. They were missing their rogue with his legendary daggers, his deeps, and though I was the only melee, (MAY-LAY folks!) it was commented on how much they missed his skills. (Code: Matty, step it up, girl!) From the short interaction with him, I thought he seemed like a jovial enough fellow, and missed his presence.

You know - the thing is--when we go into any new situation it takes a while to get to know one another. I was telling leet young Druid I wish I could have gone in there, first time, and been the "rockstar." Been that player that's all cool and stuff, and gone pew-pew-pew, toppled the charts on deeps and the crowd goes WILD! Instead it was more of me singing in a hairbrush mic in front of the mirror, and the reality check was when learning new fights, playstyles, etc., I just don't have the chops.

Sigh.

But last night, trying to go bang-boom-bong on some virtual monsters was the perfect medicine. The grooves in my brain forgot my real life for a bit, which was the antidote. I cannot share with my new guild what they actually did for me, and though I told the raid leader I know I can do better, he said all the DPS could, because Ultraxion was problematic (and that one is so damn easy!).

Back to the missing rogue.

So when a guildmate said, "I sure miss Dash and his OP-ness."

Stop.

Say that out loud: OP-ness



I asked, "Does he have a legendary penis?"

:)

This is a pretty fun game.


Part I: Bitter

Part I: Bitter

Yesterday I confessed to Navi was what troubling my part of the world, and she asked this question:

"Do you wish you could have done more?"

My immediate response was "Yes," --there is always more we wish we could do in any situation, make it better, improve, or even paradoxically, learn when to let something go faster, sooner, with more gentle indifference.

But sometimes life isn't about regret. Sometimes life just sucker-punches us. It breaks.

And all we can do is analyze the fragments and then add prevention.

So here is my voice of prevention:

I am seriously, deeply concerned about this generation from one aspect, and that is they have never not known a time when people, in real time, communicate on a computer. This to me, is both miraculous, and profoundly disturbing. The incessant trolling...the inability to be the machine, to be of the machine and not above it, is terrifying to me and rocks me to my inner core for our children. Even these words here, when I hit publish, are forever. They become digitally immortal, and unlike humans, cannot be silenced. Oh, what power---as a colleague of mine said yesterday, Facebook, etc. is like a loaded cannon in the hands of babies. If you think we're being hyperbolic, I will tell you to respectfully...reconsider.

Bear writes so lovingly of his cub. Bear - if you are half the father that comes across in your writing, you are a wonderful husband and father indeed. And being my nosey mother hen self, I would offer a some more advice for you:

• Wait on Holy Grail just a bit - like age eleven, and don't forget about the part in the castle, with the underwear, and you know...and this is not a censorship of the vestal virgins in the castle, but the appreciation and background knowledge of medieval England helps the humor. Or, you can just say "What the heck--"Fetchy La Vache" is funny at any age.
• You are doing a great job of teaching him the skills and social maneuvering of these virtual worlds. And I have no doubt you are also teaching him that these virtual worlds come with ignorant trolls, and what impact they may have on his view of himself and his friends. Mitagating this impact is of topmost concern for all parents in this Facebook-tentacle-and-claw world.

<hug>

Part II: Sweet