Something New

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As you may or may not have heard, there was a great debate regarding the validity of the previous contest, scheduled to begin next Saturday, April 20th. Because of a growing number of concerns due to fairness and the sheer number of Tweets I post in the course of a day, the contest will go on as planned, but with some big changes.

I would like to announce that each month during these giveaways will have a different theme attached, but the same basic concept. The first theme, the one for the April giveaway is called "Follow You, Follow Me".

The concept of this is different than most "follow" giveaways. Instead of you simply following me to be in the running, I must be following you back. Now, you might be thinking "why?" Answer is simple. I follow back those people who share genuine interests in the things I do, mostly WoW. Clearly, I don't follow bots, and I realistically follow those people who interact with me or the community as a whole.

On Saturday, I will collect a list of those that I follow and follow me and place it in the randomizer. As with my other giveaways, I will DM you if you win. Now, keep in mind, if you win on Saturday, you'll be excluded from Sunday's giveaway, but will be returned to the list for the next month's giveaway.

The reason this is being done is I want to ensure the people who win aren't just following me to win something without contributing. If I'm putting time and money and effort in concocting these giveaways, the winner should be someone who I know will enjoy it, be grateful and be sure to let everyone know of my generosity so they can perhaps win.

I greatly appreciate those who talked to me about the previous Theme Park Weekend, and various other concerns. It means a lot to me to know that people are paying attention to the fine lines.

Best o' luck to all!

- Santa Jay

Jay Does It Again!

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great joy that I announce the triumphant return of... THE THEME PARK WEEKEND!

Here is the rundown: starting April 20th, and once a month thereafter, I will be hosting a themed giveaway contest. One giveaway will be held on both Saturday and Sunday. A series of 4 Tweets will go out at selected times: 7:30am, 11am, 1:30pm and 4pm. Each of these Tweets will be a few words, which are all part of a theme. Collect these Tweets, figure out the theme and tell me after the 4TH has been posted what that theme is and you win that day's prize! The themes are all WoW related, too. For example, the four Tweets could be: Sylvanas, Garrosh, Vol'jin, Lor'themar. The theme is Horde faction leaders.

The rules are simple: even if you figure out the theme, you must wait to guess it until after the fourth Tweet, to insure fairness for all. In order to win the prize, you MUST be following me.

Some of prizes being given away: various companion/battle pets, The Flag of Ownership, Fishing Chair, Epic Purple Shirt, Instant Pedestal Statue, and much more!

Any other questions, contact me on Twitter (@legendslost) or in WoW with BattleTag (Terrorwulf#1518). Thank you and best of luck!

Weird Lyric Wednesday
March 20, 2013

1. Panic At The Disco - "Nine In The Afternoon"

2. Kansas - "Andi"

3. Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here"

4. Nirvana - "Breed"

5. Peter Gabriel - "Shock The Monkey"

6. Aerosmith - "Eat The Rich"

7. Led Zeppelin - "If I Were A Carpenter"

8. The Killers - "Are We Human"

9. Styx - "Mr. Roboto"

10. Neil Diamond - "I Am... I Said"

Tiberius Walker, the Walking Knightmare

Tiberius Walker was born into a middle-class family, the only child of a blacksmith father and a stay-at-home mother. Tiberius' father was a world-renowned blacksmith whom fashioned various armors and weaponry for the soldiers in the armies of both Veyalton and its kingdom, Tradewind. Tiberius' father was an honorary member of the Sacred Seven, a group of elders whom conducted meetings with in the castle of Tradewind to control the denizens of its city and attempt to further their lands along the Shadowsworn Isle.

Tiberius, though, wasn't like some of the others who grew up in Veyalton, and he certainly wasn't like his father. He wasn't born with magic skills, nor was he interested in them. He wasn't born with raw, untapped strength or psychic abilities or anything out of the norm. Rather, Tiberius Walker was simply put: average.

Or, at least, he was.

War plagued his home of Veyalton as he grew older. Words of the deeds done by some of Veyalton's battle-hardened reached the town. Heroes like Sir Dimetius the Brave, the greatest and highest-ranking soldier within the ranks of the Tradewind army, had returned from a bloody crusade with the head of the lieutenant of the opposing army. Sight of this created a fair buzz around Dimetius, and it created curiosity within Tiberius that he, too, could be just like this great soldier some day.

A group of traveling merchants ventured towards Veyalton, as they did once a month, during the peace time known as The Great Calm. However, unlike their usual visits, tragedy struck. As they entered the bustling trade city, a monsterous black blob eminating from the sky and shot down to the ground. This black entity, with purple lightning bolts flashing around it, silently and swiftly slew these merry merchants with little to no effort. The denizens of Veyalton watched in utter horror as these friendly salesmen were slaughtered before their eyes. Over the course of the next few months, word spread of various people, both of importance and distinction as well as the commonfolk, being slain in the same mysterious, vicious way, by the same black monstrosity. Having heard enough of this, Tiberius decided one night, he would face this 'thing', knowing that Dimetius and the rest of the Tradewind army were thousands of miles away in the port city of Hux, trying to gather trade routes for the castle. Tiberius snuck into his father's workstation and, remembering his father's teachings, tirelessly forged himself a weapon to combat his mystery foe out of the rare sky-blue diamonds known as the Hibernium Diamonds. These diamonds, unlike the normal ones, gave off a vivid energy that seems to make them hum. After many painstaking hours, Tiberius finished his product: a Hibernium Diamond-encrusted sword that he dubbed 'Vindiction'. Weilding this aptly-named blade, Tiberius then entered the adjacent barn where the family had raised steeds for traveling means. The lone chestnut mare, Tiberius's favorite steed of the four his family owned, neighed lightly as he entered. She knew what he was here for, even if she didn't know why. This mare, named Mercury, bowed her head as Tiberius mounted her. With a slight snap of the reins, they were off.

Tiberius searched the wilds and the forests; the plains and the mountains. No sign of the mystery killing machine. Until, that is, he reached the summit of Deadman's Hanger, a stretch of plain that led to a four hundred-foot drop filled with jagged rocks and various debris. Tiberius heard a moan, as if from a woman in distress, and turned around to meet the giant black mystery matter. Tiberius unsheathed his sword, narrowed his eyes and waited. Mercury snuffed in anger. Man and beast were on the same page. The two were going to fight this thing as one, no matter the consequence. The fight was, indeed, on...

Tiberius Walker, a valiant and selfless man, perhaps even a future soldier in the Tradewind army, much like his hero Dimitius, was determined to fight the thing that was picking off innocents one by one, died that night, along with his trusty steed. However, he did not remain so. No one knows how nor why, but he was reborn that very same night; a manifestation of all those who were senselessly slaughtered by the apparition of horror. He was brought back as a knight of right, a justicar of justice, a guardian of good. He was dubbed 'the Walking Knightmare' by those who closely studied exactly what had happened and learned of it; a man whose thirst for a fight were never truly quenched.

They say, sometimes, on the night of a full moon, when the winds are at their absolute calmest, you can hear the clanging of his sword, the grunts of a fierce battle being waged and the defiant whinnies of Mercury. From beyond, whether you believe in it or not, he still rides, searching for that which cost him everything -- family, friends and even his own life. And he always will.

"I was dead once, but death couldn't stop me from quenching my thirst for righting the wrongs of the world." -- Tiberius Walker

Beginnings

I plan on using this blog as sort-of an insight into the mind and workings of a Hunter in World of Warcraft. I may, here and there, post in-character, but either way, it's all from me, the Grizz, as I'm affectionately known as.

This first post, today, will be somewhat of a rant. A lot has happened lately within the game, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. Here goes!

As most of you know, Cataclysm beta is out and about, and with it comes those coveted invitations to help Blizzard out with the upcoming expansion: checking for bugs, testing quest, dungeon and raid content, things of that nature. Of course, the beta invites are, make no mistake about it, not for the truly casual player like myself, who happens to spend ninety-percent of his time at his full-time job. Thousands of beta invites have been passed out in various waves and, to no surprise, I didn't receive one. Of course, millions of others can claim the same, and I agree.

My biggest question is... why?

Why can't those that pay the fifteen dollars a month get into beta? Honestly? I'm sure size of servers is an issue, which I can understand, but what, seriously, is the criteria for getting an invite? I know of hardcore raiding guilds getting invites; those that've downed Arthas more times than an alcoholic drops his empty glass. I also know of those who've only been playing a handful of months who were granted an invite. Yet, for whatever reason, those who have been at the forefront of their respective communites gets passed over, for someone who doesn't know what happens at the end of Icecrown Citadel.

I've been in Azeroth since March 2007, a few months after Burning Crusade's launch. I played at the behest of a friend of mine who's been playing since Vanilla. Didn't like the game at first; was far, far different than any of the RPGs that I'd played previously. However, I grew a fond fascination with the game, and, I played when I wasn't running monsterous deathmatches in Unreal Tournament with my at-the-time clan, The Stalwart Soldiers. Over time, I grew to enjoy WoW and my first-ever toon, Acezwylde, a Human Paladin on the Shu'Halo realm. Fast forward a couple years, and now I have 2 80s, 6 60s and much more knowledge and experience than I did back then.

Okay, now that we've had our daily unnecessary nostalgia moment, back to the topic at hand. Recently, ZAM held a little contest for beta keys, wherein you revealed what you're looking forward to most about Cataclysm. I spoke the truth: the phasing aspect has won me over, whereas, in current WoW, I find it dumb, to say the least. The winners were announced and, to no surprise, I wasn't chosen. Apparently the fucking obvious answers of goblins, worgen, level 85 and new content won over the judges instead of sheer honesty. And, yet, it doesn't surprise me. Why? Honesty is a touchy subject. Shoulda just wrote "me wantz lvl 85 golbin rouge!!!!111shift+1". Probably would've gotten picked.

However, today, it dawned on me, after this long without a beta invite to a game that I enjoy casually, as intended, and losing the ZAM and Guild Essay Contest from Blizzard, that not only are beta invites rarer than the Phoenix mount AND Baron's DeathCharger put together... well, let me be blunt.

You've got a better chance of seeing God than you do getting into the beta.

I didn't get into Wrath's beta. I'm obviously not getting into Cataclysm's, either. So, there's only one thing I can think of to do.

I'm on the lookout for God.

He may not get me into beta, but it's a hell of a lot better than getting my hopes up for something I obviously dont fit the Blizzard mold for.




The opinions expressed in this post are solely of the author. No gnomes were punted in the making of this post. Shame.