XO

This is one of my favorite stories: my first kiss.

I was in kindergarten or first grade. It was toward the end of the year, and in Texas school gets out in May, but it's still bloody hot. A boy in my class, who had never said a word to me as far as I recall, told me he had a secret to tell me after school. He was poor and dirty--his face was always unwashed, and he missed button holes on his shirt sometimes. But a secret! Too good to pass up. I met him on the outskirts of the playground, knelt down, and will never forget the big, sloppy kiss he planted right in my ear. I was both repulsed and enchanted. Of course he ran away.

Relating this story to a friend, he said, "That is the way of the warrior."

Oh my friend -- never was such insight so bright. Way of the Warrior indeed. Bet even Garrosh felt touch of hesitation, maybe a touch, for his first kiss. Maybe not.

Aside from the terrors of a first kiss, and even though my kissing duties have narrowed considerably since the days of attack-ear kisses, I love the kissing in Azeroth: we all need a little sugar sometimes!

And though these kisses are not any of these...

...they are kisses of note. The Pandaren male is so in-your-face, I am wondering if he wasn't a first grade kid back in Texas in the day. And ladies, he's single! The Forsaken will both cut and kiss you all at the same time!

Theme Song: Mustache Man (Wasted) Cake

Once again, better women than I...

Ironyca surmised the ramblings of what I was attempting to do the other day about soccer, hockey, RNGs, and drinking beers in pubs and being a bad philosopher:

http://ironyca.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/are-pvp-pet-battles-determined-by-skill-or-luck/

The wise Dahakha tried to set me straight in a private discussion about the nuances of soccer, and again, I apologize (even though he said not to): I am apologizing for being an impulsive writer and not taking the time as Ironyca did to clarify my thoughts. In any case, go read hers -- the graphic on rochambeau is exquisite. Dahakha was spot-on in our conversation, and I thank him. I said noobish stuff. But remember, this is also the woman who spilled an entire freshly-filled bowl of beef with broccoli last night while reaching for her mouse on a flight path. This is the level of professionalism you're dealing with.


Whatever the RNGs do, I still contend that I am lucky in love, so take that, you no-good-dirty-lying-no-weapon-dropping-gerbil-droppings!

Second read...

This week will find me happily busy - the solstice is almost here, and June has been amazing so far. I am looking forward to so many things, one of which is some free time to write. I was looking back over the inception of Mrs. W, and came across this: The Death Knight. It needs some minor revisions, but like baking a cake I like, still holds up.

Drabble: June

a tiny moment

not small, not little

tiny: stalwart and whole

second kisses, the two warm arms to

keep

safe

She pondered that when a promise is easy to make—no—easy to keep, is that where the Fates flourish? The promises had not been made in a grove, under the nodding heads of the Treants, however she had no regrets. He was hers, and she was his. The pledge spoken, words wrapped like ribbons, never to be cut. The promise urged them to speak, now, to not wait. If they were the sole witnesses, that was all that mattered.





Writer's Note: 
June is a time for beginnings - named after Juno, the goddess of marriage and childbirth, it seems only fitting to write a drabble to honor her. Graduations, Father's Day (the patron of the family, for without whom the brides would be alone...) and June brides comprise the month of fresh starts and growth...

Under the bridge (of comments...)

Fried Spam
Recently an influx of spam overwhelmed me. Spams included everything from Santa Claus to cabana boys (nothing about Santa with cabana boys, thank the gods). But one resounding word/name was repeated so many times, I had to take notice: Pokoje.


So, Pokoje is now my new Troll warrior:

She is stacked two-toes to nose with heirlooms, and has a leveling buddy along for the journey. What a perfect name for a stamping-spamming Alliance-whacking babe. Go get 'em Poko.

In other news...
Erinys recently posted a Blog Azeroth idea by Noahdeer. I am going to suggest a vanity item and title that doesn't exist yet. Full credit goes to CD Rogue on this one. Here's how it goes: the quest line is you finally get to cheat a goblin (of some stature) out of gold. As a reward, you not only get to keep his gold, but a diamond-tipped staff that transports you with an all-exclusive resort pass to Gallywix Pleasure Palace. But that's not the best part -- you get the title Nigerian Prince/Princess and a gold-plated fishing net that scoops up all the innocent and trusting InterNET fish.

Ain't That a Kick in the Head....

love is hate....

We all spend a lot of time talking about how much we love our characters--we cherish, nurture, and put them on pedestals. But what of those we hate? Those we maintain although their spells are twisted and diminished, or their lore, their narrative, becomes less than savory to our own beliefs?

Enter the first, stage left:

Eliszabeth, a young forsaken priest, answering the call with dignity, in love with a rogue her parents in her mortal human form forbade her from seeing. For now, not only is she forsaken, she has nothing, nothing but a knife in the dark, and it's aimed at her heart...

Eliszabeth

More to follow....

Editor's Note I wonder if Harold Raims is for Harold Ramis who co-wrote Ghostbusters?

Nine lives...

This reminded me of a lovely story Erinys wrote about her hunter pet, and I'll be damned if I can find it this morning:

Writing idea: write an eulogy for your hunting pet, or a companion pet, that if they could never return to you, what would you say?

Thanks, Cymre!

I swear that Blood Elf reads my mind sometimes. Not too long ago, I was thinking I needed to make a new list of mounts I would love to have, but what a pain! Just in time comes along Cymre with a comprehensive post on mounts - http://www.bubblesofmischief.com/2013/06/02/mount-up/

Now, if she can only bend time and space for me...

Summer lovin'

Ah, memories! Thanks, Tome!

I had the PERFECT POST crafted in my head at 3:19 AM this morning! It was sublime, epic, witty, with this spot-on title and enunciated syllables, and darling diphthongs! You...you seem skeptical. Well,  whatev. I ain't got time for that. In fact, after three days of family fun, I'm back to work. Oh yes...I have many, many MANY more days of work ahead of me, including days when I'm off the clock and the masses assume I'm sitting around getting tan, eating bon-bons, and living off the fat of the taxpayers' backs, I'll be in workshops, trainings, preparing, and simply doing doing doing for the next wave.

Again, whatev. Not complaining. Really. I am desperately trying to fall back in love with what I do in real life. Complaining, it turns out, only adds to the toxicity, and from the distance I had when checking work e-mails this past week, I realized that the levels of toxicity and dysfunction in my workplace maintained their levels, even without me! So, it's NOT my fault after all! I need to make some changes, though - and throw some stuff up to the universe. But the universe and I have made a deal - if a new opportunity doesn't come my way, I'm prepared to stay with who brung me to the dance, in a manner of speaking, and make it work.

Still have plenty of family events planned this week, and into next, so posting may become spotty. Seeing what the Draenei daughters are doing will be sketchy, too. I want pets, mounts, and spirit bears. And hopefully they'll bring the sun tan oil. One whiff of Coppertone and that's all the aromatherapy I need.

What did Danny do at the beach? Tell us about that girl...

This old thing?

Been searching for some new mog ideas, and with all the trips to Karazhan lately, just thought I should do a bit more research. These banshees have many different names, including this Wanton Hostess. What exactly is a Wanton Hostess? Does she find you a booth in the back and then get her sleazy vibe all over you? Does she put peppermints on the tip tray but lick them first? How wanton is she? Anyway, I've always kind of dug her look. The hair and ears are a hot mess, but the shear scalloped petticoat is still to die for:

 Then of course there is the dinner party, and noticed Lady Keira Berrybuck.

The only shot I have of Lady Berrybuck is her on the floor, but in researching her she looks like she's wearing a pink chiffon Moondress, and part of a bigger circle of nobles. In fact, the Nobles of Darkshire! Now that is an elite group! Man, if they weren't dead, I'd bet they'd be on a kick-ass raiding team!

There are plenty more, of course, but for another time. There are other old things, er, business, I want to bring up.

Even though I click on Bear's blog constantly, somehow Tome saw this first: We All Want to Be Special. Recently I read this post by Prinnie (whom I adore) and it made a lot of sense. I've been having many conversations about elitism, fairness, or the mythology of fairness, achievements, etc. CD Rogue and I were out for a brew the other evening, and the Stanley Cup was playing. I like hockey, but CDR says only live. His opinion was that sports that rely on the other team making a mistake, as opposed to offering up strategies, etc. were not interesting to him. We decided to put this to the test for many such 'games' including WoW and chess. Soccer, hockey are on one end of the spectrum, where only if one makes a mistake is there a goal. Games like basketball are a war of attrition, and perhaps with baseball somewhere in between. Chess on the other hand, requires the forward march of planning ahead. Depending on your play style and life philosophy may make you drawn to one or not. This is not to say that soccer and hockey players don't work their asses off in training, strategies, etc.*

Where does WoW fit it with all this? Well, all over the place. The elite raiding guilds will never, ever be threatened by the other players. Never. But--like little dogs who have big barks, some players think they're part of that club, and they make big noises. Just today Señor was telling me about an experience he had last night:

Why did the geared mage think it was important or valuable to tell the other mages what to do? I know for a fact my friend has been playing for years, and plays for relaxation and fun. And you see his last comment? He gave no oxygen to the geared mage's fire. I only know the coolest people--yes, guess I'm an elite in that way.

But --wasn't I just saying a few hundred posts ago we needed something like Flex Raiding? I think I called it 'free agent raiding.' Wonder if it's going to be like that.

In the meantime, I'll just keep rolling along, leveling pets, peeking in LFRs for loot, and writing my little stories. I think those are pretty damn leet, some of the time anyway.

*Mr. Snerggulsssss here: The publishers of Sugar & Blood, while not retracting any comments, wish to add this addendum: the goals of sports like hockey and soccer are made by seizing opportunities of errors, not implying any negative connotation in the word "error" but in a sports vernacular. See comments below. Thank you, that is all.