Where I Went

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CloudDancing
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Where I Went

Post by CloudDancing »

Hi Everyone,

I don't know if anyone cares, but considering the amount of time I spent with ALFA over the last 12 years, I figured I should say hi, plus I saw you set up a Discord server. Nothing like getting up to speed with the gaming world.

I quit playing NWN2 about the time I got my promotion to director of program. It was really stressful and my work just shat upon me vigorously, leaving me down a full-time staff member for nine months. I managed to put on a five week summer camp AND take 15 kids to Los Angeles from OK on a week long college tour.

Then I wrote a 65 page grant worth 1 million dollars. Then I pretty much fell into a deep depression and chronic fatigue from all the stress.

But hey, I am keeping it together and I still have my job.

I started playing World of Warcraft again right before Legion came out because of a NWN friend from Sigil suggested it. So I got back into WoW and I settled into Wyrmrest Accord; a high pop, high performing roleplaying server. I have some great characters and we roleplay every couple days in DM'd events. It is by no means serious as permadeath, but people do die permanently on consent.

I did want to tell a story from long again - since I am prone to stories.

So back in 2003 I started playing in Alfa in NWN1. I played a terrible character with little knowledge of the lore, but I built upon it as I went. You all know how NWN1 was, most of us were crazy teenagers or young adults just sort of flailing around madly with both story telling, RP, and the intrigue that happens in online organizations. I played for a good year, riding out IC relationships, getting trashed by some DMs and getting adored by others. Some players (who played with me liked me) and some players decided that disliked me online so they were shitty as hell to my characters before they had even met them ingame.

It was always a dance between agony and ectasy until I met my ex-husband's character under the willow tree in front of the Inn in Shadowdale. We had been through so much in-character that we immediately hit it off and became adventurers together as a team. He was a student and I was a student so we had plenty of free time to play for hours and talk for hours with each other. I think our characters fell in love long before we ever admitted that we had an attraction to each other.

SO in-character we were having the BEST time of our lives. Something about the duo just entertained many dms and we adventured in true DnD style and toured the 10+ servers just to explore. We met pretty much every character in game at one point which was delightful. Dm's built plots around us and DMs built AREAS around us.

So you can imagine some people were upset and dare I say, jealous, maybe? *rolls eyes sarcastically*

So some prick(s) (who coincidentally had never played with or met the characters) started an investigation against my partner only, because ALFA was OH so serious about its gaming experience, it had its own personal inquisition team. And if you ever roll back way into the forums it plainly says that all the allegations were proven untrue and my partner was absolved of all the alleged crimes such as having good armor and having a nice axe.

So meanwhile I and the real-life guy were chatting and we decided we'd meet at my place and spend some time together. We were super excited and I talked about it waaaay to much publically.

Honestly my ex-husband was annoying as shit online. He liked to argue and bitch about lore and so forth. He was a great roleplayer, but he was a online troll both in the forums and in chat. Yet, so were a lot of people, just as rude, just as trollish. I could make a list of names right now, but it sucks I actually remember these people names so easily as what use does this have now?

So he comes to visit me from Canada. At the same time two of the board members went on vacation, and while he visiting me ,the other two board members voted to ban us from Alfa.

Me, who had not allegations or crimes against me, and him who had been proven innocent of all his crime. Its all in the forums, word for word. I know because later ya'all made me Lead Admin.

So pretty much the crime was being happy and finding each other, and being fucking annoying about it ,and someone, you know who you are, could not stand it.

So that happened.

BUT the worst thing is despite only two board members did this w/o a consensus and there were no actual proven allegations, NO ONE IN ALFA did shit. I got a lot of sad emails from people saying how bad it was, but everyone just sat on their add and let it happen. But they did shit.

Fast forward to 2009 - he and I traveled the Canada & the US, married, ended up in a flat in overlooking the entire Silicone Valley. I helped him get a great job at Cryptic Studios, just as they were starting to develop the Neverwinter MMO. He was in on some of the first development team meetings in fact.

He was a freaking ass and didn't know how to function in a modern work environs and got fired. Meanwhile I was fighting through a severe depression and some bad side effects from the meds.

So he ditched me in Los Gatos, went back home, promising he'd help me come to Canada. Four months later, he had a great, new job and he was bragging about how he had bought a house of furniture, a new computer, and a new flat screen, and realized he was never going to hire a lawyer and get me legally into Canada.

So I started to repair my life. 2009 the economy tanked. I took a terrible job. And I picked up Alfa again after quitting five years of World of Warcraft PVP. I got treated and I started an upward climb.

So to rebuild my faith in myself, with the full intention of revenge, I joined Alfa NWN2 again under another user name. And I kept my idea of revenge all the way through my DM time on the Marches and had my finger hovering over the death button one night when had a party of 12+ people running simultaneous adventures after an evil forest lord who was the aberration my character had birthed years and years ago.

As I sat there, enjoying myself immensely between the storytelling and reacting to the characters, I realized that I didn't care anymore. Most of the shitty people had left and the ones left had grown up enough to behave like reasonable adults.

And I had a great character I loved, who had great friends, who all had great adventures together with great dms. So I didn't kill everyone in a blaze of glory.

In fact I stayed and became a help to everyone i possibly could. I was a Dm; I build considerable amounts of each of the servers (though forgive me for my first cringeworthy attempts at building.) I was a player; did a lot of great work with fun dms and amazing characters. I was a friend to people when they needed it the most. I was an encourager. I was a teacher.

I became Lead Admin for a short stint as well as a few other jobs.

So that is my story. A few people I consider close friends already knew it. Maybe a few really smart people clued in on it, but didn't see a problem since six years passed between NWN1 and NWN2. I don't know. It is a lesson or it is a cautionary tale.

Come visit me on Wow & WRA and my battlenet ID is Hazelthorne#1925 - I can get you into some fun RP.
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CloudDancing
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Re: Where I Went

Post by CloudDancing »

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ayergo
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Re: Where I Went

Post by ayergo »

Revenge is a dish best served... with RP? Interesting story, thanks for shedding light on it. I think we've all had the ALFA inquisition after us at some point.
There's a place I like to hide
A doorway that I run through in the night
Relax child, you were there
But only didn't realize and you were scared
It's a place where you will learn
To face your fears, retrace the years
And ride the whims of your mind
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Galadorn
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Galadorn »

Cool.

Who were you in NWN1? ID and character name?

I hoped the end of this story would state you'd come back to ALFA just to play for fun and stay out of anymore politics... here's hoping!

Love ya CloudDancing.
Rumple C
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Rumple C »

So that's where you've been.

But where will you go?
12.August.2015: Never forget.
Veilan
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Veilan »

Welcome back!
The power of concealment lies in revelation.
Analogkid
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Analogkid »

Uh....ok?

not to be mean or anything but was there a point to telling us this, or just needed to vent? Which is fine I guess....Lol I know I do it at times.
"Cast in his unlikely role....ill equipped to act"
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Heero
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Heero »

Scandalous!
Heero just pawn in game of life.

12.August.2013: Never forget.
15.December.2014: Never forget.

The Glorious 12.August.2015: Always Remember the Glorious 12th.
Stormseeker
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Stormseeker »

*waves*
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Fionn
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Fionn »

Quite the trip, glad to have you back. It's been way too long, so I'll 2nd Galadorn's 'who were you playing'?
PC: Bot (WD)

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Galadorn
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Galadorn »

holy smokies...it's a Fionn.
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Fionn
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Fionn »

Galadorn wrote:holy smokies...it's a Fionn.
wut?
PC: Bot (WD)

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Galadorn
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Galadorn »

Fionn wrote:
Galadorn wrote:holy smokies...it's a Fionn.
wut?
yawp!
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Adanu
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Re: Where I Went

Post by Adanu »

Analogkid wrote:Uh....ok?

not to be mean or anything but was there a point to telling us this, or just needed to vent? Which is fine I guess....Lol I know I do it at times.
For someone who supposedly doesn't like it when others attack you, you sure do it a lot yourself.
First Character: Zyrus Meynolt, the serene Water Genasi berserker. "I am the embodiment of the oceans; serene until you summon the storm." Zyrus: http://tinyurl.com/9emdbnd

Second Character: Damien Collins, the atypical druid. "What? Being a stick in the mud is boring. No pun intended grins"

Western Heartlands HDM: On break. PM for emergencies
jmecha
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Re: Where I Went

Post by jmecha »

Now I miss ALFA, more then I normally do....which is alot.
Current Characters: Aelenta Renvanith
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