Third time's a charm [Cothiversary]

[ImagenAshyun]

I started drawing this picture weeks ago, but school and laziness got in the way.

My actual arrival in CotH is May 13 of 2011. I actually remember where I was and what was happening then: I responded to @Wuvvums ' deviantART comment suggesting this server, so I followed through, not at all expecting me to stay; whenever I joined a site or forum, I have a tendency to forget about it in a couple weeks if not days. Delta was the one to approve my profile. I did a test RP almost immediately with Wuvvums, on Kapre in a Shakur casual RP in Shattrath. This was me fresh out of a private PvP server, so I was accustomed to running around like a maniac and leaping 50 feet without worrying about my HP. Because I was derping OOC as well as IC, I don't really consider that my real IC entry into CotH, as it's mostly just testing the waters.

My first real entry? It basically resulted in this:

Spoiler:

Okay, Reigen didn't actually say that, but she may as well.

The short version: Kapre derped and got himself enslaved. The long version: Kapre thought it was funny to waltz around in Booty Bay while wearing the Halloween Orc mask. Wuvvums' orc (her name escapes me at the moment) and I believe Kilik tricked Kapre into smoking felweed, which resulted in him getting so drugged that Wuvvums' orc sold Kapre into slavery for funsies, even going so far as advertising this in Ventrilo. Reigen, then the leader of <The Lost Minded>, bought Kapre and rode him around like a mount. She was about to order him to wear a pink dress when another player, a draenei paladin female, came out of nowhere and bought Kapre's freedom. Despite being "owned" by a blood elf for a time, Kapre was moreso thankful that someone as more benevolent as Reigen was the one who bought him than some sadistic jerkass, so Kapre befriended her and swore to assist her in The Lost Minded, even going as far as tutoring a few folks and enduring their shenanigans.

If I look back at RP back in the day and tried that crap again, there would be no way I'd get away with it. We as a community have gone a long way. I've watched so many changes occur. Players come and go. Rules and policies change, update, and even go a full 180. Some of the players who truly shaped my characters and RP styles have now long gone. A few others started as people I've feared or disliked but now have become some of my closest friends.

I still do truly wonder how on earth did I become a GM, especially after being in the server 5 months after my arrival (when I actually hoped I'd be noticed after maybe two or three years). Last year, I thought I could take a break from GM duties due to a situation in my life that urged a sudden change; I was briefly laid off from work, a couple job interviews I had decided I wasn't going through, and in general, I had very personal crisis that urged me to bail from one home to another. I thought stepping down as a GM would help me focus on getting my life together. In actuality, the opposite occurred: I began to feel isolated and anxious, not to mention sleepless and even unfocused when I actually did do job-hunting. Not to mention that when I did come ingame as a normal player, the GM goggles were still over my eyes: I'm surrounded by players who needed help, or I'm reporting problem players when normally I'd just reprimand them myself. After maybe being away as a GM for probably three to four weeks, I'm back in the team just as Cataclysm finally arrived. And hilariously? I got my job back (the laying off was temporary), and I got two more jobs as a private tutor and in behavior respite. I consider this funny because I first became a GM around the same time I got my first official job.

For this reason, I always equate GMhood and my contributions to Conquest of the Horde with emotional stability; even as school and work would weigh me down, I obtain energy and confidence to go through life when I'm RPing or helping this server. I try my best to be a staff member everyone can rely on and relate to, even when I'm actually down. Even when WoW RP becomes a passe and should this server ever permanently close down, I otherwise would like to stick around as a community. I consider you all my friends and family, and I am beyond grateful and extremely happy to have you all. I am still amazed there are folks who were willing to help me with commissions with two different emergencies. It makes me happy that this place is a place I can trust despite never having seen most of your faces in person.

So here is to three years in CotH, and hopefully, more years to come. I've come a long way from being a single derpy cowardly draenei to a proud RPer of over 23 profiled characters, with a handful on their way for profile approval. Although I cannot name you all individually (because I will forget names and I'm too embarrassed to do it xD), I will extend my thanks with a simple handmade cupcake...

Spoiler:

....Unfortunately, Deathwing got to it first.

Thank you for the memories!

You win free internet cookies if you can name all the characters correctly here.

[Jonoth]

Hooray! Grats Immy! To many more exciting adventures!

[Geoni]

Grats! You're an awesome person and a hard worker and in the future I hope to see fours and fives with too many characters for the number to handle.

I think I know everybody. Except for that Draenei hiding with Rets'nis. Who dat?

[Ural]

I remember when you joined and were so full of vigor and innocence! Glad to see none of that has changed.

ONE OF US
ONE OF US

[CappnRob]

Literally wouldn't be here if not for you.

So yay for that C:

[Reigen]

You win free internet cookies if you can name all the characters correctly here.

Dino, Bastos, Diwatta, Anaka, Imagen, Kogan, Kitson, Elsamina, Gunthar, Willelm, Jyovani, Kapre, Mahentosh, Tibalan, Arlnado, Aimee, Rene, Urameil, Retsnis, Polore, Madahon, Kantado, Buhayos, Stefano, annnnnnd Jami.

/dusts shoulders off.

[ImagenAshyun]

Thank you so much, everyone! Reigen gets the cookies! :|

I think I know everybody. Except for that Draenei hiding with Rets'nis. Who dat?

Polore!