I can feel teh lurv~!

This be teh month that I finally felt teh universe conspire to help me in meh GE life.

Nahmba wan:

Gavin quest, done!

Who's the bigger betch nao? >:3

Finally gave teh Ice Betch her just desserts. Nyahaha. But I couldn't haf done it wifout teh epic borrowed equips. xD Ya know who ya are. ;D

Nahmba toooo:

Inside GE's sewage system..teh stinkzorz xD

Finally got my ass inside Reboldoeux Culverts. Teh mobs be packing quite a punch thar. But it be a naisu place to power-level to s3xpartz. I even saw Mahoney & Mulann of the LC Faction taking a power nap. :3 Good thing I wuz still wearing teh wise man necklace from Gavin's quest. Helped a whole lot in AR & DR stuffz.

Nahmba thwee:

I was hoping to get to Zeia that same day that I went inside the Culverts, but things didn't go teh way it wuz planned. I wuz just running around Culverts until teh fegs in squad chat told me I should be in channel 1 if I wanted a peek at Zeia.

And true enough...

O hai thar, Nar! :3

ZEIAAAAAAA~!

That be my friend and sole faction member, Trianna. Hehehe. We were both thrilled, we nearly kissed Zeian ground when we got there. xD

Too bad we didn't last long outside the place. Fakken mobs were like raid bosses AR & DR wise.

Still, it be a good experience to be thar. :3

Nahmba fowr:

Stupid me. I has a couple of EXP cards rotting in meh inventory, until I decided to do this...

and this...


which resulted to this...

I really feel like weeping nao. Two farking years in teh making of clean living...that is, no macro or bot for meh girls. And nao they be s3xpartz! T^T I r be liek a proud momma. :D

Nao if only I be getting my elem to s3xpartz too..

Nahmba faaayv:

Following meh 2 girls' promotion, I had help from Vashal, Chinensis, Xei, Reclusion and everyone else from OC and a few friendly peepz to whack teh huge...and I mean huuuuuge...Avalanche Apparition! Sorreh there be no screenies for that. >_<

Teh epic trio of convoluted lurv~!

DeSanggria & Chinensis lurv trio in a yuri & buttsecks pictorial XD

Yezzzz! I has her! I has her at last!

I didn't haf teh heart to change her name to something else, so I stuck to naming her Selva (even if there be dozens of her wif teh same name running around town XD).

I cannot thank Vashal enough for helping me from Chaos Requiem, to Gavin, and to teh epic quest to get Selva. So yah...even if he doesn't wants it...thank you, feg! :3 No srsly...my heartfelt thanks to you. ^^

My epic gratitude as well to Reclusion (who helped me loads in more ways than one :p) and to the people who helped me with HAA right when everyone else was busy with PY. I lurv j00 all!

And today, I celebrate all these accomplishments with a tall order of Starbucks Espresso Frappuccino. :3

Cheers! ^0^

[v.3.0] RNPC voiceovers

So it turns out that this isn't my last post for the year. Hehehe. That's because RCM Hrin has posted these goody RNPC voiceovers for v.3.0 The Zeia!

Ania's voiceovers

Nar's voiceovers

And the most exciting voice of all...

Selva Norte's voiceovers

Excited DS is excited. ^^

Selva's skills

With another game content rollout looming in the horizon, we can safely say that RNPC Selva Norte is already on her way to being included in the following game patches. Recruiting Selva involves completing the Chaos Requiem quests, which are in itself, very tedious, given the fact that it involves an Expert level map.

Here's NineMoons' quest guide on how to recruit Selva.

Not only will we have to complete said quests to recruit her, there's also the quest to get some of the ingredients for her armguard/armshield recipe. NineMoons previously posted in her blog that one of the ingredients needed to forge this is 50 Mystery Powders.

[edit] kooriyuki from the GE forums translated the ingredients for us.

lvl 80 Chain Bracer
20 Composite Steel
20 Cast Iron
20 Solvent
50 MP

Having said that, RCM Hrin was generous enough to provide a detailed description of Selva's skills that comes with the stance books you'll get upon receiving Selva's card.

Cauchemar Stance

Vampiric Session: Attack enemy and absorb HP
Insanity: Damage enemies with great power
Death Crest: Defeat enemy with powerful magic after six times’ attacks
Eternal Tempest: Defeat enemy with power magic after fast attack


Rapida Espada Stance

Espada de la rotation: Attack enemies during revolving.
Espada del Viento: Defeat enemy with powerful left hand after two attacks.

Dragante: Push the enemy with powerful left hand and attack enemy
Saltos de Ataques: Gather power on left hand and hit the ground powerfully
Rapida: Attack enemy fast and defeat it with powerful left hand.

Personal Skill: Destino
Increases Immunity by 20 for 180 seconds.
(Level 11 increases DEF Rating by 1)

Note: Skill names are subject to change.

I don't have an idea what weapon is needed to make use of Cauchemar, but judging from the skill descriptions for Rapida Espada, that armshield's going to pack quite a punch. This is all very interesting, though it would be nice to see the skills in action with videos. Anyway, let's see what further developments we'll have once IAH tells us more about this much-coveted RNPC.

Stuff about being a girl gamer

Contrary to my un-updated blog, yes, I am still alive. Thanks to the culprit called real life (and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and Diner Dash on Nintendo DS, plus work woes to boot), things have been pretty busy for me.

Anyway, here's something I've been meaning to write a commentary about: Granado Espada's Gamer Girls.

If you know the whole story to it, chances are you know its herstory, stemming from the Community Managers, down to the gamers themselves. In fact, a long thread has been devoted to the discussion of this program, although admittedly, nothing worthwhile came up from the discussions, except for the proverbial masochistic harangue of "There are no girls on the Internets".

NineMoons has given us her own thoughts about this, and although I share her sentiments, I have a few things to add on my own.

1. Guys should learn how to grow up. Seriously. Just because there are girls playing online games, that doesn't mean they're guys masquerading as girls. You don't own the exclusive aptitude to play games.

2. Although I do applaud our CMs for starting the ball rolling for gamer girls, my only opinion is that it's not a huge issue at all. Don't get me wrong, but the fact that it's being hyped up only creates/worsens the gender disparity. You'd only have to look at the forums to know what I mean.

Seriously, it's nice to know that girls can pwn guys any time, but tooting our horns won't do that much difference. Refer to #1 for emphasis.

3. Why feature only the good looking girls? Not only will they elicit/bring up more masochistic discussions (in addition to weird advances and mindless ogling), it further aggravates the entire scenario. Ok, I know the gamer features are far from over, but it would be nice if all girls regardless of looks will be given space. Of course, we have to respect other's decision if they wish to remain anonymous.

I'm not speaking as if the gamer girl features are over. This may sound contradictory to my earlier point, but those who are willing to be featured should also be free to express their thoughts and not be hindered by what other people will say. And it would not be such a bad idea to feature the low to mid-level girl gamers of GE. We want to foster the spirit of community here and character levels are supposed to be irrelevant.

4. This one's for the girls: We don't need to prove ourselves to ANYONE. Regardless if you're a level 1 player or an Expert level player, the fact is that you love the game, that's more than enough reasons for you to continue playing. Let us not be impeded by our counterparts' serious, albeit wonked up, perspective on gaming. We're here to play and we're here to have fun!

=====

In other news, I has a Bai Hu! And since he's technically a Korean RNPC, I named him after my favorite Kpop idol, Ahn Chil Hyun, also known as Kangta to some.

Excuse me for the fangirling, but I've been wanting to give him that name ever since I knew he's from Coria. Haha. So I'm currently leveling both a Fighter and Bai Hu (at this rate, I'm never gonna be Expert if I keep on vetting new characters =_=).

But the good news is, my Gavin has a new playmate! >:)

[Just for Kicks] The rendezvous

Once upon a time in Granado Espada

Long before the edict of the Queen of Vespanola
Way before the strife of the Old and New
There lived a love so true
Between...

Edward, the White Baron

and

Selva, the brave mistress of rapiers


One day, they made a vow
To meet underneath the tree in Bahama
In this tree they will renew
Their love so beautiful & true.


And so they finally meet
With hands intertwined, they whisper sweet nothings.


Little did they knew
They were being watched by Montoro the cruel
But what the evil Viscount missed
Was the fact someone else too was pissed.


The lovers were much oblivious
Little Gavin was there to give Selva something precious
But what he saw tore at his heart
And so Montoro said, "Hey, dude let's eat this piece of art!"

Okay, so I had nothing else to do. XD I know the last line totally sucked but I was out of options for a the appropriate rhyming word. Haha.

GE clay sculptures source:
GE Hanbiton Fanart

Very, very random post

It's 14 August and guess what?

Bai Hu's coming to town today!

And guess what?

I has no GP.

Things to get excited about

RCM Hrin updates her blog with really juicy information. Read all about it here.

It looks like there are a lot of things to look forward to as the content for v.2.6 is already being rolled out bit per bit. On a personal note, here are some things that I'm reeeeaaally excited about:

• Bai Hu's going to be released on Aug. 14! I've never been a real fan of close combat characters, but I made a great exception for Bai Hu. I'm really looking forward to recruiting him, but that is, after I collect the MPs needed to get him.
  

• New Veteran Stances for Fighters! Well, mine's not yet Veteran, so why am I rejoicing over this? Hehe...I kid, I kid. Looks like fighters are going to be beefed up to become leaner and meaner killing machines. I suddenly feel very afraid for my Elementalist.

• Idge the Battlesmith is going to be available! This is by far the best news I've received, being the Idge fan that I am. Initially, ITB RNPC card became available as the January 2008 IOTM, but I'm really thrilled to know that there's a chance for me to recruit her in my barracks in this particular server (my ITB was initially housed in my Caravaggio barracks).

• Family Name Change, Character Name Change and Gender Change features! Not that I'll be changing my Family Name, but I do have plans of turning my male wiz to a pretty female. ^^

• GE Girl Gamers! As originally spearheaded by pCM Veya, this is a great opportunity for GE's femme gamers to bond together. I'm looking forward to the related events of this promotion.

• Enchantment Chip Packages! FINALLY! I'd rather buy the much-coveted level 100 chips in the Item Shop than burn my vis on the skyrocketing prices of these items. In essential, the price for lvl 100 chips in Carracci has gone down (from 40-50M to 30M each), but hopefully this package will turn around the economy across all servers. It's about time such issue was addressed.
  

Perhaps the best part in all these information that Hrin mentioned was the announcement of v.2.9's roll out. Of course, everything's still subject to changes, but then again, this is good news in terms of game updates. We're finally getting around.

Day 1 of Requiem

So, how was your 24 hours of no GE?

For me it was a bit of hell. All I could think of was finding a good name for Vicente Rio who I plan to recruit to my family once the servers went up. XD

First of all, I want to congratulate IAH for a good job in getting the servers up at the appointed time, even earlier than what was scheduled. I've been hearing stuff that the maintenance might get extended, but thankfully things pushed through with minimal glitches.

And so, the very first thing I did when I got my G-Points was to play ABS (with which I got more crap items lulz) AND finally recruit Vicente Rio to my family.


It was just a bit disappointing that he starts off at lvl 1 upon creation. T_T

I named him Lelldorin, after one of my favorite fantasy novels, The Belgariad.

Lelldorin, Baron of Wildantor and later husband of Ariana. Lelldorin is called "the Archer" in the Mrin Codex - Taken from Wikipedia

Unfortunately, there was no bard character in the series, so I resorted to naming him after the Asturian archer. I think the name suits him anyway. ^_^

Vicente looking happy to be a DeSanggria

And so, here I am in Bahia, pleveling my Lelldorin in the hopes that I get him to Veteran status before the contest ends so I can get his costume. It was later that I realized that I should've gone for the Tactical Assistance skill book (which requires 25 MPs to boot), before recruiting this RNPC to my family.

I r teh phailz. LOL.

P.S.: Let me just say that there's an overcrowding here in Outside Bahia. Obviously, everyone's in a rush to get this dude to Vet. So if you don't happen to own a Vicente Rio, now's the best time to grind at high level maps...there's nary a soul there. XD

Just for kicks...

I tried doing voice overs for Grace Bernelli and here's the result...

Good thing her original VOs are low pitched and suited my man-like voice. LOL. I hope Bernelli fans won't burn me to the ground. Hehehe. This is just something I did out of boredom.

More ZOMG news: My Bellem's Box items for January

Jumping Oiled Body Andre Janzur...

To celebrate the new year of 2008, My Bellem’s Box ‘Item Of The Month’ For January will not only be 2 Platemail Costumes, but will also include 1 Blue Female Samurai Costume AND Idge the Battlesmith RNPC Card! My Bellem's Box users, start claiming your items now!

IDGE THE BATTLESMITH RNPC CARD!!! MY FAVORITE RNPC IS NOW AVAILABLE!!! OMGWTFBBQSAUCEZIIIZIZZEEEHGREATESTNEWZZZEVAAA!!!!!

*proceeds to skip to Happily Ever After*

Errr...how do I buy My Bellem's Box in PH? *shoots self*

Naughty or Nice list + boss hunts!

Ok, here's the final list of winners for the Naughty or Nice event. I missed out on the last two names because I was at a LAN shop and the connections sucked. Please do inform me of the other two winners and I will gladly update the list. ^^

Day 3

Simberah
DarknessLord
Meidion
BonCelestial
Kikyou
Glacie
Bardy
DeSanggria
RoyalImperial
Senzenin
denten
Lightspyro
xKnIghTz
Riveray
Niox
FuzzyWuzzy
Whites
IRebornDeathI
WhiteWarrior
*thanks to Kn!ghts from the forums for the update ^^

And yes, I won! Wahoo!!! And here's what Santa graciously gave me...


I did the enhancement myself. ^^ I still have yet to enchant it to get good stats. Hehe.

I was summoned to Cite de Reboldoeux and I saw Santa in the flesh (no, he wasn't fat and old XD), as well as another honored visitor...RCM Hrin!!!

I had a small chat with Hrin along with some of the other winners who were summoned to the city. It was actually the first time for me to see her in-game, and I believe almost everyone in Caravaggio were likewise surprised of her unexpected visit.

Anyway, I'd like to thank Santa and Hrin for the great gift. It totally made my day. My Christmas wish list is a rather long entry, so I'll just redirect you over here in case anyone's curious ^^;. I'm the last post in the thread on that page. Hehe.

Congratulations to my mate, Senzenin, for winning as well! :3

In other news, grinding is slowly testing my patience. Good thing our faction leader took some of us into a mini boss hunting safari in some maps.


Spardo encountered the Bellboy of Mein in Desolate Cliff and quickly invited us to whack this ugly fiend. Too bad we were KSed at the last moment of the monster's life, although I was able to see that it dropped sword (forgot the name though) the silver hammer to summon Vergo (thanks for that, Spardy hehehe).

And here is one of my first successful mini boss conquest...the Sabel Tiger! Thanks to Spardy for tanking the turd. XD


I was able to get the loot, which was a Knight of Templar armor, albeit with sucky stats. Nevertheless, the exhilaration of the experience fueled my wishes to reach Veteran soon. And I'm getting there...it's only a matter of time. ^_^

I've likewise taken on the mission to get a Viki RNPC card. The quest is long and the drops are rare...perhaps I'll finish it when I'm done with the level grinding of my main team. Here's to hoping I get his card!

Too bad it's maintenance day today. Hehe. >.<

I want one!!!

Ok, so NineMoons has one, and now Mena has one too. Am I the only loser in this world without a Catherine RNPC???

I. FREAKING. WANT. ONE. NOW!

Christmas gift pweeeeese?? ^_^

Fanfic: Idge Imbrulia

I was supposed to finish this fanfic as an entry for NineMoons' RNPCs Are Love contest. But alas, I was neck-deep in work that time so I was only able to finish this during my idle time. Nevertheless, I do hope you'd enjoy reading this feeble attempt to come up with my favorite RNPC's back story on how she got to Granado Espada.

===

Life was not always like this...

Everyone is so consumed with thoughts of war. Back home in Illier, things were a lot more quiet, life was a lot simpler. I remember my childhood years in my country where everyone took on life's challenges one day at a time. Illier is probably the best place to enjoy life in all it's simplicity. Thoughts about home has made me miss the rolling countryside, the smell of baked bread from the local bakery and of course, the sound of the incessant pounding in the smithy from which my father worked day in and out.

I grew up in Illier's capital city of Andora, which is by far the busiest, most robust part of the country. My father, Edgardo, was reputed to be the best swordsmith in all of Orpesia. Riza, my mother, was the daughter of a Vespanolan viscount who was quite the charmer. Their marriage was arranged, ironically, by my mother's parents. At that time, father was making quite a name for himself in his business. People told me that even the Vespanolan royal guards' weapons were made by my father. And back then, such favors from the Queen were equivalent to a noble title.

Maman* was a quiet and reserved person who took on to the marriage quite easily. I believe that even if their union was arranged, she loved Papa very much. As a little girl, I would always catch her looking at Papa quite intently, as if memorizing his face. Papa would often catch her looking at him and would smile warmly, making Maman blush furiously. As a child, I thought it was a game they were fond of playing, and I find it endearing to this day.

With my parents' diverse background, I was raised both in the smithy and under society's watchful eyes. Maman would often bring me to parties held by courtiers, noblemen and other titled families. I didn't relish this kind of environment, for I've always thought of these people as fluffed up and stuffy. But Maman told me it was necessary as the daughter of a noblewoman.

On the other hand, Papa would teach me the ropes of his business. At a young age, I would assist him in his work, and at times, let me wield his hammer. Papa insisted on perfection in everything he does, and he has taught me well. By the time I was old enough, I forged my own dagger, which I still keep with me.

To tell you frankly, I enjoyed being in the smithy more than I ever did in people's manor houses. I was immensely pleased doing blacksmith work, and Papa was rather proud of me for taking his work to heart. Although Maman never openly expressed her objections (if there were any), she understood my preference and began to include me less in her social tête-à-têtes.

Such was our life back then, but as people would say, peace is just a prelude to something monumental.

The three-year war brought about by the conflict between Brestia and Vespanola drove the entire continent of Orpesia into chaos. The once peaceful and prosperious Illier was transformed into a major military area. Papa became a sought-after person for top-class weapons, and this overwhelming demand got him working like a madman for months on end.

The work drove him insane, I guess. His mad desire to create perfect combat weapons led him to his death. The plague of the war and his esteemed reputation got to his head to a point that I barely recognized the kind, spirited man that he was before. On his deathbed, I vowed to take up his work as my own. I clutched his rough, callused hands and watched the life ebb from his eyes, and on that same day, I took on his profession as a blacksmith.

Maman, who kept mum on my work in the smithy before, now opposed my decision. As the only child as well as the only daughter, she did not approve of me taking up a man's job. I firmly put my foot down on this matter. It was a decision I made of my own will, and this is something I had to do for myself as well.

And so a month after Papa's death, I enlisted myself on the next ship bound for the New World called Granado Espada. Leaving home was painful for me in a way. My life was there. But in order for me to tread this new path I took, I knew I must start on my own.

I arrived in the Vespanolan stronghold in Cite de Reboldouex wherein the Pioneering Office gave me enough capital to start my own smithy. The city was probably the hub for all families starting out with their quest in this new land. And since I am the only blacksmith in the area, people naturally flocked to my workshop for weapon enhancements. Life had been busy from here on, and I rarely noticed the passage of time as I grew more and more attuned to the sight, sound, and smell of working with metal and fire.

As I got into this new place, I was able to meet new people and learn their stories. The exchange of life stories and the forging of friendship became as persistent as the hammer pounds steadily on heated steel. Life is tough in the New World, but as the gods would have it, such challenges have their own redemption at the end.

I am Idge Imbrulia and this is my story. Wherever life will take me, I will face it the way I was taught how—with much courage and strength.



*Maman is the French word for "mother". I think I read somewhere that the reference for Illier is France because of its affinity to arts and culture.

faction EBs, quests, blogging and everything else in between

I have moved!

Okay, so I previously said I won't, but after Veya told me people had to sign up just to comment, I knew I had to move the DeSanggria abode to a more user-friendly host.

GE PH gamers have recently started conducting meet-ups to get to know their fellow GEeks (a term I coined to describe GE players XD). Talks among factions to have their own Faction EBs (eye-balls or get-togethers) are the buzz these days in the forums. GE PH Community Manager Veya has attended some of these and have written a post-event account in her blog.

Likewise I'm excited for a CARNAGE Faction EB sometime soon. Some of my factionmates have arranged impromptu EBs a few weeks ago, though I'd really like to see a huge attendance of the members in a grand meeting of sorts (although, I'm not too sure of a 100% attendance because some members reside in the provinces). I know for a fact that this faction is one bunch of crazy, funny gamers and I do want to meet them in person to put a face to those funny anecdotes I encounter in each of our faction chats.

The big question though is who will steer and organize this meet-up? What of everyone's availability?

=====

I'm glad to say that some members of the Yakisoba Faction have cleared the air regarding the heated posts in the CARNAGE Faction blog. Apparently, some people have been using the names of the known Yakisoba families to spam and flame in other factions' blogs. It's a good thing some people condoned these flame wars, or else we'd have some serious problems in our hands.

=====

I've been meaning to put up an Alaena entry, but I've been so engrossed in finishing the quests and leveling up to actually chronicle Alaena's exploits with her sisters. Oh, I've been taking screencaps and all, but some of them are not nearly as significant to merit an entry in this blog. I've been going to just 2 places in the map (Tetra Grand Corridor & Golden Road) so I can level grind and get more quests. I want to level faster coz I can't wait for Alaena to don the Heaven and Hell stance, which I've been rambling on for the last two entries or so. XD

Plus of course, I want to be worthy of being in CARNAGE, since this faction actually has a level requirement.

I guess I am taking my time to some extent because I love doing the quests as well. I've recently stopped doing Carlos' Escudo Pecher quest coz my slow PC puts the game in a perpetual state of lag, thus I can't complete the mission.

And I've finally acquired Gracielo! Hahaha. After 48 years of trying my luck, I actually beat the dude at around level 34. Some people have acquired his character card at a much earlier level, but as I've said, my PCs not cooperating so the girls die most of the time in combat missions. This is also the reason why I can't finish the stuff about Gracielo beating some three hulky fiends at the Coimbra Observation Point.

I've recently finished Brunie's initial request of Hard Chalcedonies, and I'm now doing her quest of obtaining the Golden Horn at the Tetra Golden Road. I've also taken on Idge's quest for some armor parts (yet again).

I'm just taking things one at a time. ^_^