Well, yet another reason to dislike WordPress. I don’t know if it’s a bug or a deliberate change, but the actual writing portion of the post creation screen is now shoved to the far left of the screen, and is using only 30% of the screen. Maybe 25%. Then the settings tab is still on the other side of the screen. In the meantime, I’ve got 60% of my screen as blank space.
My bet is that this is another piss poorly thought out effort by Automatic to focus on cell phone blogging (as opposed to a bug).
Being in the exact opposite situation and blogging on a PC with a 32 inch gaming monitor, I have to either pivot my whole body to the left and put my self out of alignment with my keyboard, which leads to sore wrists and a risk of carpal tunnel, OR I just keep my head turned to the left and get a sore neck.
WordPress seems to be bound and determined to push users away from the site.
For those NOT in the know (ie most of you), Neverwinter(link to game website) is a multiplayer online video game, set in the Dungeons and Dragons “Forgotten Realms” world and the city of… wait for it… Neverwinter(wikipedia link to D&D setting / city info).
I won’t spend a ton of time going over minutia of the game. I realize that most of you aren’t gamers, either table top (ie pen and paper for us old schoolers) or PC games.
What I will say is that the game has been a welcome escape the last week from the frustrations of the blogging community here. Sometimes one just needs a break to clear their mind and recharge the batteries.
What I will say about the game is that it’s the first MMORPG(Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) I’ve enjoyed playing in years. The graphics are good, especially given the age of the game. The mechanics are seriously the best balanced of any MMO I’ve played over the years. Each class (character type) is fairly evenly balanced yet still has their unique role within a group. Each seems to do reasonably well in solo play also. It really comes down to what class suits a player’s individual playing style (aggressive, methodical, etc…).
Even more surprising, unlike every other MMO I’ve played, the “troll” population is almost extinct. No people trying to force their political views on others in general chat, or trying to create other infantile drama… That is REALLY refreshing.
Beyond that, the game is fairly true to the D&D campaign world. Neverwinter sits on the frontier with a couple of the bigger evil factions of the game world, including the Red Wizards of Thay, the returned Netharese, and a major entrance to the Underdark and all it’s denizens like the Drow Elves. In short, there’s lots of action as you level up.
You MIGHT recognize this Red Wizard from the “Honor Among Thieves” movie a few years back.
Fair warning: Those links in the last paragraph all lead to the D&D wiki, which is heavily cross referenced and indexed. It can be a HUGE rabbit hole if you’re one who gets caught up in lore.
Meet the Girls:
With all that said, I’ll introduce the 4 characters I’ve made that have stood tall during my playtesting. For the sake of clarification, there are three specific criteria for surviving playtesting:
First: The character class works in terms of me being able to adapt to it’s playstyle. Can it stay alive if played properly, and do it’s abilities, etc… work in a way that makes the class enjoyable?
Second: Can I get a “look” that I like, both in terms of appearance (including does the character fit the role), and does the build fit the concept. What I mean with that last part is that different species have different stats in D&D. Elves are more agile but have less endurance then humans, for example. So if one is interested in maxing out the characters effectiveness (called min-maxing by gamers) some species are better suited for some roles than others. I don’t hardcore min-max, but I won’t make a build that’s outright crippled either, like a Halfling (Hobbit) barbarian. “By the bones of Crom, can somebody help me lift this giant two handed battle axe?” LOL
Third: A holdover from my CRPG roleplaying days; does the character inspire a backstory, even a basic one, where I feel some sense of connection to the character? Even in games like The Witcher series, it’s a sense of backstory and character identity that help make the games playable, and go so far as to lend to a Netflix series.
OK, enough yammering. Here’s the girls:
Sil’indria D’Vir
Currently: level 11 Drow Elf Assassin.
Somewhat distant cousin to the famous Viconia D’vir(I like the alternative spelling for House DeVir). Already an outcast among Drow society for having minimal aptitude for the priesthood magicks of the temple of Lolth (Drow women are all expected to serve the queen of the demon-web pits as priestesses), Sil’indria’s life was made all the more difficult by her house being branded as traitors after Viconia refused to sacrifice an infant to Lolth. One of the few to escape the purge, Sil’indria wandered the surface world, taking what she could to survive at first. Eventually she grew into a top notch thief and assassin.
Cold, aloof, opportunistic, and even a little sadistic at times, Sil’indria is a product of her past and the culture she was initially raised in. She’s survived as long as she has by being analytical, coming up with creative alternatives to problems, and being slow to trust. She prides herself on her professional reputation however and will always do her upmost to complete a job and be guardedly loyal to those she works alongside. Is there a heart beneath the cold exterior? Nobody knows for sure.
Side Note: I chose the character class strictly because it’s the highest damage output in the game per some sources. There are no actual assassination missions in the classic sense.
Alana Daragon
Currently: Level 2 Aasimar Paladin
Lady Alana Daragon is descended from a once noble house of Waterdeep; the city of splendors. While her family has fallen upon difficult times, she still was able to be apprenticed to the Paladins of Helm(the protector god). This was in no small part thanks to her being Aasimar (In D&D, a human with some trace of divine heritage in their family history that chooses to manifest in that specific person).
Deeply devoted to Helm, Alana sees her Aasimar heritage as a calling to oppose the wicked and protect the weak. Her secondary goal is to restore the honor and rank of her own house (family) via noble deeds.
Alana’s father, initially supportive, now secretly worries that he will be upstaged by his daughter and has grown distant. Alana’s mother fears she will meet some horrible end in some far away place, and wishes she’d simply married off to another house “like a proper lady”.
Alana is extremely strong-willed, with a firm sense of right and wrong. She had a good mentor in the Order however, and realizes that there can be a fine line between justice and intolerance. She struggles daily with finding that line and what her exact role as an Aasimar Paladin of Helm should be. All while dealing with expectations from the Order, the Noble houses of Waterdeep, her own family, and the greater community of Waterdeep. Occasionally, when not bogged down in her duties, she will roam the poor neighborhoods of Waterdeep, healing the sick, running off thugs and helping how she can.
Notes: First, SOME Aasimar have angel-like wings. I haven’t decided for sure yet if I want Alana to have them, but I’m leaning towards yes.
Beyond that, I *LOVE* the Paladin class due to it’s being a class that can handle anything. It’s the Swiss army knife of D&D character classes. They’re genuinely good beings also. Alana is my “I need to experience something positive” character. I’ve remade her about a half dozen times before I finally got her look just right. Between that and the first few levels of the Paladin class being a major grind, that’s why she’s still stuck at level 2
Witchfire:
Note: this is a case of my recycling names among video games (and elsewhere). It’s sort of a trademark type thing for same gamers. “Oh you were X in that other game also! I know you.” Typically when this is done, the name and some character basics will be the same, but how close the characters are depends upon the similarities in the games, as well as the player’s desire for something different.
Currently: Level 13 Aasimar Warlock (Yes Aasimar have glowing eyes)
Go ahead, look down upon me. An Aasimar who betrayed her heritage. A witch of hellfire they call me. I wear the name proudly now, my former life a thing of ash. As if you would have done differently in my situation. Oh, yes… I see the look in your eyes, like so many others you judge without knowing what I endured.
I was once a promising your acolytle of Sune; goddess of love and beauty. Captured by the accursed Drow near the Northdark, I was put through years of utter hell. Tortured in ways that only beings as depraved as the Drow could imagine. They were determined that my suffering should be without equal since I am Aasimar. Every night I cried and prayed to the gods for mercy, for deliverance. None came. Eventually the filthy Drow added to my degradation by forcing me to serve in their houses of pleasure.
Eventually, I stopped praying for deliverance, and prayed for death. That was the one thing the damned Drow would not allow me though.
Finally, one night, Zariel came to me and offered me salvation; deliverance in exchange for the Warlock’s pact. The gods forsook me, of course I took my one opportunity for freedom. You’d have done the same… or worse. I burned several Drow to ash in my escape. The only one I spared was an outcast who shared my thirst for vengeance and aided my escape.
Do I see myself as evil? HA! You think because my beautiful wings have blackened like those of my mistress that I’m evil? I will tell you what she herself said in answer to that charge:
My legions are the only thing standing between your precious Seven Heavens and the bottomless hunger of the Abyss. I did not fall into the clutches of evil. I rose to shoulder a cosmic burden.
Zariel
More Notes: Zariel in D&D is a fallen angel who took an “ends justify the means” approach to her task of containing “Hell” and the Abyss. She now rules the top layer of Hell and wages war on the demons of the Abyss. Said Abyss is a different plane of existence than hell, although both are infernal. Hell or Baator is the plane of reality where lawful evil holds sway. Everything functions within a strict hierarchy of beings and laws, and the devil is always in the details. Think Washington DC, lol. The Abyss is the plane of chaotic evil and is home to demons instead of devils. Everything is pure random whim there with might makes right and survival of the strongest being the closest thing to any law. Think reality controlled by The Joker.
At any rate… The warlock class is not something I’d normally play. Infernal or other similar pacts are not my thing. As I said in previous spiritual posts: “All magic comes with a price”. However, this game presents an interesting spin on the class, AND it’s brutally effective in combat. Most magic using classes in games are what gamers call “glass cannons”; lots of offense, but so weak on defense they fold like a wet paper towel when hit. Not so here.
That got me thinking… I pride myself on my character concepts USUALLY being fairly unique (Alana above being a less common, more stereotypical character). What would it take for a being like an Aasimar to break? What would turn them to the dark side? Shortly thereafter; Neverwinter’s incarnation of Witchfire was born.
There’s a potential path to redemption there as well… Warlocks occasionally escape their pacts. Could a being so filled with pain and loss rise above it in time? Could she even potentially find out that Zariel MAY have manipulated the conditions of her capture and imprisonment in order to recruit her? So many potential story hooks here.
AND one last one…
Cara Skysinger:
Again, keeping with my theme of needing to be unique… It wasn’t enough to create a elf bard. I had to create an Avariel (winged elf) bard.
It gave me an excuse to make use of the wings from the Aasimar kit yet again. Note that the game treats wings as if they’re mounts, so that when you stop “riding”, the mount disappears. Hence no pictures with wings for Witchfire or Alana.
Currently: Level 5 “Avariel” Bard (made using Wood Elf race)
Cara was found as a toddler near the dead bodies of her parents close to the area of the Gray Vale. Indications her her parents had been attacked and brought down out of the air by Orcs of one of the High Forest clans, but some of the evidence seemed questionable.
Cara was taken in and raised by a local couple; retired adventurers who owned a local tavern. Her life was as relatively normal as it could be, growing up as a lone Avariel girl in a small human settlement. From an early age, it was clear she was gifted with beauty and a melodic voice, as well as a knack for getting into trouble. Her adoptive parents put her to work as a serving wench in their tavern, hoping to instill some discipline into their wild child daughter. She occasionally sang and played the lute for the crowd as well.
Her mischievous behavior got Cara increasingly into trouble however. She was flirtatious and not above using her buxom looks to garner better tips. When patrons got too rowdy, she was not above challenging them to duels either, having studied fencing. Occasionally, Cara would even cut the purse strings of a passing adventurer who “deserved it” (typically defined as not liking her lute playing or getting too grabby while she was serving.
Fearing for their daughter’s safety, and the reputation of their tavern, Cara’s parents sent her off to a bardic college in Waterdeep.
Side Note: I don’t know for sure if Waterdeep officially has a Bard’s College, but it’s sort of the New York City of the Forgotten Realms. Hard to imagine it doesn’t.
There, Cara perfected her fencing skills and her bardic talent as well. She also had a Sun Elven teacher there, who introduced her to Elven culture and stories of the Avariel. Somewhat fascinated, Cara learned Elven the Elven language. Much to her teacher’s dismay, Cara never fully took on the role of an Elf though. Cara had lived free and happy thus far, and that was enough for her, at least for the time being.
Exposure to the greater world only added to Cara’s sense of adventure, desire to explore and get into trouble. After graduating from the college, she began the life of a wandering adventurer; seeking fame fortune and mischief where ever she could find it. Her sassy nature, sharp tongue and even sharper sword making sure all are in large supply.
Bards, at least at low levels are a little underwhelming in terms of power. They’re meant to be more of a support role class in the original tabletop game anyway. However, the class is probably one of the most outright fun to play. All of the sword moves are delivered with a flourish worthy of an Errol Flynn movie, and it was easy for me to imagine the character dancing between opponents, upstaging them with fancy swordplay, etc… like something out of the OLD Robin Hood movie or the 1950s Zorro series. Just plain fun even if it isn’t the highest damage dealer in the game.
I’m all caught up on replies, etc… now. As of this morning after cleaning out and answering all the email, I broke 7000 for the first time:
So, yeah. We take the blog and our followers seriously.
Funny thing though… We’ve started dropping the people that never reciprocate, and as usually (always) happens when we clean house, SUDDENLY they remember we have a blog and they spam a bunch of likes trying to get us to resubscribe.
There’s a reason somebody was named the meme queen of their Star Wars: The Old Republic guild, lol.
OK, beyond that, lots of things to do today, so we’re off to the real world…
Ok, this one would be silly to have Witchfire do, LOL.
Yes, this is a little bit of bragging here. That said I freely admit that there are bloggers here with far more skill in the kitchen than me. Sheree at KoolKosherKitchen for one and A Jeanne in the Kitchen, or Gail over at SnapshotsInCursive for starters.
That said, and keeping in mind that our experience isn’t everyone else’s… It’s gotten damned hard to find restaurants that actually give a darn about food quality or decent service. I know it’s different in areas that are heavy tourist and travel areas. Some of it isn’t even the chain itself, it’s unqualified managers and unmotivated staff. Our last trip to Outback Steak House for our anniversary almost two years ago for example…
Outback isn’t world class by any means, but we’d never had a truly bad meal there… until that last time. The steaks were overcooked, and the meat somehow still smelled like it was past it’s expiration date. Worse yet, the breaded shrimp that we ordered also wasn’t cleaned / de-veined properly and we both ended up getting sick as dogs.
Never again.
So yes, overall, our favorite “restaurant” is here at home. Just compare what we can do with a steak vs Outback, and for less than half the price:
And that’s just for starters. Use the search option here for Ribeye, Steak, Meatloaf, Chicken, Brisket, Ribs, Chinese food, Cheesecake, Apple Pie, Pesto, etc… We do it all, and we dare you not to get hungry.
Ribeye pasta alfredo with butternut squash and fresh baked bread
scratch made dutch crust apple pie
We’ve gotten really good at turning out high quality, fairly simple meals by focusing on quality ingredients, proper food handling and preparation, and focusing on details. I’ve bragged before that our brisket has been declared competition worthy by multiple Texans, including a professional BBQ judge. Even Chattanooga’s best rib place “Sugars” is only on par with our ribs.
One key principle is keeping seasoning as an accent and not letting it overpower the flavor of what it’s put on.
Could/Would we do it professionally? Probably not. We don’t have professional preparation speed, commercial kitchens are a pressure cooker, and people are such Karens anymore… Telling this to an abusive customer:
tends to be bad for business in a world where everyone feels intitled to everything.
I spent the last 12 hours sleeping, and had some really weird dreams too. That last part is another story, maybe literally, LOL.
Anyway, I’m back to paying attention to the blog now that I’m awake. I spent the last almost two days gaming to avoid getting myself more worked up after writing that latest rant about WordPress. All I can say there is that if it seems like an over-reaction, just remember we’ve invested almost 7 years here and have nothing to show for it. The discouragement has actually created writers block instead of helping us grow as writers.
For those of you who did actually leave comments, it’s appreciated. Answering them while in that dark a mood would have been destructive though. We’ll be getting to them after this is written. 🙂
As for the future of the blog… There’s no plans to outright abandon it, BUT it’s clear we’re wasting energy putting our focus here. People want to be read but won’t read themselves. That system just doesn’t work.
Ironically, and as if to prove my statement, the only feedback we got on any of the things on the fan fiction page came from somebody who doesn’t even blog here. It was quality feedback about where the white room syndrome was too thick, and what else needed more clarification and development. When said input came from a blind person using a screen reader who still took the time to write, we have to wonder why NOBODY on WordPress could be bothered. With that input, the story can be re-written into something 10 times better than it already is. Coincidentally, that person emailed with feedback on the other two stories also.
As said in the rant, there’s no real return on investment here. So, yes, the plan is to look for another primary platform for our writing while not outright abandoning WordPress altogether.
Why am I even venting on this again? As I advised another blogger recently, the best approach to untenable situations is to accept the reality of them and work from that reality to change what you can. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve put in almost 7 years here. Even more likely is the amount of hours the two of us have put in trying to network and be people that genuinely interact with others.
Yet here I am once again complaining about WordPress.
More Bugs than a Cockroach Colony & More Mining than Minecraft:
Yeah, I’m calling the UNhappiness Engineers out on it. I’m tired of randomly losing followers only to have them come back and swear they never dropped us. I’m fed up with hearing about all the JetPack malfunctions (that’s one of many reasons I don’t use it), etc, etc… I even hate that the block editor has more limitations than website building software that was out 25 years ago. We don’t even have a working spellchecker for God’s sake! Where’s Macromedia Dreamweaver when we need it?
Then they force ads on free users’ blog while data mining everything written by all of us.
I’d profile a user or two just to make a point but I don’t want to deal with falsely being accused of stalking. Daily prompts? All profiling and data mining. Why do you think they’re so personal?
JetPack? Reality is it’s being pushed so hard, like all other phone based options, because the permissions give the app AND IT’S TEAM, access to everything on your phone. Permissions are set up to be all or nothing deals. You give any app access to your pictures, it sees and reports EVERYTHING in your media storage.
Think about that and what MAY be on your phone.
At least a PC gives you A LITTLE more control over your privacy.
Facebook Mentality!
NOTE: This obviously doesn’t apply to everybody. If it ain’t you, don’t take it personally. Some folks need to be read the riot act though.
Yes, I’m calling out the community now. At least those members who only give a damned about building their own numbers and giving nothing back to the people who have contributed to their own blogs.
Yeah, I know… you’re busy! You think the people who take the time to read and respond to your own blog aren’t busy also?!? That’s bullshit, plain and simple. Yet most of you treat the people out there helping you build your brand and genuinely trying to network and build their own, as nothing more than an expendable source of likes.
Don’t like hearing the truth? Too bad. Somebody needs to say it.
We bust our asses here trying to network. We’re here to build our own brand; create an audience for our writing and garner some constructive feedback. We have a dedicated email account set up for this WordPress. Nothing but WordPress email comes into it, and we get notifications for EVERYTHING so we don’t miss it. Result:
Almost 7000 emails in our deleted folder. Plain likes amount to about 60% of those notification emails. They just get noted and deleted usually (new people liking get a look over of their site unless they’re spamming likes). The rest ALL get read as well as likes and comments where appropriate and where we feel we have something beyond “nice” to contribute.
For those questioning the totals… We’re pulling an average of 100 to 150 emails a day on this account. M$ did it’s last cleanout of the deleted email to make them permanently gone a few weeks ago. That dropped us down to a little over 4000. That’s how many emails the two of us get and process.
So tell us again about how you’re dedicated to your followers and the community.
It doesn’t seem to matter what topic or combination of topics we get try to publish either. less than half a dozen read or comment and the rest just scroll through the Reader hitting like along the way. Think it’s not painfully obvious when multiple likes show up in under a minute?
News flash; that’s NOT being clever, it’s NOT showing any real support. It’s being a manipulative fraud.
The original goal for us in setting up shop here was to work on our fiction writing. Build some recognition, get constructive feedback to improve our craft.
Truth be known, WordPress has done FAR more harm to that effort than anything. We spend more time on others’ blogs and drama than our own writing, and busting our asses while getting little in return for it has caused so much frustration it’s killed any creative impulse or motivation to write on multiple occasions.
Realistic Expectations:
We came into WordPress with high hopes. It became pretty obvious early on that the community was more illusion than not though. 75% or more of everyone’s followers are inactive or minimally active accounts.
Ergo, nobody here ever had the expectation that every post got tons of likes and comments. When you’re getting a 1/2 of 1 percent return on investment though, you have to wonder if it’s worth putting in the work. I get more feedback on Medium from just the handful of comments I’ve made there. The dirty blog hasn’t had an update in almost 9 months and it gets nearly as much traffic as this one does, even if no comments.
So, I spent about 5 hours total posting my “Liberty Gold” story segments, editing them, adding links where they’d be helpful, and restoring two other stories to the “fan fiction” page. Then I made a blog post about it so people would know to look for it all.
Out of 845 followers… Here’s what happened.
37 opened the notification email.
17 people actually looked at the blog post.
ONE person commented on the blog post.
ZERO people even looked at any of the stories
ZERO people even bothered to look at the Fan Fiction page to see what was there.
Translation: Blogging at WordPress *IS* dead. This is just social media anymore.
I closed down the fan fiction page ages ago when I thought I’d be moving exclusively to my self-hosted blog. I’ve decided it’s high time to start rebuilding it.
Everything on the Fan Fiction page will be completely safe for work. PG-13 at the worst.
I started with a special treat also; a story that up till now, I’d only released the first two chapters of because I’d planned on making it a legitimate “for sale” ebook. 74 pages in M$ Word and 30,241 words!
The story is called “Liberty Gold of Three Worlds and the Dark Prophecy”. It’s set in the Champions 5th Edition / Champions Online game world. Teen superhero Jennifer Saunders, AKA Liberty Gold, has recently found out that her mother is actually a titan from Greek myth, and has been hiding out from Zeus on Earth. Her exact heritage makes Jennifer a target of Zeus’s wrath as well. Can she stave off his wrath and avoid an apocalyptic prophecy that’s tied to Zeus’s paranoia?
The story was originally written back around 2015 or so as part of a guild writing contest for Halloween, and quickly turned into a major event for the guild as everyone wanted to act out the events. I’ve been told it’s an epic story. Judge for yourselves:
Chapters 1 and 2 of the story with a little starter info to ease readers into it’s world.
The story is divided up into 4 blocks of 2 chapters each. That should make it manageable for readers. I’ve also added links in the story to the Champions wiki for anything that’s official game content (characters, organizations, etc…). I couldn’t do so for characters belonging to other players though. The links should help those who are curious or feeling a little lost.
Oh and YES… ALL rights reserved on this story!
Aside from that story, I have two stories set in the “City of Heroes” universe, one featuring another young heroine, and the others story featuring a ruthless villain trying to worm his way back into his boss’s good graces.
My Jedi Leia story will be going up there next, so that people don’t have to hunt to find the various chapters. From there, I’ll see what I can find that’s Safe for Work and add to the page. I certainly have a TON of City of Heroes stories I could re-post here IF there’s any interest and feedback on the existing two.
Silk Chatters 