On Social Dynamics

First off, I haven’t posted more recently because SOMEONE hid the “log in” button whe she switched themes and I eventually had to find and enter the wordpress login URL manually.  Now, fair warning, much of this is going to be rambling and much may not make sense to those not in guild.

Anyhow, it strikes me, from time to time, how like a living thing a guild is.  It sheds cells and rebuilds itself over and over, a constant cycle.  It’s a bittersweet thing, at times.  I look around Aetherial Circle now, and I see fewer of our original faces.  The first that hits me, of course, is Sharvan.  The day I got that phone call from Diyami, it literally took me a full minute on the phone to even figure out who was calling.  After I realized what was going on, I literally dropped to my knees on the floor.  It was so sudden, so unexpected.  We were doing our damndest to get her and Diyami to the AC BBQ we held in Maine, which was a just a few months away at that point.  We were even considering springing for a ticket for them.    It’s a wound that I don’t think will ever completely heal.

Diyami and Bunnyfluff, Shar’s RL friends, ended up switching servers a while back, because they were getting so much lag on Drenden that it was mostly unplayable.  Immortus is still with us, though I don’t see him around quite as much as we used to.  Flesh and Vein, two of the guildies who made the jump to Drenden with us back at BC launch, popped back in a month or so ago, but I haven’t seen them since.  One friend (who shall remain nameless here) who was an original member, I had to gkick because of his temper.  I hated doing it, especially since he’s a RL friend.  He moved a while ago, and I haven’t been able to talk with him much recently.  Msbehavin, the warrior who was our main tank when we made the switch to Drenden (I laugh saying this now, as back then, I had almost no idea what the hell a MT was) still hops on very occasionally with his new hunter, but it’s been a while.

Then, there are those who stopped by for a time.  Pyroclasm, you nutjob, we miss you wherever you are.  I don’t care how drunk you seemed at times on vent, you were hands down the best bear tank I have ever seen.  Kyndig, despite the bad ending, you were still very much a part of the family.  Crux, you were an awesome healer, a grumpy bastard, and everyone loved you for it.  Dallin, it broke our heart when you left to raid elsewhere – I still don’t agree with your reasoning, but I won’t let that ruin the good memories.  Oz, I know you’re still around now and then, but we miss having you around more.  TJ, if you don’t hop on Owen more often I’m going to pummel you.  Laguna, you were with us for a while, and screw real life for interrupting.  Skingrad/Dokis, you were a fun couple to play with.  Nightscarab, not sure if you eneded up leaving WoW, but if somehow you ever find and read this, I hope you’re doing well.  Deoin, Jace, Hathorn, and many others.

And there are some that are still with us.  Celliana, who I think it the only remaning member of a guild we absorbed trying to get into Karazhan.  Francois/Jefferson, who I sold the Leggings of Beast Mastery to the day he joined guild for about a quarter of the AH price.  Demetria, Anarac, Lamaa, and the rest of the BBQ crew.  Doom, who is like MacGuyver, except instead of making bombs out of paper clips he makes crude jokes out of the most innocent comments.  Militades, who we picked up as a healer and who turned into an incredible tank.  Naki, who was the tank for the Black Morass run that finally got Cay and Fio their keys (I was literally at the trainer about to respec feral when Steph was like “Wait, I found a tank!”).  BRK, who isn’t around as much any more, but who still stops in and hangs out when he can.  And more, of course.

There are new faces in the guild today.  I don’t know yet how they will fit in, what memories will be built, what the future holds.

Can a guild be said to have a personality?  Can it be said to mature?  It feels that way to me.  So much has changed in AC.  I look back at our early days in BC as a young, struggling guild almost like I look back on my childhood.  Everything was new and exciting.  Downing Attumen was a major accomplishment.  Attracting prospective members was incredibly hard – we had no proven track record to show them.  We almost gave it up twice, when we’d recruit ALMOST enough to get going, and then lose one or two more to a guild that was actually raiding.

We were always close.  But (and I hate to keep coming back to it) Shar’s death was what really made it hit home.  Tragedy is like that, sometimes.  Those who remain behind draw closer together.  In a way, it felt like the first death I experienced in my family.  You start appreciating those you still have, because it truly hits you for the first time that they won’t always be there.

When WoW finally closes its doors, it will be a sad day.  I’m not sure what will happen to Aetherial Circle as a whole.  Will we go our separate ways?  Move on to the latest and greatest MMO?  Stage an armed takeover of a small tropical nation and establish the central state of a hegemony that will soon envelop the world?  I’m just not sure.  What I do know is that among the trade chat trolls, random pugged group members, gold spammers, casually known guildies, and fifteen year old basement-dwelling teenage boys, I’ve found a few gems laying hidden.  True friends who I am proud to know, and friendship that may have been built on the foundation of a game, but has transcended that and become something more.