Fires Outside and Within.
Well, it turned out that the shooting camp about two weeks ago in Kassunkuru wasn't much of a camp after all. It was more about us gunners being driven to a field where we practiced defense shooting, after which we were taken back to the barracks. Basically it was like back in Vuosanka: pairs were divided into "older" and "younger", each pair hurried to a trench from which they took a good defense position, the "older" directed the "younger"'s shooting, and there was all that "What to do if the enemy uses indirect fire?", "What to do if your rifle is jammed?", "How to organize swapping cartridges?" "When to open fire on an incoming enemy?", all that jazz.
However, the training did differ a bit from previous defense shootings:
1) This time it didn't involve just a battle pair but actually a group consisting of four battle pairs, and one person in such a group acted as the overall leader. We had to wait for the leader's command (or wait until he opened fire) before we could open fire. The important thing to remember was to open fire simultaneously for shock effect. Apparently it's devastating to an enemy's morale if it's eerily quiet first and then your squad starts shooting simultaneously like angels of death (instead of every soldier shooting individually in which case the shock effect isn't as big). My teammate and I were located to the far left so we simply couldn't hear the commands properly and thus we (and it turned out that many others did too) lagged behind a bit. I also had a rather bad position so bushes blocked my field of vision to the right. Thankfully my pair could cover me from that angle so we survived. Surprisingly enough we didn't make any mistakes in any basic defense stuff so overall the exercise went quite well.
2) We used actual TNT to simulate indirect enemy fire. We had to wire up the TNT and add all kinds of cables and timers to set them to explode one after the other. After that our senior lieutenant used a remote with which to make the TNTs explode. Even though we had protected our ears, the rumble from the TNT was astonishing. Some guys later admitted that they almost crapped their pants the first time the TNTs exploded. It was quite thrilling and added to the feel of being on a real battlefield. When I watched another group defend the trenches, I could finally see the full might of TNTs (which had twice the force of an ordinary hand grenade).
3) We were instructed to attack the enemy with rapid fire after the "indirect fire" phase. Earlier we had only been allowed to use single shots but now we could burst 20 bullets or so at incoming enemy (which were represented by vaguely human-shaped targets. It quickly became apparent that it's definitely not as easy to shoot with rapid fire on than if you use the single fire function of the rifle. However, the burst effect is needed because the enemy will have used protection provided by indirect fire to creep nearer to the base and thus you'll face multiple enemies at once and can't rely on single shots to clear the battlefield.
This will likely be the last time for the time being that I use full combat gear. Now that I've become the Scribe of the Artillery Regiment Staff, I'll spend more time with pen and paper rather than weapons and gear for most (or all) of at least this special training. Whether that applies to the final, group training phase, remains to be seen, but so far it seems that way. I'm more than happy not have to worry about long marches and crawling in swamps and forests so I welcome a change of pace. Sure, scribes have a lot of weight on their shoulders (after all, we're running almost the entire administration of the brigade as crazy as it sounds) so we must stay on our toes in order to keep our warrant officers and captains pleased.
In case any Russians are reading this, remember that big brother is watching you too. It's kind of funny how we were told that Russians will monitor even our Facebook accounts for any information on Finnish army stuff. Whether that's bullshit or not, it's still both an amusing and frightening thought. Perhaps some Russian intelligence guy will be reading through this entry (in case you're one of them, I say "Hello, tavarits!") but I'd rather not think too much about it. What would they think about all this Disney, RP and literature babbling? Would they call me an idiot for not liking overrated crap like Romeo, Juliet and Darkness? At least I hope he or she will be sensible enough to also read through all of tGA RP threads to gain a better understanding of Finnish strategic intellect (a man can dream, right?).
Anyways, after being forced to spend the weekend in the barracks, our unit finally got a weekend leave which lasted from Friday to Monday. As soon as I got home for a well-deserved rest, I ended up getting a nasty virus which included a charming combination of fever, sore throat, sneezing, coughing, headache etc. I was in a pretty bad shape until yesterday, and the doctor ordered me to stay home for a week because I was in no shape to travel back to the barracks (which is around 5 hours' drive away from home). I'll rejoin my unit on Sunday, and I hope I'll be in a better shape by then. So far the medication is keeping me around but there's no telling if it'll be enough to crush this resilient virus. Kinda sucks because until now I haven't been away for any sickness-related reason from the army. Oh well.
The bright side to this fever mess is that it's given me extra time to spend online (because getting online at the barracks isn't easy unless you own a laptop which I don't have). I was pleased to see that there have been a few posts at tGA. Hopefully this means we'll see more posts in the RP there as well. I'm itching to write because I'm so close to getting to a scene I've been waiting for ever since the battle of Vanna story arc began. It'd be unfortunate if the story died down before I got to post the long-awaited reveal post about a certain character's fate.
It's kind of funny how many different minor and major villains there are in the story at the moment but I think that makes the story more interesting. The focus is on one or two major antagonists at a time, and it's easy to switch whenever the heroes leave an area and enter a new adventure. Because the Grand Alliance has shown that it's not as pure as its old incarnation and that its counterpart, the Crimson Coalition, might not be as vile as we've been led to think, it provides for a more interesting conflict where there's no definite right or wrong (although sadly most POV characters are from the Alliance's side). Add to that the threat posed by the demons (who might get united once Nic's lovely demon Duchess has settled a score with her potential love interest), the creepy Grey Cult and the evil gods, and you'll have a complex but interesting conflict in front of you. Sure, the story's been moving slowly but I suppose it has benefited from it as it's given people time for character development. And if all else fails, we'll always have time warm dances (an inside joke)! ;)
I'm personally doing my best to keep my focus on the Vanna stuff because I want to resolve Refan and Ronove's stories. That might change, however, if I end up being the only active player in Vanna while most people concentrate on stuff around Jardine and Trinity Gask (unlikely but it's hard to predict the future anyways). Should I finish the drawn-out conflict in Vanna with my original plan, then, once the time is right (like Bleys did with the Proninist attack on Maar Sul City) or wait for others' input which might never come? I assume I'll have to at least get in touch with Nic (or maybe post a quick outline of how I've thought the battle of Vanna should end).
All I know for certain is that there are developments that I want to write (I have the basics written down already) for a scene I've had in mind for over a year already and which will be the culmination of a certain character's journey. It might be slow-moving stuff (the foreshadowing for that character's journey began as early as chapter 1) but the particular character arc deserves it.
I can't help but be surprised how long the Godslayer saga in general has been going on: since 2008! I think by now it's safe to say that even if we count all the "pauses" in RPing, this storyline has been the longest one tGA has ever had (and also had nearly as good participation that I think Arawn saga had). That's not a bad thing at all. Could it be that the more complex, character-driven, morally grey environment has resonated with people? Is the story better? Are the character more interesting? That's hard to say but whatever the reason is, I welcome such enthusiasm with open arms. And the funny thing is that even though people tend to call the storyline the Godslayer saga, we actually haven't seen the titular beast that much; instead the demons, the Crimson Coalition and the mysterious Totenkopfs have been the main antagonists in the story. It's going to be interesting to see what'll happen once/if any of these villain factions' goals clash. Who will emerge victorious, and will the Grand Alliance end up in the crossfire?
tGA may not have the biggest player base but those who do stick around (or pop in to write a few posts every now and then, at least xD) are good roleplayers and fine writers, each with their distinct style. For that I'm grateful: they've made me laugh and cry in equal spades and have provided moments worthy of literature and movie canon. I still haven't found any forum-based text RP with emphasis on story like tGA. Most RPs around are still battle-driven with weird rules and such whereas tGA can be considered a kind of collaborative creative writing process. It's a good way to practice one's writing skills as well as try different things. For me it's been an invaluable asset in sharpening my writing style and helping me understand the complexities of character interaction and development over the course of a storyline. I feel I've gone a long way since 2003 when I first joined tGA and created my thief character. I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm getting there slowly but surely.
And there's still the tGAWiki to update. Writing all that stuff down is going to take forever. Luckily you don't have to write in every detail in the wiki so you get some leeway. And it's shaping up to be a fine source of tGA information for anyone who doesn't want to read through dozens of RP threads. Maybe it'll lure in new players someday; time will tell.
Also, am I the only tGA member who chuckled at the name and setting of World of Warcraft Cataclysm expansion and how similar it is to tGA's current saga? It's very funny when you think about it. Let's see:
1) WoW: A hugeass dragon thingie wakes up and causes a worldwide catastrophe aka cataclysm in its wake.
2) tGA: A hugeass dragon thingie wakes up and causes a worldwide catastrophe aka cataclysm in its wake.
Unless Blizzard had had their story figured out before 2007 or so (because it was around that time that Doomgaze and I first began discussing the whole Godslayer phenomenon and all that jazz), I'd like to entertain myself and imagine that some Blizzard employees are actively reading tGA and stealing ideas from it so that they can put them in WoW. That's a very amusing thought for sure. x)
I've finished watching two well-done animated series recently.
Avatar: The Last Airbender was a joy to watch. The story about Aang, an avatar destined to save the world from the Fire Lord who wishes to conquer the world with his army, is suitably epic and yet very personal as the hero and his friends have to cope with large-scale battles as well as personal crises. Sure, the show had some characterization problems (I was particularly bothered by some episodes involving Katara but thankfully she grew up as a person) but for the most part it had interesting stories to tell, nice and subtle character development (particularly for Zuko whose growth as a person was very interesting to watch), fine animation and decent music. The villains (Zuko, Azula, Ozai in particular) had quite interesting stories, and I really enjoyed the goofy yet occasionally serious Iroh. Particularly the season 3 finale 4-parter Sozin's Comet was quite thrilling. You can also cue in my delight when I recognized Mark frickin' Hamill voicing Fire Lord Ozai. He had a good, menacing voice for the big bad even if it sometimes reminded me of his animated Joker voice. The show had an ok mix of comedy and drama and actually reminded me of tGA at times. It's rare nowadays to see such a nuanced and finely crafted animated series with a proper story to tell (unlike most series which only rely on episodic narratives). I've also discovered that there's a Finnish dub of the show but so far I've been unable to watch it to see if the dub is as good as the original. Perhaps my illness will give me a chance to finally catch an episode on TV.
Wakfu was a fine series too. The story concerns a boy, Yugo, who goes on adventures around the world with his friends in order to search clues for what happened to his real family. Along the way they meet allies and enemies, most notably the crazed time mage Nox who wishes to drain a lot of life (wakfu) from the planet. The story starts relatively light-hearted but slowly grows darker and darker. By the time you reach the final episodes which depict Nox's attack on the Sadida Kingdom, you'll be reminded of LotR's big battle scenes and see very, very dark things going on (there's death in a children's show? *gasp*). Even if the show's animation isn't the same standard as Avatar's (for obvious reasons), it's really pretty and surprisingly smooth considering its origins. The characters are likable with nice character models, and all of them are a joy to watch. I grew particularly fond of the old guy Ruel Stroud who is very stingy and prefers to avoid fighting but who nevertheless has a hidden heart of gold as well as great comedic timing. He's kind of like a combination of Bleys's Hageoyaji and HOOTERS' Bashkar characters from tGA in a way. What really surprised me character-wise, however, was the main villain Nox. First introduced as a generic "kill 'em all" villain, he gradually becomes more fleshed out as you slowly discover his sympathetic/tragic motives for doing the things he does. By the time you reach the final battle, you almost want him to win because you understand all the pain he's been going through (particularly if you watch the special Noximilien episode). The ending itself is very bittersweet (and I mean it). By the time the final credits roll and you see a certain shot of a certain character and a gravestone, you'll be holding back tears). The music in the show is ok too, but the opening theme (sung in French, of course!) gets special mention for being so darn catchy. I've been humming it for days.
Both Avatar and Wakfu are shows that are definitely worth watching. They have kiddy elements, sure, but they also have some epic and dark stuff mixed in, and I think the mix of tragedy and comedy works well in both series. It seems both stories will be continued so I look forward to watching new adventures taking place in the shows' detailed worlds.
Yours,
Mikko
However, the training did differ a bit from previous defense shootings:
1) This time it didn't involve just a battle pair but actually a group consisting of four battle pairs, and one person in such a group acted as the overall leader. We had to wait for the leader's command (or wait until he opened fire) before we could open fire. The important thing to remember was to open fire simultaneously for shock effect. Apparently it's devastating to an enemy's morale if it's eerily quiet first and then your squad starts shooting simultaneously like angels of death (instead of every soldier shooting individually in which case the shock effect isn't as big). My teammate and I were located to the far left so we simply couldn't hear the commands properly and thus we (and it turned out that many others did too) lagged behind a bit. I also had a rather bad position so bushes blocked my field of vision to the right. Thankfully my pair could cover me from that angle so we survived. Surprisingly enough we didn't make any mistakes in any basic defense stuff so overall the exercise went quite well.
2) We used actual TNT to simulate indirect enemy fire. We had to wire up the TNT and add all kinds of cables and timers to set them to explode one after the other. After that our senior lieutenant used a remote with which to make the TNTs explode. Even though we had protected our ears, the rumble from the TNT was astonishing. Some guys later admitted that they almost crapped their pants the first time the TNTs exploded. It was quite thrilling and added to the feel of being on a real battlefield. When I watched another group defend the trenches, I could finally see the full might of TNTs (which had twice the force of an ordinary hand grenade).
3) We were instructed to attack the enemy with rapid fire after the "indirect fire" phase. Earlier we had only been allowed to use single shots but now we could burst 20 bullets or so at incoming enemy (which were represented by vaguely human-shaped targets. It quickly became apparent that it's definitely not as easy to shoot with rapid fire on than if you use the single fire function of the rifle. However, the burst effect is needed because the enemy will have used protection provided by indirect fire to creep nearer to the base and thus you'll face multiple enemies at once and can't rely on single shots to clear the battlefield.
This will likely be the last time for the time being that I use full combat gear. Now that I've become the Scribe of the Artillery Regiment Staff, I'll spend more time with pen and paper rather than weapons and gear for most (or all) of at least this special training. Whether that applies to the final, group training phase, remains to be seen, but so far it seems that way. I'm more than happy not have to worry about long marches and crawling in swamps and forests so I welcome a change of pace. Sure, scribes have a lot of weight on their shoulders (after all, we're running almost the entire administration of the brigade as crazy as it sounds) so we must stay on our toes in order to keep our warrant officers and captains pleased.
In case any Russians are reading this, remember that big brother is watching you too. It's kind of funny how we were told that Russians will monitor even our Facebook accounts for any information on Finnish army stuff. Whether that's bullshit or not, it's still both an amusing and frightening thought. Perhaps some Russian intelligence guy will be reading through this entry (in case you're one of them, I say "Hello, tavarits!") but I'd rather not think too much about it. What would they think about all this Disney, RP and literature babbling? Would they call me an idiot for not liking overrated crap like Romeo, Juliet and Darkness? At least I hope he or she will be sensible enough to also read through all of tGA RP threads to gain a better understanding of Finnish strategic intellect (a man can dream, right?).
Anyways, after being forced to spend the weekend in the barracks, our unit finally got a weekend leave which lasted from Friday to Monday. As soon as I got home for a well-deserved rest, I ended up getting a nasty virus which included a charming combination of fever, sore throat, sneezing, coughing, headache etc. I was in a pretty bad shape until yesterday, and the doctor ordered me to stay home for a week because I was in no shape to travel back to the barracks (which is around 5 hours' drive away from home). I'll rejoin my unit on Sunday, and I hope I'll be in a better shape by then. So far the medication is keeping me around but there's no telling if it'll be enough to crush this resilient virus. Kinda sucks because until now I haven't been away for any sickness-related reason from the army. Oh well.
The bright side to this fever mess is that it's given me extra time to spend online (because getting online at the barracks isn't easy unless you own a laptop which I don't have). I was pleased to see that there have been a few posts at tGA. Hopefully this means we'll see more posts in the RP there as well. I'm itching to write because I'm so close to getting to a scene I've been waiting for ever since the battle of Vanna story arc began. It'd be unfortunate if the story died down before I got to post the long-awaited reveal post about a certain character's fate.
It's kind of funny how many different minor and major villains there are in the story at the moment but I think that makes the story more interesting. The focus is on one or two major antagonists at a time, and it's easy to switch whenever the heroes leave an area and enter a new adventure. Because the Grand Alliance has shown that it's not as pure as its old incarnation and that its counterpart, the Crimson Coalition, might not be as vile as we've been led to think, it provides for a more interesting conflict where there's no definite right or wrong (although sadly most POV characters are from the Alliance's side). Add to that the threat posed by the demons (who might get united once Nic's lovely demon Duchess has settled a score with her potential love interest), the creepy Grey Cult and the evil gods, and you'll have a complex but interesting conflict in front of you. Sure, the story's been moving slowly but I suppose it has benefited from it as it's given people time for character development. And if all else fails, we'll always have time warm dances (an inside joke)! ;)
I'm personally doing my best to keep my focus on the Vanna stuff because I want to resolve Refan and Ronove's stories. That might change, however, if I end up being the only active player in Vanna while most people concentrate on stuff around Jardine and Trinity Gask (unlikely but it's hard to predict the future anyways). Should I finish the drawn-out conflict in Vanna with my original plan, then, once the time is right (like Bleys did with the Proninist attack on Maar Sul City) or wait for others' input which might never come? I assume I'll have to at least get in touch with Nic (or maybe post a quick outline of how I've thought the battle of Vanna should end).
All I know for certain is that there are developments that I want to write (I have the basics written down already) for a scene I've had in mind for over a year already and which will be the culmination of a certain character's journey. It might be slow-moving stuff (the foreshadowing for that character's journey began as early as chapter 1) but the particular character arc deserves it.
I can't help but be surprised how long the Godslayer saga in general has been going on: since 2008! I think by now it's safe to say that even if we count all the "pauses" in RPing, this storyline has been the longest one tGA has ever had (and also had nearly as good participation that I think Arawn saga had). That's not a bad thing at all. Could it be that the more complex, character-driven, morally grey environment has resonated with people? Is the story better? Are the character more interesting? That's hard to say but whatever the reason is, I welcome such enthusiasm with open arms. And the funny thing is that even though people tend to call the storyline the Godslayer saga, we actually haven't seen the titular beast that much; instead the demons, the Crimson Coalition and the mysterious Totenkopfs have been the main antagonists in the story. It's going to be interesting to see what'll happen once/if any of these villain factions' goals clash. Who will emerge victorious, and will the Grand Alliance end up in the crossfire?
tGA may not have the biggest player base but those who do stick around (or pop in to write a few posts every now and then, at least xD) are good roleplayers and fine writers, each with their distinct style. For that I'm grateful: they've made me laugh and cry in equal spades and have provided moments worthy of literature and movie canon. I still haven't found any forum-based text RP with emphasis on story like tGA. Most RPs around are still battle-driven with weird rules and such whereas tGA can be considered a kind of collaborative creative writing process. It's a good way to practice one's writing skills as well as try different things. For me it's been an invaluable asset in sharpening my writing style and helping me understand the complexities of character interaction and development over the course of a storyline. I feel I've gone a long way since 2003 when I first joined tGA and created my thief character. I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm getting there slowly but surely.
And there's still the tGAWiki to update. Writing all that stuff down is going to take forever. Luckily you don't have to write in every detail in the wiki so you get some leeway. And it's shaping up to be a fine source of tGA information for anyone who doesn't want to read through dozens of RP threads. Maybe it'll lure in new players someday; time will tell.
Also, am I the only tGA member who chuckled at the name and setting of World of Warcraft Cataclysm expansion and how similar it is to tGA's current saga? It's very funny when you think about it. Let's see:
1) WoW: A hugeass dragon thingie wakes up and causes a worldwide catastrophe aka cataclysm in its wake.
2) tGA: A hugeass dragon thingie wakes up and causes a worldwide catastrophe aka cataclysm in its wake.
Unless Blizzard had had their story figured out before 2007 or so (because it was around that time that Doomgaze and I first began discussing the whole Godslayer phenomenon and all that jazz), I'd like to entertain myself and imagine that some Blizzard employees are actively reading tGA and stealing ideas from it so that they can put them in WoW. That's a very amusing thought for sure. x)
I've finished watching two well-done animated series recently.
Avatar: The Last Airbender was a joy to watch. The story about Aang, an avatar destined to save the world from the Fire Lord who wishes to conquer the world with his army, is suitably epic and yet very personal as the hero and his friends have to cope with large-scale battles as well as personal crises. Sure, the show had some characterization problems (I was particularly bothered by some episodes involving Katara but thankfully she grew up as a person) but for the most part it had interesting stories to tell, nice and subtle character development (particularly for Zuko whose growth as a person was very interesting to watch), fine animation and decent music. The villains (Zuko, Azula, Ozai in particular) had quite interesting stories, and I really enjoyed the goofy yet occasionally serious Iroh. Particularly the season 3 finale 4-parter Sozin's Comet was quite thrilling. You can also cue in my delight when I recognized Mark frickin' Hamill voicing Fire Lord Ozai. He had a good, menacing voice for the big bad even if it sometimes reminded me of his animated Joker voice. The show had an ok mix of comedy and drama and actually reminded me of tGA at times. It's rare nowadays to see such a nuanced and finely crafted animated series with a proper story to tell (unlike most series which only rely on episodic narratives). I've also discovered that there's a Finnish dub of the show but so far I've been unable to watch it to see if the dub is as good as the original. Perhaps my illness will give me a chance to finally catch an episode on TV.
Wakfu was a fine series too. The story concerns a boy, Yugo, who goes on adventures around the world with his friends in order to search clues for what happened to his real family. Along the way they meet allies and enemies, most notably the crazed time mage Nox who wishes to drain a lot of life (wakfu) from the planet. The story starts relatively light-hearted but slowly grows darker and darker. By the time you reach the final episodes which depict Nox's attack on the Sadida Kingdom, you'll be reminded of LotR's big battle scenes and see very, very dark things going on (there's death in a children's show? *gasp*). Even if the show's animation isn't the same standard as Avatar's (for obvious reasons), it's really pretty and surprisingly smooth considering its origins. The characters are likable with nice character models, and all of them are a joy to watch. I grew particularly fond of the old guy Ruel Stroud who is very stingy and prefers to avoid fighting but who nevertheless has a hidden heart of gold as well as great comedic timing. He's kind of like a combination of Bleys's Hageoyaji and HOOTERS' Bashkar characters from tGA in a way. What really surprised me character-wise, however, was the main villain Nox. First introduced as a generic "kill 'em all" villain, he gradually becomes more fleshed out as you slowly discover his sympathetic/tragic motives for doing the things he does. By the time you reach the final battle, you almost want him to win because you understand all the pain he's been going through (particularly if you watch the special Noximilien episode). The ending itself is very bittersweet (and I mean it). By the time the final credits roll and you see a certain shot of a certain character and a gravestone, you'll be holding back tears). The music in the show is ok too, but the opening theme (sung in French, of course!) gets special mention for being so darn catchy. I've been humming it for days.
Both Avatar and Wakfu are shows that are definitely worth watching. They have kiddy elements, sure, but they also have some epic and dark stuff mixed in, and I think the mix of tragedy and comedy works well in both series. It seems both stories will be continued so I look forward to watching new adventures taking place in the shows' detailed worlds.
Yours,
Mikko