This one time (about twenty five years ago) at MUSH camp..
My best friend had dated this guy who was all about TT and something he called 'MUSHing'. Both of them knew that I was going through it in my home life with my then-husband (don't get married at 19, folks,) that I might need an outlet, a safe spot to go and just.. be. (Yeah, because DM is all about warm and fuzzy safety. *snicker*) Little did I know that that one conversation, that one real life connection would lead to so many hours of fun, irritation, being emotionally wrecked in the best of ways, so many friendships gained and lost IC, OOC and IRL.
A few days later I was sitting in Garm's apartment while he and Lief gave me the rundown on all things Gaian Garou. Leadership structure, Litany, Packs, who's who, enemies and allies. This foundation of knowledge was necessary for me to understand the story of their characters, how they became part of the Whirling Dervishes pack, their views on other packs, races, the World of Darkness as a whole. That got us talking about Dark Metal itself, the commands and system, what sort of character I might want to have.
Within a couple of hours we had my shiny new PC ready to go, a few MUSH commands under my belt (jotted down in a notebook,) and a number of hooks to somewhat seamlessly integrate her into the San Clemente Gaian group. As well, some helpful hints to hopefully keep her ass above the grass.
Such as.. Bogeymen, those to avoid at all costs: Rathe and the rest of the Nephandi, Badr and the Sabbat, BSD 'and stay away from the dude with two dicks', an honorable mention for MetSec because, O47 police, yikes. Oh, but they had a quasi treaty, did the Gaians, with the Trad Mages and the Camarilla - don't fuck with us and we won't fuck with you, plain and simple. Cool, got it. Understood. *salute*
Which brings us to me sitting on my balcony some days later, big ass monitor in my face, mouse pad and a bottle of Arizona Green Tea to my right, headphones streaming a ripped-CD of Deftones into my ears via WinAmp, SimpleMu booted up and ready to log in..
Time to explore: +ic -> tube pasadena -> o (read desc for what would be the first and last time, no active PCs, move on) -> w
I could have taken my character anywhere. Anywhere at all. Why did I have to choose Pasadena? Ah, yes. Bright area. Safe. Mmhmmyup! O_o
Goodie! People here! Now to pose. If memory serves, it was something along the lines of: Celene meanders up the sidewalk, pauses to fish out a pack of smokes (because every character on DM at the time smoked) from the pocket of her light jacket. Discovering she is without lighter the redhead steps out of the way of foot traffic and against the wall to pat herself down. Just then she notices a man up the way, a man in a hat, lighting his own cigarette. "Nice hat. Hey, can I borrow your lighter? Misplaced mine."
In response to that: Rasheem and Lloyd overhead in a 'dyne, some Mage-y magic in use as a single flashing neon word came out of nowhere with an electronic voice repeating 'SLUT' over and over and..
Guess who I'd found during my first four minutes IC? Rathe, Rasheem and Lloyd. Riordan dudes. Fuuuuuck me. *facepalm* #1 on the Scary Bastards list.
"Sure, chica."
I wish that I could remember any of the rest of his pose. Alas, my adrenaline was going and the sum total of what I do recall was a mundane scene of getting the smoke lit, thanking the man in the hat, flipping off the 'dyne and its inhabitants, then turning right back around and heading to the tube to go find San Clemente.. Where I should have gone in the first place.
Anyone else, anyone in their right mind would have realized, should have realized, that DM was not a safe place, logged out, deleted the MUSH client, and never looked back. Instead, Celene lasted about a year and a half before getting gakked, and her death opened the door for many other characters over the years.
Quarter of a century later, nearly, and I still log in. Thanks for letting me play in your giant, filthy, full of used needles and lifeguards sand box, everybody. It was then, and continues to be, a pleasure.