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This is just a small post because I sorta was debating sharing/not sharing this with you all, but decided I would. And I wanna get it over with before I die of mortification and don't do it :P

I have a hobby- a little activity I do if I'm not in game or doing something actually productive. Basically, I get EVE trailers made by CCP, choose a song, and put the vids and music together, cutting the clips up and sticking back together in different ways so that they fit with the music.

Lots of little boredom projects really. But I figured that I may as well link them here just cause, well, its my blog, and I can do what I want! And its EVE related :P Technically.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQbkAK8iB7vN8m0XPCgbFPPgO1JSGShy4

There's the playlist- my favourite one is the most recent one- Lazy Boy EVE. Mah hunny suggested the song, so I dedicated it to him :) And it worked real well with the beats and everything.

I've now run out of footage, but I was debating branching out into more fan made/filmed footage. hehe. Maybe. Don't know yet.

Oh, and just cause, I'm gonna show the other thing I do pretty well :) Photoshop + EVE +Forums= Signature Making. We don't have a forum in THC (sad face), but me and a few other people have signatures I've made from when I was in R1FTA, so I figure may as well show them here. Again, cause I can :P And I'm more proud of these than the videos I admit haha

Oh, and my few for THC2 as well methinks :) I'm proud of the fact my favourite one is actually at the top of our killboard ^.^

The Awesome Fleet is Awesome!

Hello dear readers!

I have a few more than last time I think, so hi to any new peeps I have watching :) Welcome to my tiny little nooby world. Hehe.

I couldn't come up with a good idea for a post, until TONIGHT! Fleet=Awesome.

It was a cold, stormy night.... no. It really wasn't. I had a shitty day. Honestly, at one point I was in tears trying to stay silent on comms. Apparently my mood was noticable, so I wasn't doing as good a job as I thought, but that's irrelevant. What can I say, I'm a girl and I have hormones and emotions get to me. I'd lost 4 thrashers in about 4 hours, kept missing points when we went on the first roam of the day with a bunch of people from corp, missed out on most of the kills... stuff just wasn't working for me.

Thankfully, Sugar came to my rescue :) Apart from being the person I could talk to and whine a little, she seemed to notice my Thrasher agony and promptly gave me her Jaguar. I now have a favourite ship (so far anyways :P).

This thing is amazing. I absolutely love it! It's quick and agile... and quick. My Thrasher has nothing on it. And it looks more awesome than a Thrasher. This fit suits me so much, and the way that I like engaging. It's definitely not for solo, but in fleets, its already proven itself. Like... majorly proven. And so we go on...

The first Jag I was given by Sugar blew up about 10 minutes after I got it. That's what happens when you tackle one of Eviscerate on the Heild gate. Shoulda seen that coming. Apparently flashy red was a lie! <<< Yeah, totally went there. Anyways, mistake on my part led to Death #5 of the day. The rest of the peeps in Bos ended up killing them anyways while I went back to station and put together another Jag. Just after this, my wonderful parents came in and told me we were all supposed to be going out for dinner. Feeling sorta shitty about going anywhere, and knowing another roam was gonna happen, I took a gamble and stayed. Good decision.

We got a few kills on the way out- a couple of Ishtar's from the same corp in Tabbetzur, and me and Sugar had a good time working together and getting the point (after Ren had freaked out and called for help). Female Tag Team!!! Awww yeah.

In Atlar, we got into an encounter with Dred Nots, and apart from one bit where Ren's Ares ended up getting blapped single-handedly three of them died, with most of us whoring on the last kill- a Nado. Great fun, and a great warm up after the Eviscerate fiasco.

Ended up back in Tabb and Vanderie (one of the 7-2 guys) was playing games with a Tempest. He got popped and we all warped in. He docked and then came back out... and died. In a beautiful ball of fire.  We got a few other random ganks on the way to help keep our wits about us.

As we continued, I got my first golden moment of the night. Up ahead the call was made that a Hurricane had just jumped through the gate into Hadozeko, the same gate we were all in warp to. I was in warp, about to land, praying and begging to get there in time. Landing, I felt a big grin slide onto my face as the cane decloak's, looking incredibly inviting. Without even thinking I burnt towards him, overheated my point and alligned to the sun. Calling out point, I waited for the first person to land, and then warped off, only a smidgen of my armour touched. The Cane was popped and I had that wonderful feeling of achievement and pride when people started telling me I'd done a good job. I warped back to the gate and without any ado we moved on.

While I was on a high, just before Amamake, a group of nice big ships from a corp called Atrocitas were spotted, who usually (apparently) gate camp all fag-like- all talk no action sorta stuff.

This is where stuff got real interesting. Like really interesting. Jumping into system, we quickly warped to our scout, just as the tards warped off. They headed towards the station, and after a brief moment of panic when I warped wayyy too early, got there before everyone and was gonna get blapped, the bastards docked up as I landed and that was the end of that. Having been looking forward to this fight, and after waiting for the right opportunity, just sitting on gate, the tards proceeded to get bashed in local, everyone in fleet joining in on questioning the assholes parentage and sexuality- not to mention the gifs... that I won't describe any more than 'they could have got people banned'. :P

One of them caved, told us to warp to a belt. 3-1 I believe. We all arrived, somewhat expecting to be destroyed, but there was no one there. After a few more minutes of abuse, they started warping in.

They instantly pointed Dave's Prophecy, and while drawing their attention, the rest of us got cracking. I can barely remember what happened now, getting points left right and center on anything I could reach. Diz would call a new primary or a secondary and I'd orbit around them quickly, darting in and out, pretty much manually flying, with drones and ships and trails and explosions all around. Wish I'd been able to Fraps... but anyways. Long story short:

See below: ^.^

Dave didn't end up dying for some reason, even though he was their main target, and apart from a Megathron that warped out as he was about to reach hull, we killed them all one after the other. And it was beautiful ^.^ We cleared the wrecks, docked up nearby and dumped the loot, before heading off again.

That was about it, and while we tried going for a couple of other things, it didn't quite work out. I was on a high- could feel the adrenalin and everything, knowing I'd done a good job. Had a big grin on my face as people kept calling my name to get point as soon as anything jumped through on a gate we were landing on/sitting on. I wasn't able to, but I didn't really care, and still don't. Was an epic night with epic people and I'm not gonna forget it in a hurry.

The photographer in me gets bored on gates and in stations... :P  Can you tell?

 My new Jag is gonna stick with me for a while I think, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Who knows, maybe there'll be another fleet report-type post in the future. Let's hope so! ^.^

o7 Fly dangerous peeps.

First Days and Shaky Legs

Well, I sorta promised my starting story and my reaction to the new world I had decided to join, and whether you're interested or not, I may as well have a go at it. If not for any other purpose than my own reflection.

So, here goes...

Believe it or not, I had no intention to play EVE Online- ever. I was, at the time, going out with a man that happened to play it, and while it was an occasionally hobby, it didn't really bother me. I had briefly played a trial week and found it somewhat bearable but rather boring (having tried mining mostly). I went away on holiday for two weeks though, and when I got back, surprise surprise! Me leaving had been the opening for the game of evil spaceness! The pirates of Molden Heath had hijacked my man! Annoyed at the fact that I was second to this new Mistress EVE, I decided to check it out for myself. I knew of a few friends who had played it and recommended it, and said man offered to buy me a plex to play, so free game--- why not?

Little did I know this world is not something one can easily step into, start to play and then quickly step out of again. I found myself intrigued with the mechanics of such a unique MMO and I started putting some effort into my newly created character. Naughty Cargo was created purely for the pirating world, as the name might suggest. Although... my parents still think it's more like a stripper name... but hey, that's a technicality :P She is a scoundrel, a barterer of ships and a space brigand. Well- tries to be. And fails dismally cause I'm just too nice, but whatever. I can shoot somewhat straight and I'm good at learning :)

Anyways, I trained for guns and frigates and 3 days into my characters life, I ventured into low security space. I have since learnt that 3 day old characters don't venture into low sec unless they're either ridiculously stupid or brave, and while I am neither of those, I am curious and wanted to know what strange people had stolen the attention of that man.

Stopping in a system called Heild, we (me and him) came across one of his corp mates- a seemingly kind man who invited me quickly into a nice, friendly 1v1. Hesitantly, I fiddled with the mouse and activated my guns, targeting this new person uncertainly, wondering what was going to happen. Listening to instructions from both, I started to orbit and was surprised when the nice man's rifter exploded. (In hindsight, he let me win, but that's irrelevant :P). A brief celebration and then I got popped myself, my first experience warping away in a pod, and definitely not the last. I quickly got to meet a few other members of this pirate alliance- The Devil's Tattoo.

They were very welcoming and understanding of my noobness, and were more than happy to help out. I still don't know if this was more to do with my gender than anything, but I know they meant well either way! :P Hells, I'm still living off ISK I recieved in those first few weeks to help me get on my feet!

I applied for membership to the feeder corp- The Black Dragon Fighting Society and was quickly accepted. This new life was exciting! I had so many people who wanted to help, and the odd fleet on Tuesday nights that wandered around shooting at various things. I learnt about plexes and security status and setting ones autopilot. About ammo types and manual flying and scanning and fittings and comms and fleet protocol and skills. Gosh, I'm still learning. There is still so much that I don't know. This game is just so in depth and complicated.

I still distinctly remember that about a month into my membership there was a competition that was annouced- the November Rifter Contest. Basically the idea was who could get the most kills with a rifter in a month. I tried my damndest to win that contest. There were ups and downs and challanges to face, bit I gave it a really good go. Whoring on killmails left right and centre. During that time I also managed to get my first ever (true) solo kill. I was so excited even just by that event, and of course, the 24 hour blitz as it was dubbed- a rapid ganking spree with the help of a good friend helped push me along too.

Sadly, I was not destined to win the contest. But I came a joint 3rd! And considering I was in the feeder corp and only about a month old, I beat some older members anyway. So effort and hard work do go a long way :)

I guess there is really no interest in this for you, dear reader, and congratulations to you if you made it this whole way! That's dedication. I also take it as a compliment to my writing, so thank you :) I've had a sort of shitty evening so it's nice to think about.

Anyways, have no idea what I'll talk about next- comment if ya want something specific :) I'm not fussed. Ideas welcome!

o7 Fly dangerous!

The Basics of Pirating

Pirating (and PvP in general) is an art in my opinion. It's a carefully crafted skill that requires elaborate and constantly changing plans, whether you want them to or not. It's not something you can just get into blindly and expect to go well. Hell, even if you do know what you're getting into, you're still probably gonna pop on your first 20 roams... well, maybe not that many, but you get the idea.

Making splosions and making carebears lives so much more exciting requires a specific set of qualities- an essential list for any pirate so they don't go slowly crazy. Well, a list that I agree with and think is valid. Meaning, its probably not totally accurate, but hey, this is MY blog :P I got some help with this one too though just to get a more general PvP'er opinionnessness :P Thanks to the inhabitants of various different pirate-y hangout channels.

Qualities Essential to being a Space Pirate

A Sense of Humour- you WILL be trolled. People don't really see you as the warm fuzzy type, so you're bound to be teased, made fun of or just downright insulted- with a big grin to accompany it. Mostly from your fellow pirates. Take my corp for example. They're constantly making fun of each other... okay, mostly making fun of Ren, but that's irrelevant :P If you don't laugh and see the funny side of it, it's gonna rub you the wrong way. It happened often in R1FTA- The Black Rebel Rifter Club (my previous corp), and I'm sure it happens in many other pirate corps too. What's great is it's (MOSTLY) always in good fun. I'm privileged to have been in a couple of corps with really great people, who know how to have fun. Bearing in mind, you really need to be able to laugh at yourself too. It makes the inevitable mistakes seem so much more bearable. I can say that, because I have made many, and have to laugh at myself... otherwise I might cry :P

Patience- Things aren't always going to end your way, and let's face it, the whole presumption of PvP in itself is that the other person shoots back at you. Sometimes when you're starting out it takes  a while to get the hang of things and get the ball rolling, and this could drive you crazy unless you're patient. Again, you WILL be blown up and it helps if you don't freak out and have a hissy fit every time. Honestly, it's gonna get old and you're just gonna annoy people. The other aspect of patience is the task of the solo roam. Admittedly, I did this more in R1FTA than I do now, but it's still the same. A solo roam is hit or miss. Most often, unless you are incredibly lucky, or incredibly gutsy, you won't find much of anything to shoot at. This can get frustrating, even for the best PvP'ers. Patience is key my friend.

Stay Focused- Being patient goes along with staying focused and calm. If you get yourself really wound up because you can't find a fight or because you're really outnumbered, you're gonna make big mistakes and you're gonna get killed. And in my case, probs make a REALLY stupid mistake! In a big fight, keeping a level head helps wonders. If you're in a fleet and you're freaking out, you're not gonna be able to listen to orders from the FC, and you're gonna piss people off. This is where I'm adding a little personal touch, as this particular aspect is and was very relevant to me. I am a stress-head. I'd let myself get overwhelmed by this complex game, and freaking out just made me look silly, making really bad mistakes left, right and centre- some costing more ISK than others. There was one particular time I was in a fleet and we landed on the biggest gate battle I had and still to this date have ever seen. I freaked out and lets be totally honest here, slipped off quietly, when in fact my little thrasher could have been a good asset to this particular fight. Another time, I let the stress/panic get to me, and all the basics flew out the window. Hells, I think I've lost more pods in my time playing than the whole of ThC put together, JUST from freaking out and doing really, really silly things. Honestly, keeping your head in the game is the difference between winning and losing a fight.

Being Open to Help/Advice from Others- Alright, I need to make one thing clear. Anyone who can shoot you out of the sky with two shots does tend to know what they are doing. This one is one of the most vital qualities I think. I would not have made it anywhere without the help of the supportive people that I shared a corp with. Even the people who cared to put my suffering ship out of misery. I used to always ask questions of the people who won a 1v1 against me, asking what I could do better. This game is complicated. For those who haven't seen it, welcome to EVE's learning curve:

Unless you're some sort of super genius, you are so not going to get this stuff straight off. Actually bother to ask questions, and you'll find that most people are more than happy to help. Pirates like having fresh mea... ahh I mean... new protegees. >.>  <.< hehe ^.^ But seriously, ask and ye will probably recieve. And it's how you're gonna survive you're first few weeks- trust me. I still ask for help, and I know people years into this game who continue to ask questions and help each other out. I'm still getting people to have an input on my skill queue... there's just so much to remember. And again, if you don't actually listen to input and advice and then go and complain about how 'this game sucks' and 'everyone is out to get you' and 'that person was mean', you're just gonna piss more people off. Seriously. Just piss them off. And these pirates have guns people!

The Ability to Find Good Gifs- It may sound silly, but its true. No pirate is really whole without a good disposal of gifs for those never-gonna-happen-again moments... or just if you feel like trolling occasionally, mostly to those who are tearing in the nearby vicinity. :P It's like a new sport, seeing who can come up with the most funny gif for the situation. I think it's not a coincidence that sillier the pirate, the more gifs he has. Or maybe the more evil the pirate the more gifs he has... Hmm. Maybe I'll have to do a survey...

Wanting to Take Risks and ACTUALLY Shoot Stuff- This sounds really simple and obvious, but honestly, sometimes its not. Its surprising how many people get into PvP and then just sit in station holding ship spinning competitions. Yeah this game is unpredictable, and yeah you might get shot at, but THAT'S THE POINT PEOPLE!! I mean, even I'm guilty of sitting in station a lot, but mostly its because I'm chattering away in whatever comms or in whatever forum (apparently word is going around that I'm a little cute troll :P So go figure). I was shocked to discover that I was in the top ten points scorers on our corps killboards this month (it's probably changed by now :P), and hellz people, I don't do that by not going out and trying to shoot at stuff!! My loss mails prove I give it a go more often than not! Hehe. I have been told before that I'm a good young brave pirate, and while I think anyone who says this is slightly delusional, I like to believe them none-the-less. ^.^ In the somewhat-eternal words of Captain John Crichton, 'Anywhore I would say that Naoru is correct, you need to being willing to say "Fuck it" and go kill some shit lol'. Yep. Sounds right enough to me. (And John, I get uber awesome points for mentioning you rememeber :P)

Booze & Women- I left this for last because it is quite possibly the most important aspect.... LOL! Just kidding, its really not :P (I'm probably gonna get shot at just for saying that! hehe) But there is an amusement factor in someone blowing you up and discovering there was an exotic dancer in your cargo hold, along with some nice booze and maybe some cigarettes just to round it off. Hells, pirates stand for something. The least we can do is live up to SOME of the attached stereotypes... sorta :P

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I don't know if you noticed, but I am really enjoying this blogging stuff. Two posts in two (technically one) day. To be perfectly honest, once I start having to work on assignments I'm gonna have so much less time to write this sorta stuff. So what the hell! Why not get as much in as possible. If it comes to me and I bother writing it, you're gonna see it ^.^ Just so ya know. o/ Oh, and the more followers and comments I get, the more special I feel, so you know.... *looks all cute* pwease?? ^.^

NEXT POST PROBABLY SOMETHING ABOUT MY OWN STARTING EXPERIENCES OF PVP. POSSIBLY... MAYBE. DEPENDS. :P WE'LL SEE!!

Why a Pirate?

(Wrote in between two classes at uni, so I figure I can get away with it being a little messy :P And one of my tutors said that we should really 'write something everyday, even if it's just a shopping list'. I don't know about you, but I find shopping lists boring, and somewhat redundant ^.^ So here's my Not Shopping List.)

Space- It’s an endless adventure, especially for those that get to traverse and explore its endless pathways. I have always been impressed with CCP’s computerised portrayal of the universe... universi?, and for some reason, the colours and patterns made me want to play even more than I already did. This along with the allure of the unknown attracted me to the idea that space could be explored, and that big green and yellow space cloud could theoretically be discovered by moi. I have long since learnt it doesn’t quite work that way, but no biggie. I discovered something so much more awesome!

Pirating.

The amount of controversy that surrounds being a pirate is ridiculous and honestly I am oftentimes over the shit that people have to say. Often its the people that just don't get what pirating is that give the biggest chunks of shit. I mean, it’s never particularly serious, unless you just blew up someone and they are hating on you pretty bad, but honestly, that just encourages us. All (or most.. maybe) us pirates really want are really good tears. Tears just make it so much better ya reckon? It’s just puts nice big grins on our faces, the angrier, the better.

Well, that’s part of the reason I’m a pirate in this openly inventive world. We can do whatever we want to whoever we want and mostly, wherever we want. CONCORD do make it a bit of a problem in high security systems, but meh. There’s ways around it- mostly just not caring too much about being attached to any one particular ship! I’ll revisit ganking later I’m sure.

I guess the main reason I’m a pirate is because it’s fun. And contrary to popular belief most pirates are nice people, and I generally get along with most of them. In fact, some in Molden Heath claim that we have a sort of ‘community-y-y-y’ thing going, and that we all sorta work together. While this CAN indeed be true, we’re constantly shooting at each other to be perfectly honest. And it’s all one big game. I mean, sometimes there are those carebears who get all upset at you, but hey, that’s the risk they take coming into a low security area, a haven for ‘flashy reds’ everywhere. 

This program/client/server/creation is at its essence a game, and while some people take it to a new level of seriousness, and WILL put a bounty on your for killing their mining barge, or will just have a big tear fest and blatantly attempt to insult you deeply, it is still a game. Isn't it about having fun? I enjoy being a pirate, and that's the end of it. Making pretty splosions and gaining a collection of corpses is awesome! 

True, there are rude and arrogant and stupid pirates out there to be sure, who just take advantage of the really weak and helpless, and there's those that make mistakes and then blame it on anyone else within 20 jumps. But hey, that's every MMO ever. So, in the grand scheme of things, pirating is all good fun that takes a certain type of skill. 

And indeed what a skill it is.

STAY TUNED FOR MY NEXT POST ABOUT THE SKILLS/ESSENTIALS/OTHER RANDOM CRAP OF BEING A PIRATE!... and possibly another post about my ex-corp and its awesomeness and my initiation into PvP... maybe. If I can be bothered :P

The Wonderful World of Pirating

Welcome reader, to my brand new, shiny blog!

This was an idea that cropped in my mind at at an ungodly hour of the night, and decided never to leave... go figure. Also, I like to think I'm at least a little entertaining, and that people MIGHT like to hear what I have to say, so why not give it a go in a more public, open forum? I mean, what have I got to lose?

A little bit about myself I think. I am a rather short 20-year-old ball of cute (apparently), and I have been known to make unexpected loud noises on various comms- or just babble, depending on my mood or the audience.  I can proudly say I am a pirate in the wonderful world that New Eden is, and while I may not be a particularly good one, I like to think I have a smart head on my shoulders, and boobs to get me out of those awkward and rather embarrassing situations without too much hassle... well sorta. It helps when people actually realise you are one of the fairer gender ;) And don't give me that look! You know it's true!

If you hadn't worked it out already, I am a player of the ever growing and changing online MMO, EVE Online, a brilliantly complicated game set in the future- in space. I am part of the fun and rambunctious corp The Humbleless Crew, who reside in the low sec area dubbed 'Molden Heath' by some unknown cyber God from the realm of CCP. Specifically, I can often be found lurking in the low sec, murky system that is Bosena- a haven for vagabonds and criminals everywhere.

This is going to be a place for my story- the story of Naughty Cargo, a young pirate with not a lot to lose and a trigger-happy hand. Which if you think about it, just screams chaos.

Very well. Let the chaos begin!