My Gaming Experience Contest #1 - Trying To Escape The Tentacles

There have been many moments that have been unforgettable in gaming with my Guild, but this particular one involves a lot of silliness, connotations, a bit too much tea… Oh yes, and I was almost forgetting about the Tentacles!

“If your most memorable experience in gaming isn't "Tentacles", 
then you don't know what memorable is.”

Comments Kal’da, after I announced I was going to participate in this contest.

It was a busy day of Dailies and Weeklies, and almost everyone was in Mumble at some point or another throughout the evening. The Guild has a Mumble server through which we can speak vocally with each other. This of course is for SWTOR (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

As you can see, we are a very busy Guild, gathering at Shadd’s place in-between missions, to collect ourselves from all that arduous work. I like this image because we all do the same dance but with someone different.

I know that Poseidon was there, because he was running missions with me like a warrior the whole time, even if Po is a Jedi Sentinel. And dropping “That’s what she said!”s left right and center. Not to mention Rosiet spawning within Po’s body on Oricon. She’s who I was running on.

Dant and Ari were in at the beginning, because they were grouped with us at the start. Dant is our Guild Master on the Republic side, for Black Lotus Syndicate and is married to Ari. Jaeneris was running PvP missions when I logged on, but was there in Mumble, every now and then expressing her frustration at some of the PvPers she was either grouped with or playing against. To say “frustration” is to put it mildly. I believe Kal’da may have been on as well at some point in the night. I do recall hearing his very deep voice laughing at me (we’ll get to that later). Shadd, a.k.a. Jaq, came on a bit later; she is the Nightshade Guild Master, for the Imperial side sister guild. I don’t know is Sarlin graced us with his presence in Mumble at some point close to the wee hours of the morning. But I know who was running missions with me, and running I sure was.

So this moment happened while I was still living at the old house, and at the time I was still in the heart of my depression, the burnout was worse than it is now, and CPTSD symptoms were ten times more intense. Those of you following me have heard me talk about some of these things, recent and past experiences, so you know how intense it can get. That particular day, I had woken up in the late afternoon, had experienced a panic attack, a rage attack, scary thoughts of me doing things I did not want to do, feelings of wanting to self-harm, and all I wanted to do was escape.

Well, as far as the CPTSD symptoms go, I was able to escape from that, but there is never any true escape when the Tentacles are involved. I could not escape them.

Logging into Mumble and launching my game, I announced how I felt really bad, but how I felt unable to talk about it. Dant, Ari and Po invited me to join them for some Dailies and Weeklies, insisting I’d feel better. Installed with my tea next to me, I grouped with them.

Our adventures began on Oricon, where the story about the Tentacles had begun months earlier. Ari warned me to tread carefully this time and to stick close to her so that the Tentacles wouldn’t pop up at me out of nowhere. Well that plan failed. Ari and Dant passed on a walkway near some lava and I was literally right behind Ari, and BOOM. Tentacles popped up out of nowhere.

Then later on, I’m still being careful and looking out for tentacles, I swear! Po and Dant are standing in one spot, collecting loot, then a Tentacle pops up right next to them. So at this point I’m thinking: “Suckers, for once it’s not me!” Errr, wrong! That tentacle sees me, and lunges at me, lashing out. I think this is where Kal'da with his deep and low laugh comes in.

Now, I kid you not, we are, all four of us, running through a section on Oricon, and suddenly our maps show red dots running after us and then all enemies come and concentrate on….ME! Can you believe it?

Of course by this time, I’ve had enough, we’re laughing, saying silly jokes, and then I can’t hold it in anymore, I have to go to the bathroom for a quick bio:

“Because I’ve been drinking too much pee!”

Yes, I said PEE instead of TEA. Drinking too much pee so I have to tea. Oh man, Ari’s incontrolable laugh was priceless. I was laughing so hard I almost peed in my pants.

You see, when it comes to the guild and me, sometimes, given the type of silly jokes we share, our mentality could be compared to that of a 5 year old’s, if not for all the sexual connotations we throw in constantly.

We got through our Weekly on Oricon, just barely, but Dant and Ari had to get to bed, so they cycled through some characters while Po and I continued on and head to CZ-198, Czerka Corporation.

Ah yes, this is where Kal’da temporarily joins us and Shadd joined the group too. Or did Jae join us first and then Shadd came in later? Anyway, I know Kal'da was there for sure by this point. I think we gave Kal'da no choice, so he accepted seeing as “his hands were tied”.

This image is from another time when I was running on Daenerys, and Kal’da again had his hands tied, and we positioned ourselves in such a way that Shadd, who was on A’rand, fainted from the sight.

So now that we’re on CZ, I’m thinking I won’t aggro so much because there are droids everywhere, not Tentacles everywhere. Again, errr, wrong! Rosiet is just a magnet for aggro. And of course, CZ does have that ONE tentacle, at the bottom level, deep within the garbage depository. Who did that Tentacle grab and pull towards it? Who did it lash out at and keep jabbing at? Rosiet.

“The Tentacles just want to reach towards you. They extend towards you. You excite the Tentacles!” were some of the comments from the Peanut Gallery. It’s not my fault the Tentacles like poking me!

Then Kal’da had to head to bed as well, so Po and I ran the Czerka Flashpoints with Shadd and Jae. We had begun a flashpoint and were in it as we waited, so Rosiet got down to her usual silly charades, with Goofy face Emote and the Chicken dance.

You make a poor imitation of a Chicken.

And look like a weird and deranged being while you do it.

This image is from Rosiet’s stronghold because I could not find the one I’d taken from that particular day.

But we all had a good laugh. If only I could remember all the sexual connotations those Tentacles inspired us to come up with.

At least we got through the Flashpoints. And survived.

And through it all, not once did I feel as bad as I had before logging in. We had a good laugh, it was therapeutic. Laughing Therapy. Tea-Pee Therapy. Silly Therapy. TENTACLE Therapy.

Wait, now THAT has connotations.