Twin Talk: Manners & Fun

Hi this is Val & Esmee here...we are the Vampire Twins! We wanted to talk about a few of our little nightly adventures in the Spiral this evening. We also have a little bit to talk to other young wizards about manners and how having good ones can make the Spiral a lot more fun for everyone!

Val:
We had a lot of fun tonight, even though we don't get to stay out too long since we have to sneak out at night while our mom, the famous Heather Emeraldflame, is sleeping. If she knew we were out so late she'd kill us!....Ok, not really, but I think we would have some new "pet" sharks that would not allow us to leave our dorms...hehe...heh...hmm...

Esmee and I both trained our pets tonight, those little ghouls are really giving a us a lot of extra health and mana! It was so nice of our brothers and sisters to buy them for us before the new pet system came in to the Spiral!

Esmee and I were working in Knight's Court this evening...Wow, that is a fantastic and huge street! So many monsters and so many people who need help! It really wears us out, but we have so much fun with it! We beat up some trolls and got one guys' tea back and took the troll's clubs away so they can't hurt anyone anymore. We beat up a few of those nasty scratchers and retrieved lockpicks. We solved the puzzle as to where Jaques the Scratcher had been hiding out. We defeated Jaques so he won't be bothering any of the ladies at Knight's Court any more. That was all a lot of fun! We even leveled up tonight to 33! Since we leveled up we got to go train our pets, yet again...it's a nice break from all that running around on those roof tops.

We complain about those roof tops, but we know we have it easy compared to how things were for our mom and older brothers and sisters. We even discovered that the crate quest in Knight's Court has been cut in half as well as the number of monsters we need to deal with. I mean it really couldn't be any easier for us compared to how it was back in their days. It makes me wonder just a little though; does this make us lazy wizards?...I mean what would four more crates be, really?...I mean a guy has to keep himself in shape, right?...haha!

We have a few more people to finish helping out in Knight's Court before we go hit Katzenstein's Lab to talk to Watson there and find Dr. Katzenstein himself....we have even heard about a mysterious secret boss there...We can't wait to check the place out! Mom has told us great stories about that place...being it's one of her favorite places in Marleybone...but then she was always up for a challenge, especially when it involved other Storm types.

We got a new spell when we leveled up, it's called Doom and Gloom. Eh...it's not a great spell as Esmee and I have no intentions on doing PvP. We have even heard how it's not really that great in PvP...I mean even vampires need to heal once in a while, ya know? It would kinda kill the usefulness of Sacrifice to use that aura in there...though I am sure there are times to use the aura and times not to, but PvP is not our thing.

Esmee:
Yeah, you are right Val. PvP is not our thing and the reason for that is it seems to be a pit for those who have no manners and are filled with hate. And that is just the crowd! Most of the competitors have superiority complexes, though that is easily enough ignored since we no longer have to listen to them. It really is the crowd that makes PvP not so much fun. I mean you can't even go watch friends duel without some really immature kid coming in there and trying to cause trouble. It seems like the place brings out the worst in people!

Anyway, this brings me to something I want to talk about to other young wizards...

First of all what I have to say is not only aimed at PvP participants. It's aimed at everyone in the Spiral. If you guys want to have fun you need to treat each other with respect and be polite to each other.

It was only earlier this past day that our older sister, Heather Nightshade, was on her way back from Mooshu and entered back through the door to Wizard City. She was approached by another girl the minute she passed through the door and they said "Hi" and then proceeded to immediately tell her to "delete one of your friends and add me."

First of all, Nightshade's list is not full...and actually she likes it that way....she is a vampire too and tends to like to keep to herself for the most. She does keep a few well trusted friends but she never takes random people she doesn't know at all, as most of our mother's kids do the same thing. (Our mom is just trying to keep us all safe and away from the headaches she sometimes has to deal with.) So she(Nightshade) actually has her requests set to off, which should have been obvious to the girl that demanded to be on her list.

Second; NEVER come up to someone you don't know and immediately demand they do anything! Why?...Well, this person doesn't know you yet and they owe you nothing! And the worst icebreaker in the world when first meeting someone is to make any demands on them! Doing so will most often result in either being ignored OR, if they are actually kind enough to add you for some reason(can't imagine why they would, but anyhow...) you will probably soon be kicked off their list if you continue to act so disrespectful to someone who only just met you!

One thing our mom has taught us is manners and that you don't go expecting anything from anyone without first being a friend to them and being by their side to help them a bit too. The old saying "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" comes to mind here.

Mom has also told us many tales of "friends" that like to demand, out of nowhere, that we "port" or all they say is "help" all the time. And of course there are always those ones that as soon as you enter the Spiral they want you to come and immediately help them on their quests! They seem to have no regard for the fact that you just got on and no care that you didn't go ITS just to help them, and maybe you might actually want to get some things done on your own first!

Here is an idea that might help you not to be the type of jerk that does these things:
-Say Hi to your friend. Ask them how they are, try to have some light-hearted conversation with them.
-If that goes well, ask them what they are up to. This will give you a sense on about how long they might be tied to doing their own projects.
-After you figure out what their schedule might be like you can ask them if they would want to help you out when they get the chance if you need it.
-If you are bored you can also ask them if they need any help with anything, or if it's ok to hang out and do some questing, farming, etc.
-Lastly: do not bug your friend to death constantly every day and all day long with requests for help, etc. It gets very quickly annoying! Doing this will most likely cause that friend to not want to be around you as much. Your friends will hang out with and help you more often if you don't seem "needy" about it. If they know they can relax and not feel obligated to help you it will make their playing experience with you a lot more enjoyable and they will most likely be more open and willing to help when it's really needed :-)

Those are my few little suggestions to help make things go smoother between you and your friends.

As for the PvP crowds; if you are there to watch your friend duel, then be respectful to the duelists as well as the others in the crowd. Sure, you can cheer your friend(s) on, but do not egg on their opponent(s) and especially do not use bad language in there. People in and around the arena tend to be on edge and a bit high strung to begin with. Most of them will not have a problem hitting the report button. And unless you enjoy starting out new wizards from scratch constantly then it's best you act with some respect and keep your mouth clean while you are in there!

Also, even if you are not in the arena you really should watch what you say out loud. You never know who is listening and who you might offend. If you have open chat and for some reason feel you need to use some words that are not good for younger wizards' ears, then use that language only with other trusted, adult friends(friends with open chat) in a whisper or group conversation where you are most certain you won't be hurting or offending anyone. Really, it's best not to use bad language at all, but if you must then that is my advice.

Last bits advice:
If you have friends of a friend on your list that you are close to you should never talk about anyone else behind their back that is supposed to be your friend. These type of things always have a way of getting around to the other person and will eventually hurt the other's feelings, and if you care at all about having that friend...and they are really your friend(and I would hope you are not just keeping them to use them) then you shouldn't want or need to hurt their feelings.

Have respect for your friends too. Don't keep big secrets from one friend that you share with another right in front of them. That very rude and disrespectful, and it's such an immature thing to do!

Also, if they ask you something then it was probably important to them. Either answer them or give a valid reason why you can't. Do not completely ignore them. When you ignore them all you are doing is manifesting more aggressive behavior from them as they will begin to feel like they are being ignored...and no one likes to feel ignored. Ignoring someone that is supposed to be your friend, that you call a friend and calls you a friend, is a sure way to make them develop mistrust and bad feelings towards you.

NO RANDOM PORTING! This is one of our biggest pet peeves! Always ask before porting. Although between friends there may be certain places that you and your friends have established as being "ok to port to me there," places like The Pet Pavilion or the Bazaar. Common places like those are not usually a big deal. But never port to a friend, without asking first, who is in a battle area, or, a lot of times their own homes. Some people like to go to their homes to have some peace, to think, maybe to sort through pets, items, do crafting. When you are in your own mind at home it can sometimes be disturbing to have someone randomly show up that you did not expect. All of those things really depend on your relationships with your friends and how they feel about it....which is something you should find out before doing any random porting. It's all a part of showing some respect to your friends. (And for those of us who do 2(or)3-boxing...it's extremely disturbing to have someone port in while trying to control more than one wizard...and most likely that is the WORST time to have a conversation with us.)

Esmee & Val:
Well, this has been Twin Talk for today! We hope to be back in action again soon...if only mom lets us out of our dorms...So much studying here! But even if she doesn't let us out again soon we always seem to find our way...at least for a little bit! xD

See ya in the Spiral!