WOF: Hurrikane Appreciation Party!

It was February 2006 ... I remember reading a thread Hurrikane posted with a "call to all Bravo Cowboys" ... it was then that many of us took up our Bravos and became a part of the very first FoF (Festival of Firepower) which was inaugurated with a two-team assault on spiders. Even though my purple ass was splattered six ways of Sunday, it was strategic team-play that eventually allowed us to celebrate taking down spiders. For those of you who missed the pic storyline I did of this very first FoF, it's all here in the "Bravos meet the Itsy Bitsy Spider."

The FoF has not only become a well-known EU event, but an event that ultimately developed into a spectacular annual event ... WoF (World of Firepower) ... and recently concluded its first world showcase with 28 teams representing multiple countries. The top 3 winners were the "United States," "Sweden," and "Romania" respectively, so congratulations to the winners, but in the eyes of many, all participants in this event were winners for their dedicated efforts, least of which epitomized teamwork in its most efficient form.

The man of the hour of course, is none other than "Hurrikane" ... the idea man, and the very backbone of these events, and the person who made it all happen. However, he will be the first to give thanks to the many who helped in his efforts to pull off the WoF ... and quite successfully I might add, BUT ... it was now the community's turn to say thank you to Hurrikane.

It was AkiranBlade who initiated the "Hurrikane WoF Appreciation Party" ... it took place Friday, May 18th, at the Treasure Island Castle home of Deathifier, beginning at 20:00 MA time. Many gathered to give their thanks and respect to the WoF CEO, and to celebrate the success of this first ever annual event. It was quite befitting that AkiranBlade call the masses together in a unified thank you to Hurrikane, as AB goes back to the very first FoF as well, and was leader of one of the teams that took down the spiders. Following is an accounting of what took place at this wonderful Hurrikane appreciation party.

Upon rendering at the TI Castle TP, there was no mistake that a party was in full swing as evidenced by the constant scroll of all-chat interaction. Soon after walking through the gates at the castle, one could feel the party atmosphere, and witness people moving to the beat of the music provided by Dol and Moonfish (Raven-Z). The dress code seemed to be whatever moved you while preparing for this party, although there was a fashion contest, so quite a few went the distance indeed, and a dance contest which kept many bumping and grinding for what seemed to be unending in time before winners were announced.

It was all quite colorful ... and speaking of colorful, my favorite pyromaniac (Moonie) provided this backdrop for the first of many pics taken during the course of this celebration ...


I found our party host, AkiranBlade, on the castle steps, quite comfortable in ... well, next to nothing ... and grovin' to the music while openly greeting guests in all-chat as they arrived and said hello ...


It wasn't long before I tracked down the man of the hour ... however, I wondered why he chose to attend in his armor, but as time passed, I realized that party fashion ran the gamut from next to nothing and OJ's, to full-on armor accessorized by some pretty impressive weapons, including Hurrikane's ...


While exchanging greetings with Hurrikane, it felt almost like rain, but I soon realized that Moonie was welcoming our man of the hour with a champagne toast ... however, it seemed more like a bath, which I don't think was a good thing for the armor, but Moonie is known for spontaneous celebrating, and that could encompass almost anything ... looks like Hurrikane has his own party toast in mind ...


As mentioned earlier, the music was provided by Dol and Moonfish from
Raven-Z, so thank you for allowing us to get our groove on non-stop ...


I also mentioned earlier, that there was a fashion and dance contest, and as we all know, these types of contests need judges ... AkiranBlade was looking for volunteers to judge, so 3 of us (2 with extensive experience in this sort of thing, and 1 who's an absolute sweetheart) jumped into the ring and said we'd do it. Allow me to introduce my fellow "Judgettes" ...


Asti is my best ingame gal pal (big hair and all), and h0n3y I became closer friends with as a result of the JSA Valentine's Day event at CND in February this year. Lovely ladies, and absolute sweethearts for sure. We all teamed with AkiranBlade to discuss potential candidates as winners of the contests, and mingled amongst the guests to observe not only the dancing, but take in the display of fashion that any catwalk would be proud to exhibit ... so let's have a review of some of the fashion ...

So let's talk fashion ... even those who usually spend their time spamming the chat window with globals and hofs took time off to enjoy this celebration ... and many came uniquely dressed ...


Personal fashion choice is what sets you apart from the rest, and while GunOil looks awesome in this well put together ensemble, I think he feels most comfortable in a different accessorized outfit that you will witness in a bit ...


Even my "kick-ass weapons" dealer has a style of his own ...


Far be it for our MMOWC Champ not to come in style as well ... there's just somethin' about a man in a tux that ... well, another time another story perhaps ...


I found one of my more recent special friends (Usurper), who is also an absolute sweetheart, standing alone looking like a fairytale princess ... her look is just as sweet as her personality ... couldn't resist getting this one ...


Another special friend I don't see too often (La), also lights up any environment (literally and figuratively) ... her outfit was absolutely gorgeous, and a must capture ...


OH, we're not done yet ... I have other special accessorized fashions coming your way, not to mention pics that prove certain guests definitely had a good time at this celebration, so stay tuned ...

Let's continue with an ensemble I don't think has a volume control ... these colors speak loud and crisp, and easily stand out in a crowd, but the fact that he's not wearing a shirt underneath gives it a little sex appeal as well ... maybe not taken as seriously as other fashions, but one helluva distraction before getting your lights punched out ... or sexy'd to death (see later demonstration) ...


The party wasn't advertised as BYOB (bring your own bottle), but "gsnipe" wasn't taking any chances, as weren't others, not to mention how snappy he looks in this outfit ... now these are some serious threads ...


Some accessorize uber armor with uber-colored coats, Moonie strips down to some uber-looking purple ... now that will catch my attention every time ... (hey, RazorFire is sporting some purple (or close to it) too) ... gotta love the guys unafraid to flash some purple now and then ... they don't need cold, hard steel to be manly ... oh wait, that's another story too ...


Gekke looks rather colorful, but I'm wondering why so many men felt it necessary to carry weapons to this party ... Hmmmm ...


This one I pretty much avoided at all costs ... even though it wasn't PvP, I certainly didn't want to experience unnecessary injuries as a result of stepping inside his dance space ...


I think we've had enough of the fashion ... let's see ways in which the party guests enjoyed themselves ... and find out who the contest winners were for dance, fashion, and the trivia questions ...

One needn't look far to witness guests enjoying themselves ... remember earlier when I said that GunOil's ensemble was well put together, but that I felt he was more comfortable otherwise? ... well, I don't think I even need to add words to this picture ... it speaks for itself ... pink or not, tell ME (ladies) that this doesn't look yummy ...


I even found our uber forum owner dancing and checking out the party scene ...



But little did he know, that he had an OJ groopie, and she tried her best to keep in rhythm with his every move ...


I guess all this dancing worked up a sweat, because Neo took his party enjoyment elsewhere ... and I suppose he just needed to relax for a bit ...

It was hot under the sun, and after working up a sweat dancing in that heavy (but beautiful) coat, Neo stripped down to almost nothing and decided to relax in the pool ... he was joined my Mikah, Status (adept at giving champagne showers), and Arokh ... but someone should tell Arokh that sitting in the pool with full armor might not be a good thing ... in the meantime, my favorite pyromaniac was back at work providing backdrops for some of my pics, and this particular one just happened to go nicely with Arokh's armor ... so maybe not so bad afterall ...


Neo's rest was short lived though ... several decided to build a pool pyramid with Neo as the foundation ... from bottom to top is ... Neomaven, Denis Fox, electro, Moonie, and Crossrider ... nice job guys ...


While Neo was frolicking in the pool, his more dressed (and classy I might add) soc mate was having a dance with yet another special (and lovely) friend of mine ... Ms. Casay ... what a sweet couple they make ...


And speaking of soc mates and dance partners ... our JSA soc Bunny seemed to be enjoying himself, although I'm not sure his dance mate was able to quite get into the groove ... Sir Odd Bunny sure finds himself some odd friends ...


Even one of my fellow judgettes (Asti) was able to find a moment to bust a move, but I think she was more ready to bust a move on Moonie for getting champagne in her hair ... she will be the first to tell you that it takes quite a bit of effort to get it to look like it does, as well as get it stationary, which accounts for the enormous inventory of hair spray, and why she needs more than one apt ...


It's time to reveal who the winners are ... fashion, dance and trivia contests coming up, ready? ...

My fellow judgettes and I mingled with the guests, and while we enjoyed ourselves watching others having a great time, we also had a job to do. There was a fashion and dance contest, and even though I have a great deal of virtual experience in this area, it's never easy picking just one, so the collaboration was critical.

While all the mingling was going on … AkiranBlade administered a trivia quiz where the first person to type the correct answer in chat won a prize. The following people were winners of the trivia quiz questions: Lem, Oo, Neomaven, Hot Ass, Chopper, Newton, Hurrikane, Cristina and RazorFire. AB seems to think there was one more person, but could not remember the name, so perhaps that person will come forward and let us know.

Let’s check in on the fashion contest first ... this was the hardest, because there were so many awesome fashions to choose from, but we had to come to a final decision, and following are the winners ...

1st Prize: Newton - Genuine Design Clone GDC-97 (Donated by Photon)
2nd Prize: La - 100 PED
3rd Prize: gsnipe - 50 PED
(who gave his prize to the first newbie to collect it -gz Totyen)


My favorite PhD in Pyromania was back in action, and at least was able to give me another color that fit the moment, but he and gsnipe stepped into action to put out an erupting fire, but don't these guys know that La is just too hot to handle ...


Now onto the dance contest winners ... this too was rather difficult to make a decision on, because there were so many dancers who just kept shakin' their bootys like there was no tomorrow ... and maybe there isn't in this virtual world, but eventually we had to come to an agreement. We based our criteria on who was consistently dancing without stopping, while changing it up and keeping active in the open chat ... we came up with 3 very deserving individuals ...

1st Prize: JJ (Supremacy Reign) - Cobra Whip (Donated by Asti)
2nd Prize: Dusk - 100 PED
3rd Prize: Major Putty - 50 PED

While Major Putty and AkiranBlade dance on, JJ looks ready to whip something up, while Dusk seems ready to pop her cork ... any wonder these guys came out on top ...


I was able to catch a shot of all 6 winners ... remember what I said earlier of a demonstration of the sexy with the loud-colored outfit? ... take a look at Newton ... these colors don't inhibit him AT all. While MajorPutty accessorized with ME, Dusk clung tightly to her champagne, and no way was JJ letting go of the whip he won, while La's heat gave gsnipe the boost he needed to get the groove goin' ...


Indeed, JJ was fired up himself ... and it looked like he was itchin' to be challenged ... someone also needs to tell Arokh that those atrox statues not only don't dance (as discovered by the Odd Bunny), but they don't talk back either ... Neomaven looked on in wonderment ... and I would like to know exactly what's been going on in Terre Verde these days to cause Arokh to behave so strangely ... first sitting in the pool with armor while soc mates Mikah and Status look on, and now talking to atrox statues ... Hmmmm ...


Well ... does he get his wish? ... let's find out ...

HELL ya ... while Smoerble inched in cautiously, Asti made a flyin' leap to show JJ the business end of her own whip. You would think that the big (and hair spray-laden) hair would prevent her from such flight, but we surely underestimate this small creature who packs a surprise punch when we least expect it ... she's not only a Dance Floor Queen, she's a Master Whipper, and she'll take you down in a heart beat ... only if called for you see, because she's a sweetheart, and one of the most helpful and giving virtual friends I know ...


Ok, I'm pretty known for my whipping skills too, but the majority of it was done with my previously-owned "Viper" at the forum during my modding days, BUT ... I've owned a Dominax Rattlesnake ME Whip for quite some time, which was an unofficial mentor's gift from Moonie long time ago, so I've done my share of crackin' it ingame as well, and this was just as good an opportunity to bring it out to play as any. Odd Bunny and gsnipe joined us as we orchestrated our snappin' and crackin' symphony, and while there was no clear winner (ok, maybe Asti with her acrobatics), the tension experienced from judging seemed to dissipate and replaced with a level of adrenaline which of course creates a more exciting experience ...


Even SilvaMak and her dance partner got into the whip groove ... how sexy a whip can be, eh? Like I always say ... acessorizing is extremely important, and equipping the right accessary will certainly motivate some incredible virtual experiences ...


As we were all getting ready for the Hogglo hunt, something rather strange caught my eye ... I've seen shopkeepers before, but nothing like this ...


After a doubletake, I had to just shake my head and laugh my ass off, because this just topped the party off for me. The outside shopkeeper stands don't actually have a mannequin or avatar attached to them, so they're just plain stands, and I had originally seen Usurper standing there before. However, the middle shopkeeper does have a mannequin or avatar attached to it, and while Sorg tried his best to hide the evidence, he looks a little alien with 4 arms. I found it incredibly sweet however, that all 3 were holding red flowers, and not one of them was moving. Now that deserved a prize of sorts, just for causing the smile that closed the castle party before the Hogglo hunt.

And speaking of the party Hogglo hunt ... I will be doing a mini-storyline in the Galleria subforum as I didn't get too many pics. Hey, I was busy trying to stay alive and doing my part in the team to take down the Hoggs. This too was a fun event, and capped off a wonderful appreciation party. I love when the community comes together like this ... it's always nice to let those who provide so much fun and excitement for us know that we appreciate their efforts.

Here's to many more virtual gatherings that rock!


If you wish to make comments, or share your own party experiences, please click on the following, which will take you to the discussion thread.




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Just giving this storyline a little *Bump* since no one can post here!

Another *BUMP* for those who missed the party!