An Introduction to ME!

Hello! If you’ve clicked on this, I hope you came seeking a new WoW blog from one (1) nerf_fire_mage. You may know me as Ilyiana, a mage from Euphoric-Stonemaul, from my M+ titles, as nerf_fire_mage from someone’s twitch chat, or from one of my friends who does various WoW community things who referred you here (thanks friend, if so!).

Since the WoW team has put a heightened emphasis on story for 11.0 and onward, I felt compelled to finally start a long-term passion project of mine: lore and story thoughts on a blog! As I will dive into more later, I am a long-time lover of WoW’s story, characters, and universe. My main inspirations for starting this story project are Ian Bates (red shirt guy) and Portergauge, both of whom are essential community pillars and generally awesome people.

Before we go into (hopefully) many months of lore discussions on here, I wanted to take the chance in this first blog to also tell you a bit about myself if you don’t know me.

I’m a 27 year old gentle giant (I’m 6 foot 7 in real life) who would do anything for an iced latte. I work in non-profit, currently with a civic engagement company. I graduated from undergrad in 2019 with a degree in drama and sociology and got my Master’s in 2022 in education and public policy. I live in Chicago (no I do not know Tettles). Here’s a photo of me!

That’s me!

(I tried for like an hour to make this centered and not have a filter and I gave up-I’ll get better at Squarespace!)

A few other quick facts: I’m also a fan of: all kinds of anime, final fantasy including 14, sonic the hedgehog, fire emblem, pokemon, last airbender/legend of korra, pop music, classical music, Persona, and a bunch of other stuff. If you are looking for a buddy to discuss any of those interests with, please feel free to chat with me on Twitter.

I’m wildly gay so this blog is also going to occasionally delve into WoW’s queer text (or lack thereof). I’m mixed race: my dad is from America and my mom is from India, but I look white as hell. My racial identity has always been pretty confusing, but my family history and culture is essential to who I am.

I say all of these facts as I want folks to know my positionality as I discuss and occasionally critique WoW’s universe. I think the team has done a great job in recent years with improving accessibility, respect, and representation in-game, but we still have a ways to go. I’ll add my voice and perspective to areas that are within my wheelhouse. In other areas, I’ll link to or direct to other folks who have said it better or have lived experience on the subject. For example, I’m not going to be the 30th person to tell you that Exploring Kalimdor is very very bad, but I will happily provide you my excited speculation on Xal’atath’s long-term goals.

Many times in WoW have I wished to switch sides, but never as intensely as for 11.0. That’s mother.

I have been involved with WoW to some degree since Vanilla when I was a wee lad of 9 years old. Through many arguments with my mother over if video games rotted your brain, many failed raid pugs in Wrath Naxx, many actual Cutting Edge achievements, and as many cosmetics as I can get my hands on, the one constant has been my enduring love of This Goddamn Game. Around 40% of my brain space is dedicated to WoW’s story and world. As I am also neurodivergent, you could call it one of my special interests, but I think that undersells my interest in WoW.

Currently, I raid with Euphoric on Stonemaul as a semi-competent mage. I’ve achieved many cutting edges in WoW, but am very proud of the team on world 574 Fyrakk and look forward to more in 11.0. I also started push keys in DF S2 and achieved top 0.1% in S2 and S3 before taking S4 off. I’ve never been much of a PVPer, but I also enjoy cosmetics farming, especially mounts and transmogs. I play all classes to some degree (mage towers, other classes at CE, and every class at 70), so when I say this game is my hobby, I mean it 😊

My good friend Dotty got me the goth version of the Feb trading post set. It slays.

This blog will be primarily focused on WoW’s lore and story. I’ll occasionally mention my raiding, keys, or class thoughts as well, but I feel most capable to write about story stuff. I have taken in….way too much information about this game’s plot over the years. It dwells within my subconscious at all times. Since many folks have great YouTube channels for lore videos, and I prefer writing over videos, I wanted to start the blog to provide another medium for folks to get their lore with my personal flair added to it. We’ll cover new story, do recaps of old story, top 10’s of bests and worsts, and all the other silly shit I can come up with.

I’ll also be looking into publishing other mini-articles about my other interests, such as public policy, music, foods, etc. Stay tuned for anything else you’d like to check out, and no pressure. If you’re here for wow, be here for wow!

The most prelude that has ever preluded.

That’s a bit about me and my investment in WoW. I am wildly excited for 11.0 and the team’s newfound investment in the game’s story. While WoW hasn’t had consistently great story moments the past few expansions, it’s a story I’m always going to be invested in and care about. Hearing that the team is as excited as I am about the world was one of many reasons why I was shrieking so loudly during the 11.0 panels at Blizzcon last year and I can’t wait to play it soon.

I’m publishing this first post along with a second post which will be my first one about lore and story. You can find that here, along with my Twitter account here. Please feel free to connect with me on there-I don’t give out my Discord or Battletag publicly.

Thanks a bunch for reading, and I’ll see you in Khaz Algar!

-Ilyiana (nerf_fire_mage)