Normally, my sense of self-consciousness about seeming like just another over-dramatic internet toolbox prevents me from making lengthy posts about how far we've come, or how awesome we must be to have made it through the tough times, or how deeply proud I am both of my own good work and the good work of the people that I've had the privilege to play this game with, but in this case I think I'll make an exception. After all, we've come an incredibly long way. We're incomparably awesome for making it through our many tough times. And truth be told, I've never been involved in a guild where I think the average level of player skill or passion for this game have been this high before, and that makes me extremely proud. In many ways T11 has been a harrowing experience. A pretty large number of iconic guilds have crumbled under the weight of a complete lack of gating, and a round of bosses that was consistently very difficult and mentally taxing from beginning to end. There have been a number of times where I've personally had grounds to question my interest in continuing to participate in this tier of raiding, and we've definitely had to suffer the loss of a lot of top-quality players to the burnout that it caused. Despite this, though, we've managed to kill each and every boss before any significant nerfs/fixes happened, and slingshot ourselves from US 82nd at the end of WotLK, to US 22nd at the end of Tier 11. The funniest part about all of this big talk about success and perseverance is that honestly we've been having a damned good time doing it. There's been an amazing social dynamic for basically all of this guild's history, and we've certainly maintained that element now. Thanks to this tier we all know that Plukkers has a potato for a brain, Trehbz knows a thing or two about munching rug, and Urb LOVES to kite. It's really been essential to our survival as a guild, I think, that we happen to have so many truly fucked up and entertaining people to make jokes with and lighten the mood.

Anyhow... I think that thanks are in order to all of the members of Something Novel, for achieving an awful lot on a fairly limited schedule, and for putting forth several months of sustained focus and grit to finish up progression. And an extra thanks to our officers who have done all of this along with keeping the gears turning, helping to manage the guild, and maybe most importantly for keeping me sane, motivated, and in my place. I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say that I care for many of you like I care for close friends or family, and I look forward to many more extremely fun challenges with all of you. Next tier it's top 20 or bust!

Yours,
Sparan