I used to run into this enhancement shaman named Kash (Oltar) during AV weekends. Every time the battle ended, there he was again, queuing up and scrapping with me, Squeektoy, and whatever random DK was hanging around.

At first, it was just the usual back-and-forth—me calling him a “dirty enhancement shaman,” him insisting he was “clean” thanks to Healing Rain. But then he dropped a line from the Zelda cartoon—“Excuuuuse me, princess”—and suddenly I was right back in the ‘90s, laughing like an idiot at my screen. I threw Super Mario Bros. Super Show at him in return. From there, it was game on.

We traded jabs constantly—me threatening to bite, him claiming everyone who ganked him eventually ended up liking him. He wasn’t wrong. Even when I swore I’d keep fighting him, he’d wink back with, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He’s gone from my friends list now, but those fights with Kash stick with me. It’s rare to run into someone in PvP who can trash-talk, banter, and still make you grin instead of grind your teeth. He made random battlegrounds feel less like a queue and more like a story I was lucky to be a part of.