Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Stuff and Things

I have actually been busy! But I still want to sleep all the time. Ugh, work.

First off, Turron the warrior has an achievement. It happened in the middle of an instance, so no cool screenshot cause I wasn't paying attention (I was more focused on, you know, hitting things dead >.>). So have a cheesy make-up pic.

I have an 80 that isn't a druid or hunter or death knight. What is this I don't even.

Also, now that he's capped, I have no inclination whatsoever to run any heroics on him. QQ.

Thing the second- I had Rajast in Un'goro to skill up his mining, cause it'd be nice to actually be able to gather the stuff he keeps flying over. And while I was there, I had an Urge. Soooo...

Omygollyit'slittleandtinyandcuteandSquee!

Okay, I'm alright now. But seriously, look at the size comparison. I don't remember it being that small when Kaledain and Khaotic were raising theirs. >.>

Thing the third! Lark's stable is now full. This is an IC pet- she has in fact already been "introduced" and I'm trying to think up a story for her now. It's also Lark's first female pet! *gasp*


I also spent a few minutes on Taurros the cowdruid, and while I was doing the cooking daily I noticed this.

Read that carefully. Do you see the problem here?
. . . . . . . . . .




VEGETABLE STEW DOES NOT HAVE MEAT IN IT CHILLED OR OTHERWISE OKAY? OKAY!

Geez.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Citadel, Take 2

Our second night in ICC went rather..... uh, wipefully? We spent the night on Professor Putricide, and while we didn't get him down, we were at least learning the fight. So last night, when we went for round 3, we had a better understanding of what we were doing.

The end result? A new boss down! Woohoo!


After that was the expected debate on where to go next, and we decided that trying Dreamwalker would probably be slightly less painful than the Sparkle Princes. So on to the Friendly Internet Dragon (tm) we went.

Raid composition took a while to figure out, but we eventually had 3 healers go portal-hopping, while two others stayed with us dps'ers. When we finally won the fight, it may have startled me a bit when Valithria suddenly hopped up and nuked all the remaining baddies. Maybe. Just a little. >.>

Fun stuff! I think we can probably add Dreamwalker to the list of bosses we can down regularly, too. Putricide..... well, maybe a bit more practice first.

Best part of last night, though? Running VOA before we hit ICC, and having the DK dps gloves drop from Toravon. Barraccus was the only DK in the raid. Now I can save his frost badges for his t10 pants. Score!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Back To The Citadel!

We finally had enough people around to do some raiding last night. First off was TOC for Jaraxxus, because he was the weekly raid and thus needed to be dead. Then after a minor roster shuffle, we were off to ICC.

With a PUG pally offtank, who managed to annoy all of us, I think, in one way or another. But oh well.

It was great to be back doing stuff. I hadn't really realized how much I had missed Barraccus. And hitting things. And seeing shinies (even if it's cloth shinies that I can't use). And, well, you get the point.

Barraccus was a bit of a loot ninja- he got 3 upgrades. Morrowgar dropped a nice tanking neck that I won the offspec roll for, then later after the Lootship fight he picked up some main-spec boots. This was where the pally started getting annoying. Apparently everything that dropped was an upgrade, as he picked up a caster sword with +hit (meh, noone else wanted it), then rolled on the boots, and at some point (I forget which fight it was) he wanted to roll on some cloth bracers that also had +hit. Those went to our mage, but the fact that he wanted them kinda irked me and a couple others.

Pro tip: Pally healers don't need +hit. And that's overlooking the fact that they're cloth, not plate.

Anyway, moving on. We knocked down Saurfang with no trouble, and he dropped the 2-hand axe. Now, I had been waiting for a 2-hander to drop and for me to win it, because I've been wanting to go back to blood or unholy on Barraccus. Since he's been dual-wield frost so far, and it would technically be an offspec roll, I waited for the lootmaster to call OS, then rolled on it then. Thankfully no one wanted it for main-spec. I lost the roll, but our pally main tank won it. A little further into the instance, he handed it over to me.

O.o *cue happy music*

I wound up waiting until after the raid was over before respeccing- Barra's unholy now- and then ran a quick heroic to test it out. I liked the numbers and can't wait to try it in a raid, though he still has his frost dps spec just in case.

Back to the night's raid..... We usually clear the first wing, then flail at Rotface/Festergut for a bit before calling it. This time, we got them both down. BOTH OF THEM DOWN. That was an awesome first for us. Friday night we go back, and we'll get to start off on Putricide first thing. Or maybe Blood Wing, who knows.

Now, I know that the probable main reason we did so well was because the "pity buff" is up to 30%? But still, it's nice to be able to work together and get stuff dead. If we have to be buffed out the wazoo to do it, well, it's fine by me. And that's all I will ever say about the ICC buff. (Maybe. I think.)

So that's about it. Wound up taking an unintentional nap before raid, so I didn't get anything done with anyone else. Today will be Level Alts time, then we go back to ICC Friday. Might have something else interesting to report by then, we'll see.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Now What Was I Doing Here...?

Ugh tired. Had to get up at the crack of dawn on my day off to take my car to the shop, which feels like it messed up my schedule (day off wut? where?), but at least now my car has new tires! This was my first time buying new car tires, I feel like I've graduated from something.


I am in Warrior Mode at the moment. My warrior Turron is now 78 and closing in on 80 fast. I've just noticed that when I pick a character that I Really Am Going To Level Next, I usually wind up on a totally different one..... But on the bright side, this will be my first 80 that's not a druid, hunter, or death knight!

Ilfariel has stalled out a bit at 24, because the WoW bug has gotten bigger than the LOTRO bug. I do plan on getting back to her, just not sure when yet.

I recently ran into an interesting PUG that I thought was worth a mention. Shaurria got Ahn'Kahet for a random, and two pulls into the instance the dps warrior ran into both of the groups that sit there. Much death ensued, and as we all ran back from the graveyard (and the healer quit the group -.-), this little gem happened.


This just makes me wonder if he would have cared that after the fiasco was over, we got a new healer, new dps, and finished the instance with no problems. I don't think that qualifies as "biting the dust".

Also, most people would feel compelled to smudge out the names to "protect" the guilty party. I have no such problems, so if you happen to see this guy... yea, you've been warned.

My writing bug has bitten me big time, I foresee another Massive Wall O' Text(tm) incoming. Don't say I didn't warn you. And speaking of which, I should go write some more now, so See ya!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Understanding A Character: Lark

First things first, have a Lark song. Hopefully this post will explain a bit how it fits her.

I mentioned before that I had a few things occur to me regarding Lark. I'm attempting to remember what they were, and also try to make them make sense. Bear with me here.

Lark is a complicated character (I know, I know, who isn't?). Trying to figure out how she'd behave in a scenario, and figuring out why she acts that way, is part of what makes her interesting.

First and foremost is her... gimmick, I guess I'll call it. That one thing that starts shaping who she is. Every character has one (or if they don't they're a fairly boring character imo), and Lark's is based on when she was growing up. Her storyline is that her older brother was a hero, the kind you read about in books and comics- he somehow always managed to not only be in the right place at the right time, but always came out on top, to boot. Then came the War of the Shifting Sands, where his luck ran out and he was killed. The details on that haven't been worked out and aren't really important, because he isn't the focus of the story, just a part of it.

Lark, the real focus of this story, was born twenty years later, so she never knew him. She literally grew up hearing stories of her brother, the hero, and as she got older and passed her coming-of-age, her parents began telling them a bit differently- instead of "this is your brother, see how great he was?" it became more like "this is your brother, don't you want to be like him and make your family famous like he did?" Yes, that's a bit harsh, but Lark's family wasn't really the loving, caring, be-who-you-are type. Needless to say, Lark decided that no, she didn't want to be a hero, because heroes usually wound up dead (oh, hey, like her brother did, huh?). After a little over 4 centuries of this, she decided to leave home and strike out on her own.

Enter Lathenil. He is possibly the most important figure in her history, because he did a lot to shape her into who she is now. Lark had no money when she left home, just her nightsaber and her bow. After a couple years of roughing it, often camping out rather than renting a room in a house or inn because her finances were so tight, she meets a random druid who takes a shine to her. Lath helps her find work, opens his home to her, and then gets her into his company of caravan guards. That began the best period of her life.

Lath was more than just a friend that helped her out. Up to this point, Lark had heard nothing but how great her brother was, didn't she want to be like him, you don't want to let us down now, do you? When she left her home, she accepted in her mind that she was a failure for not living up to her family's expectations. Lath never treated her as such. From the moment they first met, he treated her as herself, as someone that was worth something without being a "hero". This was a totally new experience for Lark. He was her lover, partner, confidante, and in some ways, her mentor. In the one story I wrote about the two of them, he proposed to her and she accepted. That might not seem like a big deal, until you think that at that point, Night Elves were immortal. She would have spent the rest of eternity with him. That's not something she would have taken lightly.

In that same story Lath is killed, so their future never happens. At the time of his death, Lark has the more pressing issue of simple survival to worry about, but you can believe that she grieved for him once she was safely back in civilization. Lath's death was the beginning of a trend that has affected Lark deeply. She lost her first pet only a couple years later, to a centaur attack similar to the one she lost Lath to. Her next pet, and her next lover, had similar fates. Over the centuries this has repeated, until now Lark believes that whoever she gets close to will die, sooner or later (more likely sooner). This haunts her more than she'll ever let on.

Lark's in-game introduction began when she met Pitch at a random nameless tavern. Since then, she and Pitch have become closer than she really wanted to be. He is her friend, and she's gotten dependent on him enough that she doesn't want to lose that friendship, but she's in constant fear that his association with her will cost him his life at some point. So for anyone that knows them in-game and might be wondering, that is why they are not "dating". It isn't really Pitch's doing that they aren't- it's Lark's.

She had a similar dilemma when she found her spirit beast, Komah. Her moonstalker Tuah had been with her for 4 years; she knew he would die sometime, and by then had accepted it as she accepted everything else her life threw at her. But Komah is different. Being sentient, she can speak with him same as with any person (sort of), and so he's more of a friend and partner than a pet. When she met him, she knew that if she accepted him as a pet he would likely die because of it, and to have the life of such a wonderful animal, and demi-god to boot, cut short because of her was nearly more than she could stand. She did take his offer, obviously, and she lives with the pain it causes her without complaint, but it's still there.

So. Getting back to Pitch again, I wondered a time or two why she was so attracted to him. The answer finally came to me- Pitch reminds her of Lath, whom she still loves and misses. Oh, she knows that Pitch isn't her long-dead lover and never will be, but the similarity is enough that she finds a great deal of comfort from him. He cares for her, gives her the space and privacy that she needs, and yet is always there when she needs him. In turn, she helps steady Pitch, whose spontaneity would get him into a lot more trouble otherwise. They balance each other nicely.

That being said, I don't see them ever becoming an official "couple". Lark's fears are too great, and she cares for him too much. To put it bluntly, she could live happily just being friends with him, even if it was strictly casual (aka no more bedding him), if it meant that he was alive. Letting him get too close would only be a death sentence, she believes, so she keeps that little bit of distance between them. Pitch accepts this without question; he figures that if he needed to know her reasons, she'd tell him.

Now this may make Lark seem to be a gloomy sort of person, but that isn't usually the case. Her life, instead of making her bitter and withdrawn (well, maybe a tad, but still), has instead taught her to take the good moments as they come, and enjoy them while they last. She tends to live in the moment a lot, and not worry about things until she has to. All of this together makes her an absorbing character to play, and is probably why she's become my RP main ever since I first created her.

And all this is because of a druid that never actually existed. Funny how that works, isn't it?

(P.S. I may do a story about when Lark first meets Lath. I've had bits and pieces of it running through my head, and will probably sit down and write it all out sometime. Muahaha)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

*Knock, Knock* Anyone Home?

Ugh, what a week so far. I think I'm compiling a list of the things that drive me crazy at work, and most of them have happened this week already. Still adjusting to the schedule shift too, so yay, tired! >.>

I'm still playing Lord of the Rings Online mostly, but I usually get on WoW for a bit before bed. My poor shammy Rajast is still sitting around in Hellfire Peninsula; after getting him to Outland and level 60, the incentive to continue playing him has mostly gone away. He'll get there though, don't worry.

I am still loving my warden Ilfariel in LOTRO. I think it kinda resembles playing a pally, with her shield and damage-reduction skills, self-healing, and..... kinda low dps. But still, she's fun. And she has ranged attacks! Much better than your average low-level pally.


She's level 23 and has her mount now, too. Did I mention that she has a thing for horses? Well, she does.



See this? This is one reason I love this game- the graphics. The lake looks like you could dive right in.


In other news, Lark got back to her caravan-guarding roots. This was a fun bit of RP, I wish I could do this with her more often. Pitch didn't go along, mostly because I figured it'd be too hectic trying to control 2 toons at once.

I'm feeling an itch to level my priest and warrior on Gilneas now. With Shaur nearly 76, and all my other toons except Davoss already at 80, they'll be my next closest to cap anyways, so might as well, right?

Lark has been poking my brain lately. I've been tinkering with a story post for her, but it's coming slowly (writer's block ftl). I also need to finish the backstory bit I had going with Pitch, because I'm working on the next stage now.

I've made some realizations about Lark over the last couple weeks, and I may have to expound on those soon. That will probably comprise a blog post all its own, though, so for now I will leave it at that.

I've been doing some writing about Ilfariel too, but nothing major. Usually it's been a few sentences here and there about whatever point in her questing has been affecting her the most. I may post a couple up here anyway. Her character and personality is interesting so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she develops.

Oh, and our GM on Gilneas is back! We are slowly returning to the killing of internet dragons- slowly because after he's been gone for a couple months, some of our regular attendees have gone kinda MIA, so we have to round them up again (that is a rather interesting visual right there >.>).


So! Hopefully things will be a bit closer to normal soon, and I can quit being a zombie most of the day. Time will tell.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Hi

So. This is the spot where I'll be sticking the more random things that pop up in my head. My other blog, Spirit Bond, will now be reserved for World of Warcraft-only writings, mostly my RP stories.

Still messing with designs and templates and stuff here, so don't be surprised to see some changes now and then, til I figure out what I like.

Expect to see.... well, I don't really know what will show up here. But it should be interesting. To me, anyways. Ciao!