A Minor Pair of Glitches

It seems Ben Ben the Dog found a way to swim between dimensions. That, or else the floor really is lava. In which case, I don't think he knows how to play the game. 

 

 What is this I don't even.

It's Not a Party Unless Someone Dies

So to celebrate her engagement to JC, Sybil really really wanted to have a bachelorette party. This was a feature introduced in the Generations expac which I hadn't  tried yet, so I gave it a shot, for curiousity's sake. I invited her aunts and any other young females she was more than moderately acquainted with, and they all went to the bar owned by JC. Turns out he was working there that night, so that was a bit ... awkward. Not that Sybil was planning on doing anything unsavory or unfaithful, mind you, it just put that nagging feeling of being watched in everyone's mind. "Don't get too crazy, the groom's watching!"

But he wasn't paying any attention, engrossed as he was in washing the dirty glasses. I couldn't get over his outfit though.  That sense of style.... if it can be called that - I will never get over it. Poor man. Or maybe, poor everyone else and he's just a fashion genius. I still don't know exactly what material that suit was supposed to be made out of. It was nice to see him trying to be a productive member of society though, instead of just lazing about.

Regardless, everyone showed up, even a bunch of women she hadn't invited, and the bouncer decided she'd rather play foosball than guard the door, so all sorts of women were there jumping around and giving toasts to Sybil and her future with the bartender. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and then I got the notification that the 'Male Cowboy Dancers' had arrived. Oh boy. Who asked for them? I was afraid things would get ugly, what with JC downstairs mixing drinks while Sybil slow-danced with the cowboy, but no one seemed to care much, much to my surprise. Perhaps JC knew there was nothing harmful to it? Still, I don't know. All I know is when JC and Sybil try to slow-dance, they do nothing but step on each other's toes. This guy was a dancing master and had her spinning in circles, bending backwards, all sorts of things. All while hip-hop blared through the bar's sound system. It was quite the juxtaposition.


And while I may have complained about JC's outfit of choice, Sybil's surprised me. I had designed a nice little party dress, thinking I could get her to wear that to the party, but as soon as it officially started and her guests started showing up, she changed into this short little number and I was so surprised I let her keep it instead of forcing her back to the outfit I had planned. Huh, the way this game works sometimes if I had tried to change her clothes back that would have probably somehow ended the party and everyone would have left five minutes after they had shown up.


Apparently, my legacy family cannot have a party without someone dying. It's happened three times now, no matter where the party is held, one of the guests always decides to die. I've no idea who it was this time, all I know is everyone was upstairs dancing, even JC, when all of a sudden someone decided the dance floor was the best place to go. Everyone was quite shocked, and the look on the dancer's face in the back made me giggle. He looked so sad.

JC looked pretty upset too, and if this had been a game with more real world problems, I can imagine him thinking "Oh I hope I don't get sued for this..." I mean, the whole town knowing that someone died  at your bar isn't exactly the best advertisement. Unless he redoes the whole design of it in a dark gothic look, and then it can be a 'haunted' bar. I wonder if I could mover some of the remains from the cemetery over so that some ghosts might decide to hang out? Or is that sacrilegious, to exhume and move remains simply to add atmosphere to a bar? Might drum up business a bit. Hmm. Not a bad idea......



The Grim Reaper showed up and collected her, whoever she was, and everyone soon went back to partying, despite some lingering bad moodlets. But the despair didn't last for long, and soon everyone fine, dancing and chatting and toting their drinks around. I thought the party was going really well, minus the death, of course (but you can't help everything). I was hoping the whole time that despite the death the guests would think it had been a great party since that was Sybil's wish at the moment - for everyone to have a good time. I wonder if the woman who died had fun?

Anyway, they ended the night with JC spraying Sybil with a bottle of champagne. Sometimes I love the facial expressions in this game, and JC's in this pic is priceless. He's having so much fun ruining her dress.

The next morning, which coincidentally was Valentine's Day (or Love Day as it's called in the game), Sybil and JC ran off to the nearby beach to get married in a small private ceremony at dawn, but it started hailing (silly unpredictable spring weather) and they were forced to retreat to the nearby covered shelter to finish the ceremony.

She's pregnant by now, and I'm waiting to see what the little bundle of genetics looks like this time. I'm hoping it's a boy so that I can name him Perrin in honor of the golden gene-marker I've managed to keep in the bloodline thus far, but we'll see. That is, assuming he has the marker. Sometimes it skips a generation or so.

Yes, he really did wear that to the wedding. I had to giggle.

Sybil and Her Man-thing.

Sybil, the current heir to the Morel legacy,  is an equestrian, like her forebear Mia. She loves her horse Gaucho and had already won several advanced races before she even graduated from high school. However, this has nothing to do with Gaucho. This has to do with the guy she met while in high school named JC Grayson. Now, unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of JC when he was younger, because he was nothing more than your typical awkward teenager - chubby, bad hair, clumsy and unimpressive. Nothing to write home about. One day Sybil came home from school all flushed and excited - JC was now her boyfriend. Again, nothing to be alarmed over, so I didn't worry about taking any pictures.

Until, that is, when JC graduated high school Now he's .... well, let's just say he's interesting. Definitely one of the more colorful figures in town.  He owns the local bar and acts, all of sudden, like he's some cool tough guy. He wears his shirts open, hairy chest and all, and his hair full of grease, and he looks for all the world like some guido. By the way, if you don't know what a guido is and go to that link, definition #3 is particularly fitting, I believe. Too bad sims all have the same relative accent. I'd love to throw a pseudo-newyorker's twang on him. Let's hope he doesn't turn into a raging alcoholic or a wife-beater :( 

He loves working out and messing with cars, and he pretends that he can play guitar. None of those, inherently, are bad things. I'm just wondering if Sybil knows what she's gotten herself into with this one. He's not a bad looking guy, don't get me wrong. I'm actually interested to see what turns up in the gene pool from this. It's just that the family tree hasn't always been as stable as I'd have liked, and there have been several splits when I'd have preferred the couples to stay together.


I know it sounds bad, but while I watched him propose, there was this cliffhanger feeling. I don't know how it's going to turn out for them. There have been lots of times when I thought I had it all in hand for that particular generation, and everything fell apart in the blink of an eye (I'm looking at you, Lily Lassiter). And then there were other times when I was sure things weren't going to work, it was all going to crash and burn, but somehow, they survived, pulled through, and came out okay in the end. Kind of like life, I guess. They say art mimics life, right? Or is it the other way around?

Here's hoping things turn out okay for Sybil and JC.

And that I can actually make it to gen20 without my file corrupting.

WARC: Getting Organized

The Windy Acres Riding Club met again last night, and our numbers have grown a little bit. We had some new members, and took care of some administrative tasks to get better organized. After voting on the website for our uniform and team names, we put them into action in-game.

 The riding practice uniform is a combination of Arth-Crus and some Quilted Pants, dyed black. Kiralynn gave us freedom to choose our own shoulders, gloves, and shoes, and while we can't wear hats, we can wear headbands, so I chose the Boots and Gloves of the Eorlingas, and the Circlet of Men. No shoulders for me. I think they would take away from the fantastic look of Arth-Crus. My full look turned out rather dashing and smart, I think. I might change the boots though. They look a bit too chunky. There are some good slim knee-high boots in Dunland, if I remember correctly, but it is a long way still for baby Indy till Dunland. She's up to 35, so almost halfway there, but still, a very very long road. Got to stop messing around and seriously push through the levels. I can go back and grab rep/deeds later.

We decided on Heraldic colors for our team names, so we now have teams Argent, Sable, and Azure, and also the backup team of Purpure (captained by me!) Once we had finished all the team organization and decided on what time alternate practice on Saturdays should be (noon est!), it was time for our leader Kiralynn to go. Most people stayed though, and I ended up leading an impromptu practice for the new folk last night. I did a rough job of explaining what we were doing, but I think folk got the general idea, and in the end I think progress was made by all. We only made it through two formations, but for me, who had NO idea how to explain it the way Kiralynn explained it last week, I feel it went well. At times I felt like Marlin trying to retell that horrible joke about the mollusk and the Sea Cucumber.

 Practice will be each Wednesday evening at 9:30 EST and Saturdays at Noon EST. Contact Kiralynn ingame on Landroval or visit their website for more info.

SHFT: Mistakes

All this time I've been playing Terraria, I've been playing as a character named Garbledytesting or somesuch nonsense. Well, I finally got her gear up to snuff and decided to shove everything in chests and then delete her, and use Indrabar, whom I created a long time ago while I first played Terraria with my husband. So I shoved everything in chests, and then, I shoved all her gold and armor in the piggy bank. I saved and exited the world, and deleted her. Then I loaded in Indrabar. Then I noticed something odd.  Chests will carry over between characters. Piggy Banks do not. All that gear, my Spectre boots, my feral claws, my mining helmet, my 56 gold. It's all gone. At least I put the weaponry in a chest, so I still have that. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. Time for Indy to earn her stripes, and to find some more Hermes/Rocket/Spectre Boots.

Does This Mean I Have No Life?

So I finally did it.

I cancelled my lotro sub.

And yes, I shed a couple tears before I hit that green button. Does that mean I take the game too seriously? Does that mean I have no life? Probably.

Do I care? Yes.

We can't justify paying for three mmo subs right now, and with SW:TOR still pretty fresh on our plates, lotro, being the old, worn out, flataslastweek'snewspaper game, it had to go.

So why was it so hard for me to cancel? I've waited weeks to do this. I've wanted to find a way around it. I considered using Christmas money to pay for another year's sub. I considered all sorts of things to scrounge up the money to pay for another year's sub. In the exit survey, one of the questions asked was "what can we (Turbine) do to bring you back to Lotro?" I put in that they could give me a free lifetime sub if they wanted, because honestly, there is nothing wrong with their game (or wrong enough to drive me away).

I just don't have the time (or, more importantly, the money) to keep paying for it.

I guess it is all the time I have put into the game over the years that is killing me. All the fun memories I have of running things with Squid. The friends I've made - who thankfully, have moved around with me to other games (I'm looking at you, Minecraft and SW:TOR, and yes, even you, stupid Tanks).

I think my biggest fear in hitting that green button was that this felt like a betrayal to Indrabar. She's been with me for so long, and hey, it is an rpg, after a while it does begin to feel like that pixelated thing on the screen is a part of you, and that you really did defeat Mordirith or clear out Sammath Gul or down a dragon or two.

It feels like a betrayal because there was no Indrabar in SW:TOR yet, and there probably won't be, because, as my husband once said when I was creating my character for that short stint in SWG,  - "It's not a very Star Warsy name. It just sounds, well, elvish." So, for SWG, I went with Tsuka, and Tsuka is now in SW:TOR.


Tsuka was also in Skyrim, instead of Indrabar. A psychologist might say that two personalities are fighting for control.

Yes, I know it is just a game.

Yes, I am a sane, mature adult. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have cancelled.

Just because I am an adult though doesn't mean I have to be happy about the choices we are sometimes forced to make.

 Well, here's to the 20th, and whatever changes that will bring to Indrabar and the rest of my lotro characters. Hopefully they won't all just poof into thin air. Hopefully I won't cry like an idiot again.

Maybe now I can have a real life, you know, in the real world.


If I was able, I would give Indrabar permission to punch me in the face for just metaphorically indefinitely locking her in a dark cell with no chance of sunlight or ever seeing her forty-nine horses and three goats again..

Anti-climactic

  I am going to start out with a warning: This Follows No Logical Order. If you are looking for a coherent post, do not even attempt to read this.

So here it is folks, the 100th post. I've been putting it off for a while, because I couldn't find something worthy enough of what I thought, in my own little head, the 100th post should be. Should I post about LotRO? Sims 3? Prince of Persia? Some other game I've never posted about? What about D&D? That made a promising couple of appearances, right? I even took some screenshots of a few games in preparation of this momentous post in preparation (I was trying to map out my post, but it never panned out. I could throw them all at you, without any context. In fact, I'll do that, to confuse those readers who only scan).

In all fairness, I suppose I'm having a hard time coming up with something to post because, in a way, I've been reconsidering my gaming habits as of late. Most of you mature people, especially my father, will probably rejoice at that statement. Its not that games have lost any of their appeal. Quite the opposite. They still intrigue me, but with work and becoming an 'adult' (blech, as if anyone ever wants to be one of those), my free hours are becoming increasingly precious, and when the choice comes between gaming and taking care of housework (because, newsflash, owning a house takes much more sweat equity than an apartment), unfortunately, housework has been winning as of late. Except today, when the weed-eater wouldn't start, so no yardwork for me today yay!


I'm also finding that my eyesight is getting older at a frustratingly exponential rate, and reading a book is much less stressful than raiding. I am the last member of my immediate blood family who does not have some sort of corrective eye wear, and the stubborn part of me refuses to get my eyes checked out of the fear that I might need something and my bastion of perfect eyesight will crumble away. Not sure if bastion was the right word there. 

 There's also the whole, unspoken but totally felt every day, nagging guilty feeling known as, I-was-an-English-major-so-I'm-obligated-to-read-books thing. I am running out of unread books on my shelf. This is a good thing? That, and it's NaNoWriMo. Not that November's ever helped before. Haven't finished a thing yet. Yes, I am writing a book. Slowly. Every year I promise I will have a book done by the next Christmas. It never happens. I am a liar, I suppose. Not that anyone cares. If anyone's still reading at this point I applaud you for for your persistence, and mourn the thought that if this is entertaining to you, you are more starved than I.

Thunderpig!

Regardless, I am still a gamer, there is no doubt about that (or there might be, and perhaps this post, this very blog, is nothing but my own attempt to self-validate a worthless, time-consuming and destructive habit). It is the nature of life, I suppose, to move away from things, to change and grow and move forward. Am I becoming one of those gasp! casual gamers? Stars above forbid. Heaven knows I'd be healthier if I wasn't convincing myself that sitting before a computer for multiple hours a day was a good thing. My rear end is testament to that, if nothing else gave it away before now. I have gained twenty pounds since my wedding day, and looking back, I know exactly what did it. Heck, I knew what was doing it as it was happening. I was knowingly being self-destructive. While I may not be any heavier than I have ever been (I am at my top weight, but I've been here lots of times), the thought that I can do better, I'm just not, is frustrating.

However, with Sims 3 taking up more of my gaming time as of late than the dungeons of LotRO, and with DnD relegated to a once-a-month-if-that thing, and with console gaming pretty much non-existent out of courtesy to my husband, and Lore-mastering with Squid dropping dramatically due to her college schedule, I find myself with little other than casual games left to fill the tiny gaps in free time that beg for entertainment. Especially since the book I'm struggling through at the moment keeps putting me to sleep. Why is it always the fifth book in a series that is the most boring???

Thoughts of starting a family are beginning to loom on the horizon, and with those thoughts come conflicting reports. Most people with children agree that with babies comes absolutely zero time for video-games, but a few have said that nap-time and nursing make for the perfect time to raid. Erm, who is right? Picturing myself breast-feeding while raiding is awkward.

I have always wanted to picture myself, my future self, as some sort of bohemian earth-mother with a lush garden in a wild, woodsy setting and naked children romping about in the yard, chasing each other with sticks. That dream doesn't leave much room for any type of video games, whether raider or casual. Honestly, how many women could get up in the morning, practice some yoga, indulge in a quiet cup of tea, cook breakfast for the family, spend time each day taking care of them and the house (which includes the never-ending mountain of laundry, which has a daily respawn), and then end each day with 3+ hours of gaming? I don't believe there are enough hours in the day. Something has to give. I just wish it wasn't this.

Perhaps that's why coming to grips with starting a family is beginning to wear on me. I want children, I believe God put me on this earth to be a mother, (now for the inevitable-) but, I also enjoy gaming far too much to simply drop it. Is it an addiction? I know many games are developed and marketed for their addictiveness, usually because continuing to play them also requires that you continue to pay for them.



Maybe this is me learning to deal with my stupid sense of leet-ness. For a long time, I was a casual gamer in full, and the thought of stepping into a raid was some lofty, unattainable thing. Then I was introduced into raiding by a very dear friend, and became aware of how much of the game I was missing. I also, as a by-product, learned my class better. Then, over time, I found myself looking down on people who did not raid. "Look at them, ewww. The soloers. The casuals. The non-raiders." (S'funny, I never said "Eww, the rp-ers.") Now I find myself without time, even without children, and I am being forced back into solo/casual mmo-ing. I am what I once was, and what I, more recently, placed myself above. Is this being put in my place?

I am ending my hundredth post here. No climax, no point, no solid ending. Sorry to disappoint.

Also sorry that you were expecting something in the first place.


 

The Watcher

I ran it. And beat it. And won the rolls for uberloot. Twice. But I gave the token away. That turned some heads. And then I ran the turtle and got this trophy for my house. Pretty sweet, huh?

Actually it was kind of funny hearing the pin drop when I said I would pass on the watcher token. I mean, it's just a game, right? And I have the Mirkwood rad gear, so what is the point? I've already sold half my Moria gear anyways. 

But, I have finished all my deeds for the watcher in one run, so if I so choose I never have to go back in there on Indy again. This opened up my meta deed for the moria goat, yay! I am getting closer every day... to what I'm not quite sure though.

Inescapable death

Well, today, not two days after the death of his wife Hobbit, the patriarch Pepsi Green passed over to the other side. And while working out, no less. Great. Now every time his ghost pops up it'll be in athletic gear. So here is a rather bland shot of their two gravestones, side by side, in death as in life. Or something like that. I don't know. Now I have the possibility of two ghosts. Hooray. Oh, and I tried making more babies to keep the ghosts from coming back, but Richelle and Friday just couldn't seem to get it together.

Speaking of Friday, with the death of his father, Friday is the new head of the Green household, and I am wondering if the family's current stint of prosperity and ease due to hard work and dedication is about to end. Ever since the death of his parents, all Friday has wanted to do is this:



Yes, that is my sim. Jumping around in the sprinkler system. Instead of doing normal things, like sleeping, or taking care of the babies. Oh well. I guess we all unwind in different ways. Also, I don't know why there is no sound. There was sound when it happened. Oh well.

Crop Circles

Tonight I received and filled my first farming order, thanks to a referral from a wonderful kinmate. I was growing Blueberries for one of Gladden's busiest cooks, and noticed something odd about my plants....

I have made crop circles. Literally. Woot for me.

Today In Urugarth

We fought a bunch of dragons. 

Oh, and a hint to all those using voice chat. Please, please, please don't ever use the "hands-free" option.

Not only will everyone else be able to hear your dog bark, your doors open and close, your radio, your phone ring, your conversation with your pharmacist discussing all your meds (cut back on the Ambien, by the way), we can also do nothing but listen in pain while you cough up a lung for ten minutes. 

Then there is that uncomfortable silence from everyone else in the group.

Dude, are you okay? It sounded like you should be bleeding.