A Breakdown

She slowly takes a deep drink of her tea before looking back up at the night elf sitting at the table across from her. He looks at her expectantly.

She clears her throat before quietly continuing, "You know I was sent to Outland."

He nods, "We both were."

She gives him a dark look, "It was there, bathed in demon blood under a rain of hellfire, that I found out He was gone."

He shrugs, "Me too."

She stares into her now empty mug, "I didn't know what to do. My whole purpose up to that point was to work my way back to Northrend to Him, to kill Him."

He reaches his hand across and softly wraps his hand around hers holding the mug, "I know. That was my purpose too. We had been separated. I tried to look for you, but there was no trace."

She doesn't shake his touch away this time. "I didn't know what to do," she repeats.

"Where did you go, Ice? What happened?"

"First, I went to Shattrath. I spent some time there among the Aldors, among my people, trying to get my life back, trying to rediscover the Light." She does not lift her gaze to meet his, "I didn't have much luck."

"I went to Shattrath too, in search of you, but did not find you. I thought you might have gone to them but the Aldors were hesitant to give me any information."

She glances up at him, "You looked for me? Why?"

He shakes his head, "I don't know why. I was lost too, you know. I thought maybe we could help each other."

She looks back down at her mug and mutters, "You don't seem so lost now..."

He gives her a hopeful smile, "I'm not lost anymore."

She looks back up at him, "I don't know how you managed it. I've been all over Azeroth trying to find my way. I just don't know what to do anymore. My heart wasn't in the battle against Deathwing. I don't know if I even have a heart left. I just don't care about anything anymore..."

He pats her hand, "You'll find your way. And I will help if I can. It just takes time."

We interrupt your regularly scheduled vignette to bring you:

What is fun? The state of my game.

This week my best WoW friend asked me what I get out of the game. He doesn't understand how I can enjoy playing the way I play. I don't blame him. He's always been an end-game raider, and I used to do that with him. At some point things changed. I'm not sure why I enjoy it either, but I do. I've spent the last few weeks mining ore and maxing out my blacksmithing on Ice. I loved every minute. And now I'm working on the next grind-o-rific project - leveling archaeology.

I have become a strangely anti-social player this expansion. I have done my share of semi-hardcore raiding in the past. I got burned a few times in guilds that ended up falling apart. I have lost what I thought were friends. I just no longer have the time nor the emotional energy to put into being in a tight raiding group anymore.

I don't much care for the LFD and LFR systems. I haven't even tried Looking for Raid just because of my disillusionment with the Looking for Dungeon system. The problem isn't really the system, its the players. I once did a project in which I leveled a character purely through LFD, documenting how many bad, rude, and obnoxious people I ran into. I never published my results, but what I found was that a majority of runs were pretty normal, no problems whatsoever. What I did find was that normal dungeon runs in which no one talks to each other and you just get through it with perfect strangers that you will never see again isn't all that much fun to me. I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way either.

Despite my stories here, I don't actually role-play, but the stories my characters have to tell are vital to the enjoyment I get from the game. Azeroth is my creative escape from reality. The other key to my enjoyment is short-term goals. I never focus on a too distant goal. The amount of time I have to play just doesn't make long-term goals logical. I flit from one alt to another, working on one short project or another for brief spurts.

I admit that I haven't seen a lot of the dungeon and raid content for this expansion. I deleted max level characters and took a 6 month break from the game during the thick of the expansion. When I came back I decided it was time to start fresh. Once I had toons leveled to 85 it was now getting closer to the end of expansion, and it just doesn't make sense for me to try to look for a new guild at this point.

I do have long term goals for Mists of Pandaria, which I am extremely excited about. I do plan to try to see more dungeons and raids this next expansion, and maybe go back and do some fun runs of Cataclysm content that I missed, but I will do it on my terms the way that I enjoy. My first plan for the new expansion is to try to find a friendly casual guild that will accept my minimal and unusual play style.

What is your play style? Do you ever feel like you're playing differently than those around you? What keeps it fun for you?

A Reunion

She sits alone at the dingiest table in the darkest corner of the noisy tavern. She is not what you would call well-dressed, but wears a mis-matched set of what appears to be well-worn armor. The pale blue glow of her eyes casts a bluish tinge over her white-as-snow skin as she cautiously scans the room. Her mannerisms jerky, she does not appear to be completely at ease in this highly public place.

She raises an eyebrow as a tall, handsome and well-toned night elf approaches her from across the room. He walks with a slight swagger, the tools and gadgets on his belt clacking together as he moves. His eyes have the same pale blue glow as hers.

He settles himself casually into the seat across from her and without hesitation asks, "Ice, where have you been?"

Her eyes widen in shock and then narrow as she frowns, her entire body stiffening in rage. In a tense voice she whispers harshly, "Who are you and how do you know my name?!"

A deep rumbling laugh escapes him, a far cry from its former gnomish mischeviousness, "Oh! I forgot you didn't know. It's me, Torq. Who else would approach you here?" He asks as he scans the miscreants in the less than reputable tavern. "You did ask me to meet you here."

Her frown deepens, a puzzled look in her eyes, "But -"

He quickly interrupts her, "An engineering accident." He waves a hand nonchalantly as though it were nothing. "Not that I mind this new look much." He flashes her a charming grin and flexes his muscular arms.

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, unamused. "Why am I not surprised?"

His smile broadens and he pats her on the shoulder in a friendly way, "You still haven't answered my question."

She stiffens and removes her shoulder from his touch, obviously uncomfortable with the gesture. Her gaze falls to the mug of tea in front of her and she mutters, "I've been around."

Growing impatient, the night elf's smile fades. "Well, why the heck did you invite me here if you don't want to talk to me? No one has seen you in nearly four years. Not since -"

She looks sharply up from her mug, halting him as her eyes lock with his. "You're right, not since He fell..."

---

I am back. That hiatus was a lot longer than I initially anticipated. I hope my few readers are still with me. If you're not familiar with Icelica, her story began on my previous blog Specced for Drama. You can read her previous stories there under the heading "A Death Knight's Tale". 

I'm lost...

...somewhere between New Tristram and Caldeum.

You see, just like everyone else, I've been playing Diablo III.

I'm one of those who never played Diablo, probably because I wasn't really playing much more than Sims at the time Diablo II came out. Don't get me wrong. I don't have my head in the sand. I just never thought it would be something I would like. I had it in my head that it was a Heaven vs Hell / Good vs Evil game. Which I guess it is. But when I think of such things it reminds me of my Catholic upbringing, and I didn't want to go there.

Now, having played a bit of Diablo III, I can't believe I never tried Diablo II. This is right up my alley. I love the dark themes. The slaying of undead and demons. And Tyrael is remarkably not as holier-than-thou as I thought an angel would be. Perhaps the loss of his wings helped some.

The farthest I've gotten so far is a little ways into Act II, with a Monk named Amaranth that I am playing with my partner's Barbarian. We make a pretty awesome team.

My solo character for when he is not around is a lovely Demon Hunter named Melanthe. She's only level 9, and not yet done with Act I. I'm taking her slow because she is perhaps my prep for trying Hardcore mode. Which would have already been a failure for her, as I think she has died a few times already.

So we may be light on vignettes around here until my Diablo craze has run its course. But I will keep you posted.

Finding Sparky

The metallic smell and crackle of electricity surges through the air on the beach. Tiresya drops the imp's tiny hand and moves her head as though looking around, as if this will help her to see and understand what is happening. In an urgent whisper she says, "What's that, Zig?"

The imp responds in his casual manner, "Umm... I think I know why they call him Sparky."

"Why?"

"Errmm... Duck, miss."

"What? Why?"

As the sound of the electric energy grows louder the imp's voice becomes more urgent, "Just do it. Duck now!" 

She just barely ducks in time for the bolt of lightning to surge over her head. She yells, "What was that?!"

"Miss, do you still have the fish and the leash?" the imp asks calmly.

"What does that have to do with anything?! What is attacking us?" 

"Errrr, Sparky is."

"What? How is a cat casting electrical energy?"

"Umm..." He pauses in thought, "Static electricity?"

She sighs, exasperated with the situation. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"Just set the fish in front of you on the ground and back away, just enough distance to lasso him with the leash. I'll give you the signal when he's at the fish."

She does as he asks, and as she waits for the signal she hears a strange noise.

"Mrrrghhhrrrghhhlllrrrr!"

"What... was... that?"

"Errrr, I think that was a meow, Tir. I don't think this is a very healthy cat. Maybe hasn't eaten in a while?"

"Is he going for the fish?"

"Yes! Now! Get him!"

She winds up and manages, either through luck or magic, to snare the creature perfectly. As the leash encircles the creature's neck it instantly calms and walks closer to the undead woman. She kneels and reaches a hand out to pet it.

"Umm... Miss, I wouldn't do that. He doesn't sound well. I don't want you to get sick."

She nods and backs away.

The murloc slurps up the fish and lets out a contented sound, "Mrrrrhhhllll."

The imp smiles and grabs the woman's hand, "Let's get him back to the man at the inn."

She frowns, considering the noises she has heard. "It doesn't really sound like a cat, but I can't quite place what that noise is, although I feel as though I have heard it before..." she thinks aloud.

The imp squeezes her hand. "It's just a sick cat, Tir. Let's get him home so he can get better."

April 2012 Search Terms

Azerothian Vignettes -

*Bells and whistles* *Balloons and confetti* Why, yes, this is. You found it. You've come to the right place.

 Does Jaina die in Mists of Pandaria? -

I don't have the answer to this one, but I did speculate early after that first huge information dump. I'd like to think that Blizzard wouldn't kill off one of the few truly strong female characters in the game, but... only time will tell.

 Falling in the water with waders -

I can only assume that this search brought you to my post about fishing. I'm guessing this wasn't what you were looking for, as last I checked Ama was not prone to falling into the water she is fishing in. She's an agile Night Elf, for goodness sake!

 her movements and -

I'm not sure what you were expecting to get with this one, and I have no idea how it landed you here. Perhaps it is related to my little spoof on the song, "Moves like Jagger?" 

Stupid rat -

Again, no idea on this one. I don't think I've written a thing about rats. I did, however, write a little blurb about another type of rodent. Although I doubt it will help.

All in all not a bad turnout for such a new blog. Although I doubt very few of these searchers found any help here. Mine is a playful blog for silly stories and fun, not really meant for those seeking information.

My First Transmogrification

We interrupt your regularly scheduled vignette to bring breaking transmogrification news!

I have created my very first transmog set for my primary character, Amaranthine. It is missing matching shoulders and belt, and it isn't the set I really wanted, but it is a step in the right direction.

She's wearing: Gypsy Tunic, Gypsy Trousers, Vindicator's Leather Moccasins, Ravager Hide Gloves, and Ogre Mage Staff.

Any suggestions on how to fill in the missing belt and shoulders would be greatly appreciated, as I am just running with them un-transmogged at this point. I've been scanning through gear lists, and so far have my eyes on the Spaulders of Reclamation for the shoulders, but that means running through Sunwell Plateau, and well, I'm just not sure I'm that lucky. Not to mention they are rather a bit showy for this simple outfit. My few readers, please tell me, what do you think?