Friday, May 4, 2012

I'm Back!

Hey guys, it's been more than a year since I've last played Wiz101, but I'm coming back--at least for a while! Anyone remember me? *tumbleweed* Well, this blog has been such a treasure trove of memories, as has seeing my characters exactly as I had left them.

I didn't realize how much I missed this game until I ran down Unicorn Way, bumping into things like a newbie (I can hardly believe it was 2 years ago that I made my first wizard!)

Oh! Sorry for the reminiscing! And wow, they've added new worlds, new spells, and new pets? It's all overwhelming to all take in--I've got a lot of catching up to do, that's for sure!

Well, I think for old times' sake, I'm going to go slay some Dark Faeries.
See you all later!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Achieving Grandmaster Artisan...

...Nearly made me cry. Seemingly endless pearl farming in the Portico, hours spent bazaar-sniping sunstones and sandstones...I came very close to a mental breakdown many times.

This harrowing journey to Grandmaster Artisan-hood has changed my views on anyone else who's achieved this rank. Before, I regarded Crafting as an easy, 2-second thing. Boy, was I wrong. To anyone with more than 1 Grandmaster Artisan, I applaud you. I would never want to re-experience that type of grind, hour after hour after hour...

I also learned in the course of finishing the quest, was to read the directions very closely. Everything up 'til GM Artisan, you had to craft 2 of an object. So, like a total dummy, I assumed the same for the Seal of the Seven Seas. Had I read the quest dialogue, I would've found directions to only craft one Seal. That was 2 hours wasted on bazaar-sniping, and another 2 wasted banging my head on the wall.

The beacon of light that shone through the darkness, though, was that the Sunstones were needed for the Cosmic Kris and Stellar Signet. It left me thinking, "Do all of the recipes in here require sunstone?!"

In case you didn't know, the Cosmic Kris and Stellar Signet are an athame and ring. Together, they give 400+ HP, 32% power pip chance, and about an 82% boost to heals (incoming and outgoing combined). They're all the rage amongst PvPers because let's face it: 82% is a huge boost.

Here's the mathematical proof:
Pixie (normal) = 400 HP
Pixie (with Infection) = 200
Pixie (with Infection and Stellar Signet and Cosmic Kris) = 364

See? With this set on, you could get nearly normal heals even with an Infection on you. This set is like the new-and-improved Malistaire set. It's also my next goal. Wish me luck as I embark on hours of bazaar-sniping and head-banging!

Jess.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

I'm Back (+more...)

Hey guys, I'm back! 

Today, I'd like to talk about changing personalities. I'm bringing this up because it was one of my IRL problems that forced me to step away from the computer and deal with real life. 

I have this one friend; we were best friends for 5 years. One of our longest running jokes was making fun of those popular people with identical personalities and too much makeup--I think we all have those people in our lives at some point or other. 

Well wouldn't you know it: the moment we stepped into middle school, she found a cozy little niche with the exact sort of people we used to ridicule. 

Excessive makeup, swearing, the "I-don't-care" attitude, and the too-short skirts. Two years later, she was a carbon copy of them. 

During the 2 years, we talked less and less. She had her friends, I had mine. Whatever plans we made always ended up being really awkward. Things had changed.

Well, who am I to judge her? No one. I'm not trying to say that it was her fault--a part was mine as well--but I guess it came down to this: the people we were were best friends, but the person she and I are now don't click. 

And it's not surprising, people change; it's the natural progression of life. 

...I had a point I wanted to make but in the middle of writing this, I lost it. So I bid you a 'hello' and 'farewell'. Oh, and thanks for listening to my sob story.

Jess. 

P.S. Yes, I am back. But just saying: I'll probably be just as lazy as before with posting.  

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Goodbye for now!

Hey guys. As you might have gathered from the title, I'm taking a break from Wizard101. No, it's not because I don't like the game; quite the opposite actually. I'm distancing myself from the game until I can manage my life again.

Lately, I've been using W101 as an escape from all the real-life problems. As a result, I've deveolped somewhat of an unhealthy obsession. I don't know when it started, or when I realized it, but it sure hit me hard when I saw my grades today. Maybe it was the 'D'.

Using the game as an escape didn't help me. My grades are suffering, my problems have worsened, my brain feels overwhelmed. W101 was but a temporary fix for me that left me worse than I had been before.

So, I'd like to say a heartfelt "thank you" to everyone who's ever followed/read/commented on this blog. I never expected the feedback that I'd got  :) I will shut this thing down for a while, but will still be active on Twitter. I just adore the community too much to completely leave.

Until next time (whenever that may be),
Jessica.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Musings II: Life and True Reality

Just a head's up: This is non-W101 related. This post may confuse. It may mystify. It may befuddle. It may cause the reader to have chronic daydreams about burnt penguins. It may even...do nothing.

M'kay, now that we've got that out of the way, who's ready for some ramblings about life?

I'll start off by saying: this is the counterpart (counterpost?) to my other post: The Musings of Death, the World, and the Purpose of Life. 

Rest assured, this one will definitely be more optimistic--I know I probably freaked some people out with the other post :) 

Okay, senseless babbling starting in 3...2...1....

Okay. So what is being alive? By that I mean you in a living state. 

The concrete answer, the universally (well, almost) accepted answer is: it's reality. It's the real world.   

But is it really?

Think: what if the 'real world' you see every day was just a dream, an illusion? Who's to say that maybe our living state isn't even real?

To clarify, imagine this: the world around you everday is nothing but a figment of your imagination. All the people, places, creatures, everything--are just the creations of your mind. When you die, you don't die; instead, you wake up into the true reality. 

And what if we ourselves weren't real? What if life and everything--anything--was just the products of another being's mind? What if everything we've known was nothing more than a higher being's experiment? 

I don't really know where this came from, but I read a book once (sadly, I forgot the name) that really made me rethink--what really is reality? Where is the true, ultimate state of existence?

Also, notice how this post was almost entirely questions. Because these things will probably never be answered or proven. 

So, your thoughts?

Jess. 

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Poem About Gardening Exploit

A Poem About Closed Housing...

Oh woe, oh terrible woe!
For our houses have been closed. 
The red line blocks the way,
Emanating sorrow and disdain. 

Oh guilt, oh terrible guilt!
For those riotous few
Have doomed our domestic greens
And caused turmoil to th' Spiral.

Oh when, oh when shall it be?
'Til we reunite with our homes,
And escape this untimely event,
And repercussions shown?

Oh learn, oh learn it well!
Let it be said so:
He who cheats the bank
Shall never recieve the reward. 

-Jessica-

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Consequences--Chapter 2

I present to you: Chapter 2! I’m writing this sooner that I thought, because for some reason, my laptop isn’t cooperating with the wireless network L

Consequences

Summary: Jessica wakes up in a place, full of wizards and magic. It’s enchanting, wondrous, a utopia built for people like her. The only problem? Jessica wants more than anything to escape its clutches.

Chapter 2

Jessica was pacing angrily outside of Merle Ambrose’s door. She tried to organize her thoughts. Okay, so I’ve somehow ended in a world where magic is real, called the Spiral, or Wizard City, or whatever. A bunch of wizards. A weird headmaster of a magic school. Her head was going to explode.

A cheery-looking wizard appeared in the hall, with a blinding flash of light. The boy wore an outfit of green and tan garments.

His face was split open in a wide grin.

“Hey, you must be Jessica, the new wiz?” asked the boy, waving energetically towards her.

Jessica stopped pacing and looked at him critically. He looked as if he’d never had a bad day in his life. “Yes. Who are you?” she asked cautiously.

“Brian Whisper, level 25 Theurgist. I’m your tour guide around Ravenwood,” He waved a hand at his green clothing, as if that explained what he’d just said.

Jessica nodded, acting as if she wasn’t completely lost. “What is Ravenwood, anyway?” she asked as Brian led her out the front door.

“Depends what you’re talking about. There’s a place called Ravenwood…Ah, well, you’ll see when we get there.” He pointed to an entrance with a twisted wood sign above it that read, “Ravenwood.”

Jessica, with Brian close behind, walked through the opening and to her surprise, found herself under the shadow of a gigantic tree.

It sat at the very center of the circular, woodsy area and just like Merle Ambrose, had an air of wisdom. It was clearly old, gnarled and knotted, but the most surprising thing was that the tree had a face. One electric blue eye, a knob for a nose, and a line where the mouth would be. Jessica wondered why they didn’t stick a second eye on it, or why they bothered putting a face on it in the first place.

Brian laughed, probably at the bewildered expression on her face. “That’s Bartleby,” he said, pointing to the tree with the face.

“You named the tree?” Wasn’t that just a bit over the top…?

“Well, he is a very important member of the Spiral. In fact, he’s the being that made the Spiral,” Brian said in a mater-of-fact tone. As if everything he just said wasn’t totally crazy.

“How? He—I mean---it’s just a tree.” Jessica may have believed the whole magic bit, but no way was she buying that a tree, with a face stuck on it, brewed up a whole world.

Brian looked perturbed for the first time she’d met him. “Don’t say that! He’s unbelievably powerful and ancient, and if it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t even be here. None of use would!”

Jessica smiled wryly. He had no idea that that was exactly what she wanted: to get out of this place. But just to mollify the wizard, she said quietly, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s fine. The newbies usually don’t get it at first.” And then as if she hadn’t said anything, he turned towards the tree, Bartleby.

For the first time, Jessica noticed the half-ring of buildings that centered on Bartleby. The strangest collection, they were all unique. One was green and bursting with blooming flowers and green grass, another was on fire (but no one seemed very worried), and one seemed frozen. A tree accompanied all the buildings. And in this place, Ravenwood, she saw maybe a hundred people swarming about, making their way into the various structures.

“Welcome to the Ravenwood School of Wizardry,” said Brian, arms spread wide. Jessica noticed his tan-green clothes matched one of the buildings, the one with all the plant growth. What did that mean…?

“They named the school after the place, right?”

“Yeah. Here, let’s go see all the schools.” Brian headed towards the first building, the one that matched his clothes.

“Wait! There’s more than one school?” Jessica was confused again, just when she thought everything had cleared up.

“Schools inside of schools. When you enroll, you choose one of these,” he pointed to the buildings. “Each has their own specialties when it comes to magic.”

He led her to the green building. “This is the Life school, where I’m from. We’re called Theurgists and our forte is healing.”

And so he introduced her to every single other school. Myth had minions and double-hit spells. Death students (which, apparently, had fallen into a crack in the ground) were masters of life-drains. Fire school excelled in damage over time. Ice school students were trained in endurance and extreme defense. Storm, on the other hand, specialized in high damage and low defenses. And the Balance school wizards’ were the damage boosters. Also, like the Death school, the Balance school was not there, only a lone suitcase.

Jessica noticed something weird.

“Brian? Where are the teachers?” Jessica asked.

“We came at a bad time,” Brian chuckled. “They’re all taking lunch breaks in the Shopping District. So…” he trailed off.

“What?”                                                    

“What school will you be?”

“Life.” Jessica had no doubts. If she could somehow learn the ways of healing, then escape this place, she could heal Angela. Heck, how many things could she fix in the real world with healing abilities? World hunger, patients at the hospital…The possibilities were endless.

He smiled, “Like me. Well, we’ll go back to the Headmaster’s office and enroll you officially.”

Jessica nodded and they headed back to Merle Ambrose.

“Have you made up your mind yet, Jessica?” he asked kindly.

“Life school.”

“Great. Now I assume you know that your choice shall be permanent. Changing your school is not possible. Are you absolutely sure of your choice?”

“Yes, I’m positive,” Jessica said, patience wearing thin.

“Then let me be off, lots of paperwork to sort out. Brian, thank you for your help,” said Ambrose, handing him a few gold coins. “And Jessica, wonderful choice. I’m sure Moolinda Woo would love to tutor you!”

With a bright smile, the old wizard walked out, leaving Gamma the own to stare at Jessica.

“What?” she snapped.

“What an interesting thing you are,” Gamma replied. “Ah, I can see your confusion. The answer may lie with Bartleby. You should pay him a visit.” And he flew off after Merle.

-----

That was how Jessica ended up, once again, in front of the wizened tree, feeling foolish. Not sure how to start, she said lowly, “Uh, hi, Bartleby. I’m Jessica and Gamma, Ambrose’s owl, said I should see you for something?”

For a long time, Jessica stood awkwardly in front of the silent tree. Just as she was about to leave, she heard an ancient voice rumbling in her brain. Ah yes, Jessica.

“…Bartleby, sir?” Jessica said hesitantly, wondering if she looked as confused as she felt.

No need to speak out loud, just project your thoughts towards me.

Okay. Gamma the owl said I should come to see you…about something…?  Jessica was still a bit doubtful that the voice in her head wasn’t just her imagination.

A laugh resonated in her head. No, I’m most definitely not your imagination. As for advice…You want more than anything to get out of the Spiral, to return to your friend, Angela, correct?

Jessica’s head snapped up. How do you know that?

He ignored her question. Follow your heart, but don’t be blinded by it. The best realizations will be lies.

What?!

But Bartleby didn’t respond. The voice left her head and she was left standing in front of the tree, mind mulling over its words.

“Just kidding,” she muttered to herself. “This is probably initiation for newbies. Hazing or something. Yeah.”

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Fanfiction: Consequences Chapter 1

This is my new fanfiction. The title is temporary, I really don’t like it much. Open to suggestions.

Also, this story will not be happy, nor fluffy. In fact, it will get dark in a few chatpers. Just sayin'.

Consequences

Summary: Jessica wakes up in a place, full of wizards and magic. It’s enchanting, wondrous, a utopia built for people like her. The only problem? Jessica wants more than anything to escape its clutches.

Chapter 1

It killed her to see her very best friend lying in the stark hospital room, thin body shivering under the blankets. Angela had helped her through so much, but what could Jessica do for her now? She wept. “I’ll get you out of this, I promise,” whispered Jessica, stroking Angela’s face, which was laced with tubes. Then, the image shattered into a million pieces.

“Ouch!” Jessica sat up, and promptly smacked her forehead against a—what was it?

And what had she been dreaming of? Jessica thought hard. There was Angela, oh yes. Angela was there, desperately ill. Jessica was in her hospital room. Angela! I have to get back to her!

She straightened herself, rubbing her skin, and stared; her head had slammed into a statue of some sort. Upon it, in a fanciful font, were the words,

“Celebrating the 2 million citizens of the Spiral”

And on top of those words was a pair of what looked like wizards. Both had their wands pointed at the sky, expressions of merriment on their faces.

I’ve died and gone to Disneyworld, she thought.

Standing up, still a bit shocked, Jessica looked around her. She was standing in the middle of a pond, but her shoes weren’t wet. All around her, people were dashing about. And all of them looked like the two wizards on the statue, except some donned foreign fashions. With some reluctance, she noted that each was carrying a weapon of some sort, be it a wand, staff, or sword.

Okay. This is weird. It’s like I’ve woken up in the middle of Halloween, or maybe a Harry Potter convention? But why do some of their clothes look different?

Feeling confused, Jessica went up to the nearest person she saw, a flamboyantly-dressed boy wearing a set of…armor? It had scales and the helmet resembled a dragon’s head. And sprouting from his shoulder blades were a pair of white wings.

“Uh, excuse me? Can you please tell me where I am?” Jessica asked, facing the strange boy.

He looked at her clothes, then replied, “Huh, another noob, aren’t you?” He flew away without another word.

Wow, rude much…?

Jessica frowned. These Harry Potter fanatics sure were a rude bunch, if that guy was anything to judge by.

She approached another person, this time a boy who was wearing a tamer outfit. They looked like a cloth robe and a simple classic wizard hat. “Excuse me, where am I?”

He turned around and smiled knowingly. “Ah, you must be a new wizard, right?”

She stared at him. What was he talking about? It’s probably part of the act. “Uh, yeah, sure. But where am I and how did I get here?”

“This is Wizard City, of the Spiral. This would be the starting place for every Novice wizard. You should probably go talk to Professor Ambrose first,” he said, pointing at a castle only a few paces away. “He’s the headmaster of Ravenwood.”

“Ravenwood? What’s that?” Jessica asked, confusion growing by the second. This was a bit too far for an act…unless this was some big role-playing thing?

“The school you’ll be going to. Sorry, I’ve got to go. Good luck!” And he disappeared in a flash of light, leaving behind only a faint scent of smoke.

Cool trick. Jessica walked towards the indicated building and pushed open the heavy wooden door. Inside was an old, wizened man. He wore an ensemble of red, white, and blue wizard robes. A strange owl was perched on his shoulder. It wore spectacles and looked at her with unusual intelligence.

Oh no, another one of those ‘wizards’?

As soon as Jessica set foot inside the room, he jumped up with the energy of a younger man. “Jessica!” he exclaimed, “Hello, I’m Merle Ambrose, your headmaster at Ravenwood School, and here,” he gestured at the owl, “is my trusty companion, Gamma. So, I trust your transition went smoothly?”

“Transition?”

“Yes, from Earth to the Spiral,” he said. Oh no, he must be one of the crazies here, too. Jessica groaned mentally. Couldn’t they just give her some maps back to the US?

“Uh, Mister…Ambrose, sir, I think you’ve mixed something up. I’m not part of whatever event that’s going on here. Actually, I’m just really lost,” stated Jessica.

To her surprise, he chuckled heartily, as if she had told a joke. “Jessica, dear, this is no event. You’re a wizard, and this is your home.”

Silence reigned for a few minutes. Then, Jessica broke into uncontrollable laughter. “O-oh, that’s a good one. For a second, I thought you were serious!”

He smiled kindly at her, like one would regard a naïve child.

She stopped laughing. “You were joking, weren’t you?”

“Why, of course I wasn’t!”

Jessica’s heart sank. “So…How will I get home?”

Ambrose chuckled. “Why in the world would you want to go back? Here you have everything you’ve ever wanted: magic of your own, and fellow wizards!” As if to prove something, Ambrose waved his hand and a purple snake appeared from thin air.

That stopped Jessica cold. The small display convinced her. “How could you do something so horrible? Steal away people from their lives, their homes, and force them to come here?” demanded Jessica.

Merle Ambrose’s smile slid off his face. “None of them had a problem with it. All were more than glad to join me in the Spiral.” His tone turned patronizing. “And I’m sure you will too, with time. Now, in the meantime, why not take a tour of your school?”

She glowered at the old man, and then turned on her heel. “I’ll be out front waiting,” she yelled as she closed the door.

---

Ambrose frowned as Jessica left the room. He turned to Gamma. “Did we make some sort of mistake? Does she have it?”

Gamma shook his head. “No mistake, sir. Magic indeed flows through her veins.”

Merle was not mollified. “Well, what if she wants to leave? You think we could do the UnTransitional, make an exception just this once?”

Immediately, Gamma responded, “Too dangerous, sir. Remember what happened to poor Suri? We can’t risk it with Jessica.”

Ambrose sighed. “I supposed you’re right. Call in Brian, he’ll be her tour guide.”

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Open Chat Update: My Thoughts

Ah, that fateful day when KI took away the Open Chat from the kiddies...I remember it like it was 10 hours ago...

The change: all accounts must be actively subscribed to maintain the Open Chat feature. 

I'm not really one for big reactions, but I will say: we've had this coming for a long time. It started when under-18s got Open Chat, continued with the potty-mounthin', and it ends now. 

Being guilty myself, since I do have Open Chat for PvP purposes, I guess by writing this post, I'm a hypocrite. But it's like real life: there's always one kid in the class that makes everyone get after-school detensions because he decided to be a smart-alec. In this case, it was that small population who just couldn't resist keeping their bad words to themselves.

I was protesting this update at first, but now I'm starting to see reason. 

KI did this because there were way too many underaged Open-Chatters (I'm guilty too). That might have been okay, but the teens and kiddies brought their...colorful vocabulary to the Commons, the Arena, etc. I can only imagine how many Foul Language Reports KI had to sort through. 

And so they changed it. Now, the young population of Wizard101 has to keep a subscription if they want their Open Chat still. Meaning? You have no valid reason to keep it once your sub ran out, thus preventing a lot of the younger population from getting Open Chat:
Kid: Can I renew my subscription?
Dad: Why?
Kid: So I can type whatever words I feel like to negatively affect people.
Dad: Sure!
Yeah, that definitely won't convince any reasonable parent. 

So don't be mad at KI, or send any angry letters you'll later regret.

As some of the #twizards said: this is a game, not a chat service. If I lived a year and a half in this game with Menu Chat, you can live a few months with Text Chat. Not getting Open Chat is absolutely no reason to quit the game. 

Finally, I'd like to apologize to all the above-18s of the Spiral. I'm wagering not many of you have bad-mouthed someone recently, correct? So this update is like a double-edged sword for you guys. It's too bad your lot has to suffer along with us :-/

Jessica