The Menu Chat Challenge

Best graphic I've ever made, right here.

A couple of weeks ago, Elizabeth and I were doing quests in the Last Wood. We were buffing to kill some roaming ice monsters when I saw a bubble - menu chat - from the sidelines, asking "Please may I join?" I was pleasantly surprised by this request, since many players don't bother to even asked, so I told them that it was okay.

When the two wizards, whose similar names revealed that they were being run by the same person, joined the battle, I received another pleasant surprise. I noticed that they had excellent gear and the best wands available in the bazaar, besides a concrete strategy. This revealed that they actually knew how to play. As the battle went on, we had a rather nice discussion, as far as menu chat can go, and we added each other, discovering that we were even on the exact same quest.

More recently, I logged on. My friend whispered me, using text chat, and I soon found out that he had received text chat for Christmas and was thrilled about it. As we talked more, he revealed that he'd been playing since the game opened, he was active reading in the community, and he knew about this blog.

Where's my point? Menu chatters are not necessarily the immature and inexperienced players many people make them out to be.

I was on menu chat for a year because I didn't lie about my age when I joined. At first I was clueless about what I was missing, but then Elizabeth joined. She was just barely old enough for text chat, and the difference was monumental. She made so many more friends. Sometimes people would walk up to her and start conversations, but more often than not, I was treated like an inanimate object.

Menu chatters are people, too.

And here lies the point of this challenge. Go without your text/open chat for a week, just to step into the shoes of the menu chatters. This can be disabled via the Parental Controls screen in your account settings page. To make this an organized event, Elizabeth and I have chosen to set the dates from January 5 - 11, 2014. Although I hardly relish the thought of adopting menu chat yet again, I will do it to raise awareness.

Will you do it with me?

- Sophia E

I Can't Believe It's Over

"Shoot!" I thought as I talked to the last NPC of Khrysalis, Part One. "It's over! I have to wait for the next part!"

Did you know this was the only world that has made me feel this way so far? Khrysalis was epic. It's the best world ever, with a cut scene every few quests, balanced difficulty, and a storyline that left me gasping at every twist and turn. I may do a more detailed write-up later.

Let me tell you - that last dungeon was fast and fun! It was a night of spontaneous bee dancing, chatting, repeatedly forgotten wands and spells, and frantically digging for a rebirth as the rounds till the super hit ticked down. Eventually, we defeated Ghost Dog, and Morganthe threatened to hurt us more than we'd ever known as our powers were drained away - I don't know what that means, but it sounds like an epic plot twist and I can't wait to find out!

I leave you with a taste of just one small part of the epicness found in Khrysalis. This is not a glitch.

Fear my giant holiday spirit!

- Sophia E

Presents!!

So, yesterday was Christmas, and I got lots of presents. Some were just okay, but most of them were great! I got:

• Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - I've never played any Zelda, but I tried it out for an hour or so this morning. It's really, really awesome. My only problem? I played through the whole waterfall cave, killed everything, but then I didn't find the bird at the other side. Oh, well. I'll try again tomorrow.
• Book about publishing - It's very useful, but somewhat discouraging too. Ignorance is bliss, I guess. I've been learning a lot, though.
• Rhyming dictionary - I can tell this will be great. There are tons of hilarious rhymes in it.
• Bad poetry - My mom wrote me a limerick, detailing how she was going to get me some nice boots but they haven't come yet. It's as bad as the slippers limerick. I'm not even joking. It was good for its humor value, and I can tell I'll like the boots.
• 10,000 pageviews! :D You are all awesome.

- Sophia E

Christmas Day

If you celebrate Christmas - Merry Christmas, if you happen to be reading this on the actual day! Even if you don't, I have a card for both groups. Enjoy!

- Sophia E

My Wizard City Wildlife Sanctuary

Welcome to one of my first serious finished housing creations: a wildlife sanctuary for homeless pets! When you first arrive, you come to a gorgeous hedge maze filled with woodland creatures wandering around happily. I even crafted a sign just for this purpose.



When you head up the walkway, you first find this gorgeous view, with a centerpiece of a unicorn fountain. On the left, you see our merchandise racks; on the right and in the back, you can adopt pets from all over the Spiral. Upstairs, you'll find our petting zoo of cats and dogs, also up for adoption but significantly less dangerous.



Ever wanted a magical creature of your very own? Visit Sophia EmeraldBlossom's wildlife sanctuary today - now on castle tours!

- Sophia E

I Am a Turkey.

Gobble, gobble! (That's turkish for "hi!") Recently, I stole a code for a turkey hat from Sophia's secret file full of little tidbits. I swear, that girl is a hoarder. Anyway, even though Thanksgiving was about a month ago, it's awesome being a turkey. It drops feathers, even! How awesome is that? Hey - it could be my Halloween costume. (Wait - Halloween was even longer ago. Shoot.)

Well, just popping on to show you my awesome new gear. Cluck gobble errrrrrr! (Turkish for see you later!)

- Emma I

December Stuff

Okay - I have a lot of stuff to say. (If you haven't seen my pixie story, read it. It's the post right before this one.) The first is a rant at the weather. We got not one, but two big snowstorms, and now the weather's above freezing and it's probably going to all melt off right before Christmas! The weather has malicious intent. It's mocking me.

On a more relevant note, it's DECEMBER! Besides being one of my favorite months of the year, that means a lot of things for the blog. For one, my blog is almost at 10,000 pageviews. Thank you, everyone!  Also: if you recall, my blogaversary is January 9th. That means I'm thinking about 2014's contest!! Believe me - this one is going to be epic. I'll also be giving the blog an all-new makeover. Check out my new profile image!

Also, on a sadder note: awhile back I bought a few Grub Guardian levels with some crowns I won from a contest, and used my epic level Forest Lord on them. Today, after not going to Grub Guardian for a while, I found that Lord Rex had disappeared. After searching all my houses, my attic, my bank, my shared bank, and all my other wizards' houses, attics, and banks, I've come to the rather distasteful conclusion that Lord Rex is gone. I must say goodbye to this highly sentimental piece of my wizarding adventure.

Still - I'm excited for Christmas, and the Hobbit movie (I'm seeing it in a theater tomorrow!) and some other things, and this season is supposed to be happy, so I won't think about Lord Rex just now. I can tell you that I have lots of awesome things planned for 2014, and I have high hopes that it will be the best year of blogging and adventuring yet!

- Sophia E

An Illustrated Pixie Story

Once upon a time, there was a pink pixie. She lived in a dull gray city full of buildings that felt too big for her. Although lots of people came and went through that city, they were nothing like her. Many, in fact, were quite rude. The pixie felt different. She had trouble talking to people, and she often felt like she had no friends. There was nothing to do, and she usually was very sad. The dull gray city might have been nice for the big towering passersby, but for the pixie, it was miserable. Despite the streetlamps on every corner, it was dark there all the time. No matter where she went on those winding streets, she always ended up in the same places. Life was sad and boring.

The Trouble with Winter

When calendars change to their very last page

And December begins, feeling like a new age

The sparkly new season's alive and on stage

As everyone cheers -

But the end of the old year brings fresh doubts anew

As you think of the promises that never grew

With old resolutions you unknowingly slew -

The passing of years.

The winter's new weather is chillingly fun

The fresh-fallen snow sparkling in the sun

And hot cocoa's passed around to everyone

The glory of snow -

But I dream of the weather as outside, it's cold

Somewhere else in the country it snowed, I've been told

But this barren, dead grass is depressing and old -

The freezing winds blow.

Spontaneous singing, the carolers play

The holiday spirit is shown day by day

The pine tree decor makes a gorgeous bouquet

And Christmas is near -

Of the month of December, it's only the first

With carols since Thanksgiving Day I've been cursed

And Santa's on every street corner: the worst!

The headaches are here.

The passing of time makes me ponder my year

The beautiful weather is snowy and clear

The season is filled with excitement and cheer

My feelings splinter -

For despite that the new year's exciting and fine

The sky seems to think that for snow, it's not time

The carols are only an annoying chime -

That is the trouble with winter.

I hope you enjoyed the little poem - an update of sorts should be up in a few days!

- Sophia E