A Short Story of Skyrim

So…yeah. I’m sorry. All you random people that have actually checked up on us within the past 5 months…Surprise! We’re not dead! Some of us are just suffering from IATELDA. I, however, am SUPER busy. As in, the let’s-laze-around-the-television-and-stare-blankly kind of busy. (No, I actually am doing stuff. I’ve decided that summer reading should be banned. (FOUR books. Plus, I’m trying to teach myself physics.) What’s the point of a summer if you have to work doing it? Oh dear, I sound like a lazy bum…which I am, so no problems there at least.) I’m actually here because I really do NOT want to write a paper on political strategies and their uses within modern situations. And no, I do not have the next chapter for Hope today. I know I said I had it planned out (Rule 1: I am a notorious liar.), BUT…I totally forgot what I had planned. No lie. (Probably. Refer to Rule 1.)

So what am I doing rambling here? Well, I WAS going to post a sketch of a krogan that I had drawn after obsessing over the Mass Effect trilogy…however, I hate how it looks in WordPress format. (WordPress authorities, please don’t hate on me! I’m picky, I know. Also, I’ve realized I overabuse parentheses. And don’t create new paragraphs often enough…Oh well.) So no picture. Nor an update on a previous story. Just rambling! [INSERT ANNOYINGLY HAPPY SMILEY HERE.] No, I’m going to try to write up a story now. It’s a bad plan (actually, this idea has been sitting in my mind), I know, but it’ll end taking a lot of time…time I COULD spend doing SUMMER READING but I won’t. Sorry in advance for the inaccuracies! (It’s fiction anyways.)

A SHORT STORY OF SKYRIM

I am Faendal, a proud member of the Bosmer. I am among the elders of our race, having been borne even before the Thrassian Plague took over in 1E 2417. For those unaware of the clock’s time, as I realize the people of today no longer have the elegant systeming of days past, but rather a crude, simplistic style, that is the First Era, the seventeenth year of the twenty fifth century. It is a day well known to us “wood elves.” “Wood elf.” I find this term degrading, as we neither like the crude ash-shaded Dunmer (in your tongue, the “dark elves”), nor like the arrogant hazel-skinned Altmer, whom you all the “high elves.” Simply because these races have descended from the ancient Aldmer, we have been collectively referred to as “elves.” All people, including the devious Argonians, the mischievous Khajit, and the rash Nords, were borne from the Auri-El. Even the Orcs, the most hated of Auri-El, were borne from Him; his hatred gave life to their being. We Bosmer, after our birth, were then raised by the gentle hand of Y’ffre, the Lord of Song and Forest. He blessed us with the gift of knowledge of the natural land. In turn, our bards give him homage in all our songs. He is the light that has guided me to safety in the Nordic lands.

During the time of the Plague, all of Valenwood was in despair. Many a young Bosmer fell from the sickness, and even our natural resistance to disease and poison did nothing to help. Our greatest magicians could only sit and watch as our homeland died, for no amount of magic was able to cure this curse. Prayer for the gods ceased except for those for Arkay, the Prince of Death. Then, just after the Plague passed, we heard news of the arrival of the Cyrodilic Empire, in the modern tomes known as the “Second Empire.” Valenwood would not be able to survive the invasion. However, the Elder of my tree, the beautiful city of Asclepias, heard the voice of Y’ffre call to him in the night. Y’ffre, as we had continued prayer towards all our gods during the Plague unlike the majority of Valenwood, would guide us to safety. He would move Asclepias the same way he moved Falinesti. Quickly, as soon as the news had disseminated, we clung to the knotted branches of our tree. I remember myself, as a young child, clinging with both arms to the trunk as Asclepias took her first step. We traveled for years, even decades, until we reached the outskirts of the land known as Skyrim.

At the border, Asclepias stopped. We took this as a sign from Y’ffre that our journey had ended. As the last descended, Asclepias was sent into the stars, and in her place were a large number of saplings. I suspect that it was Auri-El himself who sent her, as He is known for gifting those who deserve it. She will forever be imprinted into the stars for others to learn of her learning; to learn the tale of the great Asclepias. Each member took a sapling for their own; when they are of age, the children of Asclepias will serve as our bows, our companions in battle for the rest of our lives.

We split then, each Bosmer for their own. I found myself wandering to the small town of Riverwood, on the banks of the White River. There, the Stormcloaks Gerdur and Hod, the local lumberjacks, took it upon themselves to provide for me. They would give me food and a few coins if I would work for them; I immediately accepted. I knew it would be hard to procure work in Nordic lands and was quite glad for the quick offer.

After a few months of working, I took notice of an Imperial female by the name of Camilla. Camilla Valerius, that is. She was beautiful, with sun-kissed cheeks, proud cheekbones, and beautiful hair the exact shade of a brown calla lily. She was by far the most glorious being I had ever laid my eyes on…and I was about to lose her to Sven, the useless bard of Sleeping Giant Inn, a stupid idiot with nothing but honeyed words. I was conflicted with myself. The easiest solution, of course, was simply send an arrow through the Nord’s empty head, but I figured murder was not the best way to go about it; Y’ffre would most likely disapprove. (Actually, now, reflecting on the past, I do not think He would have minded much. Y’ffre treasures all things natural; that is, plants are not to be harmed by a Bosmer’s hand, but an animal (even a large, ugly one by the name of Sven) can be killed.)) Then, a solution, all on its own, waltzed into our little town. A hotheaded (and admittedly weak-looking) Nord, accompanied by the Stormcloak Ralof, who happened to be the brother of the kind Gerdur, took lodgings in the home of my employers.

I approached him, telling of my woes. He nodded every now and then, but didn’t seem to be paying much attention. Finally, I ended my short story. He turned, as if to leave, so I dropped my bait. I offered him my help in clearing Bleak Falls Barrow if he would aid me in my quest. In all honesty, I would have most likely helped him clear the tomb even if he hadn’t accepted my offer; it was to my advantage to be one of the people to reclaim Camilla’s precious Golden Claw. The young Nord immediately accepted, as anyone with common sense would have; anyone would be much better off with a skilled Bosmer archer than a weak Nord bard. He delivered a fake letter to Camilla for me under Sven’s name; it revealed to her just how much of a bigot that bard is.

As promised, I accompanied the Nord throughout Bleak Falls Barrows, and recovered the Golden Claw from the thief, Arvel the Swift. Upon returning to Riverwood, I presented the Claw to Camilla…and she kissed me. We were finally together, at last. I gave my farewells to the Nord, thanked him immensely, and sent him on his way with an archery lesson and a little more gold.

Camilla and I spent our lives together after that. We lived a happy life in the Riverwood Trader with her brother Lucan, whom I found to be quite bearable in comparison to the many other inhabitants of our town, running the little store with little difficulty. Lucan left a few years after I proved myself capable of running “his store” to expand his business; I never heard from him again. The young Nord who had helped me in winning Camilla’s hand turned out to be none other than the Dragonborn. (I don’t care what his title is. His archery still sucks.) I had finally reached true happiness.

To follow “true happiness,” true sadness came, albeit much later. Camilla grew ill; she was already weak in her old age, as we had been together for nearly half a century, a time period longer than most in those days got to live. As a Bosmer, my lifeline would outlast hers. This only meant I would be there to watch her death, and be left to wallow in her memory. And sure enough, we were parted from each other by Arkay.

I didn’t do anything for the next year. I would stare blankly ahead at the desk of the Riverwood Trader, waiting for customers to come in, spent their money, and then leave. After I had closed shop, I’d walk over to her grave and talk to her a bit. Then, I’d pray to Arkay for her well being in Sovngarde, then pray to Y’ffre and Auri-El, followed by other gods.

Our anniversary of the next year, I saw her again. When visiting her grave, she appeared before me as a spirit, and enveloped me in her ghostly arms. In her embrace, I did something that I had never done before; I wept. She kept quiet and held me until I quieted, then told me of her days in the afterlife. She told me of how she listened to me everyday, how she was happy in Sovngarde. She had asked Y’ffre for an audience with me after listening to me for a month, and He told her He would grant her wish if she would wait; and so she did. We talked for the rest of the night, until she disappeared again. One second, she was holding my hand as we talked, the next- Nothing. However, I learned from our short talk that I should spend the rest of my life in more fruitful ways. I quickly ran to complete my daily prayers, giving an extra long one (plus a sacrifice) to Y’ffre for His kindness. And the next day, I re-awoke as Faendal, a proud member of the Bosmer. I embraced life in its fullest and forgot of wallowing in Camilla’s death.

I still visit her grave everyday and offer daily prayer. But I feel that my end is near. Y’ffre calls to me, and I await Arkay to take me an reunite me with my love. I have lived a long, meaningful life in Tamriel; I am ready to live a new one in Sovngarde.

THE END.

…That was so much LONGER than I thought I’d be. GACK. Kinda depressing too…I hadn’t been thinking of people dying when I first started out. Oh well. Semi-happy ending, right? Plus, Faendal’s one of my favorite characters in Skyrim. I tried to make him all plant-y, but it didn’t really fit in so well. But yeah. Faendal’s a jerk, but an awesome one. 🙂 See y’all around (like, in another half year)! Oh, and if you have any cool ideas or requests, leave them in the comments. I’m always up for avoiding doing REAL work. Bye!

–Ebony

Hope- Chapter 2

Yay! Another post…after a month.  I’m sorry, guys, we’re all just super busy. Really, really busy.  Actually, usually at a time like this, rater than “blogging” (I think of it more as writing), I would usually be painting, ’cause I have to finish my painting by February 16. Well, not “finish.”  It has to be dry by the 16th, and because I’m doing an oil piece, it really has to be done by the 9th (unless someone knows a secret to make it dry faster? Please?).  Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well this morning, and decided inhaling turpentine probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. So instead, I spent the majority of the day arranging a duet for some friends (it’s gonna super awesome!) and doing English homework.  Ugh, English.  Not my best subject.  Anyways, I also decided to type up this chapter for you guys! Enjoy!

 

“Stupid Luquen…” Tahl muttered as he inelegantly stuffed clothes for his journey into his bag.  “Stupid Luquen, stupid Empire, stupid village…”

He stopped grumbling for a second when he caught site of the dusty mirror in the corner of his room.  Gently wiping away some of the dust, he stared at his reflection.  A light grey eye, almost a pale lavender, stared back, his other eye cover by his long auburn bangs.  Brushing them aside, he looked at his usually covered eye.  An eye, not quite similar to his other one, revealed itself.  Tahl sighed, and let his bangs fall back.

“Mother…Father…”  The sad whisper fell from his lips. Pained from the remembrance of his parents, he clutched at his necklace, a pair of silver rings strung on a thin leather strip.  Even as a young adult, the memory of his late parents, reflected in his now covered eye, caused him unbearable sorrow.

He once again lifted his bangs to gaze at his irregular eye.  Rather than the lavender-grey eye one might expect, a bright red glared back, an old, ugly scar running over it.  He ran his fingers over it, as if it would soothe the pain for a moment.

I have avenged you…so why do you still ache?  Mother?  Father?  No answer came to his question.  Instead, he seemed to become more sorrowful as he recalled the night of his parents death.

f l a s h b a c k

A little boy, at the age of eight, clutched his mother’s hand, and she his father’s, as they walked back to the inn.  It was a small inn, but made enough for the family to survive comfortably.

“Welcome back.”  An elderly lady, wielding an intricate wooden cane, walked up to the entrance as the family approached.

“Grandma Aefyi!”  The little boy ran up to hug her, both lavender-grey eyes shining as he began to tell her of the day’s adventures. The old woman smiled and led him indoors for some snacks.

“Calm down, Tahl.  Eat something first, and then you can tell about today.”

“Okay, Grandma!”  the little boy exclaimed as he quickly crammed a flakey pastry into his mouth.  His mother sighed.

“You spoil him a bit too much, Aefyi.” She smiled and grabbed a pastry for herself.

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit hypocritical, Reqi?”  Her husband laughed as he watched both mother and son scarf down pastries.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Tahnn!  Eat some too!”  Before he could refuse, Reqi forced some of her pastry into his mouth.  “It’s delicious, isn’t it?!  Well, of course it is, Grandma Aefyi made it!”

The old lady chuckled.  “You flatter me too much, dear.  Well, enjoy, I’m going to retire for the night.  Good night.”

“Tell us if you need anything!” Reqi shouted, before once again grabbing a pastry to eat.  “Dear, would you check on all our guests?”  Just then, she heard the front door open.  “I’ll get that one if you get the rest!  Thanks, dear!”  She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before skipping to the front entrance to deal with their new guest.

Rather than the poor traveler she expected to appear- as most of their guests were- a pair of soldiers, clad in the forest green Empire uniform, appeared.

“Hello!  Will you both be needing a room to spend the night in?”  Always cheerful, she invited them in with a smile.  Instead of entering, one of the soldiers raised a hand to stop her as the other reached into his bag and pulled out a rolled piece of parchment.  He unrolled it slowly.

“Reqi of Altiua, you are hereby under the arrest in the name of the Empire.”

 

Cliffy!  Actually, it’s beacuse I don’t really feel like typing much more, not to mention, I’m sorta tired.  Who knos what type of terrible grammatical and plot errors I might make?  No worries, though, I will update as soon as I get another chance.  ….That may not be until February 9th or later though.  I warn you now.  Important note:  Notice that both Tahl’s eyes were grey when he was 8.  It’s kinda important.  The flashback will continue the next time I’m back!  I have it planned out and all, all that’s left is to type it!  See y’all (oh, look, there’s my Texas-ness) later!

 

Skyrim

Sorry everyone, I know we haven’t been posting recently, but we have a legit excuse: we were all swamped with schoolwork.  Now that we’re pretty much done with that, we’re suffering from IATELDA syndrome.  That is, the I Am Too Exhausted and Lazy to Do Anything syndrome.  I am, at the very least.  But in order to actually post something so as to not have an inactive blog, I’m mustering the last bits of my dying will and prating about Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Okay… I know this game is ancient: just over a year old.  (Oh, the horror of playing a year-old game! Note my sarcasm.)  So I’m just going to give the basic review because I figure if you’re interested in Skyrim in any way, you’ve probably already bought it based on its amazingly awesome awesomeness and the sheer amounts of good reviews there are.

Plot: The sound of rolling whels over a rough dirt road wake you up from your gentle slumber. You look around, only to find yourself in a horse-pulled carraige filled with other captives; they tell you they are Stormcloaks (except for a random horse thief), captured for their attempts to claim back the land for empirical freedom.  The carraige slowly pulls up to a small town known as Helgen, where you are forced to dismount. The horse thief runs away after his dismount, and is shot within seconds. After being asked for your name and designing a character, you are sentenced to death by execution.  A Stormcloak is killed before you, he dies with his pride intact.  Just as the executioner raises his axe to chop your head off, a load roar reveberates through the skies and a dragon lands on the tower just in front of you.  You escape in the confusion, but in order to flee from Helgen, you must follow either the Imperial Hadvar or the Stormcloak  Ralof. Regardless of whichever one you choose, you end up in Riverwood, where your adventure begins.  You can either continue on the main quest immediately, or do one of the many side quests that quicky become available through conversation with other NPCs.

Gameplay: The gameplay is a pretty much a nonlinear RPG.  That is, you can do whatever you want, so long as you fufill the plot in a satisfactory way.  Or, you can ignore the plot; you can just wander the lands of Skyrim, battling whomever may come your way.  You can play tag with children, become thane of whatever region you may choose, clear out dungeons, join a guild or eight, partake in a dramatic political debate that will eventually result in a civil war, etc.  And you can do all this while ignoring the main plot.  Heck, you can even do “criminal” things: join the thieves guild to earn extra coin by pickpocketing it from others, join the Dark Brotherhood and murder the high king among your other various victims, become Namira’s champion to become a cannibal, or just massacre an entire town just for kicks (well, if you think you can take on all the guards, but the point is, there’s no rule stopping you)!  There’s also “good” things you can do: join the Companions in Whiterun to become the ultimate superhero figure against criminals, go to the College of Winterhold to become a kick-butt mage that is destined to save Winterhold from magical anomalies, help out the daedric prince Meridia with her Beacon of Light, or just help out the locals.  During all these things, there is an intriguing plot for each individual attempt, keeping you entertained throughout your entire time playing.

Graphic quality: Everything in Skyrim is painstakingly detailed.  You can see the patterns etched into whatever weapon you may be wielding and any magical enchantments on said weapon.  Your clothes/armour are detailed as well: all patterns and creases are eminent, and layers of fabric (or metal or bone)are shown beautifully; the attention to depth and movement is gorgeous.  The colors are beautiful too; the sun’s pretty white glow shines onto colorful plants whose grey shadows dissapear as you pluck them for your alchemic creations.  The buildings have a grey brick pattern that contrast against the usually clear blue sky (the exception being when it rains or is night), the wild animals that are scattered across wild lands are  realistic shades of anything from white to red to black.  In short, the graphics are detailed and amazingly gorgeous.

Art style: The art is highly realistic.  Not to the point where you may think a real dragon is going to come out to rip into little shreds, but realistic to the point where you are completely immersed into the game. The butterflies look like butterflies, the children act like actual children (as annoying as that may be), and the people have natural looking movement as the carry on with their everyday lives and jobs.  The scenery should be mentioned as well; beautifully crafted buildings and roads are littered all over Skyrim.  There are usually mountains in the distance (that actually become clearer as the approach them, they don’t just continue on indefinitely) that are covered in thick mists.  The grounds are covered in plants and animals, whether they be domestic or wild.

Pacing of story:  It really depends on the player.  For me, personally, the stories are decently paced, but the sheer amount quests will keep you going forever. And ever. And EVER.  If you want a quick fun game, Skyrim is not the one for you; it’ll totally immerse you with its awesomeness, so you’ll forever just playing it.  Not to mention, Bethsada keeps on developing add-ons.  It’s never going to end.

Customization:  It’s pretty customizable.  You can design your character; that includes race, gender, facial features, height, and build. Your clothes can be changed quite easily, so you can wear casual clothes (which are totally useless except for looking fancy), or any type of armour you choose.  There are 32 different sets of armour (not counting those that are included in the add-ons) which constitute of about (this is a pretty rough estimate) 160 various pieces of  headgear, bodygear, footwear, gauntlet, and shields. Not to mention for each set, there are about 7 weapons: daggers, swords, war axes, battle axes, greatswords, war hammers, and bows, which you can buy a matching set of arrows (since they can’t be used by themselves, I’m not counting them as individual weapons).  If you add the staves (which don’t really come in sets with the typical wizard’s “armour” (code for magical robes; they sorta just look like ugly dresses)) as well, that’s a heck of a lot of weapons for customization.  There is also an impossibly long list of accessories, i.e. rings and necklaces.  There are unique weapons, armour, and accessories that only be obtained through certain quests.   There’s also the stuff that appears when you buy add-ons.  It’s pretty customizable.

Difficulty of game:  It wasn’t that hard for me.  The most common cause of death for me was falling of mountains that I shouldn’t have been climbing.  (I was looking for a shortcut, because it’s really easy to get lost.  Even with a map and a magical spell telling you where to go.  I’m usually directionally challenged, though.)  It’s not easy enough to the point where you can slack off without the worry that something will kill you, but it’s not hard enough to want to give up on a quest of any sort.  It’s just right.

Music soundtrack:  I love the soundtrack.  There are a fair bit of songs, all of which you’ll subconciously have memorized by the time you’ve killed, say, 3 dragons.  The soundtrack is always cool, whether it be a dramatic battle song during a fight or a soothing ballad from one of the various bards found in inns/taverns.  I literally transcribed a mash-up of some of the Skyrim songs in my free time (it’s not my mash-up arrangment, though; I stole from the wonderful Youtube covers, I’m not that creative), although it’s  accidentaly transposed.  (I didn’t bother to fix it.)  Heck, part of it is my ringtone.  I love the Skyrim soundtrack. Love it.

Price of game:  Ouch.  Okay, it’s really pricey, I admit. But most video games are.  If you want to buy it new (which I would.  No person in their right mind would sell their copy unless it was majorly glitched), it’s $59.99 plus tax.  If you want to add Dawnguard, it’s another $20. Hearthfire? Another $5.  And you also want to buy Dragonborn (which is actually a pretty new add-on)?  Oh boy, it’s another $20!  It’s a grand total of… $105! Unless you want to go broke, I don’t suggest you buy add-ons until you’ve finished most of the original game, that is, Skyrim (without the add-ons).  I also don’t think Hearthfire is worth buying as it’s mainly for decorative use (if houses can be counted as decorations).  It’s basically the ability to buy land, build/design houses, and adopt children.  It’s not really my thing.  I haven’t played Dragonborn yet, but I think Dawnguard is well-worth the $20; there’s quite a lot of content for an add-on, so I would consider it once you’ve finished Skyrim without the add-ons.  Well, “finished.”  I don’t think it’s actually possible to complete everything, but you can pretty darn close if you finish all the daedric and guild quests.  Anyways, I think it’s totally worth the $60.  Totally.

Lasting appeal:  I’ve been playing this game for about a year straight.  (Well, I took a week off for Assassin’s Creed Revelations, but that was so short it doesn’t really count.)  It’s appeal is still strong.  I play or talk about this game anytime I get the chance; it’s still awesome, even after countless hours of gaming.

Stars out of 10:  Definently a 50/10.  It’s way too awesome for a normal rating.  It’s actually abit glitchy from time to time, but it’s usually something so negligible you don’t care. At all.  It’s too awesome sauce for words.

Final consensus: It’s amazingly awesome.  If you haven’t bought it, buy it.  I practically live for this game, even more so than the Assasin’s Creed, Modern Warfare, Halo, and Bioshock series(es).  (how do you pluralize “series”???)  I would suggest this game to anyone who can stomach a little blood, violence, and profanities. Oh, and people who are okay with crossing real life moral codes while gaming. (Most gamers can, so I’m not worried.) Seriously, buy it.

Disclaimer:  We do not own, nor are we affiliated with the makers of the Elder Scroll series, nor anything else mentioned here. They all belong to their respective owners and creators. This is strictly a personal review of the product. We were not paid to review this product, nor were we given the product by any company. The Girly and the Geeky blog is not associated with the aforementioned makers in any way, nor is there any profit made for the blog, it’s owner, and other writers

 

–Ebony

Hope

Again, I’m feeling uninspired by my stories…so for now, Solo is also on the waiting list.  Thanks to bottledworder, who liked Solo, Pinkii, who wrote one of the nicest reviews I’ve ever read, and to Cerulean, who gave me her verbal compliments.  Unfortunately, that’s enough to base a story on; you need to know what your audience is thinking, and if 2 of them are your close friends, you can’t really base it all on one person. (Not to say that you’re not amazing, bottledworder. You’re an incredible writer.) So again, I’m starting another story, and maybe this one will catch your attention.  It’s inspired from an Asian action movie that I was watching the other day. (Yeah, I know. Don’t judge.) It’s called Hope.

“Tahl!”

A young man, around the age of 20, turned around to face the speaker.  Noticing the white scroll clutched in the courier’s hand, he frowned and began to walk away.

“Tahl! You can’t do this again! This is the third time! If you ignore the summons again, they’ll kill you!”

“They won’t kill me. They can’t killme.”

The courier, a 17-year old boy, sighed and held the scroll out to Tahl.

“Just take it. Take it, read it, and go.”

“I refuse to die for a country that killed my parents!” It came out more forceful than Tahl had intended.  The courier winced at his loud tone, but continued on.

“This village can’t continue like this.  We need a representative in the army, or the Empire will wipe us out.”

“Then why don’t you go? You’re obviously willing enough.”

The boy shook his head and held out the scroll again. “No one in this village could survive being in the army except for you. Please, Tahl?”

Tahl looked at the boy. “Will you take care of Malkir?”

The boy recognized it as a final request before Tahl would leave. “I promise.”

Tahl snatched the scroll from the boy’s hand and began to head home. “If she’s hurt in any sort of way by the time I get back, you’re going to pay for it, Luquen.”

The courier gave a nervous smile. “I know I will, Tahl. Good luck.”

“I won’t need it…but thanks anyway.”

And with that, the young man continued his walk home to prepare for his long journey to the Empirical South.

 

I know. It’s really short. But its has a lot of backround info that will become important later on.  For example…the Empire is threatening to destroy Tahl’s village.  There are couriers, so that should hit to about what time period they’re in.  Tahl’s parents were killed by the Empire…and Tahl is protective of a girl named Malkir.  Hmm, wonder who she is? Please give me your feedback. Please.

–Ebony

Apple Customer Support

Hey guys! Long time no post huh? We’ve all been incredibly busy with school, so the blog is kinda on the back burner for now. I might write a little about my experience as a sophomore sometime. But for now, I’m writing about my experience with Apple Customer Support. It’s a review.

It started today with my mother’s computer having issues. This is the feedback I sent to Apple:

I’ve always had great success with Apple’s customer support. The tech support people have always been polite, helpful, and have always done their best to assist me with any problems. Apple has one of the best customer support systems I’ve ever had to deal with. The computer operated system actually works and can actually understand what you are saying and will direct you to the correct department. Today my mother’s Mac Book Pro was having issues with Time Machine, and I, being the second best with computers and the only other person in the house, was asked to fix it. I called Apple naturally after I had no idea what to do. The automated system asked me a few questions, helped me find the serial number, and then directed my call to a helpful man who helped me. Eventually, turning it off seemed to fix the problem, and he told me to safe boot it. I did so, but we didn’t realize the computer was encrypted and needed a password, and I had messed up a few times on the process of making the computer safe boot. While it was still loading the safe boot, we went ahead and hung up, after he made sure I didn’t have any problems. I was ,as usual, impressed with Apple. Then I tried turning the computer back on after restarting it like he told me to do so. The computer kept trying to go into safe boot, but wouldn’t finish loading and would then turn off. After trying several times, I called Apple again. I was again directed to the technical support division and was helped by a nice lady. After determining that my mother’s computer had Snow Leopard software, she told me that I needed the Snow Leopard software disk. I asked if it was possible for me to call back after I found it, and she set up a call back time, which I am currently waiting for.

After being called back:
The next lady was probably the most helpful. She figured out that the computer was actually on Lion, and gave me several things to try. Her final conclusion was that the computer needed to go to an Apple store for some onsite maintenance and more help. She was very understanding, helpful, and patient. My father is currently looking at the computer, and we will soon be making an appointment at the Apple store. As usual, Apple’s customer support has been helpful and polite, and I know that I can always count on their staff to be helpful. This is why I have an iPad, iPhone, and a Macbook pro, as does my whole family. We are big fans of Apple. Thank you for all of your help!

So what’s your experience with Apple? Leave your stories in the comments below!

~Pinkii

Quote of the Day September 3, 2012

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

~Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

~Pinkii♥

 

So..What Now?

Hey y’all it’s Pinkii!

I know we haven’t been on much lately, but that’s because all of us are SWAMPED! and I don’t mean that like we all have swamps in our yards and can’t post, because we’re spending all our time draining them. I mean school has started and we’re swamped with work. So I apologize profusely!

But I digress.. Trade My Fins is on the back burner for awhile. I’m lacking inspiration for it, and I just don’t feel like it’s fun to write about it right now. So I was sitting there going “What can I write about on here?” and the truth is, I still am not totally sure. I’m thinking maybe I’ll start journalling on here. Would that interest anyone? The thoughts of a 10th grade girl. I think I’ll try it! I’m sure it will be drama filled! Totally like an episode of glee minus the music. Just kidding!

Haha Love y’all

~Pinkii♥

500 VIEWS!

We have officially hit 500 views today, Wednesday, August 29, 2012. Thank you so much for all of your support!

Love,

~All of us here

Solo-the Prologue

Hi! So, bad news…I’ve gotten a bit tired of Inevitability.  I know what you’re thinking, “Ebony! You’re only two chapter in! How can you be tired of it?!?!”  I’m not quitting it, just taking a small break. And in that small break, I’m writing a different story! “Solo.” This is the prologue, so I hope you enjoy!

S o l o

Solo.  By oneself.  Companionless.  Friendless.  Unaided.  Alone.  Me.

I’ve been by myself my entire life. No father to play with me, no mother to care and worry for me.  No friends, no allies. Only enemies, people that hate me.  People in immaculate white coats that chase me, try to trap me in a cage.

In this world, I have no one.  I can only rely on myself.

But why do people hate me? Why do they want to take my freedom away, why do they want me as a lab rat?

Well, it’s because in the world of Godai, I’m the only Void.  I’m the fifth element, I’m pure energy, the sky, light; the fabric of the entire universe.  I’m everything everyone else isn’t; and I hate it.  I haven’t gone a day in my life without having someone try to kill me.  So why aren’t I dead? Here’s the best part: I can’t die. Well, I can, it’s just that no one has ever been powerful enough to kill me.  I’ve had a bounty on my head for all 15 years of life, and I’ve never been scratched.  (Well, I’ve tripped over a couple million rocks and gotten a couple skinned knees, but really, that’s it.)  I’ve had people try to burn me to ashes, drown me, bury me alive, suffocate me….and I’m still alive! Great! But seriously, what’s the point?  I’m living simply for the point of living.  So last week, I made a decision: I’m going to find the Oneiro and ask it for the power rule the world!!! Just kidding.  But I really do need it; I want to be a normal person. None of this “Void” stuff.

On the plus side, I’m super popular!  Everyone knows my face and name! Nevermind the fact the either want to kill or capture me.  Most of them aim for the kill.  Hmm.  But yeah, I’m probably the most well-known person on this earth!  My long black hair is pretty common; the biggest give-away is my eyes.  Well, you ask, what color are they?  ….they’re universe-colored.  I know that seems impossible, but remember when I said “I’m the fabric of the entire universe?” …I wasn’t kidding.  I’m seriously the embodiment of the universe.  Yay.  Unfortunately, this makes it really hard to sneak by without some random person shouting, “It’s the Aether!”

On a side note, that’s my name. Aether.  It, lamely enough, means “Void.”  Cha.  I’ve thought about changing it, but it would be kinda pointless.  I’d still be called “Aether.”  On another side note, it sounds pretty.  Kinda wish I had a matching last name, but I haven’t thought of anything yet.

Enough about my name, though.  Back to random people trying to chase me down.  I wear a black cloak with a suspiciously large hood to hide my face in order to disguise myself.  I would try glasses, but that’s kinda shady.  Haha…shady. See what I did there?  But seriously, glasses while indoors? SUSPICIOUS. Adding to suspicious, I carry a glaive on my back.  My only companion, Tekuta.  It’s short for “Purotekuta,” which means “protector.” I know, I’m creative.  But I made her myself, made her ebony pole and her adamantium blade. She’s the only thing that’s kept me surviving all these years. Well, her and my super convenient space-time warping powers, my abilities to float (I can’t fly), my ability to control light and pure energy, my other various abilities….wow, I can do lots of stuff!  I can see why people hate me.

“There she is!”

“…Darn.”

I’ll catch up with you later, newly bought diary.  (I bought (okay, stole) you because some monk-dude told me that it was the memories of the past that build our future.  Then my hood slipped off and he tried to kill me.  Psh. All monks are pacifists? It’s a LIE.) Bye!

-Aether

Yeah….It’s a bit long for a prologue.  But I’ve had this idea in my head for about 3 hours!  (I had to finish my English paper before I could type this up.)  I think it could go somewhere! BTW, this story is based off Japanese and Greek elemental beliefs.  And anything particularly not-English sounding is courtesy of Wikipedia (I know, shame on me) and Google translate. And if you find any mistakes, tell me! (I basically sit at a computer, and all this stuff just comes pouring out.  It makes for faster updates though.) Please, please tell me what you guys think! I can’t write if I don’t know what people think! Please!!

–Ebony

Start of school :(

All of us here at the Girly and the Geeky have officially started school, so the posts will be less frequent. 3 out of the 4 of us are in multiple APs and it’s insane! GAH! Sorry again!

~All of us.