Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Speak Like a Child
Manic guessed the last reference correctly, and so he earns himself the first point for the scoreboard. Alicia Masters is indeed a character from the Fantastic Four, and will be appearing in the big screen adaptation of the film due in theaters in July. You must see this film, YOU MUST, I demand it!

Current High Scores
JC Baggee: 9 Points
Arcadia: 5 Points
Shinmaru: 4 Points
Mimmi: 3 Points
Semjaza Azazel, Solo Tremaine,
Anatema, Sara, Queen Asuka: 2 Points
Ben, Nerdsy, Lea2385, James, Manic: 1 Point

---

Nothing especially important to note here. Although a lack of labels in a relationship can be a blessing (as outlined in my last post) it can also be a curse. You aren’t really cheating on someone if it’s not an official relationship, is it? I don’t know. I’m a bad person, but the entire situation is over and done with so that’s good. I learned my lesson and got my guy back, I think, so hooray for me.

However, I must say what a terrible Valentine’s Day it was having him be upset with me and all. I’m generally eager to please him, and the idea of one of him being downright upset with me is terrifying. All of that nonsense about making the people you care about realize it is completely true, too. Go do that now, and don’t bother with the rest of this post. It’s just links and me complaining about a lack of posts in ‘hero’ and other projects.

It just frustrates me, yo. ‘hero’ builds up such a momentum with its awesome posts, and then seemingly dies for a month at a time. It has been over a month since the last post, so I’m thoroughly annoyed once more. I’m probably going to be sending out PMs to the active players, seeing if they would like to re-launch this in the Anthology forum with a smaller, more focused cast of characters. Maybe we’ll be able to do something innovative with it, too, so who knows?

Lore needs to get her ‘Vignette’ post in, too. One can’t rush quality, though…

Speaking of quality (or not, depending on your view) I started writing a short story of sorts with ‘Coma [PG-L].’ It’s a very eclectic tale, and one that I’ve enjoyed writing so far. The people seem to enjoy it, too, although you can never be too sure about criticism in that forum. I’ve seen certain members give very… generous feedback to some lousy pieces of work.

And everyone had better sign up for ‘Beatlemania: Redux [PG-LV]’ because it’s the weirdest RPG concept I’ve ever seen. I’d like to see more members put up these kinds of creative projects, as opposed to boring RPGs that ‘fit the mold,’ so to speak. And nothing is cooler than time travel, right?

PS: Special thanks to Miss Arcadia for sending me a delightful Valentine in the mail. It really cheered me up yesterday, given the stress of having potentially ruined an unofficial relationship. Did that make any sense? Good, because I’m just as lost as you are.
Comments (6) | Permalink

Sunday, February 6, 2005

Alicia Masters
Solo got the last reference correctly. “Mombi” is indeed a character from the 1980’s fantasy epic “Return to Oz.” Although it is a good deal darker than the source material, it is one of the most faithful adaptations of a book I have ever seen. It combined Ozma of Oz and The Land of Oz in a really clever way without making the two stories feel unnatural. Go check out those books if you ever get a chance, they’re a fantastic read.

On an unrelated note, I’m looking to purchase the latest CD from a band known as Degrees.K. The problem is that this band is located in New Zealand and as far as I know I can’t purchase their album in the states (or from any online stores I’ve come across.) The CD is titled “Children of the Night Sky.” If any of you in that corner of the globe could assist me in getting me a hold of that in some form I’d be really grateful.

Current High Scores
JC Baggee: 9 Points
Arcadia: 5 Points
Shinmaru: 4 Points
Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Solo Tremaine, Anatema, Sara, Queen Asuka: 2 Points
Ben, Nerdsy, Lea2385, James: 1 Point

---

I remember how often Ryan would talk about his ex-boyfriends in front of me, remembering places they had been and things they had done. He would always have a combination of nostalgia and regret in his voice, making me wonder if it wasn’t the relationship himself he was regretting but the fact that it had ended. Maybe I just have that effect on people, I honestly don’t know. It’s natural for people to compare friends (or boyfriends, or whatnot) to one another. As much as I want to know about their past and their experiences in life, I don’t want to feel like I’m competing with someone they don’t even talk to anymore.

Once I had a nice conversation with AzureWolf about Final Fantasy X, and as silly as it may seem I was comparing parts of that game to my own life. Yuna fell in love with a dream in the most literal of senses. Tidus didn’t really exist, and her feelings were terribly misplaced. If you play the second game you see what a drastic effect this has on her personality, and you never get the sense that she’s going to get over the man she fell in love with. Her hopes and her ambitions were shattered. She was born the Summoner, and her destiny was always imposed upon her.

Even to her closest friends and guardians Yuna was more of a mission than an ideal. With her love she began to get an idea of who she truly was inside; her mission to destroy Sin wasn’t nearly as important to Tidus as the woman. Nobody ever had, and ever will care about her in that same way again. So is it out of character for Yuna to become a sphere hunter, and take part in such a radical adventure as FFX-2 was? Of course it is. That game is about reinvention, it’s about picking up the pieces of your heart and trying to start over. Tidus changed all of their lives for the better, but Yuna was the one he was supposed to spend his life with - Yuna was the one he left behind.

We all do this in some way, reinvention. Whether it be moving to a new town or getting a new haircut or anything. It’s a disguise of sorts. People are always growing and changing, but by speeding up the process a bit maybe we can avoid the pain altogether. I went to work in Orange County after high school, hoping to get as far away from those problems and people as I possibly could. It was my hope that I’d grow in this new environment, make new friends and perhaps even learn to love again.

It worked. Still, even years later there are constant reminders of the pain I went through. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore, but it would be a lie to say that it isn’t there. I’m just not very open about it, I guess. My opinion is that the deepest and darkest of feelings should stay hidden, mostly as a courtesy to the people I care about. I know I can rely on them if I need to, but I’m a much stronger person than I was in the past and there are few things these days that I can’t deal with by myself.

I guess the funny thing about this entire situation is how unexpected it was. I mean, the cliché is that you’ll find someone special for you as soon as you stop looking. Somehow this came to pass; after Brandon I was pretty much tired of dealing with boys in general, and for a brief period had even entertained the notion of giving them up altogether. Really, when you get your heart broken so many times it’s hard to jump back into the game with a smile on my face.

So after a few weeks of mourning what happens? I find somebody who I’m quite fond of, and who appears to be quite fond of me. It’s an odd sort of dynamic we have. We’ve only known one another for a few weeks, but somehow it feels like so much more. Our personalities mix in the just the right way, and if things were even slightly different we’d probably end up hating one another because of how similar we are.

He’s reluctant to start putting labels on things, and as of right now I can’t deny that it’s a good thing. The one thing I’ve been able to avoid in all of my trials is a true, significant label in a relationship, and on some level it feels like a kiss of death. Names seem so confining at times. A good part of that is my love/hate of committed relationships. Aside from my Grandparents (on my Dad’s side) there hasn’t really been one truly successful pairing in my family. The family tree is littered with divorces, remarriages, step-children, half-cousins and all forms of domestic chaos.

If I were to ever find that right person, I’d be hesitant to call them a ‘boyfriend’ or a ‘partner.’ Somewhere deep inside I truly believe that I’m doomed to a string of failed relationships - by moving onto a certain level of comfort with a person, the entire pairing is put in jeopardy. I don’t want that right now, and so the lack of a label will hopefully remain for a good, long time.
Comments (6) | Permalink

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Mombi
The last reference was the title of Jason Mraz’s latest album, and it’s also the name of a song on the CD. I absolutely love the sound of this man’s voice, I can’t stress that enough. Amazing.

Anyway, you guys (should) expect more than screaming fan girl-ism from me, so let us move on. Nobody got any points for the second time in a row. Let’s see if we can’t ease things up a little…

Current High Scores
JC Baggee: 9 Points
Arcadia: 5 Points
Shinmaru: 4 Points
Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Anatema, Sara, Queen Asuka: 2 Points
Ben, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy, Lea2385, James: 1 Point

---

As you see from the latest ShyOtaku redesign, I’ve chosen an awesome Bosko theme. The song being played is “The Merry Go Round Broke Down,” which is more or less the song that is played before the Lonney Tunes cartoons. I say “more or less” because it’s not the exact same song. For one it’s pacing is a lot faster and some of the notes are rearranged, but yeah…

Moving on, here are the lyrics to “The Merry Go Round Broke Down.” I feel like I’m doing a public service by posting them, even though you could have just Goggle’d them like I did…

The Merry Go Round Broke Down
Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down
And we went round and round
Each time t'would miss, we'd steal a kiss
And the Merry-Go-Round went
"Um-pah-pah, um-pah-pah
Um-pah! Um-pah! Um-pah-pah-pah!'
Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down
And it made the darndest sound,
The lights went low, we both said "Oh!"
And the Merry-Go-Round went
"Um-pah-pah, um-pah-pah
Um-pah! Um-pah! Um-pah-pah-pah!'
Oh what fun - a wonderful time
Finding love for only a dime.
Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down
But you don't see me frown
Things turned out fine and now she's mine -
Cause the the Merry-Go-Round went
"Um-pah-pah, um-pah-pah
Um-pah! Um-pah! Um-pah-pah-pah!"
Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down.

And now you know the meaning behind the melody, hooray.
Comments (7) | Permalink

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Waiting for my rocket to come

The last reference was from “The Aviator,” the awesome new film about the life of Howard Hughes. All of my life I have been fascinated with the man, and it was very entertaining to get a fresh new insight into certain events by seeing them reenacted on the big screen. When I was younger DC Comics used to publish this little monthly comic called “Fact of Fiction,” which was basically a collection of unrelated stories dealing with the bizarre.

The catch was that some of the stories were true, while others weren’t. One might be about a meteorite crashing into an old woman’s house, while another might deal with spontaneous combustion, or the Elephant Man, or something. The catch was that the comic never said which stories were true and which ones weren’t, so even years later I’m not entirely sure…. Awesome stuff, I think they published like two issues, heh.

Nobody got any points, which makes me sad inside.

Current High Scores
JC Baggee: 9 Points
Arcadia: 5 Points
Shinmaru: 4 Points
Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Anatema, Sara, Queen Asuka: 2 Points
Ben, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy, Lea2385, James: 1 Point

---

Like the new layout? I think I can finally settle with this, instead of changing it unsuccessfully every few minutes.

Where’s Nerdsy? I miss him…

The OtakuBoards Nifty Fifty thread is going very well so far. Although it’s not as active as I’d like, I expect more people to complete their posts (or post in the first place) in the coming weeks. You guys have until the end of January, and then I can officially say whether or not is was an improvement over previous Otaku Awards.

Obviously, it’s a controversial move to stray away from tried and true popularity contests for our annual awards, but I think this way people get to choose all of their favorites, and don’t feel limited by the categories I come up with. My big regret is that Charles was not an active collaborator this time around as he was in previous years, but he simply isn’t online enough. At least, I never see him online… maybe he changed AIM names or something.

I’ve had the same user name for about four years now, so it’s kind of weird for me to randomly lose touch with some people. You guys know how nostalgic I am; I still have kuja on my buddy list. But yes, you should post in the thread if you haven’t already. It’s the beginning of a whole new year of events on the boards, and it’s exactly what this place needs to drum up that whole “community” atmosphere the kids go crazy for these days.

Speaking of which, I’m really sick of OtakuBoards Fan-Fictions. Not that Solo invented it or anything, but he perfected it. It’s kind of just beating a good horse until it’s dead, and then beating said horse several thousand more times. New fad or not, I’m definitely not going to miss seeing them clog up the Anthology forum.

I started school yesterday, which is turning out to be a decent amount of fun. I’m taking US History (Reconstruction Era to Present,) Advanced Newswriting, Folklore, Speech (fills a General Ed requirement,) and Newspaper Production. There was a bit of trouble when I didn’t pay for my classes on time, but it’s all been sorted out and I’ve been added to every class I had originally registered for.

Fortunately homework is light right now, so I can get my darn KA post done, which I knew Tori has been dying for. Not that I think she likes my writing much, she’s just so punctual that she can’t stand the slow posting schedule of Kill Adam (she should try being in hero [Comment not directed at Shin.]) Gotta love the original Plushie Queen, even if she is made out to be some sort of psychotic in the OtakuBoards Fan-Fictions.
Comments (8) | Permalink

Tuesday, January 4, 2005

Shinmaru guessed the last post's reference correctly. It was an Airplane! quote, and he moves to third.

Arcadia got Shy's Obscure Question, putting her in second place.

Current High Scores
JC Baggee: 9 Points
Arcadia: 5 Points
Shinmaru: 4 Points
Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Anatema, Sara: 2 Points
Ben, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy, Lea2385, James, Queen Asuka: 1 Point

---

Well, the new year is here, obviously. I ended up going with friends from work to a party. I drank a little too much than is worth mentioning. But I don't feel too guilty seeing as many others did, too. I ended up having a good time, although the "good time" wasn't so "good" the morning after.

Zidargh still hasn't posted in hero. I've already beaten him up and stole his lunch money, now I'm about ready to start stalking him and yelling at him to post until he breaks.

I posted the Vignette Underground thread a few days ago. I plan to start the RPG up soon enough, but I'm still having a dry spell from writing "Ice Cream World." I hope it passes soon. I worked on the intro a bit, but not much luck.

55 Fiction is still being posted in daily. I plan to write another story for it soon enough. There's some good stuff in there.

I've read about 40 more pages of Oryx and Crake for The Otaku Book Club. I'm not loving it. Everyone else better be reading.

Arcadia's thread, There's A First Time For Everything, has gotten two more posts in it. It's fallen steeply in the Anthology Forum. It's a good idea, as I said before, and Mitch's post in it was pretty interesting, as well as everyone else who has contributed.

Like I said before it's nice to see so much activity in the Anthology Forum. I hope it keeps on.
Comments (8) | Permalink

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Anatema, one of the coolest members I’ve never really spoken to, got the last reference correctly. “Believe Me Natalie” is a song from the Killers’ latest album. I’d also like to add that the song isn’t very good, oh well. The album was under 10 bucks; sometimes you get what you paid for. This moves her another peg up the scoreboard, and makes her one step closer to first place. She’s got a bit of a ways to go, mind you, but anything is possible.

Current High Scores
JC Baggee 9 Points
Shinmaru, Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Anatema, Queen Asuka, Sara: 2 Points
Ben, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy, Lea2385, James: 1 Point

Also, because I feel like it, we‘re doing Shy’s Obscure Question again! Today’s question is of moderate difficulty, making it worth 3 points.

Today’s question is: Where was Snoopy born?

---

I just for back from seeing “The Aviator” which has turned out to be one of my favorite films of the year. Ever since the mess that was “Alexander” I’ve been batting 1,000 with my choice in films; every one I see turns out to be great. Go see “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Life Aquatic” if you haven’t already. Chances are I’ll compile a list for you guys within the next few days… outside of work I’ve got very little on my plate.

What I have been trying to do lately is write, and it’s turned out to be incredibly difficult for some reason. As you may or may not know, “Ice Cream World,” my semester-long project for my Creative Wrting class, turned out to be a nightmare. I spent every waking moment for over a week trying to finish the thing and proofread it. Of course, I had the entire semester to get it done but I find that I work best under pressure. Next time I won’t attempt to rewrite a 40 page story from scratch in under a week… maybe two weeks next time. Oh well. I’m very proud of the thing, errors and all, if you’d like a copy I can send you one via AIM, or even through the mail (if we’re cool like that.)

After getting “Ice Cream World” completed I find myself a little burnt out with my writing, and haven’t been able to come up with anything since. I did manage to get a post or two done for 55 Fiction. I don’t know if they are any good or not, but at least they don’t deal with large quantities of violence, or death like so many of the other posts in that thread do. Lady A’s posts in there are fantastic, btw. I feel like I should single her out, even though many members have written some incredibly entertaining things so far.

So, aside from 55 Fiction I haven’t really written anything. My post for Kill Adam: Volume 2 is coming along slowly. I find that James’ post is a bit difficult to follow up on, just because I’d like to throw in a clever twist or something. Telling you guys that I want to put a twist in only makes you aware that there is a twist, thereby eliminating the point of a twist entirely. Ugh, I suck. But I better get it done, soon, I really want to keep all of my online projects moving along at a decent pace.

Zidargh had better post in hero or else I’m going to beat him up, and steal all of his lunch money. For some reason the pace of this RPG is incredibly slow; I think everyone does a fantastic job but there are just times when we go over a month without a post. I know Z had completely written the post, and it was deleted because of some computer troubles he was having. Hopefully this won’t happen again to the poor guy, I’m very excited to see his work.

Otaku Book Club members had better be reading Oryx and Crake right now. I know I really need to pick up the pace and continue. I’m not really enjoying it right now…

Expect something new from me in the Event Forum soon. If you were here around this time last year you’ll know what I’m talking about…

And before you sign off for the day, read Arcadia‘s fantastic new thread in the Anthology Forum, There’s a First Time for Everything. It’s another great concept, and I hope that people will take to it as well as they did for 55 Fiction. It’s great to see so much activity in the Anthology Forum for once.
Comments (9) | Permalink

Saturday, December 25, 2004

Believe Me Natalie

Merry Christmas everyone! It may sound silly, but I've never been so excited to receive socks in my lifetime. The black dress socks I wear for work were starting to become very, very worn.... now my feet can be happy and warm.

I got other cool stuff, too. But it's the socks that count, or something.

Besides, 'tis the season of sharing. Nobody taught me that better than the Fraggles during the Muppet Family Christmas special...

Current High Scores
JC Baggee 9 Points
Shinmaru, Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Queen Asuka, Sara: 2 Points
Ben, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy,
Anatema, James: 1 Point

---

Pass it On by The Fraggles

When it's nice and bright,
And it brings delight,
Let your heart choose right,
Gotta, pass it on.

When it rolls real good,
Like a rollie should,
Then it's understood,
Gonna pass it on.

When you're giving love away,
Love will come again to stay.
What you give is what you gain,
When you pass it on.

When I give a gift to you,
I know you're gonna give it too.
That's why givin's what we do,
As we pass it on.

Pass it on Pass it on
Pass it on Pass it on

Wish upon all the good things that you do.

Pass it on Pass it on
Pass it on Pass it on

When it's gone,
It will bring good luck to you.

When you're giving love away,
Love will come again to stay.
What you give is what you gain,
When you pass it on.

When I give a gift to you,
I know you're gonna give it too.
That's why givin's what we do,
As we pass it on.
Pass it on.

Comments (4) | Permalink

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Sometimes Some Crimes Go Sliping Through the Cracks

Lea2385 amused me with her Shinmaru comment in my previous post, so I’ve decided that she gets a point. It wasn’t actually a reference to anything, but she made me laugh out loud, and that’s something very few people can hope to accomplish within a post comment. Yay for her, she rocks.

It’s my game, and I can give points for whatever reason I want. That’s your cue to make your post comments pretty darn good (although, in hindsight, I should have given HC a nod for his “Mantis” thing. How freakin’ hilarious was that?)

Current High Scores
JC Baggee 8 Points
Shinmaru, Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Sara: 2 Points
Ben, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy,
Anatema, Lea2385, James, Queen Asuka: 1 Point

---

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Josh
2. Shy
3. ShyGuy

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. Shyguy51185
2. TheShyOne
3. *Withheld for privacy concerns*

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. I think I’m witty and charming and hilarious. Too bad nobody else does.
2. My lack of enemies.
3. My blooming creative talents.

THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My lack of a six-pack. I have a small, tight, stomach, but it’s not well-defined.
2. Very indecisive.
3. My lack of confidence and/or things to be confident about?

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Irish
2. Spanish
3. German

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. The new Willy Wonka trailer.
2. Radio static.
3. Chuckie, from those awful 80’s movies.

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. AOL Instant Messanger
2. My Mobile Phone
3. A pad of paper to draw or write or whatnot.

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. A plain white long-sleeved undershirt.
2. My faded blue Anchor Blue jeans.
3. Long white socks.

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS (or artists at the moment):
1. Keane
2. Jem
3. Josie and the Pussycats

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS AT PRESENT:
1. "Somewhere Only We Know" Keane
2. "Pretend To Be Nice" Josie and the Pussycats
3. "Adieu" Emily Bidinger

THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
1. A stable relationship.
2. Keeping my finances and schoolwork in order for once.
3. *blush*

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP (love is a given):
1. Mutual Attraction.
2. Similar Interests.
3. Great Conversation.

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
1. I have my filed my own patent.
2. I have six step-siblings.
3. I have been featured in the LA Times before.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE/SAME SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Beautiful eyes.
2. A clean, shaven look.
3. Well-defined physical features.

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO:
1. Eat pickles or macaroni and cheese.
2. Open up to people.
3. See my own positive qualities, whatever those might be.

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Writing.
2. Drawing.
3. Comic Books.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Cuddle up with a certain someone and just sleep the night away.
2. Get Jenna’s oil changed.
3. Quit Disneyland.

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:
1. Comic Book author.
2. Unpublished author.
3. Copy Editor for a major, metropolitan newspaper.

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. DisneyWorld.
2. Outside Michigan.
3. Melbourne (Heh.)

THREE KID'S NAMES:
1. Jay Michael
2. Tobin James
3. Willow Marie

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Learn to use Photoshop.
2. Sell Lost His Keys Man shirts out of my basement.
3. Move to a house with a basement.

THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW OR DIE PAINFULLY:
1. Hannelore Malkovich
2. James
3. You!
Comments (9) | Permalink

Thursday, December 9, 2004

Shameless Plug

Ice Cream World continues!

Comments (5) | Permalink

Monday, December 6, 2004

Mimmi picked up the reference right away. “Three Small Words,” is in fact a song from the Josie and the Pussycats feature film. It’s actually a very good movie, and has a lot of strong messages about individuality and such. Also, I find myself relating to the lyrics of their music a lot in the past week. People are stupid, and afraid of commitment, and say things that hurt. Bleh.

And I try so hard just to figure him out,
But he won't tell me what he's thinking about,
And then he falls asleep on the living room couch,
With his sunglesses on and his tongue hanging out,
And then he disapperas for a week at a time,
And then he just shows up just like everything's fine,
And I don't get what goes on in his mind,
But I'm tired of hearing the same stupid line,

Why do you do what you do to me baby,
You're shaking my confidence making me crazy,
You know if I could I'd do anything for you,
I don't mean to bore you cause you know I adore you,

But can't you just pretend to be nice,
Can you at least pretend to be nice,
If you could just pretend to be nice,
Everything in my life would be alright,

As for my Significant Other Application, it’s a tough decision but “The Mantis” seems a good choice. Of course, I’ll most likely be murdered within the week, but it would be a great way to go out. Wouldn’t it?

Yes, yes, points. Where was I?

Current High Scores
JC Baggee 8 Points
Shinmaru, Mimmi: 3 Points
Arcadia, Semjaza Azazel, Sara: 2 Points
Ben, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy,
Anatema, James, Queen Asuka: 1 Point

---

So I know how excited everyone is about my latest RPG “Vignette,” and I thought I’d use this post to go into my motivation and inspiration for creating such a thing.

“Vignette” is a collection of seemingly unrelated stories, as told by our narrators. Our narrators are a collection of adventurers, travelers, scholars and common folk telling tales to entertain one another. These characters are from different worlds, each representing a different archetype and backstory. For example, a witch, an elderly grandmother, a knight, an android and an assassin might all be sitting at this small tavern, trying to pass the time by telling one another about their (and possibly others’) exploits.

The point of the game is great storytelling, and the goal is to avoid the long and complicated nature that many RPGs have adopted lately. Not that there is anything wrong with a complicated plot, but I feel like most projects fail to attract any sort of audience because of how longwinded and unwieldy the storylines may seem at times. With “Vignette” each post is self-contained, so you could read the 25th post and enjoy it as an individual piece without having to read the previous 24.

“hero” (which is still going on, btw) the exact opposite of this, and definitely follows in the same type of mold that “Kill Adam” helped create. Complex stories are great, but it’s all a matter of execution. With this I’m trying to prove that it’s the execution that counts. You can tell simple stories and have them be just as, if not more effective than the epics that are sweeping OtakuBoards.

Anyway, my desire to do something incredibly accessible to the reader came about when I was looking at the pages and pages of notes that I had written for “Kill Adam” and “hero.” I think both of those RPGs are very successful attempts at telling a complicated story, but in my experience I have found it difficult for new readers to pick up and enjoy. So that’s what I went for here. I want something that has no trouble finding an audience; something refreshing that people can enjoy.

My idea was to do a type of treasure hunting RPG, where each chapter would be entirely self-contained. After talking to AzureWolf I realized that trying to create a coherent storyline out of these episodic events might be difficult, and that I may want to choose a better premise to build these adventures out of. The he mentioned the The Canterbury Tales, which I had read during my Senior year, and I instantly knew where to head with “Vignette.”

For those of you unfamiliar, The Canterbury Tales is a collection of short stories about a group of travelers who are on a religious pilgrimage. Each story is about a different member of the party, and each story is different than the next, because this group is of people from all walks of life.

Also, as inspiration, I looked towards an old episode of “Batman: The Animated Series” titled “Almost got ‘im.” It’s about a group of villains sitting around a poker table and telling stories to one another about how they each got so close to defeating Batman and ruling Gotham City. I enjoyed the sense of humor the episode had, and how each story was told from the character’s perspective, as opposed to the third-person omniscient narrator you might find in The Canterbury Tales.

There you go. That’s how this latest idea was formed. I hope you take the time to look at the sign-up, and perhaps submit something of your own. “Vignette” is going to be an awful lot of fun.
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