Emoting is the process of rping. Roleplay is a good writer's paradise. You get to hone your skills into genre, situation, gender, and a million over little details that you didn't know you needed to practice. Here is an example of one of my roleplays. It occurs in Hathian when Callie (my character) finds her long lost cousin (Sadie.)
....................................................................................
Callie Alderton stops at the corner and gazes over at the record store. A small frown creases the lines of her mouth as she looks down to the small snapshot in her hand. The snapshot itself is of a child, a few facts scrawled across the back. Her friend from back home was a detective - he had done all he could. Her uncles dying wish may actually be fulfilled in this moment. That is, -if- it was the same girl. She took one step into the lot tentatively, then two, and then approached the woman on the bench with a slight apprehension. Not out of fear, but rather of what was to come. "Hi.", she said quietly. "Are you Sadie?"
Sadesh Helendale looked up from her daydreaming and focused green eyes on the woman standing near her. She looked her up and down, regardling her in a cold manner. The woman had done too much in her time to just give up her name to some random chick so she lifted a brow in question and replied dryly, "Who wants to know?" She saw the photo in the woman's hand and it just served to grow the seed of aprehension she felt.
Callie Alderton followed her gaze to the picture in her hand. Her face gave an expression of remorse mingled with nervousness. "Just me." She had expected that perhaps she wasn't going to be welcomed with open arms - it was too much to hope for, especially in Hathian. "Here." She handed the woman the picture. It was of a young child that, despite the age, was undoubtedly Sadie herself. On the back was a birthday - Sadie's birthday, along with her current address and description.
Sadesh Helendale furrowed her brow and took the picture in hand, her eyes widening at the sight of something she had never seen yet, knew who it was right away. Had she not be trained to keep a level of composure when surprised, her mouth would have undoubtably hit the ground. She flicked her green gaze up to Callie for the breifest of moments before looking back down tot he faded snapshot and flipping it over. A date which meant nothing to her hovered over information that she found disturbing. The location of her and Tah's home. Her hand came to close to a fist over the picture, creasing it between her fingers and palm as she stood and hissed, "How did you get this?" Her immediate reaction was one of intense faer that she hid with her anger. Had she not killed the man all those years ago, had he lived? Was this woman somehow linked to him?
Callie Alderton saw the look on her cousin's face and could not help but feel painstakingly guilty. "Your father. About a year ago.", she said still in a low voice. "Your mom had it sitting on the mantle for ages before I made the decision to come find you." She might as well not leave anything out. She took out her pack of Malboros and looked up at Sadie. "Do you mind if I smoke?" She kept reminding herself to be extra polite - and some people didn't like cigarettes. She felt a little more at ease at the mention of her aunt who was, by nature, an incredibly soothing person.
Sadesh Helendale narrowed her eyes and shook her head. It was
obvious that the woman was fucking with her. Sadie had long ago given up the idea that she had ever had a family. If she did, they would have looked for her, they would have found her. They would have stopped him. She opened her mouth to speak and raised the hand which held the crumped picture up toward Callie, pointing her index finger at her for a moment before closing her lips again and shaking her head. The short onyx tresses of her hair flying back from her face as she started to stalk past the woman, tossing the picture at her feet as she moved toward the street.
Callie Alderton sighs as she starts to walk past her. "I'm sorry!", she blurts out. And she was - she could only imagine the thoughts running through her head. "I'm sorry.", she repeats, more quietly. Wheeling around, her hair splays out and then settles on her shoulders "I'm Callie." She was Callie, the cousin it looked like, as of right now, Sadie could never come to love. "If you need me...I...well, I'll be around for a while." The nonchalant and carefree facade that had been lifted ever so briefly now retook its place in her demeanor. "I know it must be a lot to wrap yourself around...but...", she trailed off and fisted one hand in her own hair. Turning towards the hospital she starts to walk off before looking over her shoulder. "They loved you so much. Just know that." She continued her stroll down the street.
Sadesh Helendale halted her steps at the woman's claims that her parents loved her and laughed quickly. The bitter nature of it suprised even her as she turned toe to look at the woman. Her eyes scoured the woman's retreating form before she called out, "If they loved me -so- much, they would have looked for me. Seems it was easy for you to do it. Here you are." her hand when to motion out to the picture on the ground, "That girl is dead." She kept a level gaze to the woman as she watched her, a frown tugging down at the corners of her lips.
Callie Alderton turns around again and presses on the corners of her eyes to stop any tears that may come. No need to make a fuss. "They tried. It took -me- this long to find you. And that was with help." Help from a very expensive private investigator that her uncle couldn't afford between cancer treatments. "If you want to know what happened..." What happened to her aunt, who couldn't take the pain living brought. To her uncle, who succamb to it. Her eyes took in the crumpled picture on the floor. "She may be dead. But I know the story behind the corpse." Callie was by no means a weak person. Quiet around those she didn't know, she was a strategist. And the strategy she took know was one of impassive compassion. If her cousin wanted answers, she would get them. But only when she was ready to ask.
Sadesh Helendale laughed low and smug under her breath and regarded the woman for a long time, one that would most likely make one uncomfortable before she spoke, "Doesn't matter if they tried. They failed." Everything she had ever experienced had a double edge to it. If she thought it was good, it always turned out devestating. Why would this be any different? Her only way of dealing with anything anymore was shutting down and not allowing it to sever the fragile hold she had on her sanity. Her eyes did crawl back to the picture again, half of her wanting to run back to it, uncrump it and stare at it's every nuiance, the ohter half wanting the ground to swallow it up and claim it so she could ignore it's meaning.
Callie Alderton grit her teeth at that. Such little faith in her own family, but what was to be expected with a past as dark as Sadie's? And with Hathian as your playground, its easy to see why everything would be tinted a shade of mud. "They died.", she said simply. "They died trying." She presses her lips together as if she said something incredibly vulgar, or divulged a secret to the opposing side. Despite her urge to make Sadie aware of her family, she didn't want to overwhelm her.
Sadesh Helendale shook her head and said quietly, "How do I even know who you are?" Arms came to fold under her breasts as she looked to Callie, "And why would you even give a fuck? No one around here does things without self serving motives."
Callie Alderton bit her lip before making eye contact. "My mother was your father's only sister. I'm your cousin Callie. And your dad was my favorite uncle." Shrugging her shoulders. "I have pictures, documents, all the proof you need. I came to Hathian to find you. I'm staying for reasons that are my own. Either way, it was your father's dying wish that you and your sister be found and helped. If you needed help. I give a fuck because, whether you believe me or like it, you're family. Simply seeing you're alive after what your mom and dad went through is enough motive for me."
.
Sadesh Helendale 's face crumpled for one small moment at the mention of her sister. She kept that small, lifeless form tucked back in the corner of her mind. The very mention of her was something that could bring the woman to tears. Wait...no one knew about her sister but Tah. She'd never told anyone that she even existed. It was the one thing Callie could have said to convince her that she was who she said she was. She breathed out her sister's name, "Tali..." She looked down the ground to cover the film of tears that maanged to find her eyes, "Tali is dead. She's been dead for a very long time."
Callie Alderton felt her face contort in pain. One half of her mission was destroyed - she felt every twinge of misery her uncle and aunt would have felt. "I'm sorry.", she whispered. Furrowing her eyebrows together, she sighed heavily. "Is there anything you want to know?"
Sadesh Helendale continued her stare at the ground and breathed in deep. When she finally raised her head to Callie and steadied her gaze on her she knit her brows together and spoke up in a pained voice, "How did they..." she swalloed hard before going on, "How did they die?" She coudl almost smell the sickening sweet, pervasive scent of her sister's body curled next to her. The press of her cold flesh against her. She did her best to mantain her even breath but it would be an obvious effort to anyone looking. '
Callie Alderton shut her eyes tightly for a moment. "Your mother...she..took her own life. After they couldn't find you. About a year after you disappeared." She took a deep breath and continued. "Your father was diagnosed with stage three carcinoma on his lungs. He past away a few years ago. It was his last wish for you guys to be found...I've been looking since his death."
Sadesh Helendale looked to her right and stared off into space as she let the news sink in. She had parents...dead parents. She couldn't help the flood of images that came to dance across her thoughts, the many bodies that had claim her yound flesh far before her time. The slide of the knife into her kidnappers body when she could finally gather the courage to escape. The faces of the people who's life had ended short and terrifiing at her hands. She spoke softly, "Its better this way. They wouldn't have wanted to know me." She turned a hardened gaze back to Callie and bore eyes to her, "And you don't want to know me either." If this woman was truely her cousin, she'd spare her the pain of knowing that her relative was a murderer, a drug dealer and a gang member. Her hand came to rest over the new Rejects band that graced her arm as if she could hide what she was to her cousin.
Callie Alderton for the first time, smiled. Well, it was more like a smirk. "I think I'd decide that shit for myself." She saw the simple gesture of her cousin covering her armband and it all became clear. If she was worried about how she appeared, well, that wasn't a problem. She presented her own forearm forward - it was covered in trackmarks. Leaning down, she pulled up the leg of her pants, at which a bloodied wrench hung simply. "We didn't all take the road our parents would be proud of. I think that I'm more like you than you expect." Putting her hands on her hips, she digs her toe into the asphalt. Her cocky, lazadaisical attitude pushing forth with a vengeance. "My mother wanted me to be a singer or some shit." She laughed dryly to herself. "I'm a mechanic. Your dad's was the first engine I ever repaired." Her uncle was the only one who accepted the way she was. "Your dad was the coolest guy ever. He's adore you if you slit his throat. Don't ask me why he was so nice. I certainly didn't take after him there."
Sadesh Helendale let her eyes travel over the evidence her cousin presented and lifted a brow. her gaze lending itself to Dizzy for a moment before she looked back with a smirk to equal that of Callie's. If the woman did turn out to become a fixture in Sadie's life, she'd knock out whatever shit was making her arms look like that. Drugs were a weakness in her mind. Well, aside from weed that is. Despite Callie's insistance that she and her were more alike than Sadie expected, she traveled on the side of caution. Pressing her heel toward the ground, she moved herself closer. She let out a quick burst of laughter at her not being as nice as her father was, "Yeah, I think that little trait skipped us both." she still wasn't convinced of any of this, really. She had decided to play along for the sake of finding out more.
Callie Alderton shoved her hands in her pockets and grinned. "Glad to hear it." Rocking on her heels, she looks around. "This is the last place I'd expect you to be, to be frank. My friend is a P.I. - we figured the best way to find you was through your attacker. And since we had no clue who that was...we went through all of the sex offenders in the tri-state area. When he finally found the right guy...well...there wasn't much left of him when we got there. It's by fucking chance that we came across you. My guy happens to have another client here, which is how he came across you a few months ago." She seemed proud of her own detective work, rocking back and forth on her heels.
Sadesh Helendale let out a small snort at Callie and shrugged, "Came here with my boyfriend." It still felt odd to refer to Tah as her boyfriend. It was so new that she had no catagory for what they were, the term seemed to fit for now. A small smile formed on her lips at the thought of him, one she fought back down quickly. She still wasn't resting comfortably on their relationship. She would always remember how he had crushed her heart once. A heart that still had a lage Cyn shaped hole in it. She missed her friend but was more then relieved that she didn't have to see her face when she saw her and Tah together. She shook herself from her thoughts at the mention of her kidnapper, turning her eyes to look to Callie as she nodded. The worry that the man still drew breath was quelled. She noticed her cousin puffing up like a proud kid and laughed again, "How long are you sticking around here?"
Callie Alderton (aw's irl at the cyn shaped hole comment) grins. "Least you got a boyfriend, yeah? I'm don't think I'm the commitment type." Thinking about what was next for her in Hathian, she takes a moment or two to deliberate. She had refound Zane, got a pretty good job opening...there was a lot to consider. "I'll be here indefinately until I decide to pick up my shit and move. Found an old friend, and I'm working at the garage. Just tryin' to find my place here, I guess. I'm not really content with the powerless citizen status." Canting her head, she looked at her cousin before watching the street. "How long ya' been here?"
Sadesh Helendale shrugged her shoulder and spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I love him." It was true. Water was wet, the sky was blue and Sadie would always be in love with Tah. Eric Blackburn, the baby...nothing had been enough to shake her feelings for the man. Again, she tucked back that smile and listened to Callie go on. If the woman proved of any use, she knew some people that could take her places. She smirked at the determination she heard in Callie's voice, it echoed that of her own. Maybe they actually were family after all. Time would tell how true her words would ring. She furrowed her brow in thought as she realized the ramifications of her being here, of what her affiliations might be, if she had begun to form any of them. "So, you only know me, this friend of yours and that's it?" she questioned.
Callie Alderton shrugs and smirks to herself. "Basically, yeah. Met a few people here and there that seemed tolerable. I'm better off not knowing a shitload a' people. Less of a chance to get fucked over. Less people that see you when you're vulnerable." Stretching her arms over her head, she grins at her cousin. "Less people that piss me off and I gotta kick their asses an' shit." She was a private person, even when she was being a team player. It was in her nature not to trust unless there was some kinda foundation. She ran her tongue over her teeth and surveyed the area again. On top of being private, she was paranoid. There was no such thing as too cautious when it came to saving her own ass.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The RolePlay Experience
As I read over my own blog, toot my own horn, and all that jazz, I've realized that, although I talk about roleplay a WHOLE LOT, I've never really explained or demonstrated what roleplay IS.
Role play (RP) is simply pretending to be someone or something to simulate an experience, usually interacting with others doing the same. People RolePlay to have an experience - and experience that real life limitations will usually prevent. Gunfights, hoverships, magical powers - nothing is beyond your reach in roleplay. There's an enormous number of roleplay-themed Second Life communities based around every conceivable theme and narrative -- I'm still astounded there's a small but active one based on courtier life in Louis the XIV's Versailles -- and just as many rule sets by which they're self-governed.
Roleplay 101 -
There are a few rules when it comes to roleplay. One, you can't be afraid to lose or take a hit. It shows respect and the sign of a good roleplayer that isn't afraid to lose. Props make an outfit and sometimes a character - which also ties into my next rule: get into character. If that means spending a few linden on getting an outfit decker out prims, so be it. But that also means if you're in a Harry Potter roleplay - get into character by reading the book or watching the movie and visualizing what kind of person you would portray in that universe. Rule four: Play outside the box. If that means playing a woman as a man, or switching your race to that of an alien or a vampire, not only does it open a lot of doors, but it also pushes your limits as a writer and roleplayer. Step Five - cause a scene. You have your character and your clothes, but getting started when you don't know anyone is hard. Ask for help in character, or for a cigarette, or for direction - knowing a few good real life icebreakers really helps.
"There are vast differences between IMs, OOC, and IC. Learning the difference in these 3 types of communication and how each one is perceived by others is key to good roleplaying.
You’re minding your own business at some rp sim when you get an IM from someone admiring your outfit. You are fighting someone and after being defeated, you receive an IM telling you it was a good fight. You are about to start a scene with someone, and you get an IMtelling you what they will or will not do with you. You are roleplaying with some people when suddenly someone posts ((be right back)), another answers ((kk)) and when that person posts ((back)) everyone around posts ((wb)). All these conversations have one thing in common; they are all OOC. At any point, when you are contacted in IMs you should consider these conversations OOC. In that regard, if you IM someone, when in an RP sim, be it another character, a GM assisting you with a problem, or a vendor that sold you a item, you should make sure this is conducted OOC. Vendors and GMs especially do not have the need to deal with you IC since they are providing their services OOC.
There is a reason why this avenue is kept OOC. This is the only safe place to conduct an OOC conversation that would keep it out of the ears of others around you. Most RP sims do not like it when players are having long extended conversations of OOC matters in public chat. OOC in public chat is highlighted by surrounding the OOC text in brackets such as ((I’m still rezzing)) or [[gimme a second]]. Because everyone is IC, it become very disruptive when you pass by or are nearby OOC conversations. Be conscious of how you affect others and move your OOC conversations over to IM’s or group chat. It allows others to think clearly about what they will say and avoid issues and/or misunderstandings.
Another major thing to keep in mind is going off on or threatening another character in OOC speak or IMs. Most if not all sims will swiftly penalize you anything from a few days or weeks ban up to and including permanent expulsion from the sim. Do not unleash your anger at another player in OOC comments or IMs. If you have an issue with another player, work it out in a civil fashion or call a GM to assist. If you don’t know the rules, read them carefully before beginning to RP. Failure to be knowledgeable about the rules does not mean you will not be punished if you violate a rule." - Diary of a Roleplayer
Roleplayers are not required to check your profile for RP limits. Some will do so but most will not. It is your responsibility to inform others of your limits.
If you have informed the other players of your RP limits and they are violated, you may call a GM to assist.
If you have roleplay limits you may find yourself with little or no interaction from other players.
Some roleplayers have chosen to adapt the RP limits of those they interact with, thus if a player states no mutilation, they cannot perform it on the other player.
In some sims, a long list of RP limits will be seen by other players as a sign of a Camper.
If you have RP limits, consider joining an RP sim that better accommodates your tastes. Dark RP sims like Lost Angels and Crack Den have activities ranging from odd to extremely bizarre. Think of this as a movie; if you don’t like slasher flicks don’t watch these types of movies. You may not be actively participating in these limits but you will encounter players doing RP about it with other players.
AFK – Away From Keyboard
Avatar – also known as avi or AV for short. A computer representation of you or your alter ego within Second Life.
Camper – a player that camps out a roleplay sim with the intent to rack up points for their combat meters to level up, but refuse to RP or will go AFK or Away while accumulating points.
Corpse Camping – after defeating a player, you defeat them again as soon as they recoup some of their energy. This differs from battle where someone you defeated is revived and continues to fight. In this case a second defeat would not be classified as corpse camping.
Fade to Black – also known as FTB. Used if you don’t agree with how an RP is going. You simply announce Fade to Black and the scene ends there.
GM – Game Moderator also known as Admin to be called when violations of the rules occur, issues with the game itself, or questions and or assistance related to the RP.
GODMODDING – Playing God – for example being immune to all types of influence, injury, issues, or being almighty above everything and everyone.
HUD – Heads Up Display
IC – In Character- for example speaking as your character
LARP - Live Action Role Play
METAGAMING - Using OOC commentary or reading tags and using the information in your RP without having discovered it IC.
NOCOM – This is what you are told you are if you meter is off. When your meter is off you cannot take damage and you are in non-cobatitive mode. Generally when your meter is off, you are not allowed to RP simply because if a fight breaks out, you will not take any damage.
NPC - Also known as Non-Player Character. Commonly used to serve as assault teams or temporary characters in sim-wide role play. NPCs usually will arrive to attack everyone in the sim giving players a chance to unite with each other to defeat the threat.
OOC - Out of Character – for example making comments or asking questions that are not part of the scene or not being said as your character.
((brb)) – OOC be right back
((k)) or ((kk)) – OOC ok
((wb)) – OOC welcome back
READING TAGS – Reading an avatar’s name or description to use in the RP without having discovered it IC. Also see METAGAMING.
RPC – Role Play Coordinator. Assists with creating and moderating role play in a sim.
RP - Roleplay.
RP Limits – A list of things you will not do or participate in at a RP sim.
Safe Zone – An area in an RP sim that is free of RP or IC activity.
Skills - The powers your character has such as healing yourself or other, inflicting damage on opponents, or giving armor to others.
Titler – An object that allows a title to show above your head. Usually used for RP sims.
XP - Experience Points – Earned by time in the sim or awarded for good roleplay. As you accumulate XP you go up in levels and gain additional skills.
Ive given the basics, now its up to anyone who reads this to use this knowledge in world. Roleplaying is one of my favorite pastimes and I love doing it.
Role play (RP) is simply pretending to be someone or something to simulate an experience, usually interacting with others doing the same. People RolePlay to have an experience - and experience that real life limitations will usually prevent. Gunfights, hoverships, magical powers - nothing is beyond your reach in roleplay. There's an enormous number of roleplay-themed Second Life communities based around every conceivable theme and narrative -- I'm still astounded there's a small but active one based on courtier life in Louis the XIV's Versailles -- and just as many rule sets by which they're self-governed.
Roleplay 101 -
There are a few rules when it comes to roleplay. One, you can't be afraid to lose or take a hit. It shows respect and the sign of a good roleplayer that isn't afraid to lose. Props make an outfit and sometimes a character - which also ties into my next rule: get into character. If that means spending a few linden on getting an outfit decker out prims, so be it. But that also means if you're in a Harry Potter roleplay - get into character by reading the book or watching the movie and visualizing what kind of person you would portray in that universe. Rule four: Play outside the box. If that means playing a woman as a man, or switching your race to that of an alien or a vampire, not only does it open a lot of doors, but it also pushes your limits as a writer and roleplayer. Step Five - cause a scene. You have your character and your clothes, but getting started when you don't know anyone is hard. Ask for help in character, or for a cigarette, or for direction - knowing a few good real life icebreakers really helps.
"There are vast differences between IMs, OOC, and IC. Learning the difference in these 3 types of communication and how each one is perceived by others is key to good roleplaying.
You’re minding your own business at some rp sim when you get an IM from someone admiring your outfit. You are fighting someone and after being defeated, you receive an IM telling you it was a good fight. You are about to start a scene with someone, and you get an IMtelling you what they will or will not do with you. You are roleplaying with some people when suddenly someone posts ((be right back)), another answers ((kk)) and when that person posts ((back)) everyone around posts ((wb)). All these conversations have one thing in common; they are all OOC. At any point, when you are contacted in IMs you should consider these conversations OOC. In that regard, if you IM someone, when in an RP sim, be it another character, a GM assisting you with a problem, or a vendor that sold you a item, you should make sure this is conducted OOC. Vendors and GMs especially do not have the need to deal with you IC since they are providing their services OOC.
There is a reason why this avenue is kept OOC. This is the only safe place to conduct an OOC conversation that would keep it out of the ears of others around you. Most RP sims do not like it when players are having long extended conversations of OOC matters in public chat. OOC in public chat is highlighted by surrounding the OOC text in brackets such as ((I’m still rezzing)) or [[gimme a second]]. Because everyone is IC, it become very disruptive when you pass by or are nearby OOC conversations. Be conscious of how you affect others and move your OOC conversations over to IM’s or group chat. It allows others to think clearly about what they will say and avoid issues and/or misunderstandings.
Another major thing to keep in mind is going off on or threatening another character in OOC speak or IMs. Most if not all sims will swiftly penalize you anything from a few days or weeks ban up to and including permanent expulsion from the sim. Do not unleash your anger at another player in OOC comments or IMs. If you have an issue with another player, work it out in a civil fashion or call a GM to assist. If you don’t know the rules, read them carefully before beginning to RP. Failure to be knowledgeable about the rules does not mean you will not be punished if you violate a rule." - Diary of a Roleplayer
Roleplayers are not required to check your profile for RP limits. Some will do so but most will not. It is your responsibility to inform others of your limits.
If you have informed the other players of your RP limits and they are violated, you may call a GM to assist.
If you have roleplay limits you may find yourself with little or no interaction from other players.
Some roleplayers have chosen to adapt the RP limits of those they interact with, thus if a player states no mutilation, they cannot perform it on the other player.
In some sims, a long list of RP limits will be seen by other players as a sign of a Camper.
If you have RP limits, consider joining an RP sim that better accommodates your tastes. Dark RP sims like Lost Angels and Crack Den have activities ranging from odd to extremely bizarre. Think of this as a movie; if you don’t like slasher flicks don’t watch these types of movies. You may not be actively participating in these limits but you will encounter players doing RP about it with other players.
AFK – Away From Keyboard
Avatar – also known as avi or AV for short. A computer representation of you or your alter ego within Second Life.
Camper – a player that camps out a roleplay sim with the intent to rack up points for their combat meters to level up, but refuse to RP or will go AFK or Away while accumulating points.
Corpse Camping – after defeating a player, you defeat them again as soon as they recoup some of their energy. This differs from battle where someone you defeated is revived and continues to fight. In this case a second defeat would not be classified as corpse camping.
Fade to Black – also known as FTB. Used if you don’t agree with how an RP is going. You simply announce Fade to Black and the scene ends there.
GM – Game Moderator also known as Admin to be called when violations of the rules occur, issues with the game itself, or questions and or assistance related to the RP.
GODMODDING – Playing God – for example being immune to all types of influence, injury, issues, or being almighty above everything and everyone.
HUD – Heads Up Display
IC – In Character- for example speaking as your character
LARP - Live Action Role Play
METAGAMING - Using OOC commentary or reading tags and using the information in your RP without having discovered it IC.
NOCOM – This is what you are told you are if you meter is off. When your meter is off you cannot take damage and you are in non-cobatitive mode. Generally when your meter is off, you are not allowed to RP simply because if a fight breaks out, you will not take any damage.
NPC - Also known as Non-Player Character. Commonly used to serve as assault teams or temporary characters in sim-wide role play. NPCs usually will arrive to attack everyone in the sim giving players a chance to unite with each other to defeat the threat.
OOC - Out of Character – for example making comments or asking questions that are not part of the scene or not being said as your character.
((brb)) – OOC be right back
((k)) or ((kk)) – OOC ok
((wb)) – OOC welcome back
READING TAGS – Reading an avatar’s name or description to use in the RP without having discovered it IC. Also see METAGAMING.
RPC – Role Play Coordinator. Assists with creating and moderating role play in a sim.
RP - Roleplay.
RP Limits – A list of things you will not do or participate in at a RP sim.
Safe Zone – An area in an RP sim that is free of RP or IC activity.
Skills - The powers your character has such as healing yourself or other, inflicting damage on opponents, or giving armor to others.
Titler – An object that allows a title to show above your head. Usually used for RP sims.
XP - Experience Points – Earned by time in the sim or awarded for good roleplay. As you accumulate XP you go up in levels and gain additional skills.
Ive given the basics, now its up to anyone who reads this to use this knowledge in world. Roleplaying is one of my favorite pastimes and I love doing it.
Friday, October 16, 2009
SL Photography
I think everyone’s passion in Second Life is taking pictures of your favorite moments. We can find tons of models, but we can’t find tons of PROFESSIONAL photograpers.
- Have a good sense of perspective, use and knowledge of the editing tools that professionals image editors given to us, and of course, the ability to be creative in using poses.
Studios or Spheres – Try to find those with gives you lots of varieties and resources. Use them with responsibility, to not make your picture with hundreds of useless particles, colors, fogs and backgrounds. Ah! about the backgrounds, taking a picture above a photo of the Eiffel Tower is nothing glamorous.
BE CAREFUL WITH ACESSORIES! Bracelets not attached well to your arms, or even worse – giant bracelets, blinging piercings, bad attached gadgets, flying necklaces, and other incredible funny stuff are a big danger when you are modeling! Taking a few minutes on a stand pose to attach all of them well before a photography session will make a HUGE difference.
Clothes – Attention! A quality book requires quality clothes! So, for a great professional portfolio with 2 or 3 sets, stop being a poor guy or girl and invest yourself in good simple combinations but glamorous.
Lights enviroment – The most important step for a big difference! Put your computer graphics to the highest you can, and abuse of the all illumination you got. If the environment you are in is badly lit, try use the lighting tools that the studio can give or those face lights that you can find almost everywhere.
Photo Edition – Perfect photos just turn perfect when you edit them. Using Photoshop or any other photo editor guarantees you a great final effect. The biggest difference is, you can see when someone is professional or not just seeing how they can use those image editors well.
MY FAVORITE SHOTS:
- Have a good sense of perspective, use and knowledge of the editing tools that professionals image editors given to us, and of course, the ability to be creative in using poses.
Studios or Spheres – Try to find those with gives you lots of varieties and resources. Use them with responsibility, to not make your picture with hundreds of useless particles, colors, fogs and backgrounds. Ah! about the backgrounds, taking a picture above a photo of the Eiffel Tower is nothing glamorous.
BE CAREFUL WITH ACESSORIES! Bracelets not attached well to your arms, or even worse – giant bracelets, blinging piercings, bad attached gadgets, flying necklaces, and other incredible funny stuff are a big danger when you are modeling! Taking a few minutes on a stand pose to attach all of them well before a photography session will make a HUGE difference.
Clothes – Attention! A quality book requires quality clothes! So, for a great professional portfolio with 2 or 3 sets, stop being a poor guy or girl and invest yourself in good simple combinations but glamorous.
Lights enviroment – The most important step for a big difference! Put your computer graphics to the highest you can, and abuse of the all illumination you got. If the environment you are in is badly lit, try use the lighting tools that the studio can give or those face lights that you can find almost everywhere.
Photo Edition – Perfect photos just turn perfect when you edit them. Using Photoshop or any other photo editor guarantees you a great final effect. The biggest difference is, you can see when someone is professional or not just seeing how they can use those image editors well.
MY FAVORITE SHOTS:
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Heart Reef
Today, I visited the Heart Reef Resort, a realistic replica of the coast of Greece. It is a beautiful build with wonderful graphics that I can really only describe in pictures. Forgive me for the lack of words, but I took plenty of snapshots to compensate.
Monday, October 5, 2009
If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.....
The newest RP sim I've decided to explore is Midian City. A dark, mysterious, and ominous place that is kind of like Hathian, with its urban grunge element; kind of like Shipyard with its futuristic feel; and kind of like a magical sim with its open mind for creatures and roleplay options.
Midian City - The Story
---------------------------
21st century
Another world war come and gone.
And miraculously once again the big red button was not pushed. So the world and the life that clings ever more precariously to its surface lived to see another dawn.
Those that fought and survived the carnage of this latest high tech machine war returned home to find little had changed. And those that had no real homes dispersed like shadows into the darkness of the great sprawls of urban chaos which the world’s cities had now become cities like Midian.
Another tangled mass of past and present architectural anomalies, pushing ever upwards towards the sky, leaving its down trodden dwellers far below in the ever darkening canyons of concrete and steel. It stands alone on an offshore Island once connected by a bridge that reached across the treacherous waters of the Quinntukhat river like a great artery pumping fresh life and trade from the mainland into the cold heart of Midan.
But suddenly, 20 years back, that source of life blood had been severed.
So the Island is now once again cut off from the mainland as it had been a few centuries earlier when it was home to a leper colony. And now, as then, the world just across the water seems to have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to this city of lost souls.
You see the Government preferred not to dwell too long on the subject of Midian. It was here in 2013, in the darkest days of the war, that the “final solution tests” supposed to end the conflict, went drastically wrong, and created a radiation wasteland uninhabitable for some years after, and turned the surrounding waters into a chemical soup of decaying seafood. And this was why the bridge was closed and the city evacuated, a crude attempt to put the tragic events out of sight and hopefully out of mind.
However, after a while life did return to this blighted place. Slowly and illegally at first, a few of the less desirable elements of the surrounding states, dared the dangerous river crossing and found refuge here. Then the influx of fresh blood picked up a pace when it was realized by the criminal elements on the mainland that law and order was passing this place by.
So now far from the gaze of polite society and elected law, a new colony of sorts has arisen, except this time the lepers are of the social kind and the disease is corruption.
At first no one cared about these new city dwellers, believing that they would all be dead from radiation poisoning within a year or so, but for some reason this did not appear to be happening and as time passed and the population of the mad bad and dangerous to know began to swell, it was clear that something had to be done to at least contain the problem, if not to stop it.
So the government decided to contract out the management of the city to one of the large corporate Security companies that had begun to spring up over the past few year to compensate for the inadequacies of the understaffed and underpaid state police departments. These companies still called themselves police forces, and took upon themselves all the trappings of the state police. But they are in most cases little more than criminal cartels.
None more so than the present governing body of the island, the self styled MPD. In order to quell the flow of unsavory citizens onto the Island or at least to appear to be earning the extremely high sums of money they charged for their services , the MPD placed a heavy guard on the bridge.
But it is said that this is more a way of forcing extortionate admission fees from those wishing to escape the law of the mainland than any real attempt at blocking entry.
So Midian stands as an example of what can happen when crime, violence, perversion and corruption are mixed together and left to boil unattended in a melting pot of urban decay. The accumulated sins and excesses of men and beasts have shrouded the entire city in an unyielding night of shifting shadows and flickering lights. In this deranged little corner of the world, none hope for better, maybe just the strength to make it through the night. Here the meek inherit nothing, the poor die cold and hungry and the old and weak are prey for the strong, here the choice is simple, fight or run, hunt or be hunted.
Walk down the wrong back alley in Midian and you can find just about anything, and you probably will.
-----------------------------
The Factions of Midian City
Rev. May 2008
-----------------------------
(*Please Note: Listed below are the ONLY officially recognized factions of Midian City. And while we are open to creative new ideas, we will only be taking them from those who have first taken the time to fully immerse themselves in the city. In other words ... Don't just come into the sim and ask to create your own gang. Don't ask to create your own faction. Don't ask to run your own organization. Get to know the roleplay first. Doing otherwise will only make you look like an inept goof who has not bothered to read this notecard*)
**FACTIONS**
It is said that the Island is divided amongst the factions that rule it. More than gangs, less than brotherhoods, these factions form a delicate balance of hostile peace that keeps the city moving. Although, the direction to which it moves is anyone's guess.
((The Hounds - Faction dissolved by End of May
These boys and girls just want to have a good time, at your expense. They are the archetypal alpha male gang, who like there animal namesakes, live only for the chase. In fact, without the thrill of the pursuit, they'd have no interest in their quarry at all. If you become the object of a Hound's affection, it will step up to you and utter a single word: "Run." Every fiber of your being will be inclined to escape, but this is a mistake, because anyone who's encountered the Hounds will tell you this: they will chase, they will catch, they will play, and they will feast.))
Sarcina
Many are easily swept away by the all too feminine charms of this Pack of Females. But make no mistake - they are just as deadly as their male equivalent "The Hounds". This group is dedicated to delivering justice to the darkened souls that feast upon the innocents of the city, found operating out of the "Twilight Zone". So be aware, should you happen to stir the lust or ire of this Pack of Female Hunters you just might find yourself labeled as their prey, hunted down, captured … and subjected to their sadistic whims, at their discretion, of course.
The Shadow Stalkers
Much darker in desire and intent are this loose knit group of psychologically insane individuals who choose a very different approach to the hunt. The Stalkers do not play games with their prey like the Hounds. They wait in the shadows, and are behind every corner, under every fire escape. They are patient, they are determined, and when they spot a favored prey, they pounce, grab, and drag it into the darkness with them. What happens after that is often unspeakable, even within the city itself.
KAOS Pirates
"He left a Corsair's name to other times, linked with one virtue, and a thousand crimes." Lord Byron
KAOS Pirates are a gang that causes chaos in Midian/Apoc, sending a fisted scowl to those who seek to control them from Leviathan. Their goal is complete emancipation, anarchy till blood pours into the streets. The Pirates earned the tag KAOS due to their repeated illegal pirating of Midian City's radio airwaves. There is a dark underbelly to their purpose that even many of their own are not privy. Should this ever be discovered, most of Midian would immediately move to eradicate the Pirates. Just keep in mind, freedom is never obtained without bloodshed...and chaos, being a tool of nature, is not always particular about whose blood is spilt. You name it, if it will get a pirate what they want, never put it past them. We welcome all types of characters, be they mech, hybrid, vamp, human, what have you. If you are the sort that is offended easily by gore, violence, rape, hardcore role-play...KAOS is not the faction for you...so just a little pre-emptive warning.
The Catwalkers
A blip in the human genetic code has given birth to these half cat half human anomalies. Seldom seen on the streets, these "CATWALKERS" can be found perched high above the city on the many catwalks, upon which they are forever roaming, watching, and waiting for a chance to pounce. They love to toy with their prey. Fun loving kittens, easily amused, they just as readily squash those things that come to bore them. They are jokers and night creatures and just love to play, just like the cats they resemble.
The Nightbreed
There is also something far older that stalks the city streets. The existance of a family, who came to the island many centuries ago, is mentioned - they chose to shut themselves off from mainland society, practicing the old rites and rituals of their homelands. This gave rise to many rumors whispered behind hands, rumors about them being vampires, and warnings to better stay off the island of Midian. As time passed they were chased and hunted, though the Family never completely vanished. These are the stories of old times, and still myths and rumors twine around this Family, most of them forgotten after their mansion had been destroyed and burned down. - These days the Family has well adapted, certainly the polluted sky of Midian has contributed to shield them from sunlight, allowing them to hide their Kind within the daily routines of the city. 'The Society' is creating more and more webs to hide their true nature and grant their survival.
The Lykans, aka Skinwalkers
Some even say there are werewolves in Midian. Or at least in the surrounding desert. But these kind of rumors are easy to dismiss, arising as they do from those who are themselves little more than urban animals.
Still, every now and again the MPD will pick up some street dweller reduced to silent terror, who, when pressed for answers, describes things best left in medieval legend.
Easy to dismiss, yes, but had these strange testaments been true, then what better place could there be for creatures such as these to dwell. Here in this dark city of shadows, where the corpses of the dead have been said to out number the living. Who here would look twice at the remains of some unholy midnight feast. Keep to the light then, and leave the shadows to those things born in darkness.
Midian City Mercenaries
As in all places given over to violence as a means of settling disputes, there are those willing to sell their weapons skills to the highest bidder. The ranks of these professional soldiers of fortune had been swelled with the end of the last war as the city began to fill with those trained to kill, but whose services the government no longer wished to pay for. Such are the members of this loose knit guild of mercenaries, hit men and cold blooded killers. The guild was set up to help distribute trade and stop internal fighting between the members over contracts. It seems to have worked, the Mercs are thriving, the body count is rising.
Now including Oceanic Imports, the number one Midian City Import/Export business. ((For Information please read the notecard))
Ashagi Corporation
Widely known, Ashagi Biomedical is a multibillion dollar pharmaceutical corporation that is best known for making inexpensive and often lifesaving drugs. Truly a cutting edge technological marvel that will brighten the streets of Midian City and help its residents in the years to come. Or... won't they?
Biomechs
In times of war great advances in technology are made, such was the case during the last conflict. A soldier no longer used technology but became one with it in the form of implants and even the substitution of body parts in favor of computerized mechanical limbs. And there are those in the city that have put this tech to good use to protect and arm themselves. These biomechanoids as they are called or BIO’S for short, use all the latest scientific advances in humanoid enhancements to turn their bodies into bio mechanical half human machines. They are also dealers in the illegal trade of this ex military human hardware. It is also rumored that this group is home to many of the escaped humanoid replicants produced by the military during the war. These truly lost soulless creatures now with out the purpose for which they were created wander the streets looking for a meaning to their existence
Midian City Dolls
Acting as the eye candy of Midan’s dirty streets, the dolls are the cities beloved street trash and the excessive core of its twisted sexual entertainment. Constantly tempting and teasing, hinting at untold perverted pleasures. But beware, often the fulfillment of much darker more excessive desires follow those of simple sexual pleasure and you may find yourself in a far less desirable position.
The Yakuza
Crime runs rampant in the streets. Many are loose knit gangs, looking out for "number one". The Yakuza, though, are a close family organization. On the outside, one sees upper-class snobbery, something clearly out of place in the dark city of Midian. But look closer and gaze into their eyes, and you can see something more sinister behind the facade of silk and jewels. They are the Yakuza. The Masters of Torture, Drugs, and Crime.
Acerenza/Witchlight Inc.
There are always people watching, listening, they are among you and around you could be anyone you know, your friend, your associate, your employee, your boss... What is their pupose? It is unknown to many and will remain that way, only the true believers and followers are deemed to find out. Where do they come from? One can never tell nor would one want to for fear of disclosing their association would mean death, but some strange activitie going on near the bookshop and gunrange, are the employees of Witchlight Inc. up to something? ...perhaps an interested soul may want to investigate, but be wary of who and how you speak to people it just may change your life... But what really goes on, only time and change will tell, change is their tool as well their saviour... You don't have to seek them, they are already watching you...
Midian City's Forgotten
A varied lot of homeless teens who have forgotten their past, or their past has forgotten them, and have learned their safety in numbers. They've learned the hard way never to trust or fall for soft smiles and offerings of candy from the smiling perverts of the alleys. This streetwise gang knows better than most the quickest paths through the tangled city streets and the twisted sewers beneath. And so, they are often used as go betweens and carriers. Quick to extend a hand for an extra dollar or offer you information but be prepared to pay and hold tight to your possessions. A bump in passing, a slight of hand and suddenly your purse is a little lighter.
The Pack
The Pack is a tight-knit clan of nekos, wolves and other mutant/hybrid outcasts and renegades. Unlike the Catwalkers, they stick to the rocky and rugged terrain of the wastelands, allowing them to keep in touch with their feral natures, apart from human society, far from where most intruders would dare venture. Following their Alpha and Beta in a matriarchal structure, the Pack holds a rigid hierarchy to keep the beliefs and traditions of the family strong. They are zealots of the Old Ways, like a modern day clan of samurai following the Codes of Bushido. Be warned, the Pack tends to hunt, travel and stalk their prey in small units. So where one is, another or a group is not too far away. Messing with one could very well mean dealing with the others of the pack.
The Chimera
"Chimera Cloning Corp: Because death need not be the end ... For a price." This is the official cover for their activities, but with ranks made from escaped experiments and political activists alike their true business dealings are very different. Fighting against forced experimentation on humans, this band of runaways and outcasts work together to offer protection, shelter and medical care for mutants of all kinds, as well as fighting against lab companies to ensure there are no more victims of their twisted work.
Midian Criminals
The Midian Criminal group is what you can call a collective of scumbags. These people don’t care about you or anyone else than their own self. If you read in the paper about a 7 men robbery in a crowded shop, wearing overalls and ski masks, then don’t ask yourself who it was. Their line of work involves smuggling, stealing and sometimes backstabbing. If you’re good at that, they might ask for your help on their next hit. They are said to be hidden somewhere around the old gas station - but then: Do you really want to find out?
Midian City Police Department
In the midst of the chaos and disorder stands the Midian Police Department. A privately supported paramilitary organization, the MPD struggles to maintain a modicum of order in an otherwise out-of-control city. Unlike the low-level corruption of the former days of the MPD, there are rumors of more covert, white-collar corruption; deals with faction leaders, quiet agreements that may or may not suit the needs of the greater good. Despite the fact that the citizens of Midian City have no rights or constitution, many of the leaders of the MPD truly have the best interest of the lives of the city's inhabitants at heart...most of the time.
The Legion/UAC
The UAC Marines, commonly referred to as "The Legion" are the only military presence located within Midian City. They are tasked with protecting UAC interests and conduct intelligence gathering. The Legion is part of the UAC under the World Union, which is a privatized organization specializing in security and intelligence. The World Union took over and expanded the United Nations after the 3rd Great War. The Legion is extremely organized and strict, since it is a professional military unit. Their motives in Midian are heavily debated, and emotions run high when discussing their presence in the city. The marines show a great resentment against most civilians, especially those of who are not fully human.
Midian City Parish
For the lost and lonely of Midian City, St. Michael's Church is a beacon of hope. While many seek solace in the violence of the shadows, the clergy and congregation of Midian Parish are the city's last bastion of faith. Keeping the faith in this city is a difficult task, but those of strength and conviction aid in the fight to keep the darkness at bay. Whether it's protection you seek, absolution, or simply a kindly ear, the doors of Midian Parish are open to all.
(pictures to come later)
Midian City - The Story
---------------------------
21st century
Another world war come and gone.
And miraculously once again the big red button was not pushed. So the world and the life that clings ever more precariously to its surface lived to see another dawn.
Those that fought and survived the carnage of this latest high tech machine war returned home to find little had changed. And those that had no real homes dispersed like shadows into the darkness of the great sprawls of urban chaos which the world’s cities had now become cities like Midian.
Another tangled mass of past and present architectural anomalies, pushing ever upwards towards the sky, leaving its down trodden dwellers far below in the ever darkening canyons of concrete and steel. It stands alone on an offshore Island once connected by a bridge that reached across the treacherous waters of the Quinntukhat river like a great artery pumping fresh life and trade from the mainland into the cold heart of Midan.
But suddenly, 20 years back, that source of life blood had been severed.
So the Island is now once again cut off from the mainland as it had been a few centuries earlier when it was home to a leper colony. And now, as then, the world just across the water seems to have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to this city of lost souls.
You see the Government preferred not to dwell too long on the subject of Midian. It was here in 2013, in the darkest days of the war, that the “final solution tests” supposed to end the conflict, went drastically wrong, and created a radiation wasteland uninhabitable for some years after, and turned the surrounding waters into a chemical soup of decaying seafood. And this was why the bridge was closed and the city evacuated, a crude attempt to put the tragic events out of sight and hopefully out of mind.
However, after a while life did return to this blighted place. Slowly and illegally at first, a few of the less desirable elements of the surrounding states, dared the dangerous river crossing and found refuge here. Then the influx of fresh blood picked up a pace when it was realized by the criminal elements on the mainland that law and order was passing this place by.
So now far from the gaze of polite society and elected law, a new colony of sorts has arisen, except this time the lepers are of the social kind and the disease is corruption.
At first no one cared about these new city dwellers, believing that they would all be dead from radiation poisoning within a year or so, but for some reason this did not appear to be happening and as time passed and the population of the mad bad and dangerous to know began to swell, it was clear that something had to be done to at least contain the problem, if not to stop it.
So the government decided to contract out the management of the city to one of the large corporate Security companies that had begun to spring up over the past few year to compensate for the inadequacies of the understaffed and underpaid state police departments. These companies still called themselves police forces, and took upon themselves all the trappings of the state police. But they are in most cases little more than criminal cartels.
None more so than the present governing body of the island, the self styled MPD. In order to quell the flow of unsavory citizens onto the Island or at least to appear to be earning the extremely high sums of money they charged for their services , the MPD placed a heavy guard on the bridge.
But it is said that this is more a way of forcing extortionate admission fees from those wishing to escape the law of the mainland than any real attempt at blocking entry.
So Midian stands as an example of what can happen when crime, violence, perversion and corruption are mixed together and left to boil unattended in a melting pot of urban decay. The accumulated sins and excesses of men and beasts have shrouded the entire city in an unyielding night of shifting shadows and flickering lights. In this deranged little corner of the world, none hope for better, maybe just the strength to make it through the night. Here the meek inherit nothing, the poor die cold and hungry and the old and weak are prey for the strong, here the choice is simple, fight or run, hunt or be hunted.
Walk down the wrong back alley in Midian and you can find just about anything, and you probably will.
-----------------------------
The Factions of Midian City
Rev. May 2008
-----------------------------
(*Please Note: Listed below are the ONLY officially recognized factions of Midian City. And while we are open to creative new ideas, we will only be taking them from those who have first taken the time to fully immerse themselves in the city. In other words ... Don't just come into the sim and ask to create your own gang. Don't ask to create your own faction. Don't ask to run your own organization. Get to know the roleplay first. Doing otherwise will only make you look like an inept goof who has not bothered to read this notecard*)
**FACTIONS**
It is said that the Island is divided amongst the factions that rule it. More than gangs, less than brotherhoods, these factions form a delicate balance of hostile peace that keeps the city moving. Although, the direction to which it moves is anyone's guess.
((The Hounds - Faction dissolved by End of May
These boys and girls just want to have a good time, at your expense. They are the archetypal alpha male gang, who like there animal namesakes, live only for the chase. In fact, without the thrill of the pursuit, they'd have no interest in their quarry at all. If you become the object of a Hound's affection, it will step up to you and utter a single word: "Run." Every fiber of your being will be inclined to escape, but this is a mistake, because anyone who's encountered the Hounds will tell you this: they will chase, they will catch, they will play, and they will feast.))
Sarcina
Many are easily swept away by the all too feminine charms of this Pack of Females. But make no mistake - they are just as deadly as their male equivalent "The Hounds". This group is dedicated to delivering justice to the darkened souls that feast upon the innocents of the city, found operating out of the "Twilight Zone". So be aware, should you happen to stir the lust or ire of this Pack of Female Hunters you just might find yourself labeled as their prey, hunted down, captured … and subjected to their sadistic whims, at their discretion, of course.
The Shadow Stalkers
Much darker in desire and intent are this loose knit group of psychologically insane individuals who choose a very different approach to the hunt. The Stalkers do not play games with their prey like the Hounds. They wait in the shadows, and are behind every corner, under every fire escape. They are patient, they are determined, and when they spot a favored prey, they pounce, grab, and drag it into the darkness with them. What happens after that is often unspeakable, even within the city itself.
KAOS Pirates
"He left a Corsair's name to other times, linked with one virtue, and a thousand crimes." Lord Byron
KAOS Pirates are a gang that causes chaos in Midian/Apoc, sending a fisted scowl to those who seek to control them from Leviathan. Their goal is complete emancipation, anarchy till blood pours into the streets. The Pirates earned the tag KAOS due to their repeated illegal pirating of Midian City's radio airwaves. There is a dark underbelly to their purpose that even many of their own are not privy. Should this ever be discovered, most of Midian would immediately move to eradicate the Pirates. Just keep in mind, freedom is never obtained without bloodshed...and chaos, being a tool of nature, is not always particular about whose blood is spilt. You name it, if it will get a pirate what they want, never put it past them. We welcome all types of characters, be they mech, hybrid, vamp, human, what have you. If you are the sort that is offended easily by gore, violence, rape, hardcore role-play...KAOS is not the faction for you...so just a little pre-emptive warning.
The Catwalkers
A blip in the human genetic code has given birth to these half cat half human anomalies. Seldom seen on the streets, these "CATWALKERS" can be found perched high above the city on the many catwalks, upon which they are forever roaming, watching, and waiting for a chance to pounce. They love to toy with their prey. Fun loving kittens, easily amused, they just as readily squash those things that come to bore them. They are jokers and night creatures and just love to play, just like the cats they resemble.
The Nightbreed
There is also something far older that stalks the city streets. The existance of a family, who came to the island many centuries ago, is mentioned - they chose to shut themselves off from mainland society, practicing the old rites and rituals of their homelands. This gave rise to many rumors whispered behind hands, rumors about them being vampires, and warnings to better stay off the island of Midian. As time passed they were chased and hunted, though the Family never completely vanished. These are the stories of old times, and still myths and rumors twine around this Family, most of them forgotten after their mansion had been destroyed and burned down. - These days the Family has well adapted, certainly the polluted sky of Midian has contributed to shield them from sunlight, allowing them to hide their Kind within the daily routines of the city. 'The Society' is creating more and more webs to hide their true nature and grant their survival.
The Lykans, aka Skinwalkers
Some even say there are werewolves in Midian. Or at least in the surrounding desert. But these kind of rumors are easy to dismiss, arising as they do from those who are themselves little more than urban animals.
Still, every now and again the MPD will pick up some street dweller reduced to silent terror, who, when pressed for answers, describes things best left in medieval legend.
Easy to dismiss, yes, but had these strange testaments been true, then what better place could there be for creatures such as these to dwell. Here in this dark city of shadows, where the corpses of the dead have been said to out number the living. Who here would look twice at the remains of some unholy midnight feast. Keep to the light then, and leave the shadows to those things born in darkness.
Midian City Mercenaries
As in all places given over to violence as a means of settling disputes, there are those willing to sell their weapons skills to the highest bidder. The ranks of these professional soldiers of fortune had been swelled with the end of the last war as the city began to fill with those trained to kill, but whose services the government no longer wished to pay for. Such are the members of this loose knit guild of mercenaries, hit men and cold blooded killers. The guild was set up to help distribute trade and stop internal fighting between the members over contracts. It seems to have worked, the Mercs are thriving, the body count is rising.
Now including Oceanic Imports, the number one Midian City Import/Export business. ((For Information please read the notecard))
Ashagi Corporation
Widely known, Ashagi Biomedical is a multibillion dollar pharmaceutical corporation that is best known for making inexpensive and often lifesaving drugs. Truly a cutting edge technological marvel that will brighten the streets of Midian City and help its residents in the years to come. Or... won't they?
Biomechs
In times of war great advances in technology are made, such was the case during the last conflict. A soldier no longer used technology but became one with it in the form of implants and even the substitution of body parts in favor of computerized mechanical limbs. And there are those in the city that have put this tech to good use to protect and arm themselves. These biomechanoids as they are called or BIO’S for short, use all the latest scientific advances in humanoid enhancements to turn their bodies into bio mechanical half human machines. They are also dealers in the illegal trade of this ex military human hardware. It is also rumored that this group is home to many of the escaped humanoid replicants produced by the military during the war. These truly lost soulless creatures now with out the purpose for which they were created wander the streets looking for a meaning to their existence
Midian City Dolls
Acting as the eye candy of Midan’s dirty streets, the dolls are the cities beloved street trash and the excessive core of its twisted sexual entertainment. Constantly tempting and teasing, hinting at untold perverted pleasures. But beware, often the fulfillment of much darker more excessive desires follow those of simple sexual pleasure and you may find yourself in a far less desirable position.
The Yakuza
Crime runs rampant in the streets. Many are loose knit gangs, looking out for "number one". The Yakuza, though, are a close family organization. On the outside, one sees upper-class snobbery, something clearly out of place in the dark city of Midian. But look closer and gaze into their eyes, and you can see something more sinister behind the facade of silk and jewels. They are the Yakuza. The Masters of Torture, Drugs, and Crime.
Acerenza/Witchlight Inc.
There are always people watching, listening, they are among you and around you could be anyone you know, your friend, your associate, your employee, your boss... What is their pupose? It is unknown to many and will remain that way, only the true believers and followers are deemed to find out. Where do they come from? One can never tell nor would one want to for fear of disclosing their association would mean death, but some strange activitie going on near the bookshop and gunrange, are the employees of Witchlight Inc. up to something? ...perhaps an interested soul may want to investigate, but be wary of who and how you speak to people it just may change your life... But what really goes on, only time and change will tell, change is their tool as well their saviour... You don't have to seek them, they are already watching you...
Midian City's Forgotten
A varied lot of homeless teens who have forgotten their past, or their past has forgotten them, and have learned their safety in numbers. They've learned the hard way never to trust or fall for soft smiles and offerings of candy from the smiling perverts of the alleys. This streetwise gang knows better than most the quickest paths through the tangled city streets and the twisted sewers beneath. And so, they are often used as go betweens and carriers. Quick to extend a hand for an extra dollar or offer you information but be prepared to pay and hold tight to your possessions. A bump in passing, a slight of hand and suddenly your purse is a little lighter.
The Pack
The Pack is a tight-knit clan of nekos, wolves and other mutant/hybrid outcasts and renegades. Unlike the Catwalkers, they stick to the rocky and rugged terrain of the wastelands, allowing them to keep in touch with their feral natures, apart from human society, far from where most intruders would dare venture. Following their Alpha and Beta in a matriarchal structure, the Pack holds a rigid hierarchy to keep the beliefs and traditions of the family strong. They are zealots of the Old Ways, like a modern day clan of samurai following the Codes of Bushido. Be warned, the Pack tends to hunt, travel and stalk their prey in small units. So where one is, another or a group is not too far away. Messing with one could very well mean dealing with the others of the pack.
The Chimera
"Chimera Cloning Corp: Because death need not be the end ... For a price." This is the official cover for their activities, but with ranks made from escaped experiments and political activists alike their true business dealings are very different. Fighting against forced experimentation on humans, this band of runaways and outcasts work together to offer protection, shelter and medical care for mutants of all kinds, as well as fighting against lab companies to ensure there are no more victims of their twisted work.
Midian Criminals
The Midian Criminal group is what you can call a collective of scumbags. These people don’t care about you or anyone else than their own self. If you read in the paper about a 7 men robbery in a crowded shop, wearing overalls and ski masks, then don’t ask yourself who it was. Their line of work involves smuggling, stealing and sometimes backstabbing. If you’re good at that, they might ask for your help on their next hit. They are said to be hidden somewhere around the old gas station - but then: Do you really want to find out?
Midian City Police Department
In the midst of the chaos and disorder stands the Midian Police Department. A privately supported paramilitary organization, the MPD struggles to maintain a modicum of order in an otherwise out-of-control city. Unlike the low-level corruption of the former days of the MPD, there are rumors of more covert, white-collar corruption; deals with faction leaders, quiet agreements that may or may not suit the needs of the greater good. Despite the fact that the citizens of Midian City have no rights or constitution, many of the leaders of the MPD truly have the best interest of the lives of the city's inhabitants at heart...most of the time.
The Legion/UAC
The UAC Marines, commonly referred to as "The Legion" are the only military presence located within Midian City. They are tasked with protecting UAC interests and conduct intelligence gathering. The Legion is part of the UAC under the World Union, which is a privatized organization specializing in security and intelligence. The World Union took over and expanded the United Nations after the 3rd Great War. The Legion is extremely organized and strict, since it is a professional military unit. Their motives in Midian are heavily debated, and emotions run high when discussing their presence in the city. The marines show a great resentment against most civilians, especially those of who are not fully human.
Midian City Parish
For the lost and lonely of Midian City, St. Michael's Church is a beacon of hope. While many seek solace in the violence of the shadows, the clergy and congregation of Midian Parish are the city's last bastion of faith. Keeping the faith in this city is a difficult task, but those of strength and conviction aid in the fight to keep the darkness at bay. Whether it's protection you seek, absolution, or simply a kindly ear, the doors of Midian Parish are open to all.
(pictures to come later)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Harry Potter and the Pixelated Universe
My first experiences in secondlife, besides looking like a noob and one linden shopping was my visit to Hogwarts: New Beginnings or H:NB. It was located in the sim Liquid Heat and was my first roleplay experience, and by far, my favorite. The castle was amazing, by far one of the better builds I have been in. But what really was amazing was the quality of roleplay. I met some of my best SecondLife friends in this sim, and I followed them to different sims when this roleplay ended. I played a Ravenclaw named Cyn (who later transitioned to Slytherin when there was a sim switch). She was loud, abrasive, a duelist/drummer, and very gifted at DADA. I loved playing her and I miss playing her. It was my longest continuous stint in one Roleplay, so I often base my new characters in different places loosely on her. I have a whole biography typed out, which would be perfect for a later post. What really made me connect to her was the way people (or characters) connected to HER. She really seemed to be the epitome of 'likable' although I went out of my way to make her difficult and a little rough around the edges. I was upset when HNB closed, and although my transition to Hogwarts, United was a welcome one, I still miss the old sim of Liquid Heat - complete with its chugging Hogwarts Express and it's murky black lake.
The sim can be seen in one of my previous posted videos, 'HNB Trailer'
The sim can be seen in one of my previous posted videos, 'HNB Trailer'
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Best Game Ever!
Yes, I am obsessed. It literally is a second world. It's a multiplayer "game" with over 16 million users. It covers all the bases: shopping, chatting, building, roleplay (for all ages), and even first person shooter. You can personalize your avatar on a million different levels, and is completely addicting.
I've roleplayed in a million different sims, taking on a million different characters to portray. It's like you write out your own story, and the drama (both IC and OOC) is completely intoxicating. A few SL videos I've been apart of.....
(the sound cut out because the song used wasnt copyrighted, but i'm the drummer XD
I now roleplay predominantly at the CrackDen (which is Hathian).
"Welcome to the city of Hathian, more commonly known as the Crack Den (CD). You will find residents from across the world, role-playing in this massive modern-day urbanscape of corruption, violence and desolation. Its city population shares a common purpose. Survival.
This sim is dedicated to mature, realistic and extremely graphic urban role-play (RP). You can participate or witness a wide variety of themes such as gang violence, drug trafficking, prostitution, police brutality, emergency rescue, medical malpractice to making ends meet by waiting tables at the local food joints. The genre of RP here can be very dark, violent, and sexually-oriented. "
Roleplay is strict....there are many rules to be obeyed. To see full information visit..
www.thecrackden.com (complete with wiki)
so that's all i have to say about the best game ever. if you get up the cajones to register, IM me @ Callie Alderton or luigites811 GossipGirl.
I've roleplayed in a million different sims, taking on a million different characters to portray. It's like you write out your own story, and the drama (both IC and OOC) is completely intoxicating. A few SL videos I've been apart of.....
(the sound cut out because the song used wasnt copyrighted, but i'm the drummer XD
I now roleplay predominantly at the CrackDen (which is Hathian).
"Welcome to the city of Hathian, more commonly known as the Crack Den (CD). You will find residents from across the world, role-playing in this massive modern-day urbanscape of corruption, violence and desolation. Its city population shares a common purpose. Survival.
This sim is dedicated to mature, realistic and extremely graphic urban role-play (RP). You can participate or witness a wide variety of themes such as gang violence, drug trafficking, prostitution, police brutality, emergency rescue, medical malpractice to making ends meet by waiting tables at the local food joints. The genre of RP here can be very dark, violent, and sexually-oriented. "
Roleplay is strict....there are many rules to be obeyed. To see full information visit..
www.thecrackden.com (complete with wiki)
so that's all i have to say about the best game ever. if you get up the cajones to register, IM me @ Callie Alderton or luigites811 GossipGirl.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
A Stolen Facebook Note
001. Real name → Jaclynne Michele Sophia Castellano
002. Nickname(s)→ Jackie, Jack
003. Status → ….I don’t know, actually lmao.
004. Zodiac sign → Leo <3
005. Male or Female → Female
006. Elementary → St. Joseph Hill Academy
007. Middle School → St. Joseph Hill Academy
008. High School → St. Joseph Hill Academy (sad, isn’t it?)
010. Hair color → Dark Brown
011. Long or short → Long
012. Loud or Quiet → Silence is golden, but shouting is fun.
013. Sweats or Jeans → Jeans
014. Phone or Camera → Camera Phone!
015. Health freak → Not at all.
016. Drink or Smoke? → Drink
017. Do you have a crush on someone? Always
018. Eat or Drink → Eat
019. Piercings -> Ears, but looking for more
020. Tattoos → I wish!
FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → Ears
024. First best friend → Melanie
025. First award → I don’t know…
026. First crush → ZOMG, Vin Azzarelli – those were the days lmao.
027. First pet → goldfish…typical.
028. First big vacation → Cozumel
030. First big birthday → 1rst.
CURRENTLY:
049. Eating → Nothing
050. Drinking → Nothing.
052. I'm about to → Call Chris.
053. Listening to → Sean and Steve talking.
054. Plans for today → Not much.
055. Waiting for → Chris to go in the game room.
YOUR FUTURE:
058. Want kids? → No!
059. Want to get married? I don’t know, not necessarily.
060. Careers in mind → Journalist.
WHICH IS BETTER WITH GIRL/BOY?
068. Lips or eyes → Eyes
070. Shorter or taller? → Taller
072. Romantic or spontaneous → Spontaneous
073. Nice stomach or nice arms → Oooh, toughie. Stomach, but I like nice arms.
074. Sensitive or loud → Loud.
075. Hook-up or relationship → Hook up.
077. Trouble maker or hesitant → trouble maker =)
HAVE YOU EVER:
080. Lost glasses/contacts → Yes.
081. Run away from home → Yes.
082. Held a gun/knife for self defense → Yes!
083. Killed somebody → I’m a mass murderer.
084. Broken someone's heart → No.
085. Been arrested →Almost lmao
087. Cried when someone died → Yes.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
089. Yourself → Most Days.
090. Miracles → No.
091. Love at first sight → No.
092. Heaven → I think so.
093. Santa Claus → No.
094. Sex on the first date → Depends on the date.
095. Kiss on the first date → Definitely.
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now → Totally.
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life → Surprisingly, yes.
099. Do you believe in God → Some days.
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 20 people --> Yeah, yeah, stfu.
002. Nickname(s)→ Jackie, Jack
003. Status → ….I don’t know, actually lmao.
004. Zodiac sign → Leo <3
005. Male or Female → Female
006. Elementary → St. Joseph Hill Academy
007. Middle School → St. Joseph Hill Academy
008. High School → St. Joseph Hill Academy (sad, isn’t it?)
010. Hair color → Dark Brown
011. Long or short → Long
012. Loud or Quiet → Silence is golden, but shouting is fun.
013. Sweats or Jeans → Jeans
014. Phone or Camera → Camera Phone!
015. Health freak → Not at all.
016. Drink or Smoke? → Drink
017. Do you have a crush on someone? Always
018. Eat or Drink → Eat
019. Piercings -> Ears, but looking for more
020. Tattoos → I wish!
FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → Ears
024. First best friend → Melanie
025. First award → I don’t know…
026. First crush → ZOMG, Vin Azzarelli – those were the days lmao.
027. First pet → goldfish…typical.
028. First big vacation → Cozumel
030. First big birthday → 1rst.
CURRENTLY:
049. Eating → Nothing
050. Drinking → Nothing.
052. I'm about to → Call Chris.
053. Listening to → Sean and Steve talking.
054. Plans for today → Not much.
055. Waiting for → Chris to go in the game room.
YOUR FUTURE:
058. Want kids? → No!
059. Want to get married? I don’t know, not necessarily.
060. Careers in mind → Journalist.
WHICH IS BETTER WITH GIRL/BOY?
068. Lips or eyes → Eyes
070. Shorter or taller? → Taller
072. Romantic or spontaneous → Spontaneous
073. Nice stomach or nice arms → Oooh, toughie. Stomach, but I like nice arms.
074. Sensitive or loud → Loud.
075. Hook-up or relationship → Hook up.
077. Trouble maker or hesitant → trouble maker =)
HAVE YOU EVER:
080. Lost glasses/contacts → Yes.
081. Run away from home → Yes.
082. Held a gun/knife for self defense → Yes!
083. Killed somebody → I’m a mass murderer.
084. Broken someone's heart → No.
085. Been arrested →Almost lmao
087. Cried when someone died → Yes.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
089. Yourself → Most Days.
090. Miracles → No.
091. Love at first sight → No.
092. Heaven → I think so.
093. Santa Claus → No.
094. Sex on the first date → Depends on the date.
095. Kiss on the first date → Definitely.
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now → Totally.
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life → Surprisingly, yes.
099. Do you believe in God → Some days.
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 20 people --> Yeah, yeah, stfu.
Google Is Watching You
Can the government please tell me why it is necessary to request communications companies to keep information about us. I mean how many innocent people's chatter will they have to keep because they are trying to spot one paedophile or terrorist?!
At least the government aren't the ones keeping records - we all know where they are likely to leave it!
"Communications data is an essential tool for law enforcement agencies to track murderers, paedophiles, save lives and tackle crime," Ms [Jacqui] Smith said
So in looking for the above mentioned people, they implicate all people who have ever used a mobile phone, have a facebook account (though forcebook keeps our data anyway) and regularly consult the Google oracle. That will be most of the population under 65, suddenly under suspicion even thought they haven't committed any crime.
Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why are we all now being treated as suspected criminals because of the actions of a few horrible people?
At least the government aren't the ones keeping records - we all know where they are likely to leave it!
"Communications data is an essential tool for law enforcement agencies to track murderers, paedophiles, save lives and tackle crime," Ms [Jacqui] Smith said
So in looking for the above mentioned people, they implicate all people who have ever used a mobile phone, have a facebook account (though forcebook keeps our data anyway) and regularly consult the Google oracle. That will be most of the population under 65, suddenly under suspicion even thought they haven't committed any crime.
Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why are we all now being treated as suspected criminals because of the actions of a few horrible people?
P.S. I Love This Movie
Set in Ireland, Holly Kennedy is beautiful, smart and married to the love of her life - a passionate, funny and impetuous Irishman named Gerry. So when Gerry's life is taken by an illness, it takes the life out of Holly. The only one who can help her is the person who is no longer there. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry, so it's a good thing he planned ahead. Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of 10 letters that will guide her, not only through her grief but in rediscovering herself. The messages are Gerry's way of informing Holly life goes on. The messages include various tasks and treats Gerry has left for Holly. This is his way of letting her know he will always be there for her. Each letter sends her on a new adventure and each signs off in the same way: "P.S. I Love You." Holly's mother and best friends, Sharon and Denise, begin to worry that Gerry's letters are keeping Holly tied to the past, but, in fact, each letter is pushing her further into a new future. With Gerry's words as her guide, Holly embarks on a journey of rediscovery in a story about marriage, friendship and how a love so strong can turn the finality of death into new beginning for life.
Lady GaGa Owns My Face.
We are the crowd,
We're c-coming out
Got my flash on it's true
Need that picture of you
It's so magical
We'd be so fantastical
Leather and jeans a watch on my wrist,
Not sure what it means,
But this photo of us
It don't have a price
Ready for those flashing lights,
Cause you know that baby i
Im your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi,
Baby there's no other superstar
You know that i'll be your
Papa-paparazzi
Promise i'll be kind,
But i won't stop until that boy is mine
Baby you'll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
I'll be your girl
Backstage at your show,
Velvet ropes and guitars,
Yeah cause you'll know
I'm staring between the sets
Eyeliner and cigarettes
Shadow is burnt
Yellow dance and return
My lashes are dry
But with teardrops I cry
It don't have a price
Loving you is cherry pie
'Cause you know that baby I
Im your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi,
Baby there's no other superstar
You know that i'll be your
Papa-paparazzi
Promise i'll be kind,
But i won't stop until that boy is mine
Baby you'll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
Real good
(We dance in the studio)
Snap, snapped
(That xxxx on the radio)
Don't stop boy, rewind
We'll blast it but we'll still have fun!
Im your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi,
Baby there's no other superstar
You know that i'll be your
Papa-paparazzi
Promise i'll be kind,
But i won't stop until that boy is mine
Baby you'll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
We're c-coming out
Got my flash on it's true
Need that picture of you
It's so magical
We'd be so fantastical
Leather and jeans a watch on my wrist,
Not sure what it means,
But this photo of us
It don't have a price
Ready for those flashing lights,
Cause you know that baby i
Im your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi,
Baby there's no other superstar
You know that i'll be your
Papa-paparazzi
Promise i'll be kind,
But i won't stop until that boy is mine
Baby you'll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
I'll be your girl
Backstage at your show,
Velvet ropes and guitars,
Yeah cause you'll know
I'm staring between the sets
Eyeliner and cigarettes
Shadow is burnt
Yellow dance and return
My lashes are dry
But with teardrops I cry
It don't have a price
Loving you is cherry pie
'Cause you know that baby I
Im your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi,
Baby there's no other superstar
You know that i'll be your
Papa-paparazzi
Promise i'll be kind,
But i won't stop until that boy is mine
Baby you'll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
Real good
(We dance in the studio)
Snap, snapped
(That xxxx on the radio)
Don't stop boy, rewind
We'll blast it but we'll still have fun!
Im your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi,
Baby there's no other superstar
You know that i'll be your
Papa-paparazzi
Promise i'll be kind,
But i won't stop until that boy is mine
Baby you'll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
Emo-y Goodness.
You know, I find myself listening to Imogen Heap more and more these days. "Here's the day you hoped would never come." As days go on I find the general shock of everything fading and this just...mind numbing pain replacing it. I look around and no one seems to truly get it. I'm not me. I don't know how to be me anymore. Not without him. It's like this big chunk of my life was just ripped away and I have to stare at the huge gaping hole and the rubble it left behind. I can't move past this, for some fucking reason. I used to pride myself in being a person who could roll with all the punches. Have the worst done to her and still survive. But apparently that's not true. Apparently, I -am- a person that lays down and dies, and it's pretty fucking scary, but sometimes that's just exactly what I want to do. Ugh, and I get sickened with myself every time I think that way. What the fuck happened to me? I used to be in control. And now all I want to do is sit in my house and watch bad daytime TV. I think this is the longest I've gone without seeing my friends. It hurts just to go outside. I want to do something ridiculously stupid. I want to go to the one person I swore I'd never go to. The dreaded ex. Because even though I didn't roll too well with his physical punches, if I do I can have ten blissful minutes of not thinking about you. For, at most, a quarter of an hour, not everything in my whole body will hurt.
I keep bouncing between sad and furious. Who the fuck do you think you are? Leaving me? Are you serious? Because I gave you fucking everything. And now all I want to do is slam your head against a wall repeatedly in the hopes that you will motherfucking WAKE UP. Because not only is no one waiting to fuck you, no matter how much you think they are, no one in the world is going to give themselves to you like I did. No one will be as dedicated as I was. No one will put in the the time or put up with your astoundingly large bullshit. And then the sad part kind of forces itself in. I miss you. I miss you like I've never missed someone before. It's not the same just being alive and knowing you're not mine. It's the hardest thing in the world waking up in the morning and getting through the day knowing that you're never going to be there like I need you to be there. And you ruined the best friendship I ever had. You were a brother, among all things, and I can't even look at you anymore, let alone trust you. I just want you to hold me. I just want you to love me like before. Because I can't be me without you. I can't be anything without you. You left me with fucking nothing. I'm empty. I don't want to go anywhere or do anything or see anyone. And it's your fault. And you don't care. You say you do and you say you're sorry, but if you were, you would fucking stop killing me every single day. I know it's the end forever. I've said it and you've said it. But because it's the end, well....I just never ever want to get restarted.
I keep bouncing between sad and furious. Who the fuck do you think you are? Leaving me? Are you serious? Because I gave you fucking everything. And now all I want to do is slam your head against a wall repeatedly in the hopes that you will motherfucking WAKE UP. Because not only is no one waiting to fuck you, no matter how much you think they are, no one in the world is going to give themselves to you like I did. No one will be as dedicated as I was. No one will put in the the time or put up with your astoundingly large bullshit. And then the sad part kind of forces itself in. I miss you. I miss you like I've never missed someone before. It's not the same just being alive and knowing you're not mine. It's the hardest thing in the world waking up in the morning and getting through the day knowing that you're never going to be there like I need you to be there. And you ruined the best friendship I ever had. You were a brother, among all things, and I can't even look at you anymore, let alone trust you. I just want you to hold me. I just want you to love me like before. Because I can't be me without you. I can't be anything without you. You left me with fucking nothing. I'm empty. I don't want to go anywhere or do anything or see anyone. And it's your fault. And you don't care. You say you do and you say you're sorry, but if you were, you would fucking stop killing me every single day. I know it's the end forever. I've said it and you've said it. But because it's the end, well....I just never ever want to get restarted.
Logan
A total pervert. You know that guy that started looking up girls' skirts when he was like, seven. And he tugged on pigtails and ever since puberty he was all about the ladies? That's Logan. For some reason every girl looks past his total assanine attitude and long ass laundry list and continues to obsess over him. He's endearing and sarcastic but on the inside is totally sweet and is just too much of a weakling to even try to stand up to his addiction to the physical. A philandering, big smiled, man-whore - he's actually a good friend and a good guy when he wants to be. But two seconds later he'll be touching your butt or something and the moment will be ruined because he loves being a pig more than anything else.
Logan in real life is actually named Logan. His character is actually exactly the same as he is. Isn't that funny?
Logan in real life is actually named Logan. His character is actually exactly the same as he is. Isn't that funny?
JayBee
He's charming, to say the least. But in a nerdy, best friend, laugh your ass off sort of way. He thinks he's all hip hop and rap when you know he should be listening to either hard rock or Frank Sinatra because dude, he's just that white. Possessive and stubborn, you cannot help but adore him. He's childish and immature but he's the Dawson to your creek, whether you want to admit it or not. He gets under your skin in the worst ways, which only makes you force to admit that you gave a hell of a lot more about him than you like to let on. Typical jock - he's all about the guys and football and video games and everything else that seems to trivial to women. He so intent on looking macho that he probably acts like a jerk half the time without even realizing it. It's a love hate relationship where the love is so much stronger, but you like to act like all you want to do is shank him.
The real JayBee is Chris from Tennessee. Chris is funny and awesome and he lives all the way in the Boondocks and drinks moonshine and hangs out with tumbleweeds and he's a total hick :) He's coming to New York soon, so I get to show him the big city. With things like cars and electricity and buildings! He's a nerd and a jerk but I adore him - that's basically it.
The real JayBee is Chris from Tennessee. Chris is funny and awesome and he lives all the way in the Boondocks and drinks moonshine and hangs out with tumbleweeds and he's a total hick :) He's coming to New York soon, so I get to show him the big city. With things like cars and electricity and buildings! He's a nerd and a jerk but I adore him - that's basically it.
Scarlet
She is quirky, crazy, colorful and a little left to center. Adorable and kind hearted, she is the most genuine and sincere person you could ever meet. She is tall and awe-striking, but just a bit out of tune. She could bring a smile to anyone's face and cheer you up in your worst of moods. Fun loving, free wheeling, and a wild child, you would go to the ends of the earth for this girl. She is charming and captivating, but at the same time she seems slightly paranormal. Even though she might not be all there, you find yourself not caring.
Based on my real life friend named Allison - who is awesome! She lives in California and is totally wonderful. All the color and all the charm of her fictional counterpart, I can't wait for her to visit me. A possible future St. John's student, she is a fabulous friend and I love being around her.
Based on my real life friend named Allison - who is awesome! She lives in California and is totally wonderful. All the color and all the charm of her fictional counterpart, I can't wait for her to visit me. A possible future St. John's student, she is a fabulous friend and I love being around her.
A typical badass. The girl in your high school who wore fishnets and smoked in the bathroom instead of going to class. Go ahead - mess with her, she just might kill you. She could be an action hero for all the energy and fire this girl has. Perhaps the next Lara Croft, she is violent, cynical, and lethal. The anticheerleader, antiprom queen, and anti stepford wife, she is the definition of cool. If you happen to be in her good graces..congratulations - you are one of the chosen. If not, well then I suggest you look into the witness protection program, you don't have much time left. Ambitious and power hungry, she is ruthless in achieving her goals, stepping on all but her loved ones on her way to the top.
The real life Sadie is Sarah. Sarah is nowhere near and cruel as her fictional counterpart, although she does have the badass stereotype down pretty well. Much kinder in reality, she is hilarious and warm and a wonderful listener.
The real life Sadie is Sarah. Sarah is nowhere near and cruel as her fictional counterpart, although she does have the badass stereotype down pretty well. Much kinder in reality, she is hilarious and warm and a wonderful listener.
Sansa
One of the guys, without a doubt. Although she can definitely be a girl's best friend, she has no problem rolling around playing football or wrestling or beating the crap out of somebody, despite his Y chromosome. Small and feisty, she has no problem defending herself, her friends, or her beliefs. She was better at math than english, and continues to surprise. Although seeming not complex, there are layers upon layers of personality and intricacies to her that you find yourself compelled to try and figure you. The fiery redhead girl next door, you could find yourself taking hundreds of pictures with this girl - dancing crazy in each others rooms to nineties music - putting on ridiculous fashion shows - and anything else you were embarrassed to do. She is a confidence provider. Standing next to Sansa, you feel a little stronger.
The real Sansa is Kala. Kala is from Cibolo, Texas. She is wild, imaginative, and strong willed. Usually an inspiration in a time of insecurity, she is a wonderful person that I am glad to know.
The real Sansa is Kala. Kala is from Cibolo, Texas. She is wild, imaginative, and strong willed. Usually an inspiration in a time of insecurity, she is a wonderful person that I am glad to know.
Laielle
Quiet, reserved, and creative. She is your typical artsy observer. She has her own likes and dislikes and has no problem being herself and letting other people know how she feels. Around strangers, she is the picture of ponderer - a quiet demeanor and a wandering imagination. Around friends, she is quirky and fun, a little louder and a lot more comfortable. An artist to the core, her work is both controversial and evocative, like something you would see in MOMA. An extremely loyal friend, she is soft spoken and offers great advice. She is the type of down to earth girl you need around to keep yourself grounded. She is blonde, very pretty, with big eyes that looks like they could search your soul.
The real life Laielle is a friend named Liz, from Des Moines, Iowa. She, like her character, is the epitome of shoulder to cry on. She has a way of making things look together when you know they are falling apart. She is also a real life artist, and her talent never ceases to amaze me.
The real life Laielle is a friend named Liz, from Des Moines, Iowa. She, like her character, is the epitome of shoulder to cry on. She has a way of making things look together when you know they are falling apart. She is also a real life artist, and her talent never ceases to amaze me.
Zane.
Sarcastic and overbearing, he is every guy you wish you could hate, but can't bring yourself to. Tall and skinny with long hair, his style tiptoes between the line of alternative and preppy. He can make fun of you for an hour and you will enjoy every minute of it, because deep down, you know this kid is best friend material. He's the type that will give you a ride, and when you go up to the door handle to get in the car, he'll drive away and laugh at you. He is frustrating, judgmental, enjoys double standards, and over dramatic. However, you know that you would be a little less you without him. Think Trent Ford or James Marsden in 27 Dresses. He's a city boy that makes you realize all the bad things about yourself, but you want him to fall in love with you anyway.
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv241/Leoluvr4life/zane.jpg
That's basically what he looks like in my head. And he is based off a real friend of mine from San Diego named Mark (MJ). The real life Zane is awesome, and I can talk to him about anything. He's been a source of comfort more than once.
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv241/Leoluvr4life/zane.jpg
That's basically what he looks like in my head. And he is based off a real friend of mine from San Diego named Mark (MJ). The real life Zane is awesome, and I can talk to him about anything. He's been a source of comfort more than once.
The Follwing Characters are Entirely Fictional-ish
The next few blog posts I make will be descriptions of original characters, based on people I know, on people I like, dislike, wish were dead, might actually be dead, or any other nonsensical play on words you could possibly fathom. I use these characters in stories - I may change their stories but their personalities remain, essentially, the same. I have deemed each of these characters to be influential in some way, shape, or form. They have been both supporting and main characters in a variety of short, and perhaps incomplete stories by me. Until then, I will simply copy and paste my now current favorite song lyrics and video - because they describe how I feel about Staten Island pretty accurately.
THE DOWNFALL OF US ALL
Da da da de da da da
Da da da de da da da
Let's go
It's not easy making a name for yourself
Where do you draw the line?
I never thought I'd be in this far
Have fun some and never change that for anyone
Try not to miss me when I'm gone
Oooh
I sold my soul to the open road
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
This town will be the downfall of us all.
I'm gonna need you to try to follow along
I did the best that I could to try to write you songs
NOW GO TELL THEM WE SOLD OUT
I sold my soul to the open road
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
This town will be the downfall of us all.
Don't forget yourselves we've made up our minds
We signed 3, 4, 5 on the dotted lines X2
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
This town will be the downfall of us all, this town will be the downfall of us all.
THE DOWNFALL OF US ALL
Da da da de da da da
Da da da de da da da
Let's go
It's not easy making a name for yourself
Where do you draw the line?
I never thought I'd be in this far
Have fun some and never change that for anyone
Try not to miss me when I'm gone
Oooh
I sold my soul to the open road
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
This town will be the downfall of us all.
I'm gonna need you to try to follow along
I did the best that I could to try to write you songs
NOW GO TELL THEM WE SOLD OUT
I sold my soul to the open road
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
This town will be the downfall of us all.
Don't forget yourselves we've made up our minds
We signed 3, 4, 5 on the dotted lines X2
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
You'll find me in the same spot believe me
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back
You're right and I was wrong
This town will be the downfall of us all, this town will be the downfall of us all.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Spring Break
Well, to my dismay, spring break could not have been more uneventful. I didn't go to Miami or Las Vegas (like I had originally planned...). Without the extreme sarcasm and company of Chris, I might have literally gone insane. I went to the Paley Center with Lauren, Alex, and Francesca. That was fun, except we were bullied into a tour by a very overbearing woman on a nostalgia kick (her high school reunion was soon, ohmagawd). I watched two episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S <3 and walked up and down like, six flights of stairs. Bullying adults and TV? Yeah, it was like my normal afternoon, except there were taxis. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe and I ate an orgasm burger - no lie. Lauren dropped her wallet in the trash, which was hilarious, because Lauren is usually so on top of things. Well, she was on top of the trash can, trying to fish it out. We walked around Times Square, did the whole "I'm from Staten Island, so I'm not TECHNICALLY a tourist" type of thing. Then that night was the Dragons party, which was...colorful. To say the least. CoughLaurenCough. I surprisingly spared myself the hangover and remained sober, dontcha know. Who says I don't have self control?
There were a few Ralph's runs with Kristie and Allie, and that was cool. We went to Coldstone (sorry, thighs.) and I saw my old school best friend whose hair was down to her ankles but now she cut it all off and I think gave it to charity. They could've made a rug out of it, I'm not kidding. Well, it turns out she has a boyfriend, which depresses me to no end. She was one of those girls that liked ponies and Sailor Moon a little too long. Sure, I have some guilty obsessions, but they are stowed safely in the closet, tyvm. Her boyfriend is about six foot, blonde, and actually really good looking and it really wants to make me question my whole outlook on life. And then I saw my ex obsession (I loved him for years when I was like, twelve), and I took that as my cue to run from the store in an ice cream laced frenzy.
I hung out with Lauren and Chris one night, when we were forced to go into TJ Maxx because a friend of ours wanted to go shopping. I have discovered that TJ Maxx is your one stop store for everything mumu. You can get a mumu in any color under the sun. We then went to Modells, which took OUT the gym stuff I always used to play on when I was, well, sixteen or whatever. Then I watched someone who shall remain nameless purchase about forty dollars in YuGiOh cards from a vending machine, have a ceremony with them, discovered he might be a sexual predator, and then he chased me around with his car in the Shop Rite parking lot using a Steve Irwin impression, which thuroughly amused Lauren and Chris (who were sitting backseat and shotgun).
So that's really it. My spring break minus a few meetings from other friends, which were either so boring I don't remember them, or so short they weren't worth remembering. You can begin pitying me starting....NOW.
There were a few Ralph's runs with Kristie and Allie, and that was cool. We went to Coldstone (sorry, thighs.) and I saw my old school best friend whose hair was down to her ankles but now she cut it all off and I think gave it to charity. They could've made a rug out of it, I'm not kidding. Well, it turns out she has a boyfriend, which depresses me to no end. She was one of those girls that liked ponies and Sailor Moon a little too long. Sure, I have some guilty obsessions, but they are stowed safely in the closet, tyvm. Her boyfriend is about six foot, blonde, and actually really good looking and it really wants to make me question my whole outlook on life. And then I saw my ex obsession (I loved him for years when I was like, twelve), and I took that as my cue to run from the store in an ice cream laced frenzy.
I hung out with Lauren and Chris one night, when we were forced to go into TJ Maxx because a friend of ours wanted to go shopping. I have discovered that TJ Maxx is your one stop store for everything mumu. You can get a mumu in any color under the sun. We then went to Modells, which took OUT the gym stuff I always used to play on when I was, well, sixteen or whatever. Then I watched someone who shall remain nameless purchase about forty dollars in YuGiOh cards from a vending machine, have a ceremony with them, discovered he might be a sexual predator, and then he chased me around with his car in the Shop Rite parking lot using a Steve Irwin impression, which thuroughly amused Lauren and Chris (who were sitting backseat and shotgun).
So that's really it. My spring break minus a few meetings from other friends, which were either so boring I don't remember them, or so short they weren't worth remembering. You can begin pitying me starting....NOW.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Perfect Guy.
My Perfect Guy
As you all probably know, (since he read it out loud to you and tied you to the chair so you couldn’t leave), Johnny Kiamie has written a blog on the perfect woman. Well, here I am, as always with my ever present rebuttal. I kind of started reading that expecting he would list preferred measurements, the color of the dye he wants his girlfriend to use (ooer, Brown Sugar #63), or that she must have at least 10 articles of clothing from Hollister and a peacoat to qualify.
Johnny Kiamie, you never cease to amaze me.
Although he was accurate and only slightly arrogant in his description (which I give him credit for – if you haven’t had a conversation with him, then you have no idea what I mean) – he actually had some valid points. Taste, humor, personality: all of these are the deciding, clinching factors on a relationship. Either way, he made the perfect girl for him, so I’m writing about the perfect guy for me. Jonny Kiamie, this blog is dedicated to you.
The Physical
Ok, so this part is pretty standard. I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity dater. You can wear guyliner, you can rock g-unit, you can wear assless chaps for all I care. I don’t like a guy based on his style. In fact, if guys have a more unique sense of style, then it just increases the appeal. I will respect a guy more for wearing pink than for being a sheep. So hair…have a Mohawk, have a mullet, I don’t really care either way. Eyes – shit brown, sky blue – not an issue. Height…well, okay, so I like them a little taller, but what girl doesn’t. I don’t want to go out with a manchild, thanks. Weight, yeah okay. Like I can talk. I can only hope that there are more guys out there that could give a care less about weight like I do, or I’m going to be pretty damn lonely.
The Metaphysical. Phwoar.
Requirements! Besides liking Pina Colodas and getting caught in the rain.
I’m sorry, you’ve gotta be funny. Mar-Mar was right – If a guy can make you laugh, he can make you do anything. There are many funny men in my life (coughJoePetitocough), so any suitor honestly has huge shoes to fill. And you know what they say about huge shoes.
Huge socks. Duh.
Taste in Music
Just have it. Like whatever music you want, because I like all music out there. I have Tchaikovsky and Aaron Copland on my iPod. I have Flo-Rida. I have Nine Inch Nails. I have Avenged Sevenfold. I have Fergie. I have Amy Winehouse. I have Eminem. I have Nas. You like it? I listen to it. So I don’t discriminate based on your playlists. All music is awesome.
Except anyone who voted for Cameltoe by Fannypack. Go die now, please.
Taste in General.
Honestly, I prefer a guy who prefers a girl who eats a cheeseburger in paradise rather than a rice cake in paradise.
Dome Size.
If you’ve got a big head – see ya. My last boyfriend, although adorable in every way and still one of my best friends, could not stop calling himself ‘the man’. Love him to death, but what a turn off. Not everything should be go big or go home. If you look in the mirror longer than I do, then just go home. They say I think I’m the shit. Well, apparently.
Knowledge is Power
If you are a mental midget, please stay away from me. I cannot stand stupid people. Some idiot asked what a blog was? I want to shank that person in the heart. With a wooden stake. You don’t have to know the quadratic formula, or the square route of pi, or the capital of Ethiopia. Just don’t be a retard. That is all I ask.
Must be Out of the Closet
And by closet, I mean the wardrobe that takes you to the magical land of Narnia. I am a nerd, I say it proudly. I play Left For Dead and SecondLife. I beat Spyro in a day. I own an old school Gameboy color and I have beat every Pokemon game to date (my favorite is Charizard. Or Dragonair.) I love Harry Potter. I love Narnia. I love Lord of the Rings. Bobo Fett is my hero. Lara Croft is hotter in game version. I stay up late and watch the anime on Adult Swim. I bought the Inuyasha and Cowboy Bebop movies. If you cannot embrace my inner nerd, then you can wholeheartedly and full on bite my squishy ass.
That’s basically it. The gist of it. Single and looking, I am taking applications in the game room. Look for the girl with the sarcastic face probably yelling at Chris Saliba. That’d be me.
As you all probably know, (since he read it out loud to you and tied you to the chair so you couldn’t leave), Johnny Kiamie has written a blog on the perfect woman. Well, here I am, as always with my ever present rebuttal. I kind of started reading that expecting he would list preferred measurements, the color of the dye he wants his girlfriend to use (ooer, Brown Sugar #63), or that she must have at least 10 articles of clothing from Hollister and a peacoat to qualify.
Johnny Kiamie, you never cease to amaze me.
Although he was accurate and only slightly arrogant in his description (which I give him credit for – if you haven’t had a conversation with him, then you have no idea what I mean) – he actually had some valid points. Taste, humor, personality: all of these are the deciding, clinching factors on a relationship. Either way, he made the perfect girl for him, so I’m writing about the perfect guy for me. Jonny Kiamie, this blog is dedicated to you.
The Physical
Ok, so this part is pretty standard. I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity dater. You can wear guyliner, you can rock g-unit, you can wear assless chaps for all I care. I don’t like a guy based on his style. In fact, if guys have a more unique sense of style, then it just increases the appeal. I will respect a guy more for wearing pink than for being a sheep. So hair…have a Mohawk, have a mullet, I don’t really care either way. Eyes – shit brown, sky blue – not an issue. Height…well, okay, so I like them a little taller, but what girl doesn’t. I don’t want to go out with a manchild, thanks. Weight, yeah okay. Like I can talk. I can only hope that there are more guys out there that could give a care less about weight like I do, or I’m going to be pretty damn lonely.
The Metaphysical. Phwoar.
Requirements! Besides liking Pina Colodas and getting caught in the rain.
I’m sorry, you’ve gotta be funny. Mar-Mar was right – If a guy can make you laugh, he can make you do anything. There are many funny men in my life (coughJoePetitocough), so any suitor honestly has huge shoes to fill. And you know what they say about huge shoes.
Huge socks. Duh.
Taste in Music
Just have it. Like whatever music you want, because I like all music out there. I have Tchaikovsky and Aaron Copland on my iPod. I have Flo-Rida. I have Nine Inch Nails. I have Avenged Sevenfold. I have Fergie. I have Amy Winehouse. I have Eminem. I have Nas. You like it? I listen to it. So I don’t discriminate based on your playlists. All music is awesome.
Except anyone who voted for Cameltoe by Fannypack. Go die now, please.
Taste in General.
Honestly, I prefer a guy who prefers a girl who eats a cheeseburger in paradise rather than a rice cake in paradise.
Dome Size.
If you’ve got a big head – see ya. My last boyfriend, although adorable in every way and still one of my best friends, could not stop calling himself ‘the man’. Love him to death, but what a turn off. Not everything should be go big or go home. If you look in the mirror longer than I do, then just go home. They say I think I’m the shit. Well, apparently.
Knowledge is Power
If you are a mental midget, please stay away from me. I cannot stand stupid people. Some idiot asked what a blog was? I want to shank that person in the heart. With a wooden stake. You don’t have to know the quadratic formula, or the square route of pi, or the capital of Ethiopia. Just don’t be a retard. That is all I ask.
Must be Out of the Closet
And by closet, I mean the wardrobe that takes you to the magical land of Narnia. I am a nerd, I say it proudly. I play Left For Dead and SecondLife. I beat Spyro in a day. I own an old school Gameboy color and I have beat every Pokemon game to date (my favorite is Charizard. Or Dragonair.) I love Harry Potter. I love Narnia. I love Lord of the Rings. Bobo Fett is my hero. Lara Croft is hotter in game version. I stay up late and watch the anime on Adult Swim. I bought the Inuyasha and Cowboy Bebop movies. If you cannot embrace my inner nerd, then you can wholeheartedly and full on bite my squishy ass.
That’s basically it. The gist of it. Single and looking, I am taking applications in the game room. Look for the girl with the sarcastic face probably yelling at Chris Saliba. That’d be me.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Top Ten - Movies.
I am a chronic list maker. It is a strange little habit I have that makes me feel organized, and very falsely professional. One of my biggest loves? Film. I love all types of movies.
So here it is - my top ten.
1. The Shawshank Redemption - One of the best movies of all time. Andy Dufresne is the only innocent man in Shawshank, wrongly accused of killing his wife. It takes us to a setting that's disturbing, uses language that's raw, showcases supporting characters who are far from ideal role models, and reforms not one villain by the ending credits. It deals with sex and violence, but never in a typical way. There are numerous brutal, occasionally fatal, beatings. The whole movie is based on the idea that no matter how deep the hole, how dark the night, or how thick the walls are, there is always hope and redemption. Made me cry on more than one occasion, you have to love the revenge he has against everyone who ever did him wrong, and without using the violence his enemies were so accustomed to.
2. American Beauty - Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey, became quickly one of my heroes. It is a story of his own personal rebellion - against his penny pushing wife, his jaded little teenage daughter, and his dead end job. The catalyst of the whole movie is when he becomes sexually drawn to and infatuated with Mena Suvari, his daughter's gorgeous cheerleader friend. Reverted mentally back to his teenage years, he truly defines the term "down, but not out". He starts smoking pot, buys the car of his dreams, basically tells everyone where they can shove it, and even starts working at a fast food place. Surrounded by stereotypical people, even the subplots show that under the surface, everyone's a little crazy. In the end, Lester is killed (I know, I yelled the first time I saw it). When he has all he's expected to want, he's dead inside. When he's got everything he really wants, he's dead for real.
3. Almost Famous - This movie made me be what I want to be today - a journalist. Because it plays so heavily on music, and not just music, but the BEST kind of music (classic rock, y'all), it's hard to not get drawn in. William Miller is living every kid's dream. Younger and overlooked by his peers, he approaches his favorite magazine's editor, and then, through a maze of unexpected happenings (and the help of Penny Lane), meets the band Stillwater. He goes on tour with them when Rolling Stone asks him to write a think piece on the band. Watching the movie is a high itself, even the most high up people have their problems. Even when they are literally high up, like when Russell Hammond (the rock star fixation) is on acid on a fan's rooftop, screaming "I am a golden god." Definitely one of the best movies I've ever seen, I can watch it ten times in a row and never get bored.
5. Closer - A beautiful movie filled with beautiful people and no happy ending in sight. Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen are the four main characters. They each portray the two sides of the coin of the perfect man and the perfect woman. Julia plays Anna - talented, beautiful, graceful, and mature, she is a photographer and nearly perfect in every aspect. Alice is played by Natalie Portman, who is spontaneous, sexy, and enthralling. The girl in high school that every boy fixated on. She is free spirited and fun, and also totally ruthless. Dan is played by Jude Law. He is sensitive, beautiful, and artistic. He's a writer and probably the most dangerous character in the whole movie. His sweet and lovable nature is almost too alluring; he is the dream man every girl secretly wishes she had. Clive Owen is his flip. He is crude and seemingly without a conscience, obsessed with sex and money. The stereotypical bad boy, he is totally irresistable. All four characters betray each other ten times over. They never cease to make you want to tear out your own hair at the extent of their own deception.
6. Sin City - Without a doubt a movie that sums up the word "cool". Starting off - it's completely in black and white, except for the occasional splash of color. Every character has their demons, and every demon is in your face. Not especially for the weak hearted, this movie shows corruption on every single level of the system. Love, sex war - all the bases are covered. A new spin on old themes, it totally hooks the viewer. You can practically feel the adrenaline rush of each of the characters.
7. V For Vendetta - If you've ever been mad at the higher power, then this movie is for you. Every mutiny, every happening of rising against - all of those feelings are bottled up in this film. With some awesome explosions to boot, the entire two hours are bordering on the line of rage and insanity. It is quite possibly the ultimate revenge movie, although not the type of revenge anybody can actually relate to.
8. Factory Girl - This might be a little biased, since I'm partial to the whole decade, but the sixties were totally where everything happened. This is a docu-film on the life of Edie Sedgewick, the famous supermodel and former it-girl. Ensnaring the senses of anyone who came close to her, she found a friend in exhibitionist and innovator, Andy Warhol. The story follows the rise and plummet of this superstar, who in the end, was left only with the love of substance, and eventually met her end.
9. Lords of Dogtown - Made me want to leave New York (OMG) and actually visit California. Can't help it that Emile Hirsch is completely stunning, hair or no hair. Kind of made me think if the Catcher in the Rye and Thirteen had a hybrid love child, and it grew up in SoCal back in the day, then this would be it. Totally loved everything about this movie - from the humor, to the cameos, to Heath Ledgers constant awesomeness on screen. I went out and bought it the day it came out on DVD.
10. Memoirs of a Geisha - First, this isn't a typical Hollywood film. Despite popular western misconceptions about Geishas, there's no sex, almost no violence and beyond that, there's nearly two and a half hours of women's problems that many men may find hard to relate to. This is about deceit, treachery and rivalries as much as it is about a little girl who gets sold into bondage by her impoverished Japanese family. Its also about a lifelong search for love in a society in which people apparently can't just step up and make frank declarations of devotion to one another.
So here it is - my top ten.
1. The Shawshank Redemption - One of the best movies of all time. Andy Dufresne is the only innocent man in Shawshank, wrongly accused of killing his wife. It takes us to a setting that's disturbing, uses language that's raw, showcases supporting characters who are far from ideal role models, and reforms not one villain by the ending credits. It deals with sex and violence, but never in a typical way. There are numerous brutal, occasionally fatal, beatings. The whole movie is based on the idea that no matter how deep the hole, how dark the night, or how thick the walls are, there is always hope and redemption. Made me cry on more than one occasion, you have to love the revenge he has against everyone who ever did him wrong, and without using the violence his enemies were so accustomed to.
2. American Beauty - Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey, became quickly one of my heroes. It is a story of his own personal rebellion - against his penny pushing wife, his jaded little teenage daughter, and his dead end job. The catalyst of the whole movie is when he becomes sexually drawn to and infatuated with Mena Suvari, his daughter's gorgeous cheerleader friend. Reverted mentally back to his teenage years, he truly defines the term "down, but not out". He starts smoking pot, buys the car of his dreams, basically tells everyone where they can shove it, and even starts working at a fast food place. Surrounded by stereotypical people, even the subplots show that under the surface, everyone's a little crazy. In the end, Lester is killed (I know, I yelled the first time I saw it). When he has all he's expected to want, he's dead inside. When he's got everything he really wants, he's dead for real.
3. Almost Famous - This movie made me be what I want to be today - a journalist. Because it plays so heavily on music, and not just music, but the BEST kind of music (classic rock, y'all), it's hard to not get drawn in. William Miller is living every kid's dream. Younger and overlooked by his peers, he approaches his favorite magazine's editor, and then, through a maze of unexpected happenings (and the help of Penny Lane), meets the band Stillwater. He goes on tour with them when Rolling Stone asks him to write a think piece on the band. Watching the movie is a high itself, even the most high up people have their problems. Even when they are literally high up, like when Russell Hammond (the rock star fixation) is on acid on a fan's rooftop, screaming "I am a golden god." Definitely one of the best movies I've ever seen, I can watch it ten times in a row and never get bored.
5. Closer - A beautiful movie filled with beautiful people and no happy ending in sight. Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen are the four main characters. They each portray the two sides of the coin of the perfect man and the perfect woman. Julia plays Anna - talented, beautiful, graceful, and mature, she is a photographer and nearly perfect in every aspect. Alice is played by Natalie Portman, who is spontaneous, sexy, and enthralling. The girl in high school that every boy fixated on. She is free spirited and fun, and also totally ruthless. Dan is played by Jude Law. He is sensitive, beautiful, and artistic. He's a writer and probably the most dangerous character in the whole movie. His sweet and lovable nature is almost too alluring; he is the dream man every girl secretly wishes she had. Clive Owen is his flip. He is crude and seemingly without a conscience, obsessed with sex and money. The stereotypical bad boy, he is totally irresistable. All four characters betray each other ten times over. They never cease to make you want to tear out your own hair at the extent of their own deception.
6. Sin City - Without a doubt a movie that sums up the word "cool". Starting off - it's completely in black and white, except for the occasional splash of color. Every character has their demons, and every demon is in your face. Not especially for the weak hearted, this movie shows corruption on every single level of the system. Love, sex war - all the bases are covered. A new spin on old themes, it totally hooks the viewer. You can practically feel the adrenaline rush of each of the characters.
7. V For Vendetta - If you've ever been mad at the higher power, then this movie is for you. Every mutiny, every happening of rising against - all of those feelings are bottled up in this film. With some awesome explosions to boot, the entire two hours are bordering on the line of rage and insanity. It is quite possibly the ultimate revenge movie, although not the type of revenge anybody can actually relate to.
8. Factory Girl - This might be a little biased, since I'm partial to the whole decade, but the sixties were totally where everything happened. This is a docu-film on the life of Edie Sedgewick, the famous supermodel and former it-girl. Ensnaring the senses of anyone who came close to her, she found a friend in exhibitionist and innovator, Andy Warhol. The story follows the rise and plummet of this superstar, who in the end, was left only with the love of substance, and eventually met her end.
9. Lords of Dogtown - Made me want to leave New York (OMG) and actually visit California. Can't help it that Emile Hirsch is completely stunning, hair or no hair. Kind of made me think if the Catcher in the Rye and Thirteen had a hybrid love child, and it grew up in SoCal back in the day, then this would be it. Totally loved everything about this movie - from the humor, to the cameos, to Heath Ledgers constant awesomeness on screen. I went out and bought it the day it came out on DVD.
10. Memoirs of a Geisha - First, this isn't a typical Hollywood film. Despite popular western misconceptions about Geishas, there's no sex, almost no violence and beyond that, there's nearly two and a half hours of women's problems that many men may find hard to relate to. This is about deceit, treachery and rivalries as much as it is about a little girl who gets sold into bondage by her impoverished Japanese family. Its also about a lifelong search for love in a society in which people apparently can't just step up and make frank declarations of devotion to one another.
Monday, February 9, 2009
He's Just Not That Into You
Quite possibly, the best movie I've seen in a long time. It starts out with my favorite character in the movie, Gigi, a neurotic and frantic woman on the frazzling search to find love. She is beautiful and lovable, but what someone would call too "intense" about men. Meaning - she waits by the phone and obsessed hopelessly until the semi-relationship eventually fades away. The movie starts with Gigi's date with Conor, an adorable and aspiring real estate agent who is, unfortunately, in love with someone else. They were set up when Janine and Ben gave Conor Gigi's number - he sold them the house that they are currently renovating. Conor loves Anna, a beautiful and charming singer who he slept with once but always loved, and who he seeks and exclusive relationship with. Anna won't commit, and she won't sleep with him again. After hearing from Conor when his date with Gigi is over, Anna runs into a gorgeous stranger on the checkout line at her local convenience store. Brought together by Anna's overexcited reaction to winning a cheap cooler in a grocery store giveaway, they are immidiately infatuated with each other, despite his other obligations - his wife, Janine. It is the very same Ben that has helped set up Gigi with Conor that very same night. Gigi and Janine work together, and obsess about men together, along with their other friend Beth. Beth is beautiful, independant, and in a seemingly perfect relationship with (ZOMGBENAFFLECK) Neil. There's only one problem - Neil doesn't believe in marriage. She overanalyzes and believes it's because he doesn't really love her, and it's ironic that out of all the men in the movie - the most standup guy happens to be the one who doesn't want a wife. And speaking of men who are married, Ben eventually cheats on Janine with Anna (the whole theater was yelling at this part). Gigi, tired of waiting for him, goes to meet Conor at a place he mentions that he hangs out. She manages to make a fool of herself and meet Conor's best friend, Alex. Alex is a womanizer and playboy and enlightens Gigi to the fact that Conor doesn't like her, and continues to be her source of insight throughout the movie. Gigi overanalyzes his help, too. She takes his advice on the signals about when a man is interested, and takes Alex by surprise by kissing him, under the impression that he has feelings for her. They argue and she yells at him, confronting him with all his woman-hopping bullshit. I think, in that moment, when she throws all his own inadequicies back in his face, is when he really falls for her. Meanwhile, Ben tells Janine about his affair with Anna. Janine covers how she feels well, insisting on staying with him to make the marriage work. They have a problem in their relationship - they don't have sex, and Janine blames herself. She goes to his office to fix this problem and basically, seduce him. Too bad Anna is already there and has to hang out in a closet instead of having sex with Ben herself. When Janine goes, so does Anna - she is done with Ben for good. Janine goes home and finds Ben's cigarettes and realizes he's been lying about smoking. She snaps, and leaves his belongings for him downstairs to pack when he leaves. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Ben. Anna then pursues a relationship with Conor, the lovable neighbor that's been there all along. All this time, Anna has had a friend named Mary. She works in advertising and sets up Conor's adds in the paper. Mary is pursuing men on a whole different plane - via the internet. Myspace, Facebook, online dating - all of them are at her disposal. Flanked by her three gay confidants, Mary advises Conor, although she has never met him, on his real estate advertising strategies. Beth, now alone after leaving Neil, tired of his lack of commitment, is a bridesmaid at her baby sister's wedding. Traumatized (I mean, can you blame her?), she relies heavily on her father for support through this tough time, and when he has a heart attack the day of the wedding, it seems her world really has come crashing down. She takes care of him, without the help of the men (her sisters' husbands), who continue to cause trouble for her with meaningless tasks. One day, after thuroughly fed up with the men's ways, she finds Neil, the only unmarried man in the house, washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. The unmarried man is the one who is contributing. Beth realizes that she doesn't need marriage, but only needs Neil. They move back in together, because Neil has been living on his boat, frequently visited by his best friend, who just happens to be Ben. Neil proposes, realizing that all he wants to do is be with Beth. Ben is alone due to his cheating ways. Janine is discovering a life without a serious relationship and focuses on embracing herself. Anna realizes she doesn't love Conor, who is heartbroken when she turns down his invitation for them to move in together. Gigi and Alex (the cutest part of the whole movie) are together and are doing well. Beth and Neil are perfectly happy together as well, finally married, to Beth's elation. At the very end of the movie, Conor is eating lunch, unbeknownst to him that Mary is a few tables away. They have only ever talked on the phone, but Mary recognizes him from the add. She calls him and they make eye contact, obviously she is not what he expected. They eat lunch together and it is implied that they start dating after that. This movie was great, I personally loved it. All the lives are intertwined and tied together so neatly. The moral of the story- overanalyzing life stops you from living it. Underanalzying life makes you blind to what is really there. The best thing to do it just live by your instincts, trust your own feelings, and know that when he doesn't call - he's just not that into you.
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